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My commencement address

Posted: April 30, 2024 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
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By Christopher Harper

If I were giving a commencement address this year, it would go something like the following:

Graduates:

I want to congratulate you on becoming the least-educated class in recent history.

During the past four years, you have made excuses during COVID for missing class, turning in late assignments, and failing to meet the requirements of many courses. 

You have learned to make excuses or blame someone else for your mistakes.

Since COVID has ended, you have honed your skills for making excuses. 

Then, you decided to protest for much of your senior year.

Fifty-two percent of you will be underemployed a year after graduation, meaning you are working in jobs that don’t require the degrees you earned, according to a recent report by the Burning Glass Institute, which analyzes the job market. Five years out from school, the report said about 88 percent of you who are underemployed will be “severely” underemployed.

Peter McCoy of The Wall Street Journal wrote recently: “Here is a brutal fact for the college class of 2024: There aren’t enough college-level jobs out there for all of you. Some of you will snag them. Others will have to settle for jobs that don’t require a college education. And history shows that many of those who start out in a job that doesn’t require a college education are still toiling in that kind of job a decade later.”

Also, you have amassed an enormous debt to pay for your degree, and it may take decades to pay the money back. 

Nevertheless, the federal government recently decided people don’t have to repay their loans. That’s one of the few upsides you have that others didn’t.

As you head out into the real world, I recommend improving education for your families from the beginning of school through college and beyond. 

Otherwise, my sobering message will be given time and time again. 

A Blessing in Disguise (and a pretty good disguise it was)

Posted: April 30, 2024 by datechguy in Uncategorized

It’s been an interesting tax week for me.

Until Sunday I had no idea there was anything to do with taxes still going on with me. I had mailed my Federal and State returns on the day before Pintastic NE 2024 (April 10th) to make sure they were taken care of before I left. On Saturday I went to the bank and found that the check I owed the feds (thanks Joe Biden) had been cashed but the state refund had not come yet. I found that slightly odd but it was only a couple of weeks so I didn’t think anything of it.

After work on Sunday my son ask me if I could scan a document for him that he had to email out as his own scanner was toast. I agreed went to scan the document and to my horror found my Massachusetts scheduled C1 sitting in the copier/scanner from the day of me copying everything before mailing.

Now years ago you used to be able to put a federal Schedule C on your mass taxes with a note saying “no mass differences” with your state taxes. The new form is different and unlike the federal form which has the “cost of goods sold” part on the back of schedule C that bit of notes is on a separate form C1.

So when I doubled check my taxes and saw “Schedule C” in my mass pile it didn’t hit me that C1 wasn’t there.

Because I pay sales taxes on the 2 to 3 copies of my book that I sell each year I have an account on Mass Tax Connect so that night I scanned the form C1 and attached it in a message explaining how the form was forgotten and asking if that was enough or if they wanted me to resend the lot.

I got an email noting a reply on the account and signed on. The message I got was a nasty surprise.

They apparently didn’t notice the missing C1 form because apparently despite me mailing my taxes at the desk at the post office they never received my tax return.

This was a real surprise as my federal taxes were sent at the same time and they wasted no time cashing my check.

So now I’m torn between the idea of taking part or all of tomorrow off to try to get all of this taken care of or waiting till my next day off and doing it Thursday but either way consider this:

At the time I found that form in my scanner I was kicking myself thinking this was the reason my refund wasn’t in and considered it a big misfortune. It turns out however that if I had not forgotten that form C1 I would have absolutely no idea that the Post Office lost my tax return (I presume it’s lost as it wasn’t returned via the return address).

Furthermore if my son had note decided to go to do a weekend visit at the National Our Lady of La Salette and his scanner wasn’t down who knows how many days it would have been before I realized that form hadn’t been sent.

Now thanks to both of these things the problem will be solved before the end of April instead of being discovered months from now and becoming a bigger headache then it already will be.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Update: Got the day off to contact DOR and talked to Courtney. She tells me to wait six weeks or so as paper returns aren’t always processed right away so that would explain the lack of a record. Just to play it safe I scanned everything and sent it via the online site but I’ll breathe a sigh of relief

Thanks to Joe Biden’s Title IX Proclamation Transgenderism is now the official religion of the United States

Posted: April 25, 2024 by Jon Fournier in Uncategorized
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The political left inhabits an alternate universe, one where the most basic scientific truths are looked at with disdain.  Knowledge, facts, and logic do not matter to those Marxists, only their feelings and their radical beliefs.  They take great pleasure in forcing their distorted world view on everyone else. 

Whenever a radical leftist inhabits the White House, that individual works tirelessly through unconstitutional executive orders, to cram their radical beliefs down the throats of the American people.  This is in direct violation of the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment.

Just last week, Joe Biden issued the proclamation documented in the following article: Biden’s Title IX Rewrite Is Here (townhall.com)

On Friday, the Biden administration released new rules to protect LGBTQ+ individuals under the federal civil rights legislation Title IX. Title IX went into effect in 1972 to protect sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding.

Going forward, the basis of “sex” now encompasses the concept of “gender identity.”

“These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Miguel Cardona, Biden’s education secretary,

This final regulation strengthens and restores vital protections against sex discrimination, including sexual harrassment. It also protects students against discrimination based on pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity,”

This Executive order is unconstitutional in the extreme because it completely distorts the original meaning and purpose of the original Title IX legislation.

“Extending Title IX to cover gender identity means that schools will no longer have discretion over whether – or how – to provide certain services and activities to students on the basis of self-declared gender identity. Title IX was written in 1972 when ‘sex’ meant male and female, and no amount of interpretive jiujitsu permits a cabinet agency to rewrite the plain language of the law,” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, told Townhall. “Efforts to do so have failed repeatedly in Congress for one simple reason: such an expansion of law is deeply unpopular, with opposition to these changes spanning both political and racial lines. This betrayal of students will not soon be forgotten by American parents, and we look forward to suing the Administration over this policy soon.”

“It’s 2024 and the Biden administration doesn’t believe there is a difference between biological females and biological males. They believe extending the definition of sex in Title IX to include gender identity is ‘inclusive,’ when in reality it excludes biological females. Not only will this change effectively eliminate the intended purpose of Title IX, it will open the floodgates for Districts to require minor females to share restrooms and spaces with male students and teachers, leading to an increase in sexual harassment and sexual assault,” PDE Vice President Caroline Moore added.

Taking opportunities from women and giving them to men doesn’t enforce Title IX, it violates it. That was true before the Administration dropped this rule, and it is still true today,” Jennifer Braceras, vice president for legal affairs at the Independent Women’s Forum said in a statement. 

Transgenderism is very much a pagan religion.  Biden’s rewrite of Title IX enshrines it as the official religion of the United States in direct violation of the Establishment Clause.  This rewrite also violates the Freedom of Speech clause of the First Amendment,

The Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations issued last week avoided using the word “transgender,” but the rules, which go into effect on August 1, are already being interpreted as protecting transgenderism, especially in the use of specialized pronouns when transgender and LGBTQ students demand their use.

The Pennsylvania primary

Posted: April 23, 2024 by chrisharper in Uncategorized

By Christopher Harper

Although today’s primary here in Pennsylvania won’t play a pivotal role in determining the presidential candidates for next November, the state may set the tone for challenges in the Congress and state legislature.

Rollcall.com focused on races to watch, including several that will be competitive in November.

–The U.S. Senate race in November will have Bob Casey, a longtime Democrat heavyweight in the state, versus Dave McCormick, a Republican who tried and failed to get a 2022 nomination. Casey is seeking a fourth term in the U.S. Senate, and almost every pundit agrees that the November election will be his most challenging test yet.

McCormick served in the George W. Bush administration’s national security apparatus and the Treasury Department. McCormick lost a 2022 Republican primary to TV host Mehmet Oz, who lost to Democrat John Fetterman. 

— Three Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, a top GOP target, in this district north of Philadelphia. Army National Guard veteran Kevin Dellicker, who lost a 2022 primary, is running again, as are state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and Maria Montero, a political newcomer.

— Six Democrats are running to challenge Rep. Scott Perry, a former Freedom Caucus chairman. Mike O’Brien, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, and former broadcast journalist Janelle Stelson lead the money race among the primary candidates. Shamaine Daniels, who lost to Perry two years ago, is running again. The other Democrats are Carlisle School Board member Rick Coplen, Blake Lynch, a former radio executive, and businessman John Broadhurst.

— GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, faces a primary challenge from anti-abortion activist Mark Houck.

Fitzpatrick has cut a reputation as a moderate Republican representing a district that President Joe Biden would have won by 5 points in 2020, according to Inside Elections. Since he was first elected in 2016, he’s dispatched primary challengers with roughly two-thirds of the vote. 

Houck, who argues Fitzpatrick isn’t conservative enough, was indicted in 2022 and later acquitted on charges of assaulting a reproductive health care clinic escort. He later sued the Department of Justice over his arrest. 

The primary winner will face Ashley Ehasz, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary. Ehasz lost to Fitzpatrick by 10 percentage points in 2022. 

— Freshman Rep. Summer Lee faces a primary challenge from Bhavini Patel. The race has drawn attention for highlighting the Democratic Party’s divisions over Israel. Patel has criticized Lee for her position on the war in Gaza and a lack of support for Israel.

Lee has campaigned to bring federal dollars back to the district and has focused on issues like climate change. Since joining the House, she’s aligned herself with the so-called “Squad” of progressive lawmakers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has campaigned for Lee. 

–The Pennsylvania General Assembly is divided between the parties, each holding one part of the state legislature. In many cases, incumbents face no opposition in the primaries. 

Republicans control the State Senate by a 28-22 margin, while the Democrats hold the State House of Representatives by a 102-100 margin. 

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