Tag Archives: ~ Culture & History

An FTC complaint filed against a company for misrepresenting tax relief services to customers has resulted in a temporary restraining order and the organization’s assets being frozen.

Called American Tax Relief LLC, the company used TV and radio commercials, as well as Internet advertising to claim that for a fee it can settle people’s state and federal tax debts.

To trick consumers it abused the name of a real IRS program, that allows people to pay less than what they owe, but which only applies in very limited circumstances.

“The IRS is currently accepting a fraction of back taxes owed to them (sic) for those who qualify.

“The IRS is allowing the people with delinquent tax liabilities a ONE-TIME opportunity to settle the debt ONCE AND FOR ALL.

“But at the same time, the IRS does not advertise, promote or even voluntarily suggest this program,” one of the company’s ads claimed.

People were instructed to call a toll-free hotline, where after a few questions, they were told that they qualify for either the “Offer in Compromise” program or a “penalty abatement.”

The FTC says the company charged between $3,200 to $25,000 to resolve allegedly people’s tax problems, when in fact they couldn’t do it.

According to the IRS, a penalty abatement is only considered when there are very serious reasons to justify late payments, such as natural disasters, severe injury or death.

Also, the “Offer in Compromise” program is only available to people as a last resort and after extensive background checks have been performed to determine that no other payment option remains.

In April 2010, federal agents executed a criminal search warrant at the company’s Beverly Hills office and seized funds from an account, as well as a Ferrari from one its owners.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and names American Tax Relief LLC, Alexander Seung Hahn, Joo Hyun Park, and his parents Young Soon Park and Il Kon Park, as defendants.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

CEOs Hate This Site!

10/08/2010 Nativegrl77

Search Working America’s Job Tracker to find corporate traitors in your area.

Every day, more U.S. workers are told “You’re fired!” Not because they did something wrong—and not because the work they do isn’t needed anymore—but because their jobs are being shipped overseas.

So our friends at the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate Working America created Job Tracker—a website that exposes which companies are guilty of outsourcing our jobs. Just enter your ZIP code, and Job Tracker will find corporate traitors near you.

Search your area for companies that have sent jobs overseas, risked the safety and health of workers or violated their rights.

When we see the plant near us closing or mass layoffs in the next town over, it’s hard to know the disturbing scope of the problem—after all, corporations don’t want to publicize unpopular, anti-worker actions, and the government doesn’t track every job lost to outsourcing in one easily assessable place.

I was shocked to learn from Job Tracker that 13 companies right in my area are outsourcing jobs, and a shocking 6,515 companies have safety and health violations! Want to know what things are like in your community? Get the stats on greedy companies near you, and report any missing companies you know about.

By making this information public, Working America is putting greedy CEOs on the defensive. For the first time, working people have one place to see the real impact of outsourcing, bad trade deals and currency manipulation. Every corporate traitor Working America exposes—and every company you and your friends, co-workers and family add—makes a stronger case for holding corporations accountable.

So check out Job Tracker, and if any companies are missing, tell us about them. We’ll research your submissions and add them to the site when we verify the information.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

P.S. Corporations aren’t going to stop moving jobs out of America unless we force them to stop. That starts with compiling concrete information on just how much corporate greed is costing America’s workers. Check out Job Tracker, and help us take the first step by shining a light on outsourcing, safety and health violations and labor law violations.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

And the winner is..

10/07/2010 Nativegrl77

Get your 2011 Scientific Integrity Calendar
The 2011 Scientific Integrity Calendar makes a great gift for your scientist and non-scientist friends and family who believe that policy decisions should be guided by the best available science.

Meet your 2010 Science Idol

We recently invited you to help choose the winner in Science Idol, a cartoon contest designed to poke fun at the not-so-humorous problem of political interference in science. This year, we focused on the inappropriate influence corporations and other special interests have on how science is presented in the classroom and used to make decisions about our health and safety.

After thousands of votes were cast, Raúl de la Nuez of Miami, FL, came out on top. In addition to working as an editorial cartoonist for two newspapers in Miami—VisionIbero and Chevere News—Raul also paints and serves as art director for Venevision production. Entering Science Idol was his “small contribution to a noble cause,” he said.

See Raul’s cartoon here. It will grace the cover of this year’s Scientific Integrity Calendar.

You can also view all 12 contestants and learn more about Raul.

The Scientific Integrity Calendar
In addition to providing you with a year’s worth of laughs, the 2011 Scientific Integrity Calendar is a valuable educational tool, highlighting the need for the Obama administration and Congress to reduce inappropriate influence from corporations and other special interests over how our government uses science to make decisions.

Order your 2011 Scientific Integrity Calendar here. It makes a great gift for your scientist and non-scientist friends and family who believe that policy decisions should be guided by the best available science. The calendars are just $10 each, with proceeds supporting our important work.

I hope you enjoy the cartoons and the calendar!

Sincerely,

Michael Halpern
National Field Organizer
UCS Scientific Integrity Program

P.S. Defending science from political interference requires the persistent and energetic engagement of both scientists and citizens. As a member of the UCS action network, you’ll continue to hear from us about ways you can help support independent science. Scientists, engineers, and health professionals are invited to join our Scientist Network to keep current about science policy issues related to your field and interests.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Urgent Update: GOP’s Deceptive Ads and Expanding their Ad Buy

10/07/2010 Nativegrl77

Breaking: Republicans expand ad buys into seven additional districts bringing the total to over 60 races.

With just 24 hours to go before our ad buy deadline, news reports broke yesterday that the Republicans’ campaign attack squad has expanded their advertising blitz.

The claims in Republican ads have already been debunked by the Pulitzer Prize winning PolitiFact. Yet, they now have the resources to EXPAND their false attacks into more districts. It’s Rove-style dirty politics at its worst.

It’s up to us to set the record straight but we have to go all-in before tomorrow’s deadline hits.

We have just 24 hours left before our deadline to wire more money for ads but we’re still $72,179 short.

Please contribute $5, $10 or more to our Rapid Response Ad Fund today and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of committed Democrats.

We can stop them — we have done it before. But I need you to help us stand up to their smears.

Onward to Victory,

Jon Vogel
DCCC Executive Director

P.S. We have set up a Tip Box to report abusive or deceptive robocalls, mailers, or internet scams/rumors. If you see this kind of widespread abuse in your district, you should send a message to our Tip Box by emailing at dccc@dccc.org. Please contribute to our Rapid Response Ad Fund now so we can continue to keep fighting back.

~ my 2cents ...

thrumming Thursday &some News

10/07/2010 Nativegrl77

i hope that people who have yet to decide who they will be voting for understand the need for a change in the way the mid-term elections are viewed in the year 2010. The idea that the midterms are no big deal is just old school politics because the end result or impact was usually in your own particular state. We all have to accept that the mid-terms are a beacon of the change some of us voted for in 2008 because the fact is …what happens on Nov. 2 will determine our future and could move us forward into the 21^st Century or the middle and lower class could continue living with the status quo. It will be the difference between moving stem cell research along, standing up and speaking out for the current Hyde amendment, agreeing to move immigration reform to the table and keeping laws like SB1070 and the birther law out of the hands of states willing to engage in racial profiling to control their reasonably suspicious people, btw the idea that being undocumented here in the US refers to Hispanics only is absurd. The US is going through non-partisan realities that need to be handled by people(All of Congress) who care about health care reform and all the corrections that are needed, equal wages for equal work, maintain religious freedom as well as the separation of church and state, a woman’s right to choose, oil prices, our environment,education, local and national disaster response time improvements. We are ten years out and parts of New Orleans still look like such a disaster. We told Haiti we would help but not only is that not moving forward quick enough there are reports that money donated have yet to become a reality. It is obvious we all need to be watchdogs of our own destiny, vote out Republicans who have a history of definitely making bad decisions or things will get worse. We have people who claim to be lobbying when in fact they are bribing officials and embezzling funds not just from Wall Street, Main Street or even Average Joe but from 1st nation people and Black Farmers, we have sexual predators who are in charge of and who make laws that will guarantee the safety of our kids, government officials making passes at young men in what should be safe environments for anyone while at work. We have candidates from the right who clearly are on the extremist side of the issues trying to get into positions of power who obviously only plan to represent only a select few and will repeal, replace and eliminate as soon as they grab power. If you listen to both sides of any political debate, interview or panel discussion it all seems extremely simple to me… a change has to be made and yes, I definitely am biased. I believe for change, positive change for All Americans is to get truer Dems on the floor of Congress… our vote on November is the way to start showing our power as Americans… Vote Dems November 2nd

im just sayin

Other News …

**Jobless claims fall below 450thousand

**CO’Donnell complains the media is assassinating her

**President Obama will be in Maryland and Illinois to do some campaigning

**Today is the annv of the Afghanistan war

**Apple will be making their version of the iPhone

**October is Breast Cancer awareness month

**Reports are that Karzai and Taliban have been meeting

**The NRA will endorse 58 Democrats stating it’s useful and good practice to support those politicians that support them no matter what side of the aisle

**Insurance companies are by passing HCR rules

**Desmond Tutu retires

CSPAN …