WEAR A MASK!

DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE AND A MORON LIKE TRUMP. 

WEAR A MASK!

 

 

THE CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT TO WEAR A MASK IN PUBLIC HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR RIGHTS OR FREEDOM AS AN AMERICAN. 

WEARING A MASK IN PUBLIC IS YOUR OBLIGATION TO YOUR FELLOW AMERICANS TO PROTECT THEM FROM HARM.

IT'S NOT POLITICS - IT'S COMMON SENSE

Even if you agree 100% with Trump’s alleged political policies and agenda, he is a totally unfit to be President, and anyone who cares about the future of America, American democracy and values, the American people, and the world MUST actively oppose and denounce Trump and remove him and his Administration from Washington in November (or sooner if possible) because –

* He is ignorant, incompetent and delusional.  He thinks he knows everything about everything and can do everything better than anyone when the reality is, he knows nothing about anything and can’t do anything better than anyone else.  And he has no desire to learn anything about anything.

* He is totally self-absorbed – the ultimate textbook malignant narcissist.  He does not care one ounce about anyone or anything but himself.  His only true agenda is feed his ego, protect himself, and line his pockets.

* He lies to everyone everyday about everything.  It is impossible for anyone to believe a word that comes out of his mouth.

* He admires, envies and emulates dictators and authoritarian leaders and denounces, attacks and alienates democratic and egalitarian leaders.  He is truly “the man who would be king”.

This is not just my personal opinion.  These are facts that are proven every day by his every word, tweet and deed.

Trump is the worst President in the history of the United States.  And he is the worst and most deplorable human being to ever hold national public office in the history of the United States.

The reason to vote for Biden and not Trump in November isn’t because Biden is a Democrat and Trump is a Republican, or because Biden is a liberal and Trump is an (alleged) conservative.  The reason is Biden is intelligent, competent, has a conscience, and cares about something other than himself and Trump is not and does not.

Opposing and denouncing Trump is not about politics – it is common sense.

THE THING THAT MATTERS MOST IN THE 2020 ELECTION

A recent Harris-AARP survey of 3,500 over-50 registered voters asked what one thing matters most when voting for a candidate.

The answers –

61% = the candidate’s stance on the issues the voter cared about

10% = the experience of the candidate

10% = the “electability” of the candidate

 9% = the political party of the candidate

 9% = the character or personality traits of the candidate

In any “normal” election this is appropriate.  But the 2020 election is NOT normal.  More than any other election in our history the “character and personality traits” of a candidate is the most important issue in 2020.

Donald Trump has NO character and does not possess a SINGLE positive personality trait or a SINGLE positive human quality.  

Those in Congress running for re-election who have supported, defended and enabled Trump have shown poor character and judgement and a total lack of morals, ethics, credibility and integrity.

In the 2020 election you MUST vote based on the character and humanity of the candidate.  You MUST vote against Trump and his Congressional supporters.

The one thing that matters most when voting for a candidate for President in 2020 is HE/SHE IS NOT TRUMP.  And the one thing that matters most when voting for a candidate for Congress or any other office in 2020 is HE/SHE OPPOSES AND DENOUNCES TRUMP.

TAX SEASON HIATUS

During the tax filing season I do not have time for anything but preparing 1040s.  

So this blog will be on "hiatus" until after April 15th.

POLITICS AND RELIGION

This is not said often enough - and is not properly understood by many.

Freedom of religion and the separation of Church and State are among the basic cornerstones of America, American values and American “philosophy”.  Every American has the right to worship and believe as he or she so chooses – or to choose not to worship or believe.  The government cannot force anyone to choose one religion and set of beliefs over any other, or to choose any religion or beliefs.  No specific religion or church can dictate government policy or legislation. 

There is no official “American” religion or church.  America is not a “Christian” country.   

While religious beliefs may motivate involvement in politics as a practice of good citizenship, and the religious can preach the gospel, or their version or interpretation of the gospel, to those who will listen, the specific religious beliefs of a specific religious sect or religion must never be the basis of legislation, and the religious cannot force those of different beliefs, or no beliefs, to live their lives according to the specific individual beliefs and rules of their specific religion or religious sect.

All law in America is based on the Constitution and civil law - and is not, and must NEVER be, based on specific religious law.

Murder is not illegal because God said, “Thou shalt not kill”.  Murder is illegal because life is protected under the Constitution and under civil law. 

If the specific religious beliefs of your chosen sect or religion tells you that abortion is wrong – don’t have an abortion.  If the specific religious beliefs of your chosen sect or religion tells you that homosexuality and same-sex marriage is wrong – don’t practice homosexuality and do not marry someone of the same sex.  But you cannot force someone with different religions beliefs, or no religious beliefs, to act in accordance with the specific religious beliefs of your chosen sect or religion, and most definitely not via legislation.

Many people mistakenly identify those who want to legislate the specific religious beliefs of fundamental Christianity as being “conservative” and identify legislating these specific religious beliefs as being a component of conservative political philosophy.  Nothing could be further than the truth.

The basic fundamental tenet of conservative political philosophy is limited government, and the protection and maximizing individual rights.  True conservatives believe that the government should have minimal involvement in the personal and business life of the individual.  The so-called “evangelicals” of the “Christian right” wants the government to tell individuals how to live their lives – in direct contradiction to true conservative philosophy.

Unlike “love and marriage”, politics and religion NEVER go together!

FULL DISCLOSURE

My name is Robert D Flach.  I am a self-employed professional tax return preparer, a tax writer and a tax blogger who was born in November of 1953.

I was born and grew up in Hudson County, New Jersey – the poster child for political corruption - where it was almost illegal to NOT vote Democrat.  My parents were Republicans.  My father was a Republican Committeeman, and both my parents worked as officers on local election boards as representatives of the Republican Party.  I moved to rural northeast Pennsylvania in 2012.

I am not a registered Republican nor a registered Democrat.  I consider myself to be a true “Independent”.  In the past I have voted for Republican, Democratic and 3^rd Party candidates at various levels of government.  My votes have been based on the individual candidate and the issues.

I am not a “socialist”.  I support some Democratic policies and some Republican policies.  I support some liberal policies and some true conservative policies – and perhaps support more true conservative principles than liberal ones.  Winston Churchill is credited with saying if you are not liberal by age 20 you have no heart and if you are not conservative by age 40 you have no head.  I believe that, in my 60s, I have both heart and head.

I am not a political scholar.  I am a relatively intelligent college-educated middle-class American.  I am a heterosexual White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – aka WASP (Protestant by upbringing and not current church membership or practice).  I have never served in the military, but consider myself to be a patriotic American.

I vocally and aggressively oppose and denounce Trump as a human being and as President.  I have vocally and aggressively opposed and denounced him since he first announced his candidacy for President in 2015.  At the time I said, and posted, that the most disturbing political development in my lifetime was the fact that Trump was being taken seriously as a Presidential candidate. 

Even before announcing his candidacy for President I believed Trump to be a totally worthless self-absorbed piece of garbage who is totally devoid of humanity – which he still is today.

I am a true and aggressive “Never-Trumper”, and am proud to so be.  I have been “out to get” Trump – because he truly deserves to be “got” - and working to remove him from office from the day he was sworn in as President, after actually losing the election by almost 3 Million votes, because I have always known that he is mentally unhinged and unstable and totally unfit to be President, and that he is a true clear and present danger to America, American values and democracy, and the world – and nothing he has done since taking office has changed my opinion. 

Trump’s words, tweets and deeds as President have proven that he is totally unfit to be President, unfit to hold any office of power at any level of government, and they continue to do so every day he remains in office.  I firmly believe that the most important issue in the 2020 election is removing Trump from office, and removing his hypocritical Republican enablers in Congress from office.

Any questions?

MEDICARE FOR ALL? I VOTE NO

I do not support the “Medicare for All” proposals of Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders.  And I do not support the US transitioning to socialized medicine.

While I think in different times “Medicare for All” should be seriously discussed, I certainly do believe it should not be included in the 2020 Democratic Party platform.  There must be nothing to prevent independents and anti-Trump conservatives and Republicans from voting for the Democratic nominee.

I do support free tuition at state colleges and trade schools – but that is a different topic.

I believe that Obamacare, aka The Affordable Care Act, has good, bad and ugly.  Obamacare was a truly flawed hastily written and passed Act created to get an early legislative victory for Obama.  It was voted on along strict Party lines without a single member of Congress actually reading the bill.  They were told by their Party’s leaders to either vote for it or against it and all followed in lock-step.

As an aside, the GOP Tax Act was exactly the same – flawed legislation hastily written and passed along strict Party lines that was not actually read by a single member of Congress.  

I do not believe that individuals and families should be financially penalized for not having “adequate” health insurance coverage for all household members, and I do not believe employers should be financially penalized for not providing health insurance coverage to employees.  I strongly oppose any kind of “shared responsibility penalty”.

I do believe insurance policies should be required to cover “pre-existing conditions”.  And I especially like and strongly support providing “point of purchase” credits toward monthly premium payments for those who cannot afford coverage – the Obamacare “advance premium credit” – although I do not necessarily believe it should be reconciled after the fact on the Form 1040.

Here is a proposal related to health insurance coverage that I have not heard discussed by candidates.

Often individuals and families lose employer-provided group health insurance coverage when the individual or the head of the household loses his or her job, and are without insurance for several months until they get a new job and qualify for employer-provided, or can afford to purchase outside, coverage. 

What about the government providing automatic temporary Medicare coverage for up to perhaps 6 months to individuals and families in such a situation – either free of charge or at the same premium cost as paid by those 65 or older who qualify for Medicare?

So, what do you think?