Senator Karen Facemyer, "I'm sorry, I don't know where I live!!!"

Shame on you Karen. Got a nice little tax break there, didn't you, on jacking your mileage up over 50 miles one way? To the tune of the tax on roughly 100G's on income, as well as about 2G's of overstated mileage reimbursements. So, that's about (by my quick, conservative estimation) $30,000 you just shoved in your pocket (when you include the required changes to the her state income tax too). I especially like the part about how she acts like she didn't know any of this. She carefully states she didn't "intentionally" cheat anyone.

“Was there any intention on my part to cheat the state or the IRS? Absolutely not,” Facemyer said. “My CPA says I’m totally compliant with everything. He has no questions, no doubt.”

My money is on the fact her CPA sure as hell did know, and she probably took that deduction for living more than 50 miles away. If they truly didn't know about it, then they wouldn't have claimed it. You don't claim deductions and/or exemptions you don't know about. No claim of it, no problem. Only if they actually claimed it, will there be any question. And she sure is acting like they claimed it.

I love how these people are so smart that they can decide the fate of our state, tackle complex and brain busting issues like third party bad faith, joint and several liability, and the economic costs and benefits of casino gambling, but they act like they can't add 2 and 2 when it comes to their own taxes. And anytime anyone calls them on their bullshit, it's a witch hunt. Well boo freaking hoo.

If these bozos would just drop the hammer on jackasses like Bob Graham and Mezzatesta (check out this new link about Mezzatesta) and Harold Micheal and other similar ripoffs without the public having to resort to breaking out the torches and pitchforks, we'd probably cut them a break once in a while on stuff like this. But when they jerk us around during the session with crap like the crossbow nonsense I posted about the other day and the unborn victims of violence act, and then get caught playing fast and loose with their taxes, they don't deserve any benefit of the doubt. Oh, and they gutted the ethics act to a point that it's barely better than the impotent Ethics Commission we already have. I wonder why?

Oh well, at least she learned a lesson from Hank Marockie and didn't charge mileage from the Marriot to the Capitol.

Facemyer said that she isn’t reimbursed for driving to and from the Charleston Marriott each day during the legislative session — nor are other legislators. She said she also isn’t reimbursed when she meets with constituents.

How generous of her. Maybe she would like a cookie or something.

More gambling, less crime?

So says the Police Chief of Parkersburg, Bob Newell. Funny, the hack mouthpieces Mike Agnello (and one of our new readers, Stephen Reed) like to tout as the "experts" such as John Kindt don't agree.

"With state-controlled gambling there is not as much gambling-related crime in Parkersburg or Wood County," Newell said.

Call me crazy, but I'm going to take the word of the actual cops over some out of state number cruncher paid by the bible bangers.

Welcome new readers!!!!

If I got any new readers from the Fifth Column's brush with rarefied air in the Gazette this morning, welcome.

Take a while read through the posts, and by all means, throw in your .02 cents.

Hey Shirley, what Constitution do you read?

Brilliant oratory from Senator Shirley Love (D-Fayette) during the final moments of the Legislature Saturday night.

Evidently, he lives in some other country, where "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and the use of a crossbow for disabled hunters are found in the First Amendment (so says Phil Kabler). Furthermore, this was in defense of his attempt to legalize crossbow hunting for "disabled hunters." Am I the only one who thinks this is just a totally stupid-assed idea? Not to mention, shouldn't one of the people who are charged with writing our laws, at least know that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" isn't in the First Amendment, let alone the Constitution? It just goes to show you the sorry sad state of affairs that is the WV Legislature.

Look at the bill, SB575

All you have to do is basically get a doctor's note saying you are disabled.

First of all, and I know I'm probably going to get some heat for this but, I don't want disabled people hanging out in the woods with weapons, when I'm out there with my own. I'm sure they feel bad about being disabled and deprived of their ability to hunt. But, if you are too physically incapcitated to shoot a bow (including a compound one, which is amazingly easy to pull back), I'm sorry, but common sense dictates you don't need to be out tramping around in the woods with any weapon.

Second, is this the type of issue our legislature needs to be dealing with? Don't we have enough problems to worry about? I mean, if our economy was booming,and we weren't losing our best and brightest to other states, and our budget was overflowing, yeah, sure you can spend time on these issues. But now? It just doesn't seem like they have their priorities square. Then again, what's new?

Third, does anyone else see these "disabled hunters" getting the same "disabled" notes from their doc, that they do to get worker's comp? Again, if you are too hurt to work, you are way too hurt to be out in the woods, tramping up and down the sides of our mountains, or zipping up and down the side of the mountains on an ATV, with weapons, and lugging dead deer carcasses around. I've thought for quite a while that a good way to cut down on worker's comp fraud would be to cross reference the names of those who purchase of ATV's in this state, with people who are collecting worker's comp and put them at the top of the list to be investigated.

I'll be giving a more comprehensive wrap up of the session later this week. There are plenty of clowns from the last legislative session (both lobbyists, and legislators) who are going to be spending some penalty box time in the sweatbox.