The Patriot Post® · Friday: Below the Fold
Cross-Examination
Fed tax cheats: Some 42,000 federal employees have “repeatedly” failed to file tax returns, notes a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). As of 2021, federal employees owe $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. And the problem is only getting worse, as the total number of federal workers who fail to file taxes has increased over the years. In 2017, 108,000 federal employees failed to file, a number that increased to 149,000 in 2021. In fact, roughly 5% of all federal workers are not filing their taxes, with 1.5% of federal workers being repeat offenders. The trouble is that few of these federal employees receive any significant negative consequences for their failure to file, which is why the inspector general is calling on Congress to increase the willful failure to file to a felony for federal employees.
Make daylight great again: One of the issues that the vast majority of Americans agree on is the frustration over having to change our clocks twice a year, including this weekend for Daylight Saving Time. Most Americans want to stop this biannual clock-changing dance, though reaching agreement on which time to stick with — either standard or daylight — is the primary rub. Last year, the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would have made Daylight Saving Time the new permanent time. Unfortunately, disagreements within the House threw shade on the legislation, and it was never voted on. So, on Sunday, Americans will once again lose an hour of sleep as the nation springs forward, and on Monday, grumpy Americans will drag into work, wreck their cars, and experience health problems.
Kaepernick sacks his own parents: He’s the face that helped launch the cult of perpetual victimology otherwise known as “woke.” And former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has once again peddled his racial grievance grift, this time throwing his own adoptive parents under the racism bus. In an interview touting his new graphic novel Change the Game, Kaepernick labeled his white adoptive parents as guilty of “perpetuating racism” over their criticizing a cornrows hairstyle he got when he was in high school. Kaepernick noted that his mother said it was “not professional” and made him look “like a little thug.” News flash: This is not racism; this is called parenting. Nearly every parent has at one time or other criticized their teenager’s hairstyle choices. Evidently, Kaepernick is so filled with his own racism that he can’t differentiate between the two.
Gun purchase tracking suspended: Following blowback and threats of litigation from Second Amendment advocates and nearly two dozen states writing up legislation to counter, Visa and Mastercard have paused their plan to adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant category code. The new code effectively creates a gun registry of sorts, as all firearm and ammunition purchases are filed under a code that identifies them as such. “There are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code,” Visa explained. “If passed, the result will be an inconsistency in how this ISO standard could be applied by merchants, issuers, acquirers and networks,” so “we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC.” In celebrating this win for Americans’ Second Amendment rights, Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) contended, “This politicization of our financial sector must stop.”
The Republic of Murderland: Several Democrat lawmakers in Maryland must be imbibing some kind of insanity-inducing libation if a recent legislative proposal is any indication. Maryland Assembly Democrat Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield has introduced a bill dubbed the Youth Accountability and Safety Act, which would ban anyone under the age of 25 from being charged with first-degree murder. Crutchfield is not alone in her legal views, as several other Democrats have gotten on board her train to Murderland. According to the proposed legislation, anyone under the age of 25 who “happens” to murder someone while committing another crime such as rape, robbery, or carjacking could not be charged with first-degree murder, which in Maryland carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Crutchfield’s argument is that those under the age of 25 have not reached full mental maturity. Meanwhile, state Democrats have pushed the legal voting age in five cities down to 16 and 17 years of age, and one county is advocating for eighth graders to be given the right to vote. So, too dumb to be held accountable for murdering another human being, but plenty smart enough to know who and what to vote for?
Headlines
House Dems, GOP vote unanimously to declassify COVID origins intel, send bill to Biden (Fox News)
Payrolls rose 311,000 in February, more than expected, showing solid growth (CNBC)
White House blueprint would raise taxes, boost spending (Roll Call)
J6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson didn’t have “access” to surveillance footage from Capitol riot (PM)
Speaker McCarthy vows full public release of Capitol’s January 6 surveillance tapes (Breitbart)
House Democrats vote against bill to classify fentanyl as Schedule I drug while thousands die from overdoses (Daily Wire)
Mexican cartel “apologizes” for kidnapping and brutal murder of Americans (Fox News)
Mexican president says fentanyl is a U.S. problem caused by American social decay (National Review)
New York prosecutors signal Trump may face criminal charges from Stormy Daniels scandal (Fox News)
Senate confirms Danny Werfel to lead IRS in bipartisan vote (The Hill)
California county tracked churchgoers’ phone location data to enforce COVID lockdowns (Daily Caller)
Spotted in DC: An attempted carjacking within sight of left-wing mob demanding reduced penalties for carjacking (Free Beacon)
Nearly 6,000 schools across America REQUIRE teachers and faculty to hide children’s gender identity and transitions from parents (Not the Bee)
Major new study shows exercise to be 1.5x more effective at treating depression and anxiety than medication and counseling (Not the Bee)
Policy: The Left is downplaying reality of fentanyl crisis (Daily Signal)
Humor: Biden gives “Black American of Courage” award to Robert Downey Jr. for role in “Tropic Thunder” (Babylon Bee)
For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.