Archive for May 22nd, 2013

Logrolling in our time.

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

I kind of half-assed my post about gun related bills in the Texas Legislature this morning. I blame the vertical integration of the broiler industry and the fact that I had to rush out the door for an appointment.

Over at Battleswarm, Lawrence has given my post a full ass, with a quick overview of the various bills and their individual statuses, complete with links. I commend his post to your attention.

(Subject line hattip.)

Posted in Guns, Politics, Texas | Comments Closed

Banana republicans watch: May 22, 2013.

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Lawrence linked to an amusing list from USA Today of ten California cities most likely to file for bankruptcy.

The list includes such banana republican favorites as the notoriously corrupt city of Vernon, Compton, and Mammoth Lakes (which, as previously noted, already filed for bankruptcy, but USA Today reports they withdrew that petition).

Not on the list, but should be: Bell. You may recall that one of Bell’s many issues was the collection of illegal taxes from residents. The city has to refund the illegally collected tax dollars to residents…

Bell currently has a negative cash balance, caused in part by the city’s move to stop collecting the illegal taxes, the state controller’s office found. Bell promised to refund more than $3 million in overpaid taxes to residents and busineses, but auditors found that the city has not done so.

And by the way:

Auditors also faulted the city for not following more than 20 recommendations the controller’s office made after the corruption scandal.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Random notes: May 22, 2013.

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Back in October, I wrote about the defunct art gallery Knoedler & Company and their troubled relationship with a dealer named Glafira Rosales. Many of the works Ms. Rosales supplied to Knoedler are now considered fakes.

Yesterday, Ms. Rosales was charged with tax fraud.

Prosecutors charged that the dealer, Glafira Rosales, 56, of Sands Point, N.Y., failed to disclose $12.5 million that she had earned from the sale of the works and had never reported, as required, that she had Spanish bank accounts where she had hidden much of the proceeds.

And:

But according to the government’s case, an apparently talented forger — or forgers — confounded the art world for years by turning out realistic-looking works said to be by masters including Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Authorities declined to comment on whether they have identified a forger, but a person briefed on the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, said the investigation is continuing and that any leads on the forgeries will be pursued.

In other news: the LA County DA plans to retry the Bell city council members. As you may recall, the jury in the first trial completely acquitted one council member (Luis Artiga), convicted the other five members on some charges, acquitted them on other charges, and ultimately hung on the remaining charges.

Texas gun legislation update: things are getting interesting. The concealed carry on campus bill, and the ban on enforcing any new Federal gun laws, are tied up in the Senate. However, the Senate has approved…

…a bill Tuesday night to allow applicants to qualify for a concealed-handgun license to use either a revolver or a semi-automatic pistol.
Under current law, Texans who qualified to carry a revolver could carry only a revolver.

This same bill also prevents local governments from outlawing BB guns and Airsoft guns.

“There was a problem where some city outlawed the possession of a BB gun,” [State Senator Craig] Estes said. “A kid ought to be able to own a Red Ryder BB gun.”

My understanding is that the bill to cut back the number of hours of class time required for a concealed carry permit has also passed both houses, and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

More here. I was previously unaware of the TSRA PAC site; the front page summary of legislative events is very useful.

Posted in Art, California Über Alles, Guns, Law, Politics | 1 Comment »