Mansion spending records indicate improper billing by Virginia governor and his family. About six months into the governor’s term, the official who oversees mansion spending told the McDonnells that they should not have charged taxpayers for a number of expenses, including deodorant, shoe repairs and dry-cleaning their children’s clothing. The official asked the McDonnells to pay the state back more than $300, which they did, and also gave them a refresher on what the state will and won’t provide for occupants of the governor’s mansion. But since that time, state records show that the McDonnells have continued to let taxpayers pick up the tab for numerous personal items, including vitamins, nasal spray and sleep-inducing elixirs.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, The Washington Post sought records of personal expenses covered by the state over the couple’s 31/2 years in the mansion. The full cost of those items is unknown because the state released only 16 sales receipts, most of them from 2011. “First Ladies have Executive Police Protection,” Martin wrote.
Archives for November 2012. Death threats against Mitt Romney proliferate. Chick-fil-A: We will no longer support groups with political agendas. It appears Chick-fil-A has reversed course. In a letter to Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno, a Chick-fil-A exec insisted the company will no longer support groups with political agendas. “The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas,” said the company’s director of real estate. (WinShape Foundations is the company’s charitable arm.)
Chicago-based The Civil Rights Agenda shared the comment in a press release posted to the nonprofit organization’s website. The press release added: “In meetings, [Chick-fil-A] executives clarified that they will no longer give to anti-gay organizations.” According to media reports, the fast feeder has given $5 million to groups that oppose same-sex marriage.
The early PR efforts failed, and Chick-fil-A became the topic of debate for weeks. According to the Tribune: BarackObamaCertificationOfLiveBirthHawaii.jpg (2427×2369) Ax may fall on tax break for mortgages. The popular tax break for mortgage interest, once considered untouchable, is falling under the scrutiny of policymakers and economic experts seeking ways to close huge deficits. Although Congress last year rejected the White House’s proposed cut to the amount wealthier taxpayers can deduct for home mortgage interest payments, the administration included it again in its 2010 budget — saying it could save $208 billion over the next decade. And now that sentiment has turned against all the federal red ink — and cost-cutting is in vogue — Democrats on President Barack Obama’s financial commission are considering the wisdom of permanent tax breaks such as the mortgage deduction and corporate deferral.
Calling them “tax entitlements,” senior Democratic lawmakers have argued they should be on the table for reform just like traditional entitlement programs Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. Policymakers seeking savings have tried to cap the mortgage interest deduction before — and failed. Carly’s Climate Caper | FactCheck.org. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has been attacking incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer since well before June 8, when Fiorina hoped to lock up the Republican Senate nomination in California. Her latest ad went up just a few days before the primary and falsely accuses Boxer of neglecting terrorism in favor of the weather report. "One of the very important national security issues we face, frankly, is climate change," Boxer says in a 2007 clip shown in the ad. Cut to Fiorina. "Terrorism kills," she says. Well, no, she’s worried about climate change, which is different, although the daily weather can certainly be affected by the larger phenomenon.
Joshua Busby, November 2007: Climate change presents a serious threat to the security and prosperity of the United States and other countries. Fiorina notes in the ad that she "chaired the external advisory board for the CIA. "