That was a good year.

[PATAX]

Doing postings here and came upon 1776.67. That reminded me of a story that an old-timer told me years ago. He was at the supermarket, and the girl teller rang it up, and then told him "that'll be 1776". He said to her "that was a good year". She looked at him like he had dementia. Maybe this is one of the reasons why we seem to have so much more issues in trying to make a living in our profession. Are people getting dumber and/or have less common sense?

[IRonMaN]

But sometimes humor goes over the head of some folks -------------- trust me, I know that very well from responses I have received here over the years.

[BobKamman]

Two stories in recent weeks about Hertz refusing to rent a car, and Spirit refusing to allow parents (showing US passports) to board with a 2-year-old (no passport yet), because in both cases the customer was from Puerto Rico.  The car rental counter refused to recognize the "real ID" drivers license and called a cop, who threatened to arrest the US citizen.  The airline employee at LAX was new, but called a supervisor who backed her up.  Coincidence, that both Spirit and Hertz use yellow as their logo color?  

And then there are many Americans who think New Mexico is a foreign country.  I blame a lot of this ignorance on the education system, as I tell my daughter the school district superintendent, and I blame low salaries and high interference from politicians for teacher shortcomings in many places.  

1776 is still one of my favorite musicals; I remember seeing it on Broadway with my father, back before the Bicentennial.  Now, the most popular historical musical is about the first Secretary of the Treasury, whose successors supervise IRS.  I saw it performed by the touring company a few years ago, with my son.  I'm not good at following the lyrics of many rap songs, but I don't blame that on the show's creator having some Puerto Rican ancestry.  

[BobKamman]

@IRonMaN  "sometimes humor goes over the head of some folks"

Nevertheless, I'm waiting for the first batch of "Sven and Ollie Get High" jokes.

The Minnesota Legislature voted to legalize recreational cannabis Saturday — it now heads to Governor Walz’ desk for a signature.  Once Walz signs the bill — and he said he will — cannabis will be legalized and related misdemeanors will be expunged starting in August.

[IRonMaN]

I was never a big fan of Jesse Ventura but he made some really good points on the issue when he testified about legalizing pot.  I don’t smoke, drink, or do drugs but I don’t have any issues with them legalizing it.  I never really was able to figure out why getting drunk was legally acceptable while getting a little buzz got you in jail.  But I’m not sure if Sven and Ole are going to stay home and get buzzed or if they will get into even better stories.

[BobKamman]

Has Minnesota legalized online sports gambling yet?  The revenue from that, together with the revenue from cannabis sales, has allowed Arizona to lower its income tax rates substantially.  (Taxing online sales, mostly through Amazon, also helped. Not to mention withholding 4.6% on large lottery prizes when the highest state tax rate is now 2.5%.)

I've said for years that we should legalize marijuana and outlaw alcohol.  Except we tried the latter and it didn't work. Not to stir up a hornet's nest with a reference to terminating pregnancies, but there will be just as many of those procedures, whether through surgery or medication, regardless of laws men enact.  

[IRonMaN]

Online gambling is still not legal in Minnesota ————— except for playing the odds in the stock market anyway.😁

[poolcleaner]

That's the spirit!

Another Former AllStar

[PATAX · Accepted solution]

Don't know how my post here went from 1776 to marijuana usage. But since we are here, I do not support the utilization, legalization, proliferation, or dissemination of marijuana in any way, shape, or form. Marijuana legalization is just a modern version of the Roman circus, it keeps people preoccupied with nonsense. Absolutely nothing good comes from drug usage. There is no honor in drug usage. Be Patriotic and just say NO. And that's the solution to my post here. And if people don't like my post here, then stick it in your pipe and smoke it up real good. Have a nice day.😉😁🤓🐕☝

[BobKamman]

If growing hemp was good enough for the Founding Fathers, it's good enough for me.  But I admit that their drug of choice was alcohol.  And George Washington went to war against the farmers in Pennsylvania, to defend his right to tax it.  

[PATAX]

The farmers here in Western Pennsylvania were overwhelmingly Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. This same group supplied almost half of the soldiers in the Revolutionary Army of President George Washington. The Presbyterian Church Cemeteries here are filled with Revolutionary War Veterans. Many more gave their lives in the Civil War. These were good people.

[IRonMaN]

"Don't know how my post here went from 1776 to marijuana usage"

That would be Bob, but I'm willing to discuss just about anything that pops up here including the legalization of pot, boogers on tax information, dogs listening to polkas, lutefisk recipes, the adventures of Sven and Ole and pretty much anything else someone comes up with.

But as far as your comment goes, "nothing good comes from drug usage", does that mean you are against things like antibiotics and chemotherapy, or just drugs that you don't believe should be available to the public? 😉  Like I mentioned above, Jesse Ventura made some very good points about its legalization.  His wife had seizures that "legal" drugs just didn't help.  He and his wife were in Colorado and a friend of his told his wife to try some weed.   The weed gave her relief to her seizures.  He said he then started breaking the law by acquiring pot for his wife -------- it was a life saver for her.  He said he was thankful that MN legalized medical marijuana because he no longer had to be a law breaker to get his wife the help she needed.  But he pointed out that, although she now has legal access to the stuff, it isn't cheap and of course it isn't covered by insurance.  He felt that legalizing it would make it affordable for folks that really needed the help but can't afford it under the current system.  And to be honest, I have a family member that weed has helped with medical issues so I understood where Ventura was coming from.

But like I mentioned earlier, I'm not a drinker or a pot smoker so legalizing it really doesn't make any difference to me personally.  But for those folks that like to have their beer, wine, or shot of whiskey on occasion, please explain to me what the difference really is between pot and booze.  I remember talking to a former cop back when MN was looking at legalizing medical marijuana.  He was quick to point out that there was a world of difference in attitudes when he would pull over a driver that was drunk vs one that had enjoyed a little weed.  The drunk would want to take a swing at him and the pothead was just enjoying the visit by the man in blue.

So ends the story of pot.  But as long as I'm here, has anybody heard any good polkas lately or have a good lutefisk recipe?

[TaxGuyBill]

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@IRonMaN wrote:

But as long as I'm here, has anybody heard any good polkas lately or have a good lutefisk recipe?

---

Step 1:  Prepare lutefisk

Step 2: Place lutefisk into hazardous waste container

Step 3: Ask Elon Musk to launch that hazardous waste container into outer space.

As long as I'm here, I'll voice my annoyance at the "legalization" of pot - unless the state has seceded from the United States, it is still illegal.

So my annoyance is that the states basically are saying "we don't care what the (Federal) law says, we are just going to do whatever we feel is best".  Effectively, they are taking the lead of disobedience to the law and thereby teaching their residents that if you don't agree with the law, you don't really have act in harmony with it.

I'm not saying that the States need to treat marijuana usage as a crime; if they don't want to prosecute users or distributors, that is up to them.  But by regulating it they are saying it is okay to do, even though Federal says otherwise.

/getting off my soap box/

P.S.  Plus I think it smells like skunk.  🤧

[IRonMaN]

“Effectively, they are taking the lead of disobedience to the law and thereby teaching their residents that if you don't agree with the law, you don't really have act in harmony with it.”

It’s a good thing that Minnesota has no differences between state and federal tax laws or you would really find yourself in a real quandary with preparing tax returns 😜

[Skylane]

<<It’s a good thing that Minnesota has no differences between state and federal tax laws or you would really find yourself in a real quandary with preparing tax returns>>

..... don't forget to add the deduction for medical pot on your MN return that you can't take on the federal... 

[TaxGuyBill]

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@IRonMaN wrote:

It’s a good thing that Minnesota has no differences between state and federal tax laws or you would really find yourself in a real quandary with preparing tax returns 😜

---

Don't even get me going with their annoying non-conformance for taxes, and their retroactively conforming to things.  😂 😂 😂

I really wish Minnesota had "rolling conformity", where they accept whatever the Federal rules are rather than sticking with the 'old' Federal rules and then later deciding if they want to change or not.

[BobKamman]

On the other hand,  the federal government is basically saying "we don't care what the state law says, we are just going to do whatever we feel is best".  Yes, federal supremacy is a thing, even when a former Speaker of the House (with an R after his name) is a leading lobbyist and investor for the cannabis industry, and the Executive Branch under Presidents of both parties has announced it will not prosecute possession.  We can criticize the schizophrenia, or we can celebrate the turn away from the explicitly racist roots of cannabis policy in the United States.  "All along, one consistent target for the nation’s cannabis laws were communities of color." See the work of Brookings expert John Hudak at

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2020/06/23/marijuanas-racist-history-shows-the-need-for-c...  

[IRonMaN]

To just change the topic slightly -

1945 was a pretty good year since World War II came to an end.

1957 was a good year for me, although my memory is still a little iffy since that was when I was born.

1969 was a good year.  I remember how cool it was to watch Neil Armstrong take that first step on the moon --------------- although some people still think it didn't really happen.

2057 isn't here yet but I'm positive it is going to be a really good year because that is when I plan to retire.

[BobKamman]

Lunar landing stands out in his memory.  Meeting IronWoman doesn't.  Hmmm...

[IRonMaN]

I didn’t want to make the post all about me😶

[IRonMaN]

As long as we are off topic:

A hooded robber burst into a Wisconsin bank and forced the tellers to load a sack full of cash.
On his way out the door, a brave Minnesota customer grabbed the hood and pulled it off, revealing the robber's face. The robber shot the customer without a moment hesitation.
He then looked around the bank and noticed one of the tellers looking straight at him.
The robber instantly shot him also. Everyone in the bank, by now very scared, looked intently down at the floor in silence.
The robber yelled, "Well, did anyone else see my face?"
There are a few moments of utter silence in which everyone was plainly too afraid to speak.
Then, one old Norwegian named Ole’ from Minnesota tentatively raised his hand and said, "My wife got a pretty good look at you" 

[TaxGuyBill]

---

@IRonMaN wrote:

Then, one old Norwegian named Ole’ from Minnesota tentatively raised his hand and said, "My wife got a pretty good look at you" 

---

[TaxGuyBill]

---

@IRonMaN wrote:

2057 isn't here yet but I'm positive it is going to be a really good year

---

That is the year that ProSeries is scheduled to get Form 5227.  😂

[sjrcpa]

I think they'll wait about a year after he retires.

Just like they did with Chuck's lock feature. 👼😥