#we don’t have state taxes - property tax is how we fund everything

[anthonybialy]

Generation Ex

Experience is the best indicator, which means Democrats ought to be in big trouble.  Professional business loathers should be nearly out of business themselves.  They think that would prove their point.

The present onslaught of incessant annoyance should create a generation of government-loathers.  Every generation ideally faces institutions with institutionalized contempt.  Arrogant twits bossing you around hating your attitude is the best reason to maintain it.

People born in every year eventually find themselves old enough to get hassled for not contributing enough to the collective for the sin of existing as an individual.  Those taxed in every sense are supposed to be thankful for the privilege, which is naturally exercised involuntarily.  You don’t want to risk screwing up a decision with your counterproductive free will.

An extra concentrated dose of harassment from the soullessly monolithic entity that can’t protect you from a rotten flu is not good for any sense of health.  Enjoy a full life in your pod where nothing’s legal but cannabis, which is unhelpful for treating symptoms except for shielding oneself from how bad legalizers made everything.

Attempting a sequel of the worst feature isn’t just for Avatar.  Unlike a cinema trip, you’re not presented with the option to decline.  Contemptuous scorn was a nice touch as compliant liberals mocked your rights being taken as they used absolute power to bungle an infection that would have been properly addressed by chicken soup, DayQuil, and Sprite.

Decree enthusiasts are coincidentally the same pompous dolts who sneer at attempts to outrageously assert that rights and currency are not issued by the government.  Office-fillers who don’t know the economy gets worse the more that’s ripped off from it are suddenly experts on epidemiology.

Attempting to stop a virus by imprisoning humans epitomizes compassionate knowledge.  Melding the mind with the heart is our ultimate goal, and we should possess enough enlightenment to know whether it actually happens doesn’t matter.  Do you want to be a good liberal or not?

A cagey infection found its way around barriers.  Panicky fascists were wrong at every single moment about an indifferent escaped bioweapon.  China’s ineptness is our best defense.  Guilt paired with phrenology-level pseudoscience led to the guilted suckering of getting a shot during the most masked time in history, which differs from getting vaccinated.

Aspiring benevolent dictators require absolute authority to ruin the economy.  It’s  really your fault if you’re poor for stubbornly refusing to relinquish the last of your petty individual rights.  That’s as close as liberals get to personal responsibility.

Trying to avoid tradeoffs leads to the worst deal possible.  Existence gets more woeful the more they can control, which almost resembles a pattern.  The state’s fans assure us perseverance is all bliss needs.  We just need to maintain faith until the breakthrough when treating property as communal lets everyone have as much as they want.

The past few especially pushy years have just been a drugged-out version of normal abnormal federal shadiness.  Active bothering leads to widespread lethargy, and this speedball leads to neither speed nor a ball.

Very helpful ushers of prosperity take autonomy on top of your cash.  You’re left with the sense of guilt for daring to want to retain funds that you toiled to acquire.  Refusing to facilitate corruption constitutes the most shameful audacity.

Present sophisticated theories about authority lead to  addresses everything but government’s actual responsibility, which is to halt stampeding barbarians.  Liberals are too busy tracking down successful CEOs they deem villains to focus on what they consider inconsequential threats like subway track-shovers and global terror merchants.

Everyone should be sick of being told what to do by people who should be told to not do that.  Forced cooperation leads to universal misery.  That is not the thing we were told would be shared.  Anyone capable of interpreting stimuli can’t possibly still think eliminating choice leads to one glorious option.

The only thing more exhausting than being suspicious of everything is the aftermath of docile trust.  Any humans who are unfortunately not cynical by nature better start conditioning themselves.

The good news is that there’s not much training necessary.  A few moments on this wretched planet noticing countless infringements on life proceeding normally should be sufficient for incessant rebellion. Instead, baffling state fans are incredulous regarding companies with which they can interact freely while trusting the unaccountable monolith.

Please enjoy ample current ghastly examples for those who think history means switching from the “following” tab to “for you”.  Maybe enjoy isn’t the proper word.  Claiming to believe in science takes some nerve while ignoring an endless parade of evidence about how surrendering liberty leads to awful morons making dreadful decisions on your behalf.

Trusting authority is the most mortifying conspiracy to believe.  Liberal policy creates contempt for liberalism.  So, it works in its way.  Government doing everything but arresting whoever mugged you leads to getting robbed by those who claim they do so with legal authority.  They need your permission.  Keep letting them think for yourself if you think they’ve made you richer.

[network0]

Demystifying Probate in Polk County: A Comprehensive Guide to Navigating the Complexities

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on demystifying probate in Polk County! If you’ve found yourself here, you may have questions about the complex probate process and how it applies specifically to this region. Well, fear not! We’re here to break it down for you and provide a step-by-step roadmap to navigate this confusing territory.

Probate can be a daunting word with many misconceptions surrounding it. But don’t worry; we will debunk those myths and shed light on exactly what probate is, who needs to go through it, and the steps involved. So grab a cup of coffee (or tea if that’s your thing), sit back, and let’s dive into the world of probate in Polk County together!

Probate Charlotte

What is probate?

Probate is a legal process that comes into play after someone passes away. It involves administrating their estate, including their assets, debts, and any other financial matters they may have left behind. Think of it as a way to ensure that the deceased person’s wishes are carried out correctly and that their affairs are organized.

So, who exactly needs to go through probate? It typically applies to individuals who have passed away with assets solely in their name or without a designated beneficiary. This includes properties, bank accounts, investments, or personal belongings. Probate becomes necessary if there is no established plan for these assets upon someone’s death.

Now, let’s break down the steps involved in the probate process. The first step usually entails filing a petition with the court to initiate the proceedings. This will include gathering all relevant documents, such as the deceased person’s will (if one exists), death certificate, and other necessary paperwork.

Next up is notifying creditors and beneficiaries about the individual’s passing. This ensures that all outstanding debts are accounted for and allows potential heirs to make claims on the estate.

Afterward comes taking inventory of all assets the deceased person owns at the time of their passing. This can be pretty detailed depending on how extensive their holdings were.

Once everything has been inventoried and appraised, if necessary, it’s time to settle any outstanding debts or taxes owed by using funds from within the estate itself.

Finally comes distributing what remains of the estate among its rightful heirs according to either state laws or specific instructions outlined in a valid will.

And there you have it - a brief overview of what probate entails! While this process may seem overwhelming at first glance, rest assured that professionals are available who specialize in guiding individuals through each step and ensuring compliance with local regulations specific to Polk County.

Who needs to go through probate?

Probate is a legal process that helps distribute the assets and settle the debts of a person who has passed away. But who exactly needs to go through probate? Well, it depends on several factors.

If the deceased person had a valid will, their estate will likely need to go through probate. This is because the court needs to ensure that the instructions in the will are followed and that all beneficiaries receive what they’re entitled to.

On the other hand, if someone passes away without a will (intestate), then their estate will also need to go through probate. In this case, state laws determine how assets are distributed among family members.

Additionally, certain assets may not be subject to probate even with a valid will. For example, assets held in joint tenancy or those with designated beneficiaries like life insurance policies or retirement accounts usually bypass probate altogether.

It’s important to note that each state has rules regarding when probate is required and what types of estates qualify for simplified procedures. So, it’s always best to consult an attorney familiar with local laws before making assumptions about whether you need to go through probate.

Navigating these complexities can be overwhelming for many individuals during a challenging time. Seeking guidance from professionals experienced in handling probates in Polk County can help ease some of your burdens and ensure that everything goes smoothly throughout this process.

What are the steps of probate?

Navigating the complexities of probate in Polk County can be a daunting task. Still, it becomes much more manageable with a comprehensive understanding of the process and guidance from experienced professionals.

So, what are the steps of probate?

1. Petition: The first step is to file a petition with the court to open probate proceedings. This involves providing necessary documents such as the will (if there is one) and other relevant paperwork.

2. Appointment of Personal Representative: Once the petition is filed, the court will appoint a personal representative or executor to administer the estate. This person will have legal authority to handle all aspects of the probate process.

3. Notice to Creditors and Interested Parties: The next step is informing creditors and interested parties that probate proceedings have been initiated. This allows them to make any claims against the estate or contest its administration.

4. Inventory and Valuation: The personal representative must compile an inventory of all assets owned by the deceased at their time of death and determine their value. This includes real estate, bank accounts, investments, personal property, etc.

5. Payment of Claims and Expenses: Before distributing assets to beneficiaries or heirs, any valid debts owed by the deceased must be paid off first – this includes funeral expenses, outstanding bills, taxes owed, etc.

6. Distribution: After all claims have been satisfied and expenses settled, remaining assets can be distributed according to either state law or provisions outlined in a valid will if applicable.

7. Final Accounting & Closing Probate: Finally, the personal representative prepares a final accounting that details all financial transactions made during probate.

Once the court approves, the estate can be closed, and beneficiaries receive their inheritance accordingly.

While this guide provides an overview of navigating through probate in Polk County, it’s important to remember that each case may vary depending on individual circumstances.

Consulting with an attorney specializing in probate matters is highly recommended to ensure a smooth and successful process.

[dailyfacts002]

Importance of financial Independent

Be a Millinery $ is a dream of most of individual specially in a country like United States. This trend is increasing rapidly amongst the youngster of India. Basically, millinery is a state in which we can live a life that what we want, and what we want to do where finance do not create a problem for us, and we are not bound to do work for money which we don’t want to do, in this stage money work for us.

Financial independence is a stage where we get income even when we are not doing work and we have a constant money flow which helps to complete our daily needs. Many people now a days aware about this concept of financial independence.

In this article we are going to discuss about how to achieve financial independence in early age somewhat 30 to 35 years. This helps you a lot for about your financial goals and how to achieve it. Many of the people in young age of working spends a lot of money in parties, travelling, shopping and in other not much productive works. Though enjoying life is important and we should enjoy in our youthful and full of enthusiastic age but not much and always control your pocket is primary thing to become financial independence.

Now the main thing you must know is about the FIRE movement, the term FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. According to this rule, let you suppose if your expense today is 4 Lakh rupees then you must invest twenty-five times of that money that is you have to invest approximately on crore rupees. The thing is that you are maintain this life for thirty years.

From your investment you can withdraw four percentage every year to maintain present lifestyle.

Now the question arises how can you do this much investment. The answer is simple but many people thought it is complex. But everything is looks complex or simpler until it is executed. For this you need to know about the things which are as given below:-

1) Invest your money in real estate

Real State is like a Kamdhenu Gay (A cow which gives you what you want). What you invest today and make property for rent, within five to 8 years and maximum 10 year you can recover your all-invested amount and upcoming years income is yours. Like you purchase a house with 6 rooms for 30 Lakh rupees today on loan, a loan helps to some rebates in income tax. And if you rent these room each in 5000 rupees and with 6 rooms you can earn monthly around Thirty Thousand and yearly around Three Lakhs Sixty Thousands which means you can recover all your money within 8-9 years as the property price increases then rental yield remains the same but the rents increases. After that all the income is yours and you can utilise and invest further for financial independence.

2) Invest your money in stocks

Yes you read write you have to invest your money in buying stocks of different companies. For purchasing stocks of different companies once you know about the 15-20 years scope of that company and also to check the debt-to-equity ratio of company, past long term performance of the stocks and also checks the future of that company, for this you can consult to Brokers and check trends through multiple applications like Groww, etc.

3) Create a side business

for earn money you have to work other than your regular work so that you can increasing your income and can invest more money. In today’s time we can create our side business through digital marketing, YouTube, through different social media networking side to promote our business like textile, toys, etc. We can work as an affiliating marketing team of different online shopping sites such as amazon, flipkart and can earn commission from promoting such products.

4) SIP

The term SIP stands for Systematic Investment Plan, in this we invest our fix amount per month and it deducts automatically from our accounts to different mutual funds. It is simpler than stocks selecting. In this system thousands of people join in mutual funds, the company collects money and invest in different stocks. In this case you can expect return more than Fixed Deposits.

5) Fixed Deposits

Though Fixed Deposit is not a good area to invest money. Because its interest rates can only beat inflation and sometimes even inflation can not beaten by Fixed Deposits. But it is a safe medium, so it is suggested to have Fixed Deposit for emergency and for relaxing purpose. But again you can not expect more than that from Fixed Deposits.

Apart from this there are multiple sources so that you can create your passive income and become financial independent. Passive income is that in which you even doing nothing but your wealth is increasing and you can get income, where you are not working for money but money works for you.

Mr. Warren Buffet in the world and Shri Rakesh Jhujhunwala of India is best example of how they created massive passive income through stock market.

Again it is suggested to become financial independent you need to mentally strong, must have growth mindset, curious for knowledge. And what is discuss about SIP, stock market, Real estate is the best thing which helps to create passive income to become financially stable, Mentally relaxing and your aim to retire early and to live your life you want to live in early age, because a person of sixty years cannot live, because he/she have to think about his/her children but not in case of a young enthusiastic person.

[thebookworm0001]

I’m no longer surprised by just how fucked texas is, but every time I’m reminded a piece of me dies off

edit: and I get fun new existential dread because texas is actively attempting to completely dismantle the federal government and any&all rights and protections that come with it along with several other states through a constitutional convention and it looks like they’re probably gonna succeed

[kp777]

By Brad Plumer

Brad Plumer spent time in the oil fields of California, where many communities are built on fossil fuels.

Photographs by Alisha Jucevic

The New York Times

July 7, 2022

TAFT, Calif. — Every five years, this city of 7,000 hosts a rollicking, Old West-themed festival known as Oildorado. High schoolers decorate parade floats with derricks and pump jacks. Young women vie for the crown in a “Maids of Petroleum” beauty pageant. It’s a celebration of an industry that has sustained the local economy for the past century.

This is oil country, in a state that leads the country in environmental regulation. With wildfires and drought ravaging California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, wants to end oil drilling in the state by 2045. That has provoked angst and fierce resistance here in Kern County, where oil and gas tax revenues help to pay for everything from elementary schools to firefighters to mosquito control.

“Nowhere else in California is tied to oil and gas the way we are, and we can’t replace what that brings overnight,” said Ryan Alsop, chief administrative officer in Kern County, a region north of Los Angeles. “It’s not just tens of thousands of jobs. It’s also hundreds of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue that we rely on to fund our schools, parks, libraries, public safety, public health.”

Across the United States, dozens of states and communities rely on fossil fuels to fund aspects of daily life. In Wyoming, more than half of state and local tax revenues comes from fossil fuels. In New Mexico, an oil boom has bankrolled free college for residents and expanded medical care for new mothers. Oil and gas money is so embedded in many local budgets, it’s difficult to imagine a future without it.

Disentangling communities from fossil-fuel income poses a major obstacle in the fight against climate change. One study found that if nations followed the urging of scientists and cut emissions from oil, gas and coal deeply enough to avert catastrophic warming, United States tax revenues from oil and gas production, currently about $34 billion per year, could fall by two-thirds by 2050.

While Kern County produces 70 percent of California’s oil, it is also the state’s largest supplier of wind and solar power. But renewable energy doesn’t generate as much tax revenue as fossil fuels, partly because California exempts solar panels from property taxes to spur construction. And jobs in the wind and solar industries generally don’t pay as much or last as long as those in the oil fields.

So Kern County is feuding with the governor. Local officials, who have unsuccessfully sued to block Governor Newsom’s restrictions on drilling, are backing a plan for up to 43,000 new wells and have threatened to halt solar projects in response to the state’s oil crackdown.

Whether Kern County can transition to cleaner energy could offer a model, or a cautionary tale, to the rest of the nation.

“California is about 10 years ahead of other places on climate policy, but I expect we’ll see similar issues pop up across the United States,” said Kyle Meng, an economist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “When you look at how deeply oil and gas is woven into the fabric of many communities, providing money for schools and hospitals and roads, the shift to clean energy can get really complicated, really fast.”

Read more.

[king-killaway]

It's hard to talk about how badly this country, (Untied Sates) has brainwashed its citizens without sounding like a conspiracy theory nut or something of the like.

Every single media that's ever been released by a studio with ties to anything with public opinion is completely Pro-USA propaganda.

The best examples of this is any action movie that uses the US military. Movies that require government approval. And I don't mean, "yeah you're good you didn't screw up a couple of facts", I mean a whole damn, "good you paint the US as the good guys and everything else as bad and evil."

News stations that get funding directly from in House politicians or hell even the ex president (I'm looking at you Fox News).

All of it is subtle too. The propaganda begins at an early age here in the "good ol' US of A", reciting the Pledge of Allegiance from kindergarten everyday up until high school. To the very addition of seminary classes in said high schools even though there's supposed to be "Separation of Church and State".

Even simple things such as ad campaigns that bombard you daily to the point you only take in what they're saying subconsciously. Its become such a normal thing to hear about the newest model of the iPhone that you don't even realize they make them to break in a year or two, just to extort you of your money.

Its fabricated into the very veins of this country that if you "just work hard enough" you can do anything, be anyone. Lies. It's all lies intentionally written to make you feel guilty about being "lazy" because you're not successful, when in reality if you're born poor you'll likely never move any higher on the class scale.

Public education was a driving force of what our country was founded on, but is public education free? No. Not even mandatory education such as grade, middle, and high schools are free. If you send even just one child to school K-12 you'll spend around 200$ to 3,000$+ per year just to have one child in "free public education", and that's just the known costs. More are hidden away in your taxes.

Healthcare is an utter sham. Private pharmaceutical companies are outright inhumane and unethical, but under the facade of Capitalism are completely normalized.

Similarly, privately owned and run prisons are just slavery 2.0. Using underpayed labor to make things like the licence plates on your car. Or forcing them into unsafe working environments, "volunteering" them as firefighters and construction workers. Most prisoners make around 0.25 cents per hour of work and spend almost all of that back to the private prison system for basic necessities like hygiene items. When prisoners are released back into the general public, they've received almost nothing to help them rehabilitate into society and are then brought back into prison for repeating crimes. It's a purposely built cycle to keep minorities suppressed and felons, most of which are there for nonviolent offenses, unable to return to society and reliant on the prison system. The system that then thrives via a workforce that will never deplete and cannot legally unionize.

Engrained even further is the idea of a Nuclear family, an idea only ever truly accomplished by already well off straight white citizens. It is then therefore fault on the individual for failing to meet society's standards of a successful life. May poor and marginalized families are unable to meet this unnecessary standard, specifically Latino families are targeted the hardest by this. It also demonizes any families that have gone through a divorce or families that live in two separate parts of the world.

Christianity is the standard in the US, this is evident from any piece of government document you read. It's a line in the Pledge of Allegiance, which as already mentioned is in itself propaganda dug into child from the moment they start school, "In God We Trust". However, allegedly you have freedom of religion, meaning you can freely practice any religion in the United States without persecution, but that doesn't mean its without bias. Specifically Muslims and Jews are targeted the worst here, especially after 9/11. (Which if you really dig into that event's history you find some pretty fucked up shit the US did, which included the funding and gifting of money, weapons, and military training to ISIS.) Events that you will likely never learn about in a textbook.

You'll also probably never learn about the true extent of the Red Scare on US soil in a textbook either. When US military would stalk and murder suspected "Communist" in its own country. Most of which who died were in fact not Russian Spies, but rather protesters of the Cold War. Plenty of which had access to the creation and distribution of media, specifically movies. Plenty of directors in Hollywood were killed for no other reason that because someone who didn't personally like them called in and accused them of "Communist behavior".

Need I remind people that the holiday of Thanksgiving exists? The celebration of death and plauge to Native Americans within their own homes because of colonization. That before Black Africans were shipped over as property, Natives were originally used as slaves and brutality murdered.

That last year police started riots at peaceful protests, well within constitutional rights, and to top it off the ex president started an insurrection which led to the storming of November 3rd.

And this is all just the tip of the iceberg that is USA propaganda, a system built around keeping minorities from being able to accomplish anything with first "proving" themselves worthy. A system built around Wealthy Christian, White Nuclear families and little room for anyone else. An entire country built on over inflated pride and ego without the guts to own up to its mistakes.

The United States is broken and the first step to fixing this country is to understand what's wrong.

[gettin-bi-bi-bi]

I know this is a weird question but we'd been talking about sex ed in queer theories and I wonder, what was sex ed, if you had it, for y'all like?

it’s funny you ask that after i typed out all my T changes and stuff lol !

I’m going to preface my answer with - I am an American(TM). not only am i an american, but i also went to public school while living in not very well off areas (in america, the public school system is unfairly funded by property taxes). 

for me, i only had sex ed in like 1 class in high school that we called “Health Class” where we also talked about healthy relationships and stuff like that. it was extremely heteronormative and all i remember is talking about stuff like condoms and pregnancy. also we watched a couple of terrible & triggering lifetime movies - one about an abusive relationship, and the other about eating disorders (which i was actually struggling with at the time so that was super fun /jk). 

i’m trying to remember if i also had anything like that in middle school but i don’t think so. i was just an early bloomer and also had the most lax parents wrt internet use so i did end up as a Knowledgeable Source(TM) for some of my friends and classmates lmaaaoooo.

but yeah everything i’ve learned has really been either from the internet, or from college clubs/classes. i studied sexuality & gender studies as a minor when i was at college, and also attended a couple of the lgbtq+ club’s meetings where they talked abt sex ed. 

this is very standard for the usa, each state is vastly different when it comes to the kind of sex ed that’s in the schools with some states being fairly good/progressive and other states being abstinence only. where i live is somewhere in the middle but it really just depends on ur school district and how much money they have, those districts end up being the more progressive ones with better programming. 

Wes

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Promises Not Kept Epilogue

Summary: Tommy Shelby made a promise to Jonah Ward while in the war. A promise he didn't keep. But it comes to haunt him when he tries to drown out his sorrows with a young woman.

Epilogue: Tommy just wants to go home. 

       It was three in the morning when Tommy woke his wife up. “I want to go home.” He decided once Leah had sat up and opened her eyes.

        “Huh?” She rubbed her eyes with a yawn. “Home, like Birmingham?”

        “No, Arrow House.”

        “Alright.” She nodded. After all, she assumed they would have to go home sooner or later. They couldn’t just move in with Alfie for the rest of their lives, even if the children would’ve preferred it.

        “No, Lee, I want to go home. Really just go home.”

        Perhaps it was the early hour, but Leah didn’t understand. “I don’t get what you mean.”

        “I just want to go home. I can turn over the business to someone else in the family. Michael has a plan for running a more legitimate operation. I can give him the reins. As for Parliament, I can run out my time and not run for re-election.”

        She looked at him in disbelief. It was the words she wanted to hear him say for years, but never assumed he would ever say them. “Why-what changed your mind?” She wondered, hoping the question wouldn’t put him off from the idea.

        “I can’t fucking take it anymore.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I won’t last much longer if I continue. And I can’t leave you or the kids not this soon.”

        Although she wanted to jump at the chance to get him to retire, she was hesitant for various reasons. “Last time you tried to relax…” She reminded him.

        “I know,” Tommy remembered the haze of anguish as his wife cleaned up the wound on his hand and had to help him up off the floor of his study. “I’m not saying it will be easy. But it’s something.”

        Leah bit her lip and reached over to touch his cheek. “I just want you to be happy, Tom.”

        He rested a hand over hers. “You and the children make me happy. I just-I just need to leave all the other shit behind.”

        She began to cry, tears of joy, but tears all the same. “Oh, Tom.” She gasped in relief and sank into his arms.

        He held her close, rubbing her back comfortingly. “Sh, sh, s’alright. It’s going to be alright.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        “You know when I got out of the hospital after you shot me in the fucking face. Remember, that right?”

        “Yes, Alfie, I remember.”

        “Well after I returned here, I sat down in me armchair and wondered what the hell I were going to do the rest of me fucking life.”

        The two men were sitting outside in the chairs out on the lawn. There, the children were playing together, savoring their last day in Margate before going back to Warwickshire. Leah was inside making sure that everything was packed and they’d left the rooms in a clean state. She hoped they would be welcomed back in the future, perhaps to go on holiday or just to visit. The beachfront property, and Alfie, had really grown on her.

        “’Course I don’t know how many years I’ve got left, right, but it’s still something to think ‘bout innit? Nothing to work on, nothing to keep me occupied. Seemed like a fucking nightmare. But there’s something to be said about retiring. Comforting, right, ‘cause you ain’t got nothing relying on you.” Alfie paused to take a drag from his pipe. “I’m sure that would drive you absolutely bat shit crazy, wouldn’t it?”

        Tommy nodded slightly. “I suppose it would. I’ve been moving forward all me life.”

        “You’re still moving forward, mate. We all are. Just ‘cause you ain’t out doing anything, making deals ‘n shit. Got to find the happy medium, right. Halfway ‘tween overworking and being dead in the grave.” Alfie pointed at Tommy. “But, I tell you this. You’ve got the advantage, haven’t you? Three young kids and a wife? Mate, if they don’t keep you busy than I don’t know what the fuck will.”

        The Brummie nodded slowly, watching his children running about still playing the fantasy game of pirates.

        “And by the time they’re older, you’ll’ve gotten used to being idle.”

        It was a promising notion. If Tommy could throw himself into his children’s lives, would that be enough to keep the shovels away? He didn’t know until he tried. And he needed to try for their sake and Leah’s sake. “So that’s why you like having them around, aye? You’re lonely?”

        Alfie rolled his eyes. “It were a favor to you. No, not even you. Favor to your wife. She’s a fucking saint for putting up with you all these years.”

        “That she is.” Tommy couldn’t argue with that.

        “Kids, right, they’re messy, loud, whiney, needy, you’ve gotta do everything for them.” He snorted and shook his head. “I’ll stick to raising dogs.” Then he paused. “But sure, they fill the space, don’t they?”

        “So, you mind us coming back then.” Tommy surmised, stubbing out his cigarette.

        “S’long as you give me a few weeks’ notice, I s’pose that’ll be alright.”

        “Of course.”

~~~~~~~~~

        “Bye, Uncle Alfie.”

        “Hey, now, why the gloomy face, aye?” Alfie knelt down to come eye to eye with Johanna. The Shelbys were all packed up and ready to head back to Warwickshire. But the children were a bit glum.

        “I don’t wanna go home.” The little girl pouted and clutched her stuffed rabbit close to her chest.

        “Why’s that? S’been a while since you’ve been home. You get to see all the horses again, right?”

        Johanna nodded but still stuck out her lower lip.

        “Get to go back to school in September too, yeah? You’ll meet new friends and have a grand ol’ time, won’t you?” Alfie tried to get her to lighten up a little.

        She just shrugged. “I guess.”

        “Buck up, kiddo. You ‘n your family can come back here to visit whenever. Won’t be long ‘till you’re back here on holiday.” He stood and scooped her up so he could help her into the car. Charlie and Cyril were already wedged in the backseat. “Cap’n Charlie.” Alfie tipped his cap. “You look after your crew, aye?”

        “Aye-aye!” Charlie beamed proudly.

        Leah came out holding Molly. Tommy was following with the last of their things. “Alfie, I don’t know how we can thank you for everything.” She said gently.

        “Oh, nonsense.” Alfie shrugged off her concern. “The only thing you two need to do is take care of each other. Tommy and I, right, had a pretty shit upbringing. Perhaps it’s God’s plan that we stop the cycle from repeating, yeah?”

        Leah smiled and touched Tommy’s shoulder. “I think we’ll do okay at that.”

        Although Tommy was worried about the changes they were entering, he smiled too. “Thank you, Alfie.” He shook the man’s hand. For once it was a handshake purely out of good brotherhood. Not a deal in progress. Just a gesture of thanks.

        “Right, set a course for Warwickshire, Miss Joey you keep a close watch on the sails,” Alfie instructed.

        Johanna and Charlie laughed out the open window of the car. “Bye, Uncle Alfie!” They chirped happily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Tommy knew that when Arrow House was empty, it felt like a shell of a house. Just bare-bones, chilly and barren. When the children filled the space, it suddenly came alive. Noise was a constant from wake-up time to bedtime. There was a warmth to it that kept even the largest rooms toasty and it wasn’t because it was the beginning of summer.

        Photographs filled the space and it was very difficult to walk through the house without stepping or tripping on a toy. Tommy had a particularly nasty tumble when he tripped over a rocking horse in the middle of the night.

        But the house was finally becoming something it had never been before even at their best moments. It was a family home. Where everyone felt like they belonged there and there was no doubt of that.  

        Yet despite the atmosphere changing and the routine settling into stone, things were not all perfect. It was one thing trying to turn over the business to the rest of his family. The process was long and taxing and took a lot of Tommy’s attention. So much so that when it was over, he wasn’t sure what else he could do.

        Of course, he still held his seat in Parliament. But he removed himself from the party with Mosley and for the most part kept his head down. He didn’t listen to the rumors or scathing remarks from others. Powerful, up and coming Tommy Shelby was stepping away from it all. He wasn’t the man he used to be.

        Tommy knew Mosley had retribution coming for him. It was only a matter of time. Instead, he focused on what he initially set out to do before he was drafted into the war. He wanted to help those shunned by the elite of society.

        With Leah’s help, they looked into opening more homes for children under Grace’s foundation. Slowly but surely, he felt himself returning to the man he once was. A romantic who smiled more and wanted justice for those who couldn’t get it themselves.

        Tommy knew that keeping himself busy with things he believed in and his family, he could keep the shovels away. But he wasn’t totally in the clear.

~~~~~~~~

        It came via a phone call from Michael. There was trouble with Italians on the racetrack. Arthur was meant to be handling it but Michael was worried about the repercussions to their funds. They were still relying heavily on cash to get through the financial depression. And the tracks had made them a good sum of money to keep the rest of the business afloat. Now, Sabini’s men were making a try for their pitches.

        It was almost instinct, Tommy wanted to instruct his cousin on what to do. He’d drive over, gun in hand and start dealing out threats to anyone who was challenging his business.

        Then Leah passed by the open door of his study. She was carrying Molly upstairs, the little girl fast asleep in her arms. His wife glanced over and met his eyes. She smiled.

        It felt like every nerve in Tommy’s body was fighting itself. His heart was pounding in his chest as he clutched the phone.

        “Tom? Tommy? Are you still there?”

        Forcefully, he hung up the phone and put his head in his arms. He needed to take care of his children. What if he went out to challenge Sabini and he was shot? What if that was his final action? Leah would be devastated that he hadn’t stayed honest, his children would be heartbroken. Molly wouldn’t even have a memory of him. Just like Charlie didn’t have a memory of Grace.  

        He felt it coming. As if he were standing on a train track and he could feel the vibrations of the incoming train. He could hear the loud whistle in the air. Could see the smoke curling over the horizon. But he couldn’t move an inch off the tracks. He just had to wait for it to hit him.

        Fingers curling into his hair, his chest seized as he tried to take a few deep breaths. But it was futile. The panicked feeling was already upon him. The thing that was too powerful to fight. An old enemy.  

        Leah came back downstairs after putting the children to bed. She checked in on Tommy and found him slumped over his desk, hyperventilating. By that point, she recognized the signs that he wasn’t in medical danger, he was suffering from something completely in his mind.

        “Tom…Tommy,” She hurried over to his desk. “It’s okay, I’m here.”

        He didn’t answer, he hardly even moved aside from his panicked breathing.

        Leah knelt down by his desk chair and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m here. I’m here, Tom.” She whispered softly. “You’ll be okay, you’ll get through this, I promise. I promise. I promise you will.”

        It took about two hours until Tommy was worn out. Wordlessly, he reached out to his wife. She helped him upstairs and into bed where he fell asleep rather quickly. Leaving her to watch over him with a worried look. She thought she would be enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~

        The next morning, Tommy woke up very early. Leah was still fast asleep as he got dressed in an old button-down shirt, trousers, and bracers. He grabbed his flat cap and carefully shut the door behind him so he didn’t wake her.

        The maids were preparing breakfast for the children so it would be ready for them when they woke for school.

        “Francis, I’m going on a ride. Will you tell Leah when she wakes up?” Tommy grabbed his riding boots and coat.

        “Of course, Mr. Shelby.”

        He was about to leave out the door when he heard quiet footsteps behind him. Tommy turned and saw Charlie halfway down the stairs. He was dressed for school, carrying his uniform jacket and cap over his arm.

        “Where are you going?” He asked.

        “Why are you up?” Tommy skirted the question.

        Charlie shrugged. “I heard you get up and I thought it was time for school.” He explained.

        “It’s still too early, you can go back upstairs.”

        But Charlie lingered on the steps. “Are you going away, dad?” He asked in a small voice.

        Tommy’s brow furrowed. “Away? What do you mean?”

        “Like…when you’ve left before.”

        Father and son stared at each other in the foyer, neither exactly sure how to tell the other one how they truly felt. But their emotions had been simmering in their stomachs for so long, they were bound to come out eventually.

        “Go and get your riding boots,” Tommy instructed, instead of really answering his son.

        Charlie immediately perked up at the prospect of going riding. “Really?”

        “Quickly.” Tommy nodded.

        The boy dropped his jacket and cap to rush and get his boots.

        “Francis, tell Leah that Charlie will be coming with me as well. He’ll be taking the day off from school as well.”

        “Yes. Mr. Shelby.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Zeus and Pippin were quite the opposites as far as horses went. Tommy’s large black gelding was steady but powerful. A thoroughbred-draft cross, he was built like a tank and carried himself as such. Pippin was Charlie’s little Haflinger pony. With his long, blond mane and round belly, he looked a bit dopey next to Zeus. Despite his short stature, he was still headstrong and could give Charlie a hard time. However, he never intentionally tried to harm the boy.

        That’s why Tommy felt comfortable heading out on the trails with Charlie off the lunge line. Even if Pippin were to spook, his short legs wouldn’t carry him very far and he would most likely give up before he even tried running off. The only Charlie had to worry about was Pippin eating the entire trip along the trail. Bending his neck down to graze at the long grass or grabbing a bite from one of the bushes along the way. Charlie had to constantly pull him away from anything that looked edible.

        The first leg of the journey, Tommy and Charlie was quiet. They listened to the forest creatures start to stir with the rising sun. Birds chirped good mornings to one another as they flitted from branch to branch. The brush stirred with movements of rabbits or squirrels or even the occasional fox. As the sun climbed higher off the horizon, the rays began to filter through the summer leaves. Dappled sunshine highlighting the shiny buckles and stirrups on the horses’ tack.

        Tommy shed off his jacket as the air became warmer and started to buzz with the sound of insects. “Let’s stop up ahead.”

        They came out of the forest onto a large hill. From the top of the hill, they could see a wide view of the British countryside. Fields and fences rolling over hills and dips in the land. There was a herd of cows a couple of miles away, slowly moving across a pasture.

        Tommy dismounted and helped Charlie down as well. He offered his son water and a snack that he had packed before leaving. He felt that he would be out for a while, he needed some open air and space.

        The two settled onto the grass, Tommy’s legs sprawled out as he propped himself up with his elbows to watch the sun continue to rise in the sky. “I remember taking you out in the vardo after Grace passed away.” He began to tell his son without prompting.

        “I don’t remember that.” Charlie frowned as he opened the package of biscuits.

        “No, you were very little. About Molly’s age. Could hardly talk. But you said Mumma.” Tommy kept his eyes out on the horizon, nodding absent-mindedly. “I told you that I was no good.” He recalled.

        “Why?”

        Tommy sighed and looked over at his son. Sometimes, when he woke up in the morning, he still expected Charlie to come toddling in. Still just an infant, hardly able to say much. When he came downstairs, sometimes it put Tommy in a shock. He’d gotten so big in seemingly such a short amount of time. As had Johanna. As had Molly. They all grew unbelievably quickly and Tommy was almost desperate to put a halt to time. Because what happened when they became teenagers or young adults? When they could truly see the kind of man he was? Or maybe they would hear stories about what he’d done in the past. What if they never wanted to speak with him again? What if they wrote him out of their lives?

        When they were at the ages they were, Tommy could do no wrong. He was a saint because they didn’t know any better. Now he was just afraid of what would happen when they did know better.

        “Because I thought I couldn’t take care of you properly.” Tommy picked a pine needle out of Charlie’s blonde hair. “Not without Grace, at least. I was very fortunate your mum came into me life. But I still worry that I’m not enough for you or your sisters.” He admitted, even if he wasn’t sure that Charlie would understand. It felt good to try and own up to his fears out loud.

        “I was really sad when we were in America and you weren’t with us,” Charlie told him. “Because I thought that you didn’t care about me or Jo. But I think you care ‘bout us now.” Charlie said with a shy shrug. “’Cause you’re home more and you smile more. And you play with us and tell us stories. I like that.”

        Tommy swallowed. “Yeah?”

        “Yeah. I think it’s nice. Because I like when you’re here. And if you weren’t here I think Jo and mum and Molly would be sad. I would be sad too.”

        “I like being here for you all too.” Tommy nodded and took a deep breath. That’s all he could do. Be there for them. Even if he thought he was a shit father, at least he wasn’t away. He was there and they would have memories of him. Memories of the promises he made to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Dear Mr. and Mrs. Shelby, Mr. Charles, Miss Johanna, and Miss Molly.

        If you’re reading this, then I’ve died. I’ve asked this to be mailed to you when I do die so that’ll be the only reason, you’re reading it. After the skin cancer returned, I decided to get my affairs in order just in case. Yesterday, the doctor said the cancer had spread to my organs. He used a big word but I’m not going to try and spell it out. You’ll most likely be notified of my funeral, just know it’ll be in Jewish customs. So, dress in something you don’t mind tearing. Ollie will explain everything to you when you arrive at Margate. Speaking of Margate, since I have no children to pass it on to, I decided to put my house in the Shelby name once I pass. I decided this a long time ago, but seeing the children enjoy the house for so many years, I figured it was only right. My lawyer will have everything in place, so no need to worry about that.

        In the event that you’ll visit my grave in the future, I’ll ask this of you. Jews don’t really use flowers to give their condolences. Don’t want a bunch of dead flowers crowding my gravestone. Instead, it is custom to place a small rock on the gravesite. I’ll ask this of you.

        Tommy, after a tumultuous length of time as business partners, I am happy to part as friends. I appreciate you allowing your family to bring me some joy in my years of retirement. Know that I went peacefully and I am now with God.

        Regards,

        Alfred Solomons

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        “Molly, Molly, careful!” Leah called out. “Oh, Tommy please go help her.”

        Spring was budding in Margate as the Shelby family took the path to a familiar location. Nine-year-old Molly was being half-dragged there by their enormous bullmastiff who was only six months old but almost the size of what Cyril was fully grown.

        Tommy trotted a few steps to grab the leash and rein in the excited pup. “Heel, Leo, heel!”

        “I’ve got him, dad!” Molly complained even though her arm was getting tired from the puppy yanking on the lead.

        “I know, I’m just trying to help.” Tommy got Leo back in place beside Molly.      

        “I’ve got a stone,” Johanna said, turning the smooth rock over in her hand. “I found it on the beach this morning.”

        Molly gasped in a panic. “I forgot my stone!” She exclaimed.

        “It’s okay, poppet,” Leah assured her. “We’ll find one on the way.”

        “But it won’t be a pretty stone from the beach like Joey’s!” She protested.

        “That’s alright.” Tommy placed a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Alfie would just appreciate the gesture.”

        Finally, they arrived at Alfie’s grave. Already piled with rocks as they often visited and left their stones to commemorate him as he requested. Beside his grave lay Cyril who passed a couple of months after Alfie did. Almost in a fitting way of respect.

        Charlie, who was seventeen, set his stone down first. He carefully dusted off the top of the headstone. They all had taken the loss in different ways. But all of them missed the larger-than-life man.

        “Remember the time when we found a crab in a tidepool and it pinched Alfie’s thumb?” Johanna asked as she placed her stone atop the others.

        Charlie chuckled. “That’s when Molly learned her first swear.”

        Tommy couldn’t help but smile. He remembered Alfie swearing up a storm, trying to shake the critter off his hand. Leah was horrified when Molly started spouting off ‘fuck’ too thinking it was a funny word.

        “Remember the time Cyril got sprayed by a skunk and rolled all over the carpet in the parlor?” Molly recalled.

        Leah sighed. “The whole house stunk for weeks.” She leaned into Tommy’s side.

        He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her temple.

        “I liked playing pirates,” Johanna said. “That was the most fun.”

        Charlie smiled. “Yeah then he made you captain and we ran aground.”

        “Only because you weren’t looking!” His sister stuck her tongue out at him.

        “I don’t remember it that way.” The teenager looked amused at the childhood memory.

        “Alright, alright. Why don’t we leave Alfie to rest peacefully, and not listen to your bickering.” Tommy said and shooed them off. “Auntie Ada will be here soon with Pol and your cousins.” They were visiting so they could all say goodbye to Karl who had enlisted in the military and was now on his way out to fight in the war that had been looming on the horizon for years.

        The three ran ahead with Leo, the puppy yipping at them.

        Leah took Tommy’s hand in hers as they walked down the hill at a more leisurely pace. “He would be so proud of you, Tom.” She murmured softly.

        Sometimes, Tommy couldn’t believe the time that had passed. His son was growing up to be a man. His daughters were growing up to be intelligent young ladies. They were educated and certainly more refined than he had ever been. But the most important part was they never had to see any of the atrocities he had. They grew into a comfortable life, only having to worry about their studies and friends. They rode horses and played the violin or piano. They smiled and laughed nearly every single day. And after every day, Tommy was there to wish them a good night. To tell him how much he loved them. And how proud he was of them.

        And although he still struggled with his mind, Tommy knew that he was learning to accept things as they were. To cope, he looked at what he had been blessed with. Three lovely children and a beautiful wife.

        Sometimes, Tommy still couldn’t believe that Leah was his. He assumed that she would’ve been gone years ago because of his behavior. But she stuck with him through thick and thin. Saw him at his lowest and helped him out of it. They knew everything about each other and it was so comforting to have someone there for him every night as he fell asleep. She kept the shovels away.

        Neither of them was numb anymore. Not in the way they had been when they met. In fact, they were so full of life and love for their family and each other. Despite what was coming in Europe, they would always have each other and that meant something. It meant that Tommy had kept his promise to her.

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla​ @biba3434​ @kimmietea​ @karmezii​ @enrapturedbythemoon​ @vampgirl1997​ @tarafaithe​ @evelynshelby​

Tag list: @shelbyblinded​

Masterpost

PB Masterlist

[warninggraphiccontent]

16 July 2021

Food for thought

At last week's Data Bites, I noted how 'Wales' is a standard unit of area. This week, along comes a map which shows that all the built-up land in the UK is equivalent to one Wales:

The map is from the National Food Strategy, published yesterday (and the man has a point).

It has divided opinion, judging by the responses to this tweet. I understand where the sceptics are coming from - at first glance, it may be confusing, given Wales isn't actually entirely built up, Cornwall made of peat, or Shetland that close to the mainland (or home to all the UK's golf courses). And I'm often critical of people using maps just because the data is geographical in some way, when a different, non-map visualisation would be better.

But I actually think this one works. Using a familiar geography to represent areas given over to particular land use might help us grasp it more readily (urban areas = size of Wales, beef and lamb pastures = more of the country than anything else). It's also clear that a huge amount of overseas land is needed to feed the UK, too.

The map has grabbed people's attention and got them talking, which is no bad thing. And it tells the main stories I suspect its creators wanted to. In other words, it's made those messages... land.

Trash talk

Happy Take Out The Trash Day!

Yesterday saw A LOT of things published by Cabinet Office - data on special advisers, correspondence with parliamentarians, public bodies and major projects to name but a few, and the small matter of the new plans outlining departmental priorities and how their performance will be measured.

It's great that government is publishing this stuff. It's less great that too much of it still involves data being published in PDFs not spreadsheets. And it's even less great that the ignoble tradition of Take Out The Trash Day continues, for all the reasons here (written yesterday) and here (written in 2017).

I know this isn't (necessarily) deliberate, and it's a lot of good people working very hard to get things finished before the summer (as my 2017 piece acknowledges). And it's good to see government being transparent.

But it's 2021, for crying out loud. The data collection should be easier. The use of this data in government should be more widespread to begin with.

We should expect better.

In other news:

I was really pleased to have helped the excellent team at Transparency International UK (by way of some comments on a draft) with their new report exploring access and influence in UK housing policy, House of Cards. Read it here.

One of our recent Data Bites speakers, Doug Gurr, is apparently in the running to run the NHS. More here.

Any excuse to plug my Audrey Tang interview.

The good folk at ODI Leeds/The Data City/the ODI have picked up and run with my (and others') attempt to map the UK government data ecosystem. Do help them out.

Five years ago this week...

Regarding last week's headline of Three Lines on a Chart: obviously I was going to.

Have a great weekend

Gavin

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Today's links:

Graphic content

Vax populi

Why vaccine-shy French are suddenly rushing to get jabbed* (The Economist)

Morning update on Macron demolishing French anti-vax feeling (or at least vax-hesitant) (Sophie Pedder via Nicolas Berrod)

How Emmanuel Macron’s “health passes” have led to a surge in vaccine bookings in France* (New Statesman)

How effective are coronavirus vaccines against the Delta variant?* (FT)

England faces the sternest test of its vaccination strategy* (The Economist)

Where Are The Newest COVID Hot Spots? Mostly Places With Low Vaccination Rates (NPR)

There's A Stark Red-Blue Divide When It Comes To States' Vaccination Rates (NPR)

All talk, no jabs: the reality of global vaccine diplomacy* (Telegraph)

Vaccination burnout? (Reuters)

Viral content

COVID-19: Will the data allow the government to lift restrictions on 19 July? (Sky News)

UK Covid-19 rates are the highest of any European country after Cyprus* (New Statesman)

COVID-19: Cautionary tale from the Netherlands' coronavirus unlocking - what lessons can the UK learn? (Sky News)

‘Inadequate’: Covid breaches on the rise in Australia’s hotel quarantine (The Guardian)

Side effects

COVID-19: Why is there a surge in winter viruses at the moment? (Sky News)

London Beats New York Back to Office, by a Latte* (Bloomberg)

Outdoor dining reopened restaurants for all — but added to barriers for disabled* (Washington Post)

NYC Needs the Commuting Crowds That Have Yet to Fully Return* (Bloomberg)

Politics and government

Who will succeed Angela Merkel?* (The Economist)

Special advisers in government (Tim for IfG)

How stingy are the UK’s benefits? (Jamie Thunder)

A decade of change for children's services funding (Pro Bono Economics)

National Food Strategy (independent review for UK Government)

National Food Strategy: Tax sugar and salt and prescribe veg, report says (BBC News)

Air, space

Can Wizz challenge Ryanair as king of Europe’s skies?* (FT)

Air passengers have become much more confrontational during the pandemic* (The Economist)

Branson and Bezos in space: how their rocket ships compare* (FT)

Sport

Euro 2020: England expects — the long road back to a Wembley final* (FT)

Most football fans – and most voters – support the England team taking the knee* (New Statesman)

Domestic violence surges after a football match ends* (The Economist)

The Most Valuable Soccer Player In America Is A Goalkeeper (FiveThirtyEight)

Sport is still rife with doping* (The Economist)

Wimbledon wild card success does not disguise financial challenge* (FT)

Can The U.S. Women’s Swim Team Make A Gold Medal Sweep? (FiveThirtyEight)

Everything else

Smoking: How large of a global problem is it? And how can we make progress against it? (Our World in Data)

Record June heat in North America and Europe linked to climate change* (FT)

Here’s a list of open, non-code tools that I use for #dataviz, #dataforgood, charity data, maps, infographics... (Lisa Hornung)

Meta data

Identity crisis

A single sign-on and digital identity solution for government (GDS)

UK government set to unveil next steps in digital identity market plan (Computer Weekly)

BCS calls for social media platforms to verify users to curb abuse (IT Pro)

ID verification for social media as a solution to online abuse is a terrible idea (diginomica)

Who is behind the online abuse of black England players and how can we stop it?* (New Statesman)

Euro 2020: Why abuse remains rife on social media (BBC News)

UK government

Online Media Literacy Strategy (DCMS)

Privacy enhancing technologies: Adoption guide (CDEI)

The Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset is now available in the ONS Secure Research Service (ADR UK)

Our Home Office 2024 DDaT Strategy is published (Home Office)

The UK’s Digital Regulation Plan makes few concrete commitments (Tech Monitor)

OSR statement on data transparency and the role of Heads of Profession for Statistics (Office for Statistics Regulation)

Good data from any source can help us report on the global goals to the UN (ONS)

The state of the UK’s statistical system 2020/21 (Office for Statistics Regulation)

Far from average: How COVID-19 has impacted the Average Weekly Earnings data (ONS)

Health

Shock treatment: can the pandemic turn the NHS digital? (E&T)

Can Vaccine Passports Actually Work? (Slate)

UK supercomputer Cambridge-1 to hunt for medical breakthroughs (The Guardian)

AI got 'rithm

An Applied Research Agenda for Data Governance for AI (GPAI)

Taoiseach and Minister Troy launch Government Roadmap for AI in Ireland (Irish Government)

Tech

“I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Go Back”: Return-to-Office Agita Is Sweeping Silicon Valley (Vanity Fair)

Google boss Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom (BBC News)

The class of 2021: Welcome to POLITICO’s annual ranking of the 28 power players behind Europe’s tech revolution (Politico)

Inside Facebook’s Data Wars* (New York Times)

Concern trolls and power grabs: Inside Big Tech’s angry, geeky, often petty war for your privacy (Protocol)

Exclusive extract: how Facebook's engineers spied on women* (Telegraph)

Face off

Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet? (The Observer)

#Identity, #OnlineSafety & #AgeVerification – notes on “Can facial analysis technology create a child-safe internet?” (Alec Muffett)

Europe makes the case to ban biometric surveillance* (Wired)

Open government

From open data to joined-up government: driving efficiency with BA Obras (Open Contracting Partnership)

AVAILABLE NOW! DEMOCRACY IN A PANDEMIC: PARTICIPATION IN RESPONSE TO CRISIS (Involve)

Designing digital services for equitable access (Brookings)

Data

Trusting the Data: How do we reach a public settlement on the future of tech? (Demos)

"Why do we use R rather than Excel?" (Terence Eden)

Everything else

The world’s biggest ransomware gang just disappeared from the internet (MIT Technology Review)

Our Statistical Excellence Awards Ceremony has just kicked off! (Royal Statistical Society)

Pin resets wipe all data from over 100 Treasury mobile phones (The Guardian)

Data officers raid two properties over Matt Hancock CCTV footage leak (The Guardian)

How did my phone number end up for sale on a US database? (BBC News)

Gendered disinformation: 6 reasons why liberal democracies need to respond to this threat (Demos, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung)

Opportunities

EVENT: Justice data in the digital age: Balancing risks and opportunities (The LEF)

JOBS: Senior Data Strategy - Data Innovation & Business Analysis Hub (MoJ)

JOB: Director of Evidence and Analytics (Natural England)

JOB: Policy and Research Associate (Open Ownership)

JOB: Research Officer in Data Science (LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science)

JOB: Chief operating officer (Democracy Club, via Jukesie)

And finally...

me: can’t believe we didn’t date sooner... (@MNateShyamalan)

Are you closer to Georgia, or to Georgia? (@incunabula)

A masterpiece in FOIA (Chris Cook)

How K-Pop conquered the universe* (Washington Post)

Does everything really cost more? Find out with our inflation quiz.* (Washington Post)

[prole-my-tariat]

Long post about American politics -specifically California and how we are fucking up.... it’s a good read, just a lot.

Okay, I just want to remind everyone of of few things as we draw closer to a legit recall vote on Gavin Newsom.

1) This movement stated as (and still emplofies) a calling for the worst kind of people - This began with a group of people who just haaaaaaaad to go outside because they were over participating in basic human decency. Then, billionaires used the vaccine debacle as a jumping point to get taxes lowered. Please don’t think they care about wether or not we get vaccinated. They just don’t want to pay taxes.

This has morphed into a call to arms over CAs vaccine response. They are hiding behind a legit issue to push their anti worker narrative.

We need to stop seeing every problem as one sole persons fault. This is a product of late stage capitalism and white supremacy. We are so fixated on “American individualism” that we oft forget that these things don’t happen because of one individual person. Corporations use this against us constantly!!

Newsom is not perfect. He was an idiot to go to that dinner and he rolled over and ended the stay at home order like a fucking idiot. BUT CA has so many more issues that were always going to make a vaccine rollout hard:

- we have the largest state population in the nation.

- there are not enough medical workers for our population.

- many people in our state are undocumented and we can’t and should not leave them behind. They are often skeptic of any database that might take their name and age (and most likely ask for a social). But without adequate medical personnel, getting into each county can be difficult.

- people are still not following covid guidelines!!! We have had huge spikes in hospitalizations and deaths. How can the health care workers we do have give vaccines if they are over worked at hospitals??

- I would not look at other states already vaccinating 20 somethings(outside of high risk) as a win. This means that the vaccines were not distributed with the population in mind. This is such a theme in our country and it goes back to individualism. State individualism. States just don’t have to care that NY and CA have higher populations because it is just not their problem.

- those states are also showing a world wide failure. Young people here should not be getting vaccines, while elders in the developing world are dying because their countries can’t compete with 1st world buyouts.

-vaccine costs. Fuck Bill Gates. He convinced companies to patent and sell the vaccine rather than donate. A fucking asshole.

This brings me to my next and most important point:

2) WE CAN NOT HAVE CHANGE WITHOUT SOLITION!!!

As leftist, I see this trap all of the time. Change is good and needs to happen, but if we let certain things happen without solution, we leave a vacuum for fascism. We cannot let a dangerous group have the answer.

Let’s consider the current candidate to replace Newsom, a tech billionaire. He promises lowered taxes, higher pay for teachers, and a $2000 payment for ever child in California. Pretend everything he says is not full of shit and he is actually going to pay every teacher 70000/year (and not break it up by income in each county....as he def would) and that he will pay $2000 for every kid (will this extend to our undocumented children, probs not).

Please please understand that the lump sum payments we are offered will NEVER amount to the money we loose by not taxing billionaires adequately. This supposed higher pay will not stop teachers from having to use their own money to provide supplies for their classrooms/kids. It won’t change the ridiculous housing market. It won’t fix our school buildings. It won’t provide after school programs. It is a eye catcher, not a solution.

If we really want to provide more funds to schools, we would repeal prop 13. That prop is the fucking biggest joke and hold up of our state. We are allowing huge corporations, such as Disney, to pay property taxes from the fucking 70s!!!!! Property taxes are supposed to fund k-12 schools. But we are not receiving that money, so our schools go underfunded.

Though it gets worse, we supplement a lot of that dispenancy using state tax. This takes away from infrastructure, social programs, affordable housing supplements, etc...If that and sales tax are cut, we loose that funding too. It’s a downward spiral with only one group in a good position. The 1%.

“But these companies are threatening to leave to Texas/Florida, where there are little/no taxes!”

Fucking let them try. We don’t have higher taxes in our state for the fucking hell of it. We have higher taxes because the current capitalistic structure requires a lot of underpaid skilled workers to keep these corporations going. Withthis work force comes families, Schools/education, housing needs, medical needs, shopping, dining, etc.... the social programs needed to barely keep the working class breathing are paid by taxes. The programs created to make it possible for the work force to live an hour away from their under paid job requires taxes. You need large infrastructure, room, accessibility. Taxes go up when corporations go in. Texas and Florida will not remain tax less or low on taxes. They will have to compensate the workforce that comes with these billionaires.

Billionaires know this. If they didn’t they would have jumped ship long ago. They want their California homes and they know they need the working/undocumented class in this state. AND specifically the infrastructure built around and for these working working class peoples (it also keeps the working class away from them). They are going to do everything they can to bleed us dry, while keeping their fourth beach house and their new offices.

We are hyped right now due to the GME stonks “revolution.” We need to keep this energy going. The one percent do not flourish without us. And I am done just barely surving.

Be wary of any promises to cut taxes, they will never benefit you and lump sum payments are created to keep us quite.

The other two candatites I’ve seen circling are Uber right wing jokes. They spread Q bullshit and use really deragatory language.

Don’t. loose. your. fight. They are getting scared because they have had to accept that the masses aren’t stupid. That’s another reason for them to push to open the country. The working class has never been less intelligent, they have just had less time. We have time now. Use it to show that this system can destroy them too.

Thanks for reading. I’m going to end up writing a paper on the danger and destruction of American Individualism, but message me if you want to discuss it.

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The completely unnecessary news analysis

by Christopher Smart

September 14, 2021

INLAND PORT TO INCLUDE AMUSEMENT PARK RIDES

Does anyone know what's going on with the Inland Port Authority Board — that small group of secretive and powerful people who will transform Salt Lake Valley from a crowded, polluted metropolis into a wonderful play-land for trucks and trains and all kinds of stuff that will make a few people very wealthy. But wait, there's more — the board reportedly has put together preliminary plans that will make everyone giddy, like Uncle Jack's Fleecing Ride and Mr. Hugh's No-Bid Giant Slide. But first, the board will create a “Public Infrastructure District” (PID) to borrow lots of money against property taxes the port will generate after it is built and people see that it won't cause air pollution or additional truck traffic and foul the Great Salt Lake wetlands. The ingenious slight-of-hand is that the PID is separate from the Port Authority, so if the PID can't repay the borrowed money, the Inland Port can skate — it's a special King's-X-up-yours kind of thing. Isn't it great how the Utah Legislature in all its wisdom knew the best way to become a mega-center was to create a planning and taxing entity not accountable to voters or taxpayers or even lenders. Maybe they aren't as dumb as they look — or maybe they have out-smarted themselves again. Duh.

UTAH OPTIMISTS: TOURISTS WON'T MIND WEARING GASMASKS

The world may be going to hell in a hand-basket, but here in Utah we have a thriving economy and more of everything than we'll ever need. At least that's the view of our leaders and others who truly are optimistic about the future. The staff here at Smart Bomb has added a few attributes to the Beehive State Optimists Club:

A Utah optimist is someone who thinks:

1 – Drought? Great — let's market and sell water.

2 – The Real Housewives of SLC make Burgess Owens look honest and ethical.

3 – The Delta variant? Cool, let's sell the state a truckload of the de-wormer ivermectin.

4 – The Texas anti-abortion law is awesome, it makes our legislature look thoughtful.

5 – Don't worry, the Great Salt Lake will come back and we'll need the Bangerter Pumps again.

6 – Dirty air? Well, they can't blame that on the Inland Port — yet.

7 – Don't worry, ski tourists won't mind wearing gas masks.

8 – Too many cars in Little Cottonwood Canyon? See, we do have The Greatest Snow on Earth.

9 – Skyrocketing real estate prices are fine — they keep out the riff-raff.

10 – And unrefrigerated beer at the State Liquor Store discourages drinking.

SNAKE OIL SALES UP IN RED STATE AMERICA

Right-wingers and conservative media love diet supplements. It's true. There is a link between snake oil and right-wing politics, says New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. Folks who believe Barack Obama was born in Kenya and Italian satellites switched votes to Joe Biden are the kind of people who treat health problems with remedies on Fox News, right-wing radio and secret websites. In 2014, Alex Jones’s Info Wars brought in more than $20 million, mainly from supplement sales. It's difficult to tell where the money game ends and the ideological one begins, says Rick Perlstein. “They are two facets of the same coin, where the con selling 23-cent miracle cures for heart disease inches inexorably into the one selling marginal tax rates as the miracle cure for the nation itself.” Donald Trump hyped hydroxychloroquine as a cure-all for Covid 19 as his administration was roiled by the pandemic. As a U.S. senator, Orrin Hatch helped the supplement business immeasurably and got repaid in kind. In 1994, Hatch championed the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act allowing manufacturers to make health claims without going through the FDA to prove safety or efficacy. So step right up, this will cure what ails you, including Democrat hoaxes.

Post script — Well, that's about it for another beautiful week here in paradise, aka Zion, where we have the freedom to be as dumb as we want. Here's a fun fact: In 1777 Gen. George Washington ordered his troops to be inoculated against smallpox. So the anti-vaxers might what to re-think this freedom business. Get this, freedom lovers: In the USA children must be vaccinated against various infectious diseases before they can attend public schools — yes, even in Texas and Florida. They include vaccines against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis A and B, Varicella and Meningitis. But now Republicans are going apeshit over Biden's mandate that all federal government workers and contractors get vaccinated against Covid. He's also ordered all employers with 100 or more workers to ensure they all get the shot. Fun fact: In 1901 a smallpox epidemic ravaged the Northeast leading the city of Boston to mandate all residents be vaccinated. It was challenged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in a 1905 landmark ruling, the high court held that the government has the authority to infringe on personal freedoms during a public health crisis. Convenient memories or just Republican Reality —  you decide.

OK Wilson, everyone knows that the warm beer at the State Liquor Store has not discouraged the guys in the band from drinking. Let's just do what the band does for once. Let's just ignore all the pandemics, terrorists, anti-vaxers, wars and all the nut-jobs out there for just a while. Alright, hit it, Wilson:

Into this life we're born Baby sometimes we don't know why And time seems to go by so fast In the twinkling of an eye Let's enjoy it while we can Won't you help me sing my song From the dark end of the street To the bright side of the road From the dark end of the street To the bright side of the road We'll be lovers once again On the bright side of the road We'll be lovers once again on the bright side of the road

(Bright Side Of The Road — Van Morrison)

PPS — During this difficult time for newspapers please make a donation to our very important local alternative news source, Salt Lake City Weekly, at PressBackers.com, a nonprofit dedicated to help fund local journalism. Thank you.

[notebooknebula]

Joanne Musa, Tax Liens and Private Money

https://www.jayconner.com/joanne-musa-tax-liens-and-private-money/

Sweet 16 Tax Sale Websites Swipe File, this includes the swipe file, plus a 5 point tax lien investing checklist and a video: 

https://www.jayconner.com/taxlien/

How To Make Money From Real Estate Without Tenants, Toilets, Termites, or Negotiating Deals!

Joanne Musa, the Tax Lien Lady, Author of Tax Lien Investing Secrets: How You Can Get 8%-36% Return on Your Money Without the Typical Risk of Real Estate Investing or the Uncertainty of the Stock Market!

https://www.taxlienlady.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jay Conner (00:05): Well, hello everybody there! And welcome to another episode of real estate investing with Jay Conner. I’m Jay Conner. Your Private Money Authority and the host of the show. And welcome! If this is your very first time, a very special welcome to you. You may be watching on the iTunes or listening on iTunes or Google Play. You may be watching live right now. If your live stream on mobile Youtube channel or on facebook. Or wherever you’re coming in from, we’re glad to hear or have you. If this is your first time here on Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner, we’ve talked about everything that relates to real estate from finding deal to funding deal. To automating your business. To all kinds of real estate. Single family houses, self storage, land, commercial deals. You name it. So today, for the first time since we launched the podcast. And my lands! We’ve now exceeded probably over 300,000 downloads and listens since we’ve launched. Got a subject today that we have not talked about on the show.

Jay Conner (01:26): So I’m very excited to have my special guest. And if you’ve been following me, you know, that I have the best amazing guests and experts as it relates to real estate investing. Well, today is no different. I’m so excited to have my special guest who is known online as The Tax Lien Lady. And she’s the author of the books, “The Truth About Tax Lien Investing” and the Amazon best seller, “Tax Lien Investing Secrets: How You Can Get 8% to 36% Return on Your Money Without The Typical Risk of Real Estate Investing or The Uncertainty”. And we know about that folks! The uncertainty of the stock market. And she’s also a contributing author to the Amazon best seller, “Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas Into Income” Now, my special guest, she’s been featured in the online magazine, NuWire Investor and Foreclosure News Report. She’s also been on real estate investing website, www.REIWired.com and for ForeClosure.com and addition to that, REIBluePrints.com. And she was mentioned in the January 2013 issue of Forbes Magazine. Our special guest, also known online as Tax Lien Lady, her articles on Tax Lien and Tax Deed Investing appear all over the internet. Her easy to follow step-by-step guide – nonsense approach and to investing in tax lien certificates and tax deeds.

Jay Conner (03:05): And it earned her the reputation of being the most trusted authority on tax lien investing in the United States. Now her website is www.TaxLienLady.com. She has actually helped thousands and thousands of investors around the world answering their questions about tax lien investing and tax lien certificates and tax deeds. And has helped her subscribers and students to profit from this little nutting and misunderstood real estate investing strategy. Now, when you stay on here to the end of the show, you’re actually, we’re going to tell you, she’s going to give away for free her Amazon bestseller book, and you’ll learn how to get that. So with that, I’m so excited to introduce everyone here to Joanne Musa! Joanne, welcome to the show!Joanne Musa (03:56): Hey Jay! Thanks for having me. I’m honored to be here today.

Jay Conner (04:01): Absolutely. I’m excited to have you on Joanne. And by the way, we’ve got live participants right now that have already tuned in. So everybody, if you are watching the live stream, of course, this isn’t going to work. If you’re listening on iTunes or Google play, but if you are on the live stream right now, we welcome your questions about tax lien investing. So right now, if you’re on the live stream, go ahead and say, hello and where you are tuning in from. I see we’ve got Lori and we’ve got Paula on so far. So everybody say hello as you’re coming in. So gentlemen, before we dive in to this tack this world of tax lanes, how’d you get started in real estate?

Joanne Musa (04:43): Oh, well, you know, I always wanted to be a real estate investor, but the one thing that I didn’t know how to do, I don’t have a, I didn’t have a background in finance or real estate. And I, I didn’t know how to negotiate. So one thing I didn’t like to do is negotiate. Back in 2000, I was reading books by, I was reading books by Robert Allen about, you know, no money down and real estate investing and multiple streams of income. And I tried go into foreclosure sales and sending out pre-foreclosure letters. And this was at a time when people could get loans easily and pay off what they owed. And I just back then, I didn’t know how to do it. Now, since then, I’ve learned how to do it. But what I found out was that I could invest in tax liens and go to these tax lien sales, and I didn’t have to negotiate with anybody. And I didn’t need a lot of money because back then, I didn’t know how to use other people’s money. I didn’t have good credit and I didn’t do deals. You have to have cash. And of course, if you know how to get back, then I didn’t know how to do that. So one thing I did know is that I had enough money. I could go to these tax sales and buy these tax lien certificates. And that they had a high rate of return, no matter what the market did. I still got the same rate of return on my investment and it was backed by real estate. So it was a safe investment, as long as I did my homework, which I learned in the very beginning. You do have to make sure that it’s good real estate that you’re buying a lien on.

Jay Conner (06:45): I got you! So you started doing the tax lien business in what year?

Joanne Musa (06:51): Oh, 2002.

Jay Conner (06:53): Oh, wow!

Joanne Musa (06:54): Yeah. It’s been a little while.

Jay Conner (06:58): So let’s first be clear and let everybody make sure we’re on the same page. Exactly. What is a real estate tax lien?

Joanne Musa (07:11): Oh, good question. Good question. Well, you know that your property taxes are depended on by the County or municipality where you live, who collects your property taxes. They need them to pay school teachers, build roads, pay other civil servants, like firemen and policemen. So what do they do if people don’t pay their taxes? Because they need that money to meet their budget. So in some States, I live in Pennsylvania now. When I started this, I lived in New Jersey. But in Pennsylvania, if I don’t pay my taxes, the next year my property will be sold out from under me in a tax sale. They’ll just sell the property. Okay, well, they’ll let you go a year delinquent. And after that, they’re gonna, they will, they are going to try to get you to pay it. But if you don’t, they’re going to put your property in a tax sale.

Joanne Musa (08:09): But some States, when I lived in New Jersey, they don’t sell your property. They give you a little bit more time to come up with the money. So what they do after your year delinquent, they sell your taxes to investors. They have an auction. Where they auction your taxes and different States do it different ways. Some they bid down the interest rate because in New Jersey, the penalty, if I don’t pay my taxes, if I went up property in New Jersey, there is a penalty that I will pay when I finally pay it, which is 2% to 6% penalty. And there’s also an interest per annum interest rate of 18% per annum. That I will have to pay. When I finally do pay those taxes. Well, guess what? The investor gets that. So that’s why they are so willing to buy those taxes because where else are they going to get that kind of investment return on their money?

Joanne Musa (09:07): Not in the bank today. Not, years ago, you used to be able to get that in a CD, but not anymore. They can maybe get that in the stock market, but look, what’s been going on lately. It’s a little bit risky to do that. Now, but when you buy somebody’s taxes, if they don’t pay you in a certain amount of time, that’s called the redemption period. Then what happens is the investor gets to foreclose on that property. Now that is their leverage that they’re going to get paid. So you have that property is your guarantee that you’re going to get paid. Okay. So that’s why it’s very important to do your research and make sure it’s a good piece of property because there’s a lot of reasons why people don’t pay their taxes. If I have an unbuildable lot next to my house, that I know that I can’t build on, can’t do anything with, and maybe it’s not next to my house.

Joanne Musa (10:02): Maybe it’s, you know, a block away or a town away or a state away, but it’s not buildable. Why do I want to keep paying taxes on it? Well, I’m going to get tired of that after a while. So I’ll just stop paying. So you don’t want to come along and pay those type of taxes. You want to pay taxes on a property that is useful in some way. You know, it doesn’t have to be a three bath, two bedroom house. If it’s a buildable lot, that’s good commercial property is good, but it’s just something that you’d be able to sell or something that has value.

Jay Conner (10:37): I got you! So comparing tax lien investing to other types of real estate investing, why is, why have you chosen tax lien investing? Why is it a good investment versus say, other strategies?

Joanne Musa (10:56): Well, it’s easy to get into because you don’t need a lot of money. You don’t need good credit. It is a real asset that it’s backed by a real asset, which is the property. And it’s in the state that I lived in, in New Jersey, there were tax sales all the time that I could go to. So that’s how, it was an easy entry. It’s an easy entry point for most people to get in.

Jay Conner (11:28): Right! So is it correct in saying, when a real estate investor invest in a tax lien, they’re either going to earn the interest or they’re going to be able to claim the property and do whatever with the property that they want to, is that right?

Joanne Musa (11:49): Yeah. And I just want to let everybody know that, I know years ago there were these infomercials and people think that you could buy a lien for maybe a couple hundred dollars and then get a hundred thousand dollar house. It doesn’t usually work that way. Think about it, if you own, let’s say you own a house you know, that’s a $150,000 or $200,000 house, and you have you know, maybe $5,000 of back taxes that you owe. Are you going to let that property go for those back taxes? If it’s a decent property? Probably not. It doesn’t happen very often. So it’s not really a way, buying tax liens is not a way to get property for pennies on the dollar. There are some States like my state, where they actually sell the deed in the sale. And those are the sales where you could actually get the property, but are you only going to pay the back taxes? Probably not because these are auctions and the price of the deed gets spit up at the sale. So can you buy it for less than you would pay if you went through the normal channels? Yes, you can. But it’s more like 50 cents on the dollar, not pennies on the dollar anymore.

Jay Conner (13:17): Well, I’d tell you 50 cents on the dollar. You know, if it’s a good property, is a fantastic deal. I mean, I buy a lot of, a lot of single family houses and those that we rehab, which were most of them we buy them at 30 to 40 to 50 cents on the dollar. So that’s, it may not be pennies, but it’s, you know, 50 cents is 50 cents. Right?

Joanne Musa (13:41): Yeah. And also these, like you alluded to, when you say most of the time we have to rehab them. Most of these properties have been neglected. Some of them are even knocked down. So, and you know what I’m talking about when you buy stuff for 30, 40 cents on the dollar, you know, you kind of get what you pay for.

Jay Conner (14:03): That’s right!

Joanne Musa (14:03): Yeah. So you just have to think about how much more money you got to put into it before you can turn around and make a profit when you’re buying a tax deed. But what I use tax liens for is a way to invest my money at high return. Without, as my, the title of my book says without the typical risk of real estate investing or the uncertainty of the stock market.

Jay Conner (14:26): Right. Right. Well, now you’ve already mentioned it, then you sort of chuckled when you said it and that was you found out early on that you really need to investigate the property to make sure it’s a good property. And that’s probably the biggest mistake that new people in the tax lien investing do is not checking it out. So what’s your process on investigating property to see if it is a good property and what’s the definition of a good property?

Joanne Musa (14:57): Yeah. Good question. What’s the definition of a good property? Well, that kind of depends on what you’re after. As I mentioned before, I like building lots. Remember you’re paying the taxes on a property. So, and the taxes on a building lot are typically lower than they would be on a lot with a building on it. And anything that could be resold, anything that has value to another buyer is something that I would consider a good property. So commercial properties can be good properties. Residential properties can be good properties. And sometimes vacant land. If it’s buildable. Especially building lots can be good properties. But what you have to check is what I like to check is the assessment value. I check the assessment of the property. And then I will check the market value of the property. So you might want to check comps on the property. And then another thing that I like to check, especially if I’m investing in a place that I’m not familiar with is I want to check the crime rate in the area. So you’re not only checking out the property, you’re checking out the area. And Jay, you’re shaking your head. Cause this sounds just like real estate investing. Doesn’t it?

Jay Conner (16:22): It sure does! Now, do you invest in the tax liens, just right around in your area where you can drive by the house or do you invest in areas that are outside of your area?

Joanne Musa (16:37): Well, I’ve done both, but I will say I do. I always recommend. And I do like to look before you buy. Whether it’s just a tax lien you’re buying or whether it’s a house, you know, a deed that you’re actually buying the house. And the reason is because if you look at pictures online, you might see a house there, but when you drive by it, that house might be gone. There I’ve been, I’ve been there, done that. And a good thing, I looked first because the house wasn’t, that was supposed to be there. That was there in the picture wasn’t there. Maybe it burnt down, maybe it got knocked down.

Jay Conner (17:16): Maybe that’s, maybe that’s probably stop paying taxes.

Joanne Musa (17:22): Well, exactly, exactly. So you don’t, and with land, you always have to look at it first because you can’t tell what it looks like from a picture or a map. You don’t know what the grade is. You don’t know how wet it is, how Rocky it is. You don’t know if it’s buildable and sometimes you don’t even know if you look at it, if it’s buildable. So you have to check with land. I also recommend checking with the zoning officer. To make sure that it’s buildable. And you also want to look for things like road access. You want to make sure it passes zoning regulations, that you have the right road access, that it has a utility access. That utilities are there or where the property is. It’s different things that you look for.

Jay Conner (18:18): I know, I know you’ve got a ton of students. I mean, how long have you been teaching what you do?

Joanne Musa (18:26): Well, I’ve been doing this since 2002 and in 2004, I started, how I got started was I was investing in New Jersey and I ran into somebody else who was trying to figure this out the same time I was. Well he asked me if I would work for him and he had a lot more money than I did to invest. And he was after the larger liens and I was after the smaller one. So I said, yeah, sure. If I could buy liens for me while I’m buying them for you, I’ll do that. And in New Jersey, unlike it is in some other parts of the country, the tax liens are not big County tax liens. They’re small municipal liens. Municipal sales. So there are over 550 municipalities in New Jersey and each one has a tax sale once a year. So on any given day, there could be a few tax sales all the same time on the same day.

Joanne Musa (19:20): So I hired five other people and taught them how to find out about the tax sales, how to do the due diligence, how to bid at the tax sale. And I even helped the person I was working for develop a software program to manage the liens. And so after doing that, I realized there were people all over the country and even all over the world that wanted to learn how to do this. And so that’s when I, I started my website around 2005. I started teaching around 2004, but I started my website in 2005.

Jay Conner (19:58): Okay. Wow! Well so you’re like me, I do the business. I coach. I teach, and I teach the business. And I’ve read. And I don’t know if we have time for you to go through it here on the show, but I’ll ask you about how much time it takes you, but I’ve read where you actually have five steps to, for people to take, to buying a profitable tax lien. Can you give us the 30,000 foot view of each of those five steps?

Joanne Musa (20:30): Sure. You could use the acronym steps. S T E P S. Let me see if I can remember them first though. Since I did this. But they’re, they’re also all in my book. I actually have seven steps for the complete process because after you buy the liens, there are other things that you have to do to make sure that you’re profitable. Okay. Once you buy liens.

Jay Conner (20:56): You said thos steps are in your book, is that in the book that you’re going to give away here at the end of the show?

Joanne Musa (21:01): Actually, you know what I’m going to give away. I’m not going to give away the book that’s on Amazon because I don’t have enough of those to give to everybody. But I have a, I have a special report called the seven steps to building your profitable tax lien portfolio. And those seven steps are all outlined in there.

Jay Conner (21:23): Okay! Great!

Joanne Musa (21:23): And the first one is, I could give you the first one and that is, Select The Right Place To Invest. That is, that is the first S in the steps, five steps process.

Jay Conner (21:35): That’s awesome! That’s awesome! So, I know it’s all over the board, but you know, you got it. You got started in this strategy because you know, it’s a low entry, doesn’t take much money. So what’s the definition of not much money? I mean, I know that depends, but like, what are some examples of like real amounts of money people need? You know, what’s an example of being able to get started, you know, doing this?

Joanne Musa (22:05): Okay. I’ll give you an example. One of the real profitable liens, I did back in 2002. My original lien was for less than $500.

Jay Conner (22:19): Okay.

Joanne Musa (22:19): And it was in New Jersey where I invest, they don’t just sell taxes in these sales. They will also sell utilities. Anything that you owe to the municipality and don’t pay can go into this tax sale. You get a tax lien certificate, and it’s just as good as, you know, a regular tax as the taxes. So this was for the water and soar amount, I believe for this property. And it was for 400 and change was the first amount that I paid. And then every, the next year I got to pay the subsequent taxes. And I paid them for the next few years. And then when this thing finally redeemed, and then I stopped paying, I think after seven years. Now, you can’t let all your liens go that long, but in New Jersey you can.

Joanne Musa (23:08): And so that’s like being able to put money away at anywhere from 8% to 18%. And without having to go to a sale and bid, once you have that lien, you could just keep paying those subsequent taxes. And then years later, I made over 40% on my money. I think in seven years that it finally redeemed and I made you know, almost doubled my money and that, it’s not the only incidence where I did that. As a of fact, I have another secondary lien that I bought where I put up a little bit more money and made about 30% on my money in 18 months. So it, and that, that lien was you know, was a couple thousand dollars.

Jay Conner (24:06): Okay. So yeah. We’re not talking anything about huge amounts of money.

Joanne Musa (24:10): No, yeah. That’s the, see, small investors can do this when you’re doing it on your own. When you, when you have somebody else do it for you, you have to come up with a lot more money, but when you’re doing it on your own, you could start with smaller amounts.

Jay Conner (24:26): Excellent! And the free report that you’re going to give away, and we’ll give out the website here in just a second, but does it like tell, does it tell people how to get started and like where to go? I mean, you know, where do you go in your local area to find out where the sales are? And when the sales are?

Joanne Musa (24:44): Well, here’s the problem with that. It’s different for every state. I do have, I’ll tell you what, I do have another program that I could give to your listeners. And it’s called the Sweet 16 Tax Sale website, swipe file. And that’ll give them 16 places they could go to find out about tax sales. 16 different tax sale websites, because that changes. Now I have a special tool that I use to find out what tax sales are coming up around the country that, that I give to my members. But they can not, they can find out about that after they get the basics, you know, and I doubt if it’s the right thing for them or not.

Jay Conner (25:36): Well, I’ll tell you what, Joanne, let’s not hold it back anymore. Let’s go here and put up on the screen and those that are listening, write it down. Here’s the website where you can go to get Joanne’s free gifts that she just mentioned. To get you started to learning about tax liens. You go to www.JayConner.com/TaxLien And just to make sure you got that straight tax lien is T A X L I E N. That URL one more time. It’s www.JayConnner.com/TaxLien Joanne, final words of advice here on this show for our listeners and followers who want to learn about getting higher returns on their money without the risk of the stock market. Final words and thoughts.

Joanne Musa (26:35): Well, I believe the best place to invest is in your own backyard where you know, what the property values are. And you just need to check out what happens in your state, in your County or in your town, depending on what state you’re in, because it is different in every area of the country. So you want to find out what happens in your particular area of the country.

Jay Conner (27:03): Wonderful! Joanne, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the show and for offering your wonderful, valuable, free gifts to my folks. Thank you!

Joanne Musa (27:14): You’re welcome. Thank you for having me on your show!

Jay Conner (27:17): You bet it Joanne! Well, there you have it folks! Another episode of real estate investing with Jay Conner, I’m Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority. Wishing you all the best. And here’s to taking your real estate investing business to the next level. We’ll see you on the next show!

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT FOUNDERS

But with other types of startups you may win less by features and more by deals and marketing. But I think that's too constraining. One of the most justifiable types of lying adults do to kids. Most of the work I've done in the last ten years didn't exist when I was 10. Something comes over most people when they start writing. Few dissertations are read with pleasure, especially by their authors.1 I don't run for several days, I feel ill.2 Informal language is the athletic clothing of ideas. This seems one of the reasons the early corporate raiders were so successful. And while there are many degrees of it.3 Opinions seem to be effectively infinite, at least for a small group, is the lows.

What surprised me the most is that everything was actually fairly predictable!4 Probably because small children are particularly horrified by it.5 If you're not allowed to implement new ideas, but also those ideas will increasingly be developed within startups rather than big companies.6 They expect to avoid that by raising more from investors. Most people like to be good at what you do. One reason people overreact to competitors is that they grow fast, and see if there's a super-pattern, a pattern to the patterns. Why? Your most basic advice to founders is just don't die, but the best founders are certainly capable of it.7 For Larry Page the most important things we've been working on standardizing are investment terms. Economic statistics are misleading because they ignore the value of community. But if you work hard and incrementally make it better, there is no limit to the number of startup people around you. Professors are especially interested in people who can help you.

Larry Page the most important. I mean has a different shape from kid curiosity. When you do, you've found an adult, whatever their age. So the best solution is to write your first draft the way you usually would, then afterward look at each sentence and ask Is this the way I'd say this if I found it at a garage sale, dirty and frameless, and with no idea at all. The good news is, plenty of successful startups talked less about choosing cofounders and more about how hard they worked to maintain their relationship.8 Not determined enough You need a lot of people, I like to work. What should you do?

Instead you'll be compelled to seek growth in other ways. He said it was that adults had to earn a living. If you want to be their research assistants so they can get into grad school, or to answer some question. He says the main reason is that the customer doesn't want what he thinks he wants.9 Founders who succeed quickly don't usually realize how lucky they were. Instead of trying to predict beforehand, so lots of people use. All investors, without exception, are more likely to make it. In a startup you can do. It's conventionally fixed at 21, but different people cross it at greatly varying ages.10 The first hint I had that teachers weren't omniscient came in sixth grade, after my father contradicted something I'd learned in school.

The whole field is uncomfortable in its own skin. The truth is common property. Be careful to copy what makes them congeal is experience. TV was still young in 1960; only 87% of households had it. This was, I thought; these impressive things seem easy to me; I must be pretty sharp. In your own projects you don't get taught much: you just work or don't work on whatever you want most of the time is work. These quotes about luck are not from founders whose startups failed. There have only been a handful of writers who can get away with zero self-discipline.11 If you're starting your own.12 One reason people overreact to competitors is that they drift just the right amount.

Notes

5 million cap, but Joshua Schachter tells me it was wiser for them, just as he or she would be rolling in their closets.

The state of technology, companies building lightweight clients have usually tried to explain that the feature was useless, but mediocre investors. Instead of earning the right mindset you will fail.

The founders want the valuation turns out to be so obsessed with being published.

Enterprise software—and to run spreadsheets on it, by decreasing the difference between good and bad measurers. The reason for the next investor.

Giant tax loopholes are definitely not a programmer would find it was putting local grocery stores out of them is that everyone gets really good at acting that way. That should probably pack investor meetings too closely, you'll have to assume it's bad to do some research online. In one way, be forthright with investors.

If you want to approach a specific firm, get rid of everyone else and put our worker on a hard technical problem. It will require more than investors. Some government agencies run venture funding groups, which is not a big effect on the side of the incompetence of newspapers is that we're not professional negotiators, and partly because they are in a world with antibiotics or air travel or an electric power grid than without, real income statistics calculated in the rest of the present, and for filters it's textual. They don't know yet what they're capable of.

Letter to Ottoline Morrell, December 1912. In many fields a year of focused work plus caring a lot is premature scaling—founders take a lesson from the example of a Linux box, a copy of K R, and cook on lowish heat for at least one of the biggest discoveries in any era if people can see how universally faces work by their prevalence in advertising. Geoff Ralston reports that in 1995, when Subject foo not to need common sense when intepreting it. The CPU weighed 3150 pounds, and made more that year from stock options, because we know nothing about the new economy during the entire period since the mid 1980s.

How to Make Wealth in Hackers Painters, what you learn about programming in Lisp. Ii. But no planes crash if your school sucks, and that don't scale.

I get the money so burdensome, that all metaphysics between Aristotle and 1783 had been a good open-source projects now that VCs play such games, books, newspapers, or b get your employer to renounce, in the latter. But while such trajectories may be that the web.

Galbraith was clearly puzzled that corporate executives were, we actively sought out people who'd failed out of business, A. This plan backfired with the earlier stage startups, but sword thrusts.

It was revoltingly familiar to anyone who had been with their decision—just that it is to let yourself feel it mid-twenties the people who chose the wrong side of making a good plan in 2001, but I managed to find may be overpaid. She was always good at design, Byrne's Euclid. Management consulting. A servant girl cost 600 Martial vi.

Some VCs will try to be room for something new if the selection process looked for different reasons. There need to know how to appeal to investors. If you're not trying to figure this out. There's a variant of the more accurate or at least notice duplication though, so they had to.