I’ll Take “Because I’m An Idiot” for $4,000, Alex

September 4th, 2014

I’m struggling to come up with fresh, insightful commentary on such weighty topics as ISIS or Rotherham, so instead let’s talk about a moron who spent $4,000 on a jacket she couldn’t afford.

It’s an annoyingly discursive example (from the comments: “I think this might be the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever read”) of that most irritating genre, Essays That Seem Designed To Make You Hate New Yorkers. Most entries in that genre are about rich New Yorkers buying ridiculously overpriced garbage. But Mary H. K. Choi’s essay is particularly irksome, because she only aspires to run with that crowd.

The well-to-do can afford status goods because they pay cash for them. Non-rich people buying expensive status goods they can’t afford tend to find themselves bankrupt.

The first commentator on the story actually nails it: “No one else will say it, so I will. You bought a $4,000 coat that you couldn’t afford because you’re an idiot.”

Says Choi: “The coat was the distillation of everything I’ve ever found seductive about not only living in New York but the prospect of belonging there, too.”

And there’s your reason: I live in New York City. I’m extra-special.

I was in London last month for the World Science Fiction Convention, where I had lunch with friends at a pub just off Saville Row. I thought to myself “maybe I should think about getting a Saville Row suit while I’m there.” Then I looked at the prices, and went “Nope!” Now keep in mind that I could pay cash for a £3,750 suit (just over $6,000 at today’s exchange rates), and all it would do is eat into my “two years of emergency jobless living” savings. But since I’m not a millionaire, movie star, lawyer or politician, I would have precious few occasions to wear it. It didn’t make any sense for me to buy a Saville Row suit.

But common sense seems to be a commodity that Ms. Choi does not possess in over-abundance.

Actions have consequences. People who live within their means tend to have much happier, stress-free lives compared to wastrel spendthrifts. I suspect that Ms. Choi will soon be learning this lesson, good and hard…

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Posted in Media Watch, Uncategorized | No Comments »

John Bucy III Campaign Claims Lien Was Filed Against John Bucy II

September 3rd, 2014

The John Bucy III campaign has issued another denial stating that the tax lien issued against 8609 Camelia Ln, Austin, Texas, 78759, was not, in fact, against candidate John H. Bucy III, despite his name being on the lien. But the press release does not go any farther.

However, I have finally received answers from Brent Grady of the John H. Bucy III campaign to questions I sent in yesterday, and he confirms that the lien was against John H. Bucy II, the candidate’s father.

My questions are in italics, and Grady’s answers are in bold:

1. Is it true that John Bucy III is the son of John Bucy II, and works at the latter’s law firm?
John Bucy III is the son of John Bucy II and offices out of 6633 E. Hwy. 290, but John III owns his own company and is not employed by his father.

2. Did John Bucy II live at 8609 Camelia Ln, Austin, Texas, 78759, and was the actual tax lien filed against him?
— Yes.

3. Travis County records show that 8609 Camelia Ln, Austin, Texas, 78759 was sold to John Bucy II on May 30 of this year, and then the lease assigned the same day to “The Jarrett-Simmons Irrevocable Trust,” whose address is the same building that both John Bucy II and John Bucy III show as their respective business offices (6633 Hwy 290
East, Austin, Texas, 78723). Is that correct?
— Unknown. This house does not (and never did) belong to John Bucy III, nor did he ever live there.

4. Does John Bucy II still live at 8609 Camelia Ln?
— Yes.

5. Did the IRS accidentally put the lien as applying to John Bucy III when they meant to apply it to John Bucy II?
The lien was properly applied to John Bucy II. There was just a typo on the form, which put “III” on it, instead of “II,” and we notified the Dale campaign a week ago that it was a typo and not John Bucy III, the candidate.

Thanks to Brent Grady of the John H. Bucy III campaign for helping clear things up. The answers have the virtues of fitting all the facts, and government agencies committing typos are hardly unknown.

Absent any additional information from the Tony Dale campaign that the tax lien is indeed against John H. Bucy III rather than John H. Bucy II, I would consider the matter closed.

Update: Response from the Tony Dale campaign:

“Mr. Bucy’s ‘shocked and appalled’ response to the revelation that the IRS filed a $163,000 tax lien against him for unpaid taxes is misdirected. Mr. Bucy is running for public office and is subject to public scrutiny. The federal government believes he has not paid his taxes. If the IRS is in error, he needs to produce proof in the form of the removal of the lien in his name, not ask the citizens of Williamson County to simply take the word of the Democratic Party Chairman or his dad.” -Corbin Casteel

Update 2: Attached find an IRS document sent by the Bucy campaign, but I hardly find it conclusive…

10616347_1468973480029706_6268223197445174577_n-1

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Posted in Austin, Democrats, Elections, Texas | No Comments »

Untangling the John Bucy Property Lien Issue

September 3rd, 2014

Given the John H. Bucy III’s campaigns strenuous denials that the $160,000 IRS tax lien was filed against their candidate, I thought I would further research the issue. It may be a case of a son being mistaken for his father, but I can’t say for sure without Bucy or his campaign answering some questions.

Let’s look at the deed history of 8609 Camelia Ln, Austin, Texas, 78759 via the Travis County Central Appraisal District web interface:

# Deed Date Type Description Grantor Grantee Deed Number
1 5/30/2014 WD WARRANTY DEED BUCY JOHN H II JARRETT-SIMMONS IRREVOCABLE TRUST 2014093500TR
2 5/30/2014 WD WARRANTY DEED REES BURKE BUCY JOHN H II 2014093499TR
3 8/29/2008 WD WARRANTY DEED WEST GEORGE MARC REES BURKE 2008165059TR

CameliaDee

Some clarifications, given my modest research into the issue:

  1. Burke Rees was (is?) a real estate agent (also here, with a different company), but he shows up as the owner of the property.
  2. I confirmed over the telephone with Ress he did indeed lease the property to a John Bucy, but he didn’t know whether it was John Bucy II or John Bucy III.
  3. The house is sold to John H. Bucy II (not III) in 2014.
  4. John H. Bucy II is evidently a lawyer who “specializes in business law including formations, acquisitions, securities, employment and other contract issues.” Also: “Besides business practice, attorney John H. Bucy, II also represents clients in real estate matters, including the purchase and sale of undeveloped and commercial properties, finances related to real estate projects, and the negotiation of commercial leases.” His law office address is 6633 Hwy 290 East, Suite 208, Austin, Texas, 78723.
  5. There is only one employee listed by name at that record: “John H Bucy III” who is described as a “Principal.”
  6. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that John H. Bucy II is, in fact, the father of John H. Bucy III.
  7. Note that the same day the house is sold to John H. Bucy II, the deed is then granted to “The Jarrett-Simmons Irrevocable Trust.”
  8. There’s not a lot of information on the Jarrett-Simmons Irrevocable Trust, except that: A.) It seems to be associated somehow with Paddington Property, LLC, B.) Their address is listed as “6633 E Highway 290, Austin, Texas, 78723,” and C.) The principal is one Bryan Jarrett.
  9. 6633 Hwy 290 East, Suite 104, Austin, Texas, 78723 is listed as the address for the Texas Charter School Academic and Athletic League, which lists “John Bucy” as founder and president; presumably that’s John H. Bucy III, as per his campaign website.
  10. John H. Bucy III’s official campaign filing address is the same address: 6633 Hwy 290 East, Suite 104, Austin, Texas, 78723.
  11. A John Bucy is listed as the owner of “6633 E HIGHWAY 290 STE 104 AUSTIN , TX 78723-1157.” An appraised value of “$4,744” suggests that he does not own the entire building, which seems to be a business condo.
  12. Bryan Jarrett seems to be involved with a number of enterprises run from that same 6633 Hwy 290 East address: Brant Management, Caretech International Inc., Complete Care Centers, Inc., Incolumus Inc., Texas Matrix Group, Mission Nursing Home Inc., Windcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Inc., and Plaza 290 Office Condominium Association (hmmm).
  13. In all these enterprises, he seems subordinate to an Anthony J. Langford.
  14. I note for the record that John H. Bucy III’s north Austin home he shares with his wife Molly is registered in the name of a Josh T. Brown of Santa Cruz, California.
  15. The house at 8609 Camelia Ln appears to be for sale (I say “appears” because you can never tell with real estate listings). The listed seller? Ellmaker Realty.

What all this amounts to:

  • John Bucy III appears to be the son of John Bucy II
  • John Bucy II did own the house where the lien said John Bucy III resided.
  • Both Bucys appear to work out of the same building, which just happens to be the same building the trust which bought the house in question also operates out of.

    • I can think of a dozen different scenarios which fit the facts in this case, so I don’t want to speculate on which might be the case here.

    Yesterday I wrote the John Bucy III campaign, asking for clarification. I still haven’t heard back from them.

    But the big question remains: Why was the IRS lean against John H. Bucy III against the house lived in, and later owned, by John H. Bucy II?

    Finally, there is this set of court records for John H. Bucy II. I don’t know enough to decode the various charges listed. I merely include it for others to research.

    Update: The Bucy campaign claims that the lien is indeed against John Bucy II, not John Bucy III.

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    Posted in Austin, Democrats, Elections | No Comments »

    Democratic State House Candidate John Bucy’s $160,000 in Unpaid Taxes

    September 2nd, 2014

    What is it with Democrats and their recurring problems with paying their taxes? Certainly they seem more than capable of passing and raising taxes. But paying them on time? Not so much.

    Today’s example of a Democrat not paying his taxes comes from House District 136 candidate John H. Bucy, which a press release from his Republican opponent, incumbent Tony Dale‘s campaign (not yet up on his websites) identifies as owing $160,000 in back taxes to the IRS:

    John H. Bucy, III, the Democratic nominee for Texas House, District 136 in Williamson County, apparently failed to pay his taxes for at least 4 years and owes over $160,000 to the IRS. According to the IRS tax lien filed with the Travis County Clerk, Mr. Bucy owes personal income taxes dating as far back as 2008 and as recently as 2011. And there could be more.

    The Dale campaign also notes that “In addition to the IRS tax lien, Mr. Bucy has problems with the state of Texas as well. Every single business Bucy has registered with state of Texas has forfeited its existence for failure to pay the required taxes and fees, seven total businesses.” To me, this is not only several orders of magnitude less important than the taxes owed the IRS, it’s not necessarily an issue at all, as it could mean Bucy’s business entities are no longer active and he simply let the registration expire.

    I emailed the Bucy campaign for comment about an hour ago, but so far have not heard back from them.

    Note: Dale is my own state representative, and I endorsed him in 2012.

    Update: The Bucy campaign contends that Dale got the wrong John Bucy:

    Mr. Lawrence [sic],

    The accusations are false, and John has never had a lien filed against him.

    We are aware of the document that the Dale campaign claims to possess, and the “John Bucy” referenced in Tony Dale’s press release is NOT John Bucy the candidate. — Not only is John Bucy (the candidate) not the person to whom the lien attaches, he has also never even lived at the address to which the John Bucy in the lien attaches to.

    We spoke to the Dale campaign last week and made them aware of this. — The Dale campaign still chose to move forward. — They clearly do not care to be honest with the voters.

    To the other point of John’s companies, John has only been affiliated with 3 companies, and we do not know where the count of 7 comes from.

    One of the companies is his current company, which is in good standing, and the other two companies have been closed down properly.

    None of this information should be published, as it is false, and we are presently exploring all options to stop these false accusations.

    -Brent Grady.
    Campaign Manager, Bucy for Texas

    Update 1: My update on the still murky issue is here.

    Update 2: Bucy campaign claims that the lien was against his father, John Bucy II, which fits the facts in the first update above.

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    Posted in Austin, Democrats, Elections, Texas | 1 Comment »

    Pictures from the Bovington Tank Museum: British Tanks

    September 2nd, 2014

    More pictures from the Bovington Tank Museum, this time of British tanks from World War II.

    The Tortoise, an experimental prototype of a super-wide, super-heavy assault tank (actually a self-propelled gun) that made it off the production line too late to fight in World War II.

    Matilda I infantry tank. I think most of the Mark I’s were destroyed in the fall of France.

    Cruiser Tank Mark I…

    …and Mark II.

    Maybach tank transmission.

    The Valentine Archer.

    Valentine Mark II.

    The Churchill tank. Not sure why the main barrel was off.

    Black Prince, an experimental wider, heavier Churchill.

    Churchill Mark III.

    Centurion Mark I.

    Centurion engine.

    Cruiser Comet.

    Cromwell Cruiser.

    Tank gearbox.

    I think this is a Mark VI light tank.

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    In Which I Make Fun of Matthew Yglesias’ Fashion Choices

    August 30th, 2014

    If you haven’t see Matthew Yglesias’ purple plaid sports coat and pastel plaid tie combination (which has been making the rounds for a while now), it is something to behold:

    Both Kurt Schlichter and I chimed in on it:

    It’s Labor Day Weekend, so this is what you get instead of actual content…

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    Posted in Democrats, Media Watch | 1 Comment »

    LinkSwarm for August 29, 2014

    August 29th, 2014

    In addition to not having a clue, when it comes to ISIS, Obama says that “we don’t have a strategy yet.” I’m sure if someone asked Franklin Roosevelt in early 1942 what his plans were for dealing with Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, he would have had a strategy. Then again, FDR’s polio probably severely curtailed his golfing…

  • President of Ukraine dissolves Parliament. This happened before the latest Russian incursion.
  • Also, Ukraine seeks NATO membership. A little late for that…
  • Boko Haram beheads six year old boy because he’s a Christian.
  • Man threatens to slaughter Ohio school children with an AK-47 over Israel-Gaza conflict.
  • How and why journalists get the Israel story wrong. Namely because they want to. “Many in the West clearly prefer the old comfort of parsing the moral failings of Jews, and the familiar feeling of superiority this brings them, to confronting an unhappy and confusing reality.”
  • For all the talk of Obama’s suit, it wasn’t the worst fashion disaster this week.
  • “Women who are sane, normal and happy do not become feminists, because such women do not need feminism.”
  • It turns out that Louisiana Democratic senator Mary Landrieu doesn’t actually live in her home state. Awkward. And unconstitutional. See also: Lugar, Richard, electoral defeat of.
  • New Republic writer Yishai Schwartz wants to get rid of that fascist “innocent until proven guilty” nonsense. You know, if I were writing a piece that hinged on “the details of Missouri law,” I think I would actually cite, verbatim, the relevant sections of Missouri law that supported my central thesis. Having conspicuously failed to do so, evidently Schwartz feels that such niceties (like the presumption of innocence in criminal trials) are beneath him… (Hat tip: Legal Insurrection.)
  • Christian student groups are no longer welcome at Vanderbilt University.
  • You will be made to care.
  • British wind farms being paid not to produce energy:
  • A checklist for arguing with Social Justice Warriors.
  • Back when stewardesses were allowed to wear sexy uniforms. (Hat tip: Bill Crider.)
  • Everything you’ve ever known is a lie.

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    Posted in Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Media Watch, Waste and Fraud, Welfare State | 1 Comment »

    Don’t Look Now, But Russia Is Invading Ukraine

    August 28th, 2014

    Russian forces in two armored columns captured a key southeastern coastal town near the Russian border Thursday after Ukrainian forces retreated in the face of superior firepower, a Ukrainian military spokesman said.

    The two Russian columns, including tanks and armored fighting vehicles, entered the town of Novoazovsk on the Sea of Azov after a battle in which Ukrainian army positions came under fire from Grad rockets launched from Russian territory, according to the spokesman, Col. Andriy Lysenko.

    Well, thank God for Hillary Clinton’s reset button, and Obama’s “flexibility” and smart diplomacy. Who knows what sort of mess that bungler Bush would have made of the situation.

    And the UN Security Council is meeting. Since Russia still has a Security Council veto, don’t expect even the usual strongly worded letter.

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    Posted in Foreign Policy, Military | No Comments »

    The Late, Not-So-Great Wendy Davis Campaign

    August 28th, 2014

    It’s not been a good month for people trying to pretend the Wendy Davis campaign is actually capable of winning the Governor’s mansion.

    First, during a time when Davis desperately needs media attention to have any hope of closing the gap with Republican opponent Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Rick Perry indictment is sucking up all the media oxygen. “It’s very good for Greg Abbott because he’s up by 12-13-14 points on Wendy Davis and he has two to three times as much money as she does to close out this race in the final weeks.”

    Next comes word that Wendy Davis is actually polling 10 points behind where Bill White was at this time four years ago. And Bill White, despite running a markedly more competent and professional campaign than Davis has thus far, got slaughtered.

    Then it was revealed that Davis was trying to hide her 2013 tax returns, giving partial copies to the media “with the stipulation that the document couldn’t be shared with anyone or published in full.” A look at those returns shows why. Her 2013 tax return itself shows that out of $249,754 in gross income, Wendy Davis actually paid Uncle Sam a grand total of $788 in withholding in 2013. That left her just a wee, tiny bit short of the amount she she estimated had to pay. Namely, $60,000 short. But even that amount (which is what she sent in with her extension form) turned out to be less than the $70,252 she actually owed, which is why she paid $1,246 in tax penalties.

    Evidently, when you pull Davis’ string, she says “Math is hard!” in addition to “Abortion is awesome!”

    Finally, Davis’ laughable attack ad attempt to link Abbott to problems at the troubled Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas gets slammed by MSM fact checkers. In fact, Jerald Combs, the only person indicted in the now-closed CPRIT investigation, has not donated anything to Abbott.

    In a state as deep red as Texas, Democrats were always going to need a string, spotless candidate running a flawless campaign to have any hope of beating Abbott. Davis isn’t, and she hasn’t.

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    Posted in Democrats, Elections, Media Watch, Texas | No Comments »

    Setback to FBI Case Against Leleand Yee?

    August 27th, 2014

    This story came out while I was away in London, but evidently Leland Yee’s defense attorney is claiming that the FBI’s lead informat is unreliable because he has some baggage of his own:

    the attorney for former San Francisco school board President Keith Jackson, one of 29 defendants caught up in the case, said the FBI had removed an unnamed undercover agent from the probe and reprimanded him because of his own financial misconduct.

    A source familiar with the government’s case identified the agent as the man who went by the last name King when he showed up in the Bay Area in fall 2011 saying he was looking to invest in Bay Area commercial real estate projects.

    The agent paid $37,000 in consulting fees to Jackson, who was raising money for Yee’s mayoral campaign, to help him pursue the real estate opportunities, according to Thursday’s filing in federal court by Jackson attorney James Brosnahan.

    As we earlier reported, King Funding Group was the Atlanta employer listed by an undercover FBI agent who, supposedly with Jackson’s help, allegedly laundered $500 checks to Yee’s campaign in October 2011.

    “King” disappeared from the scene in mid-2012, telling targets in the case that his father had died and he was working on business interests in Panama, Brosnahan’s filing said.

    The filing by Brosnahan, however, suggests that was about the time the agent’s “financial misconduct” was landing him in trouble with the FBI.

    This may or may not be true, and may or may not hinder the FBI’s case against Yee, Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow and their other co-defenders. But it seemed at least worth mentioning…

    In other Yee indictment news, both defense attorneys and prosecutors agree that the massive case will be split up for separate trails, but there’s no detail yet on when and how. This is not an unusual move for a case with 29 separate defendents…

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    Posted in Crime, Democrats | 1 Comment »

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