There are many reasons why an incorrect tax return is filed.
The twelfth week of the second session of the 113th General Assembly is now complete. We will be wrapping up the session in a couple weeks, so if you would like to visit to watch legislative proceedings or have a child in grades 5-12 who wants to serve as a Senate Page, please reach out to m…
One of the benefits of aging is looking back at your past mistakes, and then cautioning your younger relatives and friends to avoid those mistakes. Like this one.
As the Feb. 7 issue of this paper reported, Kingston’s Fort Southwest Point is slated to become a state historic park. In a press release on the same date, State Senator Yager, who has long pushed for the change, declared this a “real game changer for Kingston and Roane County.” County Execu…
Gentle Reader: We will try again, and hope this week we succeed in turning out a column.
There are many substantial medical deductions that are often overlooked when filing a tax return. Some of these missed medical deductions include:
If President Biden could announce on November 1, 2024 that all student debt is forgiven, he would do so. That would surely be a way to get a few more votes. If you have a $100,000 student loan, then you have a heavy burden of paying back that loan. To suddenly have the debt cleared would be …
The racial turnout gap — the difference in voter participation between white Americans and Americans of color — nearly closed in 2008. This was part of a 40-year trend that began with the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, including the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And the closi…
Imagine for a moment that you have 25 children. You love all of them equally, right?
Gentle Reader, I must beg your forbearance and forgiveness for the absence of a proper column today. It is not because I did not write one, for I did, but the computer gremlins finally had their revenge for all the years I have made fun of them.
I wanted to take a little time to bring attention to the most important week of the year. This week gives us all hope because of the resurrection. Jesus Christ defeated death and took our sin on him. I am so grateful for his sacrifice and I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.
While I know little about the performer Beyoncé, I am rather certain that some future historians will find her recently-released crossover album into country music a valuable “cultural barometer” of our times. Cultural barometers are important for historians who want to grasp the popular moo…
The tenth week of the second session of the 113th General Assembly is now complete. I passed legislation on the floor this week that will return money to taxpayers and encourage investment in Tennessee. I have worked very diligently on this legislation, and I am proud to have passed it this …
Feeling like you have some control over your life is vital for life happiness.
The IRS is warning everyone to beware of promoters who offer false hopes of large tax deductions from abusive tax schemes. The schemes are generally marketed by unscrupulous promoters who provide false claims about their legitimacy and charge their clients high fees.. These promoters often c…
I have just published a new humor book. It’s called, “I Won’t Be Your Escape Goat: David Carroll’s Ho Made Social Media Blunders.” Personally signed copies are available for $19.95 plus $5.00 shipping at ChattanoogaRadioTV.com, or at my mailing address at the end of this column. Here’s a sampling:
Editorial cartoon
Gentle Reader: A few days ago, Donald John Trump held one of his famous campaign rallies in the Dayton, Ohio, neighborhood, at which he opined that a certain group of people were not, in reality people at all. If he specified what the members of this particular life form are, it was not repo…
This is an important and exciting week for local sports fans. Both Vols basketball teams will play in the middle round of the NCAA basketball tournaments. And the Atlanta Braves open their 2024 season widely-rated major league baseball’s best club.
The IRS is auditing Employee Retention Credits (ERC) due to the pervasiveness of fraudulent returns. Incorrectly taking and keeping the ERC can lead to severe penalties and potential criminal investigation.
Life is fragile and doesn’t last very long, so we should try to enjoy every day.
Occasionally I devote a column to music. Considering most of us are tired of politics, now may be a good time. Besides, the November election is still 8 months away, and we’re already Bidened and Trumped to death. So yes, this one is about music.
During his State of the Union Address last week, President Biden tried to do an impossible task: defending his record in office to the American people.
Gentle Reader, ‘tis the time when the plant world awakens and begins to show its blooms. I do not know about you, but this show in our county is substantially different now from what it was when I was a boy. Back then the most prominent white blossom in the trees and shrubs was the service b…
This is not my first column to draw from the insight that “history does not repeat itself — but it rhymes.” Curiously my repeated reflections on this quote that is popularly attributed to Mark Twain might appear to negate the first half of that assertion. But, if we consider how Twain’s pers…
Tensions between the leaders of Israel and the US have boiled over, with President Joe Biden accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of doing more to harm than help his own country. These are harsh words to hear from your most important ally, and Biden went further still. He described the…
In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden referred to an American dilemma — the shrinking Snicker’s bar. He pointed out that his Snicker’s bar purchase had less or fewer Snickers. I’m not exactly sure what a Snickers is, nuts, chocolate, sugar, the content of the bar. Size matte…
Both leading presidential candidates recently underwent physical examinations. These were immediately followed by gushing press releases, assuring us that these two codgers are in peak form, seemingly ready to compete in the Summer Olympics.
Many self-employed workers and freelancers were unable to work due to having Covid. If you are one of them, you may be eligible for the credit.
From whence do you get your news? Excuse that awkward, archaic phrasing. But, had I posed that question in more common, conversational verbiage ending with the preposition “from,” my late, English-teacher mother would surely have haunted me. Either way, it is an important question for anyone…
Gentle Reader: Today’s topic is Country Music, which was brought to mind when I saw that Ken Burns’ history of country music was being re-run on PBS. I did not watch the re-run yet, but as I remember, I enjoyed the original presentation, although I am not a particular fan of Burns’ other wor…
The seventh week of the 113th General Assembly is now complete. Some highlights of the week include a new office hire, passage of a bill to help marinas across the state out of committee, passage of a resolution to support caregivers within the family, and a preview of legislation to be hear…
The IRS estimates that wealthy individuals and large businesses evade over $150 billion in taxes yearly. New funding from Congress has enabled the IRS to crack down on wealthy individuals, partnerships, and large corporations. The IRS says that for every extra dollar spent on audits, $6 in r…
I’m voting for the Presidential candidate who will promise to keep Social Security solvent. I’ve hit the age where I’m finally on the receiving end of some of this government money and I want to keep it going. Never fear, I’m still paying plenty of taxes. I’m still holding down a job so Uncl…
I asked for it, and you delivered. Last week, I asked you to complete this sentence: “I never thought I’d see the day that ______________. As promised, here are your responses with my comments in parentheses.
Have we lost that drive to win? Or if we haven’t lost it, are we in the process of losing it?
The United States Supreme Court is now the primary battleground for the Trump Cases. By the time you read these words, the Court will likely rule whether the 14th Amendment allows states to deny the 45th president a place on primary ballots, and in April they will address the explosive issue…
Gentle Reader, The current state of confusion and chaos within which the U.S. House of Representatives presently operates, caused us to meditate and cogitate on our own Roane County status, and our good fortune to be in the 3rd Congressional District, and not in the 2nd District, in which we…
Quasquibicentennial!
Two East Tennessee lawmakers may have just saved Tennessee history, as far as being a subject in public schools is concerned.
