Shaila Dewan at the New York Times finds (get your surprised face ready) that the IRS is also in on the asset forfeiture business, in this article seizing folks' checking accounts before even accusing them of a crime because they had made too many deposits smaller than $10,000 -- which isn't in and of itself actually a crime, but resembles one. The IRS says it'll curtail such practices, but I bet they already thought they were practicing restraint. I eagerly await the judge who rules that asset forfeiture violates the Constitution.
Chris Morran at The Consumerist asks: "Why Doesn't Tesla Just Use Dealerships to Sell Its Cars?" Of course Mr. Morran comes down on the side of common sense: why should dealerships be able to buy laws protecting them from the electric car manufacturer and any other car dealer that would prefer to sell directly to the consumer? Surely "free" market types would prefer that a sector of the economy that needs a big government handout be allowed to die. Unless they get buku campaign donations from car dealers, I suppose.
The Coalition of Immokalee Farm Workers debuts its "fair food" label, the first of its kind in America. If you've followed the Coalition's work getting better wages for tomato pickers in Florida, you won't be surprised to learn that the label describes tomatoes picked by workers who earned a decent wage and enjoy basic working people's rights. The National Labor Relations Act doesn't cover farm workers, as you may know, so this is an uphill fight.
Perhaps seeing polls forecasting a loss to incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan, South Carolina House Speaker (and Republican U.S. Senate candidate) Thom Tillis now says that yes, he can see a path to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Which, as a U.S. Senator, he wouldn't have much to do with, since states (not the Senate) get to choose whether to accept the money or not -- but Mr. Tillis, as House Speaker, did have a lot to do with rejecting the money in the first place, ramming a bill doing just that through the state House. He even ran an ad touting this alleged accomplishment! Between this and "the system worked, it just took too long," it's something, actually, that he's as close in polls as he is.
Finally, a study finds that male worms, when given a clear choice between sex and food, will go out of their way to get sex. I wonder how many readers will find that news surprising.
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