Reasons #6969 and #6970 That Trump Was Elected

Catch and Release: MS-13 Killer Avoided Deportation Because of Obama Judge

In September 2016, a lawyer named Mario Sturla was appointed as a federal immigration judge by President Obama’s attorney general, Loretta Lynch. Sturla is himself an immigrant, a native of the Dominican Republic who graduated from Brown University in 2003 and got his law degree at Yeshiva University in 2006. In June, Judge Sturla heard the case of Henri Salvador Gutierrez, a 19-year-old Salvadoran entered the country illegally in 2014. Gutierrez, whose MS-13 nickname is “Perverso,” had been arrested three different times since his arrival in the U.S. and, by the time of his June 22 hearing in Boston, had been in federal detention for seven months. Homeland Security testified that Gutierrez had been determined “to be a risk to public safety as a verified and active member of the MS-13 gang in the Boston metro area.” Incredibly, Judge Sturla turned the foreign criminal loose on the streets:

“Lastly, the court finds that the respondent has made attempts to rehabilitate himself after multiple arrests for carrying knives and machetes,” Sturla wrote in his decision. “The respondent testified that he wants live a peaceful life.”

As might be expected, Gutierrez’s “peaceful life” didn’t last long. Within a matter of weeks after he was released, according to an affidavit, Gutierrez and five of his MS-13 accomplices stabbed to death 17-year-old Herson Rivas, who they believed was an informer:

“The nature and circumstances of the (charges) are troubling and horrific,”?a federal criminal affidavit reads.
That includes killing 17-year-old Herson Rivas on Aug. 2 with a large knife like they were “chopping wood.”
One of the accused, according to the affidavit, stabbed the defenseless teen “with such force his knife became warped during the attack.” . . .
“Four of the six defendants appear to have entered or remained in the United Status unlawfully. At least four of the six defendants have MS-13 tattoos indicating that they are MS-13 homeboys, suggesting that they committed a murder or other violent attack.
“At least two of the six defendants have felony records. At least two of the six defendants were previously in immigration custody but were released and went on to commit … murder,” prosecutors state.
One of the suspects was arrested yesterday and the rest are locked up on state charges or in immigration custody, and will appear in federal court soon. . . .

Some spark of divinity. Well, Kali, Shiva and Odin were all credited with divinity.  Let's see, Trump hates illegal immigration, gang bangers, and Obama judges, so he scores a triple here.

Why pro athletes may lose a fortune because of the new tax law

Because of changes to the tax law that went into effect this year, professional athletes might need to put their CPAs on speed dial.

That’s because players in sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, MLB, WNBA and NHL have traditionally been able to deduct tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for things that they no longer can.

“One of my players makes $2 million a year, and it will cost him $80,000 more now because he can’t deduct state taxes [over $10,000], agent fees, workout clothes, meals and entertainment, and his cellphone,” says Steven Goldstein, a CPA with Grassi and Co. in New York who works with over a dozen professional athletes and celebrities.

And players who make tens of millions of dollars a year will potentially pay hundreds of thousands more a year in taxes.

The reason athletes are taking this hit is because individuals can no longer deduct more than $10,000 for state and local taxes (SALT) or declare miscellaneous itemized deductions for work-related expenses and investment fees. And these changes, especially the latter, will cost pro athletes more than most people.

I don't bear professional athletes any ill will, but a less complex tax system, with less deductions for such things as  "workout clothes, meals and entertainment, and his cellphone." I certainly don't get any benefit from those deductions, and didn't even when I worked.

Linked in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links at Pirate's Cove.