This'n'That; March 8th[Barns;NewsBias]

NOBO/FUBO Gear: www.FUBOwear.com

Gotta Barn....?

[I heard this guy trying to restore an old farm barn and was having touble finding affordable financing. Callers to the radio program had several suggestions, one of which is below:]

When the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine launched BARN AGAIN! in 1987, historic barns were considered doomed. Obsolete for modern farming needs and too expensive to maintain as family heirlooms, old barns appeared destined to be preserved only in photographs and memories. Several years and hundreds of success stories later, that attitude is changing. Through demonstration projects, case studies, publications, technical assistance, and an awards program, BARN AGAIN!, has been chipping away at the widely accepted premise that new is better. The program has shown how historic barns can be adapted for new farming uses ranging from dairy, hog, and cattle operations to machinery or grain storage. Barn preservation techniques have proven to be cost-effective alternatives to tearing down the old barn and putting up a new building. The BARN AGAIN! program provides advice, information, and referrals to an average of 700 barn owners each year. For more information about BARN AGAIN!, call 303/623-1504.

Federal investment tax credits: A 20% rehabilitation tax credit is available for certified rehabilitation of buildings listed on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places. To qualify, a building must be used for income-producing purposes, and the rehabilitation costs must be greater than $5,000 or the adjusted cost basis for the building. A 10% credit is available for buildings built before 1936 that are not on the National Register. For more information about the 20% (historic) tax credit, contact your State Historic Preservation Office. For information about the 10% credit, request Form 3468 Investment Credit from the Internal Revenue Service. More information on how to benefit from tax incentives is available in A Guide to Tax-Advantaged Rehabilitation, which can be ordered from BARN AGAIN! for $8.00. Link to State Historic Preservation Offices at http://www.ncshpo.org/. Another good website is: http://www.barnalliance.org/ .

More About "The Campaign Of Fluff"

[During it's progress, I struggled to understand how anyone could fathom-let alone, believe-all the unsubstantiated blather coming from the "Campaign of Fluff." All those "sound-bite" promises...... but one of the most important ones, the one "The Fluffer" broke right at the deadline; the one about only accepting public campaign financing-the same promise that John McCain KEPT, could have changed the results-not allowed a powerful group to buy the election for essentially, a "throw-away" candidate. Don't get me wrong; I didn't support McCain either. I considered the last election one of those "hold-your-nose-and-vote" contests. There wasn't AND ISN'T "a dime's-worth-of-difference" between either party's candidate. It's hard to tell-in light of the previous sentence-where the country'd be if there had been fair, accurate and unbiased reporting on the campaign trail. We MUST be alert to ANY NEW POLICY or policy change that will affect our current way of life!! We can still listen to Rush, own a gun, write a blog, move from state to state, etc!!! A few of the things I've recently found out:]

After the Democratic convention, Fluffer campaign lawyer Robert Bauer warned TV stations against airing a TV ad that was embarrassing to the Fluffer. The commercial focused on the longtime relationship between the Fluffer and Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers. Bauer sent letters to the Justice Department imploring the agency to pursue criminal action against those behind the ads. It was not lost on anyone at that time that Bauer was considered a candidate to be the next U.S. Attorney-General. A team of Fluffer campaign operatives, joined by major news outlets, descended on Wasilla, Alaska immediately after Governor Sarah Palin was introduced as Senator John McCain's running mate. This was immediately followed by patently false reports claiming Palin imposed book bans, joined a fringe political party, charged rape victims for emergency room treatment and cut funding for special needs children. In late August, the Fluffer campaign emailed an "Fluffer Action Wire" to thousands of supporters and liberal activists exhorting them to harass the offices of Chicago's WGN radio by flooding the station with angry phone calls and emails. Activists screamed insults to call-in screeners. The radio station's offense was that a long-time, respected radio host had the temerity to interview Ethics and Public Policy Center watchdog Stanley Kurtz. Kurtz had uncovered university records that documented a much closer relationship between the Fluffer and Ayers than the presidential candidate had previously disclosed. State prosecutors and top sheriffs in Missouri who were prominent Fluffer supporters responded to a chilling Fluffer campaign request. They styled themselves as a "truth squad" and threatened to prosecute anyone including media outlets that printed or broadcasted material they deemed to be inaccurate about the Illinois Senator. Fluffer contributors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights section (headed by $2,000 Fluffer donor and former ACLU attorney Mark Kappelhof) urged preemptive prosecution of individuals The Campaign of Fluff believed might disrupt the November election. A cited example of anticipated disruption was to send mailings of a non-violent nature addressing voting issues unfavorable to the Fluffer. In October, a question from a middle-class voter resulted in an answer from the Fluffer indicating the Democratic nominee was in favor of "spread[ing] the wealth around." This voter became the symbol of middle-class America and the Fluffer's response the touchstone of his neo-Marxist policies. Immediately thereafter, Democratic Ohio state officials scoured government data bases and confidential records in an effort to find embarrassing information on "Joe the Plumber" (e.g., he is divorced) that quickly found its way into the press. In the final days of the campaign, three newspapers that had endorsed McCain were booted from The Campaign of Fluff bus. The New York Post, Dallas Morning News, and Washington Times were unceremoniously shown the door only days after their papers' endorsements appeared. Fluffer campaign officials claimed the move was to make room for more important media outlets: Jet and Ebony entertainment magazines. Both publications were publishing fawning coverage of The Fluffer. Those heartened by the hope that a President [of] Fluff would be more tolerant of critics and criticism than a candidate Fluffer had their expectations dashed. In only his third full day as the 44th president the Fluffer personally went on the offensive against a media personality. On January 23rd, The Fluffer warned Congressional Republicans against listening to Rush Limbaugh. The man who offered to sit down with Holocaust denier and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without any preconditions whatsoever views an American radio talk show host as a dangerous threat[?-?]. In precedent-setting action, The Fluffer moved his director of political affairs, a highly partisan post, from the Old Executive Office Building into the West Wing. Political operative Patrick Gaspard was given White House access not experienced by his predecessors. Fluffer official Shauna Daly, a non-lawyer and career opposition researcher described as a "partisan dirt-digger," was assigned to the White House counsel office. The move signals not only a new low in partisan activities, but suggests the office assignment may be intended to hide Daly's political activities under the guise of the counsel's attorney-client privileges. What America witnessed before the election and mere hours after the Fluffer was sworn into office is just a sampling of what Americans can likely expect throughout a Fluffer presidency. One cannot help but reach the conclusion a Fluffer Enemies List is already being compiled and free speech restrictions are being considered. Fortunately for the Fluffer he has no shortage of Congressional foot soldiers to help in his cause to muzzle critics and silence news outlets that refuse to adhere to Democratic talking points that are faxed directly into the network newscast teleprompters. On Election Day, Senator Chuck Schumer likened conservative talk radio to pornography and argued it should be regulated. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed speech restrictions more than once during the election season. Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin and John Kerry have also advocated various limits to political speech. Senator Debbie Stabenow assured a liberal radio talk show host that regulating conservative speech is imminent. Do not expect to see the New York Times editorialize against the Fluffer and the Congress when it comes to protecting free speech rights aside from its own and that of like-minded, liberally-biased press outlets.

Til Nex'Time....