dracisk

I don't know why I thought this was somewhere out in the VA suburbs. I just realized it's not too far from my office. I'll have to mosey over there for lunch one of these days. Everything looks and sounds delicious!

24 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

My point is that no one is paying taxes out of the goodness of their heart.  They're paying taxes because it's withheld at the point of purchase or at the source.  The payment of taxes is not any reason for amnesty, because it's not voluntary (especially if it's a revenue loser in the long run).

Right. Some taxes are withheld at the point of purchase or at the source. But I'm talking about filing tax returns, which is not involuntary. You claimed above that you're "not entirely certain that illegal immigrants can start  a business, file tax returns, etc. without getting busted." I was simply pointing out (and I continue to point out) that many people who are in the country illegally do file tax returns. Regardless of whether they're filing tax returns out of the goodness of their heart (does anyone file tax returns out of the goodness of their heart?), they file them. And I never said that paying taxes is a reason for amnesty. I said that if there's an amnesty anyone who wants to qualify for it is going to have to show that they filed tax returns.

I'm not going to argue with you over whether "the illegal immigrants that sneak across our border, regardless of reason, aren't the best or brightest of their country" or whether "illegal immigrants [are] mostly uneducated dregs of society." I never made any claims about the overall education level of people in the country illegally. I simply pointed out that I've encountered many highly educated people who are in the country illegally, some of whom entered illegally over the southern border, as a counter to your sweeping generalizations.

8 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

I believe in enforcing the law.  Change the law if you have the votes. 

I'm fine with enforcing the law. I agree that ITINs don't give undocumented people a right to work, but obviously the IRS doesn't report people to ICE. I was making the point that undocumented people do file income tax returns, which you didn't seem to think was true.

6 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Is this the same Boru Ramen that's in Newport, Rhode Island?

They have different logos, so I would tend to doubt it.

I am so bored at work.

27 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

I doubt any illegal immigrant is filing a tax return and paying the tax voluntarily

Actually, a large number of them do, because they hope to legalize their immigration status some day (of course, some people don't care about that). If there's ever a large scale amnesty you can bet anyone who applies will be required to show that they've filed tax returns for the years they've been here (or maybe for the last 7 or 10 years or something like that).

Please see this paper from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Quote

The best evidence suggests that at least 50 percent of undocumented immigrant households currently file income tax returns using Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs).

(This paper is specifically about state and local taxes, but I think one can assume that if undocumented immigrant households are filing state tax returns, they're also filing federal tax returns. I'm not sure if state returns matter for immigration benefit purposes, but I know federal returns do.)

19 hours ago, Sundae in the Park said:

Dish-n-Dash

That sounds delicious. And that is an awesome name for a Middle Eastern restaurant.

As my American friend who lives in Scotland said, "It just shows there are dumbasses in every country."

From the Guardian article that Don linked to in his first post:

Quote

Cameron and Osborne – who were both closely involved in running the campaign – wheeled out an array of global policymakers and experts, including the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, and the US president, Barack Obama, to make the case that leaving the EU would inflict severe economic damage.

But Gove caught the public mood when he said the public had had enough of “experts”.

1 hour ago, ktmoomau said:

According to the CIS, Treasury Department auditors say the favoritism the IRS shows to illegal aliens who are filing illegal tax returns includes allowing them to use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers to obtain millions of dollars in deductions and credits, which they’re not entitled to receive because they’re non-permanent aliens.  So I am not sure it is as rosy as it sounds to say that illegal immigrants are paying taxes.

My point was that since they're in the country illegally and working illegally, people could easily choose not to pay taxes at all, but many choose to pay taxes anyway. Maybe they take deductions and credits they're not entitled to (I'm having trouble imagining what these might be since I doubt many people in the country illegally own property or make many charitable contributions (maybe they're taking the EITC?), but I know almost nothing about taxation -- I'm an immigration lawyer), but I'd argue paying some taxes is better than paying nothing at all, which would be very easy to do. I was assuming the "not getting busted" phrase was referring to not getting busted for being here illegally, not not getting busted by the IRS, but maybe I misinterpreted. Like you said, the IRS is happy to take anyone's money. Of course, the CIS is a notoriously anti-immigration organization, so I take most of what they say on the topic with a grain of salt.

53 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I *dare* anyone eating at the bar there to wipe their hand across the bottom of the bar.

Last night at Tastee Diner my daughter kept taking her pancakes off her plate and putting them directly on the table. This would skeeve me out in most restaurants, but I was particularly skeeved last night. At least she'll have a good immune system.

I'm sorry to dredge up these quotes a year later, but I just read through the entire thread and can't let them go.

On 7/8/2015 at 11:09 PM, Ericandblueboy said:

The illegal immigrants that sneak across our border, regardless of reason, aren't the best or brightest of their country.

I would dispute this generally, particularly because it's such a sweeping statement, and I appreciate the other responses to this above (I recall good ones from Rieux and B.A.R. -- there may have been others). More specifically, I'd like to point out that I've worked with asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world for many years and that sometimes when a person is fleeing persecution he or she finds any way to come to the U.S. to apply for asylum, even if that means entering illegally (getting a visa to come to the U.S. is HARD and takes time). (It's not just Mexicans and Central and South Americans who enter illegally over the southern border. There are well-established smuggling routes from other parts of the world often involving flying to Brazil and making one's way up to the U.S. border.) I've worked with asylum seekers with college degrees and advanced degrees (including J.D.s and Ph.D.s) who may or may not have entered the country legally. And, of course, even people without a lot of formal education can contribute to society in important ways.

On 7/9/2015 at 8:44 AM, Ericandblueboy said:

 I'm not entirely certain that illegal immigrants can start  a business, file tax returns, etc. without getting busted.

I don't know about starting a business, but many people who are not in the country legally pay taxes for many years specifically because they hope to legalize their immigration status some day and they want to be able to show they're of "good moral character." Even if they can't get a Social Security Number because of their immigration status (or lack of), they can get a Taxpayer Identification Number so that they can file returns with the IRS.

33 minutes ago, pras said:

Please don't get me started on this place.

Oh, please keep going.

1 minute ago, dwt said:

(note that its outward appearance is much changed (sanitized) since the move)

Ick. It was partially based on the current outward appearance that my expectations were so low. The move was before my time in Silver Spring -- I didn't know that history!

4 minutes ago, pras said:

My mom always told me that if you don't have something nice to say don't say it at all.  So I won't say anything else.

My mom didn't teach me such good manners. :-)

I’m surprised there’s no thread on Tastee Diner (that I can find, anyway). I understand it’s an institution? I visited the Silver Spring location for the first time last night (my first time at any location). My toddler was asking for pancakes at daycare pick-up, so my husband and I decided to check it out rather than drive to the Silver Diner in Rockville. Our other possibility was the Original Pancake House, but they were already closed for the day.

I had very low expectations for the food at Tastee Diner, and they were not met. We started with chicken tenders that were clearly formerly frozen and in a bag. Four chicken tender-shaped hockey pucks slapped on a plate with nothing else. Our waitress asked if we wanted honey mustard or barbecue sauce, and we asked for both. They came quickly in little plastic containers with lids. I ordered meatloaf, which was dry and had some kind of tomato substance on top but was also served with gloppy brown gravy (thankfully on the side). The cole slaw wasn’t awful (not drowning in mayo). The fries were fries – nothing special, not that I expected anything different. My husband said his reuben had more sauerkraut than corned beef. As for some positives, the service was very friendly and (as far as I could tell) very understanding about my toddler, who wouldn’t stop screaming at the beginning of the meal. “Do you want to color?” “NOOOOO!” My toddler seemed to enjoy her pancakes. I had a bite and thought they were OK – they had a corn taste. (They were actually listed as hot cakes on the menu – not sure if hot cakes are different from pancakes.) Kids eat free (from the kids menu) during the week from maybe 5pm-8pm. The food came fairly quickly (important when dining with a toddler). The bill was small. I don’t have a lot of diner experience. I didn’t really grow up eating at diners, and recently my diner experiences have mostly been at the Silver Diner, which I’ve enjoyed overall. The Tastee Diner makes the Silver Diner look like the Inn at Little Washington. Maybe we should have been more drunk or hungover when we ate there.

It's a bit off the beaten path from touristy stuff, but Indigo has delicious Indian food. It's casual and not very expensive.

Very cool! Thank you for sharing. A walking tour in search of street art is right up my alley (haha).

Awesome, thanks! I'm an amateur, too.

3 minutes ago, Gadarene said:

(Madrid, by the way, is a remarkable street art city, even more so than Granada; if you haven't been and you're interested in that sort of thing, I highly recommend it.)

I've been to Andalucia, Madrid, and Barcelona, but the most recent trip (to Barcelona only) was 10+ years ago. I need to go back! In the meantime, I really enjoyed living vicariously through your report.

On 6/20/2016 at 3:24 PM, Gadarene said:

some of the photos we took are gorgeous

Any chance you can share? I love street art and photography.

[Don, if this is inappropriately off topic please feel free to delete.]

I think they're known for their service. I've only been to Carlyle a few times 10+ years ago and Sweetwater Sterling (after an IAD pick-up with a toddler) last year. I do remember the service being very good at Sweetwater.

Oooooh, this sounds exciting (and, as Daniel said, hopefully not embarrassing for the USMNT). I usually only follow soccer during the World Cup and this tournament was barely on my radar, so I appreciate the heads up about this game!

Thank you! I'd never heard of Arterra. We'll see how successful I am steering the group.

35 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

(plus he was fascinated by their tortilla machine)

We haven't even shown my daughter the tortilla machine yet! (I think Mi Rancho has one, too, but I'm not sure because we always sit outside.) That will be in my back pocket for future entertainment needs. :-)

13 minutes ago, DanielK said:

Current state - food still ghastly.

Quite ghastly. I find myself at the Silver Spring location at least two or three times each spring and summer in pleasant weather since we live nearby, we're almost guaranteed to be able to sit on the huge patio (although the last two times we were there we had to wait -- they're always packed!), and there are always young kids running around to make my toddler seem well behaved. I've learned to stick to the fajitas. I can appreciate low brow, inauthentic Mexican food, but the food here is really no bueno. And the last time I was there a piece of fruit in my sangria still had a sticker from the grocery store on it.

Thank you very much! Black Ankle is on my list to try some day, too. :-)

Yes, I think Glen Manor may be pushing it. I've heard (and read!) about the Ashby Inn but have never been there and didn't realize it's in this part of Virginia. Maybe we'll try for lunch there. Thank you for all the input!