Hats Off

Just to show that I recognize class and will mention it when I see it in a Democrat (too bad it so seldom happens), here is a tribute to Representative Barney Frank. This is his reply to DNC Chair Howard Dean's remark about Tom DeLay:

"That's just wrong," Frank said in an interview on the convention floor. "I think Howard Dean was out of line talking about DeLay. The man has not been indicted. I don't like him, I disagree with some of what he does, but I don't think you, in a political speech, talk about a man as a criminal or his jail sentence."

Dean, of course you know, had commented that DeLay should just go back to Texas and serve his sentence. Is Dean smoking some of those funny cigarettes? DeLay hasn't been indicted on anything, much less convicted and you can't serve time until you are convicted of a crime.

Maybe Howlin' Howard has premonitions and knows what is going to happen? Just goes to show, genius isn't recognized in it's own lifetime. Personally, I think he's just loopy.

Broadening the Tax Base - Group 1

I've posted my essay at Americans for Fair Taxation on the first group who do not pay income tax. It shouldn't surprise you, but you may say, "oh, yeah! That's right! They don't pay tax!"

Who Said This?

"There's no doubt that the Mexican men and women - full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work - are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States."

While I agree with the description of the Mexican given above, male or female, I don’t believe that there are jobs that only Mexicans can fill because not “even blacks” will do them. I believe that the problem lies in the fact that we have employers who are willing to hire people “off the books” and pay them less and pay no benefits. As long as we have employers willing to hire Illegal Aliens, we will have Illegal Aliens swarming to the US to find work.

The Illegal Aliens looking for work are the ones who are not employable in Mexico. They don’t have the skills to get better paying jobs, and they are competing for menial jobs with thousands of others. Mexico is not a poor country, but wealth, as in most nations, is in the hands of the (gasp!) wealthy. And it doesn’t trickle down to the poor, so they come to the US to get jobs and healthcare. Oh, benefits not paid for, such as healthcare, by an employer, end up being paid for by the taxpayer. You and me.

Oh, that quote above? Who said that? Mexican President Vincente Fox. See, President Fox has no interest in trying to stop Mexican workers from working in the US. They get paid more in the US and then send millions of dollars back to their families in Mexico. Illegal immigration is one of the things that is shoring up the shaky Mexican economy. And when they migrate to the US, Mexico doesn’t have to worry about taking care of it’s expatriates. Let the US do it.

Once again, I have no problem with legal immigrants coming to the US to find work. I don't care if they send money back to Mexico. I just want people coming to the America and living and working here to be legal. I don't agree with President Bush's plan to offer amnesty and Guest Worker cards and whatever else he has on the agenda. As far as I'm concerned, it's vote pandering. He wants the Hispanic vote for the RNC and this is his way of getting it.It might work. And if it does, it won't stop more illegals from coming across the borders. Which means we will be paying for hospital and medical bills, we'll be educating their children, giving them welfare checks, and one day they will be given Social Security benefits. All without paying into the tax system.

Does Fox care about the social repercussions Illegal Aliens cause? Of course not. In fact, the more Mexicans in the US, the less drain on the Mexican economy. It's the American taxpayer who will suffer, but who cares? It's a win-win for Mexico, and a losing proposition for the US.

And here is a great post on Illegal Aliens over at Sunnyeside.

Broadening the Tax Base

Here's a link to my post at the Americans for Fair Taxation on how the Fair Tax will immediately and dramatically increase the number of people who pay taxes. This will be at least a two-part post, so be sure to look for the next post which will tell you who doesn't pay taxes now and how they will pay taxes under the Fair Tax.

There is one group I'll bet you never thought about. Quite frankly, this group came to me as I was writing the post.

And They Say There's No Media Bias

I was just reading an AP article about the bodies of 38 men found west of Baghdad. The title of the article was:

38 Bodies Found in Iraq As Rice Visits

I'm having trouble understanding the relationship between the bodies being found and Condelezza Rice paying a quick visit to Iraq, which by the way, wasn't mentioned until the third paragraph. Dr. Rice was mentioned or quoted in paragraphs 3, 4, 19 and 23. Can I ask, what aside from the fact that she commented on the discovery of the bodies, what her visit and the discovery of the bodies have to do with each other?

Dirty Harry

I’ve said before in my posts that while I have conservative leanings, I am not a Republican, registered or otherwise. So I don’t have an axe to grind against Democrats. If a Republican steps in it, I’ll post my opinions as fast as I would about a Democrat stepping in the same cowpie. If I don’t, it’s my business why I don’t post. You’ll have to trust that I’m not favoring one side against the other. But the Democrats are giving conservatives, right-wingers, Republicans, and people of every other political description possible so much ammunition that we all can pick and choose what we want to post about.

This time it’s Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada. During remarks made on the Senate floor, Senator Reid “strayed from his prepared remarks on the Senate floor yesterday and promised to continue opposing one of President Bush's judicial nominees based on "a problem" he said is in the nominee's "confidential report from the FBI." The problem is that those confidential FBI reports are not open to just anyone, including Senator Reid. So, my question is, how did he get his nose into the file?

Standing Rule of the Senate 29, Section 5: "Any Senator, officer, or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees, and offices of the Senate, shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt.”

A "Memorandum of Understanding" covering the use of FBI background reports limits access to committee members and the nominee's home-state senators.

Let's see: divulging confidential information, and not from the nominee's home state. Sounds like Harry's in it up to his kneecaps.

Confidants of Judge Saad, the judicial nominee in question, said yesterday that the judge would release the file, but that he has never seen it, let alone obtained copies of it. Judge Saad is not permitted to see the file, Senate staffers said. Confidential files? Yeah, sure. Frankly, it’s typical in government circles that everyone knows your business but you.

I think it’s dirty of Senator Reid to make the comments he did, in the manner he did. It’s one thing to say to a colleague, “You know, Judge So-and-so has this in his background. I don’t think he should be confirmed.” It might be “gossip-mongering”, which I also don’t agree with, but at least he’s not saying it in a public forum where there are reporters, radio microphones, and television cameras recording every word. How in the world can Judge Saad, of whom I know absolutely nothing except that there is a problem in his “confidential” file, refute the allegation?

I believe in fair play, and Senator Reid is not playing fair. And when you get down to it, it’s juvenile behavior. Not the first time I’ve said that about a Democrat lately. Maybe Senator Reid needs to go home and grow up. Remember when you were in high school? Do you remember how girls would spread a rumor about another girl. Didn’t make any difference why they did it or who the girl was, once the rumor got started, the poor girl whom it was about suffered for the rest of the school year at least. It’s still going on in Congress today. Senator Reid has started a rumor about Judge Saad and there is no way Judge Saad can refute it. He doesn’t have access to the file.

This isn’t high school, it’s real life and the consequences can be devastating. Rumors started this way can stop a career cold. Some careers need to be stopped cold, but only when evidence is presented in the correct venue. Senator Reid has chosen the court of public opinion and has not presented his evidence. He’s only said that there’s a “problem”. But he won’t be held responsible if the press and the public begin to speculate what the “problem” might be. I hope there’s no “problems” in Senator Reid’s FBI files.

Want to bet that Senator Reid skates by on this? Bet with someone else. You know and I know that the MSM won’t have a problem with Senator Reid breaking rules that would get someone of another political leaning thrown out of the Senate. And if the MSM doesn’t make a fuss, ain’t nothing gonna happen.

Here’s the link to the Washington Times article.