----Caveat----

After receiving some comments on posts, I decided that some things need to be restated.

Remember, anything you read on these pages that are "From Email" were received from someone else. Some things I check out, some I don't. Sometimes I just don't have time. At the least, I have posted it as being entertaining, amusing, or just interesting. If I have vetted it, I will tell you what I've found out. If I haven't, you'll have to take your chances, use your intelligence, and/or life experience to decide whether it's something you want to believe or not.

I will not knowingly post anything as fact if I know it's not. Just remember, I may believe something to be a fact when it's not. Notice I said "believe".

Not everything on these pages is original to me. If it's in italics, it was written by someone else. Depending on a lot of circumstances, I may or may not give proof of the truth or falsity of a post from another source. If I didn't write it, I'll say so - I will not take credit for someone else's work. If I know the source, I will give the author credit. If I don't, at the least, it will be in italics.

If you want to comment, feel free. Don't cuss at me, be polite and respectful and I'll probably post your comment, even if your view is different from mine. Opinions are like noses...everyone has one. Your comment must be in response and germane to the post. Don't use my blog to advertise or sell your product. If you're not paying me to sponsor you, I'm not publishing your ad or link.

Remember, this is MY blog. I can post pretty much what I want, when I want. I try to be respectful to those who stumble in and read what I've posted. I expect others to be polite and respectful in return - to me and other readers. I will post your comments as I choose. Follow my rules, and you'll probably see your comment. Refuse to follow my rules, and your comment will never see the light of day.

As always, do your own research before taking anything as gospel. Just because you read it here, doesn't mean it's true. There's a lot of stuff out in the Internet that's just plain crap. I don't want to see any of it here, but it may happen.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his

children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please. It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

seen at BP station - ironic, under the current circumstances

Who Will Help the Gulf?

So where are all the "Save the Gulf" concerts? Where are the TV benefits with the celebrities & musicians giving heartfelt speeches on the poor fisherman, wildlife, beaches, loss of income and sabotaged Gulf economy? I find it rather strange how these people (including our own government) are so quick to help Haiti & other countries, but sit on their butts for this American disaster.

reposted from Facebook

Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing
it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America " for an amount of up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

A LETTER FROM A PROCTER & GAMBLE EXECUTIVE TO THE PRESIDENT

By Lou Pritchett, Procter & Gamble

(The last sentence is the most chilling)

Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America's true living legends - an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'windmills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Big surprise. Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.. It's happening right now.*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I checked this out on snopes.com to find out whether Mr. Pritchett actually exists (sorry, I've never heard of him before this and I wanted to be sure of his existence as well as the truth of this email.) Here's the link.

Mr. Pritchett has hit on the points that disturb me. Aside from the political points he made, I'm actually more concerned with his past. We know very little of Mr. Obama's years before becoming a community organizer, then Senator, then President. So much could be brushed aside with some transparency (gee...where have we heard THAT before?) and honesty.

Just how does a young man from apparently modest beginnings afford an Ivy League education? How did he support himself and his lifestyle?

Just where was he born? I'm personally willing to believe Hawaii, but a legitimate birth certificate would silence the "birthers" who are calling for documentation. A letter from God won't silence some, but a proper birth documentation would go a long ways to silencing most.

Most times, I side with the people who say no one should have to prove too much about themselves, but we're talking about the President of the United States, the Leader of the Free World. Let's get real here. Until documentation is provided, there will be questions.

Wasn't one of Mr. Obama's big problems with Washington the lack of transparency? Sounds to me like it's business as usual in Washington. Some change, huh?

Until the facts are known, there is going to be rampant speculation. Mr. Obama, provide the documents and answers that are being asked for. When the public knows the truth, there will be fewer questions to be asked. Who was it who said, the truth shall set you free? In this case, it will shut up many of the people who question so much about you.

Honesty and transparency (remember that word?) will cure a world of ills.

The FairTax Basics

The FairTax has been called the most thoroughly researched tax reform plan in recent history. This section offers a quick introduction to the FairTax and tax reform.

Scholarly research tells us that . . .

The FairTax rate of 23 percent on a total taxable consumption base of $11.244 trillion will generate $2.586 trillion dollars $358 billion more than the taxes it replaces. [1]

The FairTax has the broadest base and the lowest rate of any single-rate tax reform plan. [2]

Real wages are 10.3 percent, 9.5 percent, and 9.2 percent higher in years 1, 10, and 25, respectively than would otherwise be the case. [3]

Disposable personal income is higher than if the current tax system remains in place: 1.7 percent in year 1, 8.7 percent in year 5, and 11.8 percent in year 10. [4]

The economy as measured by GDP is 2.4 percent higher in the first year and 11.3 percent higher by the 10th year than it would otherwise be. [4]

Consumption increases by 2.4 percent more in the first year, which grows to 11.7 percent more by the tenth year than it would be if the current system were to remain in place. [4]

The increase in consumption is fueled by the 1.7 percent increase in disposable (after-tax) personal income that accompanies the rise in incomes from capital and labor once the FairTax is enacted. [4]
By the 10th year, consumption increases by 11.7 percent over what it would be if the current tax system remained in place, and disposable income is up by 11.8 percent. [4]

Over time, the FairTax benefits all income groups. Of 42 household types (classified by income, marital status, age), all have lower average remaining lifetime tax rates under the FairTax than they would experience under the current tax system. [5]

Implementing the FairTax at a 23 percent rate gives the poorest members of the generation born in 1990 a 13.5 percent improvement in economic well-being; their middle class and rich contemporaries experience a 5 percent and 2 percent improvement, respectively. [6]

Based on standard measures of tax burden, the FairTax is more progressive than the individual income tax, payroll tax, and the corporate income tax. [7]

Charitable giving increases by $2.1 billion (about 1 percent) in the first year over what it would be if the current system remained in place, by 2.4 percent in year 10, and by 5 percent in year 20. [8]

On average, states could cut their sales tax rates by more than half, or 3.2 percentage points from 5.4 to 2.2 percent, if they conformed their state sales tax bases to the FairTax base. [9]

The FairTax provides the equivalent of a supercharged mortgage interest deduction, reducing the true cost of buying a home by 19 percent. [10]

References

[1] Bachman, Paul, Jonathan Haughton, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver, and David G. Tuerck, “Taxing Sales under the FairTax: What Rate Works?” published in Tax Notes, November 13, 2006. Click here to read the full paper.

[2] Tuerck, David G., Jonathan Haughton, Paul Bachman, and Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver, “A Comparison of the FairTax Base and Rate with Other National Tax Reform Proposals,” The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, February 2007. Click here to read the full paper.

[3] Tuerck, David G., Jonathan Haughton, Keshab Bhattarai, Phuong Viet Ngo, and Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver, “The Economic Effects of the FairTax: Results from the Beacon Hill Institute CGE Model,” The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, February 2007. Click here to read the full paper.

[4] Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, “A Macroeconomic Analysis of the FairTax Proposal,” July 2006. Click here to read the full paper.

[5] Kotlikoff, Laurence J. and David Rapson, “Comparing Average and Marginal Tax Rates under the FairTax and the Current System of Federal Taxation,” NBER Working Paper No. 12533, revised October 2006. Click here to read the full paper.

[6] Jokisch, Sabine and Laurence J. Kotlikoff, “Simulating the Dynamic Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Effects of the FairTax,” National Tax Journal, June 2007. Click here to read the full paper.

[7] Tuerck, David G., Jonathan Haughton, Paul Bachman, Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver, and Phuong Viet Ngo, “A Distributional Analysis of Adopting the FairTax: A Comparison of the Current Tax System and the FairTax Plan,” The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, February 2007. Click here to read the full paper.

[8] Tuerck, David G., Jonathan Haughton, Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver, Sara Dinwoodie, and Paul Bachman, “The FairTax and Charitable Giving,” The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, February 2007. Click here to read the full paper.

[9] Tuerck, David G., Paul Bachman, and Sylvia Jacob, “Fiscal Federalism: The National FairTax and the States,” The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, June 2007. Click here to read the full paper.

[10] Walby, Karen, and Dan Mastromarco, “Promoting home ownership: How the FairTax’s benefits for homeowners exceed the mortgage interest deduction,” Americans For Fair Taxation White Paper, August 2006. Click here to read the full paper.

Karen Walby, Ph.D., Director of Research, Americans For Fair Taxation, Jan. 5, 2008.

Massive Rally in DC:

274,000+ Digital Avatars and 10,000+ People on the Ground Demand Tax Reform

The FairTax sponsored Online Tax Revolt staged a massive TAX DAY 2010 Rally in Washington DC yesterday. More than 10,000 proud Americans from across our great county, congregated in our nation’s capitol to protest our broken, corrupt tax system. FairTax National Victory Campaign/Online Tax Revolt Chairman Ken Hoagland led the rally that featured a diverse group of notable tax reform advocates—including:

Radio Hall of Fame Talk Show Host Neal Boortz
Freedom Works Chairman Dick Armey
Tea Party Express leader Amy Kremer
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist
United States Senator Saxby Chambliss
Rep. Michele Bachmann
Rep. Steve King
Rep. John Linder
Rep. Jack Kingston
Darla Dawald, National Director of ResistNet a Grassfire Nation Website

More than 274,000 avatars from your FairTax sponsored Online Tax Revolt joined the physical rally of thousands of people on the ground with coverage by all the major networks. If you were watching yesterday, you probably saw our rally on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN or FOX News. Ken Hoagland was even interviewed by the French and Canadian press. After the rally, Online Tax Revolt broadcast a live TV show about the day’s events. The day started early this morning on the Capitol steps with FairTax volunteers delivering 63,000 Demands for transformational Change to our broken tax system. And the day went on with a Live TV broadcast featuring panel experts on tax reform--Neal Boortz, Amy Kremer, Ryan Ellis with Americans for Tax Reform and Ken Hoagland—discussing the need for tax reform and the incredible events of the day.

The replay of the live broadcast can be seen here.

CSPAN Coverage:

Fairtax In the News

DC TAX PROTEST
Associated Press, YouTube Coverage: (go to YouTube.com, then enter Associated Press Fair Tax Rally - too much coverage for me to present here)

Our Income Tax System -- Corruption on Display
By Ken Hoagland
Fox News

Follow this link to read the full Fox News Article.

Our nation’s tax system caters to powerful schemers with access to Congressional tax writing committees at the top and ignores the just plain dishonest down below. Broken, complicated, corrupted, expensive, destructive and unfair are the words that best describe the federal income tax system after almost a hundred years of being treated like the personal piggy bank of tax lobbyists and members of Congress.

This is not simple pigsty but one that is so complex it cost taxpayers and American businesses more than $300 billion last year in paperwork costs, alone, before a penny of tax was paid. What people owe but don’t pay amounted to more than $350 billion last year—a shortfall that, to make up, increased the average taxpayer’s bill by more than a third.

In Washington, D.C., however, a new American aristocracy made up of political insiders profits richly by buying and selling pieces of the federal tax code. It is routinely used to buy votes and pit Americans against each other, explaining why almost half of the nation does not pay income taxes while the other half carries the entire load. Does such pandering represent the “Achilles Heel” of our Republic and spell inevitable economic ruin?

Our tax system makes members of Congress powerful and tax lobbyists among the richest and most influential in Washington’s elitist ranks. In a nation that threw off the power of pampered aristocrats, they’re back and dining out on our money while the nation staggers under unthinkable and suffocating levels of national debt. Between promises to spend more and more to buy votes and insider deals to sell off more and more of the tax code, We the People are left holding the bag.

Obviously corrupted, our nation’s tax system caters to powerful schemers with access to Congressional tax writing committees at the top and ignores the just plain dishonest down below. More than a trillion dollars a year in America's "underground economy" escapes taxation. Drug dealers, prostitutes and gamblers revel in a taxation dead zone along with at least 10 million illegal immigrants. Millions enjoy the fruits of honest Americans’ labors as their tax dollars go to pay for highways, our nation's defense, schools and every other federal program while they pay no federal income taxes.

In Washington, it’s about Leona Helmsley's advice that “only the little people pay taxes” where Congressional corruption has created a $1.5 billion a year recession-proof tax lobby business. More than 18,000 tax breaks have been written into the code in the last 20 years. This on-going corruption offers promising career paths for staffers and former members of Congress who command seven-figure signing bonuses with private lobbying firms after “public service” in and around our tax writing committees.

They have created a tax system that reaches into and distorts every aspect of American life. Every penny we earn, save or spend must be accounted for to our government. No business decision is made without a tax accountant. We get what is left over after taxes are first taken by government. Insultingly, even death is a taxable event and no new hire is without a tax consequence. Even foreign competitors enjoy a tax advantage over the “Made in America” label but shame for this self-destructive record is hard to find in the Capitol.

Funding the “common good” with our tax dollars includes buying a new fleet of luxury jets for Congress because military transports are not good enough for sensitive Congressional aristocrats. While hiding the cost of government and our taxes from us through payroll taxes and withholding, a spending binge continues out in the open without fear that a reasonable connection between government profligacy and citizen earnings exists in the public mind.

The political class is so confident of this that the idea of a European-style Value Added Tax (aka VAT) has now been arrogantly suggested on top of the income tax. It would further hide the cost of government in retail prices, take more money out of the economy and citizen’s pockets that could be used for jobs and growth but provides the political class with new citizen wealth to advance their own political ambitions and access to perks usually available only to the wealthy. The political elite bank on the idea that most citizens, like modern day serfs, don’t believe they can control a government ironically designed to be directed by the people to serve the best interests of the people.

Our tax system is exhibit number one, for all to see, of what has gone wrong with our government. Fundamental reform ideas ranging from the FairTax, a simple and fair national retail consumption tax to the Flat Tax, Steve Forbes’ idea for far simpler and less expensive tax system require both citizen anger at being so obviously fleeced and the will to take this government back from self-serving aristocrats. That tax rebellion is now under way in the nascent but powerful stirrings of the Online Tax Revolt, which brings together all those Flat Taxers, FairTaxers and Reagan tax cutters who believe that public policy should actually serve the public.

Massive Rally in DC:
274,000+ Digital Avatars and 10,000+ People on the Ground Demand Tax Reform

The FairTax sponsored Online Tax Revolt staged a massive TAX DAY 2010 Rally in Washington DC yesterday. More than 10,000 proud Americans from across our great county, congregated in our nation’s capitol to protest our broken, corrupt tax system. FairTax National Victory Campaign/Online Tax Revolt Chairman Ken Hoagland led the rally that featured a diverse group of notable tax reform advocates—including:

• Radio Hall of Fame Talk Show Host Neal Boortz
• Freedom Works Chairman Dick Armey
• Tea Party Express leader Amy Kremer
• Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist
• United States Senator Saxby Chambliss
• Rep. Michele Bachmann
• Rep. Steve King
• Rep. John Linder
• Rep. Jack Kingston
• Darla Dawald, National Director of ResistNet a Grassfire Nation Website

More than 274,000 avatars from your FairTax sponsored Online Tax Revolt joined the physical rally of thousands of people on the ground with coverage by all the major networks. If you were watching yesterday, you probably saw our rally on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN or FOX News. Ken Hoagland was even interviewed by the French and Canadian press. After the rally, Online Tax Revolt broadcast a live TV show about the day’s events. The day started early this morning on the Capitol steps with FairTax volunteers delivering 63,000 Demands for transformational Change to our broken tax system. And the day went on with a Live TV broadcast featuring panel experts on tax reform--Neal Boortz, Amy Kremer, Ryan Ellis with Americans for Tax Reform and Ken Hoagland—discussing the need for tax reform and the incredible events of the day.

The replay of the live broadcast can be seen here.

The First National Day of Prayer

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Best Irish Joke in a long Time!!!

Paddy had been drinking at his local Dublin pub all day and most of the night celebrating St Patrick's Day. Mick, the bartender says, 'You'll not be drinking anymore tonight, Paddy'. Paddy replies, 'OK Mick, I'll be on my way then'. Paddy spins around on his stool and steps off. He falls flat on his face. 'Damn' he says and pulls himself up by the stool and dusts himself off. He takes a step towards the door and falls flat on his face,  'Damn, 'Damn !'  He looks to the doorway and thinks to himself that if he can just get to the door and some fresh air he'll be fine. He belly crawls to the door and shimmies up to the door frame. He sticks his head outside and takes a deep breath of fresh air, feels much better and takes a step out onto the sidewalk and falls flat on his face. 'Bejeebers.... I'm a little crocked,' he says.  He can see his house just a few doors down, and crawls to the door, hauls himself up the door frame, opens the door and shimmies inside. He takes a look up the stairs and says 'No damn' way'. He crawls up the stairs to his bedroom door and says 'I can make it to the bed'. He takes a step into the room and falls flat on his face. He says ' Damn it ' and falls into bed.  The next morning, his wife, Jess, comes into the room carrying a cup of coffee and says, 'Get up Paddy. Did you have a bit to drink last night ?'  Paddy says, 'I did, Jess. I was really crocked. But how'd you know?'  'Mick phoned . . . you left your wheelchair at the pub.

 *Blessing*

"May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. 

May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.

 

May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. 

And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through."

- An Irish Blessing

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Alexander Hamilton On Taxation

Excerpt from FEDERALIST No. 21

By Alexander Hamilton

for the Independent Journal

To the People of the State of New York:

Having in the three last numbers taken a summary review of the principal circumstances and events which have depicted the genius and fate of other confederate governments, I shall now proceed in the enumeration of the most important of those defects which have hitherto disappointed our hopes from the system established among ourselves. To form a safe and satisfactory judgment of the proper remedy, it is absolutely necessary that we should be well acquainted with the extent and malignity of the disease.

. . . There is no method of steering clear of this inconvenience, but by authorizing the national government to raise its own revenues in its own way. Imposts, excises, and, in general, all duties upon articles of consumption, may be compared to a fluid, which will, in time, find its level with the means of paying them. The amount to be contributed by each citizen will in a degree be at his own option, and can be regulated by an attention to his resources. The rich may be extravagant, the poor can be frugal; and private oppression may always be avoided by a judicious selection of objects proper for such impositions. If inequalities should arise in some States from duties on particular objects, these will, in all probability, be counterbalanced by proportional inequalities in other States, from the duties on other objects. In the course of time and things, an equilibrium, as far as it is attainable in so complicated a subject, will be established everywhere. Or, if inequalities should still exist, they would neither be so great in their degree, so uniform in their operation, nor so odious in their appearance, as those which would necessarily spring from quotas, upon any scale that can possibly be devised.

It is a signal advantage of taxes on articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a security against excess. They prescribe their own limit; which cannot be exceeded without defeating the end proposed, that is, an extension of the revenue.

"The FairTax is regressive and shifts the tax burden onto lower and middle income people"

The truth: The FairTax actually eliminates and reimburses all federal taxes for those below the poverty line. This is accomplished through the universal prebate and by eliminating the highly regressive FICA payroll tax. Today, low and moderate income Americans pay far more in FICA taxes than income taxes. Those spending at twice the poverty level pay a FairTax of only 11.5 percent -- a rate much lower than the income and payroll tax burden they bear today. Meanwhile, the wealthy pay the 23 percent retail sales tax on their retail purchases.

Under the federal income tax, slow economic growth and recessions have a disproportionately adverse impact on lower-income families. Breadwinners in these families are more likely to lose their jobs, are less likely to have the resources to weather bad economic times, and are more in need of the initial employment opportunities that a dynamic, growing economy provides. Retaining the present tax system makes economic progress needlessly slow and frustrates attempts at upward mobility through hard work and savings, thus harming low-income taxpayers the most.

In contrast, the FairTax dramatically improves economic growth and wage rates for all, but especially for lower-income families and individuals. In addition to receiving the monthly FairTax prebate, these taxpayers are freed from regressive payroll taxes, the federal income tax, and the compliance burdens associated with each. They pay no more business taxes hidden in the price of goods and services, and used goods are tax free.

How can the FairTax generate lower net tax rates for everyone and still pay for the same real government expenditures? The answer is two-fold. Firstly, the tax base is dramatically widened by including consumer spending from the underground economy (estimated at $1.5 trillion annually), and by including illegal immigrants, those who escape their fair share today through loopholes and gimmicks. In addition, 40 million foreign tourists a year will become American taxpayers as consumers here. Secondly, not everyone's average net tax burden falls. For households whose major economic resource is accumulated wealth, the FairTax will deliver a net tax hike compared to the current system.

Consider, for example, your typical billionaire, of which America now has more than 400. These fortunate few are invested primarily in equities on which they pay taxes at a 15 percent rate, whether their income comes in the form of capital gains or dividends. In addition to having the income from their wealth taxed at a low rate, the principal of their wealth is completely untaxed either directly or indirectly. Assuming they and their heirs spend only the income earned on the wealth each year, the tax rate today is 15 percent. In contrast, under the FairTax, the effective tax rate is 23 percent. Hence, the very wealthy will pay more taxes when the FairTax is enacted. In a nutshell, those who spend more will pay more but low, moderate and middle income taxpayers will benefit from the greatest gains in reduced tax liabilities.

For more information on this topic, see Why the FairTax Will Work.

Headlines In the News

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

That should teach them!

Headlines In the News

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetary; Hundreds Dead

That's it for this series. Hope you enjoyed it!

Brown for President in 2012? No Joke, Supporters Say

He's only been a senator for a week but the drumbeat already has begun for Scott Brown to run for president in 2012.

He's only been a senator for a week but the drumbeat already has begun for Scott Brown to run for president in 2012.

After the Massachusetts Republican captured the seat previously held by Ted Kennedy in an upset election last month, ending the Democrats supermajority in the Senate, Brown's supporters have launched a Facebook page devoted to discussing a potential presidential bid.

They've also scooped up several "Scott Brown for President" domain names, including scottbrown2012.com, scottbrown2016.com and scottbrownforpresident.com -- a site that offers "Scott Brown for President" bumper stickers.

And a new Gallup poll ranks Brown fourth among 11 potential GOP presidential contenders who voters would like to see as the nominee.

"He is the fresh face, and he's new," Republican strategist and pollster Kellyanne Conway told Fox News. "The whole idea that you don't have enough experience, I think that went out the window with the age of the Obama presidency."

As crazy as it sounds, a Brown presidential bid in 2012 wouldn't look much different from Obama's in 2008. By then, Brown, a state senator for six years, would have been a U.S. senator for two years, with a possible memoir under his belt. A Brown spokeswoman said he will write a book about his life leading up to the special election, but it's not clear when the book would be published.

When Obama launched his improbable presidential campaign in 2007, he had been a U.S. senator for only two years following his seven-year career as a state senator in Illinois, and he had penned two books.

"Anybody who attacks Scott Brown as having a thin legislative record as a state senator in Massachusetts is going to sound foolish given the fact that's exactly what Obama had before he became president," Conway said.

But Conway said Brown has no chance to become the GOP nominee in 2012 and points to the media for creating the hype surrounding a Brown presidential bid.

Because members of the mainstream media came to the Brown party late and did not take him seriously as a Senate candidate, "they are now trying to play catch up with his legislative record and with Scott Brown the man ... and politician."

"It's also how some in the mainstream media likes to pick who they think the presidential timber vs. the presidential woodchips are and they like to say this person can make it because he has voted for some pro-choice measures," she added. "So they believe that will cause a schism within the Republican Party and the conservative movement. They'll say the Tea Party people are with Scott brown but the evangelical Christians will never support him."

~~~~~

I'll be watching Brown over the next couple of years to see what he does in the Senate and whether he really plans a run for the Oval Office sometime in the near future.

The facts show that he's pretty equal to Obama in legislative experience. Democrats and Liberals can't, with a straight face, say anything against his qualifications as they are so similar to Obama's, but I'm sure there will be a spin coming out sometime showing what a poor choice he'll be even before he makes any announcement, for or against, a run for the White House.

Of course, if the Mayan calendar is correct, whoever is elected in November 2012, will be the last one elected. I don't agree with it. I prefer to side with Sir Isaac Newton who postulated that the world will end, I believe, 2060, or maybe it's 2160.

No matter who is right, or wrong, about the end of the world, you have to agree that it's going to be an interesting Presidential election cycle leading up to November, 2012.

Headlines In the News

Red Tape Holds Up Bridges

and I thought it was duct tape and baling wire. Silly me!

FairTax in the News

Understanding the FairTax webinar for March 2010


Special Topic: Comparing the FairTax to the Flat Tax

WHEN: Thursday Mar. 25, 2010

TIME: 8 to 8:45pm Eastern Time, 7 to 7:45pm Central, 6 to 6:45 Mountain, 5 to 5:45 Pacific

WHERE: Your home, your Personal Computer

WHY:To provide an interactive forum for people who cannot get to local meetings to learn about the FairTax and to present Special Topics that are frequently misunderstood or not generally discussed. Education is the weapon of the FairTax grassroots organizations and we are Educating the Nation on the web.

Join Marc Manieri, Americans for Taxation Community Coordinator in the Greater Orlando, Florida Area. Marc’s webinars are drawing national participation from seasoned FairTax supporters as well as those just getting started as a supporter. We help build the knowledge base of those on the front lines as well as those wanting to know what the FairTax is about. We educate candidates and sitting Congressional Representatives on the merits of the FairTax.

Many participants have asked Marc if the presentation is available to them. The answer is yes. Marc sends an email to each participant following the webinar. Just reply asking for the Power Point presentation and notes. Marc will email it to you.

To participate it is necessary to pre-register at this web link
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/935842099

You will receive a confirmation email with instructions for signing in at the time of the Webinar.

This kind of review just might (cliché alert!) drive the stake through the heart of the Fair Tax. Or it might lead to a tax system that is far less frustrating, and far more ‘fair’ to those people that Fair Tax opponents claim to be trying to protect.

If you visit the FairTax site, you’ll find a link to send a note to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel, requesting a hearing. What could be more fair to We the People than a fair hearing over how we meet our financial obligation to our nation?

Did You Know?

More than a billion dollars a year is spent lobbying the tax code. Washington lobbyists are so successful as tax lobbyists that the hallway outside the House Ways and Means Committee room is called, “Gucci Gulch” because of the expensive shoes typically worn there. Tax committee staff and retired or defeated members can see six and seven figure “signing bonuses” when they move from Capitol Hill to a “K St” tax lobby firm. The FairTax end this corruption by closing all the loopholes.

more information on the Fair Tax here

To Save the Nation

As the nation drowns in a sea of red ink, more and more and more citizens of all political affiliations are asking “what went wrong with the American dream?”

From coast to American coast and driven by necessity, the American people are awakening to the need to wrest control of our destiny from those who advance their political fortunes at the cost of the genius of the American spirit of innovation, hard work, independence and liberty. There is a dawning realization among a rapidly growing number of citizens that the solution waits in FairTax legislation, HR25, which does more to shift power from government to the citizen than any other single change since the founding of the nation.

More and more experts warn of extended unemployment for what experts also define as the most productive workforce in the world. Once the envy of the world, Bethlehem steel no longer dominates the world, cotton mills across the south no longer ship to the once powerful textile industries in South Carolina, and workers in Detroit see the American automobile industry struggling to regain momentum and take the lead back from foreign manufacturers. From the San Joaquin valley of California to the wheat and corn fields of the Midwest, we grow enough food to feed the world but worry that we don’t have enough food to feed our own children.

In the nation that saw clipper ships ranging the world faster than any competitor, that developed the surgery to replace the human heart, that brought the personal computer forth from a hometown garage in California, that won world wars and went on to rebuild Europe and Asia and that put man after a ten year effort on the moon, we now actually wonder whether the American people can trump the narrow self-interests of a few in Washington who profit lucratively by trading tax code favors against the best interests of nation and every taxpayer.

Our system of government, we are reminded, was never meant to be handed over to a “political class”. It does not fly right on “automatic pilot”. The Founding Fathers understood the inherent nature of government to gather more and more power unto itself and equipped our citizens with the means to restore the proper role of the people over jealously guarded power concentrated within small circles of influence and profit. It could not be more needed.

The FairTax shifts federal taxes away from what helps the economy—work, saving and investment—to what comes out of the economy—consumption. As significantly, the FairTax shifts the power of federal taxation from the backrooms of Congress to the American citizen who then chooses, by personal consumption choices, the timing and size of each family’s tax burden. It exposes the cost of the federal government and makes each consumer a “stakeholder” in the spending habits of government and it frees the American economy to soar to heights not yet seen.

But this needed change waits for the will of the American people. It waits for the great awakening of self-determination that seems to have begun now in TEA parties, in living rooms and at the polls. There are now more Independent voters than either Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians. The FairTax unites all for a new era of American growth, the immediate healing of our economy and millions of needed jobs. It makes the American worker once more in demand and the genius of American productivity and invention again the envy of the world. It waits for the American people to find their voice and their clout to return our great nation to one that is “of, by and for” hometown America. It waits for us.

"The FairTax is not politically viable"

The truth: Great public policy changes do not happen easily. We believe, however, in the promise of the Founding Fathers that this is a nation, "of, by and for the people". In the last year we have seen more Congressional co-sponsors come on board faster than ever before. We have seen five of eight GOP candidates and one Democratic candidate embrace the FairTax. With increased media coverage, as at least one candidate has made this a central plank of his campaign, more and more Americans have come to understand the powerful benefits the FairTax offers the nation. They are, in turn, joining our growing citizen army and are beginning to communicate their wishes to their elected officials. All of this progress is a consequence of the body politic first learning about and then accepting the FairTax. As our ranks grow such pressure will increase on Members of Congress and at some point, the voice of the people will eclipse the voices of the relatively small number of Washingtonians who profit working the income tax system at great cost to the nation. Enactment of the FairTax will require an activist citizenry and a resurgence of what has been too often forgotten--public policy can and should be driven by the public. All that is required is that we all dare to be fair and remind our elected officials that they work for their constituents--not for the narrow self-interests of the tax writing committee, the lucrative tax lobby business or the academicians who have built careers around the complexity of the tax code.

For more information on this topic, see these research papers:

Tax Administration and Collection Costs

A Macroeconomic Analysis of the FairTax Proposal

An Open Letter to the President, the Congress and the American People

Fiscal Federalism - The National FairTax and the States

Headlines In the News

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

are they taking their case to a higher court?

Headlines In the News

Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

Can't put anything over on those Bobbys!

A Matter of Constitutionality

When we say that all Americans have the right to health care, we need to be sure just what we're talking about. Are we discussing the right of Americans to have equal access to health care? If so, then we're on the same page.

But, are we talking about the right of Americans to have health care coverage paid for by the Federal government? If so, then could someone point out to me just where in the Constitution anyone is guaranteed health care? I haven't seen it, but maybe I've overlooked it or just don't understand what I'm reading. I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, I really do want to know if I'm missing something.

The Constitution is the set of rules our government operates from and which grants certain rights to its people. It's the basis of our laws in the United States. Laws can't be passed which are prohibited by the Constitution. It becomes confusing when the Constitution doesn't specifically address a specific situation such as abortion, or health care, issues that have become increasingly under the glare of national attention.

The "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" only very tenuously refer to health care under the "life" aspect. These rights actually come from the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.

I agree that the Constitution is a living document and must change as issues arise that the Founding Fathers could not have possibly envisioned. However, as a living document, that must evolve to continue to be of relevance, we must also be sure that changes to the Constitution are changes that are fundamental to the United States as a country and as a people, not a change made through a "whim", or a response to an issue that may be more emotional than fundamental. An example of such a change would be the 18th Amendment - a Constitutional amendment that abolished the manufacture, sale, transport, and consumption of liquor within the United States and its territories. Now, I didn't research the whys and wherefores of this Amendment. I'm sure that everyone involved thought it would be for the benefit of the American public to abolish liquor. It was ratified in 1919 and because of a change in public sentiment, it was repealed in 1933.

This is a law that in my opinion is an attempt to legislate morality. Abolish liquor and you abolish all the illegalities that accompany it: drunk driving, public intoxication, criminal activity such as protection, and I'm such many other illegal and immoral activities. I am not in favor of anyone drinking an amount that makes them be stupid (my definition of stupid is anything from being silly, to drunk driving, to physical attack on another person and more). Anyone who does so should be willing to face the consequences of their actions.

You might think I'm off point, but I'm not, really. Look at the Constitution. Does it say anything about drinking in the Constitution? How about morality? One may argue that passing amendments regarding voting (the right to vote to women and that race is no bar to voting) may be moralistic in nature, and I'm not sure that such an argument would be wrong. But history has proven that these amendments are not a passing fancy or a whim of the time, as was Prohibition.

In over two hundred years, there have been only twenty seven amendments, one of which was repealed less than 15 years later. In the preamble, the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) and then the other 17 amendments, I see nothing that will give anyone the idea that health care is a "right" to be granted to an American citizen in the sense that other rights, such as the right to free speech, have been granted under the Constitution.

I'm not a Constitutional scholar, but it's a short read and pretty easy to understand. Health care doesn't fall under the Constitution as a fundamental right, so it must be a right that we are afforded as human beings, but not necessarily as American citizens.

I agree that every American should have equal access to health care. No one should be denied, especially health care that would save a life. I believe that we need an overhaul of the system, but perhaps it should begin with the insurance industry rather than the health care end. It's the insurance side that decides what procedures will be paid for. It's the insurance end that decides who qualifies for health insurance. It's the insurance end that decides how much the insurance company will pay for medications and procedures and how much will be paid for by the insured - you.

It's been said that the Canadian health care system is the model we should strive for. Why then, did the Premier of Newfoundland (I apologize if the title is incorrect) come to the US for heart surgery? Canadians regularly come to the US for procedures it would take weeks or months to get in Canada. We go to Canada for the same medications that we would get in the US, but pay a lot less in Canada than in our own pharmacies. Maybe we need to take a look at the Canadian pharmacy for direction.

It's not Constitutional that Americans receive health care. It is morally imperative that every American citizen have access to health care.

Headlines In the News

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Hope he, or she, is up to the job

Headlines In the News

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

I've heard of zero tolerance, but isn't this taking things a bit far?