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Tax code a anchor on economy

Picture this.  The economy is a ship, it moves forward, sometimes fast, most of the time not so much.  Why is that?  Because the present tax code is an anchor, and it is dragging along the bottom.  Yeah, the economy moves forward, but it could go much faster if we took the tax anchor off the bottom.   Read the new article by William Buckley on his take on tax codes.

Most people don't really realize how much economic activity is destroyed by high taxes and the confusing tax code.  How many jobs are not created because taxes must be paid.   That instead of being invested in something that would make somebody a living.   People insist that wealthy people pay high taxes, forgetting  that  small business owners are  often those  people.    So instead of hiring a new employee because they invested in their business,  they are writing a check to uncle sam.   

Uncle sam of course will be far less efficient with that money,   spending it on something the government doesn't have any business spending money on.    Like the bridge to nowhere.   That money is then lost,  its investing power is gone forever.   Nasty cycle,   high taxes are,   because somebody isn't working and paying taxes.   Government "investments"  aren't really investments. 

 People also don't really know how much of their income is consumed by taxes.   Like all the passed on costs that are taxes in disguise.   That one of the advantages of the fair tax,  that cost is out in the open.   Maybe then people would be more open to the huge cuts that are needed to  lower taxes to open up the economy.  

Spending by the government has to be cut with an axe,  not just little cuts here and there.     Its has to go!   The cycle has to be broken,   let the economy ship sail forward without the government anchor.    That helps people much more then government welfare ever could.   

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Yet Another Reason It's Good that John Kerry Isn't the President

Yet another reason it's good that John Kerry isn't the President. (There are soooo many.)   Today Kerry bypassed his former running  mate in 2004, John Edwards, and endorsed Barack Obama.     It shows how little anything of value means to members of  the Democrat party these days.  He could have been somewhat loyal  to Edwards.  He could have at least waited until John Edwards drops out of the race.    Edwards is going to drop out,   he has nothing to offer to voters.   But no Kerry needed to jump on Obama bandwagon,  but he had to burn another bridge to do so.    Oh well,  he could still have to eat crow if Clinton wins the primary,   there is no love lost there either.   
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Merry Christmas

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to
society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Noble Prize has Hit Bottom, Starts to Dig!

Well,  as most of you know,  the Noble Prize has been declining rapidly lately.   If Arafat could "win" it you knew it had little value left.   But today Al Gore and his "global warming" nonsense won the prize.   The Noble prize can only be won by liberals today.     Nothing very noble about it.     Hijacked by politics.    Too bad.  

Read about it here.    Got to be amused (and annoyed) by the statement by Nobel Committee chairman, Ole Danbolt Mjoes,  that it wasn't aimed at the Bush administration.    It is the reason Gore won (same thing with Carter a few years ago),   and there is no other reason why he would have.    Mjoes then basically endorses whomever the Democrats put up for election in 2008.     Just  a typical  European  liberal  who  wishes  America  was as liberal and "enlightened" like Europe is.    No thanks Mr.  Mjoes,   you can keep your socialism.   And your noble prize too,  it isn't worth anything anymore. 
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Stupid Idea of the Day: The "War" Tax?

Today's stupid idea is wrong at so many levels.     A War tax?   Are Democrats insane?  Or at least Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin?    Read about it here.    The line about draining  the treasury is extra rich!    Do congressman and women balance their own checkbooks or do they have someone to do it for them? 

Its not the war that is draining the treasury folks.    If there is a underfunded government  department,  its the military.  It is even worse when we are at "peace".   Its telling that the only government spending that the liberals worry about is military spending.   Never mind the insane amounts of social spending that IS draining the treasury.    Or the many pork projects that the government has even less business funding.   I think that most people think the largest line item on the federal budget is the military.   It isn't by the way.    Social Security spending is 9 times larger then the whole military budget (all services combined).   It not even close!   And SS is ONE program! 

I would never vote to increase the budget of any government department except for the military.   Liberals want a cheap military so they can have stories of under equipped units and the "low" pay of  servicepeople.   So they can  criticize for those problems again and again.  Any way to chip away at the military.    Never mind that if we don't have it,   we may as well close up shop.     The U.S. military is the only  reason people can be a liberal (How many liberals are there in places like Iran,  that right, none).   
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A Little of This and That

A couple  of headlines that I would like to comment on today.     Well most of them are (or should be headlines).   Some aren't getting much press outside of places like Townhall.  

Such as Iranian "President"  Ahmadinejad (don't you love how the press still insists on calling him a president)  who is in New York again (see my old post on his last visit to the U.S.).    Like many terrorists who visit New York City he wants to visit the World Trade Center.    Thankfully the city had enough sense to tell him no way!     But he may end up visiting anyway because the Secret Service will let him.   Thank you State Department for not watching out for American interests once again.   On top of that,  some nitwits from Columbia University are inviting him to campus!   Read about it here.

Another story getting lost in the rush of  the day is Venezuela Dictator Chavez (another Dictator that is rarely called a Dictator by the press).    He is now nationalizing the remaining private schools (both primary, secondary and college levels) in Venezuela.    This guy gets very little press (and criticism) for all the things he has been doing to hold power forever there.  Bad news for Venezuelans just keep coming and the world sleeps.  

And "move on ad gate"  continues.    If you check out News Busters, check the Hillary Clinton never answer the question when it comes to that ad.  Spin Spin Spin.   She manages to slam President Bush,,,, instead of merely admitting the ad was a bad idea.    She doesn't even want to criticize it!     This one is costing the Democrats for a change.    The American Conservative Union has filed a complaint with the FEC against the New York Times and Move-On.   Read about it here.   Its undoubtable some rule has been broken.    Maybe finally all the rules the liberals insist on for elections will bite them in  the butt this time. 

Speaking of election rules,   the double standard when it come to Democrat candidates and churches.    They can stand up and run a campaign during a church service. Yes,,, during the Church Service (not before or after church during!!),  what about the members who aren't Democrats?   It must be annoying as all get out!    Then when a Republican group distribute voter guides (outside the church service by the way)  they get criticized constantly for politicizing church!    It sure doesn't bother the non-Republican like the during the service campaign the Democrats do!   The Republican church gets it's tax exemption questioned but not the Democrat one.     Hummm!!!
Makes you wish that the church tax exemption was harder for some government worker with a chip on his shoulder to threaten.    

But it a thing that happens all to often.  Tax Exemptions Removals that is.   Here in Lake County Indiana,  government officials are on the hunt for new property tax revenue.    So they have been targeting churches,  hospitals and other charity organizations on their "outside businesses".   Such as banquet halls,  daycare centers and health clubs etc.    Since the  homeowners and  for profit  businesses are  tapped out,   its time to go after non-profits!    Instead of doing the right thing and spending less money,  its time to go be the grinch who steals from a group doing something good.    Like these groups are making huge money on these "outside" things. 
Pretty sleazily  if  you  ask me!

I  guess  that  it  for  now!   Have a good one!




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New York Times Discount Ad Rate

Imagine if the Heritage Foundation wanted to run a full page ad in the New York Times.   It wouldn't matter what subject the Foundation wanted to talk about.    My guess would be the Times wouldn't even run the ad.   The reason would be some politically correct nonsense no doubt.  Even if they paid the full ad rate of about $180,000+.  

But look at this!    Move-on gets a huge discount for its full page ad.  The ad criticizing the General Petraeus report that was not even out at the time.    Talk about not being able to change your mind,   it doesn't really matter that there was a report,   the mind-set of the left is made up already.   But move on's buddies at the times gives a big discount for this "ad" paying only $65,000.  

If you still think that the media is fair and balanced,   stuff like this wouldn't be happening.    But it is,  the idea that the media is neutral is utter nonsense.    Liberals can do whatever they like,  Conservatives don't even get in the pages of the TImes unless its the crime page.    
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Hillary's Donation Scandal: Don't Hear Much About it if You Only Use "Mainstream" Media

Hillary's campaign donation scandal has forced Clinton to return $850,000.     Read about it here.    If this was a Republican candidate with this problem imagine the bad press.   It would be front page news on the New York Times,  specials on CNN,   continuing coverage 24/7 like the Craig thing.    But since it is a Democrat and Hillary to boot,   little to no coverage.    This is the biggest scandal that will likely happen in the 2008 election.    But silently off into the night with the coverage.    Just shows once again how out of touch the media is with reality.   
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Democrats don't make anybody happy these days!

Boy it must stink to be a Democrat.    The congress has the lowest approval rating in years.   All the presidential candidates are so far left of any voter they will elect a Republican to matter how much the media makes that person look like the devil.  Even Bid Liden isn't happy with the Democrats.    He was thinking that the Demos would get the U.S. military out of his beard(I would have said hair but this is funnier).   Good luck with that one.    Maybe we could find him by tracking his hair club for men order.    I wonder how easy it is getting the coloring stylist to come to his cave.    Maybe John Edwards could talk hair care with Bid Liden someday.  
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Wouldn't it be nice if.........

Wouldn't it be nice if............

If spending money like a drunken sailor wasn't job one for the government! 

If raising taxes was actually hard to do! 

If respect for living things actually lead to respect for all human life! 

If people who start businesses were seen as hero's instead of villains!

If the government got out of the way of those businesses.  

If you could own all your "social security" instead of government mismanaging it and keeping it when you die.

If gas taxes actually were spent on roads not on other things like bike trails.

If the answer to better schools that didn't mean spending more huge amounts of money that people don't have.

If unions actually cared about their members instead of being in politics.

If special groups didn't think that they need more rights then other people. 

If people knew what was in the U.S. Constitution and what isn't.

If a little respect for what makes this country great was given instead of all the whining when you don't agree with it.

If taxes weren't the biggest expense of most households so that more money could be sent to causes that people actually believe in rather then the things that government thinks is important. 

This is a small list,   comments would be welcome. 










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A Great Bumper Sticker with a Deeper Truth

Saw a great bumper sticker the other day.  You just don't see many bumper stickers anymore,  due, I guess to how ugly they look on most of today's cars.    Most of the time you see those dopey, overdone liberal statements on them anyway.  I guess Republicans drive nicer cars and don't want to uglify their cars with stickers.   The best liberal hypocritical ones are the ones on big SUV's that decry the oil industry and the government's energy policy.    Most of the time you see stickers on VW's, Volvo's or Suburu's or other cars favored by liberal types (They do have favorites, usually not American built ones anyway, even though liberals hate personal cars, well your personal car, not theirs).

But I am getting away from my post.   I saw on the Borman Expressway on a car owned by a person I would classify as blue collar.   Now Northwest Indiana has most of the few Democrats in the state.   Indiana is mostly Republican, except for this little corner of Lake county  near Chicago.   The Unions wish most of their members would vote the straight Democrat ticket but since over half don't,   the Democrats hold on the area is finally (very overdue) slipping away.   

The sticker said   " ReElect Ronald Reagan 2008".

Many union members first Republican vote was for Ronald Reagan in the eighties.   He wasn't always very popular with those same folks after that.    That was due mostly to the media's misinformation about him,  more than Reagan's policies.    But it is telling that the average Democrat doesn't  like the choices that they have for President in 2008 either.   I think that a candidate like Fred Thompson,  has a great opening to win big. Why Thompson?  He is a lot like Reagan in the way he speaks,   and his policy statements are pretty close too.   If he can be like Reagan was in the 1980's if he can present himself as the candidate for the working guy.     Because Reagan was the best president for union members in the eighties, even though the union leadership and the media didn't think so.    Of course I have found it ironic that Reagan is the only union leader to win the U.S. Presidency, since the unions have always wanted one of their own in  that office.   Reagan had been the leader of the actors union for many years.    But the other unions leaders hated Reagan (and do to this day).
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Update on BP Refinery in Northwest Indiana: Out of State Environuts on Warpath

I was reading Paul Driessen article here on Townhall about Romania problems with development of basic industry such as mining.   I had noticed the similar problem Northwest Indiana has with environmentalists.   Outsiders that know nothing about the needs of somewhere they don't live.  

Granted Romania problems are much, much worse then Northwest Indiana's.   But it shows the short view taken by environmentalists.    Most environmentalist are wealthy,  and don't care about folks less well off.   Poor people cannot do anything to improve the environment.   They will contiue to degrade it because they have to survive somehow.   It  isn't  charming  to be poor,  in spite of  all the tourists in New Orleans would say.    It is blantly wrong to deny people the right to improve their economics.   

BP has caved in,   and has given up on increasing the pollution that it had gotten a permit for.    It also means the expansion will most likely never be built.   On the same day that BP gave up the right it has to pollute more,    Chicago dumps millions of gallons of untreated sewage into Lake Michigan after a rainstorm.    The district that "treats" the sewage of Chicago  has  a permit  to  dump  nine times  as much as  BP  could.    The hypocrisy is so thick you could cut it with a knife.   If this refinery was to be built in Illinois there would be no opposition from the environmentalists.    The "environmentalists" in this case is the sleazy politicos of Illinois. 

Illinois has butted into this project so much,  it is sickening.   Indiana is much more committed to economic  development,  when Illinois seems to be going the opposite direction.   That why Indiana is getting these projects,  you got to be business friendly to get new business.  Northwest Indiana is in Indiana so the Illinois folks need to mind their own business.  

I hope this project happens,   but I think it is dead already.   Environmentalists are so anti-people these days.   They need a reality check.   But they aren't going to get one anytime soon.   Meanwhile we all will be paying too much for gas for a long time to come.    Or not going to the beach because Chicago sewage is washing ashore.   Illinois clean your own house before you  try to  clean  Indiana's. 
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Stupid Idea of the Day: John Edwards "We should "Sacrifice" our SUV's to "save" the Enviroment

I was going to post this earlier,  but due to the blog not working I didn't.  So here is today's stupid idea of the day.  John Edwards says we should sacrifice our SUV's to save the environment.    Read about it here.    How more hypocritical could this guy be.    I doubt he will be giving up his.    I can't say there are many politicos who don't have SUV's,   many that actually belong to the taxpayer (don't get me started on cars provided to government employees).

American drive SUV's because they like them.   I personally hate little cars, I think most Americans do as well.    They are uncomfortable,  drive badly  and I sure wouldn't want to get in an accident with one.   Good luck getting one of my bigger clients (I am a realtor) into a compact car.    How about families that would need to drive two cars instead of putting everybody into one SUV?   I drive too much to have  something mandated to me by the government,  I wouldn't want to drive something I hate.   This is another poorly thought out liberal idea that has no check on reality. 

If you think that SUV's are evil,   don't ride in them or drive or buy them.  Its your choice!    It's clear that most folks have no problem with them.    If you like them don't feel bad about driving one,  I personally don't own one,  but I should be able to buy one when I want.    I know John Edwards will be driving one. 



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Good News for Chicago Taxpayers: City dumps Wi-Fi plans

Good News for Taxpayers in Chicago.   They don't get good news about overspending very often for things a city should never spend money on.   The city is dumping the Wi-Fi plan for the whole city.  Read about it here. http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/532244,292NWS6.article
Of course the Sun-Times never noted the whole story about internet services provided by a city government.   About the fact that no city in the U.S. has rolled out Wi-Fi service as a city service without losing plenty of money.    Typical of a "mainstream" publication to not tell the whole story.    

Internet services are something a government has no business providing.   It cannot do what it does now very well.  Why should it be taking on something private business has no trouble providing.     Many people don't use or have no need for the internet.    Why should they pay for someones else connection thru taxes.  


On a different note:    Am I the only one who thinks the blogging software that Townhall uses is crummy?    I haven't been able to post for days due to the interface not working.   The link button isn't working now so that why the article  isn't hyperlinked.  I have had issues with it since the beginning.   It is broken all the time,  and the Macintosh "support" leaves a lot to be desired.  It doesn't work at all with Safari.    I blog in a few different places,  and townhall is by far the hardest place to blog,  there is MUCH better software out there.    Please,  Please Townhall replace the blog software.  Soon!

Update:
Townhall Tech :  I cannot get this post to hyperlink the article above  even though I can in other posts since,  could  you  link it  for me?     There has to be another bug in the software.    What are you guys using to run the blog,   it  must be a pain to keep it going!  thanks


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Do as we say, not as we do! Liberal Hypocrisy rears its head again.

Here is a another example of hypocrisy on the part of a liberal.   Bette Midler is today's hypocrite liberal.  Read about it here.    She is an "environmentalist"  yet even she cannot follow the rules that liberals like to insist that the rest of us follow.  Like permits for cutting down trees,  how stupid is that.    However she can mow down as many trees as she wants,  although she is paying a fine.   But rich folks can afford things like fines.   Most people can't.    Of course some will say the area is a sensitive environmental area,  so a permit is necessary to protect it.   But if she is a big environmentalist  why is she living there?

Granted this is a non story,  but what about property rights.    Maybe that is the story,  Why do you need a permit to cut down trees on your own property.    The property rights of your own real estate has declined over the years as regulation has increased.    Permits were created to protect the public from bad or unsafe construction,  not to regulate what you do with your own property.   What public interest overrides your rights to do what you will with your  own stuff?   I guess when a liberal thinks he or she knows better then you!
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