Monday, November 22, 2004
 ARE
YOU READY TO CONSIDER THE FAIR TAX NOW?
A controversy hit a fever pitch in Washington when somebody finally read an
Omnibus spending bill that passed the House and Senate on Saturday - all 3,000
pages of it - and realized that it included a provision allowing two committee
chairmen to view the tax returns of any American.
Say what?
That's right. A little provision snuck into this spending bill would
allow the chairman of the House and Senate appropriations committees --- or
members of their staffs --- to examine any individual American's income tax
return if and when they get the urge to do so.
The $338 billion spending bill, which included nine appropriations bills
that our politicians just couldn't find the time to pass individually, had been
worked on by committees for 9 months. Basically what happened was the
Congress just wanted to pass the bill and get out of Dodge as soon as
possible. It is Thanksgiving week after all. So pass it they did,
and leave they did ... all without reading much of it at all! Keep
in mind this is our money...and $338 billion isn't exactly chump change.
Guess it's easier to just wave the bill on through than it is to actually read
all 3,000 pages. Maybe we need a new rule...if the bill is too long to
read, then perhaps it's spending too much money? Just a thought.
Anyway, the bill included this nifty little section about the committee chairmen
being able to view the tax returns of any American. As soon as it was
discovered, the Senate struck it from the bill, and the House is going to do the
same. The two committee chairmen in question couldn't distance themselves
from it fast enough. So who snuck it into the bill?
Turns out it came from Representative Ernest Istook, Republican of
Oklahoma. He says it's all a big misunderstanding....that the language was
drafted by the IRS and never meant to invade anyone's privacy. Yeah ... a
misunderstanding. How come it's always a misunderstanding when you find
one of these politicians exceeding their constitutional authority? What
was really going on here? Was Istook carrying water for the
IRS? I hate to go there, but you have to ask yourself if the IRS
might have Istook over a barrel somehow. That might explain putting such a
provision in a bill. Istook says the language was meant to allow
Congressional investigators the ability to oversee tax collections. OK ...
let's accept that nonsense for a minute. Now someone explain to me just
why a congressional committee would need to review my tax return without my
permission just to keep an eye on IRS tax collection activities?
Here's a thought. Imagine that you are a Senator running for
reelection. You have a tough contest coming up with some well-heeled
challenger. The Appropriations Committee chairman owes you a favor two, so
you ask him if you can get some information from your challenger's tax
returns.
You do know how this type of abuse could be prevented, don't you? What
if there were no tax returns for these politicians to snoop through? What
if the Imperial Federal Government of the United States had no records on how
you earn your money, how much you earn, and how you spend it? Then perhaps
you should take a few minutes to look into the Fair
Tax Plan. It's time to get the government out of our pockets, and this
is the way to do it.
The Democrats are going to milk this one for all its worth, and they
should. Any and all politicians still left in Washington were either
running for cover or making the rounds on the Sunday shows distancing
themselves. But the real story is the legislation itself, all 3,000 pages
of it.
To give you an idea, Webster's unabridged dictionary is 2,800 pages. If
it's too much to read, how about not spending the money? I know...dream
on.
IRAQI
ELECTIONS SET FOR JANUARY 30TH
The government of Iraq has set elections for January 30th, 2005...right on
schedule. These would be the first free elections since the fall of Saddam
Hussein. The Iraqi government says voting will go forward even in
the most violent areas of the Sunni triangle, including Fallujah and Mosul.
Already, the naysayers are out in force. It can't be done, they say,
because Iraq is too violent a place. Excuse me, but isn't this the very
same thing that they were saying about Afghanistan just a few months ago?
Par for the course. It seems that they always fail to mention is the fact
that the overwhelming majority of the country is at peace and stable. It's
only a few cities and provinces where the insurgents are. But these same
people have been doubting our effort in Iraq all along.
Consider this: remember when people were saying we would lose 10,000 men on the
first day of the invasion? We're almost 2 years out, and still under 2,000
killed. Still tragic, but considering the predictions, not too
shabby. Remember those that said we could never transfer
sovereignty? We did it anyway....a couple days early. Elections in
Afghanistan? They said it couldn't be done...and we did it.
And what about Fallujah? We were told it would be impossible to take that
city. Thousands of Marines would die....the carnage would be
unbearable. Yet, the U.S. Marines rolled that one up in a couple of
days....and even sent 1,200 Islamic terrorists to their permanent desert sand
naps (wait...1,201...there was that faker in the mosque.) But was he
really dead when the Marine shot him? Well, he is now. Good riddance.
The war in Iraq has been a smashing success...the facts just don't support any
argument otherwise.
BUSH
RESCUES SECRET SERVICE AGENT
There was an interesting little episode down in Chile over the weekend.
President Bush was entering a building where a dinner was held, when his secret
service agent was detained by over-zealous Chilean security officials.
When Bush realized what was happening, what did he do? Did he just smile,
wave and let the agent twist in the wind?
Nope...the most powerful man on Earth and the leader of the free world turned
around, and plunged right into the crowd. He grabbed Secret Service
Agent Nick Trotta, the #2 agent on his security detail, and pulled him out
of the fracas and into the dinner with him. The Chileans were miffed...too
bad.
Now take just a second and compare these actions with those of The Poodle on the
campaign trail some months ago. Remember when one of his Secret
Service agents bumped into him while he was snowboarding and John Kerry called
him an S.O.B? Compare that little episode with Bush's actions here.
It's obvious that the president appreciates those that risk their lives to
protect him.
After that lapse in security, the U.S. asked for metal detectors at the state
dinner in Chile, and were declined. So the state dinner was canceled...too
bad for Chile. U.S. Presidential security is absolute...zero mistakes,
especially in a post 9/11 world.
Now ... did you happen to see any stories or video of Bush's bold actions on
the television news over the weekend? I know I can't watch everything, but
I saw nothing of it. I watched CNN this morning for three hours ... not
one mention. My conspiratorial mind urges me to believe that the reason
there was no coverage is because this makes Bush look bold and decisive. [link
to video here]
But ... there is one fracas you certainly DID see over the weekend, and it
happened not in Chile, but in Detroit ....
Read on.
THE
NBA ... INEVITABLE RESULT?
 By
now I know you've heard about that huge fight in Detroit at the Pacers Pistons
game. No need to go into the details here. Suffice it to say that
Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson of the Pacers waded into the stands and started
pummeling fans.
I haven't heard anyone else express these sentiments .. but I think it could
be said that the violence at this game mirrors the image that NBA players have
been been promoting for years. Basketball is the sport of the Hip Hop
culture, and the Hip Hop culture is one of predatory sex and wanton
violence. Violence is celebrated, not condemned in Hip Hop. Menacing
anger is the mood du jour. Try to find a picture of a Hip Hop
"artist" where you see smiling faces. Smile? Are you
kidding? We're mad! We're angry! We've been disrespected, and
we're here to get our props!
Ron Artest .... the player who first waded into the stands? Well, you
do know that Artest has a rap album out, don't you? In fact, Artest feels
that his rap album is more important than his basketball. A few weeks ago
he asked his coach for a month off to go on a promotional tour. Now he has
all the time he needs to promote his rap abilities. Artest, along with
several other players, has been suspended. He won't play another game this
season. Ron Artest says that he doesn't think that David Stern has been
fair in this situation. What a pity. Obviously he hasn't considered
what his thuggery will do for his Hip Hop career.
Here are the names of some of our NBA superstuds followed by the number of
games they have been suspended and the amount of money they will loose.
- Ron Artest (73) $4,995,000
- Stephen Jackson (30) $1,700,000
- Jermaine O'Neal (25) $4,111,000
- Ben Wallace (6) $6,000,000
- Anthony Johnson (5) $122,222
Looks like a rather costly incursion into the stands to me. How long do
you think it will be before another NBA basketball player decides to wade into
the stands to attack fans? You just know that Artest and some of these
other players are going to get lawyers ... and if those lawyers, with the help
of the NBA player's association, manage to get these suspensions lifted it
will be a signal to the players, and not a good one.
Now ... about the fans.
Full disclosure: Some of those fans were throwing beer and other items
at the players. When Artest waded into the stands the first fan he got to
was standing there holding his beer and gesturing at Artest. There is a part of
me that really enjoyed seeing this goon taken down. That doesn't make it
right. That doesn't mean that Artest doesn't deserve his punishment.
It just means I enjoyed seeing this fan get knocked to the ground. I'm a
little off that way.
A few fans thought that it might be cool to head to the floor and confront
these players. I've just about worn out my TIVO watching these fans get
clocked. Loved it. I believe that once you have made the decision to
enter the arena inhabited by these warriors you are considered to have given
your consent for them to beat the absolute crap out of you. If the
players don't hurt you bad enough then you should be arrested and spend a few
days in jail with some real bad actors. As for the "fans"
who were throwing stuff from the stands. Hopefully the prosecutors will
identify some of these drunks on videotapes and they will be charged.
After they pay a fine they should be banned from any future NBA games.
Oh ... and maybe they should stop selling beer. Just pump that sludge
back into the horses it came from.
DURN
THAT GLOBAL WARMING
Moscow just got it's biggest snowfall in 70 years. Moscow gets a lot of
snow. I know. I've waded through quite a bit of it. Now it's
the biggest snow dump in in 70 years. At the same time California gets
snow in the desert. This global warming stuff is starting to frighten
me. If things get any warmer we're all either going to be buried in an
avalanche or frozen to death.
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Here is another installment from Arthur Cherenkoff: A
roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq.
And while you're reading the good news from Iraq .. and there is a lot of it
.. Take the time to read this excellent
column from Victor Davis Hanson. The war on terror has been a
resounding success, and it is worth stopping and taking note of the score.
Remember that marine who shot an insurgent in Fallujah last week? He
thought that the Islamic terrorist insurgent might be playing dead and could
pose a threat. You leftist pro-Saddam nutcases out there will never be
convinced, but for those of you have honest doubts about this Marine and what he
did, here's another one. This
insurgent was playing dead ... right up until the time he pulled out his gun.
The Wall Street Journal's John Fund says that it's time
to bring some intellectual diversity to America's colleges and universities.
You go ahead and hold your breath on this one. I'll come to your memorial
service.
Former Atlanta Falcon Andre
Rison is now, has been for a long time, and quite likely always was a complete
pig. He got away with it, though, because he was a jock. Read
the latest.
Hunters. Gotta love 'em. There's nothing quite like waking up on
a beautiful fall morning in the middle of the forest, having a nice breakfast
and a cup of joe, and then heading out into the woods to look for something to
kill. Hey,
if you can't find any deer, how about some other hunters? You know, if
these guys were as tough as we want them to believe they are, they would enlist
and go to Iraq. There they would have something to hunt that actually
deserves to die.
Good news! Predator
dead!
U.S. troops have
found 30 atrocity sites in Iraq where "insurgents" imprisoned,
tortured and killed innocent people in Fallujah. Think you'll hear much
about this in the slanted media coverage? Not hardly.
Wait a sec....I thought France hated the United States! Looks like Paris
is trying to actually improve its relations with the White House by
forgiving Iraqi debts. They always come home, don't they? Put the
escargot next to the brie, Jacques...
John McCain isn't ruling
out a run for the White House in 2008....when, of course, he'll be 72 years
old. Does anybody care at this point? Probably not.
Not only was the Marine that shot the insurgent in Fallujah doing the right
thing, but he was doing the smart thing. Kevin
Myers says a Marine's gotta do what a Marine's gotta do.
Think a terrorist won't set off a nuclear bomb? Think again....experts say
a terrorist setting off a nuke within the next 10 years is an even bet. Charles
Burress has more.
The United States is winning the war in Fallujah, but the media is barely
noticing. Jack
Kelly takes a look at the Coalition's decisive victory.
And now a message for the liberals who don't realize the election is over: just
deal with it. Carol
Pogash gets out the wet noodle.
Amid the flurry of cabinet changes, one switch that is going largely unnoticed
is Bush's choice of his campaign manager to take over the RNC. Michael
Barone explains the choice.
Arlen Specter stepped in it with his comments about President Bush's judicial
appointments, but
Robert Novak says he's gotten back in line.
Debra Saunders has an
interview with Defense Undersecretary Douglas J. Feith. Some
interesting tidbits about the war on terror. | 
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