So You Think You’ve Paid Your Tax Bill

Thursday, April 18, is Tax Freedom Day this year. That is the day when the nation as a whole as earned enough to pay its local, state and federal taxes. It’s five days later than it was last year, primarily due to the fiscal cliff deal that raised federal taxes on individual income and payroll. Additionally, Obamacare’s investment tax and excise tax went into effect.

That means that the average taxpayer will work 29.4 percent of the year, just to pay his or her tax bill. But not so fast, the Tax Foundation which runs these numbers does not include the amount of annual federal borrowing, which represents future taxes owned.

So you see, celebrating Tax Freedom Day would be like paying your family’s bills that come due each month while ignoring the amount you run up on those credit cards in order to meet all of your obligations.

This year, the federal government plans to borrow another $833 billion, but remember, that is best case. The year isn’t over yet.

If we add in the cost of all this borrowed money, Tax Freedom day will not come until May 9, which is well over a third of the year. Under the old feudal system which was practiced in medial Europe, the lords, who owned all the property, taxed the serfs 1/3 of what they produced and we called them slaves! Continue reading “So You Think You’ve Paid Your Tax Bill” →

Thank You Ronald Reagan

In 1977, Star Wars was the most popular movie around. By 1984, it had become a derogatory term used by liberals to ridicule Ronald Reagan’s plan to defend this country from a nuclear attack by using space and land based interceptors that would shield us from all incoming missiles.

At that time, our only deterrence against a nuclear attack was something called MAD, which was short for Mutual Assured Destruction. It was an appropriate acronym. You nuke us; Then, we’ll nuke you and together we will blow ourselves off the face of the earth and take the rest of the world with us. Even for Reagan, a man with a strong believe in God and the hereafter, that was a terrible option.

The left went crazy when he presented this idea. What happened to sitting cross-legged around a solar heat source with the rest of the world’s leaders and singing Kumbaya? “We’ll get rid of our nukes. You’ll do the same and we’ll all be friends. Kumbaya, kumbaya.”

“It is impossible to hit a missile with a missile!” they whined. “It will blow up the budget and keep us from creating a perfect green world where every basic need is provided by the government. No, no we will not waste money on this Star Wars dream of yours!” Continue reading “Thank You Ronald Reagan” →

Why We’re Losing Traditional Marriage

The relevant question in the gay marriage debate largely goes unanswered: “How does gay marriage harm traditional marriage and children?”

It is frustrating to see so many pro-family advocates and the attorneys representing them in court completely drop the ball when the answer is relatively simple.

There are only two reasons to marry: 1) to make a vow before God and have the union recognized by the church. 2) to have the union recognized by the government.

Since all major religions condemn homosexuality in the strongest terms, reason # 1 is an attempt to “feel good” at best.

So, why does a couple seek to have their union recognized by the government? Conversely, why do so many heterosexual couples no longer bother? Continue reading “Why We’re Losing Traditional Marriage” →

Obama Jet-Setting: Public Display of Bad Taste

Have they no shame! Another month, another lavish vacation for the Obama clan.

No, I don’t begrudge the first family a little down time, but considering our current economic situation, their choice of venues is just plain tacky.

Obama won the 2008 election, not because he was the most qualified, but because most people largely believed he cared about them.

It was the same in 2012. Despite a dismal record, Obama was returned to the White House because of his ability to make people believe that he genuinely cares about the average Joe.

Are we blind? Is it mass hypnosis?

There is a huge disconnect between how the Obamas live and the talk they talk. Continue reading “Obama Jet-Setting: Public Display of Bad Taste” →

The GOP’s Uphill Battle

The Republican Party is ailing. Sure, the 2012 presidential election was close but, reality is, the GOP hasn’t won an overwhelming presidential race in 24 long years.

Its illness doesn’t appear to be acute or life-threatening, particularly at the state level where Republicans hold 30 governorships. It’s at the national level where the patient is getting weaker and a sense of hopelessness has set in. This despair can cause a downward spiral which, if untreated, can lead to a slow, painful death.

The man who holds the GOP’s medical power of attorney is Rance Priebus, the chairman of Republican National Committee. He recently subjected this patient to exploratory surgery and the results were published for all to see.

The biggest problem with the Grand Old Party isn’t its strong stand on law and order or the moral issues, as some have suggested. It’s the second word in its three-word handle. It’s OLD! The brand has grown stale and out-of-touch. Among the words most often used to describe the GOP is that it’s a party of “stuffy old men.” Continue reading “The GOP’s Uphill Battle” →

The Boy Scouts Conundrum: Morals vs. Money

For more than a century, the term “Boy Scout” has been a synonym for a person of character, someone with high moral values, who respects the law, serves his country and has a reverence for God.

In the last couple of decades the organization that has trained more that 110 million American males to become productive citizens, responsible fathers and respected leaders, has been under attack for holding true to the standards in its founding principles.

After prevailing in a plethora of law suits brought by feminists, atheists and homosexuals challenging its membership criteria, it is sad, indeed, that the organization now has signaled that its values may be negotiable.

The Boy Scouts of America’s Scouting programs are open to all boys age 7-18 who agree to follow the Scout Oath which includes duty to God and country and who pledge to keep themselves “physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” Continue reading “The Boy Scouts Conundrum: Morals vs. Money” →

In an undisclosed location in the White House, unnamed Obama Administration advisors huddle to discuss the impending sequestration. No official transcript exists because (for the record) this meeting NEVER happened.

The mood was grim. The hot topic was a statement from Emily Holubowich, a lobbyists who represents a coalition of 3,000 nonprofit groups fighting the cuts, who accidentally spoke the truth to aWashington Post reporter: “The worst case scenario for us is the sequester hits and nothing bad really happens!”

Advisor # 1: Emily is right. What if nothing bad happens as a result of the sequester? The president is going to look like a doofus. He will be a laughing stock, the brunt of all the jokes on late night TV.

Advisor # 2: We’ve got to turn up the rhetoric. Send out Janet Napolitano to say that we will no longer be able to enforce immigration laws.

Advisor # 1: We already did that, and besides, we’re not enforcing immigration laws now.!

Advisor # 3: We could not enforce them more.

(Silence)

Advisor # 2: We can close the Washington Monument and the White House Visitors Center. That’s never failed in past budget standoffs.

Advisor # 1: That’s not enough. The president said there will be real pain and there must be REAL PAIN! Remember, no pain, no gain for us.

Advisor # 2: We can tell them TSA agents screening airport passengers will have to be furloughed. It will mean long lines.

Advisor # 1: The lines are already long. Besides, if the agents are forced by time constants to stop groping grannies and toddlers, who is going to complain?

Advisor # 2: Scare them. Tell them it means less air traffic controllers. Airplanes will be flying blind.

Advisor # 1: Hell, Reagan fired all of them and there was barely a hiccup.

Advisor # 3: We could limit the number of children who attend Head Start. When the going gets tough, hide behind poor children. That always works.

Advisor # 1: The program is already a disaster. All the benefits are erased by the third grade. It might cause further scrutiny of this program and, worse still, it might stir the pot for real education reform and increase the call for vouchers. That will bring the teacher’s union down on us. No, we’d better drop that.

Advisor # 4: I know! Tell the it will cut out school lunches. Imagine the angst it would create among the nation’s poor parents!

Advisor # 1: Another boondoggle! We’re spending so much on food stamps and other food assistant programs, folks are wondering why welfare recipients can’t take some of that free food and pack lunches for their kids. Better not hit that one too hard.

Advisor # 6: Let’s stay on the subject of the poor. We can bring up the weatherization program for low income homes. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said it will mean up to 1,000 homes won’t receive free makeovers. Think of all those people who won’t get new drywall, calking and new appliances.

Advisor # 1: Yes, but some smart journalist would point out that we could simply reduce the regulations that are driving up the cost of energy. Energy costs for the poor (and everyone else) would remain the same and we could save millions by eliminating this program. Also, that might trigger another discussion about all the money we’ve thrown at failed energy companies like Solyndra. No, no, that is much too risky. Let’s not beat that drum.

Advisors # 5: I know. We can go back to scaring seniors. They know their Social Security benefits are safe, but if we could tell them there won’t be enough workers to process those checks and they might arrive late . . .

Advisor # 1: At best we’re only talking about cutting less that one and a half cents on the dollar. That’s not going to happen unless we order the federal workers who process those checks to go to sleep at their work stations.

Advisors # 2: Yes, but they already go to sleep at their work stations and it would take an act of Congress to be able to fire even one of them.

Advisor # 4: An act of Congress, hum. What if, what if Congress acts in the 11th hour and gives the president “transfer authority”? You know, gives him the ability to pick and choose where to make those cuts in order to lessen the pain or eliminate it entirely?

Advisor # 1: That would put the ball squarely in our court. We’d have to eliminate worthless programs. We could no longer reward our friends and get away with it. (Cringe) That would be a real disaster!

Advisors 2 – 6: Agreed!

Ben Carson: Yes He Can! (Become President of the United States)

It is becoming clear that the Republican successor to Ronald Reagan may not come from Congress. He may not have executive experience as a governor of a state, though these are the roads most often traveled to the White House.

There is a new name on the lips of the politically engaged. To the uninitiated he might appear a most unlikely candidate.

Benjamin Carson is a physician, a gifted neurosurgeon who has a way with words as well as a scalpel. In fact, many say his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 7, cut the President of the United States, who was seated just a few feet away, to the quick. Some, like conservative commentator Cal Thomas, called his remarks “inappropriate.” Others say they were a breath of fresh air, a lesson in economics mixed with Biblical truths that are indisputable.

The truth is that Dr. Carson, a devout man, did not direct his remarks to the president. He has been writing and speaking about these issues for some time. However, he did not pull any punches in this venue simply because Barack Obama chose to attend. Continue reading “Ben Carson: Yes He Can! (Become President of the United States)” →

A Valentine for Michael

This is the time of year when we send expressions of love to those we hold dear: sweethearts, relatives and special friends.

I’m offering this Valentine to a friend I will not meet again this side of Heaven, a friend who served as a mentor to me and hundreds of conservatives in the trenches all across America, in Washington,D.C., and in the halls, offices and meeting rooms of Congress.

He help write legislation, make policy and shape public opinion, all in relative anonymity. He was brilliant, thoughtful, sensitive and witty. I can’t tell you how many powerful one-liners he’s given me over the years. He couldn’t use them in the positions he held so he freely passed them on to those of us who write columns, host TV and radio programs and make speeches.

Michael Schwartz was a treasure. Although separated by 2600 miles, when I needed insight on a pressing issue, advice on a column or simply encouragement, I would pick up the phone and dial Michael.

As the country lost its moral underpinnings, as we headed off a financial cliff, as the electorate swooned over a sweet-talking, handsome, left-wing ideologue and I was tempted to throw up my hands and say, “What’s the use!” I would dial Michael.

For many conservatives like myself, Michael was our plumb line. I used to tell him, “When you turn out the light in your office then, and only then, will I know it is time to pack it in.” Continue reading “A Valentine for Michael” →

Cowards!

Who, in their right mind, seriously thinks a woman has an equal chance to survive in a physical battle with a man?

Why, oh why, with one foot out the door, did Secretary of Defense Leon Pannetta announce on January 24, that he was opening all combat jobs to women? What was he thinking?

Senator John McCain, a war hero who is long past retirement age, applauded the move. What was he thinking?

Both of these men have stood tall in support of a strong national defense. Why would they throw in the towel on an issue that is a lose-lose for our fighting forces as well as women in general?

Do they honestly think we will be better off as a nation when women are used as cannon fodder?

No, I think they just want to be liked by their friends on the left, their liberal friends with whom they rub elbows in the Capitol day after day. They also want to be admired by the overwhelmingly left-of-center journalists, whom they hope will write nice things about them as they bid adieu to Washington and head off into the sunset.

At one time these were brave men. Not anymore! They are cowards! Continue reading “Cowards!” →