Area417

Podcasts: The Sanity Squad

If you haven't listened to the Sanity Squad on Politics Central, you really ought to check it out. The Sanity Squad (shrinks who blog) take on topics such as A Religion of the Perpetually Paranoid, their take on Bill Clinton's recent hissy-fit
and much more.

Way better than watching reruns on TV!

FairTax Blogburst For Sept. 27, 2006

by TD of The Right Track

A quick and dirty search through Google News for articles, news, and editorials revealed no less than 14 pieces written in the last month regarding the FairTax. Fully 1/3 of those were editorials agreeing with the need for the FairTax.

A sampling:

From the Denver Daily News, an editorial titled "FairTax, not flat tax, needed to fix nation’s taxation woes":

Dear editor,

The IRS needs to be eliminated and replaced with the FairTax, not the flat tax, as suggested by columnist Aaron Harber in Monday’s Denver Daily News.

The flat tax changes absolutely nothing — the IRS, tax code, regulations, 16th Amendment, corporate taxation and payroll taxes (the way Social Security is funded) stay exactly the same under the flat tax.

At best, the flat tax is temporary, the wrong direction to move towards simplification.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "The Fairer Tax":

The Fair Tax (FairTax.org) will make our true tax burden -- most of which is concealed in the price of goods and services -- visible to all and is a necessary first step toward smaller and less-intrusive government.

We cannot allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.

So first, let's replace the current complex and dishonest system of taxation with a fair and transparent system that will allow the people to choose how much government they can afford in full knowledge of how much it really costs.

The Raleigh/Durham News & Observer has an editorial headlined "Total Replacement":

Our tax code has grown steadily more complex, unwieldy, expensive and out of control ever since its overhaul in 1986. The IRS is increasingly unable to cope with the tax code, and puts much of its resources to uses unrelated to raising revenue and contrary to the wishes of the Founders.

Like Icarus flying ever closer to the sun, the tax system appears to be headed for self-destruction. It is far beyond any fix and is losing respect and credibility. The only reasonable solution is to finally and completely scrap it and replace it. I support the revenue-neutral FairTax plan. (http://www.fairtax.org/ 1-800-FairTax).

This is just a sampling of what people are saying all across the country. Truly a grassroots effort, it takes people willing to step up and show public support for the FairTax to convince politicians that it's in their best interest to support the bills.

One way to show public support is to write an editorial to your local paper, no matter how large or small. Use the FairTax category that may appear on this participant blog, visit http://www.fairtax.org/, or read the FairTax book by Boortz and Linder to learn more. Get your facts straight, then write your editorial and submit it. Many papers now have a way to submit online or via e-mail.

However you decide to do it, your public support for the FairTax is vital.

The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.

Dead Infant's DNA Shows High Probability That He Was Holly Ashcraft's Baby

Deputy District Attorney, Franco Baratta, said that DNA tests showed a 99.93% probability that the dead baby boy, who was found in a dumpster almost one year ago today, belonged to USC coed Holy Ashcraft.

An autopsy report released in February determined the baby's death to be a homicide due to "caretaker neglect," according to Deputy Medical Examiner David B. Whiteman, who noted that intentional asphyxia could not be ruled out
as a cause of death. 

According to the autopsy report, the baby was born alive after a 32-week pregnancy. (Link:cbs2.com - D.A. Says DNA Of Dead Baby Matches Holly Ashcraft.)

Ashcraft was investigated back in 2004 when she arrived at a LA hospital appearing to have given birth but with no baby. No baby was ever found and charges weren't pressed.

The original prosecutor in the case, Efrain Aceves, has resigned his position to become special assistant inspector general.

Ashcraft's defense lawyer is Mark Geragos, who has defended Scott Peterson (Laci Peterson murder), Michael Jackson (for child molestation), Gary Condit (in the disappearance of Chandra Levy), and Susan McDougal (Whitewater), among others.

And What Will The Monkey Be Having?

The local health department and the Southwest Center for Independent Living had a pow-wow today over whether to allow Debby Rose's monkey to dine at local eateries with her.

Debby Rose says Richard, her bonnet macaque monkey, is a service animal that assists her with an anxiety disorder, which should be allowed according to the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal law.

Service animals (defined here) are just that; trained to perform various tasks for their owners such as picking up dropped objects, turning lights off and on, opening the refrigerator , etc.

Richard, however, is not trained to perform any useful function.

Family members dispute that, saying Rose's anxiety is disabling. Without her monkey, she's less able to manage normal tasks, such as grocery shopping and dining out because of severe anxiety.

"I have seen the difference he makes," said Rose's grown daughter Tonya Brady. "She used to get to the point where she couldn't come to my kids' birthday parties. ... There were some days she couldn't even get herself dressed and out the door. He's aware of her emotions at all times."

(Does anyone else find it a little disturbing that a monkey is apparently a better companion than her family members?)

The catch is that all the lady has to say is that it's a service animal and she has to be allowed in with the damn thing, no questions asked.

Now if the monkey were a smoker, that'd be a different story...

Link: News-Leader.com | Local News.

Tip On Installing An Olympus VN-960PC Digital Voice Recorder

I hope the following helps others, as I found similar complaints (with no fix) out on the web.

I just bought two Olympus VN-960PC Digital Voice Recorders--one for me (a re-manufactured one) and a brand new one for my son so he could record his college lectures and upload them to his computer.

I tried installing mine on an HP Pavilion 775y running Win XP Home Edition with no luck. I kept getting "a service installation section in this INF is invalid." I tried installing the recorder first; I tried installing the software first. No go.

I then tried installing it on an older Dell running WIN 98 and a newer Dell with XP Home Edition. Same problem. (I did install it successfully on a newer Dell with Win 2000 Pro.)

I called Olympus (because their website is totally worthless) and the guy I spoke with told me to drag the drivers folder from the CD onto my desktop and try again. Worked like a charm on both XP and Win 98.

Fair Tax Blogburst For Sept. 13, 2006

 by Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous

To borrow what was spoken of last week in the Fair Tax BlogBurst, I thought I would take this burst, and build upon the debate begun by one of Debbie's readers at Right Truth. For those of you knew to the audience, here is the original burst, and here is the assertion made by "Ralph Ekwall."

We now have a progressive income tax system that imposes a higher rate of taxation for high income earners. The so-called “Fair Tax” would impose a higher rate of taxation on middle and low income earners and allow most of the money earned by wealthy people to be untaxed.

I tend to disagree entirely with the thesis underpinning any progressive tax system delineating that there are certain brackets of individuals who should be punished just for the simple fact that they earn higher incomes than other individuals.

The fundamental creed of this dogma accepts the premise that the spectrum of incomes is nothing more than a zero-sum game. Thus, individuals do not have any chance whatsoever to rise to those higher brackets and better themselves as they move throughout life.

However, I digress, for I wanted to discuss was the specifics surrounding "the prebate." I believe this scheme encapsulates the “equality” sought by “progressive” proponents of any progressive tax scheme better than the progressive tax could ever hope to achieve. That is, equality can be seen only if one does not have class warfare and envy as the basis for their tax structure.

So, how does this “prebate” work?

All valid Social Security cardholders who are U.S. residents receive a monthly rebate equivalent to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services, also known as the poverty level expenditures. The rebate is paid in advance, in equal installments each month. The size of the rebate is determined by the Department of Health & Human Services’ poverty level guideline multiplied by the tax rate. This is a well-accepted, long-used poverty-level calculation that includes food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical care, etc. (See chart in Figure 1 below)

And, as we see in how this "prebate" works, one is able to ascertain the notion of equality realized by the "prebate." The prebate seeks to treat a "necessity" just as their name implies they should be treated. The necessities are the substance and the needs that every American needs in order to survive. It treats every American as if they are the same in the basics of what they need to survive.

It treats all Americans equally.

In this definition of "equal" all Americans are treated the same no matter their socio-economic status, which brings up another subject....constitutional history.

At this moment, I would really like to express my appreciation to TD for being patient with me throughout the course of this summer. As some of you may know, I sat for the bar recently and I have been detained with an interstate move, new employment and biting my fingernails off as I wait for the bar results. But, enough of my excuses, Terry and I started this BlogBurst and, unfortunately, Terry has had to shoulder much of the load this summer. He has done a tremendous job and I know all of you appreciate his hard work and dedication. I just wanted to say thanks, good buddy!

The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.

 

September 11th

September 11, 2001. Never forget.

Wouldn't Wanna Be In Claire McCaskill's Shoes...

Update: KY3's blog notes that Dems are beginning to have doubts about McCaskill.

If there's a big, steaming pile to step in, McCaskill will find it.

First, McCaskill expressed surprise that us hillbilly types (meaning anyone who lives outside of St. Louis or Kansas City) thought about anything other than running coon hounds and eating pork rinds:

...Freesoiler cannot help but be amused at the fact that, even in what she means to be a moment of humility, McCaskill still exposes her ignorance and prejudice about rural voters. McCaskill admits that she was wrong to assume that rural voters don't care about "...College education tuition, health care, being able to afford a tank of gasoline. They care as much as we do" (Emphasis mine). The "we" McCaskill speaks of refers to the enlightened, megalopolitan denizens of St. Louis and Kansas City...
(Link:Chapter the Twelfth: In Which Claire McCaskill Shows Yet Again That She Just Doesn't Get It, The Radical Republican)

(If memory serves, didn't McCaskill emphasize (back in 2004) that she would be the "first urban governor" in who-knows-how-many-years?)

Then there's her idiotic statement about how Bush "let people die on rooftops in New Orleans because they were poor and because they were black." (See Outside the Beltway for more)

Claire even managed to step in it with her base when she did a blow-by at the local NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. Not only did she leave within 10 minutes of her arrival, her political director was hot on her heels and was absent when he was called on to "convey greetings from McCaskill."

One attendee wrote:

So far you have been a huge disappointment to black people, but we are use to candidates from the Democratic party doing this and yet we still vote for them. That is probably why you don't care about us either, because you feel that black people will vote for you anyway. (Link: Pub Def Weekly)

And last, but not least, Pub Def Weekly reports that a McCaskill staffer barred a local Democrat from a meeting of elected St. Louis officials:

Jeff Smith, who recently won a tough primary election for State Senate and has no opposition in the general election, was stopped at the door and asked to leave by McCaskill's political director, Brandon Davis. He told Smith the meeting was only for "elected officials." (See article McCaskill Rallys Democrats,Aide Kicks Jeff Smith Out of Meeting)

FairTax Blogburst For Sept. 6, 2006

by Debbie of The Right Truth

A reader here at Right Truth, Ralph Ekwall, who doesn’t like the Fair Tax sent me an email. He seemed to think that I would not be interested in hearing his opinions, but that could not be further from the truth. I think healthy debate is good and encourage it. Below are his arguments and our reply:

I doubt you will print this since it is in opposition to the “Fair Tax.” The “Fair Tax” is really unfair because it taxes middle and low income people at a higher rate than wealthy income people. Here is an example.

Let us consider a tax rate of 30% for the so-called “Fair Tax.” Let us look at how it affects two different American families: Mr. Average Joe and Mr. Rich.

Mr. Average Joe makes just $45,000 per year. At that salary he must spend everything that he makes to support his family. So, almost all of his income is taxed. His rate of taxation is between 27- and 30% He may give money to his church or to a charity and that would not be taxed.

Now consider Mr. Rich who has an income of $10,000,000 per year. He is really rich. Most of his income will be reinvested in his business and not taxed. He will put some of his money into an education trust for his children and that is not taxed. It may be possible that he will spend $1,000,000 of his income, but that is doubtful. If so then $1,000,000 of his income is taxed and he has $9,000,000 of income that is not touched by taxation. His rate of taxation is about 3%. I ask you - is that a fair tax?????????

We now have a progressive income tax system that imposes a higher rate of taxation for high income earners. The so-called “Fair Tax” would impose a higher rate of taxation on middle and low income earners and allow most of the money earned by wealthy people to be untaxed.

It does not seem fair to me. –by Ralph Ekwall

Our reply:

You fail to mention that Mr. Average Joe will benefit tremendously from the PREBATE included in the FairTax. Your statement that “almost all” of his income would be taxed is erroneous. I cannot off the top of my head tell you how much of a prebate Mr. Average Joe and his family would receive, but it would be substantial.

You also fail to consider that Mr. Rich who will not have to pay tax on his income or on returns from his investments will now have more money to re-invest and he will probably have more money to return to his business which in turn creates jobs for people like Mr. Average Joe. The economy prospers, Mr. Rich is rewarded rather than punished for his entrepreneurship, and Mr. Average Joe and his friends would be assured of good jobs.

Hmmmmmmmmmm, I’m doing a little math here:

If Mr. Average Joe spends all of his 45,000 dollars and is taxed at say 23 percent he would pay $10,350 in taxes most of which he would get back in the prebate.

If Mr. Rich spends a million dollars at 23 percent his tax would be $230,000 and his prebate would be insignificant to the tax that he paid.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, sounds fair to me.

Also, don’t forget that the tax is paid ONLY on NEW goods and services. If Mr. Average Joe buys that decent used minivan for his family, guess what! NO TAX! –by Thomas Hamilton

We welcome any other comments or opinions, and thanks Mr. Ekwall for this opportunity to address your questions.

The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.

Dead Silence In Missouri

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 calls for a public database of entities that receive your tax dollars via Federal funding. You can read the text of the bill, S2590 (there are two versions) here.

Missouri taxpayers might want to contact Senators Bond and Talent and ask them why they aren't among the 29 cosponsors of this bill.

While we're on the subject, would you people in Alaska do the rest of us a favor and GET RID OF TED STEVENS! Citizens Against Government waste has the pork-filled Stevens profile here, where they note that Stevens has been holding up S2590.