Monday, 03 October 2005, 14:15:46 EDT
Do you enjoy being mugged every other week (once a month if you are on salary)? That is what the federal government does, you know; it mugs you. You don't believe me? Okay, then consider this example. Last Thursday I received my bi-weekly pay check. Before the paycheck was even in my hands the government had taken, sorry, "withheld" $149.53 of it for taxes thus leaving me with 78.64% of my money. Let's dwell on that word "withheld" for a moment. What does it mean? Well according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word withhold means "refuse to give (something that is due to or is desired by another." Just so you don't get your panties in a twist here is a secondary definition that the government would prefer you to use: "(of an employer) deduct (tax) from an employee's paycheck and send it directly to the government." If you look at it from the government's preferred angle then you are led to believe that your employer has given you all the money owed to you but immediately taken some back because the government has asked for it. That is just a fancy way of saying "refuse to give". Even if you don't agree with me that the government is refusing to give you the money you earned you must still agree that the government is going to get it at some point. If they didn't steal it out of your paycheck you would just have to write them a big check once a year. Or would you?
What would you say if I were to tell you that you can keep all of the money owed to you by your employer without the federal government getting one penny of it? Sounds good doesn't it? It can happen; the only thing that needs to be done is for you to quit being lazy and write your representatives. Write them and tell them that you are in favor of the FairTax Plan (H.R. 25). The FairTax plan would eliminate federal withholding and keep that money in your pocket. Instead, the government would get its dues from a national sales tax on all goods and services (minus the bare necessities which it will pay you to buy). Don't take my word for it, though. Pick up The FairTax Book by Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder. It is a short book (Really, it is very short. I finished it last night amid my busy school schedule.) in which they detail how the current tax system reams the average American and how the FairTax would give us the financial freedom we deserve. Once you have read the book, I demand that you do, you will need to write your representative either supporting their backing of the Plan or urging them to get on board. If you don't know who your representative is then you can use the search engine on the House of Representatives website to find out. It is even easier to find out who your senators are; all you have to do is visit senate.gov and choose your state. Once you know who your ... (view rest)
Tuesday, 07 September 2004, 22:20:34 EDT
I think I will listen to Use Your Illusion I as I write this post. It seems strangely fitting.
If you live in the state of Georgia you have until October 4 to register to vote. If you don't live in Georgia, or you just want to read the rule for yourself, you can check out the State Registration Deadline document. If you want to save yourself some time and fill out the form ahead of time just browse through the PDF directory for your state, Georgia in my case, and print it out. If you are truly lazy here is the document that works for every state except for the following: Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, and Ohio. Voter registration in Georgia is a county affair; to find out where your local registration office is you can browse the Secretary of State's home page. In particular, you are looking for this page.
A number of you must be wondering about my political awakening. I suppose it started on the morning of 11 September 2001. Just as every other morning my television turned on at about 8:50AM to awaken me. I expected to hear the insanely annoying Today Show; I heard something that woke me up much quicker than Katie Couric's annoying drivel. I heard people talking about a plane crashing into a buliding. That event has been a significant turning point for this country. In my opinion it has been used for ill means. Legislation such as the Patriot Act has been passed as a result of it. Please, understand that I am all for empowering the authorities to do their job but I am not all for writing away the Fifth Amendment (among others). If you think I am kidding then you can re-read my rant about this very subject.
Of the two candidates that I know anything about right now I don't believe either is worth my vote. If it were not for at least one proposed amendment to the Constitution I would probably abstain and say that is my vote because as far as I know there isn't a "these people are all morons" option on the ballot. The BBC has a decent overview of the three main candidate's stances on key issues.
Concerning Bush, the only thing I think he has done a good job of is stepping up and kicking ass when it needs to be kicked. I do not, however, agree with redefining "hostile aggression" as "pre-emptive strike". I do not agree with putting on a front of supposed intelligence as a reason to go to war and then changing tunes when the intelligence proves less than accurate. Tell me the real reason for the war at the beginning; if it is a good one I might agree with it.
That is basically the only thing that makes him worthy of the position in my opinion. Throwing people in a navy brig without trial or right to attorney, allowing the Bill of Rights to be eroded, and actively seeking amendments to further erode civil rights do not make him worthy of the position. It doesn't help that the man is none too bright either (the link is a funny video).
Bush's strongest opponent? What can I say other than I can not bring myself to support a man who refuses to talk about current issues at all but instead prefers to talk about a completely irrelevant period between 1968 and 1969. He either needs to put up or shut up and go ... (view rest)