The Patriot's Flag

Today I am flying the Gadsden Flag … a patriot flag I fly when taxes are raised … “redistributing MY wealth” (and yours!).

Financial Liberty Threatened

Promises Broken 1 second into the new year!  The promises made by the Democrats not to raise taxes on folks making more than $250,000 a year was broken last night at 12:00 am, January 1st, 2010.  The tax increase will affect EVERYone!  (And that’s a GOOD thing! … Why? – Read on! Let the taxes begin!  Thank you Democrats for contributing to your own destruction).

2010 - Taxes!

CFIF.org: (Center for Individual Freedom) An economic time bomb is ticking, but the 2008 presidential candidates and media pundits are paying shamefully little attention. Last week, both the Senate and House of Representatives approved the majority Democrats’ budget proposal, which contains over $200 billion in tax hikes, the largest in American history.  Under their budget, this decade’s astoundingly successful tax cuts will be allowed to expire in 2010, at which time rates will surge to recession-era levels as Congress stands by and watches.

By allowing the tax laws to expire last night, the following taxes were increased:

Data from:  Heritage.Org:

Heritage Foudation

• Dedction of state and local general sales taxes (section 164) (Personal Tax Incentives)
• Additional standard deduction, up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples, for state and local property taxes (section 63) (Personal Tax Incentives)
• Research tax credit and alternative simplified credit (section 41) (General Business Tax Incentives)
• New markets tax credit (section 45D) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• Empowerment zone incentives (sections 1391 and 1202) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• Renewal community tax incentives (sections 1400E, 1400F, 1400I, and 1400J) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• District of Columbia Investment Incentives (sections 1400, 1400A, 1400B, and 1400C) (Community Assistance Provisions)
• Net disaster loss designation and $500 limit per casualty for personal casualty losses attributed to federally declared natural disasters (section 165) (General Disaster Relief Provisions)
• Expensing for qualified disaster expenses (section 198A) (General Disaster Relief Provisions)
• Biodiesel and renewable diesel incentives (section 40A) (Energy Incentives)
• Alternative motor vehicle credit for heavy hybrids (section 30B) (Energy Incentives)

And because the Senate refused to act (Happy New Year Harry Reid!)  on the House Bill (Tax Extenders Act) that had passed the House, the following taxes go into effect:

• Increased exemption levels for the individual alternative minimum tax (section 55) and personal tax credits allowed against the AMT (section 26)
• Exclusion of unemployment compensation benefits from gross income (section 85)
• Alternative fuel mixture tax credit (section 6426(e))
• Reduced estimated tax payments for small businesses (section 6654(d)(1)(D))

Definition of the “Tax Extenders” (from Heritage.org … this is a good read!)

Each year a group of about 45 tax provisions, collectively known as the “tax extenders,” expire. These tax provisions, which apply to both individuals and businesses, include popular measures such as the research-and-development credit for businesses and the low-income housing credit for individuals. Each year Congress must extend these tax laws; otherwise a steep tax increase on certain groups of taxpayers would result.

The LAST thing this country needs with its economic problems right now is an increase in taxes. But that doesn’t matter to Democrats.  Their goal is not the economic health of the country, but the increased dependence of the citizenry upon the government … thus increasing their power.

Boston Tea Party

The Year of the Taxes has Begun. While you were either watching a crystal ball drop in Times Square, or watching your friends drop from losing their balance, or whether you were sound asleep as I was … your tax bill, silently and without reveling and fanfare increased last night at 12:00 am. (Jan 1, 2010).  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A New Beginning? These won’t be the last increases in the tax bill we will see this year, this is just the beginning.  And hopefully it will be the beginning of the end of the most dangerous administration ever installed in this country.  People will argue about the nuances of health care and bailouts … but when their tax bill goes up … they will act!  (Just as they did when the Stamp Act was imposed upon Patriots 245 years ago and 237 years ago at the Boston Tea Party … around the time the first Gadsden Flag was flown).  When it hits the pocketbook, all “theory” and “rhetoric” are out the window … reality sets in. And when it does, we can begin a serious movement to get rid of these enemies of Liberty, Freedom and Limited Government. That is our history … and history is about to repeat.

So I state enthusiastically, “Let the taxes begin!”

Why?  Because Americans must “feel the pain” before they act .

… and alas, here cometh the pain!

1. Forbes: Congress Lets 50 Tax Breaks Expire
   

Gadsden Flag - Taxes & Tea Parties!, Uncategorized

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I’m flying the U.S.A. Flag.  Today is a National Holiday, Thanksgiving.  It is a day for Americans to reflect on all the things they are thankful for, and above all why they are thankful to be living in the United States of America.  Today I give thanks that in spite of the present leader(less)ship this great country’s resilience  to attacks on Liberty and Freedom is strong. And today I am giving thanks that our country is finally waking up and realizing this great country is heading in the wrong direction.

“Politically Thankful Today” We have a President that cannot make a decision, an Administration that promised to govern from the center and is governing from the far left and a Congress fully supporting everything proposed by the far left.  But the people are awakening to the danger. The President’s polls are plummeting, Administration policies and corruption are being openly exposed daily, and polls of Congress show the liberals’ power is are in trouble for 2010.  I am thankful the “red” tide is turning.

• I am thankful for our Liberty, threatened but not yet taken.
• I am thankful for our Freedom, threatened and worth defending.
• I am thankful for the bounties of our land, presently denied but real and available.
• I am thankful for America’s history, regardless of the Administrations apologies.
• I am thankful for the Hacker who dared to post the emails exposing ClimateGate – Goodbye Global Warming!
• I am thankful for our troops and their bravery, in spite of a President who, by is inaction to protect them, doesn’t care about their lives and families.
• … and I am thankful that America is awakening and understanding that this Administration is dangerous to the Liberties and Freedoms and are looking for real Change … Change back to national integrity and sanity.

Thankful Americans are "waking up"

God Bless America

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Today I am flying the flag of the United States of America.  I haven’t flown it for some time because the news has not been positive for Liberty and Freedom. But the results of the Nov 3, 2009 election gives an indication the “political tide” has turned … finally some good news. People are voting against the “red tide” that has overtaken the country in the guise of “Hope and Change.”

The Tide is Turning

2009 Election: The election results are in for the Nov 3rd, 2009 “off year” election. And the Republicans finally started winning some hearts and minds of the voters.  Obviously, New Jersey and Virginia governorships were the most newsworthy. However, down inside many smaller, less publicized races, Republicans were moving into grass roots positions (6 alone in Virginia).

...then there were ALL of us!

The Conservative Tide of 9-12: We “felt it” when we went to the 9-12 Tea Party in Washington, DC. That was a microcosm of what we might be seeing today. My son and I got out of the car at the train station and sort of kept our jackets covering our TAX REVOLT T-shirts.  Might as well be cautious. There were only 2 of us. Then we met two ladies walking from their car and they were carrying posters, but the writing was turned “inward” toward them, so the wording couldn’t be seen. Then they spotted our T-Shirts and said … “oh, you’re part of us!”  Then they proudly showed us the signs they had made.  Now we were 4 of us.  As we moved toward the train station, others joined us and when we reached the station there were 10 of us. Inside the station, 30 people were waiting in line for the ticket machine … now there were 40 of us. On the platform there were 150 people waiting on the trains … now there were 190 of us. The train was almost full and at the next couple of stops, no one could get on … there were hundreds of us. But leaving the train and coming up the escalators at the station in DC (actual picture above), there were then thousands of us! We then joined the march which was already in progress and there were hundreds of thousands of us.

Rasmussen 11/4/09

The Conservative Incoming Tide: We watched the tide turn on that day, moving ever so slightly and tentatively at first, then ending in a crescendo of people never seen before.  If you look closely, you’ll see the same tide turning  throughout  the United States.  The Tea Parties, the Town Hall meetings … people discovered that the “few” of them were not alone. They showed up at these events a little tentative, but discovered many more like themselves, same feelings, same smiles … and the confidence grew.  Now we’ve had an election that indicates clearly that a new tide is coming in to wash out the “red tide” that overtook us in November of 2009 … only one short (or in some cases very long) year ago.  The people are waking up, and they are beginning to stir and tell Washington that they’ve had enough of this socialist BS.

Townhall - Glenn Foden

The tide is turning, America is waking up … they’ve seen what’s in store for them from the “Hope and Change” radicals (who are actually “burn it down” and “blow it up” radicals left over from the 60′s)  and the people don’t like what they see.

What? Unemployment at 9.8%?  Trillions of debt we didn’t have last year at this time? A stimulus that didn’t stimulate anything, just paid back political contributors?  And now they are coming at us with “Health Care Reform” that will cost us another Trillion in taxes to fix the BEST health care system in the world? And Cap and Trade … taxing us so we will use less energy ? (1) because we are running out of resources and (2) to save the planet from global warming?  STOP the parade … its going the wrong way! (See Environmental Religion) That was the message on Nov. 3rd in the voting booths.

• Ford Profits: And in a side note of the news, Ford Motor Company just registered a One BILLION dollar profit.  GM and Chrysler are still in bailout mode.  This tells us people are talking “with their dollars” too.  People have figured out that buying from GM and Chrysler is simply making a contribution to the Unions, (if they wanted to do that they’d just join one).  So they are supporting Capitalism and rejecting Socialism with their move to Ford products. This is a conscious decision … another sign people are waking up and the tide has turned.

It starts with you: So it starts with one person.  Me.  Then a friend, then a small crowd, then a large crowd, then a multitude.  Look around you, because you can be a part of the tide that washes away the Socialism contaminating  Washington and restores our Republic to the form and format of our founding fathers.  It is a format that has made us the strongest economy and strongest nation in the world. The last thing we want to do is CHANGE that!

It is a welcome sight to see my USA flag flying in front of the house.

Patriot Flag #1

I hope I can start flying it more often this year.  It is still the most beautiful Patriot Flag there is.

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Today the Patriot Flag I am flying is the Ft Moultrie Flag.

Talk Risking Liberty

Well, anytime is a good time for a fine cup of coffee, and sometimes you just have to make choices … even this early in the morning.  So this morning’s coffee break is brought to you by Starbucks as they introduce their latest new brand … “Via.”

From HotAirPundit: Starbucks is rolling out its own brand of instant coffee this week, and they’re employing a very topical, if slightly risky, ad campaign to do it. First aired during the premiere of Saturday Night Live, this ad for “Via” gambles heavily that the “angry mob” will either have a sense of humor about themselves, or weren’t going to patronize Starbucks in the first place.

“… the ad gambles whether or not the “Angry Mob” will have a sense of humor about themselves?”

Hmmm, I’m not laughing, and I haven’t lost my sense of humor because now I think Starbucks is a joke!  I just don’t think the Tea Parties, the Town Hall meetings and the 9-12 March on D.C. were  the kinds of historic events anybody should be joking about. To me, with the very foundations of our country trembling, it was damned serious business!  The events certainly were not humorous and now a Starbucks marketing genius dares to make fun our effort to they can sell a new brand of coffee?  I don’t think so.  For me their gamble didn’t pay off, this member of the “Angry Mob” will be going to McDonald’s for my for my sugar-free vanilla “grande.” (I like it better anyway!).

(l. to r.): Robert F. Bukaty / AP; Karen Bleier / AFP / Getty

LEFT choice?  <====  ====> RIGHT choice!

I’m Lovin’ it … Meet me at the Golden Arches for some Conservative Coffee!

• PS: … there’s an interesting article I ran across at TIME Magazine on the demographics of Starbucks and McDonald’s customers … worth the read.

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The Patriot Flag I am flying today is the South Carolina State Flag.  Here is why …

South Carolina

Today is relatively quiet … lots of talk, discussion, etc. But basically nothing is looming that threatens liberty (today!).  After the Joe Wilson flap, maybe we should take a closer look at the “rules.”  So lets focus on the “rules” then make our opinions. The rules were not difficult to find, here’s a piece the Politico put up that defines them fairly well.

. . . . . . . . . . . . Their thoughts . . . . . . . . . .

Politico As stated in Cannon’s Precedents, on January 27, 1909, the House adopted a report in response to improper references in debate to the President. That report read in part as follows:

• “It is… the duty of the House to require its Members in speech or debate to preserve that proper restraint which will permit the House to conduct its business in an orderly manner and without unnecessarily and unduly exciting animosity among its Members or antagonism from those other branches of the Government with which the House is correlated.”

As a guide for debate, it is permissible in debate to challenge the President on matters of policy. The difference is one between political criticism and personally offensive criticism. For example, a Member may assert in debate that an incumbent President is not worthy of re-election, but in doing so should not allude to personal misconduct. By extension, a Member may assert in debate that the House should conduct an inquiry, or that a President should not remain in office. Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:
• refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.”
• refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.”
• refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.”
• refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.”
Likewise, it has been held that a member could not:
• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

However, the Senate rules on decorum and debate do not prohibit personal references to the President. Senate Rule XIX governing decorum and debate is applied only to fellow Senators and “does not extend to the President, the Vice President, or Administration officials and a Senator cannot be called to order under rule XIX for comments or remarks about them…” (Senate Procedure, p. 741).

. . . . . . . . . . . . My thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ambiguity again?  No, valid legislative double talk!

I am pretty sure these people write these rules so, depending on who is doing what, they can point at a rule and “interpret” it any way they like.  Rules like these say: “well, sort of, but in this case, or that, you know, maybe”.   So I guess it comes down to common sense and courtesy.  In the Joe Wilson flap, both sides are easy to understand.  The “decorum” must be preserved or there would be legislative chaos.  However, a President should not make a statement that is in direct contradiction to a law he is asking to be passed., that would be a LIE being presented to a Joint Session of Congress.

Let’s Look at President Obama’s Lies at the Joint Session of Congress:

• FACTS: The legislation Obama was pushing at the time of the “flap” did not state illegal aliens are not covered, therefore by default they were covered!  The CRS (Congressional Research Service) confirms that Illegals are/were covered under the then-present version HR-3200.

• Also a Republican amendment stating that was VOTED DOWN by the Democrat majority, why if the legislation already disallowed it?
• Obama called the legislators liars FIRST.  A President can call people in a Joint Session of Congress liars and is not “admonished” but someone calls him a liar after he does that and that breaks the rules? Transcript from his speech:

Some of people’s concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but by prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens.

Now, such a charge would be laughable if it weren’t so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie plain and simple. Now… Now, there are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms — the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

(UNKNOWN): That’s a lie. <- (Joe Wilson)

• And another one at the Joint Session: Remember when Obama talked about the poor man with cancer that died because he couldn’t get health care insurance?  Well, guess what … that was a LIE … In fact, the man, Otto S. Raddatz, didn’t die because the insurance company rescinded his coverage once he became ill, an act known as recission. Source HERE His sister secured a life-extending stem-cell transplant for him. Raddatz died this year, nearly four years after the insurance showdown. Obama couldn’t even tell a little “heart throbbing story” truthfully.
• Also, on the Friday afternoon “document dump” from the White House, the “language” of the bill was changed to disallow health care for illegal aliens. How much proof do we need, folks?

At what price? So you have to ask, “what price” do we have to pay to get something done? To get illegal aliens out of the health care bill, was the price that Joe Wilson paid too high?  And when an ABSOLUTE LIE is stated in a Joint Session from the President’s lips … does “decorum” allow such behavior from a President of the United States … or if he has the “audacity” to do that, should someone who KNOWS it is a like not have the audacity to say “STOP IT!”

• In an earlier post, I mentioned a lady I encountered on the mall during the 9-12 March on DC.  Her sign said: “I’m off the Sidelines … A First Time Protester… And I’m Here to STAY!”  From looking at that crowd I was in and listening to what they were saying, there were a lot of “first timers” there. I think people are starting to take the risk, pay the price (of annoyance) and start saying “NO! THIS ISN’T RIGHT!”     That’s what I saw last Saturday.

This isn’t Democrats, this is Dangerous! What people still don’t “get” is that what is happening is DIFFERENT and DANGEROUS to anything we’ve ever seen in the USA.  This isn’t Bill Clinton tring to pass some bill, or George Bush pushing for illegals. This isn’t “politics” … 1/2 of which I’ll disagree with as you disagree with the other 1/2.  That’s politics, debate, etc.  All healthy for a Democratic Republic. But this is DIFFERENT.  We’ve never had an avowed Communist appointed to the high level of the government. We’ve never had a President who wanted to use ACORN (total corruption) brought into Washington to “help him shape” the new administration.  These people are not “Democrats” … that are RADICALS and there is one hell of a difference.  (Give me Hillary, Bill, Al, even the war hero of Vietnam, John and I’ll breath a sigh of relief… yes relief … that would be “politics” … this is different!)

Make YOUR point!

What’s YOUR point? (Have you even got one?)

This administration, with TRILLIONS in spending (leaving George Bush way behind!) with “redistributing the wealth” ideas, with taking over giant corporations and giving them to the unions … is not a bunch of Democrats having fun.  This is you and me losing our country to Socialism.  Decorum is not going to mean anything to these people.  Decorum got us the bill as it was, shouting out “You Lie” got it changed! We are going to have to get off the comfortable “sidelines” and get in the game.  If you are a Republican, shame on you for supporting do-nothing republicans.  If you are a Democrat, shame on you for blindly supporting this administration, just because they “say” they are Democrats.  If you are an American, you better wake up, see what’s going on, and do something about it.   Maybe you’ll see a political button that says, “ACORN helps PEOPLE”  … are you going to ignore it or get into somebody’s face?  Decorum got us “here” … I’m not going any further. In the struggle of Decorum vs. Outrage … I’ve chosen a side.  Have you?

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

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