America's Greatest Loss

 

Tis The Season To Go Shopping

By Chelle

 

            Like ants crawling over each other, the cars have filled our freeways and the people have filled the aisles in nearly every store.  The season of Christmas means getting out of your house, mingling with strangers, and frustrations mount as we search for the perfect gift to give the people we love.   Every year I say, I’m going to do something for someone who really needs blessings.  Every year, I give gifts to children I’ve never met, toys mostly; and every year I wonder if those children have clothes or food to eat.  My heart is always heavy this time of the year.  I just can’t help myself.

            I began my shopping before Thanksgiving this year because I wanted to get my family out of the way first, take care of your own before you take care of others and all that.  Through the process it became clear to me that what my children need is more discipline and happiness in their education.  How can I make learning fun for them?  How can our teachers do so when they have such restrictions placed on them by the testing standards?  How would I wrap discipline and education in an attractive enough package that my sons would choose to open?  It simply isn’t possible, besides, this time every year people tend to want what they desire and not what they need the most, so my idea of giving is out of the question, at least for my sons it is.

            Reluctantly and with labor, I began looking for clothing that would support the image they wish to project to their peers.  I found this cool jacket with flashy colors that my youngest son would like; bold colors for the bold.  I noticed that it came from Japan. I put it back on the rack.  An hour later, I hadn’t found one article of clothing made in America and went up to the cashier to inquire about American made articles.  This young woman looked at me like I was nuts. I pretended to not notice her lack of understanding and asked, “Are you saying that you haven’t got anything made in America? This was a famous American chain of stores, part of our history, like turkeys and pumpkin pie. 

            Her response? “What difference does it make?”

            “You ask that because you will always have something to sell, but Americans used to be employed making such goods.”  Her eyes didn’t show interest in my politics because the fact was she did have a job in sales and yes she would always have something to sell.  She wasn’t interested because she didn’t think it affected her.

            As I continued my mission to find anything made in America, I remembered the Christmas I got my Schwinn bicycle.  I had had my bike stolen two months earlier and Dad took me out to get a replacement.  We went to a department store and there was a huge selection of bikes to choose from, but only a few were Schwinn or Columbia bikes.  Why was that important?  Dad told me that those were made in America. I looked over at all the pretty bikes with baskets and ribbons, flashy seats and pretty colors.  I asked him where the others had been made.  He told me they were made in Japan.   He picked up a bike and I didn’t get my hope up because I knew something had made my father sad.  I didn’t want to be a part of anything that caused Daddy to be unhappy.  “Half the cost and cheaply made.  It will fall apart but one day they will make better products that don’t.”  He put the bike back and walked over to the Schwinn.  He pulled out his wallet and said, “You’ll have to wait a little longer honey.”  He sure looked sad. 

            “It’s okay Daddy.  I can wait.  Dad?”  I asked him how come bikes from Japan were so much cheaper.  He told me that they didn’t take care of their workers.  He also told me that one day, because low cost items like these would be made so available, workers in America would lose their jobs.  I remember how sad I felt, all those moms and dads, all those people without jobs.  I worried about their children even back then.  When that Christmas came and I got my Schwinn, I was so proud, proud of Daddy and proud of my new bike.  I took care of it because I knew that some worker in America had a job.  It was that simple to me even back then.

            That was then; this is now and I’m a woman on a mission.  For weeks I have gone to every store in our county that had goods my sons might be interested in. I held up articles and commented to those next to me who were also shopping, “Made in Taiwan.   Made in Japan.   Made in China.”  I shook my head and said to any who would listen, “No wonder Americans have difficulty making a living.  Does everyone sell insurance these days?  Where did all the American made goods go to?”  Then I found an article of clothing made in Guatemala.  I don’t know what got into me, but I was so struck by the irony I felt the need to share it with everyone.  The store was rather full and I couldn’t resist the urge to make a statement.  “Look everyone,” I shouted with obvious joy.  I waited till I had the attention of many.  “This is the one thing I’ve found in a week that is made in America. Okay, so it is made in Guatemala, but that’s one of the Americas, right?”  Some folks smiled but everyone went back to shopping.  The lines at the checkouts were long.  It was obvious to me that in our capitalist urges to have something for next to nothing, we had given our present and future to those working overseas.

            I went to my closet and noticed that nearly everything I owned was made everywhere but in America. I began tossing out clothes I loved but felt I could do without.  They are sitting bagged next to my door, ready to go to the needy.  From now on, I’m going to purpose myself to buy only items made in America.  If they cost me three times as much, I’ll do as Dad did, I’ll save for them.  I don’t need two in every color.  I can do without.  I’ve found a few items in catalogs that are made here, but haven’t solved the problem of what to get my sons.  Maybe I’ll buy them their driver’s training and call it quits.  I can’t package that, but what am I supposed to do?  I feel especially convicted and responsible for the loss of manufacturing jobs here at home.  I wonder what happened to the philosophy of “Take care of your own before you try to help others”.

            It is apparent to me that because foreign made goods are so available, we Americans think it is acceptable to allow those jobs to go to other countries while we suffer the losses here at home in the name of saving a buck.  While the Christmas season is upon us, it is obvious; tis not the season to buy American.  Maybe in a few years, we can turn that around and give ourselves the gift of a sound economy.  Happy shopping folks.

Wonder how Van Morrison knew?

Wonderful Remark by Van Morrison

How can you stand the silence
That pervades when we all cry?
How can you watch the violence
That erupts before your eyes?
How can you tell us something
Just to keep us hangin' on?
Something that just don't mean nothing
When we see it you are gone
Clinging to some other rainbow
While we're standing, waiting in the cold
Telling us the same old story
Knowing time is growing old.
That was a Wonderful Remark
I had my eyes closed in the dark
I sighed a million sighs
I told a million lies - to myself - to myself

How can we listen to you
When we know your talk is cheap?
How can we ever question
Why we give more and you keep?
How can your empty laughter
Fill a room like ours with joy
When you're only playing with us
Like a child does with a toy?
How can we ever feel the freedom
Or the flame lit by the spark
How can we ever come out even
When reality is stark?

That was a Wonderful Remark
I had my eyes closed in the dark - yeah
I sighed a million sighs
I told a million lies - to myself - to myself
Baby to myse - e - e - elf

Simplify Taxes and Bring Manufacturing Back To Us

We are told by the experts that tax reform will be complicated because we can't even figure how to use the tax base in order to garnish income.  What is a tax base and how is it created?  Quite simply, a tax base is comprised of three areas: spending, saving, and investing (capital gains).  The problem in America is that we are required to pay over twenty percent in taxes on our net worth which is easy to fudge if you have enough earnings, but difficult to pay if you don't.  What would a Fortune 500 company have to pay if they paid 20 percent? They must have at least a billion dollars to qualify for this.  Twenty percent of a billion is...two hundred million dollars.  Consider that there are no less than 400 companies who fall into this category in America.  How much revenue would that be?  That would be eighty billion dollars!--annually!  Of course, the corporations would never allow that so why do we, the mid level and low level income earners, allow that?

ALEC and Heritage House tell us we need economic freedom but with rates like that and higher, how can we have the kind of freedom they speak of, the freedom to have a decent retirement that we pay for, medical care that we pay for, livelihood that we pay for?  Why are those doing business, selling goods to us, why aren't they held accountable for the same rate of taxation?  They make enough to hide it, getting far more deductions and taking advantage of many more loopholes we aren't able to because we don't have the financial freedom to do so.  Look, how many of us have extra cash to stash in offshore banks tax free???

Taxation should do two things, encourage business to provide jobs here in America and to secure the economic well being of our country.  The fear is that if we tax companies too highly, they will do business elsewhere--they already do.  We are told to relax that our American companies overseas hire Americans but they hire executive level Americans as a rule and hire locals to that country for the jobs we once held here.  Another trick of our government is that those Americans working and living overseas pay taxes in the countries they live but are also forced to pay taxes at a higher rate than we do to our country.  Jamaica, the Phillipines and the United States are the only countries who do this, but that is another matter of unfair taxation practices I don't wish to address at this time.

I propose:

1) 80% of consumer goods sold to Americans should be manufactured here in America by companies employing Americans.  These companies should be accountable for a 1% tax rate on quarterly audited gross receipts.  I did say gross, not net.

2) No more than 20% of goods sold to us should be imported ,and what an import is,needs to be redefined.  Companies who don't have brokering, packaging, and shipping plants, headquarters, are to be considered foreign companies and they should pay a high tax to sell goods to us, prior to selling it to us (20% import fee).  In cases of brokering such as coffee and bananas which would be exempt from import fees, those who have headquarters here in America, or have assembly and shipping centers here, they should be taxed 1% on all gross earnings.

3) Interstate commerce taxation needs to be done away with.

4)States need to garnish taxes too, a flat rate of 1/4% on all gross earnings.  States will also garnish a flat rate of property taxes on business and housing.

5) Sales taxes will go to cities and counties accordingly with no more than 5 percent on goods sold but not on services.

6) Companies should have recycling facilities including saline plants to reuse contaminated water in the case of alluminum and steel facilities, etc.  Plus sediment sites need to be set up as well.  If the states want the business they should look into footing some of the bill in order to keep their states green.  It can be done, it won't be cheap, but it must be done to get our jobs back here in America.

By imposing a flat tax on everyone from major corporation to the little guy we will level the field of responsibility.  It will simplify taxes in that there will be no deductions allowed (except in the case of wages and if that is the case, we must make sure that at least 80% of all employees are granted full time status).  People would be responsible for their own benefits packages unless the companies want to compete for qualified people by offering benefits as a perk to come work for them, but they should not be deductable for the company who does this, only the wages paid.  We have become far too dependent on the state and federal government for subsidizing our health care and social security.  This is partly due to the loss of jobs in America and the expense to own a small business which has difficulty competing for goods at a reasonable cost when corporations import those goods back to us at such a cheap cost.

In order to handle the taxation problems we must have jobs available that provide us a living wage, not a minimum wage and since corporations today have slithered off to other lands and avoided paying a fair share of taxes, it is time to make them pay for selling back to us.  I'd just as soon they leave us indefinately so we can claim the facilites and reopen them to employ our own workers.  We are smart, we can make our industries more environmentally friendly.  The middle class American and the Small business owners shouldn't have to foot the bill and if this continues, other countries will own our debts.  Oh, yeah, they already do.  If we begin soon, and impose the flat tax on gross earnings, our country will be out of its several trillion dollars debt in under four years. 

I say, before we try to help the others, lets heal our own sickness.  We shouldn't try to do it simultaneously or we will all lose out.

"Beware The Ides of March" Shakespear, Julius Ceasar

So we are told Osama bin Laden has a nuclear weapon he intends to use on America and he intends to do so sometime between now and the end of 2005.  Osama, a scholar and genious has a penchant for the written word and a fondness for William Shakespear.  He isn't fond of Britain, however.  Nor is he fond of America.  It is my guess that bin Laden will send a message to the Lion, "We will break your spirit and kill your baby lamb."  The lion is England and England's baby lamb is America.

So we wonder when this will occur.  March.  March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb; I just hope it won't be for the last time.

Queen George

Voltaire said, "Love truth, but pardon error."

Our president has declared that the American people, through our vote, have sent him a mandate for another four years.  I choose to believe that not all who voted for him were stupid as they are accused of being and therefore conclude that he recieved a pardon, not a mandate.  Yet Bush is truly an Elizabethan in his techniques.  Like Queen Elizabeth I he sets out to create divisions and fuel each other's disdain for one another while forcing all sides to come to him for resolution.  Nobody was quite as good at it as was Queen Elizabeth...until George came along.  They share the philosophy of divide ut regnes (divide in order to rule). 

Bush proves Barry Goldwater's assertion is correct: "A government that is big enough to give you all you want, is big enough to take it all away."  So through our huge expenditures for war, and padding of defense funds, truly  Bush has succeeded in taking it all away for generations to come.  Some shout, "Four more years!"  The others cry out, "Four more generations!"

A Taste For The Kill  

When the films of our marines were finally seen in our homeland of America by those who hadn't gone to foreign websites for their news, Americans expressed their disgust and even spout out verbage of hate for the one soldier they say shot an unarmed Iraqi man who was already wounded.  What our citizens did not know is that while this troop was working its way up to Fallujah to relieve the troop who was engaged there, they did come under fire and when the soldier's friend went to move the freshly dead body of the insurgent, he was blown up and another soldier along with him.  The body was booby trapped. 

I'd like to share with you what has been shared with me from a few fellows who didn't quite do so well when they returned home from Viet Nam.  To a soldier engaged in war, its a kill or be killed programming.  As long as they are shooting at some percieved enemy (real or imagined) and are making those kills, they can rejoice.  Quite simply it means they killed a man and live because of it.  In times of war, they live and return to us because they have killed.  Hopefully they will return home soon.

They have been deprived of the nurturing  they grew up with, sent in to do a job like encryptionist, but ended up shooting others, picking up body parts and putting them in body bags, then tagged the bags.  They are promised daily that the job they came to do will happen.  Every day they believe it will happen.  Instead of dwelling on the fact that only killing is going on, they join in willingly  to kill.  Of course...war affects each individual quite differently so this isn't a cut out for every one of them.

Show mercy, America--to our soldiers.  We made them what they are.

Painful message to my brothers and sisters.

Some of my sisters and brothers in the Lord have put me in a rock and a hard place, so first, I'd like to take a moment to explain how some who oppose the right to choose are compassionate helpers who work at Christian abortion counseling centers.  They help to restore the women back to a place where God can heal them.  This is truly a great thing in my opinion.  So I whole heartedly am proud of these sisters and brothers.

There are, however, brothers and sisters who haven't taken the time to understand the message of our Lord Jesus.  These are also the ones who say everyone must go through Jesus or they will go to hell without realizing the Jews were given laws for their salvation and the Islamics were given their directives for their salvation, something Christians cannot claim.  We were merely grafted in between these two olive branches, the half brothers--seeds of Abraham.  We were given as Gentiles the uncommon salvation through the messiah who is Jesus.  Jesus extended his arm of grace to us and called us to love our enemies, extend mercy without partiality, and forgave every sin with one exception--the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. 

This is important to what I have to say to my brothers and sisters who are in error because it brings me great pain to have to correct them.  But since we are in the same family, I'm obligated to do so.  You see, God gave humans something quite special; he gave us free will, the ability to choose to come to him of our own free will, not to come to him because some law said we had to.  God waits for us to choose the path we will take.  On every path we will encounter sin (the formidable teacher), suffering and pain, amongst other things kind and unkind.  When we are humbled, in pain, suffering from our sins and we call out to God, he says, "I'm here."  We then choose to cry out our reality and invite our healing.  God sends his most Holy Spirit to comfort and teach us.  None of this can happen if we are enslaved by laws regarding a forced morality.  Morality isn't something we are to legislate.  In fact when someone showed Jesus a coin with Ceasar's picture, he looked at it with disgust and declared as he tossed it back to the gentleman, "Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasars.

So my dear well meaning but mistaken brothers and sisters, I submit to you that by saying we must follow a moral form of legislated governing, we are stripping people of the gift God gave us, the gift of free will; and therefore, are denying that the Holy Spirit is able to save us from our demise.  This my family is denying the power of the Holy Spirit to meet the individual heart where it has gone, where it is at.  I'd like to throttle you all as you accuse Arlen Spector of being pro-murder and pro-abortion.  That is a lie! Stop lying this moment, repent of this sin.  There was no such bill ever that said proabortion or promurder.  Arlen is supporting the woman's individual rights to make a choice, something none of us should have to do since God guaranteed it.  Arlen feels the government shouldn't enforce private moral issues for individuals, that that is an intimate matter between they and whomever they believe in.  He is prochoice not pro anything else that goes on with that.  I ask you brothers and sisters, do you accept the salvation Christ offered to you?  If you say yes, then you murdered Christ.  Fear not, he is more than capable of forgiving you and he has. 

Now to the rabbi of the rabbi's you said, "Arlen Spector has stolen the civil rights of the unborn.  The unborn have been cheated out of their civil rights by Arlen Spector."  You sir, are in error.  In order to have civil rights, you must first be born and then secondly, you must be living.

I'm so sorry for having to scold you all, but believers are commanded to educate other believers who could be approaching the irreversable effects of error.   Do not deny the power of the Holy Spirit, accept the gift of free will that our creator teaches us through.  Selah--Amen.

Oddball conversations with my friends.

Louise had tint on her hair and I showed her the comment Thomas Jefferson made which appeared a few blogs down.  "Great quote," she said "He was a prick, though." I asked her why she said that and she responded,"Let me search my gray matter. It'll come to me."  A few moments passed and asked her again."Something about a Black woman."

"You sure you don't mean Benjamin Franklin?"

"No but he was probably evil too."

"George Washington?"

"He was evil."

I felt so silly having this conversation with her, tint cap on her head and all, but I reminded her,"You know, our founding fathers were seen as terrorists, insurgents of their day."

"By whom," she asked with an indignant clucking of her tongue.

"By the English, Louise."

"Impossible!  They invaded us!"

"Yeah, just like we invaded Iraq."  Our eyes met and grew large because we had hit on an irony.  We had only meant to engage in our typical beauty shop conversation but the truth hit us at the same time.  In retrospect, it was funny, but true none the less.

Friday, we were talking about women's rights because I joined N O W.  Sabrina, the client of mine with a tint cap on her head said, "We need to bring freedom to the women of Iraq."

Her sister said, "They need to bring themselves freedom, we had to here."

"You ladies see on all our news shows how women are rarely at the demonstrations and battles?"  They shook their heads in unison.  "Why do you suppose that is?"  There was a little bit of weak speculation and they both agreed that neither had the answer.  They assumed the men had not been taught to respect their women. So I pointed out another possibility.  "They rely on their women.  They keep them hidden by the soldiers and foreign media because to expose their women means they too would be in danger.  If we attacked and killed their women instead of them, there would be no more Islamic message.  The women are the breeders of their message and like drone bees, they protect their queens, the mothers of the living."

They agreed but I got this awful sinking feeling in the pit of my tummy.  I'm not willing to kill the women to end the war.  The idea seemed so sinister to me. I'm a mom too. <sigh>  That's all for now.

Now Magazine ran a John Sayles Article--Check it out.

John Sayles If Christians can steal the GOP, lefties can move in on the Dems BY John Sayles

Politicians are only as good as we force them to be forget the post-election excre ment on how the Democratic party needs to reach out to fundamentalist voters and find a "moral position'' people can identify with. What? Let's become less tolerant? More homophobic, more racist? How's this for a moral position? Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill. It's always popular politics to attack liars, thieves and murderers (and even better if you're not one yourself).

But you can't oppose a mess of a war by claiming you would have made less of a mess of it. And you can't tell the truth about the Middle East without mentioning our policy with Israel and years of support for repressive regimes in the Muslim states.

Segregation was presented as a moral position until we got it out of the legal codes. Now it's just a by-product of the alleged free market system.

Worried about abortion rights? You should be. But if the anti-abortion crusaders are willing to lie down in the middle of highways, chain themselves to fences, picket abortion clinics, shouldn't people on the other side of the issue be prepared to do the same? It isn't comfortable. It isn't fun. But if you believe, you believe.

What if the right to have an abortion were on the ballot in those so-called red states? Or a bill to charge doctors who perform abortions with murder? Always the chance that you might lose, but it certainly would be a motivating factor to get off your butt and pull the lever.

Pretty much half of the people who voted don't want to go where George Bush and his gang want to take us. This is not a bunch of cranks and sore losers. It's important to remember that any inch we give up through cynicism, apathy or mere laziness is an inch that will be twice as hard to win back.

Know your enemy. People who take away your liberties, the services you've fought and paid for, your standard of living, your public lands and utilities, have stolen from you just as blatantly as if they came into your house and robbed you with a gun. The bribery and extortion they've used to do this is only "legal'' because they've been able to get away with it. Television and radio networks that conspire with them to do this are your enemies as well. Buy nothing that can profit them (preferably in an organized boycott), and let the world know about it.

If you're a "content provider," try not to work for them. Corporations that control politicians who sell us out, who rape America and the rest of the world and give nothing back, need to be identified, their methods revealed, boycotted, publicly hounded.

The people who voted for Bush are familiar with direct mail. How about some campaigns sending them the news, with names and numbers of their civic leaders who are robbing them? Class war should have an economic face, not just a "cultural'' one.

Ask yourself what you might be doing to accommodate or encourage the current system, how you or your business may be helping the IMFs and WTOs ravage American and foreign workers. Then stop doing it.

Complacency and distance do not help. Why are gay people marching in San Francisco? Instead, they should go en masse and meet people in those states that want to ostracize them (and where many of them actually come from) and see if anything human can happen.

If you are lucky enough to have money to invest and choose to use or protect it in that way, ask not only how much your money is earning but who else is profiting by the use of it. This is not "political correctness'' (a term that even in the late 60s I only heard used by reactionaries), but just trying not to feed the people who are fucking you over.

If you don't know how to change a tire, you shouldn't own a car. If you don't know how to inform yourself, you shouldn't expect to live in a democracy. The hard message of our recent movie, Silver City, is that we all have to be detectives to know what is going on in the world. That means searching rather than just receiving. It means weighing evidence. It means critical thought.

Yes, this is exactly what the Republican party relies on its constituents not to do, and why the bulk of those constituents will be powerless to avoid the economic beating the Bush deficit is going to lay on them. Information is power only if it is used. Pressure – constant and massive pressure – has to be put on the commercial news media, however embedded they may be, to make sure the muggings perpetrated by those in power are public ones.

It can't be relegated to books or movies produced three years after it's too late. The power of the Web will be used as a weapon by friend and foe. Some of its success as a tool for change will be theability to invade other people's space, to leave the chat rooms filled with like-minded people and go visiting.

Civil disobedience is effective when it is well aimed and has staying power. If you don't trust the military or what the regime in power is sending it to do, don't join it, and do what you can to help other people not have to join it. If you think you're getting screwed, make a stink about it. If you think somebody else is getting screwed and can think of a way to help, do it.

Let's say John Kerry had gone to the working people in the red states and promised them that if they voted for him he'd guarantee them $4,000 a year in extra income and services. Would you have any respect for a person who would give up a deeply held principle (on abortion or any other issue) for $4,000?

Politicians are only as good as we force them to be. The religious right took over the Republicans. Why don't the progressives take over the Democratic party and make a real fight of this thing? If that leads to more regionalism and divisiveness, so be it. You either think these things are worth fighting for or you don't.

Bring it on.

NOW | NOV 11 - 17, 2004 | VOL. 24 NO. 11

The Forum on PBS radio

Letter to KQED Radio--The Forum:

 

       Good morning!

You had Susan Jacoby on today and of course I was listening.  Then again I always listen when I take a smoke break at work.

I am perplexed as to why Gay Marriage is such an issue.  Last statistics I got was that one in four marriages ended up in divorce.  Why isn't the Gay voice (a powerful voice) helping us to address the real issues?  Why are they buying into the carrot of a heterosexual concept being dangled in front of them when they could be helping us all see to it that some important issues are addressed?

Issue: Benefits denied to people who file taxes jointly and share all assets.
Story: Kathy, a stylist renting a space in my salon has a horrid but all too common story to share.  At the age of fifteen she, a practicing Catholic got married to a Catholic man.  Eventually they had two children.  A year after their second child came he took off never to be heard from again.  He had taken all records of their marriage and accounts with him.  She never could locate him.  By the time she reached the age of twenty another man moved in with her, a veteran of the Viet Nam war.  They had a son together, filed taxes together, and shared their assets.  When he was diagnosed with Hep C and got hurt on a job, he was unable to work.  His little Vet's check helped, barely.  The supporting of them fell on her job as a hairdresser.  He was hoping to live long enough to collect his pension from the job he had worked at but that didn't happen.  He died this year.  Kathy, now fifty-six years old, hasn't got help from his pension or his Vet benefit.  In fact, she has no benefits and owes five years of back taxes.  Her son is an adult but she supports the grandchild because as life goes...the son has been injured too.  Where did his father's benefits go?  Why don't they help her?  Is she supposed to die in poverty too?

Problem: We keep skirting around the issues of Civil Partnering which should be allowed.  The subject of Gay marriage is intentionally keeping us from seeing that not only gay folks, but heterosexual folks are denied the right to benefits earned by their partners.  Who keeps all the money put into pension plans???

Instead of turning this into a moral issues from a federal platform, let us please consider the fiduciary responsibilities due to those who share assets and pay joint taxes.
Seeking to redefine marriage as something that produces anything other than a husband and wife steals attention from others who produce jointly.
Thank you.
Chelle Stockman of Vallejo, Ca.  707-655-7073

“I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”    — Thomas Jefferson 1812

Next move folks: Find out all the American Corporations and how much they paid in taxes.  Move for a flat tax on net earnings with corporations allowed to deduct wages and benefits paid as long as those benefits are paid to 70% or more.  The flat tax should be no more than 3% for us all on our net earnings.  No deductions for any of us--period.  All corporations manufacturing outside this country will have to pay a 9% tax to sell it back to us, meanwhile small businesses should once again begin setting themselves up to provide goods we currently buy from abroad.  That means we won't have anymore dollar stores and will pay more for our goods.

We must take our credit spending down to almost nothing and start clearing our debts.  If that means you have to file bankruptcy, shore up your homes and vehicles then file.  Buy as little insurance you can and halt your urges to make money off of lawsuits. Let's see if we can't cut our debts in half by four years.  Let us not spend what we do not have.  Pay cash, money orders or checks as often as possible.  Don't invest in the fleeting and indeterminable stock market.  Pull out.  The market is good at the moment so sell out.  If you are healthy, cancel your unneccessary insurance policies, because; the insurance companies are gambling that you won't need the services and you are betting against yourselves that you will.  This will shake up our administration.

Why a national sales tax won't work: large corporations won't have to pay any tax unless they buy their raw materials here and they don't currently do so.

Now, write your representatives from the smallest to the largest administration.  Good luck.  Keep me posted.  I'm with you and have already started.

Bush's words to us about the Iraqi people in 9-20-01

Bush says the regular font while my comments will be bold.

We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. No, sir, but your followers are deceived by yours. We have seen their kind before. Every time you look in the mirror. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century.And you are their benefactor.  By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions -- by abandoning every value except the will to power -- they follow in the path of fascism, and Nazism, and totalitarianism. Bush, you really should step away from the mirror for awhile. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends:  in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. (Applause.)  Yes sir, your rats will follow you their pied piper.  Trouble is, you all take the rest of us with you, mon capitan. 

Two Declarations of War by Regime Leader, George W. Bush

Sept.20th, 2001, Bush declared the first of a series of wars--this one against terrorism (illegal  to do by the way).  He said, "We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest.  And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism.  Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." And the audience applaused.  How many of you remember that speech?

Nov. 4th 2004 Bush said plenty so pay attention. "Coming from a campaign that offered clear policy choices," Mr. Bush said: "When you win, there is a feeling that the people have spoken and embraced your point of view, and that's what I intend to tell the Congress.  I'll reach out to everyone who shares our goals," said Mr. Bush, who 24 hours earlier had promised to try to win over those who voted for his Democratic opponent.

"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it," Bush said a day after a decisive victory that also saw the GOP gain seats in both the House and Senate.
Contending Americans have embraced his conservative agenda, President Bush pledged Thursday to aggressively pursue major changes in Social Security, the tax code and medical malpractice awards, working with Democrats if they are receptive and leaving them behind if they're not.

I see this as a preemptive maneuver against half the American people--any and all who do not agree with him. What he really has said is, "Either you are with me or you are with the opposition."

His Elizabethan ways are to pit two factions against one another and he effectively did this to the Republican and Democratic parties.  So if you have noticed how polarized we have become, you can blame it where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of George W. Bush.  Just as Queen Elizabeth used to do, Bush will then be called on to resolve our party differences which means we will all have to go to him for resolution.  And we will, because few read this blog, few know their history, and few are willing to believe that any one American can be so diabolical "oh, no--never an American."  Just so you know, if the man doesn't succeed in getting us to beg him to resolve our differences, he will launch a war against a bulk of us just as he did to the Davidians in Waco, Texas.  Know your history and from now on, know who you are dealing with.  A special thanks go to those who voted for Bush.  Your wisdom is a noose about my neck and the necks of those I love.

1st of 500plus topics-letter to local papers and reps.

Subj: Sample letter for ssi identity  Date: 11/3/2004 6:52:10 AM Pacific Standard Time From: GoddessOf7Worlds To: GoddessOf7Worlds

November 03, 2004
Rochelle


Senator Barbara Boxer

Dear Senator Boxer,

I held off writing this letter, a matter of importance to me, due to the pending outcome of this election.
I was hoping to wake to a president who would at least listen to me, but woke in disappointment to the same leader who hasn't done so.  So I need you to represent my growing concerns.  I've decided that I'll be writing my representatives often because the list of concerns has grown sharply in the past two years.

With regards to The Right To Privacy Act of 1974, I was under the impression that our social security number wasn't to be used as a form of identification, nor were we to be denied services if we did not give it out. Why is it that to get and use insurance, our social security number is required?  I'm unable to get or use medical insurance without it.  Why is it that I'm unable to get a driver's license or auto insurance without giving out my social security number?  If I want to employ usury measures in the form of lending or investing, why must I use my social security number?  Oh, I'm aware that they won't pass this information along to those outside their given organization, but whenever I call to get information on my telecommunications, internet services, utilities, credit cards and insurance; I'm asked to enter my personal identification by entering the last four digits of my social security number.  When a live voice comes over the phone, I'm asked once again for my last 4 digits.

Though the people on the phone  who service these companies sound truly American, they are not Americans, so not only am I giving out valuable information I supposedly am protected from having to give out, I'm giving it to a stranger in another land.  With the outsourcing of our jobs hanging over our heads like a dreary cloud, would you say it is prudent to be giving such sensitive information to strangers?  I've read much of the Patriot II and even issues of child abuse appear.  Wouldn't you agree that the possibility of identification duplication (theft) falls under Homeland Security?
Thank you,
Rochelle 

Same Song, Same verse-A little bit LOUDER and a whole lot WORSE

In 2000, I went to bed thinking Gore would be our president. I woke to Bush.  Soon, I'll go to bed but it doesn't look like I'll wake to Kerry.

Therefore, I'll be busy for the next four years.  Unless you can help our country by becoming an activist, I won't have the opportunity to speak with you.  I'll be missing you, my friends.  I have a lot of research to do and already have a few who are willing to get busy with me. 

The process will be extensive and even the book I was about to start researching for, will be put on hold.  I feel awfully sorry for my husband because it will be as though he doesn't have a wife.

The rough plan.

First I'll outline the overview of the problems we face because of the way our current administration has bungled things. I'll see what other potential catastrophes pop up.  When I compile the lists, I'll snail mail to aproximately 200 senators and members of the house.  I'll also be on the telephone hoping to meet my California representatives in order to carry some of our concerns to them and they in turn, to Washington D.C..  Wish me luck.

From there, I'll review the problems of various states and also of cities within those states.  I'll write to these representatives and inquire what they plan on doing about it.  If I have help from the locals within that region, the task will be more personal and easier to handle.  Wish us all luck.

How I wish that you all would take a proactive stance, but seeing as how the vote has come down, I realize you are confident that everything is going your way.  So it isn't for the nearly 57,000,000 voters out of the 109,000,000 plus voters that I do this: it is for the remaining 52,000,000 plus voters that I'll be trying to help.  Their voice was heard by me and it cries out to be heard by our administration.  The rest of you have been heard already.  But know this;  should things not turn out for you as you had hoped, join me in making your voice heard, too; and wish us all luck.  Good night folks.

Peace and rest before resting in peace.