I am referring to the death tax in the title. This morning I got the e-mail going around the Internet (probably for the hundredth time!) about all the taxes we pay. To quote:
======================================
      Accounts Receivable Tax
      Building Permit Tax
      CDL license Tax
      Cigarette Tax
      Corporate Income Tax
      Dog License Tax
      Federal Income Tax
      Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
      Fishing License Tax
      Food License Tax,
      Fuel permit tax
      Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
      Hunting License Tax
      Inheritance Tax
      Interest expense
      Inventory tax
      IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
      Liquor Tax
      Luxury Taxes
      Marriage License Tax
      Medicare Tax
      Property Tax
      Real Estate Tax
      Recreational Vehicle Tax

Not sure how this one falls in the topics available to us for posting on our blogs.

For a long time John Murtha has gotten on my nerves. For years he's been anonymous in congress when suddenly he becomes a media star because he opposes Bush, the war, the troops and so on.

Recently he jumped to the podium to denounce the Marines who were brought up on charges at Haditha. In my America people are supposed to be innocent of crimes like these until proven guilty. And rightly so. Last week it was shown that the evidence had been tampered with to make the soldiers look guilty so that one of the defendants had charges dropped and the rest of the case was unraveling.

WHERE'S THE APOLOGY FROM MURTHA? If he were my representative, he would get faxes from me demanding he apologize for his remarks. But he was elected in a blue state and you know what they are all about. Ends justify the means. It's not about intellectual honesty.

Then we have EARMARKS. Remember that congress was going to get them done away with because Republicans were abusing them? Culture of corruption? RIGHT! Apparently Murtha is the king of earmarks. He has teamed up with this son and steered lots of money toward him to found companies that never come to fruition. If you want the details, sign up for Rush 24/7 and listed to Friday's show. I am not sure which hour it was in, but Roger Hedgecock was filling in and explained it on the show

Mick O.

This is a letter I wrote to a friend of mine who is a regular contributor for the San Francisco Chronicle. She is sponsor of a Bay Area group called the 9-11 Neocons and a liberal turned conservative after the horrible events of September 11. It is regarding a TCM special I saw On Demand last night called "Spielberg on Spielberg" which started off good, then turned into a preachy liberal instructional video... in my opinion! Here's the letter.
===========================================
Hi,

Do you have Comcast on demand? If so, you should take a look at the TCM special, Spielberg on Spielberg. He says some amazing things that make me wonder why anyone considers him an intelligent fellow.

Actually, I don’t think it’s that he’s not intelligent, it’s that he’s incredibly optimistic and naïve. Especially when he starts talking about Palestine and Israel. After doing a movie like Schindler’s List, I would think he would have a greater understanding that there are just some people you can not talk to. He thinks so. (Can’t we all just get along?)

I tried to talk to [my wife] about the interview and make my point, but she didn’t take his remarks the same way I did. He bashed (in my opinion) the Patriot Act comparing it to the Minority Report movie and how it’s taking away our rights by a government who makes decisions on our behalf. He’s a big lib. Doesn’t he see the Democrats are doing just that with their oppressive taxes and bigger government? Yet he supports them.

It is very frustrating to see a guy with such star power pushing “historically altered” movies like Amistad in the name of entertainment (then promoting them as historically accurate) or Munich. Then he tries to use fantasy pieces like Minority Report and A-I to compare these to what’s going on in our country right now.

Sorry to go on so long. But my suggestion is this: if Spielberg is so convinced that he can talk Palestinians into peaceful coexistence with the Israelis then he should go over there and do it. My guess is he’d come back in a body bag which is probably why he hasn’t gone!

Thanks for listening.

Mick O.

Someone explain to me. My friend and I had a spirited debate today on this topic, but I think she was playing Devil's advocate just to annoy me. Here's the question.

When I grew up in the 60's it was all about lack of responsibility, free love, free sex, question responsibility and never trust the government. How did hippies end up as adults mostly voting Democrat? While it's true that Republicans have their share of big government types, these are not true conservatives.

What I am talking about is why wouldn't those people from the 60's with the same mindset become small government, lower tax conservatives? I don't get it. People like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are big government, high taxation types who want to control our lives. So who do the dried up old hippies support? Guess!

Mick O. 

Every day we are bombarded that this is good for us and that is bad for us, then over the years we find out that "the experts" were wrong. It's kind of like the Woody Allen movie Sleeper where he wakes up in the future only to find that scientists have discovered smoking is actually good for you!

Today it was reported that women who eat even 1/4 of a grapefruit increase their risk of cancer by 30%. Now how can anyone believe that? And what is the truth? MAYBE the 30% of women whose cancer increased were all actually doing something else that caused their cancer and just happened to be eating grapefruit.

I contend if they had been eating something rare like cumquats then maybe you could draw that conclusion, but grapefruit? Maybe they all ate Big Macs and that was the cause. Or the stress from having children?

My point is this; ENJOY LIFE! Don't let the "experts" ruin your life by making you paranoid! And who are these "experts" anyway? They never seem to be identified or held accountable for their findings! It's like those unidentified sources or people who speak under the condition of anonymity. It's chicken-you-know-what!

Mick O.

Is Oprah endorsing Obama just because he's black (which can amost be the only reason she'd vote for him... he hasn't done anything yet!)? And can she swing the election?

True, Oprah has a lot of fans who hang on every word. They watch her show, buy her magazine and listen to her on the radio and are truly mind-numbed robots (in my opionion), but are they truly informed?

For example, I was watching the day that Al Gore was on and one weepy woman in her audience stood up and said, "I get it now." Well if she got it now, wouldn't she have done some research to find out that Inconvenient Truth was full of inconvenient half-truths and outright distortions? Don't get me wrong, I am for clean air and clean water, but there is no proof that global warming is happening or that man is causing it, or that Gore is the man to stop it!

Back to Oprah. She has quite a following, but is star power enough to help get someone elected? George Soros found that money alone wasn't enough to get a bad candidate (Kerry) elected in 2004. And Clooney, Pitt, Jolie, etc. weren't enough to save him either.

So what makes Oprah think that her endorsement will do anything for Obama other than make it past the first two primaries? We'll see.

In the end, my prediction is Hillary and Obama on the Democrat ticket in 2008.

Mick O.

Everytime I hear a politician on television saying that the reason we are hated in other countries is because of George Bush's foreign policy or some such nonsense. Here are some another ideas.
 
We were hated back when Clinton was President too. This did not START with Bush and will not END with Bush, if it is even true. And what about Jimmy Carter? Weren't some Americans held hostage during his term as President?

So this claim that America is hated around the world because of conservatives and Republicans is preposterous.

If we are so hated, why are millions of illegal aliens crossing our borders in the dead of night to come here whether it's for permanent citizenship or just for work? If it's so good in Mexico, why not stay there? If they hate the United States so much, why try and come here at all? Good question!

If European countries hate us so much, why could that be? Jealousy? Our economy is humming while theirs is rampant with socialism; growth is flat or falling. Britain, once our biggest ally, is slowly being taken over by Muslims. One of their most popular names for boys is Mohammed. What does that tell you?

And just maybe some of the world hates us because of liberal politics. An example would be Viet Nam where liberal politics pulled us out before the job was done. Maybe the world got upset at us because we couldn't be counted on anymore, not because we were there in the first place!

Just to be clear, I am not against Muslims who want to live in peace with other religions. But the sane, life-loving ones among them need to step up and condemn the suicide/homicide terrorist actions of those few extremists. Members of CAIR should not be their spokespersons. It doesn't work.
 
I have given this a lot of thought and think I'm on to something. The hatred for the US started long before Bush took office. But maybe once the world sees that we intend to stand up where there is injustice (not for surrendering as our spineless Democrat led Senate thinks we should do) and follow through, the world will start to realize that our word is our bond... and it's stronger than oak!

Mick O.

Want to know what bipartisanship means? Depends on who's saying it.

Liberals

This includes RINO Republicans, and means conservatives should switch sides to push a liberal agenda that liberals think is best for the country.

Conservatives mean liberals and conservatives coming together to do what they think is best for the country. 

Anytime a liberal says we need bipartisan support, they mean everyone needs to agree with them whether they are in the majority or minority. My way or the highway.

Mick O.

Congressional approval rating is at an all time low... lower than Bush, and that's saying something. But some of that is because of the leadership in the Senate. The Democrat(ic) leadership. Harry Reid is a large part of the problem. He has absolutely no charisma and little ability to get anything done.

So how long before the Democrats turn on him and throw him overboard? He is not helping their cause. Harry Reid certainly has exposure on his shady land deals, and maybe they can force him to resign as Majority leader in order to get someone who's more effectivein the spot.

Even though I would hate to see liberals get their way on war spending, because I think we need to win in Iraq, but Harry Reid is putting nails in his own coffin every time he tries to do something that fails. Maybe Dems will do something about it!

Mick O.

 Living in California, it has not been so easy to watch my Senators work on legislation that I oppose. However, yesterday Diane Feinstein took a position to support the 2 border agents who have been sent to prison for shooting a drug dealer (not fatally) who was crossing the border illegally.

Although she was dead wrong on the illegal immigration debate (in my opinion), I am proud of her standing up for Ramos and Compean. So where were my Republican buddies on this issue? And what about President Bush?

As a side note, Senator Feinstein is trying to bring some sanity to the discussion that people should be able to reasonably clear land in Tahoe of dead trees. This is something the Sierra Club has opposed for years and led to problems containing last months' fire.

You go, girl!

Mick O. 

Ever wonder why there are so many commercials on the radio and television asking you to donate that old car of yours? After all, it can do such wonderful things... for the children. For the children... why, are they going to drive them? Here's the sales pitch from http://www.donatecarusa.com/.

How car donations work

When you pledge your automobile donation, the Vehicle Donation Processing Center takes the donor information over the telephone, and handles all of the documents, vehicle donation pick up, charity auction sale and distribution of the proceeds to the charity. We guarantee payment of all expenses with your car donations. Donate a car to free yourself from the hassles of selling and give something to your community at the same time.

The Vehicle Donation Processing Center, Inc. is a processing agent for charities seeking automobile donations. Through our specialized program, we help citizens like you with your vehicle donation - including car donations, truck donations, trailer donations and boat donations - to any of our 501-C3 non-profit corporation charity clients. .

But not a word about how this donation helps the charity or what happens to the cars when they get them!

Now I don't want to speak out of school, but I remember a story a long time ago that said what happened to these cars was that they were bought by big corporations to destroy in order to earn pollution credits. I don't know if that's still true, but the fact that there is no information (that I can find) on this is highly suspicious! Does anyone know?

Mick O. 

Once again, the Senate, led by Harry Reid, (D) from Nevada, is embarking on pushing an unpopular vote... a vote that means absolutely NOTHING!

All spending bills are supposed to originate in the House, not the Senate. So what is there to discuss? A strategy? Isn't that a responsibility of the EXECUTIVE BRANCH, not the legislative? Once again, they are wasting our time and money pushing legislation that will go nowhere.

Congress as a whole has the lowest approval rating it's had for a long time... much lower than President Bush's! So what does that say about their accomplishments? They wasted months on that stupid illegal immigration amnesty bill which we defeated at the grassroots. Then there are the endless investigations which are only costing you and me money to see if they can nail Bush with something... anything!

You people in Nevada, Harry Reid has got to go! Surely you must see that! I'll be pointing out other people who should go in one of my next posts.

Mick O.

Recently, Keith Ellison (D), congressman from Minnesota made the news by being the first Muslim elected to government to be sworn in on the Koran... Well, he's made the news again by comparing Bush to Hitler!

Is this what we should expect from someone belonging to the religion of PEACE? I would think that he, as a Muslim, would want to put his best foot forward to lead by example and show people in the US that his religion is peaceful! Not full of hate filled rhetoric!

Too bad. Minnesota, you're stuck with him now!

Mick O.

These GREEN companies annoy me. They are selling solar units for your house, but they don't take credit cards to pay for them. Why not? Because of the extra 2% the companies charge to process the sales.

My quesiton is this; is it about the environment or is it about the money? If it's about the environment, then isn't it worth a measly extra 2% to go paperless? Think of the trees that will be saved by not having to have their customers issue checks.

Ask that question next time your GREEN company doesn't take credit cards!

 But as you and I know, all these green companies are just examples of our free market economy, not about saving the planet.

Mick O.

I keep hearing about this consensus of scientists about man made global warming. Does this make it so?

In the old world, there was a consensus that the world was flat. And for thousands of years people were persecuted and even killed if they said anything different.

When the new world was created and the United States was formed, there was a consensus that slavery was acceptable. Of course, years later we are still paying for that mistake. (John Adams and many other founders thought that slavery was wrong and should be abolished, but felt they would not get all the new states to agree on forming the union if it were included at that time. Therefore, it was put off until that issue could be tackled at a later time.)

So just because there is a consensus on anything, does that make it right? Not in my book!

Mick O.