Sugar Creek Publishing

Well, I knew it would happen. It was just a matter of time. Responding to the encouragement of younger people, I joined Facebook in March. It didn’t take long to understand why I didn’t need another complication on my computer.

I use my computer for my business and to keep in touch with friends, but I don’t want to connect to perfect strangers just because we happen to know person or persons in common. It became perfectly clear that the social network was able to access those who regularly e-mail me and offer them — in my name — an “invitation” to be a friend.

Friends don’t need an invitation. Give me air. I had no idea that so many “special offers” were in the wings for me. The sheer number of inquiries from a glut of companies increased by the day — and it was very apparent that it coincided with the date that I decided to avail myself of the social network’s services.

It’s not that I’m against meeting new people. I am capable of striking up a conversation with just about anyone. What I don’t need is someone else making the decision to do it for me.

The World Wide Web offers users a wide variety of topics for research, news as it happens, and weather radar to aid in our safety during the stormy season so common in a Hoosier spring. Price comparisons are easy and shopping is a breeze, although I must warn you that opening an account with an online vendor can put you at risk. The best strategy is to shop as a New User or Guest. That way, no credit card information is saved.

Speaking from experience, that information can get out. I have spent the better part of two and a half weeks to respond to letters from nearly a score of vendors wanting me to complete a “purchase” after the credit card was declined. Well, it wasn’t declined, folks. It was canceled. Somehow, some little scoundrel managed to get the credit card number, my address and phone number and used it at will.

My first clue came when a company called to inquire about “pet jewelry” to be shipped to me. It seems that the web thief had given the right billing address, but the wrong mailing address. I assumed that it was a gift, since Mother’s day was just around the corner and told the caller to contact the purchaser and tell them to call me to confirm the gift. A call four hours later informed me that I was the purchaser. Wrong! The mental image of my 135-pound Newfoundland wearing jewelry prompted me to laugh out loud. Asking more questions, I found that the items had been charged to me that they amounted to hundreds of dollars. Right. I would outfit a dog in something that expensive….

A subsequent call that evening sent up a big red flag. Someone had my credit card number. I immediately called the company and canceled the card. There are safe ways to shop on line and ways that expose you to risk.

Play it safe. As for me, technology still has a lot of uses. Yes, one element bit the dust, but I consider that a rarity. Use your computer, but be careful. If you are not, you may be sorrier than you can imagine. Think about it.

If you don’t recognize the dangerous tendencies currently permeating the political scene across this nation, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. Complacency is fatal, and I fear that too many of us are patiently waiting the cycle out thinking that everything changes with an election. That may be all too true considering the movement to run major industries, the health care sector and student loans. Now, the banks are on the chopping block. It isn’t a party mindset; it’s a control mechanism. We cannot allow it to grow unbridled. To do so is to risk everything you hold dear.

You need not take my word for it, just talk to someone who fled from a Socialist-run country. Their words are more powerful than mine. When you’ve heard what they have to say, perhaps you will take your responsibility as an American citizen more seriously. You do count, you know. Each of us does.

People who attend non-denominational churches hear more and more strong sermons extolling the exceptionalism of America and the risk of ignoring the Socialist threat on our doorstep. These roundly independent ministers see the dangers posed by those who wish to “redistribute” wealth.

Egad? Do you know what that means? Shades of Karl Marx, folks! It won’t work, and I’d like to share a story that proves that statement.

A high school teacher recently undertook a simple experiment with his class. The first day of the experiment, he informed his students that all grades would be averaged. There would be no more individual grades.

The first week saw students working normally. However, once grades were posted, the scene was set for a marked change. The second week gave a glimpse of what was to come. High achievers didn’t put out their normal effort. After all, they weren’t going to earn the grade anyway. They felt the impact of averaging their grades with all other classmates. Over a period of nine weeks, average grades continued to drop. It wasn’t hard to see what had happened. Taking the grades from the top students by diluting them with the grades of poorer students only fueled a “slacker attitude” by everyone.
Being average has never been attractive. No sports team wants to land an “average” player. No employer wants an “average” worker either!

Targeting the high achievers in our economy in order to “level the playing field” is tantamount to insanity. Yet, that what Socialism has as its core tenet: redistribution of wealth. Lauding socialism as a viable alternative to capitalism is a lie. In the first place, socialism isn’t viable.

Socialism has ever worked for any people. After years of dismal economic conditions, socialist governments are in danger of being gleefully overturned by disenchanted and over-regulated populations.

Freedom is what people want, not government control. There is no replacement for the pride of earning one’s own way.

And just what do Socialists do when they take power? First, they remove the glue: religion. Lenin closed over 100,000 churches in Russia after the 1917 Revolution. Think it couldn’t happen here? That’s a dangerous assumption on your part. I can’t see a valid reason for ignoring this climate, but I guess that the main line churches are so afraid of being political incorrectness that they can’t see the forest for the trees.

Christians are in the cross hairs. Don’t think for a minute they are not.

More and more people are decrying the push for more government control, but too many of us don’t take their warnings seriously. Such commentary is a given when it comes to those who assess the news, but they aren’t alone. Some major clergy have joined the fight. Consider the Coral Ridge Ministries of Fort Myers, Florida. They are taking strong action. They seek to inform Americans of the inherent dangers of a slide toward Socialism. May 16th, the ministry airs a special on the subject. Check your listings for the time.

Don’t cry separation of church and state. If Socialism really takes root in this country, then you won’t have to worry about that. They will separate church, but not how you might think.

Add up the numbers of dead in the wake of Hitler, Lenin, Mussolini, Tito, Pol Pot, Mao and their buddies. It’s in the tens of millions. And do we notice that taking from the “rich” and giving to the “poor” is at the heart of the movement afoot today?

The poor in America exist, but the statistics bear out that — compared to any other impoverished people on the planet — they themselves are rich. I live in a rural area, and within it are people who are perfectly capable of working, yet they receive government money and don’t turn a hand. Terms like “the rich” are used to incite unwarranted envy among many groups without the gumption to get out and work for themselves.

My grandfather’s family came to America with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. What girded them wasn’t a legacy of wealth, but a yearning to achieve and an ingrained work ethic that flies in the face of what I see today. Watch the interviews on the television and you’ll see someone complaining that they are a “victim”. The term is so overused that it is appalling.

I weary of sitting in a pew waiting for a minister to mention the dangers of Socialism. I wait for someone to say that too many seek to remove God from all parts of our lives. They’ve managed to take Him out of schools. Has that worked well? No Christian child can pray in school, yet Muslim children are allowed to pray at regular intervals. Some system, eh?

Look at history. It tells a grim story. When Socialist regimes run countries, they go after the churches. Whether Nazism, Fascism, or Communism, the pattern is the same and it should scare the bejeebies out of you.  America was founded upon freedom of religion — not freedom from religion.  Don’t be eased into deeper complacency by thinking that something like that could not happen here.

We need the standards put forth by our faith.  We need rules.  If everyone obeyed the Ten Commandments, we wouldn’t need law enforcement or armies.  Short of that utopia, we need to protect one another and protect our personal freedoms; and that, friends, begins at home.  If you have children at home, involve them in discussions.  Read the Constitution as a family and encourage your youngsters to defend it at every opportunity.

Take action. Monitor your legislators. Take speakers to task when they claim they know “what’s best for you”. When 47 percent of the population pays no taxes and entitlements are swelling like a bloated possum at the side of the road, (My apologies to the opossum as a species!) we are at risk of losing the America we love.

Pass the word. We need everyone to rise up and speak out. Don’t just think about it. Do it.

Ever heard of James Monroe? Well, he was president early in the 19th century and his words resonate today more than ever. In his 1823 annual message to Congress, he warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.
In terms of documentation, this statement is widely known as the focus of the U.S. government’s foreign policy regarding the Western Hemisphere. Known as The Monroe Doctrine, it has been invoked a number of times over the years since James Monroe set it forth before a joint session of Congress.
Why important now? Consider ongoing events and movements within South America. Hugo Chavez is doing much more than comparing former President George W. Bush to Satan. He is working closely with the Russians to strengthen Iran. How so? Recent reports show regular flights from Russia, via Damascus, to Caracas.
Rumor has it that the flights are simply a way of laundering weaponry and missiles and funneling them on return flights. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (poor pun — sorry) to figure out that smugglers are busy between Syria and Iran. Dare I shout complicity?
By his own words, Chavez is an avowed enemy of the U.S. Another troubling statistic is that mosques are popping up all over Venezuela — and lots of them. Historically, South America was colonized and populated by predominantly Catholic peoples from Western Europe.
How convenient for Hugo. Not only does he work with the Russians, but he also curries favor with Islamic fanatics who would love nothing more than to cross our southern border undetected or launch a short range at our cities with a missile launched from a boat in the Caribbean. Iran may not have developed an ICBM capable of crossing the Atlantic. However, if the Iranians are working toward such a goal, it would be easier to utilize a shorter-range weapon carefully positioned in waters just off shore.
With all the global conflicts, both active and looming, this news only adds to the doldrums of those of us who watch foreign policy with discerning eyes. Add to the current situation the shabby treatment given Israel’s leader in the last few weeks, things don’t look good, folks. They don’t.
The end game here is security, yet this president, as the last two, ignores criticism regarding border problems. Even John McCain is making noises. After the murder of an Arizona rancher and increasing tension in border communities, law enforcement is encouraging citizens to arm themselves.
It’s a sad thing when citizens must defend themselves when it is the primary purpose of their federal government to do just that. As the hordes continue to cross, confident of free medical care, food stamps, and bi-lingual schools for which they pay little or no taxes, the White House hosts expensive dinners and apologizes for America at every opportunity. And what of those unidentified persons who could come across with the same goal as the 19 who wrought such carnage on 9/11?
Had enough yet? A lot of us have….
I worry that blanket amnesty is only fueling the zeal of those who seek our freedom illegitimately. If you are concerned about border security and illegal immigrant, don’t let spring grass grow under your feet. Contact your Congressman and Senators. Hold their feet to the proverbial fire. It’s their job to support, protect and defend the Constitution, and that document mandates that the government protect its people. I say it’s about time they started, and the best places to begin are our borders, north and south. Think about it.

Tick, tock…

The other day I hired a horologist (clock repairman) to come to adjust an old wall clock that dates from the early 1800s. Tall and imposing with carving and classic Roman numerals heralding the hour, it makes an impression on visitors.

As he deftly manipulated the works, I marveled at the timepiece and my thoughts ran to my childhood. I don’t think that today’s children learn the songs of my youth. In truth, many of them would be totally alien in meter and lyrics. When the familiar tick, tock began, lyrics began to run through my mind — all the more clear with the metronome beat of pendulum.

Perhaps you know the lyrics. I recited the first entire stanza from memory and — of course — I remembered the chorus without a problem at all. However, when it came to the other verses, I was stuck. Going to my trusty Apple computer, I downloaded them from the Internet and enjoyed them all the more.

I’d like to share them with you now. Written by Henry Clay Work, the song’s copyright is unknown. And so, it shares its wisdom with the world sans a date.

My grandfather’s clock
Was too large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half
Than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn
Of the day that he was born,
It was always his treasure and pride;

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

In watching its pendulum
Swing to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood
The clock seemed to know,
And share both his grief and his joy.
And it struck twenty-four
When he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

My grandfather said
That of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time,
And had but one desire,
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place,
Not a frown upon its face,
And its hand never hung by its side.

But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

It rang an alarm
In the dead of the night,
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit
Was pluming his flight,
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time,
With a soft and muffled chime,
As we silently stood by his side.
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
Ninety years without slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.

Are you humming the tune as you read? I hope so. As the year tick tocks its way toward another, remember the wit and wisdom of this little song. It has a lot of merit when it comes to values and work ethic. Think about it.

Years ago, anticipating Christmas, I penned a column about parents and the travails of putting together toys from manufacturers’ directions. Extrapolated to the outdoors, a swing set fits this bill, too. However, a hobbyist can have another “take” on that issue!

I quilt. I have for over 35 years. Over that span, I accumulated a stash of fabric. If you quilt, you know what I mean. Well, after an inordinate amount of time packing fabric in laundry baskets, closets, in the basement, and any place else I could find, I needed some really good storage. I kept a pool table until middle son had a place for it. Once it left the premises, I opted to turn the basement rec room into a sewing area. It would be nice not to crowd myself between the washer/dryer and the bathroom.

I was accustomed to laughing if I happened to go to the sewing room and not have a phone handy. When it rang, I had to crawl out under the open leaves of the cutting table, and wriggle between the ironing board and the doorway hoping to reach the handset before the caller gave up hope of an answer!

At last, I could actually sew and leave the project on the table. Being a woodworker, I looked for about five years until I found a triple section of bookcases that would fit the space available for fabric storage.

With a farming schedule, no project goes on a strict timetable. Buying the al is the material is the first step, but often it reposes in the shop until I get can get a chance to work with it.

The stigma of manufacturers’ directions extends easily to plans printed in woodworking magazines. I have yet to find a plan that goes perfectly. I often need an engineer. Thank goodness, farmer husband fits that bill. If you know a farmer, then you know what I mean. If it’s mechanical or structural, they always seem to know just how to get it in working order.

I studied the book case plans about four times before I cut a piece of wood. Hubby helps me on the 6-foot pieces. I can’t seem to manage them on the table saw without some assistance. All went famously until we came to Step 3. We had cut out the sides and I cut the shelves and set them aside. He drilled the holes for the shelf supports to complete Step 1. Next, I cut the tops and bottoms and assembling each unit before adding the back.

Famous last words. Step 3. It seems that the plans are wrong. Oh, I have plenty of ¼” plywood for the backs, but they won’t be the measurement that the instructions specify. Go figure.

I’ve had this happen so many times before that it is beginning to be a joke around the house. Sadly, it could be an expensive joke if the plans give a critical measurement in error.

So it’s back to the drawing boards with my in-house Purdue grad. As they once said so often on the radio, “Stay tuned for the next episode….”

The future of small business in America…

For far too many Americans the short walk from the front door of a small business to the back counter is an experience only possible via memory. In nearly every way imaginable, the small business is the truly endangered species.

I weary of padding through a warehouse-style retailer only to face a clerk with little knowledge of the stock or a rudimentary acquaintance with how or when to use a particular item. Oh, the prices are low, but so is the comfort level for customers.

With the added pressure of increasing taxes and mandates to fund workers’ health insurance, look for an even further drop in the number of homegrown, home-owned businesses. The incremental growth that exploded into the vibrant American economy of days gone by is in peril. What’s really sad is the root cause — it’s us, a bevy of fickle consumers.

You see, in a myriad of ways, we are to blame. The demand for businesses seven day a week, 24-hours business hours puts tremendous pressure on our small businesses — perhaps to the point of extinction.

If you are over the age of 60, you remember the days when you needed to fill up the family car or truck on Saturday afternoon, because most businesses were closed on Sunday. Pharmacies were small and local, so you could always call the pharmacist on an emergency basis if you were really in a pinch. Chicken soup and Vicks Vapo-Rub kept a lot of us alive. And who could forget Castor Oil? Scanning the over-the-counter remedy racks at a drug store these days is enough to confuse anyone! … enough for nostalgia, let’s move back to the small versus large discussion.

The fewer businesses in a given area the easier it is for government to step in and regulate them. It’s getting to the place where the entire spectrum of retail is narrowing. We find ourselves in a funnel, and the wide variety of small stores morphs into a blur of overhead lighting, sprawling parking lots and bi-lingual signs. My great-grandparents made it item number one to speak English. When did we forget that language is the clue that binds a country’s people?

I digress. The disappearance of storefront should worry us all. A small shoe store anchored a downtown of a Mid-western town for over 100 years. It is gone. Why? The distributor would no longer accept small lot orders. Instead of buying 20-25 pair of a new line, the storeowner was faced with a minimum of order in the 200 range — far more than his customer base could
support. The store closed within two years.

Oh, for the days of the hand-written paper receipt… the handshake equaling a contract… honor in business. I judge businesses one by one, and I urge you to do the same.

Those of us who live in areas not over-run by “big box” stores are luckier than we realize. We know our merchants, the counterman at the local café, the local doctor, dentist and the pharmacist. Price isn’t everything. Travel works into the picture. We may have a smaller choice of items, but the trade-off is far more important. In fact, it is priceless.

Small business helped build this country. I hate to think that our grandchildren will never know the pleasure of dealing with a local retailer on a one-to-one basis. It may happen. If it does, I fear that it bodes ill for the American dream of starting a small business.

Home grown? Home owned? Will we recognize these terms in a few years? I fear we will not. You can forestall that time. How? Patronize your local stores. Do so with zest. Shop for quality. Shop for service as well as sales. To put it more bluntly, shop with a conscience. Pay a smidge more to keep that local guy or gal in business. The salvation of the small business could be in your pocket or purse. Think about it.

You’ve heard it before. “Be careful what you ask for…” While poor grammar, it holds true for a lot of us as we review what happened on March 21st. I, for one, view the whole process as insulting when scheduled for a Sunday. Haven’t government officials done enough to remove God from American life? They’ve banished Him from our schools. The schools are well disciplined and orderly, aren’t they? We don’t have school violence, do we? They mandate that His Commandments be taken down from public view. Maybe they think that we obey so well that we need not be reminded of them in text. Think? Watch them, folks. Their next push may be to take “In God We Trust” off our money.

Pity the nation that turns its face away from God.

Back to this past weekend…. Con men should be flocking to Washington in droves — as if they haven’t taken up residence long ago. If there are 219 men and women who sign off on something they haven’t read, then they are prime marks for scams. Anybody interested in buying arable land in Death Valley, California?

Speaking of California….. In an area devastated when water was held back from farms, the only quarter turn on the spigot came to a Congressman who changed his vote from nay to yea. As the Church Lady used to say, “Isn’t that special?”

It amazes me that the press jumped on Anthem Health Care with a vengeance for raising premiums and didn’t bother to tell Americans that the move came when 30 million Californians were switched to Medi-Cal (California’s answer to Medicare). When providers couldn’t keep up with the costs, they were forced to raise premiums to bridge the difference.

A few years ago, I wrote a column titled “Ghost Riders in the Pie”. I went into detail on the anathema of putting legislative riders on bills of substance
— the practice of adding measures that has nothing to do with the pending legislation in an effort to slip them by the people.

Witness the addition of removing college loans from the public arena and putting them under government purview. Oh, goody! My peers grieve for their children and grandchildren’s and prospect of working hard and not earning what they should. No Congressman or Senator can name a people who have prospered under national health care. The not-so-slow slide into Socialism in which we find ourselves mired is not pretty. Mud never is.

I wish I could find some redeeming element of this legislation, but when a republic fails to heed the will of its people and acts as a dictatorship, the result isn’t pretty.

That this was passed on a Sunday is an insult. There was no reverence for the Sabbath among those who scheduled this vote. It is a slap in the face of every God-fearing American. Fear is afoot now, but it is not fear of God. It is fear of an overreaching government. Think about it.

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Shake, Rattle and Bankroll?

Earthquakes continue to plague many parts of the world, but another danger may lurk beneath America’s soil.  As our legislators plod along to avoid following the U.S. Constitution, the risk of our Founding Fathers stirring in their graves rises precipitously.

One of my favorite classes was Constitutional Law.  It was taught by an astute professor whose parents had fled Mainland China days before the Cultural Revolution.  He grew up in Taiwan and rose to be one of its top legal officials.  He knew the value of the Constitution and pounded that thought into our heads every day we were privileged to sit in his classroom.

The delicate balance of power may be the greatest asset of the instrument.  No one branch can overpower either one of both of the others.  Legislative, Executive and Judicial work in an odd dance to perfect the system we know as a Republic.  Now, to the chagrin of those who revere the Constitution, there are those within the Beltway who seek to do an end run around its protections and push ahead with legislation in a manner that mocks the beauty of those words written by Madison, Jefferson, teal.

Heed Section 7: (Three of its four paragraphs are pertinent here.)

“All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

“Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal and proceed to reconsider it.  If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.  But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to have representatives stand and face the camera to vote on this?  The audience might even top the numbers for the Super Bowl.

Note that the words “shall have passed” are paramount in the first sentence.  The tactic to end run around the Constitution to move to reconcile a bill that will not have passed in its final form is not only troubling, it is illegal.  Telling us that they will take a bill that has gone through both houses and “tweak” it before using it is not encouraging.  If it’s not in proper form, defeat it.

I weary of the childish tantrums and petty tactics of those who deem cheating the preferable way to achieve success.  And what of the vote count?  It is the most important tally imaginable, yet the mindset of the leadership that continues to twist arms and bribe for votes flies in the face of its social reflection that urges youth sports teams not to keep score.

Oh, so they only keep score when it suits them?  Give me oxygen.  When will we finally, as voters, come to the sad realization that the majority of those serving in Congress serve themselves?  There are exceptions, and Mike Pence comes to mind immediately.  I chuckle when he responds to a reporter’s question that attempts to force him to say something unkind about the opposing party.  In characteristic fashion, he smiles and takes the high road and disagrees with policy not personality.

When the majority of Americans do not want the pending health care bill and over three-fourths of them are satisfied with their own health care, we see a system hell bent on spiraling our children and grandchildren into debt to cover the portion of society without insurance, I say, “Stop!”

Nowhere in the Constitution does it allow Congress to mandate that we purchase anything!  The government has no such authority.

Consider the Tenth Amendment:  The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Bluntly, they have no right to do this at all.  They are putting us on the road to a nanny state with control over us from cradle to grave — that is, if we make it to the cradle.  If you kill your neighbor, you face the death penalty, but if a mother kills her child in utero, she exercises “choice”.  Some logic, eh?  Put the onus where it belongs.  Keep the government out of your health care.  Everything it touches loses money or crawls toward bankruptcy.

I heard a commentator say that the term “The American Dream” will disappear if the legislation goes forward.  Are we ready to accept that our children and grandchildren live as equals with those who have no ambition or work ethic?  I hope not.

Another favorite Reaganism says that every taxpayer works for the government but never has to take a civil service exam.  Amen.

Call your legislators now!  Call any legislator who totters on the cusp of caving in to bully tactics.  In the end, it is your call.  Your legislators should be voting as you wish, not as their leadership urges.

Ronald Reagan is well-known for the phrase, “Trust, but verify.”  Speaker Pelosi urges us to trust them to do the right thing.  Yeah, sure.  She’s the same person that says, paraphrasing, “Pass the bill and then find out what’s in it.”  She must be the ultimate dream for a scam artist.  She would sign a contract and then read it.  Think about it.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, more and more of your neighbors are out of work, but there’s more to that story. I find it intriguing how the rhetoric changes with the slide in the economy. Early on, President Obama praised private business, affirming that the private sector alone was able to create jobs and also stating that government does not create jobs. In the wake of the failed “stimulus” legislation, his wording has changed markedly. Now, government is the last best hope to create jobs and save the American people from further financial morass.

My father was a private businessman, as are my husband and my sons. They face something that the president never faces: meeting payroll. It’s easy to spend the old “OPM” — other people’s money — especially when all you have to do to get more of it is to raise taxes.

If you don’t believe that higher taxes are coming, you are deluding yourself. Polled extensively, only 6% of the American people support the present strategy of spending out of a recession. That’s a rather odd position at its core. The last time you were over budget in your household, did you immediately figure out how to go spend more money? Hardly.

We are in a terrible fix. When you see what is happening in Greece, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how a population thoroughly disgusted with its leaders can take to the streets and turn violent. Remember Los Angeles and Rodney King? That horrific incident was in response to a unit of local government — in that case the police department. Can you imagine if such anger was vented on a national scale?

I hope it doesn’t come to a flashpoint that erupts in our cities’ streets, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. There is a small reading I suggest to you. It won’t take long and it’s bound to spur thought.

A beautifully written piece, it ranks among the most important works of all time. It is the U.S. Constitution. Its 4435 words (including the Preamble but not including amendments) guarantee your freedom. Vital to you is that the government operates with “the consent of the governed”. When was the last time you gave your consent? Not lately, I would guess.

Most bookstores carry small, paperback editions of The Constitution. Other organizations supporting liberty send copies out free of charge.

Do your homework. Arm yourselves with the facts. You will be shocked at the actions taken by the federal government that have no basis in The Constitution. One parting thought. All powers not specifically given over to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people.

Nowhere in the Constitution is there any language allowing the government to launch the massive social programs that have grown steadily since the 1930s. We are given the right to pursue happiness, but we are not guaranteed equal results. We can succeed. We can fail. At this point, our government has failed us.

If you don’t want to see more “American Idle”, support THE American Icon, the U.S. Constitution. Make some noise. Raise your voice. Complain. Write. Call. E-mail. FAX. Tweet. Organize your neighbors. Form reading groups among family, co-workers and friends. Study The Constitution. Defend it on your own behalf. A few in Washington try to do that, yet so many others simply ignore it and— completely disregarding the people and following party ideology — plod across the marsh of debt and approach the cliff of financial ruin. Those who tread on our rights through such legislation should be seeking career counseling. Come November, they’ll need it.

Disclaimer: All data from credited sources are so noted.

Well, farmers know all too well that tax time is upon them. March 1st the magic day, not April 15th, so calculators and pencils are busy finishing the forms and readying payments to Uncle Sam.

For now, I’ll ignore the inequity of property taxes. Instead, I urge you to read about the hidden taxes Americans roundly ignore.
Judi Hasson tells us that, whether you’re making a PBJ sandwich or an airline reservation, you’re coming into close contact with invisible charges that make goods and services more expensive.
I used a number of websites for the following information, because finding precise tax information is a challenge. This may save you a trip to beauty shop, girls. It will curl your hair!
February 10, 2010:
You don’t even know it when you pay many federal taxes. Often, the tax does not appear on the sales slip and is simply lumped into the price of goods.

Cruising or flying anywhere? If you want to cruise down the Ohio River — or any U.S. waterway — there’s a $3.60 tax on anyone transported by boat.
Here’s what you pay for a flight: a 7.5% tax on a domestic ticket, a $3.60 tax for each segment of a flight and, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a $2.50 security charge on every segment. That’s in addition to a $16.10 international arrival/departure tax and a passenger-facility charge of up to $4.50.

Fishing isn’t free, either. A fisherman pays 10% of the sales price on sport-fishing equipment. Nor is archery. The federal tax on arrows is 45 cents per shaft. Quivers and broad-heads are taxed at 11%.

Handgun purchasers pay 10% of the sales price to the feds; other firearms, along with ammunition, are taxed at 11%.

A childhood DPT vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) has a 75-cent charge per shot, paid into a trust fund for those injured by the shot.
Here is one the federal government rarely collects: a 2% tax on unauthorized wagering. Yes, it’s on the books, and it is directed at criminal cartels. When you bet legally, there’s a 25-cent tax on every bet you place.

Thrilled that your son or daughter got a college scholarship? There may be federal taxes on some parts of the award. Room, board and pocket money are taxable, but tuition is not.

The next time you find buried treasure, remember to With gold prices soaring and remote sites beckoning prospectors, remember this. report it as regular income.

Even if you’re so broke that creditors have forgiven part of your debt, you’re not off the hook. The forgiven portion of your debt is “income” and may be taxable as such.

* Note that there are exceptions if the debt is secured by your principal residence or you declare bankruptcy or are insolvent at the time.

I find the next statement applicable to the current gaming climate in Indiana. If you take a bribe or steal property, it’s income unless you give it back before the tax year is over. Just a tip.

So much for honesty these days, folks, so back to the sources….
Every tax has a purpose, political, practical or puritanical. Some are designed to cover the cost of services, like the 18.4-cent gas tax that pays for highway construction, and the airline-ticket tax helps build runways.
Other taxes are meant to discourage certain types of behavior as well as raise revenue, like the $13.50-a-gallon tax on hard liquor and the 33-cent tax on a six-pack.
Federal tax on a pack of cigarettes was 39 cents, until Feb. 4, 2009, when it was increased to $1.01 per pack. Since Jan. 1, 2002, 44 states and the District of Columbia have increased cigarette taxes to an average of $1.23 per pack. The 39-cent-a-pack federal tobacco tax contributed $7.7 billion to the Treasury every year.

Think about moving to the “Big Apple”? If you smoke, you might think twice. You’ll pay a cigarette tax of $4.25 per pack on all cigarettes possessed for sale or use in New York City — $2.75 is New York State tax and $1.50 is New York City tax.
* For your information, the federal cigarette tax increase will be used to fund health care for children not otherwise covered.
Buy a “gas guzzler” and the manufacturer pays a tax of up to $7,700 but passes it along — right on the sticker — to you, the buyer. American University’s Pike says the United States is the only industrialized country that does not have a value-added tax, which taxes all consumer goods and services at each step of the manufacturing process.
“A value-added tax could replace all these nickel-and-dime annoyance taxes,” he says. But it also would level the playing field so everyone would be taxed for buying products and not just specialty items.
Are we ready accept and apply everything Europeans do? Give me air!
Under a system of value-added taxes, each time a company handles a product on its way from raw material to finished good, it pays a tax on the increased value. Ultimately, all those taxes are reflected in the retail price of a good or service.
Of course, that makes a VAT the ultimate hidden tax. Keep an eye on Congress. Our representatives are currently looking into the possibility of a VAT to raise additional revenue.
Everyone knows there are federal taxes on tobacco and alcohol, but did you know the feds take a bite out of your afternoon candy bar?
There are plenty of unexpected taxes that raise the price of goods and services — sin taxes, import duties, user fees and excise taxes on everything from “gas guzzlers” and firearms to communications services and air travel.
“The less visible a tax is, the less likely taxpayers will be aware of it, unsettled by it and advocate against it,” says economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
You may feel lucky in Las Vegas, hit the lottery or have a good day at the racetrack, but all winnings are taxable as regular income.
There’s a tax on the life insurance policy that your employer so generously gives you as a benefit if it is over $50,000.
“Most of the hidden taxes pertain to products we buy rather than wages we earn,” adds Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C.
THE NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION:
Taxes account for 35 cents of the cost of a $1.14 loaf of bread, 18 cents of a 50-cent can of soda go toward taxes, 72 percent of the cost of a 750 ml bottle of liquor goes toward taxes, an average of 43 percent for an $80 hotel room, $63.60 of a $159 airline ticket, $39.35 in taxes on a$153.09 monthly utility bill, and —at $1.33 gallon of gasoline — half the cost is tax.

Taxes at the doctor? In the drugstore? In the hospital? In your paycheck? They’re hidden, but you’ll pay. New hidden taxes that Congress wants on your health are on medicines, medical devices and health insurance.
Devices is a category so broad that it includes everything from condoms to Band-Aids. Oh brother! Hidden health care taxes in the middle of a deep recession? If this isn’t a reason to call or write your congressional delegates, I don’t know what is!
Do you tire of not seeing “Made in the USA” on retail items? Consider these facts:

Import Taxes We Pay: (National Taxpayers Union)

Babies’ dresses, not knitted or crocheted, of cotton
12%
Bicycles
11%
Brooms (other/than whiskbrooms), wholly or in part broom corn, valued over 96 cents each
32%
Brussels sprouts, fresh or chilled
12%
Certain infant formulas
18%
Electric blankets
13%
Fishing rods and parts
7%
Flashlights
18%
Frozen blackberries
11%
Girdles and panty-girdles
24%
Hammocks, of cotton
15%
Nonwoven disposable hospital apparel
4%
Nursing nipples and pacifiers, of plastics
3%
Peanut butter
143%
Roses, fresh cut
7%
School supplies, of plastics
5%
Screwdrivers
6%
Table linen of man-made fibers, not knitted or crocheted
12%
Telephone sets
8%
Babies’ dresses, not knitted or crocheted, of cotton
12%
Bicycles
11%
Brooms (other/than whiskbrooms), wholly or in part broom corn, valued over 96 cents each
32%
Brussels sprouts, fresh or chilled
12%
Certain infant formulas
18%
Electric blankets
13%
Fishing rods and parts
7%
Flashlights
18%
Frozen blackberries
11%
Girdles and panty-girdles
24%
Hammocks, of cotton
15%
Non-woven disposable hospital apparel
4%
Nursing nipples and pacifiers, of plastics
3%
Peanut butter
143%
Roses, fresh cut
7%
School supplies, of plastics
5%
Screwdrivers
6%
Table linen of man-made fibers, not knitted or crocheted
12%
Telephone sets

This column should be enough to give you pause. Nothing like the truth to set you free? Maybe not… There’s an old saying that nothing is sure except death and taxes. What it doesn’t say is that we can be taxed to death. Think about it.