The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
A Taxing Situation
by Cal Thomas
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Sarah Sanders – DNC, liar-Clinton Colluded,
Accused Trump of What They Were Doing
by rickwells.us
{rickwells.us} ~ Sarah Huckabee Sanders once again used the leftist media’s biased questions against them, this time as an opportunity to expose the joint establishment... left railroading of President Trump via the Russia, Russia, Russia in the Friday press briefing. She’s asked, “There’s been a number of politicians over the past week, including Chris Christie here at the White House yesterday, who have said that Rob Mueller should step aside from certain investigations within the special counsel. Does the President share those views?” Sanders replied, “The President wants to see this completed. We think that we are continuing to see, day in and day out, as this investigation moves to completion that, the same as it started there’s still no evidence of collusion between the President and anyone.”... https://rickwells.us/sanders-dnc-clinton-accused-trump/.
The Kurdish test
by Clifford D. May
{defenddemocracy.org} ~ In a just world, the Kurds would have a state of their own. Their culture is ancient. They speak a distinctive language... They have a homeland, Kurdistan, ruled for centuries by Arabs, Turks and Persians – foreigners and oppressors all. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the victorious British and French created new Arab nation-states and put in motion a process that would lead to the restoration of a Jewish nation-state. But the Kurds – they got nothing. In 1992 following the Gulf War, the U.S., along with Britain and France, set up a no-fly zone over the Kurdish region in northern Iraq. The goal was to protect the Kurds from Saddam Hussein whose genocidal war against the Kurds included a chemical weapons attack in the Kurdish city of Halabja four years earlier... http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/the-kurdish-test/
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Congress Moves to Isolate
Hezbollah and Sanction its Patrons
by Tyler Stapleton
{defenddemocracy.org} ~ This week, Congress will consider three pieces of legislationaimed at cutting off the funding streams that Hezbollah uses to fill its coffers and perpetrate terrorism... These bills include the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act, a measure to sanctions Hezbollah for its use of human shields, and a resolution to pressure European countries to designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Together, these measures seek to isolate Hezbollah from the international community, limit its access to banking and illicit finance networks, and prevent Iran from pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the terrorist organization... http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/tyler-stapleton-congress-moves-to-isolate-hezbollah-and-sanction-its-patrons/.
Implications of the New IRGC Sanctions
by Annie Fixler
{defenddemocracy.org} ~ The U.S. Treasury designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under Executive Order 13224 for its support for terrorism last Friday, pursuant to Congressional legislation... While the immediate legal implications are limited, the designation of the IRGC in its entirely sends a chilling message to companies doing business in Iran. Since 2007, the IRGC has been under significant U.S. sanctions for its leading role in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but yet only one component of the IRGC, the external operations branch known as the Quds Force, had been sanctioned for terrorism. In the intervening years, Treasury also sanctioned the IRGC for systemic human rights abuses in 2011 and 2012. Treasury also sanctioned the Quds Force in 2011 for supporting the Assad regime’s brutality in Syria... http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/annie-fixler-implications-of-the-new-irgc-sanctions/.
The Vatican Joins the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by Leonard Hammer
{meforum.org} ~ In May 2015, the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the Palestinian Authority (PA) was signed... With this agreement, the Vatican formally acknowledged the "state of Palestine." A spokesman for the Vatican confirmed, "It's a recognition that the state exists." The agreement establishes both the standing and mode of interaction between the Catholic Church and the PA and by extension, Israel, and describes the church's interests in the Holy Land. In exchange for the Vatican's formal recognition, the PA agreed to provide a broad gamut of religious benefits, not only for security for the local Catholic population to pursue its religious interests but also for protection of key holy sites, property, and financial interests. The Israelis, however, objected strongly, saying the agreement would make peace negotiations with the Palestinians more difficult. Michael Freund, former deputy communications director to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, questioned whether the Vatican's agreement was a return to the church's "sordid history of anti-Semitism."... http://www.meforum.org/6897/the-vatican-joins-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict?utm_source=Middle+East+Forum&utm_campaign=9de214a962-hammer_leonard_2017_10_27&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_086cfd423c-9de214a962-33703665&goal=0_086cfd423c-9de214a962-33703665.
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A Taxing Situation
{townhall.com} ~ Federal income tax was first introduced under the Revenue Act of 1861 to help defray war costs. Congress repealed the tax in 1871 when the need for government revenue declined, only to restore it in 1894 as part of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. The public policy debate surrounding the constitutionality of income tax has been going on ever since.
Given the government's inventive ways of taking our money and spending it irresponsibly, Congress and enough states took care of the unconstitutional part in 1913 with the passage of the 16th Amendment.
The federal government has since raised more money than any government has likely ever raised while spending more money than any government has ever spent. But the money exits the treasury door just as fast as it comes in.
Congress does not need more of our money. It needs to control spending.
As I have argued in previous columns, the current debate over tax legislation starts at the wrong end. Politicians want us to accept that some people aren't paying "enough." This keeps the debate focused on those who work to earn the money, rather than on politicians who cynically misspend it, in large part to keep themselves in office.
It is spending, not taxes, that needs to be reformed, but few want to give up their government "benefits." Ever try getting information from a government office? And yet people continue to turn to government, even though it does few things well.
In the debate over tax cuts, President Trump seems to be yielding to the class warfare crowd, which believes "the rich" ought to pay more, and the bottom 50 percent should pay even less. A better idea would be to require every American to pay something. Even street panhandlers, some of whom receive tax-free money through welfare benefits, should have some skin in the game.
For any real tax reform to occur, the philosophy behind wealth and income must change. A rich person doesn't deprive me of money or the opportunity to improve my financial circumstances. There is not one pot of money from which all must draw. We used to teach people how to create their own "pots," but now we teach envy, greed and entitlement, an unholy financial and ideological "hat trick" that improves no one's life.
If you are middle class or poor, how does taxing rich people benefit you? Does envying the wealthy improve your economic status?
I have never envied the rich. As a college student, I wanted to know how people became rich, or at least independent of government. Politicians, egged-on by people like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, make public statements about their wealth that sound like apologies. Their success should instead teach others.
In my grandparents' day, one was expected to live within one's means, work hard, save and invest wisely, avoid debt and not covet what your neighbor has (see the Tenth Commandment). This was not only good economic advice but a reflection of one's moral character. During World War II, neighbors would never think of borrowing more than a cup of sugar or a few ration stamps for fear people would believe them irresponsible. Neighbors and religious institutions were expected to help the truly needy, not government.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was on to something when he said: "We don't need new taxes. We need new taxpayers, people that are gainfully employed, making money and paying into the tax system. And then we need a government that has the discipline to take that additional revenue and use it to pay down the debt and never grow it again."
I would start with the second part of his proposal. If followed, the government would not only not need more of our money it might be forced by voters to give some of it back.
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