Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Christmas came early this year....

Today is the day, and to some, Christmas "arrived"early.

The Senate  will do it part and join the House before the 
day is over and pass the promised tax reform legislation
that will benefit over 125 million American households!

It has been more than thirty years since this last occurred,
an event to be celebrated by all Americans, income earners 
and retirees alike.  

The American people will receive a long overdue and well 
deserved reduction in their tax rates that will increase take
home pay and pension checks beginning Feb. 1, 2018.

And for good measure corporate tax rates will be lowered 
to finally make American businesses more competitive
with those of foreign companies. 

We can thank President Trump for pushing his party to do
what it campaigned on but refused to do for three decades,
even when it had majorities in Congress and the presidency.

Trump campaigned on tax cuts and worked tirelessly for 
eleven months to get Congress to pass legislation so most 
Americans will finally received the long promised tax relief. 

Not everyone is pleased.  Partisans naturally protested.
repeating it worn out mantra the "rich" will benefit on the 
backs of the middle class not factoring the tremendous 
amount the 'rich' already pay.

Also, there will be complaints from high taxed states such
as California, New Jersey and New York that ending their
state and property taxes deductions will hurt them most. 

This is understandable, but it brings to light the failure of 
these states to compete with low tax rate states even as 
they have been losing populations to ones with lower tax 
burdens.

No longer will fingering point towards Washington work, 
state legislatures will have to become more prudent and
cut tax burdens on their constituents, not seek relief from
federal tax breaks!

This may be an unexpected 'silver lining' if high taxed
states do what they should have always been doing all
along, keeping taxes as low as possible. No longer can
they look to the federal tax code to mask the gouging 
of their taxpayers with high and burdensome state and
property taxes.

Finally, this tax reform package changes the 'dynamics' 
of our tax code as revenue generated, competitiveness, 
ending subsidies to states and corporations, individual 
and  business spending, 3%-4% economic  growth, not 
seen since 2004 will be the result. 

This will all occur at the same time taxes collected will 
increase and annual deficits will drop from $1 trillion 
to less than $150 billion annually. 

Thanks again to President Trump for dragging a reluctant
Congress across the 2017 finish line so 2018 can be the
first year real prosperity returns the the United States
in over two decades. 


Feedback welcome and appreciated



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How the new tax brackets "affect the butcher, the baker and our lawmakers"

We have heard tax reform argued from two diametrically positions,
Democrats claim these are tax cuts for the "rich" and  Republicans
argue it will put more money in the pockets of the middle class,
but neglect to even mention the highest paid income earners.

If you have not researched the details yourself than you can be 
easily persuaded by partisan arguments. 

I found something  which neither side illuminates, it counters
the position of Democrats but has been curiously not presented
by Republicans.

Look over the comparison in the chart below. Find your income 
level to see how you will fare beginning on Feb. 1st.  Also look at 
what happens to other income brackets and you will easily see 
one side is right and the other is demonstrably wrong!

I noticed that income earners under $82,000, which includes the
"butchers and bakers" and majority of working Americans and 
pensioners, will see their rates drop by 3%. 

Next, income earners from $82,000-$157,500 will see their rates 
drop by 4%, and include most college grads in industries such as
technology, engineering, medical and finance. 

The group earning under $200,000 but more than $157, 000, and
includes every member of "Congress" will see their rate rise from
24% to 32%! (Perhaps,  this is why many Democrats are upset)

Lastly, the rate of those earning $200,000-$500,000 will also
be higher, from 32% to 35%!

But, aside from the rates there are "variances" in tax reform, in 
allowed deductions, which have Democrats equally distraught. 

But, these 'variances' again hit the highest income earners the
hardest, as limits to the amount of mortgage interest has been 
capped, from $1 million to $500,000 and state and property 
taxes deductions have been eliminated, offset by doubling the 
standard deduction that will protect most middle income earners.

Chart of bracket and income comparisons:

Inline image 1

Supporting report:




































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Thursday, December 14, 2017

"Mourning Joke", nothing to laugh about

The MSNBC 6AM-9AM time slot, "Morning Joe" became a three hour
hate-fest on Nov. 9th, 2016, ​the day after presidential candidate Donald
Trump became our 45th​ President-elect!

​It was too much to handle for a network that eagerly opened its doors to
Trump throughout his campaign for the presidency, knowing his blunt 
and unorthodox approach to politics increased the audience with every 
program ​​he appeared, especially when Hillary Clinton's appearances 
were ​few, orchestrated and calculated.

But,  President  Trump!!  That changed everything.​

"Morning Joe" dramatically changed as should its name to "Mourning 
Joke" ​when it began ​the first year of what I expect will be a four year 
assault on the presidency, filled with asinine, biased and partisan 
reporting ​disguised as objective ​'journalism'​.

Co-hosts,​​ former GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough and Mika
Brzezinski​,​ obviously relish the​re ​daily, ​doubled-barreled attack​s​
on President Trump a​s well as every member of his administration
foolish to accept "invitations" to get insulted, disrespected and denigrated with every appearance​, while ​Joe and Mika never 
offer concrete arguments, only nastiness toward these 'guests',
nor never​ f​ailing to insult President Trump as well.

I am sure it is their belief this is what their audience wants to hear,
knowing there is a market with people filled with more hate than
appreciation that one man is doing what government seems unable
or unwilling to do!   

Noticeably, one thing is always missing during the three hours  of Joe
or Mika's blather, neither want to mention or perhaps are unaware
why Donald Trump won the presidency in the first place, the "solutions"
to problems politicians failed to fix, many which have already been put
into effect in less than a year!

I encourage "Mourning Joke" to continue doing what they have been doing.
This will ensure this angry "odd couple" and fawning viewers have reasons
to "mourn",  especially the reelection of President Trump!​

One final caveat, I do not regularly tune in their program, only for comic relief.

Your comments welcome.




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Saturday, December 9, 2017

President Trump in Pensacola

Last night President Trump held a rally on Pensacola, FL.  

The media offered it as an event to lend support to Roy
Moore, the embattled Senate candidate in Alabama,
"right over the Florida border".

But, the rally was more, much more. It was President 
Trump running on 'all cylinders', filling the venue
with the same level of enthusiasm he brought to the
campaign trail that took whatever political oxygen
from his primary challengers and Hillary Clinton.

Trump, the master showman, proved he is also the
master politician.  

But, unlike his rallies during his first political campaign
where Trump used the failures of the past two decades
to win over nearly 65 million voters, this time he used
the successes of the first eleven months to herald the
fact that the road to "make America great again" may
not be as long as most of us thought it would be.

If you did not watch the event live, this is the You  Tube
link which runs about one hour.  It is a mix of promoting
his successes, but also offers a reminder of the failures
he had to address.


One final 'opinion'.....as the media is trying to handicap
the upcoming 2018 mid term election, little is mentioned
about how President Trump will engage the electorate
as a sitting president during an election cycle he is not
running in.

We know polished politicians like Bill Clinton and Barack 
Obama lent support to their party's candidates, but Trump 
is still an unknown quantity.

I believe Trump will excel and show all Americans what 
an asset he will be. He will be no different campaigning 
for others than he was when promoting himself.

Little has been said of President Trump being a "team 
player".  It has been my observation he is.  

Trump has been the greatest supporter when Republican 
leadership does what the party campaigned on doing. He
has also been its harshest critics when the party disappoints
the electorate, stating so publicly.  He gives no quarter
when criticism is warranted!

Next November of the 32 Senate seats on the ballot 23 are
 held by Democrats, with ten of them in states Trump won.

I believe this 'non politician' will hold rallies in key states
to demonstrate once again his connection with the electorate
is as strong now as it was in 2016.

Welcome feedback,




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"All the news that's fit to print"

What is so special about page A-18?

​This is the slogan that New York Times publisher, Adolph Ochs
​adopted in 1897​ and still appears on the paper's masthead today.
​It was Ochs' declaration of the paper's intention to report the news
impartially.

​Unfortunately, the slogan remains, 120 years later, yet "impartiality"
has all but disappeared. And when any pretense of it can be found, 
it is deep within the bowels 
​of ​
the first section, on page A-18, a long 
way from
​ ​
the commitment of Mr. Ochs.

The NY Times respectful nickname, "The Gray Lady", had its origin 
from a 1951 Life magazine article
​, "The Gray Lady Reaches 100" 
and 
​has stuck till this day, with respect no doubt by its loyal readers
no matter the frequency of disrespect found on its pages.​
 

E
ditorially, ​a newspaper can offer its biases in every editorial, 
but 
it 
should also be  'fitting' that all newspapers, especially the one which 
professes 
to publish 
"All the news that's fit to print"
​, 
report important
news stories nearer the front as they d
eserve rather than be relegated
to A-18, 
don't you think​
?














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Thursday, December 7, 2017

YES......there IS Climate Change.......read on!!!

Rush Limbaugh has finally agreed with those that have been professing the planet 
is indeed going through a "climate change" when he answered question from young
listener......read on!  And if you find this valuable....pass on!
RUSH: This is Jordan. This is a young lady, 15 years old, in Port Republic, Virginia. 
Hi. It’s great to have you here on the program today.
CALLER: Hi, Mr. Limbaugh. It’s good to be here.
RUSH: Thank you very much.
CALLER: Hey, I had a question because my dad comes home every single day and 
talks about the fact that you say global warming is false, and, if it weren’t for him 
telling me that  I would have always believed it’s true. Why is global warming false?
RUSH: If your dad had not told you that he thinks it’s false, you would have believed it?
CALLER: Yes. Because we went to a science museum in Richmond, and that’s all they 
talk about there. So, I was just like, “Okay, we’re the problem with the entire earth.”
RUSH: Everything I have ever said about global warming you can find on my website, 
including links to stories that appeared on the website I have used in reporting it. So
it’s not just gonna be my opinion. There’s gonna be backup.
CALLER: Awesome!
RUSH: Now, to answer your question briefly, I believe that the climate changes. To
believe that it doesn’t would be silly. We’ve had ice ages. We’ve had periods of time 
where the earth has been insufferably hot, uninhabitable so. What I disagree with is
that man is responsible for it. The global warming or climate change movement accepts something. I’ll explain this to you with a timelines of  humanity and the planet Earth. 
Some scientists believe it’s billions of years. Some think it’s 10,000 years or whatever. 
But whatever it is, the time that we are alive on that graph is no larger than a microscopic 
grain of sand, okay? That’s how insignificant this moment in time in terms of the age of                 the earth is. Yet scientists today — which are not scientists; they’re liberals — are trying              to tell us that the climate conditions at this moment are the norm and provide the baseline      from which to judge whether we’re getting cooler or warmer. We don’t know what the norm          is. The earth is too old.  We don’t know if the glacial ages were the norm and we’re living in         an unreasonably warm period of millennia, thousands of years. We don’t know if when it was insufferably hot was the norm. But because the climate change movement is totally 
political, it isn’t rooted in science at all — the climate change stories that you hear/see 
in your museum  are based on one thing: computer models predicting the future  30, 50, 
and 100 years from now. There is no evidence. They can’t even point to any facts. They 
don’t even try.
RUSH: They have nothing but computer models that are predicting. Note that the predictions       of disaster and calamity are all 30, 40, 50 years from now when very few of us already alive to know whether they were right or wrong.
CALLER: Okay.
RUSH: It is a scare tactic that is designed to promote bigger government. Their claims as to what’s causing the warming? Do you realize it’s the United States that’s largely responsible? 
Why is that?
They’re blaming progress. They’re blaming advanced lifestyles, improved standards of
living. They’re blaming fossil fuels — oil, gasoline — which, if it weren’t for those things, 
we would be living in the Stone Age. We wouldn’t be able to have the economy we have
today. We wouldn’t have the liberty, the freedom. We wouldn’t have the productivity. 
We wouldn’t have air-conditioning. We wouldn’t have the ability to heat our homes. 
I mean, it’s all absurd. It really is. The whole thing is totally absurd.
It’s been politicized by people who are using the issue as a means of growing and 
expanding the government so that the government can control people’s lives and how 
they live — and, to me, it’s obscene. To blame the country on earth with the greatest 
standard of living — the greatest economic advancements, the greatest technological advancement, to blame all of that for the problem — is insulting. 
And then when you look at some of the latest predictions of doom. They are ridiculous, 
some of the things. 
Without wasting your time here in detailing a bunch of them, you’ll find all of this, 
all those examples, some of the most outrageous claims, such as cows farting —
CALLER: (giggles)
RUSH: — and we need to stop eating at McDonald’s because cows’ farts are causing 
the earth to get warmer.
And that’s an old one. Others have suggested we stop using toilet paper —because
it is contributing to global warming. The manufacturing of it and the use of it is clogging
 our waste systems and we’d be better off using leaves or other such things. It’s absurd!
The stuff is just totally absurd.
CALLER: That’s nuts.
RUSH: But here’s what they’ve done. It’s really clever how they’ve done it, Jordan, 
because, you know, everybody — you, me, your mom and dad, everybody — wants 
their life to mean something. You don’t want to just be sitting here existing. You want 
your life to matter. So these people come along and they tell you that, through no fault 
of your own, you are helping destroy the planet because you’re living with life’s current 
progress. You’re driving big, gas-guzzling 
cars lake SUVs. You’re flying around on airplanes too much. There’s too much waste. 
But then they give you a way of redeeming your guilt.
That is to vote for Democrats who will then, using Big Government, implement all of 
these policies that will save the planet from the horrible things we Americans have 
done to pollute.  So they give you a chance at redemption, and they give you a chance
to have your life mean something. “Why, you, Jordan — if they recruit you — can 
become a warrior to save the planet!”
CALLER: (chuckles)
RUSH: What could be more meaningful than that? This is how they rope young people
in, into thinking they’re doing something that matters. It’s a premise that they cannot prove.
It’s all computer model predictions. Do you believe in God?
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: I do too. And I’ll tell you, to be quite honest with you… You know, everybody 
has a foundation and a basis for believing things that they believe. I believe in God. 
I believe God created the earth. I believe God created man with the unique ability — 
of all animals and creations to think and to reason. It is man, the only living thing on 
earth which is concerned with its environment is human beings. I just refuse to believe
 — it just doesn’t makes sense to me —    that a loving God like this would create 
human beings whose quest is to improve their standard  of living for themselves and
their families to make life more productive, to make it more convenient, to live longer,
to live healthier — to have all of that end up destroying the planet? I don’t think we
have that power, Jordan.
CALLER: Right. I agree.
RUSH: At one time, they tried to tell us that everybody in southern California barbecuing
at five in the afternoon was causing global warming because of all the charcoal.  It’s
absurd stuff! But they appeal to people emotionally. They tell ’em, “You have destroyed
 the planet. Your parents have destroyed the planet.” They have cartoon shows on 
Saturday morning called Captain Planet designed to make you think evil corporations are polluting and destroying and they don’t care about clean water, clean air. They rope young
people in on this basis and they grow up and then they get furthered in their education 
in school, junior high, middle class, high school, college, all that, and it’s an ongoing 
battle. You sound like  in you’re of your own mind, you may be doubtful of this, even 
despite your dad.
CALLER: (chuckles) I was already doubtful of that because I do believe that God gave 
us the ability to grow as a country and as families. So I don’t believe he would give us 
the tools to grow if he didn’t want us to use them.
RUSH: Well, yeah. Exactly. The natural state of the average, normal human being is to 
improve living circumstances. It’s to have life last as long as it can, to be as happy as
it can be lived, to be content. You know, the pursuit of happiness —life, liberty, pursuit
of happiness — enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, it’s the natural quest of 
families to want to do better than for their kids than they had growing up. It’s a natural
human thing to want to improve safety, to improve nutrition, to improve economics, to
improve education. It’s those things that the climate change people say — that progress
 — is destroying the planet. And it doesn’t make sense to me. Let’s look at it this way. 
Let’s say that you are president, Jordan. It’s like 15 years from now. You’re president, 
and you call in your secretary of state, Ivanka Trump, and say, “Ivanka, in 10 years 
I want the climate of the planet destroyed.” What would you tell her to do?
CALLER: I have no idea.
RUSH: You couldn’t! You couldn’t. There’s nothing you could do. You couldn’t do it. 
They’re telling us driving SUVs does it, they’re telling us flying around in jets doesn’t. 
They do all of these things. Their leaders fly all over the place in private jets. They fly 
all over; they drive gigantic SUVs.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: I mean, they tried this with the ozone hole. They’ve tried any number of… “The
arctic  ice caps are melting,” when they’re not. Have you heard the latest excuse for this?
The ice in Antarctica is warming a bit, but it’s still minus -21 degrees!
CALLER: Yes! We just learned about that the other day.
RUSH: Also, there are aquifers. Essentially, there’s blowtorch underneath from the inside
 of the earth, near the earth’s core there’s the equivalent of a natural blowtorch that is 
warming water underneath the arctic ice cap. There are actually people telling us that man
is causing that, humanity, climate change. Now, how in the world is anything we’re doing affecting  what’s happening 50 miles below the earth’s surface?  I’d like to know how we’re 
doing it because then we could stop it, couldn’t we?
CALLER: That’s true.
RUSH: If we found out that we’re causing global warming, we could stop it. But we can’t.
wonder why. One more little bit of logic for you. They told us back in the nineties that 
we were headed for the hottest 15 or 20 years in the future. In the last 15 years, it has
not warmed at all.
CALLER: (chuckles)
RUSH: They have come up with excuses that their models missed something or there
were a couple of volcanoes that put pollution in the atmosphere that covered the sunlight. 
But if  they were smart what they would have done was said, “Yes, we’ve stopped the 
warming because our policies have been implemented.” But they didn’t. They panicked because the earth isn’t warming as they precinct and their entire existence depends on
their prediction being right. You know, I think they missed a great political opportunity
to take credit for the fact there wasn’t any warming. Just say, “Our policies are doing it.”
RUSH: But they’re not interested in success. You’d think they’d be happy that the earth 
stopped warming for 15 years, but they’re not, they’re panicked. Does that make sense?
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: You’re more than welcome. You obviously are an advanced student and you’re 
capable of everything you’re gonna see there.
CALLER: Thank you! (giggling)






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Wednesday, December 6, 2017

"California needs a tax cut too"

This subject quote arrived in my inbox from Republican Rep. Darrell Issa 
of California.  

Like many members of Congress that represent high tax states, including
New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, Issa is concerned the  elimination 
of the state and property tax exemptions will not be 'offset' by the doubling 
of the standard deduction as it will in the majority of states.

I wonder if Rep. Issa ever publicly stated "Californians need a state tax
cut"or pressured the California General Assembly in the seven terms he
has served to reign in its high state and property taxes?

I am sure Issa is not alone. Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is 
equally troubled. Talk about an 'odd couple'. They join others members of 
Congress from high tax states deeply concerned with the tax reform that
just passed in both chambers of Congress. 

Yet, most are not equally troubled about what is occurring in their own
state capitals where legislatures hold fast to their high tax policies, only
seeking 'relief' from a life line the federal tax code has provided for decades!

You would think states with high income and property taxes would want
to lower the cost of living to be competitive with low tax states whose
populations are growing as citizens have taken flight rather than fight
a battle with little  chance they can win. 

Nor, why would these states want to be dependent on tax policies coming
from Washington rather than Sacramento or other state capitals?

We have already seen how difficult it is to come up with any changes in our 
70,000 page tax code, factoring a multitude of variables.  To ask Congress
to also factor in the complexity of fifty different state revenue generators
only ensures fairness will be abandoned.

Rep. Issa should take the lead, convene with other members of the California 
delegation and demand its general assembly provide tax relief from within, 
rather than afar as his "tax cut too" claim is only directed towards Washington.



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Do what is right for the right reasons

When having civil discussions on divisive issues with some friends
I find on many occasions they go to their pat 'answer' when they 
actually do not have convincing constructive arguments to support
their positions.  Usually they are partisan liberals, but I also find
this pattern among some conservatives as well.

They will frequently rely on two words, "What if.." this happens
when they are confronted with an issue they believe is too complex
to seek solutions to or address directly.  

"What if" allows them to drift away from substance to the hypothetical!

"What if" came to mind when I learned today President Trump will 
officially move our Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

For those who have not followed this thirty year issue which has Arab
states, the United Nations and even the Vatican in a flux, our last three 
presidents, Clinton, GW Bush and Obama all campaigned on doing so, 
yet not one did what President Trump will do today.

Why is it only Trump is keeping this campaign promise?

I have concluded his predecessors were surrounded by people that
suffer from the "what if" malady, ferreting out any danger to advance
forward on key issues. Trump is doing what its primary ally in the
most volatile region in the world have desired, Israel. 

A four thousand year old history is on President Trump's side,
not a bundle of "what ifs" by people equally afraid of their own
shadows. 

Each of us should remember what President Trump will do today,
when confronted with the "what if" crowd.

Do what is right for the right reasons.

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