I read the article in today's Sarasota Herald-Tribune by Jeremy Wallace titled, "Tax liens against Buchanan Explained". Jeremy did a good job pointing out that what all the hubbub is about is a IRS clerical error.

I began thinking about writing an article about gotcha politics and journalists that spend their entire careers digging up the dirt on politicians. Suddenly I realized that everyone was missing the whole point of this story about one of Congressman Buchanan's many successful businesses.

The whole point is taxes!

Nationally syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams compares paying taxes to "slavery". Walter states, "The average American worker toils from January 1st to the end of April, and has no legal claim to the fruits of his labor for that period. Federal, state and local governments, through the tax code, take what he produces. A small portion of the fruits of his labor is used to provide for the constitutional functions of government. Most of what's taken, up to two-thirds, is given to some other American in the forms of farm and business subsidies, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and hundreds of other government handout programs. As in slavery, one person is being forcibly used to serve the purposes of another person."

I was thinking what if we didn't pay any federal income taxes? What if VB Investments could keep the $556,000 it sent to the government?

Let's see, that money could be used to hire 10 employees for $55,600 a year. It could be reinvested in the company to build a new office building, which would help our slumping construction industry. It could be invested in stocks to give other businesses capital to work with and grow. It could be used to fund a new startup company, which employs even more people. It could be deposited in a bank and loaned to individuals that are having a hard time getting a mortgage. It could be given to charity to help great causes.

Congressman Buchanan and thousands of wealthy individuals like him do this every day, pay outrageous amounts in taxes. What if they had all that money to reinvest in their businesses to create jobs, pay their employees a higher salary or improve health care benefits? What if they just spent it on themselves to buy new cars, boats, homes, condos and luxury items, fueling each of these industries that employ tens of thousands of people across America?

As Claude Frederic Bastiat, French economist, legislator and writer who championed private property, free markets, and limited government, said, "Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else".

Do you endeavor to live at the expense of everybody else? Vern and Sandy Buchanan don't. We should thank them.

This story and photograph is from USA Today. Amazing how images of Che Guevara and Barack Obama keep showing up together on the walls of Obama supporters. Get the picture?

Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge said Tuesday the state's lethal injection procedure doesn't provide the quick and painless death required by Ohio law.

Burge said Ohio must stop allowing a combination of drugs and focus instead on a single, anesthetic drug.

The ruling is likely be appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Ohio has executed 26 inmates since it resumed putting prisoners to death in 1999.

Che Guevara background:

Here is an excerpt from an article about Che Guevara by Alvaro Vargas Llosa titled, "The Killing Machine: Che Guevara From Communist Firebrand to Capitalist Brand".

"In April 1967, speaking from experience, he summed up his homicidal idea of justice in his “Message to the Tricontinental”: “hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine.” His earlier writings are also peppered with this rhetorical and ideological violence. Although his former girlfriend Chichina Ferreyra doubts that the original version of the diaries of his motorcycle trip contains the observation that “I feel my nostrils dilate savoring the acrid smell of gunpowder and blood of the enemy,” Guevara did share with Granado at that very young age this exclamation: “Revolution without firing a shot? You’re crazy.”

At other times the young bohemian [Guevara] seemed unable to distinguish between the levity of death as a spectacle and the tragedy of a revolution’s victims. In a letter to his mother in 1954, written in Guatemala, where he witnessed the overthrow of the revolutionary government of Jacobo Arbenz, he wrote: “It was all a lot of fun, what with the bombs, speeches, and other distractions to break the monotony I was living in.”

The Democratic Party has hired a group named Voting is Power (VIP) to register voters for the upcoming Presidential election. Voting is Power is under investigation by the Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne for voter fraud. So who is Voting is Power and why does that mean anything?

VIP is actually a Muslim American Society (MAS) organization. So who is the Muslim American Society?

The Muslim American Society is a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood whose militant credo states: "God is our objective, the Koran is our Constitution, the Prophet is our leader, struggle is our way, and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations"

In May 2005, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross reported in The Weekly Standard that [the Muslim American Society] MAS is a U.S. front group for the Muslim Brotherhood -- a claim supported by a September 19, 2004 Chicago Tribune story -- and, as such, wishes to see the United States governed by sharia, or Islamic law. "The message that all countries should be ruled by Islamic law," writes Gartenstein-Ross, "is echoed throughout MAS's membership curriculum. For example, MAS requires all its adjunct members to read Fathi Yakun's book To Be a Muslim. In that volume, Yakun spells out his expansive agenda: 'Until the nations of the world have functionally Islamic governments, every individual who is careless or lazy in working for Islam is sinful.'"

Closely linked to MAS is the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, whose Executive Director is Mahdi Bray, a former Students for a Democratic Society activist now affiliated with International ANSWER, an anti-war front group for the Communist World Workers Party. "Our mission," Bray has written, "is to build an integrated empowerment process for the American Muslim community." Toward this end, Bray and MAS have been involved in a voter-registration drive and an effort to train 1,000 "activists" in the "skills necessary for effective activism."

MAS also has close ties to Islamic American University, an unaccredited university in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, which teaches Islamic law and other subjects. (One IAU faculty member is Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, who until at least June 2003 was also the Chairman -- in abstentia -- of the university's Board of Trustees. )

In addition, MAS operates programs for educating the young, providing fellowship for Muslim youth, creating its own network of Islamic schools, and sustaining a nationwide Council of Imams.

MAS was a signatory to a February 20, 2002 document, composed by the radical group Refuse & Resist, condemning military tribunals and the detention of immigrants apprehended in connection with post-9/11 terrorism investigations.

MAS strongly opposes the Patriot Act, which it says “strips away the fundamental checks and balances that safeguard many of our basic civil liberties,” and has “drastically infringed upon every American's rights by giving the government expanded powers to invade privacy, imprison and deport people without due process, and punish political dissent.”

As of early June 2007, the Minnesota chapter of MAS featured the following anti-Semitic, pro-jihad quotes on its website, www.masmn.org:

• “The Holy Prophet (and through him the Muslims) has been reassured that he should not mind the enmity, the evil designs and the machinations of the Jews ...”
  
  
• “In view of the degenerate moral condition of the Jews and the Christians, the Believers have been warned not to make them their friends and confidants.”
  
  
• “If you gain victory over the men of Jews, kill them.”
  
  
• “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.'”
  
  
• “May Allah destroy the Jews, because they used the graves of their prophets as places of worship.”
  
  
• “A Muslim must always worship Allah and wage jihad until death in order to reach his ultimate goal … Regularly make the intention to go on jihad with the ambition to die as a martyr.”

MAS's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood were confirmed on August 14, 2007, as The Investigative Project on Terrorism reported:

"As the terror-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) continued today, FBI agent Lara Burns testified that a phonebook found at the home of Ismail Elbarrasse -- un-indicted co-conspirator and former assistant to HAMAS leader Musa Abu Marzook -- listed the names and numbers of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in the United States. On the first page of the phonebook under the title ‘Members of the Board of Directors’ were fifteen names. Among those names are Ahmad Elkadi, Jamal Badawi, and Omar Soubani: the founding incorporators of the Muslim American Society (MAS)."

Do you remember the Florida recount 2000? Do you remember the close vote in the 2006 Florida Congressional District 13 race. Well those are nothing compared to what the Democratic Party is doing to its own primary voters.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in their editorial, "Delegate mess continued" do a great job of pointing out the "Democrat Disaster in Denver" scenario that is unfolding.

Democrats are the first ones to scream voter disenfranchisement. They always blame Republicans for this sin of sins. We finally see the ugly face of the true culprits who are guilty of this secular evil - the Democrat Party itself.

As the Herald-Tribune points out, "Florida and Michigan, which held their January primaries earlier than the party designated, were stripped of their delegates by the Democratic National Committee. That left a trail of hard feelings in these two important swing states."

Hard feelings aren't the half of it. What has happened is the Democratic party has a totally dysfunctional primary election process. This process is so flawed that when you add the disenfranchisement of two key swing states into the mix you turn the entire process into a disaster.

As the Herald-Tribune explains, "The voters want to be counted; Florida and Michigan want a voice in the August national convention."

The Democrats do not have, like the smarter Republicans, a winner take all primary. The simple idea that, like in the general election, if you win the majority of votes you win all the delegates from a state. If they had such a process Hillary Clinton would now be the nominee.

If Democrats had a process where if you win the overall popular vote, as they screamed and yelled about in 2000 when Gore won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, you would win the primary that would be fair. If you count all of Michigan and Florida primary voters Hillary Clinton wins again.

If you decide that to win in November you need to take those states that have the most Electoral College votes against Senator John McCain then Hillary Clinton wins a third time. But you must win Michigan and Florida.

We know the Democrats will sort this out because their favorite constituency is now involved - lawyers. Shades of Bush vs. Gore and Election 2000. The Herald-Tribune states, "DNC lawyers say the only option under the rules is to cut the Florida and Michigan pledged delegations by half. The Clinton camp's attorney, by contrast, argues that the rules and bylaws committee has the authority to seat all the delegates, with full votes." Even their own lawyers can't agree.

The editorial gets it way right when they state the Democratic primary process, "may have raised doubts as to whether a party that blunders into such a pickle can be trusted to lead the country." This may be the understatement of the year.

We fully agree with the Herald-Tribune, "When in a hole, stop digging." But you see Democrats are so invested in the shovel industry, because they have been shoveling you know what for so long, they don't know how to stop digging.

We believe the Democratic primary will finally be determined by "Super Delegates" in Denver. Those unelected party bosses will decide on the winner. Not Democratic primary voters.

We are looking forward to the "Democrat Disaster in Denver".

We continue to be amazed by statements of national and local liberal Democratics. Their sheer arrogance and disdain for every day taxpaying workers and their families is breathtaking.

We have so many examples that it is hard to select just a few but we will try.

Let us start with Senator Barrack Obama. Here is his unbelievable statement at a campaign rally in Roseburg, Oregon on May 17th.

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

Now let us go to a comment by our own Florida District 69 Representative Keith Fitzgerald, a Democrat. Representative Fitzgerald said at a recent Tiger Bay forum, "We can't let taxpayers tell us how to spend tax dollars".

I wonder which taxpayers Keith is referring to?

Then we have our one and only Democratic School Board member Shirley Brown. Shirley had an e-mail exchange with Sarasota resident and tax payer George Fuller about spending. Here are excerpts from that exchange:

George said in his e-mail to School Board member Brown, "Reading last week's front page article about government job cuts one is led to believe it is unfair [that] government employees are laid off. The story misses the point…….the people were hired in the first place because tax money was available and to government types that means expand the workforce.

I defy the average citizen to notice the government cuts in personnel in their personal lives. I defy anyone to tell me they noticed an increase in government services when a new government employee was hired.

Face it, your government, my government, has been spending millions of dollars needlessly for years. Would the millions wasted by government have been better utilized by the taxpayers?

The scary part is we are only talking about local government. I cannot begin to imagine the waste and corruption in the State and Federal Government and we probably don't want to know. The result might be worse than the Boston Tea Party."

Here is Shirley Brown's reply, "I do believe that there is often a direct relation to the number of government and employees and the increase in the population served. I know that is true for the school district. As the number of students increase, we must increase the number of teachers then later schools, principals, janitors, etc...

I agree that government should never over tax its citizens and that we can't tax our way out of an economic downturn. But I can't agree with the statement that taxpayers know how to spend their money better. One just has to look at the bigger and bigger gas guzzling SUV's and Hummers that were purchased over the last 10 years or the increase in spending on designer clothes and spa treatments or the rush to get rich quick in the real estate market. Taxpayers foolish borrowing and spending along with greedy business practices have to share in the blame of our current economic woes. It is not all government's fault."

WOW! Amazing, outrageous, unbelievable.

Are you connecting the dots between Senator Obama, State Representative Fitzgerald and School Board member Brown?

Each truly believes that they (big government) are in a better position to determine how to spend your and my money than we are. Senator Obama and Board member Brown clearly know best how we should live our lives.

Frightening isn't it.

It is for these reasons that we support Senator McCain for President and Laura Benson for the Florida House District 69 seat. Ms. Brown is not up for re-election but we must be wary of her attitude toward you and me, now and into the future.

Here is in their own words the "Audacity of liberal Democrats" for all to see. Words do matter.

The editorial in today's Sarasota Herald-Tribune titled, "Bush's shot misses the mark", should be retitled "We endorse Barack for President".

It reads straight from the Obama play book. I wonder if they just cut and pasted the editorial from an e-mail from the Obama campaign. Or maybe from Howard Dean.

The Herald-Tribune uses the two pronged Obama attack plan. The first prong is to talk about and denigrate President Bush. The hypocrisy of this position is Obama said he was a new type of politician who would reach across the aisle and work with others. He would bring hope and change. There is no hope, change or reaching across the aisle in what Senator Obama says or does. His words speak louder than his actions.

Obama uses the same old attack politics of 2000. Talk down President Bush, talk down Republicans, and attack the administration using the same worn out phrases and sound bites.

Obama is not an agent of change. The only change he wants is him in the oval office. Nothing else.

Using this Obama tactic, the editorial board says President Bush's speech before the Knesset, "came across as clumsy and self-serving."

I don't think the editorial board took the time to watch the speech. For those who would like to see a video of the entire speech please go here.

In the speech the members of the Knesset and audience gave numerous standing ovations to President Bush. It was a historical speech because it addressed the strong alliance and historic bonds between Israel and the United States.

The President properly pointed out that, "Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along....We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is: the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

The second Obama tactic is to say what is wrong with talking to our enemies.

The Herald-Tribune uses this Obama tactic by saying, "Just because the United States engages in talks with a hostile foreign power does not mean that America will give in to its demands."

Well we agree.

The Herald-Tribune then quotes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying that, if Iran would give up its uranium enrichment program, she would meet with Iranian officials "any place, any time, anywhere to talk about anything."

Well we agree. Giving up its uranium enrichment program is a "precondition" to any talks. However, talks between the Secretary of State and Iran. Not the President. Get it?

Senator Obama when asked if he would meet unconditionally and without preconditions in the first year of his Presidency in Washington, D.C. or anywhere else with the leaders of Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela he said, "I would."

Sound like Neville Chamberlain?

Since this CNN debate Senator Obama's campaign said he would not meet with Iran's President until they give up their nuclear weapons program. “Let’s not confuse precondition with preparation,” said [Obama Communications Director Robert] Gibbs of any talks with Iran. “Obviously these meetings would be full of preparation. But we’re not going to sit down and engage Iran, unless or until they give up their nuclear weapons program."

If Obama now says he won’t meet with Iran until they surrender their nuclear-weapons program, how exactly does that differ from President Bush? And how does that fit with his previous statements about having talks “without preconditions”?

What the Herald-Tribune fails to tell you is that the Bush administration has been engaged in talks with Iran. There are frequent direct talks between Ambassador Crocker and Iranian officials in Iraq about their support of the terrorist Mahdi militias. There are ongoing talks between Iran, the EU with U.S. involvement. The U.S. has also engaged the U.N. Security Council in toughening sanctions against Iran to stop their nuclear weapons program.

If Iran gave up its nuclear weapons program today, President Bush would open diplomatic contacts with Iran and might even consider a summit. He’s made that very clear over the last few years, holding out WTO sponsorship and normalized relations in exchange for just that concession.

So does Senator Obama agree with these efforts to engage in talks with Iran or not? Apparently not because he dismisses anything Bush.

However, Senator Obama recently said, "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us . . . . Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Senator Obama is clearly sending a signal to Iran, Cuba and Venezuela that he does not consider them a "serious threat". He uses the simplistic standard of size of a countries defense budget to determine who in the world is worthy of being considered a threat. Al Qaeda spent a total of $500,000 to conduct the attack on 9/11. This simplistic vision of Iran's capabilities is dangerous.

So, meeting with Iran unconditionally, without preconditions and Iran does not pose a "serious threat".

There you have the Obama foreign policy on Iran and other enemies of the U.S. in a nut shell.

We also get a feel from Senator Obama on how he would deal with terrorism and terrorists at home. In his memoir Audacity of Hope is the following quote on page 261: "In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the [Democratic President Roosevelt's] Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

"That I will stand with them [Muslims] should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

Clearly Senator Obama and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune are standing with "them". Who is standing with U.S.?

Senator Obama has a new global test on American behavior. Here is his unbelievable statement at a campaign rally in Roseburg, Oregon on May 17th.

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

So, Senator Obama, what countries are we going to give control of our cars, dinner table and homes to? Do you plan to allow the UN to determine how we will enjoy the "pursuit of happiness" outlined in our Constitution?

Perhaps you are signaling that your administration will be telling us what we can drive, eat and control the temperature in our homes for the good of the state. Sounds a lot like the old USSR.

The man's arrogance knows no boundaries.

Here are Senator Obama's own words and words do matter.

"Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us . . . . Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance."

He is clearly sending a signal to Iran, Cuba and Venezuela that he does not consider them a problem. He has stated he will meet with the leaders of these countries without preconditions. He uses the simplistic standard of size of a countries defense budget to determine who in the world is worthy of being considered a threat. Al Qaeda spent a total of $500,000 to conduct the attack on 9/11.

Senator Obama has just signaled to Israel that their neighbor Iran, which has called for their destruction, is not to be worried about by the United States. Amazing.

Cuba and Venezuela are spreading Communism throughout South America and Senator Obama does not think they pose a "serious threat". I am sure Columbia and our allies in South America do not agree with him. Senator Obama is signaling that FARC terrorists supported by Venezuela need no longer fear American intervention.

Senator Obama is the greatest threat to the national security of the United States. His own words say so.

First we learned about the strong Marxist background of Senator Barack Obama from his memoirs. We learned that among his friends he included "the more politically active black students, foreign students, Chicanos, Marxist professors, feminists, and punk rock performance poets.".

Then we learned about his "mentors" and "heroes" Saul Alinsky and Frank Marshall Davis both card carrying members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). We also learned that his father was a communist. We know about his good friend and close adviser Larry Lessig who is also know as the "digital communist".

Now we learn from the Sam Webb, National Chair of CPUSA himself, his parties support for Democrats in general and Barack Obama in particular.

Joel Wendland of the CPUSA writes in his article Landslide: Sweep Republicans from Power in November, "At its quarterly national committee meeting this past weekend, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) called for a landslide in the November 4th elections to defeat John McCain and strengthening the Democratic Party majorities in Congress."

Wendland says, "Obama's candidacy is unique in all of this excitement. It is transformational and new. It has brought new forces into the process and built new organizational forms."

"What makes it different is that it [Obama's campaign] has the feel of a movement," Sam Webb, CPUSA National Chair said. Obama speaks to people's desires and inspires them. "He is a fresh voice on the political scene. His courage and astuteness are obvious," Webb said.

According to Webb, "His desire to overcome racial and religious and national and other divisions "strikes a deeply responsive chord far and wide."

"To say that Clinton has garnered the vast majority of the working-class vote is simply wrong", Webb said.

"Black voters are overwhelming working class. The working class has divided its vote between the two. Trade union voters have given a slight edge to Clinton, but Obama has polled well and has won important union endorsements", says Webb.

Well it looks like Senator Barack Obama has now garnered the loving embrace of the Communist Party of the United States of America.

My guess is that Senator McCain will not carry the CPUSA vote. Of course he spent thirty years in the Navy fighting communists. It is understandable they would not support him.

That is why we support Senator John McCain over Senator Obama. One will fight our enemies. The other will join our enemies to destroy all that we value as Americans.

According to Columnist Paul R. Hollrah, "After arriving at Occidental [College in Los Angeles], Obama chose his friends carefully. He tells us [in his memoir] that, among his friends he included "the more politically active black students, foreign students, Chicanos, Marxist professors, feminists, and punk rock performance poets."

"Then, after transferring to Columbia University two years later, he found that "political discussions, the kind that at Occidental had once seemed so intense and purposeful," took on the flavor of the "socialist conferences" he sometimes attended at New York's Coopers Union." "As Obama was preparing to graduate from Columbia he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Finally, in 1983, he decided to follow in the footsteps of one of his heroes, radical leftist and communist fellow traveler, Saul Alinsky. He concluded, "That's what I'll do… I'll organize black folks at the grass roots… for change."

"There wasn't much detail to the idea," he says. "I didn't know anyone making a living that way. When classmates in college asked me just what it was that a community organizer did, I couldn't answer them directly. Instead, I'd pronounce on the need for change. Change in the White House, where Reagan and his minions were carrying on their dirty deeds. Change in the Congress, compliant and corrupt. Change in the mood of the country, manic and self-absorbed. 'Change won't come from the top,' I would say. 'Change will come from a mobilized grass roots.' "

Barack Obama moved to Chicago, Alinsky's hometown, and established himself as a community organizer.

So who is Saul Alinsky?

According to Wikipedia, "Alinsky was a critic of a passive and ineffective mainstream liberalism. In Rules for Radicals, he argued that the most effective means are whatever will achieve the desired ends, and that an intermediate end for radicals should be democracy because of its relative ease to work within to achieve other ends of social justice."

In Rules for Radicals Alinsky writes, "There's another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevsky said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution."

This is where Senator Barack Obama's campaign about "Change" comes from. He is not talking about positive change but rather the change outlined by his mentor Saul Alinsky. Revolutionary change. Socialist change.

In order to reach his goal Senator Obama, with the help of the radical left, the media and the Democratic party, is setting the stage for this radical leftist change agenda. He and his supporters are demonizing President Bush, Republicans, conservatives, Christians and those who believe in America.

As his mentor Saul Alinsky said, "They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future." Obama believes, "the most effective means are whatever will achieve the desired ends", even if that means lying, cheating and stealing. Obama will change the future.

Yes, change the future for the worst.

NOTE: Oddly enough, another of Alinsky's most ardent admirers turned out to be the woman who is now his principal opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her 1969 senior thesis at Wellesley College was titled, There Is Only The Fight: An Analysis of the Alinsky Model.

There is an article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune titled, "A plan to cap local government".

This plan is called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). We ask that you immediately send an e-mail to the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission supporting TABOR. The commissioners need to know how Florida's taxpayers feel about taking away from government the ability to tax us.

To send an e-mail or write a letter to the full commission expressing your support of this plan – send correspondence to Kathy Torian at Florida TBRC, Holland Building, Suite 245, 600 S. Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300 or email her at Torian.kathy@leg.state.fl.us. Request that your correspondence be sent to all Commission members.

According to the article, "The plan...would cap all taxes, fees and other revenue increases at the rate of inflation and population growth. Exceeding that cap would require voter approval...it is not just a chance to cut taxes even further, it is a step toward forever throttling the size of government."

"I think there's a direct correlation between the size of your government and the health of your economy," said House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami. We agree.

The plan would require voter approval of even the smallest increase in taxes or fees. What a fantastic plan.

"When we went across the state, the two things that we heard from almost every single individual that came up and spoke was 'provide property tax relief and get a hold of government spending,'" said Patricia Levesque, currently the executive director for former Gov. Jeb Bush's education think tank. "Government shouldn't grow faster than we should pay for it."

Patricia and Representative Rubio have it right.

We believe that government closest to the people is best. We also believe that voters should decide if they should be taxed. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" depends on individuals keeping their hard earned dollars and passing their wealth on to their families. The more money in the taxpayers pockets the stronger the economy. The stronger the economy the better for our cities, counties and the state of Florida.

Please send your e-mail today to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission supporting TABOR.

Just kidding.

Can you imagine what would happen if three prominent Republican governors had major sex scandals? Can you imagine the media outrage. The "culture of corruption" stories. The damning of all Republicans because of the violations of a few. The instant call for investigations and dismissals. The calls from Congress for a special prosecutor.

Well, don't worry you aren't seeing any of these things because the three governors are all Democrats.

What you do see are talking heads, pundits and psychologists coming to the rescue and acting as scandal denyers. We hear that the affairs of Governor and Mrs. Paterson are personal issues and that their coming out and talking about it, after he was sworn in of course, are heroic. Give me a break.

Former Democratic Governor Elliot Spitzer is a hypocrite at best and guilty of multiple crimes at worst for hiring prostitutes over a period of years and paying over $80,000 for their services.

Former Democratic Governor of New Jersey McGreevey had a gay relationship with man who he hired to run the states homeland security program. Then it turns out he, another gay boyfriend (and his personal driver) and his wife had a sexual tryst.

Finally, Democratic Governor Paterson is still in office after admitting having multiple trysts with multiple women, one of whom was a state employee.

Senator Craig's toe tapping is nothing compared to what our friends the Democrats have done in the last few months to make politicians the scorn of all, except the liberal media, social scientists, psychologists, the Democratic National Committee, the National Organization of Women, feminists, gays, teachers unions and labor unions, of course.

The liberal Sarasota Herald-Tribune's editorial board has an interesting article lamenting the removal of Dr. Deborah Rice from an EPA panel titled, "Chemical conflicts".

They and the Democratic leadership are concerned that politics may get in the way of public health and safety because Dr. Rice was not allowed to stay on a panel reviewing the potential dangers of a chemical (olybrominated diphenyl ether [PBDE] known as deca) used in flame retardants in electronic equipment.

What the Herald-Tribune does not tell you is that Dr. Rice is also an expert on the effects of methylmercury exposure to children and adults.

In 2003 Dr. Rice addressed the effects of methylmercury to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. During this testimony she concluded that, "at least eight studies have found an association between methylmercury levels and impaired neuropsychological performance in the child....there is a substantial percentage of women of reproductive age in the United States with levels of methylmercury in their bodies above what EPA considers a safe level."

She when on to say, "As a result of this, over 300,000 newborns each year are exposed to methylmercury above levels US EPA believes to be “safe”....increased exposure to methylmercury may result in atherosclerosis, heart attack, and even death from heart attack in men, suggesting that an additional large segment of the population may be at risk as a result of environmental methylmercury exposure."

This is the same Herald-Tribune editorial board that touted a new energy bill passed by the Democratic Congress this year in their editorial, "Jump start for energy policy".

Dropped into this new energy bill by the Democrat leadership in Congress is a provision to mandate the phase-out of the 125-year-old incandescent bulb in the next four to 12 years in favor of a new generation of trendy, supposedly energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), pictured above.

These bulbs contain mercury!

Mercury helps create the increased efficiency of a CFL bulb. If the bulb breaks, the mercury will contaminate an area. Secondly, when these millions of bulbs burn out they will be disposed of into our land fills.

Our question is why didn't the Democratic leadership listen to Dr. Rice and the serious health consequences of mercury? Given the current health risks from mercury exposure why did they add this new risk and mandate that the risk be brought into American homes?

It is interesting how the Democratic leadership is concerned when a scientist that disagrees with the chemical industry is dismissed from a panel but that same scientist is not listened to by the Democratic leadership when it comes to the dangers of another chemical made by the same industry that they mandate be put in all our homes.

Democrats mandating the use of light bulbs that contain mercury is like mandating the use of toys or paint that contain lead. There is no difference. Democrats are putting our children, our homes and our lives at risk in the name of the environment.

This is insane. What do you think?

Tallahassee–With one month to go until the tax filing deadline, you may not have received your return or even filed your 2007 taxes. The Democrat-led United States Congress, though, has already voted to increase your taxes for next year. Yesterday, the Democrat-led United States Senate passed the biggest tax increase in history by passing a 2009 budget that fails to extend President Bush’s tax cuts and includes $1 trillion dollars in discretionary spending.

“People in Florida and across the nation are increasingly concerned about the economy, and they want our leaders to take a new direction when it comes to the economy that doesn’t leave the middle class behind,” noted Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer. “But U.S. Senator Bill Nelson isn’t listening to Florida voters—instead, he is up in Washington, joining Senators Clinton and Obama to vote for every tax increase in sight,” said Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer.

The Club For Growth's Andrew Roth Notes The Democrats' FY 2009 Budget Would Result In "The Largest Tax Hike In U.S. History." "The Democrats' FY09 budget does not extend the Bush tax cuts. As a result, Americans are set to be hammered with the largest tax hike in U.S. history." (Andrew Roth, "Tax Hike Impact By Congressional District," The Club For Growth's Blog, www.clubforgrowth.org).

Bill Nelson Joined Clinton and Obama to Raise Taxes On Individuals Earning As Little As $31,850. "Under both Democratic plans, tax rates would increase by 3 percentage points for each of the 25 percent, 28 percent and 33 percent brackets. At present, the 25 percent bracket begins at $31,850 for individuals and $63,700 for married couples. The 35 percent bracket on incomes over $349,700 would jump to 39.6 percent." (Andrew Taylor, "Presidential Hopefuls To Vote On Budget," The Associated Press, 3/13/08)

Clinton, Obama and Nelson Voted Against Providing Death Tax Relief For Small Businesses, Family Ranches And Farms By Increasing The Exemption Amount And Lowering The Top Tax Rate. "Kyl, R-Ariz., amendment no. 4191 that would adjust the resolution to allow for a $5 million estate tax exemption for small businesses, family ranches and farms, and allow for a maximum estate tax rate of 35 percent." (S. Con. Res. 70, CQ Vote #50: Rejected 50-50: R 48-1; D 2-47; I 0-2, 3/13/08, Clinton, Obama and Nelson Voted Nay)

This is a screen shot of the Muslim Americans for Obama '08 on Senator Obama's Presidential web site. It discusses positions on Muslim issues. This page has been taken down after several recent news articles came out critical of the links from this page to radical Islamic organizations.

The following is verbatim from the above web page:

ISSUES & SOLUTIONS

Question: What are issues and recommendations for solutions that are unique to Muslim Americans?

1. A Law against harrassment of a Muslim women wearing Hijab at the Airport, DMV and other public arenas.

2. Institute a Law to allow Muslim Employees to take a hours off from work for Friday Jummah Prayer.

3. Make the 2 Eid's, recognized National Holidays on Calendars with days off from work.

4. Optional Halal meals in federal buildings, public schools and colleges.

5. Provide prayer areas suitable for Salah and Jimmah, in public and private facilities. (i.e. Malls, Airports, Universities, and government buildings.)

6. Organize a Muslim American group to assist in recommendations for US foreign policy affecting majority Muslin countries.

As we pointed out in our article "Obama has links from his Presidential web site to radical Islamic organizations" - We continue to find troubling relationships between Senator Barack Obama and radical Islamic organizations.

We will continue to connect the dots.