by TD of The Right Track

More and more, I am hearing of people advocating for the FairTax in print, speeches, symposia, television, and radio. I've gathered a few of the more recent articles and provided links and a summary below each link. I've also quoted from several of the articles. Seems like support for the FairTax is pretty diverse!

Economic outlook: Georgia No. 1 in U.S. - July 16, 2006

Georgia's economic outlook is rosier than that of any other state in the nation, according to a new study by the father of supply-side economics.

Arthur Laffer, an influential adviser to former President Ronald Reagan, put Georgia at the top of his annual comparative ranking of state economies, a seven-category analysis that primarily focuses on tax and fiscal policy. That's up from fifth place in 2005 and a marked improvement from a No. 24 finish in 2002.

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This week Wictory Wednesday presents Steve Laffey for the US Senate for Rhode Island. Steve is running against well-known *insert appropriate adjective here* Republican incumbent Senator Lincoln Chafee. The reasons to vote against Chafee are many, but as a rule, we should cast votes for something. more...

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Anyone who reads this blog for more than 5 minutes knows that I'm a HUGE advocate of the free market system and capitalism. However, when you attempt to mix capitalism with socialism, you get exploitation and economic slavery. That's exactly what happens when you attempt to mix the government-run monopoly on socialistic education and radio advertising.

Apparently a company called "Busradio" is going to provide radios for government-run monopoly buses. Then the radio provider will get to sell advertising space on the radio stations. You can go ahead and claim that the advertising will have no effect on kids, but you're just completely wrong on that aspect.

It's another example of the government getting to decide exactly what children will be exposed to. Don't think for a moment that there won't be lawsuits if the company refuses ads from public service homosexual campaigns who want to advertise to the 6-8 year old market.

It's wrong. Government should get out of the education business. They don't know how to educate -- just admit it and move on. And forcing children to ride a bus and then additionally forcing them to listen to your own select ads is, as U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan says, "a low-grade form of child abuse, that forces a captive audience to listen to commercial messages."

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And sometimes the mail is so entertaining, I feel the need to share it with you, my good readers. Here is what I found in my inbox from Allan Lian:

While you were too much of a little girl to allow responses to your post about dukes fixed payment plan i felt i should let you know in a private blog between you and myself....

I work for a call center that enrolls people in a fixed payment plan. Although i don't make any commission nor would i get anything extra for signing people up (as i don't directly work for a utility company). It is people like you that are completely closed off to what benefits such a program could offer. But alas, old ignorant fools like yourself decide its better to decry such a program because A) you fear change B) you find it MUCH easier to bitch about something rather than actually figure out how something may work for you. You make both example A, and B abundantly clear in your uninformed misguided bitching above. Maybe you should go back to churning your own butter like you did in your past as opposed to lashing out at something your obviously to slow to comprehend. OR you could just keep your mouth shut about something you have no interest in. It's not your fault you werent [sic] hugged enough as a child.

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1 *snicker*

Posted by: oddybobo at August 09, 2006 01:10 PM (6Gm0j)

2 I see that Allan likes to make new friends. And he has impeccable interpersonal skills. **snerk** Putting something in writing allows one to formuate thoughts. Well, sometimes. Or maybe you got treated to the "real" Allan.

Posted by: Always On Watch at August 09, 2006 01:29 PM (y6n8O)

3 He works in a call center and insults your intelligence? That is beautiful. Is it Friday already?

Posted by: Tomslick at August 09, 2006 03:13 PM (RpnNu)

4 I people that know what they think. That totaly leaves out Allan.

Posted by: Michael at August 09, 2006 03:23 PM (lM5Jk)

5 I'm not sure about Allan's personal skills, AOW, but he's certainly expressing something here, isn't he? And good point, Tomslick! But no, it's not even silly Friday yet! Thanks for stopping by, everyone.

Posted by: Ogre at August 09, 2006 03:45 PM (/k+l4)

6 LOL

Posted by: vw bug at August 09, 2006 04:20 PM (AXWri)

7 That has to be the most entertaining post I've read in ages! Luckily, I moved my coffee mug back a foot after I read the first couple of lines. Being a Duke customer, I know exactly where you're coming from, Ogre. Alan Lian must have long ago "sold his soul to the Company Store". The most recent "great deal" I've seen from them is similar to the one in your old post, except they hedge their bets: They take a fixed rate out for 11 months, so you can more easily "plan it into your budget", then in the 12th month, they "settle up", collecting the balance of what you owe them that's above what you paid in "fixed rates". Not only do they enjoy higher fiscal profits, but since the offer will have it's greatest response almost immediately, that 12th month will bring them one large, simultaneous infusion of cash.

Posted by: Seth at August 09, 2006 07:54 PM (4OJoa)

8 Dang. I guess too many people were doing as suggested in the comments of the previous post -- sign up and use as much energy as possible, then "un" sign up.

Posted by: Ogre at August 09, 2006 08:03 PM (/k+l4)

9 Don't yah just love these people who come along and leave nasty emails and comments, when they don't know YOU, haven't read your site before in an effort to get to know YOU...who make assumptions and behave like little kids? Well, no, little kids have more sense than Alan. Very entertaining Ogre. LOL. If you get enough of these dumbass emails or comments, you should do a post like this every week..to share with us just how DUMB some people really are.

Posted by: Raven at August 09, 2006 08:26 PM (DhETq)

10 I replied to his email and invited him to come join this conversation and this post with the open comment section.

Posted by: Ogre at August 09, 2006 09:28 PM (o2crh)

11 Test

Posted by: Ogre at August 10, 2006 09:24 AM (o2crh)

12 Allan can't seem to post comments, so here is the comment he sent me in email: ok so first of all we will have YOU explain your ignorance...please tell myself and all your friends checking your blog every 4 seconds what formula duke power uses to come to these "fixed bill" amounts? (please no superlatives, or clever comments, just tell us how) since you know so much about how it screws people over. Then tell me if it is so true that it is an "absolute, irrefutable fact" that the program would cost you money, tell me how that is a fact when YOU get to decide how much power you use? isn't that kinda like giving someone a credit card and telling them that no matter what is spent on the card they only have to pay certain set amount? (insert your b.s. rhetoric point avoiding b.s. here)

Posted by: Ogre at August 10, 2006 09:40 AM (o2crh)

13 It's not "ignorance" Allan, it's facts. How can I claim the program will cost me money? Simple -- $2,400 is a bigger number than $1,920. And unless I drastically change my usage habits (as suggested by some in the previous post), that's the costs. I don't care how Duke Power arrived at the $2,400 number -- it makes no difference. They will get MORE money than they would otherwise. That's what the numbers show. It may, as you suggest, allow me to use more power if I decide to be wasteful and do thinks like run space heaters in the rooms while leaving the central AC at 60 degrees -- but if I continue my normal usage, I will use $1,920 worth of electricity and will pay $2,400. That costs me money.

Posted by: Ogre at August 10, 2006 09:44 AM (o2crh)

14 Ogre - you could have just stated that the burden of proof lies with the accuser. That's the foundation of any sane, rational argument. Only those weak and inarticulate debaters rely on crass assumptions and canard to 'prove' their points.

Posted by: Dan Irving at August 10, 2006 05:35 PM (zw8QA)

15 I considered that, but I was trying to be nice.

Posted by: Ogre at August 10, 2006 05:44 PM (/k+l4)

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If you only read one blog carnival a week, it should be the carnival of liberty. This is where you will find posts about liberty -- usually about the LOSS of liberty in America. This week it's even got a soundtrack! Head on over to Socratic Rhythm Method for this week's installment.

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Ever heard of it? Me neither. At least, not until yesterday. I just got an email from some folks that are putting together a conference "for and about bloggers in North Carolina."

I do know it will be Saturday, October 7, from 8 am through lunch at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro; and that Scott Johnson of Power Line will keynote the event.

Stay tuned, as I find out more, it WILL be posted here! I'm blocking aside that day now (I'll have to miss the Ren Fest that morning), so you can come meet Ogre! Teach? I'll be looking for you...

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Wow. The media and the water cool talk is in a frenzy about the shutdown of the oil pipeline in Alaska. I'm sure environmentalists are celebrating. To the media, this is the end of the world because summer demand is still high. They are bloviating about a "huge" increase of a whopping 10 cents a gallon. People are going to die. It's the end of the world.

Except that massive 10 cents will cost the average consumer all of $1.44 a week. Seriously.

Based on high averages of 15,000 miles traveled per year and 20mpg (and yes, I know some people get 10mpg, but others get 30mpg, that's why it's called an 'average'), that's only 750 gallons. Even an increase of TWENTY cents would only cost $2.88 a week! If the people who were complaining spent their once-a-week McDonalds money on gas, they could afford a whopping FOURTY-TWO cents a gallon increase! Really! A 42-cent increase in gas would cost $6 a week.

Amazing.

I think I'm going to run for President in 2008. I'll run as an independent. My entire campaign platform will be $1 a gallon gasoline.

Reporter: "What's your position on immigration?"
Me: "I will give everyone gasoline for $1 a gallon."
Reporter: "What's the solution to the middle east crisis?"
Me: "Each and every American will only have to pay $1 a gallon for gas."
Reporter: "What are the features of your domestic policy?"
Me: "Every gallon, every day, just $1.00."

I bet I'd win.

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There are few people who would argue that child pornography is a good thing. However, in North Carolina, the district attorney in Wilmington "cannot confirm" if there is an investigation into child pornography in an "independent film." She does confirm that "to make such a scene could be first-degree sexual exploitation of a child, a charge on the same level with armed robbery." However, the state may actually be paying for a portion of the film.

At issue is an independent film "Hounddog" in which the violent rape of a 9-year old is graphically portrayed. Various eyewitnesses describe being repulsed by the scenes shot and many investors have pulled out of the filming because of the disgusting acts being shot. (More details at Crime Report Blog.)

With a listed budget of $4 million, the producer is eligible for a direct cash payment of $600,000 from the state of North Carolina for filming the pornography in the state.

Now, does anyone see a conflict of interest when the state is paying cash for a film that appears to violate the state law?

(NCGS 14-190.16 (a) (4) ) states that it shall be the First Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a serious Felony Offense in which records, photographs, films, develops, or duplicates for sale or pecuniary gain material that contains a visual representation depicting a minor engaged in sexual activity.

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Yet another judge has ruled that Jim Black, current Democrat Speaker of the North Carolina House, arguably one of the most influential Democrats in the entire state, has broken the law.

Of course, since the state is run by Democrats, there is no word of any suggested prosecution of the head Democrat in the House. Instead, he has been ordered to return a few thousand dollars (pocket change to him) in illegal contributions.

We're still waiting for justice -- and it appears to be quite a long wait.

I will say it again: Jim Black needs to be arrested and taken away in handcuffs.

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This week's carnival for, from, and about North Carolina, the Tarheel Tavern, has been posted over at Billy the Blogging Poet. If you want to read the latest posts from and about North Carolina, head on over!

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Illegal Alien Stole 10 yr old girlÂ’s identity
By Toni at Bear Creek Ledger

How would you like to find out your child's identity had been stolen? You of course probably wouldn't know until the child reached adulthood.
more...

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As usual, the press promotes an inaccurate headline. This article's headline reads:

New Registration Rules Stir Voter Debate in Ohio

Ohio Democrats Complain About Lack of Volunteers

A new law was passed in Ohio that requires that "paid voter registration workers must personally submit the voter registration cards to the state, rather than allow the organizations overseeing the drives to vet and submit them in bulk."

In other words, an organization cannot sit around in offices and make up names and addresses and send them off to the state to be registered voters. Instead, if you're PAID, you MUST sign the voter registration card, and if it's fraudulent, YOU are responsible (I think the "responsible" part is the part that most annoys the Democrats).

The main complaint now is that Democrats cannot find enough workers to volunteer in "low income" areas. No mention is made of how many fear becoming crime victims if they volunteer.

But Democrats, true to form, when faced with laws that attempt to expand freedom, are doing what they do most: filing a lawsuit and trying to overrule law by the people and instead find a friendly judge. Can I sue the Democrats in Ohio for wasting my tax money on courts?

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While Syria continues to scream that if Israel attacks them, they will respond, they also continue to claim that they are already fighting:

as Syria's foreign minister I hope to be a soldier in the resistance

Folks, there is NO simply solution. The ONLY way to have "lasting peace" is to either surrender to the Muslims or kill them all. Period.

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Many months ago, a Democrat in North Carolina started a web site called "Jim Black Must Go." On that site you can read the various chronicles of the Democrat Speaker of the North Carolina House, and how he has corrupted the General Assembly. You can read about the 25 North Carolina newspapers who call for him to resign. You can get many details about what Jim Black has done and why he should go. You can also read the chronicles about how Jim Black literally bought his position as speaker, bribing other officials and how one of them now has plead guilty to accepting bribes.

Today, a Republican joins the charge. A new web site, StopJimBlack.com opens today. Featured on the site is a television ad that will be run statewide because even now, Jim Black completely denies he has done anything wrong at all. You can head to that site and donate to help keep the television ad running across the state -- to ensure that people around the state learn the facts behind the absolute corruption of the Democrat Speaker of the House, Jim Black.

And in a nutshell, in case you don't want to read all the details, here's a couple quick facts:

During his February 9, 2006 sworn testimony before the State Board of Elections, Speaker Black went to great pains to explain that he had done nothing to “induce” Michael Decker to switch parties.

In U.S. Federal Court last week, Decker pleaded guilty to accepting $50,000 in 2003 to switch parties and preserve Democrat Jim Black as speaker of the N.C. House.

Someone's lying.

It's beyond the point of Jim Black needing to resign. While Jim Black's cheerleaders in the Charlotte Observer continue to complain that it's not Black's fault -- they actually blame Decker for TAKING the bribe -- Jim Black needs to be arrested and taken to jail. There is no other way to restore any faith in the political system of North Carolina.

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Just a quick example this morning on how screwed up our government really is. You're going to be VERY hard-pressed to explain this away as anything other than complete and total insanity. Did you know that until yesterday, the United States Army regulated ROADSIDE DITCHES -- because they were considered "navigable waters?"

I'm just beyond words. There is no sanity in government today. Term limits now.

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Once again, it's time to create the all-important entry for the weekly Tarheel Tavern. This is a carnival about, for, and by bloggers in North Carolina. Of course, if you're not IN North Carolina, you can still join in by blogging ABOUT North Carolina!

This week the host is Billy the Blogging Poet. Many weeks, the host chooses a suggested topic or theme for the tavern. This week I was told that Billy chose "a free for all, so just dive (or parachute) on in!"

My first reaction was, as should be everyone's, is Ted Nugent's Free for All. If that wasn't your first reaction, too, perhaps you should go listen to some serious rock because everyone should immediately think of The Motor City Madman when such words are uttered. But anyway, back to the topic at hand: diving in.

In the spirit of the lovely warm summer we're having, once again we'll see if the image can cool you, the good reader, off a little bit. Try staring at the picture a lot and see if that helps. If not, try to imagine that it's YOU in the picture, right now...

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That 1 Guy pointed out the latest use for llamas: Warriors! Really!

The link has a photograph of a special forces llama that's being used to violently attack and destroy innocent and defenseless children by Israel in the centuries-old war against Lebanon and Islam. Why use llamas? They can carry 60lbs of stuff and you only have to feed them once every two days.

Wait unti the morons at peta get ahold of this one, eh?

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1 Oh you are going to get into soooo much trouble... but it is soooo very funny.

Posted by: vw bug at August 04, 2006 03:23 PM (4cj0N)

2 Who, me? Did I do that? lol

Posted by: Ogre at August 04, 2006 03:37 PM (/k+l4)

3 First it was dolphins, now llamas. What's next?

Posted by: William Teach at August 04, 2006 03:56 PM (doAuV)

4 Oh, I'm not going there...

Posted by: Ogre at August 04, 2006 04:08 PM (/k+l4)

5 We could use Kennedy's. They are capable of carrying large amounts of volitile liquids.

Posted by: William Teach at August 05, 2006 01:17 AM (IRsCk)

6 The first thing I thought of when I read that was Newkirk's letter to Arafat... http://www.peta.org/feat/arafat/

Posted by: That 1 Guy at August 05, 2006 08:09 PM (d2V9K)

7 But Teach, I'm not sure they explode too well, they usually hide near water... And T1G, I can't believe they actually sent that letter! I mean, sure, I know PETA was nothing but total morons, but that letter just proves that moron is not nearly a strong enough word!

Posted by: Ogre at August 06, 2006 07:27 PM (o2crh)

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If you haven't seen this one before, it's a good one! Hat tip to Seth:

When Zarqawi died, George Washington met him at the Pearly Gates. Washington slapped him across the face and yelled, How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!?"

Patrick Henry approached, punched him in the nose and shouted, You wanted to end our liberties - but you failed!"

James Madison followed, kicked him hard in the groin and said, "This is why I allowed our government to provide for the common defense!"

Thomas Jefferson was next. He waited until Zarqawi had stopped retching after Madison's blow to his nuts. Then he started wailing on Zarqawi with a long cane, snarling, "It was evil men like you who inspired me to write the Declaration of
Independence."

The beatings and thrashings continued as George Mason, James Monroe and 66 other early Americans unleashed their anger on the terrorist leader.

Finally, as Zarqawi lay bleeding and in pain, the Angel Gabriel appeared.
Zarqawi wept and said, "This is not what you promised me."

Gabriel replied, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you in Heaven.

What did you think I said?

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VW Bug sends along a note she found about a person blogging about a group called Take Pride:

TakePride was founded by a group of friends who wanted to start a business and at the same time, try to do some good. Some of us have military experience, others don't but we all share the common belief that the more difficult the mission facing our military, the more deserving they are of our thanks and support. We feared, however, that to some extent, the opposite might be happening: That because of the duration of the conflicts, distressing news of casualties and frustratingly slow progress (especially in the case of Iraq) that some Americans were beginning to tune away from the story.

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Always on Watch (a great source for news on terrorism) points out another example where the terrorists are winning.

In the article, it points out that the police in Israel are bowing down to terrorist demands. The terrorists (Muslims) claimed that if Jewish people were allowed to visit a certain place and pray, they would "flock to the site and protect it [from the Jews]." So what do the police do? They bow down and submit to Moohammed (perhaps even bowing to the east as Moohammed directs them to) and ban Jewish and Christian people from visiting their own holy site.

People wonder why the terrorists continue with their terrorist actions -- it's because so many people ARE willing to submit. Remember -- you can have peace, and you can have it today -- just convert to terrorist Islam.

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