Guard The Borders Blogburst
June 25, 2006
The following article is reprinted with permission via Minuteman HQ email.
An Update from the Minuteman Fence Project Manager
First, let me say thanks to the brave ranchers who are stepping up to put their lives on the line to stop the illegal invasion. They live and work within spitting distance of the Mexican border every day. These brave men and women are working side by side with Minutemen in this war zone they call home, allowing us to secure America.
Second, let’s be clear. Not every single mile of the border or every ranch or rancher is the same. The full-on Israeli-style Security Fence is our primary design and first choice for construction. However, when circumstances dictate adjustment to a Border Fence with barbed wire and a vehicle barrier or another design to meet local requirements, we will make the necessary adaptations—and keep building.
Our plan: Do the job until our government does its duty.
* Announce the need for the Minuteman Border Fence.
* Ask again that President Bush do his duty and secure the border.
* Schedule a groundbreaking to get the Border Fence launched.
* Begin raising the $55 million needed for 70 miles of fence in AZ.
* Work with ranchers to design fence to meet specific private landsite requirements.
* Get steel and contractors to manage the sites.
* Register and vet fencing volunteers.
* Build a Minuteman Fence Security Plan to patrol fencing.
* Set up Volunteer Crews administration and crew management
* Continue to build fence as fast as resources allow.
* Start more sites in TX, CA and NM as donations and volunteer capacity permit.
* Continue Border Watch and Fence Operations until the border is secure.
A Comprehensive Design
Numerous fence design variations will be required to effectively deal with border crossings by illegal aliens, drug dealers and livestock. Derivation from the primary design is necessary to accommodate local ranchers’ specific terrain, topography, herds and other factors.
The important point to remember is that MCDC will not let Vincente Fox tell us or the US ranchers we are working with where or what we can build. No matter what the fence design, MCDC will erect a well-built fence—and fences work. We know they are effective, because we see the results; incursions reduced, and all of the opposition groups and open border supporters screaming to stop the fence.
1) Security Fence - Illegal alien crossing design: A physical barrier capable of stopping people and vehicles has been designed to fit the general terrain. It is also a daunting psychological deterrent that cuts illegal crossings by 95% or more. The security fence will not be easy to compromise by climbing over with a ladder, cannot be cut with wire cutters, breached by ramming with a vehicle, or tunneling under undetected. While no fence can be a 100% impenetrable barrier—the Minuteman Border Fence is an excellent design and will prove time-consuming enough that Border Patrol agents can be alerted and respond before the incursion can be completed.
Our fence plan will keep costs near $150 per foot.
2) Border Fence – Halting drug dealers, illegal aliens and livestock: This style of fence is necessary where full Security Fencing cannot be installed. A physical barrier with a 5 wire barbed wire fence 5′ 6″ high, a vehicle barrier with a horizontal steel barrier in 12’ sections welded to steel post 30†high and razor wire on the ground between the wire fence and the vehicle barrier. This barrier will stop vehicles and cattle and slow down illegal aliens.
This design similar to Border Patrol designs is intended to accomplish the following: Mexican drugs are coming across the border in vehicles and on the backs of mules. The steel barrier stops drug vehicles and is high enough to stop mules from walking over and low enough to keep them from going under. The barbed wire fence keeps Mexican livestock in Mexico. Thousands of diseased Mexican cattle are presently allowed to walk freely into the US unchecked, and MCDC is working with our ranchers to stop the spread of disease. This design is cheaper and faster to erect where urgent conditions warrant, especially in cases of diseased cattle incursions.
Schedule Facts:
April 20, 2006 – Chris Simcox announces the Minuteman Border Fence is to be built if President Bush does not send armed troops to secure the US – Mexico border by Memorial Day 2006.
May 27, 2006 - Successful groundbreaking was held in Arizona on Memorial Day weekend. First 2.5 miles of 10 miles of Border Fence erected. Continue fence fundraising through direct mail, email, national radio affiliates and national speaking tours.
May 27 to June 30 – Finished the first 2.5 mile section of fence, applied for permission on next 7.5 miles, repaired vandalized fence, ordered steel, finalized fence design/civil engineering specifications, retained two local Arizona contractors who hire legally, started vetting volunteers for work crews, completed volunteer delivery of donated construction truck, continue next 7.5 miles, acquire vehicle barrier steel, install vehicle barrier, test/install fence camera technology, plan and implement 24×7 fence security.
June 27 - Second site layout to be finished.
July 6-15 – Security Fence at second location starts.
Peter Kunz
Project Manager
MinutemanHQ.com
Minuteman Border Fence
MINUTEMEN CONTINUE BUILDING BORDER FENCE
A Successful Start on a Security Fence
The successful groundbreaking was held in Arizona on Memorial Day weekend, as President Bush refused to immediately deploy National Guard and reserve troops to secure America’s out-of-control southern border with Mexico.
Hundreds of volunteers—along with Minuteman Founder Chris Simcox, Ambassador Alan Keyes, Congressman Steve King, AZ gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater, WeNeedAFence.com founder Colin Hanna and AZ Congressional candidate Randy Graf—dug holes, mixed concrete, put up fencing while opposition groups jeered and skeptics said it could not be done. Now MCDC continues with dedicated volunteers, engineers and contractors using LEGAL crews to work with local Arizona land owners in building mile after mile of border security fencing on private land along the border with Mexico. The first site is 10 miles long and the first 2.5 miles of Minuteman Border Fence already has been completed.
How can You Help?
Build the Minuteman Border Fence by sending donations and volunteering to participate in making the US border secure.
Donate to Build the Minuteman Border Fence
VOLUNTEER to Build the Minuteman Border Fence
Sign up as a volunteer and get access to the “Minutemen Border Cams†an active web based surveillance link on the fencing project. The Minuteman Border Fence is placing cameras which will be monitored via computer over the Internet by registered Minutemen across the country, so that Minuteman volunteers can observe and report illegal crossings from the computer in their living rooms 24/7.
The Border Fence is already making a difference.
Local reports indicate that drug and human trafficking has already been reduced. There are fewer vehicles in the area where the fence is under construction—proving again that having a presence and taking positive steps to do SOMETHING to secure the border reduces the flow of illegal aliens, potential terrorists, drug and human traffickers, murderers, rapists and thieves in these areas.
More than 1,500 have volunteered to build the fence.
Planning and organization continues as volunteers, materials and contractors are being coordinated in an unprecedented alliance with over 1,500 Minuteman Border Fence volunteers. In the true spirit of the Minutemen of the American Revolution these patriots have joined together to form an army of volunteers to secure our borders and protect America’s sovereignty, security and prosperity.
“The undertaking is monumental and historic†says Chris Simcox.
MCDC is beginning construction of the Israeli-style border security fence at a second ranch location in early July and later throughout the year in TX, CA and NM as more resources are marshaled. Two fencing companies that hire legally have been retained to run the jobs sites and coordinate volunteer construction crews as Minutemen volunteers are scheduled to provide labor and security. Crews of four to ten volunteers under the guidance of professional fence installers can install as much as 3 miles of fence in a week.
The nay-sayers are wrong. The reality is the Minutemen are here to stay, and this mission will be completed. In April of 2005, over 800 volunteer men and women took action to secure the border. This year there are more than 200,000 Minuteman Civil Defense Corps activists not only guarding the border but building fence, faxing our elected representatives, making phone calls, voting open border politicians out of office, starting local chapters and contributing their time, money and expertise. MCDC is an explosive grassroots effort enjoying the energetic support of political Democrats, Republicans and Independents—all American patriots who have earned the trust of the public by keeping our word to remain vigilant until our borders are secure.
The fencing will be built on private land with privately donated funds, engineering and labor. Its construction at every step will serve as an example to educate the public about the feasibility and efficacy of fencing to secure America’s borders from illegal invasion by aliens and international criminal cartels. An IRS-authorized charitable non-profit organization is facilitating, administering and reporting tax-deductible donations specifically and solely for construction of this Minuteman Border Fence project. Monetary and in-kind contributions for this effort will go directly into meeting hard costs such as building materials for this private fencing operation.
We have a monumental challenge ahead to raise $55 million. We urgently need your help for this effort to succeed. With your help MCDC can make America more secure by continuing to urge citizen volunteers to support the Minuteman Border Fence.
Be sure to send this to EVERYONE you know who wants to help STOP illegal aliens at the border! Thank you!
Donate to Build the Minuteman Border Fence
VOLUNTEER to Build the Minuteman Border Fence
Go www.minutemanborderfence.com and join with us TODAY .
Sincerely for America,
Chris Simcox, President
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
This has been a production of the Guard the Borders Blogburst. It was started by Euphoric Reality, and serves to keep immigration issues in the forefront of our minds as we’re going about our daily lives and continuing to fight the war on terror. If you are concerned with the trend of illegal immigration facing our country, join our Blogburst! Just send an email with your blog name and url to euphoricrealitynet at gmail dot com.
Our Marines Are In Shackles!!
June 22, 2006
THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED FROM IT’S ORIGINAL VERSION TO SEPARATE THE INCIDENTS OF HADITHA AND HAMANDIA. THE ARTICLE WHERE I DEBUNK THE ALLEGED EVENTS OF HADITHA IS FOUND HERE.
I am shaking with fury right now. I just listened on the radio to the father of one of the Marines and the wife of the Navy corpsman incarcerated in Camp Pendleton - UNCHARGED -after Haditha. Let me tell you what’s going on with OUR Marines right at this moment:
While “detainees” (not “terrorists”, not “prisoners”, not “criminals”, mind you) at Gitmo are accorded every privilege - including playing soccer in the sun, praying whenever they want, white-glove Koran service, and halal meals…our Marines, who have NOT been charged with any crime whatsoever are in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT and wearing leg and wrist SHACKLES. They are allowed no exercise, and can only go outside for one hour per day - unable to move around because of their SHACKLES. They are not allowed to hug their wives or their children - and they are only allowed to speak to them through thick glass, again immobilized while in SHACKLES. They are being treated worse than the terrorist scum lounging around Gitmo on the American dime!!
Yes, goddamn it, you read that right. They have not been charged with any crime, yet they are treated as GUILTY until proven innocent. They are confined in solitary like the worst criminals, and THEY. ARE. NOT.
They are seven Marines and one Navy corpsman from one of the most storied, illustrious units in the Corps: the Dark Horse 3rd Battalion 5th Marines. Their unit motto is “Consummate Professionals” - which every Marine in that unit does his best to embody. They are not slackers, they are not newbies, they are not psychotic, and they are not untried or unblooded. They have lost their brothers in Baghdad, Fallujah, Mosul and Haditha. The Marines under investigation for the events at Haditha were on their second or even third deployment - they were not raw recruits.
Today, our Marines are today SHACKLED like the worst sort of criminals even though they’ve not been charged with any crimes; they are barred from their families; and they are enduring a massive witch-hunt - and already presumed GUILTY by our politicians and media alike!
Let’s not forget what we owe these Marines.
“I can think of no more fitting expression of this country’s appreciation for the sacrifices of our young servicemen than to grant them the same rights they are defending.”
Senator Sam J. Ervin
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
A legal defense fund for the Navy Corpsman has been set up at The Patriot Defense Fund. Here’s an excerpt written by his wife:
My husband is a 20 year-old Hospital Corpsman Third Class. He graduated from high school in June 2003. He began his first combat deployment to Iraq in July 2004. During his first deployment, 19 Marines from his Battalion gave their lives as the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Nine Marines from his Company were killed, five of them in one firefight. Two Marines died in my husband’s arms. My husband was awarded the Purple Heart during his first deployment. He returned home in April 2005, in time for the birth of our daughter. In January 2006, after spending a very short time at home, my husband left again for his second combat tour in Iraq.
I proudly stood by my husband each time he deployed because I am also an active duty Hospital Corpsman Third Class proudly serving our country.
And here is a letter written to Michael Savage (who is also raising funds for the Marines) from the corpsman’s attorney, Jeremiah Sullivan III:
Dear Dr. Savage:
My Secretary handed me a document this evening which stunned me. It was a document from the investigation which had been scanned and e-mailed to my office by a member of the media. I don’t know who leaked the document- - whether it was an “unnamed Pentagon official,” NCIS, or a politician with an agenda- - but I do know that it is an outrage that the only piece of documentary evidence I’ve seen so far in this case came from a member of the media and not from the Marine Corps. As my client sits shackled in solitary confinement in the Marine Corps Brig with charges yet to be filed, the Marine Corps has stooped to leaking portions of the investigation in order to advance their case in the media.
This maneuver calculated solely for the benefit of an agenda constitutes a miscarriage of justice to the prejudice of my client and all involved. The intentional circulation of this document should shock the conscience of all Americans concerned with the fair treatment of our men and women in uniform. I am outraged that government officials would trample on the constitutional rights of a decorated military member in an effort to meet an agenda. This type of malicious action jeopardizes any chance my client and these Marines might have had for a fair trial. An independent congressional inquiry should commence to investigate this impermissible conduct.
In a similar vein, I am troubled by the “unlawful command influence” at the highest levels.
When the commander-in-chief and other high level military officials are passing on the guilt of these men and making statements regarding punishment based on pure conjecture, what message is that sending to their military subordinates who will be charged with rendering a fair judgment in this case?
Any potential military juror has already seen and heard their superiors at the highest levels intimate their personal verdicts. That kind of influence is patently unjust and, I’m afraid, will operate to taint the judgment of what is supposed to be an impartial fact-finder. My client’s opportunity for justice has been irreparably compromised even before the first charge has been filed.
It is a sad day in military justice when honor on the battlefield takes a back seat to political agendas.
Thanks again for your support. You are a true American.
Jeremiah J. Sullivan, III
Law Offices of Jeremiah J. Sullivan, III
Likely, there will be more legal defense funds set up for the other Marines, and I’ll let you know as I find them.
Also, this is one of those things that is well worth faxing and calling your Congressional representatives about. See the contact utility in our right sidebar for quick access to their contact info. Feel free to post your emails or letters below in comments, or fill us in on your phone calls.
PISSED YET?
FREE OUR MARINES!!!
UPDATE: From our friend Deb over at Marine Corps Moms:
Heidi & Kit - just finished reading through your excellent coverage on Haditha and wanted to comment about one thing. 3/1 Marines were connected with the Haditha event. It looks like that story is completely unraveling, thank God. I’m not sure anyone is actually jailed in connection with that.
The Marines from 3/5 in shackles are actually connected with another event in Hamdaniya. There hasn’t been much attention on this since Haditha has taken center stage. Here’s a link: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/05/iraq.probes/index.html
If I understand it right, the two events are not related. I’m concerned that if the Marines are innocent, that they not be forgotten. I received an e-mail last week from the wife of one of the Marines. Her husband is in shackles, she has a baby and is frantic with worry and has no idea what to do to help her husband. I’m working on it but my heart goes out to Marines who are held on nothing more than some very shaky testimony.
THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED FROM IT’S ORIGINAL VERSION TO SEPARATE THE INCIDENTS OF HADITHA AND HAMANDIA. THE ARTICLE WHERE I DEBUNK THE ALLEGED EVENTS OF HADITHA IS FOUND HERE.
Jack Bauer At Work: Terror Cell Infiltrated And Busted
June 22, 2006
Actually, this whole scenario sounds more like Sleeper Cell. Anyway…
This is breaking news, so details are kind of sparse at this point. Attorney General Albert Gonzales has a press conference scheduled for 1000 tomorrow to disseminate more information.
After an operation that started about four months ago, the FBI has arrested several suspects of domestic terrorism in a Miami low-income housing project.
The arrests took place Thursday afternoon at the Scott Housing Projects in the area of NW 68th street and 15th Avenue. Miami Police officers were seen in the area securing a perimeter for the FBI to carry out their arrests.
Sources tell CBS4 News it is unclear whether weapons or bomb-making materials were found, but those detained are suspected of being involved in planning terrorist activity.
Neighbors say suspicious activity had been observed at the home recently.
The Sears Tower in Chicago was one of the targets for a terrorist strike:
ABC News has learned that federal agents, including the FBI, are launching a series of raids tonight targeting a suspected terror cell based in Miami. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the group allegedly planned to bomb the FBI building in Miami and the Sears Tower in Chicago.
The group has been under surveillance for some time and was infilitrated by a government informant who allegedly led them to believe he was an Islamic radical. The suspects are described as African Americans and at least one man of Caribbean descent.
Note the very careful aversion to ackowledging any pertinent religion of the terrorists. “But HEY”, says ABC, “they’re BLACK”. I don’t give a crap if they’re purple - they’re terrorists. They all belong to the same religion of hate and insanity.
Allahpundit points out that early reports that the terrorists were not Islamic are false: Government officials tell Fox the men were plotting “to wage jihad in conjunction with Al Qaeda.†HotAir has a video of the Fox News coverage.
UPDATE:Allahpundit has some good news from Capt. Ed on the nature of the terrorists, like we already didn’t know:
Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Mulims and had tried to recruit young people to join their group, which seemed militaristic.
The residents said FBI agents spent several hours in the neighborhood showing photos of the suspects and seeking information. They said the men had lived in the area about a year.
The men slept in the warehouse, said Tashawn Rose, 29. “They would come out late at night and exercise. It seemed like a military boot camp that they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard.â€
She talked to one of the men about a month ago: “They seemed brainwashed. They said they had given their lives to Allah.â€
I swear - tell me that ain’t straight out of an episode of Sleeper Cell. Which if you haven’t seen yet - you MUST. That’ll get your panties in a bunch.
NBC goes a bit futher in their physical description of the Pisslamists:
The men — part of a radical Black Muslim group — were planning terror acts in Miami and Chicago, officials say…
Benjamin Williams, 17, said the group had young children with them sometimes.
“We were under the assumption that they were opening up a garage business,†he said, adding that they wore normal clothes “but sometimes they would cover their faces. Sometimes they would wear things on their heads, like turbins [sic].â€
Meanwhile, Drudge is alseep at the wheel - nary a mention of the biggest news since Zarkman was eliminated or the WMDs found in Iraq (told ya so) or anything other than a very hot first day of summer. What’s up over there?!
Unraveling Haditha
June 22, 2006
You already know exactly where we stand on the events of Haditha. We will not ever waver from that viewpoint. We will do everything in our power to fight for the freedom and exoneration of those Marines. They are OUR BOYS, and while they’ve shed their blood into the filthy dust of Iraq, we will now cover them with our care and unequivocal support. And we will fight, fight, FIGHT until they are released.
I’ve been collecting info on Haditha since Murtha’s asinine accusations but I haven’t had time to post the entire trove in one article. Now is as good a time as any, and I’ll update it as new info is released.
Some of the following details may be stuff you’ve heard over the past week, but I GUARANTEE that some of it is so NEW and UNPUBLICIZED that you have NOT heard it before.
You are about to learn more about that hole called Haditha than you ever cared to know. You are about to learn details about this case that the media is hushing up. The media has finally found their My Lai, and they will do their damnedest to ensure they get to keep it. Well, over my dead body.
Weenie Brits
June 22, 2006
I love you guys, you know that. But your culture is getting increasingly pussified. This latest brou-ha-ha over the Nike ad with Wayne Rooney, your World Cup hero, is silly and ridiculous. Your politicians decry any semblance of strength or aggressiveness, the very traits necessary to be a champion of ANYthing! Here’s why they object to this ad:
Labour MP Stephen Pound said the advert was ‘truly horrible.’ ‘This is such a horrible image and is so horribly war-like that it can only be described as Nike being crass, offensive and insensitive as they try to hitch poor old Rooney to their commercial band-wagon.’
Horribly war-like? Insensitive? Wahhhh. And ‘poor, old Rooney’? Sure - emasculate and belittle the very guy on whom you’ve hung your hopes for the World Cup. Besides, isn’t it a little insensitive to win anyway? I mean, your opponent’s self-esteem might suffer! There should be NO winners, so that there will be NO losers. (Sounds like Little League in California.)
The MP for Ealing North added: ‘He should go out and wear Adidas instead. It’s offensive on so many different levels and extremely nasty. Wayne’s a good Catholic boy and I think the obvious crucifixion nuance is one part of it, but the aggressive nature of the pose is something we could do without.
First of all, real men don’t use gay words like “nasty”. What a dandy.
More importantly, your team is campaigning for the World Cup and you’re whining about your star being “aggressive”? Sheesh - why don’t you just have your entire team forfeit the rest of their World Cup matches before they exhibit any “horrid” aggression whatsoever? I’m pretty sure that the other teams will get offended if you win, so why risk that?!
Nike pointed out that they were merely depicting Rooney in his trademark goal-scoring ‘celebration’ gesture and denied they had sought to make any comparison with Christ on the cross. Nonetheless, the church folks are getting offended anyways, despite the fact that they likley recognized the famous gesture anyway.
Rev Rod Thomas of Church of England evangelical group Reform was not convinced. ‘It’s quite a disturbing image and because the paint is wet, it really looks like blood,’ he said. ‘It therefore brings to mind the crucifixion to many people, and why Nike would want to do that, I haven’t a clue, unless it is simply as a publicity stunt.’
That’s right, get offended anyways, just ‘cuz you feel like it. Nevermind that there’s another reasonable and likely explanation. The Rev bumbles on:
‘The trivialisation of Christ’s suffering is highly offensive to Christians and to God. This will cause real hurt to people. The other aspect of it is the aggression contained in it, bound up with the flag of St George, which you might see as a throwback to the Crusades, which is hardly going to go down well with Muslim countries. It’s offensive on several different levels.’
Who cares?! Muslims are flat out offended by the very fact that you’re alive, moron! They’re offended on “several different levels” that we’re not all Muslims - or have you missed that little reality? Many of them would like to remove your silly, effete little pinhead from your shoulders, they are that offended by your very existence.
Nike responds again, like they are speaking to small, retarded children:
‘It was intended solely as a celebration of Rooney’s return to the team and is based on his own trademark goal-scoring celebration, nothing to do with the crucifuxion at all, ‘ she added.
‘If we have offended anyone on those grounds, we would stress it was unintentional and we apologise. It is not meant to be an aggressive picture, either. It was a case of catching the mood of the nation as everyone urges Rooney on to great things, and of course our slogan puts it perfectly.
‘The red paint is not meant to be blood, it’s just echoing the body paint which fans cover themselves in and the rest of Wayne’s body is painted white. It’s the flag of St George, and nothing else.’
You can almost hear the huge *sigh* of exasperation, can’t you?
I feel bad for the manly men of Britain - I can see now how you’re being forced into national pussification. I’m worried for you. I can guarantee you won’t hear an Aussie boo-hooing about a little aggression in their champions! Good g-d, where’d the Celtic iron in you guys go anyway?! Too much inbreeding with the white-flagged Gauls across the channel, no doubt.
I know y’all care a little smidge about that World Cup, so remember this: no aggression, no champion, no win, no World Cup. And if that don’t make you cry in your Guiness…
PFC Tucker’s Family Interview (Video Link)
June 22, 2006
Earlier this week, Wesley and Margaret Tucker released an audio of the last phone message left by their heroic son, Pfc. Thomas Tucker. You can listen to it here. Notice how many times he tells his family he loves them. He also says, “Be proud of me Mom, I’m defending my country. Tell sis and my nephews hello for me, I’m OK, I’m on my way.” Now I know where that young man got his strength and integrity from - his family. I just watched a heart-wrenching video of an interview with them since they received the news of their son’s death. You can watch it here.
I think the transparency with which this family is handling their grief is dignified and honorable. Their heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming support they’ve received is humbling - like they should be thanking anyone. They reminisced about his personality and his life leading up to his decision to join the Army. They are very clear that Thomas knew exactly what he was about when he joined - and why. They’re proud of him for that. This family is the bedrock from which Pfc. Tucker came. The loss seems even greater now than it did before.
UPDATE: Malkin notes that there is a Bring Tommy Home Fund, in order to help defray the costs of returning his remains to his hometown in Oregon. To help, send a check or money order to The Bring Tommy Home Fund at Columbia River Bank, PO BOX 0, Madras Oregon, 97741.
I don’t get this. I thought the Army returned the bodies to the home of origin. When I was in, we had to fill out numerous forms and file cards indicating where to send our bodies in the case of death. Plus, isn’t that what SGLI is for?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge this wonderful family any type of support anyone can offer, I’m just perturbed by what the need for that support implies. I mean, a soldier killed in combat is always returned to his family, so why do they need a “Bring Tommy Home” fund? Can anyone help me out on this? Am I missing something?
Fair Tax Blogburst
June 22, 2006
By Terry Dillard
As I see it, the main problem with the Income Tax is that it is virtually impossible to enforce completely and fairly. Compliance with the Income Tax depends on taxpayer truthfulness, which generally is motivated either by a) good character, or b) fear of an IRS audit. With the FairTax, the tax is collected when the money is spent, from everyone, with greatly reduced opportunities for non-compliance by the public.
For instance, what about the criminal element in our country? Have you ever heard of the Mafia? Or the drug dealer? Do you think that these people report 100% of their income? Of course not! They get out of paying a huge percentage of their actual tax bill by the simple expedient of not reporting all of their income. But these same individuals still have to pay utility bills, purchase prescription drugs, visit doctors, and buy food. And if they believe in the “high life” of new cars, fancy clothes and jewelry, and new homes, they’re going to pay more than “Joe Six-pack” who chooses to drive a used car, or purchase a home that’s not brand new.
And it’s not just individuals who are managing to avoid paying taxes these days. Everyone in America has heard of the rush to move American companies “offshore”, whether in whole or in part. Think about it — have you ever seen an American-flagged commercial vessel? Oh sure, we’ve got our warships, but what about commercial boats that carry cargo or cruise passengers? Most of these are flying the flag of Liberia or Panama — low-tax nations.
In the mid-1950s, about 33% of all income taxes collected were paid by American corporations. Today that number is down to approximately 10%. From “The FairTax Book” by Boortz and Linder:
“That plunge is a major factor in our recent soaring deficits. Indeed, international corporations are essentially “voluntary” taxpayers today, paying only that amount in taxes that they believe will avoid attracting embarrassing news coverage. These corporations believe that our draconian tax structures make their actions necessary. The OFCs [offshore financial centers, or banks - TD] make their plans feasible” [Emphasis added - TD]
Boortz and Linder make the point that if we eliminated all taxes on capital and labor, (which the FairTax does), the United States would become the world’s tax haven.
We have the most stable economy, the most liquid and trusted markets, and the highest rates of labor productivity in the world — and the trillions of dollars in those OFCs would flow back home to the United States for the very reason they found themselves offshore to start with.
And we’re not just talking about American businesses coming home, we’re talking about wooing corporations based in other countries into America. Think of the economic benefits! More productivity, lower unemployment, higher wages, and all occurring within a tax system that allows you at least partly to choose whether to pay taxes! Buy it new, pay a tax, buy it used and don’t!
The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.
TD
In Memory Of Our Fallen Troops
June 22, 2006
Dedicated to Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas Tucker.
Somtimes the horror of one’s death overshadows the joy and contribution of their life. I’m heartbroken over how our two soldiers suffered and died, and I’m saddened to think that the horror they faced as they died might be all some can think of when remembering them. I don’t want the evil they experienced to be all that we all think about when we recall their names. They were young, handsome men with hopes and dreams and people who loved and cared about them. In that spirit, I offer this poem in memory of their lives and with my deepest condolences to their families:
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I, and you are you:
Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.
speak to me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone,
wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect,
without a trace of a shadow on it.
It is the same as it ever was;
there is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
Just around the corner.
All is well.
(1847 - 1918)
Latest Photos In Support of Pendelton 8
June 21, 2006
You guys will want to see these photos, I guarantee it. The Pendelton 8, though