“This might be funny … if it weren’t so true.”
By Rick Loebach: READ, WEEP, PRINT AND KEEP!
March 16, 2019
READ, WEEP, PRINT AND KEEP!
This should be on the front page of every newspaper.
Charley Reese’s Final column!
A very interesting column. COMPLETELY NEUTRAL.
Be sure to Read the Poem at the end..
Charley Reese’s final column for the Orlando Sentinel…
He has been a journalist for 49 years. He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.
Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.
This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be.
The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat.
Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made… that impact each one of us every day.
It’s a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!
545 vs. 300,000,000 People
-By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, ” WHY do we have deficits?”
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, … “WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?”
You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.
In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing.
I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. ( The President can only propose a budget.
He cannot force the Congress to accept it.)
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
Who is the speaker of the House?( John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. ) If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
[The House has passed a budget but the Senate has not approved a budget in over three years. The President’s proposed budgets have gotten almost unanimous rejections in the Senate in that time. ]
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s …. because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ..
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees… We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it… is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren’t so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me
to my doom…’
When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the heck happened?
Can you spell ‘politicians?’
I hope this goes around… THE USA at least 545 times!!!
YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN!!!
SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW
Posted in Family, Grandma, Today and tagged "Mickey McLaren" -" herself"with 2 comments.
“Inherit the Wind”
1988 made for TV adaptation of the play “Inherit the Wind.”
Starring Jason Robards and Kirk Douglas.
This is a transfer of a second-generation tape copy of a tv broadcast, so the quality is as good as it will be.
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“Here’s Looking At You Kid”
Here’s Looking At You Kid
by RASMA RAISTERS 2 years ago in CELEBRITIES
The Fabulous Actress Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman is one of the many Old Hollywood actresses that I love and whose movies I could watch again and again.
The interesting thing about Bergman is that she was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 29, 1915, and died of cancer in London, England, on August 29, 1982, which was her 67th birthday.
Yes, you read that right, her birth and death dates are the same.
I don’t think I have previously known or heard of anybody who died on their birthday, but I know there must be some people at least.
This legendary actress is best known for her incredible role as Ilsa Lund in the classic movie “Casablanca.”
The actress created quite a scandal in 1950 when she gave birth to the son of Italian director Roberto Rossellini, not having been married to him.
Bergman studied acting at Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theater and first became a film star in Sweden before ever making a movie in Hollywood, California. Her Hollywood debut was in the film directed by David O. Selznick “Intermezzo: A Love Story” in 1939. In the movie, she portrayed Anita Hoffman, opposite Leslie Howard.
Her popularity grew when she starred with Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca” in 1942. The movie gave us many memorable lines, including, “Here’s looking at you, kid.” She went on to star in “For Whom the Bell Tolls” in 1943 and “Gaslight” in 1944 for which she received an Oscar for Best Actress. The movie “Gaslight” is a thriller about a husband who tries to drive his wife mad. It is an edge of your seat kind of film, and Bergman had me nail-biting all the way through. Bergman did fantastic work in her portrayals in three movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock “Spellbound,” “Notorious,” and “Under Capricorn.”
In 1946 Bergman went on the Broadway stage in New York City to play Joan of Arc and received critical acclaim for her role. She starred in the 1948 film “Joan of Arc” directed by Victor Fleming. Bergman made her debut on television in 1959. Bergman won an Emmy for her portrayal as Miss Giddens in “The Turn of the Screw.” In 1965 Bergman made her London stage debut in “A Month In the Country.” Then for the first time in twenty-one years, she returned to the stage in the U.S. in “More Stately Mansions” in 1967. It was a play by Eugene O’Neill and opened at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, California and went on to the Broadhurst Theater on Broadway in New York City.
Bergman began her romance with Italian director Roberto Rossellini in 1949 when he directed her in the movie “Stromboli.” At this time she was still married to a Swedish physician with whom she had a daughter. When she was carrying Rossellini’s child, there was a big scandal, and Bergman got reprimanded on the U.S. Senate floor. Their son was born in February of 1950, and they got married the same year in May. She gave birth to twin daughters in 1952, and one of them, Isabella Rossellini, also became an actress as well as Pia Lindstrom from her first marriage. She divorced Rossellini in 1957.
Bergman went on to win another Oscar for Best Actress in 1956 for her portrayal in the movie “Anastasia.” She won her third Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the film “Murder on the Orient Express” in 1974. Her final role was in “Autumn Sonata” in 1978, which was directed by well-known Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (no relation). She won the Academy Award as Best Actress for this role. Her final part on television was in 1982 when she portrayed Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. It was in a miniseries, “A Woman Called Golda.” Her beauty and talent live on in her movies.
As she said in her own words a couple of years before her death:
“I’m happy it all happened to me. I’ve had a very rich life. There was never a dull moment. When I was very young in Sweden, I used to pray ‘God, please don’t let me have a dull life.’ And He obviously heard me.”
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“NATIONAL THOUGHTFUL DAY”
August 28th brings with it an opportunity to demonstrate how we value each other. National Thoughtful Day sets aside a celebration meant to bring goodwill in a variety of ways. By serving the day with a spirit of generosity toward others, a ripple effect takes place.
What encompasses a thoughtful day? Sometimes it’s an awareness of fulfilling another’s needs. Whether they are celebrating something already or need a pick-me-up, being aware generates a multitude of thoughts that result in thoughtful acts. It can be a small token or an inspirational word. Either way, your thoughtfulness makes others feel special.
And many times, those special people in our lives will reciprocate in kind. While it is usually not expected when we’re being thoughtful, it tends to happen anyway.
Being thoughtful also creates an interchange of thoughts and ideas that spur even more thoughtfulness. One simple act or word can generate new friendships, cause a plan to develop or a garden to grow. Who knows where your thoughtfulness will lead!
A thoughtful day also gives us perspective. We pause a moment to think of another and not ourselves. Our consideration for others brings kindness to the world that would otherwise be missing.
And while all these reasons matter, one of the most important reasons to celebrate National Thoughtful Day is that it is necessary. Imagine all the lives we touch and how a single thoughtful act can impact them for a lifetime. Thoughtfulness is a necessity we cannot live without.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalThoughtfulDay
Put your stamp on the day – your own style of thoughtful. Then put it into practice. Maybe you’ll become the aunt known for her sweet treats or the friend known for surprise coffees at work. Some other thoughtful ideas include:
- Mail cards to several people in your address book. A handwritten note means so much since they are rare these days.
- Deliver small treats to friends and family. They won’t be turned away, we promise!
- Bring fresh flowers to your neighbor. They will brighten the day and make a connection.
- Surprise someone with a new book. Inspirational stories bring comfort and joy.
- Take a child to the park. Children always appreciate one on one time.
- Visit Pinterest for inspiration or Thoughtful Pinch for more ideas.
Most importantly, share your thoughtful day on social media. Include your inspiration and plans while tagging them with #NationalThoughtfulDay.
NATIONAL THOUGHTFUL DAY HISTORY
Thoughtful Pinch founded National Thoughtful Day to celebrate all the ways being thoughtful brings beauty, inspiration, and empowerment to our lives. According to the creator of Thoughtful Pinch, Barb Paton, “By being thoughtful, one size does not have to fit all. In fact, the more unique the celebration, the better!”
The Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed the celebration to be observed on August 28th, annually.
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“The Secret – Full Thriller Movie In English”
Shot almost entirely on location in Idaho’s Wood River Valley, The Amaranth is an isolated, luxury retirement village where the privileged and powerful live out their twilight years with amazing vitality. Here is where wealthy industrialist Richard Kendrick relocates, along with his younger wife, Lily, after he suffers a debilitating stroke. But while Richard is rejuvenated, thriving in the cultish atmosphere, Lily is disturbed by the transformations she observes in her spouse, then shocked by changes in her own physiology, prompting her to probe into the dark underbelly of this strange and beautiful Shangri La.
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“The Good Shepherd”… movie
SYNOPSIS
Father Daniel Clemens (Christian Slater), a priest experiencing a crisis of faith, learns that good-hearted Father Andrews (Von Flores) has been accused of murder.
Hoping to prove his friend innocent, Daniel turns to Madeline Finney (Molly Parker), a journalist whom he dated before he took his vows. McCaran (Stephen Rea), a church lawyer, also tries to defend the accused man.
The three must overcome numerous obstacles – including the Roman Catholic Church itself – to find the truth.
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