Thursday, October 03, 2002

For the Good of the Country. Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. - For the Good of the Country - a screed on the "death tax". [lew] For example: You paid $2,500 for Trigger in 1938 (an incredible amount then and it took you years to pay oft). When Trigger died, you paid $30,000 to have him mounted like they do in natural museums because you could not bear to put your partner of nearly 30 years into the ground. Now an appraiser says that, since there is only one Trigger, the horse is worth 400,000. That means that you have to pay the government $220,000 to keep Trigger. Gene Autry (a good friend of yours) had a hole dug and buried Champion when he learned from you how much it would cost to have Champion preserved. You are a sentimentalist, and Gene is a good businessman. ... Reality is that no family-owned businesses, farms or ranches have the kind of cash or liquid assets that are required to pay a 55% tax burden--only large corporations could possibly be able to do this, which is why when you look around most large farms and ranches are now owned by large corporations. [End the War on Freedom] An interesting article on taxes and the life (and death) of Roy Rogers. Income tax is mentioned often as well--it's worth noting that both income taxes and death taxes are part of the Communist Manifesto. comment () trackback ()  12:43:21 PM     Stumping for Stem Cell Research. President Bush's federal mandate against stem cell research is moot in California, thanks to a state law passed last month. Now the author of that law says it's time for investors to open their wallets for new research. By Kristen Philipkoski. [Wired News] It's disgusting how many people think Bush's restrictions on Federal funding for such research is a "federal mandate against stem cell research." All Bush did was restrict funding for something that the Federal government cannot legally fund anyway, but many people (no doubt Socialists) seem to think that if the Feds don't hand over the pork it's the same as a ban. There is absolutely no Federal mandate against stem cell research--anyone who wants to engage in such research is free to do so with their own money! This is the way it's supposed to work in a free society. The article does mention Sam Brownbeck's proposed bill that actually would ban stem cell research. This is the real danger, even if it's not likely to pass this year. Unfortunately there's a danger that it won't be opposed effectively because the Socialists are doing their best to convince people that there already is such a ban. comment () trackback ()  10:17:20 AM     Fighting Net Censorship Abroad. Congress considers spending $100 million to battle Internet controls in authoritarian regimes. By Mitch Wagner. [Wired News] Rep. Chris Cox (R-Calif.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would establish an Office of Global Internet Freedom to foster development of censorship-busting technology for users in countries including China and Saudi Arabia. The bill would allocate $50 million each for 2003 and 2004. The bill is totally un-Constitutional, but of course that never bothers Congress. Ironically, "censorship-busting technology" would work as well against the recording and movie industries as it would against oppressive countries. I wonder if the supporters of the bill have thought of that? comment () trackback ()  10:08:20 AM     Wanna Bet? Feds Say Not So Fast. U.S. gamblers have found it easy to ignore the fact that Internet wagering is technically illegal. But a bill barring companies from processing payments could make it a little harder to ante online. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] Even if this bill passed it wouldn't matter. People can still use services like e-gold, or credit cards from countries that have more respect for private property than the US does. comment () trackback ()  10:02:40 AM

© Copyright 2006 Ken Hagler. Last update: 2/14/2006; 6:52:58 PM.

Email