Sunday, January 1, 2006

THE FIGHT GOES ON ... against those who make war with our tax money and who make huge profits on the war industry. Blackenterprise: "They call them the PEP and Pease provisions of tax law, and they are on their way out. If you are wealthy, this should make you smile. You could be a little richer. PEP and Pease refer to two tax increases adopted in 1990 when President George H.W. Bush broke his 'read my lips' promise against boosting taxes in order to cut the deficit, angering many in the Republican Party. But on Sunday, thanks to a law quietly passed in 2001 when his son, George W. Bush, was in the White House, the PEP and Pease provisions - essentially limitations on tax exemptions - will begin a five-year phaseout at a cost of $27 billion. Millionaires will receive an average tax cut of $19,000 a year when the two provisions are wiped out, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said. The center added that this comes on top of an average tax cut of $103,000 that millionaires received in 2005 because of other tax cuts adopted since 2001." SeattlePi: "Increasing numbers of men and women in uniform are seeking honorable discharges as conscientious objectors. Others are suing the military, claiming their obligation has been wrongfully extended. Many have simply deserted, refusing to appear for duty." TimesOnline: "British troops set to deploy to southern Afghanistan this spring could sustain losses on a scale not seen since the Falklands war, military intelligence officers have warned." ICH: "Wars are not waged by those who have to fight them. Those who fight wars know too well their terrible costs. Wars are waged by those who profit from them with minimal or no risk to themselves. War is big business and it is immensely profitable for a select few who are insulated from the effects of war's environmental impacts and social costs. War never serves the interest of working class people. They are the result of menacing forces of greed and power masquerading as benevolent government, insulating us from contrived acts of terror. They are in fact anything but munificent. We must resist them at all cost. We must inform ourselves. Speak truth to power. Let them know that we see through their masks. Do not accept this. Organize. Organize. Organize." 2:31:01 PM

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