The One

Worship not idols

 

Subject: The One

How's this for apocalyptic literature. This was written by a
pastor's wife in biblical prose as a commentary of current
events.

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And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of
the land called America, having lost their morals, their initiative,
and their will to defend their liberties, chose as their Supreme
Leader that person known as "The One".

He emerged from the vapors with a message that had no meaning; but He hypnotized the people telling them, "I am sent to save you. My lack of experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my association with evil doers are of no consequence. For I shall save you with Hope and Change.

 

Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the land that he who
preceded me is evil, that he has defiled the nation, and that all he has built must be destroyed." And the people rejoiced, for even though they knew not what "The One" would do, he had promised that it was good; and they believed.

 

And "The One" said "We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change everything about it!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah! Change is good!"

Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats."

 

And the people said "Sock it to them!" "And redistribute their wealth."  And the people said, "Show us the money!"

And then He said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody"

 

And Joe the plumber asked, "Are you kidding me? You're going to steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??"

 

And "The One" ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe's personal records were hacked and publicized.

 

One lone reporter asked, "Isn't that Marxist policy?"  And she was banished from the kingdom!

Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and
having zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with radical terrorists?" And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with them and talk with them and show them how nice we really are; and they will forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!"

 

And the people said, "Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can beat our weapons into free cars for the people!"

Then "The One" said, "I shall give 95% of you lower taxes." And
one, lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes." So "The One" said, "Then I shall give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!" And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Show us the money!"

Then "The One" said, "I shall tax your Capital Gains when you
sell your homes!" And the people yawned and the slumping housing market collapsed. And He said, "I shall mandate employer- funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage. And I shall give every person unlimited healthcare and medicine and transportation to the clinics." And the people said, "Give me some of that!"

Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs
overseas." And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"

Then "The One" said, "I shall bankrupt the coal industry and
electricity rates will skyrocket!" And the people said, "Coal is
dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don't care for that part
about higher electric rates." So "The One" said, "Not to worry. If
your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we shall bail you out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!"

Then He said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted.
Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free
lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed
housing..." And the people said, "Hallelujah!!" And they made
him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs
and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers.
Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy sank like unto a rock dropped from a cliff.
The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing slowed to a
crawl. And more of the people were without a means of support.

Then "The One" said, "I am the "The One" - The Messiah - and I'm here to save you! We shall just print more money so everyone will have enough!" But our foreign trading partners said unto Him, "Wait a minute. Your dollar is not worth a pile of camel dung! You will have to pay more..." And the people said, "Wait a minute. That is unfair!!" And the world said, "Neither are these other idiotic programs you have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and a second-rate power. Now you shall play by our rules!"

And the people cried out, "Alas, alas!! What have we done?" But
yea verily, it was too late. The people set upon "The One" and spat upon him and stoned him, and his name was dung. And the once mighty nation was no more; and the once proud people were without sustenance or shelter or hope. And the Change "The One" had given them was as like unto a poison that had destroyed them and like a whirlwind that consumed all that they had built.

And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in anguish, "Give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!" But it was too late, and their homeland was no more.

You may think this is a fairy tale, but it's not.  It's happening RIGHT NOW !!!

 

Mary Ellen

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Worship not idols.  He is not the one.

"Painting the Church"

 

"Painting the Church"   There was a Scottish painter named  Smokey MacGregor who was very interested in making a penny where he could, so he often thinned down his paint to make it go a wee bit further. As it happened, he got away with this for some time, but eventually the Baptist Church decided to do a big restoration job on the outside of one of their biggest buildings. Smokey put in a bid, and, because his price was so low, he got the job. So he set about erecting the scaffolding and setting up the planks, and buying the paint and, yes, I am sorry to say, thinning it down with turpentine. Well, Smokey was up on the scaffolding, painting away, the job nearly completed, when suddenly there was a horrendous clap of thunder, the sky opened, and the rain poured down washing the thinned paint from all over the church and knocking Smokey clear off the scaffold to land on the lawn among the gravestones, surrounded by telltale puddles of the thinned and useless paint.     Smokey was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he got down on his knees and cried: "Oh, God, Oh God, forgive me; what should I do?" And from the thunder, a mighty voice spoke..   (you're going to love this) "Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"

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Huge FairTax Rally on Sat. June 13

 

Update My Preferences  |  Tell-A-Friend  |  Visit FairTax.org

Dear FairTax supporter, It's known as the "Show Me State," and when it comes to the FairTax, Missouri is just that. Our friends in the American heartland have taken a big lead in pushing the FairTax movement forward, with the Missouri House of Representatives passing FairTax legislation which would replace their state income tax structure with the FairTax. To show your support for the FairTax there and especially in Washington to replace the federal income tax system, we hope you'll consider making a special trip to join us in Columbia, MO on Saturday, June 13 for the huge Midwest FairTax Rally. Yep, that's a haul for many, but this rally alone could draw 20,000 or more so we need you there. RSVP for the Midwest FairTax Rally Now >> The Midwest FairTax Rally promises to be a huge, all-day FairTax event at the Boone County Fairgrounds with giveaways, music, and of course many great FairTax speakers and leaders including: Radio host and FairTax book author, Neal Boortz FairTax bill Lead-Sponsor, Rep. John Linder (GA-7) Business entrepreneur and radio host, Herman Cain Volunteers are also needed to staff the Rally so that new-comers can learn how the FairTax will bring real change and real economic stimulus to our country. Most volunteers will need to be in Columbia Friday morning for orientation and set up. Others can arrive very early on Saturday. We have a specific need people with laptop computers to help register people as they arrive at the rally. If you can help, please email fairtaxgeezer@yahoo.com with "registration help" in the subject line. To learn more, and to the RSVP for this important rally, please go to http://www.midwestrally.com. Again, thanks for all you do to support the FairTax cause, and I hope to see you in Columbia on June 13. Sincerely, Ken Hoagland National Director

You received this e-mail because you joined our list through our online registration, e-mail newsletter, direct mail effort, or phone bank. If you do NOT wish to receive e-mail updates about the FairTax, please pardon our e-mail (and accept our apology). You may unsubscribe here to be removed from our e-mail list or to be removed from this topic. If you received a plain text e-mail, you may reply to this message with the word "remove" and your original registration e-mail For Fair Taxation are not tax deductible because we lobby for you in Washington, D.C.

It's known as the "Show Me State," and when it comes to the FairTax, Missouri is just that.

A Special Huckabee Invitiation to Charlotte, NC Event

 

Will you join me for a Vertical Politics Institute event in Charlotte, NC on June 11th?   The details of the event are below. Tickets are $500 per person and each dollar will be invested in our efforts to support the issues you and I hold dear:  tax reform, the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and less government.   We have a great host committee for the event and I look forward to spending time meeting everyone.   So please consider attending the event.   With deep gratitude, Mike Huckabee Event Host Committee:   U.S. Senator Richard Burr U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole U.S. Senator Robert Dole NASCAR Legend Mark Martin Gov. David Beasley Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer Mike Campbell Congressman Bill Cobey NC GOP Chairman Linda Daves Scott Dacey Danny Fontana National Committeeman Glenn McCall Mayor Pat McCrory Senator Robert Pittenger Bobby and Jodi Pittenger Representative Rex Rice Hal Stevenson Congressman Charles Taylor Mayor Richard Vinroot     Event Details   Thursday June 11th , 2009 at 11:30 AM   Charlotte City Club   121 West Trade Street, Suite 3100   Charlotte, NC   Business Attire, Hors D'Oeuvres   $500 per person with Photo Opportunity   RSVP to 214.542.0481 or Kristin.Dulin@mikehuckabee.com To unsubscribe go to http://www.verticalpoliticsinstitute.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=SignUp.SignOff

© 2008, Authorized & Paid for by Vertical Politics Institute, Inc. Contributions are not tax deductible.

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Will you join me for a Vertical Politics Institute event in Charlotte, NC on June 11th?- Gov. Huckabee
 

VAT or FairTax

Date: Sat, 30 May 2009 02:31:30 -0400

Subject: VAT or FairTax

Phil,

I liked your article, below. It points out the danger that a Value Added Tax (VAT) poses for America. There is one point in your article that touches on something generally missed. We often hear that the 16th Amendment must be abolished before the FairTax is adopted because we could end up with both the income tax and a sales tax. The fact is that we already have a national income tax and a national sales tax. The income tax we are all too familiar with. The current "sales tax" is the "business" taxes and other taxes that are imbedded in the price of all goods and services produced in America. Studies by Dr. Dale Jorgensen and Dr. Laurence Kotlikoff and others conclude that an average of ~22% of the retail price of all goods and services produced in America are taxes buried/imbedded in the price. This is, in essence, a 22% hidden sales tax.

This results in American labor and business competing here and abroad at about a 20% competitive disadvantage. Unlike ALL of our trading partners with their VAT taxes, we have no mechanism to identify or back out these imbedded taxes. Whenever our government tries to mitigate this inequity the WTO slaps a fine on American products. The WTO allows the foreign governments to rebate to their producers the VAT taxes paid when the products are exported, but disallows income tax or other credits for American exports. An American VAT would solve this problem, however, as you well pointed out, the hidden nature of VAT taxes results in runaway government. Another real disadvantage of VAT taxes is the cost to comply with the tax at every step of the production and delivery process and this tax compliance cost adds to the price of the product.

A simple solution, as you mentioned, is the FairTax. Tax compliance cost and tax efficiency cost (loss of economic efficiency due to the impact of tax consideration on financial decisions) currently is estimated at $500 billion to $700 billion annually. The FairTax replaces the income tax and virtually eliminates tax compliance and efficiency costs for individuals and businesses. Because the FairTax is a retail sales tax it is 100% visible, and therefore, has the natural restraint on the size of government as intended by our Founding Fathers when they twice prohibited income type taxes in the Constitution.

Americans would be able to see their true tax burden for the first time in generations. In addition, the FairTax is automatically border adjusted because American products would have no taxes imbedded in their prices that would otherwise have to be backed out when exported. The result is that with the FairTax American produced goods and services (or labor and capital) would be able to compete with foreign competition on a level playing field, rather than one with a 20% uphill climb. Is it any wonder that we are exporting our companies and jobs rather than our products?

Roger Buchholtz

FairTax Director (volunteer)
Business owner & economist

P.O. Box 141 / 5620 Clato St.
Kalamazoo, MI 49004
phone/fax: (269) 345-0950
cell: (586) 530-3298

May 27th, 2009 5:15 PM Eastern

PHIL KERPEN: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid of the Obama Administration's Scary Trial Balloon

By Phil Kerpen
Policy Director, Americans for Prosperity

In today's Washington Post, the White House floats a really scary trial balloon—a new national Value-Added Tax (VAT) to pay for out-of-control spending and a Washington take over of health care. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad appears to be on board. So does Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel, who has been hired by the White House budget office to help design the health care plan and whose book on health care uses a VAT to fund the new government program. Obama economic adviser Paul Volcker is also on-board the VAT-train.

—————

We need to draw a clear line in the sand that no new national taxes will be put in place without eliminating—not cutting, but permanently eliminating—our existing income tax.

—————

What is the VAT? It's a type of national sales tax that is collected in pieces throughout the production chain, instead of being collected all at once at the cash register like a retail sales tax. In theory, sales taxes like the VAT are pretty good taxes because they are broad-based, difficult to evade, and minimize economic distortions. In practice, they are the ATM machine for runaway government growth, because they are largely invisible to the public and they can raise huge amounts of money in very small chunks, thus minimizing the effective political opposition that generally keeps taxes in check.

A couple of years ago Dan Mitchell wrote a great summary of the VAT experience in Europe that explains how the VAT was the key policy change that moved Europe to a much higher level of taxes and spending than the U.S. Because the tax is difficult for the public to see, it's very easy for politicians to raise, and VAT rates in Europe have steadily increased since the tax was first introduced. With the VAT tax weapon in hand, European governments have grown to more than 40 percent of GDP, a level unknown in the United States outside of world wars. Now that scary scenario could, unfortunately be in store for us if the White House pursues a VAT in the U.S.

The U.S. tax system is clearly a mess, and badly in need of meaningful tax reform. That reform, however, needs to in the direction of simplicity and lower rates. Many conservatives believe, with good reason, that we should abolish the IRS, end income taxation, and adopt a national sales tax of some kind—most would prefer a national retail sales tax, which is the heart of the Fair Tax proposal. Some, perhaps, would be happy with a VAT, which functions much like a sales tax. Such a proposal is not without its virtues, but the enormous risk associated with it is that we end up with a national sales tax on top of our existing income tax system.

Based on the European experience, accepting a VAT in exchange for reductions in taxes on income and capital would be a foolish bargain, because once politicians have all the taxes on the books they would steadily increase the rates over time, leading to a much higher overall level of taxes and spending than would otherwise have been possible. We need to draw a clear line in the sand that no new national taxes will be put in place without eliminating—not cutting, but permanently eliminating—our existing income tax.

Trillions of dollars of bailouts, stimulus, spending, unfunded entitlement obligations, and an appetite for a Washington takeover of health care have us on a collision course for a national bankruptcy unless we adopt a huge new tax (cap-and-trade is another one, by-the-way, although the VAT could be even more expensive) or finally start to get a handle on runaway spending. The current tax system simply will not bear enough revenue to pay for these trillions of dollars of obligations. If we don't want to accept a European-style nanny state and the lower standards of living that come with it, we need to cut all this spending and forget about a Washington takeover of health care. And we need to shoot this VAT trial balloon down, quickly.

Mr. Kerpen is director of policy for Americans for Prosperity. He can be contacted through www.philkerpen.com. He records a free daily Podcast and today's is on the subject of the VAT. Listen here.MI

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We need to draw a clear line in the sand that no new national taxes will be put in place without eliminating—not cutting, but permanently eliminating—our existing income tax.

AFA-MICHIGAN BANQUET -- Gov. Mike Huckabee praises AFA-Michigan'sstand for truth

 

 

AFA-Michigan 2009    Annual Banquet                                                                                                            Gary Glenn, President                                                                                                          LEONARD, Michigan -- Over 200 supporters and guests attended the American Family Association's 2009 annual banquet in Oakland County May 21st, which featured a video greeting by former Gov. Mike Huckabee, keynote speaker and Fireproof star Erin Bethea, special recognition of citizens who have stood firmly for traditional values, and an annual report by AFA-Michigan President Gary Glenn. See our highlights below...   Gov. Mike Huckabee praises AFA-Michigan stand for truth f Former presidential candidate, pastor, and Gov. Mike Huckabee offered a video greeting to the American Family Association of Michigan's 2009 annual banquet, praising the organization for its leadership in defense of prenatal children's unalienable Right to Life and the God-ordained institution of marriage and the family.   "In a time when so many organizations, even Christian ones, are running from truth, and running from controversy," Huckabee said, "Gary and American Family Association of Michigan have been absolutely, totally committed to maintaining a steady, solid course for truth."   Click to watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNI00Skt2rk   d Fireproof star Erin Bethea: "Marriage is worth fighting for" f   Erin Bethea, the pastor's daughter   who starred in the 2008 hit movie   Fireproof as the wife of the fireman   played by Kirk Cameron, shared an   inspiring and uplifting testimony of   how God is using the vision He gave   one church in Georgia to reach   millions of viewers worldwide through   Christian films. It was no accident,   she said, that when the institution   of God-ordained marriage is under   attack, the church was led to focus   its latest film on the importance of    preserving Christ-centered marriages.  AFA-Michigan President Gary Glenn and his wife Annette              www.FireproofTheMovie.com  welcomed keynote speaker Erin Bethea, center.                          f d Glenn honored for decade of leadership for Michigan families d AFA-Michigan's 2009 banquet marked the tenth year of Gary Glenn's service as president of the state's highest-profile advocate for traditional Judeo-Christian family values, during which the organization has been recognized as a leader not only in Michigan but nationally on such issues as pornography, protecting prenatal life and religious liberty, and opposing the homosexual agenda, including Gary's co-authorship of the Marriage Protection Amendment overwhel-mingly approved by Michigan voters in 2004. d AFA-Michigan's activities under Gary's direction have been reported by the BBC, New York Times, CNN, Paula Zahn Now, MSNBC, USA Today, Fox News, Associated Press, Washington Post, Washington Times, Boston Globe, Chronicle of Higher Education, Tech Law Journal, Arizona Star, Focus on the Family's Citizen magazine, and countless TV,            Banquet organizer and emcee Nicole Stahl radio, and newspaper stories in Michigan.                      presented Gary a glass flame thanking him                                                                                                         for his ten years of "faithfully leading the In a presentation to the annual meeting of the                 charge" as AFA-Michigan president. American Political Science Association in San Francisco -- later published by Harvard University -- two Calvin College political science professors stated: "In recent years, AFA of Michigan has played an increasingly visible role in state politics as it has turned much of its attention to opposing gay rights initiatives across the state. In addition, AFA of Michigan is engaged in opposing pornography... Much of the publicity received by AFA of Michigan is attributable to the energetic leadership of its current president, Gary Glenn, particularly with respect to the controversial area of gay rights. ...Glenn has shown no fear in dealing with what his group labels the 'homosexual agenda' and has vigorously opposed proposals to permit gays to head Boy Scout troops as well as sexual non-discrimination ordinances proposed by various cities across Michigan."     AFA-Michigan honors three citizen activists in Hamtramck...     Each year, the American Family Association of Michigan honors citizens   who have sacrificed their time, money, and energy in defense of traditional   family values. At this year's banquet, we recognized the three leaders of   last November's successful campaign to overturn a discriminatory "gay   rights" ordinance adopted by the Hamtramck city council, which would   have created special "protected class" status based on homosexual   behavior and cross-dressing. Rev. Andrew Wesley f Campaign co-chairs Rev. Andrew Wesley and Akm Rahman and campaign manager Jay McNally first conducted a successful petition drive to force the ordinance onto the November ballot, then waged an aggressive public education campaign in four languages exposing the threat the discrimina-tory measure posed to religious liberty and the privacy rights of women and children in public restrooms and other facilities.                                                                                                                   Akm Rahman f   In a city that voted a whopping 85 percent for Democratic presidential   candidate Barak Obama, voters nonetheless rejected the so-called   "gay rights" ordinance by a ten-point margin, 55 to 45 percent. The   city's local newspaper, the Hamtramck Citizen, in December named   the ordinance's defeat the city's top news story of 2008. AFA-Michigan   thanks and salutes Rev. Wesley, Akm, and Jay for their faithful, tireless,   and effective leadership.         Jay McNally   ...and a faithful Christian expelled by Eastern Michigan University. dxcccccccss   We were also privileged to welcome and honor Daryl and Julea   Ward from Ypsilanti. Julea is an African-American public school   teacher who, until March, was also a 3.9 GPA student in the   graduate counseling program at Eastern Michigan University   before being expelled for refusing academic administrators'   demand that she abandon her Christian convictions.   Four credits short of completing her Masters degree, Julea was referred a patient who wanted counseling to help improve his relationship with his homosexual "partner." Because she could not in good conscience affirm the patient's homosexual relationship, Julea followed her supervisor's instructions and asked that the patient be referred to another counselor, which he was. However, she was thereafter rebuked by her supervisor and instructed to submit to a remedial reeducation course to change her religious views, which she refused.   Administrators then conducted a formal inquisition during which they mocked and belittled her faith and pressured Julea to recant her convictions. She politely but firmly refused, calmly telling the academic elites that she would not "sell out God." In response, the panel voted to expel her from the counseling program, and after an EMU dean rejected Julea's appeal, she was expelled. The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal foundation, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against EMU, which university officials will spend our tax dollars to contest.   Click here to read the transcript of Julea Ward's inquisition by EMU officials and her unshakeable witness: http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews_impact/2009/04/EMUhearing_transcript.pdf   AFA-Michigan thanks and honors Julea for the bold resolution of her faith, and we pray the Lord will grant her success in her lawsuit, reinstatement at EMU, and many opportunities in the future to positively influence the patients who seek her counsel once she has completed her degree.   Michigan's Julea Ward joins Miss California Carrie Prejean as young Christian women who set an example for us all of principled conviction in the face of cultural hostility and persecu-tion. Julea, we salute you!   Rep. Tom McMillin: eyewitness to AFA-Michigan's effectiveness g   Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, former mayor of Auburn Hills,   former Oakland County Commissioner, and a long-time supporter and   ally of the American Family Association of Michigan, closed the even-   ing by sharing eyewitness testimony from Lansing of AFA-Michigan's   effectiveness at persuading -- and when necessary, pressuring -- the   state Legislature to preserve traditional family values in law, more often   than not by blocking legislation hostile to those values.     Rep. McMillin and AFA-Michigan's Gary Glenn in May were the only two   individuals who appeared before the state House Judiciary Committee to   testify against discriminatory so-called "hate crime" legislation that   Rep. Tom McMillin      threatens free speech rights in Michigan.   Tom then led the opposition to the bill on the floor of the House of Representatives, where all Democrats but two voted for it, while all of his fellow Republicans but two voted against it.   AFA-Michigan thanks and salutes Tom for his long history of steadfast leadership for traditional family values in the public policy arena.     Questions or comments about AFA? Contact us via email, phone, fax, or postal mail. Use your credit card online to make a tax-deductible contribution to AFA-Michigan at: https://www.campaigncontribution.com/contribution.asp?id=1700&jid=&r If you are receiving this e-mail from a friend and you'd like to start receiving them directly, you may join our email alert list by sending a blank e-mail to e-news-join@afamichigan.org To be removed from this list send a blank email to: e-news-leave@afamichigan.org

www.afamichigan.org Copyright © 2005 American Family Association of Michigan All Rights Reserved Email services provided by: Optimus Media.com

 

AFA-Michigan's 2009 banquet marked the tenth year of Gary Glenn's service as president of the state's highest-profile advocate for traditional Judeo-Christian family values, during which the organization has been

recognized as a leader not only in Michigan but nationally on such issues as pornography, protecting prenatal life and religious liberty, and opposing the homosexual agenda, including Gary's co-authorship

of the Marriage Protection Amendment overwhel-mingly approved by Michigan voters in 2004.