The V.A.T. (Value Added Tax) Oxymoron

If anything could be said about a national sales tax such as the VAT (Value Added Tax) it is that it would not add any value at all to our economy. Therefore, the very tax itself is an oxymoron. The only thing this tax would do is to further empower Congress with the pursestrings of Americans. The VAT, which taxes goods and services at every stage of production, is a hidden tax, in that the tax is ultimately built into the price of goods and services, so the consumer is left holding the bag, so to speak. Now, don't be fooled into thinking Congress will pay down the debt, or pave your roads with this deep new well of revenue. They won't, preferring instead to bolster their entitlement programs and, if it's possible, create more of them. This is a disastrous idea, and one that should be thwarted at all cost.

So Now I am a Right-Wing Terrorist?

This letter by Daniel McIntyre published in the Grass Valley Union on April 20, hits the nail on the head. Who are the real terrorists? My best guess, is that they are secretly plotting from our nation's Capitol.

Nancy Pelosi is a perfect example why thousands of average, hard-working Americans attended a Tea Party in front of our state Capitol last Wednesday.

Mrs. Pelosi said it was an “astroturf” moment sponsored by millionaires. I didn’t see Nancy or Diane there, so the millionaires must have stayed home.

We were there to peacefully express our concerns with the government stealing our hard-earned money to bailout everything, not obeying our Constitution, redistributing wealth, and trying to control every aspect of our lives.

We are tired of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and our president, not listening to us.

President Obama said he is willing to talk to the leaders of Iran and Cuba, but not to us?

And I personally take offense to the leaders in our government telling me, because I attended a Tea Party on Wednesday, that I woke up on Thursday a right-wing terrorist.

Dan McIntyre

Grass Valley

Mr. President, Thanks for Nothing

This excellent letter was written to the editor of the Grass Valley Union in Grass Valley, California by Tea Party Patriot Paul Martinelli.

Thanks for releasing CIA memos on the interrogations of terrorists after 9/11.

If the information gained, saved American lives, so what? Now you are unleashing your legal attack dogs on officials of the previous administration even though they were trying to keep us safe. Does this make you a uniter or a divider?

Your Homeland Security Department is suspicious of ordinary American citizens just because they happen to be conservative. They also denigrated returning veterans. (Check the Janet Napolitano memo).

Thank you for drawing down our missile defense while North Korea lobs an ICBM into the Pacific and Iran gets ever closer to having nukes.

Thanks for cavorting with Marxist dictators like Hugo Chavez who insult and hate our country. 

The way you apologized for and criticized America at every opportunity while you were abroad is hard to understand.

President Obama, what are you doing? What road are you taking us down?

By the way, thank you President Bush for seeing your duty clear to protect the United States all those years after Sept. 11. 

Paul Martinelli

Grass Valley, CA.

The sign of a true traitor

The sad part about Arlen Specter switching allegiances is not that it comes as a big surprise (he was Republican in name only), nor that just last month he commented on the importance of keeping the Democratic party from a filibuster-proof majority, highlighting the importance of two-party rule. It's deceipt in the most blatant form that he crossed the aisle, when his constituents elected him as a Republican. But still, the saddest fact of all, is that he's been a senator for 30 some years. It is criminal that we allow politics to be a career choice.  As a career, politics is a breeding ground for corruption. That Specter changed parties, based upon early polling results, which indicated his life-long political tenure may be over, is truly despicable. And one further reason for banning career politics. When the most important part of the job is looking to the next election results, the value of the job has been utterly lost.

Tax Day Tea Party Empowers Fiscal Conservatives

The Sacramento Tax Day Tea Party was one of the most exhilarating experiences I can remember in a very long time. My daughter, Courtney, and I assembled with about 80 other concerned citizens in Auburn, California before heading to the Capitol on two chartered buses. Though I'm known for being a bit outspoken, many in our group were just finding their political voices, and for the first time realized they are not alone. They made instant friends of complete strangers who hold similar beliefs that our government has hijacked our free-market economy, endorsed runaway spending, stolen our hard-earned money, and reallocated it to people we don't even know, and worse, who've done absolutely nothing to deserve it.

This was not about political parties, but rather a group of individuals who've all come to the same conclusion that our government does not represent our best interests, but rather their own egos and ambitions for more and more power.  In Sacramento, we joined literally thousands of other like-minded folks who decended upon the Capitol grounds to voice their own dismay at the way our government treats its citizens, the very people who pay their salaries, healthcare benefits, "apologist" trips abroad and fancy power lunches. We are sick and tired of the way we've been treated and now, the Tea Party Patriots have come unleashed.  To learn more or to join the cause, please visit: http://teapartypatriots.org/

Madame Speaker Doesn't Get It

Grassroots movement

Congratulations to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on being just about as out of touch as a human can be - even for a politician. Pelosi claims the anti-tax "tea parties" were not a grassroots but rather an "Astroturf" movement, sponsored by wealthy millionaires.

You know what? I didn't see Nancy Pelosi there, so the millionaires must have stayed home. These rallies were fueled by middle-class Americans, who actually work for a living and are sick and tired of the government stealing their money to spend on useless politicians of either party; people who don't work for a living; and bankers who used poor judgment and lost billions.

And, by the way, who's to say millionaires shouldn't have a say in how their money is spent? Most of them worked very hard to achieve that amazing level of success and they give away thousands of dollars each year to charities of their own choosing, which by and large is not the thuggish, thieving government.

Next time, Nancy, attend one of these functions before drawing critical conclusions about those who did attend to peacefully speak their minds.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/22/ED7D175QR9.DTL