I am very sad.

I have now started this post 3 times and I can't put into words how I feel, but a very dear friend was diagnosed with cancer a month ago and went through 6+hrs of surgery today. I so want to rejoice for her and Tim but I am sad. My prayer for them is that God will wrap his healing hands around their family and hold them so close that every breath they take can be felt in Gods palm.

Amen.

Sometimes you get something worth while forwared to your inbox.

My Uncle Ed is my moms oldest brother and he has embraced technology better then anybody I know of his age (he's 68) and he send me all kinds of stuff. Some of it isn't worth the electricty used to send it sometimes he comes across some pretty neat stuff. This is what I got today in my daily email from my Uncle and it does suprise me a little but it did make me a little weepy.

It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription.
It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas --oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it.
The overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma --
the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth.
I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin,
who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended.

Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.
These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together,
presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear,
a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.

Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat,
he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, 'I wish just one of them could have won,' he said.
'They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.' Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he
knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and lacrosse.

That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of
wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree,
the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition --one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game,
another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children,
ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toy s gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief
that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation,
watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.



God Bless! -- pass this along to those friends and loved ones who you know are the givers who understand the true meaning Christmas.

What TV used to be!

Rember this? Make sure you watch at 4:30 it gets good.

Man I luv Christmas lights!!!! CRANK UP YOUR SPEAKERS

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

In the 110 minutes of the attack on Pearl Harbor, our forces suffered 2,403 killed in action, 1,178 wounded in action, 640 that were never accounted for; plus, 188 planes lost, 158 damaged, and every battleship of the Pacific Fleet, eight, crippled or sunk plus other ships. There are not many memorials in this country that I would have trouble visiting but there are a couple of exceptions, one of those being the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl harbor. Even though I am only 40 yrs old I have a friend that had an older brother die on the Arizona. Maybe it's sort of a tribute to the fallen men on the ship but it still "bleeds" bunker oil from it's full oil bunkers if you ever visit you will see a small oil slick on the surface of the water moving slowly away from the ship. There are also former sailors from that ship that have their ashes scattered at the site as a final tribute to thier fallen brothers so that they may be buried with thier shipmates.
So today we remember and salute the US soldiers and sailors that gave there lives on that Sunday morning so many years ago.

Just some random Christmas Lights!!

Man talk about a very odd week!

Have you ever felt that your walking right with God and you think you feel his closeness then all of a sudden....BAM! Well in the past week I have learned that a very dear friend was diagnosed with cancer and that a loved one my still be hurting themself.
The friend with cancer has embrassed the Lord with all her might and it's in inspirational festival of tears to read her triumphs and defeats. The second just pounded me straight into the ground to the point I couldn't sleep on Sunday night I wandered the house trying to find the Holy Spirit I tried praying through by going into all the downstairs room asking God to bless our times in those rooms. I cried out asking God to show me how to lead when I prefer to be in the background. I can't understand the desperation a person must feel to get to the point of injuring themselves. I just pray that they will forget what others think and just cry out to Jesus to come right along side them. I'm praying that this person is on the verge of a huge blessing from Christ and this is the reason that they have been attacked with Satans lies. The devil is the father of lies and he will wiggle his way into your life any way he can.

+

Story of the real Thanksgiving as told by El Rushbo

I doesn't matter if you agree with him but his story is accurate and true wether you believe it or not thats totally up to you.

RUSH: Time now, ladies and gentlemen, for The Real Story of Thanksgiving, as written by I -- by me -- in my second book, See, I Told You So. It's page 70 in the hardcover version. "On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail. It carried a total of 102 passengers, including forty Pilgrims led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford set up an agreement, a contract, that established just and equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed in the Mayflower Compact come from? From the Bible. The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons of the Old and New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their example. And, because of the biblical precedents set forth in Scripture, they never doubted that their experiment would work."

Now, you know the usual story of Thanksgiving: They landed. They had no clue where they were, no idea how to feed themselves. The Indians came out, showed 'em how to pop popcorn, fed 'em turkey, saved 'em basically -- and then white European settlers after that basically wiped out the Indian population. It's a horrible example. Not only is that not true, here is the part that's been omitted from what is still today taught as the traditional Thanksgiving story in many schools. "The original contract the Pilgrims had entered into with their merchant-sponsors in London called for everything they produced to go into a common store,' when they got here, 'and each member of the community was entitled to one common share. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belong to the community as well.

"They were going to distribute it equally. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belonged to the community as well. ... [William] Bradford, who had become the new governor of the colony, recognized that this form of collectivism was as costly and destructive to the Pilgrims as that first harsh winter, which had taken so many lives. He decided to take bold action. Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to work and manage, thus turning loose the power of the marketplace. ... Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism,' and it had failed" miserably because when every put things in the common store, some people didn't have to put things in for there to be, people that didn't produce anything were taking things out, and it caused resentment just as it does today. So Bradford had to change it.

"What Bradford and his community found was that the most creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any harder than anyone else, unless they could utilize the power of personal motivation! But while most of the rest of the world has been experimenting with socialism for well over a hundred years – trying to refine it, perfect it, and re-invent it – the Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently. What Bradford wrote about this social experiment should be in every schoolchild's history lesson. If it were, we might prevent much needless suffering," that happens today and will happen "in the future. 'The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing – as if they were wiser than God,' Bradford wrote.

"'For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without [being paid] that was thought injustice.' ... The Pilgrims found that people could not be expected to do their best work without incentive. So what did Bradford's community try next? They unharnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property. Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work and permitted to market its own crops and products. And what was the result?"

Here's what Bradford wrote, the governor of the Massachusetts colony. "'This had very good success,' wrote Bradford, 'for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.' Bradford doesn't sound like much of a Clintonite, does he?" or an Obamaite, if I can update it. "Is it possible that supply-side economics could have existed before the 1980s? ... Anyway, the pilgrims found "In no time, the Pilgrims found they had more food than they could eat themselves. ... So they set up trading posts and exchanged goods with the Indians. The profits allowed them to pay off their debts to the merchants in London. And the success and prosperity of the Plymouth settlement attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known as the 'Great Puritan Migration.'"

Very few people have heard this story or have had it taught to them -- and the "thanks" was to God for showing them the way. In later parts of the chapter, I quote John Adams and George Washington on their reminisces and their thoughts on the first Thanksgiving and the notion it was thanks to God. It was an entirely different story than is being taught in the schools. It's been muddied down, watered down all these years -- and now it's been hijacked by the multicultural community -- to the point that the story of Thanksgiving is the Pilgrims were a bunch of incompetents and were saved only by the goodness of the Indians, who then were wiped out. And that's what kids are being taught today -- 'cause, of course, you can't mention the Bible in school, and that's fundamental to the real story of Thanksgiving.

Not another Pardon...

Well the President has gone and done it again he has pardoned another thanksgiving turkey. Just once I would luv to have the president say "well boys looks like its turkey stuffing and giblet gravy all around this year" then proceed to grab the bird by the feet and carry it into the Whitehouse.

Happy Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for.

I'm thankful for a wife that luvs me even though im a goof. I'm thankful for a wife that was intune to the Holy Spirit when she went to Kenya and allowed the babies to touch her. Im thankful for kids that have a heart for Jesus and understand that changing the world can be done one person at a time. I'm thankful for friends that can share their fears and tears in a time of need. I'm thankful for a saviour that I am sure knew my name when he hung upon the cross for my sins.

amen

Pet Peeves.

There are just some things that frustrate me to no end.

1. cashiers that have no idea what the meaning of customer service is.
2. People that have no idea what the speed limit is. (slow drivers)
3. People that think they can't go anywhere without talking on their cellphone.
4. Kids that text in church.
5. When the garbage man doesn't take ALL the trash.
6. rainchecks (wife luvs em I hate em)
7. Shopping in general, I usually struggle to find a gift for Tracy and everybody wants my ideas so I end up giving up the good ones to them but NOT THIS YEAR.
8. People that have no grasp on proper english or grammer and every other word out of their mouth is the F Bomb. come on people any uneducated slug can sling a trail of profanity it takes skill to insult somebody using the kings english.

I could go on and on and on and on and on.....

Some days can really suck!

Have you ever had "one of those days"? No I mean "ONE OF THOSE DAYS"? I was working for Nelsons over at ND and things were goin good I wasn't to cold I could still feel my toes it wasn't super busy and it was almost time for the fly by before kickoff. My phone rang and I was busy pulling stuff off the cooker and I looked at the caller ID and it was a very good friend that almost never calls the cell phone so I answered it. Part of me now wishes I didn't answer it because sometimes in my head I think that if I don't know about it it isn't real. Well anyway my friend informs me that his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer (dear GOD I hate that word) 38 yrs old mom of two great kids and wife to a goofy husband (my friend I can say that cause I luv em both). Now im flooded with emotions that I really don't like dealing with and I can't imagine how he feels so I just LISTEN and ask a few questions and before he goes I pray with him. Now I don't know the questions they are asking God but I know them well enough to know that they are both pulling on their boots and tightening their belts for both a physical and spiritual battle. Hey bud on the spirtual warfare front I have your back!! I will keep you posted.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When you were little did anybody ever ask you "what you wanted to be when you grow up"? I remember couple of years ago I cracked my kids up when I told them I wanted to be a garbage man. We lived in Mishawaka up until I was 8yrs old so every Thursday was garbage day and I always thought those guys had such a cool job because they got to ride on the back of the truck and throw stuff in the back of it and pull a little lever and smash stuff which to an 8 yr old is pretty cool. The unfortunate thing is I didn't know about all the nasty stuff they have to put up with that existed in the world of the garbage man beyond the curb in front of our house. After watching an episode of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel about picking up trash in San Franciscos China town im glad I didn't pursue my dream since it is really a nasty job but im glad somebody does it and I gladly pay my garbage man to pick up our trash.

Ever wanted to try something but you were afraid of what others would think?

Did you ever want to learn to ballroom dance,square dance or something along those lines? Well ever since I was a little kid I wanted to learn how to scuba dive. Tracy and I booked ourselves on a Caribbean cruise with a bunch of poeple from church so I decieded this was a good time to learn how to do this. Tracy was going to get certified with me but she had problems clearing her ears and talked herself out of it but thats another story.
So I walked into my LDS (local dive shop) and paid my money got my books and preceded to embark on one of my most rewarding adventures I have ever encounterd. I am not going to go way into depth here but I really think you want to join me so just ask me how. I did it because it was something I always wanted to do and now it has opened up an entirely new relm to explore.

5 months later

Well I went in for the 5 month exam and the Dr said "see ya in a year" and he thinks this hip should last me over 20yrs maybe even 25 which is good news since they can only do so many revisions before there isn't enough bone to graft to.
I have to admit I like Dr Kim's style at South Bend Orthopedics he doesn't pull any punches and takes great effort to make sure you understand whats going on before he proceeds. It looks like fixing the left hip has bought us time on the right and im hoping for 2-3 yrs before I need that hip replaced.
Now the bad news, no more snow skiing/snowboard, water skiing, full court basketball and any sport that would pound the hip, but I can golf, scubadive, ride a bike, swim and just enjoy not being in pain.....aaaaaahhhhhhh

I told the nurse to shutup!!!

Yep I did, I told a nurse in the recovery room to shutup...The rest of the story is this I was waking up from the surgery and my head said "hey get comfy roll over and go back to sleep" but they didn't want me to and I wasn't awake enough to know what was going on and I told the nurse to shutup when he told me I couldn't roll over. The surgery only took about in hour and fifteen minutes and they had already started the trip to take me upstairs when they went and got Tracy my first recolection of time would be about 11 am (4hrs of time I don't remember 7am - 11am). Tracy came up to the room and we settled in I was able to get myself into the bed with very little help from the nurses. I told them not to touch my leg since if they move it and made my hip hurt I would get mad at them if I made it hurt I could only blame myself it was a simple system and it worked great. I was suprised at how good I felt especially when you consider I just had the bones in my upper leg romoved and replaced. The pain meds made me a little loopy and I was on an IV. I musunderstood the Dr as I thought I would be required to go to physical therapy on the same day as surgery and I was fired up and ready cause I was going to pass it and go home. No such luck no therapy till Friday (next day).

Next day I came to the conclusion that the pain meds SUCK and make you feel really crappy and cause you to have really freaky dreams (Cops episodes starring me as the guy getting handcuffed) anyway they came up early and got me for physical therapy which I aced and then aced again in the afternoon (there was no way I was going to fail it). I got the ok to go home about 3:30pm that day and Tracy and I whelled out of there at 5pm so only a 36hr stay for a hip replacement thats gotta be a record.

Now im gonna skip all the stuff about being home except to tell you I got off all pain meds a week after the surgery, drove the van 8 days after surgery and drove my truck 9 days after surgery (clutch gave me problems) Tracy wasn't thrilled about the last two things but I hate being stuck at home. I went back to work 3 weeks after surgery and did a lite work week but the next week I prettymuch went right back at it. If I had known then what I know now about the surgery I wouldn't have even considered putting it off. I can now destroy my right hip since I have a solid left hip but to be honest my right hip has improved since the left was replaced. Just an FYI I am not normal and the normal recovery time is more like 6 weeks im just not very bright and could have really injured and damaged my hip.

Off work 6-8 weeks:highlights of a summer hip replacement

So I have my surgery scheduled and I have to go to the hospital for whats called a "joint class" now my older brother was willing to teach me all he knows about joints but that would get me busted for posession so I opted to go of to St Joe med center for the correct class. While sitting in this class I realized im surrounded by people that could have grown up with my 84yr old gramma, surely they must have thought I was there to help somebody. The funny thing was that everybody in this class had a limp of some sort but I could have won any type of footraceor track and field event I know of, this again made me rethink having the surgery. I worked the day before sugery had a good meal then didn't eat again until after the surgery.

Thursday June 19 Tracy and I cruise into the hospital at about 5am and im first in line for surgery. I get changed into the lovely hospital attire and lay in a bed and just start to worry. The Dr comes in and rights a big NO on my right hip and puts his initials on my left so he doesn't make a mistake, hmmm left hip parts in a right hip, don't think it would work. Ok back to my story they started the IV and gave me some sort of antibiotic and it made me feel like I had poison ivy on my face it itched and Tracy said I looked flushed. Nurse looks in and says "oh you have redface syndrome" I said "yeah and I have bumps on my face". She proceeded to apologize for it saying the rate was to high on the IV and she got me some benydryl to be placed in the IV. I AM NOW A BIG FAN OF benedryl took the edge off my nerves instantly...oh yeah the itch went away also. At about 7:15am I kissed Tracy good bye shook Pastor Norms hand (he came up to pray with us at about 6 AM) and thats the last thing I rember until...

stay tuned

We can rebuild him.....we have the technology!

Ok, enough with the bionic man quotes but the last two years were pretty goofy for me since I was diagnosed with arthritis. I got used to being in some pain all the time and alot of pain most of the time. I was willing to deal with it as long as I could, but when we went through the marriage dymamics class at church I made a commitment to Tracy that I would at least go get it checked out again to see what type or prognosis I had. Well the bad news was that I had it in both hips and it wasn't going to get any better. My Dr said that the indicators to being at a point I needed to seriously consider the hip replacement were a burning sensation and being awoken at night fromt the pain of which I had both of these. So I went in in April and made the decision shortly after that to have the surgery then proceeded to cook chicken for Nelson's and was feeling pretty good (eating tylenol and Excedrin like candy) so I considered putting off the surgery till after Thanksgiving. Then I did a corporate and was in total pain all day with no relief from tylenol plus I had a 90 min drive home that was torture so I didn't change my mind afterall.

stay tuned.

An awesome welcome

Tracy and Kaylyn spent almost two weeks in Kenya and this is the video Tracy took when they went to a house of a women and there were over 70 people there to welcome them. The video isn't the best but it does lighten up enough to see whats going on. I admit I do like the music even though I think it's just a repeating chorus.

Bond, James Bond

To me this is has to be one of the top 10 movie themes...to be honest it was playing in my head when I was scuba diving in the Caribbean in February.

The new Bond movie is coming out in Novmember and I will admit it I love James Bond movies. I guess im just a Bond nerd I have them all memorized and have seen all the old ones at least a hundred times. I can't explain my love of these movies I don't know if it's the cars, car chases or the women. To be honest I think it's because the good guy always wins and always gets the girl.

You Betcha!!!

Should be required reading for any child over the age of 10!

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Now just count em...

Well the votes have been cast and it's time to start the counting. Does this mean that if the vote doesn't go my way that the rapture will happen, will we all be caught up in the air to meet Jesus? If only it were that easy. Nope tomorrow November 5 2008 we begin the next election cycle and all the talking heads on both sides of the aisle will start telling us who we should be looking out for in the next election cycle.

Juse remember in these words spoken by a great man "The future doesn't belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the BRAVE". Which group do you want to be associated with?

I needed some inspiration, and I found it!

This is a very powerful speech by Ronald Reagon and if you replace the statements about the "Cold War" and you replace it with the "terroism" it is true today as it was in 1964!

At the 1980 Republican convention Ronald Reagan in his speech to the delegates he said "Govt is never more dangerous then when our desire to have it help us blinds us to it's great power to harm us" think about that

Are you voting for someone or something?

I read Derry Prenkerts blog to try and figure out whats up with my kids at NMC since he along with the staff really challange the kids and help them to get out of their comfort zone in a safeway. Derry posted earlier this week about the elections and it got me to thinking. Am I voting for something or am I simply voting against that same thing?

I will admit my vote was not a vote for John McCain (warning to libs I have broad shoulders and I am PRO gun so leave me alone) it was a vote against Sen Barrack Obama but not only was it a vote against Sen Obama it was a vote FOR Sarah Palin because of her stands on Life, Family, Energy Independence and Gun ownership (Joe Biden is a doofus and not worth commenting on).

If your vote for a specific canditate is really a vote against what his opponent is for and your candidate wins are you going to stop there or will you pursue what you stand for? I will give you a great example, abortion is a horrible scurge that is legal in our society and Sen Obama is as anti life as I have ever seen in a candidate for President if when he loses and John McCain wins will you sit there and gloat or will you help promote life by getting involved in some way?

I know the previous paragraph may be hard to follow but if you are for something don't think that Washington can fix all the problems in the country. I beleive that many of the issues at hand today are because the churh has gotten comfortable and sat on our hands and has allowed politicians to do what we should have been doing all along. I could go on and on but I have a splitting headache and I don't want to think so...

nuff said
Brian

I voted early cuz I was mad

Yeah I admit it I went down to the courthouse to vote early. I have to admit I do feel better knowing my vote is already been cast. Now you might say that I could be the victim of voter fraud or somthing like it but in all honesty I wasn't totally sure if I was going to be free on Nov 4 anyway so I just took care of the problem.
I also will not sit and watch the returns because it will most likely have me so pissed off that I won't be able to sleep I will just wait and see who wins when I listen to the morning news.

nuff said
Buzz

Politics

I hate to say it but I love politics and I will talk politics with anybody who is willing to carry on a sensible discussion about the issues at hand. What will not do is get into a shouting match with an uninformed moroon that only whats to spout the talking points they got from watching the national news.

The facts are

1. Pro life is exactly what it says PRO LIFE no discussion needed
2 Pro Choice is simply choosing death because if you don't choose life you choose death

3 Lowering taxes actually does cause more money to be collected by the feds. How you ask it's because it promotes economic growth which in turn promotes more jobs which ironicallhy promotes MORE TAX PAYERS.

4 Bigger isn't always better. Fed budget nuff said.

Wow you may say im a single issue person but actually it boils down to a couple. On abortion someday we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ and I don't want to be asked why I didn't stand up for those that had no voice. The rest is a question of morality and our present tax code is immoral


I have come to conclusion the the Fed Govt oould cut 10-15% from it's entire budget minus the military and it wouldn't effect any of the benefits that citizens collect. The only thing needed would be to cut wasted labor and waste. It is time that govt does what all households must do it needs to get leaner and meaner and cut the waste the FED govt should layoff a huge number of crappy no good leaches that can't handle a job in the private sector were you are judged on the fruits of your labor not the years you put in.

It's time to take back America we need to remember why the founders left England.

WAKE UP and Take Back America

I'm out

Who really pays taxes

It never fails to amaze me that every four years our country is imbroiled in yet another round of class envy wars. The truth needs to be told about taxes. Our country was founded not only on Biblicle principles but also as a result of the rebellion the colonists had against England because of over taxation.

It is now time again for another tax revolution but you may ask who really pays the most taxes?

Only The Rich Pay Taxes
Top 50% of Wage Earners Pay 96.03% of Income Taxes

October 10, 2003

There is new data for 2001. The share of total income taxes paid by the top 1% fell to 33.89% from 37.42% in 2000. This is mainly because their income share (not just wages) fell from 20.81% to 17.53%. However, their average tax rate actually rose slightly from 27.45% to 27.50%.




*Data covers calendar year 2001, not fiscal year 2001 - and includes all income, not just wages, excluding Social Security


This proves that it was not the tax cut that caused revenues from the rich to fall, but the recession and the stock market crash. In other words, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. If you are going to benefit from the rich paying more taxes, due to progressivity, on the upside, you are going to lose more revenue from these people on the downside. This is a good argument for reducing progressivity.

Think of it this way: less than four dollars out of every $100 paid in income taxes in the United States is paid by someone in the bottom 50% of wage earners. Are the top half millionaires? Noooo, more like "thousandaires." The top 50% were those individuals or couples filing jointly who earned $26,000 and up in 1999. (The top 1% earned $293,000-plus.) Americans who want to are continuing to improve their lives - and those who don't want to, aren't. Here are the wage earners in each category and the percentages they pay:

Top 5% pay 53.25% of all income taxes (Down from 2000 figure: 56.47%). The top 10% pay 64.89% (Down from 2000 figure: 67.33%). The top 25% pay 82.9% (Down from 2000 figure: 84.01%). The top 50% pay 96.03% (Down from 2000 figure: 96.09%). The bottom 50%? They pay a paltry 3.97% of all income taxes. The top 1% is paying more than ten times the federal income taxes than the bottom 50%! And who earns what? The top 1% earns 17.53 (2000: 20.81%) of all income. The top 5% earns 31.99 (2000: 35.30%). The top 10% earns 43.11% (2000: 46.01%); the top 25% earns 65.23% (2000: 67.15%), and the top 50% earns 86.19% (2000: 87.01%) of all the income.

The Rich Earned Their Dough, They Didn't Inherit It (Except Ted Kennedy)



The bottom 50% is paying a tiny bit of the taxes, so you can't give them much of a tax cut by definition. Yet these are the people to whom the Democrats claim to want to give tax cuts. Remember this the next time you hear the "tax cuts for the rich" business. Understand that the so-called rich are about the only ones paying taxes anymore.

I had a conversation with a woman who identified herself as Misty on Wednesday. She claimed to be an accountant, yet she seemed unaware of the Alternative Minimum Tax, which now ensures that everyone pays some taxes. AP reports that the AMT, "designed in 1969 to ensure 155 wealthy people paid some tax," will hit "about 2.6 million of us this year and 36 million by 2010." That's because the tax isn't indexed for inflation! If your salary today would've made you mega-rich in '69, that's how you're taxed.

Misty tried the old line that all wealth is inherited. Not true. John Weicher, as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank, wrote in his February 13, 1997 Washington Post Op-Ed, "Most of the rich have earned their wealth... Looking at the Fortune 400, quite a few even of the very richest people came from a standing start, while others inherited a small business and turned it into a giant corporation." What's happening here is not that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer." The numbers prove it.

I have made an executive decision as the owner and ultimate editor of this website that this table and these numbers stay on this website forever - or until next year's numbers come out. In order to get these facts, you have to see them each and every day. This story, along with a link to the IRS chart, will stay somewhere on the RushLimbaugh.com homepage so everyone can see and find these numbers at any time. It's crucial that people get this, so please, share it with a friend now!

So if you earn more the $27682 congratulations you are in the top 50%

Now is the time for real change it is imoral for our govt to use the United States tax code a a means for the purpose to redistribute wealth in the US. Now is the time to goto to either a flat tax rate of 15% after an adjust income of $50000 or a Federal sales tax and the abolishment of the income tax.

Yes I know this data is old but you can thank the IRS for not having updated data.

This keeps talking to me...

I have really felt the Lord close to me the past couple of weeks as I seek how to pray for Tracy and Kaylyn as they prepare for their trip to the AGC baby center. My prayer for Kaylyn is that she realizes that she can change the world even if it is just on person at a time.

Why the name?

Have you ever felt like your body was falling apart? I really feel old I turned 40 this past February and now I can claim ownership of a fake eye and a metal hip.

I have found solace in these things with the realization that our bodies are actually flawed and yes disposable. So all the aches and pains of life will pass away.

1 Corinthians 15:42-4442
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.