Tuesday, June 06, 2006
The Waltons Will Be OK ...
The Waltons Will Be OK ...
This came from www.sojo.net, a Christian Progressive's activist magazine,
... the Wal-Mart heirs, that is. But millions of other Waltons, Jones, and Smiths may not.
If Senate leadership has its way, American inequality is about to take a giant step forward with efforts to repeal or gut the estate tax. Never mind it's been in place for nearly 100 years, is a substantial source of government revenue, and has been a major catalyst to charitable giving. And it only affects the wealthiest half of 1 percent of Americans - most family farms and small businesses are exempt.
A repeal of the estate tax will cost an estimated 1 trillion dollars in federal revenue over the next 10 years, substantially increase the deficit, dramatically diminish the resources available to help low-income families escape poverty, and further increase the pressure on the budget from the high cost of war.
Make a call to preserve the common good! Tell your senators to oppose repeal or drastic cuts in the estate tax!
Call toll-free, 1-800-459-1887*, now!
Here's the message: Please tell the senator to vote against any motion or bill to repeal or drastically cut the estate tax. The Senate should not bring up such a vote because we cannot invest in the common good if we hand hundreds of billions of dollars to a tiny number of millionaire heirs.
Use the toll-free number above to reach the U.S. Capitol switchboard and ask to be connected to your senator's office. (The person at the switchboard can figure out who your senators are if you're not sure).
+ See how many estates paid the estate tax in 2004.
* The toll-free number is provided courtesy of the American Friends Service Committee which has launched a budget campaign, http://go.sojo.net/ct/k1w9Ljd1tzI8/. AFSC welcomes groups to circulate and use the toll-free number in support of nonpartisan budget goals and without linking the alert to a Web site soliciting donations or actions which may be used to support partisan lobbying or work.
+ Share this issue with your friends
This came from www.sojo.net, a Christian Progressive's activist magazine,
... the Wal-Mart heirs, that is. But millions of other Waltons, Jones, and Smiths may not.
If Senate leadership has its way, American inequality is about to take a giant step forward with efforts to repeal or gut the estate tax. Never mind it's been in place for nearly 100 years, is a substantial source of government revenue, and has been a major catalyst to charitable giving. And it only affects the wealthiest half of 1 percent of Americans - most family farms and small businesses are exempt.
A repeal of the estate tax will cost an estimated 1 trillion dollars in federal revenue over the next 10 years, substantially increase the deficit, dramatically diminish the resources available to help low-income families escape poverty, and further increase the pressure on the budget from the high cost of war.
Make a call to preserve the common good! Tell your senators to oppose repeal or drastic cuts in the estate tax!
Call toll-free, 1-800-459-1887*, now!
Here's the message: Please tell the senator to vote against any motion or bill to repeal or drastically cut the estate tax. The Senate should not bring up such a vote because we cannot invest in the common good if we hand hundreds of billions of dollars to a tiny number of millionaire heirs.
Use the toll-free number above to reach the U.S. Capitol switchboard and ask to be connected to your senator's office. (The person at the switchboard can figure out who your senators are if you're not sure).
+ See how many estates paid the estate tax in 2004.
* The toll-free number is provided courtesy of the American Friends Service Committee which has launched a budget campaign, http://go.sojo.net/ct/k1w9Ljd1tzI8/. AFSC welcomes groups to circulate and use the toll-free number in support of nonpartisan budget goals and without linking the alert to a Web site soliciting donations or actions which may be used to support partisan lobbying or work.
+ Share this issue with your friends
recently got an email that complained-
"Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions."
I couldn't believe how persecuted they felt. They controll all 3 branches of government. I clicked the "reply-all" button and fired back:
How the President and Secretery of Defense FAILED to support our troops:
1. Didn't send enough of them to Afghanistan
2. Began planning to send them to Iraq BEFORE they even got into office, let alone before 9/11
3. Lied to us to make us thing that Iraq had anything whatsoever to so with 9/11
4. Sent them to Iraq
5. Didn't send enough of them to Iraq
6. Didn't send them with enough or good enough supplies, from body armor to vehicle armor
7. Don't take good enough care of their families while they're gone
8. Don't take good enough care of them or their families once they come home
9. Didn't and still don't have a plan for the reconstruction of Iraq once Saddam Hussein was overthrown
10. Contract too many aspects of the oppertation out to private contractors, who get paid insanely greater amounts than our soldiers
11. Extended stays, re-ups, remobilizations
12. Failed to train them adequaitly for coping with IEDs and RPGs
13. Failed to train them adequately for security, infastructure rebuilding and general peacekeeping duties of occupation (which should be reconstruction)
14. Failed to train them in ethics and human-relations OR actually instructed them to violate international treaties, leading to abuses in Abu Grahd, and Haditha- then let them take the fall for it in the courts and the media instead of taking responsibility at the command level.
15. Abused the National Guard system for major combat opperations when they're supposed to be reserved for natural emergencies like Katrina and Rita. Especially when guys like Bush and Cheny conveniently avoided service in Vietnam by joining the Guard
Support our troops, remember them, pray for them, offer any assistance you can to their families at home, welcome them back with open arms when they do ge to come home, thank them for their service and sacrifice, give to veterans' chairities, write to them and send them care packages, vote for them when they run for office once they get home, please, PLEASE keep them and their families in your prayers- but don't stop thinking, don't start hating people who think differently than you do, don't worship our leaders and follow them blindly without scrutinizing them. Support our troops by excercizing the rights that they fight for.
Best of all, support our troops by calling for their return home.
And don't send mindless, arrogant, foolish, prejudiced, right-wing propaganda to me unless you want me to answer back with the truth like this again.
Your fellow American, and member of the TRUE silent majority- the MIDDLE!
"Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions."
I couldn't believe how persecuted they felt. They controll all 3 branches of government. I clicked the "reply-all" button and fired back:
How the President and Secretery of Defense FAILED to support our troops:
1. Didn't send enough of them to Afghanistan
2. Began planning to send them to Iraq BEFORE they even got into office, let alone before 9/11
3. Lied to us to make us thing that Iraq had anything whatsoever to so with 9/11
4. Sent them to Iraq
5. Didn't send enough of them to Iraq
6. Didn't send them with enough or good enough supplies, from body armor to vehicle armor
7. Don't take good enough care of their families while they're gone
8. Don't take good enough care of them or their families once they come home
9. Didn't and still don't have a plan for the reconstruction of Iraq once Saddam Hussein was overthrown
10. Contract too many aspects of the oppertation out to private contractors, who get paid insanely greater amounts than our soldiers
11. Extended stays, re-ups, remobilizations
12. Failed to train them adequaitly for coping with IEDs and RPGs
13. Failed to train them adequately for security, infastructure rebuilding and general peacekeeping duties of occupation (which should be reconstruction)
14. Failed to train them in ethics and human-relations OR actually instructed them to violate international treaties, leading to abuses in Abu Grahd, and Haditha- then let them take the fall for it in the courts and the media instead of taking responsibility at the command level.
15. Abused the National Guard system for major combat opperations when they're supposed to be reserved for natural emergencies like Katrina and Rita. Especially when guys like Bush and Cheny conveniently avoided service in Vietnam by joining the Guard
Support our troops, remember them, pray for them, offer any assistance you can to their families at home, welcome them back with open arms when they do ge to come home, thank them for their service and sacrifice, give to veterans' chairities, write to them and send them care packages, vote for them when they run for office once they get home, please, PLEASE keep them and their families in your prayers- but don't stop thinking, don't start hating people who think differently than you do, don't worship our leaders and follow them blindly without scrutinizing them. Support our troops by excercizing the rights that they fight for.
Best of all, support our troops by calling for their return home.
And don't send mindless, arrogant, foolish, prejudiced, right-wing propaganda to me unless you want me to answer back with the truth like this again.
Your fellow American, and member of the TRUE silent majority- the MIDDLE!
