Christian on "Immigration"

We the People…

I can't remember a time in my life when those three words have had more meaning. Today, and over the last several days those three words reverberated through the hallowed halls of Washington like a ringing bell of atonement. Finally, the politicians that we hired to look after our affairs have heard our voice about the president's failed attempt at immigration reform.

Now that we have their attention, maybe they'll take notice when we speak out against the lack of enforcement at our borders. One case in particular which should bare an equal amount of outrage is the incomprehensible prosecution of border agents Ignacio Ramos, and Jose Compean. These two agents are serving extensive jail terms for protecting the sovereignty of the United States, and for doing their job. They used force in an attempt to arrest an illegal immigrant carrying a van load of marijuana across the border into our country. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in the ridiculous drug laws in this country, but that's a debate for another day. The fact of the matter is they are paid to protect our borders, and that's what landed them in jail. The illegal immigrant they shot trying to flee back to Mexico was given full immunity in exchange for his testimony to the shooting. I don't know about the rest of you, but what playbook is the DA and homeland security looking at. The wrongful imprisonment of these two agents is wrong on so many different levels, that I cannot begin to wrap my head around it.

Now that we got the full attention of our elected leaders, it is time we voiced our outrage on this issue. There is no doubt that the president should use is power to pardon these agents, and frankly I can't understand what is taking so long. Believe me when I say this, I not one of those Bush haters. I support the president, and I voted for him both times, but his lack of involvement in this issue, and his misguided judgment on securing our borders is a mistake that may come back to bite us in the ass. We have to take a stand on securing our borders, or else we are inviting another 9/11.

We the people…

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Reg-E on Palestine

Last week I made the comment "who cares if they are killing each other." The terrorist organization, Hamas, has now high jacked the People of Palestine. A review of history would seem to indicate that the people of Palestine were given a raw deal when the Israeli state was created, but I still believe that situation can be resolved between the parties.

The new fly in the ointment is the introduction of Hamas. This is a terrorist group determined to destroy the State of Israel and the cost of this war will be the blood of the people of Palestine not the Iranians, not the Syrians, or the Islamic terrorist groups in the middle east. Maybe it is time that the people of Israel and Palestine sat down and looked at the real enemy from outside their borders. The one common trait these two groups of people share is survival and maybe it is time they rise up together and wipe out the threat to their land.

I would like to see this situation resolved but Hamas does not care about the people of Palestine and it's their actions that are the obstacle to any peace in this region. Maybe the United Nations should send combat troops into this area and solve the problem they created.

Tom on Palestine

I grew up in the largest Arab community in North America (Dearborn, MI). I had classmates drop out of school in the summer of '67 to go fight Israel. Being pro Israeli, my life was interesting at school.

Anyway, the Palestinian issue is so large and so complex that I can't get a handle on it. There are so many issues. With all of the money their Arab brothers have, one would think this could have been solved amicably many years ago.

The USA should do nothing except give Israel anything it needs to defend itself.

Gooch on Palestine

Is there a Palestine?

It was not created by the 1947 UN Partition Plan.

Israel, with the help of the UN did not invade Palestine and create a Jewish homeland. It was already there. Jewish people were living in what is now Israel for thousands of years and up to that point.

The U.N Partition Plan was an attempt to quell the violence between Arabs and Jews, but it did just the opposite.

British intervention had kept the fire of hate smoldering for decades before the UN mandate.

The point that I am making that constant interventionalism leads to hate, distrust and terrorism . "Palestinians" were not the original terrorists, they just saw how well it worked for the Irgun and Lehi, (Jewish equivalent of the Al Aqua's Martyrs brigade), and expanded its use to civilian targets.

This problem was created by British Colonials, perpetuated by the League of Nations and now the U.N.

I know that this is the Jewish holy land. I have utmost respect for that position.

Why couldn't the U.N. have mandated that a section of Germany be used to form a Jewish State? We won the war, and as far as we were concerned it was international territory (they divided it up and everything).

Can't go back now. We need to work with Abbas, and we should have worked more closely with him for some time now. He is the chance at peace Arafat never was. We worked for decades to get someone like Abbas into power, and when we did, we turned our back on him. Israel has too.

Give Palestine a state. Israel should draw it out, fence it up, and let them have it. We've got to stop giving them an excuse to be terrorists. Without excuses, the terrorists movement dies.

We need to stop our interventionalist foreign policy, and limit the UN to food drops, and a place for countries to negotiate with each other, not a supreme body.

Reg-E has a point when he says we should let them kill each other. I just think we need to stop giving them excuses to blame us for the problem that Great Britain and the UN created.

To start with...no...I didn't read the book. So if Boortz is listening, I don't wanna hear about it.
On paper and listening to people on the radio, this seems like a great idea. You can read blogs about it and it is even linked to our web page, but there are some fundamental issues I have found through my limited research. I am sure that if anyone reads this, they will send me hate mail and death threats because I don't agree with Boortz, but oh well. Here are the reasons I have found that make me think it won't work. (This is long...bare with me)

#1 - The only way prices will drop on products is if companies lower the wages of their workers. It is like this. If a guy makes $100,000 a year, the company has to pay taxes on that individual. He is only taking home say $80,000 (to use round numbers). Now the company doesn't have to pay those taxes to the govt, but he is still paying the $100,000 straight to the employee. The company saves no money unless wages are reduced.

#2- Not anywhere in the meat and potatoes of H.R. 25 does it mention how to appeal the 16th Amendment. What it does is repeal Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with regards to Income Tax and Self-Employment Tax and Subtitle C that relates to Payroll Tax and withholding of Income Taxes. Then...to wrap things up...it says to repeal the 16th. That takes a Constitutional Amendment which has to be passed by Congress and then approved by 3/4 of the States. What incentive does the Govt. have to repeal this after the National Sales Tax is in place? What is to stop them from just adding the Income Tax back after the National Sales Tax? Guess what...it won't abolish the IRS either. They just change their name...that is all. It still calls for a Federal Agency to monitor this.

#3- This is a progressive tax. Says so in H.R. 25. That means that while it starts at 23%, the government can raise that at any time for any reason. And it would be easy to do. This tax will also be placed on top of current taxes. There is no mention anywhere in H.R. 25 of the current Gas Tax. This 23% would be on top of the current taxes we already pay.

#4- This turns every small business man or even kid mowing grass in his/her neighborhood into a tax collector. Yes...that is going to work...

#5- The one everyone hears...black market. It will increase the black market. Would you want to pay a 23% (or more) tax on an item that you can buy on the black market for free? I don't think so.

I did more research and actually came up with more reasons as well, but I am using a lot of space here. I am sure many people, especially in the Atlanta Area, will disagree with me. That is fine. That is why we have freedom of speech.

Tom On The Fair Tax

The ‘Fair Tax’ is an interesting concept that would appear, at least on the surface, to eliminate some layers of government bureaucracy. It would also seem to get government out of the business of rewarding certain lifestyle choices with tax breaks or credits. Why, for instance, should I be able to have a larger pile of money simply because I elect to live in a house with a mortgage rather than an apartment (or, for you recently registered Democratic voters, under a freeway over pass in a refrigerator box). Earned income credits?

I guess if a person really earned income, he wouldn’t need a tax credit from the government. Credits for this and credits for that. Just a way for the politicians to use the police power of the state to confiscate money from one group and give it to another group.

The real issue here isn’t how the tax is collected, its why and how much is collected. Flat tax. Payroll tax. Income tax. They are all ways the government uses its police power to redistribute income. So, your proposal for a ‘Fair Tax” (close to being an oxymoron, boys) is just giving me a choice of how I want to be mugged by the government.

Sort of like walking down the street and being able to select your mugger’s weapon of choice. Gun or knife?

The bottom line (wow, is that phrase overworked) is not how they collect taxes, but why they collect taxes. Our government is using the police power of the state to redistribute income. This allows for politicians to buy political power with someone else’s money. ‘Police power’ is not an exaggeration.

If, for instance, I think subsidizing Amtrak is not a legitimate function of government, I can’t simply withhold that portion of my tax bill. Even if it were $3.00 out of $80,000, the government would try to collect it. The amount due would soon rise due to interest and penalties. Eventually, after all collection attempts failed, the government would send people with guns to my house to collect the money. Some would call it a home ‘foreclosure’. It might take years, and the method (judgments, liens, foreclosure by the state) would ultimately result in the police power of the state being used to take money from me.

And, let’s us not forget :

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury."

(While we don’t have a pure democracy, its close enough so that the above quotation is applicable. )

The tax system, ‘Fair’ or otherwise, is the way of collecting on that vote.

Fair Tax? Hardly. Less painful way of getting mugged? Yes, I’ll give you that.

Reg-E on The Fair Tax: BOTW

I viewed several different web sites this week in my research on the Fair Tax and I found some of the benefits of the plan to be very attractive. The first benefit I see that it calls for the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service as it exist currently.....Amen. The IRS for years has terrorized the citizens of this country and they have their own federal court system, The U.S. Tax Court, to impose their will.

The plan calls for the destruction of the federal income and payroll taxes by replacing it with a federal retail sales tax. Basically it is a consumption tax, the more you spend the more taxes you pay into the federal coffer. This would allow our country to capture the taxes not currently being paid by illegal immigrants and it would be interesting to see a projection or calculation on how much money this one area of our "population" would have to contribute to our economy. This fact along with the outright elimination of the IRS is enough to garner my support for the plan.

I suspect that the Fair Tax Plan will meet stiff resistant from segments our federal government. The first group that will resist any efforts to eliminate the IRS will be the government unions as this will dip into their pocketbooks because the members will be out of job at the IRS and the other support organizations. In addition to the labor unions the politicians in Washington D.C. themselves will not want to give up the power of the tax hammer, because how else can they promote and fund their political agendas if they lose the power to tax. Finally, the group that will lead the fight against the Fair Tax will be the Democratic Party as a large part of the political dogma is to engage in class warfare with the battle cry "The rich must pay and the poor should not shoulder the burden of paying taxes."

In my humble opinion there will never be any meaningful attempts to reform the taxation process in this country until the voting public imposes their will at the voting booth. The two greatest threats to our ecomony is the current tax system and the illegal immigration problem, but in addition to the Fair Tax the President should be allowed the power of the line item veto. Implementing the Fair Tax Plan would be only a half-measure unless you stop the reckless spending by the politicians, so I would advocate a three pronged approach (1)Implement The Fair Tax; (2)Allow the President the Line Item Veto; and (3)Term Limits for both houses of Congress.

Episode 2 is posted for your listening pleasure

Bobrooney was a no-show, but Tom, an honorary Hawg Penner calls to say hi, Shayla's entertainment report, Gooch and Reg-E discuss Ron Paul, America's role in the world, Public schools, the environment and make sure to stay tuned for songs from Corey Smith and Kellee Gooch in the 2nd hour. Come for the political discussion and stay for the music.

Bobrooney on The Environment

There is no doubting the fact the the environmental condition is
declining. There is no doubting the fact that humans have been a large
contributor to global warming. Anyone with a brain knows that. I think it
is one of the questions on "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?". So
why is the Bush administration and his personal scientists so quick to
disagree. Then they agree, but only to a small part of it. Then they
want to read and "edit" every global report that comes out prior to it's
release. I find that a little shady. I do see that the current
administration is doing some now...trying to make themselves look like good
guys, but it is not enough and they know it. One would almost question
why until we realize that both the Pres. and VP are both oil men. If
we really push alternate resources, they may lose out...not to mention
the real reason for the war would no longer be an issue (oil for the
slow ones at home). We also hear about the current administration
pointing fingers at other nations...3rd world countries and the like...saying
that they are causing all kinds of pollution. More than us. Maybe
they are per capita. Maybe they are all across the board. I haven't seen
the numbers (or doctored numbers for that matter). What I do know is
that has nothing to do with us. The more that is done now, the better
off later. If we are a world leader, lets lead by example and not argue
about everything. Now...I am going to go enjoy my 1st Amendment
Rights...Reg-E knows what I mean...

Episode 2: Will They Listen again?

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Possible Discussion topics for Episode #2: The Environment (BOTW), The Fair Tax, Ron Paul, The Republican debate, and whatever you want to call us about.

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The Environment: BOTW #2: Reg-E

Reg-E's Ramblings:

The topic for this week is "global warming" and it appears to me that the environmental whacko's have cornered this market. This movement is being lead by none other than Al Gore and his recent propaganda film on the "global warming" issue has only fuled the fire.

When I was in high school I remember several "scientific" publications that declared civilization was headed for another ice age. Now our planet is overheating due to the effects of the greenhouse gases and all of the blame is being laid at the feet of the United States. Anyone who disagrees with the "global warming" cabal is branded as a loon that does not understand science. The Weather Channel's resident "global warming" guru, Heidi Cullen, has indicated that any meteorologist with the "American Metrological Society" designation who believes that the warming trend may be due to cyclical variations in weather patterns should be stripped of their designation. James Spann who is a television meteorologist who has been in the field since the late 70's has publicly feuded with Ms. Cullen and her call to censure opposing voices on the topic.

It is time to admit that we have scientist on both sides of the issue and that Mr. Gore's version of the issue is not etched in stone. Mr. Gore is pandering to the extreme left on this issue in hopes of reviving his presidential aspirations. This is the same person who in the late 80's along with his wife, Tipper, sought to regulate the content of the music industry. Mr. Gore is also the same person when serving as Congressman was decidedly Pro-Life, but his position on this issue has evolved to pander to the left.

The United States has taken steps over the years to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere and clean up the air, but still that is never enough for the Gore Goonies who simply want to perpetuate their position. While I am certainly no expert in this field a lot of people who are do in fact respectfully disagree with the Gore Myth's. Mr. Gore cannot and will not engage in an intellectually honest debate in this area with people who present him with scientific data that leads to alternate views. I challenge people to research this issue and form their own conclusions as opposed to swallowing Mr. Gore's babble on global warming. A good place to start is visiting Junkscience.com and expending your research from this starting point as opposed to jumping on the Gore Express to futility.

Just my thoughts.............

The Environment: BOTW #2: Gooch

Its hard to look at this photo and say "climate change doesn't exist". To say its not happening is not really a defensible position.

Now, I think that two reasonable people can debate whether its caused by human activity or not. Credible evidence can be given to support both sides of this argument. I personally believe that human activity is speeding up a climate change that was going to happen eventually.


Of course, I was a D student in science class, so I'm not claiming to be a knowledgeable source.

I would rather my great-grandchildren laugh at my generation because we tried to stop something we couldn't stop and didn't cause, than my great-grandchildren hate my generation because we did nothing, and we could have.

I believe that green technology and green business and products are a great example of capitalism at its best, and I think that we have an opportunity to take the lead in this market. Our private industries should invest in green technology, so that they can be more efficient. It makes good business sense.

I believe the military could lead the charge toward energy independence. The military invented the Internet. And the A-Bomb. If you give them a goal, they will work to achieve it.

Are we doomed? No. But I don't think we should sit around and do nothing.

Gooch

Episode 1: Recap

Episode 1 has been posted for your entertainment and enlightenment. The Hawg Pen Discusses the immigration issue, Hillary Clinton and the RNC, and Ron Paul (Gooch is going to make a believer out of both of them yet!) Shayla gives a riveting entertainment report, and The Hawg Pen dedicates a Corey Smith Song in memory of "Uncle Skeet", an honorary member of the Pen.

Don't forget to listen to the whole show, because Gooch plays a couple of real country tunes by Corey Smith and Kellee Gooch.

Tell your friends, spread the word, The Hawg Pen is now On The Air!

Email The Hawg Pen with any questions, comments or suggestions. They probably won't take any advice you might have, but its worth a try.

Bobrooney on Immigration

Immigration, in my opinion, is one of the few topics
that is not divided down GOP/DEM lines. 

My opinion is short, simple, and to the point. The proposed
idea will never work because no one will voluntarily go back home. 
The government is not going to force them. This makes it a
dead plan before it starts. 

The solution is simple. Build your fence or wall or whatever
it is you want to build.  Build it tall and build it sturdy.
If you want to have some gaps, put it on the largest areas of
the hot desert...make it challenging. 

Then...if you are an illegal, you just need to lay low and not
draw any attention to yourself.  If you are caught, there is
no trial, no questions asked,no consideration for current family
or friends here.  You are sent back to your country or origin
and you can't come back...PERIOD!!! 

I havenothing against legal immigration.  If you are willing
to jump through the hoops, get a good education, learn English,
and contribute to society, come on over and join us.  If you
are not willing to do those things and think we owe you
something...you are sadely mistaken. 

Last I checked, I didn't make any bets or cause any problems
on any of my trips out of the country that would make anyone
think I owe them. This sense of entitlement is rediculous and
it starts with this silly idea of political correctness. 
As far as the prices of everything going up due to increased
labor cost...think how much we will save by not paying for
the food stamps, medical expenses, or education for these people.