The California – Texas Travel Dictionary

A lexicon with translations for Californians who are visiting Texas or vice versa

In California	In Texas
Diverse or Lifestyle Choice	Perverted
Arsenal of Weapons	Gun Collection
Delicate Wetlands	Swamps
Undocumented Worker	Illegal Alien
Cruelty-Free Materials	Synthetic Fiber
Assault and Battery	Attitude Adjustment
Heavily Armed	Well-protected
Narrow-minded	Righteous
Taxes or Your Fair Share	Coerced Theft
Commonsense Gun Control	Gun Confiscation Plot
Illegal Hazardous Explosives	Fireworks or Stump Removal
Nonviable Tissue Mass	Unborn Baby
Equal Access to Opportunity	Socialism
Multicultural Community	High Crime Area
Fairness or Social Progress	Marxism
Upper Class or “The Rich”	Self-Employed
Progressive, Change	Big Government Scheme
Homeless or Disadvantaged	Bums or Welfare Leeches
Sniper Rifle	Scoped Deer Rifle
Investment For the Future	Higher Taxes
Healthcare Reform	Socialized Medicine
Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater	Conservative
Truants	Homeschoolers
Victim or Oppressed	Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing
High Capacity Magazine	Standard Capacity Magazine
Religious Zealot	Church-going, God fearing
Reintroduced Wolves	Sheep and Elk Killers
Fair Trade Coffee	Overpriced Yuppie Coffee
Exploiters or “The Rich”	Employers or Land Owners
The Gun Lobby	NRA Members
Assault Weapon	Semi-Auto (Grandpa’s M1 Carbine)
Fiscal Stimulus	New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Same Sex Marriage	Legalized Perversion
Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting	Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs

 

A Triumph Of The Free Market

In Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on April 5, 2011, the do-gooders once again knew better… …and that there needed to be a government-enforced ban on smoking in Cape’s restaurants and bars.  The do-gooders (aka liberals who assail freedom at every turn) were able to get a smoking-ban initiative on the Cape ballot and the vote ensued.

Activists like Dale Humphries were ‘reflective’ after hearing that Cape Girardeau voters rejected the ban by 52% to 48%.  Sadly, 48% of Cape Girardeau voters agree with the tyranny of mob mentality.

The Mayor was torn, but came down on the side of freedom:

Mayor Harry Rediger said Tuesday he had mixed feelings about the election results. He is not a smoker and understands that smoking is a health hazard, he said. But, in the end, his concerns about government interference were paramount.

“To me, this proposal overstepped its bounds,” he said. “It should, in my opinion, have been a business owner’s decision how it wants to treat its business.”

The result? Businesses were free to decide for themselves.  And, a few weeks ago, a business in Cape did just that.

As a Libertarian / Conservative, I was thrilled to see the local Pasta House Company restaurant make their own decision to enforce a smoking ban.  As a smoker, one knows they need to go to another business, such as Bella Italia, who currently allows smokers to enjoy a completely legal product.

This is the Free Market at work.  I praise the 52% of Cape Girardeau residents and the city leaders that believe in that Freedom.

 

Is It Bad When Government / Business Bed Together?!?

Depends on if you want the government to know your whereabouts at all times:

Uh-oh: Government Motors wants to track you

Several years ago Glenn broke ties with GM as a sponsor, in large part because he was worried about their interactions with government. All that technology and access at the fingertips of the federal government just didn’t sit well with Glenn. At the time, they said they wouldn’t be doing any sort of tracking or anything like that. That was then, this is now. OnStar is now notifying its 6 million account holders that it will keep a complete account of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles even for drivers who discontinue the monthly service. Why? Glenn has more on radio today – check it out at GlennBeck.com.

How does the Preamble to the Constitution go?

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, track Americans everywhere they go, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Yeah, that’s in there isn’t it!

 

The Obama / Buffett Tax Lies

Obama now likes to do math, but his math must come straight out of Orwell — 2+2=5.  If you do real math, the truth is that the funds from which Buffett gets ‘paid’ always get taxed at a higher rate than his overpaid secretary.

Let’s say Buffett and 5 friends invest $1M each in Acme Roadrunner & Job Killers, Inc.  In 2010, the company has income of $1M and expenses of $750,000.

Included in the expenses is the $50,000 salary (median salary for the U.S.) for Sally Secretary that is taxed as below:

Sally pays the $5,944 in taxes, and Sally’s effective tax rate is 11.8% — below the 15% Capital Gains tax that Buffett pays when he takes dividends from the Company.  Sally would have to make more than $84,500 to get above a 15% effective tax rate.  Pretty good salary if you can get it.

The 2010 taxable income for Acme is $250,000.  Assuming we divide the $250,000 evenly between the 5 investors when we pay Corporate Taxes, take Dividends, and Pay Taxes on the Dividends, we would see that the total tax for Mr. Buffett is $22,375.

Again, the amount of tax the Federal Government gets from Sally’s $50,000 is $5,944 and the amount from Mr. Buffett’s $50,000 is $22,375.

If Sally Secretary is the best secretary on the planet, her $1,000,000 salary still only gets taxed at a 32.4% effective rate!  No matter what the earnings for the corporation, when Buffett takes his Dividend, the total tax to the government will be 44.75%.

As usual, Obama’s rhetoric belies the truth and reality.  Tell your friends, if you want less of something, tax it; if you want fewer jobs; tax the job creators more.

 

Jason Crowell: Senate Passes a Taxpayer First Jobs Package

By Missouri State Senator Jason Crowell (jcrowell@senate.mo.gov)

Attention Shifts to See What the House Does

Over the past few weeks, I have shared with you how Missouri had the opportunity to make September’s Extraordinary Session a “Taxpayer and Missouri Jobs First” Special Session.  And because you demanded the right legislation be passed, the Senate listened and passed a bill that put job creation and the Missouri taxpayer first.  Your calls and emails led to the Senate scrapping the special interest first plan and passing Wednesday a jobs bill that begins making government live within its means and ties incentives directly to jobs created.

In the past, the state has subsidized activity because of promised jobs.  The special interests worked hard lobbying and giving to campaigns and convinced legislators that their tax credits would create jobs and enhance economic development.  This influence led to politicians giving out hundreds of millions of your hard-earned tax dollars to Low Income Housing tax credits, Historic Preservation tax credits and Land Assemblage tax credits.  However, while the awarding of tax credits increased over the last 13 years by 430.8 percent, equaling $545 million in 2011, the promised jobs have never been created.

That is because subsidized activity not tied to job creation fails to create jobs.  All those tax credits did was line the pockets of wealthy developers who, with the help of the politicians, conned the Missouri taxpayer.  It is clear that instead of job growth, Missouri’s return on investment was 21 cents for every dollar spent on Historic Preservation tax credits and 11 cents for every dollar spent on Low Income Housing tax credits.  “Give me a dollar and I will give you 21 cents or 11 cents back.”  You would never do that with your own money, and you should not allow the politicians to do such with your tax dollars.

Yet this has been the state’s economic plan, and it almost passed again.  For example, when redeveloping Schultz School Senior Housing in Cape Girardeau, we were told that if we subsidized the project, jobs would come and economic development would occur.  However, after spending $373,000 an apartment unit in Low Income Housing and Historic Preservation tax credits, permanent jobs did not.  Giving $16.7 million of your tax dollars to rehab 45 units for 11 – 21 cents on the dollar return is outrageous.  Over the course of the last two weeks there was an awakening that occurred with State Senators; they listened to your demands for responsible use of your hard earned tax dollars.  “We must tie incentives to job creation, not activities that may or may not create jobs.”

The removal of $300 million in Aerotropolis warehouse tax credits from the special session is acknowledgement of this key principle.  It is wrong, with our country facing massive manufacturing job losses to China, to make the central component of a “Made in Missouri” jobs plan the subsidization of the importation of China-made goods.  The battle now goes to the House where House leaders, who put their campaign accounts above Missourians, have said we must give $300 million to China importation warehouses. [Emphasis Added]

The bill that passed the Senate, which House leaders oppose, also included real tax credit reforms saving taxpayers $947 million over 15 years.  It caps and sunsets both the Historic Preservation tax credit and Low Income Housing tax credit.  The reforms also include clawbacks for failing to create jobs.  We have the ability to recapture any tax credits given out for noncompliance with the requirements, which specifically include creating the new jobs promised.  We have succeeded in the Senate, and with your continued support and help, we can win the House and beat back the special interests and developers House leaders covet.

Your humble blogger agrees that there has been great success, but yet, there still lurks great danger.  Buried in the verbiage of the Senate passed bill is language that describes how areas can be ‘blighted’ for their ‘potential’ to produce green energy.  Read here.

I implore you to continue to contact your Missouri Representatives asking them to kill this bill and start fresh with a bill to truly reform Missouri’s Tax Credit process… …with out the Green Energy / Agenda 21 Trojan Horse.

As always, I appreciate hearing your comments, opinions, and concerns.  Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-2459.  You may write to me at Jason Crowell; Missouri Senate; State Capitol; Jefferson City, MO  65101, or e-mail me at: jcrowell@senate.mo.gov or visit me on the web at http://www.senate.mo.gov/crowell.

 

22,727,272,727 Stamps

Too. Many. Jokes. Must. Mock. McCaskill.

Yes, with leadership like this, potential Missouri Senatorial Candidates must be squirming in their campaign-seats at the thought of coming up against Air Claire in the 2012 Election.

On Tuesday, Claire McCaskill offered the U.S. Postmaster General some sage advice on how to stem the tide of financial devastation ebbing on the Post Offices’ beachhead — A Marketing Campaign To Get People To Write Letters.

Ignore the communications advances of the last 30 years — e-mails, text messages, fax, on-line document sharing, video-conference, cell-phone — let’s get the folks to go to the store, buy paper, buy envelopes, buy pens, buy pencils, go to the post office, buy stamps, sit down, write letters of love and caring to our friends and family.

THAT! will save the Post Office.

Too rich for the (generally liberal) Jon Stewart to pass up (@3:51):

But why stop there Claire? All this technology stuff 2day has caused downturns outside of the Postal Window.  Envelope Companies, Stationery Companies, Pen Makers could all use some help from the wisdom of you in the Congress as well!

I’ve even heard that the manufacturers of buggy whips might be having some financial trouble.

Sadly though, Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe reported that such a campaign to get people to write more letters is in the works.  Thanks goodness for that, because we will only need the American People to buy an 22,727,272,727 Postage Stamps to offset the $10B that the Postal Service is projected to lose this year.  Every man, woman and child in the U.S. would have to buy 75 stamps (and not use them) to allow them to break even.

Can ANYONE in the Federal Government come up with an idea that actually REDUCES COSTS instead of just throwing more money at a problem — Claire McCaskill and Patrick R. Donahoe can’t.