Refuting Marisa Martin's Argument In Re:Schiavo

In Re Schiavo: The Saga Continues
by Marisa Martin, L.L.M. Candidate

Most states, including Florida, have statutes specifying who may make health care decisions for incapacitated patients in the absence of a prior designation, including the decision to end life sustaining treatment. Norman L. Cantor, Twenty-Five Years After Quinlan: A Review of the Jurisprudence of Death and Dying, 29 J.L. Med. & Ethics 182, 182-183 (2001).

Although court intervention is available, it usually comes into play only when family members cannot agree what the patient would have wanted or what should be done. Courts have upheld patients' rights to control end of life decisions through the 14th Amendment's protection of individual liberty and the common law principle of informed consent.In re Quinlan, 355 A.2d 647 (N.J. 1976); Foody v. Manchester Memorial Hospital, 482 A.2d 713 (Conn. 1984)

That is exactly why intervention was asked in this case. Terri's parents want to keep her alive; her husband wants her dead. That's the issue in a nutshell.

In the Schiavo case, extraordinary legislative and political intervention with the judicial system have raised constitutional issues and leave everyone wondering where the lines between morality, law-making, and judicial interpretation truly lie. What rights do patients have and how should they be adjudicated? What role, if any, should public opinion and politics play in end of life health care decisions?

That's an easy question. Life is not to rest on the democratic process of a vote. Life is an inherent right guaranteed by our Constitution. Death isn't.

In the past, a variety of groups supported 'right to life' including religious groups who believe that God has autonomous power over the death process, social groups who view life as sacrosanct, and medical practitioners whose professional ideals dictate that life should be absolutely sustained or that these type of decisions should be made exclusively by medical personnel. Advocates for disabled groups contend that all life is equally valuable and the freedom to end one's life may lead to discrimination or exploitation of disabled individuals. Cantor at 182.In the present case, Terry Schiavo collapsed in 1990 and has remained in a persistent vegetative state ("PVS") ever since.

This is not true. Her condition has improved with therapy.

Her brain stem is functioning, causing her to have normal wake/sleep cycles and to blink and grunt, but over the years her brain has become mostly fluid.

Truth: Terri recognizes people, especially her mother. Her eyes follow people around the room. She responds to direction and is able to move certain parts of her body on command. People sent by the court to ascertain he condition have said they were shocked to see her so alert and responsive.

Most experts agree that Mrs. Schiavo has zero cognitive functioning and would feel no pain if her feeding tube was removed, and she was allowed to physically die.

Again, not true. Her doctors have recommended various types of therapy. In one case an insurance company denied it. In another, her husband put her in a nursing home instead.

Her parents believe she is not in a persistently vegetative state and could improve with therapy. They have fought vehemently with the support of various interest groups (which include medical personnel) to keep her feeding tube in place..

Terry Schiavo’s husband, Michael Schiavo, wants the feeding tube removed. He is authorized under Florida law to make life sustaining treatment decisions and was also appointed Terry Schiavo’s guardian by the Florida court system. Schindler v. Schiavo, 780 So.2d 176 (Fla. 2001). His decision was upheld by a Florida Court of Appeals and the feeding tube was removed. In re Guardianship of Schiavo, Fla. Cir. Ct., No. 90-2908-GD-003, order 9/17/03.

Truth: Michael Schiavo stands to benefit financially with her death. During her illness he has lived with another woman and had two children with her instead of divorcing Terri and getting on with his life. There is every reason to believe that Michael Schiavo does not have, never will have and possibly never had Terri's well being in mind.

The Florida legislature and Governor Jeb Bush passed legislation and implemented a stay that ordered a guardian to be appointed and the feeding tube reinserted some six days later. Public Law 03-418. The bill authorizes the governor to order the feeding of PVS patients who lack living wills when there is a challenge by the family to withholding of nutrition and hydration to the patient. H.B. 35-E.

This executive order directly conflicts with previous Florida judicial decisions ordering the feeding tube removed and violates Terry Schiavo's right to privacy as her decision has been usurped by Governor Jeb Bush. No. 03-201. Florida courts determined by clear and convincing (evidence?) that Terry Schiavo would have wanted the feeding tube removed evidence. This decision should not be turned on end by the executive and legislative branches in response to political pressure or to obtain public approval.

That last statement is pure opinion and my opinion is as good as youre. I beg to differ. Death is final. Once Terri dies there is no way to bring her back to give her the benefit of medical advances that might occur within weeks, months or even years. Judging from the actions of the people around her, Terri’s parents are the ones who love her and they should be the only ones to make decisions about her.

In November 2003, Mrs. Schiavo’s parents filed a lawsuit attempting to remove Michael Schiavo as legal guardian.

They did so only after Michael refused to give them medical information concerning Terri’s condition, posted a "Do Not Resuscitate" sign on her door and refused treatment for her when she came down with a life-threatening infection.

The writer here has over looked (probably intentionally) crucial facts in the case. Some of these involve huge sums of money awarded to Terri and to Michael: In August 1992 Terri was awarded $250,000 in settlement of a malpractice suit; in November of that year she was awarded $1.4 million in a malpractice lawsuit. Then Michael was awarded another $600,000 in still another malpractice trial.In November, 1993, Michael Schiavo testified under oath that he knew withholding treatment would possibly cause Terri’s death.

Michael Schiavo filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the bill. He requested a temporary restraining order against Governor Bush. Schiavo v. Bush, Fla. Cir. Ct. No. 03-008212-CI-20. Governor Bush and Mrs. Schiavo's parents are currently seeking to remove the judges currently presiding over the respective cases, asserting they are biased. Tampa -AP, Bush Wants New Trial Over Terri Schiavo's Wishes, CBS 47 JACKSONVILLE (Florida), Nov. 20, 2003. AP, Bush Seeks Removal of Judge in Schiavo Case, TALL. DEM., Nov. 22, 2003. Several public interest groups are heavily involved, providing legal funds, political support, and publicity. Right to life groups and religious organizations support Mrs. Schiavo's parents, while the ACLU has stepped in to defend Michael Schiavo's position.John-Thor Dahlburg, Husband Sues Florida to Halt Wife’s Feeding, L.A.Times, Oct. 30, 2003. The National Right to Life organization even developed its own "Model Starvation and Dehydration of Persons With Disabilities Prevention Act" which includes a strong presumption that the incompetent would choose to have health care providers provide life sustaining nutrition and hydration unless there were clear indications to the contrary.

Although Terry Schiavo's parents may have morally and religiously defensible beliefs, Governor Bush should not undermine the Florida Constitution by violating the separation of powers doctrine on their behalf. Fl. Const. Art 2 § 3. If there is any evidence of foul play by Michael Schiavo or any medical indication that Terry Schiavo has in fact been conscious in some fashion for the past 13 years, it is up to the Florida courts to determine, not Governor Jeb Bush. As one Florida legal scholar noted, "We might need to begin reading the Florida Statutes as follows: in the event a proxy is not named prior to incapacity, the patient's health-care decisions will be made by: a) the governor; b) a guardian appointed by the court; c) the patient's spouse, and so on." Lois Shepherd, Governor Bush: Health Care Surrogate?

Where is this objection when the governor stays the execution of a convicted criminal? Gov. Bush's intervention does not threaten the Florida State constitution. If a governor can intervene to save a life when a prisoner is on death row, he can certainly do the same for a patient in a hospital. Lawyers tend to make too much over nothing with an eye to legal fees. This is one of those cases.

Also, both parties agree that Mrs. Schiavo is eligible for Medicaid. Society should not have to bear the financial burden of supporting individuals in a persistently vegetative state for decades, especially when the average cost of nursing home care for PVS patients is $40,000 -- $50,000 a year. James L. Rosica, Schiavo Case Not Unique, TALL. DEM., Nov. 7, 2003, at B6. If public resources are being spent to maintain a person who has been incapacitated for 13 years and for whom there is no medical prognosis of improvement, should those resources not be used more effectively?

So one life has a monetary value, does it? Medical technology changes so fast, who is to say there won’t be a cure soon -- through stem cell research, possibly?

But NOW here we are the the crux of the problem. If a person can’t contribute to society and it might cost society money to support that person, can’t we just kill the useless person and save the money. This can be said of the handicapped and the retarded. Shall we just kill them and get rid of them so we can spend the money on something else? I don’t want to live in that society. And students who think that way should be sent back to grade school. In fact, if you want to get rid of a life, I would volunteer people who think like that. That would leave more resources to be spent in other ways.

Although many states have implemented laws outlining how end of life decisions should be made and who should make them, these statutes are not familiar to the general public and are not easily standardized. As a result, an individual case such as Schiavo may generate strong disagreement. Although the Supreme Court has determined that generally such state statutes are constitutional, it is uncertain how crucial concomitant issues will be managed in the near future. Cruzan v. Dir. Missouri Dept. of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990).

The general public doesn’t know a lot about law. Most haven't read the Constitution. As a result does it generate strong disagreement? Yes. Will the US survive? Yes. But this really has nothing to do with the argument.

Meanwhile, the Florida legislature should change the relevant end of life laws and apply them prospectively, not retroactively if it is determined that the current evidentiary standards or guardianship proceedings within the Florida judicial system are inappropriately protecting the rights of those who are incapacitated. Certainty and fairness are too important in the American legal system to squander, especially with regard to life and death decisions.

I’ll bet this young lady was the first to try to change the election laws in Florida because she didn’t like the outcome.

The Florida legislature should not change the relevant end of life laws. Guardianship should be decided on the basis of who has demonstrated the most loving and caring actions toward the patient. The law should never assume to decide what "quality of life" is or isn’t. If Terri dies, she is dead forever. If she lives, there is hope that medical science will progress to the point to where she may be cured, or at least healed enough to communicate her desires.

No Room For Hatred in America

"I hate Republicans," Howard Dean said recently, "and everything they stand for but I admire their discipline and their organization."

That's like saying "I hate everything you are, but I like your hair and what you're wearing."

It's odd being on the receiving end of such hatred. Back in 1964, when we were the "young turk" Republicans, we believed with all our hearts that President Johnson would mean nothing but trouble for the US; that he would lead us into a terrible war.

Senator Goldwater stood for taking a stand in Viet Nam that would have gotten us out, yet he was portrayed during the campaign as a war monger. The Democrats waged a campaign of lies -- but not hatred. And they won. It hurt. Bad. But we licked our wounds and kept our mouths shut, even when our neighbors said, years later, "We wish we had voted for Goldwater." We didn't call our opponents "dumb." We didn't look down our noses at them; we didn't even say "we told you so," although we thought it many, many times over the years.

But hatred. Even the word raises red flags of danger. Anyone with the least knowledge of history knows what hatred does -- it blinds people. They become mindless in their hatred and tend towards mob behavior. They burn books and kill ethnic groups.

There is nothing ... NOTHING...constructive in hatred. It is the most dangerous emotion in the human repertoire. Hatred, in its blindest form, leads to killing.

People who spew hatred are the most dangerous of our species. Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Baby Doc, Castro, Milosevich . . . the contemporary list is long enough. The historic list is longer. They hated and used hatred as the basis for stirring up more mindless hatred among the people they led.

And just what has the Republican Party done to deserve this hatred?

Democrats will say they stole elections -- yet every legal recount in Florida in 2000 showed President Bush to be the winner. He only lost if they changed the rules and counted illegal votes.

In the recounts in Washington and in Ohio in 2004, the only election officials indicted for fraud were Democrats and the Democrat won in Washington only after over 100 extra votes were "found." A recount of the state was rejected by the Democrats. Who has the real right to begin to hate in those cases? Yet Republicans don't hate -- never have.

And just what is this terrible result of these actually not-stolen elections? Dramatic increases in solvency in the US economy, based on valid Keynesian principles. Democratic-based governments rising in the Middle East. Increased security for our own nation (and if anyone tells you that we haven't been attacked since 9/11, don't believe them -- I was peripherally involved, and might have been a victim, in one -- I KNOW from personal experience that Homeland Security has worked).

The poor in our country now have opportunities to become part of our American Dream through the ownership society. Defense spending is 'way up from the Clinton years and the nation is stronger and safer. Children in schools that actually use "No Child Left Behind" standards getting better educations. And more...lots more.

Howard Dean hates because the Republicans beat his party fair and square. But if he continues to spew hatred, he'll take the Democratic Party straight into the sewer.

Most Americans (the exceptions being those who have destroyed their brains with drugs) are fair and reasonable. They are even loving, reaching out unstintingly to those all over the world who need help; asking no thanks in return. Americans don't deserve to be hated by fellow Americans -- there are plenty of Islamic extremists to do that, successfully enough.

Thank God for free speech. That's how we know when politicians feel this way; and others, too, for that matter.

But there should be no place in American public discourse for hatred. We are a Christian nation -- probably the only one in the world. The Christian faith and the Christian nation are based on love. There is no room for hatred in America.

Some Things I Don't Understand - Like Barbara Boxer

There are some things in life I just don't understand.

One, and possibly the major one, is why politicians oppose a good bill just because it was introduced by the other party. They all do it; it's a grown-up version of the childish "if it isn't my idea, it's no good."

I don't understand why adults who have voluntarily taken on the responsibility of running our country and preserving our heritage for the coming generations behave so pettily -- behave as though they never had mothers to teach them manners.

Look at Barbara Boxer, for example. She said, as part of her rude confrontation of Sec'y Rice that the invasion of Iraq "was all about WMDs." (She knows better (or she's senile).

The truth is, the threat of WMD was part of the Senate's worry. And it was a danger called real by Democratic Sen. John Kerry and growing by former Sen. Tom Daschle. Sen. Hillary Clinton summed it all up when she warned
that "If left unchecked Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his
capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare."

But the Senate approved the use of force against Hussein for a good deal more than "WMDs, period."

The resolution listed 23 other grievances:
violations of the 1991 armistice accords,
brutal repression of the Iraqi people,
failure to inform about missing Kuwaitis,
the 1993 attempted assassination of former President Bush,
firing on American forces in the no-fly zone,
harboring of terrorists in Iraq,
the presence of al-Qaida in Iraq ("Whereas members of al-Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq),
and violation of U.N. inspection protocols, to name a few.

Boxer knows that. So she was being disengenuous, dishonest and untruthful in her interrogation of Sec'y Rice. Why? What does she gain by that kind of behavior? There must be something or she wouldn't do it.

But what she does is misconstrue and destroy truth -- and truth is the very base on which America stands.

I wish she would discuss this with me. I know she won't, she wouldn't if I were someone truly important in her world. But I wish I could understand...

There are so many real possibilities in our world that politicians swat down for petty reasons.

I'm having a "discussion" -- he sends me a poorly constructed and written form letter and I answer each of his points with a well-researched, thoughtful answer which I'm sure some aide glances at, then hits the delete button -- with my congressman about the Fair Tax proposal. Check it out by clicking here.

Rep. Dennis Moore is a Democrat who is going to support anything proposed by a Democrat and nothing proposed by a Republican. So of course he's against the Fair Tax. Not because he's bothered to learn anything about it (although he possibly read the Democratic Committee's report on it which was based on made-up facts and incorrect conclusions) but because it was introduced by a Republican.

I've answered each of his points with the truth -- but it's really not true that truth can stand up against lies. People believe what they want to believe, for reasons that have nothing to do with the issue at hand.

The first reason he gave for not supporting the tax is that it had only a few co-sponsors in the 108th Congress (this year's is the 109th). In other words, he's no leader -- he won't support an issue unless it's safe. I don't understand that, either. It seems to me that Congressmen should be striving to be first when something great comes along.

I don't understand why losing an election seems to give people the right to curse and demean their opposition. Calling winners "dumb" is dumbness itself -- how can they be dumb if they beat your best efforts? The logic doesn't work. And how does that benefit your next campaigns if you've called the people you want to support you "dumb." That's stupid.

Just musing here . . . one of the the great things about politics (and life) is the surprising behavior of other people. Even if I don't understand.

Thank You for the Dream, President Bush

In President Bush's State of the Union Address he ended his speech with: "As Franklin Roosevelt once reminded Americans, "each age is a dream that is dying, or one that is coming to birth."

And we live in the country where the biggest dreams are born. The abolition of slavery was only a dream -- until it was fulfilled. The liberation of Europe from fascism was only a dream -- until it was achieved. The fall of imperial communism was only a dream -- until, one day, it was accomplished. Our generation has dreams of its own, and we also go forward with confidence. The road of Providence is uneven and unpredictable -- yet we know where it leads: It leads to freedom."

This President is a man who makes dreams come true, not only for imprisoned nations but for people imprisoned in another kind of hell.

Imagine you're a man, six feet, seven inches tall, but you don't have the ability to communicate. You are subject to fits because your world will suddenly spin out of control, putting strange colors before your eyes and odd noises in your ears. Sometimes it's so disorienting that you cry out and hit your head with your hand, hoping to make it go away. Doctors have used terms, meaningless to you but wrenching to your family, like "autism" and "severely retarded" and "temporal lobe epilepsy."

This has been going on all your life. You've had to work hard to make sense of the strange sounds people make at you. Sometimes words don't sound the same way the second time you hear them and that's even more confusing. Sometimes sounds and colors get all mixed up in your head and the confusion terrifies you, so you burst into tears. Sometimes you're terribly afraid and your response to that is to bite one hand while you hit your head with the other. Other times a sudden rush of emotion overwhelms you and you begin to laugh and cry all at once.

You are blind in your right eye and deaf in that ear from hitting yourself over the years. Doctors have said that you are strong enough now to blind yourself in the other eye or even cause permanent brain damage or death with a self-inflicted blow.

There have been people all around you in your life who have tried to understand and help but only since you've been an adult have you begun to understand love.

The dreams you dream confuse you and sometimes you wake crying. You don't have a dream for your future. Even your parents, who have loved you and helped you all your life, have never dreamed a dream for you. They have hoped only to see you happy.

Through most of your adult life you've lived in rented houses, with a staff who look after you 24-hours a day. As it would happen, for one reason or another and no fault of yours, homeowners have wanted their houses back on an average of every other year.

Nothing upsets and confuses you any more than change -- especially moving. But move you did, 6 times in 12 years.

Then along came President Bush. President Bush decided that everyone, no matter what their circumstances, should have part of the American Dream -- homeownership.

President Bush doesn't know about you. He probably doesn't know much about people like you. But, without even knowing it, President Bush dreamed the impossible dream for you -- and made it come true.

Suddenly it became possible for you to buy a house. Your income from social security and disability is less than $8,000.00 a year but thanks to a US Department of Agriculture 502 loan (for low-income individuals to buy rural property) you are able to buy your very own home.

And on October 25, 2004 you moved in. Your astonished, delighted and grateful parents put up a website for your distant siblings to see how the purchase and move were going at www.angelfire.com/tn3/tiedemannvols.

You don't really understand the difference now but you seem happy and content. Your world is as stable and safe as your parents can make it. You're surrounded by love and you are living the American Dream.

If you could, you would thank President Bush with all your heart but since you can't, your parents thank him with all theirs.

Reasons 26 thorough 50 To Support the Fair Tax

FairTax and the Economy
26. It increases investment in business by eliminating the capital gains tax.

27. It allows for better planning by businesses, because they no longer have to consider tax implications for everything they do.

28. It makes higher employment or better compensation possible in the small business sector, where today it costs approximately three dollars in compliance costs to pay one dollar in payroll and income taxes.

29. It makes American products more competitive overseas by removing the embedded tax from them, thus lowering the prices of our exports, which compensates for low foreign wages.

30. By making our exports more competitive overseas, it lowers our balance of trade deficit and increases employment at home.

31. By removing the embedded tax from them, it makes American products more competitive with imports here, compensating for the low cost of imported products from which taxes have been removed before exportation to the U.S.

32. It encourages investment in companies located in the U.S., thus providing a home for money already in the U.S. and attracting more. The U.S. will be the most attractive tax-free haven in the world for doing business.

33. It encourages repatriation to the U.S. of money held by U.S. individuals and companies now in foreign countries, with no tax consequence. American companies will return from offshore and overseas.

34. It results in a windfall profit, likely to be invested in job-making businesses, for many of those holding taxable corporate high interest bonds at the time of passage of FairTax, since the bonds will not be taxed under FairTax. (Currently, a higher interest rate is usually paid to entice investors to buy the corporate bonds rather than go with the lower interest, but tax free, municipal bonds.)

35. It results in Federal Reserve rates being based on current consumption, which is rather stable, instead of future earnings, which are less predictable, resulting in surer inflation prevention.

36. It reduces production costs for farmers and other subsidized businesses, leading to a reduction in subsidies, thus reducing the federal budget.

37. It moves many individuals now providing tax advice (return preparation, advice, accounting, planning, and records maintenance) into an expansive economy where they will be producing goods and services. There they can add to the standard of living of all Americans and likely earn more than they do currently, instead of shuffling paper for the government (and not contributing anything economically to society).
FairTax and Churches and Non-profit Organizations.

38. It frees churches and other non-profit organizations from the expense of filing tax returns and paying their half of Social Security and Medicare payments for employees. There will no longer be any 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), etc., non-profit tax status, because there will be no more tax to be exempt from.

39. It restores to churches and non-profit organizations the 1st Amendment right to engage in free speech, without fear of losing their tax-free status.

FairTax and Rights and Freedoms
40. It restores the 4th Amendment, protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures, from which the IRS presently is exempt.

41. It restores the 5th Amendment, which guarantees the right to due process. Under current systems the IRS has their own courts with their own set of rules not included in the 5th.

42. It restores individual privacy. The government no longer needs to know where you work, what you are earning, and what you are doing with it.

43. It relieves citizens of the risk of facing the shift in burden of proof that is so common with the current system, i.e., the taxpayer is guilty unless innocence can be proved, but even the IRS staff sometimes gives conflicting interpretations.

44. It eliminates the need to have a "marriage" clarification declaring who you live with, as that no longer has any bearing at all on a state or federal sales tax.

45. It eliminates the need for courts to decide which divorced parent gets to take the tax deduction for children.

FairTax and Government and Educational Entities
46. Without FICA to pay, most states, counties, municipalities, and school districts will see a large increase in their state budget revenues, additionally lowering the overall tax burden (State & Federal) for most Americans.

47. It eliminates the administrative costs incurred by states in collection of state sales taxes because states will piggyback the state tax collection onto the national tax collection, for which they are compensated by the FairTax ¼% administrative cost give-back. (Retailers receive an equal amount for collecting the FairTax.)

FairTax and Politics
48. It cleans up a major flaw in campaign financing, eliminating campaign donations for "tax favors".

49. It eliminates wrangling in Congress over tax cuts, the tax code, and who is or is not paying a fair share of the tax bill, providing more time for debate on more productive issues.

FairTax and the Environment
50. It’s good for the environment. Reportedly, the IRS sends out 8 billion pages of forms and instructions each year. Laid end to end, they would stretch 28 times around the earth. Nearly 300,000 trees are cut down yearly to produce the paper for all the IRS forms and instructions. Also, since it taxes only new items, it would encourage buying tax-free pre-owned cars, clothes, furniture, houses, etc. Reuse is good for the environment, too.

Many thanks to Kenneth J. Van Dellen for collecting this and putting it together.

Reasons 11 through 25 To Support Fair Tax

You'll find the first ten of fifty reasons here at GOP Insight.

11. It eliminates 90% of the cost of compliance. American families and American businesses waste an estimated $250 – $600 billion per year (and countless hours of time) doing the paperwork necessary to comply with the current tax code. That is roughly $1,000 – $2,000 annually for every man, woman and child in the U.S. (Businesses typically pass their tax bills and compliance costs on to the consumer, i.e., individuals and families.)

12. It’s simple, unambiguous, and certain, the opposite of the current tax code, 60,044 pages and counting.

13. It assures that no American will find, at the end of the year, a need to get a loan to pay taxes as an alternative to penalties, interest, or cheating.

14. The broader tax base comprises everyone spending money in the U.S., including the ten percent of our economy (an estimated $1 trillion) that today is underground or under the table. Under the FairTax, the illegal drug dealer will pay his tax just like the rest of us when he buys his sunglasses, BMW, and other items, as will those who work for cash and undocumented immigrants, all of whom receive government and societal benefits.

15. It encourages work by letting workers keep 100% of their earnings and giving a rebate, in addition, making the notion that "the more you work, the more money you have," a reality, unlike the current system where welfare is lost when you go to work, so the first dollars earned after taxes just offset what a welfare recipient is currently receiving in assistance, so working is perceived as disadvantageous.

16. It allows more of the lower income families to become home owners by allowing a second job income above their current income (all tax free) to be applied to a mortgage. Money for down payments for homes is also saved totally tax free, causing it to accumulate faster.

17. It has the result that all lending in America will be at the equivalent of today’s tax exempt interest rates, which are 25%-30% less than today’s taxable home mortgage interest rates. This will create a huge boom in housing purchases and allow existing homeowners to refinance and reduce their cost of homeownership substantially.

18. It allows families to retain farms and businesses in the hands of those who built them through the elimination of the death tax.

19. It allows families to give tax-free assistance to one another by eliminating the gift tax.

20. It gives individuals (and businesses) the right to donate as much as they want to in a given year to charitable causes, without concern for exceeding an allowed limit on giving.

21. It encourages individuals to self-insure, making the health system more direct-pay (no 3rd party pay), thus bringing costs down.

22. It puts an end to the anxiety for honest taxpayers that begins soon after January 1 for most of use, culminating in wondering whether we’ve claimed everything we legally could and nothing we shouldn’t, all without raising questions at the IRS. It makes April 15 just another day. (Perhaps it will be a holiday after the FairTax is enacted!)

FairTax and Social Security and Medicare
23. It eliminates the regressive payroll tax that hurts the poor. Currently, every one of us is taxed a minimum of 7.65 percent on our first-dollar of wages up to $90,000 (the cap for FICA, not Medicare), if we earn that much. It provides funding for Social Security and Medicare at a level equal to or greater than the present.

24. It provides that all 290 million Americans and 51 million visiting tourists fund Social Security and Medicare with their purchases. Today only 110 million workers fund these programs via deductions from their paychecks.

25. It assures that the wealthiest Americans will be voluntarily helping to fund social security with every last dollar they spend above the poverty level. Today, earnings are subject to FICA taxes only up to $90,000. The wealthiest Americans therefore do not pay into the system above that amount. If their earnings are from investments, no earnings fund the Social Security system.
FairTax and the Economy.

Thanks to Kenneth J. Van Dellen for the list. There's more in the next post.

Here Come the Negs

Kansas City Star February 1, 2005

Sunnis' absence threatens vote
Low participation could undermine election's legitimacy
by Tom Lasseter for Knight Ridder Newspapers

Bagdad, Iraq
With the first phase of ballot counting in Iraq finished, concerns were growing Monday that many of the country's Sunni Muslims may not have voted.

That would raise the possibility that the election could aggravate the rift between Iraq's Sunni minority and a Shiite Muslim majority that appears to have taken power.

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, called for national unity in a plea that appeared to be directed toward the Sunnis.

"We are entering a new era of our history," he said, "All Iraqis, whether they voted or not, should unite. Our mission is to build Iraq."

Although Sunnis in some areas voted in higher numbers than expected, their overall turnout was low, according to a senior US diplomat in Baghdad. Mainstream Sunni political parties boycotted the vote, and man Sunnis live in the most violent areas of Iraq and are subject to intimidation by insurgents.

"Sunni participation was considerably lower than participation by the other groups, especially in areas where we have seen a good deal of violence, and where intimidation is most easily carried out," said the US diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonimity.

If the final results confirm a low Sunni turnout, it would mean that despite the euphoria and dancing in the streets on Sunday, as much as 20 percent of the population, most of it in the heart of the country, may not accept the results as legitimate.[Ed note: Does that sound like Democrats, or what?] That could provide more fuel for the mostly Sunni insurgency.

The elected assembly will select a president and two vice presidents. The president will then select a cabinet. The assembly will also select a committee to draft a permanent constitution.

Officials on Monday continued to boast that the elections carried on in spite of violence.

The number of insurgent attacks on Sunday, 260, was the highest ever recorded since the US occupation began. Including insurgents, at least 65 persons were killed in the fighting.

On Monday, the jihadist group Ansar al Islam released a tape showing what appeared to be a fighter shooting down a C-130 transport plane Sunday night. The British government has confirmed that the aircraft went down and that 10 died, but hasn't given a cause.

Also Monday, the military said three US Marines had been killed south of Baghdad.

At the detainee center of Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, riots left four prisoners dead and six injured on Monday. The violence came during a search for contraband, according to the U.S. military.

That's how they begin the turnaround. Report the negative facts and use them to promote undermining the positive! You'll notice that the reporter doesn't mention the fact that no one expected the Sunnis to vote for two reasons -- some of them (former Hussein supporters) are part of the insurgency and the Iraqi leadership has already said they plan to give equal leadership positions to Sunnis in spite of the fact that they didn't vote.

This reporter is looking at the situation through the blue-covered lens of American Democratic politics instead of seeing through the unbiased lens of an objective observer, or even the rose-colored lens of the Republicans'.

More blue lenses:

The New York Times reports this morning (Feb 1):

Both President Bush and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill tried Monday to capitalize on the election in Iraq, with the White House saying it was a ratification of both its political and military strategies and Democrats saying it should open the way for a clear exit plan.

With the State of the Union address scheduled for Wednesday night, both parties appeared to be maneuvering to gain political advantage from a relatively peaceful vote. White House officials said the address was being rewritten to celebrate the images of jubilant Iraqis at the polls as part of a "democratic wave" that has also swept Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.

Yet in an effort to pre-empt the speech, two leading Democrats, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, demanded that Mr. Bush use the speech to explain to Americans how long forces would remain in Iraq, and how he would measure success there - terms that Mr. Bush has kept vague. [Ed note: Not if you've been listening!]

"Yesterday's elections were a milestone," Senator Reid said. "But on Wednesday night, the president needs to spell out a real and understandable plan for the unfinished work ahead to defeat the growing insurgency, rebuild Iraq, increase political participation by all parties, especially Iraq's moderates, and increase international involvement.

"But most of all, we need an exit strategy so that we know what victory is and how we can get there."

Du-uh! There IS a clean exit plan in place and it's one we've known all along -- we'll get out as soon as the Baathists and insurgents accept the fact that it's over. That was said from the beginning. Actually I suspect it's to the advantage of the Iranians to be sure the insurgency continues to keep us from looking at their situation more carefully -- if it does. Probably doesn't.

At any rate, what do you say we see more and more of this "poor Sunnis, they didn't get to vote" stuff and somehow, some way, they'll say it's President Bush's fault.

This "exit strategy" stuff is either ignorance or ...well, it's ignorance. Imagine if Pres. Bush announced tonight that he would begin pulling troops out of Iraq tomorrow. The insurgents would probably back off and quit fighting so they could come back in when we leave and re-install Saddma Hussein. Since most Democrats didn't care if he was in there or not, it wouldn't matter to them. But in that case, all of our troops who died over there would have died in vain. I don't think we're willing to see that happen.

So lay off, Libs.

Meet Sgt. Missick

This is from Sgt. Missick, stationed in Iraq. He's an amazing writer and this is his "take" on the elections.

Iraqi Elections

Today is not simply a day for the courage and fortitude of Iraqi citizens who are exercising their right to vote to be displayed throughout the world, it is a day of celebration for all free peoples everywhere enjoying the benefits of representative rule and freedom of choice.

Today we welcome Iraqis into the circle of freedom's beneficiaries, and can take pride as a nation that we helped to make this possible. Regardless of the various opinions one has on everything from our mission in Iraq to the opinions I express on this site, today I hope we can at least pause and recognize the bravery of Iraq's voting citizenry and stand welcoming them with open arms to freedom's ever expanding circle.

It is hard for us as Americans to recognize the sacrifice many of these folks are taking. With leaflets declaring that their lives are at risk for voting littering the streets, and polling places being bombed and riddled with small arms fire, they truly are taking a step on their own today to benefit their nation.

Obviously I have no idea who will win this election, and in all honesty, I believe that the fact that the election is taking place may be even more significant in the long run than who the short term victors are. After the tragedies of the last month in regards to the tsunami, I hope that we stand today on the edge of a tsunami of hope. The initial earthquake is taking place today in Iraq, and it is my hope that the effects of that political quake will send tremors throughout surrounding nations, inspiring a region to do for itself, what it had previously determined would be impossible.

Like Jason, who expressed in comments a few days ago that we have major problems with the governments of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran, I hope that the tide of republican rule sweeps across Islamic nations, empowering the people who advocate peace and a coexistence of Islam and republicanism, and that we can begin a new phase in Middle Eastern history. Of course, reality dictates the road will not be easy, but let us pray that the road is at least being paved today.

It was fascinating to see soldier reactions today all around camp. One particularly poignant moment came for me at chow today. Huddled around one of the televisions that air Fox News, a group of soldiers stood eagerly watching the reports. Of course, a few sighs came from some of the soldiers when Geraldo came on the screen, but after the incident in the early days of this war, I guess that was to be expected.

There is a nervous excitement among many soldiers here today. There is a genuine desire for the elections to go well, for freedom and republican government to succeed in Iraq. There is also the ever-present thought that all soldiers have, that when Iraqis begin to accomplish more on their own, we will be able to go home sooner.

Surely this generation of soldiers will be known as the "Greatest Generation" for we are told that there is nothing greater than to lay down your life for your friend.

Funny and Not So

Iraqi Voting Disrupts News Reports of Bombings
Scott Ott is the "Network News" of the Internet. He writes:

(2005-01-30) -- News reports of terrorist bombings in Iraq were marred Sunday by shocking graphic images of Iraqi "insurgents" voting by the millions in their first free democratic election.

Despite reporters' hopes that a well-orchestrated barrage of mortar attacks and suicide bombings would put down the so-called 'freedom insurgency', hastily-formed battalions of rebels swarmed polling places to cast their ballots -- shattering the status quo and striking fear into the hearts of the leaders of the existing terror regime.

Hopes for a return to the stability of tyranny waned as rank upon rank of Iraqi men and women filed out of precinct stations, each armed with the distinctive mark of the new freedom guerrillas -- an ink-stained index finger, which one former Ba'athist called "the evidence of their betrayal of 50 years of Iraqi tradition."

Journalists struggled to put a positive spin on the day's events, but the video images of tyranny's traitors choosing a future of freedom overwhelmed the official story of bloodshed and mayhem.

I wish the following was intended as humor. Unfortunately, it's not. It was posted on a Democratic blog and gives us a sad picture of what that party has come to:

From DUmpster:

"The Iraq vote is making me sick this morning.

All the media keeps talking about is how happy the Iraqis are, how high turnout was, and how "freedom" has spread to Iraq. I had to turn off CNN because they kept focusing on the so-called "voters" and barely mentioned the resistance movements at all. Where are the freedom fighters today? [Ed note: At the polls.] Are their voices silenced because some American puppets cast a few ballots?

I can't believe the Iraqis are buying into this "democracy" bull****. They have to know that the Americans don't want them to have power, because they know that Bush is in this for the oil, and now that he finally has it he's not going to let it go.
[Yeah, just like we didn't let go in Germany and Japan.]

This election is a charade. The fact is that the Iraqis have suffered during the past two years [two years? what about the 30 years before that?] more than any people on earth at the hands of the American gestapo. Maybe they're afraid and felt they had to vote. That's the only way I can explain it to myself. [And that's why they were cheering and dancing in the streets?]

OR -- I just thought of this -- maybe they're smiling because they're using the Americans' own game to defeat them. They're voting in candidates who they know will widen the resistance, take the fight to the streets, and finally drive the occupying forces out of their country. Perhaps they're smiling because -- right under the Americans' noses -- they're planting the seeds of a bigger and more effective resistance movement. Wouldn't that be fitting? [Only to an insanely jealous mind.]

Use *'s own tools against them?

We can only pray that this is the case. Becuase if it's not -- and if the Iraq vote is seen as a success that spread "freedom -- the world is screwed.

[President] Bush's inaugural speech left little doubt that he has other countries on his list to spread "freedom" to. They will be his next targets, and the world will burn because of it.

Let's hope the resistance got voted in, or if not, they only increase the fight and take down those who betrayed their country today by voting in this fraud election."

You'll have to forgive the editorial comments; actually I restrained myself admirably. It's MY blog, after all, and if I give space to this kind of tripe, I get to treat it the way I want. I just wish I knew the name of the author. I would print that, too. It was probably the infamous "anonymous."

Racing The Sun

Sunday, January 30, 2005

The people have won.
We would love to share what we did this morning with the whole world, we can't describe the feelings we've been through but we'll try to share as much as we can with you.

We woke up this morning one hour before the alarm clock was supposed to ring. As a matter of fact, we barely slept at all last night out of excitement and anxiety.

The first thing we saw this morning on our way to the voting center was a convoy of the Iraqi army vehicles patrolling the street, the soldiers were cheering the people marching towards their voting centers then one of the soldiers chanted "vote for Allawi" less than a hundred meters, the convoy stopped and the captain in charge yelled at the soldier who did that and said:

"You're a member of the military institution and you have absolutely no right to support any political entity or interfere with the people's choice. This is Iraq's army, not Allawi's".

This was a good sign indeed and the young officer's statement was met by applause from the people on the street.

The streets were completely empty except for the Iraqi and the coalition forces' patrols, and of course kids seizing the chance to play soccer!

We had all kinds of feelings in our minds while we were on our way to the ballot box except one feeling that never came to us, that was fear. We could smell pride in the atmosphere this morning; everyone we saw was holding up his blue tipped finger with broad smiles on the faces while walking out of the center.

I couldn't think of a scene more beautiful than that.

From the early hours of the morning, People filled the street to the voting center in my neighborhood; youths, elders, women and men. Women', turn out was higher by the way. And by 11 am the boxes where I live were almost full!

Anyone watching that scene cannot but have tears of happiness, hope, pride and triumph.

The sounds of explosions and gunfire were clearly heard, some were far away but some were close enough to make the windows of the center shake but no one seemed to care about them as if the people weren't hearing these sounds at all.

I saw an old woman that I thought would get startled by the loud sound of a close explosion but she didn't seem to care, instead she was busy verifying her voting station's location as she found out that her name wasn't listed in this center.

How can I describe it!? Take my eyes and look through them, my friends, you have supported the day of Iraq's freedom and today Iraqis have proven that they're not going to disappoint their country or their friends.

Is there a bigger victory than this? I believe not.

I still recall the first group of comments that came to this blog 14 months ago when many of the readers asked "The Model?"
"Model for what?"

Take a look today to meet the model of courage and human desire to achieve freedom; people walking across the fire to cast their votes.

Could any model match this one? Could any bravery match the Iraqis'?
Let the remaining tyrants of the world learn the lesson from this day.

The media is reporting only explosions and suicide attacks that killed and injured many Iraqis so far but this hasn't stopped the Iraqis from marching towards their voting stations with more determination. Iraqis have truly raced the sun.

I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world's tyrants.

I put the paper in the box and with it there were tears that I couldn't hold; I was trembling with joy and I felt like I wanted to hug the box but the supervisor smiled at me and said "brother, would you please move ahead, the people are waiting for their turn".

Yes brothers, proceed and fill the box!
These are stories that will be written on the brightest pages of history.

It was hard for us to leave the center but we were happy because we were sure that we will stand here in front of the box again and again and again. Today, there's no voice louder than that of freedom.

No more confusion about what the people want, they have said their word and they said it loud and the world has got to respct and support the people's will.

God bless your brave steps sons of Iraq and God bless the defenders of freedom.

Aasha Al-Iraq Aasha Al-Iraq Aasha Al-Iraq.

Mohammed and Omar.

I remember how I felt when I came home from a trip to East Berlin during the Cold War. I had seen true political oppression there and experienced having machine guns trained on me at the Wall. Through that small experience I learned a little of the value of freedom. Omar, I, too, shed grateful tears the next time I cast a ballot and I have never forgotten what I learned in that short view of Communism.

Today I shed grateful tears for you, too.You have not let us down and someday you'll know the joy of living in total freedom and casting a fearless ballot.

God/Allah bless the Iraqi people.