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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (73743)	9/3/2009 1:01:08 AM
From: Peter Dierks	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Uncle Miltie was a great man. It is interesting that his words are still debunking fools today.

To: Sully- who wrote (73743)	9/3/2009 1:10:54 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

ACORN quick to collect from feds, but slow to pay taxes By: David Freddoso Commentary Staff Writer beltway-confidential 09/01/09 9:34 AM EDT The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is perhaps best known for its volunteers' habit of signing up fake voters. This has resulted in numerous state investigations and convictions of ACORN members for voter fraud activities. But the group is also a tax scofflaw to the tune of more than $1 million, according to documents unearthed by another Louisiana-based non-profit, the Pelican Institute. Pelican researcher Steve Beatty has come across dozens of outstanding and released tax liens against ACORN and ACORN affiliates, headquartered at two addresses in New Orleans. Although some of the liens have been paid, Beatty found that several are still outstanding, including a $547,000 lien by the federal government against ACORN itself. ACORN, a non-profit, must pay federal Social Security and Medicare taxes for its employees, as well as state unemployment taxes. Even as it keeps Uncle Sam waiting for tax payments, ACORN's cup runneth over with federal money. The group and its subsidiaries have received at least $53 million from Uncle Sam since 1989 through a variety of programs. The Examiner has reported previously that ACORN received more than $5.4 million between 2002 and 2006 from just one federal department, Housing and Urban Development. According to reporting by our own Kevin Mooney, President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package contains an additional pool of $2 billion in housing redevelopment funds and $1 billion more in Community Block Grants for which ACORN and its related organizations can compete by applying to the federal and state governments. washingtonexaminer.com

To: Sully- who wrote (73743)	1/14/2010 1:41:55 PM
From: TimF	2 Recommendations Respond to of 90947

I always enjoy listening to Milton Friedman. I do as well I'm reading "Free to Choose" right now (I strongly recommend it BTW). Here's an excerpt from what I've read just recently, about how economic regulation can reduce freedom more extensively than many people realize, and it also shows the arrogance and bullying that can come from the feds. (In this case directed against corporations who the left seems to fear as being so powerful, but who are weak compared to the government.) ------------------------ Restrictions on economic freedom inevitably affect freedom in general, even such areas as freedom of speech and press. Consider the foll wing excerpts from a 1977 letter from Lee Grace, then executive vice-president of and oil and gas association. This is what he wrote with respect to energy legislation: >> "As you know, the real issue more so than the price per thousand cubic feet is the continuation of the First Amendment of the Constitution, the guarantee of freedom of speech. With increasing regulation, as big brother looks close over our shoulder, we grow timid against speaking out for truth and our beliefs against falsehoods and wrong doings. Fear of IRS audits, bureaucratic strangulation or government harassment is a powerful weapon against freedom of speech. In the October 31 [1977] edition of U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Whispers section noted that, "Oil industry officials claim that they have received this ultimatum from Energy Secretary James Schlesinger: 'Support the Administration's proposed tax on crude oil -- or else face tougher regulation and a possible drive to break up the oil companies.' " >> His judgment is amply confirmed by the public behavior of oil officials, Tongue-lashed by Senator Henry Jackson for earning "obscene profits," not a single member of a group of oil industry executive answered back, or even left the room and refused to submit to further personal abuse. Oil company executives, who in private express strong opposition to the present complex structure of federal controls under which they operate or to the major extension of government intervention proposed by President Carter, make bland public statements approving the objectives of the controls. Few businessmen regard President Carter's so-called voluntary wage and price controls as a desirable or effective way to combat inflation. Yet one businessman after another, one business organization after another, has paid lip service to the program, said nice things about it, and promised to cooperate. Only a few like Donald Rumsfeld, former congressman, White House official, and Cabinet member, had the courage to denounce it publicly..." -------------------------------- Members of congress, and administration officials, who act like bullies as Friedman and Lee Grace described above, often deserve, but rarely get this type of response. cafehayek.com