Shades of Vietnam

Stuff like this makes me sick. Now I hear Jane Fonda wants to tour Iraq. Didn't she learn anything the first time?

New York Daily News
July 27, 2005

Vandals Hit Dead Soldier's Family

By Associated Press

FAIRFIELD, Ohio - Vandals tore American flags out of the yard of a dead soldier's family the day after his funeral, then set a car on fire, authorities said.

Army Pfc. Tim Hines died July 14 of complications of injuries he suffered last month in a roadside bombing in Baghdad. His funeral was Friday.

On Saturday, someone pulled the flags out of the family's yard, stuffed them under a car in the driveway and set the whole thing on fire.

No arrests have been made. Authorities offered a $5,000 reward for tips.

"As we get into this, we feel it was more of a crime of opportunity as opposed to a
planned act," Police Chief Mike Dickey told CNN.

Lt. Ken Colburn, a police spokesman, said authorities hope "that anyone stupid enough to do something like this will be stupid enough to talk about it and someone else will come forward."

Neighbors bought the family hundreds of new flags.

Commentary: Social Security (FICA)

My Dad sent me the following in an e-mail. I haven't check any of the facts or figures, but if even half of it is true then it brings new perspective to the president's push to change Social Security.

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,
2) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program
3) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year
4) That the money the participants put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the General operating fund, and therefore,would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and
5) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to"put away," you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent"Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and theDemocratically-controlled House andSenate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the U.S.

Q: Which Political Party decided to start givingannuity payments to immigrants?
A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive SSI Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

Then, after doing all this lying and thieving and violation of the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away! And the worst part about it is, uninformed citizens believe it!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.