I like how stuff like this does not even get any MSM push... 




Michael Yon emails: "I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John's Church in Baghdad. They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome. A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from 'Chosen' Company 2-12 Cavalry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John's, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope. The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. 'Thank you, thank you,' the people were saying. One man said, 'Thank you for peace.' Another man, a Muslim, said 'All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.' The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers. (Videotape to follow.)"

UPDATE: Nashville's Bob Krumm: Sixty years ago a picture of Marines planting the flag on Mount Suribachi was an important moment in World War II since it showed the world a tangible American victory over Japanese imperialism. Today’s picture of Muslims planting a cross on on a Christian Church in Baghdad shows the world evidence of a tangible American victory over an imperialism of hate.

RELATED: KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Close to 90,000 children who would have died before age 5 in Afghanistan during Taliban rule will stay alive this year because of advances in medical care in the country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday. Les Jones: The article goes out of its way to give any credit to the U.S., devoting just one sentence (the last sentence) to the American role: "A U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban militant movement from power."

instead of say CUTTING SPENDING?

Republican candidates for senate, house and the whitehouse have to SIEZE on this and push it home.

How stupid can the dems be that they want to annouce a bill to RAISE taxes.

Press Release
 
Memo: McCrery on "Mother of All Tax Hikes"
October 25, 2007

By Ways and Means Republican Press Office

MEMO

RE: “Mother of All Tax Hikes” Bill

TO: Republican Members, Republican Staff

 FROM: Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Jim McCrery

 



 

My Friends,



At a bipartisan Ways and Means caucus last night, Chairman Rangel outlined his long-awaited “Mother of All Tax Hikes” legislation.  The basics of the package are simple: This is the largest individual income tax increase in history. 

The bill will add a 4% surtax on Americans earning more than $150,000 a year ($200,000 for couples).  That is on top of the scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.  So, under Democrats’ plan, over the next few years, the individual income top tax rate in the United States will rise from 35% to 44%.  By way of comparison, the other 29 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries – basically other developed nations - have an average top marginal tax rate of 35.7%.  In fact, only five OECD countries would have higher top marginal tax rates in 2011 than the United States if the Democrats’ bill is enacted.

This crushingly high tax rate will affect approximately 10 million taxpayers directly - including those who report business income, like small business owners and farmers - but the damage will ripple throughout our economy.  Because small businesses and family farms often pay their income taxes as individuals, this is a massive tax hike on the engine that drives job growth in this country. 

In addition, the surtax is on adjusted gross income, not taxable income.  This sounds like a technical issue, but it means that Rangel’s bill will erode the value of a series of tax deductions – including for mortgage interest, charitable giving, medical expenses, state and local taxes, and the standard deduction.  And, because the surtax kicks in at $150,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples, the bill creates a monster of a marriage penalty.

Chairman Rangel will claim that these tax increases go to provide tax cuts to 90 million Americans, but he is selling pure snake-oil.  Many if not most of those taxpayers are getting a purely imaginary “tax cut.”  Some of them are the roughly 20 million people that Republicans shielded with the Alternative Minimum Tax patch.  Millions more are people who have benefited from the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and only get “tax cuts” if you assume that the 10% bracket, marriage penalty, and $1,000 per child tax credit will expire.  Others, like single people who will now be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, are getting a tax refund from the government even though they don’t actually pay income taxes. 

It will take time to analyze this bill and sort through the data, but we know from the start that the 90 million figure is pure hokum.  In fact, before you know it more taxpayers may wind up paying higher taxes – and fewer paying less  - under Rangel’s plan than they did last year.

Which brings us to the larger fallacy of the Democrats’ “paygo” system.  There is no need to “pay for” protecting taxpayers from a massive AMT tax hike.  The government never meant for the AMT to affect middle-class Americans, and we have a responsibility to make sure it doesn’t.  By arguing that preventing this tax increase requires us to raise taxes elsewhere, Democrats are trying to lock Congress into a system where we are guaranteed to raise taxes by $3.5 trillion over ten years.

That’s right. $3.5 trillion. The baseline that the Democrats are using for “paygo” includes revenue from an “un-patched” AMT and from the tax increases that occur when the 2001 and 2003 tax laws expire after 2010.  Together they total $3.5 trillion over ten years.  If we play by the Democrats “paygo” rules, that is the size of the tax increase we are imposing on the American people.  That will hurt our nation’s competitiveness and cost us American jobs.  The Rangel bill is the first step down a road none of us want to follow, and I urge you to oppose it strongly.

http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=133

WE HAVE TO ASK EACH CANDIDATE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IF THEY SUPPORT THIS TAX HIKE!

In all likelihood 1k homes will burn not millions and maybe 10 people will die, who will REFUSE to evacuate or will be firemen working to save homes that should not have been built.

My concern is with the fact these morons will go back and REBUILD with federal money and whine in a few years when their million dollar homes burn again, at which time they will get more money and more money and more money.

It should be made clear if you rebuild there then you are out of luck if fire takes you home, the same with every other place KNOWN for destroying homes and property.

If I told you that if you have sex with some lady laying on the bed in front of you will cause you penis to fall off and you chose to have sex with that lady whose fault is it that your penis falls off, and why should anyone pay your medical bills?

These people KNOW THEY LIVE IN A FIRE AREA, yet act surprised when they lose everything to a hrmm FIRE!!!!

Sooooo,,, who would pay for this education?

Nope I never said that what I said is I choose to live where I dont have to BEG for help if a flood, tornado, or fire that i KNEW would happen eventually destroys everything I have.

FBI: al-Qaeda detainee spoke of fire plot
PHOENIX (AP) — The FBI alerted law enforcement agencies last month that an al-Qaeda terrorist now in detention had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United States.
Rose Davis, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, told The Associated Press that officials there took note of the warning but didn't see a need to act further on it.

The contents of the June 25 memo from the FBI's Denver office were reported Friday by The Arizona Republic. Davis declined to share a copy of the memo and an FBI spokeswoman in Denver didn't immediately return a telephone call.

The Republic reported that the detainee, who was not identified, said the plan involved three or four people setting wildfires using timed devices in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming that would detonate in forests and grasslands after the operatives had left the country.

The memo noted that investigators couldn't determine whether the detainee was telling the truth.

The newspaper said many forest law enforcement officers it contacted had no idea the warning had been issued.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-07-11-alqaeda-fire_x.htm

hrmm looking at CA a billion bucks in damage so far. million people displaced...

That would have been a good idea if you were a terrorist.

And while Sean Penn likes to play an activist role, one thing he can't lobby to change is a mad Mother Nature. Penn first lost his Malibu mansion during the wildfires of 1993 and looks set to lose some more of his possessions.

On Tuesday, a trailer on his property went "Into the Wild" and burnt to the ground. According to an insider, the threat of "going through that pain all over again" is causing a great amount of stress and discomfort to the Academy-Award winning actor

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304804,00.html

Nope people can live wherever they want, but dont BEG for money when you build a house in a palce KNOWN to burn every 20-30 years.  If I were the owner of an insurance company I would NOT insure people in these area's for fire.  I would also not sell insurance to people in N.O. or along the Mississippi for flooding... Nor tornado insurance in tornado alley.

People can be mad at me all they want but I work hard and have little to spare to help rebuild where MORONS decide they want to live despite knowing they should not live there.

GOD I am watching news and the MORONS are saying "WE WILL REBUILD!!!" WTF... so in 20 years or so when the house BURNS again and the government has to help rebuild again and again again..

This is insane.

http://rebuildshangrila.com/  THEY ALREADY AHVE A WEBSITE TO BEG FOR MONEY TO REBUILD!!!!  

jesus christ I dont get it....

Phoenix AZ....

no floods, no torandos, no hurricanes, no fires, I chose to live where nature figured it would be ok

I only feel bad for the firemen that have to risk thier lives to try and save million dollars homes people built where they KNEW a fire would happen.

Sorry I feel no pity really.

Just like in LA when ya build Below sea level I just cant feel any empathy for ya when ya house floods.

When you build a house in Malibu which is known to Burn every few years and have a MAJOR burn every 30-40 years I could care less when it happens.

Yea yea Yea call me an ass or whatever but that does not change the fact that people that build in a place where they have FIRE SEASON are idiots.

It means nothing at all to the average american working hsi butt off to pay the bills.

It means alot to the people trading the $ though...

Sigh, a straw poll is apoll where people PAY money to vote.

Its not indicative of the general public.