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PRESIDENTS AND WAR
Dear Pete: I just finished reading your
editorial in the most recent issue of Flagpole
[Pub Notes, Apr. 9] and, as usual, it was
extremely well written. You have a real talent
for writing, and I must agree with our good
friend, Dr. George O. MarshalL who proclaims
that you probably are the best writer in
Athens. However (and I might say, as usual),
I disagree with a great deal of what you have
to say. I especially have a serious problem
with your statement:
"When the Kennedys
and Dr. King began to
question the validity
of the Vietnam War
and its effects on our
own country as well
as Southeast Asia,
they put themselves
at odds with those
whose creed is perpetual war. For the sake of
the nation, they had to be removed." That is
just incredibly wrong!
Have you forgotten when the United States
entered the Vietnam war and who was presi
dent of the United States at the time? It was
John F. Kennedy. And have you forgotten who
aggressively prosecuted the war for the next
eight years while he was president? It was
Lyndon B. Johnson. And have you forgotten
who ended the war? In was Richard M. Nixon.
In fact, one of the main reasons Nixon was
elected was his promise to get the United
States out of Vietnam and end the war, which
he did. Nixon began troop withdrawal in July
1969, six months after taking office.
It is important to note that during the
administrations of Kennedy and Johnson more
than 540,00 U.S. troops were sent to the war
and more than 33,400 of our brave men were
killed.
I have a great deal to say about your mis
guided support of Barack Hussein Obama as
the best choice as our next president, but I
fear it would fall on deaf ears. I will simply
end by paraphrasing a quote from Joseph
Dunninger: "For those who understand, no
explanation is necessary. For those who don't
understand, no explanation will suffice."
With highest personal regards and best
wishes,
Gary Doster
Athens
FAIRTAX
There are two things that come to mind
reading Bob Booth's Comment on the FairTax
[Apr. 2). First, he has not read HR 25, the
FairTax Bill currently before Congress, nor does
he have any understanding whatsoever as to
how the FairTax will work. Second, Flagpole
will print anything that it believes will stir
liberals into a frenzy.
Since Mr. Booth has not read the FairTax
Bill, or even, God forbid, the FairTax Book
written by a Republican, U.S. Representative
John Linder, and Neal Boortz, who pisses off
liberals on a regular basis, I will attempt to
dispel some of the misleading statements
made in his commentary.
Like most people, he doesn't understand
that the FairTax is not in addition to the
cost of goods and services, but instead it is
designed to be an inclusive tax, like the fuel
tax that is currently paid on a gallon of gaso
line. Let me explain. By removing the embed
ded taxes, i.e., personal income tax, corporate
tax, medicare and social security taxes, the
cost of all goods and services at the retail
level will be lowered by approximately 22 to
25 percent. We are all currently covering the
cost of these taxes. The $20,000 car would
then be. at 23 percent, $15,400; and when
you include the FairTax, that car would be
$18,942, minus your trade-in of $4,000, which
gives you a principle of $14,942 plus local
sales tax and title fees, etc.
The FairTax will completely un-tax the poor
to the federal government through a prebate
equal to 23 percent of $9,000 (the current
poverty-line income
for an individual). So
every month every
individual would
receive a check
or credit of $172.
The FairTax doesn't
address local and
state taxes. This
bill is to address
replacing the federal income tax, so please,
Mr. Booth, don't try to muddy the water. The
FairTax would also start taxing all of those
individuals in this country who currently pay
zero dollars into the system. Drug dealers,
prostitutes, foreign visitors, and yes, illegal
aliens would all have to pay into the system
instead of only being a drain on it.
Under the current system, our govern
ment has become incredibly corrupt, with a
10,000-page tax code to hide behind, and
with personal income and corporate tax
concessions being the trade beads of politi
cians in return for "campaign contributions"
or other shady dealings outside of their paid
Congressional duties. The FairTax is completely
transparent, there are no deals to be made.
Everyone pays the same percentage. When you
buy a big luxury item, 23 percent is included;
when you pay rent, 23 percent is included,
it makes no difference; and as shown in the
above example, it doesn't cost you any more
money than what you currently pay.
The FairTax will bring home all of the com
panies that have moved out of the U.S.A. due
to high corporate taxes, and create more jobs
here at home, thus creating more revenue for
the federal government. Plus, by choosing
whether to buy new retail (since the FairTax
only applies to new goods and services at
the retail level) or used/recycled, you get to
decide how to pay your taxes; after all. it's
your money, not the government's.
So far there are 60 co-sponsors of HR 25
in the U.S. House of Representatives. The
FairTax Act would take the power out of the
hands of lobbyists and career politicians and
put it back where it belongs, into the hands
of the citizens of our country. 1 am a staunch
supporter of the FairTax and my only question
to anyone who read the legislation and fully
understands it is, why aren't you 7
Doug Harman
Email
FREE TIBET?
Why are there no banners on the Golden
Gate Bridge for 4,000 dead and tens of billions
sacrificed on the artificial altar of Iraq? Why
is no one marching on Wall Street where the
Tower of Mammon is crumbling as the High
Priests take the money and run while the poor
credulous believers scavenge among the ruins?
Why aren't the people throwing up their hands
at this pathetic quadrennial billion-dollar
puppet-show that is supposed to represent the
democratic election of a president?
BUMPERSTICKER OF THE WEEK:
Reboot America
Send sightings to ben@flagpole.com
or call 706-549-9523. Thanks.
How many Americans want to know that
their country is more or less owi.ed by Chinese
capital? Better not piss off Cathay. They don't
even have to call in their markers, just stop
lending and the sub-prime fiasco will look like
a Sunday stroll in the park.
Free Tibet? Give me a break.
Andrew Davidson
Paris, France
R.E.M. FAN.1
Dear all this my mail is to ask to you if you
can send to my address one copy of Flagpole
of 2 april on the cover Michael Stipe. I'm an
r.e.m. italian fan, and I really love to have
this copy, (naturally I'll pay all the cost for
the shipment)
How can I say, i thank you in advance for
yr. precious "help" and understanding.
Have a good day and thank you so much.
ciao
Cristina
Milan, Italy
R.E.M. FAN.2
Hi, I'm Jose from spain, and I've seen an
article at your magazine Flagpole, at April
issue. I know your magazine by REM official
website. I'm a REM's fan, and I see that you
talk about REM at your April issue. I'd like
very much to get the April Flagpole issue. How
can I get it? I'd like to get it, because I love
REM.
I thank you very much if you could send
me the issue to my address; I'll pay the send
ing, of course. If you want, you could send it
to me cash on delivery.
Please, tell me something.
Thanks a lot for your attention.
Best,
Jose
Spain
WHAT HAPPENED?
Flagpole...
What happened? Are you all scared to
speak out? Have you all been bought off,
perhaps by our corrupt, fascist mayor Heidi
Davison who openly supports the bioterror
lab? DO you all have any idea what's coming?
This "indie" magazine has a tremendous abil
ity to raise awareness about the REAL issues
of our time. Hmmmmmm... I wonder... why
do you all not publish articles about the New
World Order, Human micro-chips. FEMA con
centration camps, media bias, illuminati, the
powerful elite, North American Union, One-
World government. If you would like for me to
submit some articles on any of these topics,
I would be more than willing. But I highly
doubt Flagpole has the balls to stand by its
reputation NOW!!!
Name Withheld
Athens
Tof* ^
DaNltHg
BU6
by
BOL u*»Gr
^PRRTICLE RCCELEROTOR
-Huuul H0|r TRERTmgnT SYSTEm
Guys, stop denying that your thinning hair looks bad!
Use my particle accelerator just once, and you’ll be
on the road to thicker, fuller hair, right now!
I built a particle accelerator in my
Beverly Hills hair salon. This machine
will create an alternative universe in
which you have o full head of hair!
Giuseppe Franco.
Beverly Hills Salon Ouuner.
and Theoretical Physicist
When nil llollv\u*>d
Incml Gan xistts
me from the alternative
universe I t reateJ tor hint
and his hair, he grins
maniacally and squeezes
mv small frame.
Surrealistic landscape
oj an alternative universe
you could he inhabiting...
with a full head oj hair!
Forget daily regimens!
Forget gloppy potions!
Forget relativistic heavy
ion colliders!
Who has time for that
nonsense?!
Hev! I'm Giuseppe Franco!
Pm not putting my name on the line for
something that’s going to accidentally create
a black hole that will swallow the Earth!
4 FLAGP0LE.C0M • APRIL 16, 2008
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