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*************************************** Yowza! Whadda Storm As I'm finishing this up, it's late Saturday afternoon and we just got our electricity back. Fortunately for us, we're too poor to be able to afford food, so we didn't really lose much in the ol' refrigerator. On the other hand, we're still without phone service, so I'm not exactly sure when this issue will actually get out. And we might still miss another few days due to clean-up efforts. In fact, the phone company said they couldn't send someone out to check on our lines for a WEEK. So please bear with us. *************************************** Repeal the 16th! The income tax amendment (the 16th) in 1913 hammered the final nail into the coffin of limited, constitutional government. Now the politicians had not only the authority, but also the unlimited revenue, to do whatever they wanted. . . . If we repeal the federal income tax and yours is an average American family, you'll have at least $10,000 a year more to spend or invest. . . . All you have to do in return is to restrict the government to the Constitution - giving up whatever pittance unconstitutional government provides to you personally." - Columnist and former Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne *************************************** NEW: "Survey Says!" If a lot of time and money is going to be devoted to fiddling with our Constitution, should those efforts be directed toward passing a new constitutional amendment banning "gay marriage," or toward repealing the 16th amendment and thereby eliminating the income tax and the IRS? Cast your online vote by going to the "Survey Says" page at www.CitizenOutreach.com *************************************** House Votes to Protect 'Net from Taxes "The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would extend the moratorium on taxing people for connecting to the Internet. . . . Two members of the Bush administration, Secretary of the Treasury John Snow and Secretary of Commerce Don Evans, were thrilled with the ban. . . . Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) is unhappy with the bill's passage because he said his state will have to make up the $45 million in taxes elsewhere to shore up the budget. Green said the Internet tax is needed in every state to provide additional revenue to deal with budget problems." - Talon News, 9/18/03 *************************************** Ah, That Age-Old Question "If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, would they eventually write a speech for Howard Dean?" - James Taranto, Best of the Web, 9/18/03 *************************************** Son of Gov. Moonbeam "My vision is to make the most diverse state on earth, and we have people from every planet on the earth in this state." - California Gov. Gray Davis, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/18/03 *************************************** Ooops...So Much for That Argument "The California Institute of Technology and MIT, conducted a study of error rates with various voting machines. Would any of you care to guess the results? Well, you don't have to ... because I have them right here. Here are the error rates .. the percentages of votes cast with errors, using different types of machines: * Optical scanners have an error rate of 3.3% * Touch screen systems have an error rate of 3.0% * Data Vote systems have an error rate of 3.2% * Punch Cards? They have an error rate of 2.5% ... the best of the bunch." - Talk-show host Neal Boortz *************************************** Bring Back the Embeds "Interestingly, we started to lose this war (in Iraq) only after the embedded reporters pulled out. Back when we got the news directly from Iraq, there was victory and optimism. Now that the news is filtered through the mainstream media here in America, all we hear is death and destruction and quagmire." - Columnist Ann Coulter *************************************** Who Said This? "To (President Bush) I say...that you lied to yourself, to your people, and to all others. You did this along with those who got involved with you. Or there might be some who lied to you, but you believed those lies after you were tempted to do some action. You even changed your slogans and the reasons you used several times as a pretext for your hostile military campaign against (Iraq)." Was it. A) Howard Dean B) John Kerry C) Dennis Kucinich D) Dick Gephardt E) Hillary Clinton The answer is actually "none of the above." These remarks were delivered this week via tape by Saddam Hussein. Maybe HE should get into the Democrat presidential primary. He's certainly got the rhetoric and talking points down. *************************************** Our Enemy, The French "It's time we Americans came to terms with something: France is not just our annoying ally. It is not just our jealous rival. France is becoming our enemy. If you add up how France behaved in the run-up to the Iraq war (making it impossible for the Security Council to put a real ultimatum to Saddam Hussein that might have avoided a war), and if you look at how France behaved during the war (when its foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, refused to answer the question of whether he wanted Saddam or America to win in Iraq), and if you watch how France is behaving today (demanding some kind of loopy symbolic transfer of Iraqi sovereignty to some kind of hastily thrown together Iraqi provisional government, with the rest of Iraq's transition to democracy to be overseen more by a divided U.N. than by America), then there is only one conclusion one can draw: France wants America to fail in Iraq." - Columnist Thomas Friedman *************************************** French Collaborator "The French have at least one ally in U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who is circulating a letter asking the House leadership to reverse course and restore 'french toast' and 'french fries' to the menu in House cafeterias and dining halls. During the run up to the war against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, U.S. Reps. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., and Bob Ney, R-Ohio, led a successful charge to have the word 'French' replaced with the word 'Freedom' on the menus because of Gaullist intransigence at the United Nations." - Peter Roff, UPI's "That's Politics," 9/18/03 *************************************** 4.75 cents-per-minute Long Distance * All state-to-state calls in the continental U.S. * Residential or commercial * 6-second billing increments * 24 hours/day * 7 days/week * No access codes * No minimums * No activation fees * Calling Card Rate is 10 cents per minute * No monthly service charge unless your bill is less than $20.00 a month (then a $1.99 service charge will apply) * No need to change your local phone company * No hassles * Easy sign-up. * And a small portion of each bill goes to help continue publishing our FREE Chuck Muth's News & Views e-newsletter. Just go to: http://www.NewsandViewsLongDistance.com *************************************** A Man's Man "Mr. Rumsfeld, it is true, is the anti-Clinton. We see this in his authenticity, his trustworthiness and his frankness. He is so direct, he practically assaults the modern, spin-accustomed ear. Mr. Rumsfeld freely uses what my colleague Kate O'Beirne has dubbed the 'K-word'--kill. When a reporter asked him why U.S. forces were using such heavy bombs in Afghanistan, the secretary replied: "They are being used on frontline al Qaeda and Taliban troops to try to kill them." Oh. "...Mr. Rumsfeld is, in fact, a throwback: to a time of crewcuts, stiff upper lips and moral clarity. He seems a character out of a World War II flick. Bill Clinton, by contrast, was more a Richard Gere kind of leader. Where Mr. Clinton feels pain, Mr. Rumsfeld is more likely to inflict it--on the country's enemies." - Columnist Jay Nordlinger, OpinionJournal.com, 9/17/03 *************************************** Stickin' It to the "Rich"...Again "The White House yesterday delivered to Congress its proposal for $87 billion in additional war costs, and Democrats began drafting plans to bill wealthy Americans for it. 'The choices are stark but the answer to me is absolutely clear how to pay for this,' said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His plan would repeal one year of President Bush's tax cut for the wealthiest Americans to pay for the extra war costs." - Washington Times, 9/18/03 *************************************** All You Need to Know About Gen. Clark "The chief boosters of (Gen. Wesley) Clark's (presidential) candidacy are none other than Bill and Hillary Clinton. . . . Mr. Clark is no doubt running for president for many reasons. But an important, unacknowledged one is that he is the favorite candidate of the Democratic Party's two best-known figures. To the extent that he succeeds, the Clintons will see their already substantial influence in the Democratic Party grow. Mr. Clark no doubt is his own man, but with so many old Clinton hands surrounding him, don't be surprised if Mr. Clinton is occasionally tempted to act as if he were still Mr. Clark's commander-in-chief." - John Fund's Political Diary, 9/18/03 **************************************** Bring On Dr. Demento "The results of the highly prestigious Poll of the Pollsters are in! I called eight of the best GOP pollsters and strategists and asked them, on a not-for-attribution basis, if they thought Howard Dean would be easier to beat than the other major Democratic presidential candidates. Here, and I'm paraphrasing, are the results: 'Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!' You would have thought I had asked them if Danny DeVito would be easier to beat in a one-on-one basketball game than Shaquille O'Neal. They all thought Dean would be easier to beat, notwithstanding his impressive rise." - New York Times columnist David Brooks *************************************** Waaahhhh! "The Texas Legislature is back in session; Democratic legislators have returned after fleeing the state to avoid giving majority Republicans a quorum and thereby block the effort to replace a Democratic congressional gerrymander with a Republican one. The Republicans imposed fines and other penalties on the AWOL legislators, which the Democrats are now demanding they rescind. 'One of the penalties deprived the lawmakers of their parking spaces on the Capitol grounds,' the San Antonio Express-News notes. Says state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, an Austin Democrat: 'I'm tired of being dropped off at the front steps every morning like an orphan.'" - James Taranto, Best of the Web, 9/18/03 *************************************** Dissing Taiwan "Of all the nations in the world, only one -- Taiwan -- is excluded from the United Nations. . . . This week, for the 11th year in a row, Taiwan is asking to be admitted to the UN. This week, for the 11th year in a row, it will be turned down. . . . Taiwan is blackballed from the UN because.(the) Communist government in Beijing insists that Taiwan is merely a renegade Chinese province, not a country in its own right and therefore not entitled to a seat in the UN. That is a ludicrous stance to take in 2003, after more than half a century of Taiwanese self-rule. It is akin to maintaining that North Korea is merely a rebellious region of the Republic of Korea. "...Fifteen nations signed the petition seeking Taiwan's admission to the UN, but the United States was not among them. This reluctance to stand up for a beleaguered democratic friend does us no honor. The barring of Taiwan is a clear wrong. Americans should be the first to say so." - Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby *************************************** Money Ain't the Problem...Or the Solution "The United States spends more public and private funds on education than any of the other major industrialized countries, but was not ranked among the top 10 for student performance in reading, math, or science, according to a new report on education (by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)." - Talon News, 9/18/03 *************************************** Break the Monopoly I "The Microsoft case has occupied the attention of the Justice Department and legal system for untold thousands of hours and captured the attention of millions. . . . Why isn't anyone addressing a real monopoly, in fact the biggest, most powerful monopoly in the world - the government school monopoly? "...Microsoft faces stiff competition in every market it enters, from operating systems to personal finance software to office and Internet browsing software. The government education system faces none, except from private schools, which are now only open to those families who can afford it out of their own good fortune. Less fortunate families who cannot afford private schools simply have no choice in the matter." - Columnist Lori Yanklin, Washington Times, 8/6/01 *************************************** Break the Monopoly II "(We) know -- many of us from bitter experience -- that we always can't count on the post office. That's because the post office is a government-protected monopoly; 19th century laws make it illegal for anyone else to deliver letters. It's also exempt from state and federal taxes and free from most government regulations. That combination is a recipe for disaster. "...Right now, there's no competition in the letter-delivery business. . . . But if Congress changes the law, private companies could go head to head with the post office. Competition would bring prices down, and the post office would have to become more responsive to customers if it wanted to survive. It also would have to stop wasting money. "...There are some things that can be done only by the government. Delivering mail is not one of those things. Private carriers are more efficient, more dependable and could do the same job for less money, if we'll let them. That's why it's time for the taxpayers to deliver a message to Congress about the post office: Privatize -- and start competing." - Ed Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/Commentary/archive/200309/C OM20030917a.html) *************************************** AWOL Dems Help Pass Vouchers for DC "Last Tuesday...the House approved an amendment that would establish a voucher program allowing hundreds of Washington, D.C., children to attend private schools. The measure has yet to pass the Senate, but if D.C. kids get the vouchers, they'll have Dick Gephardt and Dennis Kucinich to thank. Both were in Baltimore last Tuesday for the Democratic debate, and both missed the vote. Had they both voted against the amendment, it would have gone down to defeat, 210-209." - James Taranto, Best of the Web, 9/16/03 *************************************** Government Rag Weed "Maybe the way to win the 'war on drugs' is to enlist the Canadians to fight it--on the side of the drugs. 'Some of the first patients to smoke Health Canada's government-approved marijuana say it's 'disgusting' and want their money back,' reports the Canadian Press: *** QUOTE *** "It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS patient in Gibsons, B.C. "It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five minutes, and that was it. I got no other effect from it." Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the nausea associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually made him sick to his stomach. "I threw up," Dalley said Monday. "It made me nauseous because I had to use so much of it. It was so weak in potency that I really threw up." *** END QUOTE *** - Best of the Web, 9/17/03 *************************************** Affordable Campaign Websites! Now you can get professional-looking campaign web sites for as little as $10 a month. That's right...just ten smackeroos a month. Here's what's included in this fantastic new program from Campaign Secrets, Inc. (available ONLY to Republican candidates): * Free Hosting * Unique Domain Name * Personal Email Accounts * Credit Card Processing * Unlimited Edits * Event Calendar * Volunteer Sign-up Page * Built-in Bulk Emailer Campaign Site Builder can be used for political organizations and non-profits, as well. For more information, just go to: http://www.campaignsecrets.com/websites.asp *************************************** How to Subscribe If you'd like to receive our FREE News & Views e-newsletter, you can sign up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ Published by Citizen Outreach Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher 611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, #439 Washington, DC 20003-4303 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Citizen Outreach is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public policy organization and does not endorse candidates or lobby for specific legislation. The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Citizen Outreach, its officers, directors or employees. To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove/default.cfm and complete the removal request instructions you'll find there. Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # #
