In This Edition - #14


THREE HUNDRED PER WORKER ---- NOT PER TAXPAYER.
HAVE YOU HEARD? I'LL BET YOU HAVEN'T.
Soviet Style.
BREAD AND CIRCUSES







THREE HUNDRED PER WORKER ---- NOT PER TAXPAYER
The political predators in Washington are looking for a way to delay any meaningful tax cut for high-achievers. If they can delay it enough they can get the Democrats back into control. When that happens --- the "soak the rich" campaign will really get under way.
You're going to hear more and more about some plan to delay the real tax cuts for a few years so that the "surplus" can be used to really kick start the economy. And just how? One idea getting kicked around -- with wide support from Democrats -- is the idea of giving an immediate $300 rebate to every "taxpayer." 
OK --- a few points here. The real way to stimulate our economy is to give the large tax cuts to the people who are most likely to engage in activity that stimulates economies. Makes sense, doesn't it? Those people are the high-income earners who are paying almost 40% of their income in federal income taxes. When they get a substantial tax break that money goes into investments, business expansion, job formation and other economic activities that directly stimulate economic growth. Giving $300 back to taxpayers in lower earnings levels will do little more than stimulate sales of cigarettes and beer.
And another thing --- you just watch. This magic $300 that so many politicians and media types are drooling over? I just guarantee you that these checks will be handed out to people who haven't paid income taxes in years! It will be a direct income transfer payment for many --- simple income redistribution. It's the Democrat's favorite way of buying votes -- and the Republicans are all too willing to go along. 



HAVE YOU HEARD? I'LL BET YOU HAVEN'T
Remember Jesse Dirkhising? In September 1999, he was sodomized and repeatedly raped over several hours after being drugged with an anti-depressant, bound with duct tape and rope, and gagged with his own underwear. Jesse Dirkhising suffocated and died.

Last week, Joshua Brown was found guilty of raping and murdering Jesse Dirkhising. Brown was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual assault. But he also faces a life sentence for his role in Dirkhising's murder. The judge will determine his punishment on Friday.

But I'll bet you probably didn't know about this case until now.

Surely you remember the murder of Matthew Shepard. He was beaten to death in Wyoming--and his death took the news media by storm. According to Andrew Sullivan of New Republic magazine, there were 3,007 media stories about Shepard in the month following his murder. Everywhere there was the implication that Matthew Shepard died because he was gay. And advocates of "hate crime" laws had a field day.

How many stories about Jesse Dirkhising were there in the media? Only 46 stories were published in the month after his murder.

What's going on here? Why the discrepancy in media coverage of these murders?

Brown and Davis Don Carpenter, the other man accused in Dirkhising's death, are lovers. That's right--a gay couple murdered a teenage boy.

Now you see what's going on. The tables have turned and two gay men are the defendants.

This is the main problem with "hate crime" laws. If you're murdered, your life is worth more--and your murderer deserves a harsher punishment--if you're a member of a cherished, protected group. The whole idea of "hate crimes" flies in the face of the principle of equal treatment under the law.

But the national news media are so wrapped up in promoting "hate crime" laws that they can't possibly run a story where the roles are
reversed. The Dirkhising murder case features two gay men as the villains. That's counterproductive to the idea of special treatment for
every minority group under the sun--and so it's not newsworthy.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010323/us/boy_rape_murder_17.html
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/ed-house-200132720931.htm



SOVIET STYLE 
You will remember that last week we had this most incredible story from The Seattle Times. They assigned a reporter the task of investigating the amount of kilowatts used by some of the city's wealthiest residents. They published the top ten users of electricity - all of whom paid their bills. 
This resulted in an absolutely Soviet style article, blaming the energy crisis on "the rich," who - we were told - use more than their "fair share" of electricity. 
Well, now the trend continues. The San Francisco Chronicle printed a similarly themed piece on Tuesday about the new "mansion" that Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison is building. It appears that Larry Ellison is building a house rivaled only by Bill Gates' up in The Union of Soviet Seattle Republics. 
The whole point of this Chronicle story is that Ellison laid off 900 people and his profit forecasts have been lowered, yet he's still building this house. How dare he! 
Folks, class warfare will never go away. I remember reading the results of a poll, back in 1983 where they posed a question to the American people. "Do you think there ought to be a maximum income any American can make?" Half the people answered yes, and half of them wanted to set the limit at $125,000. 
So we may think that the Cold War is over, but communism still lives in America's newspapers - and a whole new round of class warfare is breaking out.





BREAD AND CIRCUSES

A bit of perspective for you. 

Net effect of the issues facing Congress and the president on your life:

· Potentially serious effects on your freedom to engage in political speech, your freedom to own a gun for lawful self-defense, your right to privacy, and your freedom to choose the best possible education for your child. 
Net effect of a tax cut upon your life:
· More money in your checkbook. 
· More money for your kid's college education. 
· More money to pour into your retirement fund. 

Net effect of last night's Academy Awards upon your life: Zero.

Neil Boortz is a syndicated talk show host based in Atlanta Georgia. You can visit his website at http://www.boortz.com.