If I had to hunt and peck, we might all be better off!

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday, September 21, 2011. Yesterday morning as I sat at my keyboard a little after 4:30 a.m., I was sipping on my cup of Community, brewed good and strong, and the thought occurred to me that in many respects, it just doesn't get much better than this. I had to stop and chuckle and send up a prayer of thanksgiving because while it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, it just struck me as being a wonderful blessing. See. I've told you before that it doesn't take much. And, I am thankful that I am thankful to God for the little things He allows me to take pleasure in. Like slamming together this piece of communication that I pass off as me having something to share each day. I will be the first to admit that the keyboard often runs faster than the mental controller who is supposed to be in charge. It shows? I told you. On the other hand, I occasionally find something I wrote many years ago, a report, a Bible lesson, or letter and when I reread it, to tell you the truth, I am somewhat impressed even to the extent of wondering if I really wrote it. Yes, I am very aware that this is certainly not the case on everything I put on paper or the electronic page. I readily admit there are some that meet the test of me having very little to share but it didn't keep me from writing a full page anyway. However, I understand a little about how the process works and let me just say that I am very thankful to have what few gray cells I have left. I am also thankful to share some of how God has worked in my life. Knowing me, I am very much thankful that His mercy and grace continues today. And, as you can tell, I am always thankful for that cup of Community that just seems to help make the day a little brighter.

I suppose if you wanted to have a job with great security you could get one where you spend all day fact checking some of the political stuff saturating the airwaves each day. The recent tirade from our President about how that wealthy people in our country are not paying their fair share just doesn't hold up when the actual numbers are reviewed. According to a variety of sources, currently folks making over $250,000 per year pay on average 25% to 29% of their income in federal taxes. Some pay much more than that and some pay less. That compares to an average rate of 12% for all tax payers combined and there are an estimated 46 million lower income people who pay no federal tax at all. Other IRS statistics show the percentage of all taxes paid by the more well off, and those numbers are also staggering. Of course within the context of the wealthy I am sure there are notable exceptions where someone has found ways within the current tax code to defer or reduce their tax liabilities. There are folks who make a living finding these loopholes. To hear the President, one would think the rich in this country are getting a free ride. Instead of trying to cause a war between the haves and have nots, which is exactly what President Obama is doing, for his own political reasons I might add, he should be focusing on ways to change the tax code so that it is more efficient in how it handles all taxpayers. The chief executive of the company chosen by the President to lead out on job creation and innovation turns out to be the head of a huge corporation that made huge profits last year and because of deductions and deferrals, which were perfectly legal, they paid zero in federal taxes. This is the handpicked example chosen by the President. See what I mean? Maybe you are one that thinks the wealthy should pay 50% or even more. I don't know what the right number is but I am for a total overhaul of the outdated and basically hopeless federal tax system that we have in our nation. The President does not have the will to do it and the Congress may talk about it, but in the end, the loopholes win, and the political games continue, and we, the American people, suffer as a result. Let me say one more time that I detest the President dividing Americans based on something other than the facts, and for him to do this for political gain may not be new, but at a time when we are in such crisis, it does make me sick to my stomach!

Even those observers who support the President see through this latest attempt to frame his reelection bid. Instead of a President for all the people we have a Divider in Chief, all in the name of political gain. History will not be kind to this type of divisive fear mongering. But, that's probably enough about that. I am, by the way, for everyone being treated fairly in how the tax system works. And, you don't have to read what I say and believe it just because it's painted on the page. There are numerous newspapers and think tanks and other independent groups who have recently fact checked all of these claims, from all sides, and you can read them for yourself. Like I say, even those supporting the President are questioning his tactics as it relates to stirring up these passions. Facts. Truth. That's what we need. Jesus told His Jewish listeners that knowing the truth would set them free. They immediately were outraged in challenging His assertion that they were in any bondage whatsoever. (That's always been somewhat humorous to me since they were living under the iron fist of Rome when this dialogue occurred.) Of course Jesus was talking about the bondage of living based on wrong information. Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah but they had distorted through their traditions the image of the coming Messiah and they did not recognize Him as their King. See what I mean? Truth matters. In their case it involved their eternal destiny. (Gospel of John, Chapter 8) Just saying that facts matter folks, and we should pursue knowing them as best we can in order for us to not be misled. Amen and Amen.               ......More later.