Will Rogers: "The income tax has made more liars of the American people than golf has."

Here's what I saw and heard when I tuned in TV many years ago: "Buffalo Bob: 'Say kids, what time is it? Kids: It's Howdy Doody Time! It's Howdy Doody Time. It's Howdy Doody Time. Bob Smith and Howdy Do Say Howdy Do to you. Let's give a rousing cheer, Cause Howdy Doody's here, It's time to start the show, So kids let's go!'" For those who know how to copy and paste, you can find a preserved recording of this opening on YouTube at this location: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIslhp9vqqw That show was televised beginning in 1947 and it ran through 1960. I don't remember being a big fan or anything but I do well remember it being on and us kids watching it. Part of that no doubt had to do with the fact that we had only one channel to watch. Those silly looking puppets would likely not fit into the 3D world that our grand kids deal with as they watch television and play their video games in today's high tech world. But, I will reaffirm what you already know and that has to do with the fact that with 200 channels to choose from there are often times when there seems like there is absolutely nothing to watch. Maybe I should change that to, nothing worth watching. But, I bid you a Howdy Do on this Wednesday, April 13, 2011. Yes I am old enough to remember Howdy Doody; Pinky Lee; Kukla, Fran, and Ollie; Fury; My Friend Flicka; The Lone Ranger; Hoppalong Cassidy; Rin Tin Tin; Roy Rogers; and yes, even The Three Stooges. In fact, if you grew up when I did and you couldn't imitate any of the three stooges' antics, voices, and sight gags, well, you were certainly not a part of the 'in' crowd. We would watch an episode of one of the TV westerns and get up immediately and go and replay it using our own toy pistols and western gear. I know. Shooting some renegades before supper is no longer politically correct but it did get us up and going. Nowadays there's very little of the get up and go because kids just sit and watch Phineas and Ferb over and over, over and over, again. I have actually caught myself mimicking some of those cartoon characters my grandchildren watch. It may be time for me to say, "Beam me up Scotty!"

Speaking of inmates running the asylum, here's some interesting facts that you may not have known. Can you guess what group is made up of individuals with these achievements? 29 have been accused of spousal abuse, 7 have been arrested for fraud, 19 have been accused of writing bad checks, 117 have bankrupted at least two businesses, 3 have been arrested for assault, 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit, 14 have been arrested on drug related charges, 8 have been arrested for shoplifting, 21 are current defendants in lawsuits and in one year alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving. This is supposedly a list of charges against those who actually made up one of our sessions of Congress back in the early 2000's. Maybe in order to make the laws you have to know how to break the laws. And, it wasn't just way back then. Today we know that the internal revenue service has a huge problem with many of their employees who are delinquent in paying their tax bills. It is currently estimated that federal employees as a whole owe more than $1 billion in unpaid back taxes. Even at the White House this problem continues. In March of this year it was reported that some 41 executive branch workers are delinquent in paying their taxes. No one is perfect and we all have fallen short but when you hear about stuff like this it does make some of their lofty words about sacrifice seem rather shallow. I know the small business here where I work is being beat down with the taxes that have to be paid, or else. Meanwhile, General Electric, one of our President's favorite companies, who received a bail out, made $14.2 billion in profits for 2010 and paid exactly zero dollars in federal taxes. One more time, "Beam me up Scotty!"

I suppose all of this is fresh to me because I dropped my fat envelope along with a check made out to the IRS into the mail receptacle yesterday. I don't have a problem with paying taxes owed. It is a Bible ordained duty. (See Romans Chapter 13) However, people are right to be disillusioned about a system that produces results like that of the GE example. Most folks only want a fair system. While that is likely impossible to be achieved where fallen people are involved, it certainly could be much closer than it is today. A system that produces such implausible free rides for the most profitable while penalizing those who are already squeezed in the middle is a system in need of reform. That's a goal that is always on everybody's to do list, especially those running for high office. Politicians and their promises. It's no wonder folks become cynical. President Obama is pretty good at the politics game. He ran on a platform of not extending the so-called Bush tax cuts, no matter what, but when they got extended, he stood up and took credit for their continuance. This recent budget battle caused the President to accept $79 billion in cuts that he said at the start he would not even consider. After the smoke cleared I heard him take credit for the largest single one year reduction in the budget ever agreed to. You have to give him credit. He may be the best example of that old saying. That's the one that speaks of the fellow who pleads for mercy because he is orphan after having killed his parents. I mention all of this only to say it's no wonder we are in the mess we are in. God's Word has a better plan for people, for nations, and for those who govern. Were we to follow His plans I would not have to say one more time, "Beam me up Scotty!" Have a blessed day. Amen.                 .......More later.