April 15 - Tax Day

Although I e-filed over a month ago, today was the day I wrote out a check and went to the post office to pay my taxes. Hopefully we will be able to write such a letter to the IRS when our current system is replaced by a Fair Tax.

In a week and a day (April 23rd), we will experience Tax Freedom Day, the day we stop working for the government and start working for ourselves. The Tax Freedom Foundation has some interesting statistics on their web site:

“Government continues to dominate the American taxpayer’s budget,” said Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge. “Americans will still spend more on taxes in 2008 than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined.”

In 2008, Americans will work 74 days to afford their federal taxes and 39 more days to pay state and local taxes. Meanwhile, buying food requires 35 days of work, clothing 13 days, and housing 60 days. Other major categories are health and medical care (50 days), transportation (29 days), and recreation (21 days).

If you want to learn more about the Fair Tax, visit these websites:

Americans for Fair Taxation

Fair Tax Calculator

To learn about or get involved in the Fair Tax Movement in the State of Michigan:

Michigan Fair Tax

Michigan Fair Tax Proposal

Huckabee Launches Politial Action Committee

Today, Gov. Mike Huckabee unveiled a new website. He has formed a PAC to help support and promote candidates who stand for conservative values. I encourage you to check out the new website. Here's a portion of Gov. Huckabee's statement:

Huck PAC is something I am very excited about. As I campaigned across this country over the last fourteen months I met families and individuals eager for change in Washington and the Republican Party.

Many felt that their Party needed to get back to its core principles: less government, a strong national defense and unwavering support for the family and the sanctity of life.

I campaigned to be the agent of that change and while we may have come up short, I remain and I hope you do as well, undeterred, because the campaign was never about me.

If it had been, I can assure you I would have gotten out of the race long before the Ames Straw Poll when generous pollsters had us trolling at 2-3% in national polls. I stayed in the race then because my campaign was always about the issues and the voters. The folks that felt invisible and overlooked and who believed that Washington wasn’t fighting for the same principles they believed in.

Enter Huck PAC.

Huck PAC is founded on the principles that make America great: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. And because we believe our Republican Party embodies these ideas and is best suited to lead America forward, we are committed to supporting Republican candidates who are passionate advocates for tax reform, a strong national defense, real border security, life, the family, less government and individual liberty.

We will identify candidates who hold firm to these principles, promote their campaigns and financially support their efforts.

I listened to a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh's radio program this afternoon. He was bemoaning the fact that the presidential candidates were poor choices because they did not support life (i.e. they support abortion), they did not support liberty (i.e. they support limitations on our liberty in light of global warming, etc.), and so on. I wonder if Rush got his talking points on this subject from Huckabee's letter?

InterChurch Holiness Convention

This week at the Convention Center in Dayton, OH, a convention is being held that focuses on living a holy, godly life. The convention highlights excellent singing and preaching. This year, the services are being broadcast live in both audio and video. We were unable to attend IHC this week, but we are able to "sit in" by way of the internet.

If you'd like to catch a glimpse of IHC, go to www.ihconvention.com.

Huckabee Conference Call

Tonight I enjoyed listening to a Conference Call with Gov. Huckabee hosted by Strang Communications. The host said there were 6,000 people who called in to listen to Huckabee talk about his presidential bid, the role of faith in politics, and a host of other subjects.

Kerry at OneMom has an excellent recap of the call, as well as a link to the audio replay of the call if you are interested.

By the way, the Huckabee website is undergoing some major changes to be unveiled on April 15th at noon.

Exciting Tuesday Afternoon

After making a hospital call Tuesday morning, I found the road that leads to the church and our house blocked by police tape. I went around the block, to try to get home from the other side of the street, but the same yellow ribbon stretched across the street. I drove through our back yard and saw the police were sitting in the church parking lot.

I was relieved to find out that they didn't have a warrant for the pastor of the church! Our neighbor across the road from the church was cleaning out his garage and found a gernade. The bomb squad was called in, and I was advised to stay back by our house, and not go inside the church, in case the gernade happened to explode. Below is the article from today's local paper, the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

Grenade discovered in garage

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

By Danielle Quisenberry

dquisenberry@citpat.com -- 768-4929

A couple of weeks ago, Patrick Hills came across a cardboard tube in his cluttered garage and casually tossed it aside, unaware of its contents.

Tuesday morning, he realized the tube contained a decades-old hand grenade, and called police.

``Once I figured out what it was, it kind of startled me,'' said Hills, 20, of Vandercook Lake. ``I didn't want to take any chances.''

Jackson County sheriff's deputies called the Michigan State Police bomb squad to Hills' house at 404 Comstock St. and the squad determined Tuesday afternoon the grenade was live or still charged with explosives, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

Troopers took the device to a gravel pit off U.S. 127 and detonated it, Undersheriff Tom Finco said.

Hills said he thinks the grenade was a souvenir saved by his grandfather, Glenn Hills of Speedwell, Tenn., who once served overseas with the U.S. Army and previously owned the house.

``My grandfather collected everything,'' Hills said as he worked behind the home Tuesday evening.

Old equipment, wood stacks and other items were scattered about the premises. The garage was stacked with clutter.

Hills bought the house about three months ago and is working to tidy and remodel it.

He had been cleaning up the garage about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when he found the explosive, which had its pin still in it, and moved it to the front yard.

``Only God knows how long it's been in there,'' said Hills, who was surprised to learn the grenade was live.

He said he's glad his two young children weren't home at the time. They were staying with his fiancee's parents while Hills worked on the house.

As a precaution, deputies closed part of Comstock Street and vacated Hills' home and the nearest house, which sits a couple hundred feet away.

The two lots surrounding Hills' house are empty. A church is across the street.

It took the bomb squad, based in Lansing, about 21/2 hours to get to the scene and about 15 minutes to realize the grenade was live, Hills said.

Such devices are ``nothing to mess with,'' Finco said.

Sheriff Dan Heyns advised people should leave a potential explosive alone. ``Do not touch or move it. Immediately call 911 and report your find,'' he said in a statement.

Will McCain try to court the Religious Right?

Politico.com reports that McCain shies away from talking about religion. Here's an expert of an article written by Johnaton Martin:

Traversing the country this week on a tour of places that have shaped his life and informed his values, John McCain spoke in strikingly personal language to introduce himself to the American public.

But missing so far is any significant mention of religious faith.

In an Oprah Winfrey-era where soul-baring and expressions of faith are the norm for public figures, the presumptive Republican nominee, open and candid about much else, retains a shroud of privacy around his Christianity.

With Obama having the #1 most liberal voting record in the Senate, and Clinton ranking as the 16th most liberal Senator, neither Democratic candidate is an option for conservative voters. While leaning towards supporting McCain at the moment, I am still waiting for him to "reach across the aisle" in my direction. It appears that once again the Evangelical wing of the party will be taken for granted. I wonder if that will be a tragic mistake come November?