On this date 54 years ago Elvis Presley made his national television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show before a record 72 million people. Here is the Man and the real story.
The Real Story - Elvis on Ed Sullivan Show September 9, 1956
by Christine Gibson, former editor at American Heritage magazine.
Given that many fans think Elvis is still alive despite his death certificate, highly publicized funeral, and gravestone, it’s no surprise that misunderstandings abound about his career. Among those events surrounded by fallacies—perhaps because it strongly affected popular culture as well as Elvis’s work—is his legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, 49 years ago today, on September 9, 1956.
Books and periodicals mentioning the show, which broke ratings records for the young medium and was one of the first to bring rock ’n’ roll to a mass audience, have erroneously reported that Elvis was shown only from the waist up, a triumph of censorship and evidence of the continued prudery of the 1950s. Others, aware of the hoopla surrounding the program, remember it as Elvis’s first performance on TV. The truth, as usual, is a little more complicated—and more interesting.
Presley, who had released his first three number-one hits by the time of the show, was already a TV veteran. He had appeared six times on the Dorsey brothers’ Stage Show between January and March 1956 and then on The Milton Berle Show on April 3, to increasing, if not yet fevered, press attention. But after his second Berle show, on June 5, members of the press expressed sudden revulsion at what the New York Journal-American called his “primitive physical movement difficult to describe in terms suitable to a family newspaper.” The New York Daily News reported that Elvis “gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos,” while the San Francisco Chronicle deemed it “in appalling taste.”
The reaction was enough to make Steve Allen, who had booked Elvis for his show before the backlash, briefly consider reneging, but in the end, Elvis did appear on his show on July 1, although in strangely tame form. Allen, going comically overboard to avoid scandal, dressed him in top hat, tails, and white gloves. Elvis soldiered on gamely, singing “Hound Dog” to a top-hatand bow-tie-clad basset hound.
Sullivan, never a fan of controversy, had already refused an offer to hire Elvis for $5,000. The famously prickly host had been burned before by rock ’n’ roll stars: He vowed to drum Bo Diddley out of television after his 1955 act on the show, when he sang his own hit “Bo Diddley” instead of Sullivan’s request, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” But Elvis’s ratings—his stint on the Allen show had trounced Sullivan—changed his mind. Even as he professed to the press that Elvis was “not my cup of tea,” Ed Sullivan had already begun negotiations with Elvis’s agent, Colonel Tom Parker. His hesitation cost him heavily, however. He would end up agreeing to shell out $50,000 for three appearances, an unprecedented sum.
Elvis made his Sullivan debut on the show’s season premiere, but on the big night neither Sullivan nor Elvis was in the New York studio. Elvis was in Hollywood, filming his first movie, and he sang from the CBS studio there. Sullivan was recovering from an August head-on car collision, and Charles Laughton, the star of Mutiny on the Bounty, filled in for the host, hailing his guest by saying, “Away to Hollywood to meet Elvis Presley.”
Elvis, wearing a loud plaid jacket, greeted the audience from a set decorated with stylized guitar shapes. He announced that the show was “probably the greatest honor I have ever had in my life,” and then launched into “Don’t Be Cruel.” The camera stayed above his waist for now, sometimes closing in on his face, sometimes turning to show his backup singers, but something Elvis was doing out of lens range was causing unexplained screams from the audience. After the number was over, he acknowledged the vocal segment of the crowd, saying, “Thank you, ladies.” To finish the first segment, he played the title song to his new movie, “Love Me Tender,” introducing it as ”completely different from anything we’ve ever done.” Nationwide, disk jockeys taped the performance and played the song, which had yet to be released, on their radio shows, increasing pre-release orders to almost a million and pushing forward the single’s release date.
Viewers got to see the full Elvis—legs, hips, and all—during the second segment, when he performed the up-tempo Little Richard song “Ready Teddy” and two verses of “Hound Dog.” Young rock fans today would doubtless have a hard time understanding what all the scandal was about, as his frenetic swivels and shuffles look chaste compared to the gyrations common on MTV. But Elvis on that night (and his rock star peers in general around the same time) arguably set in motion a trend that continues today.
The press was quick to note that the cameras switched to close-up shots whenever he started dancing, in effect censoring him, but the TV audience got to see plenty, and besides, the girls screamed when he grunted, moved his tongue, crossed his eyes, or even stood perfectly still. With Elvis, censorship began to seem irrelevant. As Laughton noted at the end of the hour, ”Well, what did someone say? Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast?”
The viewing audience certainly wasn’t so offended that it changed the channel. The September 9 Sullivan show reached 82.6 percent of the TV audience, and Steve Allen hadn’t even seen fit to offer an alternative; NBC had showed a movie instead. Censorship did enjoy one last gasp during Elvis’s third appearance, on January 6, 1957, when Sullivan—or, as some historians believe, a publicity-hungry Parker—did indeed instruct the camera operator to show him only from the waist up, even when he sang the gospel tune “Peace in the Valley.” It was the last song he would ever perform on the show. Parker was now demanding $300,000 for future TV engagements, stipulating that a network must also commit to two guest spots and an hour-long special.
Even as he priced his client out of its range, Parker credited the program with the success of “Love Me Tender” and earning Elvis the esteem of American adults for the first time. Historians assert that Elvis’s three nights on the Sullivan show helped bridge the gap between the first rock ’n’ roll generation and their parents. Whether at the same time his behavior on those shows ultimately caused today’s generation gap—that is, whether MTV’s rump-shakers should look to Elvis as their earliest role model and parents can blame him for Britney Spears—is still up for debate.
There have been two fascinating political phenomenon resulting from the last presidential election. First was the rise of Barack Obama from obscurity in Illinois to shatter racial barriers and become our first Black president demonstrating to the world that America does indeed live by the Constitution and have equal opportunity for all.
The second was the rise of Sarah Palin from being governor of the Alaska woodlands to become a national political spokesperson for those who had no voice in politics. The speed with which she transformed from a nobody to vice presidential candidate, the polarizing and bitter opposition to her from the left, and her ability to sustain her prominent position, even enhance it, after losing the presidential election and resigning as Alaska governor, defied all odds.
Because of the insatiable interest in everything Sarah and in order to show how she evolved in the eyes of the Coltons Point Times we are providing links to every article that appeared about Sarah Palin in the CPT since she first rocketed onto the American political landscape. Consistent with our overall policy to provide the news all archived articles are available online and there is no charge for you to read them and see how her national career unfolded through the highs and los, the ups and downs of becoming the most popular and controversial personality in American politics. Enjoy if you dare by clicking on the links and then returning to this index of articles for more.
The Sarah Palin Chronicles of the Coltons Point Times
Special interest success is a strange but fair question when one looks at the hundreds of millions of dollars involved in the preservation of special interests and the propagation of their cause. In plain English, are they more interested in self-preservation than success?
Of course the more hotly debated and contested special interests are the social issues which have taken a back seat this election in order to keep the focus on the economy and the Obama record. A wise tactic indeed if you are a Republican.
For example, take the most volatile and controversial of all special social interests during any normal election cycle, the interests for and against abortion. They are invisible this election having been lost in debate over the Obama economic performance.
As the advocates remain silent we have now passed over 52 million legal abortions in America, and over 1 billion worldwide. That means there have been 15 million more abortions than the entire population of California, our largest state. That is equal to over 16% of the entire population of the United States. More than the population of most European nations.
Yet there is silence in the campaign and silence in the Halls of Congress. Perhaps that is a good thing as it is a dark cloud hanging over a nation dedicated to LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of HAPPINESS of it's citizens. In truth it should not be debated as a matter of justice as neither side advocates the taking of human life.
However, the national debate has been positioned as a matter of being for or against abortion. But I have not found any pro-abortionists who advocate the death of human beings. Not even Roe versus Wade says a word about allowing for the legal deaths of infants though many people are confused about the issue.
No, Roe versus Wade only addresses WHEN LIFE BEGINS.
If we could agree on when life begins there would be no national debate, no polarization between liberals and conservatives, and no conflict between religions or political parties. Most important, there would be no systematic abortions of Black Americans at a rate almost three times higher than the percentage of population that is Black. You see, 75% of the US population is White while 12.4% is Black, yet 58% of abortions are White compared to 34% Black. Total legal Black abortions, 18 million, equals almost 50% of the total US Black population of about 37.6 million, while White abortions equal just 13% of the total White population.
When statistics become so skewed something is dreadfully wrong. Just as is this fact. For the record in America since passage of Roe versus Wade as of 2010 there have now been over 52 million legal abortions. For comparison purposes, the total people killed in all wars fought by the United States from the War of Independence through Iraq is about 1,316,000. In other words in the US there have been more than 39 TIMES AS MANY ABORTIONS IN 35 YEARS AS DEATHS FROM WARS IN 234 YEARS.
Roe versus Wade was a ruling by the Supreme Court that centrally held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable'". The Court defined viable as being potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. In 1973 viability usually occurred at about seven months (28 weeks) but might occur earlier, even at 24 weeks. Medical breakthroughs since the ruling and prenatal advances have demonstrated that the ability of the fetus to live outside the mother's womb can come at a much earlier time.
In fact just recently the youngest baby in history was delivered at 21 weeks and 6 days, survived and has now gone home to live a normal life. Amillia Sonja Taylor was born October 24, 2009 in Florida. She is living proof that Roe versus Wade is scientifically wrong, a baby can survive at 21 weeks, not 28 weeks.
Clearly the language of the law is flawed, so what should it be? Here is the test for all pro abortion groups who claim they really aren't advocating taking lives. There is one medical test widely accepted and upheld by the courts to establish that a human is legally alive or dead.
The Uniform Determination of Death Act, promulgated in 1980 and supported by the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, has served as a model statute for the adoption of state legislation that defines death. The act asserts: “An individual, who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brainstem, is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.”
Since brain activity is the legal measure for the cessation of life, then it must also be the legally accepted measure of the beginning of life. A fetus becomes a living baby when brain activity can be first measured. According to established science with the use of an electroencephalogram, or EEG, activity in the brain can be detected as early as six weeks gestational age (6). Whether brain activity begins at this time or started earlier but becomes detectable at this time is uncertain; it is known that neural connections begin forming as soon as neurons begin forming, as early as 14 days gestation.
A Constitutional lawyer like President Obama should embrace scientific advances that have proven when brain activity is detected, at six weeks, and since the courts accept brain activity as a reliable measure of death over life, then life can be scientifically proven at six weeks.
Roe versus Wade, adopted nearly four decades ago, is medically and scientifically obsolete in the determination that life begins at 28 weeks. Responsible members of Congress and the White House should advocate, in the interest of scientific accuracy, a change in the law to reflect the latest scientific advances. With 52 million abortions already performed, do we really want to keep terminating the lives of babies we know are living beings?
Yet there is a better way to implement this known scientific fact for the basis of when life begins and that is through the governors and their attorney generals. They have implemented and defended The Uniform Determination of Death Act and defended it in the courts. It would seem they could take action to extend the act to include when life begins since it is recognized by the courts as when life ends and it could be implemented by executive order, regulation or even legislation if necessary at the state level.
Now last March 26 in the CPT I wrote a story titled, Obama and Abortion - What Does He Really Think? Fifty Million USA Abortions and Counting, and I discussed this proposed resolution of the bitter abortion debate. The same day I sent the article to a number of major Prolife news outlets as a possible strategy to achieve their lobbying goal. As far as I know, none ever reprinted the article or mentioned the strategy in other stories. One would think they might have at least put it out for debate.
Today I am asking you, the readers, to share this article with your governors as a way to achieve a great degree of scientific resolution to this tragic debate in a way neither side of the issue can object to in the end. If no one wants to end human life then this is the solution whether you are pro-life or pro-abortion. You can make a difference and end the debate.
Abortion is not a matter of pro-choice when the baby being aborted is a living, human being in the eyes of science. Pro-Life and Pro-Choice advocates should join in seeking this correction of a flawed law through the work of informed governors, and the Obama Administration and Congress should make it the law of the land.
The following three article headlines tell us all we need to know about the Obama health care reform and the impact it has had on the cost of health care since it's passage. If ever there was a clearer signal of what is to come under Obamacare this is it.
The full text and source of the articles follow the headlines. Is there any doubt why the American voters are fed up?
Workers pay more for health costs, study finds
Malpractice liability costs U.S. $55.6 billion: study
Price of Brand-Name Drugs Soars
Full articles...
Workers pay more for health costs, study finds
Employees paying out additional $482 on average for family plans
Tony Pugh • MCT News Service • September 7, 2010 • From Lansing State Journal
WASHINGTON - A recently released annual survey says workers are paying about $482 more, on average, for job-based family health insurance this year.
That comes as companies force employees to shoulder more of the burden of health care costs.
The increase in premiums, up 14 percent from last year, means that workers are paying nearly all of a $495 increase in the average cost of family coverage this year.
Employers' contributions to family coverage showed no increase at all in 2010, according to the Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.
Drew Altman, the president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said it was the first time he could remember employers - who provide coverage for about 157 million Americans - moving so boldly to shift health costs to workers.
"Added health costs for workers means added economic insecurity for working people in tough times," Altman said.
Over the past five years, workers' share of premiums has increased by $1,300, or 47 percent, Altman said, while overall coverage costs are up 27 percent. Over the same period, wages climbed 18 percent and general inflation rose 12 percent.
"If premiums and costs continue to be shifted to consumers, households will face difficult choices, like forgoing needed care or re-examining how they can best care for their families," said Maulik Joshi, president of Health Research and Educational Trust.
Family coverage now costs an average of $13,770 a year, up 3 percent from 2009, the survey found. Employers still absorb the bulk of the costs, paying an average of $9,773 toward the full premium amount. Workers typically pay about 27 percent of the cost for family coverage, but this year they're paying about 30 percent, or an average of $3,997. That's up from an average of $3,515 last year.
Workers with individual coverage are in the same boat. Their average annual premiums spiked more than 15 percent - from $779 to $899 - even though the average overall cost for single coverage rose only 5 percent, from $4,824 in 2009 to $5,049 this year.
Malpractice liability costs U.S. $55.6 billion: study
Tue Sep 7, 12:22 am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Medical malpractice liability costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $55 billion a year, most of it in "defensive" medical practices such as extra tests and scans, according to a report released on Tuesday.
These costs, which also include administrative costs, payments to plaintiffs and lawyer fees, account for 2.4 percent of annual U.S. healthcare spending, Michelle Mello of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues reported.
So-called defensive medicine costs alone totaled an estimated $45.6 billion, Mello's team reported in the journal Health Affairs.
The issue of malpractice has repeatedly come up in discussions and debates over healthcare reform. Doctors often must carry hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in malpractice insurance.
The administration of President Barack Obama has made saving money a centerpiece of healthcare reform, Obama's signature domestic policy.
"We cannot debate the potential for medical liability reform to bring down health care costs in any meaningful way without realistic cost estimates," Mello said in a statement.
"Physician and insurer groups like to collapse all conversations about cost growth in health care to malpractice reform, while their opponents trivialize the role of defensive medicine," added Amitabh Chandra, a professor of public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who worked on the study.
"Our study demonstrates that both these simplifications are wrong -- the amount of defensive medicine is not trivial, but it's unlikely to be a source of significant savings."
Many groups have suggested tort reform as a solution, including caps on damages to be paid in successful malpractice suits, but Mello's team said such reforms would be unlikely to cut overall healthcare spending much.
Total malpractice indemnity payments were $5.72 billion a year in 2008 dollars, Mello's team found -- about $5 billion in actual damages and less than $2 million in punitive damages.
But they noted there is no comprehensive system for tracking such damages, either. "The source that comes closest is the National Practitioner Data Bank of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)," they wrote.
They used that databank, with estimates from other sources, for their report. They used published studies for other numbers in the report.
"Notably missing from this list are malpractice insurance premiums," Mello's team noted.
"Premiums represent insurers' best estimates of their indemnity costs and defense costs, plus additional amounts to cover other operating expenses, reinsurance costs, and profits or surplus building. It would be double counting to include both malpractice premium costs and indemnity and administrative costs."
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Eric Beech)
Price of Brand-Name Drugs Soars
Over the Past Five Years, Prices Rose 41.5 Percent, Hurting Americans on Medicare
By RON CLAIBORNE and JESSICA HOPPER
Aug. 25, 2010
The cost of the most popular brand-name drugs used by older Americans soared 8.3 percent in 2009, according to a new report by the AARP.
Researchers examined 217 brand-name drugs, including popular drugs like Nexium, which is used to treat acid reflux.
They found that even though consumer prices overall declined by 0.4 percent last year, the cost of brand-name drugs went up. The price of those same medications rose 7 percent in 2008.
The AARP report said the retail price of brand-name drugs rose 41.5 percent from 2004 to 2009, far outpacing the increase in the consumer price index which increased by 13.3 percent during that same period.
That means someone who takes three brand-name drugs pays an average of $1,900 dollars more each year for medicine.
"Something is out of whack here about no increases in the rest of the economy and very substantial [increases] with pharmaceuticals," AARP's John Rother said.
The pharmaceutical industry group, Pharma, declined ABC News' request for an on-camera interview and did not answer questions we submitted in writing. However, in a written statement, Pharma called the AARP report "distorted and misleading" for not including cheaper generic equivalents which account for 75 percent of prescriptions filled.
Reserchers from the AARP said that for most of the 217 medications they looked at, there was no generic version because the brand-name drug is still under patent.
Soaring Drug Prices Hurt Elderly
Higher prescription drug prices are especially hard on elderly Americans living on fixed incomes, many of whom are on the Medicare prescription drug plan, which leaves them uncovered after they spend $2,830 on medications in one year. The coverage kicks back in only after they have spent $4,550.
"They bear the full cost out of pocket when they reach that coverage limit, and that's why this is particularly sensitive to older persons," Rother said.
Generic Drugs Are Cheaper Alternative
The report did contain some good news. More and more Americans are turning to generic equivalents.
Yet, many Americans still choose the more expensive brand name medicines even when the exact same drug is available as a generic.
Dr. Keshav Chander, a cardiologist in St. George, Utah said many of his patients mistakenly assume the generic drug cannot be as good as the brand name because it is so much less expensive.
"When we buy drugs, we cannot believe that something that is 10 times more expensive than the other product is not going to be better," said Dr. Keshav Chander, a cardiologist.
The article below is pretty neutral, ...not anti republican or democrat.
Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day.
It's a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!
545 vs. 300,000,000
EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.
[Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years, reporting on everything from sports to politics. From 1969–71, he worked as a campaign staffer for gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional races in several states. He was an editor, assistant to the publisher, and columnist for the Orlando Sentinel from 1971 to 2001. He now writes a syndicated column which is carried on LewRockwell.com. Reese served two years active duty in the U.S. Army as a tank gunner.]
545 PEOPLE--By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.
The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ.
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote "all" of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it......... Is up to you.
The following might be funny if it weren't so darned true. Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table, At which he's fed. Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule. Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts Anyway!
Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat. Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt. Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think.
Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries, Tax his tears. Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass. Tax all he has Then let him know That you won't be done Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore. Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he's laid. Put these words Upon his tomb, 'Taxes drove me to my doom'.
When he's gone, Do not relax, It's time to apply The inheritance tax. Sales Tax School Tax Liquor Tax Luxury Tax Excise Taxes Property Tax Cigarette Tax Medicare Tax Inventory Tax Real Estate Tax Well Permit Tax Fuel Permit Tax Inheritance Tax Road Usage Tax CDL license Tax Dog License Tax State Income Tax Food License Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Gross Receipts Tax Social Security Tax Service Charge Tax Fishing License Tax Federal Income Tax Building Permit Tax IRS Interest Charges Hunting License Tax Marriage License Tax Corporate Income Tax Personal Property Tax Accounts Receivable Tax Recreational Vehicle Tax Workers Compensation Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone State and Local Tax IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon) Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?' I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!
P.S. If you do the right thing and pass this on - which is entirely up to you - please do the right thing and highlight and delete any addresses you receive with it.
It is difficult but we are still reporting as hurricane Earl drifts up the eastern seaboard. Contrary to news reports that the storm has lost it's intensity, you can see things are more than a little intense.
Here you can see our local town crier, as we have no other means of communicating among towns folk, sidetracked on his daily mission by the hurricane winds.
I tried to get to the Post Office to pick up my mail but the conditions made it a little difficult. Still it is better than sitting at the typewriter cranking out stories while trying to keep the pages dry.
I checked on the neighbor next door but no one seemed to be home so I just drifted back to my house and on the way passed more neighbors taking the storm much too lightly. I mean I have guitars too but I'm not about to get them wet like that ukulele.
It was back to the safety of Park Place, my house, and I looked out back where I saw Hillbilly Joe trying to get to his truck and I just knew I was safer here in the comfort of the second floor. Why it looked like the storm blew most of his clothes off.
I could see the park across the street and sure enough, the Watermen from Coltons Point, having given up any hope for fishing, crabbing, oystering or clamming were settling in to a game of soccer in spite of the high tide and weather.
So much for Earl, by the time he made it past North Carolina there was not much left in him. Still, there are two more storms barreling across the Atlantic so maybe we will keep the emergency supplies handy for the next wave.
