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I've done my time in the military and have sworn to defend the Constitution from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

I think many people would be surprised to know how many indians have ALSO done that - did you know that 1 in 4 american indian males are military vets? ;0)

The various tribes recognized under the enumerated powers of the Federal government are definitely not enemies, but sovereign entities with whom we have made various agreements, and those should be revered.

Agreed. Most indians pay federal income taxes, and state income taxes if applicable, so I really don't understand what all teh hullabaloo is about. Apparently the out-of-control spending of various states has cause tehm to look for more revenue generation, and the various states have no right to levy taxes on indians and indian business without congressional approval, so naturally they are ticked... I guess controlling the spending is out of the question. ;0)

I'm not surprised about how many Indians served in the military. I've socialized with quite a few myself. It would also be surprising to the average American about how many non-citizens serve in our military, such as Filipinos.

I never gave taxes much thought. Is that similar to laws pertaining to non-resident and resident aliens working?

You are right on the mark about the spending. My dad used to complain in the 60's about the ratio of government workers to the private sector. It's worse now. The more workers politicians employ, the more votes they get to keep themselves employed to keep the little people on the work for welfare dole, if you can call it work. I don't see where the glut of government workers pushing papers adds to productivity and building national wealth. We're still reeling from the stock market bust of 2000. Foreign investors stopped supporting our free spending habits. Japan's only coming out of a 15 year recession. How long will ours last in the death spiral of increasing taxes pushing down industry? Expect it to get worse before it gets better.

"....I really don't understand what all teh hullabaloo is about."

The hullabaloo, in this case, is that NYS hasn't been able to take complete control of all Tobacco in the State. This is a result of the ability to buy cigs and the state doesn't get any revenue. Of course, this control grab will result in unconstitional taxation on other products.

I support anyone fighting taxation and, in effect, forcing spending control by a government. I support these Indians and I hope they are successfull.

I am just curious, do the members of a reservation get representation in Congress and the Senate?

Most indians pay federal income taxes, and state income taxes if applicable, so I really don't understand what all teh hullabaloo is about.

I think the "hullabaloo" is pretty state dependent. I believe in most areas of the country it's not much of an issue at all. The two areas I know of where Indian lands have become an issue is New York - the upstate land claims - and Claifornia - the whole bloody state.

Further, in both these cases, it has become an issue because we appear to be changing our laws, and many of us suspect that corrupt practices are at the heart of it. In upstate New York, we're throwing out all statute of limitations laws we can, in order to keep the case in the Courts - and it is having a big effect on local land values too. The amount of money the Indian Tribes have donated to New York politicians has quite a few people convinced that this is the real cause for the case going forward.

In California, a similar thing has happened. State laws have changed to exempt more and more income from Indian lands from taxation, and also to allow them more and more liberties. At the same time, and probably not coincidentally, the amount of money the Indian tribes donate to politicians has skyrocketed - it became a big issue in the Recall election, for instance.

But, in the end, these are two examples, and I don't think the Indian Treaties are a big deal through most of the country. That doesn't excuse the abuses in the two cases I mentioned, and we should work on fixing them. Also, if there were payoffs, don't be surprised if we get ticked off about corrupt practices too.

Drew Garrett

You wrote:

"Apparently the out-of-control spending of various states has cause them to look for more revenue generation"

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[

BINGO..!!! ( Pun intended...!! )

WE HAVE A WINNER..!!!

Megwetch & FRegards,