A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....01-28-03...The Taxman Cometh

FreeTheHostages; Billie | FreeTheHostages

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest.....
......Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   I can remember lurking when there were only a few regulars who posted, and now there are over 60,000 who have registered for posting privileges. The forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I can no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I've been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that doesn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why, in addition to seeing FR's Finest Military Personnel every day, I thought it might be fun to feature a different FReeper (or FReepers) each day. If you would like to be pictured, or know someone who would, please FReepmail me and we'll turn the spotlight - on YOU - for the day!

And do let me know if you'd like your picture added to the groups of Veterans/Active Military below. I will keep this page updated, and continue to add them to the comment section of the original Veteran's Day thread as well.

<

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett.
MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17.
BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,
dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony
BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx
MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law
BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68.
MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797
BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack

We now have eleven groups of veterans/active military; we will post each group of three or four twice a week, with thumbnail/links of the remaining seven or eight groups on each thread. Click on any of the thumbnails below to see the group full-size.

         

GROUP 1A: TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

GROUP 2A: TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

GROUP 3A: TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

GROUP 4A: TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

      

GROUP 9A: TOP: Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog. MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son. BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

GROUP 10A: TOP: dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon. BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

GROUP 11A: TOP: ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son. BOTTOM: AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset); WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

                     

   NO! NO! NO!

The Taxman Cometh by FreeTheHostages
”So soon? Don’t I have 2 1/2 more months?”

Relax, this guy’s easy on your wallet. Taxman’s working hard to replace the income tax with a National Retail Sales Tax (NRSTA) and abolish the IRS! Let’s explore....

Meet FRank L. Davis, Jr., MBA, Captain, USNR (Ret). (He's got a stylish baseball hat with the international "NO" circle atop the letters "IRS"....you'll be hard-pressed to find him when he's not wearing that cap!)

Taxman officially became a FReeper on November 2, 1998, two days after the March for Justice, but committed to becoming one on October 31, 1998, the minute he arrived at the rally site. He has "been hooked ever since." He has been to all the major FReeps. His favorites (other than of course the "Get Out of Cheney's House" which is just about everyone's favorite), include the "Second Amendment Sisters Mother's Day Anti-Million Mom March" and working security for the Inaugural Ball. He's a guy with a gregarious (may I say "frank"?) way and a wry sense of humor very active in day-to-day FReeps.

At left, here he is waving a small flag at the January 18, 2003, DC Chapter Patriot’s Rally III FReep, and on the right, Taxman is pictured at a DC Chapter FReep of the Al Gore booksigning.

      

You're saying, “Yes, yes, FTH, you’re a cheerleader for the DC Chapter, but do you have a license to write such pandering prose??!! WHAT ABOUT THE HAT and the IRS?”  OK, OK, onward and forward.....

FRank and the Hat Thing:
Secure in His Conservatism

Just in time for those W-2s arriving in your mail, you ought to bend an ear and listen to what he and the Free Republic’s front page (in the “what we stand for” section) thinks of the 16th Amendment establishing a federal income tax:  NOT MUCH!! Taxman, if you could possibly abolish the IRS before April 15, it would be MUCH appreciated about these parts! FRank co-founded and is the Executive Vice President of the National Retail Sales Tax Alliance, Inc. (NRSTA).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frank recently described his "stylish look" for an upcoming DC FReep in winter chill (LOL – he edits me with “Chill? It was damn cold, sweetie!”) as follows:

CLICK ME!

“A fur-lined LSO hood, over my NO IRS ball cap, of course. No one recognizes me without my NO IRS ball cap. LOL! And, my mock hippie necklace.”

Wait! Stop! New question: “What did you say about a Mock Hippie Necklace?” Um, like I said, FRank is secure in his conservatism. How far are we going to carry this style thing, Taxman??

Well, with the utter lack of care most leftists show in their attire, it's nice to see that Taxman actually takes the time to protest in the proper accoutrements - those that might annoy the leftist the most.

His eye for detail includes choosing to hold the most appropriate and hilarious signs. Below is his hilarious sign at a June 18, 2002 Fundraiser that Hillary Clinton held for Rahm Emanuel, Pres. Clinton's former fundraiser:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess it’s safe to joke about attire if you’re as experienced a naval aviator as FRank. Born in Richmond, VA, Taxman was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and is a proud Florida State University grad. There’s a reason he looks like a naval aviator:  he made 4 “WESTPAC cruises” to Vietnam as a Naval Aviator - 2 in the USS Kearsarge (CVS 33) and 2 in the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63).

He’s well-known in the FReeper veteran community. Check out this moving post . It’s praise that we could all say about Vietman veterans here, but it's great to hear them say it about each other.

Anchors Away with the IRS

In 1975, he left the Navy, got an MBA, and became a jack-of-all-trades:   corporate pilot, insurance salesman, computer geek, aviation engineering program manager, and more. He was recalled to activity duty for Operation Desert Storm and retired FRom the Naval Reserve in October, 1991.

Just prior to retiring from the Navy Reserve, a strong wind blew FRank toward his new mission. He read a Pat Buchanan editorial in support of a proposal to abolish the income tax and replace it with a National Retail Sales Tax. He agreed completely and had to do something! So he began to volunteer for the Citizens for an Alternative Tax System (CATS) San Diego Chapter.

In 1994, when Republicans won the Congress, he moved to the District of Columbia area to become more involved in conservative politics. After failing to get hired in the new Congress (if you want an insight into how Washington, DC works, get him to tell you the story!), he worked a spell with CATS in Manassas, VA, and then set sail to co-found the National Retail Sales Tax Alliance, Inc. in 1999.

Taxman will have a booth at CPAC, so I won't BORE YOU with - did I say "bore"? I meant "fill you in with" - the details of tax policy. If you go to CPAC this week, please stop by his booth and talk to him! If he’s not as fun and gregarious as I promised, well, then you didn’t talk to FRank!

In a nutshell, FRank says:

"If the United States had a retail sales tax rather than an income tax, people in this country would be able to dictate how much tax they paid by how they spent their money. They would regain a huge measure of control over their economic and personal lives with a national retail sales tax (NSRT). The NRST = FReedom."

I even think I heard FRank say, when he thought I wasn’t listening, that the NRST would have the extra benefit of making attorneys and accountants "get honest work." Oh my!

OK, I'm not saying I agree with FRank on *everything,* but it sure is an interesting idea and one he pursues with trademark enthusiasm. If you forced FRank to FRame the issue in three points, he would say:

• 1.  "It's a FReedom issue." "We will never be a truly FRee people so long as we have the income tax and the IRS. We live in the FReest country in the world and yet we have a tax system which imposes the heavy hand of government on how each of its citizens work, save and invest." The income tax system "imposes itself artificially in every aspect of our lives." Taxman believes that prior to 1913, when the income tax was implemented via the 16th Amendment, people were the master of their government and the government was the servant. So should it be again.

• 2.  Economic growth. (Editor’s warning: the next two sentences can be experienced by some persons as BORING and you may wish to skip to the part about the cow.) The rate of personal savings in the U.S. is absymal. The income tax system first taxes income, then taxes interest/dividends/capital gains earned from that already-taxed income and, if you are fortunate enough to have anything left at the end of your life, taxes your estate (death taxes).
  
  INTERESTING:  It's a far cry from when FRank's granddad would sell a cow or calf at the local auction, go straight to the bank and put 10 percent of the sales revenue into his savings account. Back then, if you saved such proceeds, the federal taxman wasn’t interested and interest/dividends/capital gains earned were not taxed. Under FRank's proposal, no person will pay any taxes until they purchase a good or a service, and the national savings rate will triple!
  
  BORING AGAIN: FRank reports that prominent economists have conservatively estimated that moving to a national retail sales tax would triple personal savings rates and double the rate of GDP growth. Americans who choose to work, save and invest would be rewarded instead of punished, as they are now. Death taxes would be abolished. ("Nonsense!" is Taxman's answers to those who claim a NRST would hurt the poor. Ask him why, he’ll explain.)

• 3.  Equal Justice for All. The progressive income tax violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws to every American. The NRST guarantees equal treatment before the bar of economic justice, as the Founding Fathers intended.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's fun to be introduced to another Finest FReeper in such an entertaining way; getting the text from FreeTheHostages on her profilees, along with links to interesting FR threads and/or photos, is a treat for me because I get to do the fun part.....choosing how best to put it together to compliment her fun style of writing! ~ Billie

Taxman....Today's Finest FReeper!

THIS WEEK'S THREADs 01-27-03 Aquamarine

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[Taxman]

Of course the National Retail Sales Tax is not "cruel" to the poor. Do you think for one minute that I'd support any program that was patently unfair or cruel to anyone?

I do not engage in class warfare, except to destroy the argument:

I firmly believe that the Marxist concept of "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need" and the resulting class warfare, greed and envy that it has inspired is directly responsible for more death and misery in the world and done more damage to all of civilization in the past 155 years than any other philosophical belief in the known history of man's existence on this planet.

Long sentence. Here is the short version: Communism kills!

The facts are simple: the NRST, by promoting robust economic growth in the world economy, will help the poor the most by providing more and better higher paying jobs and facilitating considerable upward mobility.

And the NRST will end the 155 year old class warfare argument.

[Fred Mertz]

Hey Taxman!

I like your "peace" medallion, the one around your neck.

[LadyX]

"The reason the coffee pot did not show up the first time was that I grabbed the whole thing for myself."

Your graciousness is noted and appreciated..:))
Truth is, I had not yet consumed my own First Cup and was caffeine-challenged, so eager to provide for the masses that I didn't write in the gif!

Of course 'no gif' translates to 'no gift' - - -

I promise to work harder to live up to my responsibilities, and therefore will go feed my cat.

[Billie]

This says it all! Received in email - probably many of you have already seen it.

**After hearing that the state of Florida changed its opinion and let a Muslim woman have her picture on her driver's license with her face covered this is an editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa newspaper. He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.


We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented.. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every! citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.**

[Billie]

Good morning, Larry. Thanks for coming to read about Taxman.

[Billie]

Morning, Aqua. Did you sleep in all your jewels last night? :)

[Billie]

Hi, rd - good to see you this morning! Hmmmmmm, I may have to take a look at that Mozilla browser, though I'm pretty satisfied with IE. :)

[Taxman]

Thank you, dutchess, for your kind words.

It was my pleasure to know, albeit briefly, the late FReeper, Commies Out. He was imprisoned in his native Poland for his impassiopned FReedom Fighting activities, and was later "paroled" to America, where he continued to fight for FReedom and Liberty, both in the US and in Poland.

He was, having lived it, an implacable foe of Communism and was an inspiration to all who knew him. We miss him.

The stories your Polish grandparents related to you should be widely publicised and serve as warning to all Americans. Please share them with us.

[FreeTheHostages]

I *loved* putting the Beatles' Taxman with Frank wearing his *war* medallion!! LOL -- it's so stylistically sympatico.

Per your rquest, here's the Beatles wavs URLs for us hip, modern conservatives that don't associate the Beatles with communism!:

http://www.angelfire.com/band2/mr.tunes/Beatles/THE NAME OF THE WAVE

where the names are self-explanatory:

AcrossTheUniverse.WAV
AllYouNeedIsLove.WAV
BackInTheUSSR.WAV
esa_me_mucho_extremely_rare.wav
HardDaysNight.wav
Help.wav
HelterSkelter.wav
IWantToHoldYourHand.wav
IfINeededSomeone.wav
ImHappyJustToDanceWithYou.wav
In_My_Life.wav
LetItBe.wav
LoveMeDo.wav
MagicalMysteryTour.WAV
MarthaMyDear.wav
MotherNaturesSon.wav
Ob_la_diOb_la_da.WAV
OctopusGarden.WAV
OhDarling.wav
PaperbackWriter.wav
PennyLane.WAV
RockyRacoon.wav
SheSaidSheSaid.WAV
SlowDown.WAV
Something.WAV
StepInsideLove.WAV
Strawberry Fields Forever
SunKing.WAV
Taxman.wav
TeddyBoy.WAV
TellMeWhatYouSee.WAV
Tell Me Why
TheContinuingStoryOfBungalowBill.WAV
Ticket_To_Ride.wav
Revolution.wav
Since_Shes_Been_Gone.wav

[FreeTheHostages]

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

[LadyX]

"I am curious, though: what exactly do you mean by ". . . having "OBEYED" like a good woman should and Clicked on the Pic!"

A bit of tongue in cheek for the Old Order of Things under which I grew up, TMan.

We of the Betty Crocker Brigade were told to:

- welcome our man at the door when he came home with a perfectly clean and tidy house
- be attractively dressed
- be positive and engaging and cheerful in nature and agreeable in all conversation
- have a scrumptious meal ready
- soothe his ruffled feathers, had he any
- and, in general, obey his wishes and commands.

Therefore, when you declared I should "Click Me," I reverted..:)))

[The Thin Man]

Congratulations, Taxman. That 'war' necklace is a classic. It must really get under the leftist's skins. LOL!

[Temple Owl]

I just returned from the dentist. It is much more comfortable to be here with all of you kind and gentle Freepers. Have a good one Billie

[.45MAN]

Me too to all of that!!! except the hugs.....

[jwfiv]

To all our Hostesses...Good Morning..)...beautiful thread for such a rugged fella, quite appropriate, I think.

FTH, just love yer style.

Taxman, pleased to know you a little better...always pay attention when I see your name on a thread...thanks for all your Freepin' good works.

It has taken a few years, being the obtuse type, but I've finally grokked the rationale behing the sales tax and come around to thinking it is indeed the best alternative to our currently absurd system,I don't see how anyone can argue with it.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful day here at the head of the table...good luck to you, Taxman.

[firewalk]

Good morning everybody (-:

hi Billie (thanks for the ping) hope you have a nice day (-:

[LadyX]

How refreshing!

The way you and FreeTheHostages went out of your way to recover my not-really-awake first reply was most gracious!

On some threads, such a foulup would have generated a dozen smart comments and "Go away, dummy, and come back to play when you become perfect."

Which leads to expressing our appreciation for this Very Special Room you have constructed, Billie.

[The Thin Man]

OK, I'm not saying I agree with FRank on *everything*

FTH....now your even arguing with the honoree. You're becoming more and more difficult. :)

Billie, I think FTH needs a lesson in hostess etiquette.

[The Thin Man]

Don't say anything! I know I did it again!

[daisyscarlett]

Congratulations, taxman. You are an interesting and dedicated FReeper and I love your sales tax proposal. Keep up the great work!!!

FTH and Billie-thank you for the presentation today. Loved the great links and photos and the Beatles, too!!!