Free Republic

From Mitt Romney to Warren Buffett, people are clamoring for fairer taxes. But thanks to yet another lapse by our lawmakers in Washington, more than 20 million taxpayers may pay a tax that was originally designed to hit only the ultra-rich -- and the increase could cost you as much as $8,000. When it was first designed, the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, was meant to make taxes more fair. The idea behind the AMT was to make sure that rich people didn't use deductions to zero out their taxes every year. Because of inflation, though, the AMT threatens to...

WASHINGTON — In the end, neither side was willing to give an inch — or give up the last word. In the span of about two hours Tuesday, President Bush received, vetoed and publicly denounced legislation ordering troops to begin coming home from Iraq. Democrats, who had staged a dramatic signing ceremony, headed back to the television cameras to chide Bush for rejecting it.

<p>E-mail to soldier spurs outrage Military supporters bombard West Allis company with messages; fears for safety arise By ANNYSA JOHNSON anjohnson@journalsentinel.com Posted: Jan. 22, 2007 What began as a brief e-mail exchange between a U.S. soldier in Iraq and a Wisconsin-based online retailer has erupted into an international incident that has pitted military supporters against free speech advocates and threatens to shut down the local company.</p>

Web Site Kicks Sand in Faces of GIs in Iraq Asking for Mats to Ease Hardship of Sleeping on Ground January 22, 2007 An American GI assigned to one of the harshest posts in Iraq had a simple request last week for a Wisconsin mattress company: send some floor mats to help ease the hardship of sleeping on the cold, bug-infested ground. What he got, instead, was a swift kick from the company's Web site, which not only refused the request but added insult to injury with the admonition, "If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out...

A soldier based in Iraq got this response when inquiring as to whether or not the company ships overseas. He wanted to get the troops better gear to sleep on. To Whom it may concern: Do you ship to APO addresses? I'm in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Iraq and we are trying to order some mats but we are looking for who ships to APO first. SGT Hess +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: contact@discount-mats.com [mailto:contact@discount-mats.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 9:44 PM Subject: Re: Feedback: from discount-mats.com SGT Hess, We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did,...

handful of wrestlers at Crater and Grants Pass high schools have been diagnosed with herpes, athletic directors at both schools confirmed Thursday. The Crater wrestlers apparently contracted the viral infection while competing at a tournament in Fresno, Calif., Dec. 11-12 and then spread the disease to the Grants Pass team when they met for a dual match on Dec. 16, Crater athletic director John Beck said. A dual match between Grants Pass and South Medford scheduled for Thursday was postponed until next week. The Crater wrestlers, meanwhile, were cleared by a doctor and will compete Saturday at the Oregon Classic...