Election 2012

@Governor Perry, @Freedom2Care: Abortion Ideology Trumps Aid for Victims of Human Trafficking

Regarding Governor Perry’s comments about the Obama Administration’s  war on religion:

A grueling December 1 hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee revealed the disturbing answers to these questions, in the process infuriating Republican committee members and others concerned with aiding victims of human trafficking.

By the end of an over three-hour long grilling of U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials, one message had become clear about the Obama administration’s criteria for receiving the $4.5 million in federal grants for trafficking victims services:

Pro-life groups need not apply.

via Freedom2Care: Abortion Ideology Trumps Aid for Victims of Human Trafficking.

The regulations were written to prevent any pro-life group from receiving grant money:

The funding opportunity announcement for the “competitive” grant stipulated:

Translation: Participate in abortion or forget the grant.

Gingrich fails human ethics, human embryology

Even though we are the only species having this conversation, that doesn’t mean that we always get it right.

I was hoping that the recent Catholic conversion of Republican candidate for President Newt Gingrich would ensure that he is pro-life and would act correctly if he is ever elected to an office. Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand the basics of embryology. He fails human ethics and would end up charged with a Federal offense if he tried to make this argument to the Environmental Protection Agency about any animal on the Endangered Species List:

“Well, I think the question of being implanted is a very big question. My friends who have ideological positions that sound good don’t then follow through the logic of: ‘So how many additional potential lives are they talking about? What are they going to do as a practical matter to make this real?’

“I think that if you take a position when a woman has fertilized egg and that’s been successfully implanted that now you’re dealing with life, because otherwise you’re going to open up an extraordinary range of very difficult questions.”

“. . . In addition I would say that I’ve never been for embryonic stem cell research per se. I have been for, there are a lot of different ways to get embryonic stem cells. I think if you can get embryonic stem cells for example from placental blood if you can get it in ways that do not involve the loss of a life that’s a perfectly legitimate avenue of approach.

“What I reject is the idea that we’re going to take one life for the purpose of doing research for other purposes and I think that crosses a threshold of de-humanizing us that’s very very dangerous.”

via Gingrich Breaks from Some in Anti-Abortion Community on When Life Begins – ABC News.

Speaker Gingrich is absolutely wrong to say that we who hold the “ideological” position that human life begins at fertilization have not thought about the implications. If we hadn’t done so on our own, some utilitarian like the Speaker would have forced us to do so.

Just as with any other species, the mammal human embryo is the same species as the mother and father, and the one time when that life begins is at fertilization. What is it that implants? Would the technician in the in vitro lab or even the stem cell lab care what happened to the egg and the sperm if there is no fertilization?

Implantation is another step in that life that began at fertilization of the oocyte by the sperm.

Ectopic pregnancy is an event like cancer or heart attacks or kidney failure: when the normal process doesn’t go the way it should and people die. Because of the immediate and inevitable danger to the life of the mother and the unquestionable inability of human medicine to save the embryonic child, we don’t even count the procedures we do as “abortion.” when documenting abortion and maternal health statistics.

If we did call it abortion, it certainly would not be an “elective” abortion, but a procedure done to remove an eminent and known threat to the life of the mother who could die within minutes due to internal bleeding when the embryo grows too big for the fallopian tube at sometime between 6 and 8 weeks of age.

The sperm is not a life. Some do believe that any sexual act should be directly tied to and open to procreation, but not all Christians who object to abortion or other euthanasia agree agree on this point.

The least educated, lowest technician in the in vitro lab knows the difference between the sperm in the cup, the oocyte and the embryo. Within hours, they know whether the embryo is.

In vitro fertilization is an ethical problem when the embryos are not treated with the respect and care due the human dignity of all our children. The human embryo in the dish is the same species as the embryo in the fallopian tube. (See above.) Several countries have laws limiting in vitro fertilization, the numbers of embryos and some require that any embryo fertilized in the lab be implanted.

First, there is no way to obtain embryonic stem cells other than to destroy or endanger an embryo.The cells obtained from umbilical cord blood and the placenta are technically fetal, not embryonic stem cells. But, as the Speaker notes, no one has to die to obtain them.

And yes, our society has some tough decisions to make. Will we continue to refuse to provide the same protection for our own children that we give to a pelican or a sea turtle?

Rick Perry Ad on “Faith” @TeamRickPerry

Rick Perry, “Faith”   My Texas Governor Rick Perry is not ashamed of his faith.

In call with Iowans, ‘Sheriff Joe’ endorses Perry for border security, opposition to illegal immigration | Iowa Caucus 2012

CEDAR RAPIDS — America needs to have a conversation about how to deal with the millions of illegal immigrants living in this country, but “it will not be amnesty in any form or fashion,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry promised Iowans Nov. 29.

The border state governor’s hard line on illegal immigration won him the endorsement of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has built a reputation for rounding up thousands of undocumented visitors to Arizona for deportation.

Arpaio, who is referred to as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” called Perry “the only governor that really knows about the border.” He praised Perry’s commitment of $400 million in resources including deploying Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety and National Guard troops along the Texas-Mexico border to stop trafficking in people, drugs and weapons.

Perry, who asked for Iowans’ support in the Jan. 3 first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses, said he is the “only candidate with a record of addressing border security.”

Arpaio went further, calling Perry “the only one running for president who knows where Mexico is.”

Arpaio, who campaigned with Perry in New Hampshire Tuesday, made his comments in a conference call with what the campaign said were 15,000 “likely Iowa caucusgoers,” both Republicans and independents.

via In call with Iowans, ‘Sheriff Joe’ endorses Perry for border security, opposition to illegal immigration | Iowa Caucus 2012.

Perry Appeals Congressional Map Fight to U.S. Supreme Court – Businessweek

The Court in San Antonio re-drew all of Texas’ Congressional Districts and even created a new one in Tarrant County. From my right wing perspective, it appears that the Judges were protecting the minor Party, rather than minor voters.

The judges ignored the true voting record of Comal County, at least, by leaving the Hispanic neighborhoods in New Braunfels in CD 21 and pulling out Schertz-Cibolo and the rural area between San Antonio and New Braunfels for a neighboring district.  They protected Lloyd Doggett’ CD 25, for pity’s sake – just about as whitebread as you can get!

 

Perry previously asked the high court to block the use of judicially created election maps in Texas’s 2012 legislative races after a panel of lower-court judges in San Antonio refused his request. Today, Perry added the state’s races for the U.S. House of Representatives to his Supreme Court bid for emergency stay.

The San Antonio court that created interim election maps “went out of its way to give no weight whatsoever to the duly- enacted election map enacted by the Texas Legislature,” Paul Clement, the state’s appellate attorney, said in Texas’s Supreme Court filing yesterday.

“Legal, delayed elections are preferable to legally flawed, timely elections,” Clement said. Candidates began registering for Texas’s March 6 party primaries yesterday, based on the court-drawn maps.

Texas is fighting to implement new voter boundaries created this year by the Republican-controlled Legislature and approved by Perry after the state gained four new congressional seats on population growth. Texas added nearly 4.3 million new residents since 2000, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Roughly 65 percent of the new Texans are Hispanics.

via Perry Appeals Congressional Map Fight to U.S. Supreme Court – Businessweek.

Fed court proposes Texas congressional districts

The “minority” the court maps protect is the minority Party. In the State Senate map, Wendy Davis’ seat is “protected.” In the Congressional Districts, it’s Doggett, with a split that separates his District 25 from the new District 34.

Texas Democrats were pleased with the proposed map.”We are pleased that Texas is on the road to fair elections in which the voters, rather than Republican mapmakers, will get to determine the outcome,” said Boyd Ritchie, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.

via The Associated Press: Fed court proposes Texas congressional districts.

Perry on Cavuto November 18, 2011

Rick Perry on Neil Cavuto, November 18, 2011   Perry on Cavuto

Geron To End Embryonic Stem Cell Research : NPR

Geron is getting out of the business of doing Embryonic Stem cell research. Trust me, if there were any objective truth to the idea that destructive Embryonic Stem cells could make money, the Corp. would stay in.

From NPR:

Earlier this week, the Geron Corporation announced it was abandoning its research into using embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injury. Geron was the first company to get the green light from the FDA to conduct clinical trials using embryonic stem cells. That was way back in 2009. And now, citing, quote, “capital scarcity and uncertain economic conditions,” the company is looking to sell off that part of its business and focus on other work.

via Geron To End Embryonic Stem Cell Research : NPR.

Perry’s Energy Plan | JunkScience.com

Since everyone is talking about that third Agency that Governor Perry forgot in last week’s debate, I decided to post this note from “Junk Science” from last month.

Rick Perry has performed terribly in the presidential debates… no argument… but unlike, say Mitt Romney, the energy plan he released today aims directly at the runaway Obama EPA.

Perry’s four main goals are:

Expand energy exploration offshore and on federal and private lands across the country by executive order, creating over 1.2 million jobs

Eliminate current and proposed activist EPA regulations from the Obama administration, saving 2.4 million jobs by 2020 and lowering projected costs by $127 billion

Reduce, rebuild, and refocus the EPA federal regulators, returning authority to the states

Level the playing field for all energy producers, removing Obama’s practice of picking winners and losers and ending the Obama war on coal and natural gas production

via Perry’s Energy Plan | JunkScience.com.

Uproot and Overhaul Washington @TeamRickPerry for President 2012

From the Rick Perry for President 2012 website the plan to cut spending in the Federal Government::

 

 

 

 

“The federal government spends more than $6.5 million every minute on average. It takes the government less than half a second to spend an amount equal to the median household income in the U.S.3 And if you were to set $3.5 trillion worth of dollar bills next to each other – the size of the federal budget last year – they would span nearly 330 million miles, longer than the distance from Earth to Mars and back again.4 Stacked on top of each other, the dollar bills representing the towering $3.5 trillion federal budget would nearly reach all the way to the moon.

“Some have offered limited laundry lists of potential reductions in federal spending to address the nation’s fiscal mess – this approach suggests that any items not found in the laundry list are therefore pure and should be ignored and left alone. Instead of offering up token spending cuts, the next president should be direct and open with the American people and let them know that when it comes to federal spending, every single penny will be examined and all options are on the table. We believe that wasteful spending can undoubtedly be identified in every single program and every single agency, and should be rooted out and eliminated the second it is found regardless of whether it has a special-interest benefactor or constituency. Instead of increasing funding or demanding the federal government do more, we must have the federal government do less with less.

via Rick Perry for President 2012 | Uproot and Overhaul Washington.

Sexual Harassment is About Power, Not Sex

L.L. Lewis has written about her experience as a 17 year old college freshman, My surreal experience reporting staff sexual molestation to my college administration,” published in today’s American Thinker website.

“How many will blame this woman for writing her story now and claim that she’s exploiting Herman Cain’s “troubles” or the Penn State sexual molestation cases? She’s just asking for it, right?

Ms. Lewis did the right thing, even as a 17 year old, and was treated as though she was the perpetrator, not the victim. “Blame the victim” is common in sexual harassment and that is one reason why the perpetrators get by with it.

What’s often overlooked when we discuss sexual harassment is that the abuse is not due to sexual needs or attraction.  At its base is the power and control that the abuser believes he has. He does it because he can, because he’s smarter than the rest of us, and – because of the sexual element introduced by his actions – he can get his thrills (even without actual sexual acts) and she will be intimidated, limited and/or humiliated  – even more than she already is – if she objects.

The abusers are usually in positions of some power, but not always. They like to take advantage of hourly wage earners and students, but even professional women are not immune. The common thread is that there is some element of “deniability.” — because who would believe them? “He said/she said” is a powerful accusation as well as a comment on the circumstances.

Like this doctor: it’s just part of his job, he was just being friendly and helpful, making a joke, or it was just a compliment, etc. She misinterpreted, needs a sense of humor, or is fantasizing or is just plain ol’ crazy. And  – wait for it – she hates men or is prejudiced for some reason against the man.

There is also an underlying theme among those who should react and protect that “There but for the Grace of God go I,”  and the very real liability that lawsuits could bring. That’s why the Dean of Students in this story made such a point about the doctor being a good husband and family man: part defense, part inoculation against similar accusations.  Who among us has not had some moment when we were tempted or inadvertently found ourselves in a near-compromising position? And everyone has heard the stories about the litigious, gold-digger, the temptress who becomes the scorned woman and exploits laws against sexual harassment for money, advancement or out of meanness.

One of the best things my parents did was to teach me to speak up for myself and to protect myself. I remember Daddy teaching us girls “where to kick” when we probably were too short to kick “there.”  We certainly didn’t have any idea *why.*

I’m not saying that every act of sexual harassment is really threatening or requires a response. I would be willing to bet that every woman and most men remember some episode when they knew that they were made uncomfortable because of their gender, whether in a sexual way or professionally. Most of us let it slide, ignored it and learned to deal with it. I’m proud of similar times in my life. But my cheeks still burn at the memory of others and a couple are just confusing. I am also proud of times when I stood up to harassers and of the couple of times when I defended others.

There are certainly times – as with Mr. Cain’s troubles – when we must judge who is the victim and when “He said/She said” is all we have to go on. My wish is that we who call ourselves Conservatives will attempt to lay aside our own prejudices and emotions to defend the true victims.

Courage: Perry in media Spin Room after debate

The Governor shows how a man acts with courage:

@governorperry @teamrickperry

The Land of OZ (Cain explains Opportunity Zones)

Whatever happened to the Conservative idea of “Equal Opportunity for all? For that matter, what about free market principles and the idea that no one is “to big to fail?”

Are Conservatives comfortable with the promotion of special interest groups by our candidates, with distinctions made on the basis of race and ethnicity? How Conservative is it to propose a complicated new tax scheme based on rewarding failure and corruption?

In a bloggers’ forum sponsored by TexasGOPVote.com, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain answered questions last night after the debate in Houston.

Mr. Cain was explaining his “Opportunity Zones,” which would help the “poorest Black Americans” and the “poorest Hispanics” (no other demographics were mentioned) when I heard myself blurt out, “How is that different from a bailout?”

Mr. Cain scowled and said Opportunity Zones are not a bailout because no money would be sent to the cities: the businesses and the people would get tax breaks and incentives, instead.

Okay, we wouldn’t send checks to the cities in Mr. Cain’s scheme. But those of us who pay 9-9-9 would subsidize the beneficiaries of the 3-3-3 and 9-0-9 tax categories. In the case of the cities, we would be rewarding them very same people who have destroyed those inner cities with their corruption. How soon would the “Chicago Way” corrupt OZ?

Empowerment Opportunity Zones
for Corrupt Inner Cities

Cain Train, Newtmobile

Spending the night at the Woodlands Resort after the Texas Patriots PAC “debate” between Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain. They proved that competition is good – wish we’d had some. Besides that, in the parking lot in front of my room – taking up 5 -6 of the parking spaces – is the Newt Mobile, the Cain Train pick up and the trailer they haul the NewtMobile around in. How close are these two and are we supposed to believe they’ve got it all figured out?

The Cain Train pickup, with the Newt2012 billboard.

And the NewtMobile, with Cain President on the front and back.

PERRY: When I am president …(Cut spending and regulations!)

From Governor Rick Perry, in an op-ed in today’s Washington Times:

“First, I will issue an executive order prohibiting the Department of Health and Human Services from any further implementation of Obamacare until we can fully repeal this unconstitutional government mandate, which, if it stands, will diminish our health care and kill jobs.

“Second, I will order federal agencies to begin opening American energy fields for exploration and development, which will kick-start economic growth, reduce our dependence on energy from hostile foreign sources and eventually create 1.2 million jobs across every sector of the economy. I also will work with Congress to ensure that new revenue generated from energy production on federal lands is used to pay down the national debt.

“Third, I will impose an immediate moratorium on all pending federal regulations, during which government agencies must audit every measure passed since 2008 to determine its necessity and impact on job creation. Those measures that kill jobs will be repealed.

“And fourth, I will deploy thousands of National Guard personnel to secure our southern border until we can provide the permanent increase in manpower, technology and fencing needed to protect the American homeland in the long run. If I am elected, Washington will no longer abdicate its constitutional responsibility to secure the border or force states to fend for themselves.

“In addition to exercising executive authority during the first 100 days of my presidency, I also will lay out a sweeping legislative agenda that will fundamentally change the way Washington works.

Read more . . . PERRY: When I am president … – Washington Times.

New Perry Ad – Spectacular!

Hat tip to Hot Air’s Ed Morrisey!

Texas is the perfect example of “supply side” finance and the result of limited interference on the part of government with business. All of this while standing on the front lines of the border and of border control.

Rick Perry’s Fix: 20% Flat Tax, Cap Spending at 18% of GDP – ABC News

“The plan starts with giving Americans a choice between a new, flat tax rate of 20 percent or their current income tax rate,” Perry writes. “The new flat tax preserves mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions for families earning less than $500,000 annually, and it increases the standard deduction to $12,500 for individuals and dependents.”

The plan also drops the corporate tax rate to 20 percent and will temporarily lower the rate to 5.25 percent to promote companies working overseas to move to the U.S. along with implementing a “territorial tax system,” which will tax in-country income.

The plan will eliminate the death tax and end taxes on Social Security, which would help an estimated 17 million Americans receiving benefits today. It would also cut taxes on qualified dividends and long-term capital gains.

Perry sets a goal to balance the budget by 2020 by capping federal spending at 18 percent of GDP, banning earmarks and future bailouts and passing a balanced budget amendment.

Until the budget is balanced, Perry’s plan would freeze federal civilian hiring and spending, and place a moratorium on all pending federal regulations, along with auditing any regulations, instituted since 2008.

Perry promises the repeal of President Obama’s health care plan, Dodd-Frank and Sarbonnes Oxley.

On entitlement reform, Perry says his plan will stop the “raiding” of the Social Security Trust Fund and allow younger generations to set up personal retirement accounts.

via Rick Perry’s Fix: 20% Flat Tax, Cap Spending at 18% of GDP – ABC News.

Rick Perry: My Tax and Spending Reform Plan – WSJ.com

On Tuesday I will announce my “Cut, Balance and Grow” plan to scrap the current tax code, lower and simplify tax rates, cut spending and balance the federal budget, reform entitlements, and grow jobs and economic opportunity.

The plan starts with giving Americans a choice between a new, flat tax rate of 20% or their current income tax rate. The new flat tax preserves mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions for families earning less than $500,000 annually, and it increases the standard deduction to $12,500 for individuals and dependents.

via Rick Perry: My Tax and Spending Reform Plan – WSJ.com.

Perry’s Flat Tax vs. Cain’s ?-?-? Tax: Which has less risk?

The Republican candidates for President have all promised to simplify the tax  code and make it more fair. Governor Rick Perry’s plan for a Flat tax will be revealed tomorrow (October 25) and it’s already being compared to Herman Cain’s “999” tax plan.

From what I’ve read about Governor Rick Perry’s flat tax plan (see the Wall Street Journal article, here, and Fox News article, here), the bureaucracies would be much simpler – that’s one reason they call it “flat:” a single tax bracket with a standard deduction per person would require very little in the way of new procedures at the IRS. If anything, it would decrease the personnel needed and there would be less need for “interpretation” of the tax code.

We certainly wouldn’t need more tax regulations, IRS employees or arbitrary decision making within the Treasury Department under Perry’s plan. The tax payers would have the option of using the old code or the new, flat bracket with a deduction off the top for each person in the family.

Currently, there’s a provision for a Newspeak-named “alternative minimum tax.” After a certain income level, people have to figure their taxes two ways, with and without certain deductions. They pay the greater amount.

There aren’t separate bureaucracies for those who pay the current regular tax and for those who pay the “alternative minimum tax.” The same crowd audits both.

On the other hand, Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan has already been tweaked, to make it more “fair.”

Mr. Cain says he has changed the 9% income tax (the middle “9” in that scheme) to the 9-0-9 with 0% income taxes for those that Washington deem “impoverished” and the brand new “empowerment zones” for favored cities and communities. In addition, the sales tax would require larger, newer bureaucracies, since there are currently no rules or regulations for monitoring or collecting a National sales tax, identifying who is paying it or who is not. That bureaucracy would have to be developed, along with reams of regulations made up from whole cloth.

In addition, the biggest flaw in Mr. Cain’s 9-?-9 tax plan in my opinion is that the very areas that are Democrat-controlled and and rife with corruption would be the places that Cain proposes to put “empowerment zones.” These “zones” nor the regulations to define or run them do not exist. How long ’till the corruption sets in? Who gets paid to develop more empowering empowering zones that favor the current powers that be? Who gets paid to look the other way when some are “empowered” more than others?

Edited for grammar – BBN 10/25/11, 4 AM

Rick Perry Needs a Miracle – Businessweek

“Here is what you need to impress upon your readers,” Rick Perry said, putting down his barbecue to jab a finger at me.

You know what? I don’t think Joshua Green, the author of this Business Week profile, likes Governor Perry. Maybe he’s got a lawyer in the family.

Perry has also taken advantage of the steady erosion of the Texas Democratic Party to protect business. In 2002, after Republicans captured the statehouse, he steamrolled the trial bar, a pillar of the Democratic Party  throughout the South, capping lawsuit damage awards. This year he added a “loser pays” provision on lawsuits.

By now much of his power in Texas derives simply from his having been around for so long. Nearly every agency and commission, the state supreme court, and the university boards of regents are stocked with his loyalists, and he’s built up a network of rich donors.

via Rick Perry Needs a Miracle – Businessweek.

While it’s false that, as stated in this article, Perry hasn’t had much opposition from within the state, it’s true that he has been in office a while, and has appointed and reappointed every position that comes under the Executive Branch. However, he has earned the support that he has, as shown by BW’s own graphics.

Who’s surprised that the successful businesses support Governor Perry or vice versa?

Our state revenues and GDP are up, our debt and spending is decreasing per the US Debt clock.  All without an income tax. Our population is growing from both US and foreign sources and our jobs grow both from within the State and from a little bit of raiding other states. 

Texas has the top two high schools in the nation per the Washington Post   and 6 schools in the top 15. Our students do quite well and our minority students do better than those of other states, according to this RAND report.

Texas Debt AND Spending Decreasing

I’m not sure how this works, but the Texas page of the “US Debt Clock”  website says that Texas’ Debt per Capita is down nearly a hundred dollars in the last two months. ( The number was $8345 on August 16th.)

The Spending and Debt clocks are BOTH going backwards!

(edit: fixed a math problem BBN)

Would Rick Perry Repeal the 16th Amendment?

Governor Rick Perry has repeatedly said that Government shouldn’t “spend all the money,” that the Federal government is too big and replicates what the states do and usurps the authority of the the States to decide what to spend or not to spend.

There’s a lot of comment these days about Herman Cain’s “999” tax plan, in which he prioritizes raising revenue by taxes that will cover spending. His staff and advisers are currently defending their calculations to raise $2.3 Trillion a year with his plan. With the “empowerment zones” meant to make the tax less regressive, he’s already increasing the complexity of the plan – along with the bureaucracy.

(To be fair, the WaPo article seems not to notice that Mr. Cain’s plan would end payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, lowering the burden for many workers, and I believe that the nay-sayers under estimate collections from “the wealthy.”)

In contrast, Governor Perry’s priority has always been to cut spending first, and to cut the influence of the federal government in our lives. I tend to agree: My preferred “plan” has always been to cut spending, now.

Here’s what he’s said in the past:

“In the wake of the New Deal, We have allowed Progressives to successfully frame the debate. Republicans constantly allow themselves to be trapped into thinking they are against people if they oppose certain programs.” (p. 55,location 945 kindle)

“First, we must restrict federal spending. Rampant and wasteful spending in Washington is an affront to both freedom and federalism. The most important thing we could do is amend the Constitution — now — to restrict federal spending. There are generally thought to be two options: the traditional balanced budget amendment or a straightforward spending limit amendment, either of which would be a significant improvement. I prefer the latter. It is imperative that we establish a constitutional requirement that the federal government live within its means like states and most American households must do—but I don’t want the Washington establishment to hide behind tax increases to balance the budget. Let’s use the people’s document—the Constitution—to put an actual spending limit in place to control the beast in Washington.” (p.181)

“Second, we should restrict the unlimited source of revenue that the federal government has used to grow beyond its constitutionally prescribed powers. One option would be to totally scrap the current tax code in favor of a flat tax, and thereby make taxation much simpler, easier to follow, and harder to manipulate. Another option would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (providing the power for the income tax) altogether, and then pursue an alternative model of taxation such as a national sales tax or the Fair Tax.” (p.182)

Perry, Rick (2010-11-15). Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington. Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.