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September 25 , 2005

From the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste:

Help Kill the Death Tax!

By a vote of 272 to 162 in April, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005, which would make 2001's temporary repeal of the estate tax permanent.  The Senate will now vote on H.R. 8, and we need you to send a powerful message to your U.S. Senators to kill the "death tax"!

President Bush’s 2001 tax cut package has gradually reduced the estate tax rate from 55 percent and increased the exemption from $650,000, with the estate tax slated for complete elimination in 2010 - but only for one year.  When 2011 rolls around, the death tax rate will revert to 55 percent and the exemption will fall back to $675,000. 

Not only has this situation created complexity and uncertainty for many Americans as they plan for their future, but the death tax by its very nature has always been economically and morally wrong.  It punishes those who work hard and save for their children and grandchildren and undermines the ability of family farms and businesses to survive from one generation to the next.  The death tax is also unfair because it taxes assets that have already been taxed at least once.

While a majority of Senators want to repeal the death tax, a vocal minority in the "tax 'em more" crowd want to prevent a floor vote by conducting a filibuster, which would require 60 votes to override.

Send an urgent message to your U.S. Senators today to oppose a filibuster of H.R. 8 and vote to kill the death tax!

From Citizens for a Sound Economy

Kill the Death Tax Once and for All

There’s a great opportunity to kill the death tax once and for all, but we need your help. The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would permanently repeal the death tax, H.R. 8, and the measure is now on its way to the Senate in the form of S. 420. Unfortunately, the Senate is once again acting as a roadblock for death tax repeal. The House passed similar measures to kill the death tax in 2002 and 2003, but they never made it through the Senate. That’s why we need you tocontact your senators and tell them to end the death tax now.

From People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch

Supreme Court - John Roberts: Right-Wing Confident “Exactly Like Clarence Thomas”

Jay Sekulow, appearing on Pat Robertson’s “700 Club,” repeated the point that John Roberts’ answer regarding Griswold v. Connecticut “was exactly the same, word-for-word, as Clarence Thomas … He specifically said it is not resting within the context of what's called 'the penumbras' or 'the emanations' of the 14th Amendment. Putting through all the legalese, that's where the Roe v. Wade right came into play and he specifically discredited that aspect of the opinion. So he answered exactly the same way that Justice Thomas did and I think he holds the same position there.” Regarding Roberts’ answers regarding respect for precedent, Sekulow said Roberts made it clear that “stare decisis is the starting point, it's not the end point,” and that “Sometimes the Supreme Court gets it wrong and they have to correct themselves and John Roberts laid that out very clearly yesterday.” [Watch the video.] [Read the transcript.]

Hurricane Katrina - The “Blame Game” and more not so “Compassionate Capitalism”

Archconservative Pat Buchanan criticizes the “failure” of the “character and conduct” of the population of New Orleans, who “waited for the government to come save them” and “screamed into the cameras for help.” Writes Buchanan: “Liberalism … was exposed as fraud.” Read

Rightmarch.com says, “Once again, our elected representatives are more than willing to spend ‘Other People's Money’ by the truckloads, with no thought to how their budget-busting ways are damaging to the taxpayers that put them there in the first place.” They want Congress to sign Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Hurricane Katrina No Pork Pledge." Read

Hate Crimes - The Right Cries “Foul”

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council decried what he deemed as the “stealth passage” of a hate-crimes amendment within the "Children's Safety Act of 2005" (H.R.3132). "It is shocking that a bill designed to protect children from sexual predators is now being used to protect the sexual preference of homosexuals," said Perkins. "The Senate should reject the House's attempt to advance the political agenda of homosexuals at the expense of children." Robert Knight of Concerned Women for America’s Cultural and Family Institute – who opposes such hate crimes measures - also felt blind-sided by the vote to add protection from ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ bias in the bill. "We had no notice that this was happening," said Knight, who added that the "only positive thing I can say is that this was a recorded vote." Read