Corporate Welfare, Oregon Style...

Oregon's $10 minimum tax
has been in place since 1931
and is one of the nation's lowest.

Two-thirds of Oregon corporations
-- pay the minimum. Corporate taxes
make up about 5 percent of the state's
general fund compared with 82 percent
from personal income taxes.

Oregon Corporate Taxes The "tax burden"
for companies in Oregon and Washington,
each of which has a piece of greater Portland,
is lower than in most other states, according
to the Tax Foundation.

Ranking states for "best business tax climate,"
the Foundation places Oregon 9th and Washington 12th.
Similarly, accounting experts at Ernst & Young, who
calculate "total effective tax rate" by taking into account
property, receipt and sales and income taxes, cite
Oregon's as second-lowest in the U.S., at 3.8%;
Washington's is 5.8%. Delaware's total effective tax rate
is the nation's lowest, at 3.5%, and Alaska's the highest,
at 11.6%.Greater Portland companies have another tax
advantage on either side of the Columbia. Oregon has
no sales tax, which can be a boon for companies making
big equipment purchases. And Washington has no state
income tax, a selling point for prospective employees.

More tax facts:
Oregon's corporate income tax rate of 6.6% is 16th-lowest
in the nation. California's rate of 8.8% ranks it seventh-highest.

Rationalizing Torture...

By definition, those who
torture, murder, and rape
are criminals.

This separates humanity
from dumb animals.
Some people stupidly
attempt to rationalize
torture, rape, and murder.
Their criminal behavior

or "situational ethics" leaves
them in jail, in trouble, or dead.

Moral compunction is another option. Most of us
develop integrity, find courage, and have values.
These are choices we make as adults. Yet some
people refuse to grow. They reject the moral authority
of parents, church, community, or ancestors. They hold
themselves above the law, unaccountable... and feel
entitled to live without scruples, standards, or honor.

Fortunately we outnumber these clueless sociopaths.
The poster boys for prolonged adolesence, George
and Dick, have been thrown out of the White House
they hijacked. We are returning to our roots as a
nation of law. Courage and integrity have trumped
fear and amorality.

Those who insist on abnormal and antisocial behavior

will have to get used to obeying the law. They can
mend their ways or pay the piper.

Torture is immoral, illegal, and it does not work..

Quote of the Day – The healthy man does not torture others …


The issue is torture. Torture is a crime under US law.

The federal anti-torture statute
is formally known as
Title 18, Part I, Chapter 113C
of the U.S. Code.
The law consists of three
sections (2340, 2340A,
and 2340B), which define
the crime of torture and
prescribe harsh punishments
for anyone—an American
citizen or otherwise—
who commits an act
of torture outside of
the United States.
(Domestic incidents
of torture are covered
by state criminal
statutes.)

A person found guilty
of committing
torture faces up
to 20 years in
prison or
even execution,
if the torture in question resulted in a victim's death.




Those who ordered torture, committed it, condoned it,
and/or tried to cover it up are criminals. They should
be prosecuted. Torture is illegal, immoral, and it does
not work. The law is quite clear and must be enforced.

Another section of the U.S. Code (Title 28, Part IV, Chapter 85,
Section 1350) also deals with the issue of torture. The so-called
Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 allows victims of torture,
or the families of those who were killed through extra-
judicial means, to sue their tormentors in U.S. courts, regardless
of their citizenship or where the crime occurred.

Torture is also immoral. The position of all three branches
of Abrahamic tradition agree. And the experts at the
Pentagon and intelligence experts worldwide agree that
resorting to torture produces flawed intelligence and
"torture and abuse cost American lives."

"We need to return to an ethic of responsibility and
accountability that is critical if citizens are to have
faith in their government andthe world is to respect
this nation. This is not just a matter of therule of law.
It is a matter of national security."

These are the simple facts.

Tax equity

Tax Equity
Anyone who thinks our most critical problems in America
have anything to do with the amount of taxes there are on
boats, yachts, and small airplanes... is seriously confused.
Our problems are the redistribution of income from working
Americans to the richest of the rich. Fortunately, most
Americans, ( the ones whose paychecks just got larger...)
understand that this new administration wants to rebuild
and invest in America. The last administration was
interested in graft, corruption, exporting jobs, wiretapping,
environmental destruction, studious ignorance, petty
larceny, endless war, profiteering, corporate welfare, and
exploitation.

A goodly number of those criminals were real concerned
about taxes on yachts...Their party is over. As the profiteers
go bankrupt, their yachts are up for sale, their planes are
seized by shareholders, and they beg for handouts while
working Americans and their advocates are taking back
this nation.We will rebuild, restore, and protect this nation
from criminals in our midst.And if congress finds the courage,
profiteers will pay reparations or do time.

Peace, Freedom, and Justice.

Tim