Obama Appoints Yet Another Tax "Mistaker"

Being a tax avoider seems to be one of the most common traits of Obama's appointments. The latest "detail overlooker" is Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius, who is the Governor of Kansas, and her husband, who is a federal magistrate judge, overlooked $7,040 in back taxes. Not just a single mistake either; they began overlooking details in 2005 and continued through 2007. Wow.

Now, I'm not trying to throw stones here; anybody can make a mistake. Some of theirs were ones that, well, I bet most of us make all the time. Especially it we're Governors and federal magistrate judges. Here's an interesting sampling of how this couple's finances went so wrong:

• Not keeping paperwork for three charitable deductions.
• Not enough documentation for various business expense deductions.
• They took mortgage interest deductions for payments they continued to make even after they sold the home. I hate it when I keep paying for a house somebody else owns! I could've had a V-8! Argg!
  

OK, I'm just wondering here. Now that the Democrats are in charge of the whole game now, and the people getting appointed and confirmed can't seem to pay their taxes, doesn't it seem logical that they might take a look at simplifying the federal tax code?

I mean, if these people are smart enough to be running the country and can't figure it out, what hope is there for us serfs?

Nothing Fair about the Fairness Doctrine

The legislation that we know as the fairness doctrine is actually the Fairness in Broadcasting Act of 1993. It's based on a similar act that took effect in 1949 but overturned in 1987 by the FCC.

The reason given was that it failed to encourage the discussion of more controversial issues (which was its original purpose). The FCC was also concerned that it was in violation of First Amendment free speech principles.

What the doctrine does is force radio stations to give equal air time to opposing views. Currently, talk radio is almost exclusively conservative.

Now that the Democrats have sole rein of the government, they are pursuing reenactment with reckless abandon.

But why is it ethically unfair? Because the case can be made that it violates the American principle of free enterprise, for one thing. Radio stations are not owned by the government, they are only licensed by the government.

They are privately or corporate owned businesses. They exist by selling ads. Advertisers only buy air time when the number of listeners warrant it.

The bottom line is that listeners are overwhelmingly conservative; that's why you only hear the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Medved, and Dennis Prager.

Nobody is conspiring to keep liberals off the air waves. Americans just aren't interested in listening to it. Just as your grocery store won't stock a product that consumers won't buy. Simple economics.

Liberals have tried to enter the market with such colossal failures as Air America. You might have heard of Al Franken? He was a talk show host there before going on to be a tax cheat and to conduct "alleged" election fraud in Minnesota.

Liberal talk shows just don't sell, bottom line. The only success of note is NPR (National Public Radio). It survives by selling tote bags and funneling off your tax dollars.

If these private businesses are forced to air liberal hosts, who will pay for it? It's a clear violation of the first amendment.

So if Nancy Pelosi and her band of whiners are successful at getting the doctrine reinstated, it will be clear case of forced government propaganda. You can sugar-coat it all you want, but that's what it is.

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