The Clarendon Enterprise May 10, 2007
WARNING: The following column is an editorial (i.e. an opinion, a point of view)
and may contain ideas with which some readers may freely disagree. It could be
harmfut to liberals, socialists, and other small mammals. Read at your own dsk.
orln
our
ers on
The boys and girls in Austin have gone too far this
time. They've crossed the line and transgressed into
an area that should be sacred. They have sold out and
sunk to a new low. Not that it
should surprise anyone.
There is an old saying attrib-
uted to a New Yorker named
Gideon Tucker: "No man--s life,
liberty, or property is safe when
the Legislature is in session.
In Texas, we've found Tuck-
editor's
er's observation to be largely
but last week the Texas
commentary
true;
House of Representatives went by roger esdack
/F
a step further and decided to
mess with the heritage of all Texans and make a little
change to the Texas Pledge of Allegiance.
Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) decided the
words "under God" needed to be added to the Pledge.
The immediate thoughtful response to this news
was to wonder where such a revision might be placed.
"Honor the Texas Flag; I pledge allegiance to
thee, Texas, one and indivisible."
You don't just stick "under God" in there in
any way that it makes sense. But Riddle thought of
everything apparently. In her omnipotent wisdom, she
determined that the Texas Pledge should go this way:
"Honor the Texas Flag; I pledge allegiance to thee,
Texas, one state under God and indivisible"
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE reported that Riddle said
she was trying to mirror the national pledge.
"The national pledge is an indicator of what and
who we are as a nation," Riddle said.
Well, so it is. But shouldn't the Texas Hedge be
an indicator of who we are as Texans, not just some
"mirrcr" of another pledge?
The simple inclusion of "under God" is offensive
because ii is not so simple. It requires that the nature
of the pledge itself be changed by adding the word
"state."
A true Texan knows that Texas is a state in the
American union, but that same true Texan does not
think of his homeland as just one of the 50 states. A
true Texan thinks of Texas as its own nation with its
own culture, its own beliefs, and its own brand of Lone
Star independence.
A real Texan knows that the Capitol in Austin is
taller than the Capitol in Washington, DC; the San
Jacinto Monument is taller than the Washington Mon-
ument, and the Texas Flag can be flown at the same
height as the American Flag. And a true Texan believes
- at least occasionally - that Texas would be better off
if it were still its own Republic.
To reduce Texas to being just a "one state" reflec-
tion of the nation is unthinkable, and it calls into ques-
tion the patriotism of Rep. Riddle as a Texan for trying
to subjugate our culture under the American yolk.
The Texas Pledge was written into law in 1933
and originally went: "Honor the Texas Flag of 1836 "
tt referred to the wrong flag - the present Texas Flag
was adopted in 1839 - and was corrected in 1965.
But the essence of the Pledge itself was not changed
- honoring the national flag of Texas.
One might think that the Texas Legislature would
have better things to do. Texas has lots of problems
- a lack of adequate funding for community colleges,
for example. Or maybe we should get busy trying to
mirror the nation in terms of teacher pay or Medicaid
funding for nursing homes.
But rather than focus on issues that could acre-
ally better the lives and the economic conditions of
all Texans, the right-wingers in the Capitol choose to
focus on other priorities. For Riddle, that's the Pledge
of Allegiance, which to her was apparently flawed. Or
maybe she just hoped to score some political points by
padding her religious rdsumr.
Of course things don't get passed with just one
vote. Riddle's bill passed the House 124-12 and
picked up 98 co-sponsors, including our own Rep.
Warren Chisum (R-Pampa). The bill's fate now lies
in the Senate where it is unlikely that the Republican
dominated chamber will stand up for our tried and true
Pledge.
Riddle's bill is just a sad commentary on our
times. It's another example of getting a bunch of poli-
ticians so caught up in the idea of looking good super-
ficially that they forget to actually think about what
they're doing.
It's how Texas has gotten into the TAKS test mess
that gives ulcers to fourth graders and dumbs down our
educational system to have the highest percentage of
students meet the "minimum" standards. It's how Con-
gress curtailed liberty throughout the Union by being
afraid to vote against something with the red, white,
and blue name of the Patriot Act.
This bill - like many others this session - should
have never been introduced. It should have never
gotten out of committee, and it certainly never should
have passed the House by a landslide. It overturns tra-
dition and tarnishes the image of the Lone Star.
Riddle and her compadres should remember two
things. First, Texas is like a whole other country;
and secondly, don't mess with it. The same goes for
our Pledge. It doesn't need to mirror anything, and it
doesn't need fixing. It belongs only to Texas - one and
indivisible.
By U.S. Sen. John Cornyn
On May 13, families across Texas
celebrate the annual rite of Mother's Day,
a day to honor an irreplaceable person in
each of our lives. It's a recognition we
would do well to extend to every day of the
year.
Mother's Day is an opportunity to
reflect on just how much we love and owe
the woman who gave us life and raised us.
Children traditionally dust kitchens with
pancake mix in preparation for mom's
well-deserved breakfast in bed.
As I travel around Texas, I see the
e.ssential family work being done by moth-
ers, some of whom have earned the title
through adoption. I have come to see that
Mother's Day has a special meaning for
women who have decided to enrich their
lives by providing a child with a loving
family.
Adoption is not easy, It can be legally
complicated, fraught with risk and poten-
tial disappointment. But Texans are opti-
mistic and generous. They give freely and
are enriched by their generosity of spirit.:
Adoptive parents know that achieving-
great joy for themselves and others often
requires taking a risk and making sacri-
rices. They are more than willing to do so.
It's worth remembering: "We should
not be asking who this child belongs to, but
who belongs to this child."
Drs. Larry Anderson and Sasha
Vnkelja of Tyler found they belonged to a
young Russian orphan from St. Petersburg
who visited East Texas as part of a Chris-
tian exchange program.
Boris and nine other orphans first
came to Tyler in 2003 for the "Miracle of
Christmas Tour," sponsored by the Night-
light Christian Foundation. Following their
"vacation" in Tyler, most of the children in
the group were adopted by local families.
"It's really like he's always been a part
of our family," Dr. Vukelja said. "He's cer-
tainly brought so much joy. We just think
lie's a mirad " '
Americans!a opt more children from
t'oreign coun b,s than the citizens of all
other com tries Combined. The number of
children Americans have adopted from
foreign countries has doubled 0ver the past
decade~i-
No~:jmatter where adopted children
come fror~, the act of adoption itself repre-
sents the '/'alue that Americans place on the
worth bf each human life.
There are many ways to pursue this
noble idea, including domestic public
agencies, private adoptions, or interna-
tional adoptions. The lives of all children
must be cherished andProtected regardless
of their place of birth or circumstances.
Another way of helping children is
by providing them a safe and stable home
while they await adoption.
Mother's Day provides a perfect
opportunity to recognize and thank the
women in our lives who provide the love,
cam, and nurture that no else can,
na "onal
Fidel Castro's political inspiration, the
philosopher Karl Marx, was fight about
very few things; but he was correct when
he observed: "History repeats itself, first as
tragedy, second as farce?' It's a farce that
Castro's successor as leader of the Latin
on Earth.
Like Castro,
who partnered with
the Soviet Union
during the Cold
War, President
,movement, the Venezu- Chavez is making capitol
elan dictator Hugo Chavez, seems poised common cause with
to repeat all of Castro's mistakes - which is America's enemies c0mment
bad news for the people of Venezuela and - including the by sen. kay bailey butchison
also for the people of the United States. world's largest state
On May 1, President Chavez r~,n his sponsor of terrorism, the government of
latest, and most ominous, scheme out Iran. Earlier this year, he met with Iranian
of the Castro playbook by nationalizing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
multi-billion dollar heavy oil fields in the revealed plans for a $2 billion joint fund,
Orinoco Belt. This energy-rich region part of which will be used as a "mechanism
southeast of Caracas has so much energy for liberation" against American allies.
potential that some experts claim it could President Chavez hopes that the profits
give the country more oil reserves than from the Orinoco Belt will flood his coffers
Saudi Arabia. By seizing the Orinoco Belt for other foreign adventures; but by assert-
with armed soldiers, President Chavez is ing government control over this coveted
consolidating his political power within region, he is actually killing the golden
Venezuela and increasing his ability to goose that feeds his socialist-inspired rsvp-
manipulate global oil markets, lution.
The strongman rules an oil-rich nation President Chavez's national oil corn-
that accounts for 14 percent of America's pany, Petroleous de Venezuela, has already
oil imports, and he's promised to use his shown signs of stress from the dictator's
"strong oil card" to "finish off the U.S. constant political interference. Despite
empire" - even if that means colluding record oil prices that should be a boon for
With Some of the most nefarious regimes the industry, the company has been forced
to accumulate a rapid increase in debt to
pay for a doubling of"social development"
spending. Meanwhile, its spending on
energy exploration and production badly
trails its global peers.
In addition, the Orinoco Belt pro-
nOuncement has made Exxon,ConocoPhil-
lips, and' other energy companies extremely
cautious about putting their employees and
billions of dollars in assets under Venezu-
elan management and for good reason.
If President Claavez continues to
adopt the Castro economic model, the
greatest victims will be the Venezuelan
people. The people of America will suffer
consequeree8 too. According to some
economists, every time oil prices rise by
10 percent, on average, 150,000 Americans
lose their jobs.
We have the resources to achieve
energy independence: the resources under-
neath our land and water, and the best
resource of all, the ingenuity of our free,
creative minds.
President Chavez is a tremendous
challenge to America's energy future; but if
we choose to be proactive and decisive, it
can be a great opportunity to create a stron-
ger, safer America in the world. We still
have time to write our own history.
line
sire
By Todd Stottlemyer
You could hear the sighs of relief
as millions of tax returns were dropped
at post offices across the land; another
tax deadline has come and gone. But at
the same time, many taxpayers were left
scratching their heads, wondering why
filing a return is so hard.
Certainly small-business owners
are wondering. According to an NFIB
Research Foundation Small Business Poll
on Tax Complexity and the IRS, 88 percent
of small-employer taxpayers used a tax
professional to prepare their most recent
federal tax return. For those employers
who employ 20 or more people, the per-
centage increased to 95 percent. Nearly 27
percent admit that the laws and require-
ments are just too complex for them to do
their own taxes.
The two reasons small-employer tax-
payers most frequently cited for using tax
professionals are to assure that they prop-
erly comply with tax laws, and the sheer
ral i
complexity of the law. Only about one in;
four report that they even try to understand
the law.
Other provisions that small-employer
taxpayers most frequently rely on their tax
professional to understand for them include
the amounts subject to self-employment
tax, capital gains or losses on investments,
and the Alternative Minimum Tax. The
AMT was originally intended to ensure
that the extremely wealthy pay at least
some tax, but will affect approximately
23.4 million Americans this year.
Of course, every dollar that a small-
business owner has to pay a professional is
a dollar that can't be invested in growing
the business or providing employees with
better pay or benefits. Reforming or repeal:
ing the AMT would be a big step Congress
could take to keep small-business owners
from having to figure their taxes twice. But
there are some easy things that Congress
can do to help simplify the code and the
many forms required for a tax return.
Cxeating a standard deduction for'
use of a home office would allow more
small businesses to take advantage of the
deduction that they're entitled to, but don't
because it's too hard to calculate under
current law. At the same time, simplifying
Schedule C to make the.form more user-
friendly would benefit the self-employed
and sole proprietors, as well as encourag-
ing better compliance with the tax laws.
You may remember that the Internal
Revenue Service was forced to change its
ways in the mid-90s after a Senate inves-
tigation spotlighted numerous eases of
taxpayerl;abuse. Those effort appear to be
paying off, as 53 percent of small-business
taxpayers report that their dealings with the
IRS were either "generally" or +'very" sat-
isfactory. Simplifying the tax code would
go along way toward ensuring that the two
sides maintain good relatiOns.
To Id Sto~Jemyer is presldent and CEO of the
National Federation of Independent Business in
Washington, D.C.
E~f&fS~ise
129th Year, Series 25, Vol. XVIII, No. 21 E12.11
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