Tax day: How to remind Americans that paying taxes is a conservative value

To help create a political climate in which Americans can talk sensibly about taxes, let's start with kids: It?s time to make The Tax Talk with our kids just as much a part of our culture as The Sex Talk or The Drugs Talk.

As we left our local zoo three years ago, my son, then 8, asked what wealthy family had built all the exhibits, stocked them with elephants and monkeys and giraffes, then invited the public to come and enjoy them.

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The family behind the zoo, I was happy to tell my boy, was actually our own. Acting alone, our household couldn?t have hoped to create such a wonder. But by chipping in a little money each year, and combining it with the money that thousands of other fellow residents contributed, we made the zoo possible.

As I mentioned to my son, the money that made our zoo was a special kind of payment called a tax. He was impressed that a community could be so clever, collecting a few dollars from so many purses and wallets to create something so wonderful.

?That?s a good tax,? he shouted, licking his ice cream cone in satisfaction.

I?m thinking about my son today as taxpayers across the country race to meet this year?s filing deadline for their federal income taxes. When?s the last time, after all, that you?ve heard anyone mention a good tax?

I can be as grumpy as the next guy when it?s time to file my federal and state income tax returns ? or when my local property tax bill arrives, somewhat cruelly, around Christmas each year.

But as I?ve often told both of my children, quoting from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, taxes are the price we pay for civilized society. Ever since his epiphany at the gates of the zoo, I?ve tried to teach my son, now 11, and his 16-year-old sister about many other things our taxes pay for. The library where we get books for free isn?t really free at all; taxes keep the doors open. The streets we drive to school and the shopping mall didn?t sprout like toadstools in some fairy-tale past. Taxes built them, and taxes keep them repaired.

Taxes, I?ve told my kids, pay our soldiers and teachers and police officers, fund our local universities, and send our astronauts into space. Taxes help keep our food safe and our water clean. Taxes pay for the parks where we play, and the scientists who explore the heavens and the sea.

When a local tax election looms, we discuss it at the dinner table, parsing out what our family might stand to gain if it?s approved, and how much it will cost us. Sometimes, our children accompany us into the voting booth as we cast our ballots. I?ve shown our kids my tax bill, so that they?ll know there?s really no free lunch. When they spend their allowances on bubblegum, video games, or designer clothes, I remind my youngsters that they?ve become taxpayers, too, through the sales tax charges on their receipts.

What I?m attempting to do, I suppose, is help my son and daughter see taxes not as a textbook abstraction on a civics test, but as a practical reality of their daily lives ? and something worthy of serious thought, not silly sloganeering.

My children have grown up in a political climate in which millions of people seem to reflexively regard taxes as a social evil. Taxes have never been popular, nor will they ever be. But the rhetorical absolutism of the current campaign season has given too many of us, I?m afraid, the illusion that government either has no price tag ? or that its price can be paid by someone else.

I am, by habit and virtue of residence in a red state, fairly conservative. As a journalist the whole of my adult life, I?ve also been vigilant in sounding the alarm about government waste and inefficiency. But I also embrace the conservative principle that citizens should pay their bills, including the cost of what their government provides.

To help create a political climate in which Americans can talk sensibly about taxes, we have to start by talking sensibly about taxes with our children. Many of us have already acknowledged the wisdom of having The Sex Talk or The Drugs Talk or The Bullying Talk with our sons and daughters when the right time comes. Maybe it?s also time to make The Tax Talk with our kids a part of the popular culture.

Today, as millions of Americans file their taxes, seems as good a time as any.

Danny Heitman, a columnist for The Baton Rouge Advocate, is the author of ?A Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House.?

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The Battlefield of Love: Domestic Violence ? Should The Definition ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dgh7j

At least 1 in 4 women in the UK will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, but is the term ?domestic violence? preventing women from seeking help, since many abusive relationships do not involve physical violence. A government consultation has just ended and asks whether the definition should be widened to include the phrase ?coercive control.? Jenni is joined by Sam Baker, Editor of Red Magazine, which has launched a campaign called Speak Up, Save A Life to draw attention to abusive relationships, and to Diana Barran, Chief Executive of the national charity Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse.

Could "coercive control" mean a tone in your voice or a glint in your eye?

It will mean that you, as a father and a husband, will no longer be allowed to persuade your wife or children about some important moral issue in a way that would make them feel uncomfortable or harassed. ?Indeed, you will no longer be allowed to hurt their feelings to make a point. ?

I think living in a police state would be more fun than living in terror of your wife and children in your own home. ?But if you feel like abdicating all parental and masculine authority, then go right ahead and let Dame Jenni and her ilk piss all over you.

Bet you don't know what that is is anyway you pussywhipped limp-dicked effeminate little fuck, because you never had a dad to explain this sort of shit to you. ?

Are UKIP and BNP going to be saying anything about this, the pussywhipped limp-dicked little fucks? ? What do you think, you pussywhipped limp-dicked little fuck? ?

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Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan: The World is Your Market ...

Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan: The World is Your Market: Export 101
May 24, 2012 - Michigan State University

Speaker Mark Kinsler, Vice President International Business & Attraction, MEDC

On May 24th, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the US Census Bureau/Foreign Trade Division will bring their expertise to YOU. We have put together a half-day program of information on how to begin exporting--now. You will learn how to utilize Census information to do research and make informed decisions on entering new markets, and learn how to use SBA's online Export Business Planner. Get the tools you need to feel competent in the export game!

The Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan focuses on global issues of interest to the mid-Michigan business community. The monthly GB Club luncheons provide outstanding speakers and relaxed networking opportunities. With extensive international experience, the speakers wrap personal insights around a practical and up-to-the-minute approach to conducting international trade.

Location:	Henry Center, 3535 Forest Road, Lansing, MI 48910
Other Co-Sponsors:	Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce; Lansing Community College; MSU Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID) and the Center for Gender in Global Context; Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C., The Greater Lansing Business Monthly
Contact:	517-353-4336
Type of Activity:	Business Outreach
Target Group:	Business Business Executive General Public Higher Education
Impact:	Local

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Honeywell Dealers - Home Improvement Depot

Honeywell Dealers

The campaign "Insist on Genuine" continues to grow in southeast Asia, including the organized tour of the factory in Ansan honeywell dealers in which Garrett distributors were able to see for themselves the benefits by the original turbos. Dealers visited the factory where they discovered Honeywell a relentless commitment to quality and performance at all stages of the manufacture of turbochargers. Thai officials were clearly impressed with the advanced technology from Honeywell. One of the participants in this visit, M Chenerak, said: "After discovering the manufacturing process, I have every confidence in Garrett. No infringement is never at its height. Upon my return to Thailand, I hasten to talk to other distributors. ". Honeywell selects only the best distribution partners in every continent to respect the values ??associated with Garrett ? brand. Rigorously evaluate each of our 400 distribuidoress distributed in 70 countries, according to a wide range of values ??related to customer service, technical expertise and product availability. We hope that Garrett ? partners are consolidated in their local markets and become leaders through continuous investment in advanced logistics, fast delivery, product knowledge and support, training, innovation in services as well as range and stock levels. Many even hold their own trade shows for wholesalers, rectifiers, motors, racing teams, workshops and commercial vehicle specialists. This is the level of commitment that we demand on behalf of the Garrett ? customers. To find your nearest dealer, click here. Honeywell is pleased to announce that its wireless sensor for asset protection has been recognized by the magazine "Security Products", one of the most read publications in the industry, "Product of the Year 2009". The award was announced at the American Association of Industrial Security (ASIS) held in Anaheim, California on September 22, 2009. The first sensor is 5870API wireless security industry designed to alert the central station when an item of value has been moved or disturbed. If used in conjunction with Total Connect services to Honeywell, its owners can be notified directly via email or text message on your home or business. "The 5870API helps distributors to differentiate themselves and close more business than ever before by offering a higher level of protection against theft," says Mike Garavuso, product manager for Honeywell. In contrast to traditional solutions for the prevention of theft, 5870API affordable, discreet and easy to install. "Unfortunately, it is a reality that sometimes we have to protect our valuables from people who are not welcome in our homes and businesses. As one of the largest security providers in the country, Protection One is dedicated to working with honeywell dealers to find cutting-edge technology to stop theft. Renowned Asset Protection Sensor is a great addition to our range of services and product offerings and complements perfectly our eSecure service. " "The honeywell dealers 5870API gave us an elegant solution to an industry need that no one was directing. . . Protecting valuable items inside the premises. The product works as advertised - my clients are very happy with this solution and we. It really helped us close more deals while we are open to new opportunities. " . . .

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The History of Tobacco

Tobacco has a long history and extensive popularity throughout the world. The tobacco plant is native to North and South America. It is in the same family as the potato, pepper and the poisonous nightshade and grows rapidly because it contains large amounts of extremely small seeds (one ounce contains about 300,000 seeds). Tobacco has had a long journey, and while there are many hoping it will continue, from anti-tobacco campaigns to the electronic cigarette, we are starting to see society taking extraordinary measures to prevent the tobacco plant from continuing much longer.

As early as 1 B.C. American Indians are said to have used tobacco in many different ways, including religious and medical practices. Early Indian artwork even shows images of tobacco being used in these types of practices. Tobacco was believed to be a multi-purpose remedy, using it to dress wounds, as a painkiller, and used chewing tobacco to relieve toothaches.

Native Americans smoked tobacco through a pipe, however the tobacco was considered sacred and they didn?t smoke every day.

Once European settlers came to the Americas, tobacco became the first crop grown for money in North America. Christopher Columbus was offered tobacco leaves as a gift from the natives and soon after, sailors started taking tobacco back with them and Europeans all over, quickly started growing tobacco themselves.

The supposed healing properties were the major reason for tobacco?s growing popularity in Europe. Europeans believed, much like the Native Americans, that tobacco could cure pretty much anything. By 1612, the first European settlers into America grew tobacco as a cash crop, and it became their main source of money.

More than corn, cotton, wheat, sugar and soya beans, tobacco was the main financial stability for the American Revolution, and was even a favorite crop for George Washington.

From the end of the American Revolution until the mid 19th century, people began using tobacco leisurely, by either putting it in a pipe, chewing it, or rolling it up in a cigarette or cigar. It wasn?t until James Bonsack created a machine for cigarette production in 1881 that the industrialization of tobacco smoking really took off. The machine was able to operate thirteen times the speed of a human cigarette roller. While scientists couldn?t go as far as creating smoke free cigarettes, by the early to mid-20th century, scientists became increasingly concerned about the safety and negative side effects of tobacco use.

By the early 20th century, the war on cigarette use began. While tobacco use in forms of pipes and cigars were common of the upperclassmen, cigarettes were most popular to the working class. By the time of the First World War however, cigarettes got the nickname of ?soldier?s smoke?. Up until this point, tobacco use was targeted to men, but by the end of the First World War, the new brand ?Marlboro? created milder cigarettes in order to target women. Companies began to compete with this idea, and multiple brands of cigarettes advertising for different markets took off.

During the 1950s, scientists became more open about the side effects of tobacco use and in 1964, health warnings start popping up, and tobacco products are no longer advertised on radio or television. In 1968, the first tobacco free cigarette was marked, even though it failed miserably.

Slowly but surely, tobacco sales are beginning to diminish. The US has banned smoking from any public establishment, and all advertisements are also banned from being publicized. While there are still smokers, it is clear we are now living in an anti-tobacco world, painfully aware of the negative side effects it causes.

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