The Taxpayers Won, the Clintons Lost

The federal government doesn’t have to pay the legal bills of the Clintons, or so reports The Assorted Patsies.

The money line:

“We harbor no doubt that in the absence of the independent counsel statute the allegations surrounding the Clintons, Madison Guaranty, and Whitewater would have been similarly investigated and prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” the three-judge panel wrote.

Only one problem, guys; you’re forgetting they had a ‘team player’ running Justice at the time. UNder a normal administration, with a shred of honor, you’re quite right, there would have been an investigation. Problem was, Clinton HAS no honor, else this wouldn’t have had to go to court, nor with there have been pressure for an independant investigation.

So, does that mean that the money that many gave the Clintons for the purpose of paying hteir legal bills will now be used for such? Or is it gone, already?

The only real daily newspaper in the Washington DC area, the Washington TIMES, is reporting this morning that Wall street is having it’s best days in years.  Personally, I’m doing rather well, myself.

We respectfully note the passing of Jazz great Benny Carter at age 95.

This story from the Palm Beach area is getting more typical. you know the bit; Someone commits a crime… in this case vehicular manslauhter, and instead of calling the cops, citizens take the situation into their own hands.

There’s a reason for this. Said citizens do not trust that their interests are being upheld by the criminal justice system. They see the police are incresingly powerless, the courts increasingly liberal on punishment, and they see criminals going free.

The direct result of liberalsm is vigilantism, as the citizens begin to understand the government can no longer support their interests.

Am I questioning the motives of liberals? In some cases, yes. In other cases, I question the ability to see what’s what in the longer view.

Bill Keller is apparently the new Executive Editor at the NY Times, according to MSNBC.
Anyone who thinks this will solve the issue of the long-standing left leaning at the Times hasn’t read Keller’s editorial output.

Nor have they read thoughts on the real problem at the Times:

Sulzberger himself is the biggest problem, and that situation doesn’t look to change very soon. Sulzberger has always held the conviction that journalism is about helping people and building what they consider a better society.  If you think this isn’t the prevailing nonsense in the news world today, ask anyone coming out of journalism schools why THEY’RE doing what they’re doing, and they’ll tell you ‘to make a difference’, not to “report the news”. Simply and fairly reporting the news, and perhaps offering an even-handed comment on it, is too dull an assignment, for those on this ‘great mission’.  Once again, the Times shows up as the largest example of this kind of bias inducement. This is not something that’s just cropped up since Raines took over the ummm… errr…… reins. (Yeah, I know… sorry)

If I read this right…. (And I gladly admit I’ve not had time to study it’s details) it woulde appear thatb most Palastinians would not want their old homes in Israel were a Palestinian state set up. And some people aren’t happy about that.

It appears to me that tha ‘right of return’ is a tool to plant terrorists into Israel with impunity.

As if on schedule, given the story I just posted on Uranium…

The NY Times has issued a 2100 word correction on yet another story for a glaring factual error.

CNN has started moving a story this morning that should put to rest the number of charges about how Bush ‘Lied” to us.. But it won’t. Facts seldom matter of the far left.

“The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

That’s what Mr. Bush said in the State of the Union speech.
The left’s been trying to push that this was a lie.

Not so fast…. The statement WAS in fact true, and remains so.

Ponder this quote from Mr Blair to the House during question period last week: (I watch it every week)

“In the 1980’s Iraq purchased somewhere in the region of 200 or more tons of uranium from Niger.  The evidence that we had that the Iraqi government had gone back to try to purchase further amounts of uranium from Niger did not come from so-called ‘forged’ documents, they came from separate intelligence.”

So, Bush’s statement begining with “The British government has learned ….” is correct.

Now, of course the bigger question is why the US leftist press (A redundancy) hasn’t told us about all this.
They clearly will tilt any story to make the Preident look bad in advance of the next election. This is no exception.

“Members and front organizations must continually embarrass, discredit and degrade our critics. When obstructionists become too irritating, label them as fascist, or Nazi or anti-Semitic …. The association will, after enough repetition, become “fact” in the public mind.” 
–Communist Party, Moscow Central Committee 1943

Been dealing with some issues with my main desktop. I should have the thing up tonight.

An excellent article from , Canada’s NATIONAL POST today with regards to Ann Coulter’s new book. Worth a look.

It amazes me that so many liberals are so big on what they claim to be forged evdience as regards Iraq.

It’s not forged, of course as even their own leaders will admit when the mike isn’t on, but that’s not the point I’m making here.

On Oct. 27, 1941, FDR, locked in mortal combat with an America First Committee that was resisting his drive to war, played his trump. On Navy Day, at the Mayflower Hotel, FDR declared,

“In the place of the Bible, the words of ‘Mein Kampf’ will be imposed and enforced in a Holy Writ. And in the place of the cross of Christ will be put two symbols – the swastika and the naked sword. … The God of Blood and Iron will take the place of the God of Love and Mercy.”

So says Patrick Buchanan in his WorldNet Daily column

Personally, I can’t wait to hear about this one from the left.

Oh, goodie. Jerry Springer plans to run for the Senate.

Read the link, and notice the lengths the author of the story goes to to avoid linking Jerry Springer to the Democrat party.
The first indication that we have in the story that Springer is planning to run as a Democrat is about half-way down the story, where it’s reported…

“Another Democrat, state Senator Eric Fingerhut, from Cleveland, has already declared his candidacy.”

This does two things; It destroys the idea that there’s no liberal bias in the press, and it also sugegsts the Democrats are nervous about him running.

Personally, I can’t wait to see his ratings. (Snicker)

Rush Limbaugh posted this on his site, but tends to pull these things down 24 hours later.

Here’s the figures for who is paying what in taxes. This is the BOMB for those who think the rich are not paying their fair share.

Income Tax: Who Pays? IRS Figures for 2000

Table 1. – Individual Income Tax Returns with Positive Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): Number of Returns, Shares of AGI andTotal Income Tax, AGI Floor on Percentiles in Current and Constant Dollars, and Average Tax Rates, by Selected Descending Cumulative Percentiles of Returns Based on Income Size Using the Definition of AGI for Each Year, Tax Years 1986-2000 [All figures are estimates based on samples]
Descending cumulative percentiles

Year: Total………………Top 1%…………Top 5%………Top 10%…….Top 25%……….Top 50%

Number of returns: [1]
1986: 102,087,623……1,020,876……5,104,381……10,208,762……25,521,906……51,043,811
1987: 106,154,761……1,061,548……5,307,738……10,615,476……26,538,690……53,077,380
1988: 108,872,859……1,088,729……5,443,643……10,887,286……27,218,214……54,436,429
1989: 111,312,721……1,113,127……5,565,636……11,131,272……27,828,181……55,656,361
1990: 112,812,262……1,128,123……5,640,613……11,281,226……28,203,066……56,406,132
1991: 113,804,104……1,138,041……5,690,205……11,380,410……28,451,026……56,902,052
1992: 112,652,759……1,126,528……5,632,638……11,265,276……28,163,190……56,326,380
1993: 113,681,387……1,136,814……5,684,069……11,368,139……28,420,347……56,840,694
1994: 114,989,920……1,149,899……5,749,496……11,498,992……28,747,480……57,494,960
1995: 117,274,186……1,172,742……5,863,709……11,727,419……29,318,546……58,637,093
1996: 119,441,767……1,194,418……5,972,088……11,944,177……29,860,442……59,720,884
1997: 121,503,284……1,215,033……6,075,164……12,150,328……30,375,821……60,751,642
1998: 123,775,831……1,237,758……6,188,792……12,377,583……30,943,958……61,887,915
1999: 126,008,974……1,260,090……6,300,449……12,600,897……31,502,244……63,004,487
2000: 128,227,143……1,282,271……6,411,357……12,822,714……32,056,786……64,113,572

Adjusted gross income floor on percentiles (current dollars):
1986: N/A……118,818……62,377……48,656……32,242……17,302
1987: N/A……139,289……68,414……52,921……33,983……17,768
1988: N/A……157,136……72,735……55,437……35,398……18,367
1989: N/A……163,869……76,933……58,263……36,839……18,993
1990: N/A……167,421……79,064……60,287……38,080……19,767
1991: N/A……170,139……81,720……61,944……38,929……20,097
1992: N/A……181,904……85,103……64,457……40,378……20,803
1993: N/A……185,715……87,386……66,077……41,210……21,179
1994: N/A……195,726……91,226……68,753……42,742……21,802
1995: N/A……209,406……96,221……72,094……44,207……22,344
1996: N/A……227,546……101,141……74,986……45,757……23,174
1997: N/A……250,736……108,048……79,212……48,173……24,393
1998: N/A……269,496……114,729……83,220……50,607……25,491
1999: N/A……293,415……120,846……87,682……52,965……26,415
2000: N/A……313,469……128,336……92,144……55,225……27,682

Adjusted gross income floor on percentiles (constant dollars): [2]
1986: N/A……108,411……56,913……44,394……29,418……15,786
1987: N/A……122,614……60,224……46,585……29,915……15,641
1988: N/A……132,828……61,484……46,861……29,922……15,526
1989: N/A……132,152……62,043……46,986……29,709……15,317
1990: N/A……128,096……60,493……46,126……29,135……15,124
1991: N/A……124,919……60,000……45,480……28,582……14,756
1992: N/A……129,654……60,658……45,942……28,780……14,828
1993: N/A……128,522……60,475……45,728……28,519……14,657
1994: N/A……132,069……61,556……46,392……28,841……14,711
1995: N/A……137,406……63,137……47,306……29,007……14,661
1996: N/A……145,026……64,462……47,792……29,163……14,769
1997: N/A……156,222……67,320……49,353……30,014……15,198
1998: N/A……164,427……69,999……50,775……30,877……15,553
1999: N/A……176,119……72,537……52,630……31,792……15,855
2000: N/A……182,038……74,527……53,510……32,070……16,075

Adjusted gross income (millions of dollars):
1986: 2,524,124……285,197……608,467……886,510……1,490,173……2,103,569
1987: 2,813,728……346,635……722,221……1,038,221……1,709,389……2,373,869
1988: 3,124,156……473,527……890,702……1,232,536……1,950,860……2,657,865
1989: 3,298,858……468,079……918,421……1,286,539……2,054,478……2,805,235
1990: 3,451,237……483,252……953,337……1,338,032……2,144,177……2,932,537
1991: 3,516,142……456,603……943,350……1,343,202……2,174,765……2,984,003
1992: 3,680,552……523,586……1,031,093……1,443,784……2,299,401……3,131,400
1993: 3,775,578……520,586……1,048,252……1,474,463……2,357,953……3,212,299
1994: 3,961,146……546,700……1,103,084……1,552,205……2,481,074……3,371,352
1995: 4,244,607……619,610……1,222,723……1,704,513……2,689,820……3,627,542
1996: 4,590,527……736,545……1,393,805……1,909,149……2,952,637……3,944,383
1997: 5,023,457……872,826……1,597,107……2,151,401……3,267,600……4,327,992
1998: 5,469,211……1,010,245……1,796,647……2,393,716……3,589,600……4,721,430
1999: 5,909,329……1,152,820……2,011,763……2,652,835……3,927,308……5,126,164
2000: 6,423,977……1,336,773……2,267,403……2,955,386……4,313,786……5,589,755

Descending cumulative percentiles
Year: Total…………Top 1%…..Top 5%…….Top 10%….Top 25%….Top 50%

Total income tax (millions of dollars): [3]
1986: 366,979……94,491……156,240……200,703……278,976……343,289
1987: 369,046……91,559……159,642……205,230……283,857……346,655
1988: 412,761……113,841……188,303……236,411……321,297……389,145
1989: 432,838……109,259……190,188……241,458……334,258……407,599
1990: 447,061……112,338……195,088……247,514……344,340……421,075
1991: 448,349……111,267……194,480……250,282……346,511……423,759
1992: 476,163……131,156……218,479……276,213……373,700……452,070
1993: 502,720……145,836……238,083……297,808……398,516……478,563
1994: 534,754……154,337……254,106……317,902……425,402……509,256
1995: 588,331……178,035……287,741……357,402……472,808……561,225
1996: 658,124……212,626……335,433……411,404……535,164……629,684
1997: 727,303……241,239……377,241……459,639……594,007……696,161
1998: 788,452……274,009……424,506……512,836……651,964……755,240
1999: 877,292……317,419……486,464……583,002……732,890……842,168
2000: 980,521……366,929……553,670……660,150……823,706……942,179

Average tax rate (percentage): [4]
1986: 14.54……33.13……25.68……22.64……18.72……16.32
1987: 13.12……26.41……22.10……19.77……16.61……14.60
1988: 13.21……24.04……21.14……19.18……16.47……14.64
1989: 13.12……23.34……20.71……18.77……16.27……14.53
1990: 12.95……23.25……20.46……18.50……16.06……14.36
1991: 12.75……24.37……20.62……18.63……15.93……14.20
1992: 12.94……25.05……21.19……19.13……16.25……14.44
1993: 13.32……28.01……22.71……20.20……16.90……14.90
1994: 13.50……28.23……23.04……20.48……17.15……15.11
1995: 13.86……28.73……23.53……20.97……17.58……15.47
1996: 14.34……28.87……24.07……21.55……18.12……15.96
1997: 14.48……27.64……23.62……21.36……18.18……16.09
1998: 14.42……27.12……23.63……21.42……18.16……16.00
1999: 14.85……27.53……24.18……21.98……18.66……16.43
2000: 15.26……27.45……24.42……22.34……19.09……16.86

Adjusted gross income share (percentage): 1986: 100.00……11.30……24.11……35.12……59.04……83.34
1987: 100.00……12.32……25.67……36.90……60.75……84.37
1988: 100.00……15.16……28.51……39.45……62.44……85.07
1989: 100.00……14.19……27.84……39.00……62.28……85.04
1990: 100.00……14.00……27.62……38.77……62.13……84.97
1991: 100.00……12.99……26.83……38.20……61.85……84.87
1992: 100.00……14.23……28.01……39.23……62.47……85.08
1993: 100.00……13.79……27.76……39.05……62.45……85.08
1994: 100.00……13.80……27.85……39.19……62.64……85.11
1995: 100.00……14.60……28.81……40.16……63.37……85.46
1996: 100.00……16.04……30.36……41.59……64.32……85.92
1997: 100.00……17.38……31.79……42.83……65.05……86.16
1998: 100.00……18.47……32.85……43.77……65.63……86.33
1999: 100.00……19.51……34.04……44.89……66.46……86.75
2000: 100.00……20.81……35.30……46.01……67.15……87.01

Total income tax share (percentage): 1986: 100.00……25.75……42.57……54.69……76.02……93.54
1987: 100.00……24.81……43.26……55.61……76.92……93.93
1988: 100.00……27.58……45.62……57.28……77.84……94.28
1989: 100.00……25.24……43.94……55.78……77.22……94.17
1990: 100.00……25.13……43.64……55.36……77.02……94.19
1991: 100.00……24.82……43.38……55.82……77.29……94.52
1992: 100.00……27.54……45.88……58.01……78.48……94.94
1993: 100.00……29.01……47.36……59.24……79.27……95.19
1994: 100.00……28.86……47.52……59.45……79.55……95.23
1995: 100.00……30.26……48.91……60.75……80.36……95.39
1996: 100.00……32.31……50.97……62.51……81.32……95.68
1997: 100.00……33.17……51.87……63.20……81.67……95.72
1998: 100.00……34.75……53.84……65.04……82.69……95.79
1999: 100.00……36.18……55.45……66.45……83.54……96.00
2000: 100.00……37.42……56.47……67.33……84.01……96.09

N/A– Not applicable.
[1] The number of returns with negative adjusted gross income, i.e., returns with an adjusted gross deficit, and the corresponding amounts for adjusted gross deficit, were excluded from Table 1. By excluding deficit returns, alternative minimum tax reported on some of these returns was also excluded. For Tax Year 2000, there were 5,714 returns with no adjusted gross income that reported income tax, mostly alternative minimum tax, totaling $100.6 million.
[2] For Table 1, constant dollars were calculated using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index for urban consumers (CPI-U, 1982-84=100). For 2000 the CPI-U = 172.2
[3] Total income tax is the sum of income tax after credits and alternative minimum tax reported on returns that showed a positive amount for adjusted gross income. Therefore, total income tax excludes alternative minimum tax, Form 8814 tax (tax on a child’s interest or dividends), and Form 4972 tax (tax on lump-sum distributions from qualified retirement plans) reported on some returns with a negative amount for adjusted gross income. See also footnote 1.
[4] The average tax rate was computed by dividing total income tax (see footnote 3) by (positive) adjusted gross income.

Note: Unles otherwise stated, money amounts are in current (not constant) denominations.

Source: Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division, Unpublished Statistics, September 2002. 

Interesting Michelle Malin article

She raises some interesting questions about people who claim citizenship, yet have no plans to become part of America’s culture.