Citizens of Illinois this message is for you. Our esteemed(?) Governor Rod “Blago” Blagojevich has proposed a Gross Receipts Tax, that he likes to refer to as a “fair tax” Sadly enough his idea of a fair tax appears to be anything but fair. Not only is this the largest state tax increase of this decade, it seems to be aimed at driving business out of the state.

This tax is aimed at any company that grosses more then 1 million dollars a year. ThatÂ’s gross people, not net. That means that if a business sells large ticket items, like say cars, this could easily drive them out of business. Think about it, if a car dealer sells one car a week at just over $19,231.00, they would gross a million dollars in a year. However, if you take out how much it costs to run the business: buy inventory, pay staff, equipment, supplies, etcÂ… they didnÂ’t actually make a million dollars. In some cases they may just be making a profit of about $100,000.00 a yearÂ… but they pay taxes on ten times that amount.

After talking with some local small business owners, they state that in their books they gross a million dollars. However, their businesses are barely staying afloat due to the expenses. One of these businesses is a Jewelry store; insurance is expensive. All of these owners are saying the same thing, if this tax goes through itÂ’s going to drive them out of business. Or there is the other option, moving out of the state.

Which is what some big businesses more then likely will do. Why stay in Illinois if you can cut your costs of operation by moving to another state? Here in Rockford we are only 30 minutes from the Wisconsin state line. WhatÂ’s keeping businesses from just moving over the boarder? Hell, Beloit could get a much-needed boost to its economy and growth.

Many elected officials have publicly opposed this plan.

” Governor Blagojevich has pitched his Gross Receipts Tax as a tax fairness plan but there is nothing fair about this plan," said Syverson. "Consumers will pay the ultimate price - either through higher prices or future taxes because this tax ran all the businesses and revenues out of Illinois.”

This was from an e-mail newsletter the senatorÂ’s office sent out. He even has a link to an online e-Petition regarding this issue. If you would like to voice your opposition to this tax, and live in Illinois, please go add your name to this petition.

Posted by: Contagion at 05:51 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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It took me 15 tries just to start the next sentence I’m so angry. The Illinois House has approved a bill that will give driving “Certificates” to Illegal immigrants. Seriously, they did, in a 60-56 vote.

”The state would offer driving “certificates” to people who lack the valid Social Security number needed to obtain a regular license. The certificates would allow them to drive and buy auto insurance, but couldn’t be used as identification”

Seriously folks, it’s bad enough that my governor wants to jack up my taxes and drive businesses out of the state so he can bring in a health plan that will cover ANYONE who is in the state. Now the house wants to give a valid driving “certificate” to any Tom, Dick and Juan that wants one? Sure there are some requirements to get one:

”To get the certificates, people would have to provide a photo ID, such as a passport from their native country, and submit fingerprints. They also would have to prove they’ve obtained insurance within a month or the certificate would be canceled.”

I donÂ’t know if the illegals bring a passport or not with them, but IÂ’m willing to bet they are going to start. About the only upside to this that I can see is that if they apply for one, at least now we might be able to track them and finally deport their illegal arses if our government ever decides to rectify their rectal-cranial inversion. On the downside weÂ’re just caving in more and more to the illegal culture.

On my way home they where discussing this on the radio, and much to KtrevaÂ’s shame and embarrassment I actually called in on it. Some of the supporters are toeing the line that the Illegals are driving anyway and tend to flee the scene of accidents because they donÂ’t have a valid license or insurance. They are saying that with this at least if a citizen is hit by an illegal the citizenÂ’s vehicle and medical bills will be paid. IÂ’m saying that if we deported the illegals, they wouldnÂ’t be driving on our roads anyway. And itÂ’s not going to cause more lines at the already overcrowded Department of Motor Vehicles.

On the radio and in the above linked article there is talk about a similar program created by Tennessee in 2004 that failed in less then two years because people were coming from other states to get a certificate through fraud. Mix our licensing issue AND the fact we want to give free* healthcare to anyone in the state, citizen or not, I can see our illegal population skyrocketing.

At least there is still hope. Maybe the state Senate will vote this down. I guess I know what IÂ’m going to be talking to Senator Dave Syverson about in a couple of weeks.

*By free I mean being paid for in the exuberant taxes that are going to have to be paid by legal citizens of the state.

Posted by: Contagion at 05:54 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I heard about this video clip on the radio yesterday morning on the way to work. Then again today on a different show they mentioned it, I hadnÂ’t seen any of the blogs I normally read post this. IÂ’m not saying they didnÂ’t, I may have just missed it.

I guess the mudslinging and image bashing start early this election season. What really gets my goat, besides the fact that Obama is from Illinois, is that Obama didn’t feel he had the merits to go toe-to-toe with Hillary. They had to result to crap like this already. Sure some of you might think that mudslinging and this type of crap doesn’t have any insight into the candidate that is opposing the “victim”. I disagree.

When I see crap like this, it just tells me that ObamaÂ’s people feel that Hillary is better for the job, so they need to make her look worse in the publics eye. That way Obama will look better. And that folks is just me simplifying it down to basics, itÂ’s really not that plain. If Obama really were the better candidate, he would be able to sell himself on his platforms, accomplishments and accolades alone. He wouldnÂ’t need his campaign people or supporters starting a smear campaign. Since there is nothing that actually links this commercial to Obama's campaign staff, I can't give him too much crap. But we can tell it was done by someone that supports him over Hillary.

DonÂ’t get me wrong; I know a lot of candidates do this. That doesnÂ’t make it right. I donÂ’t care if they are liberal, conservative or independent. It just tells me that the candidates that are being put forth are lacking in character. Those types of candidates are not the ones I want in office.

Fortunately in the Democratic primaries I donÂ’t have to worry too much about who IÂ’m going to vote for, I donÂ’t get to. IÂ’m not a registered Democrat; then again IÂ’m not a registered Republican either. I just love my independence.

Posted by: Contagion at 02:06 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Damn, I canÂ’t believe I missed this:

Court Overturns DC Handgun Ban

A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a 30-year-old Washington, D.C., law that bans handguns in homes, a precedent-setting ruling that dealt a setback to a city with one of America's highest crime rates.

By a 2-1 vote, the appeals court broadly interpreted an individual's constitutional right under the Second Amendment to bear arms, and concluded the law violated those rights.

Hey, maybe things are starting to swing our way! Go over and read the rest if you are interested in how the courts may be positioning on similar bans. I wonder how this will affect Chicago?

Posted by: Contagion at 04:26 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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What a whirlwind two days. My friend J-man and I went to Springfield for the Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day (IGOLD). It didnÂ’t go quite as planned, but I still feel that something was accomplished, and I honestly feel like I did something good. I would like to thank the Illinois State Rifle Association for sponsoring the event, I think they did a fabulous job and what problems there were really could not be laid at their feet.

To be honest there where only a couple of real problems in my handbook. Since I drove down to Springfield, and didnÂ’t take one of the buses, I had to find a place to park. Apparently there is a severe shortage of public parking places in Springfield. I drove around for 30 minutes trying to find anything. Most of the metered spots were only for 30 minutes to 2 hours and when I did find a 5-hour spot the damn meter was broken. I ended up parking in an abandoned lot with a bunch of other vehicles. Technically I think I was parked illegally, but I didnÂ’t get a ticket so I donÂ’t care.

When we arrived at the Howlett building, there was a line waiting to get in. No problem, most government buildings have strict security. A gentleman in a suit, whom unfortunately I missed his name, came out and advised that the reason for the hold up was that the room was packed. They had a much larger then expected crowd turn out. I believe he said it was almost three times as many people then they anticipated. Which was cool, itÂ’s good to see that there are enough citizens that are concerned with this issue. I didnÂ’t mind waiting, as I felt this was a good cause and I was glad so many people showed up.

When we finally got into the auditorium for our session, I was a little disappointed. First the PA system in the building worked horribly. All it seemed to do was take the words the speaker was making them into a slightly louder garbled mess. Since I already have some hearing problems, I missed about 75% of what was said. J-man said he missed over half. We were given a packet of information and some directions on what they wanted us to do (Which we couldnÂ’t hear). Both J-man and myself were hoping that in this session there were going to be people talking about and explaining in more detail the various laws they want us to oppose or support. IÂ’ve read their material, but both of us really wanted a more in-depth explanation behind these bills. I think the ISRA missed out on an opportunity to educate here.

The Howlett building, the Capitol and the Stratton building (Where a lot of the representativeÂ’s offices and meeting rooms are) are all connected by tunnels. They told us that we want to use the tunnels so we donÂ’t have the hassle of having to go through metal detectors and security check points each time. That sounded greatÂ… at first. The problem was that with as many people that showed up, plus the normal staff, other visitors and what ever other people where there, it was hot and stuffy. To make matters worse, it was unseasonable warm, a nice 75 degrees and I overheard one of the staff members saying that there was a problem with the ventilation system, and it wasnÂ’t working. That made it at least 95 degrees in that building. Everyone was sweating like a dog. Towards the end of the day we ran into another friend of mine Giles and a friend of his. We all decided to go to the same committee to let our presence be known. Giles and his friends are smokers, so they wanted to walk outside to the Stratton building instead of taking the tunnels. At first I was just going to meet them there, because I didnÂ’t want to deal with security. IÂ’m glad I changed my mind. It was so much cooler and nicer outside. It was a much-needed break from the stagnant heat.

I never was able to see my Representative or Senator, they where in committee meetings the whole time, or avoiding the crowd. We did leaving calling cards as to why we were there. When we showed up to most of the committee meetings, they where packed with people, most of the time it was standing room only. Everywhere you turned in any building you would see someone wearing an IGOLD button or shirt showing his or her support for the Second Amendment. There was no mistaking the presence of the pro-firearm lobbyists on Wednesday.

Now we just wait and see if we had the impact we were hoping for.

Posted by: Contagion at 03:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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