President George W. Bush insists that those who  are receiving dividends from their stock holdings are being Double Taxed because the companies in which they own stock are required to pay taxes. The working men and women in the U.S. are the ones who are being Double Taxed and no one ever mentions it, in fact , few of them have ever given it a thought!
         Let us look at the situation which has existed since the Social Security system was instituted about 70 years ago. We, the working people, who hold jobs in the factories and other places and draw a weekly paycheck, are truly double taxed. The Social security taxes are deducted from our gross earnings, then personal income taxes are computed on our gross earnings which includes the social security and Medicare taxes. All three taxes are deducted from our paycheck, leaving us with just enough to survive until the next week.
         The idea is supposed to be that we pay our taxes on the Social Security taxes and when we begin drawing the social security benefits it would not be taxed, however, that has been changed and if we earn over a given amount, we must include a portion, if not all, of our social security income as earned wages and pay taxes on that. Talk about Being Double Taxed!
         President Bush is probably unaware of this double taxation of the working class because he has never had to look at a measly pay check and wonder how he will make it until he earns another one! If he had, he would surely question the fairness of this double taxation.
           The time has come for the working class and retirees in America to exert their influence to protect their interests.  It's time we were heard in Washington!
The End............

       It appears that the Bush Administration and some others are "Hell Bent" on taking over Iraq and removing the leader of that country, even against the judgment of our allies in Europe. I am of the opinion that this may be a mistake which will  soon be regretted by our leaders.
       While President Bush contends the reason for this operation is to protect the U.S. and the world from the threats of attack with "weapons of mass destruction", a "Voice" tells me there  is more behind this than meets the eye. Iraq has a great amount of the known oil deposits in the world and at present U.S. oil companies have little, if any, control over those oil reserves. I believe the present administration may be under some pressure to gain a foothold for our oil interests in Iraq.
         We have enough coal in this country to supply all of our fuel needs for a hundred years or more and if the energy companies and our government would come together with the research needed, it would be only a short few years before we would be producing gasoline, fuel oil, plastics and all the other thing presently made from crude oil, from our great coal reserves. The Germans did it during WWII, surely we have their knowledge available to our researchers.
      I see no reason to spend billions of dollars amassing our troops and military equipment against a foe who could be completely destroyed by a few nuclear bombs. Just tell the leaders of Iraq that the First time any action is taken against its neighbors or any other country they can expect to be erased from the earth! That would keep them in line at a small fraction of the cost which is presently being expended. It would also ease the tensions felt by the neighbors of that country..
      The solution to this problem boils down to that old saying, "Speak Softly and Carry A Big Stick"
       There are Better, Peaceable solutions to these problems and if Mr. Bush insists on taking the route he seems "hell bent" on, I predict he will regret his actions in the near future, afterall, there will be another election in 2004.

The Voice of The Old Physic and Soothsayer, Speaking From The Mountain.......GLH...