I agree Linda,

They should be part of the rebuilding process. Taking tham away only make us feel good. It doesn't solve the challenges.

Jim

Quote:
I did see a news report about children of Haiti ... that they will be exploited ....

People of all nations need to pay attention and come up with a plan ..

a good one would be to help support the adults who survived to raise the orphaned and injured children in their own nation and culture. It would take less ... than adopting a few out to foreign countries. Sponsor a child or 10 instead of adopting, provide for their needs and education in their native land.

Linda

I remember the kitchen myself growing up... When my mom slaped in the mouth for back talking her. :-)

NOW I like the kitchen for I do most of the cooking in my house.

Plus I get my groceries from MHA.

My Harvest America is awesome for filling your kitchen with supplies and food ! We love to hang out in the kitchen, to eat, drink and laugh !

Well our fearless leader zerObama and his curr dogs are nipping at our heels again while the "Nerobama" fiddles in Chicago and the gulf coast is being decimated, we hear this tidbit of news this morning.

IRS Launches First Wave Of Small Business Attacks

(Initial Focus on Employment Tax Compliance)

When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released its five-year strategic plan last year it promised a flurry of new attacks on the public in a variety of areas. Referred to by the IRS as “enforcement initiatives,” these attacks constitute the key areas the agency will target for increased audit attention in the years to come. What was a mere promise last fall of more audit activity is now a reality. The IRS just recently launched the first wave of audit attacks.

In reviewing the IRS’s strategic plan it came as no surprise to me that the lion’s share of this new audit attention would be focused on small businesses. What did surprise me is the level of aggressiveness with which the IRS intends to carry out the attack. The agency identified four specific areas that it will focus on. I reveal them here.

1. The misclassification of workers as independent contractors (ICs). Employment taxes represent a staggering cost to businesses, both in terms of money and time. For this reason, many businesses look for ways to trim costs by reducing employees. One strategy is to use independent contractors (ICs) rather than employees to perform services for the business. But there is a right way and a wrong way to use ICs. If you go about it the wrong way you open yourself up to substantial tax assessments with penalties and interest.

Because employment taxes are such an important revenue source, the IRS is determined to audit as many businesses as possible to ferret out those that use ICs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reported that in 2007, various audits by state revenue departments found that more than 150,000 workers were misclassified as ICs. This report prompted the IRS to undertake its own study. So beginning immediately, the IRS will launch at least 6,000 random audits of small businesses. The announcement came on April 22 and was issued by Robin Arnold, a senior IRS program manager and field specialist.

Of course, the random audits are just the beginning. Once the IRS has the audit program fully developed and refined it will let loose its agents upon businesses on a much wider scale. The agency is training 200 revenue agents right now to conduct these audits. Moreover, it’s in the process of hiring nearly 2,000 more agents this year to help carry the load. Even worse, the results of the audits will be shared with the states so they can get in line behind the IRS to pick the bones clean.

And while it’s certainly not illegal to use ICs, you must be sure the workers are legitimate ICs and not merely employees masquerading as ICs. This is just one reason my IRS Problem Solver Series is so important and valuable for small businesses. This issue is just one of the many I discuss in great detail in that package.

2. Employment tax return non-filers. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration recently called on the IRS to step up enforcement against businesses that don’t file employment tax returns or pay employment taxes on time. The IRS treats this issue very seriously since employment tax money is largely withheld from the paychecks of employees. The employer is then responsible to pay it to the IRS. When the employer fails to do that he is treated as violating a “trust” relationship and becomes personally liable for the unpaid withholding taxes.

The IRS is now expanding its audits to randomly probe businesses for employment tax compliance. And because these audits are entirely random, there’s really no way a business can avoid such an audit. The best you can do is to make sure your business is in compliance.

3. Payment of fringe benefits to employees. Unless specifically excluded by law, the payment of money, property or services of any kind as compensation for services is taxable income. If a person receives goods in exchange for services, those goods are taxed at their fair market value.

On the other hand, the tax code does exclude from taxation certain fringe benefits paid by companies to their employees. But the exclusions are limited and are expressly defined. To the extent that any benefits exceed those limits, they are taxable.

To illustrate how desperate for revenue the Federal government now is, the random audit program targeted at small businesses will also focus on the payment of fringe benefits to employees. Look for the IRS to work on taxing every possible benefit that’s paid to employees. And of course, it intends to squeeze that money out of your pocket.

4. Payment of compensation to corporate officers. One of the most common mistakes made by small corporations is the failure to pay corporate officers (usually the owners) a “reasonable salary.” The tax code provides that corporate officers who provide services to a corporation must be compensated by the corporation commensurate with the fair market value of those services.

But many corporate officers do not draw a salary. Rather, they take their entire compensation in the form of a “dividend.” The difference is that the dividend is generally not subject to social security tax while the salary is. This is an issue of growing concern, but most small business owners will not see it coming. Too many tax return preparation professionals just do not understand the nuances of determining reasonable compensation or even that the IRS will challenge the compensation package of a small business owner. I expect many business owners to be blindsided by this issue. It could cost you a fortune.

—Daniel J. Pilla http://www.personalliberty.com/personal-liberty-articles/irs-launches-first-wave-of-small-businessattacks-2/

Best be prepared and greased up. I hear that KY Jelly will be going up in price too. Don't you just love our new "Progressive" government...... NOT!

Comedy Central Protects Islam, Slams Christianity

Network attacks Christ and other figures but refuses to pick on Muhammad

by Nathan Burchfiel, Culture and Media Institute

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Viacom’s Comedy Central is developing an animated show practically designed to offend Christians. But the network’s handling of recent controversy over depictions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad illustrates a stark double standard in how the entertainment media deal with issues of religion.

Comedy Central announced it is developing the script for an animated show tentatively titled “JC.” According to the network’s release, the show is about Jesus Christ “wanting to escape his father’s enormous shadow to live life in [New York City] as a regular guy.” The announcement described God as “all-powerful yet apathetic” and said the show would be a “playful take on religion and society with a sprinkle of dumb.”

The show promises to stand in sharp contrast to the network’s treatment of another religious figure: Muhammad. In 2006, Comedy Central censored a segment of “South Park” that depicted Muhammad. In April of this year, the network added audio bleeps to the second of a two-part episode to cover any mention of the prophet, as well as an end-of-show speech about freedom of expression and giving in to intimidation. The first episode of the story arc featured Mohammad hidden inside a moving truck and a bear costume.

This censorship came in response to a threat from a radical Islamic website, based in the United States, which warned that “South Park” creators would face violent retribution for “insulting” Muhammad by featuring (although not showing him) on the episode.

Just what did the extremists, and the executives at Comedy Central, find so insulting that it warranted censorship? Celebrities and townspeople fight over Muhammad because they believe he possesses a “goo” that makes him immune to ridicule. The voice of Mohammad is heard mumbling from within the moving truck, and a bear costume is used to hide his appearance.

During the very same episode, Buddha is depicted snorting cocaine; Jesus is portrayed as a porn addict; all of the religious leaders participate in a running joke pertaining to oral sex.

It’s clear that Mohammed is off limits – and it’s just as crystal clear that Jesus Christ and other religious figures remains the juiciest of targets.

A History of Attacking Christianity

If Comedy Central’s other shows are any indication, “JC” will be less “playful” and more “offensive.” The network has shown that Christianity and its notable figures are fair game for all kinds of attacks. Most of the “jokes” are little more than cheap shots aimed at a relatively harmless target, and they come from a wide variety of Comedy Central programming.

The now-cancelled sketch show “The Sarah Silverman Program” featured a bit in which the lead character has a sexual relationship with God. During a lovers’ quarrel, she refers to him as an “anus.” Countless other stand-up comics, like Mike DeStefano, have used the Comedy Central stage to bash Christians and Christianity. In the animated series “Ugly Americans,” a character named “Christ Angel” abuses women.

Christian holidays aren’t safe from ridicule either. In a 2005 Comedy Central special, tastefully titled “Merry F—ing Christmas,” Denis Leary called the Christmas story “bull—“ and said someone must have “banged the hell” out of the Virgin Mary.

The network’s #1 offender is the long-running animated series “South Park,” where attacking Christianity is practically an annual event. It would be impossible to list every example of the show’s offensive portrayal of Christ and Christians, from Jesus as a murderous action hero to depicting the Catholic church as a overrun by pedophiles, but here are a few examples:

• 2000: A priest was depicted having sex with a married women in a confessional.

• 2002: Catholic priests defended and promoted child molestation

• 2003: The main character started a Christian rock band and sang sexually charged lyrics including, “I want to get down on my knees and start pleasing Jesus, I want to feel his salvation all over my face.”

• 2005: A statue of the Virgin Mary menstruated on Pope Benedict XIV

• 2006: Jesus defecated on President Bush and the American flag

• 2007: Jesus was killed in a bloody stabbing. He was resurrected and murdered Catholic League President Bill Donahue, who had become pope.

• 2009: The show attacked Christian abstinence advocates.

In pre-emotively addressing criticism of “JC,” Comedy Central Head of Programming Kent Alterman said, “In general, comedy in its purest form always makes some people uncomfortable.” Indeed South Park has also attacked other religions, including Judaism, Mormonism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Scientology, and even Atheism. Christianity is the only religion whose primary holy figure is routinely bashed, however. The creator’s attempts to include Islam and Muhammad in their satire have been very publicly shut down by Comedy Central executives.

Different Reactions

While the radicals who felt offended by “South Park” depictions of Mohammad threatened violence against the show’s creators and Comedy Central, the Christians who are offended by the network’s attacks on their faith have taken a different approach.

Catholic League President Bill Donahue, who has been a direct target of South Park’s satire and reportedly found it “hilarious,” urged Catholics in the U.S. to open a “dialogue” with Comedy Central executives by writing letters or trying to get meetings at CEO Doug Herzog’s Los Angeles offices.

Others, like the Media Research Center – the Culture and Media Institute’s parent organization – are urging potential advertisers not to sponsor the “JC” show. In a teleconference scheduled for Thursday, June 3, MRC President Brent Bozell and other leaders will call on Comedy Central advertisers to publicly pledge not to underwrite “JC,” and urge Comedy Central to follow suit by canceling preproduction of the show.

Bozell will be joined by Parents Television Council President Tim Winter, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, radio host Michael Medved, author and radio host Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and Catholic League President Bill Donahue.

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EDITORIAL: Comedy Central caves to terrorism

In this Sept. 21, 2006 file photo, "South Park" creators Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker arrive at a party to celebrate the 10th season of the animated Comedy Central television series, in Los Angeles. A radical Muslim group has warned the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for depicting the prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during last week's episode. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)