FAIRTAX ON THE BALLOT TODAY

I know of at least two counties in Georgia, Cobb and Gwinnett, where the FairTax is on the ballot in today's primaries.  The will appear on the ballots for the Republican primaries only.  Evidently the Democrats are perfectly happy with the current tax system.  We'll try to let you know how the voters reacted in tomorrow's Nuze.

ORLANDO RALLY!

In the meantime, we're about 11 days away from the Orlando FairTax rally on the city hall steps in downtown Orlando!  The event starts at 10:00 which will leave plenty of time for those of you who came in from out of town to enjoy some of the Orlando attractions! 

AIRTRAN OFFERING DISCOUNT TO RALLY ATTENDEES!

If you're planning to fly to the FairTax rally in Orlando AirTran has a special deal for you.  You can save 10% off the lowest available fare to Orlando by calling the AirTran EventSavers desk at 866-683-8368.  When you call mention the event code FAIRTAX 2006.  So there. We just made it easier for you to attend the rally ... so we'll see you there!

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON THAT GAZA BEACH

Yesterday a caller to the show blamed the entire current situation in the Middle East on .... (guess who?) ..... Israel!  The caller, who's name is now forgotten, said that the whole thing started when Israel lobbed a rocket into the middle of a Gaza beach crowded with merry Palestinians celebrating the Muslim Sabbath.

Well ... even though this story was originally reported in many U.S. newspapers, complete with accompanying pictures of a bereaved little girl who had just lost her family in the explosion, it turns out that the story is false.  Can you imagine that?  A story about an alleged Israeli "massacre" turns out to be false?  Who would have thunk it? 

How far did the Palestinians go to try to blame this explosion on Israel?  Well, Palestinian Television showed  footage of  Israeli naval vessels shelling Gaza.  First they would show the shelling, then they would show video of the victims on the beach.  It turns out that there were no Israeli ships off the coast of Gaza engaged in any shelling at the time of the incident.  Palestinian television simply edited some of their stock footage of Israeli warships with pictures of the beach incident and presented it as a news story, a story bought by those anxious to believe the worst about Israel.  

So .. what caused the explosion?  Evidence now points to a Hamas mine.

It also turns out that the victims of this explosion were treated in Israeli hospitals.  There it was discovered that the shrapnel found in the victims did not come from any known Israeli ordinance. 

But who is going to believe all this?  After all, don't we know that Muslims always tell the truth, and the Israelis always lie?

Some of our callers apparently feel that way.

BUSH SUPPOSED TO REIN IN ISRAEL?

In the meantime ... we're now just over a week into the Israeli-Hezbollah-Hamas-Iran-Syria conflict and the usual is starting to happen.  The media is referring to the conflict as part of the 'cycle of violence,' as if the war just broke out with no aggression on Hezbollah's part.  In addition, the Islamic appeasers of the world have sprung into action. 

The UN is trying to broker a cease-fire, as is Tony Blair.  Why?  Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.  Israel is doing the world a favor by destroying them.  We should be encouraging Israel and offering to assist, not criticizing and trying to get them to pull back.  The real tragedy in this whole war would be if it ends up being for nothing.  Only a full, decisive and crushing victory over the Islamic radicals  will make it worthwhile.

But perhaps the most galling are the comments from some of the Arab diplomats yesterday.  They say the war is unlikely to end until the Bush Administration pressures Israel to stop fighting.  One 'senior Arab diplomat' actually said this: "Just like only Nixon could go to China, only Bush can push Israel." 

It's the same story over and over.  Muslims attack.  Israel responds.  Muslims demand that the U.S. hold Israel back.  Then Muslims attack again.  Israel responds again.  Muslims start whining to the U.S.

Look ... last year Israel withdrew from Gaza.  Israel forcibly removed 7000 Israeli settlers from Gaza.  Israel ended the occupation of Gaza with no promise or reciprocity from Hamas or the Palestinians.  How did the Palestinians respond?  After Israel left they spent next several months lobbing over 1000 rockets across their border ... an international border recognized by Israel ..  into Israeli territory in an attempt to kill Israeli civilians.  While this shelling was going on no Muslim countries were willing to step in and pressure Hamas to call off the attacks.  Now Israel responds and it is up to the U.S. to step in and hold Israel back.

Bull%^*&!

So here's the template: Israel gets attacked, fights back and gets to the point where they are about to start a massive ground offensive and get rid of Hezbollah once and for all.  Then, feeling pressure from oil-rich Arab countries, the United States government steps in and starts making Israel cave in.  We are seeing that very thing unfold right before our eyes.

This is a golden opportunity to clean out Lebanon and Gaza.  We shouldn't criticize Israel, broker a cease-fire or any other such nonsense.  We should be offering assistance.

HEAD OF NAACP CALLS FOR BOYCOTT

Speaking at their annual convention, the head of the NAACP is calling on a boycott of certain companies.  He also made some other statements, some of which make sense, but we'll stick with the boycott for now. 

The NAACP, upset that large corporations only spend 5 percent of their contracting dollars with minority-owned firms, sent out a survey.  They wanted to know what companies were doing about racial quotas in awarding these contracts.  Some companies, fearing the wrath of the NAACP, responded.  The extortion worked.  Now these companies will presumably contract with companies that cannot necessarily do the best work at the best price, but who have the right colors in the ownership mix. 

But some companies told the NAACP to get lost...to go play in the traffic.  The biggest one was Target, the retailer.  A spokesman for the company said they put the NAACP's survey in file 13 "because Target views diversity as being inclusive of all people from all different backgrounds, not just one group."  Well NAACP Head Race Pimp Bruce Gordon didn't like their response.  So he's calling on his members to boycott Target stores.  Same old NAACP.  Hire and grant contracts based on race, not based on capability.

However, his address wasn't all bad.  He said people of color  should end their "victim-like thinking," be responsible and take advantage of opportunities out there.  In other words, stop relying on handouts.  But Gordon is talking out of both corners of his mouth.  On the one hand, black people should be self-reliant and be victims and ask for special treatment, but at the same time he's pressuring big companies to fill quotas?  That's an interesting position.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  At least he got the point in there about the victim-like thinking, so there may still be hope.  But I doubt it.

ANOTHER VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS

Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana is often reported to be a contender for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination.  It'll probably never happen, because Bayh is a mainstream Democrat...a middle of the road politician along the lines of Joe Lieberman.  And just like Lieberman, the leftist leadership in his party doesn't care one bit about what he has to say.

But they should listen.  Bayh came out yesterday in a speech yesterday and gave his perspective on why the Democrats have been out of power so long.  Said the Senator: "We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class, but too many middle-class Americans no longer consider us their party.  They have left the Democratic Party in droves - costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections. If we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well, and we must not let that happen."  Right on.

But he will be ignored. What he thinks doesn't matter to the Democratic Party of today.  With leaders like Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate, there is absolutely zero tolerance for any thoughts on pursuing a moderate strategy.  The anti-war left has taken over the Democratic Party and controls its primary process.  Evan Bayh has about as much chance of winning his party's nomination in 2008 as Joe Lieberman does.

The ultra-leftist Democratic primary voters would never vote for a candidate that was the least bit conservative.  So guys like Evan Bayh don't have a chance nationally.  And that's too bad, because he's right.

AND SOME SAMPLINGS FROM YESTERDAY'S EMAIL

With what is going on in the Middle East today, can you imagine what would happen if Saddam was still in power.  He would be joining Iran, Syria and others.  So, to those who have said it would have been better to have left Saddam in power, it would be much worse!      

New vacation policy:  Neal Boortz and James Taranto (WSJ Online's Best of the Web) can simply no longer be allowed to take vacations the same week.  I can barely last a week without one.  Take both away and I am completely devastated.  Much like the nuclear launch codes, someone has to be available at all times.  It is a national imperative.       

Mr.Bootz,as a sometime listener to your show I was already a fan of the Fair Tax concept.However on a recent long car trip I read your book on the subject.Never have I been so riveted by a book! I have become passionate on the matter and am speaking to anyone who will listen about the possibility of eliminating income tax.I finally feel that I can dicuss this important issue with some actual knowledge.Thanks for the enlightenment.Sincerely,Nancy Simms  

AVIATION TIP OF THE DAY

"If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter -- and therefore, unsafe."

And here's today's story about anti-airport "activists" at work around the country.  CRAAP.  This anti-airport character is about as knowledgeable as our local variety here in Atlanta.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

Aww, they're so cute when they're young. More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

We now have some interesting insight into how President Bush communicates with world leaders. Here's a story that features the S--t comment and also 'Yo Blair' in addressing British Prime Minister Tony Blair.  Also, in case you haven't seen it already, here is a video of the exchange.

The former head of the CIA during the Clinton Administration has a solution for the goings-on in the Middle East right now: he says it's time to bomb Iran and Syria.  He says those countries think we're cowards and its time to update their perception of America.

'Bias' author Bernard Goldberg doesn't seem to be a fan of Ann Coulter's.  So much so that he considered adding an entry for her in the paperback version of  '100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.'  He takes issue over the 9/11 widow business.

Jack Kelly is worried that Israel won't drop the hammer in their war with Hezbollah. He says Ehud Olmert should take advantage of the opportunity to send in a ground assault to Hezbollah's territory and clean house.

Here is a transcript of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's address to the Knesset (Israeli parliament, for those of you sweating out the summer in government schools.)

Condoleezza Rice says what is happening with Israel has nothing to do with Iraq.  George Will agrees, to a point, but as a critic of the war in Iraq, he says the Bush Administration is learning a valuable lesson.

Dennis Prager says the Middle East conflict all comes down to one explanation: other Muslim countries want Israel destroyed.  Past that, he says everything else is window dressing.  Good reading, especially for people looking for a quick explanation of the conflict.

The New York Times is downplaying the threat against Israel and is...what else...blaming President Bush for it.  David Limbaugh tells us the Times editorial page is now so far to the left, it's lacking common sense.

The media seems to be ignoring the fact that Israel is on the right side in the Middle Eastern conflict and they weren't the ones that started it.  But as Thomas Sowell explains, that's not how it's being covered in the press.

Jack Kemp is firing a warning shot inside the Republican Party.  He says it's time to address the issue of illegal immigration and soon.  Otherwise, voters will do it for them come November.

Here's the $1/pixel website Neal was talking about.

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