MO sales tax holiday offers ‘Christmas in August’
The back-to-school sales tax holiday, which continues through today, made shopping for school supplies and clothing a little less aggravating for Anthony Conaway and his two children, Victoria and Andrew. On Saturday, they zipped from Walmart to the Staples outlet at Zona Rosa shopping center, where the receipt stretched longer than Andrew’s arm but excluded about $6 in sales taxes. Does it matter to them that Dad need not pay the 8.975 percent in taxes that otherwise would apply? “It matters to me,” said Victoria, a sixth-grader, “because then I can get more school clothes.” “We drove across the border from Kansas” to get in on Missouri’s tax holiday, he said. “Everybody likes to save a little.” Missouri’s 4.225 percent sales tax is being lifted statewide on personal computers not exceeding $3,500, clothes not exceeding $100 per article, education-related software and school supplies. For Zona Rosa shoppers, municipal and county sales taxes also are taking a weekend break. “We joke about it being Christmas in August,” said Zona Rosa general manager Rosemary Salerno, noting that some Missouri taxing jurisdictions are refusing to join the fun. “We’re anticipating 90,000 to 100,000 shoppers for the weekend.”

Fairway Considers Big Tax Hike/City Votes Thursday
A budget shortfall has the city of Fairway considering a significant bump to property taxes. The city is facing a $495,000 budget shortfall. Spending cuts could make up $164,000 of the shortfall. But city leaders are exploring about a 50 percent hike in taxes. The city council is voting on this Thursday, August 12th so show up in support against this huge tax increase!

Shawnee Mission School Board to Raise Taxes
Property owners in the Shawnee Mission USD 512 are likely to see their taxes rise slightly this year to fund public schools. The proposed 2010-2011 budget calls for a 1.86 mill increase in the district’s property tax levy.

Godsey on KCMO Earnings Tax
In spite of opposition from elected officials and unions, Missouri voters will decide in November whether citizens of Kansas City and St. Louis can eliminate their local earnings tax. The 1 percent tax is collected from everyone who works in these cities. It generates 40 percent of Kansas City's general fund, and shifts a large portion of the tax burden to people who don't live or vote here. If passed, the initiative would require that each city hold a referendum in 2011, and every five years thereafter, allowing citizens to decide whether to continue the tax. It would not end the tax abruptly, but would phase it out over 10 years. Officials claim that removal of the tax would increase other taxes. But they haven't explained why suburbanites who work in the city should pay this tax, when they have no say about how it is spent or whether it should be continued. That's un-American. It's the reason the tax is so wrong.

You paid for trip to Spain without visiting
A quiet holiday in a lavish Mediterranean retreat for the first lady and her daughter has turned into a bit of a headache for a White House trying to battle bad economic news at home. The WH indicated this was a private trip and not related to any State Department issues.

Radical Islam's conquest of America
America is surrendering in the war against radical Islam. This is the real meaning behind the decision to build a 13-story mosque and Mus- lim cultural center 600 feet from the site of ground zero. A New York City panel gave the green light Tuesday for the project - despite intense resistance from many families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most New Yorkers and Americans do not want this mosque erected: It will be a symbolic monument to the triumph of Islamism in the United States.

Brownback Votes against Elena Kagan Nomination
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today voted against the nomination of Elena Kagan to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. “I have too many questions about Elena Kagan’s judicial philosophy to permit me to support her nomination to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States,” said Brownback. “A nominee's judicial philosophy is a key concern at the heart of the Supreme Court confirmation process. This concern is especially pertinent now in light of the more activist role the Court has taken in recent years.”

Jerry Moran Election Victory Speech
Late on Tuesday, August 3rd 2010, Congressman Jerry Moran accepted the GOP nomination to become Kansas' next U.S. Senator. Moran defeated Congressman Todd Tiahrt 50%-45% in a close election for the Senate primary election.

Kansas primary legislative elections 2010
Here’s a look at the August 3, 2010 Kansas primary election contests that had the possibility of changing the character of the Kansas House of Representatives, and in one case, the Kansas Senate. A Kansas Chamber of Commerce endorsement is a reliable measure of a candidate’s conservative credentials from a fiscal perspective. The Kansas Economic Freedom Index and AFP legislative scorecards provide additional insight into legislators and their voting records. Here are races where there may be a shift in the makeup of the House, sometimes depending on the results of the November general election.

Senate Confirms Political Hack as KS US Attorney
President Barack Obama in April nominated Grissom, who was recommended by Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson and Rep. Dennis Moore, both Democrats. Grissom was legal counsel for Moore’s 1998 and 2000 campaigns and served on the committee for a major fundraiser in 2007 for Obama in Kansas City, Mo. Grissom was vacationing in California on Friday morning when he got word that he had been confirmed. He said no date has been set to assume his new position. Grissom graduated from Kansas University in 1977 and the Oklahoma City University law school in 1981. He opened a general law practice in 1983, handling criminal and civil cases, before narrowing the focus of his firm to handling discrimination claims under the Civil Rights Act. In 1995, Grissom wrote a letter to The Kansas City Star urging conservative talk show hosts to re-examine their programs, noting that they “provide a fertile environment which fosters intolerance, disrespect and ultimately, hatred.”

Footnote gave us Anchor Babies not 14th Amendment
Democrats act as if the right to run across the border when you're 8 1/2 months pregnant, give birth in a U.S. hospital and then immediately start collecting welfare was exactly what our forebears had in mind, a sacred constitutional right, as old as the 14th Amendment itself. The louder liberals talk about some ancient constitutional right, the surer you should be that it was invented in the last few decades. In fact, this alleged right derives only from a footnote slyly slipped into a Supreme Court opinion by Justice Brennan in 1982. You might say it snuck in when no one was looking, and now we have to let it stay.

Brooklyn’s Move Toward Transit Privatization
Facing the unsustainable cost of its public transportation system, Brooklyn recently slashed several bus routes from its MTA service. Unsatisfied with the gap left in its public services, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission discretely approved a new partnership with local van operators. Under the pilot plan, so-called "dollar vans" would operate on recently closed routes, picking up commuters at designated stops. While some van operators are skeptical of this requirement, Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky is confident that businesses will seize the opportunity: If they can make money transporting people, they will do it. Our market research tells us that there are providers willing and eager to serve the market.

Obama booed at the Boy Scout national jamboree
Even the Boy Scouts have had enough of Barack Hussein Obama, umm, umm, umm!

Feds cite KC’s Beacon Hill development a failure
Federal housing authorities said Kansas City’s Beacon Hill project has failed to meet national housing objectives, which could ultimately cost the city $13 million. City housing officials said Friday they were not overly concerned.

Oakland Police: No Money to Respond to Crime
The city of Oakland, Calif., has laid off over 10 percent of its police force after failing to negotiate a settlement with the police union — whose members earn an average compensation of $162,000 a year. As the result of the loss of 80 police officers, Oakland’s police chief says cops will no longer respond to 44 categories of crimes, including grand theft.

New Chinese Ballistic Missile a Real Threat
The Chinese regime, in recent years, has been against the US's presence in the South China Sea, Yellow Sea, and the East Sea. While the missile might not be a complete game-changer in the Pacific, it could be detrimental to the US collective psyche of being able to travel anywhere using aircraft carriers. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year said a missile such as the Dong Feng 21D has the “ability to disrupt [America's] freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options.” Reports say that the Dong Feng 21D is small and inexpensive to produce.

Cardinal Ratzinger Offered to Resign at Age 70
We never know what God will call us to next. Cardinal Ratzinger at the time asked to resign in 1997 so that he could be the archivist and librarian of the Vatican Library. He had no desire to be the next pope. Pope Benedict XVI said, “In his providential design the Lord had other plans for me and here I am with you today, not as a passionate scholar of ancient texts but rather as a Pastor who is required to encourage all the faithful to cooperate in the world's salvation, each one doing God's will wherever God places us to work".

Delores Hart Left Hollywood for Jesus
Delores Hart not only left Hollywood but left her fiancee because of her love for Jesus. She was called the next,"Grace Kelly". Dolores Hart made her debut in Hollywood alongside Elvis Presley in Loving You. Since 1963, she's inhabited a very different world. She caused a sensation when she became a cloistered nun at the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn. Mother Dolores as she is called now became prioress in May 2001.

Christian Charity to Stay in Afghan Despite Murders
A Christian charity said Monday it had no plans to leave Afghanistan despite the brutal murders last week of 10 members of its medical aid team, six of them Americans. During a press conference Monday, Dirk Frans, the director of the International Assistance Mission that organized the trip, insisted that conversion was not the aim of the trip and that the Afghan government had given them permission to treat Afghans in the area.

Florida Store Clerk Invokes Jesus to Foil Robbery
It was one of the most gentle, remorseful and respectful attempted robberies ever. A soft-spoken young woman working in a Florida cell phone store talked an apologetic, nervous bandit out of emptying her cash drawer by announcing she wanted to talk about God, the Miami Herald reported Friday.

Devil Worshipers Steal Consecrated Hosts
Parishioners at St. Rose of Lima parish in Carbondale, Pennsylvania are in shock after learning that someone broke into their church for the sole purpose of stealing a ciborium full of consecrated hosts. The thief opened the tabernacle on the altar and removed the chalice containing consecrated hosts. It was the only thing taken. While it has little monetary value, the Monsignor said, whoever took it was well aware of its spiritual significance.

Atheist Gives N.Y. Catholic Schools $5.6 Million
Most of what the Catholic schools teach are the three Rs, said Wilson, 83, in a phone interview, referring to reading, writing and arithmetic. And they do it better than the union-controlled inner-city schools. Wilson¹s philanthropy produced an unlikely friendship with Cardinal Egan. Both are opera and classical music buffs. I¹ve told him I look forward to the day when you¹ll say that you¹re not an atheist, Egan said. He said, And if you succeed, you¹d be out of a job.

Youth More Loyal to Religion than Boomers
Younger Americans, between the ages of 36 to 50, are more likely to be loyal to religion than Baby Boomers, according to new research. Philip Schwadel, of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the trend "is good news for those who worry about declining religious adherence."

Reflecting on God Reduces Anxiety For Believers
Thinking about your faith in God may make you less upset about making mistakes, according to a new study published in Psychological Science. The findings of this study concur with previous research that has shown that religious belief benefits everything from longevity to child rearing.

HHS: Make Obamacare Gay-Inclusive
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a funding announcement encouraging the Personal Responsibility and Education Program (PREP) to "consider the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth" and to be inclusive of such participants. The program is explicitly prohibited from giving funds to abstinence-only education.

Nancy Pelosi Can't Say if Jesus Had the Right to Life
Earlier this year, Pelosi said she has an obligation to pursue public policy “in keeping with the values” of Jesus. Yet, asked by a CNS News reporter whether Jesus had the right to life, Pelosi couldn't agree. The reporter continued: "So, when was the Word made flesh? Was it at the Annunciation, when Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Sprit, as the Creed says, or was it at the Nativity when he was born of the Virgin Mary? And when did the Word get the right to life?”

Sears: Where America shops for Porn?
Are sales so bad that Sears is resorting to selling pornographic posters on-line? The poster images are graphic and highlighted by the theme: "Safe sex is hot sex."

Eggsploitation
A documentary film produced by The Center for Bioethics and Culture (Lines That Divide, 2009), Eggsploitation spotlights the booming business of human eggs told through the tragic and revealing stories of real women who became involved and whose lives have been changed forever. The documentary also exposes the "deceptive advertising" utilized by the infertility industry, and it reveals the information kept away from the women.

How to Win Rock, Paper, Scissors Every Time
There are actual tournaments for Rock-paper-scissors, sanctioned by the World Rock Paper Scissors Society. $50k is given to the winner. Rock-paper-scissors isn't just a silly game kids play or a way to decide who will be the designated driver at parties. This is serious stuff. It's psychological warfare.

Top "Star Trek" Tech that Actually Came True
Some of the ideas that seemed far-fetched when the show debuted in 1966 have become a reality. In this article, the top 10 technologies are featured from Star Trek that actually did come to fruition, listed in no particular order. Some of them may surprise you.

Falling Star: Against Mosque you’re a simpleton
Now comes word of a massive construction project to be located a mere two blocks from Ground Zero — a $100 million, 13-story Islamic cultural center and mosque. Not the sort of phoenix rising anyone anticipated. That some would see the proposal as a slap is understandable, up to a point. That sentiment stems from the simplest of thinking, an inability to distinguish Islamist terrorism from Islam itself. I believe America needs to grit its teeth and let the center be built.

Gospel of St. John 12: 24-26
24 Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 25 it remains alone. But if it dies, it yields much fruit. Whoever loves his life, will lose it. And whoever hates his life in this world, preserves it unto eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. And where I am, there too my minister shall be. If anyone has served me, my Father will honor him.

With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off. I think it's going to be later—much later. Here's why.

Meet Sally (not her real name; details changed to preserve privacy). Sally is a terrific employee, and she happens to be the median person in terms of base pay among the 83 people at my little company in New Jersey, where we provide audio systems for use in educational, commercial and industrial settings. She's been with us for over 15 years. She's a high school graduate with some specialized training. She makes $59,000 a year—on paper. In reality, she makes only $44,000 a year because $15,000 is taken from her thanks to various deductions and taxes, all of which form the steep, sad slope between gross and net pay.

Before that money hits her bank, it is reduced by the $2,376 she pays as her share of the medical and dental insurance that my company provides. And then the government takes its due. She pays $126 for state unemployment insurance, $149 for disability insurance and $856 for Medicare. That's the small stuff. New Jersey takes $1,893 in income taxes. The federal government gets $3,661 for Social Security and another $6,250 for income tax withholding. The roughly $13,000 taken from her by various government entities means that some 22% of her gross pay goes to Washington or Trenton. She's lucky she doesn't live in New York City, where the toll would be even higher.

Employing Sally costs plenty too. My company has to write checks for $74,000 so Sally can receive her nominal $59,000 in base pay. Health insurance is a big, added cost: While Sally pays nearly $2,400 for coverage, my company pays the rest—$9,561 for employee/spouse medical and dental. We also provide company-paid life and other insurance premiums amounting to $153. Altogether, company-paid benefits add $9,714 to the cost of employing Sally.

Then the federal and state governments want a little something extra. They take $56 for federal unemployment coverage, $149 for disability insurance, $300 for workers' comp and $505 for state unemployment insurance. Finally, the feds make me pay $856 for Sally's Medicare and $3,661 for her Social Security.

When you add it all up, it costs $74,000 to put $44,000 in Sally's pocket and to give her $12,000 in benefits. Bottom line: Governments impose a 33% surtax on Sally's job each year.

Because my company has been conscripted by the government and forced to serve as a tax collector, we have lost control of a big chunk of our cost structure. Tax increases, whether cloaked as changes in unemployment or disability insurance, Medicare increases or in any other form can dramatically alter our financial situation. With government spending and deficits growing as fast as they have been, you know that more tax increases are coming—for my company, and even for Sally too.

Companies have also been pressed into serving as providers of health insurance. In a saner world, health insurance would be something that individuals buy for themselves and their families, just as they do with auto insurance. Now, adding to the insanity, there is ObamaCare.

Every year, we negotiate a renewal to our health coverage. This year, our provider demanded a 28% increase in premiums—for a lesser plan. This is in part a tax increase that the federal government has co-opted insurance providers to collect. We had never faced an increase anywhere near this large; in each of the last two years, the increase was under 10%.

To offset tax increases and steepening rises in health-insurance premiums, my company needs sustainably higher profits and sales—something unlikely in this "summer of recovery." We can't pass the additional costs onto our customers, because the market is too tight and we'd lose sales. Only governments can raise prices repeatedly and pretend there will be no consequences.

And even if the economic outlook were more encouraging, increasing revenues is always uncertain and expensive. As much as I might want to hire new salespeople, engineers and marketing staff in an effort to grow, I would be increasing my company's vulnerability to government decisions to raise taxes, to policies that make health insurance more expensive, and to the difficulties of this economic environment.

A life in business is filled with uncertainties, but I can be quite sure that every time I hire someone my obligations to the government go up. From where I sit, the government's message is unmistakable: Creating a new job carries a punishing price.

Mr. Fleischer is president of Bogen Communications Inc. in Ramsey, N.J.