Cal Thomas
WASHINGTON Thanks to the beneficence of the Internal Revenue Service and the fallout from COVID-19 we half of Americans who pay federal income taxes have been given until May 17 to file.
Since I began earning enough to file Form 1040 and associated forms, I have only known one person who prepared his own taxes. That was Bill Archer, a Texas Republican who formerly headed the House Ways and Means Committee. I once asked Archer why he prepared his. His reply was that not only did he think it was fun, but because he helped write the tax code, he felt a responsibility to demonstrate competence in filling out the forms.
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Cal Thomas
Tribune Content Agency
Signs have been a part of Middle East lore dating back to biblical times. People in the region take them seriously, which is why the signs emanating from the Biden administration are having serious ramifications.
Recent rioting on the Temple Mount and rocket attacks on Jerusalem and other civilian areas from Hamas bases in Gaza signal that statements and actions (and inactions) by the Biden administration are creating a political vacuum that terrorists and dictators are eager to fill.
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Cal Thomas
Tribune Content Agency
Thanks to the beneficence of the Internal Revenue Service and the fallout from COVID-19 we half of Americans who pay federal income taxes have been given until May 17 to file.
Since I began earning enough to file Form 1040 and associated forms, I have only known one person who prepared his own taxes. That was Bill Archer, a Texas Republican who formerly headed the House Ways and Means Committee. I once asked Archer why he prepared his. His reply was that not only did he think it was fun, but because he helped write the tax code, he felt a responsibility to demonstrate competence in filling out the forms.
Cal Thomas
WASHINGTON The Central Intelligence Agency is always looking to recruit new agents and advertising is one way it has done so in the past. The difference this time is in a newly created series of recruitment videos that reflect the spirit of the age in which we live, rather than appealing to abilities and patriotism.
The videos seem to suggest that the super-secret agency has been infiltrated, not by spies from Russia, China, or al-Qaida, but rather a subtler and nearly invisible enemy.
That would be the infiltration by woke liberals, whose primary goal appears to be the undermining of every tradition and institution from Disneyland’s Snow White ride (the famous kiss scene by the Prince has been deemed sexually aggressive because Ms. White is unconscious and cannot give consent, so it will be re-imagined) to America’s foremost intelligence agency.
Cal Thomas
WASHINGTON The contrast between President Biden’s first address to Congress last Wednesday night and the Republican response delivered by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) reminded me of another occasion between one long-winded and another profound speaker.
It was 1863 and the nationally known orator Edward Everett was the featured speaker in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the soldiers who had died during that terrible battle.
Everett’s speech was 1,607 words and lasted two hours. He was followed by President Abraham Lincoln, whose far more famous address, once memorized by schoolchildren as “The Gettysburg Address,” was 275 words and took a mere two minutes.