Help The NObama Sticky Note Campaign Go Viral!

Here's how to get the campaign started in your own neighborhood. It takes very little effort, it costs almost nothing, and, most important of all, it helps other beleaguered members of the public to realize that they are no longer alone.



YourDaddy's Politics: The Sticky Note Campaign Hits Georgia Supermarkets

The Sticky Note Campaign is making deliveries in Georgia Supermarkets now. Super-Charged with Conservative ideals REAL Americans all over the country and even an awakened Democrat or two are now participating in this grass roots initiative. It's not a partisan issue either; no one can afford these rising prices at the gas pump or the grocery store.



I just realized that I need to order more FREE PRE-PRINTED Sticky notes from the Koch Brothers - gotta go now.



Be sure take pictures of your STICKY NOTES, upload them to your Facebook, TAG all your friends in the pics and then also be sure to share them with the event page.







Join the Official FaceBook Event by clicking here.



See the original photos at this FaceBook Gallery.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS-ni1hYf3w



See it all here.

RedState: It’s fun. It’s easy. It’s cheap. Join the Sticky Note Campaign!

Here’s something we all can do — and all you need is some Post-It notes!



















A Facebook page has been set up for this campaign. The people behind it are encouraging people to send in photos of their own like the ones above.



To borrow a line from an old leftie, “…and, friends, they’ll think it’s a movement!”



By the way, I like the emphasis on food and gasoline, since the official Consumer Price Index does not include — are you ready for this? — food and energy!

Grocery prices increased 6.5% in March from early January, an annualized increase of 26%, according to a report from Consumer Growth Partners. The group called the rise the “sharpest in a generation.”



…A 25% increase in gasoline prices this year combines with higher food costs to take $18 billion out of monthly household spending on discretionary items… Consumer Growth said in its report, which compiles data from Target, Walmart and Aldi stores in four U.S. states.

No word on whether the price of sticky notes has gone up significantly. If we all do our part, however, demand should skyrocket!



Hat tip: Doug Ross / Cross-posted

Read the rest here.

Getting Started

• Get some sticky notes, either regular or "Super Sticky," in whatever color you like. 3"x3" is the best size for this purpose.
• Bring something to write with that won't run if it gets wet, such as an ordinary ballpoint pen, a Sharpie marker (the new retractable felt-tip is easier to carry), or even a pencil.
• After posting each note, use your cellphone or a pocket camera to snap a photo of it before you leave.
• If you have a Facebook account, please upload the photos to the Facebook event page as explained above.

Optional: Ordering Preprinted Sticky Notes

• You can create your image ahead of time using your own graphic program (e.g., Photoshop or GIMP) and your own fonts. For an image that will be printed on a 3"x3" notepad, the original should be 900x900 pixels or larger. Alternatively, you can draw your art with black ink on white paper and scan the image at 300dpi or greater. Save the result in .png format.
• If you are not equipped to create your own digital image, you can often use the design software provided by the print shop or office supply retailer to create your image. They can also scan and upload your artwork from paper if you don't have access to a scanner.
• You may want to get together with your friends and fellow political activists to share the expense of ordering sticky note pads with several different messages.
• A less expensive alternative is to order a self-inking rubber stamp with an image that will fit on a sticky note.
• Sample sticky-note images created by 1389AD are shown below. Feel free to print from them, distribute them to others, and so forth, without restriction.

Click each image to get free high-resolution reproducible art.



Sticky Note Campaign - Yes We Can

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTp4H9nlboI



Sticky Note Campaign - Can't Afford Gas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBpDzGJBIt8

Uploaded by KingSmokeRing on Apr 30, 2011



****** "America's GAS-ROOTS movement"! ******



visit https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197324990309059



Purchase a pad of large sticky notes. Write on each one, "How's that Hope & Change working out for you?" Every time you stop to fill your vehicle with gas, place your sticky note somewhere on the pump before you drive away. DO NOT be destructive in ANY way! Place your sticky note somewhere, so as not to impede the next customer's ability to read the pump's digital readout.



After placing your sticky note, please consider taking a digital picture, then uploading it to our wall. Please tell us in which city and state the picture was taken. This is meant to be a "quiet" protest by our silent majority of Americans, to be served upon this administration!! Thank you all for your support!

Also see:

• Ten Rules for Liberty Guerillas
• Gas Pump Activism: Print This Poster!

---

Originally published on 1389 Blog.

---

Help The NObama Sticky Note Campaign Go Viral!

Here's how to get the campaign started in your own neighborhood. It takes very little effort, it costs almost nothing, and, most important of all, it helps other beleaguered members of the public to realize that they are no longer alone.

YourDaddy's Politics: The Sticky Note Campaign Hits Georgia Supermarkets

The Sticky Note Campaign is making deliveries in Georgia Supermarkets now. Super-Charged with Conservative ideals REAL Americans all over the country and even an awakened Democrat or two are now participating in this grass roots initiative. It's not a partisan issue either; no one can afford these rising prices at the gas pump or the grocery store.

I just realized that I need to order more FREE PRE-PRINTED Sticky notes from the Koch Brothers - gotta go now.

Be sure take pictures of your STICKY NOTES, upload them to your Facebook, TAG all your friends in the pics and then also be sure to share them with the event page.

Join the Official FaceBook Event by clicking here.

See the original photos at this FaceBook Gallery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS-ni1hYf3w

See it all here.

RedState: It’s fun. It’s easy. It’s cheap. Join the Sticky Note Campaign!

Here’s something we all can do — and all you need is some Post-It notes!









A Facebook page has been set up for this campaign. The people behind it are encouraging people to send in photos of their own like the ones above.

To borrow a line from an old leftie, “…and, friends, they’ll think it’s a movement!”

By the way, I like the emphasis on food and gasoline, since the official Consumer Price Index does not include — are you ready for this? — food and energy!

Grocery prices increased 6.5% in March from early January, an annualized increase of 26%, according to a report from Consumer Growth Partners. The group called the rise the “sharpest in a generation.”

…A 25% increase in gasoline prices this year combines with higher food costs to take $18 billion out of monthly household spending on discretionary items… Consumer Growth said in its report, which compiles data from Target, Walmart and Aldi stores in four U.S. states.

No word on whether the price of sticky notes has gone up significantly. If we all do our part, however, demand should skyrocket!

Hat tip: Doug Ross / Cross-posted
Read the rest here.

Getting Started

• Get some sticky notes, either regular or "Super Sticky," in whatever color you like. 3"x3" is the best size for this purpose.
• Bring something to write with that won't run if it gets wet, such as an ordinary ballpoint pen, a Sharpie marker (the new retractable felt-tip is easier to carry), or even a pencil.
• After posting each note, use your cellphone or a pocket camera to snap a photo of it before you leave.
• If you have a Facebook account, please upload the photos to the Facebook event page as explained above.

Optional: Ordering Preprinted Sticky Notes

• You can create your image ahead of time using your own graphic program (e.g., Photoshop or GIMP) and your own fonts. For an image that will be printed on a 3"x3" notepad, the original should be 900x900 pixels or larger. Alternatively, you can draw your art with black ink on white paper and scan the image at 300dpi or greater. Save the result in .png format.
• If you are not equipped to create your own digital image, you can often use the design software provided by the print shop or office supply retailer to create your image. They can also scan and upload your artwork from paper if you don't have access to a scanner.
• You may want to get together with your friends and fellow political activists to share the expense of ordering sticky note pads with several different messages.
• A less expensive alternative is to order a self-inking rubber stamp with an image that will fit on a sticky note.
• Sample sticky-note images created by 1389AD are shown below. Feel free to print from them, distribute them to others, and so forth, without restriction.

Click each image to get free high-resolution reproducible art.

Sticky Note Campaign - Yes We Can

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTp4H9nlboI

Sticky Note Campaign - Can't Afford Gas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBpDzGJBIt8

Uploaded by KingSmokeRing on Apr 30, 2011

****** "America's GAS-ROOTS movement"! ******

visit https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197324990309059

Purchase a pad of large sticky notes. Write on each one, "How's that Hope & Change working out for you?" Every time you stop to fill your vehicle with gas, place your sticky note somewhere on the pump before you drive away. DO NOT be destructive in ANY way! Place your sticky note somewhere, so as not to impede the next customer's ability to read the pump's digital readout.

After placing your sticky note, please consider taking a digital picture, then uploading it to our wall. Please tell us in which city and state the picture was taken. This is meant to be a "quiet" protest by our silent majority of Americans, to be served upon this administration!! Thank you all for your support!

Also see:

• Ten Rules for Liberty Guerillas
• Gas Pump Activism: Print This Poster!

---

Originally published on 1389 Blog.

---

Another reason why I am not on Facebook

Don't look for me on Facebook. I've never joined it - neither under my real name, nor under my usual nom de guerre, nor under any other pseudonym. There is no security on Facebook, because the people who run it do not respect their users.

• Feds, teachers to stalk your kids on Facebook now
• Fed instructs teachers to Facebook-creep students

---

Why the Voting Rights Act must be repealed

At Justice, it just keeps getting worse

Pointed Gestures

You're disgusted with Obama's nonsensical televised blatherings, you're too frugal to hurl a well-deserved shoe through the screen, but you still need to express yourself?

Me too.

I will refrain from causing more annoyance by discussing Obozo's latest helping of hogwash. Instead, I offer this:

Pleated Jeans: The Angry Traveler's Guide to Obscene Gestures



Click to see the full-size illustration, plus the comments.

The same gesture means different things in different places!



Videos:

How To Swear In American Sign Language

Taboo Words in American Sign Language v2.0

Note: I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy (or otherwise) of the signs shown above.

Also see:

• Foreign Fingers offers another illustrated take on rude gestures in foreign countries.
• Wikipedia's list of gestures, while by no means exhaustive, covers benign as well as insulting gestures.
• Body Language gives an exhaustive, and very useful, treatment of body language, including hand gestures.

---

Michelle Obama's Patient-Dumping Scheme

Link: American Thinker

Another states' rights issue

Republicans plan to challenge Obama's reversal of Bush wilderness policy

TSA Naked Scan and Crotch Grope: Draw the Line Against Government Intrusion

Modesty, bodily privacy, and human dignity...

The international press and the blogosphere has been full of news items about banning the burqa in various European countries. (Phyllis Chesler offers many strong arguments in favor of banning the burqa.) This is part of the ongoing controversies regarding shari'a law and Muslim demands for the veiling, isolation, and abuse of women under the pretexts of honor, shame, and "modesty."

Such intrusive demands for us to change our ways to accommodate Muslim gender apartheid have nothing to do with modesty as we know it in a society founded upon Judaeo-Christian principles. In fact, the Muslim idea of "modesty" is the very antithesis of ours.

For Muslims, veiling the female body to the point of anonymity with the chador, the niqab, or the burqa, becomes a denial of human dignity and a denial of the equal value of men and women in the eyes of our Creator.

For us, decent clothing for all people - including men, women, and children - is a basic requirement of human dignity. Rabbi Daniel Lapin recently appeared on the Glenn Beck show, where he said that, according to the Torah, clothing the naked is an even more meritorious deed than feeding the hungry, because clothing is essential to human dignity.

...versus totalitarianism

The news is also filled with controversy about the recent TSA "naked body scan" and "crotch grope" policies for passengers boarding aircraft in US airports.

I should not need to remind our misguided policymakers that, even in athletic venues such as the gym and the beach, practicing Christians and Jews of both sexes and all ages cover the buttocks and genitalia, and females of all ages cover the chest. This, of course, is the minimum; in other venues, we cover a larger portion of our bodies, dressing in whatever manner is appropriate for the circumstances. We do this to preserve our own dignity as human beings created in the Lord's own image, and to avoid distracting others with inappropriate temptations.

Despite the recent policies of the TSA, we consider staring at, touching, or groping the private parts of a stranger to be taboo. It is also taboo to peep at, or photograph, a stranger in the nude or even in his or her undergarments. If a private citizen did such things, he or she would end up in prison, and rightly so. Government employees should be under the same rules as the rest of us.

Stripping an unwilling person of his or her clothing, as is commonly done with prisoners, is a deep insult that is intended to shame and dehumanize. The person stripped naked is exposed to ridicule and abuse, and has lost control of his or her fate. Even though I suppose someone will invoke Godwin's Law, I cannot help but be reminded of the naked prisoners in concentration camp photos from the Third Reich. Yes, there is such a thing as a slippery slope, in which we allow our government to get out of control and to become totalitarian. This is a path that we must never take.

Airline boycott?

Rep. Ron Paul has recently complained of having been repeatedly groped in a "disgusting" manner while flying on official state business, on account of the fact that he has metal in his knees. He rightly points out that this is unconstitutional. He recommends that, whenever we can, we use other means of transportation and not fly on commercial aircraft until this intrusive nude scan/crotch grope policy is discontinued. He also favors a national "opt out" day. Even though readers of this blog, including myself, strongly disagree with Ron Paul on many other things, on this particular point I concur that he is right in saying that the current TSA procedures are an unacceptable governmental intrusion into our personal modesty and dignity and our Constitutional rights.

I recognize that the current scan-and-grope TSA policy is the fault of the Obama Administration and not of the airlines. While that is true, at this point, the only effective way we have of making our anger known to the government is to refuse to participate in their totalitarian activities. Wherever possible, I plan to use other means of transportation that are not yet under this level of government intrusion.

---

All major countries but the US are moving in the right direction

The Hill: U.S. isolated on spending at G-20

By Ian Swanson - 06/23/10 08:34 PM ET

The U.S. will be isolated at the G-20 summit on the subject of stimulus spending.

In the days ahead of this weekend’s summit, President Barack Obama and his economic team have pressed Europe and Congress alike on the need for more spending to drive economic growth.

But huge gaps have emerged between the Obama administration and allies in Europe.

Germany, France and Great Britain have all launched austerity campaigns designed to reduce public debt. They’re motivated in part by the Greek debt crisis, which continues to scare countries across Europe.

“In the run-up to the summit, a clear plurality of G-20 countries has come up on the side of fiscal consolidation and not stimulus spending,” said Dan Price, a senior partner at Sidley Austin and former President George W. Bush’s “sherpa” for G-20 summits.

Japan has also introduced a strategy to reduce its budget deficit, while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is hosting the summit in Toronto, has challenged G-20 members to cut their deficits in half.

The motivation for the Obama administration is different. In less than five months, voters will elect a new House and Senate, and Democrats are in danger of losing their majority in the House.

Higher unemployment figures this summer will hurt the Democratic case this fall, which makes it tougher to argue against spending that could increase employment.

So much for the fools who insist that the US is "the last fortress standing."

We're the ones who are trying to bring everybody else down!

Code Pink, Jodie Evans, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn Helped Found Phony "Aid" Mission to Gaza

Big Government: Obama Funder Jodie Evans Provokes Crisis in Egypt Over ‘Hamas-Aid’ Event, Obama Pals Ayers and Dohrn in Cairo with Code Pink

Coming soon to a location near YOU...

Western Rifle Shooters: Lessons from Lithuania, Part I

The EU will come apart, and so will the US

Dick Morris: The European Union Will Come Apart

Click here to read the article. Decide for yourself whether you believe that Dick Morris is correct.

I believe that he is, and that the same applies to the US.

I am old enough to remember the "Common Market" - which I understood to be a set of free trade agreements to promote peaceful relations and economic development. I didn't see any problem with that, and still don't. But for reasons of political ambition, it evolved over time to become something quite different, namely the EU. That was a bad idea from the get-go. The insistence upon a common set of laws and regulations, a centralized bureaucracy, and a common currency, has worked out to be a disaster for individual liberties, a stranglehold on small businesses, a threat to regional and national identity and culture, and an open doorway for jihadis, not to mention a financial drain not merely on Germany, but also on the US.

The US is going through much the same thing with profligate spending in Washington DC and in many of the States, and as with Greece, it's all about too many people on the government payroll, along with overly generous wages, benefits, and pensions for government workers at the federal, state, and local levels. They can't afford it and they go into debt to pay for it. The Obama administration wants to bail out those states and localities, in order to pay off the teachers' unions and the SEIU for helping to get Obama elected. We obviously can't afford it either, and if we can't stop spending money that we don't have, this type of wastefulness will end up causing the bankruptcy and most likely the eventual breakup of the US.

Secession is no longer a dirty word, and despite all the insistence on "preserving the Union," there has never been anything in the US Constitution that precludes secession. These days, I doubt that there is the political will to make war against any State or group of States that wants to secede. Fewer and fewer States want to be held hostage to the profligate spending and runaway indebtedness of the federal government, or of those States, such as California, that cannot stay within their budgets.

The take-home lesson for voters everywhere: Don't spend what you don't have, and don't make promises you can't keep, it's as simple as that!

This is YOUR future under "Obamacare"

How could this happen? Former Land Girl honoured by Brown dies after she is left to 'wallow in her own filth' on NHS ward

By David Wilkes

Last updated at 2:17 AM on 28th April 2010

Her 'loyal and devoted' service as a Land Girl in the Second World War won her praise from Gordon Brown.

But this is the horrifyingly undignified state in which Clara Stokes had to live out her last days on an NHS ward.

Helpless and confused after suffering a stroke, the 84-year-old was left dehydrated, hungry and lying in her own faeces in a hospital bed for six hours. Relatives claim overworked nurses had ignored her.

Her daughter, Elle Chambers, photographed her plight and kept notes on her treatment during daily visits to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

The hospital has foundation status - a title given to NHS flagships. But Mrs Chambers, 57, was so appalled by the 'inhumane' conditions her mother endured that she has written to the Prime Minister.

She released the harrowing photographs of her mother after a poll for the Mail found that barely one in five voters think a doubling of budgets has improved the NHS.

Mrs Chambers and her daughter Michelle Plaford, 37, also found that water had been placed too far away from her bed and no staff had come to help her drink for up to 16 hours.

The pair were so disgusted by conditions they tried to feed other hungry and thirsty patients, only to be told by nursing staff they could not for 'health and safety reasons'.

At one stage the hospital almost ran out of supplies so nurses trawled wards for medication, Mrs Chambers added.

A temporary nurse misread Mrs Stokes' notes and forced uncrushed tablets down her throat, almost causing her to choke to death.

Doctors and nurses who misplaced health notes even thought Mrs Stokes was a man for the first two days, after she was admitted on December 16.

Outraged at her treatment, Mrs Stokes's family removed her from the hospital in Luton.

She died in a nursing home just days later on February 28.

Mrs Chambers wrote to Gordon Brown following the death to complain of the 'negligence', and was told by No.10 the matter had been passed to the Department of Health.

Mrs Chambers said: 'Gordon Brown said the country depended on her for survival but when she depended on her country for her survival where was it?

'I cannot stand to see Gordon Brown spouting off about the good he has done for the health service.

'It sickens me. He would never say the same if it were his own mother being treated in such an inhumane way.'

Mrs Chambers and daughter Michelle, of Northampton, spent every day in the stroke ward between midday and 8pm changing, washing and feeding Mrs Stokes.

Mrs Stokes, a retired hairdresser, was left paralysed down the left side of her body by the stroke and unable to speak.

The only time they didn't go and visit Mrs Stokes was when her ward was in isolation following a stomach bug outbreak and visiting hours were restricted.

But when they were finally allowed into the ward, they were left stunned by the conditions Mrs Stokes had been left in.

She added: 'We finally walked in and my daughter said what is that under her arm? We lifted it up and she was covered in her own diarrhoea.

'She was paralysed and couldn't call for help. This was after 3pm in the afternoon and the last time she had been checked was at 9am.'

Just 24 hours later the family found a stricken Mrs Stokes' foot trapped between bed posts caused by a faulty bed pump.

It was not known how long she was trapped and had to be freed by the matron.

Mrs Chambers added: 'I think dogs are treated better than my mother was. She was left in a pond of her own filth. Worse than an animal.

'The nurses were so overworked they haven't the time to be compassionate.

'It's so sad she was in a terrible state. My mum was 84, she was a really lively woman and was well-loved.

'They gave out food but left it out of reach of patients. You are lying there, hungry, you can't move because you've had a stroke and there is food just out of reach.

'We were warned not to feed them but you can't just sit there and watch.

'My daughter and I were endlessly helping out other patients.

'I've grown up with the National Health Service I'm just praying I don't get ill.'

Mrs Stokes was briefly moved to Capwell Grange Nursing Home on January 14 but returned to the hospital because she was not eating or drinking.

The family and doctors agreed to stop her support and she died on February 28.

Mrs Stokes was married to husband Roy for 50 years before he died 10 years ago with cancer. They had two other children David, 55, and Andrew, 51.

During the Second World War she was in the Land Army, made popular by the 1998 film Land Girls starring Anna Friel and Rachel Weisz.

She farmed and harvested the land in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, while all the men were fighting the Nazis.

In 2008 she was given a medal and thanked by Gordon Brown at a ceremony in Bedford.

Mr Brown signed Clara's Land Girl certificate praising her efforts 'at a time when our country depended upon you for its survival' in WWII and awarding her a medal.

Women were put to work in farms across Britain during Second World War as part of the war effort and affectionately known as Land Girls.

In 2007 the government announced it would reward the efforts of 30,000 surviving Land Girls with The Badge of Honour medal and certificate.

Mrs Chambers, who lives with retired firefighter husband Colin, 66, said her experience left her fearing ever having to rely on the NHS.

Luton and Dunstable Hospital apologised to the family yesterday and said it was investigating the complaints.

A spokesman denied Mrs Stokes was left unattended or that she was ever deprived of food, medication or water.

The spokesman said: 'The hospital has compelling evidence from detailed documentation to show that Mrs Stokes was not left unattended for long periods of time and that she received good nursing care and frequent attention following statutory guidelines and nursing practice.

'This is evidenced by a detailed food diary, mouthcare, being turned two-hourly to prevent pressure sores, personal care (including continence care) several times a day. We are sorry if the family felt Mrs Stokes' care was not to the standard they felt acceptable.'

The spokesman also refuted allegations that the patient's foot was caught in the bed rails or that she was left 'Unattended or dehydrated for hours on end'.

She added: 'On one occasion a nurse mistakenly gave Mrs Stokes a whole tablet instead of crushing it. Although Mrs Stokes had difficulty swallowing , it did not cause her to choke and the nurse involved reported this matter immediately to the ward sister and an apology was made to the patient and her family.'

She added: 'We regret that Mrs Stokes' family have felt the need to complain about her care while she was on ward 17 and ward 15 and the hospital has apologised for any distressing circumstances recognising how upsetting some aspects of personal care can be for relatives.

'Staff had a number of conversations about care and progress with the family during the patient's stay. The formal investigation into Mrs Chambers' complaint is continuing.'

Downing Street said the matter had been referred urgently to the Department of Health.

See original for photos.

Socialized medicine cannot be made to work.

It can never be fixed. It can never be managed so that it works equitably and efficiently.

Either we get it repealed, and SOON, or I will be looking to move somewhere in the world where there is no socialized medicine.

If you live where there is socialized medicine, and you value your life, I suggest you do the same.

Romney Wrong on Health Care

Report: Mitt Romney Said He Wouldn't Repeal ObamaCare Personal Mandate

Click the above link to read the details.



We need to make sure everybody is aware of where Romney and the other RINOs stand on this issue. The entire bill is a train wreck. Not only that bill, but also every facet of the Obama administration's takeover of the economy needs to be repealed.

How to Defeat Infiltrators at Tea Party Rallies - Part 2

Racist Leftist Infiltrators Driven from Tea Party Rallies (includes video)

Leftist and racist infiltrators were forced to flee at tea party rallies in St. Louis, San Francisco, Oceanside and Greensboro.

Patriots: 4 Alinsky Thugs: 0

More of these clever signs were used to point out the perps:

• FAKE TEA PARTIER →
• SOROS-PAID STOOGE →
• COMMUNIST INFILTRATOR →
• TEA PARTIERS BEWARE OF AGENT PROVOCATEUR →
• LEFT PLANT →
• PROVOCATEUR →

How to Defeat Infiltrators at Tea Party Rallies - Part 1

Crashing the Crashers: Tea Party Infiltrators Outmaneuvered in SF
The defense team came prepared with handy signs like these, complete with Velcro-attached arrows that could be moved to point to the perpetrators:

• We’re NOT With Stupid →
• IMPOSTER →
• INFILTRATOR →

Tea Party 2010 - Columbia, SC

• Tea Party SC 2010 (on ning)
• Humbled Sanford gets Tea Party cheers, jeers
• Tea Party activists urge frugality, accountability
• Tax Day Tea Party
• Hundreds attend Tax Day Tea Party
• Tea Party Protesters Rally Against Big Government

Is it possible to take back America?

Maybe, but not if we play by our enemies' rules.

• RedState: An American Armada
• Malcolm Gladwell: How underdogs can win

When your government flouts the consent of the governed, it's time to vote with your feet

More Americans Give Up Citizenship As IRS Gets Aggressive Overseas

By Martin Vaughan, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

The number of American citizens and green-card holders severing their ties with the U.S. soared in the latter part of 2009, amid looming U.S. tax increases and a more aggressive posture by the Internal Revenue Service towards Americans living overseas.

According to public records, just over 500 people worldwide renounced U.S. citizenship or permanent residency in the fourth quarter of 2009, the most recent period for which data are available. That is more people than have cut ties with the U.S. during all of 2007, and more than double the total expatriations in 2008.

An Ohio-born entrepreneur, now based in Switzerland, told Dow Jones he is considering turning in his U.S. passport. Mounting U.S. tax and reporting requirements are making potential business partners hesitate to do business with him, he said.

"I still do dearly love the U.S., and renouncing my citizenship is not something I take lightly. But more and more it is seeming like being part of a dysfunctional family," said the businessman, who asked that his name not be used for fear of retribution.

"The tax itself is only a small part of the issue," the Swiss-based entrepreneur said. "It's the overall regulatory environment."

A minority of the recent expatriates are U.S. natives who have started a new life overseas. Most are people with family ties outside the U.S.: foreign professionals who acquired a green card while working in the U.S., or people who have received higher education in the U.S.

"Fifteen or 20 years ago there was a big rush to make sure your kids became U.S. citizens, for access to U.S. schools for example," said Timothy Burns, a tax lawyer at Withers law firm in Hong Kong. "Now we're seeing just the opposite."

Last month, the Treasury Department announced more rigorous requirements for Americans living abroad to report information on foreign bank accounts. The reporting requirement has been in place for years, but only in the most recent couple of years has the IRS gotten tough about enforcing penalties.

The information return must be filed by any U.S. citizen or resident whose balance in all foreign accounts combined exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year. Stiff penalties, up to 50% of the annual account balance, punish failure to file.

Others are giving up their U.S. nationality to avoid tax hikes in the U.S., as the government struggles under huge budget deficits. The top marginal tax rate is set to rise to 39.6% from 35% at the end of this year. A proposal to tax fund manager pay at ordinary income rates, instead of the 15% capital gains rate, is gaining currency in Congress.

"Everybody sees the tax rates are going up. At a certain point, it gets beyond people's pain threshold," said Anthony Tong, a tax partner at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong.

Unlike most jurisdictions, the U.S. taxes the income of citizens and green- card holders no matter where in the world it is earned.

In order to give up U.S. citizenship, a person must obtain or have citizenship in another country. The person surrenders their passport or green card during an interview with a consular officer in their new home country. He or she must also submit a form, including a list of assets, to the IRS to complete the process.

Chris Kavanagh of the American Institute in Taiwan, which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan, said 43 people gave up their U.S. citizenship in Taiwan in 2009, the highest that figure has been since 2003. He cautioned against drawing conclusions from that data, however.

The IRS says some of the swelling of numbers of expatriations towards the end of 2009 occurred because the agency made a push to notify people that had already surrendered their passport, but had not completed the process by submitting the IRS form. Until that form is received by the IRS, these people are still subject to U.S. tax. "There is some catch-up going on," said IRS spokesman Bruce Friedland.

The stock market plunge of late 2008 and early 2009 may also have played a role in the spike in expatriations. Since 2008, Americans with net worth greater than $2 million have had to pay an exit tax assessed on their assets. With gains reduced or wiped out by the market collapse, those seeking to give up their U.S. citizenship had an opportunity to do so with less exit tax required.

-By Martin Vaughan, Dow Jones Newswires; (202) 862-9244; martin.vaughan@dowjones.com

(Andrea Wong contributed to this article)

Of course, the other way of voting with your feet is called secession.

Obama's negligible budget cuts

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