VIEWPOINT FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2008 HOMETOWN NEWS WWW.HOMETOWNNEWSOL.COM Got something to say? Call the Hometown Rants & Raves line at (561) 575-5140 or e-mail pbnews@hometownnewsol.com. Callers are asked to refrain from making slanderous statements. Statements of fact will be checked for accuracy. Where's the justice? I am a 44-year-old woman who was married for 20 years to a man who abused me in every which way pos- sible. Due to my Catholic upbringing, I stayed in the mar- riage "for better or for worse," and because I had three sons, whom I thought I would harm if I got a divorce. One day, I woke up and realized that I did not want to spend the rest of my life with this horrible man and I wanted to be free of the misery. I also did not want my sons to follow the example their father was setting when it came to women, so I filed for divorce in April 2006. My husband and I never got along, and I knew that I shouldn't have married him, but I went through with it. If I had known then what I know now, I would never have married him. The best thing, of course, that came out of my mar- riage are my three sons who are the loves of my. life. Through the years, we discussed divorce and child support, and he always said, "I would rather go to jail than pay child support." My ex is a foreigner who has been in this country for approximately 35 years. He always was in the restaurant business, and I always worked for attorneys. My ex was always paid in cash, so his earnings were never provable. It was his dream to open an Italian deli, and honestly, I was afraid to take the chance, because opening a new business is always risky. But I finally said OK, because I figured that would make him happy and if he was happy, we all were happy. The deli opened in 2001, with an increase of revenue every year. Of course, again, being the type of business this is, there is cash that can be easily hidden and not easy to prove. We went to trial this fall because we couldn't resolve any issues because he didn't want to pay me child sup- port, plain and simple. He took the stand and portrayed himself as a poor immigrant with a third-grade education, and the judge awarded him alimony, even though I have the three chil- dren living with me, feed them, clothe them, take care of their every need, etc. He contributes nothing. Now, I have been ordered to pay him alimony, even though my financial affidavit shows that I am in the red every month by at least $1,000, and I use credit cards to take care of the deficit. Additionally, my ex now lives with an immigrant with her three children, whom he supports, although he claims she helps with the rent, but I seriously doubt her income is more than minimum wage. Now, basically, I have to take away from my children, to give to another woman and her three children. My ex' s famous quote, "Only in American can things like this happen." Well, it looks like he benefited after all from living in this country. So would you please tell me, where's the justice? Lighten up, please I don't usually get upset about the lunacy that has been going on in this country for the past few years, but this is beyond lunacy. We, in this country, and in many places around the world, have been wishing each other a "Merry Christmas" for eons. It is a social gesture and a greeting of goodwill. It has almost become generic at this time of the year. How can you possibly be offended when someone takes'the time to wish you a "Merry Christmas" and in doing so is wishing you goodwill? .If you don't celebrate the holiday of Christmas, then greet them back with whatever it is that you do celebrate. This is supposed to, be a country where we have freedom. I can say Merry Christmas and you can say "happy whatever," and no one should be offended. It is not only, Christians who celebrate Christmas, but anyone who- considers this time of the year a joyous occasion and a, time to pass on feelings of goodwill and happiness. People need to lighten up and be less abusive and intolerant of those around them. Enjoy the holidays and celebrate whatever it is you: celebrate and let others do the same before your antics cause us to lose the freedoms we so cherish in this coun- try. Everything is 'made in China' With all of the items being recalled from China, you can't be too safe. Since most of the items in the media are children's toys, and my children are all grown and on their own, I should double-check all the items that I buy for my other children (chihuahuas). I was in for a great surprise as my husband and I went from store to store and almost everything was stamped with made in China. From dog treats to dog toys, you are highly unlikely to find more than one item in each store that isn't made in China. After even asking for assistance from store clerks, we found that they were as surprised as we were that the items for our four-legged loved ones aren't American made either. What a wake-up call for an American who lives in the U.S. not to be able to purchase American-made prod- ucts. I've never been so disappointed, to not find more than one item for our doggies that wasn't made in China. Turn down the background music I am getting to the point of no return when it comes to listening to almost every program on TV. For some rea- son, they all seem to have their background music tuned up so high that most times you can't even hear what the main characters in the movies have to say. The old-time movies rarely if ever had this problem, and never had did it interfere with what the actors were saying. Are the musicians so hard-of-hearing that they can't hear how loud it is, or am I' the oddball when it comes to loud music? Let's talk about the AMT One rather major political item didn't get much play in the mainstream news this past week. Congress passed a bill reforming the alternative mini- mum tax. This measure had been enacted years ago to make it more likely that very wealthy taxpayers would not escape paying taxes by way of various deductions and loopholes. Reform to that law was needed, as infla, tion had the AMT imposing substantially more taxes on the middles class. Reform of the AMT had only one issue: how to deal with the shortfall in revenue it would cause; $50 billion. The Democrats proposed a solution: remove the loop- hole that allows hedge fund managers to pay taxes on virtually all their earnings at the 15 percent capital gains rate. These ultra-wealthy managers have designed the com- pensation for their services, so they are considered par- ticipants in the funds by investing not capital, but their services. Normally, their compensation would be taxed at the much higher ordinary income rates that the rest of us pay. There aren't many of these managers, but their pay is so high (many are paid in the billions) this tradeoff would work. This seemed like a win-win. Middle class taxpayers get the break they need and it is paid for in fairness, and aimed at the very people the AMT was meant to affect. Without paying for removing the tax on the middle class, the debt that has the U.S. borrowing $1 billion per week from China would explode further. One problem. The Republicans, including the presi- dent, were unwilling to remove the loophole for their 6super-wealthy friends. .. Because of filibustering in the Senate and the threat of veto from the White -House, we now have AMT reform,, but the perfect way to pay for it is gone and we are bur- dened with more debt. When I was growing, up I remember asking my father what Dembcr4s stood for (we were Democrats). He told me Democrats tried to help ordinary working people. I asked him what, Republicans stood for. He told me they tried to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I thought that was a terribly mean thing to say about a group of people and could not possibly be true. I am now 55. Whether it is the issue of taxes, the mini-, mum wage, workers rights, trade union legislation or seeking cheaper labor overseas, I have never found a bit of evidence indicating my father was wrong. Respect everyone's religious beliefs Our country was founded on the belief of religious freedom, not Christian beliefs. There is a difference. Jews and Muslims and athiests and agnostics need not go anywhere. We are where we belong. Bible-thumping Christians need to look in the mirror and reflect on their very hurtful comments. This country is not a Christian country. It is a country where respect and religious freedom are afforded to all law-abiding cit- izens. Casinos would bring big bucks to Florida I'm writing this in response to the person who wrote "Florida should get into the gambling business." I agree with you 100 percent. Florida is missing out'on a golden opportunity here. We should open up two or three gambling zones here in Florida, one in south Florida, one in central Florida and one in northern Florida. There's little doubt the industry would flourish here. However, I don't agree that it should be run by the state. Casinos should be run by private companies, just as they are in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Just as in Vegas though, they should be taxed heavily, with the proceeds being used to offset and/or eliminate our currently out- of-control property tax burden and to fund education, as well. Think about it. Vegas is a popular destination, even though it's a city in the middle of the desert. Florida has a whole heck of a lot more to offer than the desert. It's a destination in and of itself. Throw in true Vegas-style gambling with the world- class resorts and recreation we currently have, and sud- denly Florida becomes the destination of all destinations. The economy would boom, residents would be relieved of their heavy tax burdens and plenty of needed mid-level jobs would be born. I believe it's something our top brass should seriously consider. I've written in to Gov. (Charlie) Crist's office on the subject multiple times over the last year, but have yet to receive a response. My only hope is he and his staff are too busy too respond, but that they are listening, and lis- tening intently, as I believe this could be the answer to many of the financial problems plaguing Florida at the moment. Quit blowing the grass into the water How do the lawn services get away with blowing all the cut grass and other landscaping into the surrounding waterways? Isn't there a law against this? And when the waterways become non-navigable because of this build up, will the landscapers pay? Sad about loss of dog Our family dog was mauled to death by two pit bulls while my 10 year old walked her on a leash. These two dogs came up behind my son as he was walking down our street, and .they proceeded to kill our dog as my son screamed for help. Animal control came out and put them down. I would just like to make sure that this story is going to be told. This was the fourth situation with these sa ie dogs, and meanwhile,. my son is traumatized and our familydog, who was a 1-year- old shitzu-yorkie mix, had no chance. Vick should get more The article in the rants and raves titled "This sentence should open eyes" was a great article. It stated that Michael Vick got 23 months for pit bull fighting and how he should have got more. It said that we need more judges who would give harsh sentences. I couldn't agree more. We must do things to protect our animals. I believe in an eye for an eye. We should have some public executions or electrocutions to the people who do cruelty to animals. I'd be honored to pull the switch on any- one who hurts animals. I'd be happy to hang Michael Vick. I'd run up to anyone who was hurting an animal and have a long harsh talk with them and would probably take their animal away. hometown News HometownNewsOL.com Published weekly by Hometown News, L.C., 840 Jupiter Park Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458 Copyright 2008, Hometown News, LC. Phone (561) 575-5454 Fax (561) 575-5474 Classified (800) 823-0466 Rants & Raves (561) 575-5140 Circulation Inquiries: 1-866-913-6397 or circulation@hometownnewsol.com Steven E. Erlanger Publisher and C.O.O. Vernon D. Smith Managing Partner Philip J. Galdys. VP/Director of operations and production Tammy A. Raits VP/Managing Editor Lee Mooty General Manager/CFO Jim Kendall C.E.O. 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