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Hi, This is funny- This came from my activity on one of my sites-
This is how the dems got my address!
I need coffee! (It does help the headache!
Psalm 5 For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
6 You will destroy those who tell lies.
;The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.
7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
8 Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.
9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with flattery.[a]
10 O God, declare them guilty.
Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever .
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
12 For you bless the godly, O Lord;
you surround them with your shield of love.

Romans 3:10-15(New Living Translation)

10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”[a]
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”[b]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[c]
15 “They rush to commit murder.

Matthew Henry on Psalm 5
Psalm 27 A psalm of David.1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be mercifu l and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9 Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.
11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me.
12 Do not let me fall into their hands.
For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
with every breath they threaten me with violence.
13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.
14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Proverbs 21
15 Justice is a joy to the godly,
but it terrifies evildoers.
16 The person who strays from common sense
will end up in the company of the dead.



-----Original Message-----
From: President Barack Obama <democraticparty@democrats.org>
To: Janis
Sent: Sat, Jul 4, 2009 5:23 pm
Subject: A day to celebrate and aspire

 Janis --

This weekend, our family will join millions of others in celebrating America. We will enjoy the glow of fireworks, the taste of barbeque, and the company of good friends. As we all celebrate this weekend, let's also remember the remarkable story that led to this day.

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, our nation was born when a courageous group of patriots pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the proposition that all of us were created equal.

Our country began as a unique experiment in liberty -- a bold, evolving quest to achieve a more perfect union. And in every generation, another courageous group of patriots has taken us one step closer to fully realizing the dream our founders enshrined on that great day.

Today, all Americans have a hard-fought birthright to a freedom which enables each of us, no matter our views or background, to help set our nation's course. America's greatness has always depended on her citizens embracing that freedom -- and fulfilling the duty that comes with it.

As free people, we must each take the challenges and opportunities that face this nation as our own. As long as some Americans still must struggle, none of us can be fully content. And as America comes ever closer to achieving the perfect Union our founders dreamed, that triumph -- that pride -- belongs to all of us.

So today is a day to reflect on our independence, and the sacrifice of our troo ps standing in harm's way to preserve and protect it. It is a day to celebrate all that America is. And today is a time to aspire toward all we can still become.

With very best wishes,

President Barack Obama

July 4th, 2009

P.S. -- Our nation's birthday is also an ideal time to consider serving in your local community. You can find many great ideas for service opportunities near you at http://www.serve.gov.

******************************

Tax exclusion © Comstock/Jupiterimages

Extra7/7/2009 12:01 AM ET

What a tax on health benefits may mean
Congress is consideringlimiting the tax exclusion on employer-sponsored health benefits to save the federal government billions of dollars that could to help pay for comprehensive health care overhaul.
By MarketWatch A tax break that many workers don't even realize they have has become a pawn in the chess game of health care overhaul as lawmakers look for ways to pay for a reform that would reduce costs, boost quality and extend coverage to more Americans. The tax exclusion for the value of workers' health benefits represents one of the most substantial sources of funding for comprehensive health overhaul efforts, many economists say. As legislators scramble to come up with ways to finance the upfront cost, which is projected at around $1 trillion over 10 years, they are increasingly considering options for imposing a dollar limit on the amount of premiums for employer-sponsored coverage that can be excluded from taxable income. When it comes to raising money for an overhaul, no other strategy comes close. The tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health benefits is set to reduce federal tax revenues by an estimated $3.5 trillion between 2010 and 2019, according to the Urban Institute. No draft legislation calls for raising that whopping sum through total elimination of the tax exclusion. But capping it above a certain threshold to shore up a fraction of its potential value has bipartisan support, even though any kind of tax increase remains politically sensitive. "Historically, this has been a sacred cow," said Michael Thompson, a principal with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. "But with the momentum we're seeing in Washington around health reform, I wouldn't be surprised if something moves forward that will dramatically change the way people think of the tax-related nature of health benefits."

More from MSN Money and MarketWatch

Crystal ball © Brand X Pictures/Jupiterimages
Workers with job-based health insurance have enjoyed a tax exclusion for the full value of those benefits. The value of the tax exclusion is greater for higher-income workers, who tend to have richer employer benefits compared with lower-income workers, who are much less likely to have job-based health insurance, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute. Capping benefits would present a dilemma for President Barack Obama, who promised he wouldn't raise taxes on workers earning less than $250,000 a year. On the campaign trail, he attacked Sen. John McCain's proposal to end the tax exclusion for employer-provided health benefits. But Obama also has said a health care overhaul must not increase the federal deficit, which puts the issue back into play. Striking a balance between generating enough funds and keeping the tax bite manageable for workers while still being fair to workplaces with different characteristics is a tough job, said Paul Fronstin, director of the health research program for the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington. "Taxing (benefits) will raise money, but it's a blunt instrument that won't necessarily only tax Cadillac plans," Fronstin said. "You're being taxed on price rather than being taxed on comprehensiveness. There are ways to make adjustments for it, but that affects how much money they can raise."

Video on MSN Money

Presidential seal © Brooks Kraft/Corbis
Miss Janis'Corner 7-7 - GOD & COUNTRY USA Obama moderates health care stance
President Barack Obama, after picking fights with rivals during the election campaign, is signaling flexibility as he seeks a deal on health care, reports Laura Meckler of The Wall Street Journal.
In the first year of having a cap on the tax exclusion, the impact would be minimal across three of the policy options being discussed on Capitol Hill, said Lisa Clemans-Cope, lead author of the Urban Institute report. "The bite is very small in the first year," Clemans-Cope said. "In 2010, the change in after-tax income for those who have an increase is less than 1%." But over time, the cap would affect a growing share of the premium for a growing number of taxpayers. Even so, some of the tax bite may be offset by wage gains. Under a moderate scenario that would raise an estimated $224 billion in income tax by indexing the cap to growth in the gross domestic product, about 38% of taxpayer households would face a tax increase in 2019, according to the Urban Institute's projections. The average tax increase would be 1.6%, equal to $1,260 in income and payroll tax. This example preserves 90% of the tax subsidies. Tying the cap to growth in the consumer price index would raise twice as much money, an estimated $456 billion, but would take a bigger bite out of workers' earnings. It would affect about the same amount of taxpayer households, but the average tax hit would be $2,220, a nearly 3% change in after-tax income, according to the study. This scenario would preserve 80% of the subsidies. Adjusting the cap to keep up with the rapid rise in medical expenses would generate the least revenue of the three options and would affect taxpayer households the least in the next decade. After-tax income would dip 0.7% on average, equal to $570 in income and payroll taxes, and only slightly more than 14% of taxpayer households would be affected. This example would raise $62 billion.
The study used a benchmark of how various options would affect taxpayer households in the 75th percentile, where a quarter of them had premiums that exceeded the cap and three-quarters fell below the cap, set at $5,642 for single coverage.Capping the tax exclusion may create headaches for administrators trying to ensure that workers in high-cost areas and those whose colleagues are older and sicker aren't penalized disproportionately, said Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington."The question is whether it's done in a way that's administratively feasible and fair and equitable across the country and across different population groups," Aaron said. "On the latter score, it's not so clear it passes that test."Combining a cap on the tax exclusion with policies that promote risk-sharing and health plan competition, such as the proposed health insurance exchange, is a "better approach" than making actuarial adjustments, Clemans-Cope said. The Urban Institute study didn't account for behavioral changes that may result from other proposed elements of a health overhaul.Though it won't likely be considered, Aaron said he favors creating a value-added tax that is earmarked for health care and has to be balanced over the long term."As in the case of the Social Security Trust Fund, you have an annual report that says whether it's in balance or not," he said. "That's actually quite a conservative mechanism of fiscal discipline acting on our pension system. There's nothing else in government quite like it."Americans appear mixed on how they would react to a cap on the tax exclusion of employer-based health benefits. Nearly half, or 47%, said they would switch to a lower-cost plan if they faced a cap. That is compared with 38% who said they would stay with their current health plan and pay the added tax, according to a recent survey from EBRI. Nine percent said they didn't know what they would do. The remaining 6% said the question wasn't applicable."I think it will lead to some buy-down if people want to avoid the tax," Fronstin said. "But then you have to start to ask how do people view the buy-down? More catastrophic coverage is also a tax, in some sense. Then people start to weigh do I want to pay more in taxes or pay more in cost-sharing?" In the first years when the tax bite is low, workers may choose to "go with the certainty of the tax rather than the uncertainty of cost-sharing," costs such as deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance, Fronstin said."At some point what may have been viewed as preferable to pay a certain tax as opposed to uncertain cost-sharing may flip as taxes get higher and higher, assuming it does nothing to control health care costs," he said.Many employers don't want their workers to face a tax on the value of their job-based health benefits. In a recent poll, 82% want to maintain the current exclusion, according to a survey of 213 employers from Miller & Chevalier and the American Benefits Council.

Video on MSN Money

Presidential seal © Brooks Kraft/Corbis
Miss Janis'Corner 7-7 - GOD & COUNTRY USA Obama moderates health care stance
President Barack Obama, after picking fights with rivals during the election campaign, is signaling flexibility as he seeks a deal on health care, reports Laura Meckler of The Wall Street Journal.
If the tax exclusion were capped as part of a comprehensive overhaul, health insurance may go the way of life insurance, said Thompson of PricewaterhouseCoopers. With group life insurance, workers whose policies are worth $50,000 or less get it tax-free, with anything beyond that ceiling calculated as imputed income, Thompson said."Today you might have an employer that provides one or two times up to $50,000, but you might have the option to buy three or four times earnings if you need the insurance and get it on a group basis," Thompson said."In health care, you might find an employer might seek to offer at least one plan that wouldn't generate imputed income for you and then offer richer plans where you would pay for the difference."This article was reported by Kristen Gerencher for MarketWatch.


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