Tag: taxation without representation

My US Representative’s Newsletter

I was having a pretty good Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t raining and it was warm. My fibromyalgia pain was lessening with the dry day and temperatures in the high 70s. The incessant wind had brought some of the smoke from the wildfires in Manitoba to the southern piedmont of North Carolina, blocking the sun, but I was inside doing Saturday chores and catching up on some filing and correspondence.

Then, I made the mistake of clicking on the newsletter from my Representative in the US House. I use “Representative” loosely because he does not represent me at all.

Photo Credit: Andra C. Taylor Jr on unsplash.com

I have had Republicans represent my district in the US House, and I have had Democrats represent me in the US House. I have read their newsletters and emails through the years, but I must say the newsletter I received today from Representative Mark Harris (that’s the Rev. Mark Harris) is by far the most partisan, biased, and lie-filled communication I have ever received from any of them.

I will let Rev. Harris’ May 31, 2025, newsletter speak for itself, so no one can accuse me of slander. I hate to give Harris any publicity, but his newsletter is so off-the charts for someone who is supposed to serve all his constituents, I just have to share it.

Here it is, in all its glory and entirety, minus all the photographs because they would have copy and download into WordPress:

“Dear Janet,

Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have diligently worked to identify waste, fraud, and abuse, ensuring responsible use of taxpayer funds. Now, it’s time to make DOGE’s reforms permanent.

“Rescission authority” allows the President and Congress to cancel previously allocated spending which would solidify DOGE’s efforts.

Next week, the White House is scheduled to submit a rescissions package to Congress, incorporating many of DOGE’s proposed cuts, including frivolous expenditures such as:

  • $45 million for diversity scholarships in Burma
  • $6 million for tourism promotion in Egypt
  • $9 million for gender norm initiatives
  • $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia

These extravagant pet projects are unjustifiable. American taxpayers should not be footing the bill for the Left’s wish list. I promise to fight to cement DOGE’s legacy and rein in the Swamp’s out-of-control spending habits. 

Defunding NPR

Let me be very clear: there’s nothing in the First Amendment that requires taxpayer dollars to prop up Left-wing propaganda.

In addition to making good on DOGE’s diligence, the upcoming rescissions package from the White House is set to include measures to cut government funding for NPR – a mouthpiece for radical progressive ideas.

For decades, these institutions have dispersed left-wing narratives on the taxpayers’ dime.  NPR’s reporters and editors purposely created and promoted news articles designed to damage President Trump during the 2016 and 2020 elections, including promoting the Russian collusion hoax.?NPR even went as far as to refuse to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story due to fears it could help President Trump’s 2020 reelection bid. As recently as 2023, NPR put out an article denying the clear athletic advantage biological males have over girls in sports, attacking young women who have spoken out about this issue.

It’s time to separate partisan propaganda from the taxpayers’ wallets.

President Trump is Restoring Justice

The Biden administration’s Department of Justice unfairly targeted Christian organizations, pro-life grandmothers, and even the current President, all while overlooking violent acts by radical groups like Antifa as well as alleged misconduct by figures such as Hunter Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

That era of politicized justice has ended. President Trump is restoring integrity to the Department of Justice.

Following recent unprovoked attacks on peaceful Christian gatherings in Seattle, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has pledged to prosecute groups engaging in targeted violence against religious communities.

Similarly, the FBI is reopening investigations into high-profile cases previously ignored under the Biden administration, including the 2023 discovery of cocaine in the White House and the leak of the Dobbs Supreme Court opinion, which incited threats against conservative justices.

President Trump and Republicans are committed to upholding law and order across the nation.

Joining Bo and Beth Weekly

Are you interested in hearing regular updates about what I am working on for you? Tune in every Friday at 7:20 am on WBT Charlotte News Talk as I join Bo Thompson and Beth Troutman to discuss the latest from Washington and what I am doing to serve the people of North Carolina’s Eighth District! You can listen live on their website at this link here or tune in on 99.3 FM. 

Here are some other news stories about what I’ve been up to lately:

Constituent Corner

I was absolutely blown away by my tour of Conn-Selmer’s Ludwig plant. Crafting a wide range of musical instruments for the students of North Carolina’s Eighth District, they’re truly “making some noise” and inspiring creativity in our community.

During my visit to the DaVita Kidney Care Facility in Monroe, I was impressed by their commitment to providing top-notch care for their patients. Thank you for your outstanding work in serving the healthcare needs of North Carolinians—keep it up!

Serving YOU!

My team is currently working to resolve cases for nearly 150 people across our district. If you or someone you know is unable to get answers from the federal government, please do not hesitate to call my district office. Whether you need help with the IRS, VA, Social Security, or even getting a passport for an upcoming trip, we have a team of constituent service representatives ready to serve you. You can call us at 704-218-5300 or visit my website at https://markharris.house.gov/services/help-federal-agency.

If you want to keep up with what I am doing every day on your behalf, you can follow all of my social media links down below!

If your friends, relatives, or neighbors would also like to sign up for these weekly updates, they can do so by sending my office a quick email or simply by signing up here. For more up-to-the-minute updates, you can follow my press team on Facebook and Twitter.

Sincerely,

Mark Harris
Proudly Serving North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District

What I want to say

What I want to say, I cannot put in my blog.

Suffice it to say that I live in one of the most-gerrymandered districts in a completely gerrymandered state, and I am not represented in Congress by Mark Harris, Ted Budd, or Thom Tillis because they only represent the man who lives in the White House. Rev. Harris has obviously never watched PBS.

Mid-term election for Harris and end-of-six-year-term election for Tillis on November 3, 2026. That day can’t come soon enough!

It could be worse

At least I don’t live in Marjorie Taylor Green’s district in Georgia. Regarding that “big, beautiful bill” she voted for last week, Green posted on X: “Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years. I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in….”

On the other hand, Mark Harris probably still doesn’t know it.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read, and I apologize for ruining your day by inflicting Mark Harris’ newsletter on you.

Make sure your voter registration is in proper order and intact well before November 3, 2026.

Remember those of us who have taxation without representation, just like we did 250 years ago. That time it resulted in a revolution.

Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.

Janet

#OnThisDay: Articles of Confederation & Why They Had to Be Replaced

If you’ve visited my blog today expecting to find out what books I read last month, please forgive me. I felt compelled to write about an event in American history today. I’ll share with you my thoughts about the books I read in February in my blog posts on March 8 and 15.

#OnThisDay

It was 240 years ago today that the Articles of Confederation were ratified by the State of Maryland – the last of the 13 states to ratify the document, making it the law of the land.

As a writer and reader of historical fiction and nonfiction, I need to keep in mind what the federal government could and could not do before 1789. Today’s blog post is a “crash course” about the Articles of Confederation. I hope it will be a painless way to refresh your memory about the document and some of the reasons it had to be replaced by the US Constitution.

What were the Articles of Confederation?

The Articles of Confederation were spelled out in a five-page document that served as a constitution for the former American colonies after they won independence from Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. It took the Continental Congress 16 months to draw up the document. The document was adopted on November 15, 1777, in York, Pennsylvania. York was serving as the temporary capital of the new country.

The Articles of Confederation loosely held the 13 states together. It mandated a single house in Congress, and each state had one vote. The Articles gave Congress authority over foreign affairs, the power to raise a national army, and the power to declare war and declare peace; however, the Articles did not give the Congress the power to levy taxes.

How durable were the Articles of Confederation?

It didn’t take long for people to identify problems with the Articles of Confederation.

Not wanting to risk being accused of “taxation without representation” the framers of the Article of Confederation gave states the authority to impose taxes but they did not give that authority to the United States government. Having hindsight, we can see today that such a setup was unsustainable, and it’s difficult for me to see how the framers couldn’t anticipate that. Since the new nation was in debt at the end of the American Revolution, it was difficult to raise funds to pay off that indebtedness without the power to impose taxes.

Another problem with the Articles of Confederation was that each state could issue their own currency. Imagine if that were the case today!

Photo credit: Alexander Schimmeck on unsplash.com

The Articles of Confederation failed to create a sense of nation. With a weak central government, allegiances were often more to one’s state than to the country. Indeed, that mindset continued in some ranks and contributed to the formation of the Confederate States of America and the outbreak of the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee’s almost blind allegiance to the State of Virginia comes to mind.

The US Constitution

Seeing the problems with the Articles of Confederation, the US Constitution was drawn up. It replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789. For more information about the creation of the US Constitution, please see my May 25, 2020 blog post, #OnThisDay: 1787 US Constitutional Convention.

Photo credit: Anthony Garand on unsplash.com

Since my last blog post

I’ve enjoyed reading some books that I’ll blog about later. After having trouble concentrating on anything in January, it’s been gratifying to once again enjoy reading.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read and quality writing time if you’re a writer, blogger, or like to journal just for your own edification. Writing is therapeutic.

I hope you have time to enjoy a favorite hobby.

Keep wearing that facemask out of respect for others.

Janet