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Letters to the Editor published May 25, 2011
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Install ICE numbers on your cell phones

Editor, Ceres Courier,

We all carry our mobile phones with names and numbers stored in its memory but nobody knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends. If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phones but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stores but which one is the contact person in case of emergency? Hence the "ICE" (in case of emergency) campaign.

The concept of ICE is catching on quickly. All you need to do is store the number of a contact person under the name ICE.

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who didn't know which number to call when he went to the scenes of accidents. In an emergency situation, personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as ICE. For more than one contact name, simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3, etc.

A great idea that will make a difference! Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today!

Craig Keesler,

Ceres

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President Obama gives tax breaks to friend GEEditor, Ceres Courier,

The Tax Foundation in Washington D.C. calculates the tax burden to the average worker and the average taxpayer will work more than four months a year to pay federal, state, and local taxes making a day in the first week in May, Tax Freedom Day.

One company, General Electric, made over $14 billion last year and paid $0 in taxes. How you may ask? Jeffery Immelt is the CEO of General Electric (GE). He and his Political Action Committee (PAC) have contributed millions of dollars to the Democratic National Committee and to the Obama campaign. The sister company, GE Financials, also gave its full contribution limits to the Democrats while MSNBC, which is owned by GE and Microsoft gave Obama $1.2 million. Other PACS and organizations with ties to GE and Microsoft also contributed to Obama.

Once Obama became president, GE appears to have received its payback from the Obama White House. According to the Washington Examiner, GE is the beneficiary of billions of dollars in government contracts through the "cap and trade" legislation. GE also received billions of tax funded money in the financial bailouts. Further, ABC news reported GE paid "not a penny in taxes in 2010." In fact, GE received a $3.2 billion tax benefit. How when the top tax bracket is at 35 percent and President Obama spoke for two years about the need to reform corporate taxes to "simplify, eliminate loopholes, treat everybody fairly"? GE earned $14.2 billion in profits in 2010; but $9 billion was offshore. This was the second consecutive year GE recorded profits of billions of dollars without paying any taxes. During that same time, Immelt had been a close adviser to Obama, serving as chairman of Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, even though under his leadership GE laid off 21,000 American workers and closed 20 factories between 2007 and 2009. Today, more than half of GE's workforce is outside America.

Jeffrey Immelt and NBC New Chief, Jeff Zucker also told CNBC to stop criticizing Obama's economic policies while MSNBC referred to the Tea Party movement as racist. NBC, GE, and the Obama agenda are all tied together. They are using their power and influence as a corporation owning a major media outlet to influence politics in order to make money from government contracts, while paying no taxes. Welcome to Tax Freedom Day for America. Tax Freedom Day is everyday for General Electric thanks to their friend Obama.

Frank Aquila

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LETTERS POLICY

Letters to the editor will be considered for publication but must be signed with the author's name, address and telephone number. Letters should contain 250 words or less and be void of libelous statements. Letters may be sent to The Ceres Courier, P.O. Box 7, Ceres, CA 95307, or emailed to jeffb@cerescourier.com