TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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November 15, 2008
Volume 6, Number 22
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country
2. Top Drawer Article
3. Top Drawer Tips
4. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY
What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

 

Here in Carpenter Country, the short one was thinking about Thanksgiving, and how great it must have been for the Pilgrims to sit down with their Indian friends to share a wonderful harvest.

And what a menu - turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn bread, gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie.

Hmmm - sounds almost too good to be true.

And a quick check shows it is. Seems most of the short one’s grade school turkey day learning was no more than a myth.

So, what’s the truth? As usual there are conflicting stories.

According to historians the first feast was just that, a first feast, and not the beginning of a tradition. Also the celebration could have occurred anywhere from late September to early November. The menu was made up of venison and wild fowl, which meant the bird may or may not have been a wild turkey. Fruit and dried corn probably rounded out the meal. There was no dancing, playing games or singing.

Indian scholars interpret the day differently. In their telling ducks, geese and venison, most likely brought by Massasoit, the Indian sachem, were the items on the menu. Only Massasoit was asked to join the feast, and he, not the Pilgrims, invited the other members of his tribe. Any good cheer was caused by a lot of “home brew.”

Whichever version you choose to believe, and there are many others, the general consensus was and is - the Pilgrims wore no black clothes, pointed hats or shoes with buckles.

Well, that certainly punctures the short one’s balloon of childhood memories. However, she’ll get happy again as soon as she sits down to a holiday dinner with all the trimmings.

But before she does, she wants to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.

And that’s no myth!

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

The History of Federal Income Tax Withholding
by
HL Carpenter

 

Everything old is new again. The truism was proven correct once more at the end of World War II, when income tax withholding was reinstated.

Read the entire article here

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

 

Tip: The Sixteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, in full: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

Glossary Term: Income tax withholding. A mandatory requirement under which employers collect federal income tax from the wages of employees and remit it to the government.

Financial Horoscope: Here in the US, November is traditionally a time for celebrating one of the few things that can’t be taxed, although you can choose to withhold it from yourself. A hint: Turkey is not the answer.

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

The Winds of Change
by
HL Carpenter

 

Bulletin: Strong Winds of Change Expected

Read the rest here