Before there was an income tax, there was a telephone tax. Back in 1898, to help finance the Spanish-American War, Congress enacted a “temporary” excise tax on telephone service. At the time, telephones were an expensive luxury item, and most citizens were not affected by the tax.

Earlier this year, 108 years after the “temporary” tax was passed, the Treasury Department suspended collection of the excise tax on long-distance calls. Several federal Circuit Courts had ruled against the government on the issue. Other telephone services will continue to be taxed.

The postal service recently issued a set of stamps depicting motorcycles. A commemorative postmark, available for customers who buy the stamps on the first day of issue, spelled it “motorcyle.” Maybe they could have spelled “bike.”

Dr. Mike Adams is a professor of Criminal Justice at UNC-Wilmington. He has twice won Professor of the Year award and is the author of two books. Despite these credentials, Adams was recently denied promotion to a full professorship. The University gave no specific reason for its action. Many believe the real reason is that Adams is a conservative who is well-known for criticizing liberal hypocrisy on his campus.

Winston Churchill is well-known for warning of the dangers of Nazi Germany and of Soviet Communism. Less well-known is that over a century ago, in 1899, he had some very politically-incorrect things to say about Muslims:

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries. Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia [Rabies] in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. ...The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

“Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities—but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith….were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”