Obituary of Luella Finlinson

We would be remiss if we did not pay tribute to one of the WRC's finest and most loyal members, Luella Finlinson.  My apologies for not posting her obituary sooner.  It is my understanding that Luella joined the WRC in 1944 and remained active until her death.  She was a tremendous example to all of us.  We honor her, her commitment and her service.

Luella Wheeler Finlinson (September 11, 1911 - June 13, 2010)  Luella Wheeler Finlinson passed away on Sunday, June 13, 2010, at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah within three months of her 99th birthday from complications related to a stroke. She was a lifelong resident of the South Cottonwood region of Murray. Luella was born on September 11, 1911 to Jesse Hyrum and Rena Doty Wheeler. She was raised on the Vine Street Wheeler Farm. While Luella never moved far from her original home, she traveled the world and touched the lives of many people. Luella lived an active life, full of family, faith and service. In the weeks before her passing, she hosted a family dinner, directed the Memorial Day decorating of graves, attended a play, baked cupcakes for her oldest great-grandchild’s 13th birthday and lead the music in her ward Relief Society meeting. Luella was the ultimate example of enduring to the end with grace, charm and determination. Education was always important to her. Luella attended Woodstock Elementary, and Granite High School, and graduated with a teaching degree from the University of Utah with High Honors in 1933. While attending the U, Luella became a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority and participated in a “DG” sponsored social and philanthropic activities for the rest of her life. As a DG, Luella participated in testing preschool children for “lazy eye blindness.” After graduation, Luella continued to test preschool children and eventually served as an officer of the Utah Society For The Prevention of Blindness. The last time she tested preschool children was in the Spring of 2010. Luella taught school for six years in the Murray, Granite and Jordan School Districts. At the U, Luella met and later married Fred Lyman Finlinson on June 13, 1939 in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of three children, Fred, David (deceased) and Judy. Music was an important part of Luella’s life. She was a member of the Tabernacle Choir for twenty eight years, which provided her historic opportunities, like the first European Concert tour and the first satellite TV broadcast. Luella sang in her ward choir all of her adult life and loved attending musical performances. Luella was actively engaged in civic, social, political, legal and church activities. She as served in almost every position in the P.T.A, on elementary and secondary levels. Luella has served on the Women’s State Legislative Council, initially representing the LDS Relief Society. Her last session was the 2010 General Session ending in March of this year. Luella was also active in the Utah Women’s Republican Club and the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Her mother, Rena Doty Wheeler, was one of the founders of the Cottonwood Maternity Home. Luella has followed her mother’s example and has served in support of health care. Luella has served on the Amicus Board. Since 1976, she has been a member of the Cottonwood-Alta View Health Care Foundation and then as a member of the Deseret Foundation for the IHC Hospitals in Salt Lake Valley. Luella received special recognition awards from each organization that she served in; but far more important than the awards, were the friends she journeyed with along the way. Luella was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She always had a calling. The Relief Society, however, was always dear to Luella’s heart, serving as the Ward Relief Society President, Stake Relief Society President, and as a member of the General Board. Luella was released on 6th of June, 2010 from her assignment as the Ward Relief Society Chorister. Luella’s greatest calling was “Mother” and her greatest devotion was to her family. Luella rarely missed a dance recital, piano concert or birthday of any of her grandchildren and her great grandchildren. Her home was the site of countless parties and Sunday dinners. Luella’s high point was Christmas Eve as her family gathered in her living room to sing Christmas carols and read from Luke about the birth of Christ. “Believing Blood” ran deep in Luella and she passed the strength of her testimony in the Savior and the restored gospel on to her family. She is survived by her son Fred (Chris) Finlinson and her daughter Judy (John) Lever, 16 grandchildren, 14 grandchildren spouses, and 32 great grandchildren. Luella was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, her husband, Fred, her son, David, daughter-in-law, Jeanne Finlinson and son-in-law, John Lever. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 19, 2010, at the South Cottonwood Chapel, 5600 South and Vine Street, Murray, Utah. The services will start at 12:00 pm. There will be viewings on Friday, June 18, 2010 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Saturday, June 19, 2010 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am at the South Cottonwood Chapel. Interment will be at the Murray City Cemetery. In Lieu of Flowers, the Family suggests a contribution to the Perpetual Education Fund.

Women's Leadership Summit

Please see the following letter from Kitty Dunn, Vice-Chair of the Utah GOP.


I'm writing to encourage you to save the date of Friday September 24, 2010.  On that day the Utah Republican Party will present a Women's Leadership Summit.  Because of your involvement in the political arena I think you are a perfect candidate to attend this event.

The "Women's Leadership Summit - Increase Your Influence in Utah Politics" is a Utah Republican Party program under the direction of the Vice Chair.  The summit will be an all day event held on Friday, September 24th at the Utah State Capitol building. There will be a $10 registration fee that will cover breakfast, lunch and materials.  

Our goal is to increase women's involvement in the political arena.  The workshops will be presented from a "how to" premise.  We want women to not only be informed but more importantly to know that they can, and should, have more influence in the political arena.  We will offer instruction as to how to launch and build a successful career of involvement in politics as a volunteer, a professional, part-time or full-time.

Our summit will be pro-active by offering workshops in each of the areas where women can make a real difference and have influence in the political process.  The following workshops will be conducted by experts and professionals:

·         You as a Candidate


·         You as a Political Consultant


·         You as a Fundraiser


·         You as a Lobbyist


·         You as a Grassroots Activist


·         You as a Commissioner or Committee Member 

Our keynote speaker will be our own RNC National Committeewoman Enid Mickelsen.  During lunch there will be a video presentation recognizing women from Utah who have been or are contemporary political leaders.  The program will not end with the summit.  We will continue through the year with follow-up seminars and workshops where women will receive more detailed instructions, mentoring, and opportunities for networking and involvement. 




Please save the date and watch for registration details that I will be sending to you soon - and please share this email with friends you think would be interested in the summit.  I am excited about this event and I hope you will plan to attend.

Best,

Kitty Dunn

Utah Republican Party Vice Chair

801-856-0267  801-856-0267

kittydunn@comcast.net

Meeting Reminder

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, August 19th at 12PM at the Salt Lake Country Club.  Kitty Dunn, Vice-Chair of the Utah GOP, will be speaking.  Please also join us for lunch afterward at 1PM in the Grill.  Please invite your friends and neighbors.  Thank you for your dedication and commitment to our small, but growing, club.  Together we can make a positive difference.  

(The Salt Lake Country Club is located at approximately 2400 South 2400 East in SLC.)

The following obituary appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal this past week.

CHARLOTTE MCCOURT Charlotte M. Tidwell McCourt, 84, of Pahrump, passed away July 8, 2010, after a long illness. She was born Dec. 25, 1925, in Wellington, Utah, and was a 40-year resident of Nevada. Charlotte held a zest for life and loved serving her family of five children; 20 grandchildren; and 65 great-grandchildren. She had been the wife of Patrick L. McCourt for 67 happy years. Active in her community, she assisted in many political figures' campaign efforts. As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Charlotte served as a leader in the Relief Society for over 20 years. She and her beloved husband also served a full-time mission in the Cabanatuan Mission in the Phillipines. Charlotte is survived by her husband, Patrick; children, Pat and Nellie McCourt, Dan and Lanny Shea, Bill and Marsha Sortor, David and Sherry d'Hulst, and Tom and Ann McMullin; and many grandchildren. A memorial service was held Saturday, July 10, at the LDS Chapel, 921 E. Wilson, in Pahrump. We believe that Mom would say she was mortified to have taken a large role in the election of Harry Reid to U.S. Congress. Let the record show Charlotte was displeased with his work. Please, in lieu of flowers, vote for another more worthy candidate.

Americans for Tax Reform

The following article was found at www.atr.org.  Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling just a little outraged?

Six Months to Go Until The Largest Tax Hikes in History

From Ryan Ellis on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 5:27 PM

In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect.  They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:
(N.B. This version of the document contains even more tax hikes than the original version did)

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.  These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise.  The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.  All the rates in between will also rise.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family.  The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income.  The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.  The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.  The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax.  This year, there is no death tax.  For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million.  A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors.  The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.  The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.  These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave: Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare.  Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011.  They include:

The Tanning Tax.  This went into effect on July 1st of this year.  It imposes a new, 10% excise tax on getting a tan at a tanning salon.  There is no exemption for tanners making less than $250,000 per year.

The “Medicine Cabinet Tax”  Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike.  This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Brand Name Drug Tax.  Starting next year, there will be a multi-billion dollar tax assessment imposed on name-brand drug manufacturers.  This tax, like all excise taxes, will raise the price of medicine, hurting everyone.

Economic Substance Doctrine.  The IRS is now empowered to disallow perfectly-legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks “economic substance.”  This is obviously an arbitrary empowerment of IRS agents.

Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on a W-2.  This will start for W-2s in the 2011 tax year.  While not a tax increase in itself, it makes it very easy for Congress to tax employer-provided healthcare benefits later.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.  These major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year.  According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million.  These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level.  The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear.  Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000.  This will be cut all the way down to $25,000.  Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment.  In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.  There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place.  The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others.  Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.  The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.  Tax credits for education will be limited.  Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.  Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.  Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.  The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.  Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.  This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.”  This ability will no longer be there.

An Interesting Article Regarding Arizona's Illegal Immigration Battle

July 09, 2010

Arizona's Constitutional War Powers

By James Carender

Given the levels of illegal migration and narco-trafficking across its southern border, the State of Arizona deserves America's commendation for the remarkable restraint it has exhibited in dealing with what has become a most serious international and domestic problem.

Arizona Senate Bill 1070, signed into law by Governor Janice K. Brewer on April 23, 2010, is a tiptoe exercise through an immigration minefield. In its essence, however, the law demands roughly no more of an individual than is required to open an account at the local video store. Indeed, the law presumes that one is not an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States if a valid Arizona driver license, non-operating identification license, tribal enrollment or identification card, or U.S. federal- or state- or local government-issued identification is presented, and if that issuing entity requires proof of legal presence in the United States before issuance of the identification card (Arizona Senate Bill 1070, Section 2). The bill appears intended to work hand in glove with federal immigration statutes and to "discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic activity by persons unlawfully present in the United States" (Section 1).

The route taken by the State of Arizona, enactment of Senate Bill 1070, is far less severe than it could have been if the route taken had been war, as granted to the states by the U.S. Constitution.

Article 1, Section 10, Cl. 3 of the Constitution of the United States of America provides that "[n]o state shall, without the consent of Congress ... engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay."

This section of the U.S. Constitution gives to the State of Arizona (or any other State) the right to engage in war if "actually invaded" or if there is "such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay." This right is reserved to the states to be exercised without the necessity of obtaining the consent of Congress in the described exigent circumstances. Without question, the debate, should Arizona have chosen this road not heretofore taken, would have centered on the meaning of the terms "invaded" and "imminent danger." Those are, in fact, arguable issues. But if drug lords are posting sentries with AK-47s on hilltops inside the State of Arizona to protect drug transport routes, and if "coyotes" are ravaging the fragile Arizona desert with their never-ending human chains, then the debate is settled. 

Enactment of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 should not have been necessary, nor should the State of Arizona ever be put into the position of having to choose war because of a "guarantee" in, again, the U.S. Constitution. Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution of the United States of America provides that

[t]he United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and, on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

This section of the U.S. Constitution clearly mandates that the United States government shall protect Arizona against invasion and, on application of the Arizona legislature (or the governor when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence! President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Reid, and Speaker Pelosi are not fulfilling their constitutional duty to protect Arizona from the long-enduring invasion of drug smugglers and illegal migrants.

In a well-documented article, Joe Griffith describes how progressive Democrat President Woodrow Wilson was faced with a violent border situation, in 1915, when Pancho Villa and his men conducted raids along the U.S.-Mexico border. Villa and his men launched a horrific raid against the people of Columbus, New Mexico, killing many of the residents and burning much of the town. President Wilson dispatched Brigadier General John J. Pershing and his troops to protect the border.

Our Constitution is not purely a charter of negative liberties. It places affirmative burdens of utmost importance squarely on the shoulders of the members of Congress and the president. The Constitution demands of our national leaders (and guarantees) that the United States shall protect every state in this union against invasion. There has been (and continues to be) a critical failure on the part of the president (the Commander in Chief) and the U.S. Congress when it comes to border enforcement and stopping the invasion. Pancho Villa's "invasion" and destruction were not the actions of a government, yet President Wilson exercised his authority under the Constitution to send federal troops to protect the border. The current "invasion" has not been shown to be an invasion by the government of Mexico, and the question arises why President Obama cannot do as president Wilson did and secure our southern border. The president did take an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," and that includes the Constitutional mandate that he shall protect Arizona and every other state from invasion.

The author is retired and a former felony prosecutor/assistant District Attorney in a Texas border town.

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