| Year | Event
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| 1861 | President Lincoln signed into law the first federal government income tax that levied only 3% of your income over $800. The first federal income tax was collected on Aug 4, 1862. It was meant as a Civil-war tax only and was rescinded in 1872.
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| 1861 | Between 1851 and 1874, celebrated authorities made reports advancing various plans for improving the Mississippi River, and semi-accurate maps were compiled. The most comprehensive report was filed on this date with the Bureau of Topographical Engineers of the U.S. Army (later to be "Corps of Engineers") by Capt. A.A. Humphreys and Lt. H.L. Abbot. This "classic of engineering literature" provided the basis for the development plan for the river and is still used more than 100 years later. From this plan, the original Mississippi flood control levees were constructed, allowing the full development of the huge amount of agriculture we have today in the flood plane.
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| 1914 | Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
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| 1981 | Under the orders of President Reagan (R), the federal government began firing air traffic controllers who had gone out on strike.
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| 1997 | National Debt Limit increased from $5.5 trillion to $5.95 trillion so that we can continue to live far beyond our means.
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| 1999 | Clinton (D) issues Executive Order (EO) #13132 that states, "Acts of the national government -- whether legislative, executive, or judicial in nature -- that exceed the enumerated powers of that government under the Constitution violate the principle of federalism established by the Framers" and orders that such abuses be stopped immediately. You did notice a change right? Presumably, any future "Waco" type incidents will be handled by local authorities. And education and welfare will no longer be of interest to the Federal government. EO's are used by some presidents to bypass the legislative process in establishing new laws.
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| 2005 | Today's Example of a Most Interesting Government Purchase: ADS, Inc. Awarded $130,000,000 (total contract could exceed $500 million) Specialty Equipment Prime Vendor Contract to Expedite Special Operational Equipment to DoD and Federal Civilian Agencies. Luke Hillier, Chief Executive Officer of ADS said, "ADS has the ability to rapidly meet the needs of warfighters who are deployed, preparing for deployment or in training here in the United States." [Ain't war fun!]
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| 2007 | Congress passed and the President Bush (R) signed into law the Protect America Act of 2007, which modified the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to give our intelligence community "necessary tools to acquire important information about our enemies." Yes, "Al Qaeda Is Coming, al Qaeda Is Coming, al Qaeda Is Coming". Gives Government Six Months to Turn Internet and Phone Systems into Permanent Spying Architecture.
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