[Editor’s note: Last week Bob Paxton described how FAIRtax Power Radio began. This week Bob goes into how the show is produced and brought to you.]
THE FAIRTAX GUYS
PART 2 OF 2: HOW FAIRTAX POWER RADIO [AND INTERNET TV] IS BROUGHT TO YOU
By Bob Paxton
One of the two FAIRtax Guys
FAIRtax Power Radio is a weekly video streaming program that airs at 11:30 AM Eastern time every Wednesday. Generally, we go to Big Daddy Studios in Gainesville, Florida, every other week. We are fortunate that Big Daddy Studios is owned by FAIRtax supporter, Tony McNight, who generously donates the use of the facility. We do one show live, then we record another one to play the following week. The program streams on the FAIRtax Official Facebook page and on the subscription service xcluded.tv. The audio portion is also available as a podcast on the Spreaker platform.
About a week ahead of time, Florida FAIRtax President, Ron Maiellaro, and I put our heads together and plan the content of our next two programs. Many times our direction is driven by current events. Back when all the Lois Lerner stuff was in the news, we spent a great deal of time pointing out how abusive the IRS can be and making the case that it needs to be abolished, and the FAIRtax is the only way to do that.
We get a lot of good ideas and questions from listeners who send us email. Sometimes Randy Fischer [FAIRtax Marketing and Communications Team Leader] sends us articles he runs across that we can use, and Ron's wife Elaine will come up with some good stuff on occasions. While we generally have an idea of what topic we want to cover and what articles we want to present, the show is not scripted. We pretty much wing it, and I like that air of spontaneity.
We generally don't have guests, but we have had FAIRtax President and Board Chair, Steve Hayes, on a couple of times. We've also done shows with Congressman Ted Yoho, Ron's Congressman and a solid FAIRtax supporter, and we've interviewed Florida Special Projects Person, FAIRtax expert, and former Presidential Candidate, Kerry Bowers, as well. Bowers has also been a candidate for Congress from the Third Congressional District of Nevada.
Kerry Bowers
My favorite guest, however, was Thomas Jefferson. I wrote a radio play based on an article that Steve Hayes wrote in which Jefferson comes back through time and is horrified at what the Federal government has turned into. He is especially horrified at the income tax which was expressly forbidden in the original Constitution. I got a couple radio buddies of mine, Mel Turner and Chip Morris, to voice it, and it turned out to be one of our most popular episodes. So much so that we wrote a sequel in which Jefferson returns after the FAIRtax becomes law and finds things much more to his liking.
About a month ago, I thought it would be a good idea to do a "FAIRtax Volunteer Spotlight" where we would bring FAIRtax volunteers from all around the country on the program and talk about what's happening in places other than Florida. Jim Bennett was our first and, so far, only guest for that segment. Hopefully, we'll be able to find others to talk to and keep that segment going.
As for how to find the program, we stream on the FAIRtax Official Facebook page, and also on the subscription service xcluded.tv. All programs are archived for viewing at the viewer's leisure.
Bob Paxton at the Board
Bob Paxton’s telecommunications talent comes from his start as a radio DJ working at various stations in North Carolina and Florida (WMDE, Greensboro NC; WTIK, Durham NC; WMOP, Ocala FL; WRYO, Crystal River FL). Bob learned that radio is fun, but that fun doesn't pay the bills. He transitioned to computer programming, working as an IBM mainframe computer programmer for Central Florida Community College in Ocala and for NEFEC (Putnam County School Board) in Palatka. Bob retired in 2011.
Bob became interested in the FAIRtax from listening to radio talk show host, Neal Boortz. Upon his retirement, Bob volunteered in the Florida FAIRtax Educational Association.
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CALL FOR PICTURES AND WRITEUPS
We need MORE of you to send in pictures and news. If you have anything to share, please send your material to me at jim.bennett@fairtax.org, or text me at (908) 578-4975, or fax me at (908) 598-2888. When others see your activity, they are inspired, and the process snowballs. When the process snowballs, Congress Members and Senators and, yes, even the President start to listen.