The movie that made Chuck Norris tear up: Last Ounce of Courage

New project earns highest accolades from legendary tough guy

WND:

A movie debuting Friday, “Last Ounce of Courage,” already is a one-of-a-kind as the only film ever to earn the “Chuck Norris Seal of Approval.”

The veteran martial arts champion, action movie and “Walker, Texas Ranger” star loves it so much it’s the only film he’s promoted, aside from the ones in which he appeared.

Actor Marshall Teague, who plays the lead in the movie, told WND that when he gave his longtime friend Norris a rough cut of the movie to review, he was hoping for some advice.

What he got from Norris was even more than an unqualified endorsement, as the legendary tough guy asked for permission to promote the film.

Read Drew Zahn’s review of “Last Ounce” that addresses Christians and soldiers, and get a sneak peak at reactions to the project.

How much did it impact Norris?

“When we finished the film, I must say Carlos was misty,” Teague told WND.

Wait, that can’t be. Chuck Norris Fact No. 16 says, “Chuck Norris never uses a stunt double, except during crying scenes.”

Or maybe what Teague was seeing was just the result of Fact No. 93, “Chuck Norris uses Tabasco sauce for eye drops.”

The movie, Teague tells WND, is about faith, family and freedoms.

“I’m talking about the freedoms we as a nation enjoy every day, speech, religion, the freedom to gather,” Teague said.

The story revolves around the mayor of a small town, where Bob Revere, played by Teague (“Roadhouse,” “The Rock” and “Armageddon”) is challenged by the apathy that is eroding America’s basic freedoms.

It’s bound to be a success.

“This is the only movie in my life that I’ve ever promoted that I’m not in,” Norris said in an interview about the project. “I just want to encourage … everyone to go see this movie. You will not be disappointed.”

See the interview:

Teague told WND that the U.S. is the greatest country on earth, but people have stopped noticing.

“Wake up people,” he said. “Take a moment of your day and realize what you have, what has been given to you by people, our forefathers. They saw in the future how great this country could be.”

In a commentary for WND, Norris wrote: “I will also let you in on a little secret about the movie: The mega-inspiring speech given by Marshall Teague’s character near the end of the movie from atop a downtown building was unscripted and flowed from his patriot passion in a way that rivals the best patriotic or faith orator.”

He continued: “There is no more perfect time than right now for the release of ‘Last Ounce of Courage,’ being roughly two months away from electing a new president. It can help us take back America. In particular, it can help motivate the 30 million evangelical Christians who stayed home during the 2008 election when Obama won the presidency by 10 million votes.

“This general election could be our last chance to save our republic as our founders created and knew it, and it’s going to take all of our last ounces of courage to do it.”

See the movie’s trailer:

Teague told WND there have been changes in the U.S., people converse via computer rather then speaking face-to-face, events are moving faster, and there are so many more deadlines and pressures.

But, he said, Americans “need to stop … and really take time and go meet your neighbor, and say hello.”

The mutual relationship that can result, he said, is called “respect.”

It’s needed now more than ever, because, as Ronald Reagan said, freedom is never more than one generation away from being lost, Teague said.

“Our country was formed by a people who saw the future,” he said. “It is our responsibility to keep this nation great and stand by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”

He continued: “When one voice connects to another, and another, and another … what you end up with is a choir of voices that can be heard across the nation.”

Teague said the project also honors the nation’s military, whose sacrifices have continued to protect freedom, as well as the youth, through the character who challenges Teague in the movie.

It’s a Veritas Communications project by the film company dedicated to making films with a purpose.

In a statement released announcing the decision to award “The Chuck Norris Seal of Approval” to the movie, Norris said, “I neither star in, nor do I have an above-the-line credit on, or other affiliation with, ’Last Ounce of Courage. ‘

“Yet allowing the use of my ‘Official Seal of Approval’ is the least I can do to support a project so consistent with my core values and life principles. In addition to the film’s basic reminder that our precious freedoms are not always free, Marshall Teague gives the performance of his career as a small-town mayor who is inspired by his grandson to take a stand when a public religious display honoring his fallen son in Iraq is targeted for removal. No one should miss the message of this motion picture or his moving performance.”

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Time for TEA and a Fair Tax

by  Chuck Norris

Teatime, anyone? I hope you've joined one of the thousands of TEA (Taxed Enough Already) parties or FairTax rallies, which are happening across the country April 15 to protest outrageous government spending, the deepening of our national debt, and the subsequent taxes. This is a nonpartisan time to rally around like-minded citizens and declare that we're tired of the same old political rhetoric and that we want a better way.

I personally encourage all people to voice to their representatives that we need to return to a taxation system similar to the one established by our Founding Fathers. They did not penalize productivity through taxes the way we do today. They had no Internal Revenue Service. They believed in minimal taxation. They did not pay income taxes, which were prohibited by the Constitution. They did not pay export taxes, which also were prohibited by the Constitution. But they did tax imports. The Founders believed in free trade within our own borders and a system of tariffs on imported goods.

That's a system that makes sense to me. It is a system designed to preserve individual liberty and encourage productivity (through no income taxes and no discouragement of domestic production through export taxes) while choosing to keep taxes as painless as possible (through taxes on foreign imports). And it doesn't require an IRS to run it.

The Founders would have been horrified at the bloated federal bureaucracy we have now and the maze of taxes we have to navigate: income taxes, employment taxes, capital gains taxes, estate taxes, corporate taxes, property taxes, Social Security taxes, gas taxes, etc. It was excessive taxation like this that drove the Founders to rebel in the first place.

All of the Founders were opposed to domestic taxes. They regarded high taxes and aggressive tax collectors as tyrannical and always to be guarded against. Patrick Henry warned: "Excisemen may come in multitudes, for the limitation of their numbers no man knows. They may, unless the general government be restrained by a bill of rights or some similar restriction, go into your cellars and rooms and search, ransack and measure everything you eat, drink and wear." (A prophetic statement?)
The IRS wasn't started until nearly 100 years after the Revolutionary War, in 1862 as the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Its creation coincided with the creation of the income tax, which it was designed to collect. Both were the work of President Abraham Lincoln and Congress, who saw them as necessary to pay for Civil War expenses.

It is interesting to note, however, that the income tax law expired 10 years later, was revived in 1894, and then was ruled by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 1895. Yet in 1913, it became law through the 16th Amendment. Ever since then, the income tax has deprived families of their rightful earnings, restricted our liberties, and deprived our economy of money that could have been invested in productive enterprises.

Today the IRS is the No. 1 enemy of your pocketbook. Who doesn't fear an IRS audit? It's the only federal agency that considers you guilty until proven innocent. It can't be overhauled or even reformed (Congress' attempts have failed).

The best answer is to abolish the IRS, sweep away the present tax code, and implement FairTax's plan, which lives up to its name. As Mike Huckabee says, "Wouldn't it be nice if April 15 were just another sunny spring day?" (Mike himself will be hosting a FairTax rally in Columbia, S.C.)

FairTax's plan would do away with all taxes and would put in their place a single consumptive (fair) tax, which right now is the closest practical proposal to the taxation system favored by the Founders. With the fair tax, the harder you worked and the more money you made the better off you and our economy would be. You would pay taxes only when you bought something, which means that you could control how much you'd be taxed and that you never would be penalized for working hard.

It's time we had a system through which people didn't have to figure out ways to cheat in order to save their money. Again, as Huckabee says: "The fair tax is a completely transparent tax system. It doesn't increase taxes. It's revenue-neutral. But here's what it will do: It will bring business back to the United States that is leaving our shores because our tax laws make it impossible for an American-based business to compete. … The fair tax was designed by economists from Harvard and Stanford and some of the leading think tanks across the country."
There are also trillions of dollars hiding in offshore accounts. With the fair tax, the people with their money offshore could bring it back to invest here, which would give a huge boost to our economy. It's the biggest stimulation package there is. As the FairTax Web site says, "Think of it as the World's Biggest Economic Jumper Cables."

If the Founding Fathers were here today, I believe they would support the fair tax. As James Madison said, "Taxes on consumption are always least burdensome because they are least felt and are borne, too, by those who are both willing and able to pay them; that of all taxes on consumption, those on foreign commerce are most compatible with the genius and policy of free states."

We don't need more tax reform. We need a tax revolution! And FairTax's plan would provide it. If we all jumped on the bandwagon and demanded our representatives implement such a taxation system, we could restore our nation economically and make the financially impossible become possible again.

Friends, we must keep fighting. Join your nearest TEA party or FairTax rally, and bring your cell phone, too, so that you can call Congress and the president to share why you've gathered together. (The phone number for representatives and senators is 202-224-3121, and the president's is 202-456-1414.)

If you haven't found the nearest location for a TEA party or FairTax rally, go to http://www.TeaPartyDay.com or http://www.FairTax.org. Invite your friends, too. And don't forget to bring copies of this article or another one that explains the fair tax so others can be educated, as well. Why wait? Forward it now to everyone you know, and let's get the party rolling!

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Tax Day Tea Party

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power