“Whenever anyone wants to prove that millions of Americans are either dumb or just plain nuts, they mention that 12% of the population is convinced that a badly scarred James Dean is living as a hermit and a 450-pound Elvis Presley is working at a 7/11 outside Nashville. I say that doesn’t prove anything beyond wishful thinking. A far more convincing case can be made by pointing out that even now 40% of Americans believe that Barack Obama is doing a bang-up job.
In a saner world, it’s Obama who would be a hermit or working at a 7/11 in Chicago.
One of the 40-percenters is none other than Warren Buffet. Recently he wrote or paid someone to write an op-ed for the NY Times. In it, he groused that rich guys like himself aren’t paying enough in taxes. He complained that he only paid about seven millions dollars in income taxes last year because his rate was a mere 17.4%. He whined that his rate was lower than that of the 20 people working in his office, whose own tax rates ranged from 33-41%.” PLEASE READ MORE
This is not a new argument, nor will it be the last we hear of it. Here’s the thing … No one is stopping Mr. Buffet from paying MORE to the IRS than what is required. No one requires Mr. Buffet to search for loopholes and tax shelters, either! He can pay as much as he wants, if he feels like he is cheating the government! I say, “Put your money where your mouth is, Mr. Buffet!”
WASHINGTON — It sounds like a pretty good deal: Retire at age 38 after 20 years of work and get a monthly pension of half your salary for the rest of your life. All you have to do is join the military.
As the nation tightens its budget belt, the century-old military retirement system has come under attack as unaffordable, unfair to some who serve and overly generous compared with civilian benefits.
That very notion, laid out in a Pentagon-ordered study, sent a wave of fear and anger through the ranks of current and retired military members when it was reported in the news media this month.
If pensions are to be cut, Congress should go first, one person said on the Internet.
“Obviously, we’re concerned about it,” said retired Gen. Gordon Sullivan, an Army chief of staff in the 1990s who heads the nonprofit educational group Association of the United States Army. READ MORE
There’s something happening here.
What it is ain’t exactly clear.
There’s a man with a gun over there,
Telling me I got to beware.
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down … “
Something IS happening here in America. This song was written as a PROTEST song as unrest grew at home during Vietnam under the inflated and misguided influence of the media. That same media is out of control now! When the major networks can get away with blatant lies in order to manipulate the public … Whatever happened to responsible journalism? Like every place else, virtue has declined. It is no longer satisfactory just to write a good story, to uncover some scandal, or inform the public of some dastardly scheme. Journalism has deteriorated into yet another commercially-motivated industry at the expense of journalistic integrity. If WE THE PEOPLE cannot count on the media to inform us, and we can’t count on Washington to be honest with us, then we will have to find a way to stay informed on our own – SELF-RELIANCE! “It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.”
Paranoia strikes deep:
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you’re always afraid.
You step out of line, the man come and take you away.
I watched one of the news shows this morning with Christiane Amanpour. She interviewed White House Chief of State, Bill Daley concerning the budget talks. From start to finish, the administration’s intent was clearly rehearsed and repeated. The aim is to push blame at Republicans who are the “grown ups” here, standing firm at NO TAXES. Repeatedly, Daley used the phrase “kick the can” in reference to the Rep’s righteous, immovable stand while completely negating the two years the Dem’s had to come up with helpful solid economic help, not to mention the several months since Rep Ryan made his ill-timed, but worthy budget proposal. Still no leadership out of the Whitehouse. It has always been the Rep’s to give in, to cave under pressure of becoming the “bad guys.” Not this time – NOT THIS TIME! We cannot afford to bend. Washington must stop spending and NOT at the expense of the upper income brackets who are already paying in excess of 40% of our expenses!
STOP!
The whole default notion is BUNK … Social Security and Medicare have sufficient funds to pay NOW. There are sufficient appropriations to cover current expenses. What we cannot do is allow WASHINGTON to SPEND MORE … and MORE … and MORE … and MORE … and MORE … and MORE … and MORE … and MORE … and more …………. There MUST be a CAP. There must be a balanced Budget amendment, and there must be deep cuts everywhere – even the Defense budget can use some trimming! CUT WASTE!
I think it’s time we stop, WE THE PEOPLE, what’s that sound? Everybody LOOK what’s going down!
“The fundamental source of all your errors,
sophisms and false reasonings is a total ignorance
of the natural rights of mankind.
Were you once to become acquainted with these,
you could never entertain a thought, that all men are not,
by nature, entitled to a parity of privileges.
You would be convinced, that natural liberty is a gift
of the beneficent Creator to the whole human race,
and that civil liberty is founded in that;
and cannot be wrested from any people,
without the most manifest violation of justice.”
Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775
I just can’t keep up with the faux pas of the current administration, not to mention the secrets openly hidden! Amid the “birther” mess and the subsequent release of supposed birth certificate, the significance of this boils down to … Does President Obama LIKE America? Meanwhile we know his wife, Michelle, has said she hasn’t been proud of America in 26 years. I don’t know how they received enough votes to occupy the White House in 2008, but have we seen evidence of their love of country since he took office?
We have millions (and growing) on welfare because it pays better than work. Abuse of the welfare system is notorious and costs the US billions, yet Obama’s administration is afraid to make changes, afraid to cut off those who’d rather do nothing than help themselves. Here’s a 30 yr old man who gets disability benefits… because he wants to be an adult baby. This is just one case, of course, but imagine how many such cases there are nationwide of a welfare lifestyle.
We have President Obama laughing about the Somali pirates who executed four Americans while he campaigns in Boston. Is it possible he thinks the killing of Americans by pirates in the 21st Century is funny?
Now, today, President Obama has gone on record saying he wants Israel to give up the land they re-occupied as a result of the 1967 war. Our long time ally, Israel, already has only a tiny piece of land. They are surrounded by sworn enemies openly hostile, and yet they are being asked to give up part of their land by our illustrious Muslim President. Meanwhile, we’re offering another $1 billion in loan guarantees for both Egypt and Tunisia.
Now, does anyone else read this information and wonder what the heck is going on in Washington? Does anyone CARE? I do,and a know a few of you out there do, but where are the rest of you??? How much more of this will we stand for? Is this administration a representation of your beliefs, hopes, and dreams? Let’s speak our minds, folks! That’s what representation means. It means our elected officials (do you know who they are?) are supposed to represent OUR ideals, beliefs, hopes … not just their own! But if we’re not talking, if we’re not letting them know what we want – what we don’t want, how can they represent us well?
If you don’t know your representatives’ names, check the Online Congressional Directory. Give them a call or send an email. Let your feelings and thoughts be known. Maybe you’ll find there are others who think like you and make new friends! What have you got to lose … besides $4.00 gal gasoline … Obamacare … wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and … along the US Mexican border?
Attached is a graph showing the amount of money that the state has been spending on education in the past 9 years compared to what Pennsylvania’s Gov Corbett (R) has proposed for the new fiscal year. The meddling media, of course, is making a HUGE issue out of the cuts. They’re so drastic! Can you see these drastic cuts? Gov. Corbett is simply taking the budget back to what it was prior to the stimulus money.
This is the kind of thing that just sets my blood boiling! In this case, as with many other issues, the meddling media is putting its own spin on the information. Instead of reporting the facts as shown in this attachment, these irresponsible journalists taint the facts by adjusting the emphasize to the “Republican” action and negate the reality. Instead of saying something like, “We know we have to make reasonable cuts, so let’s give this budget a try, and see if it can work,” they use words like “drastic” and “unreasonable” and portray the poor, suffering children that won’t get the education the deserve because of these horrible cuts! Oh please! How about increased accountability for the money that is available. How about some simple wisdom in the management of these monies! But no, the meddling media has to work to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Yes, it is a cut from the TOTAL money available the last two years, but it is not a drastic cut by any stretch of the imagination. I get so galled by irresponsible journalism!
Another issue? Along with the pain at the pump we’re feeling these days, how many Americans actually get the picture? The meddling media and Congress blame it on Big Oil. Do you really think that’s the problem at this point? Yesterday, the House voted to discontinue the ban on drilling. The Senate will probably not pass it. President Obama said last month that increased drilling would not solve the energy problems we face. “It’s absurd that the president keeps simultaneously claiming there’s nothing he can do right now to fight these rising prices at the pump, while pushing retread arguments from the Jimmy Carter era,” Vitter said in a statement Friday.” First, Obama blamed the increases on Bush, then it was Egypt, then it was Libya. Who is it now, Mr President? I can’t get it out of my head that the Energy Czar said a couple years ago that he wanted to stabilize gas prices so we should pay about the same as Europeans. It that what we want? That seems to be acceptable to the liberal left and the meddling media who willingly look the other way as they push Obama’s agenda! Perhaps Mr President fantasizes himself a 21st century Robin Hood?
Another part of the energy price problem is very simply that the US dollar is not buying as much as it used to buy. Our dollar, because of our extravagant debt, has lost significant value against the British pound, the Euro and other currencies. And still we keep printing it with nothing to back it up. No different that you or I printing it up in our basements, except they have the right paper and ink, etc! If our dollar buys less oil than, say, two years ago, that is figured into the rising cost of oil and passed on to us at the pump. There is a DIRECT relationship between the exorbitant debt and the sinking economy! Does the meddling media report this? Do they attempt to educate the population on this topic? I haven’t seen it!
Well, I guess you get my drift. Why do we give the meddling media so much power in our lives? That’s OUR choice! Choose wisely, my friends!
Everyone who makes more than $250,000 annually, should give Uncle Sam half of their money so that those who do not work, even though technically they are able, can drive new cars, have 52″ plasma TV’s in their apartment, can be given money to buy their tobacco and alcohol products of choice, obtain free medical care, including as many abortions as desired.
Those who make less than $250k, only have to give 25%.
This will encourage …
unity among Americans, since everyone will have something
creative thinking, since everyone will have more free time
entrepreneurship, finding more and more loopholes in the tax system and the welfare system
In addition, if all loopholes are sewn closed and the tax system is as above, the deficit will be reduced quickly – maybe even in this century! Of course, since it is increased spending that reduces debt, the government will have to create a few more bureaus to investigate … something, and make sure more money is handed over to foreign interests.
Rich folks, those whose income exceeds $1,000,000 (that’s 1 million, for those whose education is insufficient), should be rewarded for their hard work, creativity, and diligence with opportunities to donate directly to the non-working segment at will in lieu of giving financial gifts to various government offices, like the IRS.
OK … now, back to reality! (I know, the above is like an American Dream, right?) Those of us that actually have a household budget we must live within know a creditor will not accept the “promise of payment” once the bill payment due date has arrived! We can’t negotiate with our electricity provider for a higher credit limit, especially without making a “regular” scheduled payment. When the amount due exceeds the amount of income, something has to give. We cut spending. We stop eating out, or we cut back to basic cable, or start a carpool … but we DO something to reduce spending to solve the problem.
Our government does the opposite. Instead of reducing spending, they have given obscene amounts to certain corporations (bank and mortgage companies, car manufacturers), allowed other huge corporations (GE, et al) to slide through legal tax loopholes so that they pay only a fraction of their due tax. Meanwhile, the huge sums of bailout monies have produced next to nothing in terms of lasting jobs or income. How much longer will WE, THE PEOPLE permit this outrageous spending. How much more of America can we afford to sell off to China and other nations?
“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and fruits acquired by it!”
Thomas Jefferson
