It’ll be apocalyptic one way or another, kids!
Not that there was much doubt or suspense about it, but as you all know Barack Obama will run for a second term as president of these old United States. He has made it official.
I will certainly vote for him again. And twice or three times if I could get away with it. Oh, not that I am or ever was so enamored of Obama. I was a Hillary man. But Obama took the nomination and he was certainly better than Frick and Frack — McCain and Palin. So I cast my vote and knew what I was in for, what we were all in for.
He kept some promises and broke others. That’s politics. His measured way of speaking and thinking and acting annoyed me. That’s a personal take on his personality. He’d be ridiculous trying to be any more animated or “involved.” This is who he is.
The racism attendant to his run reared its head even higher the day he was sworn in. Please — what do you think the “birthers” are all about? The Republicans were dedicated to opposing him from day one. But then again, that’s politics too. I don’t recall too many Democrats on board for G.W. Bush. After 9/11 they were simply afraid to go against him — if you did, you were a traitor. Literally. So, you know — sure, let’s invade Iraq.
Obama has prolonged the hopelessness of Afghanistan, continues to imprison hundreds without a trial in Gitmo, and poked into Libya without much enthusiasm. On the latter, I prefer his approach to what would have been a much more hawkish Clinton presidency.
I’m no economist, I only know what I read. So, I read things are bad. We are owned by China (nothing new there!) and also by big business (nothing new there!) Unemployment is down slightly but millions still languish. My own financial situation is dire, but that’s because I am an idiot.
I agree with Obama’s health care policies. I was very disappointed that he compromised so drastically and left so much of it to be handled (poorly) by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Still, some good things were implemented.
Despite my own gayness, I am not terribly, terribly interested in DADT or even gay marriage. On the subject of wedlock I always say — all I want is the same rights that a heterosexual Death Row prisoner enjoys. But frankly I’m more concerned about Social Security. (Or the distressing omnipresence of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”) Our orange-blossom day will come. But it is the least of my worries as an American citizen.
My worry now is the upcoming campaign and its inevitable ugliness. As bad as the run for the presidency was, the dash to maintain or topple it will be worse. Nothing crystallized this more terribly than Donald Trump morphing into a Birther. Will he run for president? Unlikely. Is he positioning himself to be a rich, bufoonish handsomely rewarded handmaiden to a new Republican administration? Yes indeed.
So, sit back, take a deep breath and a Xanax. If you are for Obama you are going to weep at what is on its way — nothing but nothing will be out of bounds now. (They have got to get “that Black Man” out of the White House.) If you are against Obama, you will weep with pleasure.
Oh, and for you Sarah Palin fans out there — I feel for you, too, if she runs. No matter what, she is a human being. She has been cheerfully successful playing a perpetual professional victim. Next year, she might not be so cheerful. Next year she might really be a victim.
Still, I have a sense of tingly anticipation. Because what else is there to be truly excited about and involved in? Next year, movies and celebrities and Charlie and Lindsay and the cast of “Jersey Shore” will still exist. But it will seem absurd to even think of them. Indeed — as it was during the last presidential campaign — it will seem absurd to even think about a “serious” celebrity such as Meryl Streep!
Another great big dose of history is right around the corner. No matter the outcome, it’s gonna be a hellacious ride. I hope my blood pressure medication is up to it!
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Politically brave? I would say politically suicidal if the Republicans decide to pass it all which of course Obama will sign into law. Because he has to. The way Clinton signed a lot of things into law. Because he had to. He didn’t have to do anything. Neither does Obama.
The cuts in Medicaid are already scaring a lot of Republicans. The ones who spent a fortune hiding their parents assets so they could get them on Medicaid and into nursing homes and who may now have to take mom and pop in so to speak. Of course, they are the party of “family values” so they should have taken them in to begin with.
The Tea Party arrived and claimed it was for Main Street. It is for Wall Street. The Coffee Party is apparently finally arriving. Claiming it is for Main Street. It will be for Wall Street also. Wall Street, after all, sponsors both teams. Which is why regardless of who wins or loses the game the sponsor still wins. The fans of course don’t see that. Politics has become nothing more than a football game. With fans who obviously never made it through high school. Some apparently didn’t make it through kindergarten. Me, I’m ready to go back to the Jack Daniels Party and sit by and watch the apocalypse in bliss.
My prediction is the Democrats will take back Congress. And have a Republican president to deal with. But in the end, well, Main Street won’t matter. Only Wall Street. The Democrats and the Republicans have made the quite clear for the past 30 years.
9:28 am | April 6, 2011 -
Yep, Paul, table talk it will be. This is a plan dedicated almost entirely to slashing social spending in a country that’s already the stingiest spender in the developed world, while simultaneously cutting taxes on the rich in a country with the lowest tax rates in the developed world. Ryan brings Alice Rivlin into this, but she has said she does not agree with his finished product. Ryan’s plan might be politically brave, but I agree with Snooks–-it’s politically suicidal.
10:46 am | April 6, 2011-
Oh God, I sincerely hope you’re right! Paul Ryan has to go along with Governor Walker.
12:03 am | April 7, 2011
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It may take more than a Xanax. Every time I tune in to what Congress is doing, I feel like I have entered the Twilight Zone. The last time I paid any serious attention to Wonder Boy Paul Ryan ( R-Wis.), he was busy convincing George Bush that it would be a swell idea to turn Social Security over to that merry band of fellows better known as Wall St. Today I discover he is at it again. This time it’s Medicare. Wonder Boy believes it would be better off with the insurance companies. The biggest problem with Medicare is fraud. But in their usual maniacal fashion, the Republicans are again hell bent on burning down the barn to flush out the rat.
As for 2012, Obama doesn’t need to campaign. At present, the Republicans seem to be doing a fine job of helping him get re-elected.
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Dear Maggie…looking at the Republican field, I’d say Obama has a pretty good chance of being a two term president. But it is by no means a slam dunk. Personally, I never thought he had the “mojo” his greatest admirers insisted he possessed. But whatever he had that he don’t have now—as the song from “On a Clear Day…” goes–he better get it back.
11:28 am | April 6, 2011
I hope that we get new congressional members elected with common sense in office so the old guard gets swept out. I am tired of hearing that the unemployed brought their situations on themselves. I am appalled that low teacher pay and benefits are being attacked as too generous. Recently I heard that the poor do not deserve college opportunities. Congress has already stripped away protection laws that helped rape the average American of significant savings and investments. It seems that they are trying to create a two tiered society those who have and those of no significance. Do they not realize that they will never have new or improved technology if there is no middle class? Don’t they realize that many of the goods and services the wealthy enjoy come from the development of products for mass production? Brain power comes from every walk of life let’s not forget the many of the past elite were so inbred that they produced idiots. We can change this attitude by voting.
I see the 2012 election to be rather smooth and uneventful. Hillary appears to be comfortable (so we think) at the level that she has reached, and Sarah Palin is too celebrity, opposes too politically, viewed. In terms of being a mouth piece for the Republican Party, then Palin has that skill…as well. She has diluted herself with too many interviews, books, issues involving her personal life, “I’m just a hockey mom”. Though she had increased her exposure to the American people in the past election, she hasn’t moved forward quick enough to be seen as an appropriate candidate. Her views are purely Christian, leaving no wiggle room. America is too diverse to endorse that. Or it should be.
Obama won my vote again as he stood at the podium endorsing the, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as hundreds cheered…except those who represented our military forces, who sat like stone. I realized that this man could not be bought and sold, and actually had a conscious when so many before him took a safer route. He admits his same sex martial views are evolving, so he is capable of change and allowing others to know that as well. He is teachable. We’ve had marriage, between gays, here in Mass for years.
I have seen too many restrictions on direct client care that do not have an insurance plan to cover them properly, so they have had to suffer without services or time sensitive services while others have endless insurance covered because they have met a certain criteria. This applies to the middle class more than any other population of citizens. It is unfair and causes other elements of societal issues to become imbalance because the problem was not addressed adequately in the first place. I support Health Care Reform. I have seen the damage that “not having it” does.
So, to me…this is a no brainer. There will be four more years of settling the national deficit, and these figures, once you start talking in terms of trillions, change continuously from day to day. He has a lot of work ahead of him but I hope that without another (2016) campaign being a motivator, he does now sit on these issues and let things slide into the next administration.
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Forcing people to buy health insurance they can’t afford to actually use is not health care reform. It is a stimulus for the health care insurance industry as well as the health care industy although the industry may find the profit ain’t there for them when even more people stop going to the doctor because they can’t afford to. Although it will help the public health care system make up for the losses from Medicaid as both Medicare and private health insurance patients who can’t pay the deductible but can pay something begin to move to the public health care system. The poor, as always, will still suffer.
I have to laugh every time I read that Obama is a socialist. He is an oligarchist. And will retire comfortably the way the Clintons did. And no doubt will spend summers at Kennebunkport. Along with the Clintons. And raising funds for disasters that somehow never seem to reach the victims of the disasters but do seem to provide new emplyment opportunities for the political friends who were loyal. And need a job.
PT Barnum was right about a sucker being born every minute. They should erect a monument in his honor in Washington. He, after all, is the patron saint of all politicians.
9:38 am | April 6, 2011-
Dear Baby…amen sister, to your last graph. I still vote and I still hope, but I sure don’t ever hope for much.
11:30 am | April 6, 2011 -
Heath Care Reform (Reformation) is directed towards the middle class, who are now getting the short end of the stick. The no income/ low income population who live below the poverty line are eligible for health care through state and federal programs and pay nothing for insurance and/or medication. The upper class can afford the 435 dollars a month taken out of their 250,000 dollar annual salaries that most private (business) insurance costs. If they choose to directly pay for medical services, they get the best and the most aesthetic benefits…like cosmetic surgery and such. It is the middle class who are paying 435 dollars a month taken out of their 35,000 dollar a year jobs who are most burdened. Those who live pay check to pay check. The population of people that are dwindling away. This is what needs to be reformed. The very rich are not affected, neither are the very poor. Making the same type of insurance available to all populations seems the most logical, and it is the direction in which we are going. A collective system of insurance available for all, federally funded. THIS is what the reformation is all about.1:17 pm | April 6, 2011
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Mrs. Clinton (why is it also OK to call women in public office by their first names but men are always referred to by their last names?) has already stated that she does not want to serve a second term as Secretary of State. I think that is a damn shame because I feel she has done a very good job in a very HARD position. Sarah Palin has pretty much whined herself out of any sort of serious contention. Her “reality” TV series showed America just how much she is NOT like them – most of us can’t call up a helicopter to take us on a game shoot nor do we live in a huge compound. A lot of her “hockey mom” base dropped away from her after they got a good look at all of that, and heard her statements on a few other matters.
I was wildly excited by Mr. Obabma’s election and I am still thrilled that he is our President. Am I pleased at everything he has done – or not done, as the case may be? No, of course not. He’s a politician and that means compromise. I feel that he has not been as forceful as I’d like him to be on several issues and there are times when his dispassionate delivery can make me insane. I want him to get angry and call out these Tea Party and Republican blockaders for the obstructionists they are. They have sat on their hands and refused to do anything of consequence so that they can say that nothing has changed and it is all the President’s fault. I want someone to get up and call them out on that crap.
Where are the jobs the Republicans promised they were going to produce if they were elected? They have wasted their time trying to repeal the Health Care Act – an Act that many more people are now in favor of because they are seeing real benefits to it. They are wasting time trying to figure out ways to strip what’s left of the middle class of anything they can and in completely eviscerating anyone who is trying to improve their lot in life.
Yes, Mr. Wow. This is going to be one for the record books. But part of me wishes I could pull a Sleeping Beauty and wake up when it is all over. It’s going to get very ugly out there.
Dear Erika…the only plan the Republicans have is to somehow unseat Obama. I have Republican friends who are not uncaring or bigoted, but somehow along the way, that’s what the party as a whole feeds into and on. They have become their own intolerant creature. They don’t believe what they say, but they’ll say anything at this juncture.
But….to be fair, all politicans say anything, promise anything, pander to the most extreme aspect of their party to get what they want. Not what we want or need. What they want.
I know what you mean, about sleeping till it’s all over. But I prefer to be awake through every second of it. I guess I’m just a big masochist.
I hope Obama is re-elected. And if so, in his second term, I hope he grows a pair.
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I hope Obama is re-elected. And if so, in his second term, I hope he grows a pair.
The pair that he has seems to have carried him along quite nicely although some, like you, want these pears/pairs to be much more prickly. I understand, but given the political atmosphere which is surrounded by loony tunes, he appears to be the adult in this sea of distention. Once a president gets a second term, he has a BIG leg up or in this case, his nether region becomes enlarged. And looking at it with jaded eye, he’s the best we got.6:32 pm | April 6, 2011-
Dear Phyllis…I agree he is the the best “we” got (we who support him and/or the Democratic Party)
He still needs to ramp it up a bit. Just to seal the deal on his re-election.
8:30 pm | April 6, 2011 -
I have tried to resist. The temptation is too much. Barack Obama should do what Bill Clinton should have done. Borrow Hillary’s “pair.”
8:49 am | April 8, 2011
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Mr. Wow,
One needs only read Mr. Ryan’s proposals to put the lie to the notion that the “republicans have no plan”.6:59 am | April 8, 2011-
I’ve read his proposal. They have no plan, except to increase tax breaks for all their rich friends and screw anyone they consider to be beneath their social status. Which is pretty much anyone who isn’t white, rich and Christian.
10:43 am | April 8, 2011-
If this is what you took away from Ryan’s proposal then you didn’t read it very well.
You couldn’t possibly have read it then.How do you propose saving this country from bankrupcy?
Do you have a plan or do we continue to spend money we don’t have so that eventually there will be nothing funded and everything collapses. Is that a viable plan?You can not spend 8 times what you make and not go bankrupt. If a person making 100,000 a year spends 1 million a year–how long will it be before they are out of money. Unfortunately, we all have to live within our means–the government can just print more money, we can’t.
You could confiscate all the wealth of the top 10% of this country and still not be able to pay off the debt by 10 trillion.
It seems the dems plan is to spend more–we see how well that has worked.
3:59 pm | April 8, 2011
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like this one mr. wow. …
however i find it embarrassing we might have trump and palin in as well. won’t be mean, they don’t deserve attacks but sheesh… what are these people thinkin’?
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Dear Mac…Trump called in on “Morning Joe” this a.m.. foaming about Obama’s place of birth. The panel was laughing at him, and taking it lightly. I don’t. I certainly do not think some insane conspiracy and lie surround Obama’s birthplace. If anybody sensible (like Mrs. Clinton) had believed it, she would have ferreted out the truth and used it.
But Trump is putting the Birther situation right back in the center ring–so callous and calculated. He doesn’t believe it either. That’s what makes it so ugly. And dangerous. And I guess now that Beck is out at Fox Trump will take over the coveted spot of conspiracy theorist and fear-monger.
11:58 am | April 7, 2011-
This issue about the place of Obama’s birth is so ludicrous. In his autobiography, written when he was still in college, Obama never, at that point, had a single thought about running for president. He talks about being born in Hawaii, about the fact his father left the family and moved to Africa when Obama was still a toddler. How he never saw his father again until he was a teenager. At that time his father came to Hawaii to visit for two weeks. Copies of Obama’s birth certificate were printed in the newspapers during the presidential campaign. No on ever is allowed to have the “original” birth certificate, that is kept in file at the city hall in the town/city where the individual was born. President Obama was, without a single doubt, born in Hawaii. I’m so appalled at the way the Tea Party members have behaved and continue to behave. I’m equally revolted by the blatant racism, hatred, vitriol and lies in this country.
I’m tired about the complaints of Obama’s inaction when from the first day he took over his presidential duties, there has been a conspiracy to keep him from succeeding and helping the country to move forward. There has been no concern on the part of his opponents to feed, clothe and shelter millions of children who desperately need help. They could care less that there are still so many millions of people who are unemployed – it furthers their cause. They take no responsibility for the overwhelming problems facing Obama when he took office. They snipe, they criticize, they ridicule and they lie and lie. They want us to fail in this country; they don’t care how frightened people are when someone in their family gets terribly sick and there’s no money, no insurance to get them proper medical care.
We are no longer the greatest country in the world – we owe our souls to China – we continue to allow manufacturing companies to take thousands and thousands of jobs away from Americans and have the working done in Third World countries. We’ve been destroying our natural resources for decades. We’ve killing our precious wildlife. Money and oil are our Gods. We continue to print money with no regard to the fact there has been no silver or gold to back it up for decades. Many Americans simply want to be entertained; a multitude of our teenagers, in particular, are texting to such an extent that their homework, their very lives are up for grabs. They want to play video games, to drink, to have fun. Never before have young people been so aware of the cesspool this country is being sucked into. Those who, along with their parents, made tremendous sacrifices so they could get a college education find that there are no jobs – that the sacrifice was in vain. We’re dumbing down here – we’re lagging far behind other countries.
I can’t help but wonder if it’s because America is made up of people from all over the world who came here for a better life – we don’t work together to save the country we live in. There are obviously many people here to love to hate, who are ignorant, who believe everything they hear on networks that deliberately lie and exaggerate to foment that hatred.
As prices continue to rise more and more families will fall by the wayside while plans to save money include discontinuing the programs that are keeping people alive. Actually, here’s a message for the senators and congressmen in DC. All you have to do is do what Hitler and his minions so many years ago. Line up all the poor, the sick, the old, the jobless and the illegals and shoot us in the head and your problems will be over. Only the rich will survive and they’re going to have a ball!
The congressmen and senators have it made. They’ve voted themselves raises and incredible benefits. Where else but in DC can you be elected to the position of congressman or senator, serve a two year term and have a huge pension (your spouse too) for the remainder of your days? Where else can you serve that two year term and have the best health care in the country for the rest of your life? Where else can you be tempted on a daily basis to shoot this bill down or pass this one and benefit monetarily if you do so. The expression “One hand washes the other!” must have originated in Washington, DC. Stuff goes on all the time. No, I’m not saying every individual succumbs to temptation, but plenty of people do.
I’m really tired of politicians who have their own agenda, who don’t love this country, who put their own needs and desires first, who do not honestly and sincerely represent the people who voted them into office. I’ve become very cynical – I don’t believe anything I read or hear any more. Most of all, I don’t believe in our system of government – it’s badly broken and it’s not going to be fixed.
We’re fighting wars that are endless, hugely expensive; fine men and women who have sacrificed everything to fight for this country, are dying or suffering horrific wounds and all we’ve a accomplished is to have more and more people in the Middle East hate us with a passion. We’ve actually strengthened the Taliban instead of stopping them.
I do a lot of praying for my loved ones and the loved ones of others. I don’t know if it works. I do know I’m glad to be in my 7th decade – to know I won’t be around that much longer to see the further decay of a country I have loved very much.
I thought I’d spend the remainder of my days in my snug little home that is paid for. Not so. My savings will be gone in another two years – sooner if there’s an emergency. I will not allow my children to help me – they’re struggling to survive. I have put my home on the market – if it doesn’t sell???? I’m one of millions and millions of people in this country who don’t know what to do. What is blatantly obvious is we can’t look to Washington to solve our problems. Instead, they seem to create problems. Refusing to work together for the common good is criminal, especially when the situation is so critical and far reaching.
8:14 am | April 8, 2011
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I find myself becoming more and more cynical as our two party system works hard at pulling in opposite directions. I’ve said it before – you hitch two workhorses to a plow and tell them to “giddyup”. If they pull in opposite directions, nothing will be accomplished; the field will never be plowed. That’s what’s been happening in DC for the past two + years. This country is in the gravest danger it’s ever faced and no one in Washington is willing to work together to find solutions.
I received the following today – makes a lot of sense to me.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Charley Reese has been a journalist for the Orlando Sentinel for 49 years and he is now retiring. This is his last column.
Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.
555 PEOPLE–By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who
create problems and then campaign against them..
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and
the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are
against inflation and high taxes,WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.
The House of Representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 555 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but PRIVATE, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.
They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a
senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing.
I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.
The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to
determine how he votes.
Those 555 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.
No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits….. The President can only propose a budget.
He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who was the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi.
She was the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 555 people who stand convicted — by present facts –of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 555 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 555 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it to be unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan
it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan….
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 555 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 555 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power..
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
This might be funny if it weren’t so true.
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom…’
When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax..
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened?
Can you spell ‘politicians?’
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Reality is we have been divided and conquered. As for the people, well, the left is partially right. The right is partially wrong. But ne’er the ‘twain shall meet. Not in Washington.
10:07 am | April 7, 2011 -
Dear Pdr…I was pretty much on board with Charlie until “Mom stayed home to raise the kids.”
But in any case, we are all royally screwed and that’s…democracy? Well, it’s better than anything else, but falls far short of our idealizations.
2:36 pm | April 7, 2011-
We are no longer a democracy. We are an oligarchy. Of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation. And those few who own the corporation.
9:12 am | April 8, 2011
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“I don’t believe in Republicans or Democrats, I just believe in parties.”
Samantha Jones, Sex & The City
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Dear Baby…I’m with Samantha. I know you are, too. Even though you don’t feel much like partying these days. I hope you are feeling better.
Love,
Mr. W.2:38 pm | April 7, 2011-
Ooops! Sorry…Baby Snooks was on my mind and that seemed like a BS musing.
Anyway, Daniel…I hope you are feeling well, too. And Samantha was so very correct.
Baby—you’re in my head, obviously.
2:58 pm | April 7, 2011-
Some no doubt think of the BS musings as BS but it’s all true. There were even witnesses. Even though they all deny knowing me. Which I probably would as well.
7:25 pm | April 7, 2011
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For the sheer life of me, I can’t think of one platform that President Obama will run on. I’ve been in excruciating deep thought mode since he launched his billion dollar campaign. Does anyone have any ideas of what his key running points will be?
I am on the fence about Donald Trump. He is now second in the polls. Why? Some believe it to be “name recognition” but I believe that our country is so desperate to find a “leader” that they’ve decided “Donald Trump will work.” I must admit, I love his ideas on how to handle China…tax them 25%….woo hoo!
Paul Ryan I believe to be a smart young man. Even he knows that his budget plan needs tweaking. I’m still reading through that plan trying to figure it out.
Personally, I believe Ron Paul gets it right and he has been true to his beliefs. I’ll be watching Ron this year and next because I like most of his ideas.
Mr. Wow, as I have said to you many times in the past, I have not the slightest concern that President Obama will not win a second term. I am very confident he will. However, I couldn’t agree with you more, it will be an ugly race….because of race.
I love politics. I love watching the left fight the right. I honestly find it interesting. And now with the Tea Party and their “beliefs” it is really quite entertaining to watch. Over the last 2 and a half years I have heard some of the ugliest things said by people that have left me….speechless. A complete loss for words. Things that point to how racially divided our nation truly is.
I often wonder….if Barack were 100% White instead of 50%, would he be hated as much? Would his actions be defined in the narrative as “socialist?” Curious, isn’t it.
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Dear Belinda…you and I have always agreed on the point of Barack Obama’s race. The extreme hatred of him stems from that and no power or alternate reasoning on earth will ever persuade me otherwise.
The Civil War is still being fought. Period.
3:47 pm | April 7, 2011-
“The extreme hatred of him stems from that and no power or alternate reasoning on earth will ever persuade me otherwise”
If this is the case, then you have lost the ability to reason.
He would have never been elected in the first place if this were true.
The “hatred” of Obama stems from his complete lack of concern for what the American people want. Health care legislation was tried by Hillary Clinton–and was soundly rejected by the American people and dropped by the Clinton adminstration–and incidentally, triggered a “hatred” of Hillary Clinton by the right as well.
Americans overwhelminingly did not want the stimulus package or health care yet the Dems did it anyway–this is where the hatred came from–that and no other reason. And the “tea party” does not just reject Obama–they reject the entire left controlled Democratic leadership of the past 4 years.
5:48 pm | April 7, 2011-
Dear Mahulda…
I believe I have expressed myself as unhappy with aspects of Mr. Obama since before his election. I’m no starry-eyed fan. Nor have I ever said that all criticism of him stems from race.
But a great deal of what appears from the official Republican side is without a doubt race-based. That’s the way I see it, that’s my opinion and I am sticking to it. This does not mean I think you are a racist. I simply believe it’s there in the air around him.
I think he has been weak so far. I’m hoping for better things if he is re-elected. If he is not…that’s life. I’m not leaving the country, rending my clothes or covering my head with ashes. I’ll just work for a better Prez in 2016.
6:31 pm | April 7, 2011-
Unfortunately Mr. Wow, your opinion is not fact based. Provide evidence “that a great deal of what appears from the official Republican side is without a doubt race-based”.
In your “opinion” you are making an accusation that you can’t back up. What ‘racist’ actions has anyone on the ‘official’ republican side made?This assertion is just made up with no data to support it. You are entitled to your opinion, but it is just that, an opinion based on emotion not facts.
7:14 am | April 8, 2011 -
What ‘racist’ actions has anyone on the ‘official’ republican side made?
_________________________________________________________The main action has been not to repudiate all the “unofficial” racism of Republican leaders. Particularly those in the Tea Party. And I’m from Texas. I know all the nuances. And the “code words.” Some of which the Democrats also use. As all refused to see during the Democatic primary in 2008. With Hillary playing Scarlett in Pennsyvlania. And Bill playing Rhett. To a very racist governor. Democrats in Pennsylvania would never vote for a black man they said. Well, they did. And that black man should have dumped the Clintons when they did. And all that came with them. Including the Bushes.
Again, the only Democrats and Republicans in this country are the fools who believe there are Democats and Republicans on the ballots.
8:41 am | April 8, 2011
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Not all Republicans are racists. But quite a few are. And they hated Obama from the moment he announced his candidacy. And they went nuts when he won the nomination.
I was born a Republican and will die a Republican. But I don’t vote for many Republicans. I remember what the Republican Party once was. And am disgusted by what it has become.
The best way to avoid going to hell is to avoid those you know are headed there. So I avoid most Republicans. I have always avoided Democrats. But tend to vote for them just the same more than I do Republicans. Because I don’t want to go to hell.
7:34 pm | April 7, 2011-
I should add that while Democrats really don’t understand simple economics their heart is in the right place. At least they have a heart.
7:40 pm | April 7, 2011
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“The extreme hatred of him stems from that and no power or alternate reasoning on earth will ever persuade me otherwise”.
I have come to the same conclusion Mr Wow.
Defunding public colleges, while extending the two year tax cut to the top wealthy in this country is racial. The top 2% earners in this country pay the least taxes in all of the developed countries.
Defunding public schools and public treatment programs for addicts while continuing to fund prisons is racial. A black male in this country now is 5 times more likely to be improsened than a black male during the height of Apertheid in South Africa.
Stripping of collective bargaining rights is racial – the number one employer for black males is the public sector.
President Obama is reminding us all very much how racial this all really is. And when he invests in the public sector, in speeches and in policies as means to help this society became more equal, all hell breaks lose, literally.
4:44 pm | April 8, 2011
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There are many people who aren’t concerned about his race. They are concerned about his lack of leadership so I’m surprised that that even comes up anymore. I know I never think about his race. I voted for him. Didn’t matter then and it doesn’t matter now. I judge him on his performance same as I did our otherPresidents and I will not vote for him in 2012.
Mahulda, why is it that everytime someone criticizes President Obama they automatically become a racist? One cannot be intelligent and call those who disagree with Obama a racist.
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crystalclear,
The reason why is that they can’t understand why we disagree with him–since they themselves agree with his policies–and they can’t see any other reason why we would– so, therefore, we must be racist–the only reason left to them.Never mind that they vehemently hated Bush and Bush’s policies. It is just a logical conclusion that those on the right would be euqually unhappy with Obama’s polices–but those on the left are myopic and just don’t get it–or don’t want to.
And besides, racism is a convenient charge to use to try and silence your opposition when you can’t compete in the arena of ideas. One of the reasons the left wanted Obama to be president is BECAUSE he is black–they are the true RACISTS. They were salivating at the idea that they could just charge ‘racism’ each time anyone objected to their extreme left policies and easily shut up their opposition without having to explain their actions. But people are fed up with it and no longer care–the charge has little impact anymore.
The racism canard is just another in a long line of lies the left uses to silence their opposition by trying to discredit the messenger. Who wants to be called a racist or be accused of wanting “to kill old people”–as Nancy Pelosi now charges–“6 millions seniors will starve” because of the republicans–no data, no proof whatsoever–but that doesn’t matter.
They never have to provide proof–the seriousness of the charge is all they need. It is a distraction and the reason nothing ever gets done.
6:42 am | April 8, 2011-
One of the reasons the left wanted Obama to be president is BECAUSE he is black–they are the true RACISTS
_______________________________________________Do ever read what you write? Do you know the definition of racism? Apparently not because inbetween lines of ignorance you are saying it is the white man who is the victim of racism. Says it all. About those who say it. And in attempt to divert the reality of the statement, you then imply that all the liberals in this country, never mind the conservatives who voted for Obama because they could not bear the thought of John McCain, or worse Sarah Palin, as president, wanted to elect a person solely to to be able to play the race card.
I would avoid the Kool-Aid in the future as they say.
8:26 am | April 8, 2011-
Nothing in my statement says “it is the white man who is the victim or racism”. My statements assert that the white man (ie, the white liberal establishment–and incidentally I did not say “all”) used a black man for their own purposes and exploited his race. Lest we forget Biden’s “clean, articulate black man” remarks and Reids equally racist remarks about Obama’s skin color. You are not reading what I wrote but trying, unsuccessfully, to distort what I wrote.
8:56 am | April 8, 2011-
Again I’m from Texas. I can hear a rattlesnake begin to coil and rattle from 200 yards.
9:06 am | April 8, 2011 -
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Personally, from my own experience, I don’t believe Barack Obama is hated at all. I believe Americans across the states wanted this man elected to POTUS. I mean, he won, didn’t he? I still believe him to be such a likeable person. I love his family. I love other things about him. I’m not the only one. He was just unable to “walk the walk.”
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Please. He walks the walk just fine. It just doesnt match his talk. It’s all a game at this point. A game of marionettes. Puppets. Staging battles in Congress to divert attention from what is really going on in the White House.
A picture is always worth a thousand words as I pointed out to people about the Clintons. And there were thousands of pictures of Daddy Bush with his adopted son. Can’t wait for the pictures in a couple of years of Daddy Bush with both his adopted sons.
9:00 am | April 8, 2011
Perhaps from where you sit he is walking the walk just fine but his low approval ratings don’t support your opinion.
Talk about distractions….how did Bush get into this conversation?
You sure called that one: an auction of ET’s jewels has been announced.
I love the posters here who deny racism has anything to do with the Republican reaction to President Obama. The teabaggers are practically foaming at the mouth when they congregate in groups larger than 10. There are pockets of it all over the country. Why else are they “celebrating” the Civil War down South? Since when do the losers celebrate? Are the proud of the fact that 600,000 Americans lost their lives in that war? How about the countless numbers who did come home wounded? Families lost homes, women lost husbands and fathers, children lost fathers, uncles and brothers. Oh, yeah. A real reason to celebrate. And when have you heard of state officials using the word secession. Not in 150 years. Palin’s husband is a secessionist. I hope President Obama wins re-election. I agree with Mr. Wow on his assessment of his first 4 years. But when you look at possible Republican candidates, you better be afraid, very afraid. Nothing much scares me at 66, but Sarah, Michelle[she is certifiable] Mitch Ron and, that publicity seeking Donald are enough to scare anybody with a brain. So here;s hoping Obama wins learns some lessons from the last 4 years and gets on with the recovery of the nation. Oh, and leave Social Security alone, just pay back the money the government “borrowed” from the fund. And Health care SHOULD be single payer like medicare. And make G.E. and other large companies pay taxes, and take that stupid tax break back from the richest people in the country. Even Bozo Bush only put it into effect for 10 years. Two things I really miss from our elected officials are common sense and common courtesy. Maybe next year.
Rep. Paul Ryan has certainly delivered what will be table talk for this year and next. His unblinking assessments of what has to be done to tame our deficient is politically brave. He doesn’t mince and muddle, a rare Washingtonian these days.