Whew, earlier this week the feds arrested what appeared to be a hit team intent on removing Senator Obama from the ballot, permanently. A scope mounted .22 caliber rifle isn't really a great long range snipers weapon. It can hurt, it can even kill, but it has nothing like a .308 or even a .50 killing power. There wasn't enough range and apparently the would be killers had no real shot at getting thru the security setup.
Hillary and Bill did their best to look good, revise history, and give BHO a backhanded boost. I don't think it will work. Buyers remorse is going to set in and the folks who fell under his spell are going to be scratching their heads wondering what they got themselves into.
All week the DNC raked in the bux both figuratively and literally. Let's face it, Hillary was the one shot for a convention fight and she bailed out. Without a fight, what is the point of a convention? The point is that while the DNC likes to posture about ethics, the convention is also a feeding frenzy of lobbyists. So we have the single biggest money pit in Colorado and the nations largest pep rally.
Next week, the RNC gets to do their thing. The only real interest I will have in it is statistical. How much money, how many people, and what promises made that won't be kept?
At least now that the conventions are half over, we can look down the road and see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there.
A look at politics and the American condition from the point of view of a middle class working guy who doesn't subscribe to slogans or labels (much).
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Sunday Funnies
Well, there is more than enough stuff in the news to create a Sunday Funnies post.
First of all, there is the persistent rumor that Hillary is setting Barack up to get the run pulled out from under him at the convention. OTOH she is also publicly telling her supporters to back him. Only the convention will tell. This is the kind of buildup that the networks wish they could get for the fall TV schedule.
Then, in the sex scandal of the week category, John Edwards had an affair and then denied he's the father of the (alleged) resulting child. I feel more for his wife than for him. I feel for the child. And I can take a bit of comfort that at least he won't be nominated. Like Bill, John is a faithless liar and obviously cannot be trusted.
Yesterday we showed the truth-o-meter. Today, we look at Polifact's Flip-O-Meter. I understand that one can change their mind over time. I even understand that one can change thier mind in response to a sudden paradigm shifting trauma. But, our pols have made flipping a high art.
On using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Barack Obama >>Details
On offshore drilling. Barack Obama >>Details
On offshore drilling. John McCain >>Details
On the Bush tax cuts. John McCain >>Details
On public financing of his campaign. Barack Obama >>Details
I guess that is enough for now. Remember, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Never trust a pol with your life or your money. Thanks for reading.
First of all, there is the persistent rumor that Hillary is setting Barack up to get the run pulled out from under him at the convention. OTOH she is also publicly telling her supporters to back him. Only the convention will tell. This is the kind of buildup that the networks wish they could get for the fall TV schedule.
Then, in the sex scandal of the week category, John Edwards had an affair and then denied he's the father of the (alleged) resulting child. I feel more for his wife than for him. I feel for the child. And I can take a bit of comfort that at least he won't be nominated. Like Bill, John is a faithless liar and obviously cannot be trusted.
Yesterday we showed the truth-o-meter. Today, we look at Polifact's Flip-O-Meter. I understand that one can change their mind over time. I even understand that one can change thier mind in response to a sudden paradigm shifting trauma. But, our pols have made flipping a high art.
On using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Barack Obama >>Details
On offshore drilling. Barack Obama >>Details
On offshore drilling. John McCain >>Details
On the Bush tax cuts. John McCain >>Details
On public financing of his campaign. Barack Obama >>Details
I guess that is enough for now. Remember, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Never trust a pol with your life or your money. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Truth_O_Meter
I love the internet. It's just like America is supposed to be. Free, unfettered by excess regulation. You are the only one responsible for your actions. You are responsible to fully defend yourself. It's great. I'm sure that within my lifetime the internet, like the wild west, will fade and a more structured model will emerge.
I don't make any bones about not supporting any of the current crop of Presidential Candidates. But, I really don't like seeing distorted stuff. I would prefer that the candidates sit down and publicly debate the issues without excess rules. I'd like to see a Q&A where the McUSA's can ask a direct question and get a reasonably direct answer. Finally, I would love to see a candidate admit that the Constitution doesn't allow him to do the things he's promising.
Here is the latest from the Truth-O-Meter:
I have another idea: Let's have a debate on which Candidate will actually support the Constitution as written.
Until Later, Thanks for reading.
I don't make any bones about not supporting any of the current crop of Presidential Candidates. But, I really don't like seeing distorted stuff. I would prefer that the candidates sit down and publicly debate the issues without excess rules. I'd like to see a Q&A where the McUSA's can ask a direct question and get a reasonably direct answer. Finally, I would love to see a candidate admit that the Constitution doesn't allow him to do the things he's promising.
Here is the latest from the Truth-O-Meter:
# John McCain: "Obama voted to raise taxes on people making just $42,000."
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Obama voted for budget resolution, not taxes.
[Thursday, August 07, 2008 11:00:00 PM]
# John McCain: Barack Obama promises higher taxes on "the sale of your home."
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Only the wealthy who make big profits.
[Thursday, August 07, 2008 11:00:00 PM]
# Barack Obama: John McCain refuses to support a new bipartisan energy bill "because it would take away tax breaks from oil companies like Exxon Mobil."
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | McCain opposes taxes but hasn't commented on bill
[Wednesday, August 06, 2008 11:00:00 PM]
I have another idea: Let's have a debate on which Candidate will actually support the Constitution as written.
Until Later, Thanks for reading.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
545 People
I got this in my Email from a friend of mine. I wish I'd thought of it.
Democrat, Republican or whatever your political leaning, this should resonate for every one of us -
545 PEOPLE by Charlie Reese
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if both Democrats and the Republicans are against inflation and high taxes, 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 - 545 human beings out of our 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 545 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 any Speaker of the House who stood up and criticized a 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 is the Speaker of the House? He/She is the leader of the majority party. He/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 545 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 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 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 unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .
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 545 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 545 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!
What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices:
1. You can send this to everyone in your address book and hope they do something about it.
2. You can agree to vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to run for office yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.
YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK - MAYBE SOMEONE IN THERE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
Democrat, Republican or whatever your political leaning, this should resonate for every one of us -
545 PEOPLE by Charlie Reese
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if both Democrats and the Republicans are against inflation and high taxes, 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 - 545 human beings out of our 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 545 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 any Speaker of the House who stood up and criticized a 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 is the Speaker of the House? He/She is the leader of the majority party. He/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 545 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 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 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 unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .
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 545 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 545 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!
What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices:
1. You can send this to everyone in your address book and hope they do something about it.
2. You can agree to vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to run for office yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.
YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK - MAYBE SOMEONE IN THERE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Obama Challenges McCain to a Duel on Taxes
Let me get this straight, Obama challenges John McCain to a duel over taxes!! Oh my freakin gawd. This will be so priceless that Master card will have to make a commercial out of it.
I am going on record to say that I hope they do it, the "duel" I mean. After all, where else can you listen to two men who are so well versed in deceiving the public? What is the deception you ask?
The first deception is the implication that any President can raise or lower taxes. This deception is used widely by both parties with both a positive and negative spin. The most common current negative example is the so-called "Bush Tax Cuts".
Anyone with a hint of education beyond using crayons knows that no President can monkey with the tax code. They can only recommend to the Congress a direction to travel. They can either sign or veto changes. And of course they can make promises they cannot keep. "Read my lips", said Bush the Elder.
So we must welcome any duels over taxes as a chance to see both candidate lie in real time. And you must remember the lies. Then you must do your own research and find for yourself that while the income tax is eminently not unconstitutional it is certainly anticonstitutional.
From there I would hope that you would recognize the evil inherent in our current income tax system. Then ytou would logically search out alternatives to it. Your search for alternatives would bring you to the concepts of abolishing the income tax.
One of those options is to simply scale back our spending and live on the income from the myriad other sources of the governments revenue.
The other option is a national sales tax.
Realistically, neither candidate will endorse any action that would modify the governments power to reward or punish via taxation. Neither would they willingly lose the money they get from the lobbyists.
So yes, let's get to the debate, then let's count the lies on both sides.
Sources:
Here's a Wild one for you
Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
I am going on record to say that I hope they do it, the "duel" I mean. After all, where else can you listen to two men who are so well versed in deceiving the public? What is the deception you ask?
The first deception is the implication that any President can raise or lower taxes. This deception is used widely by both parties with both a positive and negative spin. The most common current negative example is the so-called "Bush Tax Cuts".
Anyone with a hint of education beyond using crayons knows that no President can monkey with the tax code. They can only recommend to the Congress a direction to travel. They can either sign or veto changes. And of course they can make promises they cannot keep. "Read my lips", said Bush the Elder.
So we must welcome any duels over taxes as a chance to see both candidate lie in real time. And you must remember the lies. Then you must do your own research and find for yourself that while the income tax is eminently not unconstitutional it is certainly anticonstitutional.
From there I would hope that you would recognize the evil inherent in our current income tax system. Then ytou would logically search out alternatives to it. Your search for alternatives would bring you to the concepts of abolishing the income tax.
One of those options is to simply scale back our spending and live on the income from the myriad other sources of the governments revenue.
The other option is a national sales tax.
Realistically, neither candidate will endorse any action that would modify the governments power to reward or punish via taxation. Neither would they willingly lose the money they get from the lobbyists.
So yes, let's get to the debate, then let's count the lies on both sides.
Sources:
Here's a Wild one for you
Obama and McCain Tax Proposals
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