A fun parody on our loving Government in five episodes:
Showing posts with label Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Broom-Hilda is at it again.
Fist, she buys a Canadian-made car to show solidarity with American union workers. Now, she wants to further destroy American farmers.
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(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking to update child labor laws to put more restrictions on farm workers under the age of 18 from working with manure, pesticides, driving tractors and engaging in certain other agricultural activities.
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My grandkids are going to learn farm chores, just as soon as I can set up a chicken coop and a garden for them to tend. Along with learning to shoot handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and American history - NOT the PC crap too many schools teach these days.
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Labor Department Seeks New Rules To Restrict Use of Young Farm Workers
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis (AP File Photo)
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My grandkids are going to learn farm chores, just as soon as I can set up a chicken coop and a garden for them to tend. Along with learning to shoot handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and American history - NOT the PC crap too many schools teach these days.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I thought it was a joke!
When I read the comic strip "Non Sequitur" a while back, and Danae had entered a contest to suggest designs for an interstellar ship, I thought it was a joke. Not so:
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DARPA seeks to build interstellar space ship in 100 years
Published 24 August 2011
The Pentagon’s advanced research arm is currently exploring the technology to build a spaceship capable of travelling to distant stars in the next 100 years; the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans on awarding as much as $500,000 in seed money this fall to the company with the most promising ability to develop interstellar travel
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I wonder if DARPA or the USA will still be existing in any form in 100 years, looking at how things are going right now.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
California jackboots?
The unspeakable crime of selling milk the way God made it...
Raw Food Raid: Armed Agents Bust Raw Milk & Cheese Sellers
UPDATE #2 (4:30 PM CST): A spokesperson for the Weston A. Price Foundation has learned that authorities are charging Victoria Bloch with conspiracy under California Penal Code Section 182a. Sharon Palmer is reportedly also being charged with conspiracy and a charge related to ‘mislabeling cheese.’ Similar charges are also believed to be pending for Stewart. Natural News reports that an LAPD squad car was also involved in the raid.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Oh HELL NO!
New rules could mean less help, higher costs for family farm
Posted: Jul 27, 2011 5:48 PM CDTby Mark Wiggins
WACO - For many in rural Central Texas, it's one of their most enduring memories of childhood: Their first time behind the wheel of the family tractor.
The time-honored initiation into working the family farm could one day be a thing of the past, with discussions underway in Washington to require operators of farm equipment to have a commercial driver's license, or CDL.
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No BLOODY way am I going to get a CDL to mow my firebreaks. Anyone attempting to force the issue and trespassing on my land will be met with appropriate calibers.
H/t Barnhardt.biz
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Equality under the law
And stupidity, it seems...
Cat ordered to do jury service
A cat has been summoned to do jury service, even after his owners told the court he was "unable to speak and understand English".
Image 1 of 2
Tabby Sal has been summoned to do jury service
Anna Esposito, wrote to Suffolk Superior Crown Court in Boston, US, to explain that a mistake had been made, but a jury commissioner replied saying the cat, named Tabby Sal, "must attend" on March 23.
Mrs Esposito had included a letter from her vet confirming that the cat was "a domestic short-haired neutered feline".
Tabby Sal had been entered by Mrs Esposito under the 'pets' section of the last census. "When they ask him guilty or not guilty? What's he supposed to say - miaow?" She said.
"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last Census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix-up."
A website for the US judicial system states that jurors are "not expected to speak perfect English".
Monday, January 3, 2011
UI follies
Tried to apply for unemployment. The office opens at 7:45 AM. Called at 8.
After sitting through the obligatory "press 1 for English" and "press 1 to file a claim" messages, I got a two minute message telling me why I have to give my SSN. Then, and only then, I was allowed to type in the SSN, and verify they got it right.
Another message, telling me there's a large volume of calls today, and they would try to transfer the call. Transfer noises.
Then "There are no agents available. Call back later". Total time tying up one of their incoming lines was about six minutes.
I called back a few minutes later - after re-entering all that data, got into the wait queue. After a couple minutes, the hold blurb about how you can do all this stuff - except the reason I was calling (because they told me I had to speak to someone live!) on the Internet - was interrupted by a male voice advising me of a 22-minute minimum wait for a live agent.
I hung up and drove out to Juda to apply for a real job.
After sitting through the obligatory "press 1 for English" and "press 1 to file a claim" messages, I got a two minute message telling me why I have to give my SSN. Then, and only then, I was allowed to type in the SSN, and verify they got it right.
Another message, telling me there's a large volume of calls today, and they would try to transfer the call. Transfer noises.
Then "There are no agents available. Call back later". Total time tying up one of their incoming lines was about six minutes.
I called back a few minutes later - after re-entering all that data, got into the wait queue. After a couple minutes, the hold blurb about how you can do all this stuff - except the reason I was calling (because they told me I had to speak to someone live!) on the Internet - was interrupted by a male voice advising me of a 22-minute minimum wait for a live agent.
I hung up and drove out to Juda to apply for a real job.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The War On (some) Drugs - Logic need not apply
There is now a Scientific Integrity policy that all federal agencies must obey - about time.
EXCEPT - ONDCP. When it comes to drugs, let's not get science, or anything other than the quest for ultimate power, get in the way.
More:
EXCEPT - ONDCP. When it comes to drugs, let's not get science, or anything other than the quest for ultimate power, get in the way.
ONDCP specifically exempted from Scientific Integrity policy
H/t The AgitatorThis is, while merely a memo, refreshing, and the kind of thing that has been sorely lacking from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and its director.
There’s much more in the memo which, if followed, would open the door to a realistic and open national conversation about drug policy.
But there’s one catch.
At the end of the memo…
Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof…
And, of course, the current law authorizing the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy specifically states:
Responsibilities. –The Director– [...]
(12) shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that–
- is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
- has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration;
If the science says that legalization is even a viable option, the Drug Czar is required by law to ignore, obfuscate, lie, or whatever else is necessary to oppose any attempts to legalize.
By definition in the memo, scientific integrity requires an open analysis of the issue, including looking at best and worst-case scenarios. Yet the law specifically prohibits that kind of openness.
The law trumps the memo’s guidelines, leaving the Drug Czar and the ONDCP specifically exempt from the government’s Scientific Integrity policy.
More:
The White House Blog
Scientific Integrity: Fueling Innovation, Building Public Trust
Posted by on December 17, 2010 at 02:17 PM EST
On March 9, 2009, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on Scientific Integrity emphasizing the importance of science in guiding Administration decisions and the importance of ensuring that the public trusts the science behind those decisions. In it he highlighted six principles of scientific integrity that would be at the core of this Administration’s approach to policy making. And he asked me, in collaboration with other Federal officials, to craft recommendations for ensuring scientific integrity throughout the executive branch.
Today, in response to the President’s request, I am issuing a Memorandum to the Heads of Departments and Agencies that provides further guidance to Executive Branch leaders as they implement Administration policies on scientific integrity. The new memorandum describes the minimum standards expected as departments and agencies craft scientific integrity rules appropriate for their particular missions and cultures, including a clear prohibition on political interference in scientific processes and expanded assurances of transparency. It requires that department and agency heads report to me on their progress toward completing those rules within 120 days.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wisconsin union contracts!
The Beloit Daily News had this today:
Aim to ink pacts before Walker, GOP take over
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democrats scrambled Tuesday to set up a vote on new contracts for thousands of state workers before they lose their legislative majority, taking the unusual step of going around one of their own leaders.
** The money quote: **
But Democrats control both the Assembly and the Senate until Jan. 3, when Walker takes office and Republicans seize control of both legislative houses, and they’ve been pushing to complete the deals before they lose power. The conflict grew even more heated last week when Walker suggested he might consider abolishing state employee unions.
“Bring it on,” Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, which covers about 22,000 state workers, said Tuesday. “If he wants labor unrest . . . bring it on.”
Beil didn’t elaborate.
** Sounds like a threat of violence to me **
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My reply to the Letters to the Editor page:
++++++++++++++++
I guess we know how much respect all those lame-duck senators and assemblypersons have for their constituents - they are insisting on jamming expensive union contracts down our throats, knowing full well this is their last chance to pay off their political debts to the unions.
I hope Governor Walker makes good on his promise to outlaw public unions in Wisconsin, As far as I am concerned, anyone who wants to work for a governmental agency should accept whatever pay the people, through their elected representatives. judge is proper for their job, and not complain. They are free to seek real, productive jobs in the private sector, where they are free to join a union if they want to.
If you work for the people, you should not be threatening the people, like Mr. Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, does in his statement. I believe what he is quoted as saying could be construed as a threat of violence.
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Dems race to OK union deals
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democrats scrambled Tuesday to set up a vote on new contracts for thousands of state workers before they lose their legislative majority, taking the unusual step of going around one of their own leaders.
** The money quote: **
But Democrats control both the Assembly and the Senate until Jan. 3, when Walker takes office and Republicans seize control of both legislative houses, and they’ve been pushing to complete the deals before they lose power. The conflict grew even more heated last week when Walker suggested he might consider abolishing state employee unions.
“Bring it on,” Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, which covers about 22,000 state workers, said Tuesday. “If he wants labor unrest . . . bring it on.”
Beil didn’t elaborate.
** Sounds like a threat of violence to me **
++++++++++++++++
My reply to the Letters to the Editor page:
++++++++++++++++
I guess we know how much respect all those lame-duck senators and assemblypersons have for their constituents - they are insisting on jamming expensive union contracts down our throats, knowing full well this is their last chance to pay off their political debts to the unions.
I hope Governor Walker makes good on his promise to outlaw public unions in Wisconsin, As far as I am concerned, anyone who wants to work for a governmental agency should accept whatever pay the people, through their elected representatives. judge is proper for their job, and not complain. They are free to seek real, productive jobs in the private sector, where they are free to join a union if they want to.
If you work for the people, you should not be threatening the people, like Mr. Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, does in his statement. I believe what he is quoted as saying could be construed as a threat of violence.
++++++++++++++++
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
"Kill switch" in new Intel processors?
Just saw this:
http://bit.ly/hUkwmE
Infowars.com December 14, 2010
Remote `kill switch' added to Intel's newest processor
Jason Douglass
Lauded as a security feature, Intel's new Sandy Bridge processor can be remotely disabled by a hardware/software combination known at Anti-Theft 3.0. Systems can be disabled over 3G networks, even while the OS is not running. Even when the hard drive is replaced, the critical systems will still be terminated.
At first this sounds great: if an owner loses a laptop it can be remotely disabled to ensure no sensitive data is compromised. But essentially we are giving up control of our computers and putting that control in another's hands.
With the Patriot Act in place and and legislation like the `kill switch' bill, many of the rights we took for granted are threatened. It is well within reason to fear this type of technology as it could be used as a means of control and censorship.
The CIA recently created a `honeypot' on a hijacked mirror site associated with Wikileaks and used it to identify people who download the sensitive data.
University students have been warned not do download Wikileak's documents under threat of being blacklisted from government jobs.
Homegrown terrorism is the new buzz being cultivated by DHS and various other government agencies. In publications like MIAC report, authorities identify patriots as dangers and label them probable terrorists.
Even Geraldo Rivera has begun to see through the thin veil of false flag terrorism, identifying patsies planted by the very agencies meant to protect us.
We have lost control of our government and soon we will lose control over our own health. Constitutional rights are continually under attack and we are losing the war. With PR spins like Intel's it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep things in perspective.
The TSA responds
Recently, I sent these clowns a note - reproduced at the bottom of their response. As usual with any governmental agency or public servant, they totally ignored the content of my comment.
I wonder who writes these? Is it just an "Eliza" program? A badly written one?
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------ TCC Control Number: ------
<<#577308-725080#>>
+++++++++++++++++++
If you enter their "control number" on their web site, you get a message asking you to enter a number. Stripping all the non-numeric stuff results in it being accepted, but nothing happens.
Sort of like the TSA's record on finding real terrorists. I saw somewhere that they miss something like 65% of the "fake bombs" sent through to test security.
So, if Osama - the one over in Ashcanistan - wants to blow up a plane here, he only needs to send 40 bombs through, and he's almost certain one will end up on a plane. Of course, his bombmakers have shown great ineptitude lately, for which we should all give thanks.
I wonder who writes these? Is it just an "Eliza" program? A badly written one?
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Thank you for your email message regarding the delays you have experienced while traveling through our Nation's airports.
As part of its airport security procedures, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires airlines to verify the identity of all passengers to ensure that persons on Federal watch lists who are known to pose, or are suspected of posing, a threat to civil aviation or national security receive secondary screening or are denied boarding on commercial aircraft. The Federal watch lists are maintained by the U.S. Terrorist Screening Center in a consolidated Terrorist Screening Database, and are compiled from information provided by Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The Federal watch lists include a No-Fly List and a Selectee List. Individuals on the No-Fly List are prohibited from traveling on commercial aircraft. Individuals on the Selectee List are permitted to fly but receive secondary screening at airport security checkpoints.
DHS recognizes the frustration that individuals may feel when they experience delays at airports due to security procedures. To help alleviate delays, DHS has developed the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) to assist individuals who believe they have been incorrectly delayed, denied boarding, identified for additional screening, or have experienced difficulties when seeking entry into the United States.
Travelers may outline their concerns in a single request to DHS TRIP via the Internet. The information received will be shared with applicable DHS component agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as with the U.S. Department of State and, when appropriate, with airport and airline operators. Information will be shared in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a), and as established in the Privacy Impact Assessment published for DHS TRIP.
To participate in the program, please submit a completed Traveler Inquiry Form and requested copies of identity documents to DHS TRIP at www.dhs.gov/trip or by completing the enclosed form. DHS will review the information submitted and work with other Federal agencies, if necessary, to resolve individual concerns. DHS TRIP will inform you in writing when review of your inquiry is complete.
DHS can neither confirm nor deny whether an individual is on a Federal watch list because this information is derived from classified and sensitive law enforcement and intelligence information. In addition, DHS cannot ensure that your travel will always be delay-free. Airline check-in procedures must still be followed and other security measures remain in place at the airport. For example, an individual may be selected for secondary screening to resolve a walk-through metal detector alarm or because of random selection. Because airline procedures for screening passengers against Federal watch lists vary, an individual may still be required to check in for flights at the airline ticket counter and be unable to print a boarding pass from a home computer, airport kiosk, or curbside.
When you submit an online inquiry, a control number will be assigned to you. The control number will be displayed on the Traveler Inquiry Form acknowledgement page along with your name. Please print the acknowledgement page, sign it, and send it to DHS TRIP along with the requested copies of identity documents. If completing the enclosed form, please sign it and send it to DHS TRIP along with the requested copies of identity documents. Please do not send original identity documents as they will not be returned.
To send your completed documentation to DHS TRIP, you may e-mail it to TRIP@dhs.gov or mail it to the following address:
DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP)
c/o Transportation Security Administration
601 South 12th Street, TSA-901
Arlington, VA 20598-6901
To check the status of your inquiry, go to https://trip.dhs.gov/status.htm and enter your control number. If you do not have a control number and wish to check the status of your inquiry, contact DHS TRIP by e-mail or the address above.
If you have questions, please contact the TSA Contact Center at (866) 289-9673 or (571) 227-2900.
TSA Contact Center
--- Original Message ---
From:
Received: 11/30/10 1:49:33 PM EST
To: "TSA Contact Center"
Subject: TSA Contact Us: No-Fly/Selectee List
THIS GENERATED EMAIL HAS BEEN SENT FROM http://www.tsa.gov/contact/index.shtm
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote Client IP:
Date Time: 11/29/2010 9:19:52 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
Received: 11/30/10 1:49:33 PM EST
To: "TSA Contact Center"
Subject: TSA Contact Us: No-Fly/Selectee List
THIS GENERATED EMAIL HAS BEEN SENT FROM http://www.tsa.gov/contact/index.shtm
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote Client IP:
Date Time: 11/29/2010 9:19:52 PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Inquiry for: | General Watch List Information |
| Name: | Chuck Kuecker |
| Email: | ckuecker@redacted.xxx |
| Message: | I just wanted to know if I'm on your "no fly" list, seeing as I am one of your "domestic terrorists", because I don't agree with your ham-handed "security kabuki" that does nothing to foster safety, but indeed helps destroy American freedom. |
------ TCC Control Number: ------
<<#577308-725080#>>
+++++++++++++++++++
If you enter their "control number" on their web site, you get a message asking you to enter a number. Stripping all the non-numeric stuff results in it being accepted, but nothing happens.
Sort of like the TSA's record on finding real terrorists. I saw somewhere that they miss something like 65% of the "fake bombs" sent through to test security.
So, if Osama - the one over in Ashcanistan - wants to blow up a plane here, he only needs to send 40 bombs through, and he's almost certain one will end up on a plane. Of course, his bombmakers have shown great ineptitude lately, for which we should all give thanks.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Big Sis is a prevert
Big Sis Janet N is a real prevert. Overseeing the groping and pornographic photography of Americans who have the temerity to want to travel.
How perverted is it to subject women and children to either a dose of radiation of dubious safety, so their genitals can be joked about by TSA screeners, or to scream "OPT-OUT!" and then thoroughly grope those same persons? Especially while those same screeners are forbidden to use common sense in selecting who should get more scrutiny.
If only the US government's leaders had the intelligence to take a lesson from the Israeli experience with airport security. I guess we have to wait until 2012 and a new president before any common sense will penetrate.
Seen at Prison Planet.
How perverted is it to subject women and children to either a dose of radiation of dubious safety, so their genitals can be joked about by TSA screeners, or to scream "OPT-OUT!" and then thoroughly grope those same persons? Especially while those same screeners are forbidden to use common sense in selecting who should get more scrutiny.
If only the US government's leaders had the intelligence to take a lesson from the Israeli experience with airport security. I guess we have to wait until 2012 and a new president before any common sense will penetrate.
Seen at Prison Planet.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
More letters to the editor
Rick Brunton of Beloit replies to my earlier reply:
'Steady decline of middle class'
This is in response to Mr. Kuecker’s letter of Sept. 22, “Taxing the rich never works.”
If he had followed history over the last three decades, it would be obvious that not taxing the rich does not work. While America has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, less than one in four corporations pay a dime in taxes. This is self-destructive for the vast majority of American businesses.
Taxes pay for roads and highways used by businesses to deliver their products to the marketplace. Taxes pay for public education that supplies an educated workforce to provide labor for businesses to develop, manufacture, improve, market and sell their products. Taxes provide police and fire protection to protect the factories, vehicles and sales distribution points necessary to business success. Obviously, no business wants government until their building catches fire and they start looking for the fire truck!
Since 1980, when Reagan began the process of reducing taxes on the superrich, we have seen a steady rise of unemployment, ballooning of the national debt, loss of family wage jobs, rise in health care costs, rising national poverty rates and bankruptcies and a decline in public education effectiveness. Oh, let’s not forget that Reagan, with the help of a little-known economist named Alan Greenspan, was the first to begin robbing the Social Security trust fund to help hide his out-of-control deficits.
During this time we have seen the steady decline of the middle class and its buying power. Since we are a consumer economy, where 2/3 of our economy is driven by consumer spending, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what is going wrong in today’s economy.
Rick Brunton
Beloit
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My reply - let's see if I get published:
Wow - this is getting interesting. I recently replied to George Ferriter about raising federal taxes, and now Rick Brunton has joined in.
I think if Mr. Brunton does a little research, he will find that President Reagan and Alan Greenspan were not the guys who changed the accounting for the Social Security trust fund. This was done by an earlier administration - Lyndon Johnson in 1968 - cited by the federal Social Security Administration. http://www.ssa.gov/history/InternetMyths2.html
What began in 1984 under Reagan was taxation of Social Security benefits.
I agree - some taxation is necessary to run the Constitutionally-authorized functions of the federal government. However, when the federal government continually votes to increase spending on programs that they have no Constitutional authority to create, these taxes start to degrade, rather than enhance, our country's financial health.
If some large firms escape paying taxes, would not the proper response be to modify the tax code to close the loopholes they are using, rather than increase taxes on everyone?
Furthermore, it is shown that the top 10% of US taxpayers pay over 70% of all federal income taxes, while the bottom 90% pay 30%. The bottom 50% of US taxpayers pay just under 3%. http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html
The steady decline of the middle class and loss of jobs graphed with the increase of federal rules and spending makes an interesting inverse relationship. Government spending never created one job that did not cost the "rich" a lot more than that job created in a healthy economy would have.
We need to rein in big government.
'Steady decline of middle class'
If he had followed history over the last three decades, it would be obvious that not taxing the rich does not work. While America has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, less than one in four corporations pay a dime in taxes. This is self-destructive for the vast majority of American businesses.
Taxes pay for roads and highways used by businesses to deliver their products to the marketplace. Taxes pay for public education that supplies an educated workforce to provide labor for businesses to develop, manufacture, improve, market and sell their products. Taxes provide police and fire protection to protect the factories, vehicles and sales distribution points necessary to business success. Obviously, no business wants government until their building catches fire and they start looking for the fire truck!
Since 1980, when Reagan began the process of reducing taxes on the superrich, we have seen a steady rise of unemployment, ballooning of the national debt, loss of family wage jobs, rise in health care costs, rising national poverty rates and bankruptcies and a decline in public education effectiveness. Oh, let’s not forget that Reagan, with the help of a little-known economist named Alan Greenspan, was the first to begin robbing the Social Security trust fund to help hide his out-of-control deficits.
During this time we have seen the steady decline of the middle class and its buying power. Since we are a consumer economy, where 2/3 of our economy is driven by consumer spending, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what is going wrong in today’s economy.
Rick Brunton
Beloit
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My reply - let's see if I get published:
Wow - this is getting interesting. I recently replied to George Ferriter about raising federal taxes, and now Rick Brunton has joined in.
I think if Mr. Brunton does a little research, he will find that President Reagan and Alan Greenspan were not the guys who changed the accounting for the Social Security trust fund. This was done by an earlier administration - Lyndon Johnson in 1968 - cited by the federal Social Security Administration. http://www.ssa.gov/history/InternetMyths2.html
What began in 1984 under Reagan was taxation of Social Security benefits.
I agree - some taxation is necessary to run the Constitutionally-authorized functions of the federal government. However, when the federal government continually votes to increase spending on programs that they have no Constitutional authority to create, these taxes start to degrade, rather than enhance, our country's financial health.
If some large firms escape paying taxes, would not the proper response be to modify the tax code to close the loopholes they are using, rather than increase taxes on everyone?
Furthermore, it is shown that the top 10% of US taxpayers pay over 70% of all federal income taxes, while the bottom 90% pay 30%. The bottom 50% of US taxpayers pay just under 3%. http://www.ntu.org/tax-basics/who-pays-income-taxes.html
The steady decline of the middle class and loss of jobs graphed with the increase of federal rules and spending makes an interesting inverse relationship. Government spending never created one job that did not cost the "rich" a lot more than that job created in a healthy economy would have.
We need to rein in big government.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Road rage
I've got it.
Driving the truck home with a customer's trimming machine in back today, I decided to take a back road. E B C Townline Road in Rock County takes about a mile off the trip.
The last time I drove this road, it was in terrible shape - potholes and spots where the pavement was gone for three foot patches down to gravel. Well, today, I found the local road crew had "patched" the worst areas.
They must use these back roads as a training ground for patching crews. The job was barely adequate to make the worst patches navigable without breaking the suspension. The quality was what one would expect from someone's brother-in-law's political patronage job in Chicago. Not anywhere near the quality I have come to expect in Wisconsin - at least on major highways.
That was OK - then I got to the intersection of Carver's Rock Road going south. This used to be a 'Y' on Carver's Rock, so traffic in and out of that road could turn without slowing excessively.
The local brainiacs in charge decided to make it a literal 'Y' - with no straight connection across the top for E B C Townline Road. One evidently is expected to make the left onto southbound Carver's Rock Road, then make a sharp right to get back on the westbound road. They excavated about a foot of pavement out between the arms of the 'Y', and there was no warning as to construction.
I hit the excavated area going about 50. It's at the top of a hill, so it's invisible until you get about 50 yards from the excavation. With a load in the bed, I was not inclined to slam on the brakes, and simply bounced through. Lucky me - nothing got bent or broken.
People in positions of power that do things like this are the reason God invented tar, feathers, and rails, if not tall trees, a horse, and a rope.
Nastygrams going out as soon as I find out who to send them to...
Update - I called WI DOT - they told me to talk to Rock County. Rock County told me it was the Town of Clinton's business. Left a message at the number for the town supervisor. He never returned my call - but on the way to deliver that machine, I took the town line road - and now there are big barricades up to warn about the dropoff. So my calling had a good effect.
Driving the truck home with a customer's trimming machine in back today, I decided to take a back road. E B C Townline Road in Rock County takes about a mile off the trip.
The last time I drove this road, it was in terrible shape - potholes and spots where the pavement was gone for three foot patches down to gravel. Well, today, I found the local road crew had "patched" the worst areas.
They must use these back roads as a training ground for patching crews. The job was barely adequate to make the worst patches navigable without breaking the suspension. The quality was what one would expect from someone's brother-in-law's political patronage job in Chicago. Not anywhere near the quality I have come to expect in Wisconsin - at least on major highways.
That was OK - then I got to the intersection of Carver's Rock Road going south. This used to be a 'Y' on Carver's Rock, so traffic in and out of that road could turn without slowing excessively.
The local brainiacs in charge decided to make it a literal 'Y' - with no straight connection across the top for E B C Townline Road. One evidently is expected to make the left onto southbound Carver's Rock Road, then make a sharp right to get back on the westbound road. They excavated about a foot of pavement out between the arms of the 'Y', and there was no warning as to construction.
I hit the excavated area going about 50. It's at the top of a hill, so it's invisible until you get about 50 yards from the excavation. With a load in the bed, I was not inclined to slam on the brakes, and simply bounced through. Lucky me - nothing got bent or broken.
People in positions of power that do things like this are the reason God invented tar, feathers, and rails, if not tall trees, a horse, and a rope.
Nastygrams going out as soon as I find out who to send them to...
Update - I called WI DOT - they told me to talk to Rock County. Rock County told me it was the Town of Clinton's business. Left a message at the number for the town supervisor. He never returned my call - but on the way to deliver that machine, I took the town line road - and now there are big barricades up to warn about the dropoff. So my calling had a good effect.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
A question
I have a question for anyone who knows something about paved roads and their maintenance. My daughter, the civil engineer draws a blank on this.
So far as I know, south central Wisconsin is unique in "maintaining" the asphalt paved county and township roads around here by spreading a nice thck coat of tar or oil, then a nice thick coating of fine pea gravel. The oil gets on anyone's vehicle who is unlucky enough to have to use the road, and the pea gravel is a special treat to two-wheeled traffic. My daughter came out today on her bike and had to negotiate some curves on a county road so treated - luckily she knows how to ride.
Is there actually any benefit to this technique, aside from making some politically connected people's brother-in-laws rich? It certainly ought to make the greenies happy, spreading all that oil to leach into the ground...
So far as I know, south central Wisconsin is unique in "maintaining" the asphalt paved county and township roads around here by spreading a nice thck coat of tar or oil, then a nice thick coating of fine pea gravel. The oil gets on anyone's vehicle who is unlucky enough to have to use the road, and the pea gravel is a special treat to two-wheeled traffic. My daughter came out today on her bike and had to negotiate some curves on a county road so treated - luckily she knows how to ride.
Is there actually any benefit to this technique, aside from making some politically connected people's brother-in-laws rich? It certainly ought to make the greenies happy, spreading all that oil to leach into the ground...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Nanny state protectionism
I've been thinking about laws meant to protect people from themselves in one way or another. The July 4th holiday always brings this to mind with the obligatory front-page warnings in the local paper about the dangers of fireworks.
How does any government that claims to be supporting freedom get off making any law aimed at forcing anyone to do something or not do something strictly for their own safety? The very idea ought to be anathema to a freedom-loving "legislator".
The only laws that should ever be passed are those which further the overall freedom of the people - and not "freedom from", ever. Americans should always be free to experience the consequences of their own actions, for good or bad. The only time the government should step in is if one person's actions cause injury to another or to some others property - and then only at the complaint of the injured party or a witness to the injury.
If children are shielded from all danger while growing, they will never mature as fully-functioning citizens of a free state. Of course, such defective children are key ingredients of a true nanny state. Without a cowering populace, the nanny state could not survive.
How does any government that claims to be supporting freedom get off making any law aimed at forcing anyone to do something or not do something strictly for their own safety? The very idea ought to be anathema to a freedom-loving "legislator".
The only laws that should ever be passed are those which further the overall freedom of the people - and not "freedom from", ever. Americans should always be free to experience the consequences of their own actions, for good or bad. The only time the government should step in is if one person's actions cause injury to another or to some others property - and then only at the complaint of the injured party or a witness to the injury.
If children are shielded from all danger while growing, they will never mature as fully-functioning citizens of a free state. Of course, such defective children are key ingredients of a true nanny state. Without a cowering populace, the nanny state could not survive.
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