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| http://www.zolkor.com/14trillion/14trillion.htm |
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Happy Tax Day!
Got this from a friend:
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HAPPY TAX DAY!
Posted on April 15, 2011 by Larry Correia correia45
So this year I was molested more than ever before. Hooray for success!
I’ve got two sources of income. By day, I’m the finance manager for a defense contractor. Like most of you I do the whole withholding thing where they, oh so very subtly, yank a small portion of my paycheck. (more on that later) By night, I’m a professional novelist, which means that I’m an independent contractor who has to calculate and send quarterly withholding payments myself. The last one I sent for the year literally made me tear up. I had to send the government a check for more money than my total income for any year of my life up until the age of twenty-three. (for one quarter) Oh, but my calculations were a teensy bit off, so this week, I had the opportunity to send them enough money to purchase a decent used car.
Because, you know, I had absolutely nothing better to do with that money.
So in honor of Tax Day, and as a result of having been exposed to a lot of news lately because I’ve been home sick, I’d like to talk about our nation’s current budget issues. You see, we face difficult times, and our noble president says that we are just going to need to give up just a little more.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, YOU STUPID LYING GREEDY SACK OF CRAP?
Government can’t balance a checkbook. They’re idiots. I know finance math. I do it for a living. And when I look at the numbers involved here, (and the interest!) it makes my head swim. Okay, for you non-accountants, when they start bandying numbers about on the news of 4 trillion such and such, and a hundred billion this and that, I know that your eyes glaze over. You think to yourself, “Oh, it is just the same old same old, bunch of politicians spending too much money, blah blah blah.”
NOOOOO!
Saying that this is the same old same old, is like saying that gophers digging up your lawn is the same level of disaster as Krakatoa. Over the last couple of years we’ve reached a whole new level of crazy. Our spending has gone insane. We’re spending more money, faster, than all of mankind, throughout all of recorded human history. Economists aren’t sure what’s going to happen, because this has never happened before. Ever. On Earth. We’ve strayed into strange new territory here and there are many possible outcomes if we don’t stray the hell back out. And don’t for a second think that any of those possible outcomes are remotely good. No. They range somewhere between the Great Depression and Mad Max.
The government almost shut down last week over cutting 38 billion dollars… That may sound like a lot, but comparatively speaking, that’s like a 600 pound man who’s heart is about to explode congratulating himself that he got a hamburger instead of a cheeseburger… for his fifty-seventh meal of the day. Republicans backed off because they didn’t think they could win the PR battle. Let’s see… the Democrats were willing to not pay soldiers, currently fighting three wars, in order to ensure funding for abortion clinics… And you didn’t think you could win that PR fight? Seriously? Have you ever thought about maybe hiring a marketing major? I know a guy….
Oh, and don’t get all, “Well, Planned Parenthood (or NPR, or grants for African Genital Washing studies, or whatever the hell your stupid cause is) only gets a fraction of half a mili-percent of its budget from the government! So. F’ing. What… Those are my dollars. Why should they get ANY?
Every time there is a discussion about cutting some government program, people line up to whine about how that cut is going to hurt somebody. Then you get the sob stories… So we never cut anything. Guess what? They’re not called Budget Pillows or Budget Tickles. They’re Budget CUTS. Cuts are supposed to HURT.
I had a discussion the other day with some relatively intelligent folks about social security. The idea of cutting benefits or moving the retirement age shocks them. “How unfair! But I’ve paid into this my whole life!”
Yep. You sure did. You got lied to and screwed over by evil political opportunists. Deal with it. I’m just shy of 40. I know that I’m not ever going to see a dime of any of the money I paid into Social Security. FDR’s pet program was garbage when the average old person died a couple of years after retirement and the ratio of workers to retirees was 40 to 1. How in the hell is it supposed to work when retirees are expected to live for TWENTY YEARS and there’s only a handful of people paying in for every one getting a check?
It doesn’t work. No matter how hard you wish, no matter how hard you hope, no matter how much compassion you can fit in your stupid compassionate heart, no matter how much you happen to like some program that helps somebody do something wonderful… math never lies and interest never sleeps. Caring don’t pay the bills.
On Social Security (because it is the gigantic stinky gorilla in the room) Okay, let’s talk about that little withholding bit first because lots of people still don’t realize this. I got into an argument with somebody the other day about social security, and he actually told me, “I don’t mind them taking out that money. I wouldn’t bother to save it. Plus, it isn’t really that much so I don’t notice it.”
IDIOT.
You’ve probably been seeing 6.2% of your check taken for SS and 1.45% for Medicare (not even going to get into FUTA and SUTA). What most folks don’t realize is that your employer matches that… So basically you could get a 16% raise tomorrow if it wasn’t for that withholding. “Oh, but that’s saving for my retirement!” Bull crap. I could take 16% of my salary, use it to store canned food, and I’d come out ahead of what I’m actually going to get from the government for my retirement. The money that’s been paid in already is long gone, because expecting congress to save money is like expecting crack whores to save crack.
Basically, if you’re not already old, and you’re counting on seeing money from Social Security, you’re a sucker.
Moving on to all the other stupid taxes, the latest thing I’m hearing is for us to tax corporations more. If only those darn evil corporations were paying their fair share! That’ll solve everything! GE didn’t pay any taxes! Google hardly paid any taxes! They’re using those evil loopholes! People tend to think of “loopholes” as some sort of nefarious trick that only rich people know how to use to sneak out of paying their “fair” share. (rich guys are taught about loop holes at the same time they’re taught the secret rich guy handshake).
I used to think that way too. That’s how most Americans have been programmed to think of them. Until I took a tax class in college taught by a very sharp tax accountant. Loopholes aren’t secrets. They’re tax code. They’re laws that have been passed, by congress, in order to encourage some sort of behavior. Regular people deduct their mortgage interest. Hell, Married Filing Jointly is considered a loophole to some people.
If congress passes a tax break to encourage some behavior, and a corporation or an individual didn’t take advantage of it, they’d be stupid or failing their shareholders. Don’t get mad at the corporations or the tax accountants. Get mad at congress for decades of nonsensical regulations passed until the tax code is so convoluted that there is literally no right answer.
A long time ago, some university did a test. They made up a fictitious family of 5, gave them dual income, some investments, some rental property, and a few other little things, nothing too weird or complicated, and then had 150 different CPAs, tax accounting companies, and even tax software packages prepare this family’s returns. They got 150 different answers. All of they were equally arguable as being correct. All of them were equally auditable and capable of being wrong What does that tell you about the complexity of the tax code?
GE didn’t pay any taxes because of all the special regulations that have been passed to push the whole Green Energy nonsense. (Oh, don’t even get me started on stupid ethanol. I went from 35 to 27 mpg when they started adding corn and rainbows to my gas) If they stick it to corporations even harder, it is going to hurt all of the little normal companies that all of us work for, as opposed to the giants that can suck up directly to the president.
You want to boost the economy? Lower corporate taxes. You want to increase investment? Lower the capital gains tax. You don’t want corporations to flee America to move their operations overseas? Quit raping them! We’ve got one of the highest effective business taxes on the planet, and that’s before you factor in the expense of having to answer to fifty different agencies that can come in and audit and fine you. Personally, I’ve spent about 30% of my professional accounting life just answering to the whims of various audit agencies, and people like me don’t come cheap.
But no matter how screwed up our tax code is, and even if we suddenly had a sensible tax code tomorrow, we’d still be in deep trouble, because the government is spending too damn much.
“Well, Correia. You’re one of those heartless republicans! George Bush spent lots of money too! Tarp! TARP!”
Yes. And he was WRONG. (and oh how quickly we forget who controlled congress for most of that spending) Terribly, awfully wrong. And the country-club, big government republican establishment is wrong. Government isn’t the solution, it is the problem. McCain sucked. Romney sucks. Anybody who doesn’t grasp the dangers of big government sucks. But that said, if your justification for Obama’s spending lunacy is that the last guy was doing something wrong, you don’t do the same damn thing, only FIVE TIMES bigger and TWICE AS FAST.
We need to cut, cut, cut, and then cut some more. Nothing should be sacred. Nothing should be off the table. According to the Wall Street Journal, more Americans work for the government now than in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining, and utilities COMBINED.
How in the hell is that sustainable? How in the hell is that acceptable?
The problem isn’t that we don’t pay enough in taxes, the problem is that the government is too damn big. They meddle in every facet of our lives from before we’re born until after we die.
I think Paul Ryan’s budget sounds like a great start. Cut. Cut. Cut. Take a chainsaw to federal spending. Even the things that I happen to like, like having a strong national defense… I’m pretty darn sure we can find some waste and useless projects in there. Do we really need more admirals than we have ships? Cut!
We’re almost done in Iraq. So long. We don’t have a plan in Afghanistan and that country can’t pull its head out of its own butt. I say we bail and turn half the country over to the Gurkhas and the other half over to the Poles. Rules of engagement? He he he… Why do we still have so many troops stationed in Germany? So that Europe can gut their own defense to pay for absurd social programs because they know they’re safe as long as we’re there to protect them. Nope. Bye Europe. Sorry, England. You may have to double your air force and buy another three planes.
And I’m saying this to my own side. Yep, there are plenty of strategic reasons, but if you can’t afford to be world cop, you can’t afford to be world cop. Cuts are supposed to hurt. The lefties don’t get to subsidize electric cars and we don’t get to leave the 82nd Airborne in South Korea. Come home.
(and oh, the hypocrisy from the left… No war for oil! Unless of course it is French oil in Libya, then it’s totally cool. Abu Ghirab was directly George Bush’s fault! Murder squad in Afghanistan recently? Crickets. A few years ago we accidentally bomb civilians. Impeach Baby-Killer Bush! We accidentally bomb civilians this month and hey, that’s cool. Accidents happen during Kinetic Military Actions. And WTF is a Kinetic Military Action?)
That said, I’d rather have another squadron of F-22s than the entire Department of Education. At least air superiority is useful. What has the DoE done for you lately? Hell, ever? Cut! Can anybody tell me what Health and Human Services does? It alone is bigger than LBJ’s entire government. Boom. Cut! TSA? Ha! Are you kidding me? CUT! Department of Energy was supposed to get us cheap energy… How’s that working out for you? CUUUT!!
You know what happens when a regular company runs out of money? We have to lay people off. Why is it when our economy sucks and everybody is hurting that our government grows? Obama raised government salaries to the highest level in our history, and then to show that he understood our pain, he froze salaries… Let me see if I’ve got this right? You raised your salary super high, and FROZE it THERE and now you’re telling me that’s somehow a good thing. Screw you.
Corporate welfare? Gone. We shouldn’t have to pay $10,000 in subsidies for the ridiculous Chevy Volt so that rich urban liberals can assuage their guilt. There is no Too Big To Fail, because somebody smarter than you will come along and buy your assets. Does that hurt your union pension? Cry me a friggin’ river.
No bailing out states. If California wants to have 500 state agencies, spend money like there’s no tomorrow, while driving out all of their productive people and ruining all their businesses, then that should not become the problem of those of us who live in states that aren’t ridiculous.
Social Security and other entitlements? It is time to start the painful weaning process. Raise the retirement age. Cut the benefits for those of us not already taking it. And then start ending the stupid program. You can’t fix it. You can’t fix something that is so fundamentally and mathematically flawed. It is either start cutting it gradually until it is gone, or wait for the whole thing to implode so that it screws everybody equally. It is morally wrong for me to expect my grandchildren to have to pay my bills just because I got old.
No more giving money to foreign investments. My part of the country is sitting on more energy than Saudi Arabia but we can’t get to most of it because the government won’t let us. (F%&$ Ken Salazar in his stupid face). Government meddling has ruined the economy of eastern Utah, yet, at the same time we can give billions of dollars to Brazil to help them drill for oil? Are you kidding me? That’s not an energy policy. That’s national suicide.
So happy Tax Day everybody. I for one am glad that I was able to send the government enough money to ensure ACORN employees are able to house Honduran sex slaves properly, or to pay the gas for Nancy Pelosi’s jet… Sure, if I’d kept that money myself I could have, I don’t know, done something stupid, like knocked 5 years off the back end of my mortgage, or paid for a gigantic chunk of one of my kid’s college education. But I’m just glad that I was able to do my part!
Merry Tax Day to all, and to all a good night!
I’ve got two sources of income. By day, I’m the finance manager for a defense contractor. Like most of you I do the whole withholding thing where they, oh so very subtly, yank a small portion of my paycheck. (more on that later) By night, I’m a professional novelist, which means that I’m an independent contractor who has to calculate and send quarterly withholding payments myself. The last one I sent for the year literally made me tear up. I had to send the government a check for more money than my total income for any year of my life up until the age of twenty-three. (for one quarter) Oh, but my calculations were a teensy bit off, so this week, I had the opportunity to send them enough money to purchase a decent used car.
Because, you know, I had absolutely nothing better to do with that money.
So in honor of Tax Day, and as a result of having been exposed to a lot of news lately because I’ve been home sick, I’d like to talk about our nation’s current budget issues. You see, we face difficult times, and our noble president says that we are just going to need to give up just a little more.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, YOU STUPID LYING GREEDY SACK OF CRAP?
Government can’t balance a checkbook. They’re idiots. I know finance math. I do it for a living. And when I look at the numbers involved here, (and the interest!) it makes my head swim. Okay, for you non-accountants, when they start bandying numbers about on the news of 4 trillion such and such, and a hundred billion this and that, I know that your eyes glaze over. You think to yourself, “Oh, it is just the same old same old, bunch of politicians spending too much money, blah blah blah.”
NOOOOO!
Saying that this is the same old same old, is like saying that gophers digging up your lawn is the same level of disaster as Krakatoa. Over the last couple of years we’ve reached a whole new level of crazy. Our spending has gone insane. We’re spending more money, faster, than all of mankind, throughout all of recorded human history. Economists aren’t sure what’s going to happen, because this has never happened before. Ever. On Earth. We’ve strayed into strange new territory here and there are many possible outcomes if we don’t stray the hell back out. And don’t for a second think that any of those possible outcomes are remotely good. No. They range somewhere between the Great Depression and Mad Max.
The government almost shut down last week over cutting 38 billion dollars… That may sound like a lot, but comparatively speaking, that’s like a 600 pound man who’s heart is about to explode congratulating himself that he got a hamburger instead of a cheeseburger… for his fifty-seventh meal of the day. Republicans backed off because they didn’t think they could win the PR battle. Let’s see… the Democrats were willing to not pay soldiers, currently fighting three wars, in order to ensure funding for abortion clinics… And you didn’t think you could win that PR fight? Seriously? Have you ever thought about maybe hiring a marketing major? I know a guy….
Oh, and don’t get all, “Well, Planned Parenthood (or NPR, or grants for African Genital Washing studies, or whatever the hell your stupid cause is) only gets a fraction of half a mili-percent of its budget from the government! So. F’ing. What… Those are my dollars. Why should they get ANY?
Every time there is a discussion about cutting some government program, people line up to whine about how that cut is going to hurt somebody. Then you get the sob stories… So we never cut anything. Guess what? They’re not called Budget Pillows or Budget Tickles. They’re Budget CUTS. Cuts are supposed to HURT.
I had a discussion the other day with some relatively intelligent folks about social security. The idea of cutting benefits or moving the retirement age shocks them. “How unfair! But I’ve paid into this my whole life!”
Yep. You sure did. You got lied to and screwed over by evil political opportunists. Deal with it. I’m just shy of 40. I know that I’m not ever going to see a dime of any of the money I paid into Social Security. FDR’s pet program was garbage when the average old person died a couple of years after retirement and the ratio of workers to retirees was 40 to 1. How in the hell is it supposed to work when retirees are expected to live for TWENTY YEARS and there’s only a handful of people paying in for every one getting a check?
It doesn’t work. No matter how hard you wish, no matter how hard you hope, no matter how much compassion you can fit in your stupid compassionate heart, no matter how much you happen to like some program that helps somebody do something wonderful… math never lies and interest never sleeps. Caring don’t pay the bills.
On Social Security (because it is the gigantic stinky gorilla in the room) Okay, let’s talk about that little withholding bit first because lots of people still don’t realize this. I got into an argument with somebody the other day about social security, and he actually told me, “I don’t mind them taking out that money. I wouldn’t bother to save it. Plus, it isn’t really that much so I don’t notice it.”
IDIOT.
You’ve probably been seeing 6.2% of your check taken for SS and 1.45% for Medicare (not even going to get into FUTA and SUTA). What most folks don’t realize is that your employer matches that… So basically you could get a 16% raise tomorrow if it wasn’t for that withholding. “Oh, but that’s saving for my retirement!” Bull crap. I could take 16% of my salary, use it to store canned food, and I’d come out ahead of what I’m actually going to get from the government for my retirement. The money that’s been paid in already is long gone, because expecting congress to save money is like expecting crack whores to save crack.
Basically, if you’re not already old, and you’re counting on seeing money from Social Security, you’re a sucker.
Moving on to all the other stupid taxes, the latest thing I’m hearing is for us to tax corporations more. If only those darn evil corporations were paying their fair share! That’ll solve everything! GE didn’t pay any taxes! Google hardly paid any taxes! They’re using those evil loopholes! People tend to think of “loopholes” as some sort of nefarious trick that only rich people know how to use to sneak out of paying their “fair” share. (rich guys are taught about loop holes at the same time they’re taught the secret rich guy handshake).
I used to think that way too. That’s how most Americans have been programmed to think of them. Until I took a tax class in college taught by a very sharp tax accountant. Loopholes aren’t secrets. They’re tax code. They’re laws that have been passed, by congress, in order to encourage some sort of behavior. Regular people deduct their mortgage interest. Hell, Married Filing Jointly is considered a loophole to some people.
If congress passes a tax break to encourage some behavior, and a corporation or an individual didn’t take advantage of it, they’d be stupid or failing their shareholders. Don’t get mad at the corporations or the tax accountants. Get mad at congress for decades of nonsensical regulations passed until the tax code is so convoluted that there is literally no right answer.
A long time ago, some university did a test. They made up a fictitious family of 5, gave them dual income, some investments, some rental property, and a few other little things, nothing too weird or complicated, and then had 150 different CPAs, tax accounting companies, and even tax software packages prepare this family’s returns. They got 150 different answers. All of they were equally arguable as being correct. All of them were equally auditable and capable of being wrong What does that tell you about the complexity of the tax code?
GE didn’t pay any taxes because of all the special regulations that have been passed to push the whole Green Energy nonsense. (Oh, don’t even get me started on stupid ethanol. I went from 35 to 27 mpg when they started adding corn and rainbows to my gas) If they stick it to corporations even harder, it is going to hurt all of the little normal companies that all of us work for, as opposed to the giants that can suck up directly to the president.
You want to boost the economy? Lower corporate taxes. You want to increase investment? Lower the capital gains tax. You don’t want corporations to flee America to move their operations overseas? Quit raping them! We’ve got one of the highest effective business taxes on the planet, and that’s before you factor in the expense of having to answer to fifty different agencies that can come in and audit and fine you. Personally, I’ve spent about 30% of my professional accounting life just answering to the whims of various audit agencies, and people like me don’t come cheap.
But no matter how screwed up our tax code is, and even if we suddenly had a sensible tax code tomorrow, we’d still be in deep trouble, because the government is spending too damn much.
“Well, Correia. You’re one of those heartless republicans! George Bush spent lots of money too! Tarp! TARP!”
Yes. And he was WRONG. (and oh how quickly we forget who controlled congress for most of that spending) Terribly, awfully wrong. And the country-club, big government republican establishment is wrong. Government isn’t the solution, it is the problem. McCain sucked. Romney sucks. Anybody who doesn’t grasp the dangers of big government sucks. But that said, if your justification for Obama’s spending lunacy is that the last guy was doing something wrong, you don’t do the same damn thing, only FIVE TIMES bigger and TWICE AS FAST.
We need to cut, cut, cut, and then cut some more. Nothing should be sacred. Nothing should be off the table. According to the Wall Street Journal, more Americans work for the government now than in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining, and utilities COMBINED.
How in the hell is that sustainable? How in the hell is that acceptable?
The problem isn’t that we don’t pay enough in taxes, the problem is that the government is too damn big. They meddle in every facet of our lives from before we’re born until after we die.
I think Paul Ryan’s budget sounds like a great start. Cut. Cut. Cut. Take a chainsaw to federal spending. Even the things that I happen to like, like having a strong national defense… I’m pretty darn sure we can find some waste and useless projects in there. Do we really need more admirals than we have ships? Cut!
We’re almost done in Iraq. So long. We don’t have a plan in Afghanistan and that country can’t pull its head out of its own butt. I say we bail and turn half the country over to the Gurkhas and the other half over to the Poles. Rules of engagement? He he he… Why do we still have so many troops stationed in Germany? So that Europe can gut their own defense to pay for absurd social programs because they know they’re safe as long as we’re there to protect them. Nope. Bye Europe. Sorry, England. You may have to double your air force and buy another three planes.
And I’m saying this to my own side. Yep, there are plenty of strategic reasons, but if you can’t afford to be world cop, you can’t afford to be world cop. Cuts are supposed to hurt. The lefties don’t get to subsidize electric cars and we don’t get to leave the 82nd Airborne in South Korea. Come home.
(and oh, the hypocrisy from the left… No war for oil! Unless of course it is French oil in Libya, then it’s totally cool. Abu Ghirab was directly George Bush’s fault! Murder squad in Afghanistan recently? Crickets. A few years ago we accidentally bomb civilians. Impeach Baby-Killer Bush! We accidentally bomb civilians this month and hey, that’s cool. Accidents happen during Kinetic Military Actions. And WTF is a Kinetic Military Action?)
That said, I’d rather have another squadron of F-22s than the entire Department of Education. At least air superiority is useful. What has the DoE done for you lately? Hell, ever? Cut! Can anybody tell me what Health and Human Services does? It alone is bigger than LBJ’s entire government. Boom. Cut! TSA? Ha! Are you kidding me? CUT! Department of Energy was supposed to get us cheap energy… How’s that working out for you? CUUUT!!
You know what happens when a regular company runs out of money? We have to lay people off. Why is it when our economy sucks and everybody is hurting that our government grows? Obama raised government salaries to the highest level in our history, and then to show that he understood our pain, he froze salaries… Let me see if I’ve got this right? You raised your salary super high, and FROZE it THERE and now you’re telling me that’s somehow a good thing. Screw you.
Corporate welfare? Gone. We shouldn’t have to pay $10,000 in subsidies for the ridiculous Chevy Volt so that rich urban liberals can assuage their guilt. There is no Too Big To Fail, because somebody smarter than you will come along and buy your assets. Does that hurt your union pension? Cry me a friggin’ river.
No bailing out states. If California wants to have 500 state agencies, spend money like there’s no tomorrow, while driving out all of their productive people and ruining all their businesses, then that should not become the problem of those of us who live in states that aren’t ridiculous.
Social Security and other entitlements? It is time to start the painful weaning process. Raise the retirement age. Cut the benefits for those of us not already taking it. And then start ending the stupid program. You can’t fix it. You can’t fix something that is so fundamentally and mathematically flawed. It is either start cutting it gradually until it is gone, or wait for the whole thing to implode so that it screws everybody equally. It is morally wrong for me to expect my grandchildren to have to pay my bills just because I got old.
No more giving money to foreign investments. My part of the country is sitting on more energy than Saudi Arabia but we can’t get to most of it because the government won’t let us. (F%&$ Ken Salazar in his stupid face). Government meddling has ruined the economy of eastern Utah, yet, at the same time we can give billions of dollars to Brazil to help them drill for oil? Are you kidding me? That’s not an energy policy. That’s national suicide.
So happy Tax Day everybody. I for one am glad that I was able to send the government enough money to ensure ACORN employees are able to house Honduran sex slaves properly, or to pay the gas for Nancy Pelosi’s jet… Sure, if I’d kept that money myself I could have, I don’t know, done something stupid, like knocked 5 years off the back end of my mortgage, or paid for a gigantic chunk of one of my kid’s college education. But I’m just glad that I was able to do my part!
Merry Tax Day to all, and to all a good night!
Filed under: Uncategorized
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The truth at last?
From his own lips:
Draw your own conclusions.
Personally, I think that IF his mother was still an American citizen AND had lived in the United States for the requisite period before his birth, he's a "natural born" American. Actual place of birth doesn't matter. I also don't think a minor child can lose American citizenship through the actions of parents.
Still, it would be nice if Osama would clear up the matter - it's easy and cheaper than what he's spent on trying to keep it buried.
When I see it on the MSM news, I'll start believing something will be done with it.
Draw your own conclusions.
Personally, I think that IF his mother was still an American citizen AND had lived in the United States for the requisite period before his birth, he's a "natural born" American. Actual place of birth doesn't matter. I also don't think a minor child can lose American citizenship through the actions of parents.
Still, it would be nice if Osama would clear up the matter - it's easy and cheaper than what he's spent on trying to keep it buried.
When I see it on the MSM news, I'll start believing something will be done with it.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Sarah Palin in Madison
At Breitbart.
Great speech. Too bad I couldn't attend.
Palin Wows Wisconsin Tea Partiers With Blistering Speech; To Obama: 'You Ignored Us in 2010, You Cannot Ignore Us in 2012' from Breitbart on Vimeo.
Update: See the video here since Vimeo deleted it.
Great speech. Too bad I couldn't attend.
Palin Wows Wisconsin Tea Partiers With Blistering Speech; To Obama: 'You Ignored Us in 2010, You Cannot Ignore Us in 2012' from Breitbart on Vimeo.
Update: See the video here since Vimeo deleted it.
Overdraft notices
Just got three "continuing overdraft" notices from my bank. The snail mail delivered the original letter today - postmarked on Tuesday last - four days in transit from the bank in Beloit four miles away. The overdraft was due to their monthly "analysis" - which I guess is the cost of printing out and mailing the monthly statement.
This bank has a very nice website with email alerts for balances, transfers, and deposits - but no way to let you know you have inadvertently gone over. With debit cards rife these days, I would think overdrafts are more common now than ten years ago.
The mail delay allowed them to add three days' worth of "continuing overdraft" fees. $27 total gone.
It's not a huge problem these days to have automated emails sent or autodialed phone calls placed to alert people of things like this. Emails are free once you have an Internet connection - local phone calls are almost free.
So, off went this missive:
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I have a complaint. Your bank obviously has the capability of
sending out an email notice of an overdraft condition, which
would have a net cost to you of approximately zero, but you
persist in mailing out overdraft notices via the United States
Snail, and this method of communication ensures your bank of
being able to collect at least one day's continuing overdraft
fee as well as the original fee for the original overdraft.
An email could easily be automatically sent out from your main
computer network, notifying your customers of the problem so
they could promptly transfer funds and correct it.
Using the mail is an antiquated method for this kind of
communication. Unless a customer expressly request no emails
be sent, or does not supply you with an email address, this
method should be preferred - unless your corporate tactic
here is to collect as many fees as possible, rather than
providing the latest in customer service at basically
no cost to you.
In this tough economy, small businesses like mine are
sometimes barely hanging on - and a few day's worth of
avoidable overdraft fees might make the difference between
being able to pay a vital bill and going out of business.
My account went from a small positive balance to a $27.47
overdraft solely because of your monthly service fee - I
did not write any checks that caused this, but incurred
a $24 loss. As you will see, I deposited over $3000 today,
most of which is already bound for other creditors.
Please consider entering the 21st Century and giving us
the option of promptly correcting an oversight. The
government is leaching quite enough money out of us without
you helping.
Thank you.
+++++++++++++++++++
This bank has a very nice website with email alerts for balances, transfers, and deposits - but no way to let you know you have inadvertently gone over. With debit cards rife these days, I would think overdrafts are more common now than ten years ago.
The mail delay allowed them to add three days' worth of "continuing overdraft" fees. $27 total gone.
It's not a huge problem these days to have automated emails sent or autodialed phone calls placed to alert people of things like this. Emails are free once you have an Internet connection - local phone calls are almost free.
So, off went this missive:
+++++++++++++++++++
I have a complaint. Your bank obviously has the capability of
sending out an email notice of an overdraft condition, which
would have a net cost to you of approximately zero, but you
persist in mailing out overdraft notices via the United States
Snail, and this method of communication ensures your bank of
being able to collect at least one day's continuing overdraft
fee as well as the original fee for the original overdraft.
An email could easily be automatically sent out from your main
computer network, notifying your customers of the problem so
they could promptly transfer funds and correct it.
Using the mail is an antiquated method for this kind of
communication. Unless a customer expressly request no emails
be sent, or does not supply you with an email address, this
method should be preferred - unless your corporate tactic
here is to collect as many fees as possible, rather than
providing the latest in customer service at basically
no cost to you.
In this tough economy, small businesses like mine are
sometimes barely hanging on - and a few day's worth of
avoidable overdraft fees might make the difference between
being able to pay a vital bill and going out of business.
My account went from a small positive balance to a $27.47
overdraft solely because of your monthly service fee - I
did not write any checks that caused this, but incurred
a $24 loss. As you will see, I deposited over $3000 today,
most of which is already bound for other creditors.
Please consider entering the 21st Century and giving us
the option of promptly correcting an oversight. The
government is leaching quite enough money out of us without
you helping.
Thank you.
+++++++++++++++++++
Saw "Atlas Shrugged"
Good movie - I just hate having to wait an indeterminate time for the second installment.
It stayed fairly true to Ayn Rand's novel, but it was a bit jarring to see Chicago area Metra trains shot in dim light as Taggart Transcontinental rolling stock, and I had to bite my tongue when Dagny was shown driving around in a Toyota.
I wonder how prescient the $34.50 / gallon gas is. I had to pay $20 for less than a quarter tank in my wife's Fusion today = $3.89 / gallon.
It stayed fairly true to Ayn Rand's novel, but it was a bit jarring to see Chicago area Metra trains shot in dim light as Taggart Transcontinental rolling stock, and I had to bite my tongue when Dagny was shown driving around in a Toyota.
I wonder how prescient the $34.50 / gallon gas is. I had to pay $20 for less than a quarter tank in my wife's Fusion today = $3.89 / gallon.
The Brady Bunch thinks shooting innocent people is fun
Check out this video, and ask yourself if you know of any gun owner who would use these targets...
Here's a few I would use:
Here's a few I would use:
 |
| http://thumbsnap.com/JKbmtX3S?src=tsd |
And now, something from the Dark Side
Courtesy of MoveOn.org. A leftie's view of how the budget should be fixed.
I note that he never mentions the fact that Osama and his Demonrats started one war and have escalated the other two, and that all the BIG entitlements that are the real killers, like Medicaid and Medicare, were enacted by Demonrats. Or that OsamaCare is the biggest, bar none, entitlement and governmental bureaucracy ever proposed on this planet.
Even though Planned Parenthood is anathema to many Americans, it is so small in respect we ought to keep it funded.
NPR - Sesame Street and the like could live nicely off donations from people like George Soros if it's that critical to them.
More tired "tax the rich" bullshit. I did get a kick out of him wanting GE to pay more taxes - didn't Osama just get done performing oral sex on them for their support or something? I forget the details I read somewhere.
I note that he never mentions the fact that Osama and his Demonrats started one war and have escalated the other two, and that all the BIG entitlements that are the real killers, like Medicaid and Medicare, were enacted by Demonrats. Or that OsamaCare is the biggest, bar none, entitlement and governmental bureaucracy ever proposed on this planet.
Even though Planned Parenthood is anathema to many Americans, it is so small in respect we ought to keep it funded.
NPR - Sesame Street and the like could live nicely off donations from people like George Soros if it's that critical to them.
More tired "tax the rich" bullshit. I did get a kick out of him wanting GE to pay more taxes - didn't Osama just get done performing oral sex on them for their support or something? I forget the details I read somewhere.
An example of an Islamic mother's love
Seen at A Trainwreck in Maxwell:
At least she didn't take any innocents with her.
These are the people our President wants NASA to do outreach to.
At least she didn't take any innocents with her.
These are the people our President wants NASA to do outreach to.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The truth about unemployment
Unemployment? Forget 9%. The reality is over 50%.
"Only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000. Last year, just 66.8% of men had jobs, the lowest on record."
If you count people on welfare and retirees and those who have given up on finding work, you get a wholelot more "unemployed" than the government want you to think there are.
Osama and friends want the shrinking workforce to pay ever more in taxes to support the growing masses of non-working.
And I thought slavery was illegal under our Constitution.
"Only 45.4% of Americans had jobs in 2010, the lowest rate since 1983 and down from a peak of 49.3% in 2000. Last year, just 66.8% of men had jobs, the lowest on record."
If you count people on welfare and retirees and those who have given up on finding work, you get a wholelot more "unemployed" than the government want you to think there are.
Osama and friends want the shrinking workforce to pay ever more in taxes to support the growing masses of non-working.
And I thought slavery was illegal under our Constitution.
The source of all our problems
Audio of a caller on a talk show. Totally explains our current situation.
No concept of our population or where welfare payments come from, but lots of socialist rhetoric.
Remember - they vote - and they reproduce!
No concept of our population or where welfare payments come from, but lots of socialist rhetoric.
Remember - they vote - and they reproduce!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
When you have a hammer
everything looks like a nail!
Evidently it's been around for quite a while, but it still sounds real good.
Evidently it's been around for quite a while, but it still sounds real good.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Nancy Peolsi drops the facade
Perhaps it's sour grapes, or perhaps it's a recent reawakening, but in a speech by Nancy Pelosi at Tufts University earlier this week, the former speaker of the House had some advice for her Republican colleagues in particular and some reflections on elections in general:
There's video at the link.
So, she admits that Demonrats and Rethuglicans are both members of the Tolitarian Party.
Well, that's why we have the Tea Party.
To my Republican friends: take back your party. So that it doesn’t matter so much who wins the election, because we have shared values about the education of our children, the growth of our economy, how we defend our country, our security and civil liberties, how we respect our seniors. Because there are so many things at risk right now -- perhaps in another question I'll go into them, if you want. But the fact is that elections shouldn't matter as much as they do...But when it comes to a place where there doesn't seem to be shared values then that can be problematic for the country, as I think you can see right now.++++++++++++++++
There's video at the link.
So, she admits that Demonrats and Rethuglicans are both members of the Tolitarian Party.
Well, that's why we have the Tea Party.
A bug is a germ is a boy is Mother Gaea...
UN document would give 'Mother Earth' same rights as humans
Gotta watch these imbeciles.
Maybe we could invest in memberships in "Voluntary Human Extinction" for them?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Radio N9ETJ is on the air
Well, I will be when I get my Morse speed back, anyway. Got the vertical erected, and ran a cable out to it yesterday - so now I can listen and practice my receiving again.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Email to John Boehner
Sent this:
Do you really think cutting a few measly billion from a multi-trillion deficit is going to do more than waste our time?
We are spending 44% more than we take in now. How about cutting the budget by 50% and then look into keeping it below projected tax income?
Planned Parenthood is not a critical service. Paying servicemen is. ObamaCare is definitely not required.
Figure out how to get us out from under Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all the other insane "entitlements" now in place.
Stop wasting our time. Shut the federal government down, so people can see how useless 99% of it really is.
+++++++++++++++++++
Feels good, anyway.
Do you really think cutting a few measly billion from a multi-trillion deficit is going to do more than waste our time?
We are spending 44% more than we take in now. How about cutting the budget by 50% and then look into keeping it below projected tax income?
Planned Parenthood is not a critical service. Paying servicemen is. ObamaCare is definitely not required.
Figure out how to get us out from under Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all the other insane "entitlements" now in place.
Stop wasting our time. Shut the federal government down, so people can see how useless 99% of it really is.
+++++++++++++++++++
Feels good, anyway.
Another missive to Kohl
Useless, as usual, but I did it:
Senator Kohl,
End the budget deadlock. Cut federal spending by at least 50%.
Start with Social Security, that Ponzi scheme foisted on us by FDR and ever since meddled with by you guys.
End Medicare and Medicaid.
End ObamaCare.
Do this NOW.
NOW.
This is an order from your bosses.
Cut spending by 50% NOW.
Note - Salaries of servicemen are NOT negotiable. Cut defense expenses by bringing our guys home and ending our involvement in Mr. Obama's illegal wars.
Senator Kohl,
End the budget deadlock. Cut federal spending by at least 50%.
Start with Social Security, that Ponzi scheme foisted on us by FDR and ever since meddled with by you guys.
End Medicare and Medicaid.
End ObamaCare.
Do this NOW.
NOW.
This is an order from your bosses.
Cut spending by 50% NOW.
Note - Salaries of servicemen are NOT negotiable. Cut defense expenses by bringing our guys home and ending our involvement in Mr. Obama's illegal wars.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Effects of a government shutdown
are evidently not all that visible, unless you visit a park. As an FFL holder, I have to do NICS background checks on prospective gun buyers.
Just got this from the FBI:
Just got this from the FBI:
The NICS will be operating with a limited staff if a furlough takes place. The staff will be handling all incoming calls and working NICS transactions in the event of a furlough.
So, Brady checks are apparently "essential governmental functions".
The Memory Hole is alive and well
and working at Associated Press. Only problem is - Big Brother isn't omnipresent yet.
Instapundit caught 'em at it.
Osama made a callous remark to a questioner - sort of a Marie Antoinette thing. Screen shot from that website:
Instapundit caught 'em at it.
Osama made a callous remark to a questioner - sort of a Marie Antoinette thing. Screen shot from that website:
Jesse Jackson shows his true colors
Here:
Money quote:
“You have those who believe in states’ rights and those who believe in a more perfect union,” he said. “States’ right are anti-civil rights, anti-workers’ right to bargain, anti-social justice, pro-rich and significantly insensitive to poor people — that was the great divide 150 years ago and it’s the great divide today in the ideological sense.”
States' rights are what the Constitution is all about. That's why the Tenth Amendment is there.
Money quote:
“You have those who believe in states’ rights and those who believe in a more perfect union,” he said. “States’ right are anti-civil rights, anti-workers’ right to bargain, anti-social justice, pro-rich and significantly insensitive to poor people — that was the great divide 150 years ago and it’s the great divide today in the ideological sense.”
States' rights are what the Constitution is all about. That's why the Tenth Amendment is there.
Progressives?
Why do Luddites and people who want to return us to the peace and safety of the cold, dark cave, keep calling themselves "progressives"?
I always thought "progressives" were people who wanted "progress" - not retreat from the real world. Sort of like "liberals" were for "liberty" and "gay people" were happy much of the time.
Stupid me.
I always thought "progressives" were people who wanted "progress" - not retreat from the real world. Sort of like "liberals" were for "liberty" and "gay people" were happy much of the time.
Stupid me.
Prosser wins! (?)
Somehow, several whole towns and cities were omitted from the official vote count, and now Judge Prosser looks to have won by "a few thousand votes".
Too bad for Kloppenburg that she decided to do the imprudent thing and announce victory with such a small advantage. 204 votes out of over a million is too thin to crow about until after the recount. Now, she looks just like so many other lefty-liberal douche bags who make statements that make then look dumb.
It ain't over until the official count is finished, and 7500 votes is still a very small margin with around 1.5 million votes cast, so still finger-crossing time.
Too bad for Kloppenburg that she decided to do the imprudent thing and announce victory with such a small advantage. 204 votes out of over a million is too thin to crow about until after the recount. Now, she looks just like so many other lefty-liberal douche bags who make statements that make then look dumb.
It ain't over until the official count is finished, and 7500 votes is still a very small margin with around 1.5 million votes cast, so still finger-crossing time.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Geolocation
Many programs and products have "geolocation" capability. This sends out your location whenever you surf or email, or make a phone call.
If you don't want anyone tracking you, check this out. How to Disable Geolocation
Found here.
If you don't want anyone tracking you, check this out. How to Disable Geolocation
Found here.
Islam's hate explained
Here.
Dissecting a Bubba Clinton speech after 9/11. Explains why the current situation exists. Go read.
Dissecting a Bubba Clinton speech after 9/11. Explains why the current situation exists. Go read.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Voter fraud?
Mequon destroying ballots? Probably, because Prosser led Kloppenburg 72% - 28%.
Kloppenburg's 200-vote "win" might just evaporate right there.
How many more instances will we see?
Interesting times.
Kloppenburg's 200-vote "win" might just evaporate right there.
How many more instances will we see?
Interesting times.
Supreme Court race
As of 5:30 AM, it's too close to call. Prosser leads by about one thousand votes.
Considering that Joanne Kloppenburg was a lawyer nobody had heard of (unless you were a farmer run afoul of the Wisconsin DNR), this demonstrates how much out-of-state liberal money and effort was poured in to try and reverse the last general election through judicial activism. All the usual suspect counties (liberal, Demonrat, and union) had huge majorities for the left-liberal puppet, while the rest (sane) counties in the state had comfortable numbers for Prosser.
Tooth-grinding time.
Update 9:00 AM - Prosser is ahead by about 600 votes. Since we still don't have a means of checking if a "voter" is really eligible - or who he/she claims to be - I've got to wonder how many illegals voted, how many dead voted, etc.
Considering that Joanne Kloppenburg was a lawyer nobody had heard of (unless you were a farmer run afoul of the Wisconsin DNR), this demonstrates how much out-of-state liberal money and effort was poured in to try and reverse the last general election through judicial activism. All the usual suspect counties (liberal, Demonrat, and union) had huge majorities for the left-liberal puppet, while the rest (sane) counties in the state had comfortable numbers for Prosser.
Tooth-grinding time.
Update 9:00 AM - Prosser is ahead by about 600 votes. Since we still don't have a means of checking if a "voter" is really eligible - or who he/she claims to be - I've got to wonder how many illegals voted, how many dead voted, etc.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Chuckie's at it again!
Chuckie Schumer has a fix for our budget - and we won't have to cut any of those entitlements!
Check it out: http://www.saac.com/files/newsletter/0411/news-04-01-11.pdf
I've got one thing to tell this little lizard - GET F**KED.
Check it out: http://www.saac.com/files/newsletter/0411/news-04-01-11.pdf
I've got one thing to tell this little lizard - GET F**KED.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Ben Bernanke wants to send me money!
Just got this email:
NOTIFICATION OF CREDIT FROM BANK OF AMERICA.
Attn: Beneficiary:
We have this 1th day of APR, 2011 received a payment credit instruction from the Federal Government of Nigeria to credit your account with your full Inheritance fund of US$10.5Million from the Nigerian reserve account with our bank, Bank of America
However, you shall required to provide the followings data below:
{1}. Your Full Name and Address.:
{2}. Your Confidential Tel, Cell and Fax.
{3). Your Bank name and address.:
{4). Your A/c Name and A/c Numbers.:
(5). Your Swift Code / Routing Numbers.:
Please do provide the above information accurately, because this office cannot afford to be held liable for any wrong transfer of funds or liability of funds credited into a ghost account.
Thanks for banking with Bank of America while we looking forward to serving you with the best of our service.
Thanks and God bless you.
Regards,
Yours in Service,
Mr.Ben S. Bernanke
A/C officer B O A Georgia Branch.++++++++++++++++++++
Nigeria is sure rolling in unclaimed cash. Maybe Mr. Osama could ask them to bail us out!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Prosser for Supreme Court
The Demonrats are doing a full-court press for Joanne Kloppenburg, as she will do their bidding on the Supreme Court. Right now, it's 4 conservatives to three liberals, so her getting elected would virtually end the success we have had so far in reversing all the liberal's excesses in the past.
Ms. Prosser has been rejected four times for a judgeship.
Vote Prosser, if you live in Wisconsin - or give the state back to the unions and Demonrats.
Ms. Prosser has been rejected four times for a judgeship.
Vote Prosser, if you live in Wisconsin - or give the state back to the unions and Demonrats.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Why is it the "working" people rally on a workday?
MoveOn wants us to rally on April 4th. Only trouble is - real working folks likely have jobs to go to that day:
++++++++++++++++
Dear MoveOn member,
+++++++++++++++++++++
Their grass has synthetic roots...and MLK was Republican, I read...he's probably rolling in his grave at the thought of these commies taking his name in vain. The workers he was supporting were truly oppressed, unlike their whining modern namesakes.
++++++++++++++++
Dear MoveOn member,
April 4, 2011 is shaping up to be one of the most important progressive days of action in nearly a decade.
It's the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., who was killed 43 years ago while traveling to Memphis to stand in solidarity with striking sanitation workers demanding their chance to attain the American Dream.
Now, in response to the new wave of Republican attacks on unions and working people, the entire labor movement has called for a massive national day of protests, vigils, and work site events on April 4. Virtually the entire progressive movement has joined in.
Can you help make next Monday an overwhelming day of solidarity for working people by attending an event in your area? Click here to find the April 4 event closest to you:
Working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana have inspired an activist spirit that's spreading across the country, and this is our chance to keep the momentum going. This is our chance to stand up to the Republicans and demand protection for workers' rights and the restoration of the American Dream for all of us. The events are part of "We Are One," a grassroots effort led by a broad coalition of unions and progressive allies committed to realizing Dr. King's goal of economic justice for all. The events include actions, teach-ins, work site discussions, vigils, faith events, and more.
You can simply attend an event in your area or if you have creative ideas for an event in a public place like a park, in your work site, a teach-in at a college near you, or even something at your house, you can volunteer to host your own.
We need to keep building our strength until the American Dream can finally be attained by everyone. On April 4, we will keep the momentum going. And we will not stop.
Will you join us?
Thanks for all you do.
–Daniel, Justin, Julia, Robin, and the rest of the team +++++++++++++++++++++
Their grass has synthetic roots...and MLK was Republican, I read...he's probably rolling in his grave at the thought of these commies taking his name in vain. The workers he was supporting were truly oppressed, unlike their whining modern namesakes.
Chuckie Schumer wants my help!
The same Chuckie Schumer who wants to be able to ban people from ever owning a gun because of their ARREST record, not their actual criminal record, just sent me this:
Dear Chuck,
The Republicans are coming at us from every possible direction – health care, women’s freedom to choose, workers’ rights, environmental protection.
If I could choose anyone to be my partner in fighting these battles, it would be Kirsten Gillibrand.
Kirsten has proven herself to be a dogged defender of equal rights and committed to bringing relief to Americans who are struggling in this challenging economy. I know I can count on her to never back down, even in the face of extremist opponents.
All of us have benefited so much from having Kirsten in the U.S. Senate, so all of us need to do whatever we can to keep her there. Please join me in supporting Kirsten’s 2012 re-election bid by making a donation before the end-of-quarter deadline. She needs to raise $100,000 before March 31 so she can start this race in the best position possible.
Click here to make your donation to Kirsten’s campaign before March 31. This is the first important filing deadline for Kirsten, and she needs to make as strong a showing as possible.
It’s distressing to watch what the Republicans are doing. By attacking women’s reproductive rights, preventing collective bargaining and standing in the way of health care for all, they’re trying to demolish years and years of progress.
But even as some veer towards a dangerous radicalism, Kirsten sticks to her progressive principles. She doesn’t base her beliefs on anything except what she knows to be right and just. That’s why she’s staying the course on things such as marriage equality and freedom of choice.
We need to keep Kirsten in the Senate, but the only way we can is if all of us join together today. With your help we can show the pundits that the grassroots are behind Kirsten and she’s going to have the resources she needs to fight the tough battle ahead. The Republicans sure aren’t going to make it easy – so these early months are critical.
Click here to make your donation to Kirsten’s campaign before the crucial March 31 deadline. She needs to raise $100,000 so she’s well-prepared to take on the Republicans and win in 2012.
I think we can all agree that Kirsten has already done so much for the state of New York and America as a whole during her time in the Senate. I've no doubt she’ll continue that impressive record moving forward.
Sincerely,
Senator Chuck Schumer
++++++++++++++++
Kirsten Gillibrand is the dame who ran on a platform of being a gun-owner and pro gun rights, if I remember correctly - and since has found her true calling as one of Chuckie's sycophants. The only civil rights she is 100% behind involve killing people long before they could ever vote non-Demonrat, apparently. Call a spade a spade, Chuckie - it's not reproductive rights, it's ABORTION.
Personally, I think the Supreme Court overstepped their bounds in Roe vs. Wade, and that the federal government has no interest whatever in sex or reproduction - either pro or con. At the best, it should be a state's rights matter.
If enough people get elected and propose a Constitutional amendment defining person-hood beginning at birth, then there's a legal basis to outlaw it. I am fearful of any new federal law being enacted - any law at all - seeing the track record of our "legislators". Every law they have passed in the last 100 years or more has turned out to cause problems, or has been corrupted and warped away from its' original purpose.
Dear Chuck,
The Republicans are coming at us from every possible direction – health care, women’s freedom to choose, workers’ rights, environmental protection.
If I could choose anyone to be my partner in fighting these battles, it would be Kirsten Gillibrand.
Kirsten has proven herself to be a dogged defender of equal rights and committed to bringing relief to Americans who are struggling in this challenging economy. I know I can count on her to never back down, even in the face of extremist opponents.
All of us have benefited so much from having Kirsten in the U.S. Senate, so all of us need to do whatever we can to keep her there. Please join me in supporting Kirsten’s 2012 re-election bid by making a donation before the end-of-quarter deadline. She needs to raise $100,000 before March 31 so she can start this race in the best position possible.
Click here to make your donation to Kirsten’s campaign before March 31. This is the first important filing deadline for Kirsten, and she needs to make as strong a showing as possible.
It’s distressing to watch what the Republicans are doing. By attacking women’s reproductive rights, preventing collective bargaining and standing in the way of health care for all, they’re trying to demolish years and years of progress.
But even as some veer towards a dangerous radicalism, Kirsten sticks to her progressive principles. She doesn’t base her beliefs on anything except what she knows to be right and just. That’s why she’s staying the course on things such as marriage equality and freedom of choice.
We need to keep Kirsten in the Senate, but the only way we can is if all of us join together today. With your help we can show the pundits that the grassroots are behind Kirsten and she’s going to have the resources she needs to fight the tough battle ahead. The Republicans sure aren’t going to make it easy – so these early months are critical.
Click here to make your donation to Kirsten’s campaign before the crucial March 31 deadline. She needs to raise $100,000 so she’s well-prepared to take on the Republicans and win in 2012.
I think we can all agree that Kirsten has already done so much for the state of New York and America as a whole during her time in the Senate. I've no doubt she’ll continue that impressive record moving forward.
Sincerely,
Senator Chuck Schumer
++++++++++++++++
Kirsten Gillibrand is the dame who ran on a platform of being a gun-owner and pro gun rights, if I remember correctly - and since has found her true calling as one of Chuckie's sycophants. The only civil rights she is 100% behind involve killing people long before they could ever vote non-Demonrat, apparently. Call a spade a spade, Chuckie - it's not reproductive rights, it's ABORTION.
Personally, I think the Supreme Court overstepped their bounds in Roe vs. Wade, and that the federal government has no interest whatever in sex or reproduction - either pro or con. At the best, it should be a state's rights matter.
If enough people get elected and propose a Constitutional amendment defining person-hood beginning at birth, then there's a legal basis to outlaw it. I am fearful of any new federal law being enacted - any law at all - seeing the track record of our "legislators". Every law they have passed in the last 100 years or more has turned out to cause problems, or has been corrupted and warped away from its' original purpose.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Didn't miss Earth Hour this year
Last year, I missed it - too busy doing useful stuff to realize it was "Earth Hour". I really wanted to line up all the operable internal combustion powered vehicles here on the farm and have them idling, under the glare of every light on the property, but got too engrossed in coding and missed the chance.
This year, I had all the outside and lab lights on.
An article in the Ottawa Sun says it well.
So there.
Just wait for Earth Day.
This year, I had all the outside and lab lights on.
An article in the Ottawa Sun says it well.
So there.
Just wait for Earth Day.
Email to Herman Cain
Herman Cain has a website for his Presidential exploratory committee, and is requesting feedback. I had just watched this video - thanks, A Trainwreck in Maxwell - and wanted to share my childhood experience.
My email:
Mr. Cain,
Just saw the video of you talking about segregated water fountains. Thought you might like to hear my experience.
When I was maybe 10 - back in 1961 or '62 - my parents took me on a trip down south from Chicago. I had no idea what segregation was. We were in a store or mall - I remember seeing a wire cage with a chicken in it, and a coin slot, with a sign - 5 cents to see the chicken dance - the cage would shock the chicken, I guess - my Dad said it was cruel, so I never saw the performance.
Anyway, I was thirsty - and there were two water fountains nearby - "white" and "colored". I went up to the "colored" one, as I wanted to see what color the water was. It looked pretty clear to me.
My Dad rushed over to get me away from there, but did not explain - just told me not to do that any more.
That's my story. I never learned prejudice, could not see the logic in it. If you get to the primaries in Wisconsin, be assured you have my vote!
++++++++++++++
Well, that WOULD have been my email, except for the 250 character message limit - why don't they warn you in the web page or as you are typing? Truncated it:
++++++++++++++
Mr. Cain,
I would have shared my "colored water" experience from my youth, but the 250-character limit prevents it.
You have my vote!
++++++++++++++
Wouldn't it be neat if I get a reply and request for the rest of the message?
My email:
Mr. Cain,
Just saw the video of you talking about segregated water fountains. Thought you might like to hear my experience.
When I was maybe 10 - back in 1961 or '62 - my parents took me on a trip down south from Chicago. I had no idea what segregation was. We were in a store or mall - I remember seeing a wire cage with a chicken in it, and a coin slot, with a sign - 5 cents to see the chicken dance - the cage would shock the chicken, I guess - my Dad said it was cruel, so I never saw the performance.
Anyway, I was thirsty - and there were two water fountains nearby - "white" and "colored". I went up to the "colored" one, as I wanted to see what color the water was. It looked pretty clear to me.
My Dad rushed over to get me away from there, but did not explain - just told me not to do that any more.
That's my story. I never learned prejudice, could not see the logic in it. If you get to the primaries in Wisconsin, be assured you have my vote!
++++++++++++++
Well, that WOULD have been my email, except for the 250 character message limit - why don't they warn you in the web page or as you are typing? Truncated it:
++++++++++++++
Mr. Cain,
I would have shared my "colored water" experience from my youth, but the 250-character limit prevents it.
You have my vote!
++++++++++++++
Wouldn't it be neat if I get a reply and request for the rest of the message?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Coffee Can Rebellion
H/t Rivrdog
A "High Cap Freedom" Tactic:
A "High Cap Freedom" Tactic:
The Coffee Can Revolution
By L. Neil Smith
Go read.
I'm going to save for some of those Carolyn McCarthy special 33-rounders for my Glock 19...
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sometimes, they write themselves
Reading through the paper today, this jumped out at me:
Mar. 21, 2011 3:32 AM ET
USDA funds research on crops and climate change
STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press
Mar. 21, 2011 3:32 AM ET
USDA funds research on crops and climate change
STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The federal government is investing $60 million in three major studies on the effects of climate change on crops and forests to help ensure farmers and foresters can continue producing food and timber while trying to limit the impact of a changing environment.
Further on in the article, we find out who will be in charge of these studies.
The corn project will be led by a rural sociologist, Lois Wright Morton of Iowa State University.
Tim Martin, a professor of tree physiology at the University of Florida is the head of the forestry project.
The leader of the wheat project is Sanford Eigenbrode, an entomologist at the University of Idaho.
Of the three, the only one I see as remotely qualified to lead an agricultural research project is Mr. Martin. At least the forestry project is led by someone with a degree in a tree related science.
What, exactly, is a "rural sociologist', and how does this relate to growing corn? Fertility rites? The frequency of farmers "shuckin' them dirty ol' work clothes off"? Looks to me like she will be studying the study participants, not doing anything useful towards getting crops to grow.
Entomologists study insects. OK, I get it - insects affect crops. But the AP quote for him involves the amount of carbon that grain crops "sequester" and how much nitrous oxide is released by fertilizer use.
Leave it to our government to spend $60,000,000 of our money and choose people apparently unqualified to lead the projects. Also, to misstate the aims of many of the studies. If they are so concerned on getting crops to grow in changing climates, why the emphasis on "greenhouse gases" that may or may not be important?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
One strike and you're out!
Schumer's at it again. From The Daily Caller:
Get collared years ago on a bogus drug charge because the oregano in your back pocket looked like was a bag of weed? Or maybe a judge back in 2006 dropped those charges because you were able to provide proof for that Adderall prescription? Under proposed legislation, it will not matter if you were innocent all along or even proven innocent by a court of law.
Either way, you can forget about buying a gun.
The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 would greatly expand the definition of those legally prohibited from owning firearms to include anyone who’s ever been arrested — even if never convicted or found guilty — for drug possession within a five-year period. The legislation is certainly troubling for those who want a “common sense” debate about drug decriminalization. And it would seem fears that any new national gun-control legislation would be used to limit the gun-rights of law-abiding citizens is at least partially justified.
Sponsored by New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and introduced earlier this month, the expanded background checks bill includes a “clarification of the definition of drug abusers and drug addicts who are prohibited from possessing firearms.” Under Schumer’s bill, the definition of a “drug abuser” would include anyone with “an arrest for the use or possession of a controlled substance within the past 5 years.”
Current federal law already specifies that two kinds of drug users can be barred from owning a gun: (1) Those who have been convicted of possessing or using a controlled substance in the past year and (2) Anyone who has had multiple drug arrests in the past five years, including one within a year of applying for a firearm, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
New gun-control legislation would prohibit those arrested but not convicted of drug crimes from possessing firearms
Get collared years ago on a bogus drug charge because the oregano in your back pocket looked like was a bag of weed? Or maybe a judge back in 2006 dropped those charges because you were able to provide proof for that Adderall prescription? Under proposed legislation, it will not matter if you were innocent all along or even proven innocent by a court of law.
Either way, you can forget about buying a gun.
The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 would greatly expand the definition of those legally prohibited from owning firearms to include anyone who’s ever been arrested — even if never convicted or found guilty — for drug possession within a five-year period. The legislation is certainly troubling for those who want a “common sense” debate about drug decriminalization. And it would seem fears that any new national gun-control legislation would be used to limit the gun-rights of law-abiding citizens is at least partially justified.
Sponsored by New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and introduced earlier this month, the expanded background checks bill includes a “clarification of the definition of drug abusers and drug addicts who are prohibited from possessing firearms.” Under Schumer’s bill, the definition of a “drug abuser” would include anyone with “an arrest for the use or possession of a controlled substance within the past 5 years.”
Current federal law already specifies that two kinds of drug users can be barred from owning a gun: (1) Those who have been convicted of possessing or using a controlled substance in the past year and (2) Anyone who has had multiple drug arrests in the past five years, including one within a year of applying for a firearm, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Read the whole thing.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Ben Stein in The American Spectator
Couldn't have said it better.
It was buried in a private ceremony by Mr. Barack Obama of Chicago as he silently signed America on to the One World Government some of us have been worried about for decades.
Look at it this way: Where did Mr. Obama get the authority to commit United States forces to war in Libya? There was no declaration of war. There was no authorizing resolution by Congress allowing money to be spent on a war against Col. Gaddafi. As far as I know, there was no meeting of Mr. Obama and top leaders of Congress to discuss the subject in even rough form, let alone detail. There was no lengthy buildup in which the Congress was "allowed" to express the people's opinion on whether we want to be in a third concurrent war.
Go read. It's good.
Isn't it way past time we got the US out of the United Nations?
One World Government Obama
Maybe I missed something, but wasn't that The Constitution of the United States of America that we just laid to rest this weekend?It was buried in a private ceremony by Mr. Barack Obama of Chicago as he silently signed America on to the One World Government some of us have been worried about for decades.
Look at it this way: Where did Mr. Obama get the authority to commit United States forces to war in Libya? There was no declaration of war. There was no authorizing resolution by Congress allowing money to be spent on a war against Col. Gaddafi. As far as I know, there was no meeting of Mr. Obama and top leaders of Congress to discuss the subject in even rough form, let alone detail. There was no lengthy buildup in which the Congress was "allowed" to express the people's opinion on whether we want to be in a third concurrent war.
Go read. It's good.
Isn't it way past time we got the US out of the United Nations?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Oh, the horror!
CREDO is at it again. This time, we've got a real reason to go back to living in caves!
 |
Dear Chuck, It only takes a little mercury to cause a lot of death, cancer and brain damage. But every year, coal-fired power plants alone pump 50 tons of this potent neurotoxin into our air. Mercury exposure is so widespread in this country that as many as 1 in 6 women of childbearing age has mercury levels in her blood high enough to put a baby at risk of mercury poisoning,1 But mercury has been totally unregulated by the Clean Air Act, until now. The EPA just announced a significant rule to reduce emissions of mercury, arsenic, led, dioxins, acid gas, and six dozen other toxic chemicals that power plants are now able to freely dump into our air. It's the most important clean air rule since the Clean Air Act was updated in 1990 — and the EPA is predictably under tremendous pressure by the coal industry and other polluters to weaken it. For decades, the electric industry has successfully fought requirements to reduce these toxics. They've kept releasing mercury into the air, where it finds its way into the vast majority of our lakes and waterways, into our fish, and then into our bodies, where the poison accumulates, causing deadly disease and impairing fundamental brain functions like the ability to walk, talk, read, write and learn. Now we have a chance to change that. According to the EPA, reduced emissions from this new air toxics rule will save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015, and will prevent up to 120,000 cases of childhood asthma. These health benefits will also provide tremendous monetary benefits of between $60 billion to $140 billion annually, at a substantially lower cost of less than $11 billion for the polluters.2 With no sense of irony, polluters claim this is too expensive a cost for them to bear — as they reap billions of dollars in profit and heap substantially higher health costs onto the public. But the cost of the new regulations is a bargain, and the requirements are very reasonable: power plants have four years to install or upgrade to technology that already exists and is in use at many power plants nationwide. As we have seen with the repeated attacks on the Clean Air Act's ability to regulate climate pollution, industry efforts to weaken this air toxics rule will be fierce, and these powerful utilities have many friends in the congress who are more than happy to do this dirty work. We need to display a massive show of support to encourage the EPA to keep this landmark rule as strong as possible. CREDO is standing with numerous other environmental organizations to deliver many hundreds of thousands of comments to the EPA. Please add your voice now. Thank you for fighting for clean air. Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets 1. "Protect our kids from toxic mercury," CNN, March 17th, 2011 2. "EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Rule: Bottom Lines and Background," NRDC, March 16th, 2011 Power plant emissions are highly regulated now. 99.99% reduction in particulates and other emissions isn't good enough for these people - 101% might start to placate them. A big lie - that mercury emissions are unregulated. I can't even buy mercury to show my grandkids the wonders of science without governmental permission. It would be great if shutting down our coal plants - a huge proportion of our power generating capacity - might actually have an effect on airborne mercury and lead - but with China pumping out a new coal-fired plant every few weeks, it won't do squat... By the way, greenies, how much mercury are you forcing into our HOMES with your "green" CFL made in China disasters? |
New emails from Twitter!
I'm so happy to be noticed! I can't wait to readed my new tweets!
First Four Showdown: USC vs. VCU - Cover The Number
Click this link:
http://twitter.com/account/confirm_email/ckuecker/33333-3333A-801364
Once you confirm, all future email from Twitter will be sent to this address.
Climate change is real, humans cause it, and we must act - ABC Online
Click this link:
http://twitter.com/account/confirm_email/ckuecker/EF6E8-059E8-928685
Once you confirm, all future email from Twitter will be sent to this address.
Hi, ckuecker
You have 4 unreaded message(s) from Twitter.First Four Showdown: USC vs. VCU - Cover The Number
Click this link:
http://twitter.com/account/confirm_email/ckuecker/33333-3333A-801364
Once you confirm, all future email from Twitter will be sent to this address.
The Twitter Team
If you received this message in error and did not sign up for a Twitter account, click not my account.
Please do not reply to this message; it was sent from an unmonitored email address. This message is a service email related to your use of Twitter. For general inquiries or to request support with your Twitter account, please visit us at Twitter Support.
Hi, ckuecker
You have 6 information message(s) from Twitter.Climate change is real, humans cause it, and we must act - ABC Online
Click this link:
http://twitter.com/account/confirm_email/ckuecker/EF6E8-059E8-928685
Once you confirm, all future email from Twitter will be sent to this address.
The Twitter Team
If you received this message in error and did not sign up for a Twitter account, click not my account.
Please do not reply to this message; it was sent from an unmonitored email address. This message is a service email related to your use of Twitter. For general inquiries or to request support with your Twitter account, please visit us at Twitter Support.
The only problem is that all the links go to shady domains in 'cz', and I don't have a twitter account.
It's good to know, however, that climate change is real. I was worried that Algore had slipped from godhood...
Friday, March 18, 2011
Obama trying to cripple Japan?
Karl Denninger thinks so:
From the BBC:
Am I reading this right?
Our government demanded that the Japanese dismantle - that is, permanently remove - over five gigawatts of power in order to help them with a critical safety problem that had the potential to destroy 100 square miles of land and kill or injure thousands of people?
That as compensation for helping them we demanded that they cripple their electrical generating capacity on a permanent basis?
You have to be kidding me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Read the whole thing. If true, I definitely agree with the impeachment part - the dismantling of illegal federal agencies goes without saying...
2226: The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, quoting a senior official of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, said the US made the offer immediately after the disaster damaged Fukushima No 1 nuclear plant. According to the unnamed senior official, US support was based on dismantling the troubled reactors run by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) some 250 km (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo. However, the government and TEPCO thought the cooling system could be restored by themselves, the report said.(Another source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_646444.html)
Am I reading this right?
Our government demanded that the Japanese dismantle - that is, permanently remove - over five gigawatts of power in order to help them with a critical safety problem that had the potential to destroy 100 square miles of land and kill or injure thousands of people?
That as compensation for helping them we demanded that they cripple their electrical generating capacity on a permanent basis?
You have to be kidding me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Read the whole thing. If true, I definitely agree with the impeachment part - the dismantling of illegal federal agencies goes without saying...
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Email from Herb Kohl
| Home Biography News Issues & Legislation Constituent Services Contact Senator Kohl Unsubscribe |
The United States has the safest food supply in the world. Yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of every six Americans are affected by food-borne illnesses each year – costing the health care system an estimated $88 billion according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This highlights the need for an even stronger food safety system. Guarding our food supply cannot just be passed on to states and local governments or left to private industry. Protecting public health is an inherent function of the federal government. Consumers should be confident that the food they purchase at the grocery store is safe and will not cause harm to their families.
Over the last week we examined important policy and fiscal questions at two Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearings held to review the President’s fiscal year 2012 budget request. I used these hearings to ask Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and FDA Commissioner Hamburg about the President’s proposed funding requests for food safety. I asked whether these increases are necessary at this time given the mounting federal deficit.
Every dollar of taxpayer money that we spend must be questioned, defended, and well thought out. We must ask whether or not we can do more with less, but we must not jeopardize public health. The way our food is produced is becoming more complex every day, so we need our food safety agencies to have the ability to adapt to these changes.
As we prepare to write the fiscal year 2012 spending bills, I will work closely with our food safety agencies to make sure we are protecting public health and being good stewards of your taxpayer money.
Sincerely,
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
It's good to see he's willing to consider how much something will cost us before he votes to spend our money, isn't it?
Email to my state Senator
Senator Cullen,
I stand beside my earlier email, where I questioned the cowardly way you and your compatriots ran away rather than face the fact that you are now in the minority.
However, I have to say that I am pleased that you have returned and are proposing amending the Wisconsin Constitution to eliminate the requirement for a 20-Senator quorum for budgetary issues.
Perhaps in the future, we won't have to read about "fleebaggers".
Regards,
Chuck Kuecker
I stand beside my earlier email, where I questioned the cowardly way you and your compatriots ran away rather than face the fact that you are now in the minority.
However, I have to say that I am pleased that you have returned and are proposing amending the Wisconsin Constitution to eliminate the requirement for a 20-Senator quorum for budgetary issues.
Perhaps in the future, we won't have to read about "fleebaggers".
Regards,
Chuck Kuecker
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Union thugs at it again
At Legal Insurrection (H/t Ace of Spades)
If you can't abide the will of the people, just invoke "democracy" (mob rule) and wreck stuff.
Lots more at the source
Recall Jim Holperin
Thugs Destroy Recall Petitions
If you can't abide the will of the people, just invoke "democracy" (mob rule) and wreck stuff.
Lots more at the source
Recall Jim Holperin
Thugs Destroy Recall Petitions
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
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