Herb Kohl is retiring!

Long overdue, in my opinion. I hope he enjoys the nice retirement package he voted himself out of our pockets.

He's still claiming that suing OPEC through his cutely-named "NOPEC" law will lower our gas prices.

I've got an idea - OK, let's cut out all federal subsidies on energy - not just "big oil", but money for ethanol, wind, solar, efficiency research, the whole enchilada. At the same time, remove all federal energy taxes, and get rid of the Department of Energy and the EPA. Don't forget the federal DOT, NHTSA, and all the other vampires sucking at our lifeblood.

Let's open everywhere to oil exploration, limited only by local concerns. If the local NIMBYs outweigh those who want to drill, so be it.

The drop in tax money being collected from energy producers and compliance expenses should be evident in fuel prices immediately. The individual states can increase their fuel taxes to replace what pittance Washington returns from federal taxes stolen from their motorists, and we still would save, since we won't be wasting a large proportion of that money on bureaucrats in DC.

And now - a word from our Fearless Leader!

I've decided to keep calling him "Osama", in memory of that other great American statesman, Teddy "Swimmer" Kennedy.

Just got this from Pres. Osama:
+++++++++++++++
Chuck --

I went to El Paso, Texas, today to lay out a plan to do something big: fix America's broken immigration system.

It's an issue that affects you, whether you live in a border town like El Paso or not. Our immigration system reflects how we define ourselves as Americans -- who we are, who we will be -- and continued inaction poses serious costs for everyone.

Those costs are human, felt by millions of people here and abroad who endure years of separation or deferred dreams -- and millions more hardworking families whose wages are depressed when employers wrongly exploit a cheap source of labor. That's why immigration reform is also an economic imperative -- an essential step needed to strengthen our middle class, create new industries and new jobs, and make sure America remains competitive in the global economy.

Because this is such a tough problem -- one that politicians in Washington have been either exploiting or dodging, depending on the politics -- this change has to be driven by people like you.

Washington won't act unless you lead.

So if you're willing to do something about this critical issue, join our call for immigration reform now. Those who do will be part of our campaign to educate people on this issue and build the critical mass needed to make Washington act:

http://my.democrats.org/Immigration-Reform

In recent years, concerns about whether border security and enforcement were tough enough were among the greatest impediments to comprehensive reform. They are legitimate issues that needed to be addressed -- and over the past two years, we have made great strides in enhancing security and enforcement.

We have more boots on the ground working to secure our southwest border than at any time in our history. We're going after employers who knowingly break the law. And we are deporting those who are here illegally. I know the increase in deportations has been a source of controversy, but I want to emphasize that we are focusing our limited resources on violent offenders and people convicted of crimes -- not families or people looking to scrape together an income.

So we've addressed the concerns raised by those who have stood in the way of progress in the past. And now that we have, it's time to build an immigration system that meets our 21st-century economic needs and reflects our values both as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

Today, we provide students from around the world with visas to get engineering and computer science degrees at our top universities. But then our laws discourage them from using those skills to start a business or a new industry here in the United States. That just doesn't make sense.

We also need to stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents -- and pass the DREAM Act so they can pursue higher education or become military service members in the country they know as home. We already know enormous economic benefits from the steady stream of talented and hardworking people coming to America. More than a century and a half ago, U.S. Steel's Andrew Carnegie was a 13-year-old brought here from Scotland by his family in search of a better life. And in 1979, a Russian family seeking freedom from Communism brought a young Sergey Brin to America -- where he would become a co-founder of Google.

Through immigration, we've become an engine of the global economy and a beacon of hope, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We should make it easier for the best and brightest not only to study here, but also to start businesses and create jobs here. That's how we'll win the future.

Immigration is a complex issue that raises strong feelings. And as we push for long-overdue action, we're going to hear the same sort of ugly rhetoric that has delayed reform for years -- despite long and widespread recognition that our current system fails us all and hurts our economy.

So you and I need to be the ones talking about this issue in the language of hope, not fear -- in terms of how we are made stronger by our differences, and can be made stronger still.

Take a moment now to watch my El Paso speech and join this campaign for change:

http://my.democrats.org/Immigration-Reform

Thank you,

Barack
+++++++++++++++++
This crap just won't quit. Fixing immigration is simple - enforce the law as written, deport every illegally present person who runs afoul of the law in any way other than violating the immigration laws with no possibility of their ever returning legally. Deport all other illegally present persons with the understanding that they will be allowed to apply to immigrate legally after a suitable waiting period.

Ain't it special that he points out a Soviet emigre was to become a successful American, while the LAST Demonrat president we had allowed Janet Reno to forcibly repatriate Elián González.

We don't need to invite anyone into America to open new businesses - we need to get the frigging government out of the way so AMERICANS - immigrants and native born - can do that.

Wake up, dummy. The only people still yelling for "immigration reform" are you and your sycophants. The great majority of Americans want the laws enforced first - then we might think about modifying them.

Email from Kohl

Telling me how much he's doing to lower the price of gasoline - by raising costs to the producers:
++++++++++++++

Home     Biography     News     Issues & Legislation     Constituent Services     Contact Senator Kohl     Unsubscribe

We’ve all been alarmed by the rise in gas prices, which are now surpassing $4 a gallon in many places across the country, including Wisconsin, and have nearly doubled in two years. While we know that the rise in gas prices has many causes, one important cause is the actions of the OPEC oil cartel, which limits supply in order to maintain a high price.  If the nations of OPEC were private companies, such conduct would be nothing more than naked price fixing, illegal under the most fundamental principles of antitrust law.
This week, I questioned Attorney General Eric Holder at a Judiciary Committee hearing about rising gas prices and my legislation, the No Oil Producing & Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act.  My bill would give the Department of Justice tools it needs to enforce the antitrust laws against the OPEC oil cartel.  NOPEC was approved with bipartisan support by the Judiciary Committee last month.  Attorney General Holder indicated that he is always looking for more enforcement tools to protect American consumers and that he will consult with his colleagues in the Cabinet about the NOPEC legislation.   The Administration recently established a task force to examine whether there has been inappropriate market manipulation of oil prices.  Attorney General Holder assured the Judiciary Committee that he will be aggressive in examining the rise in oil prices, and to the extent that they were artificially driven the Justice Department will take action.  I want you to know I will continue working to reduce the price of gasoline.

Sincerely,

 

++++++++++++++

My reply:
++++++++++++++
Herb,

What are you smoking? "NOPEC"? Cute name, but where does our Constitution give Mr. Holder the power to enforce American laws against OPEC? In case you haven't noticed, OPEC is not an American organization.

Any fines or other sanctions against an oil importer will be paid directly by the American consumer, as corporations never pay taxes and fines - they just pass them along as costs of doing business. This is how business works.
++++++++++++++

Osama Bin Laden is dead

So, I guess I'll have to stop calling that guy in the White House "Osama", out of respect for the dead?

Herman Cain speaks

Osama's birth certificate - another view

This lady knows something about PDFs. Go read:

http://sweasel.com/archives/8188

Another view: http://nicedoggie.net/?p=1251

I'm gonna be rich!

I've always looked askance at the Federal Reserve and lately at it's new Osama-appointed head, Ben Bernanke, but I guess I have to change my mind. Just got this email:

LIBERTY STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10038

CONTRACT FUND CREDIT FROM BANK FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD NEW YORK,

ATTN: SIR/MADAM,

THIS IS TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE 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.

HOWEVER, WHAT WE REQUIRED FROM YOU IS YOUR BANKING PARTICULARS WHERE YOU WANT YOUR FUND TO BE TRANSFERRED.

{1}. YOUR FULL NAME AND ADDRESS:.............

{2}. YOUR TELEPHONE, AND FAX: ..............

{3). YOUR BANK NAME AND ADDRESS:........

{4). YOUR A/C NAME AND NUMBERS:.................

(5). YOUR SWIFT CODE / ROUTING NUMBERS:...........

(6) .YOUR CURRENT OCCUPATION:................

BE INFORMED THAT TRANSFER WILL COMMENCE IMMEDIATELY WE HEAR FROM YOU WITH THE ACCOUNT INFORMATION. ONCE MORE, BANK FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD WILL NOT HESITATE TO CREDIT YOUR ACCOUNT WITHIN 24HOURS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FUND RELEASE ORDER REGULATIONS.

YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE IS HIGHLY NEEDED TO ENABLE US COMMENCE FOR THE TRANSFER.

THANKS FOR BANKING WITH FEDERAL RESERVE BANK WHILE WE LOOKING FORWARD TO SERVING YOU BETTER.

CONGRATULATION TO YOUR INHERITANCE FUND.

THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU.

REGARDS,

MR. BEN S. BERNANKE

DIRECTOR FEDERAL RESERVE BANK NEW YORK,

You know it's gotta be real - it's in ALL CAPS - and it has Mr. Bernanke's real email address:
bens.bernan@yahoo.cn

So - Osama "released" his birth certificate...

Why the delay?

And - WHY was it a layered PDF file?



Images of a scan of a document do not have layers.

This won't die until the ORIGINAL - if it exists - is examined in the Hawaiian records office by independent researchers.

Original article

Priceless blast from the past!

SEIU paid for this back in 2008. High gas prices - under $2.00 - were all Bush's fault.



Now who should we blame?
H/t Another Gun Blog

Sent to my CONgresscritters

Seeing as the present state of the American economy is the direct result of laws and policies put into effect by you and your colleagues, I think it's time for some real tax reform.

First, let's allow every tax payer with a mortgage to deduct twice the current mortgage payment - not twice the interest, but twice the entire payment. Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been complicit, along with the Federal reserve, in ballooning home prices and then bursting that bubble, many Americans now are "underwater" with mortgage balances greater than the value of the property, this is only fair.

Second, since the federal government steadfastly refuses to allow oil companies to search for oil in our own country, allow every taxpayer to deduct the entire cost of fuel for travel to and from a job, medical care, and other normal tasks American families are required to do to stay alive.

In concert with these tax reforms, you must actually cut federal spending, not just propose meaningless smoke and mirror "cuts" that you then complain about as being too big.

We are tired of Congress refusing to do the will of the people. Do what we want. Now. The time is past when you could fool us with speeches and sound bytes. We are watching you.
++++++++++++++++++++
Wonder if it will do any good...

The end of America?

The date has been set:

IMF bombshell: Age of America nears end

Commentary: China’s economy will surpass the U.S. in 2016

By Brett Arends, MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.

For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the “Age of America” will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China.

IMF sees China topping U.S. in 2016

According to the latest IMF official forecasts, China's economy will surpass that of America in real terms in 2016 — just five years from now. Brett Arends looks at the implications for the U.S. dollar and the Treasury market.

++++++++++++++++++++++

This is the direct result of an over a century and a half experiment with creeping socialism and ever-growing government, kicked into high gear in the 1930's and into overdrive with Osama. The Demonrats are primarily to blame, with the explicit cooperation of the Republicans for most of the time.

From here on in, we MUST elect people dedicated to dismantling Leviathan, and hold them strictly responsible for their actions. We cannot allow any more "bipartisanship", "compromise", or "deal making". Either we cut spending viciously, eliminate un-Constitutional bureaucracies, limit taxation, and generally clean house, we will become a footnote in history.

Got a job!

I just accepted a full-time job doing plant maintenance in a gray iron foundry near here. Second shift.

Got to go piss in a cup and have my hearing and lung function checked, and have an orientation - I start next Monday.

15 months in the ranks of the unemployed comes to an end. Of course, if Osama makes good on his promises to destroy the coal industry - no more coke for the cupola - and make energy costs go through the roof, who knows if the foundry will still be running by November 2012?

FDIC funny business

Sweetheart deals, indeed.

Mail to Kohl

Again, I try to roll the rock uphill...
++++++++++++++++++
Senator Kohl,

As one of your constituents, I insist that you do all in your power to prevent this legislation from reaching a vote in the Senate.

Senator Durbin from Illinois cannot be allowed to attempt to bail out his bankrupt state by spreading the damage throughout the United States.

The "The Main Street Fairness Act" can not be allowed to become law.
++++++++++++++++++

" Main Street Fairness Act" - sounds like Dustbin's read Atlas Shrugged and memorized it.
Go read the article that prompted this at The Rio Norte Line.

Letter to the Editor

I did it again. Now, if they print it...
++++++++++++++++
There has been much discussion about the definition of "democracy" lately. I think people are missing the larger point.

Our republic is based on the premise that our government is limited by laws - the Constitution being the final arbiter of what is allowed and what is not. Unfortunately, government being a human creation, this ideal is corrupted by people acting in their own self interests rather than following the rules set by the law.

For instance, during the last Great Depression, FDR packed the Supreme Court with his own choices for justices, in order to keep many of his "New Deal" laws from being found un-Constitutional, as they would have been otherwise. We are now seeing the result of these Utopian laws passed with no concern for their ultimate results.

Now, we are coming to realize that we cannot afford all these programs and laws foisted on us by our "leaders". That is why Wisconsin has a Republican governor and majority in Madison, and why many incumbent politicians across the nation were ousted in the 2010 elections. The people are finally waking up to the fact that our "leaders" have been ignoring the rule book and selling our future for the immediate gratification of themselves and special interests they are beholden to.

The recent demonstrations against the new budget are symptomatic of a mortally wounded creature thrashing in a vain attempt to survive. The creature I speak of is socialism in all its guises.
++++++++++++++++

Osama's most egregrious move yet!

His NLRB has decided Boeing can't create non-union jobs in South Carolina. Job creation is great - when it benefits his supporters.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Shot Heard Around Business World, Obama’s Labor Board Issues Complaint Against Boeing

Posted by LaborUnionReport (Profile)

Thursday, April 21st at 8:00AM EDT

20 Comments

On Wednesday, President Obama’s union-controlled National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the Boeing Company that, if ruled in the union and NLRB’s favor, may prove to have far-reaching consequences across the American business landscape. Ultimately, the outcome to this case will state whether or not America has, in fact, become entirely hostile to business (and the jobs they provide). The complaint was issued by the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel (the same one who threatened to sue South Carolina and three other states over the states’ secret-ballot initiatives) and is set to go to hearing on June 14th before an administrative law judge in Seattle.

At issue, according to the NLRB, is whether Boeing violated federal labor law by deciding to transfer a second airplane production line from a union facility in the state of Washington to a non-union facility in South Carolina for “discriminatory reasons.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Go read the whole thing.

FDR created the NLRB back during the Depression, to prevent businesses from firing people who try to unionize.

Reminds me of that saying - before you pass a law, think of what your worst enemy would do if it WAS law.

Discussion about Islam

Watch:




I would procure my own copy of the Holey Koran, but I don't want to give the publishers any money, for one, and I'm saving my ammo for better uses - like varmint control.

Earth Day!

So, we have been celebrating Man's rape of Mother Gaea now for forty years.

For my contribution, I've got all the lights on in my lab, and if the weather permits, will be fogging the back fields on my Suzuki TS250 oil-injected two-stroke dirt bike. I'll also be releasing the energy trapped in quite a few 9mm, .308, and 7.62x39 rounds, along with whatever greenhouse gases they are holding - not to mention returning a few pounds of that nasty toxic lead back into the Mother's bosom.

More from Kohl

Just got this from him:
++++++++++++++++

Home     Biography     News     Issues & Legislation     Constituent Services     Contact Senator Kohl     Unsubscribe This Friday, April 22, is Earth Day.  Last year, we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the first Earth Day and honored our own Senator Gaylord Nelson, the key force behind that first celebration in 1970. On this day of reflection, it’s hard not to think about environmental tragedies of the last year – especially the ongoing nuclear accident in Japan and the oil spill in the Gulf, which occurred one year ago this week.  These serve an important reminder: regardless of the kind of energy we use, we must always take care to protect public health and our environment.  It also reiterates the need to increase our use of energy that will never run out.  Wisconsin has many great natural resources, but deposits of oil, natural gas and coal are not among them.  While there is no doubt that we need these energy sources to fuel our economy, a dollar spent on oil drilling or coal mining undoubtedly benefits other states and other countries.  But a dollar spent on renewable energy can support new jobs for Wisconsin. We don’t have oil, but we do have forest resources that can be turned into biomass for our power plants, and one day into fuel for our cars and trucks.  We don’t have coal, but we do have farmers across the state that are using “cow power” -- anaerobic digesters that turn farm waste into electricity.  We don’t have natural gas, but we have groundbreaking companies creating advanced batteries, solar light pipes and wind turbines.  These new energy technologies aren’t just good for reducing power bills and pollution, but also for growing our state’s economy. While we don’t always agree on how to tackle environmental issues, we all support clean air and water, we all want our children to be healthy, and we all yearn for our economy to grow and get people back to work.  Forty-one years after the first Earth Day, we celebrate the progress we’ve made, rededicate ourselves to the work ahead, and applaud the men and women of Wisconsin who are inventing and implementing homegrown solutions to better our planet. Sincerely, Home |  Biography |  News |  Issues & Legislation |  Constituent Services |  Contact Senator Kohl |  Unsubscribe

++++++++++++++++
Sent this back:
++++++++++++++++
Sir,

Are you insane? You speak of money being spent on developing American oil and gas as money that will benefit other states and nations, while "renewable" energy spending will benefit Wisconsinites.

True, creating "green jobs" will have an immediate effect of Wisconsin jobs, but this will be temporary, lasting only until the people of the United States finally put the kibosh to this wasteful and useless "alternative energy". Wind power is at best a niche application, useless for replacing fossil fuels or nuclear baseline power generation. "Biomass" might help, as an engineer I am in favor of using waste to generate power - IF and ONLY IF it can be competitive with existing resources. If it requires one penny of federal aid - see ethanol - I want it stopped. I am a degreed electrical engineer, and think I might know a bit more about this subject than you or most members of Congress. I certainly know more than our President.

Unless we develop our native energy sources - which we have in abundance, but are prohibited from tapping by wrongheaded attempts to return the planet to Garden of Eden conditions, we are doomed to revert to pre-1900 living conditions while countries like China and India continue to burn coal and oil and grow their economies.

Get on board with the majority of your bosses - the people who elected you, and who you have sworn a solemn oath to serve - and get the federal government out of the way of our country developing our own energy sources. If the free market decides that "renewables" will be part of this, so be it.

What will the recount coust us?

Possibly over a million dollars:

Vote recount may cost taxpayers $1 million-plus

April 20th, 2011

 

By Kirsten Adshead   Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON — It's going to cost Wisconsin's taxpayers hundreds of  thousands of dollars to more than $1 million to find out who will be the next state Supreme Court justice.
Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg on Wednesday said she will seek a full, statewide recount of the April 5 election in which she is challenging Justice David Prosser for a 10-year term on the bench.

"There are two reasons for this recount,” she said. “One is to verify the outcome. The other is to restore the public trust in the electoral process."

Actually, I see a third reason - to tie up Wisconsin courts and detract from the lefties' attempts to derail our new budget plan as long as possible. After all, it's not THIER money.

16 tons updated

Another demonstration of how much debt we have generated by not keeping a leash on our government:



Thank Iowahawk for the video!

Shotgun ban?

There's a move to ban importation - and possession - of certain "non-sporting" shotguns. Remember what happened with the "Street Sweeper" a few years ago? Maybe we are facing that again.

The BATFEIEIO is soliciting comments. Here's mine:

Hello,

I would like to make a couple points on the idea of banning certain shotguns.

First, under the Second Amendment of the Constitution, the firearms that are absolutely protected for possession by Americans are those in common use by the military. Both so-called "sawed-off" shotguns and shotguns with large magazines and pistol grips have been and are in common use by the military, so these weapons are explicitly protected by the Second Amendment. Any ban on or taxation of these weapons is therefore illegal.

Second, these weapons are largely in use for home defense by many Americans, and as self-defense is definitely an unalienable right, any ban or taxation of them would again be illegal, not to mention morally wrong.

Finally, the "sporting uses" rule for firearm importation is dead wrong, in the light of my first point. This is especially true when it comes to importing firearms originally sold or delivered by the US Government. Such arms are literally the property of America, and therefore, the property of the people of America. To prevent any such importation is wrong.

Regards,
Chuck Kuecker
Beloit, WI.

Jordan to try Dane Kurt Westergaard for blasphemy

For publishing this cartoon.

So, I thought I would help spread it around. If Jordan wants me, they can find me. I'll be waiting.

Hey Muslims! Don't like these images? Try ignoring them, like Americans ignore all the idiotic stuff published about us. It's cheaper, and doesn't make you look more stupid than you already do.

Snow

The view out my lab window this morning.

I really had hoped we were done with this stuff for a few months.

Stossel on Atlas Shrugged

Multi-part series:













Another tidbit:

What does 14 trillion look like?

This:

http://www.zolkor.com/14trillion/14trillion.htm

Happy Tax Day!

Got this from a friend:
+++++++++++++++++
 

http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/happy-tax-day/  

 

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 82^nd 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

Larry Correia is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Monster Hunter International, Monster Hunter Vendetta, The Grimnoir Chronicles: Hard Magic (May 2011), Monster Hunter Alpha (August 2011), Dead Six (with Mike Kupari, October 2011), and The Grimnoir Chronicles: Dark Ocean (November 2011) all from Baen Books and available online and from bookstores everywhere.

+++++++++++++++++

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.

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.

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:
+++++++++++++++++++
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.

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:

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/barney-frank-concedes-defeat-on-health-care-whats-next-for-the-health-care-bill/question-832873/?link=ibaf&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6khbwpg2VfmQUWFhpruBwISgp1JorVAI7OT-U7ECZedZkadTBBiYk-nvixK5KIJ7TfSPPgkYkuN0vAksovokAtO8m-EMDTjQDUkFUBwaMh9lik_ww_E5hhpGRUvO4fBcuCokdLv8vKU/s400/BarneyTarget1.JPG&q=barney%2Btarget

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://server2.hotspotairsoft.com/hotspotairsoft.com/catalog/images/bin-laden-target.jpg&imgrefurl=https://server2.hotspotairsoft.com/hotspotairsoft.com/catalog/create_account.php&h=659&w=602&sz=47&tbnid=0PdZSoCMs2a7VM:&tbnh=235&tbnw=215&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dosama%2Btarget%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=osama+target&usg=__fGos0B5DI4SH20kSMuVhr8DF1Pg=&sa=X&ei=TROqTczbOsHw0gHd5bX5CA&ved=0CBsQ9QEwAA

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.

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.

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.

Government debt explained

Scary.



Pass this around. Government Gone Wild

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!

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.

Nancy Peolsi drops the facade

Nancy Pelosi: 'Elections Shouldn't Matter as Much as They Do'

11:36 AM, Apr 12, 2011 • By DANIEL HALPER

       

Email

Hide To forward this article to a friend, please fill out the form below:

* Required Fields

Your Name: *

Your Email: *

Your Friend's Name: *

Your Friend's Email: *

Alerts

Hide Get alerts when there is a new article that might interest you.

Send me alerts when:

Fred Barnes
Bill Kristol

Scrapbook
Breaking Commentary

Your e-mail address:

 

Please sign me up for The Weekly Standard weekly newsletter.

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:

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?

Obama’s New Energy Policy: A Lesson in Stealth Socialism

New article at Pajamas Media - well worth the reading.

H/t the author - Confederate Yankee

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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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.”

A "more perfect union" evidently means a very powerful federal government that dictates to the several states, and violates the Constitution at every turn. Something like what we have right now - and are working hard to undo.

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.

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.

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.

Islam's hate explained

Here.

Dissecting a Bubba Clinton speech after 9/11. Explains why the current situation exists. Go read.

Good stuff

At the Cliffs of Insanity:

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.

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.

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.

Osama's New Campaign Ad

Precious...

Funny video

Jon Stewart Mocks Obama Campaign Video: From ‘Yes We Can’ To ‘You Know, Whatever’

Priceless.

Osama a failure?

Depends on what you mean by failure

Go read.

H/t Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler

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!