- No.Call -- No name, 01/24/10 4:54pm
Thought you was gonna call walter?
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- L. a. Y. -- No name, 01/ 4/10 11:51am
Teamsters do suck! I am a teamster. It is extortion, plain and simple. The mafia and the like shakedown owners of neighborhood restaurants and offer to protect them. When they don’t pay, they burn their place down. Well, these people have insurance. When we don’t pay (our dues), we can’t work at that establishment anymore. We LOSE our insurance, our wages, etc…. I pay $20+ a month and for what? The right to work? The company treats us like shit,a nd the union doesn’t do anything about it. I swear that some of the stewards are actually on the company’s side. It is disgusting. I am one of the hardest working people at my place of employment, and becase of my low seniority, I would be one of the first to be let go while Lazy Joe keeps his job. Man, it pisses me off to no end. If someone with higher seniority needs more hours, they can bump you. And they stand around!!! All the while, I would be busting my butt. My boss understands and wants to give me the hours, but he can’t. The Teamsters are a bunch of extortionists. And the sad part is, they are doing it legally. Unions need to go. They are outdated, and they don’t work. They are taking my hard earned money. Bunch of lazy, no good, taking my money and going golfing pieces of shit. Fuck you Teamsters. One day, you are going down!
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- Worthless -- Mike hunt, 01/30/10 12:34am
Gotta get rid of wes trent
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- Costs of Healthcare soars higher to new record -- No name, 02/ 4/10 8:00am
Reporting from Washington - In a stark reminder of growing costs, the government has released a new estimate that healthcare spending grew to a record 17.3% of the U.S. economy last year, marking the largest one-year jump in its share of the economy since the government started keeping such records half a century ago.
The almost $2.5 trillion spent in 2009 was $134 billion more than the previous year, when healthcare consumed 16.2% of the gross domestic product, according to an annual report by independent actuaries at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, scheduled for release Thursday.
The nonpartisan accounting agency also projected that as early as next year, the country could mark another milestone as government picks up more than half of the nation's total healthcare tab for the first time.
The rise in current costs, driven in part by surging spending in Medicare and Medicaid, and the bleak projections for the future do not take into account changes that may come if Democrats revive their healthcare overhaul legislation.
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- She ah snitch -- No name, 01/22/10 6:56pm
The namm show she tells on another teamster
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- Start me up -- Mr no name, 01/29/10 5:54pm
Not meaning 2 bitch and moan the.Starts or lack of them at ges has been kinda f ked up !Treat us old school teamsters better dont think dont think thats asking 2 much!
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- Pavement -- No name, 01/26/10 3:18pm
Theres a lot lizard among us
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- Obama declares in speech, 'I don't quit' -- No name, 01/27/10 7:40pm
WASHINGTON – Declaring "I don't quit,'" an embattled President Barack Obama vowed in his first State of the Union address Wednesday night to make job growth his topmost priority and urged a divided Congress to boost the still-ailing economy with a new burst of stimulus spending. Despite stinging setbacks, he said he would not abandon ambitious plans for longer-term fixes to health care, energy, education and more.
"Change has not come fast enough," Obama acknowledged before a politician-packed House chamber and a TV audience of millions. "As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth."
Obama looked to change the conversation from how his presidency is stalling — over the messy health care debate, a limping economy and the missteps that led to Christmas Day's barely averted terrorist disaster — to how he is seizing the reins. He spoke to a nation gloomy over double-digit unemployment and federal deficits soaring to a record $1.4 trillion, and to fellow Democrats dispirited about the fallen standing of a president they hoped would carry them through this fall's midterm elections.
With State of the Union messages traditionally delivered at the end of January, Obama had one of the presidency's biggest platforms just a week after Republicans scored an upset takeover of a Senate seat in Massachusetts, prompting hand-wringing over his leadership. With the turnover erasing Democrats' Senate supermajority needed to pass most legislation, it also put a cloud over health care and the rest of Obama's agenda.
A chief demand was for lawmakers to press forward with his prized health care overhaul, which is in severe danger in Congress. "Do not walk away from reform," he implored. "Not now. Not when we are so close."
Republicans applauded the president when he entered the chamber, and even craned their necks and welcomed Michelle Obama when she took her seat. But the warm feelings of bipartisanship disappeared early.
Democrats jumped to their feet and roared when Obama said he wanted to impose a new fee on banks, while Republicans sat stone-faced. Democrats stood and applauded when Obama mentioned the economic stimulus package passed last February. Republicans just stared.
On national security, Obama proclaimed some success, saying that "far more" al-Qaida terrorists were killed under his watch last year in the U.S.-led global fight than in 2008.
Hoping to salve growing disappointment in a key constituency, Obama said he would work with Congress "this year" to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. But in a concession to concern about the move among Republicans and on his own party's right flank, Obama neither made a commitment to suspend the practice in the interim nor issued a firm deadline for action.
The president devoted about two-thirds of his speech to the economic worries foremost on Americans' minds as recession persists. "The devastation remains," he said.
Obama emphasized his ideas, some new but mostly old and explained anew, for restoring job growth, taming budget deficits and changing a Washington so polarized that "every day is Election Day." These concerns are at the roots of voter emotions that once drove supporters to Obama but now are turning on him as he governs.
Declaring that "I know the anxieties" of Americans' struggling to pay the bills while big banks get bailouts and bonuses, Obama prodded Congress to enact a second stimulus package "without delay," specifying it should contain a range of measures to help small businesses and funding for infrastructure projects. Also, fine tuning a plan first announced in October, Obama said he will initiate a $30 billion program to provide money to community banks at low rates, provided they agree to increase lending to small businesses. The money would come from balances left in the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund — a program "about as popular as a root canal" that Obama made of point of saying "I hated."
Acknowledging frustration at the government's habit of spending more than it has, he said he would veto any bills that do not adhere to his demand for a three-year freeze on some domestic spending (while proposing a 6.2 percent, or $4 billion, increase in the popular arena of education). He announced a new, though nonbinding bipartisan deficit-reduction task force (while supporting a debt-financed jobs bill). And he said he would cut $20 billion on inefficient programs in next year's budget and "go through the budget line by line" to find more.
Positioning himself as a fighter for the regular guy and a different kind of leader, he urged Congress to require lobbyists to disclose all contacts with lawmakers or members of his administration and to blunt the impact of last week's Supreme Court decision allowing corporations greater flexibility in supporting or opposing candidates.
"We face a deficit of trust," the president said.
Even before Obama spoke, some of the new proposals, many revealed by the White House in advance, were dismissed — on the right or the left — as poorly targeted or too modest to make a difference. And one of Obama's economic point men, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was verbally pummeled by Democrats and Republicans alike over his role in the $180 billion bailout of insurance giant AIG Inc., a venting of the public's anger about Wall Street.
In his speech, Obama hoped to rekindle the energy of his historic election. Though aides worked up until the last minute to whittle it down, it still ran to an hour and nine minutes, with applause, longer than any State of the Union since the Clinton era and surely taxed viewers' patience.
Obama acknowledged "my share of the blame" for not adequately explaining his plans to the public and connecting with their everyday worries. At the same time, he offered an unapologetic defense of pursuing the same agenda on which he won.
He said that includes the health care overhaul, as well as an aggressive approach to global warming (though without a plug for the controversial cap-and-trade system for emissions that he favors), sweeping changes to address the nation's millions of illegal immigrants, "serious" reform of how Wall Street is regulated and children are educated.
Obama called on lawmakers to resist the temptation to substitute a smaller-bore health care solution for his far-reaching ideas, but he didn't say how. He simply said, "As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we've proposed."
In a remarkable shift from past addresses, and notable for a president whose candidacy first caught fire over Iraq war opposition, foreign policy took a relative back seat.
It came behind the economy and was largely devoid of new policy. And Obama made no mention of three of the toughest challenges he faced in his first year: failing to close the terrorist prison compound at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, failing to get Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations, and struggling with the al-Qaida havens in Pakistan that are at the core of the terrorist threat to America.
The president is keeping to the tradition of taking his themes on the road. He will travel to Florida on Thursday to announce $8 billion in grants for high-speed rail development, to Maryland on Friday to a House Republican retreat, and to New Hampshire Tuesday to talks jobs. Cabinet officials were fanning out too.
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- All aboard -- No name, 01/27/10 9:08am
Lot lizard has.Had plenty of engineers over the years
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- Wal-Mart cutting 11,200 jobs at Sam’s Club -- No name, 01/24/10 8:37pm
NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will cut about 11,200 jobs at Sam's Club warehouses as it turns over the task of in-store product demonstrations to an outside marketing company.
The move is an effort to improve sales at Sam's Club, which has underperformed the company's namesake stores in the U.S. and abroad.
The cuts represent about 10 percent of the warehouse club operator's 110,000 staffers across its 600 stores. That includes 10,000 workers, mostly part-timers, who offer food samples and showcase products to customers. The company also eliminated 1,200 workers who recruit new members.
Employees were told the news at mandatory meetings on Sunday morning.
"In the club channel, demo sampling events are a very important part of the experience," said Sam's Club CEO Brian Cornell in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "Shopper Events specializes in this area and they can take our sampling program to the next level."
Shopper Events, based in Rogers, Ark., currently works with Wal-Mart's namesake stores on in-store demonstrations. Sam's Club is looking to the company to improve sampling in areas such as electronics, personal wellness products and food items to entice shoppers to spend more.
Cornell has been working to boost Sam's Club's results since taking the helm in early 2009, introducing new store formats, price cuts and offering more variety and more brands of items from take-home meals to baked goods.
As consumers eat out less in the shaky economy, Sam's Club has tried to steal customers from grocery chains and rival warehouse stores like Costco Wholesale Corp. by offering more everyday goods like food and health and beauty items and paring its assortment of general merchandise like furniture and clothes.
But during Wal-Mart Stores' most recent quarter, revenue at the Sam's Club division slipped nearly 1 percent to $11.55 billion while U.S. Walmart stores posted a 1.2 percent sales increase to $61.81 billion. Earlier this month, Wal-Mart Stores closed 10 underperforming Sam's Club locations, resulting in the loss of about 1,500 jobs.
"Sam's has been the relative laggard, and it has lagged relative to its direct competitors, Costco and the smaller BJ's (Wholesale Club)," said Craig Johnson, president of retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners.
The move to outsource its food sampling efforts is a way for the company to tout its fresh food offerings in a cost-effective manner, Johnson said.
"'Fresh' is where the real competitive battles are being fought in the club sector," he said.
Shopper Events will launch a new demo program called "Tastes and Tips" with new carts, signs, uniforms and a trained team, said Cornell. He said the move was not made to save money.
"It's not a cost cutting measure, its really an investment in enhancing our demo program," he said. Cornell added that Shopper Events plans to hire "roughly the same number of people" cut, and said Sam's Club workers are invited to apply for those positions.
Cornell said Sam's Club decided to eliminate its membership recruiting unit because "we have found that we can more effectively drive membership through targeted member acquisition events and by increasing our partner membership programs."
"I feel betrayed," said Sally Grueling, 56, who had worked at Sam's Club for nine years, most recently in Hilliard, Ohio as a new business membership rep.
In a memo to employees, Cornell said eligible workers will receive severance pay and benefits, and that the company will help them find opportunities at other Sam's Clubs and in Walmart stores, in addition to Shopper Events positions.
The cuts come as many Americans had hoped job losses would be slowing as the economy slowly recovers. However, analysts said Sunday that while this marks Wal-Mart Stores' largest job cut, they expect many employees to be picked up by Shopper Events, so the net effect on the economy probably won't be that bad.
"I would argue that from an economic standpoint it's somewhat nominal," said David Strasser, a retail analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott. "It looks a lot worse than it really is from a layoff standpoint. My read is the majority of employees are going to be picked up by Shopper Events."
Strasser said he did not expect the move to materially affect Wal-Mart Stores' fourth-quarter earnings results. Wal-Mart reports results for the quarter and full year in February.
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- Freedom of speech -- No name, 01/12/10 8:59pm
Freedom of speech is alive and well on this site.
Apparently any idiot can express any moronic idea that comes out of his or her pea sized brain without being ashamed and believing that they are making some kind of "enlightend" statement. Way to live up to your neanderthal image. You all know who I am talking about.
I do give some credit to the few that do give thought to their posts and are not just another lemming rushing to run off of the cliff. Keep it up.
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- B List for 2010 -- JB, 01/13/10 8:23pm
The information that I am posting here came directly from Local 986. It gives the names of the 12 Casuals that made the B list for this year. Wes Trent also told me that after today's meeting of the JTC, it was decided that the mandatory hour requirement to gain B status has been lowered to 825 hours. This is to help compensate for the downturn that our industry has experienced in recent years.
If anyone believes that they worked at least 825 hours during the 2009 year and can prove it, should contact Wes Trent at Local 986 to see if you should be added to the new B List.
Congratulations to the following B Casuals for 2010;
Richard Cisneros
Craig Davis
Diana Laehle
Larry J. Martinez
Larry L. Martinez
Dicky Martinez
Raymond Martinez
Richard Ramirez
Rusty Stoltz
OD Taylor III
Ron Van Dorne
Cesar Vizcaino
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- (One in 50 Americans) Living on Nothing but Food Stamps -- WOLF? wolf? Calvin?, 01/ 4/10 6:56am
About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income, according to an analysis of state data collected by The New York Times. In declarations that states verify and the federal government audits, they described themselves as unemployed and receiving no cash aid — no welfare, no unemployment insurance, and no pensions, child support or disability pay.
Their numbers were rising before the recession as tougher welfare laws made it harder for poor people to get cash aid, but they have soared by about 50 percent over the past two years. About one in 50 Americans now lives in a household with a reported income that consists of nothing but a food-stamp card.
“It’s the one thing I can count on every month — I know the children are going to have food,” Ms. Bermudez, 42, said with the forced good cheer she mastered selling rows of new stucco homes.
Members of this straitened group range from displaced strivers like Ms. Bermudez to weathered men who sleep in shelters and barter cigarettes. Some draw on savings or sporadic under-the-table jobs. Some move in with relatives. Some get noncash help, like subsidized apartments. While some go without cash incomes only briefly before securing jobs or aid, others rely on food stamps alone for many months.
The surge in this precarious way of life has been so swift that few policy makers have noticed. But it attests to the growing role of food stamps within the safety net. One in eight Americans now receives food stamps, including one in four children.
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- 1947 -- No name, 01/ 4/10 11:43am
The year was 1947
1947
Probably one of the best emails of the year!!!
The year is 1947
Some of you will recall that on July 8, 1947, a little over 60 years ago, witnesses claim that an unidentified flying object (UFO) with five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and mule ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico . This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies and organizations.
However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of April 1948, nine months after that historic day, the following people were born:
Albert A. Gore, Jr..
Hillary Rodham
John F. Kerry
William J. Clinton
Howard Dean
Nancy Pelosi
Dianne Feinstein
Charles E. Schumer
Barbara Boxer
See what happens when aliens breed with sheep and jackasses?
I certainly hope this bit of information clears up a lot of things for you. It did for me.
No wonder they support the bill to help illegal aliens!
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- Joe legal vs Jose illegal -- WOLF, 01/ 5/10 6:42pm
You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal".
Both families have two parents, two children, and live in California.
Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour with taxes deducted.
Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".
Ready? Now pay attention...
Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; Joe Legal now has $31,231.00.
Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200.00 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $24,031.00.
Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.
Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $9,631.00.
Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose Illegal pays out that $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $ 31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for insurance. Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.
Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.
Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month.
Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.
Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.
Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program. Joe Legal's children go home.
Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.
Do you get it, now?
BOOT THE ILLEGAL BEANS!!!!!!
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- Idiots -- No name, 12/10/09 6:05am
Quite.A.Few.People.Have.Been.Around..20.Or.More.Years.You.Need.To.Insert.Yr.Head.Back.In.Yr.Aaasss
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- Cut and paste and suck my -- No name, 01/ 6/10 5:43pm
If you have no original thought in your head go watch TV.
EVEN IF YOU TYPE IN CAPS ITS MORE INTERESTING
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- True Freedom -- No name, 01/ 6/10 3:28pm
Star Parker - Syndicated Columnist
Six years ago I wrote a book called Uncle Sam's Plantation. I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it.
I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas -- a poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism.
I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps.
A vast sea of perhaps well-intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960s by Democrats, that were going to lift the nation's poor out of poverty.
A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?"
Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems -- the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others.
The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families.
Through God's grace, I found my way out. It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is.
I had the privilege of working on welfare reform in 1996 which was passed by a Republican controlled Congress.
I thought we were on the road to moving socialism out of our poor black communities and replacing it with wealth-producing American capitalism.
But, incredibly, we are now going in the opposite direction.
Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich American on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism.
Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, "Thank you, Suh."
Now, instead of thinking about what creative things need to be done to serve customers, they are thinking about what they have to tell Massah in order to get their cash.
There is some kind of irony that this is all happening under our first black president on the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.
Worse, socialism seems to be the element of our new young president. And maybe even more troubling, our corporate executives seem happy to move onto the plantation.
In an op-Ed on the opinion page of the Washington Post, Mr. Obama is clear that the goal of his trillion dollar spending plan is much more than short term economic stimulus.
"This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America 's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, healthcare, and education."
Perhaps more incredibly, Obama seems to think that government taking over an economy is a new idea. Or that massive growth in government can take place "with unprecedented transparency and accountability."
Yes, sir, we heard it from Jimmy Carter when he created the Department of Energy, the Synfuels Corporation, and the Department of Education.
Or how about the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 -- The War on Poverty -- which President Johnson said "...does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done. It charts a new course. It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty."
Trillions of dollars later, black poverty is the same. But black families are not, with triple the incidence of single-parent homes and out-of-wedlock births.
It's not complicated. Americans can accept Barack Obama's invitation to move onto the plantation. Or they can choose personal responsibility and freedom.
Does anyone really need to think about what the choice should be?
By the way Star Parker is an African American
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- Who's it gonna "B"? -- No name, 01/ 4/10 10:37am
So will the all "B"s be able to carpool in a sports car this year?
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- New Years Resolution for political views -- RR, 01/ 3/10 7:48am
What do you say we start out the new year without these
5 paragraph cut an paste political views.To the person
doing this,start a blog dude you have enough material,
an when no-one responds,you answer your own post under
no name,or wolf to keep it going.I'm aware you get a kick
out of what your doing,an have been waiting for someone
to confront you so you can do it more.I have a grandson
who does the same act....tell him not to an he does it
even more....I may be playing right into your hands.....
But really....Get your own blog going...Leave us be....
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- FACT: "Bush Administration incompetence and negligence made possible the September 11 attacks." -- No name, 01/ 1/10 3:06pm
Bush Administration incompetence and negligence made possible the September 11 attacks.
Dick Cheney's Expertise At Undermining National Security
So, Dick Cheney is back in the corporate media, telling everyone that President Obama is ignoring national security and endangering America. And the corporate media let him get away with it, as if he's some paragon of expertise on the issue. He is, in fact, the exact opposite. It was his administration's incompetence that allowed the worst ever attack on American soil, and it was his administration that followed that attack by undermining our national security, even more.
Because neither the corporate media nor most Democratic "leaders" seem to know how to respond to this astonishing hypocrisy, it's worthwhile, once again, taking a look at some fundamental facts. Much of this is a compendium of re-posts. Much of it, no doubt, will need to be re-posted many more times. The corporate media should know these facts, and it may take endless repetition of them for the corporate media even to become conscious of them. Every Democrat or progressive who gets face time on television should know these facts. The DNC should make these facts basic talking points, for all party officials, elected or otherwise.
Bush Administration incompetence and negligence made possible the September 11 attacks.
Before the 9/11 attacks, both the Minneapolis and Phoenix FBI offices uncovered evidence that could have revealed the entire plot. The agents in these field offices did their jobs, without torturing people, wiretapping random innocents, or racial profiling. The agents in these field offices did what professional law enforcement officials are supposed to do, and had they been able to interest their nominal superiors, 9/11 might never have happened. But they couldn't interest their nominal superiors. Plain old incompetence led to these agents' important revelations being ignored. But that was the pattern with the Bush Administration.
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- Shooting Hancuffed Students -- David Swanson, 01/ 2/10 10:32am
The occupied government of Afghanistan and the United Nations have both concluded that U.S.-led troops recently dragged eight sleeping children out of their beds, handcuffed some of them, and shot them all dead. While this apparently constitutes an everyday act of kindness, far less intriguing than the vicious singeing of his pubic hairs by Captain Underpants, it is at least a variation on the ordinary American technique of murdering men, women, and children by the dozens with unmanned drones.
Also this week in Afghanistan, eight CIA assassins (see if you can find a more appropriate name for them) were murdered by a suicide bombing that one of them apparently executed against the other seven. The Taliban in Pakistan claims credit and describes the mass-murder as revenge for the CIA's drone killings. And we thought unmanned drones were War Perfected because none of the right people would have to risk their lives. Oops. Perhaps Detroit-bound passengers risked theirs unwittingly.
The CIA has declared its intention to seek revenge for the suicide strike. Who knows what the assassination of sleeping students was revenge for. Perhaps the next lunatic to try blowing up something in the United States will be seeking revenge for whatever Obama does to avenge the victims (television viewers?) of the Crotch Crusader. Certainly there will be numerous more acts of violence driven by longings for revenge against the drone pilots and the shooters of students.
In a civilized world, the alternative to vengeance is justice. Often we can even set aside feelings of revenge as long as we are able to act so as to deter more crime. But at the same time that the puppet president of Afghanistan is demanding the arrest of the troops who shot the handcuffed children, the puppet government of Iraq is facing up to the refusal of the United States to seriously prosecute the Blackwater assassins of innocent Iraqis. Justice will not be permitted as an alternative to vengeance -- the mere idea is anti-American.
No one so much as blinks at the CIA's avowal of vengeance for the recent suicide attack, never mind the illegality, because the entire illegal war on Afghanistan/Pakistan was launched and is still maintained as a pretended act of revenge for the crimes of 9-11. Of course, we're not bombing the flight schools or the German and Spanish hotels. Of course , we admit that there are fewer than 100 members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Of course we openly seek massive permanent bases and an oil pipeline. Of course, Obama's decisions are all electoral calculations computed by the calculus of cowardice. Of course, we're prosecuting the Butt Bomber as a criminal, just as we always used to prosecute criminals as criminals. Of course, revenge would not be a legal justification for war even if we could persuade ourselves it was a sane one. But the war is publicly understood as revenge, the resistance by its victims is understood as revenge, the escalation is understood as revenge for the resistance, and an eye for an eye slowly makes the whole world blind.
But here's what we've forgotten: nothing is ever remotely as horrible as war. So, nothing can ever constitute a justification for launching or escalating or continuing a war. Dragging children out of bed and killing them is not a freak blip in the course of a war. It is war reduced to a comprehensible scale. It's less war, not worse war. Everything we are spending our grandchildren's unearned pay on, borrowed from China at great expense, all of it is for the murdering of human beings. And it will remain so for eternity, no matter how many times you chant "Support Duh Troops."
I know many soldiers and mercenaries had few other options, given our failure to invest in any other industries. I know they've been lied to. I know they're scared and tired. But they wouldn't be there if we brought them home. And I support a full investment in their physical and mental and economic recovery. What I don't support is anyone participating in these wars, and that includes every single American who is not putting every spare moment into demanding that Congress stop forking over the money.
It's blood money. It's payment for murder. It cannot be defended. It cannot be permitted. We must stop it now. We must shut down the place it comes from.
Not another dime. Not another dollar. Not another death. Not another thought of revenge.
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- Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/ 2/09 8:09pm
I love working for GES.
Where else can you go to work on a major show and have no General Foreman in charge? Where else can you go to work and get signed in and out by a Regular from another company, get your work assignment from a Regular from yet another company, work for a Hall Foreman who is a Regular for no company at all and have a Casual female work as Dock Foreman?
All while one of the best Foreman in the industry, who happens to be a GES employee, is only allowed to drive a Forklift.
How does this company even survive?
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- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/ 3/09 5:00am
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name (?????), 12/ 3/09 6:51pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/ 4/09 7:49am
- Re: Who's in charge? -- yellow man (im in), 12/ 6/09 11:50am
- Re: Who's in charge? -- MADXINC., 12/ 6/09 4:03pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/ 8/09 12:14pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/11/09 1:49pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/11/09 3:54pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/12/09 11:44am
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/19/09 4:20pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/20/09 2:42pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/21/09 5:18pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/21/09 6:25pm
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/22/09 8:47am
- Re: Who's in charge? -- No name, 12/22/09 7:55pm
- Obamas thank military in Christmas message -- No name, 12/25/09 12:09pm
President and first lady urge Americans to support families
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama offered Christmas wishes to the nation on Thursday, including a special thanks for the U.S. military. They urged Americans to help support military families this holiday season.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said serving as commander in chief has been his greatest honor as president. He saluted the "selfless spirit" of those who serve and said he has been "humbled, profoundly" by those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"So to all our men and women in uniform spending the holidays far from home — whether it's at a base here in the states, a mess hall in Iraq or a remote outpost in Afghanistan — know that you are in our thoughts and our prayers," the president said in a message released two days early because of Christmas. "And this holiday season — and every holiday season — know that we are doing everything in our power to make sure you can succeed in your missions and come home safe to your families."
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- Merry Christmas -- No name, 12/24/09 11:08am
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all my crate crashin teamsters, absentminded decorators, riggers, shorts checkin electricians, and all the rest of the industry.
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- Teamster talk -- RAM, 12/23/09 1:58pm
It is good to see some good ol whining and bitching about us and less political bull#$%*
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- Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill -- No name, 12/24/09 7:03am
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history.
"We are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people," Obama said shortly after the Senate acted.
"This will be the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s," said Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden in the State Room of the White House.
The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted "yes." Republicans unanimously voted "no."
The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.
The Senate's bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill in the new year. There are significant differences between the two measures but Democrats say they've come too far now to fail.
Both bills would extend health insurance to more than 30 million more Americans. Obama said the legislation "includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable."
Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life's work, watched the vote from the gallery. So did Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the longest-serving House member and a champion of universal health care his entire career.
"This morning isn't the end of the process, it's merely the beginning. We'll continue to build on this success to improve our health system even more," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote. "But that process cannot begin unless we start today ... there may not be a next time."
At a news conference a few moments later, Reid said the vote "brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy's dream a reality."
The Nevadan said that "every step of this long process has been an enormous undertaking."
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, said he "very happy to see people getting health care they could not get."
It was the Senate's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, when the matter at hand was a military affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers, according to the Senate Historical Office.
The House passed its own measure in November. The White House and Congress have now come further toward the goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's health care system than any of their predecessors.
The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.
For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties. The legislation costs nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of taxes, fees and cuts to Medicare.
Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover. If the measure were worthwhile, contended Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., "they wouldn't be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve."
House Minority Leader John Boehner assailed the bill moments after passage.
"Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats' government takeover of health care," the Ohio Republican said in a statement.
"Senator Reid's health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors' Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors," he said.
The occasion was moving for many who'd followed Kennedy, who died in August.
"He's having a merry Christmas in Heaven," Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., appointed to fill Kennedy's seat, told reporters after the tally.
Kirk said he was "humbled to be here with the honor of casting essentially his vote."
Said Dingell: "This is for me, this is for my dad, this is for the country."
Reid nailed the last votes down in a rush of dealmaking in the last week that is now coming under attack because of special provisions obtained by a number of senators. In Nebraska, home to conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, the Democrats' crucial 60th vote, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of a planned Medicaid expansion in perpetuity, the only state getting that deal.
Negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile differences between the two bills are expected to begin as soon as next week. The House bill has stricter limits on abortion than the Senate, and unlike the House, the Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option, which liberals favored to apply pressure on private insurers but Democratic moderates opposed as an unwarranted federal intrusion. Obama has signaled he will sign a bill even if it lacks that provision.
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- FOX News -- No name, 12/15/09 11:26am
PLEASE CONSIDER THIS A NEWS ITEM AND NOT A JOKE...
In response to a number of complaints that FOX doesn't show enough Black and Hispanic people on the network, FOX has announced that they will now air "America's Most Wanted" twice a week.
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- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/15/09 1:04pm
- Re: FOX News -- UXREG, 12/15/09 1:22pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/15/09 3:59pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/15/09 9:15pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/15/09 9:21pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/17/09 8:20am
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/17/09 4:50pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/18/09 2:40am
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/18/09 9:47pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/19/09 12:19am
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/19/09 4:13pm
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/22/09 8:18am
- Re: FOX News -- No name, 12/23/09 12:36am
- Holy Shit it is gone -- Calvin (GLAD), 12/19/09 10:48pm
It is finally OFF the first page, someone did a great job!
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- THE ONE ABOUT -- wolf, 12/20/09 6:26pm
An 85-year-old man was requested by his doctor for a sperm count as part of his physical exam.
The doctor gave the man a jar and said, 'Take this jar home and bring back a semen sample tomorrow.'
The next day the man reappeared at the Doctor's' office and gave him the jar, which was as clean and empty as on the previous day.
The doctor asked what happened and the man explained, 'Well, doc, it's like this, first I tried with my right hand, but nothing. Then I tried with my left hand, but still nothing.
'Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand, then with her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with her teeth in, then with her teeth out, still nothing.
'We even called up Arleen, the lady next door and she tried too, first with both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezing it between her knees, but still nothing.'
The doctor was shocked! 'You asked your neighbor?'
The old man replied, 'Yep, none of us could get that damn jar open.'
__________________
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- WILL I LIVE TILL 80 -- wolf, 12/20/09 6:16pm
Will I Live to see 80?
Here's something to think about.
I recently picked a new primary care doctor. After two visits and
exhaustive Lab tests, he said I was doing 'fairly well' for my age. (I
just turned 69.)
A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, 'Do
you think I'll live to be 80?'
He asked, 'Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?'
'Oh no,' I replied... 'I'm not doing drugs, either!'
Then he asked, 'Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?
'I said, 'Not much... my former doctor said that all red meat is very
unhealthy!'
'Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing,
hiking, or bicycling?'
'No, I don't,' I said.
He asked, 'Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?'
'No,' I said.
He looked at me and said,...
Then why do you even give a shit!!!
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- AL vs TIGER -- wolf, 12/20/09 6:01pm
The Rev. Al Sharpton held a press conference today to blast Tiger Woods for the lack of diversity among his mistresses. Sharpton claims that the lack of African-American women among Woods’ harem will have a negative affect on the black community, specifically young black girls.
“Why is it that a man who calls himself black can’t bring himself to cheat on his wife with a black woman?” said Sharpton, speaking to a group of supporters in Harlem . “What does it say to young black girls everywhere when you pass them over? Shame on you, Tiger Woods. What would your daddy say?”
Sharpton, who has long championed taking black women as mistresses, said that today’s black athletes need to stop neglecting black women when it comes to extramarital affairs, and should follow the examples of positive black role models such as Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr., both of whom cheated on their wives with black women. Sharpton also stressed that cheating with African-American women would help the black community financially by giving black girls the chance to sell their stories to tabloids and gossip magazines.
Added Sharpton, “I’m not asking you to not cheat on your wives, I’m just asking you to give back to your own community.”
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- Why are we still there? -- No name, 12/20/09 1:39pm
Why are we still there?
Every day there are news reports about more deaths. Every night on TV are photos of death and destruction.
Why are we still there?
We occupied this land, which we had to take by force, but it causes us nothing but trouble.
Why are we still there?
Their government is unstable, and they have no leadership.
Why are we still there?
Many of their people are uncivilized, or at least don't speak English.
Why are we still there?
There are more than 1,000 religious sects and almost as many languages and dialects, many of which we don't understand.
Why are we still there?
We can't even secure the borders.
Why are we still there?
They are billions of dollars in debt and it will cost billions more to bail them out, which we can't afford.
Why are we still there?
It is becoming clear ........we have only one option.
WE MUST ABANDON CALIFORNIA !!!!!!
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- Franken -- No name, 12/19/09 6:54pm
Former comedian Al Franken apparently is done cracking jokes.
In the past month, Franken, the junior Democratic senator from Minnesota has publicly slugged it out with a GOP senator, privately rebuked another one and on Thursday took the unusual step of shutting down on the Senate floor a longtime member of his party's caucus: Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Unlike during his days on "Saturday Night Live," no one is laughing.
"Sen. Franken is certainly not making friends on either side of the aisle," GOP strategist Ron Bonjean, a former Capitol Hill aide, told Fox News.
Franken joined the Senate in July after winning an eight-month political and legal battle with Republican Norm Coleman over an election that nearly ended in a tie. Despite his freshman status, Franken hasn't shied away from confrontation with senior lawmakers, some of whom have spent decades in the chamber.
Lieberman, for example, who was first elected to the Senate in 1988, was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000 and currently chairs the powerful Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
By contrast, Franken, since becoming the Democrats' 60th vote in the Senate, has taken seats on a few committees, including health and judiciary, where he voted for the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.
As a comedian, Franken cultivated an image as an irreverent performer and satirist. As a senator, Franken is cultivating an image as a confrontational lawmaker with no regard for seniority in a chamber that embraces it.
That appeared to be on full display Thursday as Franken was presiding over the Senate. When Lieberman, I-Conn., asked for some more time to finish speaking about amendments he planned to offer to the Senate health care bill -- a routine request -- Franken refused to grant the time.
"In my capacity as the senator from Minnesota, I object," Franken said.
"Really?" Lieberman said. "OK."
Lieberman, taken aback, said he'd submit the rest of his statement in writing.
Click here to watch the exchange.
Lieberman currently is the target of liberal wrath over his opposition to a government-run insurance plan in the health care bill. But Franken's spokeswoman, Jess McIntosh, said that the Minnesota senator wouldn't allow Lieberman to continue because time limits were being enforced by Senate leaders rushing to finish a defense spending bill and get to the health bill.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, came to his friend Lieberman's defense, saying he'd never seen such a thing occur. "I must say that I don't know what's happening here in this body, but I think it's wrong," McCain said on the floor.
Franken's in-your-face behavior shouldn't come as a surprise to those who have followed his career as an author and radio host. Franken has made sport of launching angry -- and sometimes juvenile -- attacks on prominent conservatives, such as Rush Limbaugh -- one of his best-selling books is titled "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot" -- and members of the Bush administration.
In the summer, Franken reportedly savaged T. Boone Pickens at a Democratic policy lunch for helping fund the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks against Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race.
Franken vowed before joining the Senate to keep his head down, work hard and win over his colleagues. But so far, winning over his colleagues hasn't been going so well.
Franken's first legislation, which created a pilot program to provide service dogs for wounded veterans, passed without controversy. But it was Republican opposition to Franken's anti-rape amendment to the defense bill that brought out his not-so funny side.
Franken's amendment, which would prevent the Pentagon from working with contractors that require employees to settle discrimination claims, including ones of sexual assault, in arbitration rather than court, passed 68-30. All 30 no votes were cast by Republicans, with the other 10 party members supporting it.
The Republicans who voted against the amendment were portrayed as rape sympathizers by liberals. That prompted an opinion article in a local newspaper by Tennessee GOP Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, whose defense of their opposition was based partly on the argument that the measure would leave contractors more exposed to lawsuits.
Franken reportedly confronted each senator separately to dispute their column and lost his temper with Corker in a sharp exchange.
On Monday, Franken initiated a sharp exchange with Sen. John Thune, accusing the South Dakota Republican of distorting the facts in his health care chart that purported to show how the Senate bill would hike taxes immediately while delaying the benefits.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts," Franken said, adding with his voice rising that if Thune is going to hold up a chart, he "better include the benefits that do kick in right way."
Thune fired back, questioning whether Franken understood his point that tax increases start right away while benefits don't kick in until 2014.
"If the senator missed the point, I can get the chart out again," Thune said.
Franken said, "I asked a question senator. I yield to you for a question. I'm asking a question."
Thune eventually walked out on the argument.
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- Cruise -- No name, 12/19/09 6:48pm
Subject: THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE CRUISE
>
> To The Point is excited to offer the ultimate adventure cruise along
> the pirate-infested coast of Somalia!
>
> Board our luxury cruise ship in Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden near
> the entrance to the Red Sea, and disembark in Mombassa, Kenya seven
> adrenaline-charged days later.
>
> If you don't have your own weapons, you can rent them from our
> onboard Master Gunsmith. For the object of the cruise is to sail up
> and down the Somali Coast waiting to get hijacked by pirates. The
> weapons rental costs are as follows.
>
> Rent a full auto M-16 for only $25/day with ammo attractively priced
> at $16 per 100 rounds of 5.56 armor-piercing:
>
> On a budget? Rent a full-auto scope-mounted AK-47 for only $9/day
> with 7.62 ball ammo at $12 per 100 rounds:
>
> Need a spotter? Our professional crew members can double as spotters
> for only $30/hour (spotting scope included, but gratuities are not.)
>
> Want to make a real impact? Rent an RPG for only $175/day with three
> fragmentation rounds included!
>
> Also included: Free complimentary night vision equipment - and
> throughout the night, coffee, pastries and snacks are always
> available on the main deck from 6 PM until 6 am.
>
> But that's not all! Twin mounted miniguns are available for rental
> at only $450.00 per 30 seconds of sustained fire!
>
> We guarantee that you will experience at least two hijacking
> attempts by pirates or you'll receive an instant $1,000 refund upon
> arrival in Mombassa.
>
> How can we make that guarantee? We operate at 5 knots just beyond 12
> nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, thus in international
> waters where pirates have no rights whatever. In fact, we make three
> passes through the area's most treacherous waters to ensure maximum
> visibility by Somali "mother ships."
>
> We repeat this for five days, making three complete passes past the
> entire Somali Coast. At night, the boat is fully lit and bottle
> rockets are shot every five minutes with loud disco music
> directionally beamed shore side to attract maximum attention.
>
> Testimonials from previous participants in the Somali Cruise.
>
> "Six attacks in 4 days were more than I expected. I bagged three
> pirates, my wife nailed two, and my 12-year old son sank two boats
> with the mini-gun. This wonderful cruise was fun for the whole
> family" -- Fred D., Cincinnati, OH
>
> "I haven't had this much fun since flying choppers in 'Nam. Don't
> worry about getting shot by pirates... they never even got close to
> the ship with the crap they shoot and their lousy aim... reminds me
> of a drunken juicer door-gunner we picked up from the motor pool in
> Phu Bai!" -- Dan J. - Denver, CO
>
> Reserve your package before May 31st and get a great bonus - 100
> rounds of free tracer ammo in the caliber of your choice. So sign up
> for the Ultimate Somali Coast Adventure Cruise now!
>
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- 545 People -- No name, 12/19/09 6:46pm
545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred Senators, 435 Congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices -- 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.
Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .
If they do not receive Social Security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power..
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
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