Friday, October 23, 2009
Is Fox News a real news organization?
There's been quite a bit of fuss over the Treasury Dept. trying to exclude Fox News from interviewing Kenneth Feingberg (maybe it's because they insist on calling everyone Obama appoints a "czar"). Obama, and many of his staff, have said Fox is not a real news organization and shouldn't be treated as such. If you've ever watched the documentary Outfoxed, you probably share this view. But to be fair I decided to take a look at all the major news websites and see if I could tell a difference.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Rep Grayson is my hero
Rep. Grayson is my new hero! Hopefully he doesn't have some scandal waiting to come to light. You know the Right Wing is digging. Till then, enjoy his "lead, follow or get out of the way" speech before congress.
Here's his speech at the Florida Democratic Party Convention: What it means to be a Democrat.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
More about ACORN
I posted previously about ACORN, and how evidence is needed when making claims about the "evils" of this or that. And while I still believe that ACORN is an organization that needs to be reformed, it's not an evil organization. Rachel Maddow puts it best, which is why she's my favorite pundit. Ms. Maddow approaches every issue from a frame of "what is the truth" here, not "what is my point of view" and is one of the most sane talking heads out there. Who else could hear Pat Buchanan utter the phrase, "white people built this country" and still remain civil. Rachel can, and that's why her reporting on ACORN is so important.
At first blush it can seem like more of the usual, "sure it's bad, but you're worse" arguing. But the most important issue here is this: There is still no ACTUAL CRIME. On my previous blog I mentioned that there was never any actual voter fraud. In the current case, a crime was talked about, but nothing actually happened. Now this, even to me, seems like parsing, but when you consider Blackwater, KBR, and others, ACORN is like some guy who talked about committing a robbery and Blackwater is Dillinger (without the likability). But Rachel makes the point even better.
From youtube, because it doesn't seem to be on MSNBC.COM
For a party that always demands everyone be treated the same and no one deserves special treatment, Republicans sure don't put their money where there mouth is. Or, perhaps one can't talk with a mouth full of money.
At first blush it can seem like more of the usual, "sure it's bad, but you're worse" arguing. But the most important issue here is this: There is still no ACTUAL CRIME. On my previous blog I mentioned that there was never any actual voter fraud. In the current case, a crime was talked about, but nothing actually happened. Now this, even to me, seems like parsing, but when you consider Blackwater, KBR, and others, ACORN is like some guy who talked about committing a robbery and Blackwater is Dillinger (without the likability). But Rachel makes the point even better.
From youtube, because it doesn't seem to be on MSNBC.COM
For a party that always demands everyone be treated the same and no one deserves special treatment, Republicans sure don't put their money where there mouth is. Or, perhaps one can't talk with a mouth full of money.
Friday, September 18, 2009
ACORN: A teach-able moment
Acorn: a Teach-able moment
I was wrong, you were right. I want so much to modify this statement, but I shouldn’t. That’s what THEY do. The thing I want us to learn from this moment is that it’s O.K. to be proven wrong about something. Evidence is all I need to change my mind.
The evidence against ACORN, before these events came to light, was flimsy, circumstantial. Submitting a false voter registration is not the same as voter fraud. “Prosecutors believe ACORN workers were not scheming to permit illegal voting, but rather trying to get paid for work they didn't do.” (reference) It’s just evidence that sometimes people are lazy and don’t want to actually try to get voters to register, so they sit down somewhere and fill out the forms themselves. Since no one was actually going to vote, it doesn’t actually do anything. It may have inflated voter rolls, but not actual votes.
This new event, on the other hand, is horrible. And not just because these people believed some guy who looks like a Halloween version of a pimp, but because this is actual abuse, and is actually illegal. And the reason I know that, is evidence. This isn’t unsubstantiated rumors. This isn’t hearsay. This isn’t suspicion, this is evidence.
This is what’s lacking from every other criticism of Obama and Democrats in general. There are actual parts of the Health Care bill that deserve criticism. And the new Baucus plan is getting plenty of that. We can debate whether having everyone covered would reduce costs, since Hospitals would be paid for almost every procedure that is done. Costs would be reduced because records would be online, and centralized. We can argue those points, but no one is.
Evidence, facts, support of your position: that’s all we liberals are asking you to give us to convince us that you’re right or that we’re wrong. Or at least to get us to consider your side, if not agree with you. So the thing we can learn from ACORN, is that if you want to convince me, you better bring evidence.
I was wrong, you were right. I want so much to modify this statement, but I shouldn’t. That’s what THEY do. The thing I want us to learn from this moment is that it’s O.K. to be proven wrong about something. Evidence is all I need to change my mind.
The evidence against ACORN, before these events came to light, was flimsy, circumstantial. Submitting a false voter registration is not the same as voter fraud. “Prosecutors believe ACORN workers were not scheming to permit illegal voting, but rather trying to get paid for work they didn't do.” (reference) It’s just evidence that sometimes people are lazy and don’t want to actually try to get voters to register, so they sit down somewhere and fill out the forms themselves. Since no one was actually going to vote, it doesn’t actually do anything. It may have inflated voter rolls, but not actual votes.
This new event, on the other hand, is horrible. And not just because these people believed some guy who looks like a Halloween version of a pimp, but because this is actual abuse, and is actually illegal. And the reason I know that, is evidence. This isn’t unsubstantiated rumors. This isn’t hearsay. This isn’t suspicion, this is evidence.
This is what’s lacking from every other criticism of Obama and Democrats in general. There are actual parts of the Health Care bill that deserve criticism. And the new Baucus plan is getting plenty of that. We can debate whether having everyone covered would reduce costs, since Hospitals would be paid for almost every procedure that is done. Costs would be reduced because records would be online, and centralized. We can argue those points, but no one is.
Evidence, facts, support of your position: that’s all we liberals are asking you to give us to convince us that you’re right or that we’re wrong. Or at least to get us to consider your side, if not agree with you. So the thing we can learn from ACORN, is that if you want to convince me, you better bring evidence.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Rebuttal to Rebuttal
I loved Obama’s speech, but then again, I love Obama. So no surprise there. So to the fun part: The Republican Rebuttal
The rebuttal was obviously written before the speech was ever given, or Representative Boustany wouldn’t have started out with the lie (which Obama refuted in the first few minutes of HIS speech) that you will have to give up your healthcare and switch to a government program. Or, maybe I’m naïve and he would have said that anyway. Heck, if you listened to Obama’s speech you’d see that Lord …uhm…Rep. Boustany essentially wanted the same things Obama did, including “let[ting] families and businesses buy insurance across state lines”. That’s funny, that sounds a lot like the Health Exchange the bill proposes.
Before I started rebutted the Republican Health Care proposals I had to find them. Last night when I tried to go to healthcare.gop.gov it said “invalid host name”. It was as if even the internet knew that GOP and healthcare don’t mix. It’s now working, just not immediately after the speech.
I did eventually find the “common sense” reforms that some Republicans were offering, but it still seems that there is a disconnect between Republicans and the American people. I read through Roy Blunt’s suggestions (His was the first listed, but I’ll read through the others later, if for no other reason than to rip them apart like I’m about to rip Blunt’s), and it seems Republicans think that the Americans have the money to buy coverage right now, they just aren’t incentivized to do so. One of Blunt’s proposals:
“ Brings greater fairness to the tax code by extending tax savings to those who currently do not have employer-provided insurance but purchase health insurance on their own. This provision would provide an “above the line” deduction that is equal to the cost of an individual’s or family’s insurance premiums.
• Provides immediate substantial financial assistance, through new refundable and advanceable tax credits, to low- and modest-income Americans”
Alright, so I dish out (based on the cheapest individual plan I found so far) $150 a month and in April I’ll get that money back. Wait, no I won’t!
This is one of those ways that Republican’s always make things sound good. It’s a tax savings, woo hoo! However, this isn’t really money back. (or as I’m about to show much savings)
Let me explain. When you do your taxes, all the money that is withheld from your paycheck is considered your total payments.
After you adjust your income, you use a tax table to determine what the tax you owe is.
If your payments are greater than your liability, you get a refund, if not you owe. Based on Blunt’s plan, you reduce your Adjusted Gross Income, dropping you into a lower tax bracket so you get a bigger refund.
Let’s see how this works out for a single female with an adjusted gross income, before Blunt’s tax credit, of 30K. The taxes she owes are: 4108.75 (based on last year’s totals), she had withheld from her paycheck $4476 (using my totals from 2002, which is when my AGI was around 30K) so she gets a refund of $367.25.
Now with the Tax savings from Republican plan: (let’s let her pay my premium for a year, $1800) so we adjust her gross income by this amount. $28,200. Tax she owes: $3838.75. Refund: 637.25 a difference of $270. WOW! Sign me up. I’ll gladly pay $1800/year for an extra $270 on April 15th. Who wouldn’t? Oh, yeah…everyone. The above the line tax credit would get NO ONE to sign up. Thanks Roy Blunt, congressman from Missouri, you did absolutely nothing to solve the uninsured problem.
Though I will say that the second part might help as a “refundable& advanceable” tax credit would be like the Earned Income Credit which might actually help you afford coverage, depending, of course, on how they define “low- and modest-income Americans”. No confusion on the Democratic plan on who they’ll help: HR3200 says it will offer credits to people up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. (which means if you’re making 3x the FPL you get assistance: A family of 4 making $66,000/yr would get help.)
I encourage you to read Blunt’s proposal. It has many other items it claims will reduce costs or help people, but in actuality it won’t. Quick examples:
1. incentives to use health savings accounts
2. “Encourages (not mandates, which means, “we’re not going to force you, you do it if you want”) states to create a Universal Access Program by establishing and/or reforming existing programs to guarantee all Americans, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illnesses, have access to affordable coverage. (short version: Encourages nothing)
3. Promotes prevention and wellness by giving employers and insurers greater flexibility to financially reward employees who seek to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, and manage chronic illnesses like diabetes. (Now I can legally give that hot blond a raise, instead of that fat dude)
4. Encourages the creation of health plan finders to provide patients with the tools to easily find the right health plan that best meets their needs. (Encourages again, you know I can encourage my dog to pee outside all I want, if I don’t take him outside, he’s going to pee on the carpet.)
5. Makes health care more convenient by eliminating bureaucratic red tape to expand access to Community Health Centers that are so critical to underserved areas, both in large cities and in rural America. (I can go to that Health Center, where the doctor charges me $80 upfront to tell me there’s nothing wrong, and I waited 2 hours to see, As opposed to a $25 co-pay to see a traditional doctor with insurance. Thank you Republican party.)
What all this shows me is that the Republican party has a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem, and what the average American needs. The Democratic plan would solve the problems of the affordability and coverage, the Republican plans won’t. Especially when the Democratic plan mandates that large Employers like Walmart (the largest employer of people in the US would have to offer affordable health insurance to their employees. That’s a lot of low-income workers getting coverage for the first time. The Democratic plan also sets limits on how high a premium can be, what better way is there to control costs than that!
I hope the speech at least rallys the Democrats if nothing else. We only need 51 votes in the Senate to pass the bill, we need 60 to stop a fillibuster. Hopefully the Blue Dog Democrats will at least prevent the fillibuster, and allow the majority to rule. At least that’s my hope.
jr.
The rebuttal was obviously written before the speech was ever given, or Representative Boustany wouldn’t have started out with the lie (which Obama refuted in the first few minutes of HIS speech) that you will have to give up your healthcare and switch to a government program. Or, maybe I’m naïve and he would have said that anyway. Heck, if you listened to Obama’s speech you’d see that Lord …uhm…Rep. Boustany essentially wanted the same things Obama did, including “let[ting] families and businesses buy insurance across state lines”. That’s funny, that sounds a lot like the Health Exchange the bill proposes.
Before I started rebutted the Republican Health Care proposals I had to find them. Last night when I tried to go to healthcare.gop.gov it said “invalid host name”. It was as if even the internet knew that GOP and healthcare don’t mix. It’s now working, just not immediately after the speech.
I did eventually find the “common sense” reforms that some Republicans were offering, but it still seems that there is a disconnect between Republicans and the American people. I read through Roy Blunt’s suggestions (His was the first listed, but I’ll read through the others later, if for no other reason than to rip them apart like I’m about to rip Blunt’s), and it seems Republicans think that the Americans have the money to buy coverage right now, they just aren’t incentivized to do so. One of Blunt’s proposals:
“ Brings greater fairness to the tax code by extending tax savings to those who currently do not have employer-provided insurance but purchase health insurance on their own. This provision would provide an “above the line” deduction that is equal to the cost of an individual’s or family’s insurance premiums.
• Provides immediate substantial financial assistance, through new refundable and advanceable tax credits, to low- and modest-income Americans”
Alright, so I dish out (based on the cheapest individual plan I found so far) $150 a month and in April I’ll get that money back. Wait, no I won’t!
This is one of those ways that Republican’s always make things sound good. It’s a tax savings, woo hoo! However, this isn’t really money back. (or as I’m about to show much savings)
Let me explain. When you do your taxes, all the money that is withheld from your paycheck is considered your total payments.
After you adjust your income, you use a tax table to determine what the tax you owe is.
If your payments are greater than your liability, you get a refund, if not you owe. Based on Blunt’s plan, you reduce your Adjusted Gross Income, dropping you into a lower tax bracket so you get a bigger refund.
Let’s see how this works out for a single female with an adjusted gross income, before Blunt’s tax credit, of 30K. The taxes she owes are: 4108.75 (based on last year’s totals), she had withheld from her paycheck $4476 (using my totals from 2002, which is when my AGI was around 30K) so she gets a refund of $367.25.
Now with the Tax savings from Republican plan: (let’s let her pay my premium for a year, $1800) so we adjust her gross income by this amount. $28,200. Tax she owes: $3838.75. Refund: 637.25 a difference of $270. WOW! Sign me up. I’ll gladly pay $1800/year for an extra $270 on April 15th. Who wouldn’t? Oh, yeah…everyone. The above the line tax credit would get NO ONE to sign up. Thanks Roy Blunt, congressman from Missouri, you did absolutely nothing to solve the uninsured problem.
Though I will say that the second part might help as a “refundable& advanceable” tax credit would be like the Earned Income Credit which might actually help you afford coverage, depending, of course, on how they define “low- and modest-income Americans”. No confusion on the Democratic plan on who they’ll help: HR3200 says it will offer credits to people up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. (which means if you’re making 3x the FPL you get assistance: A family of 4 making $66,000/yr would get help.)
I encourage you to read Blunt’s proposal. It has many other items it claims will reduce costs or help people, but in actuality it won’t. Quick examples:
1. incentives to use health savings accounts
2. “Encourages (not mandates, which means, “we’re not going to force you, you do it if you want”) states to create a Universal Access Program by establishing and/or reforming existing programs to guarantee all Americans, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illnesses, have access to affordable coverage. (short version: Encourages nothing)
3. Promotes prevention and wellness by giving employers and insurers greater flexibility to financially reward employees who seek to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, and manage chronic illnesses like diabetes. (Now I can legally give that hot blond a raise, instead of that fat dude)
4. Encourages the creation of health plan finders to provide patients with the tools to easily find the right health plan that best meets their needs. (Encourages again, you know I can encourage my dog to pee outside all I want, if I don’t take him outside, he’s going to pee on the carpet.)
5. Makes health care more convenient by eliminating bureaucratic red tape to expand access to Community Health Centers that are so critical to underserved areas, both in large cities and in rural America. (I can go to that Health Center, where the doctor charges me $80 upfront to tell me there’s nothing wrong, and I waited 2 hours to see, As opposed to a $25 co-pay to see a traditional doctor with insurance. Thank you Republican party.)
What all this shows me is that the Republican party has a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem, and what the average American needs. The Democratic plan would solve the problems of the affordability and coverage, the Republican plans won’t. Especially when the Democratic plan mandates that large Employers like Walmart (the largest employer of people in the US would have to offer affordable health insurance to their employees. That’s a lot of low-income workers getting coverage for the first time. The Democratic plan also sets limits on how high a premium can be, what better way is there to control costs than that!
I hope the speech at least rallys the Democrats if nothing else. We only need 51 votes in the Senate to pass the bill, we need 60 to stop a fillibuster. Hopefully the Blue Dog Democrats will at least prevent the fillibuster, and allow the majority to rule. At least that’s my hope.
jr.
Monday, August 31, 2009
An email forward
I get email forwards from friends who like to keep me on my toes, politically. And I enjoy responding to them. It's been a while since I blogged here, so I thought I'd share one. Enjoy
[note: their comments are in regular script, mine like this sorry it's a bit long]
A couple definitions (provided) by dictionary.com.
Democracy: government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
Socialism: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
Facism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
Stalinism: the principles of communism associated with Joseph Stalin, characterized esp. by the extreme suppression of dissident political or ideological views, the concentration of power in one person, and an aggressive international policy.
This is A Time For Courage
April 15, 2009
Ladies and gentlemen, This is a Time For Courage.
We are gathered here today on the Plains of West Texas in common purpose. We are here to remind our government that this is our country. We the People are still in charge, and our government is still our servant and not our master. This is a great point, but which “people” do you mean? If our country was made up of only 100 people, not all of them would agree on most courses of action. So our government is set up by majority rule, but only kind of. I’ll get more into that later. But for now we’ve got 100 people who want different things, so how do we decide on a course of action? We let the majority decide. If the people breakdown like this 40% , 20%, 10%, and everyone else is less than 5% what would you do? Majority rules. The difference is that 52% of the country voted for Obama, and 52% support having the govt. create a health care plan to compete with private insurance compared with 46% who oppose. (and because I want you to find this info for yourself.)If that was the vote, what would you do? Let’s make it simpler. If you wanted pizza, but the other 4 members of you family wanted burgers, do you get pizza? That is democracy.
Our Nation's founding document is The Declaration of Independence.It tells us that our rights come from God and not from a small group of Elite men and women. (this is just snark, but the Declaration was written by a “small group of Elite men and” NO “women”)
Our Constitution starts with the words "We the People." Our Constitution was written for ordinary Americans like you and me. Our Constitution protects us from our government and from the politicians. The constitution also protects us from ourselves. Earlier when I said our government is set up by majority rule, but only kind of, this is what I was referring to. Our constitution sets up a series of checks and balances, not only on the different branches, but on us the American people as well. That’s why the House of Representatives is apportioned the way it is, to act as a check on public passions. Read the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers again, or for once even, to check if I’m right.
Our President has complained that our Constitution gives ordinary people too much protection. He has ridiculed us for the high value we place on our Bibles, our guns, our personal property, and our Liberty .He tells us we do not deserve to keep the money we have earned. If you show me where he actually said this, I’ll concede the argument. I will happily vote against him in the next election.
We are told freedom has not worked. By whom? Personal responsibility, free enterprise, and Liberty have not been effective. Once again, by whom? Our government will now make more of our decisions for us. I assume you mean your individual decisions, because otherwise you don’t understand what a government is for.
Other than our military, I can think of not one government agency I have ever found to be helpful. I hope your post office remembers that next time you mail a letter. Not to mention the Hwys that you drive on, or the park you take your kids to. And speaking of our military, how about those Navy Seals blowing the heads off those three terrorist pirates? Don't you just wish our entire government would function with such efficiency, professionalism, and courage? Funny, that was the Obama administration. The previous Administration couldn’t catch the mastermind behind 9/11. Not to mention the current administration organized the release of two journalist held hostage in Korea.
We watch in disbelief as our beloved United States is weakened economically, militarily, and morally by a Radical President and his eager accomplices. He’s only been if office a little over 200 days. You can’t blame the weakened our economy (bush tax cuts), military (stretched thin by Iraq and Afghan wars) or morals (spied on it’s own citizens, tortured prisoners, held prisoners with no evidence) on the current president.
What has taken generations to build is systematically destroyed and replaced with the same Socialist Evil that brought poverty, destruction, and despair to untold hundreds of millions. Actually, Communism & Fascism brought those things about. Dictators keeping all the weatlth for themselves. There aren’t really many actual “Socialist” countries around, and most of those are troubled because they are recent democracies. Most are socialist/capitalist (socialist public plans/private businesses) amalgams and they are doing just fine, and have better living standards than we do. Think France, UK, Sweden & Norway.
The problems we face today have occurred because we have not defended our Nation from Socialism. For too long we have allowed the wrong people to make the worst possible decisions. I have to say this sentence would have a lot more evidence if you replaced Socialism with unrestricted Capitalism. You see our country needs Capitalism. It’s how innovation is brought about, it’s how we find new cures and new technology. However, profit motive in areas that effect Human living standards (ie. Housing, healthcare) lead to people making “the worst possible decisions”. Walmart suing Deborah Shank for reimbursement on her medical expenses (which they dropped – story here), or insurance companies dropping coverage from people once they get sick (see Rep Barton, Republican from Texas, discussing this). The truth is capitalism is one of the reasons slavery was around for so long, and the reason there used to be 80 hour work weeks, children working in factories & no minimum wage. Sometimes you have to force businesses to do the “right thing”.
The Bible warns us of class hatred. The Radical leadership of our government daily fans the evil flames of class envy. The bible does not explicitly warn of “class hatred”, but I could be wrong and look forward to seeing the verses that state such. The bible mostly speaks of a classless society, when it’s not preaching that the lower classes are the best and most righteous. The Sermon on the mount Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek/for they shall inherit the earth. That was too obvious, & easy, how about this from Deuteronomy 15:7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. That’s what we’re trying to do.
Our European and Canadian friends beg us to not make the same Socialist mistakes they did. This is simply not true. Even opponents of the British system would rather have it, than nothing at all. (here’s an article from the UK (which was a response to Investors business daily attack on British Healthcare)
The President of the European Union warned our President that his Socialist economic plans are taking the World down the "road to Hell." He did use the words, “road to hell” but he was referring to much more than “socialist economic plans” here’s an excerpt from a CBS article on the subject:
Topolanek, who will remain EU president until a new Czech government is established, bluntly said that "the United States did not take the right path.".
He slammed the U.S.' widening budget deficit and protectionist trade measures - such as the "Buy America" policies included in the stimulus bill, although Obama has said he opposes protectionism in principle.
Topolanek said that "all of these steps, these combinations and permanency is the road to hell."
"We need to read the history books and the lessons of history and the biggest success of the (EU) is the refusal to go this way," he said.
"Americans will need liquidity to finance all their measures and they will balance this with the sale of their bonds but this will undermine the liquidity of the global financial market," said Topolanek.
Article here
The path to power for Socialists includes taking God and guns from the citizens. Without spiritual and physical protection, people cannot defend themselves and their Liberty . They soon become slaves. This isn’t really true, and the slave thing is overly hyperbolic. Norway has a large hunting population and they have socialist programs (universal health care, fully funded higher education, etc), the UK has strict laws governing guns, but you can still own one and join a gun club so you can say it’s for sport (much the way Americans claim an AR-15 is for hunting).
We are angered that our President apologizes for the exceptionalism and heroism of the United States of America . We are deeply troubled that he told others the United States is not a Christian nation. Never did the first part, the second part was in reference to the fact that our country has people of many faiths (catholic, protestant, jew, muslim, etc). We were founded on Religious freedom, the Protestants came here in the 1600s to flee religious persecution, that’s why we have so many faiths.
We are angered that we have been called cowards and racists because we oppose Socialism. Socialism is not racial. Socialism is an equal opportunity destroyer. You were not called cowards and racists because you oppose socialism, you were called that because (many elements of your side) use racial slurs when describing the President.
We are angered that a recent Department of Homeland Security report has singled out our military men and women who are returning home as being radical threats. Not true, the report said that “returning veterans are targets of right-wing extremist groups that are trying to recruit those to commit violent acts within the country.” (fox news) [note: I try to use fox news links when possible, as most people who subscribe to these views trust this source]
The report also characterizes you and me as right-wing extremists and radicals because we favor smaller government and lower taxes. Once again, misrepresenting the truth. The report is about militia and anti-government groups who advocate violence. Lest we forget, before the bombing of the WTC, the last major act of terrorism on our shores was by two radical right-wingers Terry Nichols and Tim McVeigh. This is what Homeland Security wants to prevent.
You and I are average citizens who believe just like most of our fellow Americans. We want our government to leave us alone and to keep its hands off our money, our religion, our guns, our private property, and our lives. This, and the following statements, sort of contradict basic tenents of Republican ideology. Democrats generally pass tax cuts for the middle class while increasing the tax burden (raising taxes if you will) on corporations and people making over 250k a year. Republicans generally try to give preferential treatment to certain religions, while Democrats try to keep religion separate from politics. No one cares about your guns right now, though it is true Democrats generally want stricter gun control, but for the most part we’re content to just keep full auto weapons illegal. Both sides disrespect private property. Republicans are probably a little worse about this, because they generally side with business rights. Not to mention, the border fence. If the border fence was actually put forth, the government would have to seize a lot of private property near the border and make it federal land. (article here)
We demand that our government stop spending money it does not have. Where were you guys during the Iraq war?
Stop confiscating our money and private property. See border fence above.
Stop printing money. Uhh…OK? (snarky, sorry)
Stop subsidizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the other failed financial institutions and companies. You do realize that with the tax breaks we give big corporations we essentially subsidize oil, phone, cable, airlines, telecom, etc, right?
Mr. President, stop appointing tax cheats to positions of power and influence. Were you asleep during the Bush presidency? Two of the people Bush wanted to appoint had to drop out because they were paying illegals as housekeepers and not paying taxes on it, Linda Chavez & Bernard Kerik (who was a police commisioner by the way).
Or how about Michael Brown, head of FEMA whose previous experience was with “the International Arabian Horse Association, (IAHA), from 1989-2001. After numerous lawsuits were filed against the organization over disciplinary actions, Brown was forced to resign.”
Mr. President, secure our borders. Exodus 23:9 Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.
Mr. President, do not divert money from our missile defense, F-22 Raptors, and other vital military equipment. This gives encouragement, aid, and comfort to our enemies. Protecting us is your number one job. The missle defense system has only worked once and it will still cost $49 billion more, but the last attack we had was from guys with box cutters who used our own planes against us. Most of the countries that have the capability of launching an attack against us are our allies, with China and Russia being our most iffy allies. And even then the missile defense system was only successful against a static attack, China and Russia have sub based nukes, which means the Missle Defense System wouldn’t even have time to track it before it hit us.
The F22 Raptor is one of the coolest planes we’ve ever built but it’s never seen combat, we have several already made, and the program has already cost $65 Billion. Even without the F22 our only true match in air warfare is Britain. That’s because most other nations have our old fighter planes. If any nation wanted to get into a dog fight, even without the F22 we’d still wipe the floor (sky?) with them.
And by the way, even scrapping the F22 program, Obama still increased defense spending. And he intends to increase the size of the army and marines. So I don’t know what the problem is.
Mr. President, do not give voting rights to millions of illegal aliens and felons. You have no more right to create new voters for your benefit than you do to use our money to buy the 2010 and 2012 Elections. I’ve tried not calling anything a lie, but this is an outright lie. This is unsubtantiated fear mongering pure and simple. I welcome seeing any news report or statement from the White House that proposes this.
We gather peacefully here today because there is a growing concern for what our government is doing to us and to our future. We fear for the very survival of our Republic. This is more fear mongering. The Republic is strong and has survived a Civil War, you mean to tell me that passing Health Care or raising taxes on the upper 1% is going to destroy it. We survived two major contested elections (read about the election of Thomas Jefferson, seriously). We survived the corrupt Grant administration. We’re a strong nation, perhaps you should look up our history a little. French-Indian wars, Civil War, Slavery, 2 World Wars, Depression, Cuban Missle Crisis, Cold War, etc, we’re still here.
Yet there is much to make us hopeful and to fill our hearts with optimism and courage. This is still our country! It still is your country, it’s just that 52% of it doesn’t agree with you.
The Constitution of the Unites States belongs to We the People. Our Constitution still protects us from our government. Call every possible elected official, including our President, Vice President, and the Speaker of the House.Demand that they stop stealing our money and giving it to ACORN and their other political supporters in order to buy votes.
Call Senators Cornyn and Hutchison, and Representative Neugebauer. Thank them. Urge them to do much more. Remind them now is a time for action and not for campaigning.
Volunteer to work on our 2010 Census. Confront ACORN. Keep our Census honest... We must not allow our President to take control of our Census for his political advantage.
We must replace as much of our Far Left Congress as possible in 2010. Get involved... Do not let the ACORN control our 2010 Election. This just preys upon the ignorance of people as to what ACORN actually is and what they did. But I will agree, if you can you should volunteer to work for the Census.
Talk with someone every day who does not understand our nation's history and our great heritage. Tell them why the United States is a good and prosperous nation. It still remains that brightly lit city on the hill. It still is the best hope for all mankind. (DON’T BE SNARKY) You don’t seem to understand the nation’s history or heritage, so I’m responding to you. (OK THAT WAS SNARKY) The United States is a good and prosperous nation because we allow multiple views to exist and we allow people the freedom to express those views. We have a representative democracy that may not please everyone, but it does what the MAJORITY of people want while attempting to protect the rights of the MINORITY.
Talk with all of the young people you can find. They are our future. Many do not understand what they have and that their future is being destroyed. You know, this rhetoric has been around for over a century now and no one’s future has ever been destroyed. Why would you assume you’re right now. Social Security didn’t bring about the end of our country, neither did Medicare or Medicaid, nor did integration of our schools or military. Letting women vote wasn’t the end of the world. Electing JFK, didn’t hand our country over to the Pope. Rock & Roll and Rap didn’t destroy us. For that matter, Movies did not eliminate the Theatre, nor television eliminate movies. The thing most people should understand, and our children should understand, is that anytime anyone says anything is going to “destroy/ruin/kill” something, they’re usually wrong.
Encourage your elected State officials to pass legislation that will protect us from our Federal government. This is a time for strong peaceful action. Let us pray that We the People can quickly return our government to its Constitutional responsibilities.Our President and Congress were elected to be our servants and not our masters. Once again your President and Congress were elected to be your REPRESENTATIVES, to make decisions in your stead. Remember the 100 people example at the beginning. (I know it’s been a while.)
May God help our President and Congress to quickly realize the error of their ways and stop their reckless and unwarranted spending, cut our taxes, and reduce the size of our Federal bureaucracy. One last reminder that it was Bush who engaged in unwarranted and reckless spending and increased the size of our federal government, and only cut taxes for the upper 1% and for corporations.
If they do not, may God grant us the courage and determination to vote them out of power next year. Good luck with that. That’s how America works.
May God richly bless and protect each of you, and our Constitution, as together we pursue Liberty !
Delivered at the Lubbock , Texas , TEA Party by Dr. Donald May No it wasn’t it was delivered in Conroe, TX outside of Houston
Watch him here:
Part 1:
Part 2
This should be on the front page of every newspaper in the USA instead of being swept under the rug and kept off the news broadcasts. Our news media sucks, plain and simple. They are not "reporting the news,"-- they are telling us what THEY want us to hear and that is not reporting the news. One more step toward Socialism. Let's keep this going so everyone will know the truth.
WOW I even have to argue against the tag line at the bottom. This isn’t on the front page of every newspaper because…who the fuck is Donald May? They wouldn’t put my speech on the front page of a paper, why would they put this guy’s? Though I do agree the media sucks, but for the opposite reason you do. The problem is they are just “reporting the news”, allowing two sides equal weight, even though sometimes one side lies. And that goes both ways: Democrat and Republican.
This is, of course, when the media isn’t obsessed with Octomoms or former child stars turning into adults.
Anyway, I look forward to evidence from the other side.
[note: their comments are in regular script, mine like this sorry it's a bit long]
A couple definitions (provided) by dictionary.com.
Democracy: government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
Socialism: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
Facism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
Stalinism: the principles of communism associated with Joseph Stalin, characterized esp. by the extreme suppression of dissident political or ideological views, the concentration of power in one person, and an aggressive international policy.
This is A Time For Courage
April 15, 2009
Ladies and gentlemen, This is a Time For Courage.
We are gathered here today on the Plains of West Texas in common purpose. We are here to remind our government that this is our country. We the People are still in charge, and our government is still our servant and not our master. This is a great point, but which “people” do you mean? If our country was made up of only 100 people, not all of them would agree on most courses of action. So our government is set up by majority rule, but only kind of. I’ll get more into that later. But for now we’ve got 100 people who want different things, so how do we decide on a course of action? We let the majority decide. If the people breakdown like this 40% , 20%, 10%, and everyone else is less than 5% what would you do? Majority rules. The difference is that 52% of the country voted for Obama, and 52% support having the govt. create a health care plan to compete with private insurance compared with 46% who oppose. (and because I want you to find this info for yourself.)If that was the vote, what would you do? Let’s make it simpler. If you wanted pizza, but the other 4 members of you family wanted burgers, do you get pizza? That is democracy.
Our Nation's founding document is The Declaration of Independence.It tells us that our rights come from God and not from a small group of Elite men and women. (this is just snark, but the Declaration was written by a “small group of Elite men and” NO “women”)
Our Constitution starts with the words "We the People." Our Constitution was written for ordinary Americans like you and me. Our Constitution protects us from our government and from the politicians. The constitution also protects us from ourselves. Earlier when I said our government is set up by majority rule, but only kind of, this is what I was referring to. Our constitution sets up a series of checks and balances, not only on the different branches, but on us the American people as well. That’s why the House of Representatives is apportioned the way it is, to act as a check on public passions. Read the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers again, or for once even, to check if I’m right.
Our President has complained that our Constitution gives ordinary people too much protection. He has ridiculed us for the high value we place on our Bibles, our guns, our personal property, and our Liberty .He tells us we do not deserve to keep the money we have earned. If you show me where he actually said this, I’ll concede the argument. I will happily vote against him in the next election.
We are told freedom has not worked. By whom? Personal responsibility, free enterprise, and Liberty have not been effective. Once again, by whom? Our government will now make more of our decisions for us. I assume you mean your individual decisions, because otherwise you don’t understand what a government is for.
Other than our military, I can think of not one government agency I have ever found to be helpful. I hope your post office remembers that next time you mail a letter. Not to mention the Hwys that you drive on, or the park you take your kids to. And speaking of our military, how about those Navy Seals blowing the heads off those three terrorist pirates? Don't you just wish our entire government would function with such efficiency, professionalism, and courage? Funny, that was the Obama administration. The previous Administration couldn’t catch the mastermind behind 9/11. Not to mention the current administration organized the release of two journalist held hostage in Korea.
We watch in disbelief as our beloved United States is weakened economically, militarily, and morally by a Radical President and his eager accomplices. He’s only been if office a little over 200 days. You can’t blame the weakened our economy (bush tax cuts), military (stretched thin by Iraq and Afghan wars) or morals (spied on it’s own citizens, tortured prisoners, held prisoners with no evidence) on the current president.
What has taken generations to build is systematically destroyed and replaced with the same Socialist Evil that brought poverty, destruction, and despair to untold hundreds of millions. Actually, Communism & Fascism brought those things about. Dictators keeping all the weatlth for themselves. There aren’t really many actual “Socialist” countries around, and most of those are troubled because they are recent democracies. Most are socialist/capitalist (socialist public plans/private businesses) amalgams and they are doing just fine, and have better living standards than we do. Think France, UK, Sweden & Norway.
The problems we face today have occurred because we have not defended our Nation from Socialism. For too long we have allowed the wrong people to make the worst possible decisions. I have to say this sentence would have a lot more evidence if you replaced Socialism with unrestricted Capitalism. You see our country needs Capitalism. It’s how innovation is brought about, it’s how we find new cures and new technology. However, profit motive in areas that effect Human living standards (ie. Housing, healthcare) lead to people making “the worst possible decisions”. Walmart suing Deborah Shank for reimbursement on her medical expenses (which they dropped – story here), or insurance companies dropping coverage from people once they get sick (see Rep Barton, Republican from Texas, discussing this). The truth is capitalism is one of the reasons slavery was around for so long, and the reason there used to be 80 hour work weeks, children working in factories & no minimum wage. Sometimes you have to force businesses to do the “right thing”.
The Bible warns us of class hatred. The Radical leadership of our government daily fans the evil flames of class envy. The bible does not explicitly warn of “class hatred”, but I could be wrong and look forward to seeing the verses that state such. The bible mostly speaks of a classless society, when it’s not preaching that the lower classes are the best and most righteous. The Sermon on the mount Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek/for they shall inherit the earth. That was too obvious, & easy, how about this from Deuteronomy 15:7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. That’s what we’re trying to do.
Our European and Canadian friends beg us to not make the same Socialist mistakes they did. This is simply not true. Even opponents of the British system would rather have it, than nothing at all. (here’s an article from the UK (which was a response to Investors business daily attack on British Healthcare)
The President of the European Union warned our President that his Socialist economic plans are taking the World down the "road to Hell." He did use the words, “road to hell” but he was referring to much more than “socialist economic plans” here’s an excerpt from a CBS article on the subject:
Topolanek, who will remain EU president until a new Czech government is established, bluntly said that "the United States did not take the right path.".
He slammed the U.S.' widening budget deficit and protectionist trade measures - such as the "Buy America" policies included in the stimulus bill, although Obama has said he opposes protectionism in principle.
Topolanek said that "all of these steps, these combinations and permanency is the road to hell."
"We need to read the history books and the lessons of history and the biggest success of the (EU) is the refusal to go this way," he said.
"Americans will need liquidity to finance all their measures and they will balance this with the sale of their bonds but this will undermine the liquidity of the global financial market," said Topolanek.
Article here
The path to power for Socialists includes taking God and guns from the citizens. Without spiritual and physical protection, people cannot defend themselves and their Liberty . They soon become slaves. This isn’t really true, and the slave thing is overly hyperbolic. Norway has a large hunting population and they have socialist programs (universal health care, fully funded higher education, etc), the UK has strict laws governing guns, but you can still own one and join a gun club so you can say it’s for sport (much the way Americans claim an AR-15 is for hunting).
We are angered that our President apologizes for the exceptionalism and heroism of the United States of America . We are deeply troubled that he told others the United States is not a Christian nation. Never did the first part, the second part was in reference to the fact that our country has people of many faiths (catholic, protestant, jew, muslim, etc). We were founded on Religious freedom, the Protestants came here in the 1600s to flee religious persecution, that’s why we have so many faiths.
We are angered that we have been called cowards and racists because we oppose Socialism. Socialism is not racial. Socialism is an equal opportunity destroyer. You were not called cowards and racists because you oppose socialism, you were called that because (many elements of your side) use racial slurs when describing the President.
We are angered that a recent Department of Homeland Security report has singled out our military men and women who are returning home as being radical threats. Not true, the report said that “returning veterans are targets of right-wing extremist groups that are trying to recruit those to commit violent acts within the country.” (fox news) [note: I try to use fox news links when possible, as most people who subscribe to these views trust this source]
The report also characterizes you and me as right-wing extremists and radicals because we favor smaller government and lower taxes. Once again, misrepresenting the truth. The report is about militia and anti-government groups who advocate violence. Lest we forget, before the bombing of the WTC, the last major act of terrorism on our shores was by two radical right-wingers Terry Nichols and Tim McVeigh. This is what Homeland Security wants to prevent.
You and I are average citizens who believe just like most of our fellow Americans. We want our government to leave us alone and to keep its hands off our money, our religion, our guns, our private property, and our lives. This, and the following statements, sort of contradict basic tenents of Republican ideology. Democrats generally pass tax cuts for the middle class while increasing the tax burden (raising taxes if you will) on corporations and people making over 250k a year. Republicans generally try to give preferential treatment to certain religions, while Democrats try to keep religion separate from politics. No one cares about your guns right now, though it is true Democrats generally want stricter gun control, but for the most part we’re content to just keep full auto weapons illegal. Both sides disrespect private property. Republicans are probably a little worse about this, because they generally side with business rights. Not to mention, the border fence. If the border fence was actually put forth, the government would have to seize a lot of private property near the border and make it federal land. (article here)
We demand that our government stop spending money it does not have. Where were you guys during the Iraq war?
Stop confiscating our money and private property. See border fence above.
Stop printing money. Uhh…OK? (snarky, sorry)
Stop subsidizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the other failed financial institutions and companies. You do realize that with the tax breaks we give big corporations we essentially subsidize oil, phone, cable, airlines, telecom, etc, right?
Mr. President, stop appointing tax cheats to positions of power and influence. Were you asleep during the Bush presidency? Two of the people Bush wanted to appoint had to drop out because they were paying illegals as housekeepers and not paying taxes on it, Linda Chavez & Bernard Kerik (who was a police commisioner by the way).
Or how about Michael Brown, head of FEMA whose previous experience was with “the International Arabian Horse Association, (IAHA), from 1989-2001. After numerous lawsuits were filed against the organization over disciplinary actions, Brown was forced to resign.”
Mr. President, secure our borders. Exodus 23:9 Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.
Mr. President, do not divert money from our missile defense, F-22 Raptors, and other vital military equipment. This gives encouragement, aid, and comfort to our enemies. Protecting us is your number one job. The missle defense system has only worked once and it will still cost $49 billion more, but the last attack we had was from guys with box cutters who used our own planes against us. Most of the countries that have the capability of launching an attack against us are our allies, with China and Russia being our most iffy allies. And even then the missile defense system was only successful against a static attack, China and Russia have sub based nukes, which means the Missle Defense System wouldn’t even have time to track it before it hit us.
The F22 Raptor is one of the coolest planes we’ve ever built but it’s never seen combat, we have several already made, and the program has already cost $65 Billion. Even without the F22 our only true match in air warfare is Britain. That’s because most other nations have our old fighter planes. If any nation wanted to get into a dog fight, even without the F22 we’d still wipe the floor (sky?) with them.
And by the way, even scrapping the F22 program, Obama still increased defense spending. And he intends to increase the size of the army and marines. So I don’t know what the problem is.
Mr. President, do not give voting rights to millions of illegal aliens and felons. You have no more right to create new voters for your benefit than you do to use our money to buy the 2010 and 2012 Elections. I’ve tried not calling anything a lie, but this is an outright lie. This is unsubtantiated fear mongering pure and simple. I welcome seeing any news report or statement from the White House that proposes this.
We gather peacefully here today because there is a growing concern for what our government is doing to us and to our future. We fear for the very survival of our Republic. This is more fear mongering. The Republic is strong and has survived a Civil War, you mean to tell me that passing Health Care or raising taxes on the upper 1% is going to destroy it. We survived two major contested elections (read about the election of Thomas Jefferson, seriously). We survived the corrupt Grant administration. We’re a strong nation, perhaps you should look up our history a little. French-Indian wars, Civil War, Slavery, 2 World Wars, Depression, Cuban Missle Crisis, Cold War, etc, we’re still here.
Yet there is much to make us hopeful and to fill our hearts with optimism and courage. This is still our country! It still is your country, it’s just that 52% of it doesn’t agree with you.
The Constitution of the Unites States belongs to We the People. Our Constitution still protects us from our government. Call every possible elected official, including our President, Vice President, and the Speaker of the House.Demand that they stop stealing our money and giving it to ACORN and their other political supporters in order to buy votes.
Call Senators Cornyn and Hutchison, and Representative Neugebauer. Thank them. Urge them to do much more. Remind them now is a time for action and not for campaigning.
Volunteer to work on our 2010 Census. Confront ACORN. Keep our Census honest... We must not allow our President to take control of our Census for his political advantage.
We must replace as much of our Far Left Congress as possible in 2010. Get involved... Do not let the ACORN control our 2010 Election. This just preys upon the ignorance of people as to what ACORN actually is and what they did. But I will agree, if you can you should volunteer to work for the Census.
Talk with someone every day who does not understand our nation's history and our great heritage. Tell them why the United States is a good and prosperous nation. It still remains that brightly lit city on the hill. It still is the best hope for all mankind. (DON’T BE SNARKY) You don’t seem to understand the nation’s history or heritage, so I’m responding to you. (OK THAT WAS SNARKY) The United States is a good and prosperous nation because we allow multiple views to exist and we allow people the freedom to express those views. We have a representative democracy that may not please everyone, but it does what the MAJORITY of people want while attempting to protect the rights of the MINORITY.
Talk with all of the young people you can find. They are our future. Many do not understand what they have and that their future is being destroyed. You know, this rhetoric has been around for over a century now and no one’s future has ever been destroyed. Why would you assume you’re right now. Social Security didn’t bring about the end of our country, neither did Medicare or Medicaid, nor did integration of our schools or military. Letting women vote wasn’t the end of the world. Electing JFK, didn’t hand our country over to the Pope. Rock & Roll and Rap didn’t destroy us. For that matter, Movies did not eliminate the Theatre, nor television eliminate movies. The thing most people should understand, and our children should understand, is that anytime anyone says anything is going to “destroy/ruin/kill” something, they’re usually wrong.
Encourage your elected State officials to pass legislation that will protect us from our Federal government. This is a time for strong peaceful action. Let us pray that We the People can quickly return our government to its Constitutional responsibilities.Our President and Congress were elected to be our servants and not our masters. Once again your President and Congress were elected to be your REPRESENTATIVES, to make decisions in your stead. Remember the 100 people example at the beginning. (I know it’s been a while.)
May God help our President and Congress to quickly realize the error of their ways and stop their reckless and unwarranted spending, cut our taxes, and reduce the size of our Federal bureaucracy. One last reminder that it was Bush who engaged in unwarranted and reckless spending and increased the size of our federal government, and only cut taxes for the upper 1% and for corporations.
If they do not, may God grant us the courage and determination to vote them out of power next year. Good luck with that. That’s how America works.
May God richly bless and protect each of you, and our Constitution, as together we pursue Liberty !
Delivered at the Lubbock , Texas , TEA Party by Dr. Donald May No it wasn’t it was delivered in Conroe, TX outside of Houston
Watch him here:
Part 1:
Part 2
This should be on the front page of every newspaper in the USA instead of being swept under the rug and kept off the news broadcasts. Our news media sucks, plain and simple. They are not "reporting the news,"-- they are telling us what THEY want us to hear and that is not reporting the news. One more step toward Socialism. Let's keep this going so everyone will know the truth.
WOW I even have to argue against the tag line at the bottom. This isn’t on the front page of every newspaper because…who the fuck is Donald May? They wouldn’t put my speech on the front page of a paper, why would they put this guy’s? Though I do agree the media sucks, but for the opposite reason you do. The problem is they are just “reporting the news”, allowing two sides equal weight, even though sometimes one side lies. And that goes both ways: Democrat and Republican.
This is, of course, when the media isn’t obsessed with Octomoms or former child stars turning into adults.
Anyway, I look forward to evidence from the other side.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)