Barack Obiden – History has been made
As I sit and read or watch black Americans go on about the successful election of OBIDEN I have to pause to think what the totality of it is.
The USA is 70% white which means the chances play out as such. I have seen Oprah, Sherri from “THE VIEW” and a host of other black Americans come across as if blacks now have the same chances in life that whites haven’t had for a long time. That is one of the misconceptions that hits me as funny, being white never put a free pass into my hand, a million dollars in my bank or a brand new car in the driveway. Anything I have achieved in life I have paid for dearly.
Our current president is white. Again OUR current president is white. He never did anything for me or any other white people I know. He is a fuck up as far as I am concerned. He and his administration screwed us all over.
Black Americans act as if they have their own president now because as he is black as well and surely in touch with the African American struggle, something Bush could never know about. Didn’t white Liberals push Political Correctness on us all so that the term African American is meant for blacks in America who were descendants of slaves of the mid 19th century? Didn’t they coin the term – The “N” word?
Barack Obama doesn’t fit that mold. The closest he may have come to slavery was the chance his white family owned them years ago.
My parents were born and raised in Kansas and I lived there for a couple of years. We lived in Libya for three years and my youngest sister was born there making her African American by virtue of where she was born. My siblings and I were raised by people from Kansas. How much in common do I have with OBIDEN? I have lived in Africa, whereas he hasn’t, and I am white. Nothing was ever handed to me on a silver platter on a chance of a prayer.
Whenever a new white president was been voted into office I only cared about his platform and where he stood concerning the future of this country. I don’t really care what the president’s color is – does he make sense and can he do the job? The people I saw at the polls were there to push one button and I doubt they knew the rest of the offices that were on the ballot. I study before I vote so it is no mystery to me. From watching the time the others spend voting I gather they pushed that one button and left.
The folks I have mentioned that have been on TV speak as if apartheid has ended in the USA. I have to wonder if it ever existed in my lifetime. Anyone can run for president and that is a Constitutional right. This time it took somewhat over 10 times the annual salary of the president to run a campaign to do so. If what I read is correct, it was the most expensive campaign in American politics. If you have watched NFL football over the past month you saw campaign ads during every commercial break.
It makes me wonder if politics is going to become as professional sports in this country wherein rich white men end up paying black candidates to campaign for office as they would athletes on a field or court for entertainment.
What happens when we have an Asian or Hispanic man or woman elected into that office? Have the walls of apartheid have fallen enough for that?
I wait to see how OBIDEN can juggle the economy. The bailout was of no service to the American public, can any more payouts be in the plans? We are in the Middle east for a long time, like it or not. I am truly interested in how the kooky tax and energy plans will unfold.
The people who I saw on TV as praising the fact OBIDEN got in are making well over $3M, especially Oprah. I hope she plans on bending over to get shafted as he takes from her as well as every other “rich” American. Then I come to reality and it hits me that he won’t be taking that money from them as they won’t surrender it. They have attorneys for that purpose. Is every “rich” black American anticipating the wallet raping he has planned for them? I doubt it.
We have a little over two months – let the games begin.
The truth about Green Jobs
I have been hearing about “green jobs” for too long and I have no idea WTF a “green job” is.
Is there anyone in the wonderful world who can properly define the term or is it yet another hip and cool sound bite we hear from the lips of the media and politicians because we think we want to?
We pay far too much homage to the bullshit that we hear from the media already and most people I know that mirror that crap have no idea of what they are saying.
Luckily, my best of friends don’t think in that train of thought. We all have formal educations and tend to form our own thoughts and opinions in a different manner than most of what I see about any of the current topics which flash by as quick as pop culture.
I think that is most of the problem with most of America. The media runs data over the people of the world in such high volumes it is no less than sound bites and pop culture.
Some female being photographed sans panties is as important as Brad and Angelina and pushes real news to the back until it comes forth in small bites when there is a pause in the onslaught. Political news should be ground to hamburger fare for the gossip news shows to be reduced to content that is easily understood by those that care about whether Britney or Hannah Montana are clothed or responsible role models. Who gives a shit?
CNN, FOX, HLN and MSNBC have already put OBIDEN in the White House. Anytime I watch them they declare that he has won every debate and converted all red states to blue. I have given up on watching the news because it isn’t “news”. It has become cesspools of whatever agenda the networks have to push.
Let’s turn our eyes to energy and the financial crisis…
America has to look into a mirror and point at itself. Each and every one of us. We are all at fault. That is where the finger points – to the mirror. Don’t believe either of those two running for president when they say it will be alright – they are lying assholes. We are staring depression in the face and inflation is holding it’s hand. Taxes will be in the 40- 50 percentile range within five years if not in two. Someone has to pay for the spending our lawmakers have been reckless with and “someone” always = taxpayers. The bitch is we have a lot to catch up on so we will have to pay a lot to do so.
Look this shit over - http://www.loosechange911.com/blog/
Debt – why do some of you pay over $300 a month for a car? Is it a huge behemoth or a sensible vehicle that gets you and your family around from A to B? If you spend $50 in gas a week you are STUPID. It’s your fault. Get rid of your big pieces of shit and buy a little box. The insurance is cheaper.
Detroit has yet to pull it’s head out of it’s FAT ASS in an attempt in coming close to equaling a Japanese engine that is more efficient than anything you will buy domestically. A Toyota engine will last forever as will a Honda if one maintains it. Will a Ford, Chevy or Dodge engine? ROTFLMFAO!
Yet, they are claiming losses in the millions that the average American citizen cannot. They project revenues they are not meeting and get to take tax losses. How about us? I projected I would earn a million dollars and knew I would never for the year. Can I take a tax cut? Fuck no!
More debt – how many of you dumb asses are carrying around credit cards and owe money on them? WHY? Do you see what kind of shape the US federal government is in? It’s for the same reason. You spend what you don’t have because you want, want, want and spend, spend, spend with no means to pay. Some of you are foreclosing on your mortgages because you agreed to buy a house that was %500 above your means. Yep, you can blame some greedy fuckers for pushing you that way but where were the warning flares that told you not to do so? You keep your cable, satellite and internet and that expensive piece of shit car for some reason. My car is paid for but I need to get rid of pay TV. Why we will need a special receiver for digital next year is but another stroke of illegal night moves we let our elected officials get away with.
Our legislators just passed a trillion dollar band aid for our retarded president – BUSH – to sign into law so the stupid and greedy assholes of this country can be excused of all of their errant ways.
Why do they blame it on Wall street when it is actually the fault of Main street? It’s like SOYLENT GREEN. SOYLENT GREEN is people. The financial crisis is people, not Wall street.
Merchants had better cry poor mouth this Christmas rather than the people of this country going out and buying shit they don’t need and can’t afford. Most would do better to blow off buying Christmas shit for the next couple of years than incurring more debt they can’t afford.
Who sets the price on the barrel of crude oil? Do the oil companies simply make up numbers and tell us what they want just to shaft us or is it really that expensive? I think the oil companies are plainly fucking us over while they rack up record income and profits. Explain that Mr EXXON! Fuck you!
CNG – How many of you are aware of the vast amount of compressed natural gas we have under the soil of this nation? Why doesn’t the US government let Pickens pump that out of the ground so we can use it for energy uses?
Everyone needs electricity, correct? Why not convert every non nuclear or hydraulic power plant to CNG and build pipelines to power them at decreased prices and cleaner emissions?
Here’s one reason – the fucking US government has to put their hands on it and regulate, tax and rubber stamp it all before they figure out a way to fuck us out of the benefits of such a simple plan.
Why can’t we drill for oil in our own country? Because the fucking US federal government – led by the nose by industry and special interest groups – needs to make a buck on it before we can benefit from it.
How in hell did they pass a trillion dollar piece of legislature so quickly?? Someone is out to make a fucking fortune from it just as they do from the $10B a month they send to the illegal war.
Why are we in a war? Is anyone trying to kill Osama fucking Bin Laden? They never had an intention to do so and most of it is a ruse. The attack on Afghanistan was simpletons using their email to send anti Bin Laden crap around and spinning each other up over nothing. The US government probably started half of the stupid propaganda to keep American citizens at fever pitch. Why is Castro or any other evil entity the USA detests still alive? Qaddafi and Arafat were free to come and go forever. Putin is a pain in the ass as is Kim in Korea. Don’t you think we would’ve figured out some way to pop a cap into their asses by now rather than involve our nation in war?
BUT we can’t do that!! We need bad guys to instill fear and terror. Hussein was like a boil on the neocon idiots asses for some reason. Iran is a bad guy we better not fuck with.
As far as “green jobs”. Has anyone ever researched the difference it would make in this country if the USA cultivated HEMP? We used to at one time until prohibition was over and the federal government didn’t like people smoking weed. Hemp is more efficient than corn for use as a bio-fuel and can make more paper than trees. Levis were made from hemp as linen that rivals cotton can be made from it. It can be used as food.
I haven’t even gotten to the medical uses and getting high. Everyone should smoke dope rather than take the pharmaceutical chemicals we ingest everyday for each and every thing your doctor prescribes them for.
Then there is the court systems and prisons filled with people that merely smoke it. You can get 25 years in jail for possession of less than an oz of weed yet be sent away for 8 years for rape or other sexual crimes.
I find that to be rather fucked up.
You want to know the truth about Green Jobs?
Both MCCAIN and OBIDEN will fuck us – believe it folks- things will never change unless a woman becomes president. I am a man and I know this to be true. Who raised and nurtured you? A woman.
Our mothers are women and have never had the opportunity to run the country though they can do everything else. They did the shitwork your father wouldn’t. A mother knows tough love – a mix between liberal and conservative.
The only genuine thing I have seen in the 2008 election free-for-all is the naiveté of SARAH PALIN. Many don’t like her because they never heard of her or don’t like her outer beltway way of thinking – mostly due to the fact the media has convinced you not to.
You know what? The Constitution was written with her point of view in mind. The framers of the Constitution didn’t write all of that for a bunch of white haired old men to sit around for life and fuck up the country and/or the world in they way they have in the past 100 years.
Ever since the depression and on through WWI, WWII, Korea, the Cold War, Watergate, Vietnam and the past two wars about bullshit, the USA has been at the hands of old white haired white men thinking for themselves. They have succeeded at keeping us in a state of fear.
Nothing will change if you put the two male candidates in office in November.
You read it here.
Let’s get a fresh new gang of numb nuts with open minds to go to Washington next time. Ron Paul should have planted a seed of sense in your empty brains, let it sprout and grow.
OBIDEN – Barack and Joe
Yep, there you have it folks. Just as with with BEN-JEN, BRANGELINA, TOM-KAT and other pairings of names the media spin doctors weave together for the paparazzi to chase down, I’ve coined a name for the collaboration of Barack and his first mate, JOE BIDEN.
I knew it a week ago and that was when it came to me.
The names OBAMA/BIDEN don’t quite roll off the tongue as neatly as BIDEN/OBAMA but Barack is running for president. The world press will eventually go for OBIDEN because the idiocy of it plays into the minds of idiots.
What really cracks me up with this decision is OBAMA has consistently claimed to want a VP that would challenge him or his decisions. If that is the case, BIDEN will have to take over as president as OBAMA has never managed a supermarket. BIDEN has been in the senate since 1972, almost 40 years, and is one of the elder statesmen that takes new congressional rookies under their wing to show them the ins and out of their slacker job.
That in itself should scare people, congress needs term limitations for the same reason the president has them. Liberals (democrats) don’t care when the issue is raised as they will continuously vote the same guy in term after term. TED KENNEDY is a perfect example.
Here is the 2007 listing of the most liberal senators.
I am more than concerned as to what “CHANGE” entails and think about it.
In my humble opinion, OBAMA needs someone a bit more centered as “CHANGE” cannot be a free-for-all of social programs this country cannot afford.
I don’t know why politicians try and sugar coat the issue of taxes because they will be stellar within time. The income tax reform act does not realistically account for “the war” which continues to bleed our coffers and push the country closer to recession and inflation. We will soon be staring both in the face for the simple reason the Bush administration overspent as if the USA were Paris Hilton on vacation. Paris has rich parents, the USA does not. We are in the hole big time. Read this.
All of the financial experts in the world can’t erase the deficit nor explain how it is to be balanced. They can blow smoke up the asses of those that want but those us that have to live within a balanced budget know otherwise.
The federal government cannot fund research for renewable energy and turn that knowledge over to private companies that will make fortunes with that knowledge. It has been happening for years though no one points it out.
Correcting the economy and stemming the usage of oil is not the government’s responsibility. Something the government can do is quit spending money. The government can cut back the visibility of its services without cutting them. 12 managers in an office in the middle of Iowa is waste. 12 managers in an office anywhere is waste. Manager is a title given to too many civil employees – who does the actual work?
The price of fuel is not the government’s duty. If anything, it gets us into mock wars and causes our legislators to spend, spend and spend. Politicians can talk about it in their committees and other wasteful meetings but we live in a capitalist market and supply/demand are what drive the economy.
OBIDEN are the most liberal running mates in years and their “CHANGE” is not going to be the answer.
I am not advocating MCCAIN at all because he is too old and thinks 20th century revenge.
This country needs to relocate and focus our concerns on the 50 states of the nation. The economy would be easier to right if the powers that be had never blessed NAFTA or other free trade agreements that have come back to sting us in the ass. We need to manufacture on our own continent. Let’s make stuff here again. Here is a small list of clothing.
Something that drives me insane is the drug laws of the country and how we strive to shove our “ideals” up the ass of every other country of the world. Tobacco is legal and a huge source of tax revenues. The same can be said for alcohol. Anyone of legal age can buy a carton of Camel cigarettes and a half gallon of cheap vodka and smoke or drink themselves to death. It’s legal.
On the other hand, marijuana, grown as a plant as tobacco might be, is public enemy number one according to the DEA.
I equate it to the sight of a woman’s nipple or a man’s penis. Society will surely crumble if untethered breasts or penises are seen by someone on primetime television.
The funny thing is I think we have all seen breasts and the deadly nipple. Some, myself included, were nursed from birth on mama’s.
As far as the penis is concerned – my dog has one and I see it every day. It’s not like pulling down my pants and looking at my own but neither have shocked me into raving insanity.
A breast is a mammary gland that can be seen on any dog or cat. A cow has 4 huge dangling teats that are comparable in size to the average male penis. That is potentially mind damaging.
Maybe it’s the thought that nipples or a penis are somehow connected to SEX! and drives a spike through the hearts of those that recoil. Add to that the last 40 years of liberal hedonism and the evolution of vulgar pornography – oh yeah, vulgar is the only word – and I can understand why some draw the line.
Marijuana, hemp, gets a bum rap as well as the fact that we all have bodies with sex organs. Is a breast truly a sexual organ? I have nipples and have never had to cover them for fear of driving someone insane.
I’ve read a lot over the years and it’s fascinating to know that HEMP is better than the corn farmers are prompted to grow in the Midwest for ethanol. I have known a lot of the facts for years but when realizing how much paper is produced in this country for our personal printers it amazes me why we don’t grow the plant like George Washington did. People were prompted to grow hemp in this country for various reasons such as fiber for linen or for making rope. One half acre of hemp plants is far more productive than corn or wood for paper or biofuel.
Think about the amount of money spent in the legal system prosecuting the evil marijuana. A 50 year old woman arrested with a pound of marijuana is likely to serve more time in a state prison than a rapist. Is that a kick in the head or what? Most want the rapist to report where he lives in your neighborhood. I don’t care where the guy with pot is unless I need some. Marijuana is a class 2 controlled substance – most surely surely deadly…NOT – and the courts pass down maximum prison terms that go into decades for growing, selling, possessing or – GASP! – SMOKING marijuana. Oh, the humanity!
The propaganda was bizarre and made good movies. Those of us who have smoked it know it not to be the evil substance the government associated with criminal Mexicans and Negros. Yep, the federal government had to devise another crime to chase after prohibition was repealed so they went after NARCOTICS they associated with those minorities. What a country.
A sensible move that OBIDEN might make would be a push for legalization and cultivation of the plant on this continent to help with the break in foreign energy dependence.
OBAMA said he inhaled several times – “that was the point”.
I suggest that everyone purchases marijuana with their stimulus checks.
I don’t trust a politician (especially a democrat) 55 or under who claims they never smoked a joint.
That person is a LIAR.
Mow the Lawn
I have been mowing lawns of some sort ever since I was 13 years old. As with any family with siblings there are chore assignments. I have done all of them but my father saw to it that my main chores were taking out the trash and lawn care. My younger brother came along and relieved me of the trash detail before we moved across the country.
We lived in a typical 1960s housing development – the lots were typically 1/4 acre and the lawn needed mowing once a week. Mowers in those days were basic 3.5hp Briggs and Stratton push mowers with side discharge. The bag and it’s hanger came along with it but gathered dust. My father insisted on perfection as far as the sidewalk and driveway so he also acquired a 3hp gas powered edger so that it looked like the military bases he was stationed at. Those were the implements of my chores. String trimmers weren’t in vogue for some time so if any trimming was needed my father got out his trusty hand trimmers and found one of my sisters. I got on my father’s good side with my use of the mower and edger and the only comment I would want to hear would be “good job”. No comment was fine as that meant the same.
While growing older – how did I get to be 50 this fast?!! – I learned too much about turf. I was interested in a Lawn Doctor franchise, one half of my life ago, and like any business had to learn how it all worked. I learned about fertilizers, molds, grubs, weed control and sales. One summer of fertilizing and mowing yards along with “in the field” upkeep of the machinery curtailed that interest though I have kept it with me all of these years, I can still grow a nice lawn. I don’t care much for high mantenance shrubbery and let someone else trim that. I think she likes it.
My present canvas is 1/2 acre of zoysia grass. It looks like hay from October through May but is the most resilient I have encountered as far as drought or weeds. It needs little care other than rain and will choke out weeds or other grasses that try to grow in it. Crabgrass? Maybe some along the driveway in the spring but it is short lived. Dandelions will grow in anything and a few get their chance before May. After that I don’t see them. Two “weeds” that can cut it is clover and wild onions. The clover is alright as the bunnies eat it and I like seeing them around. Wild onions look like a few spikes poking out of the ground, who cares?
A real “treat” is mowing zoysia. I used to run around behind self propelled mowers in my 30s and bagged the clippings. I would have a stern talking with myself these days about that stupidity. Even though they had 5-7hp engines it was backbreaking work. My rationale was it was good exercise.
I went through 3 good mowers; that should have been some message.
I now ride around on a 20yr old John Deere 175. It was used and free so I didn’t eat the $$$K price tag but never realized how expensive the upkeep is when that name is involved. I might as well mow with a Porsche. The push/self propelled mowers in my past were easy. Change the oil, spark plugs and air filter. Voila!
With the John Deere comes hydrostatic drive; tres cool, pressurized oil system with spin on filter, headlights and most important, a battery. Along with that battery comes a cursed electrical system that rivals the old Lucas systems used in British cars such as the MG or Jaguar. Why the engineers at JD jumped through hoops to make something so difficult is stupefying. I have replaced the battery 3 times since I have had the thing. I got it with the original green JD battery and have been putting cheap Auto Zone units into it. It needs another now. So much for Auto Zone batteries. I tried one in my truck years ago and faced the same problem. Go to WALMART for a good car battery. I think I am going there for my mower battery after this next free replacement dies.
Something to be said about the JD monstrosity is it plows down grass faster than walking behind it. I get into varying the mowing directions from diagonal, vertical, horizontal and even cicular. Circular is a new one and best suited to the huge back lawn. Hitting it once a week is best for negative clippings and I keep the blade at maximum height to let the grass grow. She scalped it a few times and brought upon the need of attention to the blades. Something I have noticed from watching my neighbors on their Sears, Murry or MTD mowers is the JD is a beast. It will let you know when you get in over your head trying to be fancy with it as It is heavy and you better know when and how to stop it when needed or you will fuck up and hit something or hurt yourself. I haven’t gone through anything yet but I have had my leg pinned against a tree and knocked a neighbor’s shed pretty good.
If I was to put the bucks down on a new rider I would look at Bad Boy mowers. I don’t like the complicated crap on the market these days and their smallest one fits my bill.
Make them simple and tough, it’s only a lawn mower. They don’t require bluetooth technology, iPod capability with weatherproof speakers or stringent EPA exhaust standards. Mow the lawn.
Tila Tequila
I must truly be growing into my current age. I was flipping around the channels this afternoon and happened upon MTV, MTV2 and VH1; none of which air music videos any longer. If they do it is at some unknown/unpopular time of day as the crap I usually see on these channels takes precedence and has nothing to do with actual music videos.
I remember way back in the early 1980s when MTV debuted and aired lip synced whimsical music videos by nearly every popular band that was hot back then. It was music videos 24/7 for the most part and featured the goofiest V-Js (video jockeys) one could ever imagine.
One thing was very true and a tune by the Buggles, a band of that era, put a stamp on it, “Video Killed the Radio Star”. I liken it to the way cassette tapes and CDs killed the artwork of LP record covers. Videos killed the faceless naivete unless the artists were seen in concert or on a television variety program. LP album art was something to behold as one listened to the record and put the graphics into whatever the imagination held. A 5″x5″ CD label is lame in comparison and tapes were the pits. The art is lost.
Back to MTV – I saw a program entitled “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila”. I watched the entire program as I wanted to be educated to the point of being able to criticize it.
My main question…Who the fuck is Tila Tequila?
I did some research and found she is actually Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen from Vietnam. She is apparently a recording artist and nude model. I don’t want to hear her rap/hiphop crap and I don’t find her visually appealing. She resembles a skinny 12 year old with breast implants, too many ugly tattoos and a personality of a Hong Kong hooker. Yuck….
I’m led to believe the contestants on this program are into 12 year old sluts.
The MTV program could be titled “A Shot at Lust with Tila Tequila” as she was looking for a male or female “hookup” under the guise of LOVE. We can take an educated guess how long an actual relationship forged on this show would last.
The final contestants, a guy and two girls, were pining over this brat-mouse as if she were the ends of the earth. It was actually quite disgusting. Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen opined in much the same manner and spoke of how difficult of a choice it would be between the 3 she “loved”. Give me a break, how stupid is the age bracket this show is targeting?
I happened to catch Bret Michaels – forever wearing a hat or bandana, is he bald or balding? – in much the same type of show this fall on some channel while surfing. The women were obsessed with him.
Are these the best alternatives to “The Dating Game” network executives could come up with??
A skinny waif with fake boobs and a balding washed up wannabe rockstar. is America so starved for entertainment that we will truly watch anything??
One viewing for me and I am sated. I feel as if someone owes me for that period of time but the option to change the channel was mine, correct?
How about a series on Animal Planet – “When Animals Poop” ?
Politics…my overly simple message still rings true…
I wrote this in August of 2006 and it makes me wonder where all of the RonPaul2008 people were then. I considered this my “grassroots movement” years before I wrote it all out for any to read. This proves to me that though his message is strong Ron Paul is not going to be president. If I can conceive of the same message his minions are falling for why can’t another?
It is not rocket science or brain surgery. Rather, it is the re-education of a lazy and complacent society that willingly assumes their elected officials are “doing something” for them then are shocked and complain about it when they learn otherwise.
Are Ron Paul’s minions ready to carry through with what he has promised? He has vowed to eliminate the IRS and the current system of taxation that now pays for every service our bloated federal government provides for us. Does he mention who will foot the bill for his salary as well as that of everyone that receives a paycheck from the US Government? How about all of the “They ought to do something about that” branches of the federal government that are fueled by tax dollars?
I am not a fan of the taxation system in this country and never have been. I am a baby-boomer that paid into the system my entire working life. I am also old and wise enough to realize our OVERLORDS need funding in some manner to accomplish what they vote to do in the bills they pass for our good. However, “WE, THE PEOPLE” have yet to institute a system by which the Federal Government should function in a financially responsible manner, much as we would be forced to with the resources we have in our banking accounts. We can’t spend what we don’t have unless we go deep into debt with creditors. Unfortunately, this has happened with far too much of America as well as with the federal government. The present administration is spending money like a horde of teenage girls in a shopping mall with a stolen American Express card.
Sure it all sounds good in the “RAH RAH Pep Rallies” Dr Paul’s followers sense while he is speaking. It seems rather easy to be lulled into how good it would be if we had a colonial sense of government but, think about the population of those colonial times versus 2007.
The USA is just shy of 3 billion citizens currently – the population of the US was roughly one tenth of that number during the American revolution. We’ve allowed an elitist ruling class to become responsible for us in 200 short years. We look to it for our welfare concerning air, food and water qualities and blame it for not doing enough. We look to it for our health and safety concerns of all manners, including national security and public assistance during times of crisis. When it doesn’t work as we expect we point fingers and blame it further.
How about a less radical stance – trimming the fat a little bit at a time? I live in the shadow of DC and have seen it all too well at times. The fat is more evident the closer one is to the epicenter of any corporation or government.
Flat rate taxation sounds good and looks good on paper, correct? Postage stamps increase in price every few years – what will prevent our legislators from bumping up that flat tax rate in the future as they have allowed the cost of postage stamps to increase over the years? Legislation prevents any other interests from become letter handlers as the Postal Service. Why not have some choice in the matter?
JUST FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES…
Do me a favor and register to vote. Put down your beer and remote controls, grab someone else and go register. You can do it online right now.
Then…GO OUT AND VOTE!!!
Why?? I don’t know how the rest of America interprets the current state of the USA – good, bad?
Do ya like the war? Do ya know why we are there?? Do ya know the total sum of money that has been wasted over in the sand? Do you buy into the propaganda of the spin doctors of the federal government??
Ask yourself this – who are the enemies of the USA and why? Do you agree with Bush’s ongoing mantra of “stay the course”? Are his “enemies” those of the of the USA? Do you believe everything the media has told you about the 9/11
strikes on WTC and the Pentagon? Do any of the conspiracy theories cause you to wonder?
I lived in northern Libya for 3 years – a very Muslim nation – in the early 60s. There was a mosque 100 yards from my bedroom with a minaret that some guy would come out and shout prayers from. I was a tow headed kid who would wave at the guy and shout back – he would wave to me. What did I know of infidels and Muslim versus Christian ideals? They could have killed me any day during the 3 years I lived there. I don’t think about Muslims unless it is a news story that is directed toward me in a very negative fashion by one of the media channels. I have friends that believe all Muslims carry a gun or bomb with which to kill an American and therefore must be killed before they can do such.
Are all Muslims enemies of the USA? I can think of several American citizens elected to public office that have committed crimes against the USA – are they enemies of the state?
As far as Bush…we are protected from him and others like him by the XXII amendment, ratified in 1951. It limits the Pres/VP to two terms. However, we have 535 other individuals that can serve as many terms as their lives or constituents will allow. They are the legislative branch of the US government which happens to be the very same that passed the XXII amendment. Do ya think they would ever do the same to themselves?
This paragraph should be familiar to any American that has a mind of this country’s role in the world at present time. It also begins the rest of the document of what it defines…
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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
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Does anyone else that reading this paragraph notice that it specifically denotes “We the People of the United States” and then ends with “Constitution for the United States of America”?
Where does it specify the rest of the world?
I do not have a weekly column in a periodical nor a television program with which to broadcast my message so I have been trying, in my own “grassroots” manner, to ask people to get out, register to vote and put the government back into the hands of “WE, THE PEOPLE“.
The largest obstacle I face is the common comeback of “my vote doesn’t count”. I will never say it in mixed company – politics is a touchy topic in public - but, I agree when it comes to the Presidential election. Think back to 2000 and the mess that happened in Florida with the count of the electoral votes in that state. Al Gore won the popular election but lost the electoral. The governor of the state just so happened to be Jeb Bush, younger brother of W. Bush. Not many will say it but that was a crooked deal – how many recounts do we need? Gore was gracious and knows the score…if it smells like shit it is.
Time for reality… There are 3 branches of the federal government – executive, the president/VP, secretaries of who done it and the rest of what is under the white house – legislative, the 435 state representatives and 100 senators that pass bills that become laws and – judicial, the supreme court. Of the 3, the legislative branch is ultimately the most powerful – if they know what they are doing. The votes cast for these 535 seats do count as there is no electoral college involved. These are all decided by popular votes.
WHICH LEADS TO… these 535 seats should not be held by the same people for generations. Isn’t that what this country tried to abolish with the “Declaration of Independance“?
Professional senators and representatives in the same office for 20 years of more wield the same power as dukes, barons or counts of the 18th century. Again, the XXII amendment limited the President to 2 terms for this reason.
Something to ponder…you have no voice in the election process of those from a different state than your own. Ted Kennedy is but one I will use as example for holding office for 40+ years. I do not live in his state and have not a vote – yea or nay – whether he should remain.
These seats should be as revolving doors. One should have a vocation or business that may be vacated for up to two terms so the concerns of different communities and businesses have an opportunity to be represented by more than the status quo. If an individual is drafted to serve in the military, the business that employs them holds that position for them if they want to return. Why not the same for serving in public office?
The “old school” manner of legislation has run its course as the cost of maintaining these legislators has escalated far too high. Salaries average in the $165K+ yearly and they carry most of that with them as yearly pensions after they leave office. The cost of running their many offices – yes, they have a main office on the hill in DC and 1 or more satellite offices that require staffing(at generous salaries) as well as the customary office supply needs. Guess who foots that bill? The junkets that were a given in the past have been scrutinized as a waste for some years.
There is far more waste than I can go into – you have the net at your disposal, look into it.
This “grassroots movement” will require more than just a few adamant voters to make a difference. The whole of America has to be re-educated (basically kicked in the ass) so as to remove ourselves from the complacency that pervades. ie…
“As long as the TV works and beer is available most will sit and go along with the status quo”.
We all know it to be true yet how do we change it?!!
Just two generations ago, people would lose sleep over the outcome of elections because they KNEW the face of the country would change as well. I remember staying up late into the night as a youngster with my father waiting for the full election counts to tally in. To be truthful, this has become a nation whose reflection can be seen as the TV cartoon known around the world as “The Simpsons”. Sure, there are those that don’t fit that mold but one thing I have always said about “The Simpsons” was “it’s funny because it’s true”. Sadly, I think i am paraphrasing a line from Homer.
The beauty of this whole “grassroots” idea is those that feel a need to be elected and make a difference actually can once the idea is rolling. The stipulations to be a legislator are less than that to be president.
From the Constitution…
The president of the United States must
Be a natural-born citizen of the United States
Be at least 35 years of age, and
Be a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.
[U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Paragraph 5]
Senate candidates shall be
at least 30 years of age,
a U.S. citizen for nine years, and
a resident of the state when elected.
[U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph 3]
House of Representatives candidates shall be
at least 25 years of age,
a U.S. citizen for seven years, and
a resident of the state when elected.
[U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 2]
One hurtle to overcome is the need to raise millions of dollars to campaign for a job that pays $165K.
However, once the re-educated American public gets involved and wants to take back the government and end federal waste, balance the budget and end the affairs that take place behind closed doors the price of admission should reduce.
All of this from my puny little head, correct?
I am more concerned about the future of this country now than ever and the industrial-military faction that serves none but warmongers such as those like Cheney and his Haliburton pals. Isn’t that frightening enough to alter the way we think about politics? Shouldn’t we VOTE for other than “the same old guys” or “the same old party”?
If any has a sticker/magnet displayed anywhere that proclaims “I support our troops” ask yourself what you are supporting.
Do you support a faction of this country that is like a crime mob and their wants to use our armed forces anywhere/anytime for personal gain?
If you actually feel for those that are needlessly dying or facing other hardships in countries we have no reason to be in your support would be to insist they be home now. If you buy into the propaganda of leaving the middle eastern area unstable with millions of terrorists wanting to follow us back you have no knowledge of the history of the middle east and should remove the sticker/magnets as you support the war. To what end? I have no ill will towards our soldiers; my father was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam and I am a military brat. I think more of their welfare and the stupidity of placing them there.
The USA is not an empire nor should we continue in our empirical ways around the world.
Sure, we can be friendly and should trade with other countries but, do we have the right to dictate to others what we feel is right and wrong?
Go back up to the first paragraph of the Constitution and decide after reading it through again.
It is late in coming but, we need to vote out incumbent and impotent legislators with two terms or more to begin to taking the USA government back into the hands of WE, THE PEOPLE.
How hard of a message is that to remember and pass along?
Are you tired of being POLITICALLY CORRECT?
Patience, civility, understanding and following the “Golden Rule” is all that is really necessary for mankind to exist. Following a set template of “right, wrong and do the right thing” is quite obtuse to that. Change is needed for any advancement in any society but the mindset of being “Politically Correct” is nearly insane.
Retitling all of the supposedly “offensive” names of anything and everything so that we all feel good in a homogeneous society of “Warm and Fuzzy” cripples the psyche in as much as we will never know what is not “Warm and Fuzzy”.
If a dog never gets into a row with another dog he/she hasn’t lived a dog’s life.
“What does that NONSENSE mean?”
That row might not have been more than a quick scuffle and wrestling match but, that dog had contact with another of its kind and in a manner that befits their species. The dog will have grown by that contact and will actually have dreams about it. Dogs don’t shake hands and chat – they like to run and wrestle about.
Where am I getting my crazy info? I am a scientist of my own world. We can all be if we take the time to do so.
If you have ever spent much time with your dogs over some years and were truly observant of mannerisms you would know your dog. Why do little dogs that are tossed around by a larger one get up and charge back? First and foremost, dogs are highly social and enjoy the company of another dog. Left to their own they behave as children. I have seen lines of dogs trotting around my neighborhood just checking things out. My dog would run over me for the opportunity to run around with them.
The point? Dogs work out their problems by being the open and honest beings that they are. Sure, they may snap at each other or get rolled by one larger but, it is the definition of the pack. There is no room for 12 alpha dogs in a pack.
We humans have not learned to assert this into our own lives. Though we would never admit so, we each believe we are all alpha and others are below us. One problem is that we don’t have the opportunity to get into a row with those that oppose us. No, we are “civilized”. We have come to rely on others that we raise to alpha status – and shouldn’t be – to guide us as a true alpha being of a species would. The old cliche “the blind leading the blind is frightening when it is truth.
There has been a social push in the past 30 years of this country’s history that echoes of the ideals of communism. The number one goal in a socialism/communist regime is to eliminate the class system. Make everyone homogeneous and held at bay by a ruling party that treats one and all as a CITIZEN rather than a fellow human being.
Bizarre concept? Consider the fact that the middle class of this nation has almost disappeared. That which passes off as the middle class in this day and age is actually what used to be the upper middle class. The word POVERTY is used very little unless describing the homeless or those on welfare and living in inner-city apartments. Poverty has claimed a lot of America in hidden ways.
Most of America is firmly entrenched in debt due to credit cards, their fancy cars or their overpriced houses and all of the fixings that go with it. America’s cash flow is basically from employer to those that hold the debtor’s tab.
Along with this ability to be in debt came the naming of politically correct terms for all races of mankind in the workplace and in the world of commerce. Come one, Come all! People are qualified for loans that far surpass their means for the reason of political correctness. They cannot be turned away or it is a civil crime and politically incorrect.
What gives?
I have no concept of what society is any longer as we have no time for ourselves, let alone another. Hurry, hurry, hurry and road rage is the preferred style of driving. America is obese – that means FAT - due to our diets.
FAT would actually be weight challenged or some such crap.
People are no longer black, white, brown or yellow as titles have been assigned to some that have never been to the country with which they are tied to.
Children no longer flunk grades in school because it may impune their mental well being.
Tough shit! Pay attention.
When you think about it…
My dog’s birthday is the 7th of July.
This year, and this year only, there will be a an unusual alignment of numbers on that day.
Specifically, 7 seconds after 07:07 am will actually be…
07:07:07 07/07/07 . Cool dog, right?
