A Mother’s Day video message (and plea) from Trayvon’s mother
This is Sybrina Fulton's first Mother's Day without her son Trayvon.
Each year, thousands die in acts of violence. In 2010, the CDC found that among homicide victims ages 10 to 24 years-old, 84% were killed with a firearm. The homicide rate for children in the United States was five times higher than that for children in the other 25 countries COMBINED. No mother should go through such a tragic and unnecessary loss.
We must help Trayvon martin's mother repeal these deadly SHOOT FIRST laws across the country. One more child lost to reckless gun policies is one too many. Please sign and pass along. Happy Mother's Day.
I come to work for three hours today and don't have any where to park. It's 7:50 am and lot 25 is full to the rim. Half the people who pay to park there aren't even at work yet. No communications from parking services about where we should park or nothing. This is absolutely ridiculous...
"One of the penalties of not participating in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors." Plato
We will decide on November 6, 2012.
Best explanation of what is happening in America that I have heard! This on may actually make folks think!
CAN THE USA SURVIVE GIVEN THE FOLLOWING?
The folks who are getting free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff,
because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay for both the free
stuff and their own stuff.
The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!
Now... The people who are forcing the people to pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.
So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the free stuff in the first place.
We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.
Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicidesomewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason?The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: "The democracy (Republic) will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 235 years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that On Nov 6th, 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United States as we know it.
ELECTION 2012 IS COMING
A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!
Let's take a stand!!!
Obama:Gone!
Borders: Closed!
Language: English only
Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!
Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
NO freebies to: Non-Citizens!
We the people are coming
Only 86% will send this on. Should be 100%. What will you do?
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"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money". -- Margaret Thatcher
What can you do if a P. A. blacklists you? The medical community will stick up for each other. I've read that writing the medical board will take a 2 year investigation, in which time they let the trail grow cold. I did write the medical director asking that false information be removed from my record. I feel the only recourse is to get a lawyer if I do not hear back that the false information has been removed. The last appointment I had, he took everything I said and twisted it to something negative.
I was the beneficiary of an affordable college education in the 1960's and 1970's. My family had been working class, and when I went to college, my mother was a widow. But when I graduated, I had NO college debt. Sadly, those golden days are over for the students of today. Why? Because too many in government have little feeling for the next generation of Americans, for investing in students and in the future, or for the "general welfare", unlike our founding fathers. Our founding fathers believed that government should promote the general welfare. And what is America without an educated population? It's time to stop starving education, and invest in our future!
If you or a loved one has student debt, or if you think education should have the support of government, please sign this petition: http://www.rebuildth...lieve-you-said-that/
Fast Facts About Dr. Charles Krauthammer , MD
1. Born: March 13, 1950
2. Birthplace: New York City, New York
3. Raised in Montreal, Canada
4. Attended McGill University and Harvard Medical School
5. 1972 diving accident left him paralyzed from the neck down
6. Directed psychiatric research for the Carter administration
7. Began writing career in 1981 with The New Republic
8. Helped develop the "Reagan Doctrine" in the 80's
9. Appointed to Presidential Council on Bioethics in 2002 Dr.
Charles Krauthammer , MD Dr. Krauthammer is frequently on the Fox News Channel.
He is an M.D., a lawyer and is paralyzed from the neck down. A friend went to hear Charles Krauthammer.
He listened with 25 others in a closed room. What he says here is NOT 2nd-hand but 1st. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and their children. Last Monday was a profound evening. Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to the Center for the American Experiment. He is a brilliant intellectual, seasoned and articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear monger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have summarized his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even two Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not drunk the Kool-Aid, feel free.... Summary of his comments:
1. Mr Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. The taking down of the Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand and wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada .
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION and NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada .. God forbid!
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he DOES, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate and coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President, ever , who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like to blame all problems on Bush, from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego and Dr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while but will emerge strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan but there will never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense and State's Rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We are spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The Media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a Pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed, fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain and the mantra of change caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard but we're right on most issues and can reclaim our country before it's far too late. "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their Constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it." - Abraham Lincoln Do yourself a long-term favor. Send this to all who will listen to an intelligent assessment of the big picture. All our futures and children's futures depend on our good understanding of what is really going on in DC and our action pursuant to that understanding!!
After reading the headlines today about the US soldier who shot up Afghanistan civilians, I couldn't help noticing an irony. There is all this clamor to try this guy quickly and execute him, never mind his having suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Yet this Major Hasan, who shot up Fort Hood while screaming Allah akbar, still hasn't stood trial, and they are still debating whether he was insane, even with the clear evidence regarding his motive: slay as many infidels as possible. So we have a guy in a war zone who cracks, and he must be executed immediately.
But this Muslim psychiatrist who was stateside in a nice safe office all day, murders 13, wounds 29 of our own guys, and they try to argue the poor lad suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome, from listening to real soldiers who had actual battle experience. Two and a half years later, they still haven't tried the murderous bastard.
A Must Read. (Easy to read ,short and to the point)
Radical...maybe not?
Could 2012 be America's Last Presidential Election?
Michael Savage
I've asked this question to a number of people and most them respond as if I were crazy for asking. They tell me that this is America, land of the free and that there will always be elections. I tell them that we are no longer the land of the free and that if Obama gets re-elected in 2012, that this just may be America's last election.
In the past three years, the Obama administration has been very carefully crafting the nation for a political take over by his Marxist regime and this isn't just my opinion.
Popular radio talk show host Michael Savage is the son of Russian immigrants and is very familiar with Soviet and European history. Savage warned his listeners this week saying, "I have to tell you that if this man, God forbid, is the next president of the United States, we're going to be living in something along the lines of - people say Europe. I don't believe it's going to be like Europe - I think it will be closer to Chavez's South American dictatorship.
"This is the most corrupt, incompetent, dangerous tyrannical administration in American history. It's not politics as usual. It's not just Democrats versus Republicans. Obama has a long history of being at odds with American values and with America itself and the core principles of this country. They don't want government-sponsored opinions. They only want government-sponsored 'Pravda.' That's exactly what the government-media complex tells you on a daily basis - nothing but the government-media complex party line. Pay attention. Your freedom may be at stake."
Over the weekend, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told a small group of people in an Iowa coffee house that,
"Barack Obama is not incompetent, ladies and gentleman. He knows exactly what he's doing and why he's doing it. He sees America differently than you see America.
[Obama] has gone out of his way to divide this country in a way I haven't seen since the Great Depression when Franklin Roosevelt went around to divide his country. That's his hero. What makes America great [in Obama's mind is that] the government takes money from somebody and gives it to somebody else. No, that's what makes America, France."
With his control over the Executive and Judicial branches of the government, the stage is set for a complete takeover of the government.
Think about it.
Since taking office, instead of helping the economy, Obama has purposely escalated the economic crisis by plunging the country into unprecedented debt. He has a number of programs that are designed to go into effect in January 2013, just in time for his second term of office. The economic burden and increased taxes on everyone will be enough to cause the final economic collapse of the country. As soon as that happens, Obama declares Martial Law and assumes dictatorial control of the nation.
The Department of Justice has already been subverting federal laws to strip us of a number of freedoms. The Supreme Court and many of the other federal courts have been seeded with socialistic liberal judges that will rule in Obama's favor on virtually anything, thus ending constitutional rule and law.
He's already changing the face of America's military. Allowing homosexuals to openly serve along with changing the retirement program is causing many conservative military leaders to resign commissions and leave the military. Some Pentagon officials are also noting that an increase in the enlistment of radical Muslims into the US military where they get all the training they need on weapons and defense systems. We have no idea how many of them there are in the armed forces or in what positions they may hold.
Obama has been wielding executive powers this past year as if he were already a dictator. When Congress is not doing his bidding, he simply bypasses them and used an executive order to accomplish it anyway. This has set the stage for his disbandment of Congress. He would not be the first world leader to take control of a nation and disband the legislative branch of government.
He has been effectively using the media to anesthetize the public to the dangers he poses. Like a patient being prepped for surgery, people are numb to the changes and won't have a clue what took place until they wake up in recovery and realize that free America has been removed and replaced with a regime that may parallel those of Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Chavez and Castro.
For the sake of our children and grandchildren,
I earnestly pray that we are spared from what seems a certain future and that Obama is overwhelmingly defeated in 2012. Otherwise, heaven help us.
OBAMA MUST BE DEFEATED IN 2012
They've struck down Prop 8 in CA, which banned marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Although it will undoubtedly be appealed and head for the Supreme Court, it is a victory for equal rights today. Let's hear it for the pursuit of happiness. Something to celebrate!
CZARS
There are very few of us who know just what all of Obama's Czars do, as they quietly go about their "work" in the nation's capital. This listing of their names and job descriptions should be educational to all Americans, no matter what your political leaning. If you resent the existence of these extra-governmental "officials", with their very generous salaries funded by, you guessed it, you the taxpayer, then get angry with the one who put these characters on the payroll.
See who they are and realize what they want to do:
Richard Holbrooke - Afghanistan Czar
Ultra liberal anti-gun former Governor Of New Mexico. Pro-Abortion and pro- drug legalization. Wants to dissolve the 2nd Amendment
Ed Montgomery - Auto recovery Czar
Radical anti-business black activist. Affirmative Action and Job Preference for blacks.University of Maryland Business School Dean; teaches that US business has caused world poverty. ACORN board member. Communist DuBois Club member.
Jeffrey Crowley - AIDS Czar
Radical Homosexual. Gay Rights activist. Believes in Gay Marriage and a Special Status for homosexuals only, including complete free health care for gays.
Alan Bersin - Border Czar
The former failed superintendent of San Diego . Ultra-Liberal friend of Hillary Clinton. Served as Border Czar under Janet Reno - to keep borders open to illegals without interference from the Federal government.
David J. Hayes - California Water Czar
Senior Fellow of radical environmentalist group "Progress Policy". No training or experience in water management whatsoever.
Ron Bloom - Car Czar
Auto Union worker. Anti- business & anti- nuclear. Has worked hard to force US auto makers out of business. Sits on the Board of Chrysler which is now Union-owned. How did this happen?
Dennis Ross - Central Region Czar
Believes US policy is the cause of war in the Middle East . Obama apologist to the world. Anti-gun and completely Pro-Abortion.
Lynn Rosenthal - Domestic Violence Czar
Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Vicious anti-male feminist. Supports male castration - imagine?
Gil Kerlikowske - Drug Czar
Devoted lobbyist for every restrictive gun law proposal, former Chief of Police in liberalSeattle WA. Believes no American should own a firearm. Supports legalization of all drugs.
Paul Volcker - Economic Czar
Former head of the Federal Reserve under Jimmy Carter when US economy nearly failed. Obama-appointed head of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board which engineered the Obama economic disaster to US economy. Member of anti-business "Progressive Policy" organization,
Carol Browner - Energy and Environment Czar
Political Radical. Former head of the EPA - known for anti-business activism. Strong anti-gun ownership.
Joshua DuBois - Faith-Based Czar
Political Black activist. Degree in Black Nationalism. Anti-gun ownership lobbyist. WHAT THE HELL DOES A FAITH BASED CZAR DO ? ? ?
Cameron Davis - Great Lakes Czar
Chicago radical anti-business environmentalist. Blames George Bush for "Poisoning the water that minorities have to drink." No experience or training in water management whatsoever. Former ACORN Board member (what does that tell us?)
Van Jones - Green Jobs Czar
(since resigned). Black activist with strong anti-white views. Member of American Communist Party and San Francisco Communist Party. Said George Bush caused the 9-11 attacks and wanted Bush investigated by the World Court for war crimes.
Daniel Fried - Guantanamo Closure Czar
Human Rights activist for Foreign Terrorists. Believes America has caused the Global War on Terrorism. Believes terrorists have rights above and beyond Americans.
Nancy-Ann DeParle - Health Czar
Former head of Medicare / Medicaid. Strong proponent of Healthcare Rationing (i.e. "Death Panels"). She is married to a reporter for The New York Times.
Vivek Kundra - Information Czar
Born in New Delhi , India . Controls all public information, including labels and news releases. Monitors all private Internet emails. (HELLO?)
Todd Stern - International Climate Czar
Anti-business former White House Chief of Staff. Strong supporter of the Kyoto Accord; pushing hard for Cap and Trade. Blames US business for Global warming. Anti- USbusiness prosperity.
Dennis Blair - Intelligence Czar
Retired US Navy. Stopped US guided missile program he described as "provocative". Chair of ultra-Liberal "Council on Foreign Relations" which blames American organizations for regional wars.
George Mitchell - Mideast Peace Czar
Fmr. Sen from Maine Left wing radical. Has said Israel should be split up into "2 or 3 " smaller more manageable plots". (God forbid) A true Anti-nuclear anti-gun & pro homosexual "special rights" advocate
Kenneth Feinberg - Pay Czar
Chief of Staff to Ted Kennedy. Lawyer who got rich off the 9-11 victims payoffs (horribly true).
Cass Sunstein - Regulatory Czar
Liberal activist judge who believes free speech needs to be limited for the "common good"; essentially against the 1st Amendment. Has ruled against personal freedoms many times on private gun ownership and right to free speech cases. This guy has to be run out of Washington ! ! !
John Holdren - Science Czar
Fierce ideological environmentalist, Sierra Club anti-business activist. Claims USbusiness has caused world poverty. No Science training.
Earl Devaney - Stimulus Accountability Czar
Spent career trying to take guns away from American citizens. Believes in Open Borders to Mexico . Author of statement blaming US gun stores for drug war in Mexico .
J. Scott Gration - Sudan Czar
Native of Democratic Republic of Congo . Believes US does little to help Third Worldcountries. Council of foreign relations, asking for higher US taxes to support United Nations
Herb Allison - TARP Czar
Fannie Mae CEO responsible for the US recession by using real estate mortgages to back up the US stock market. Caused millions of people to lose their life savings.
John Brennan - Terrorism Czar
Anti CIA activist. No training in diplomatic or gov. affairs. Believes Open Borders toMexico and a dialog with terrorists and has suggested Obama disband US military A TOTAL MORON!!!!!
Aneesh Chopra - Technology Czar
No Technology training. Worked for the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank for hospitals. Anti-doctor activist. Supports Obama Healthcare Rationing (i.e. Death Panels) and salaried doctors working exclusively for the Government Healthcare plan.
Adolfo Carrion Jr. - Urban Affairs Czar
Puerto Rico-born Anti-American activist and leftist group member in Latin America . Millionaire "slum lord" of Bronx , NY . Owns many lavish homes and condos which he got from "sweetheart" deals with labor unions. Wants higher taxes on middle class to pay for minority housing and healthcare.
Ashton Carter - Weapons Czar
Leftist. Wants all private weapons in US destroyed. Supports UN ban on firearms ownership in America . No Other "policy".
Gary Samore - WMD Policy Czar
Former US Communist. Wants US to destroy all WMD unilaterally as a show of good faith. Has no other "policy"
These are the people who are helping President Obama RUIN I mean run our country from the White House. With elections coming this is just a little refresher - your tax dollars pay these dangerous leftists! There are a few more now not included here. Please EDUCATE your family, friends and neighbors about these "Czars"
If you haven't heard the infamous story of what Willard Mitt Romney did to his dog Seamus, you should. Romney "explained" it to Chris Wallace on Fox News.
Now that you've been thoroughly disgusted, concerned dogs and their humans can join the Dogs Against Romney superpac(k). (They even allow cats and other pets). http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/ A few words from the pack leader:
Hi, I'm Rusty. Welcome to my pack! Will you help me stop mean Mitt Romney from ever being president? He is mean to dogs. He scares us. Please read my blog, and go "like" my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/DogsAgainstRomney That is where the action is! Together, we will poop on Mitt's manicured mansion lawn. - Rusty
Meet some of their members:
"I was so sad to hear how meanie Mitt treated his poor dog Seamus. My owner would never put me on top of the car. My owner loves me. She is not like Mitt Romney. She made me this sweater." - Cocoa
"Hi. I am Max. I like to play and chase balls. But I am sad. Why was Iowa thinking about making Mitt Romney be president when he is mean to dogs? Dogs love people." Bye, - Max
"Hi. I am Spike. My owner and I are very mad at Mitt Romney. He was not nice to his dog. He should not be president of the U.S." - Spike
It seems that recently, a group of atheists took out some ads on municipal buses and billboards in Ft. Worth and elsewhere with the following :
"Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake."
Not surprisingly, there were reactions: vandalism to the billboards and posters, an attempted bus boycott, the demand for the city to ban all religious ads, threats, etc.
The question in the ad above IS provocative: it made me wonder:
Must a religion always be defined as REQUIRING a God? I am not an atheist (some folks don't know the diff between agnosticism and atheism), BUT I consider atheism a fervent BELIEF SYSTEM. Some atheists can be as evangelical as any believer. Personally, I'm a semi-secular, culturally and politically progressive not terribly observant Jewish agnostic with occasional loosely formed Deist, pantheist, and/or Wiccan inclinations. My beliefs are fluid and changeable, and I'm not married to them. They float in and out of me like birds flying through an open window. Even if I were looking for another religion to join, I hardly know which I would choose. Maybe Unitarian Universalism (which is actually a fellowship); they don't have evangelizers knocking at your door.
Religions are social constructs of shared (but originally private) beliefs. I think beliefs don't become religions until they are institutionalized. I'm not all that happy with most of these available institutions, since they tend to corral people into groupthink, which can stifle the reaching inward/outward for new epiphanies. And there's that middleman (the priest, the Pope, the Rebbe, the Imam) who advises, endorses, interprets, condemns, instructs. They stand between you and the direct experience of [God? the cosmos? nature? the planet? human potential?]. But I'm happy to pray to Big Mom on Mondays, worship a tree on Tuesdays, and look for the best in people on Wednesdays. Don't ask me about the weekend.
Nonetheless, I think that any of the above-mentioned belief systems, including atheism, should be protected under the First Amendment like any typical religion. And as long as they don't bother me, I won't bother them. Then again, being wished "Merry Christmas" for the whole month of December somehow does bother me somewhat every year. I usually say something like, well, I'm Jewish, but thank you for your good wishes, even though that only scratches the complexity, and doesn't feel wholly true.
But anyway, it's always fun to turn the answers inside out and re-examine the questions. If I were to choose a God worthy of worship, it would be a God of questions, a Great Maker of jigsaw puzzles and infinitely mirrored disco balls, a God who loves a good mystery, a God who is willing to be surprised about what's coming next, a God whose first and most beloved child was IMPERFECTION ...
Anyway, there IS order in the universe (except for my hair); we can celebrate that in only 6 short months, it will be summer! Best wishes to all, religion or no religion too, a Happy Merry Blessed SolstiYule-Chrisnukwanzukah, and for all you Seinfeld fans, Happy Festivus!
1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man
is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress.
John Adams
2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read
the newspaper you are misinformed.
Mark Twain
3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of
Congress. But then I repeat myself.
Mark Twain
4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity
is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
Winston Churchill
5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on
the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw
6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man,
which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
G. Gordon Liddy
7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep
voting on what to have for dinner.
James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor
people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University
9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and
car keys to teenage boys.
P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors
to live at the expense of everybody else.
Frederic Bastiat, French economist(1801-1850)
11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short
phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Ronald Reagan (1986)
12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers
13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see
what it costs when it's free!
P.J. O'Rourke
14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much
money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
Voltaire (1764)
15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean
politics won't take an interest in you!
Pericles (430 B.C.)
16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature
is in session.
Mark Twain (1866)
17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
Anonymous
18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy
appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.
Ronald Reagan
19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the
blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
Winston Churchill
20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that
the taxidermist leaves the skin.
Mark Twain
21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is
to fill the world with fools.
Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)
22. There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.
Mark Twain
23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)
24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is
strong enough to take everything you have.
Thomas Jefferson
25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
Aesop
Help End Corporate Personhood: in Northampton TONIGHT!
A CAMPAIGN TO OVERTURN CORPORATE PERSONHOOD AND RECLAIM OUR DEMOCRACY
- Wednesday, December 14, 2011
- 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
- First Churches, Lyman Hall, Northampton
Speaker: John Bonifaz
Co-founder and director of Free Speech for People, a national campaign to enact a 28th Amendment to the Constitution that makes clear that corporations are not people with constitutional rights.
Bonifaz will discuss the People's Rights Amendment to end corporate personhood, recently introduced by Rep. James McGovern and inspired by Bonifaz. [James McGovern may be our new representative in Congress, due to re-districting]. He will go on to discuss the national conversation that Occupy Wall Street has created about the threat unchecked corporate power poses to our democracy.
There will a brief contextual overview of several related groups across the country and the strategies they are using to challenge corporate personhood.
Sponsors
Northampton Ad Hoc Committee on Democracy and Shays 2: Western Mass Committee on Corporations and Democracy. For further information, contact Daniel McLeod at danielwmcleod@hotmail.com.
BIG NEWS: Last Thursday, Martha Coakley, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, became the first state A.G. in the country to join the call for a Constitutional Amendment. This sets a huge precedent, not just in Massachusetts but for other states to follow as well. Attorney General Coakley endorsed our resolution now pending in the Massachusetts legislature.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. As Thom Hartmann says: Get out there - get active - Tag, you're IT!
Elizabeth Warren talks with Lawrence O'Donnell about the MA. Senate campaign, and why her candidacy is resonating with voters. Worth a look, and pass it on:
OCCUPY PERSONHOOD PIONEER VALLEY is a newly formed group working to eliminate corporate dominance of politics, and the harmful effects of the legal fiction of the corporate person. We believe that the rights & privileges of personhood belong to human beings alone, not corporations, and that the influence of money in political discourse is strangling our democracy.
The first meeting of Occupy Personhood Pioneer Valley took place in early November. We began to brainstorm ideas for possible actions in concert with the upcoming 2nd anniversary (January 21) of the Supreme Court's terrible, unprecedented decision in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, which made the purchase of elections by corporations ever more possible.
To read more: http://en.wikipedia...._Election_Commission
Please join us as we meet again this Thursday, December 1st, 7 - 9 pm at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst. The address is 70 Boltwood Walk, between Rao's Coffee and Amherst Chinese, next to the parking garage. We'll be meeting in the lower level Glass Room.
We will continue to brainstorm possible actions and activities, and welcome your ideas. Under discussion:
* Campaign in a number of towns in the Pioneer Valley to pass resolutions to eliminate corporate personhood and corporate dominance of politics.
* Conduct a media event at Bank of America or other corporate location (Coca-Cola, others) announcing a declaration that puts corporations on notice that they are not persons and that we intend to abolish this mistaken notion.
* Develop memes in the Pioneer Valley that we can export to the rest of the country. eg. making complex political ideas clear, even “sexy”, and/or produce YouTube videos or a YouTube channel.
* Work on the concept of baking OccuPIES.
* Organize a big event (e.g. teach-in) with speakers who might share their understanding/ expertise in the growing corporatism, the effect of money in politics, democratic struggle & movements, history, etc.
What are YOUR ideas? Your participation and involvement is needed to help determine what we actually DO here in the Valley! Please join us Thursday evening at the Bangs Center.
I will 'typo' check more when I post, but glad the ideas got through. I am hoping we may be thankful this holiday that more awaken to the truth of our nation's situation and, in many ways, the possible simple solutions. (like having those people and businesses with means paying more of the share of the costs). I hope more of the 99 ,or whatever, percent will pressure their representatives and the media to take heed.
Most have likely seen it, since it went viral, but for anyone who missed or, or who hasn't read it again today and wants to read it EVERYDAY:
“This country does in fact have a serious deficit problem,” he said to about 200 people packed in the Senate Budget Committee room.
“But the reality is that the deficit was caused by two wars — unpaid for. It was caused by huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. It was caused by a recession as result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street. And if those are the causes of the deficit, I will be damned if we’re going to balance the budget on backs of the elderly, the sick, the children, and the poor. That’s wrong.”
Whenever that particular person posts his/her Islamophobic, racist, homophobic, xenophobic Beckophiliac rantings, I sigh deeply, and realize once again that said person never expresses original thought, but only copyies/parrots statements readily found on the 'net, and promulgated on Fox Noise. Said person seems deeply under the influence of the radical right's propaganda machine, which deludes tens of millions of working class Americans about who has their true interests at heart.
But when he/she spews waves of vomitatious misinformation, lies, and outright slander designed to promote fear and division (see "Snopes.com" about the author of that latest screed), I just have to hold my head, exhausted. What do you do when someone demonstrates over and over again that he/she is unwilling to broaden their cusiosity to ever include the fact-based real world?
Nonetheless, I thank you for taking up the cause; others who are reading these political comments deserve the chance to have a reality-based real conversation about issues.
And, anyone who seriously thinks that Obama is a Marxist needs to read about Marxism or socialism. There is nothing about Obama's values and beliefs that would have anyone even modestly literate in politics conclude that he is anything but a centrist and incrementalist, and somewhat corporate-friendly to boot.
Oh, I only WISH Obama were just a teensy, tiny bit socialist! Because with the current GOP, we're approaching the cancerous stage of capitalism, the Ayn Rand insane psychopathic narcissistic gestalt of capitalism, where the moneyed and powerful metastasize like cancer to take over and finally kill the host (the host being the rest of America, and American democracy).
This is just such bull , name calling and scare tactic.. ). Calling Obama Marxist as well as Muslim is too rile up anti socialist, anti communist and anti- Muslim /Arab FEARS, not rational thought Obama has been a Democrat whose actions have been closer towards being in line with Republican agendas. He (and his administaration) had conceded and conceded and been very supportive of Wall Street and big business. (yes read AIG and Goldman Sachs) . This is not socialism. Not supportiong the continuation of tax roll backs would have helped diminish the deficit and pay for social programs we all desparately need. and jobs creation. We needed a real work program, yes funded with real dollars (from a fair taxation. Talk about reckless- who but the Republicans and demcorats bought by corporate interests and the rich would roll back taxes on those who CAN afford it, and sequeze the, yes 99% that rely on social/government programs to just have a chance. Those who cannot afford homes ,and whose jobs are being cut, or income so reduced that they cannot pay for their own basic services--- health care, schools or goods that would indeed support a capitalist society and its infrastucture that should be maintained as a society, poooling resources. Profits and money have not trickeled down (Since Reagan) but poured UP. If you want to talk of entitlements - look at much of the military ( and special contractor) spending and funding of corprorations without much oversight or regualtion. (the companies that often were bailed-out or receiving tax breaks realized billions in profits, that certainly did not get more fairly divided among their average employees (or union workes if any). Look at the corporate bailouts and Bonuses for CEOS etc who virtually destroyed our financaial system by being reckless and greedy. The wealthy having doubled assets while the majority's real income and living standard has fallen steeply. As to the media, mostly of the mainstream , including NBC, CBS has stayed away from the real facts around this situation for the many decades it has been building. Even folks like Buffet are calling for reform. As to free health care--- mandated health care is not free, and may cost many small businesses and individuals a significant portion of income (if they even realize any net income). while health care is not an issue for the wealthy or congress people. Again if the public had the same plan as their representatives--that could be considered much fairer. (plus their pensions!?) I don't necessarily believe in bigger government, and SURELY do not believe government should be mainly in service of corporations and special interest groups. It was supposed to maintain and support a society - an American society as a whole- as inclusive. What happened to America as a place of 'freedom' eauality' and justice. We are certainly seeing less of equality and justice and less freedom, in terms of where the real power lies. Luckily we can still speak out- as are the many affiliiated with Occupy Wall Street and union efforts---to actually preserve Human rights and better working conditions, which are being eroded by the actions of and legislation of 'BIG" Republicans (and some Dems) supported by BIG money and interests to USE government for the benefit of a wealthy minority.
Money has also not trickled down into charities by many of the wealthy or corporations who maintained high profits-- Where is the HEART in our society? Some foundations and individuals have contributed = yes...But wouldn't it be better if more individual people actually had the means to support their own local communities and favorite charities because their own basic needs are met? Instead those decisions are in the hands of an elite to decide what cause is worthy. And now we see a growing need of development professionals to try to convice those with power and means to contribute to their fellow people and public institutions (like UMASS) to support the young, and old, in healthcare, research, environment and education which has been less supported proportiionately and sufficiently by our general public policy- via government.
For real-- are you saying the workers that provided the labor that enabled business to profit, or the consumers who buy the goods that enable business to profit are not 'worthy' Who are you really? That the employees of state instutions like UMASS don't deserve reasonable compensation for their dedication and services? Health care workers? A move to a platform which put society (social needs) over indiviuals maintaing luxuries- and a move back to real democracy- would be a wonderful thing. Why so aftraid? Countries with a model closer to that seem to fair well. Those who are more totalitarian- serving limited power groups, be it capitalist or communist may land up doing well as a country -coporate entity ( like China now) but people suffer.
Please- - if captialism is failing- it is by it's own unwieldy methods.
By Wayne Allyn Root , June 6th, 2010
Barack Hussien Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent.
To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing.
He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure,
economic crisis and social chaos -- thereby destroying capitalism and
our country from within.
Barack Hussien Obama was my college classmate
( Columbia University , class of '83).
He is a devout Muslim, do not be fooled.
Look at his Czars...anti-business..anti- american.
Barack Hussien Obama is
following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University ..
They outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system
with government spending and entitlement demands.
Add up the clues below. Taken individually they're alarming.
Taken as a whole, it is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn
the United States into a socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority
that desperately needs government for survival ... and can be counted
on to always vote for bigger government.
Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it.
Universal health care . The health care bill had very little to do with health
care. It had everything to do with unionizing millions of hospital and
health care workers, as well as adding 15,000 to 20,000 new IRS agents (who will join government employee unions).
Obama doesn't care that giving free health care to 30 million Americans
will add trillions to the national debt.
What he does care about is that it cements the dependence of those 30 million voters to Democrats and big government .
Who but a socialist revolutionary would pass this reckless spending bill
in the middle of a depression?
Cap and trade. Like health care legislation having nothing to do with
health care, cap and trade has nothing to do with global warming.
It has everything to do with redistribution of income, government control
of the economy and a criminal payoff to Obama's biggest contributors.
Those powerful and wealthy unions and contributors (like GE, which owns
NBC, MSNBC and CNBC) can then be counted on to support everything Obama wants.
They will kick-back hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to
Obama and the Democratic Party to keep them in power.
The bonus is that all the new taxes on Americans with bigger cars,
bigger homes and businesses helps Obama "spread the wealth around."
Make Puerto Rico a state. Why? Who's asking for a 51st state?
Who's asking for millions of new welfare recipients and government
entitlement addicts in the middle of a depression?
Certainly not American taxpayers.
But this has been Barack Hussien Obama's plan all along.
His goal is to add two new Democrat senators, five Democrat congressman and a million loyal Democratic voters who are dependent on big government.
Legalize 12 million illegal Mexican immigrants.
Just giving these 12 million potential new citizens free health care alone could overwhelm the system and bankrupt America .
But it adds 12 million reliable new Democrat voters who can be counted
on to support big government.
Add another few trillion dollars in welfare, aid to dependent children,
food stamps, free medical, education, tax credits for the poor, and
eventually Social Security .
Stimulus and bailouts. Where did all that money go?
It went to Democrat contributors, organizations (ACORN), and unions -- including billions of dollars to save or create jobs of government employees across the country.
It went to save GM and Chrysler so that their employees could
keep paying union dues.
It went to AIG so that Goldman Sachs could be bailed out
(after giving Obama almost $1 million in contributions).
A staggering $125 billion went to teachers (thereby protecting their union dues).
All those public employees will vote loyally Democrat to protect their
bloated salaries and pensions that are bankrupting America .
The country goes broke, future generations face a bleak future, but Obama, the Democrat Party, government, and the unions grow more powerful.
The ends justify the means.
Raise taxes on small business owners, high-income earners, and job
creators. Put the entire burden on only the top 20 percent of taxpayers,
redistribute the income, punish success, and reward those who did
nothing to deserve it (except vote for Obama).
Reagan wanted to dramatically cut taxes in order to starve the government. Barack Obama wants to dramatically raise taxes to starve his political opposition. With the acts outlined above, Barack Hussien Obama and his regime have created a vast and rapidly expanding constituency of voters dependent on big government; a vast privileged class of public employees who work for big government; and a government dedicated to destroying capitalism and installing themselves as socialist rulers by overwhelming the system.
Add it up and you've got the perfect Marxist scheme -- all devised by
my Columbia University college classmate Barack Hussien Obama
using the Cloward and Piven Plan ..