I’d love to see  a Senator introduce this bill in the US Senate and a Representative to introduce a similar one in the US House.  These people would likely become American heroes – however – there are probably none with the guts to do so, even if they KNOW it would never pass.

Our system is corrupt – what can we do about it?
1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.

A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

2.. No Tenure / No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans..

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people..

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/10.

The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

Please share this with others!

I found this very interesting, and frankly, somewhat surprising.  First, I need to note that I am NOT religious, by anyone’s stretch of imagination, but I’m not an Atheist either.

I do understand the concept of “Separation of church and state”  but that is REALLY supposed to mean that we do not FORCE religion down anyone’s throat. It does NOT mean, that we are anti religion, even though we do appear to be headed that way with the recent court decisions, and now this proclamation by our President, and it makes me a bit sad.

I’m sad because I think it’s clear that we ARE a nation founded on Judeo Christian values, and I see nothing wrong with President Obama standing up for those beliefs.  Has he not noticed the US constitution, the bill of rights, or any of the Preambles for our state constitutions?

i’m pushing 50 years old soon, and again, while I’m not religious at all, I do understand where we (our country) came from…

Note the religious references in every single one below – Are they next on the hit list?

Alabama 1901, Preamble – We the people of the State of Alabama , invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution..

Alaska 1956,Preamble – We, the people of Alaska , grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.

Arizona 1911, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Arizona , grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution…

Arkansas 1874, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government…

California 1879, Preamble – We the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom…

Colorado 1876, Preamble – We, the people of Colorado , with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe….

Connecticut1818, Preamble.The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providenceof God in permitting them to enjoy.

Delaware 1897, Preamble – Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature,the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to thedictates of their consciences…

Florida 1885, Preamble – We the people of the State of Florida , grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, establish this Constitution…

Georgia 1777, Preamble – We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution…

Hawaii 1959, Preamble – We, the people of Hawaii , Grateful for Divine Guidance … Establish this Constitution.

Idaho 1889, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Idaho , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings.

Illinois 1870, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil , political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

Indiana 1851, Preamble – We, the People of the State of Indiana , grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to choose our form of government.

Iowa 1857, Preamble – We, the People of the St ate of Iowa , grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings, establish this Constitution.

Kansas 1859, Preamble – We, the people of Kansas , grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble – We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties.

Louisiana 1921, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy.

Maine 1820, Preamble – We the People of Maine acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity .. And imploring His aid and direction.

Maryland 1776, Preamble – We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberty.

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble – We…the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe In the course of His Providence, an opportunity and devoutly imploring His direction
Michigan 1908, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom, establish this Constitution.

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings:

Mississippi 1890, Preamble – We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work.

Missouri 1845, Preamble – We, the people of Missouri , with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness . Establish this Constitution…

Montana 1889, Preamble – We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for theblessings of liberty establish this Constitution.

Nebraska 1875, Preamble – We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom . Establish this Constitution.

Nevada 1864, Preamble – We the people of the State of Nevada , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, establish this Constitution…

New Hampshire 1792, Part I.Art. I. Sec. VEvery individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.

New Jersey 1844, Preamble – We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors.

New Mexico 1911, Preamble – We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to  Almighty God for the blessings of liberty…

New York 1846, Preamble – We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings.

North Carolina 1868, Preamble – We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those…

North Dakota1889, Preamble – We , the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain…

Ohio 1852, Preamble – We the people of the state of Ohio , grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common.

Oklahoma 1907, PreambleInvoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty, establish this…
Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I Section 2.All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble – We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance…

Rhode Island1842, Preamble – We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing…

South Carolina , 1778, Preamble – We, the people of the State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution.

South Dakota 1889, Preamble – We, the people of South Dakota , grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties …

Tennessee 1796, Art. XI..III.That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience…

Texas 1845, Preamble – We the People of the Republic of Texas , acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God.

Utah 1896, Preamble – Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution.

Vermont 1777, Preamble – Whereas all government ought to enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man…

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights -  XVI Religion, or the Duty which we owe our creator can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other

Washington 1889, Preamble – We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution

West Virginia 1872, Preamble – Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God.

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble – We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility…

Wyoming 1890, Preamble – We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties, establish this Constitution…

I have nothing against them; fellow Filipinos who leave home searching for that so called “greener pastures” in America. Some of whom are my very own aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.  They leave home because they want a better life for themselves.  They leave home because they want a better life for everyone else who’s left behind.  They are considered our modern day heroes; they bring pride to a nation constantly bombarded by the woes of poverty, inflation, corruption, and yes, even American Idol.  

But tell me, which one is really better? The nation whose Congress who once tried to allocate $19 million to examine the amount of methane gas from cow flatulence and whose Senate who once tried to propose spending $1 million to study brown tree snakes which do not even survive in North America – but could not care less about Health Care reforms?  

Or the Nation whose Congress and Senate who once tried extremely hard (and probably still trying) to allocate and spend as much amount as possible trying to examine which restaurant is more costly than the other, in some parts of the world God knows where – but could not even share a single peso to the people back home who are barely even eating at least 2 square meals a day?  (Well if that’s the case, then I vote Antarctica!)

You see, there’s not much of a difference wherever we go. It’s about learning to be smart, learning to be brave and learning to have faith in the direst of circumstances. Whether you’re an American or Filipino or someone from Antarctica (if any), there’s always that chance of a better life for every one of us. I always get amazed by the so many success stories about people – most especially those whose being blind, or deaf, or lame, was never considered a reason for giving up.

But seriously, can’t you think of anything better than spending millions studying cow flatulence?   Oh well, I guess I’d rather just go to sleep.  We’ll never know, I might finally chance upon that same expensive restaurant where our beloved Legislators once had a taste of that dear ole good life.

In the original lesson plan for the speech, the children were to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” Another assignment was to “discuss what the president want’s us to do.” Thankfully, however, the critics objected to these assignments and it has since changed to “Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”

Either way many parents and teachers are not happy with this course of action. Some schools are even closing down for the day so as not to subject their students to the speech. Michelle Moore of St. Louis is thinking about keeping her children home from school on the 8^th. “I have to sign permission slips for my kids to watch R-rated movies in school,” Moore said, explaining that she felt parents were being blindsided by the president’s address. “It was simply presented, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this, this is when it’s going to air and you’re going to show it to your kids.’”

I know that I as a parent, were my children of school age, would keep my children at home. I am outraged for the other parents who’s children are in school. Many parents feel that if they had been presented with what he plans to say, or notified and given a choice they might be more considerate. For now however, they have had no choice, they can either send their children to school to be subjected to a unknown speech directed at their children or keep them home.

The idea that this socialist is targeting the young and naiveté, with his speech is infuriating. By pulling in the celebrities to whom many children idolize is even more underhanded. By pulling Le Bron James, and Kelly Clarkson, it sends the message to the young and impressionable that they should listen to the president and follow him simply because these stars are speaking alongside him. Some might say that, that is a jump, but we all know how much children listen to, and learn from their idols.

Bottom line is, this should have been talked about and agreed upon before having it thrust upon the children. Children deserve the right to be young and innocent not tainted by the ever toxic political world. At the time of this article, Foxnews.com held a poll, asking whether parents were going to keep their kids away from the speech, results were out of almost 63,000 votes 87% (almost 55,000) votes said they were in fact going to keep their children away from the speech. A little over 6,000 said they were going to allow their children to watch the speech.

In light of this someone higher up should listen, trying to get to the parents through their children will cause you loss of support. Think before doing something this outrageous again.

It’s gritty and personal. The bloggers are aid workers for the UN World Food Programme on the field, who often are working against the clock on their laptop’s battery’s life to edit and post their video blog posts. It looks at their everyday experiences, without the confusion of politics or media.

A great deal of the World Food Programmes work is possible thanks to US aid

Here’s a sneak preview:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the last few months, we’ve made more progress on health insurance reform than we made in the previous 60 years. You can tell from the reaction of reform opponents that we’re doing something right.

Special interests who profit from the status quo are spreading brazen lies that stir up anger, and Republican leaders are chiming in with over-the-top rhetoric that detracts from the public debate. Just last week, Rush Limbaugh insinuated that President Obama was comparable to Adolf Hitler.

It’s a perfect example of “the old politics of fear and division” that President Obama talked about during his campaign. But there is too much at stake, too many Americans facing rising health care costs and shrinking paychecks, for us to let the politics of yesterday prevail.

The last thing opponents of reform want is a positive, civil debate. They know they’ll lose on the merits, so they’re turning to lies and division. It’s up to us to expose each distortion for what it is: a lie, plain and simple. If we do that, we’ll better our politics — and bring badly-needed reform.

Monday, the White House launched a new online resource that could help — a “Reality Check” site to help Americans clear up health care lies and misinformation. Visit the site today — and then send it to your friends so that everyone you know learns the truth.

Whether it’s a parent wondering how reform will affect seniors, an old friend confused about a lie they’ve heard, or just a concerned co-worker, we all know someone with questions about reform. The “Reality Check” site answers those questions and sets the record straight on lies that have been circulating.

But it’s up to each of you to make sure they see it — so make sure to send it their way today.

With news of disruptions at some town halls, it’s easy to forget the progress we’ve made. But because of your continued commitment, the tide is turning. Supporters of reform now outnumber opponents at many town halls. And when we win the fight for health insurance reform, it will be not only a momentous accomplishment, but a sign that it’s possible to defeat the angry politics of the past.

There are too many folks in Washington who are willing to lie for partisan gain, or engage in hateful rhetoric to score political points, for reform to come easily. We all need to step up — and it starts with you passing along “Reality Check” today:

http://democrats.org/RealityCheck

We face too many challenges together — we can’t afford to continue the slash and burn politics of yesterday. Please stand with me and fight for the truth.

Thank you,

Governor Tim Kaine
Chairman

Cost of a bowl of soup at homeless shelter $0.00 dollars

Having Michelle Obama Serve you your soup $0.00 dollars

Snapping a picture of a homeless person who is receiving government funded meal while taking a picture of the first lady using his $500 Black Berry cell phone $$$$ Priceless

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget.  The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.  The House of representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices, 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.   In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.  They have no legal authority.  They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.  I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.
The politician has the power to accept or reject it.  No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault.   They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.  No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.  The president can only propose a budget.  He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.  Who is the speaker of the House?  Nancy Pelosi.  She is the leader of the majority party.
She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.  If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility.  I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.  When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in  IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.  Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.  Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Reportedly, this was written by Charlie Reese, a former columnist for the Orlando Sentinal. and it ended up in my in-box.

As a supplier for the Big 3 this man received a letter from the President of GM North America requesting support for the bail out program.

His response is classic, and has to make you proud of a local guy who tells it like it is…

First, this is the letter he got from GM to which his subsequent response is directed:

Dear Employees and Suppliers,

Troy Clarke – President
General Motors North America

Then, this is the response from: Gregory Knox, President of Knox Machinery Company Franklin , Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new “messiah”, Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep “living the dream”. Believe me folks, The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded “laborers” without paying the price for these atrocities. This dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don’t even think about telling me I’m wrong. Don’t accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM’s throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I’ve seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: “There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not.”

You’re right Mr. Clarke, it’s not JUST management.

How about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week?

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive? (We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke’s sad plea: “over the last few years, we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.” What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K-car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. It’s time to pay for your sins, Detroit .

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research , surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of “bailout money”.

“Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems,” but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day. and the following very important thing would happen.. . where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we would only let it work.”

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn’t work – that we need the government to step in and “save us”.

Save us my ass, Hell – we’re nationalizing, and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation’s citizens don’t even have a clue that this is what is really happening. But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams. Yeah – THAT’S really important, isn’t it.

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the “competition” has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country? How can that be??? Let’s see. Fuel efficient. Listening to customers. Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul.

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning. Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like “the enemy”. Efficient front and back offices. Non union environment.

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn’t be telling anyone anything they really don’t already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into – my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age.

I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) – I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh?

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course – but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don’t want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news, people – it’s coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn’t have a magic wand big enough to “make it all go away.”

I laughed as I heard Obama “reeling it back in” almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied. “we really might not do it in a year or in four.” Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office?

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks . That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000. People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits. That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn’t worth $85,000 a year.

We really shouldn’t allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe.

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn’t be living in that $485,000 home. Let the market correct itself folks – it will.

Yes it will be painful, but it’s gonna’ be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has, doesn’t live beyond its means, gets back to basics and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world. A return to Christian principles, common sense and decency would also be beneficial!

Sorry – don’t cut my head off, I’m just the messenger sharing with you the “bad news”. I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox, President

Knox Machinery, Inc. Franklin , Ohio 45005

]]> http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/knox-letter-gm-bailout/feed/ 0 http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/full-video-of-president-obamas-inauguration-speech/ http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/full-video-of-president-obamas-inauguration-speech/#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:58:02 +0000 Brad http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/?p=118 Please Enjoy watching the President’s Inauguration Speech. What a huge sea of people!

Obama’s Inaugural Speech
Presidential Inauguration
Excerpt|20:03||Closed Captions available
Barack Obama delivers his inaugural speech after taking the Oath of Office as the 44th President of the United States.

Not just Freedom, but so much more.

President Obama does truly usher in a new era.

An era that will come to be known as the birth of the 21st century.

“A New Age”, as the President puts it.

Woodward on Obama Transition
MSNBC Decision 08
Excerpt|02:25|
Jan. 20: The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward discusses the challenges Barack Obama will inherit from President Bush.

Notes from President Obama’s Inauguration Speech -

Decline not inevitable
Raise your expectations, people
Expectation will be met
Hope over fear
Unity of purpose
End to petty grievances

All are equal
All are Free
and
All deserve an equal chance

Greatness is never a gift, it must be earned!

The risk takers, the doers, obscure in their labor, carried the path to prosperity and freedom.

Immigrants toiled, struggled, settled the west, fought and died.

Struggles and Sacrificed so that we might live a better life.

Love the speech so far…

We still have something to offer the world, but cannot remain passive!

Begin again the work of remaking America!

(applause)

New Foundation for Growth (I like this one)

The sun and the winds and the soils to run our cars and factories.

Some question the scale of our ambitions.

The ground has shifted beneath the cynics. the same old arguments no longer apply.

Does it work or not?

Restore the vital trust between the people and the government.

The reach of our prosperity. The surest route to our common good!

No choice between our safety and our ideals!

(Bush is sitting there thinking “Damn, this is a good speech”)

Ready to lead once more!

The faith and determination of the American people.

(the people are so quiet, wow! I heard there’s over 2 Million people stacked in the Mall in Washington. Oh, they are cheering now. Now back to quiet)

President Obama tells the American people about Valley Forge.

With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents…
George Washington

(the above text has been paraphrased in some instances)

This is one of the best speeches I’ve ever read or heard. Enough said.

I’m looking at this as a new beginning for America, and giving him as much leeway as I gave Bush in the beginning, but he’s STILL not offered any substance. I argued with a friend over these videos last night, because he thinks Obama “sounds great”, which he does, but it still sounds like a campaign speech to me.

He actually does start to say something this week that’s more than just empty rhetoric – “I’ve already directed my economic team team to come up with an economic recovery plan that will result in 2.5 million more jobs by Jan 2011. We’ll be working out the details in the weeks ahead, and announcing the details soon.” – Really? You have? Wow, why not direct them to come up with a cure for Cancer too?

Regardless of your political persuasion, you have to admit two things:

1. Republican leadership over the past four (yes, 4) years has been nothing less than abysmal. Every one of them sold out their supposed “ideals” and the country is in horrible shape thanks to them. They DESERVED to lose in a very big way, and it’s impossible to feel sorry for them.
2. Senator McCain ran a pathetic and non-competitive campaign, never showing any passion or vision at all. He was completely out-enthused by the freshman senator, who ran a brilliant campaign, and NOBODY can possibly believe for a second that McCains heart was in it. Watching the debates and the TV commercials, it almost seemed to me as if he was throwing the election.

Notice to All Employees

As of November 5, 2008, when President Obama is officially elected into office, our company will instill a few new policies which are in keeping with his new, inspiring issues of change and fairness:

1. All salespeople will be pooling their sales and bonuses into a common pool that will be divided equally between all of you. This will serve to give those of you who are underachieving a “fair shake.”
2. All low level workers will be pooling their wages, including overtime, into a common pool, dividing it equally amongst yourselves. This will help those who are “too busy for overtime” to reap the rewards from those who have more spare time and can work extra hours.
3. All top management will now be referred to as “the government.” We will not participate in this “pooling” experience because the law doesn’t apply to us.
4. The “government” will give eloquent speeches to all employees every week, encouraging it’s workers to continue to work hard “for the good of all.”
5. The employees will be thrilled with these new policies because it’s “good to spread the wealth.” Those of you who have underachieved will finally get an opportunity; those of you who have worked hard and had success will feel more “patriotic.”
6. The last few people who were hired should clean out their desks. Don’t feel bad, though, because President Obama will give you free healthcare, free handouts, free oil for heating your home, free food stamps, and he’ll let you stay in your home for as long as you want even if you can’t pay your mortgage. If you appeal directly to our democratic congress, you might even get a free flat screen TV and a coupon for free haircuts  (shouldn’t all Americans be entitled to nice looking hair?) !!!

If for any reason you are not happy with the new policies, you may want to rethink your vote on November 4th.

I first posted about this a few weeks ago, and with the resentment most Americans are feeling right now towards the Bush administration, and the press on his side, teachers and school kids on his side, and even many lot of Republicans on his side, the fact is that Senator Obama should win this election by a landslide.

Here’s the short version…

His failure to crush this issue where it sits could end up costing Democrats this election. don’t you think he owes it to the American public to shut it down?

The guy bringing this lawsuit claims he’s a lifelong Democrat, and I’m not sure he’s being truthful, but the point is, that this issue needs to go away, and only Senator Obama can make that happen. This is just plain ridiculous.

Over 1.6 million people have already seen it, but that’s not enough, and the election looks like it’s pretty much over, with McCain going to get smoked pretty badly.

If I knew a way to archive it, I’d put it here permanently, because I think our country is headed into the toilet at full speed ahead.

Let me be clear – It’s NOT just the Democrats or even the Republicans that are at fault, it’s all of the corrupt politicians on both sides, that actively pushed these policies, and the ones that passively stood by and allowed this to happen are just as guilty.

People on both sides of the aisle should be going to prison over this, but you know Goddamn well they wont. We the American people are the ones that pay…

Is it hard to believe that people can really be this stupid? Not to me, but then I spent a long time in the retail management field dealing with the public…

For cryin’ out loud, the debate last night was horrendous. What a bunch of pre-packaged bullshit. These guys should have to anwer real questions, and multiple depates from moderators on both sides of the political fence should be manadatory. Do either one of them have a flippin’ clue at ALL about how fed up we all are? do they even care? Isn’t there any passion or anger on either one of their parts?

I’d never recommend not voting, but how can we really all be asked to put our faith in either of these two guys, who don’t even seem to understand simple principles of marketing?

I’m SO disgusted.

See this? -  It’s the trend since the spring of people located in the United States that have been searching for the phrase “moving to another country” – Wow, that’s an eye opener, isn’t it?  (source – Google Insights)

I was tempted to reply back with a link to this next video, which I actually do find a little bit disturbing, but also pretty far from “Witchcraft” as the left seems to be portraying.

Frankly this whole race is pretty disgusting, our country in really bad shape, and all anyone wants to do is point fingers at the other side instead of getting together and fixing it.

We actually had to rewind the DVR to hear him say it again because I thought I heard incorrectly. I couldn’t wait until it was time for Sarah Pailin to respond, because I thought she was going to stand up for some sort of principles, but she didn’t.

Unfortunately there was no camera on Sarah Palin’s face to see if she even heard it, but I was completely stunned when she let it slide by completely.

I’m sorry, but what country are we living in again?

Joe Biden believes that the court should be able to come in and renegotiate not only the terms of the loan but the actual amount of the loan is for in the first place? Are you serious?

The fact that Mrs. Penguin ignored this completely tells me that she either didn’t hear it, or that the Republican Party has lost all will to live completely, and she was instructed not to, because it’s a safe bet that she doesn’t believe that personally.  We seem to be acquiescing to the lowest common denominator in our country.

Another question I would like to have seen asked, was “How do you define the wealthy?”

Clearly this matters where you live, and nobody has yet brought up the fact that you cannot possibly raise a family of four on $250,000 if you live in New York City or San Francisco. Yet they are supposed to be wealthy?

How about, “what should that top tax level be?”

How about, “Why not continue to tier the tax levels beyond $250,000?”

Are we really calling anyone that makes more than a quarter million dollars a year “the super wealthy”? That’s absurd, and the fact that nobody mentioned it is just pathetic.

If we are going to continue the progressive tax system, I believe the tax rates should have additional brackets, perhaps over the 2 million mark, over the 5 million mark, over the 10 million mark, and so on.

Whose place is it to say how much someone “needs”?

The “needs” of someone in suburban Montana are quite different from those elsewhere,  but if we are going to have a progressive system then it damn sure needs to continue to “progress” far further than a quarter million dollars a year, and much farther past 375k like George Bush has it now.

Why should the top tax rate max out where it does, if a progressive system is what were using? Why has nobody called bullshit on this?

While I do believe that at some point you may “have enough money”, the fact that someone who makes one million dollars is taxed at the same maximum rate as someone who makes 10 million or 100 million is completely absurd – (unless of course you buy into the radical philosophy that all Americans should pay the same flat rate, like I do, with a reasonable minimum where you just pay nothing)

But then that would do away with all of the bureaucracies in red tape of the IRS and the accounting profession combined,  and we can’t have that can we?

This is a very sad time in American politics, and for the American people in general.

In my opinion the presidential election is simply a marketing campaign. Whoever gets their message to appeal to the widest number of people in the middle, is going to win. There’s a committed last and committed right that are firmly set in their ways and could not be swayed under any circumstances to vote for the other party.

However, I believe that the vast majority are in the middle, and would be willing to listen to rational arguments from both sides and make an intelligent decision from there.

I would sure love to know the thought process behind McCain picking his running mate. One of the huge advantages he may have had over Obama was his experience. Now he’s chosen a one term governor, who was previously the mayor of a small town. Is she really qualified to be the first person in line for the presidency, and if something happens to currently 72-year-old John McCain.

Sometimes political campaigns make the absolute stupidest mistakes, and I just can’t help thinking that this is one of them.

This is a pretty funny video, that’s not leaning either to the left or to the right side of the political spectrum…

It’s just funny

Now, with the benefit of plenty of preparation time, can someone please add some accomplishments here as comments? What has he DONE to deserve to be President? Not what he’ll promise, not what he’ll “inspire” but what has he actually accomplished so far? Surely in his term as US Senator, he must have done something, right? So… what?

]]> http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/obamas-accomplishments/feed/ 0 http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/how-many-zeros-in-a-billion/ http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/how-many-zeros-in-a-billion/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:23:04 +0000 Mr. Koolaid http://www.politicalkoolaid.com/weblog/politics/how-many-zeros-in-a-billion/ Another email receipt here, but funny and true. In my opinion, no political party is responsible, but bot have allowed it to happen…

>>>

The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about
whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it’s releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let’s take a look at New Orleans…
It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D)  is presently asking Congress for 250  BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans.

Interesting number… what does it mean?

A. Well… if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

B. Or… if you have one of the 188,251 homes in  New Orleans, your home gets  $1,329,787.

C. Or… if you are a family of four, your family gets  $2,066,012.

Washington, D. C  < HELLO! >  Are all your calculators broken??

• Accounts Receivable Tax
• Building Permit Tax
• CDL License Tax
• Cigarette Tax
• Corporate Income Tax
• Dog License Tax
• Federal Income Tax < BR>Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
• Fishing License Tax
• Food License Tax
• Fuel Permit Tax
• Gasoline Tax
• Hunting License Tax
• Inheritance Tax
• Inventory Tax
• IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
• IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
• Liquor Tax
• Luxury Tax
• Marriage License Tax
• Medicare Tax
• Property Tax
• Real Estate Tax
• Service charge taxes
• Social Security Tax
• Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
• Sales Taxes
• Recreational Vehicle Tax
• School Tax
• State Income Tax
• State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
• Telephone Federal Excise Tax
• Telephone Federal Universal Service Fe e Tax
• Telephone Federal, State and Local Su rcharge Tax
• Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
• Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
• Telephone State and Local Tax
• Telephone Usage Charge Tax
• Utility Tax
• Vehicle License Registration Tax
• Vehicle Sales Tax
• Watercraft Registration Tax
• Well Permit Tax
• Workers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt. We had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.  What happened?
Can you spell ‘politicians’?

And I still have to press ‘1′ for English.

Talk about putting your most valuable where your mouth is! Apparently this was not “newsworthy” enough for the media to comment about. Can either of the other presidential candidates truthfully come close to this? … Just a question for each of us to seek an answer, and not a statement.

You see…character is what’s shown when the public is not looking. There were no cameras or press invited to what you are about to read about, and the story comes from one person in New Hampshire.

One evening last July, Senator John McCain of Arizona arrived at the New Hampshire home of Erin Flanagan for sandwiches, chocolate-chip cookies and a heartfelt talk about Iraq. They had met at a presidential debate, when she asked the candidates what they would do to bring home American soldiers – - soldiers like her brother, who had been killed in action a few months earlier.

Mr. McCain did not bring cameras or press. Instead, he brought his youngest son, James McCain, 19, then a private first class in the Marine Corps about to leave for Iraq. Father and son sat down to hear more about Ms. Flanagan’s brother Michael Cleary, a 24-year-old Army First Lieutenant killed by an ambush … a roadside bomb.

No one mentioned the obvious: In just days, Jimmy McCain could face similar perils. ‘I can’t imagine what it must have been like for them as they were coming to meet with a family that ……’ Ms. Flanagan recalled, choking up. ‘We lost a dear one,’ she finished.

Mr. McCain, now the presumptive Republican nominee, has staked his candidacy on the promise that American troops can bring stability to Iraq. What he almost never says is that one of them is his own son, who spent seven months patrolling Anbar Province and learned of his father’s New Hampshire victory in January while he was digging a stuck military vehicle out of the mud.

Two of Jimmy’s three older brothers went into the military. Doug McCain, 48, was a Navy pilot. Jack McCain, 21, is to graduate from the Naval Academy next year, raising the chances that his father, if elected, could become the first president since Dwight D. Eisenhower with a son at war.

I chose to share this with those who I believe will pass it on, to others who will pass it on. We hear so much inflated trash out there. How about a simple act of kindness … and dedication to others placed above oneself?

Has anybody heard if Barack Hussein Obama has served in The American Armed Services?

This is for all you Barack voters.

From Barack’s book, Audacity of Hope:

“I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”

HE DID NOT SAY STAND WITH AMERICANS!!!

>>>end>>>

Huh! did Obama really write that in his book? Has anyone read it and can they cite what page it’s on?

Ahh, this blog says this…

The actual quote from the book is from page 261 and is as follows: “Of course, not all my conversations in immigrant communities follow this easy pattern. In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging.They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

So, I guess it’s sorta true?

DOOR NUMBER ONE: BARACK OBAMA

Here is a man that insists on ‘change’ in the way Washington does politics.  He wants to change the system with new, young and fresh blood.  The only problem is that the man is a ‘walking contradiction’ (thanks Kris).

He is partly deception and ‘partly fiction.’  They say you can judge a person by who he associates with.  Well Barack’s first endorsements came from: Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Dick Durbin, Chris Dodd, John Rockefeller, Tom Daschle, Bill Richardson and it is hinted Jimmy Carter may join the club just to mention a few.

Where in that group is anything but old school liberal wing Democratic politicians?  The more disturbing associations are Jeremiah Wright, Louis and Farrakhan, Malcolm X.

These are no Martin Luther King, Jr. protégés.  So what we are getting with Mr. Obama seems to be an extremely left-wing liberal Democrat with the Black Militant undercurrents.  Have you noticed how determined his supporters seem to be?

Chris Matthews tells us he doesn’t know about Obama, but when he went to an Obama campaign rally he ‘felt a tingle go up his leg’.  Well now that’s special.  Just what we need, a President who sends tingles up our legs.  Bill Richardson is not much better.  He doesn’t know, there is just something about him.  That’s nice.  He’s ‘Special’.

They also tell us that most of Obama’s supporters are from 19 to 29 year olds.  Well now that’s just dandy.  If the 19 to 29 year olds are so smart, mature and knowledgeable about who should be our president then we should make all our college professors, corporate CEOs, judges, school teachers, attorneys and doctors from 19 to 29 year olds.

What a ‘Great Society’ that would be. Oh I forgot somebody already tried the ‘Great Society’.  I think he was an Ultra Liberal Democrat.  Not that there is anything wrong with that!  But they just lost two recent elections (granted both were stolen.)
So if you want a black militant social war and all our institutions run by 19 to 29 year olds then by all means vote for Obama.  I understand Michelle will be leading the charge and be his chief advisor.

DOOR NUMBER TWO: JOHN MCCAIN

So you don’t like the black revolution/war then how about Big John?  Big Bad John will not only start a war with Iran but the rest of the Muslim world as well.  Did you notice Senator Lieberman hanging on to his arm and whispering in his ear?

He says he used to be a Democrat.  The only problem with him is that he is in the wrong legislative body.  With his Foreign Policy agenda, he should be in Israel’s Legislature not ours.  The man votes pro Israel every time.

He wants to kill as many Muslims as he can before they kill any more Israelis. Dah!!!  Have you checked his voting record on the Iraq war, warrantless wiretaps, Guantanamo, torture of Muslims and his 99% voting record to support the Bush Agenda?

No thank you to another four years of the Bush Doctrine – kill, rob and destroy – (we can now add torture to the list.)   He will get McCain to do the same.

DOOR NUMBER THREE: HILLARY CLINTON

As she has said, which part of the 90s did you not like the Peace or the Prosperity???

Some say she is not qualified. I would venture to say that she knows on a personal basis more members of Congress (both houses) along with half the governors and their families on a first name basis.  She probably has shared coffee and family pictures with most of them.

She probably has campaigned for most all of the Democratic ones for sure – yes including Barack Obama.  I understand she went to Illinois and met the family, campaigned for him there and then came back with a picture of the Obama Family which I believe is still in her office.

So we can see that on a personal level she could probably get along with most congressional leaders just fine to promote a peace and prosperity agenda.  Let’s consider, probably what is, her greatest asset – Bill Clinton!  Why???

Let’s say you’re a novice small commuter jet pilot and you have to fly a 747 out of the path of an impending Tsunami.  However there are several problems.  Three of the engines are out; the fourth is running at 80% capacity.

The good news is that there is a guy on the plane who help build and test flew the 747 many years ago and quit flying about eight years ago – but he still knows how to fly.  Do you want that guy sitting in the co-pilots seat in case of another catastrophe?

Or would you rather have the other option; a novice pilot who just graduated two years ago from pilot school and has never even flown a 747 but he says he can fly us out just fine with making a few ‘changes.’  Let’s get real.

If Hillary ever needed any assistance what better advisor could any Democratic President have at their disposal?  What kind of question, issue or crisis could come up in the white house that Hillary would not have at her beckon call Bill Clinton.

Have not all presidents, except maybe Wonder George (‘w’ for short) called upon former presidents for consultation regarding a crisis?  Hillary would have one very, very successful and talented one living with her.

Bill Clinton is the very asset that will make Hillary two, three or even four times more prosperous and productive a president of the United States Of America than Bill Clinton.  No offense Bill.  This is an undisputable fact and even Bill knows it.

In the words of the great LBJ, ‘my fellow Americans’ the choice is simple – Hillary Clinton with her staff, consultants and advisors simply must be the next president of these United States of America or God help us all for nobody else will.

THE CRITICAL FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED:

• The National debt is at an all time high.
• The U. S. Dollar is at an all time low.
• Oil is at an all time high $114.00 per barrel.  (of course if the U.S. dollar was worth more than 50 cents that would make oil only $55.00 a barrel.
• The home mortgage business has just collapsed.
• We are spending in excess of $3,000,000,000.00 per week in Iraq.
• Produce and dairy products just went though at least a 20% to 30% increase.
• 401Ks and IRAs are off about 20% to 30%.
• Medical costs are exorbitant and unaffordable to most Americans.
• Unemployment is drastically rising – 60,000 last month. Etc, etc, etc,

The preceding article arrived unsolicited in this editors mailbox, bearing a name and phone number that could not be verified. If you’d like to claim credit, simply comment…

A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool ( and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Mid-western’s snow belt area. It’s in the South.

House # 2
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every “green” feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.

The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode of the “environmentalist ” Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford , Texas; it is the residence of the President of the United States , George W. Bush.

An “inconvenient truth.”

You can verify it at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

1. You have to be against capital punishment,

<<Hey Cons, waaaaay too too costly. Thought you Con(men) didn’t believe in government waste.

but support abortion on demand.

<<Hey, Cons, you think the right to choose, the right to PRIVACY, should be infringed? Hey Cons, choose NOT to have one.

2. You have to believe that businesses create depressions

<<Hey Cons, they do. Look around your myopic world. Read a newspaper. Without adequate regulation we get what we have now. How’s that economy working for you Bushie-con?

and governments create prosperity.

<<Hey Cons, didn’t the Pentagon CREATE the Internet?
And NASA create TANG? to name just a few in this wide range.
Isn’t BLACKWATER International and Halliburton doing pretty good last time we checked too.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more
of a threat than Nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iranians and North
Korean communists.

<<Hey Cons, name me one American that harmed by a North Korean nuke? No? Didn’t think so.
<<Hey Cons, you want a list of the thousands of people that die every year from gun violence?
<<Hey Cons, how many of those guns STARTED in the hands of “law-abiding Americans.”

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

<<Hey Cons, isn’t ones life is supposed to be a “work of art” why deny Art is important to life?

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth’s climate

<<Hey Cons, yes, climate change does occur, over thousands of years, not over two hundred, SEE answer below.

and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV’s.

<<Hey Cons, why do you think global warming is a hoax? Answer: Cons don’t believe in science either.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

<<Hey Cons, why do you think someone would CHOOSE to be part of a reviled, hated minority? People of color have no choice.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

<<Hey Cons, it is because of the cuts to funding prevention, LOL, you could look it up!

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

<<Hey Cons, sex is healthy.
<<Hey Cons, why do you cling to your guns and religion?

9. You have to believe that hunters that pay for wildlife management don’t care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco
or Portland do.

<<Hey Cons, We hope they ALL do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

<<Hey Cons, Huh?

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make “The Passion of the Christ” for financial gain only.

<<Hey Cons, duh, Gibson is a sado-masochist torture freak who DID make MILLIONS on this torture flick.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

<<Hey Cons, read a book, the ACLU supports and defends the ENTIRE Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

<<Hey Cons, do all CONS work for banks? ATM fees ROB people blind, and are WAY too high

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and A.G. Bell.

<<Hey Cons, Huh? Liberals and Progressives can’t admire these inventors too?

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

<<Hey Cons, a wee bit of compassion here. After 270 years of slavery and 80 years of segregation, a little help isn’t untoward. Is it?

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.

<<Hey Cons, She is a Wellesley College and Yale Law School graduate. No, she’s not normal.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried is because the right people haven’t been in charge.

<<Hey Cons, Corporate socialism is happening here in the US. Don’t get your Larry Craig panties in a bunch. We’ll get to your fascism one day soon.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

<<Hey Cons, I forgot, everything is Clinton’s fault. Oh man, sex offender? Conservatives can begin a war, kill thousands of people and wreak havoc with the economy but get a blow job? For Conservatives it seems to be the blow jobs are being given mano on mano. That’s OK. But a real man getting a blow job WHILE he’s working? Because he’s TOO BUSY WORKING to stop?I want that MF’n multi-tasker working for me.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying transvestites in drag should be constitutionally protected,

<<Hey Cons, you guys are dodo birds, truly (Cons also soon to be extinct because of the way they think), it is called the first amendment.

and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

<<Hey Cons don’t YOU believe in the Constitution? They should be off … if they’re on government property. Delusions shouldn’t be approved on my tax dollar.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.

<<Hey Cons, what? Prove it

21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right-wing conspiracy.

<<Hey Cons, it is. You don’t see these types of Goebbels like propaganda pieces from free, progressive, forward thinking liberal. Why? Because we have facts, history and truth on our side. We don’t need a Nazi-type propaganda machine to fool simpletons. Too busy for that.

22. You have to believe that it’s OK to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it’s not OK to say “Merry Christmas.”

<<Hey Cons, this one is new, is it due to that wacko Bill-O?

The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills, education or ambition.
“Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society,” said California Senator Barbara Boxer.

“We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they have some idea of what they are doing.”

In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack any job skills, making this agency the single largest U.S. employer of Persons of Inability.

Private-sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the inept include financial advisors (73%), retail sales (72%), the automotive industry (70%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement “warehouse” stores (65%). At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has a great record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%).

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million “middleman” positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given so as to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees.

The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle-management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNAA Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled, banning, for example, discriminatory interview questions such as “Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?”

“As a Non-abled person, I can’t be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them,” said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan due to her lack of discernible job skills. “This new law should really help people like me.”

With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Said Senator Ted Kennedy: “As a Senator With No Abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation.”

“The fact that McCain makes short, blunt statements does not make him straight-talker

There are short, blunt lies — and he told a big one on the eve of the Florida primary, when he claimed that Mitt Romney had advocated a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

Wow, that doesn’t sound like they’re very happy, does it?

Sowell goes on to say that when he was confronted with a twisted facts about Mitt Romney, “McCain blustered and filibustered in a manner reminiscent of Captain Queeg in “The Caine Mutiny,” when he was caught in a lie during a navy inquiry.

The circus is heating up…

Read the whole thing here

I’ve watched this twice, and I’m sorry, i just don’t get it. I WANT to like him – I WANT to, really. But I’ve yet to hear him utter a single PLAN of ACTION. He’s not responding, he’s complaining. What’s he going to do better?

Listen carefully here, and tell me what he is going to DO? Anything? Nothing? This is total bullshit, sound bytes and talking in circles, isn’t it? The scary part is that a lot of people are going to vote for him! I might too if he would TELL US SOMETHING of SUBSTANCE!

GOP sources tell us that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani plans to drop out and endorse McCain, which would give McCain added momentum heading into a debate Wednesday and next week’s Super Tuesday.

Personally, I think he’s one of the few candidates on the right side (sort of) that have a chance of beating either Obama or Clinton, but I still wish he had the balls to say that the “economic stimulus” plan being considered now is total bullshit.

Got links to other cartoons?

An obvious choice can be unnerving. When the apparent perfection of one option or the unspeakable awfulness of another makes a decision seem too easy, it is human nature to become suspicious.

This instinct intensifies as the stakes of the given choice are
raised. American voters know no greater responsibility to their country and to the world than to select their president wisely. While we do not yet know who the Democrat and Republican nominees will be, any combination of the leading candidates from either party will make for the most obvious choice put to American voters in a generation. To wit, none of the Democrats has any business being president.

This pronouncement has less to do with any apparent perfection among the Republican candidates than with the intellectual and experiential paucity evinced by the Democratic field. “Not ready for prime time,” goes the vernacular, but this does not suffice to describe how bad things are.

Alongside Hillary Clinton, add Barack Obama’s kindergarten essays to an already confused conversation about Dennis Kucinich’s UFO sightings, dueling celebrity endorsements and who can be quickest to retreat from America ’s global conflict and raise taxes on the American people, and it becomes clear that these are profoundly unserious individuals.

To be sure, there has been a fair amount of rubbish and rhubarb on the Republican side (Ron Paul, call your office), but even a cursory review of the legislative and professional records of the leading contenders from each party reveals a disparity akin to adults competing with children.

For the Republicans, Rudy Giuliani served as a two-term mayor of New York City , turning a budget deficit into a surplus and taming what was thought to be an ungovernable metropolis. Prior to that, he held the third-highest rank in the Reagan Justice Department, obtaining over 4,000 convictions.

Mitt Romney, before serving as governor of Massachusetts , founded a venture capital firm that created billions of dollars in shareholder value, and he then went on to save the Salt Lake City Olympics. While much is made of Mike Huckabee’s history as a Baptist minister, he was also a governor for more than a decade and, while Arkansas is hardly a “cradle of
presidents,” it has launched at least one previous chief executive to national office.

John McCain’s legislative and ilitary career spans five decades, with half that time having been spent in the Congress. Even Fred Thompson, whose excess of nonchalance has transformed his once-promising campaign into nothing more than a theoretical possibility, has more experience in the U.S. Senate than any of the leading Democratic candidates.

With just over one term as a Senator to her credit, Hillary Clinton boasts the most extensive record of the potential Democratic nominees. In that time, Senator Clinton cannot claim a single legislative accomplishment of note, and she is best known lately for requesting $1-million from Congress for a museum to commemorate Woodstock.

Barack Obama is nearing the halfway point of his first term in the Senate, having previously served as an Illinois state legislator and, as Clinton has correctly pointed out, has done nothing but run for president since he first arrived in Washington. Between calling for the invasion of Pakistan and fumbling a simple question on driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, Obama has shown that he is not the fellow to whom the nation ought to hike the nuclear football.

John Edwards, meanwhile, embodies the adage that the American people will elect anyone to Congress — once. From his $1,200 haircuts to his personal war on poverty, proclaimed from the porch of his 28,000-square-foot home, purchased with the proceeds of preposterous lawsuits exploiting infant cerebral palsy, Edwards is living proof that history can play out as
tragedy and farce simultaneously.

Forget for a moment all that you believe about public policy. Discard your notions about taxes and Iraq , free trade and crime, and consider solely the experience of these two sets of candidates. Is there any serious issue that you would prefer to entrust to a person with the Democrats’ experience, rather than that of any of the Republicans?

Now consider the state of debate in each party. While the Republicans compare tax proposals and the best way to prosecute the War on Terror, Democrats are divining the patterns and meaning of the glitter and dried macaroni glued to the page of one of their leading candidate’s kindergarten projects.
Does this decision not become unsettlingly simple?

Please send this to as many people as you can…

You’ve got to read this all the way through to the bottom.

I HEREWITH FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE OR SHE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE WHO IS A CANDIDATE FOR ELECTION OR REELECTION IN 2008.
LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON “PEOPLE POWER” AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE WITH ME ON THIS BY FORWARDING TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.

IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!
KEEP IT GOING!!!!
2008 Election Issue!!
GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOC. SEC.
This must be an issue in “2008″
Please! Keep it going.
———————————-
SOCIAL SECURITY:
(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.  ur Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.

You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.  or all practical purposes their plan works like this:

When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.   xcept it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments..

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that’s Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.

Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.  Their cost for this excellent plan is  NADA..! ZILCH…$00.00

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan . The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;
“OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK “!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer). We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.

Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one month to equal Senator Bill Bradley’s benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small
change were made…

That change would be to:
Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the members of Congress. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us.
Then sit back and see how fast they would fix it!

Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage
of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the
patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the
chairs, the table…everywhere.

Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb
me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my
own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the
feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and
night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn’t even sit on my own back porch
anymore.

I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were
gone.

I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they
had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be……quiet, serene and
no one demanding their rights to a free meal.

My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of the Iraq regime has been completed.

Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the  names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short. The United Kingdom , Spain , Bulgaria , Australia , and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the world’s nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hellholes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine ? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France .

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home . On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France , or maybe China .

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France , Germany , and Russia . Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bon chance, mes amis.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don’t care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Mexico is also on List 2 President Fox and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra tank and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put ‘em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty – starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for oil in Alaska – which will take care of this country’s oil needs for decades to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there. They care.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, “darn tootin.”

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America It is time to eliminate homelessness in America . To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won’t forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.

God bless America . Thank you and good night.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

Since 1994, the Republicans have had a chance to accomplish some, or even all of the things that they first started crowing about in the early 1990’s, and they completely blew it. Frankly, I’m surprised they hung on this long after the all of the runaway spending, and business as usual politics and scandals.

When George Bush took over in 2000, with control of both houses of congress and the presidency, I thought there was going to be no stopping the Republican juggernaut, but I was wrong.

The Republicans managed to screw up their mandate, and lost the trust of the American people by being every bit of the corrupt and self serving politicians that their critics claimed they were, and now their party is over.

Special interests and money talk louder than ever in todays Washington DC, and it’s enough to make you sick. The Dixie Chicks aren’t the only ones that are ashamed to be American.
The sad part about this Democratic victory yesterday to me is that instead of coming in with new ideas, and an honest intent to right our misguided direction, I suspect that Nancy Pelosi and her crew will now set out to “investigate” supposed past misdeeds by previous (and current) officeholders, including the president.
Rather than productively trying to get their own agenda passed, and adding some intelligence to the discussions, I predict that 2007 will see Democrats on the attack, holding pointless hearings, dwelling on ancient history, and trying to further blemish the record of more Republicans, so that the democrats will do better in 2008.  This will only serve only to further disgust the American people, and drive a deeper wedge between the left and right.

The media keeps telling us that Democrats hate Republicans, and Republicans hate the Democrats, and that the country has never been more divided. That may be true, but I think we’re seeing a common loathing for politics and politicians in general, and unless something changes, we’ll continue to see voter turnout drop, and the country generally lose interest as we continue the decay of our society.

Well, this woman actually says in her blog -

The fact is that the Republican leadership didn’t want to acknowledge the possibility that one of their own was gay (Log Cabin Republicans, notwithstanding) and are now trying to find an excuse for their own inept handling of the situation. Don’t blame Foley’s behavior on his being gay. The man is a sexual predator, the leadership knew it, and they must all be held responsible.

Excuse be, but what kind of crap is that? In one paragraph, she manages to call the Republicans homophobic and dishonest, with absolutely no evidence.

Can anyone yet prove that Hastert or others knew about this inappropriate, (but not illegal as far as I know) behavior?

Was this handled inepty? I don’t know yet. At least Foley had the decency and common sense to resign immediately, which is more thaan can be said for some others.
Where were the calls for the resignation of Tip O’Neil when Democratic congressman Gerry Studds actially had sex with a page after flying him out of the country? For that matter, where were the calls for HIS resignation?

Not only was Studds not forced to resign, but he actually got reelected!

To suggest without proof that Republican leaders had such poor judgement as to cover up for this pervert is simply laughable to me.

However, if it is proven that there was an attempted Republican cover up, then yes, I agree, whoever tried to cover it up should go, for excersising incredible stupidity! But shouldn’t there be some proof first?

What a sad world we live in today…

Since our country has an abundance of undocumented immigrants, and no shortage of people in the world that wish us to die like dogs in the street, can anyone give me one  reason why requiring ID’s is not a good idea?

Pope Benedict XVI apologized in person on Sunday for offending some Muslims with a recent quotation from a medieval text that said Islamic teachings on holy war were “evil and inhuman.”

Wow! The Pope’s outragious comments seemed have sparked some unrest. According to the CBC - 

• Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono described the Pope’s reference as “unwise and inappropriate” 
• Palestinian Muslims firebombed two churches and shot at five others in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Saturday
• In the town of Tulkarem, a church built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and its interior was destroyed
• In the village of Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christians said, although Neither church is Catholic

Egypts Muslim Brotherhood, who had earlier described the Pope’s remarks as a “sufficient apology” now says this, according to Austrailias Herald Sun - 

“It does not rise to the level of a clear apology and, based on this, we’re calling on the Pope of the Vatican to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion,” 

For the Pope to suggest that Muslem killing might be evil, more people must die, right? So that’s why an Italian nun and her Somali bodyguard were shot dead in Mogadishu Sunday?

Don’t Muslems have any sense of irony?