Welcome Back, Mr. Prez!
Yeah we tease him a lot
'Cause we've got him on the spot
Welcome back
Welcome back! Welcome back! Welcome back!
John Sebastian
I'm almost embarrassed to use those lyrics as the opener to this piece. With the monumental exception of Three's Company, Welcome Back Kotter was absolutely the worst "successful" sit-com of the seventies. It had some of the lamest "comedy" writers in the history of literature ("Up your nose with a rubber hose!") Just awful stuff. But the show's theme song wasn't too bad, and it works here. Welcome back, President Obama. We've missed you. Your dreams were your ticket out.
I had started to wonder what happened to that fellow I had voted for three years ago. I had expected a progressive-on-fire, and all I got was this Casper Milquetoast-moderate, sound asleep in the middle of the road - not a good place to be. But there he was the other day out in the Rose Garden, saying what was screaming to be said; that this nation's economic burden shall no longer be placed solely on the backs of the poor and the vanishing middle class, and that the miniscule class of people who are hoarding most of the nation's wealth shall be forced to pay more - A helluva lot more, baby! - in order to save America's desperately crumbling infrastructure.
The president has placed himself in the most enviable political position of any politician that I can remember. The tone of next year's campaign has been set: that the middle class must be saved. Watch in glee while the Republicans try to find a way to defend the utterly indefensible; while they draw a smiley face on the morally reprehensible. This is gonna be funny!
Here's a little something you can bet the farm on. The next thirteen months will see the right wing beside themselves as they scramble - like sadistic little mice - to change the topic of discussion from that of economic fairness, to the subject of that BIG, BLACK, BOLSHEVIK BOOGIEMAN in the Oval Office. They won't be able to take back the senate and the White House - nor will they be able to retain control of the House of Reprehensibles - without exploiting the worst racist tendencies deep within America's tormented soul. That is their biggest hope. That is their only hope. 2012 might very well turn out to be a most interesting political year. Talk about understatement!
In addition to playing the race card, it's a fairly easy guess that they'll drag out their moth-eaten bag of "family values" for good measure, as hard as that argument is for many of us to swallow these days. The Republicans don't give a shit about American families - or the families who gross somewhere under a million per. This is a party that cares about one thing only - that the obscenely rich get obscenely richer. To hell with the rest of you.
What they're doing in Wahing-TON?
They're just looking out for Number One
And Number One ain't you
You ain't even Number Two!
Frank Zappa
Wake the fuck up. The only way these people can survive politically is via the old, tried-and-true route of division and distraction. Their ideological antecedents tried the same thing exactly a century-and-a-half ago. Do you remember how that ended? It wasn't very pretty as we all know. I am not saying that we've arrived at that same place. I'm not even vaguely implying it. Not at all, dear reader! It's just that Rick Perry has twice hinted at Texas secession. Not that there would be anything wrong with that mind you.
This new-and-improved, revamped Barack Obama gives me a rush of "hope". Remember that word? Less than a week ago on this very site, I was toying with the depressing possibility of a Rick Perry victory next year. All bets are now off. It is apparent that the president has been reminded that his party is (or at least it's supposed to be) the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. For over fifty years those programs did many good things for this country. In the early eighties when Ronald Reagan began the process of destroying the New Deal, America's infrastructure began to fall apart - not to mention the American middle class. The genius of the Conservative movement is that they have been successful at placing the blame for this destruction on the Left. As the late Lenny Bruce once said, "How's that for moxie???"
This may
sound astonishing but it's true. There are a number of reasonable and intelligent people out there who are registered to vote in GOP primaries. In fact I personally know a lot of them! Smart Republicans are a bit more numerous here in the northeast than they are in the deep south or deep in the Midwest. The hope of these poor souls - that the "party of Abraham Lincoln" will wise-up and nominate a comparative moderate like Mitt Romney - is dwindling by the day. And when the candidacies of Michele Bachmannn, Ron Paul and Herman Cain die on the vine, it will be Rick Perry who will gather the putrid fruit. Romney can only hope for Jon Huntsman's support in the end. That's about it.
Did you notice that I didn't even bother to mention the names Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich in that assessment? Honestly, are there two human beings in politics today more hopelessly pathetic than Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich? I ask you.
The argument being made against Barack Obama - from the right and the left - is that he's had over three-and-a-half years to clean up the mess he inherited and he has failed horribly. It's a valid one to be sure. What must not be forgotten however is the fact that for the first two years of this administration's existence, the president was being obstructed at every turn by a confederacy of reactionary Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats. When the GOP took back the House last January, that obstruction became total and overwhelming.
Given all invective that has been hurled at him ("YOU LIE!") it is a testimony to the man's fortitude that he has been able to get anything done at all. This president will only be successful in his second term if both houses on congress are in the hands of progressive Democrats - and good ol' Bernie Sanders. Otherwise all we can expect is four more years of right wing gridlock. Have you had enough of the quagmire? I have, that's for damned sure!
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
AFTERTHO
UGHT:
Elizabeth Warren announced her candidacy this week for the for the Massachusetts senate seat that was held once upon a time by Teddy Kennedy. I think she will be able to take it. I certainly hope so. She is an extraordinary woman. Sign up to take part in her campaign:
www.elizabethwarren.com
Count on me being on the team!
UPDATE, 9/22/
11:
All the evidence pointed to Troy Davis' innocence, and yet he was killed by the state of Georgia late last night at 11:08.
All civilized countries have done away with the barbaric practice of capital punishment. What the hell is the matter with us?
The authorities at the prison he languished in during his final days refused him a last minute polygraph test. Why? What did they have to lose?
Oh....right....he might have passed it. They'd have lost another dead body....Never mind.
Try to have a happy first day of Autumn.
I had started to wonder what happened to that fellow I had voted for three years ago. I had expected a progressive-on-fire, and all I got was this Casper Milquetoast-moderate, sound asleep in the middle of the road - not a good place to be. But there he was the other day out in the Rose Garden, saying what was screaming to be said; that this nation's economic burden shall no longer be placed solely on the backs of the poor and the vanishing middle class, and that the miniscule class of people who are hoarding most of the nation's wealth shall be forced to pay more - A helluva lot more, baby! - in order to save America's desperately crumbling infrastructure.
The president has placed himself in the most enviable political position of any politician that I can remember. The tone of next year's campaign has been set: that the middle class must be saved. Watch in glee while the Republicans try to find a way to defend the utterly indefensible; while they draw a smiley face on the morally reprehensible. This is gonna be funny!
Here's a little something you can bet the farm on. The next thirteen months will see the right wing beside themselves as they scramble - like sadistic little mice - to change the topic of discussion from that of economic fairness, to the subject of that BIG, BLACK, BOLSHEVIK BOOGIEMAN in the Oval Office. They won't be able to take back the senate and the White House - nor will they be able to retain control of the House of Reprehensibles - without exploiting the worst racist tendencies deep within America's tormented soul. That is their biggest hope. That is their only hope. 2012 might very well turn out to be a most interesting political year. Talk about understatement!
In addition to playing the race card, it's a fairly easy guess that they'll drag out their moth-eaten bag of "family values" for good measure, as hard as that argument is for many of us to swallow these days. The Republicans don't give a shit about American families - or the families who gross somewhere under a million per. This is a party that cares about one thing only - that the obscenely rich get obscenely richer. To hell with the rest of you.
What they're doing in Wahing-TON?
They're just looking out for Number One
And Number One ain't you
You ain't even Number Two!
Frank Zappa
Wake the fuck up. The only way these people can survive politically is via the old, tried-and-true route of division and distraction. Their ideological antecedents tried the same thing exactly a century-and-a-half ago. Do you remember how that ended? It wasn't very pretty as we all know. I am not saying that we've arrived at that same place. I'm not even vaguely implying it. Not at all, dear reader! It's just that Rick Perry has twice hinted at Texas secession. Not that there would be anything wrong with that mind you.
This new-and-improved, revamped Barack Obama gives me a rush of "hope". Remember that word? Less than a week ago on this very site, I was toying with the depressing possibility of a Rick Perry victory next year. All bets are now off. It is apparent that the president has been reminded that his party is (or at least it's supposed to be) the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. For over fifty years those programs did many good things for this country. In the early eighties when Ronald Reagan began the process of destroying the New Deal, America's infrastructure began to fall apart - not to mention the American middle class. The genius of the Conservative movement is that they have been successful at placing the blame for this destruction on the Left. As the late Lenny Bruce once said, "How's that for moxie???"
This may
sound astonishing but it's true. There are a number of reasonable and intelligent people out there who are registered to vote in GOP primaries. In fact I personally know a lot of them! Smart Republicans are a bit more numerous here in the northeast than they are in the deep south or deep in the Midwest. The hope of these poor souls - that the "party of Abraham Lincoln" will wise-up and nominate a comparative moderate like Mitt Romney - is dwindling by the day. And when the candidacies of Michele Bachmannn, Ron Paul and Herman Cain die on the vine, it will be Rick Perry who will gather the putrid fruit. Romney can only hope for Jon Huntsman's support in the end. That's about it.Did you notice that I didn't even bother to mention the names Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich in that assessment? Honestly, are there two human beings in politics today more hopelessly pathetic than Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich? I ask you.
The argument being made against Barack Obama - from the right and the left - is that he's had over three-and-a-half years to clean up the mess he inherited and he has failed horribly. It's a valid one to be sure. What must not be forgotten however is the fact that for the first two years of this administration's existence, the president was being obstructed at every turn by a confederacy of reactionary Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats. When the GOP took back the House last January, that obstruction became total and overwhelming.
Given all invective that has been hurled at him ("YOU LIE!") it is a testimony to the man's fortitude that he has been able to get anything done at all. This president will only be successful in his second term if both houses on congress are in the hands of progressive Democrats - and good ol' Bernie Sanders. Otherwise all we can expect is four more years of right wing gridlock. Have you had enough of the quagmire? I have, that's for damned sure!
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
AFTERTHO
UGHT:Elizabeth Warren announced her candidacy this week for the for the Massachusetts senate seat that was held once upon a time by Teddy Kennedy. I think she will be able to take it. I certainly hope so. She is an extraordinary woman. Sign up to take part in her campaign:
www.elizabethwarren.com
Count on me being on the team!
UPDATE, 9/22/
11:All the evidence pointed to Troy Davis' innocence, and yet he was killed by the state of Georgia late last night at 11:08.
All civilized countries have done away with the barbaric practice of capital punishment. What the hell is the matter with us?
The authorities at the prison he languished in during his final days refused him a last minute polygraph test. Why? What did they have to lose?
Oh....right....he might have passed it. They'd have lost another dead body....Never mind.
Try to have a happy first day of Autumn.
posted by Tom Degan @ 5:06 AM
60 comments
60 Comments:
I just hope the so-called "emotional progressives" aren't disillusioned to the point of staying at home and not voting for Obama come Election Day. Or waste their vote on some third-party schlub.
Well put Tom, especially the Zappa quote.
This post brought a smile to my face. God, that feels good!
Tom....I don't want to burst your bubble but I really don't believe a word Obama says. He seems to be back in his " campaign mode " again saying all sorts of wonderful things while never having any intention of making good on the promises. I could not in good conscience vote for him again. Let's see what legislation comes across his desk ( if any ) and whether he really will veto it. If his actions were to back his words I would possibly reconsider my vote but so far this guy has been all talk. As for Elizabeth Warren I plan on supporting her campaign though I will be unable to vote for her being outside her district and state. I think she will be a pain in Wall Street's ass. Obama still seems to be in love with the banksters. His reply to the class warfare allegations should be " Hey it's the rich people waging class warfare against the lower classes. " To say it's math is very lame. He should say that it's warfare alright....it's WE THE PEOPLE fighting back and we intend to win. If the Congress and Supreme Court only intend to protect the wealthy establishment crooks, the President should step up and represent WE THE PEOPLE because no one else will !! I want to see PROOF he now has balls, not just his saying he will now do what he should have done all along. Talk is cheap...too cheap. Let's see some action !!
Ellis,
Got to ask you a personal question.
What has a rich person or banker or Wall Street type ever done to you personally?
Not the hype of how "they" get corp welfare, etc, but person to person, man to man, what has any person from these groups that you seem to despise done to you?
JTF....I don't despise anyone. I strongly dislike self-centered, greedy capitalist pigs who think their shit smells better than that of everyone else. These super wealthy folks should be voluntarily forking over billions of dollars to be used for the good of WE THE PEOPLE. Why ?? Because it is the right thing to do. BUT NO !! Instead they buy the all three branches of government and make it their bitches. Then their bitches proceed to screw WE THE PEOPLE every chance they get. So while these jerks may not have ever fucked me over personally, they certainly fuck over my people, the honest, hardworking, good folks who don't worship their money God and believe resources should be shared and not horded. Greed is not good....greed SUCKS and leads to social unrest and injustice. Show me a Wall Street guy handing out cash to the protesters at the Wall Street demonstration. See, if these guys were cool that's exactly what they should be doing. " You think we have too much money ?? Well here take some !! " Yeah right !!
Just the Facts....
What have they done to me personally? When a cabal of greedy, plutocratic thugs destroys the infrastructure of the country I love - I take it very personally.
Ellis and Tom, a great response to JTF. I could not have said it better and have nothing to add to your comments.
I feel very strongly that if things do not change, there will be class warfare in this country with an armed revolution and blood in the streets. People can be without jobs, homes and food for only so long and then they will decide to go take it.
Back in the day the rich had castles and moats...today they have Congress.
As for Oral Obama...he's great at telling us stuff we want to hear and resonates on a core level. I'll reserve judgement until he dons his Cloak of Action!
And the gated community has replaced the moat, Gypsy Bob.
I'm just sayin'.
Ellis, Tom, and Charles, very well put. I won't add anything, simply because I believe you've all said everything that needs to be said.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Right on Ellis, Tom, Charles, and Jefferson's Guardian!
My only gripe is how he bashes the millionaires in public about not paying their fair share of taxes but then hobnobs with them in Martha's Vineyard and other places all at WE THE PEOPLE'S expense!
Oh Boy....Whoopee!.... Wow!.... Obama's FINALLY got his groove back! It's taken three miserable years of caution, caves, and capitulation, but we're finally seeing the REAL Obama, the Obama we donated to, campaigned for, and voted for!
Happy days are here again...
The skies above are clear again...
So let's sing a song of cheer again...
Happy days are here again!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news Tom, but he gave a speech! That's all... a speech! Until Obama proves, with his actions, that he is what I voted for in 2008, I intend to vote for, as one reader put it, "some third-party schlub", because I have a bad case of buyer's remorse with Obama. Let the chips fall where they may. I was the victim of a bait-and switch scam, because the Obama I got was certainly NOT what was advertised.
As Ellis said above: "I want to see PROOF he now has balls...".
Yes, anonymous, you make an uncomfortably valid point. I'm not going to sing "Happy Days" until I see some action. Thanks for keeping us on our toes. You, too, Ellis!
All the best,
Tom Degan
Well I agree with the Meathead on that one !! Obama should be more frugal and less frequent in his travels. I don't mind him palling around with rich folks so long as he is giving them an earful about their social responsibility and the need to contribute more revenue to the society that set them up with their cushy lives. That is what he does, no ?? NO !! Damn and I was so sure !! I mean what else could they possibly discuss ?? Oh yeah...which basketball team to buy !! Must be nice to have a silver spoon up your ass !!
You have a great way of saying what needs to be said. I enjoy your rants and look forward to reading them. Like Lydia, this one also brought a smile to my face.
What have millionaires done to me personally?
I’ll tell you what they have done to me and more importantly to my family.
I have five children born from 1957 to 1964. That’s right, 1964 was the end of the baby boom. After that the birth rate dropped like a rock. Remember the pill?
In the early 1980’s we looked at the surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund and saw there was no way it could pay for all those baby boomers (many of whom were still teenagers). So Congress raised the wages subject to Social Security (now $106,800) and raised the tax rate so that 15.3% of every dollar earned (to $106,800) goes to the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare.
GHW Bush even signed a bill taking off the limit on Medicare taxes - 2.9% of that 15.3% is for Medicare and that has no limit. I am reminded of a 1950’s college drinking song about a dysfunctional family where the end of the first stanza was “My God how the money rolls in.”
Before the start of the GREAT RECESSION (what the hell was so great about that?) the Social Security Trust Fund was calculated to be solvent through 2042. With all the recent unemployment that is now down to 2036.
For now let’s go with the 2042 number. If we can put the people back to work they will again be paying Social Security and Medicare taxes and the 2042 date may come back.
And now children, listen carefully. In 2042 the first baby boomers (born in 1946) will be 96 years old and the few remaining will be dropping like flies. The youngest baby boomers (my youngest son born in 1964) will be 78 years old. I am 77 years old and have survived polio, an appendectomy, cancer, diabetes, and a quadruple bypass. How I keep on going amazes me but these are things that can kill you. And in many cases they do.
Young people stopped having children in 1964. Then they got to be in their late thirties and early forties and started having babies. Not the five or more children that we Great Depression babies had, but the sheer number of baby boomers having even one child was a baby boomlet.
What do we hear now about Social Security? It is a Ponzi Scheme! It cannot be sustained! It must changed NOW!
Did anyone wonder why if there is enough money in the Social Security Trust Fund to last until 2036 or IMO more likely to 2042 that we must change Social Security NOW? It is because those damn people in Congress spent every dammed dollar of the Social Security Trust Fund since 1964 on Guns and Butter, unfunded wars, tax cuts so millionaires and billionaires with no earned income but a big pot full of dividends and capital gains pay a maximum of 15% income tax. Hell, that is less than is paid for every dollar earned by someone flipping burgers at Mickey D’s, even if the burger flippers pay no income tax.
And now for the big question. How many millionaires are there in Congress? How about most of them? And they do not have to worry about disappearing pensions. What is it for a full Congressional pension? Six years in Congress?
That’s what the dammed millionaires and billionaires have done to me and my children personally. They stole all our dammed Social Security Trust Fund money and now my children will have no Social Security.
I was outraged when Obama let the Bush tax cuts be extended for two more years. But on his worst day Obama is orders of magnitude better than a politician who lets a pledge to Grover Norquist get in the way of sound fiscal actions.
Who the hell is Grover Norquist to demand such obedience from someone elected to represent ALL the people?
Great post, Ron Baldwin! Please keep them coming!
Yes, Mr. Baldwin, as Tom mentioned, great words!
Isn't it ironic how everyone in the Republican Party has bowed to Grover Norquist, over the pledge they all repeated when assuming office? Defending and protecting the U.S. Constitution has become secondary - some may even say meaningless - to the right-wing conservative movement.
Great posts Tom & Ron.... I hope Rick Santorum stays in the race till the bitter end... he is so representative of the clueless GOP. I Google his name and "frothy mix" daily to keep him on top of the search! I actually thought of him as ripped a paper towel off the roll to use as a napkin after I fixed up my supper last night.... http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/08/29/gay-people-are-waging-jihad-against-rick-santorum
Good morning, Brick....
My FAVORITE part of the recent GOP debates was an incident no one in the media bothered to mention. It was when Ron Paul was explaining why he was against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rick Santorun had the nerve to look at him like he was an idiot!
It was so amusing.
All the best,
Tom
Ron,
Ok, I understand all the anger towards those wealthy rich pigs. I understand why you hate them.
But I still would like to know how many rich wealthy pigs do you know on first name basis? Can you give me an example of a rich wealthy pig that you knew and they knew you doing something to you that caused all the pain you have listed?
"I’ll tell you what they have done to me and more importantly to my family."
In your quote, how many of the "they" do you know personally?
Just a side note, not to sound critical, but the birth rate stopping in 1964, when was the pill introduced into the market? Was the decline of new births across all segments of the U.S. population?
I'm glad you have kept going! I'm sure it is due to your coming from a great gene pool and living in a country with the best health care system in the world.
But Obamacare will bring about cuts in Medicare/Medicaid with the planned results of reduced our life expectancy.
Anyway back to the wealth rich pigs, you list a lot of stuff and I'm not taking a position one way or the other on them, just want to know the names of the rich who have stuck it to you personally.
What has the super rich done to me? That is a tough question, just like the one asked of the midwest farmer of the 1840's "What has the person who owns a slave ever done to you, that you think they are a disgusting person"?
Hey JTF, you should be fired from your job as a paid troll because that was a very weak and lame rebuttal to a great post. It was a waste of typing and a waste of reading.
JTF...those rich snobs would never associate with someone like me voluntarily. You know, people with a III or IV after their names. The ones I did meet were my law school classmates and I had no use for them. They were self-centered, egotistic jerks with no sense of altruism or social justice. They were fed bullshit all their lives and it became their reality. They just couldn't wait to get out into society and push their warped views on the rest of us. Then they figured out that the government could be bought and we all know how that turned out...as Amerika spirals down the toilet toward the cesspool of Third World nations.
To see my take on the Murder of Troy davis, ck out mikesfreedomblog.blogspot.com . murder is wrong period, be it State sanctioned or not!
Regarding Troy Davis.....the warden at the prison where he was executed ( the guy who refused to allow Troy to take a polygraph test ) felt the need to point out to the Amnesty International guy that he ( the warden ) was once a Savannah police officer himself as if that justified him acting callously and indifferent toward the pending execution. With the whole world watching the US Supreme Court once again showed all that the Amerikan justice system is a sick joke. I am even more ashamed to be an Amerikan than I already was after watching this sickening display of ignorance and indifference. Justice was not served for anyone in this case including the misguided family of the murdered cop. Additionally, when the day comes Amerika needs to seek mercy from a foreign nation for someone such as a Lori Berenson or the hikers in Iran, it will be a tough sell when we ourselves act so unjustly in our own affairs. So congratulations GA for a pathetic display of racism and injustice.
JTF, That is truly a stupid and pointless question that you keep asking. It s not necessary to know someone personally to be hurt by their actions. Now let's put the shoe on the other foot. How many millionaires and billionaires do you know personally that makes you think they are so wonderful and doing great things for the country?
Ron Baldwin said:
"Did anyone wonder why if there is enough money in the Social Security Trust Fund to last until 2036 or IMO more likely to 2042 that we must change Social Security NOW? It is because those damn people in Congress spent every dammed dollar of the Social Security Trust Fund since 1964 on Guns and Butter, unfunded wars"
Ron does the above unfunded wars include the Endless War on Poverty? You know the one that causes more people to become more dependent on government for assistance instead of less. With these people having a job does not matter and they will have more children since they know the Government will help them. And of course these people will vote Democratic to keep the Endless War on Poverty going.
ANON –
The death penalty is not state sanctioned murder, any more than incarceration is state sanctioned kidnapping. It is a view of justice that says ACTUAL murder deserves the death penalty in some cases. Whether the justice is properly carried out is a different issue that could be reasonably discussed by reasonable people. And, no, I don’t applaud when I hear of a murderer being put to death. I'm not commenting on Davis case because I don't know enough about it. And, by the way, most other people don't either.
The common progressive mythology likes to believe they are keeping human life sacred by their POV when, in fact, they do quite the opposite. The death penalty holds life to be so precious as to assign the ultimate penalty to the taking of it. But, it is not surprising, especially in light of the warped views of most progressives regarding abortion-on-demand. Advocate for murderers and rapist – ignore the innocent. Hard for me to wrap my head around and maintain a collegial posture in debating.
CRONYISM. There is no greater example of cronies, crooks and czars helping themselves to taxpayer money than what is now going on in the Green Cult Scandals sweeping Washington, D.C. We are not talking small Texas beans here but billions upon billions in loans, grants and swindles perpetrated by the Obama Administration's wealthiest and most powerful friends and donors. Solyndra and LightSquared promise to be the just the beginning. Perry? Ha! He’s nothing compared to the real pros from Chicago’s Democrat gangland.
Excellent post Tom. And there are many (mostly) very good responses, pro and con. I believe the rich have screwed us over in the name of money. Fox News and ultra-conservative mouth-pieces are fooling most of the middle class, with their false patriotism, wrapping all economic arguments in "god", so that the average minion believes in ther voodoo economics by faith and not by fact. (because the facts don't add up).
I welcome anyone to comment in my blog as well.
www.the-moderates-perspective.blogspot.com
Regards,
Lou
Miss Anne,
For someone accusing me of writing a stupid question, maybe you ought to read it some time! Not once did say I that wealthy were wonderful. Maybe you should get your eyes checked?
To the best of my knowledge I have know 3 millionaires in my lifetime. I say to the best of my knowledge because many millionaires might be your next door neighbor, not all of them live on the "right side" of the tracks.
Of the 3 I've know, one owned his privately held company that hired me. One was a DR. who operated on my eyes. The third was a retired truck driver who came from nothing, worked hard and invested his money wisely so that when he was 65, his worth was over a million. None of them acted any different towards me than those who I work with now in the trucking industry.
What I am trying to understand is how decreasing the amount of money the wealthy have after taxes, is going to reduce the unemployment level the reported 9.1%? I don't see how it will, even Bil Clinton has said that. Which makes me think this is class warfare and being used in an effort to deflect attention from the miserable high unemployment we have.
I am starting to see from the posts here, that putting Americans back to work and taxing the rich doesn't go hand in hand. Which leads me to this thought.
If you knew personally the same number of people of another race as you do the wealthy, and said the things you have about them here, would you be correctly so, called a racist?
Isn't the way the wealthy have been described here with out any of the posters even knowing one rich personally kind of assuming if one is bad, then all are bad? Isn't that the behavior towards Muslims that garners the title "Islamicphobic " or towards Gays the term Homophobic?
It has been proven time after time, that the best way to rally support politically when your losing in the polls, is to find a scapegoat. It's those wealthy greedy capitalist pigs that have caused us to be so miserable!
Straight from your lips to the Voting Booth gods in 2012, Tom! And isn't Elizabeth Warren a jewel?! Here's a woman who can rally a base; I have huge dreams for her. You're a much better "yell leader" than you-know-who.
Nance, sometimes I look at that woman and think I'm hallucinating! She's the real deal and I'm going to move Heaven and earth (and about four acres of Neptune) to help her next year.
Elizabeth Warren is one of the few people who remember that the Democratic party is the party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
I think I'm in love!
All the best,
Tom Degan
The best way to deal with sociopaths like JTF is to totally ignore him. Such creatures get a big kick of creating dissension and then watching the reactions. Don't react! Ignoring his very existence will deflate him totally. I've been ignoring him for quite a while, though I can't help noticing all the type wasted replying to him. Stop feeding him and he will go away
Thank you, Marlena. My sentiments precisely.
I have been advised buy many people to merely delete their comments. I can't do this for three reasons:
1. I am a First Amendment purist.
2. Their shrill attitude often proves the point pf their mindless extremism and is quite amusing at times.
3. Once in a while they do make a good point. While Harry from Mass may be annoying as hell, about two years ago he wrote something that actually made perfect sense.
Just ignore them - if they go off-topic.
Tom Degan
Tom,
Thanks for being a First Amendment purist.
No problem. It's in the genes!
While I see Marlena's point I don't really see JTF as a sociopath. I think JTF is probably a decent person who has bought into the myth of the Amerikan Dream. Don't forget the establishment attempts to brainwash us all through the so called " socialization " process. Not everyone has the courage to rebel ( the way I did ) and QUESTION AUTHORITY. JTF may be a religious person with faith that God will see us through the valley of the shadow of death. JTF seems to feel if one works hard and accumulates wealth they should be allowed to keep most of it. Millionaires are not really the problem in Amerika. It's the multi-millionaires and billionaires who have bought the three branches of government. Heck, I bet some millionaires are Democrats !!! That all said JTF is right, there is no direct connection between raising taxes on the higher income folks and job creation. There is however an indirect connection.....by increasing revenue money can be spent on such NECESSITIES as infrastructure repairs and construction, high speed rails for long distance travel now done by airplane, improving the education of the citizenry so we are no longer a nation of brainwashed robots who believe all the bullshit we are fed. But more importantly provide revenue to keep the New Deal social safety nets in place so those who fall on hard times are able to survive. I still maintain that capitalism results in an overly competitive, cut-throat society where we all are conditioned to work AGAINST one another. A much better approach is to work COOPERATIVELY and maximize the available resources instead of selfishly and greedily hording resources. We are all in this together for united we stand, divided we fall. That's just the way it is and some things HAVE to change. That change can begin by using tax revenue to put people to work on the aforementioned projects. The more folks working the more spendable cash is in the economy and that should have a snowball effect and get the economy rolling again.
Thanks Ellis for the kind words. But I have to say that you're missing my point.
I asked the question about knowing a wealthy person with the follow up question about racism or wealthyphobic, not to be a troll but to make people think and to not just repeat the latest point for the day coming from what ever source mirrors their political view point.
If I was quoting directly from a conservative blog you would hold my feet to the fire for not thinking but just repeating someone else's words that make me feel good or smart to repeat.
That's all I'm trying to do here. I have no illusions of ever converting a liberal into a conservative, but at least be an original thinking liberal and ask your self the question I posed. Because all the responses to my post so far have been defensive and attacking ones instead of ones that tell me the poster at least read the post before responding with a knee jerk reaction calling for me to shut up.
Ellis, just answer for yourself my question about the wealthy. Think how many time liberals have painted conservatives as none thinking stupid rednecks for their answers to tough liberal questions. Now look what happens when I ask a easy conservative question of liberals. How is it any different?
It's not that I have drank this kool-aid or that water, it is me asking the question I would hope you would fearlessly ask your self.
Next I guess I'll be banned from this website.
Just the Facts!, perhaps it's because your reputation precedes you.
JTF.....it is unlikely many ( if any ) of the common folks would personally know these wealthy folks you inquire about. They like to keep themselves insulated from us. We do however see their influence on the government, from the President to the Congress to the Supreme Court. I think from their actions it is fair for us to assume they don't give a shit if our lives go to hell in a bucket ( and no we are not at least enjoying the ride ). Also do not forget the influence of CORPORATIONS which have been deemed to be " people " by our warped US Supreme Court. JTF...do you know many of these corporations personally ?? :-)
JTF does a terrible job of his “poor me” imitation lamenting that no one will answer his simple question.
Earlier I answered his question – the millionaires in Congress and their millionaire supporters who “stole” the Social Security Trust Fund.
If the Trust Fund was not stolen the crisis on Social Security goes away. And they cannot bear to lose their best chance to destroy Social Security since 1935.
As to knowing millionaires personally I have been a CPA for more than fifty years and know personally a great many millionaires. Most of them cannot understand how they pay far less taxes than the ordinary working person.
I want everyone to understand that JTF is as entitled to express his opinion as anyone. My favorite saying is that I often despise what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it. Let’s lighten up on the name calling and calls for banishment.
Left wing - pro abortion anti death penalty
Right wing anti abortion pro death penalty
Hypocracy on both sides of the wall
Jefferson's Guardian
Thanks for proving my point, again.
Ellis,
I respect your integrity and honesty, even though I don't often agree with you, thank you for thinking a lot before answering me on this matter.
Respectfully yours,
Just the Facts!
Ellis D said
"A much better approach is to work COOPERATIVELY and maximize the available resources instead of selfishly and greedily hording resources."
Ellis, in your cooperative society WHO will decide what resources are to be used? Will your society elect a philosopher king to make the decisions? What if he turns out to be a con man who makes promises like making the oceans stop rising?
Ron Baldwin said
"What have millionaires done to me personally?"
Ron the Obamas are millionaires and have ruined my business and are ruining my country! It won't be long till Obama is working for free with Jimmy Carter building houses. They will make a wonderful pair! I just hope Jimmy doesn't smack him from having to listen to his bull all day.
How's this for the extending the benefit of the doubt?
Obama sees his best chance to accomplish reforms when he no longer has to run for re-election for his second term. No more pandering to the wishy washy "middle", and no more taking instructions from Wall Street.
Of course, where he will get congressional support is still the big question. Congress will continue to pander to Big Money.
Obama will need to display an amazing transformation in order to restore the hope of democracy.
Dave Dubya, Ralph Nader and Cornel West are right -- Obama needs to be challenged from the Left. Otherwise, like you said, he'll pander to Wall Street.
It's purely a case of "follow the money".
I enjoy the banter between the partisans on either side of the aisle in this 2 party Federal government. I have to enjoy it, because despising things just generates the negative, mind clogging emotions that just plain zap the life out of you. I think the most entertaining thing is that a change from this man to this man, or no change at all, is somehow going to make matters all better. If that were the case, then it would have happened in the last 50 election cycles, through which every conceivable combination of D and R mish-mash has occurred and still the downward trend on the graph of middle class American life has ensued.
If this nation were operating according to the prescriptions put forth by the constitution, the presidency and congress would have far less impact and power. America would be a republic instead of the top down single point of all decision-making oligarchy that it is. There would be localized and accessible domestic power of state and local government, and the diversity of the separate republics would dictate strength and fiscal responsibility.
Washington is only accessible to Washington. It is a district in a foreign land where dictations spew forth from bankers, lawyers and statesman, people that have absolutely no stake in your life or anyone else's but their own. They have farm sold the economy to foreign bankers 100 years ago and have created every possible type of bastardized law against the people that their twisted little doublespeak minds can nightmare up.
Vote change, vote status quo, it makes no difference in my estimation. The pace of degeneration in everything the Federal government gets its grubby hands on is at critical mass, and the world we believe exists is untenable. It is this way because men are expected to deceive as their employment, and we the people look for the best deceiver, and champion that person as re-presentative of ourselves. The people we choose to admire from afar are people that we do not know and would never be allowed to know. What we do know of them is cleverly scripted bites of doublethink that we are so desperate to hear, and know it’s a lie as we hear it, yet still believe it as our own moment to moment gospel of salvation. These teleprompted spells become the image of them to such a degree that we will fight against and betray the very people we know and love if they dare to question that image in the least.
One of the greatest disappointments of this presidency is an extension of the disaster that was the last. If anyone wants a fiscal turnaround in America then step A (and the only step IMHO) is to end the war machine. There is no greater expenditure, and no greater waste of life and capital, with absolutely zero benefit to the citizens on either side of the conflict. I’m sure there are pundits out there pointing fingers at every nation but their own, screaming national security and global peacebombing necessities. For those so entrenched in the value of the military industrial complex, there’s an old saying that goes, live by the sword, die by the sword. The Federal government that is living by the sword can only survive with your participation, with your labor as their credit, your capital as their card, and your vote for whichever of the two previously chosen candidates as a clear sign that you still believe that your life matters in their world.
ChewyBees, all I can say is bravo!
Its just my two cents, but great post Chewybees!
Yup, that's the country were I've always want to live, one with out a
"war machine". Can anyone tell me it's name so I can move there?
Loved the Zappa quote.
And love you!
S
Well if we hippies were in charge there would be no war machine. Vote Woodstock Nation Party in 2012 and show the establishment its warped values are REJECTED. Make Peace, Love and Sanity the new reality !! BTW....The WNP supports Occupy Wall Street and wonders why the underpaid NYC police don't join in the protest. They are being screwed by Wall Street too !!
Ellis, it's reported that many members of the NYPD are boycotting the police brutality. Read
this.
JG.....if this is true about these NYC cops I applaud them. I personally know a young NYC cop in his mid-twenties who has to live with his mother because he doesn't earn enough income to live on his own in the NYC metropolitan area.
Have you heard that the UK is trying to reestablish the death penalty? Not sure how far they'll get or how far they've already gotten. It's a small, but vocal group pushing it... But we've all seen the damage that small, but vocal groups can cause, haven't we?
~A~
I am not certain Mr. Obama is disingenuous. Rather he is too much the orator and too terribly polite. I admire both in academia. American politics require a strong stomach and the tenacity of a pit bull.
I am disappointed because he will not look at studies by Harvard Professors which recently stated that a billion dollars a year could be saved on enforcement alone, if the failed war on drugs was halted.
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