RomneyMatic!

http://www.libvoice1776.blogspot.com/ - Log on and comment!

http://www.facebook.com/liberalvoice1776

By Shawn Johnson

Have you ever thought about winning the Republican nomination for president, but know you don't have a shot because you are a reasonably sane member of the human race?  Well, fear not!  Introducing new RomneyMatic! 

Yes, the makers of Jesus Juice, Queer-B-Gone, Delusion, and ReFetus are at it again!  RomneyMatic is the magical little device that actually scrambles your brain, making you temporarily insane.  Just use it for one hour before a debate or speech and you are all set!  It's that easy!  No fuss, no muss!

We here at Liberal Voice Industries understand your plight.  You stupidly created the most successful health care plan in the country destroying any chance you had of winning the nomination.  But after just one use of the RomneyMatic, you can actually believe and tell other people what a bad idea it was!

RomneyMatic doesn't stop there!  Did you make some embarrassing comments about the existence of global climate change?  Oh why oh why did you read those scientific reports!?  Hey, don't think about it for another second.  RomneyMatic to the rescue again! 

RomneyMatic can instantaneously allow you to "flip-flop" on all kinds of issues, which may be hindering your campaign!

• Evolution
• Privatization of Social Security
• Gay Rights
• Individual Mandates
• Being Pro-Choice and then being Anti-Choice
• Capital Gains Taxes
• TARP funds
• The Auto Industry
• Assault Weapons Ban
• Minimum Wage
• Faith-based Voting
• Campaign Finance Reform
• Illegal Immigration
• The Vietnam War
• Don't Ask, Don't Tell
• Killing Bin Laden
• Stem-Cell Research

And many, many more!

The best part is, RomneyMatic will wear off right after the primaries, so you can "flip-flop" again and win over idiot independents!
 

How much would you pay for RomneyMatic, $1 Billion, $2 Billion?  Hey, when the other side is going to spend that much pointing out your blatant hypocrisy, can you really choose to be frugal?

So call now and get crazy, literally!  RomneyMatic will cover your ass better than Mormon magic underpants! 

If you order today, we will even throw in your first few sex scandals!  Just ask Gingrich and Cain!

*RomneyMatic should not be used if you are already bat-shit, nursing, or pregnant.  Michelle Bachmann left it on for over a year.  RomneyMatic is excellent for your appearances on Fox News.  Side effects may include permanent reputation damage and a desire to defend Jerry Sandusky*     

What Occupy Wall Street is Missing

http://www.libvoice1776.blogspot.com/ -
By Shawn Johnson

Occupy Wall Street is missing the five hundred pound gorilla in the room.  Despite what you hear from the news media, people do understand what Occupy Wall Street is fighting for, and they understand the demands of the ninety-nine percent.  The people on the street are not comprised of the best and the brightest, so articulating that message is an arduous process.  That is not a knock on the occupiers, and as you may know, I am a member of the group.  It is simply stating that the vast majority do not know quite how sausage is made, to coin a phrase.  The solutions must come from the decision makers.  Unfortunately, it means that we must trust Washington. 

Occupy Wall Street's message is simple.  The middle class is continuing to give more and more so the very richest of the rich can accumulate even more wealth.  But, where Occupy Wall Street fails in its message, is where it comes to fighting for the poor.  The reason that Occupy Wall Street has forgotten the poor is two-fold.  First, many people that are poor do not see themselves as such.  Secondly, it has been a very long time since the Democratic Party has even mentioned the poor, much less attempted to fight for the poor. 

In order to help the poor, we must identify who is poor.  Currently, the United States Government considers a family of four pulling in less than $22,050 annually, poor or below the poverty-line.  That means that the same family making $25,000 annually is considered middle class.  That amounts to $120 per week for each family member.  That is to pay for housing, medical care, food, school, clothing, transportation etc.  Do we really agree as a nation that $25,000 annually for a family of four is not poor?  It amounts to Mom and Dad pulling in $6.00 an hour while working forty hours a week.  These same people are not qualifying for the same benefits afforded to those making $21,000 a year, so at the end of the day, they are even poorer than those making a little less (statistics provided by the Dept of Homeland Security).

Another critical element to get America to rally around the poor is to end the derogatory denigration of the poor.  If you are asked to describe a homeless person, you most likely will create a mental picture that is not pretty.  After the mental picture is created, it is very easy to dismiss this stereotypical homeless person.  The person is probably male, about forty years old, dirty, and begging for money.  While this may describe some of the poor and homeless, it certainly does not represent the poor population.  And, even if it did represent the majority of the poor, it does not change the fact that the person is still a human being and needs help.

Children now make up the largest group of poor people in the United States.  According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, "Nearly 15 million children in the United States – 21% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level – $22,050 a year for a family of four" (npg).  If you will indulge me in the assumption that $22,050 is a ridiculously unfair poverty-line, the statistic gets worse, "Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice that level to cover basic expenses. Using this standard, 42% of children live in low-income families" (NCCP npg). 


As a nation, I believe that we have a responsibility to help the poor, and an even greater responsibility to help the largest group of poor people.  We can do it at the federal level.  I know, because we have done it before.  In 1965, seniors made up the largest group of poor people in the United States to the tune of thirty-five percent.  Now, seniors make up eight percent.  What created the drop in the sheer numbers of poor seniors was the advent of Medicare and expansion of Social Security.  These programs are the best examples of successful Democratic Socialism in action.  These programs were championed by Liberals and despised by Conservatives and still are so to this day.  Not surprisingly, the most traditional Conservative states have the highest levels of poverty. 

My Conservative friends and family will point out to me that Medicare is facing huge budget deficits, which is a true claim.  But, that does not even come close to telling the story as to why.  Common sense would tell us that an expansion of Medicare would make the financial problem worse, not better.  The truth often is the enemy of common sense as it is in this case.  Countries with Medicare style programs for one hundred percent of their citizens often spend fifty to seventy-five percent less per capita than the United States on health care (Kaiser Family Foundation). 

The reason that they do, is because they have many more young and healthy citizens paying into the plan, and not using the benefits at the rate of the elderly and poor.  We only have the oldest and sickest among us paying into the plan, and it is not enough.  A Medicare choice for each and every citizen (or Public Option if you prefer), can be the answer to the long term health of our country.  

Any claim that Social Security is in trouble is a complete red herring.  This line of crap is a malicious intent to destroy the outlook for millions of young people in this country.  Social Security will pay one hundred percent of benefits over the next twenty-six years if we do absolutely nothing, without adding a penny to the national deficit (Media Matters for America npg).  The solution after that is simple.  Raise the taxable income level from $106,000 to $250,000, and we would be able to keep Social Security performing at an elite level for many more years to come. 

Let's face it, the Democratic Party has failed the poor, as has the Republican Party.  The Republicans fight for the upper class, and the Democrats fight for the middle class, although that is becoming less and less true as time goes on.  Big money has moved the message for the two parties.  Unions represent the middle class workers, and corporations represent the upper class owners.  Therefore, these groups have the largest voices in Washington.  The poor have no voice in Washington, so the ninety-niners have conveniently followed the Democratic Party's controlled message of, "You are the middle class."  I don't hear a rallying cry for the poor, and now that we have the most poor people in the country since the Great Depression, we may want to start to pay attention.

Democrats have sold their souls to attempt to get reelected.  We should ask them how their deal with the devil worked out in 2010.  I think a better way to get reelected is to fight for groups that need someone in their corner.  Big business is fine without your help.  The poor are suffering, but you don't hear the Democrats talking about it.  It is time for the Democrats to change the message to help out poor children who have no voice and no chance at life.  Then, Occupy Wall Street may take suit as well, since their message is largely identical to the Democrats' agenda.

In conclusion, Occupy Wall Street cannot wait around for the Democrats.  They need to act independently and make sure that their message is their own.  It is the politicians that need the people, not the other way around.  It is absolutely wonderful to champion teachers, firefighters, police officers, construction workers, and other middle class heroes, but don't forget the poor.  They need your voice. 

As far as the government goes, only demand by the people will fix this problem.  It is obvious that we do not have a government that will renew the War on Poverty without some prodding from the citizens.  Losing focus on that war was very detrimental to our society.  Men, women, and children that used to be helped financially and mentally were tossed out onto the street, many of them veterans of wars and hardworking people.  Let's face it, if they were our brothers, sisters, parents, sons, and daughters, we would demand more for them.  Let's not forget the least among us.

Works Cited

Department of Homeland Security. "Poverty Guidelines." 2011. web. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864p.pdf

Kaiser Family Foundation. Health Care Spending in the United States and Selected OECD Countries

April 2011. 2011. web. http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/OECD042111.cfm.

Media Matters For America. "MMFA's Winter Wonderland: Social Security Is Solvent." 2011.
web. http://mmfafactcheck.blogspot.com/2011/01/mmfas-winter-wonderland-social-security.html.

National Center for Children in Poverty. "Child Poverty." 2010. web.    http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html







  

 

Christian Delusion

libvoice1776.blogspot.com - click on the link to comment http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tinyman#!/liberalvoice1776?sk=wall

By Shawn Johnson (The Liberal Voice is now on Facebook at facebook/libvoice1776)

There is a great farce in our country, and it directly relates to professional athletes and their fans.  Their belief in divine involvement in their particular sport is so delusional, it borders on insanity.  Every single time some idiot like Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, hits a homerun and points to the sky I want to slap him with a tire iron.  Even worse is a moron like Kurt Warner shouting, "Thank you, Jesus!" after winning the Super Bowl.   

The worst of the worst though, is Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow.  He is so far out there with his moronic Christian beliefs, that he actually thinks he has divine help on the field of play.  He wears religious verses on his eye-black, and he makes no apologies for pushing his religion on his teammates and other players in the NFL.  Even fans of the Broncos are doing the "Tebow," a pose that looks like one is praying after a touchdown. 

Last Sunday, Tebow and the Broncos were absolutely brutalized by the Detroit Lions 45-10.  Which brings me to a point these Christian loons can't stand.  Where is Jesus when you lose?  Why aren't you blaming him for the loss?  You thanked Jesus for the win, and you are sure he is helping you win, so whose fault is it that you lost? 

You see, Christians always want their cake and they want to eat it too, which brings me to the largest flaw amongst the faithful.  They can only explain God when God does good things.  They can never explain God when he does bad things.  How is this possible?  God allows you to score a touchdown, "Praise Jesus!" God allows two planes to fly into the World Trade Center killing three thousand people, and all of a sudden, Christians can't explain why God would "let it happen."  This narrative comes from the same buffoons who say, "God bless America," like God is sitting up in heaven picking out his favorite countries. 

Now, the Evangelical Christians, who are the worst of the worst, like Pat Robertson, will tell us that God kills people to punish us for homosexuality and abortion.  If that is the case, how come more natural disasters occur in the "Bible Belt" than in any other part of the country?  Is Pat Roberson trying to say that there were only non-Christians killed on September 11, 2001?  That argument is simply ludicrous.  My father told me that God just hates trailer parks.  That argument makes more sense, and he was being facetious.

It takes an unbelievably ego maniacal lunatic to actually believe that any god would give a crap whether they win a game or score a touchdown.  It takes an even greater ingrate to always thank their god for everything good.  Nothing made me sicker than watching a pilot land a plane on the Hudson river and passengers thanking God for saving them.  Apparently the pilot had nothing to do with it.  And, how much of a sick, twisted wacko do you have to be to actually thank God for saving you while you fully believe he kills others.  Whenever someone starts shooting people in a school, the survivors always say, "God was protecting me."  And what, he didn't protect your classmates and teachers?  What makes you so special to believe that God would spare you while letting others die?

My second problem with Christians involves incessant praying.  Praying is simply politically correct schizophrenia.  If you see a man talking into a hair dryer, you assume he is crazy.  But, if you take the hair dryer away and have him fold his hands, and he is obviously praying.  Praying is also self-serving.  People are constantly told by religion that they will be rewarded or punished if they behave in a certain manner.   There needs to be a better reason to be an honest and decent human being other than the same motivation that a two year has for being honest and decent.  The reason that religion causes so much damage is because it is authoritative.  Directives come from the top, and they are not to be questioned, or you go to hell.  This does not sound like divine planning.  This sounds more like human planning, unless you believe that God is petty and egotistical. 

Now, someone like Tim Tebow is free to believe in God, but he has to admit that he knows no more about god than anyone else.  And, Christians as a whole have no basis for claiming that Atheists and Agnostics are wrong.  Atheists and Agnostics however, have a solid basis for claiming that Christians are wrong. 

What are Christians wrong about?  For starters, they are wrong about man's involvement in the destruction of the planet.  Science tells us that climate change is real, caused by man, and only fixable by man.  Those who believe in a divine plan are waiting for god to magically correct and curb environmental problems.

Christians are also wrong about evolution.  Evolution is a proven scientific fact, and there is solid evidence to suggest that the human race evolved from other species.  This is not disputable, and a story about naked ladies and snakes is not going to change any thinking person's mind. 

But ultimately, Christians are wrong about morality.  Time and time again atheists and agnostics are proven to be every bit as moral if not even more than Christians.  Christians overwhelmingly support the death penalty, war, and corporal punishment.  Sex is the enemy of Christians.  Tim Tebow is an admitted virgin, like it is a positive thing.  After all, he must be pure like Jesus.

But, Tebow is a fraud.  According to writers who weren't actually there, Jesus healed the sick, championed the poor, turned the other cheek, and saved humanity by dying on a cross (which is a truly ridiculous notion if you think about it).  Tebow throws a damn football and not very well.  He is about the worst starting quarterback in the NFL right now, which is really not saying much for Jesus' power to run the spread option.

Doesn't it strike anyone as funny that it is almost universally agreed among Christians that God is white and male?  This is the best indicator that in the beginning man created God, not the other way around. 

In conclusion, if Christians are ever going to convince me that Jesus has divine power, they must be able to explain it all.  Right now, they can only explain the good, but for the bad they simply say, "God works in mysterious ways."  I am sorry, but I am not five years old, therefore I am not buying your bullshit.

I do take great joy in the thought that if there is a god, he is surely laughing hysterically at the idiots that follow him.

Go to College, Go Directly to College...

http://www.libvoice1776.blogspot.com/ - Click on the link to go directly to my page to comment. Thank you! - Shawn


This post is dedicated to my good friend, Monserrat Bran and to her Ethnic Studies class, who inspired me to talk about the plight of the educated.
____________________________________________________
 
So, you want a college education, huh?  Excellent!  That desire for higher knowledge will enslave you.  There is nothing big banks appreciate more than young people and their parents stuck between a rock and a hard place.   
 
Student loans are criminal, period.  There is no sugar-coating it, and there certainly is no disputing it.  College tuition and other related costs are even outpacing rising costs in health care.  Student debt has risen a whopping forty-four percent in the last four years (huffingtonpost.com)!  This debt is creating a new group of educated drones that will slave away for Corporate America, never one day working for themselves or their families.  They will continue to accrue interest and penalties, and god forbid they ever lose their job or can't find work. 
 
The banks in this country received money at almost no interest from the federal government, to repair their failing businesses.  The fact that those same bankers caused their businesses to fail on purpose makes no never mind.  These bankers who hate socialism so much surely enjoy the protection of the New York socialist police force, while the public stands just outside their front door.  Much like the former slave owners in the Jim Crow era, these bastards keep reinventing ways to keep the oppressed down.
 
Ryan Grim from the Huffington Post quotes Reverend Jesse Jackson.  Jackson says, "If banks can be bailed out at one percent, why not students? If the government can borrow money at below-market interest rates, then so should students."
 
Jackson has an excellent point, but I am willing to go one step further.  Why can't the benefits of primary public education be extended to college?  When are we going to say, "Enough is enough, we need to make education our number one priority?" 
 
Yes, free education sounds like a pipe-dream, but that is because our political climate clouds the mind.  As a nation, we feel that our leaders cannot do anything "big" anymore.  We are justified in that line of thinking because our leaders are failing us time and time again.  We need another "New Deal" with the public that focuses on making sure that we are able to handle the global economic challenges in the twenty-first century.  President Obama got the ball rolling with his overhaul of the Student Loan Program, but that is only the start.
 
If we can sink trillions of dollars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, and a host of other Middle East nations, we can certainly afford to educate young adults. 
 
Which brings me to the next problem with education; students aren't getting their money's worth.  They are paying heavily into an education system that continually leaves them behind.  Education is lacking in this country, especially when it comes to basic civics.  That is to say nothing of the fact that we are clearly behind in math and science as well. 
 
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute created a basic civics quiz.  Click on the link, if you would like to take the quiz (http://www.isi.org/quiz.aspx?q=FE5C3B47-9675-41E0-9CF3-072BB31E2692&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1).
 
If you scored better than forty-nine percent, congratulations, you scored better than the average college senior.  Anyone in a classroom anywhere will tell you that forty-nine is an "F" anyway you slice it.  Did you score above fifty-five percent?  Congratulations, you know more about civics that the average American college professor!  I will not brag by telling you what I scored on it, mainly because I am embarrassed for our country.  People like me should not be in the top one percent educationally.  If I moved to Europe today, I would not hold a candle to the average European on civic knowledge of their country.  The average college student can't hold a candle to the average European on civic knowledge of our country.  That is sad. 
 
I mentioned a dedication to an Ethnic Studies class in Southern California.  They are currently trying to grasp an understanding of the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Before they can do that, they need to be able to grasp and understanding of civics.  It is amazing to me how many Wall Street protesters have no idea what their civil rights entail.  New York City police are currently finding loopholes regarding Miranda Rights.  The Supreme Court was very detailed and specific about being questioned without being read rights.  The police insist that they don't need to read rights because they are not interrogating the protesters, they are simply asking questions.  I fail to see a difference here.  Lack of civic knowledge is exposing these protesters, many of them college educated.
 
What is the cause of the lack of education, and how do we fix it?  The cause is a dirty back room deal between Washington and Corporate America.  Corporate America demands drones who are just educated enough to do a job and to buy products.  Higher education makes one question the methods of the corporation.  This is unacceptable in the corporate eye.  So, from day one in school, children are given one-size-fits-all exams that reveal nothing about the child other than his or her ability to memorize useless information for a short period of time (see No Child Left Behind Act). 
 
Basic work skills are taught in school which makes school boring.  The emphasis is always on the "how" and not on the "why."  One plus one equals two, but name one single elementary math class that will tell your child about the origins of math.  Actual learning is denigrated and ignored.  Information is meant for the next test, not for a lifetime.  This is the main reason every single American who passed seventh grade was tested on the Constitution, but by the time he or she reaches college, cannot pass a basic civics exam.  Our grasp of civics is so bad that people running for president of the United States don't know basic civics.
 
I have a good job right now that does not require any further college education to either keep or move up.  So, when I went back to college, people were puzzled.  They were asking me why I would go back to college if I can't make more money doing so.  Never once did they realize that I want to learn more.  It is important to me to continue to be more knowledgeable, period.  Not so I can make more money, or get a better job, or hand a plaque on my wall at work.  My primary objective is to learn and then to pass on what I have learned to others.  This objective helps us grow as a society (see Thomas Jefferson).  
 
But, we live in Corporate America where everything is for a profit.  You need a college degree so you can make money, but first agree to hand that money over to us before you make it.  That statement in a nutshell is what the average college graduate faces today.  Your parents make $50,000 a year?  Sorry, no free money for you.  Your banker makes $150,000,000 a year?  Here is an interest free loan that you can do with what you want.  
 
The education system, like the health care system, the housing system, the credit system, the welfare system, and almost every other system we have in place has been infiltrated and destroyed by Corporate America.  Your government has not only allowed this to happen, but they have actively assisted.  Now, unfortunately, school is nothing more than a machine pumping out mindless workers.  If you think I am wrong, find an A+ student in high school or college and ask them what the Lincoln-Douglass debates were about.  Ask them about monopoly laws and why they originated.  Have them talk to you about women's suffrage, or civil rights, or anti-trust laws.  See what responses are given.
 
Last but not least, the education system is suffering from inequality.  The poor, immigrants, and other minorities are increasingly ignored, and then told to "pull up their bootstraps."  My question is, "How can they pull up their bootstraps, when you have relieved them of their boots?"  
 
Education starts at home, and when we are forcing Mom and Dad to work two jobs a piece to support a family of four, we are doing it wrong.  Contrary to popular belief, overspending on frivolous items is not causing poverty.  Elizabeth Warren found in a study that Americans are actually spending less frivolously today than they did fifty years ago.  People are kept in the poor house by home mortgages, education, and health care costs.  Health care is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the country, and if we don't do something about education soon, it will surpass health care by a long shot.  
 
In conclusion, I have laid out the case for comprehensive education reform.  This issue is at the center of Occupy Wall Street's agenda.  It is indicative of a system that is fair only for the rich and powerful.  When do we wake up and realize we are being bamboozled?  When do we stand up and demand that something meaningful, other than budget cuts, be done for education?  
 
 
Please comment on the blog site with your score to the quiz!  Facebook page coming soon!    
 
 

Works Cited

 

Grim, Ryan. "Students Gouged on Loans While Banks Get Free Money." October 26, 2011.   huffingtonpost.com. web. 

 

Warren, Elizabeth. "What's Hurting the Middle Class." September 2005. http://bostonreview.net/BR30.5/warrentyagi.php. web

Are the Protests Effective?

http://www.libvoice1776.blogspot.com/ - Click on the link to go directly to my page to comment.  Thank you!

By: Shawn Johnson (a.k.a. The Liberal Voice)

The "Ninety-Niners" are making progress.  Wall Street's insults, hurled from inside their corporate safe-havens cannot stop the people from demanding justice.  Even police brutality cannot stop the protests.  In fact, the police brutality allowed the protestors to bring their case to the media.  But, how will this end?  What does the protesting mean in terms of real, tangible change?  And, do the people really know what meaningful change is?

The answers to these questions, unfortunately, are not what I or Occupy Wall Street would like to hear.  The people are still not smart enough, and Wall Street is well prepared for the backlash.  The requests of Occupy Wall Street shoot way too low.  The corporatists did however underestimate this particular group of Americans to a certain extent, but they are back on their game now.  

The Tea Party originally gained momentum by bashing Wall Street.  Polling suggests that Americans overwhelmingly agree with taxing the rich and making Wall Street pay for their horrific lack of humanism.  Now, Occupy Wall Street is at the same crossroads that the Tea Party was in 2009.  The Tea Party stupidly, because of nothing more than sheer ignorance, switched gears and bought the line of bullshit they were fed by the Republicans.  As a result, the Tea Party threw their lot in with corporate America, and they actually became a political asset to the very banks they set out to destroy.  Occupy Wall Street will probably avoid the same mistakes because the issues they are passionate about are real and they aren't going away.  

The catch twenty-two is Occupy Wall Street will have longer sustainability than the Tea Party message wise, but they may not have longer sustainability monetarily.  Wall Street bankers have the money, and they will allot it to those that are hell-bent on eliminating democracy in favor of unbridled corporatism.  Wall Street realizes early on that Occupy Wall Street is a movement involving a younger, more informed, less fearful group of citizens.  They cannot be as easily manipulated.  So, Wall Street will act accordingly and keep their billion dollar foot on the throats of the poor and working poor by buying off the politicians that can create meaningful change. 

Unlike the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street doesn't have the ridiculous prejudices and fears of minorities, gays, and anyone with modern plumbing.  So the old, "Look at President Muslim McBlacky trying to take your freedom" isn't going to fly with this crowd.  Most of the protestors voted for Obama knowing full well that he was a Muslim terrorist from Kenya who falsified his birth records in 1961, in the hopes of someday winning the presidency.   

Occupy Wall Street is not afraid of the government trying to take their bible and their gun, or death panels, or communism and socialism, or rappers in the White House.  They aren't comparing anyone to Hitler, and they know exactly who is responsible for the economic meltdown (Funny how the corporate owned media calls them unorganized and confused).  They are measured, reasoned, and even a few of them are topless.  Some are over-the-top, but for the most part they are everyday normal citizens who are fed up.  I guess the media would think they were more normal if they wore tea bags on their head and dressed like George Washington  visiting a gay bar.

Wall Street is not fooled, and they will not be beaten.  They have already threatened to pull millions of dollars from the Democratic Party if Democrats even remotely get close to this movement.  The banks pull the strings, and they realize that this is not a democracy anymore.  The bankers are ecstatic that Occupy Wall Street took so long to get going.  They must be thinking, "Oh my god! I can't believe they actually thought Barack Obama would hold us accountable!" Now, Wall Street is flourishing while people are suffering.  The insurmountable odds against Occupy Wall Street are staggering.  The real question is, "Are people poor enough yet?"  The real answer is probably, "no."

It is not Occupy Wall Street's fault that their movement will probably not have a tangible effect on policy.  The piss-poor policy has a thirty year head start.  Herman Cain said in the Republican debate last night, "[Don't blame Wall Street. Blame yourselves]."  I am paraphrasing what he said, because he basically answered a yes/no question to that effect.  I hate to tell you, but while Herman Cain is wrong in context, he is technically correct.  Wall Street is capitalism; Wall Street is predictable; Wall Street is immoral.  They are what they are.  The American people did not figure out the fact that Wall Street will always do what is profitable.  Americans determine what is profitable through policy and consumerism.

I am going to jump on Herman Cain's bandwagon, but in a completely different context.  The financial meltdown is indeed the fault of Wall Street and the Bush Administration, but the greater evil is the responsibility of each and every single baby-boomer in this country.  Their parents understood what creates and sustains an economy, but the message was not relayed.  If you have ever spoken to certain Baby Boomers, the "I know everything in the world" attitude will rear its ugly head.  Most of them absolutely refuse to learn from their ancestors.

If you don't have a job right now, do me a favor and look outside.  If there is a Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW, etc. sitting in your driveway, it is your fault that you are unemployed.  Look at where your clothes are made.  Look at where your computers are made.  Every damn gadget you have is now made somewhere else.  Every piece of furniture in your house is made somewhere else.

After the Great Depression, President Roosevelt spent the first two terms of his presidency getting America back to work.  The country understood that good strong union labor was the key to keeping manufacturing here.  America took that attitude into World War Two, and as a result, we were able to create an economic boom that instilled prosperity in the country.  The baby-boomers reaped the benefits but didn't understand how "sausage is made," to coin a phrase.  They developed a desire for cheap crap and a lot of it.  Hence, operations moved overseas.  As a result, America went from the number one exporter of goods to the largest importer of goods. 

I talk to people every single day who have no idea why the stock market is so volatile.  It is because the stock market is no longer based on actual goods.  There is nothing being made to consume, therefore the stock market is based on the mood of Wall Street.  Are you kidding me?  A common news report sounds like this, "Wall Street is scared today so the Dow is down two hundred points."  Constant boom and bust periods that are happening daily now, are not the norm in an intelligent economy that is based on the exchange of goods and money.  "'I give you product A, and you give me money backed by something.' 'I hire your neighbor to make it, your other neighbor to ship it, and a third neighbor to deliver it to your doorstep.'"  The result is your three neighbors have a job, and they have enough money to buy something from you.  So, the cycle of economics continue.  Government steps in and makes sure the products and money are legal and safe and everyone wins. 

But, the Baby Boomers dropped the ball on this prosperous system and decided to only look at it from the consumer point of view.  "'I give you product A, and you give me money backed by nothing.' 'I hire undocumented immigrants, from Korea but living in China, to make product A out of cheap crap, and I sell said cheap crap to you at a ridiculously higher markup.'" I then hire a foreign shipping company to send it to America, and only then do I hire your neighbor to deliver it to your doorstep.' 'The best part is it will break in less than a year, and you will have to buy another one.'"   

What the Baby Boomers failed to grasp is the amount of money it costs to buy cheap crap.  They only look at a price tag and conveniently ignore the other factors involved.  Corporate profits are up, but wages are down, and the amount of money consumers are saving on the initial purchase of their Wal-Mart specials, they are more than spending it again by having to rebuy the same item over and over again.  So, we have eliminated two out of three jobs from the process, and the consumer has become poorer.  This is supposed to be a fair, decent system?

I will get a fight from idiots who claim that foreign auto companies employ American workers.  But, here again, their argument is very short-sighted and doesn't tell the whole story.  Foreign auto companies receive billions of dollars in government subsidies in exchange for placing their assembly plants in southern states where the laws are lassiez-faire to say the least.  They hire non-union labor and pocket tax payer dollars to create cars which they can sell for less (big surprise).  The government with the support of the "Boomers," (Boomer is my buddy Jesse's word for retard so it applies in this case) has used this tool to boost corporatism and destroy the safety net that helped us for so long. 

Click on the link to verify my claims: -----> http://washingtonindependent.com/22236/cars

That brings me to my second point.  "Boomers" have dropped the ball on policy.  They have confused democracy with capitalism.  Democracy and capitalism are separate and definitely not equal ideas.  Democracy is what the founders had in mind; capitalism is what Wall Street has in mind.  Capitalism benefits the few; democracy benefits the many.  "Experts" who continue to claim that economies are complicated, refuse to explain why.  The complicated nature of an economy is by design.  Anything those in power do not want you to understand will ultimately become so complicated, even those in power end up not understanding it.  If you need evidence, ask a stock broker to explain derivatives to you so they make sense.

The complexity of this issue is why Barack Obama was actually short-sighted in his previous legislation.  The reason that the American Investment and Recovery Act of 2009 did not drop unemployment below eight percent as originally predicted is because it wasn't large enough.  Laden with tax-cuts that do not stimulate anything except corporate hoarding, the "stimulus package" failed to create the job growth we would have liked.  But, if you look at everything in more black and white terms, you will end up with a simple answer.  The simple answer is to create legislation that brings manufacturing jobs back to this country.  Start exporting again.  The best part is, FDR already laid out the road map to economic expansion.  But, it is going to take understanding and education from the consumers.  Buy American, support strong union labor, and force politicians to legislate favorably to American companies employing Americans and disfavorably to companies that consistently operate overseas.  Until then, expect your wages to decrease or disappear while your corporate masters' wages increase. 

In conclusion, we must realize that protesting can only be a first step.  Eventually this movement will need real power, which in today's "America" means money.  The Supreme Court ensured that everything we do politically will revolve around money.  Money allows corporations to manipulate the public with false promises and faux patriotism.  I am pretty sure Americans are not willing to give up on their safe "all-American bullshit."  So, to answer the question, "'Are the protests effective?' 'The answer is, "Yes, but not enough.'"     

       

Obama Still Doesn't Get It

Oh Barack, when will you learn?  Listen to the people; not your corporate donors, not your handlers, and definitely not the Republicans.  The people have taken to the streets demanding that something be done by somebody.  I stood with them the other day in Chicago and demanded accountability from Wall Street.  We marched and chanted, "We are the ninety-nine percent! Arrest the bankers! We want our houses back!" 

I spoke with a few of the marchers and asked them what they were upset about.  They told me stories about being unfairly unemployed, losing homes and racking up debt, and having to give up on the dreams they once had in order to put food on the table.  They are tired of being poor, while the rich stole their money and way of life.  They want it back! 

Because Americans are not very bright, and certainly not very worldly (I am including myself in this group), they do not actually know what they are asking Washington to do.  They don't actually know how to solve these complex issues.  But, if you pay close attention, Mr. President, and you ignore the ridiculous rhetoric of the right wing, you will ultimately realize that these people are demanding liberalism.  The good news for you is that liberalism works.  Liberalism is the way out of this mess.  How do I know?  Because it is how we solved an even greater economic mess after 1929.

Now, we cannot call it liberalism because "liberal" is a "dirty" word in Washington, and once you use the "dirty" word, the cause loses all meaning.  And, if you ask the people in the crowd if they are conservative or liberal, most of them don't actually know.  They say dumb things like, "I am a moderate, or I am an independent."  They say these things because they are "safe words," but the truth is, these people don't have one conservative bone in their body.  Oh, and by the way, neither does the average Tea Party member.

Like the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street has been created out of disdain for America's willingness to accept fascism.  The Tea Party, laden with idiots, were duped into fighting for the very fascists they were purportedly trying to destroy.  Occupy Wall Street has a chance to avoid this same fate, mainly because they aren't old white racists trying to relive the 1950's.  But, they need Mr. Obama to tell them what they are fighting for...liberalism.

Liberalism doesn't say that the richest one percent should be taxed at thirty-eight percent which is the current proposal by the Obama White House.  Liberalism says that the richest one percent should be taxed at seventy to ninety percent.  During the most productive period in our economic history, that is exactly what the rich were taxed.  Thus, we became an economic power house.  Now, the rich didn't actually pay that tax rate, just as they don't pay the thirty-five percent they are taxed at currently.  But, those high tax rates made sure that there was enough to go around.  It forced the super-rich to reinvest into this country.  "Redistribution of wealth," as the Republicans call it, is vital to the creation and sustainment of the middle class.  It is not "class warfare" as the "two word slogan Republicans" like to say.  Class warfare is better defined as a group of mega-rich citizens who have the audacity to plunder what little the most unfortunate among us have, not because they need it but simply because they can.         

Liberalism also says that each American has a right to a roof over their head, food on their table, and health care.  If you ask the Wall Street protestors or Tea Party protestors about these things they both shun them as a "free handout."  But, ask a Wall Street or Tea Party protestor if it is ok to abolish Medicare and Social Security, and they overwhelmingly say, "no."  Medicare and Social Security give Americans democratic socialism, also known as liberalism.  Between the two programs they guarantee that seniors have a right to a roof over their head, food on their table, and health care. 

Both Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party think that the biggest banks stole our money, and the executives of these banks should be promptly arrested and placed in prison.  They believe that the tax dollars spent bailing out these financial institutions should be returned to the people.  Don't look now, but these views are not shared by conservatives, yet Tea Partiers are certain that they are conservative.  Turning the Tea Party into "corporatists" was all too easy.  Corporate America played on their ridiculous fear of minorites, and it worked like a charm.  Instead of blaming the Bush Administration, which would have been the correct course of action, the Tea Party focused their time and energy blaming the usual enemies of corporations, immigrants and the poor.  Basically anyone without more money to give these greedy bastards is to blame in the corporate capitalist view.   

Every single safeguard and protection we enjoy as a nation was put into place by liberals that weren't afraid of right wing fascists.  From banking regulations, environmental protection, civil rights, abolishment of slavery, Medicare, Social Security, free education, and many other services and protections, liberals either directly created these programs or paved the way.

Mr. President, for liberalism to make its comeback, we need a leader that is not afraid to defend its tenets.  So called "jobs" legislation with more ridiculous tax cuts is not going to get it done.  "Universal health care" that isn't "universal" is not going to get it done.  A measly three percent increase on the top one percent isn't even going to begin to address the huge budget shortfalls created by the "Bush tax cuts." 

Overhaul of the conservative, corporatist system that we have is going to take real leadership and real ideas.  You will probably be reelected playing the middle of the road, but only because your opponent will be a nightmare.  If you had been a true liberal from day one, you may have actually kept the bargaining power you need now when things are at their worst.

If you had proposed single-payer health care, the compromise would have been the public option.  If you had proposed a fifty percent tax on the rich, the compromise would have been forty percent.  If you had proposed a jobs bill with no tax cuts, the compromise would have been tax cuts for the working class.  When Representative Alan Grayson proposed a zero percent tax rate on the first $35,000 they make, why didn't you support it?  The only thing he asked for in return was to make the Pentagon foot the bill for the unneccessary wars we are fighting.  The bill also included fifteen billion dollars in savings to help pay down the national debt.  It was simple, liberal, and best of all, it would have helped millions of Americans you claim to champion.       

And, why do you get a pass on completely ignoring the poor.  In your speeches, you have had many references to the middle class but almost none to the poor.  If your goal was to simply be reelected, you should have stayed in the senate.  As the president, you have a greater responsibility to the country than to your reelection campaign.  As president, you have the ability to lead us back to the strong middle class that made this country great.  For that sir, you need to become a liberal.  It is time to truly join the ninety-nine percent.  As you promised, you should grab your walking shoes and march with us.

The news media says that Occupy Wall Street will fizzle out if they become synonymous with the Democratic Party, because they will be just like the Tea Party.  The news media once again fails to grasp reality.  The real reason the Tea Party is no longer given credence is because their "cause" is a falsehood, and their candidates are lunatics.  They are poor people trying to destroy Robin Hood.  The Tea Party's demise has nothing to do with their association with the Republican Party.  In fact, the only reason the Tea Party was given any air time at all was because of the rich corporations who played them like marionettes.  If the Tea Party was a real threat to the corporate establishment, do you really think the corporately owned news media would back them like they did?

Occupy Wall Street is on the right side of history, and they should latch onto the Democratic Party and bring it back to the liberal left.  The only problem is they need to be told that they themselves are liberal.  Mr. Obama, you need to be the one to let them know that they are liberal, and it is right and decent to be liberal.  Then, and only then, can you use true liberal political capital like your great Democratic predecessors used in order to create fifty years of prosperity.  You won your first election in a landslide by announcing that you were the opposite of George Bush.  It is time that you actually become the 180 degree opposite of George Bush, not just a more intelligent and reasoned version of the same. 

Americans need to be led in the right direction.  Do you think that the Civil Rights Amendment would have been passed without President Johnson pressing the issue?  For the last thirty years, we have allowed the conservative corporatists to lead the masses.  In the words of Martin Sheen (President Jed Bartlett) on the West Wing, "A leader never says, I have to find out where those people are going so I can lead them." A leader like Roosevelt, Truman, and Johnson grab the bull by the balls and say, "I may lose the battle, but I will win the war."  Meaning, that if one sticks to principle and doing what is right, the change he so desperately wants to instill may not happen right away, but it will happen.  And, when it does happen, it will create real tangible change that will allow the liberal "ninety-niners" to take their country back. 

America's Rotten Marriage

Did you ever notice that America is exactly like the stupid man in every single "chick flick?"  Most of the "chick flicks" I have had the misfortune to have seen have the exact same premise.  You have a guy who is dumber than a box of rocks and an insult to the human race, and he is living a life of prosperity on his own.  Then he meets the woman with the magic vagina, and "poof," just like that he is instantly changed and sees the error of his ways.  Now he is a polished, upstanding human being.  Thank god that woman took charge before he ended up alone!

So, the man inevitably caves and marries the nagging, self-indulged witch.  But hey, as bad off as this poor bastard was (coming and going as he pleased, having sex with multiple women, a good job, etc.), he should just feel lucky that this woman saved him from that horrible existence.  And, they live happily ever after.

The part that these movies don't show you is what comes after.  I would love it if they showed this guy twenty years later.  I will guarantee you he will buy a sports car, sleep with his secretary, and stay away from home as much as he can, drink until he can't see straight, and gain one hundred pounds.  His friends and family will call it a "mid-life crisis" and surprisingly have no explanation to why he "snapped."  And, as soon as the wife finds out about the cheating, she makes off with half of everything he owns.  That is a dose of reality that the "chick flicks" tend to leave out.  If you think this is the exception rather than the norm, you should consider that about half of all marriages end in divorce, and another twenty percent are failing but they stay together for whatever reason.

Now, as a married man, I have no issues with marriage.  I enjoy my marriage, and I think that my wife is wonderful.  What I resent about these "chick flicks" is the constant suggestion that a man is not complete without a monogamous relationship.  These movies assert that this guy has "commitment issues," and that is why he doesn't want to give up his single life.  It reminds me of the similar assertion by Republicans that if America just tried living without their precious government they would be much better off.  Never mind the founding fathers who created the government for the purpose of prosperity in the first place. 

For fifty years liberalism had created prosperity and growth pulling America out of the Great Depression (caused by America's first marriage to the Republicans), and then Ronald Reagan came along and asked America, "Why don't you settle down?"  "You can't run around having fun forever."

Just like the man in the "chick flick," America soon saw the error of its ways and married the Republicans.  If the movie ended there, you would see the happy ending that you were waiting for.  But, now it is thirty years later and the man has been systematically destroyed, and he amazingly is not putting two and two together to realize what has happened to him. 

Let's take a look at what lead to the demise of this poor bastard.  The part of the wife will be played by the Republicans, and the part of the husband will be played by America.

In 1981 the wife cut taxes, she made dinner every night, and had sex regularly with her husband.  The wife quit her job once they got married, but it's ok because the husband was making a decent living.  Taxes were low and things were good, but all of a sudden America hit a financial wall, and the wife should have gone back to work.  But she didn't, then dinner became a microwave TV dinner, sex was reduced to once a month, and she started nitpicking every little thing her husband did. 

Throughout the eighties the husband continued to struggle, having to work harder and harder to please his wife, and getting less and less in return.  The wife decided once again to cut taxes, but not for the husband this time.  The wife decided only to cut them enough so she could do some extra shopping.  The husband was left in the dust.  The wife kept telling the husband how good he had it.  She also told him that she had to shop to stay beautiful for him and he should understand.  The husband nodded in agreement not wanting to upset the wife any further.

Finally in 1992, the husband had an affair (Hey, who didn't in the 90's with Bill Clinton!).  It was wonderful!  He had more "pep-in-his-step," and the sun shined a little brighter.  He thought the liberalism that was so good to him before, returned once again to make him the happy bachelor he once was.  But, after eight years, the husband felt unfulfilled again.  The husband made cosmetic progress, but nothing significant really changed like he thought it would.  In fact, his new squeeze began to seem more and more like his wife.  So, without a clear direction, he decided to go back to his wife in 2000. 

Now, his wife was clearly insane, and she was determined to clobber him for his affair.  She spent the next eight years spending everything he made, running up his credit card bills to new unseen heights, and he became so depressed he lost his job, his house, and then his wife up and left.  She said, "Oh well, not my problem anymore." 

Then in 2008, out of nowhere, a young woman came along and talked a good game.  She promised the husband the once prosperous life that he had so many years ago.  Little did he realize though, the wife could not stand to see her ex-husband happy for one single minute.  So, she got her friends to sabotage the young woman's efforts.  Every step of the way the nasty old crows hindered any chance their relationship had.  The young woman was too afraid to stand up to the wife and her friends, so she cowered in a corner allowing the husband to die a slow, painful death. 

The young woman never realized that she should have taken a battering ram to the wife.  She thought she could reason with the wife to act in the best interests of the husband, but the wife didn't care to hear it.  The wife just kept going full speed ahead trying to complete the hit job on her husband's life.  The young woman continued to think that the wife would come around and do what was best for the husband.  The young woman thought that the wife just had a different set of beliefs.  She didn't realize that the wife was simply determined to end the husband's existence.

Today, in 2011 the husband is almost completely destroyed.  The bank has come to repossess the little he has left and sell it to China at a discounted price.  The husband has lost the credibility he once had, and others now look upon him with great disdain and sadness for what he has become.  There is little to no chance of him ever recovering, and he no longer has much to live for.  He now hates the new woman in his life simply because she is a woman, and blames her for his problems.

In 2012, the wife will return, and tell the husband, "See, I told you not to get involved with that young woman.  Look at you now!"  The wife will continue, "I knew she would destroy you.  Let's try to make it work again." 

Now that the husband is a senior the wife has returned to finish him off by taking away his health care and Social Security.  The only question that remains is, "Will the husband be dumb enough to trust her again?" 



     

American History - By Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, and Christine O' Donnell

By Shawn Johnson http://www.libvoice1776.blogspot.com/

Look me up on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/liberalvoice1776

Christine O' Donnell, Michelle O' Bachmann and Sarah O' Palin are bringing out a new American history text.  After their tireless efforts to study and learn the great history of our country, they have finally compelled us with her American history timeline.  Please see a transcript of those thoughts below.

1492 - Jesus founded America.  He gave the native people guns and gave strict orders that no one should ever take them away.  The native people here were treated wonderfully by the settlers that accompanied Jesus.  You know, Peter, Paul, Luke, and Ringo.  Peter is now considered our founding father.

1510 - African people continue to sneak aboard European ships headed for the New World in the hopes of finding a better life with white people.  They were our first illegal immigrants, but the white people were so generous that they gave them a job.  The African people were so grateful, they wouldn't accept any compensation for their labor.

1525 - Pablo Francisco founded Florida and gave the native people something to laugh at.  (We looked up Pablo Francisco and the lame stream media says he is a comedian, but we know that he was an explorer from Cuba.  That is how they got so many Cubans in Miami.)

1550 - Alaska is established as the first state of the United States of America. 

1610 - Henry Hudson (with God's help) parts the Hudson River in order to lead his people to safety after the British government establishes taxes.  (Taxes would later become a state in the south.)

1614 - Sir Walter Raleigh and Mel Brooks write History of the World.  We never read it, but we looked at some of the pictures.

1620 - The pilgrims arrived in Taxachussets to stop the government from taxing turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and gravy.  They immediately showed the native people how to gather all of these things from the refrigerator so they could have a large feast called, "Thanksgiving."  They rode a big ship called the Mayflower because it was made in the month of May.

1649 - The toleration act makes the Ten Commandments law in the colonies.  The law stands to this day. 

1650 - Maryland establishes a bicameral legislature, which means that every colonist gets two free cameras so they can put history on Facebook.  You can still look up things on Facebook!

1656 - The Puritans (a group established by the EPA for being clean and pure) whip and torture Quakers, making the guy on the oat carton very angry (Another example of the government punishing free market cereal capitalists).  They burned witches at the stake!  Uh-oh Christine just passed out.

1732 - God creates George Washington and tells him through angels that he will be President. 

1754 - French and Indian War - We are not sure who fought in this war.

1765 - England creates the Stamp Act forcing the colonists to put a picture of William and Kate on all stamps.  This angers the National Enquirer making war with England eminent.

1770 - The Boston Massacre.  I think this had something to do with trading Babe Ruth.

1773 - The Boston Tea Party.  The Tea Party is established because colonists wore tea bags on their heads.  I will become leader of that Tea Party later on.  The colonists were fighting Obamacare.

1775 - Paul Revere rides around ringing bells, and he warns the British not to take our guns.  Paul Revere starts his own band with the Raiders.  We think they moved to Oakland.

1775 - The first battle of the American Revolution is fought in Lexington, New Hampshire.  Thank you for that information, Michelle. 

1776 - George Jefferson pens the Declaration of Independence.  It starts with the words, "Movin on up, to the east side." 

1783 - America defeats Old England in the Revolutionary War, gaining our freedom.  New England is established and they start a football team.

1784 - America establishes the Articles of the Confederation making the Confederacy the true government of America.  All the power rested in the hand of some guy named "States."

1787 - The founding fathers under instruction from Jesus create the Christian document known as the Constitution.  They amend the constitution to allow hunting from a helicopter.  It says right in that document that God runs the country.  Article one of the Constitution was about the Leviticus Branch proving that the founding fathers wanted a Christian Country.  Article two of the Constitution was about the Executive Branch.  Sarah finally learned what the Vice President Does.  Article three was some branch that we couldn't pronounce.

1803 - America buys Louisiana providing Popeye's chicken to everyone. Colonel Sanders leads an army to try to defeat the purchase.

1808 - Founding fathers like John Quincy Adams fought tirelessly to end slavery.

1815 - We think this is when the War of 1812 took place.  The White House was burned down, but during the blaze cupcakes were made and Dolly Madison stamped her name on the cupcakes. 

1820 - The Missouri Compromise took place this year.  It was controversial because everyone knows that you aren't supposed to compromise.  DUH Missouri!

1858 - Dred Scott loses his Supreme Court case.  This sets the Civil War in motion.  It was called the Civil War because it was fought by civilians.  Or, maybe it was because it was a polite war.

1865 - The Civil War ended and the south won.  This makes Abraham Lincoln so angry that he has himself shot in the head.  We didn't read that, but we saw it in an Alabama recreation.

1885 - Grover Cleveland is the first democratic president elected since the civil war causing socialism to run rampant.  This event eventually led to the Great Depression.

1901 - President McKinley is shot and killed making Teddy Franklin Eleanor Roosevelt the president.

1906 - God punishes San Francisco with an earthquake for being gay. 

1914 - World War I begins because Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot.  The Franz later went on to inspire Happy Days.

1917 - The United States enters the war after the Germans sink the Titanic.  Leonard DiCaprio dies.

1918 - The United States wins the war proving that unilateral attacks on your enemies is the American way.

1920 - Jane Addams starts the Hull House in Chicago so legendary Blackhawks player Bobby Hull has a place to live. 

1929 - Barack Obama causes the stock market to crash by spending.

1931 - The Star Spangled Banner becomes the official anthem of the USA, and atheists try to get the word "God" removed from it to no avail.

1939 - Adolph Hitler conspires with Iraq to attack Poland.  All of the Polish people escape and move to Chicago.

1941 - Saddam Hussein attacks Pearl Harbor causing Ben Affleck to make that awful movie.

1945 - America wins another war making us like 15-0 or something.  This would be the last war that actually counts for the standings.

1950 - Everyone is really happy in America.  No problems whatsoever. 

1962 - The Soviet Union tried to get missiles and cigars into the United States from Cuba.  They didn't make it, so we called it the Cuban Missile Crisis (we asked Dana Perino about this one). 

1963 - President Kennedy gets shot in Dallas because he committed adultery.

1964 - The Civil Rights amendment is passed in remembrance of the Civil War.

1969 - America fakes the moon landing according to stuff we read. 

1973 - America wins the Vietnam War, but isn't given credit for it.

1980 - Jesus is reborn in the form of Ronald Reagan and elected president.   Later, Ronald Reagan would ascend into heaven.

1986 - The Space Shuttle Challenger blows up because God was angry that people were trying to fly to heaven.

1992 - Bill Clinton steals the election by having Ross Perot run as a third party candidate. 

1996 - Christine dabbles in witchcraft.

1998 - Bill Clinton is impeached for having an affair with Monica Lewinsky.  We don't know what impeached means, but it sounds like something to do with fruit.

2001 - America is attacked by Iraq on 9-11.  George Bush saves New York.

2004 - George Bush wins reelection in a landslide, like 100 to 0 or something.  He becomes our greatest president ever.

2008 - Barack Obama bails out the banks and blames George Bush for it.  Then he rigs the election against John McCain.  Sarah is still allowed to be Vice President.

2012 - The Mayans stop their calendar leading to the end of the world!  NO REALLY...WE SAW IT IN THE MOVIE!!

Way to go Dud-o-crats!

Kudos to the Democrats! No, not for accomplishing anything, but for allowing Republicans to collectively "hang themselves." The Republicans are successfully hitting every single "third rail" in politics they can. Let's take a look at the checklist.

Eliminate Medicare, support tax loopholes for big oil, take away a woman's right to choose, destroy the lives of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and public workers, give grossly unfair tax cuts to the wealthiest among us who don't pay their fair share as it is, stop the Democrats from breaking up the banks that stole our money, and end the reign of Planned Parenthood and National Public Radio. Check, check, check, and check.

When I am consistently asked why I support the Democratic Party when they really don't share many of my ideals, I have one response, "Because they aren't the Republicans." It is true that sometimes I am voting for the lesser of two evils, but at least the Democrats will fight to keep Medicare. Can you imagine where seniors in this country would be if they had to buy private insurance at the age of sixty-five?

You may ask yourself, "Why would any Republican trying to win in Iowa support the Ryan Plan?" The answer is simple, they are "all in." There is no turning back now. If they can somehow win this election in 2012, they will use it as a hammer to dismantle every single social program that helps the poor and middle class. Reagan's dream will be complete.

To quote a "Star Wars" reference, "Don't give in to the dark side!" America must understand that the days of voting Republican and keeping vital social programs are over. Now, you may say, "Shawn, didn't America vote for the Republicans in 2010 knowing full well what they were going to try to do?"

As obvious as the Republican Plan was to anyone with an I.Q. greater than fifty, America still missed it. If you remember, the Republicans ran on jobs, jobs, jobs. Here we are almost six months later, and they haven't presented one single jobs bill, not one, not even a hint of a jobs bill. They immediately took office and attempted to dismantle excellent government programs by launching a smear campaign that was so egregious it would make a billy-goat puke.

How much more evidence does this country need? Conservatism was a failure, is a failure, and will always be failure. Ronald Reagan's corpse has a ten foot erection for this new Republican Party. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that his party could have a chance to dismantle Medicare. I am going to be paying attention to the senior vote next year. Every single person fifty and older that votes should be voting for the Democrats. If you are old, and you decide to vote Republican, your ignorance will be your downfall. When you lose your social safety net and the most successful government program in the history of this country, you will have no one to blame but yourself.

So, keep going back to the Republicans because you think Eisenhower is somehow still alive but do so at your own peril. I am sorry, but white people in their fifties and sixties have been alive for a long time, and they have learned absolutely nothing during their time on earth. They took a fairly decent country that lead the world in math, science, discovery, and medicine and turned control of it over to the Republicans.
Well now your stupidity will pay off. When you reach the age of 65 you will get a three-dollar bill with Paul Ryan's ugly mug pasted on it to pay for your health insurance. Good luck, dumb asses!

So keep it up Democrats!  Your only real accomplishment is that you are not the Republicans, and in this country that makes you electable!

Who You Crappin?

Why does the media in this country persist on treating us like Catholic school children learning Bible stories for the first time?  Every single time I read an article, I find myself reflecting fondly on the story about Noah and his ability to get two of every animal in the world onto a boat with no food or way to live.  Not only that, Noah magically got these animals to screw producing more animals within the same amount of space.  Evangelical Republicans will insist that if Mexican immigrants can do it, so can Noah.

The media, once again, is "blowing smoke up our asses" in the most hypocritical way they know how.  We have heard these brainwashing vermin insist that the killing of Bin Laden has made us "safer."  They also insist that we should be more afraid now of backlash from Al Qaeda terrorists who finally have a reason to hate us.  The media is simply regurgitating the same bullshit that they spewed after Saddam Hussein was captured.

How the hell can we be safer and more in danger at the same time?  This country is full of idiots who will buy any tag line no matter how contradictory or stupid.  Advertisers are keen to this idea.  Unfortunately, so are politicians and "news" people.

The simple fact is, not only are these two assertions made by the media contradictory, they are both simply wrong.  Anyone who is pissed that Osama Bin Laden was killed by American soldiers, would not hesitate to attack us if they could whether we killed Bin Laden or not.  By the way, that same truth is also the reason we are not any safer than before. 

Let's consider these dumb arguments from the other side.  Can you imagine if Al Qaeda told its members that they would be safer because of the successful mission on 9-11 and right after that, they told these same members that they should fear American retribution?  Only one of those two could possibly be true.  But, what journalists are doing in America is a sales tactic I must tweak every single day in my profession.  Play on the fears of your client or in this case, your reader.  It will keep them buying.

When a client comes into my office to buy insurance, you would be amazed at their reaction when I bring up life insurance.  Now, they are guaranteed to die at some point in their life, but they have been trained by the media to accept bullshit.  The media will play on these fears.  "Buy a gun to keep burglars out of your house."  "Buy a ladder to keep on the second floor of your house in case of a fire."  "Don't drink coffee, drink tea."  "Prevent cancer with oranges and broccoli." "Buy our extended warranty plan."  The list goes on and on.

So when a client enters my office, their thought process is, "I can't die. I bought my gun, ladder, heart-monitor, orange juice, medicine, self-help book, 5-star safety rating vehicle, and body-bubble for my children.  Never mind that there is the scientific fact that they will still die at some point.  But, before they do die, corporate America with the help of the six o'clock evening news will make sure they leave their money to the corporate interests that are really killing them early in the first place.

Now, when the media trumps up terrorism, they are serving military corporatism.  They are basically saying, "Osama Bin Laden is dead because we spend $800 Billion annually on military contracts."  While this ridiculous assertion could not be further from the truth, people believe it.  The President has done his part in ramping down this fear campaign.  Not long ago, the American people actually suggested that we cut military spending to curb our budget problems.  Well the corporate interests don't want to hear that, so the terror alert must be raised now that Bin Laden is dead.  Oh, but don't worry because we are safer.  Are you kidding me?

We killed Bin Laden so Al Qaeda can no longer plot against us, but attack is imminent.  This tag line completes two tasks.  It keeps America afraid, while at the same time giving them a sense of security.  Taking both sides of issues is what America is famous for because we live in a weak-willed and weak-minded country.  The average American, including me, would not condone fighting in the Middle East for one second if we were the ones who had to do the fighting.  So why are we so comfortable about it when it is someone else that has to do it?

This brings me to another bit of empty rhetoric, "I support the troops!"  Oh really?  How do you support the troops?  Oh, I see, you put a bumper sticker on your SUV.  You patriotic American you!  And you say, "God Bless America" after every speech!?  Say it isn't so! The average American does not give a rat's ass about the troops.  If they did, they would support tax increases to pay for body armor.  But there again, they have been told by the media that we can fight unlimited wars while cutting taxes.  Then amazingly it is Obama's fault that we have massive spending deficits.

The President of the United States is a leader and a statesman.  His opponents are mentally damaged buffoons that have the Constitutional comprehension of a third-grader.  Not long ago, Eric Cantor insisted that a bill can become a law without the approval of the Senate and the President.  Can we say, "School- house Rock?"

The mass media now serves corporate interests, and the fact that they are owned by corporations is evident by their broadcasts.  They will start a news segment by saying, "A black man, age 24, shot and killed his girlfriend and her parents today."  But, when a rich person commits a crime you never hear, "A white male, age 58, embezzled $700 Million from his company costing 20,000 people their job today."  Even when a white person commits a blue-collar crime, his race is never brought into the discussion.  This is an intentional act portrayed by the media to make average Americans fear minorities.  Fear breeds capitalism.  The more afraid a person is, the more money they will spend in order to feel safer.

That brings us back to the reason that the media insists we are in more danger and safer at the same time.  If we are in more danger, it means that we need to spend more money on defense.  And if we are safer at the same time, it means that the gargantuan amount of money we have already spent is working.  The only way Americans will continue to support less defense spending is if we become comfortable.  When you are not a nervous wreck, you can analyze the probability of being attacked by terrorists and come to the quick realization that our bloated military budget is not what makes us safe or unsafe.  That kind of thinking is bad for business. 

For those of you who regularly read my blog, you know how I feel about militarism disguised as defense.  If we really are in danger of massive terrorist plots, the reason will be our military spending; not the lack of spending, but rather the overblown spending we have now.  Islamic terrorists hate the United States because of our constant involvement and presence in their affairs and in their holy land.  They could care less about our freedom or way of life.  If they cared so much about freedom, they would have attacked Holland, Canada, Switzerland, Finland, and a host of other free countries. 

This country has lost its toughness.  Americans are now scared little rabbits and corporations know it.  It is why pharmaceutical companies invent drugs to cure diseases that don't exist.  All they have to do is convince the scared little rabbits that they have the disease.  This task is much easier when you can manipulate the rabbits' trusted source of news.

The corporations in this country will continue to win the game as long as Americans continue to fear everything.  It is a vicious cycle that won't go away.  I am not very optimistic that we can ever get past the fear again. 

Obama Takes Out Osama

The entire country has heard by now.  The United States Armed Forces has caught and killed Osama Bin Laden.  I owe it to my readers to give my take on this historical event.  As usual, I do not see things as black and white.  I have many mixed feelings about the event and what is to come of it.  I do not believe the official story for one second, and I think that the President is being much more gracious than he should be.  I will examine the good, bad, and ugly sides of how this plays into the fake "War on Terror."

First, the good...

Barack Obama had probably the finest moment of his Presidency.  He learned of Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts in November and could have leveled the mansion at that point.  He chose not to, even though it would have created tremendous momentum for his Presidency and would have put the Republicans on the defensive, much like it is now.  He chose not to attack at that point because there would have been severe collateral damage.  He was able to minimize collateral damage and complete the mission with appropriate planning and execution.  I hope the liberals like me stop saying that Obama is just like Bush.  Bush would have had no regard for any civilians in this attack as evidenced by Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama was "cool as a cucumber" on television, even the night before at the Correspondence Dinner, as he lambasted Donald Trump and effectively ended any chance Donald Trump had in the Republican Primary, which was slim to none to begin with.  The President never even hinted at the fact that a military victory of this magnitude was on the horizon.  He acted like a statesmen as he has his entire presidency.  Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Obama is competent and well qualified for the position he holds.

The "Birther Movement" has been put completely out of commission, and the President will be all but assured reelection.  While the President is not the ideal liberal candidate we want, he is infinitely better than any of the buffoons the Republicans will run up there.  The President has passed some tough legislation at great political peril to himself and his party.  He will be looked upon by historians as one of our finest presidents, which will drive the right wing into further insanity.

The families who had their lives destroyed on September 11, 2001 will at least have some closure.  For the longest time, they must have felt like their family members died in vain.  Their increasing frustration with the Bush Administration and his horrific bungling of this situation will now be put to rest.

The bad...

Obama's speech was lacking a clear indication that we can now leave Afghanistan.  I am not very optimistic at the prospect that Obama is even willing to have that discussion at this time.  Obama's continued failure in this area will be the death of his Presidency and the Democratic Party.  The liberal base is expecting these senseless wars to end now.  Even my Republican friends are not quite sure why we still have the presence in the Middle East that we do (hypocritically so but accurate nonetheless).  Obama has done nothing to curb war profiteering which is at an all-time high.  Is he so beholden to these corporations that have America by the nut-sack that he can't or won't end these wars?

Once again, the national media has gone to sleep.  The President was given a pass on lying just because the lies were convenient and didn't hurt any one's feelings.  The lies, however, were obvious and no one in the mainstream media has the "balls" to ask the right questions. 

The first question should be, "Mr. President, you gave credit to the Pakistani government for helping the United States in a joint effort, but how is it that Osama Bin Laden was able to hide basically right out in the open without us knowing for so long? Were the Pakistanis really on our side, or are you just saying that?"  It sounds to me like the Pakistanis were more of a hindrance than a help, and it is the duty of journalists to find the right answers to this question.

The second question should be, "Mr. President, is it appropriate to credit George Bush with this capture even though his administration clearly allowed Osama Bin Laden to escape? Do you know why Mr. Bush shut down the task force that was in charge of finding and killing Bin Laden?  And, what exactly are you giving Bush credit for?" 

Really, what does President Bush deserve credit for?  By his own admission he gave up looking for Bin Laden.  It was not important to him at all.  The media dropped the ball at that moment, and they are still dropping it today.  Does President Bush really deserve accolades for creating a quagmire in Afghanistan to catch and kill one man and then promptly failing?  If that is the case, why doesn't Mr. Obama also credit Bill Clinton who actually tried to catch Bin Laden but failed and didn't start a war to do so?

The ugly...

Republicans are so filled with hate and rage that the socialist foreigner once again cleaned up after a Bush disaster.  The calls by the President for the country to once again come together will fall of deaf ears amongst the right wingers. 

It has started already.  This morning I logged onto foxnews.com and the headlines read, "Americans Put on Alert Amid Warnings of Al Qaeda Retaliation."  Already, the Faux News right wing machine is trying to drum up as much fear as they can.  Instead of praising the effort by President Obama and the United States military, they are choosing to ramp up stories about attacks that are never going to come.  The message is clear, "Did the socialist do the right thing by killing Bin Laden?" 

Also, while CNN and MSNBC promptly showed video footage of the celebration outside the White House, Fox refused to show it as usual.  These sickening bastards need their charter revoked.  They are not, nor have they ever been a news organization, and they should not be naming themselves as such.

By now it is apparent that the Republicans will indeed lose the presidential election in 2012.  Their only hope is to smear Democrats enough to where they can maintain control of the House and possibly gain control of the Senate.  Mark my words, the 2012 election campaign will be the ugliest slime fest the American people have had to endure in a long time.  The Supreme Court has ensured that the lowest dregs of our society will be controlling the message.  Goodbye decency!

And finally...

To my readers, please continue to ask tough questions of your government.  Never take what they say for face value.  Dig deeper even though what exists under the surface may be unpleasant.  Catching Osama Bin Laden, while a historic event and probably the largest victory for our military since the Berlin Wall fell, is merely a symbolic victory.  Catching and killing Osama Bin Laden will not change military policy, and it will not get us closer to energy independence.  It won't bring back the lives lost on 9-11, and it won't take away the damage done by senseless and useless wars.  It isn't even changing the conversation in Washington.  Obama is still sticking to the stupid and fake "War on Terror," which is just another phrase for "Military Industrial Complex."

Congratulate the President today, but start hitting him again tomorrow.  You owe it to your country and to the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces. 

 

Setting the Record Straight

When I talk to my Republican friends and colleagues I get the feeling that they really hate President Obama.  I don't where I come up with these ideas.  Maybe it is the nine or ten e-mails and text messages I get each day depicting Obama as a monkey, as a slave hung from a tree, as Adolph Hitler, as Osama Bin Laden, and any other number of horrible images that bring out the sickest racist thinking in our society.

Some of them are actually funny and not too racist, but most of them are sadistic and hate filled.  But, as my readers know, I do not censor anything.  I have never once asked them to stop communicating with me, and if I ever run for political office I may have to explain why I continue to associate with these buffoons.  I simply do not believe that anyone should be censored, and I will ultimately hold someone's actions against them, not their words. 

Now, that certainly does not mean that I have no right to challenge your thoughts and opinions on any subject.  And, if you don't like my comments on religion and conservatism I am sorry, but it is amazing to me that you can even read my blogs or hear me with your head that far up your ass.  As I have illustrated in previous blogs, conservatives are ignorant little piss-ants that are too stupid and immature to tackle the real problems facing our country.  They continue to tout conservative principals while evidence time and time again suggests that those principals have severely damaged our country and our world.

I know why liberals like me think that President Obama is a mediocre president and why we think that the Democrats are spineless jellyfish afraid of their own shadows.  But, I wanted to find out why lifelong Republicans, who championed the policies of President George W. Bush, hate President Obama so much.  When I ask them, I find out that the things they hate Obama for, were actually caused by Bush.

So, I am going to set the record straight.  Here is a list of verifiable facts from real sources (not Fixed News). 

Mythical Republican Rant #1: President Obama's 2009 budget caused a $1.4 trillion deficit!

Reality Check: The 2009 budget was Bush's, not Obama's.

The CBO (Congressional Budget Office for people who don't watch the news) (For those of you who are still dumbfounded, the CBO is a non-partisan mandated board that studies various congressional budget issues and puts forth reports and projections.) said in a January 7, 2009 (before Obama took office) report that the expected deficit due to the Bush Administration budget will be $1.2 trillion.   (9)

Mythical Republican Rant #2: "Obamacare" is bankrupting the government!

Reality Check:  While Health Care Reform is actually insurance reform and not nearly as cost effective and productive as Single-Payer systems in Canada and England, it has actually reduced the projected budget deficit, not increased it as claimed by my bat-shit friends.

     CBO and JCT estimate that, on balance, the direct spending and revenue effects of enacting the Patient
     Protection and Affordable Care Act incorporating the manager's amendment would yield a net reduction
     in federal deficits of $132 billion over the 2010-2019 period. (Media Matters For America) (The CBO
     and JCT - Joint Committee on Taxation, also non-partisan)

     CBO also estimated on December 20, 2009, that the Senate bill will continue to reduce the deficit
     beyond the 10-year budget window that ends in 2019 "with a total effect during that decade that is in a
     broad range between one-quarter percent and one-half percent of GDP." (Media Matters For America)

Mythical Republican Rant #3: The economic stimulus and out of control spending by the Democrats is why we are in such a fiscal crisis!

Reality Check: The Bush Administration's war spending and tax cuts are chiefly to blame for our fiscal problems and debt.

Bush Tax Cuts, War Costs Do Lasting Harm to Budget Outlook

     Some commentators blame recent legislation — the stimulus bill and the financial rescues — for today’s
     record deficits. Yet those costs pale next to other policies enacted since 2001 that have swollen the
     deficit. Those other policies may be less conspicuous now, because many were enacted years ago and
     they have long since been absorbed into CBO’s and other organizations’ budget projections.

     Just two policies dating from the Bush Administration — tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan —
     accounted for over $500 billion of the deficit in 2009 and will account for almost $7 trillion in deficits in
     2009 through 2019, including the associated debt-service costs. [6] (The prescription drug benefit
     enacted in 2003 accounts for further substantial increases in deficits and debt, which we are unable to
     quantify due to data limitations.) These impacts easily dwarf the stimulus and financial rescues.
     Furthermore, unlike those temporary costs, these inherited policies (especially the tax cuts and the drug
     benefit) do not fade away as the economy recovers (see Figure 1).
    

(Media Matters for America)

     Without the economic downturn and the fiscal policies of the previous Administration, the budget would
     be roughly in balance over the next decade. That would have put the nation on a much sounder footing to
     address the demographic challenges and the cost pressures in health care that darken the long-run fiscal
     outlook.
     (http://www.cbpp.org/)

Mythical Republican Rant #4: Obama gave away tax payer money by bailing out the banks and AIG!

Reality Check: This myth has been perpetrated by Fox Noise and the Right Wing media. 

The bank bailouts and TARP were created in 2008 under President Bush.  When Obama took office, the Bush Administration had already given away $350 billion.  No one had accounted for the money, and we are not really sure how it was spent.  When Obama took office he hired Elizabeth Warren to keep track of the remaining money promised to the banks.  (Taken from statements by Warren)

Our government had recovered 75% of the TARP funds paid out due to Obama's diligence once he took office. (usgovernmentbenefits.org)

The problem is that Republican voters have been privy to all of this information before.  Even the most hypocritical idiots cannot deny which president did almost all of the damage to the economy and our country as a whole.  While Obama is not the liberal lion that I would have appreciated, the country is in much better shape than it would have been under President McCain (especially considering that McCain would have died already and we would now by run by President Shit for Brains (If she didn't quit first). 

Works Cited

CBO Report. 7 Jan 2009. Web. http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9957/01-07-Outlook.pdf.

CBO Report. 19 Dec 2009. Web.  

     http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10868/12-19-Reid_Letter_Managers_Correction_Noted.pdf.

Horney, James and Ruffing, Kathy. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 28 Jun 2010. Web.                 

     http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3036.

Joint Committee on Taxation. Quoted By Media Matters for America. Right-Wing Media Whine That

     Obama Accurately Blamed Deficit Problems On Bush-Era Policies. 14 April 2011. Web.

     http://mediamatters.org/research/201104140021

Media Matters for America. Right-Wing Media Whine That Obama Accurately Blamed Deficit Problems

     On Bush-Era Policies. 14 April 2011. Web. http://mediamatters.org/research/201104140021

U.S. Government Benefits Help. Date Unknown. Web.

     http://usgovernmentbenefits.org/hd/index.php?t=tarp+funds+repaid

Warren, Elizabeth. Yahoo Finance. 06 May 2009. Web Interview. 

     http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/242629/