Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Audacity of Unawareness...........
April 15th, 2009 5:03 pm Barack Obama, through his spokesman, claimed today that he was unaware of the tax day tea parties. Granted, the MSM has done a good job in suppressing any sort of coverage ahead of time (and the little coverage they did provide was derisive at best) but how out of touch is the Community Organizer and Chief, really?
This much.
- He was unaware that he was attending a church (for 20 years) with a racist pastor who hates America.
- He was unaware that he was family friends with, and started his political career in the living room of, a domestic terrorist.
- He was unaware that he had invested in two speculative companies backed by some of his top donors right after taking office in 2005.
- He was unaware that his own aunt was living in the US illegally.
- He was unaware that his own brother lives on pennies a day in a hut in Kenya.
- He was unaware of the AIG bonuses that he and his administration approved and signed into a bill.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be his Secretary of Commerce was under investigation in a bribery scandal.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services was a tax cheat.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be his Secretary of the Treasury was a tax cheat..
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be the U.S. Trade Representative was a tax cheat.
- He was unaware that the woman he nominated to be his Chief Performance Officer was a tax cheat.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be #2 at the Environmental Protection Agency was under investigation for mismanaging $25 million in EPA grants.
For the love of God, there are people in comas that are more aware of world affairs than this guy.
April 15th, 2009 5:03 pm Barack Obama, through his spokesman, claimed today that he was unaware of the tax day tea parties. Granted, the MSM has done a good job in suppressing any sort of coverage ahead of time (and the little coverage they did provide was derisive at best) but how out of touch is the Community Organizer and Chief, really?
This much.
- He was unaware that he was attending a church (for 20 years) with a racist pastor who hates America.
- He was unaware that he was family friends with, and started his political career in the living room of, a domestic terrorist.
- He was unaware that he had invested in two speculative companies backed by some of his top donors right after taking office in 2005.
- He was unaware that his own aunt was living in the US illegally.
- He was unaware that his own brother lives on pennies a day in a hut in Kenya.
- He was unaware of the AIG bonuses that he and his administration approved and signed into a bill.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be his Secretary of Commerce was under investigation in a bribery scandal.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services was a tax cheat.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be his Secretary of the Treasury was a tax cheat..
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be the U.S. Trade Representative was a tax cheat.
- He was unaware that the woman he nominated to be his Chief Performance Officer was a tax cheat.
- He was unaware that the man he nominated to be #2 at the Environmental Protection Agency was under investigation for mismanaging $25 million in EPA grants.
For the love of God, there are people in comas that are more aware of world affairs than this guy.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The following article details the massive mismanagement of “The peoples Republic of New York.” It also serves as a “Canary in the mineshaft” moment for the United States. Just as NY seeks to spend it’s way to prosperity our Congress is now engaged in spending money it doesn’t have to please their union and special interest voters. We are already a debtor nation moving fast into the banana republic status of a Peru or Cuba. Fiscal responsibility has been sacrificed to the goal of buying votes from the most unproductive members of the electorate. Our leaders are a joke, a very bad joke on us. Think about this interview and whether you’ll have the option of moving away to escape; hint, you won’t. This article appeared in responsible New York (a contradiction in terms!!!).
Why I'm Leaving New York (but continuing our efforts to change it)
Friends,I love New York. But how much should it cost to call New York home? Decades of out of control budgets, spending increases and relentless borrowing have made New York simply too expensive.Politicians like to talk about incentives: incentives for businesses to relocate, incentives to buy local and incentives to make smart decisions. After reviewing the 2009 budget I have identified the most compelling incentive of all: a major tax break immediately available to all New Yorkers. To be eligible, you need only do one thing: move out of New York State.Last week I spent 90 minutes doing a couple of simple things-registering to vote, changing my drivers license, filling out a domicile certificate and signing a homestead certificate-in Florida. Combined with spending a 184 days a year outside New York these simple procedures will save me over $5 million in NY taxes annually.That savings doesn't include that Florida has a 6% sales tax compared to NY's 8% or more. Florida has lower utility taxes. Lower gasoline taxes. Or that the Florida homestead certificate guarantees my property taxes will not grow more than 3%.By moving to Florida I can spend that money on worthy causes like better hospitals, improving education and worthy projects like the Clinton Global Initiative. Or maybe I will continue to invest that money in fighting the status quo in Albany. One thing is certain, that money will not continue to fund Albany's bloated bureaucracy, corrupt politicians or regular handouts to the special interests.How did we get here in the first place? It all starts with spending, spending and more spending.
BUDGET SPENDINGNew York's budget was $72.7 billion in 1999. Ten years later it has ballooned to $131.8 billion. That growth is astounding but it continues to get worse. Each year, New York's budget has had 6% compounded growth, double the average rate of inflation (2.8%). Florida's budget, on the other hand, went down 8% this year.
HEALTH CARE SPENDINGNew York spends $2,283 per person on Medicaid. That's the highest per capita spending in the nation and twice the national average. In the last decade the Medicaid budget has grown by 50% ($30 billion in 1999 and $45 billion in 2009). In almost every sector (hospitals, nursing homes, medicine, clinics, and home and community care) spending per recipient regularly exceeds the national average. Faced with escalating costs and diminishing returns, Albany and their allies, the health care unions (SEIU has over 300,000 politically active members), had only one answer: increase taxes.
EDUCATION SPENDINGNew York spends the most, per pupil, in America on education, spending 63% above the national average. Costs went up about 60% in the last decade ($12.7 billion in 1999 and $20.7 billion in 2009). Like health care, education is something worth spending on and worth investing in but we're spending more and getting less. New York City schools graduated 54% of high school students in 2007. Buffalo 47% and Rochester 45%. Why? Perhaps it's because the New York State teachers union with its $114 million budget is always trying to convince Albany to spend more. Maybe it's because it's mandatory that all teachers pay union dues. Whatever the cause, when faced with potential cuts, the union and their allies have one response: increase taxes.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SPENDINGIt's not just the state. It's the range and breadth of many layers of governments and special taxing districts. In New York, the average state and local tax burden is $5,260 for every man, woman and child. That's by far the highest in the country. Like Albany, when faced with a difficult problem, these municipalities have one answer: increase taxes.Upstate New York has been particularly hard hit. Add unreasonable real estate taxes to the uncontrolled state spending and you have whole communities decimated. The assessment process is unfair, unworkable and unreasonable and the result is that 15 of the 20 highest taxed counties in America are right here in Upstate New York. While homeowners in other areas build equity, we just pay more taxes. NO ONE'S HOMEThis problem did not begin with the current recession. New York faced a $6 billion shortfall before the economic downturn. However in the face of economic turmoil Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver and Majority Leader Smith looked to the unions and special interests who answered with one voice: raise taxes. Among other taxes and fees, they raised the marginal tax rate on the most successful (and most mobile) New Yorkers to 8.97 percent, the second highest rate in the nation. It was irresponsible and it may just prove to be counterproductive since the top 1% of earners account for about 50% of state revenue. We're the one who can-and will-leave. It's not an easy decision but I'm being forced away from my family and friends, pain shared by too many parents and grandparents in this state.I'm leaving. And by domiciling in Florida I will personally save $13,800 every single day. That's a pretty strong incentive.Like I said, I love New York but I'm not going to pay any more for the waste, corruption and inefficiency that is New York State government.
TOM GOLISANO Responsible New York
Why I'm Leaving New York (but continuing our efforts to change it)
Friends,I love New York. But how much should it cost to call New York home? Decades of out of control budgets, spending increases and relentless borrowing have made New York simply too expensive.Politicians like to talk about incentives: incentives for businesses to relocate, incentives to buy local and incentives to make smart decisions. After reviewing the 2009 budget I have identified the most compelling incentive of all: a major tax break immediately available to all New Yorkers. To be eligible, you need only do one thing: move out of New York State.Last week I spent 90 minutes doing a couple of simple things-registering to vote, changing my drivers license, filling out a domicile certificate and signing a homestead certificate-in Florida. Combined with spending a 184 days a year outside New York these simple procedures will save me over $5 million in NY taxes annually.That savings doesn't include that Florida has a 6% sales tax compared to NY's 8% or more. Florida has lower utility taxes. Lower gasoline taxes. Or that the Florida homestead certificate guarantees my property taxes will not grow more than 3%.By moving to Florida I can spend that money on worthy causes like better hospitals, improving education and worthy projects like the Clinton Global Initiative. Or maybe I will continue to invest that money in fighting the status quo in Albany. One thing is certain, that money will not continue to fund Albany's bloated bureaucracy, corrupt politicians or regular handouts to the special interests.How did we get here in the first place? It all starts with spending, spending and more spending.
BUDGET SPENDINGNew York's budget was $72.7 billion in 1999. Ten years later it has ballooned to $131.8 billion. That growth is astounding but it continues to get worse. Each year, New York's budget has had 6% compounded growth, double the average rate of inflation (2.8%). Florida's budget, on the other hand, went down 8% this year.
HEALTH CARE SPENDINGNew York spends $2,283 per person on Medicaid. That's the highest per capita spending in the nation and twice the national average. In the last decade the Medicaid budget has grown by 50% ($30 billion in 1999 and $45 billion in 2009). In almost every sector (hospitals, nursing homes, medicine, clinics, and home and community care) spending per recipient regularly exceeds the national average. Faced with escalating costs and diminishing returns, Albany and their allies, the health care unions (SEIU has over 300,000 politically active members), had only one answer: increase taxes.
EDUCATION SPENDINGNew York spends the most, per pupil, in America on education, spending 63% above the national average. Costs went up about 60% in the last decade ($12.7 billion in 1999 and $20.7 billion in 2009). Like health care, education is something worth spending on and worth investing in but we're spending more and getting less. New York City schools graduated 54% of high school students in 2007. Buffalo 47% and Rochester 45%. Why? Perhaps it's because the New York State teachers union with its $114 million budget is always trying to convince Albany to spend more. Maybe it's because it's mandatory that all teachers pay union dues. Whatever the cause, when faced with potential cuts, the union and their allies have one response: increase taxes.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SPENDINGIt's not just the state. It's the range and breadth of many layers of governments and special taxing districts. In New York, the average state and local tax burden is $5,260 for every man, woman and child. That's by far the highest in the country. Like Albany, when faced with a difficult problem, these municipalities have one answer: increase taxes.Upstate New York has been particularly hard hit. Add unreasonable real estate taxes to the uncontrolled state spending and you have whole communities decimated. The assessment process is unfair, unworkable and unreasonable and the result is that 15 of the 20 highest taxed counties in America are right here in Upstate New York. While homeowners in other areas build equity, we just pay more taxes. NO ONE'S HOMEThis problem did not begin with the current recession. New York faced a $6 billion shortfall before the economic downturn. However in the face of economic turmoil Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver and Majority Leader Smith looked to the unions and special interests who answered with one voice: raise taxes. Among other taxes and fees, they raised the marginal tax rate on the most successful (and most mobile) New Yorkers to 8.97 percent, the second highest rate in the nation. It was irresponsible and it may just prove to be counterproductive since the top 1% of earners account for about 50% of state revenue. We're the one who can-and will-leave. It's not an easy decision but I'm being forced away from my family and friends, pain shared by too many parents and grandparents in this state.I'm leaving. And by domiciling in Florida I will personally save $13,800 every single day. That's a pretty strong incentive.Like I said, I love New York but I'm not going to pay any more for the waste, corruption and inefficiency that is New York State government.
TOM GOLISANO Responsible New York
Friday, May 22, 2009
"Something of Historic Proportion is Happening" by Pam Geller
I am a student of history. Professionally. I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes, these exist but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.
Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it.
Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about 10 - 15 years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.
We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people whom we know can never pay back? Why? We learn just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the=2 0$700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September.
Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "We the People," who lent our powers to our elected leaders..Apparently not.
We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why? We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?). We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?
Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially
1929 x 10. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla ,Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary
(Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)
Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?
I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now. This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And=2 0when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.
And that is only the beginning.
I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930's. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully them into submission.
And then he was duly elected to office, with a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think.
How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world.
He did it with a com pliant media - Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and .. . . change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.) Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930's while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though .
Don't forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years - a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency - it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.
As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong, close my eyes, have another latte and ignore what is transpiring around me.
Some people scoff at me; others laugh or think I am foolish, naive, or both. Per haps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe - and why I believe it. I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb." - Benjamin Franklin
I am a student of history. Professionally. I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes, these exist but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.
Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it.
Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about 10 - 15 years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.
We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people whom we know can never pay back? Why? We learn just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the=2 0$700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September.
Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "We the People," who lent our powers to our elected leaders..Apparently not.
We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why? We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?). We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?
Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially
1929 x 10. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla ,Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary
(Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)
Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?
I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now. This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And=2 0when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.
And that is only the beginning.
I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930's. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully them into submission.
And then he was duly elected to office, with a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think.
How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world.
He did it with a com pliant media - Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and .. . . change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.) Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930's while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though .
Don't forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years - a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency - it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.
As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong, close my eyes, have another latte and ignore what is transpiring around me.
Some people scoff at me; others laugh or think I am foolish, naive, or both. Per haps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe - and why I believe it. I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb." - Benjamin Franklin
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Our President once again reiterated the need to close the Guantanamo Bay prison
and bring them to the USA. In this view he sidles up to his ACLU buddies. This view is so far left that even our Socialist Congress won't sign on. Now that the Bronx
plot to bomb NY has been shown to have been hatched in a US prison it makes even less sense to put well financed, dedicated terrorists in the mix with our home grown criminals. This very pleasant man is naive to the point of stupidity ! Heaven help us.
and bring them to the USA. In this view he sidles up to his ACLU buddies. This view is so far left that even our Socialist Congress won't sign on. Now that the Bronx
plot to bomb NY has been shown to have been hatched in a US prison it makes even less sense to put well financed, dedicated terrorists in the mix with our home grown criminals. This very pleasant man is naive to the point of stupidity ! Heaven help us.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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