Manipulated and Stonewalled

Step back from the new America and consider what is happening.  A nation built on a few principles – rule of law, not men; limited powers to government – actually very specified limits; checks and balances and separation of powers to provide ongoing monitoring and correction; a list of very specific basic rights described in fairly clear English that no law…prohibiting…abridging…basic freedoms of speech, religion, bearing arms, issuing warrants, unreasonable seizures and on and on can ever be imposed on the people – gone.  Completely shredded, destroyed, captured by the very government that was precluded from ever, ever doing so.

How did it happen?

The quick answer – we have had no revolutions, no bloodletting, no removal by force and violence of those whose whittle away at the edges of our freedoms.  They went about their predictable behavior – grabbing bits and pieces – sometimes a small bit; sometimes medium sized bits; sometimes huge bits and now it is all gone.

Today, the government controls all.  The people fear the government.  Those who are the government could care less.  There is no reason for them to fear the people.  They have the power; they have the big guns; they also have something else that our founders did not anticipate.  They have the vote of those who come here escaping barren economies overseen by embedded dictators and ruthless bureaucrats and welcome anything that provides them with a wisp of survivability and success.  With a small amount of manipulation – we call it “promises and peanuts,” these “victim citizens”, some new and some not, sell their vote to the high bidder because they feel left out – unfairly treated – or they just place their petty wants above larger principles.  Promises and peanuts are enough for them.

The few voices that do speak out; present facts, figures and analysis; that question, poke and probe, are now dismissed, discounted or simply ignored.  Investigation and disclosure mean little because power and money serve as the adhesion between the government and the media and the large corporations and the big government employee unions and the fat cats with their bulging pocketbooks and the communication routes by which the messages are manipulated, distorted and denied.

Is all lost?  It appears so.  If you are among those who have no idea what to do or even care to do but still find your blood boiling as you watch this disintegration of man’s highest principles and reach, we suggest you secure your own copy of “Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington” by Sharyl Attkisson.  Either go to the library or go to:  http://www.amazon.com/Stonewalled-Obstruction-Intimidation-Harassment-Washington-ebook/dp/B00HLIYWA8

Put it on your Christmas list and when you get it, read it, and then share it with someone else.  Ask them to read it and return it to you so that you can pass it on.  If you have offspring – kids, grandkids (teens or older) we suggest this – provide them with a copy of it for this one reason:  at least they will have been given an opportunity to read about what was going on; what was happening, as we (me , you, others) sat on our hands while the principles (see top paragraph) were manipulated; truth and disclosure stonewalled.  Who knows?  Someday they may ask - what were you doing when this was going on?  Why didn't you do something?

Ms. Attkisson is an insider - inside government; inside the corporate enclaves and very familiar with the workings of the media giants.   She knows the players and she names them.  Her telling is specific; the actions and situations she exposes are all familiar; the events current and she uses salty language for emphasis as well as accuracy.   Her book should be the basis of a required course for any journalism school wishing to maintain accreditation.  And much more. 

 

Fool me once…

We do love this expression which our beloved #43 had some trouble expressing.  As you know, the full comment is – fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.  It is a fundamental, or used to be, if you subscribe to the fundamental of “caveat emptor”, which we do.

One thing we have learned about the current fellow, #44, is this – he lies; he prevaricates; he deflects, distract, distorts and is just plain untrustworthy.  Does he sound good?  Well to some, yes.  Does he package his lies and prevarications for the gullible with competence?  Yes.  So, the yellow caution flags – the clouds forming on the horizon – the early earth tremors – the facial tics – the excessive eye movements – yep, they are all there to advise us – better watch out, we are about to fooled a second, third, fourth time so it’s really on us if we go along with his nonsense.

His big fool me once was Affordable Care Act (ACA).  It was appropriately named for a few – not for those who pay for care – but for those who don’t.  For those who pay, either individuals or employers or taxpayers (that’s those of us who pay for all the government employees at the public trough), the ACA is not just misnamed – it is an outright nightmare.  Perhaps we should apply what we have learned from the ACA to this latest well packaged, oh, so emotional appeal to our better selves.  This proposal to honor those in the shadows; the gal in Las Vegas who is doing oh so much to improve herself; the mom hard at work – blah, blah, blah.

He wants them out of the shadows, he says.  He wants them to pay taxes, he says.  He wants them to join the rest of us in pursuit of the America dream, he says.  What doesn’t he say?  Un and underemployment, about 12% of work age eligible citizens, he doesn’t say.  In his own community, African Americans, youth unemployment approaches 50%, he doesn’t say.  Wages for the bulk of us who don’t feed at the public trough, down $5,000.00 per year under his regime, he doesn’t say.  But he wants those in the shadows to come forth and sign in – pay their taxes – don’t worry about deportation for violating the law.

We focus on this “pay their taxes” nonsense. He did say that they pick our fruit and make the beds; clean the houses.  He didn’t say – how much tax revenue would be forthcoming when they sign in – which we gather means, get a social security number so their every financial movement can be tracked just like the rest of us.

We are inclined to say – okay, how much will they pay?  How much will they get?  But we know better.  He would just lie again to us.  We have been fooled before (he’s like any liar; he believes we are fooled by what he is saying).  But we have seen this character a hundred times before.  He is just a hustler – a grifter – a con man with enough practice to pull it off because he has learned this one thing about those who vote for him – an awful lot of people just like to fooled over and over again.  They actually enjoy being fleeced by a smooth con artist.  Go figure.

Here we go again.  The fooler and his jesters know all the moves, quick and slick.   The American taxpayer loves to have their pocket picked. 

In case you are interested, here is what you get from the American taxpayers based on your "earnings" and family size:

Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:

• $46,997 ($52,427 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
• $43,756 ($49,186 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
• $38,511 ($43,941 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
• $14,590 ($20,020 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

Tax Year 2014 maximum credit:

• $6,143 with three or more qualifying children
• $5,460 with two qualifying children
• $3,305 with one qualifying child
• $496 with no qualifying children

In other words, you don't pay - you get.  He lies.

A Simple Reform Agenda for America

Education –

·         Vouchers (all federal money limited to parent choice/need based)

·         No tenure (if you take federal money)

·         Defined contribution retirement plans (if you take federal money)

·         Pay for performance (if you take federal money)

Lawyers, Litigation, Federal legal system –

·         Loser pays (all federal litigation)

·         Limit non economic damages (≤ $100,000.00)

·         Limit attorney contingent fees in federal litigation (≤ 12%)

·         Expand the Federal Torts Claim Act to agencies and bureaucrats

Federal government employees – 

·         No tenure – everyone is an “at will” employee

·         Defined contribution retirement plans only – all participate in social security

·         Cap on wages, benefits and pensions to private sector averages (require outside, independent audit)

Immigration –

·         Minimum education/skill requirements/English proficiency

·         25 year exclusion from all social, welfare, health care handouts (note: child education is excluded)

·         Any illegal immigrant must return to native land and then apply, get in line, meet above qualifications

·         Enforcement – put it out to private sector for monitoring, managing, one year renewable contract based on audited performance/measurement

Business and Jobs –

·         Exempt from all federal legislation employers with ≤ 500 employees

Budget/Debt (we save the best for last) –

·         Mandatory balanced budgets beginning with fiscal year October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016 (require independent outside audit report to federal income taxpayers)

·         Start paying down the debt – 10% added tax (proceeds limited to debt repayment) on anyone with Adjusted Gross Income of $1,000,000+ beginning January 1, 2015 (call it - Warren's Tax)

All the special interests who feed at the public treasury trough will go crazy.  And that is how responsible, common sense citizens will know these are the needed changes.  This is A Simple Reform Agenda worth adopting.  The House and Senate can pass it - let Mr. Obama veto it - make Hillary defend his veto.  Then we can have a real election; real issues; real clarity for voter choice.   Tinker with the specifics above to get these reforms passed - but quit allowing Obama to set the legislation agenda.  Read the constitution - it's your job congress to make and pass the laws, not his/hers.  He/she can only sign or veto.

"That Godzilla we call the federal government."

Normally we would title this video essay - In her own words - Mia Love, but we could not pass up the opportunity to use Ms. Love's very own words.  These several words will, of course, enflame the vote buying party's propagandists; their well embedded union employees and the fat cats who keep on blathering about wars on women, peanuts in the form of "raising the minimum wage", amnesties for law breakers and all the rest of the claptrap.  Take a listen to Ms. Love --



Mr. Cool

I wasn’t on the ballot.  I’m not goin’ to be on the ballot.  You pundits – you figure it out.

We are clickin’ our heels; salutin’ our commander in chief; we’re gonna take him up on his command.

1/3^rd of you – I hear you.  2/3^rds of you – I HEAR you too.

Here is our punditry.

He could care less – his party, the party no longer in so much power is completely, totally dependent upon the black vote, or the African American vote or the minority vote in the so-called blue states.  That’s it – that’s our punditry.  If you are a Democrat runnin’ in a blue state you need me – you need Barack Hussein Obama II if you want to win; to hold onto power; to keep your job; to keep your fat paychecks and your fat benefits programs and, most of all, your grossly fat retirement packages that kick in when you still have 30 or 40 years of life left.

Mr. Cool figured it out and even his fellow traveler right in his backyard, in Maryland, a sure shoo in for the top state job – down in defeat all because him, Mr. Cool, was not on the ballot.

Who do you think Mr. Cool was addressin’ yesterday?  Who could possibly be his audience?  Besides the millions who pull in those fat paychecks, benefit packages and pensions?  Who is the number one person Mr. Cool was speakin’ to yesterday?

Hillary has two lessons to take away from Tuesday:

1.     Without Mr. Cool, maybe even with him, she loses.  Unless she can buy those votes.  In person; they’ve gotta show up.

2.     It’s all about him, Mr. Cool.

That party of his is in deep do-do.  The black/minority vote is bought and paid for – the contracts are signed with SEIU, NEA, AFT, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, AFGE, NFFE, NTEU and on and on and on. Just like with an overpaid athlete who doesn’t produce anymore, the contract still gets paid.  At least for a while.  The faux owners, who created this Frankenstein – the Hillary’s of the world – good luck figurin’ out how to get a few more innings out of the players.  More days off?  Fatter pensions?  Don’t even leave the house?  Work from home?  Time for Bubba’s better half to sit down with the unions, or maybe hire some consultants – JJackson, ASharpton, LGutierrez, LDunham come to mind.  For two years we are going witness Hillary on the biggest, baddest vote buyin’ scheme of our lives – all with our money.  Mr. Cool may be available too – maybe?  We wonder what price tag his showin’ up will have?

The shame of the party out of power

By this time, most Americans, all but the 30 or 35% who sell their vote for “peanuts and promises”, know that Mr. Obama is an empty suit.  Our former allies learned this during his first four years in office.  Our enemies all cashing in on this simple fact.

So why is the party out of power (POOP) – the republicans, the GOP, the so-called conservatives still muddling along, hoping for a midterm win but not sure of it?  Why have they been out of power more than in power?

Well the pundits tell you it’s because black Americans double their voting power by voting 90+ percent always for democrats.  And that Latino Americans give the party in power (PIP) 60, 70% of their vote consistently for PIP which increases their voice also.  And then the white gals come along and top off PIP’s slim majorities with 40 or 50% of their voting power.

We don’t think that’s the reason at all.

We think POOP simply does not have leadership – quality leadership – coupled with a consistent message that is not knee-jerk reactionary nonsense to whatever PIP and its strong media following wishes to spend time on.

For example.  PIP says POOP is running a war on women.  Now will some PIP voters say – you betcha – POOP just wants to keep us barefoot and pregnant!  Which is really quite funny when you think of it.  Under PIP and POOP women have done pretty well over the past 30, 40 years which is simply proof that PIP and POOP had nothing to do with it.  But for the last 5, 10 years women have not done well at all unless you think big leaps forward in getting food stamps and earned income tax credits and all sorts of other handouts and welfare program goodies is doing well.  Women are scared.  They too have big college loans to repay; they too see their kids without good job prospects; they too are experiencing declining paychecks unless they have a union government job and they too see the bumbling immaturity of the president; the congress; the judiciary and all the agencies such as VA, IRS, CDC, Immigration and on and on messing up visibly every day.

But who can they turn to?  Mitch McConnell?  John Boehner?  Mitt Romney?  Ted Cruz?  Rick Santorum?  Rand Paul?

It’s laughable to list them.  Not one of them offers an adult, experienced version of leadership or a plan.  No man with a plan and women like men with plans.  So do black Americans and Latino Americans.

Everyone likes a man with a plan.

And whether you like it or not, that man with a plan had better have some grey hair; some non political experience; either business or military; some successes that are not hot air or David Axelrod produced propaganda nonsense and the ability to deliver a good speech; a good message; but mostly a believable ability to hold ones attention and muster some consistent support.

It is to POOP’s shame that they have not produced such a leader.   A few parrot the message and actually hit upon some basics; some fundamentals.  But not one of them has a plan and the conviction and the messaging to get a wide open electorate to follow them.