Islamorada Sunset

(You are receiving this one time email simply because one of your friends does not know how to use the “undisclosed” or “blind cc” feature in their email program. This is my personal point of view as a citizen of the USofA, exercising my first amendment right to speech!)

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it – George Santayana is credited with this version of the popular saying (Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense 1905) and William L. Shirer made these words the epigraph for his “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” in 1959.

As we prepare for Election Day, intelligent people going to the polls should keep this in mind and do some research before making a decision, and pay particular attention to the Great Depression.

Raised as a Democrat and married to a Republican, I rarely paid much attention to “political rhetoric”, considering that it was all just a bunch of bora-bora, talka-talka. I’ve always thought when things seem bad, as the cycle of American politics goes, it’s the other party’s turn.

While I used to depend on the mainstream media for insight, this election is different. Obama’s change in mind to take private campaign funding has put him at the forefront in the minds of Americans as the agent of hope and change. If 30 second sound bites of promises, 30 minute infomercials, and a seemingly biased media has failed to convince you that Obama is the one, OR even if it HAS convinced you… I strongly urge EVERYONE to take the next few days to do your own investigation!

Intelligent Americans need to offset the mindless sheep that believe a vote for Obama means money in their pockets. “Obama will ask the wealthiest 2% of families to give back a portion of the taxes they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility”. That’s a direct quote from his revised tax plan – a plan that consistently refers to the taxes of the Reagan years. Ahh, yes, remember the days when we could write off INTEREST RATES?

Or wait… is it back to tax levels of the 90’s? Yeah, I did say he was consistent…. the only consistency is that he seems to change what he says he’s consistent about with change!

Honestly, I’ve read ALL the plans and it’s like trying to nail jello to the wall. In trying to sort everything out, I couldn’t help but wonder… will they DO what they SAY?

Well, if you will take a look at Rhode Island, you’ll get an idea of where higher taxes on the rich and our corporations might very well take us: higher taxes = higher prices, job losses and corporations taking their business elsewhere. (RI Article 2006 - http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/1949.html or a more recent review of RI’s “tax hell” http://www.risbdc.org/DocumentMaster.aspx?doc=1030 )

If you think getting a tax credit, rebate, check, payout or whatever you HOPE for in a promise for “CHANGE” (mere pennies in the long run?), ask - is it REALLY going to spur our economy and create jobs?

Sure, everyone is mad at the “evil-doers” on Wall Street and Corporate America for the state of our economy and it’s hard to argue that Bush should have had better control… just as easy as it seems to be to overlook that the Democrats have had control of Congress for the last 2 years.

My penchant for googling various questions started when I listened to Nancy Pelosi blame the state of our economy on the “failed Bush economic policies” – a perspective that has resonated thru the Obama campaign. Okay, that’s blaming the lame duck, right? Typical politics.

But I challenge you to explore that issue and you will find a whole list of culpable parties – go back to the Community Reinvestment Act, if you really want to get the big picture. Then go to Youtube – take a look at Barney Frank’s ad for reelection. While there you will undoubtedly come across related videos that show it was the Republicans ringing the bell of concern and the democrats (esp Frank) assuring all was well with Fannie and Freddie!

I, like many Republicans, was not initially thrilled with the GOP ticket – John’s not as polished and his choice of Palin (especially in light of her portrayal in the media) seems to have put the ticket at risk. But while Obama says he will always tell you where he stands, there are still many unanswered questions. With McCain, there is no doubt that he has served this country well and that he IS a man of honor.

And if you don’t have the time, just think about this: a democratic presidency combined with a democratic Congress means that we will have to endure what ‘they’ think is best for ALL of us. There will be no checks and balances and there will be no “asking”. As Obama supporter Martha Stewart said the other day, we’ll all just have to “suck it in”!

As a history major in college, the most important thing that 30 grand taught me was to always consider the source. In doing your research, I recommend that the first thing you do is check the “about us” link in any site. IMHO skip factcheck.org – funded by the Annenberg foundation – google that and you’ll see why. Instead, check www.procon.org if you want a fairly unbiased look at the issues.

If you have made up your mind, you will gravitate to like-minded sites, or take from them what suits your opinion…and if you have already voted – well, that’s what he was hoping for and didn’t you just fall for that? Nevertheless, for those who are undecided there is still time to make an informed decision.

Obama has a nifty calculator that shows what kind of "change" you can "hope" for: Obama/Biden Tax Calculator - No doubt you'll be thrilled with the results!

In ANY case - by advised that any results are subject to the reality of politicians, promises and what actually happens after the election is won.

www.taxcut.barackobama.com:
My savings - Obama's plan $1800,
Mccain - $200
4,000 tax credit college
50% tax credit for up to 1,000 for retirement

Both are supposed to be based on Tax Policy Center - but with different inputs to calculate.

A hardworking real estate agent, currently taking special courses that will enhance her aspirations to earn in the top tax bracket over 250:

$150,000 – $200,000
Single, no dependents, saving for retirement, no mortgage:
Obama- $34.00
McCain – 0
Plus under Obama you may be eligible for 50% tax credit for up to $1,000 for retirement savings.

$200,000 - single, no dependents:
Obama: -2776.00 (tax cut)
McCain: -4,124.00 (tax cut)

500,000 - same as above (note that this was the next category above 250, but you get the idea)

Obama: +12,099 (taxes owed - look at the difference!)
McCain: -4205.00 (tax cut, not that different from above)

Barack Obama's ads about his tax calculator quotes the Heritage website favoring his plan. Unless he's talking about a different site, this is what I found summarizing the two plans:

Through the lens of sound tax policy, both McCain's and Obama's tax plans would leave the tax code more complicated than it is today. Even so, McCain's plan has important advantages through its focus on keeping tax rates low--and lowering them further in some instances--while improving incentives for investment and correcting an extremely harmful tax distortion at the heart of much of the trouble in America's health care financing system.

In contrast, the Obama plan raises income tax rates, raises payroll taxes on a delayed basis, and actively increases the use of the tax system to redistribute income to those who pay little or no income tax. Each of these aspects move the tax code in a decidedly inappropriate direction.

On balance, the McCain plan would be decidedly better for economic growth, largely because it would lower tax rates while the Obama plan would raise tax rates. Under the McCain tax plan, the economy would be expected to be about $320 billion greater, and average household income about $2,600 higher than would be the case under the Obama tax plan.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too.
It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking somewhere else where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

There’s very good insight provided… no matter how you voted…. and no matter what you think about Fox – you could still learn something as it is a very good overview of the economic situation.

Part 2 you should watch no matter what - it explains the mortgage situation, CMOs and Tranches(?) A professor from NYU featured in this segment trysto explain the complexity of the situation and how we got here – something that’s happened 6 times since the civil war.

Part 3 - early warning signs and attempts to address GSE’s…. how it really went down. This explains why I suddenly became political… listening to Nancy Pelosi lay fault at the feet of the “failed economic policies of the Bush administration”….blech!

Part 4 – what happened when people stopped paying mortgages – and all the takeovers up to the bailout.

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.” Alexander Tyler 1787 (writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic)

The inherent vice of capitalism is the uneven division of blessings, while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery.

We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

An analysis by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism finds that 57 percent of the print and broadcast stories about John McCain since the political conventions were decidedly negative, while only 14 percent were positive. The study concludes that 29 percent of the mainstream media's coverage of Barack Obama was negative.

"The only thing surprising about results like these is that you'd almost have to do the study," he says with a laugh. "Everybody who's looked at these stories can see the decided negativity they have towards Senator McCain; and everybody who's seen the entire last two years of coverage of Barack Obama knows.

"They remember all the news magazine stories with the halo around his head. That's the kind of coverage he's received for two years now."

Graham contends the percentage of negative coverage of Obama would be much lower if the study encompassed merely the so-called "objective news media." He notes the Project for Excellence in Journalism study is not completely scientific because it not only measures the news media, but also talk radio from Air America to Rush Limbaugh.

And now, America, we introduce the Great Obama! The world's most gifted political magician! A thing of wonder. A thing of awe. Just watch him defy politics, economics, even gravity! (And hold your applause until the end, please.)

To kick off our show tonight, Mr. Obama will give 95% of American working families a tax cut, even though 40% of Americans today don't pay income taxes! How can our star enact such mathemagic? How can he "cut" zero? Abracadabra! It's called a "refundable tax credit." It involves the federal government taking money from those who do pay taxes, and writing checks to those who don't. Yes, yes, in the real world this is known as "welfare," but please try not to ruin the show.

For his next trick, the Great Obama will jumpstart the economy, and he'll do it by raising taxes on the very businesses that are today adrift in a financial tsunami! That will include all those among the top 1% of taxpayers who are in fact small-business owners, and the nation's biggest employers who currently pay some of the highest corporate tax rates in the developed world. Mr. Obama will, with a flick of his fingers, show them how to create more jobs with less money. It's simple, really. He has a wand.

Next up, Mr. Obama will re-regulate the economy, with no ill effects whatsoever! You may have heard that for the past 40 years most politicians believed deregulation was good for the U.S. economy. You might have even heard that much of today's financial mess tracks to loose money policy, or Fannie and Freddie excesses. Our magician will show the fault was instead with our failure to clamp down on innovation and risk-taking, and will fix this with new, all-encompassing rules. Presto!

Did someone in the audience just shout "Sarbanes Oxley?" Usher, can you remove that man? Thank you. Mr. Obama will now demonstrate how he gives Americans the "choice" of a "voluntary" government health plan, designed in such a way as to crowd out the private market and eliminate all other choice! Don't worry people: You won't have to join, until you do. Mr. Obama will follow this with a demonstration of how his plan will differ from our failing Medicare program. Oops, sorry, folks. The Great Obama just reminded me it is time for an intermission. Maybe we'll get to that marvel later.

We're back now. And just watch the Great Obama perform a feat never yet managed in all history. He will create that enormous new government health program, spend billions to transform our energy economy, provide financial assistance to former Soviet satellites, invest in infrastructure, increase education spending, provide job training assistance, and give 95% of Americans a tax (ahem) cut -- all without raising the deficit a single penny! And he'll do it in the middle of a financial crisis. And with falling tax revenues! Voila!

Moving along to a little ventriloquism. Study his mouth carefully, folks: It looks like he's saying "I'll stop the special interests," when in fact the words coming out are "Welcome to Washington, friends!" Wind and solar companies, ethanol makers, tort lawyers, unions, community organizers -- all are welcome to feed at the public trough and to request special favors. From now on "special interests" will only refer to universally despised, if utterly crucial, economic players. Say, oil companies. Hocus Pocus!

And for tonight's finale, the Great Obama will uphold America's "moral" obligation to "stop genocide" by abandoning Iraq! While teleported to the region, he will simultaneously convince Iranian leaders to peacefully abandon their nuclear pursuits (even as he does not sit down with them), fix Afghanistan with a strategy that does not resemble the Iraqi surge, and (drumroll!) pull Osama bin Laden out of his hat!

Tada!

You can clap now. (Applause. Cheers.) We'd like to thank a few people in the audience. Namely, Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who has so admirably restrained himself from running up on stage to debunk any of these illusions and spoil everyone's fun.

We know he's in a bit of a box, having initially blamed today's financial crisis on corporate "greed," and thus made it that much harder to call for a corporate tax cut, or warn against excessive regulation. Still, there were some pretty big openings up here this evening, and he let them alone! We'd also like to thank Mr. McCain for keeping all the focus on himself these past weeks. It has helped the Great Obama to just get on with the show.

As for that show, we'd love to invite you all back for next week's performance, when the Great Obama will thrill with new, amazing exploits. He will respect your Second Amendment rights even as he regulates firearms! He will renegotiate Nafta, even as he supports free trade!

God help us if Obama is elected!

Dear John,
As you prepare for tonight’s debate, please take the following into consideration.

Avoid saying too much, “just look at my record, I have crossed party lines in the past”. People don’t look at records and they are not sure what it means to cross party lines… they think it’s showing up at your neighbor’s kegger uninvited. And while we’re on the subject, please avoid the overuse of the term “joe six pack” – I know what you mean, but some people picture guys in trucks with gun racks in the back window.

Which brings me to the next suggestion: don’t call yourself a “maverick”. Most people think it’s just an old tv show that precedes the days of color and it reminds them of how old you are. Not realizing that your “real” age is only 64, that concerns them that we might get stuck with Sarah and have to listen to crap about “hockey moms”, lipstick on pigs… and “joe six pack”.

If that subject DOES comes up, ask if they can name one thing – good or bad – that Cheney has ever done… besides shoot someone. And then say that you believe in the right to bear arms, but that you prefer those arms not to be aimed at bears – no, scratch that, you don’t want to piss off joe six pack.

No doubt the economy will be a big topic tonight. While you have developed a very intricate plan, don’t make people do math to try to figure it out. It has always been American’s weakest subject in school.

Keep in mind that they have yet to be able to figure out the following:

That sometimes you can say 95% of Americans OR 95% of working Americans and everyone will think, hey, that’s me – I’ll get either a “tax rebate” or a “tax credit” – and if they are part of the 40% American’s who have ZERO tax liability, it’s FREE money. While it might be tempting to point out that this is a new way of saying “welfare”, avoid using that word as it will - once again - make you sound old and unhip.

Speaking of unhip… watch the word “friend”… instead of overusing it, try using “frenimies” - possibly when you want to make the point about crossing the aisle? "I’ve worked with many “frenimies” to tackle the tough issues"…. better, yes? If you don’t know what “frenimies” are, ask Sarah.

Now, back to the economy. The “spending freeze” idea is good, but what does that mean to joe six pack and hockey moms? I won’t get money? Keep in mind that JSPs and HMs know what pork rinds are, but they have no idea what “pork barrel” spending is - they never paid attention to the way bills are passed until the final bailout. Instead, might I suggest to call them “wooden arrows”?

And since we’re on the subject of the bailout, you should point out the other sweetener – that part of the bill that makes insurance companies cover mental health care. This will make a nice segue into the topic of health care.

Now again, let’s stay away from math, John. Just go ahead and say that everyone, even the depressed and depraved, should be eligible for health care – but don’t commit to anything about who will pay for it. You’ll get more of the crazy vote – and the insurance people are still pondering how that 10 year old bill finally made it thru the congress.

Okay, back to the greed thing and the state of the economy.

JSPs & HMs both prefer to think that it’s not their fault that we’re in the state that we’re in… they were just living the American dream - big gas guzzlin’ cars, bigger houses, big spending, and bigger debt. Why blame us for not reading the fine print on that contract we signed when we were just doing the “flip” thing like all of our upwardly mobile smart investor friends were doing? Is it really OUR fault that a bank would let us get a million dollars without a job or any money down? Besides, look how that turned out. Deep inside, we knew that Uncle Sam wouldn’t let us down!

So it is much more convenient to blame someone else - other than the people who think “balloons” mean something festive and that “arms” won’t hurt you – they’re for hugs! Instead, you have to blame someone who is faceless as it seems to be the popular thing to do - like those evil Wall Street and greedy Corporate guys. Yeah, I’m with you on the idea that if you try to make them pay even more taxes, they’ll just take their money off shore or business somewhere else… but someone has to take the fall, and it can’t be us!

But whatever you do, resist the temptation of taking on the notion that the democrats are actually more to blame for the Fannie / Freddie debacle that brought us to this place – people will say you are racist. The others just don’t get the whole Community Reinvestment Act… that along with the Wright/Ayers connection or ACORN allegations… it’s all like blah, blah, blah.

It’s just so much easier to lump responsibility at the feet of the failed Bush economic policies – didn’t Nancy already say that? So, it must be true! Trust me, they don’t understand what “lame duck” means… unless you’re on the subject of endangered species or animal rights.

And so what if you voted with Bush, however many times. Even tho’ I know he doesn’t vote, just tell them you were voting for things like a teapot museum in South Carolina, not… whatever the important potentially offensive part of the bill was at the time. Oh, wait, that’s more “wooden arrows” isn’t it? Hmmm, can you tap dance?

Okay, so I know we’re running out of time. This may very well be your last chance to close the gap. So a few final pointers.

Don’t take notes during the debate. It makes it look like you are not as sharp as you really are…. keep in mind that accuracy is not important. Just look at what Joe Biden was able to get away with saying. OH, darn, scratch that too. The liberal media will be all over you like white on rice… was that racist? I didn’t mean it.

In closing, remember that promises are important, but they can’t be too specific or boring… how about Wii’s for everyone!?! They’re hard to find and the holidays are right around the corner! Those Japanese… now THEY understand supply and demand!

Sincerely,
Mary Griffin
NOT-a-hockey mom!

'A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.' ~Thomas Jefferson

“We are socialists, we are enemies of today’s capitalistic economic system for the exploitation of the economically weak, with its unfair salaries, with its unseemly evaluation of a human being according to wealth and property instead of responsibility and performance, and we are all determined to destroy this system under all conditions.”

- We demand the nationalization of all businesses which have been formed into corporations (trusts).
- We demand profit-sharing in large industrial enterprises.
- Our nation can achieve permanent health only from within on the basis of the principle: The common interest before self-interest.
- To put the whole of this program into effect, we demand the creation of a strong central state power

So there you have it: “The common interest before self-interest.” That is the spirit of Hitler’s program.

Doesn’t this sound like the high moral ground that international socialists continue to claim? It’s the morality of collectivism that unites world’s useful idiots - the lazy, the helpless, and the useless - against the smart, the productive, the self-sustaining. This morality doesn’t have to be rational, just, or sustainable - as long as it warms your heart with feel-good notions and boosts your adrenaline, turning you into a self-righteous zealot convinced that the end justifies the means.

It is the thrill of the free-fall morality of wealth redistribution that stirs the crowds - be it Moscow, Berlin, Havana, Caracas, or New York, inspiring them to go on sacrificial crusades in the name of THE COMMON GOOD™ at the expense of the isolated and demonized groups of “exploiting bloodsuckers,” whoever they are.

After posting this, we began to see what happens when people question their motives... starting with the Barbara West interview, then investigation of Joe the Plumber.... a pattern that is moving toward stifling the conservative point of view. If elected.... Fairness Doctrine is next.