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Friday, October 26, 2012

Bengazi-gate

   Well this president just keeps stepping in it.  As we find out more and more about what was going on in Libya, we see that much of what the President has been telling us is just not true.

   First of all we find out that Al-Queda is NOT weakening but instead is growing stronger.  We find out that our embassy was struck 2 times before this year and even had  a hole blasted into its walls that a truck could drive through.  Also we see that our people there asked for more security two times in August and both times were refused.  Finally we hear them call out for help the night of 9-11 3 times and their pleas fell on dead ears.

   Where was the President?   Las Vegas... that's where!

   Who was advising him?  Apparently no one is the answer!

   Email's show that it was a straight on terrorist attack and not a mob action caused by a stupid YouTube video.  Yet the President went on TV interviews for up to 2 weeks after the attack and stuck with this ridiculous story.

   We have been lied to over and over again and like a stupid teenage girl who doesn't want to acknowledge that their boy-friend is cheating on them some in this country REFUSE to see it any other way.

   Wake up America!  This President is a pathological liar!

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Giving Tree

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/The_Giving_Tree.jpg

Many of us remember the famous children's book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.  (if you have not read the book you can view the following animated short movie)

The Giving Tree

The book tells the story of a boy and a tree.  Throughout the story the boy needs things for his life to be fulfilled and the tree gladly gives up its apples, its branches, its trunk and finally its stump.  We are made to think that in the end BOTH the boy and the tree are happy together but I beg to differ as I personally felt the boy was a selfish little brat and the tree was taken advantage of over the course of its life.

In retrospect, I think this story is more of an analogy for what we see today.  The modern day socialist is represented by the boy and the capitalist system is represented by the tree.  As the socialist grows up, he needs things and the capitalist system obliges by giving him money (sells apples), shelter (makes branches into a home), travel (boat from its trunk) and finally a place to retire (its stump for a place to sit).

This is much like what we see around us today.  Our capitalist system has provided much to those who care very little about it and each time they come back for more (mostly baby-boomers), wanting more for themselves and demanding higher and higher taxes to pay for it all.   Eventually our private sector will be overwhelmed and left with nothing unless we stop making our greedy little demands of it.  We cannot keep taking from the capitalist thinking that they (like the government) has an unlimited amount of money to provide for our every whim.




Sunday, October 14, 2012

Prop 1313

Have you heard about Proposition 1313?  This proposition would tax everyone above 1 million dollars at a rate of 90% and distribute the proceeds to everyone else NOT making 1 million dollars.  Are you going to vote YES on this proposition?  Sounds like a great idea doesn't it?

Sorry to tell you, but there is no such proposition on the California ballot.  But what if there were?  Would you be in favor of it?  A lot of people would since who doesn't want FREE MONEY?   But that is exactly what is wrong with the proposition system.  Propositions are part of what is called Direct Democracy.  Many states added this as a way to give people a way to work around their politicians to pass laws they desire.  The idea may be noble, but the outcome has become disastrous for as all democracies go, they all fall apart.


Why?

People are greedy

We all want more for ourselves and less for others.  Using the proposition system it is too easy to take from others and give to ourselves.  This does not have to do only with money but also with the rights of others.  We want not just money, but also safety and any proposition that gives us either of those often gets our vote.   Want fewer criminals on the streets?  Put them in prison for the rest of their lives.   Want more money for your child's school?  Hamstring the government to appropriate a larger percentage of revenues to them.  Want lower taxes for your property?  Pass a prop to prevent your property from being re-assessed. Want fewer drunk drivers?  Pass a prop to reduce the alcohol level to lower and lower levels, take away licenses for longer periods of time, force drivers to have breathalizers installed in their cars.  

People are lazy

Who has the time to read over 30 different propositions and decide what to do?  None of us that's who!  We are inundated with countless props written in language that only a lawyer would be able to understand and therefore we rely on "commercials" to dumb down the prop so we can "understand" it.  This problem makes it too easy for the proposition system to be abused and get laws passed that should never see the light of day.  The reason we have a republic (not a democracy) is because we need full time politicians who have the time (and the staff) to read and understand the laws and the future problems they may or may not cause. 

People are stupid

This fact is hard to separate from the previous problem (laziness) but it deserves to be discussed.  Example, if a proposition says it will pay for better roads by selling 100 million dollars in bonds.  Does that sound like free money?  But it's not free money.  All bonds need to be paid back... WITH INTEREST!  But very few people ever think about it that way and so many bond measures are passed without much effort at all.  Similarly, people also do not consider the ramifications of many law props.   Example: California's 3-strikes law.  This proposition was passed because many people thought that this would only affect people guilt of major felonies like murder or rape, but little did they know that many non-violent-felony offenders would be put away for good. 

What should we do?  My answer is simple. 

VOTE NO ON ALL PROPOSITIONS NO MATTER HOW GOOD THEY SOUND!!!

(unless of course the proposition promises to end all future propositions)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Let's become more like Russia!

   You are probably wondering if I fell out of a tree or got kicked by a mule to make a statement like that.   But, no, none of those occurred to me.  Of course I am not saying we should go the course of the 1917 overthrow of the czars by the communists.  Instead I am saying we should follow their lead (and 42 other countries) that have a FLAT TAX RATE. 

   Russia had tried the "progressive" tax system (like ours) with all of its deductions and credits and found that a very few people complied.  By flattening the tax system and simplifying it it increased participation greatly.  

Reasons for a flat tax:

1) It's fair!   No loop holes .. no special excemptions ... no misinterpretation
2) Free up companies to spend on productive jobs.  Instead of hiring a host of tax accountants and  
     lawyers, they could hire more people to make or support their products
3) Reduce needed waste in tax reporting to the IRS
4) It will stop Congress from thrashing its citizens with endless changes to the tax code
5) Hopefully states will follow suit and April 15th will just become another day on the calendar.
6) Encourage other countries to set up shop here in the US since they won't be inundated with an
     illegible tax code and bring more jobs to OUR COUNTRY
7) Encourage more Americans to invest in our country.  Let's face it America many of us shy away
     from investing in businesses or the stock market because we don't have a tax accountant to help
     us navigate through the federal mess.  By simplifying the system more of us regular Americans
     would be able to invest with confidence that we are not going to get some ugly audit letter from
     the IRS




Friday, October 5, 2012

Excuses .. Excuses ... Excuses

So far Obama has had a flurry of excuses from his media pals.  Here are just a few:
  • It was the thin Denver air
  • He doesn't watch enough cable news (namely MSNBC)
  • He could not understand the Romney lies
  • As a black man he doesn't have the same latitude in responding as a white man because he might come off as an angry black man.
  • He was distracted by the fact that it was he and Michele's 20th anniversary.

In reality the curtain has been pulled back and the wizard is just another man pulling knobs and levers.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Freedom or Security

As I was writing the previous article about slave-voters, I thought of the story in the Bible where in Exodus the Jews who had been led out of Egypt where tired of eating the same food and drinking the same water that God had provided for them.  Many started to lament that things where "better" back in good old Egypt.  They remember the "cucumbers they would eat" and so some were proposing they turn around and head back.

Really?  Things were better when they were slaves?

Let's re-count what happened when they were back in "good Ol' Egypt".

1) Pharaoh killed all boys under the age of 5 as his method of "population control"
2) When they complained he told them to "make bricks without straw" which as almost an impossible
      task and forced them to gather their own straw.
3) They were not allowed to leave and worship their God in a way that they wanted to.

Moses came and gave them freedom.  But with freedom comes less security and more reliance on God and each other through difficult times. Freedom can be scary, but it's not worth enslavement.

Our country was born out of a similar kind of slavery.  Ruled by a country and a nobility thousands of miles away that had little care or concern for their well-being, they were "subjects" and not "citizens".   England could levy any taxes or regulations on them without their input or consent.  They constantly interfered with their colonial government and courts.  They showed no respect for their property rights or their ideas.  Because of this treatment our country fought back against the most powerful military on earth and WON!.

Now over 236 years later we, like the children of Israel, are lamenting the trials and tribulations of freedom.  We fear much around us.  We wonder were will my next job be?  Who will put my kids through school?  Will I be able to retire at 65?  Some are capitalizing on that fear (Rahm Emmanuel said "We should never let a good crisis go to waste") are calling for us to relinquish our freedoms in return for security.   Give up the free market and allow the government, which can print as much money as they like, to take over large parts of our economy.  Take over health-care.  Take over the mortgage industry.  Take over education.  Take over the pharmacies. Take over the auto industry.

The cry during the American Revolution was "Give me liberty of give me death!" but now some cry  "Give me security or nothing at all!"

But it is not security that they are selling to you but instead slavery. For when all is said and done, the only ones who will have SECURITY are those who are in power. THEY will sleep well at night knowing you are under their control once again as SLAVES! 

 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The real reason for so many laws

Recently the creator of that now infamous anti-muslim video has been arrested but not for the making of the video.  Instead authorities decided it was time to bring him in for violating his 2010 check fraud probation terms.  Of course, the government has no power to convict a person for making a bad movie (and its bad in both content and quality), but without much effort they were able to find something to haul him into jail for.

Before I continue, let it be known I care very little about Mark Youssef (the producer of the film) because he earned his living by producing porn videos so he is no saint by any means. But even so, his story needs to be discussed because he is being made an example of for the rest of us to consider and the message is clear: Be careful what you say for the federal government can find something to haul you into court for as well.  For it is of no consequence to the government that you are sitting in a 6x9 cell for probation violations or for voicing your opinion.  A cell is a cell and a prisoner is a prisoner.  Either way, you are inside the cell and they are outside.

This reminds me of a part in the book "Atlas Shrugged" where Hank Rearden is brought before a court for breaking a government regulation.  A government official tells him that the purpose of having a large number of laws on the books is not to make people law abiding, but instead make all citizens "law breakers".  For by having so many laws, no citizen could possibly be innocent of them all and therefore they can be controlled by the state whenever needed.

Can anyone of us know for certain that we have not broken some law now on the books?  Can we sleep at night knowing for sure we dotted all of our I's and crossed all of our T's on our 1040's or our many other government documents?    I don't think so.

To me, the addition of every new law we write does not serve to protect us, the citizen, but instead is to protect the government from us.