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Mike Pento And Keith Boykin: "We Are All Greedy And Selfish"
Pento's earlier return to CNBC can only be attributed to the ratings surge resulting from the episode of him being "rude" and kicked off by Erin Burnett, after he dared to question her assumption that the world will continue to fund US debt in perpetuity. Nonetheless the tension (of somewhat ambiguous origin) between the two remains which may explain why Mike Pento appeared on the Kudlow show to discuss how Obama can satisfy Wall Street. Pento was sterling as usual, saying Obama's best bet is to convert to the tea party, but absent that he "should remove Ben Bernanke, and put the head of the Fed should be someone who is not so enamored with counterfeiting, and put someone who believes in markets. That would help to a great degree." Yet today's moment of insight comes from Keith Boykin who points out that the conflict between Wall Street and Main Street continues, in that the former couldn't care less about jobs (unlike the latter), and are much more fixated on the bottom line. Although obviously without jobs, the economy will crumble, which explains why Pento once again points out the obvious that America, to be competitive with the Chinese, should "lower taxes, lower wages, and reduce regulations" - all three of which have virtually no chance of passing in a country used to being coddled by cheap credit and ever rising wages, even if this money continues being devalued day to day. And while Boykin seems unable to grasp the concept that a bottom line has an expense component to it (i.e., cutting record bloated government spending), the line of the day goes to him: "We are all greedy and selfish." And there you have it - Americans can look at the administration for answers, at Wall Street for scapegoating, but fundamentally, when it comes down to actual change, this can only happen at the individual level. And deluding oneself and preventing any real change is what the average American individual excels in, more than anyone else in the world.
Full clip below: fun stuff begins around 2 minutes in.
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Who is eligible for Medicare? Published 06/26/2001 01:28 PM | Updated 06/10/2009 02:14 PM
Who is eligible for Medicare?
Generally, Medicare is available for people age 65 or older, younger people with disabilities and people with End Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant). Medicare has two parts, Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medicare Insurance). You are eligible for premium-free Part A if you are age 65 or older and you or your spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years. You can get Part A at age 65 without having to pay premiums if:
If you (or your spouse) did not pay Medicare taxes while you worked, and you are age 65 or older and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, you may be able to buy Part A. If you are under age 65, you can get Part A without having to pay premiums if:
While most people do not have to pay a premium for Part A, everyone must pay for Part B if they want it. This monthly premium is deducted from your Social Security, Railroad Retirement, or Civil Service Retirement check. If you do not get any of these payments, Medicare sends you a bill for your Part B premium every 3 months.
If you have questions about your eligibility for Medicare Part A or Part B, or if you want to apply for Medicare, call the Social Security Administration or visit their web site . The toll-free telephone number is: 1-800-772-1213. The TTY-TDD number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-325-0778. You can also get information about buying Part A as well as Part B if you do not qualify for premium-free Part A. See also our FAQ on how to enroll in Medicare.
https://questions.medicare.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/10/~/who-is-eligi...
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Now, THIS is a far to the right (" |------> ") as I have ever seen a ZH thread go!
How bout now?
Free Snuggie for the post that goes vertical.
I think this is easy, stop making me pay it and I will stop expecting to recieve it.
I'd go for that.
+all my future withholdings.
I agree with what you're saying Crockett, but I think we're past the point where everyone can get EVERYTHING that's been promised to them. It's time to start cutting some of it back.
That may be true. My main point was to take exception with those who say that some folks who ask for smaller government are hypocrites for believing that they should be entitled to those services for which they were (and continue to be) specifically taxed.
It is not hyposcrisy by any stretch of the imagination. However, I agree that the money simply isn't there (actually it will be printed up and distributed but it won't be worth much).
This may never get read but I agree with Crockett on this. Don't fall for the CashCarry bullshit that its time for the entitlement programs like Social Security to take a cut because the government just can't afford it...that's giving the establishment just what they want and giving them the easy way out of a fucked up situation they created.
"Oooh, don't look over here at the trillions of dollars that we squander, give away to our cronies, or flat out steal...it's those little fucks that get social security that's breaking the system. If only we could cut their checks the problems would start getting better 'cause we just don't have the money"
Reading you loud and clear.
If Medicare and Social Security are such great ideas, then MAKE THEM VOLUNTARY, otherwise the Govt is mugging us!
They are voluntary. You volunteer to participate in this system. You're free to emigrate (legally or illegally) to a different country that has no medicare or social security.
Holy, you must live in Mn and have voted for Franken. This much stupid can only be packed into a MN size box...
I was born here tool, what is voluntary and involuntary will be decided by the people and I think those decisions are shortly going to be stressing you, pea brain..
No.
I'm saying you and your TP friends don't have a clue, and are being used by cynical right wing politicians to gain power at any cost.
The biggest problem is that many of these people have no clue that the path they are choosing is simply a different road to ruin. What I fear the most is that many of the "cynical right wing politicians" don't have a clue either.
I don't however think that is the case with most people here. We are very well aware.
elegant
How does not voting help cynical right wing politicians gain power? Perhaps you should stop guessing about the beliefs of people whom you have never met.
You are supporting the TP (I believe most of whom intend to vote... for the wacko of their choice)... nuff said.
Right. You claim that you know the minds of millions of other people and that you find yourself superior to what you imagine them to be. 'Nuff said, indeed.
Praising Medicare/Medicaid? Who the hell is doing that? Those programs are both completely screwed up! The amount of fraud, waste and abuse in both of those programs is so excessive as to be criminal!
My problem is this new breed of posters on ZH who thinks that government does anything well! Anything government attempts to accomplish outside of that which is enumerated by The Constitution utterly ends in failure! I didn't ask for any of these government programs, nor do I want them. I want government, and all of their supporters who think it needs to be ever larger and intrusive, to leave me the hell alone so I can run my business and provide for my family as I see fit!
My problem also is with retards like You who think that the same government that can't deliver the mail efficiently and cost effectively is somehow going to run industries as complex as the medical and insurance industries better than the private sector. Good God! I really miss the old days when I could read posts on ZH and the large majority of the comments were made by people who were endowed with reason and intellect!
And what makes you think private industry can run anything? The big banks should have all gone belly up, but didn't thanks to the government. Do you really thank Goldman Sachs succeeds based on any kind of work ethic or does it succeed because of them bribing government(hello SEC!!)?
What makes me think private industry can run anything is that I run MY business and government does nothing but get in the way! My customers run their companies too. I am not talking about banks that are interweaved with government. Do you own a business! I think probably not. I would love to hear from other business owners that post here who think that some government hack can run their business better than they do. About my company: Flatbed trucking company. 12 company owned trucks, 18 more Owner-Operators. I've been in the transportation industry for 25 years now. Before starting my company I've done everything from drive to dispatch to sales. There is no way in hell any fool in government could run my company except to run it into the ground. Maybe someday you will start a business, have to meet a payroll, provide exceptional service to your customers and deal with the nonsense that is government regulation. Don't get me wrong, I would do this regardless of the hassles from government but because of government intrusion my employee and my customer base is smaller than it would be otherwise!
i admire you and your integrity. my mother thought the same way. she applied for some government work because they gave to minorities applying, priority. female being a minority back then. but she soon stopped, cause it was just a pain in the ass. my little young art gallery friend bought the business from his mother who ran it for 25 yrs. he said never once in those 25 yrs did she ever get audited or any unpleasant experiences with customers. treat people with respect is a thing of the past, in the last two decades. he said most business owner's want to be moral and ethical and obey the rule of law. but he is resolved to, it ain't a level playing ground, for the people any more. he is young, 30's and just gave me a statistic he realized, more than 80% of congress are millionaire's. it is a done deal, this country is so not about the people. very sad realization, really, for a young person to work and try to thrive in this corrupt environment.
Excuse me but you write nonsense! I am going to bed! I think if I read your post again in the morning it may make some sense to me but after a few beverages it is completely uncomprehensible! I do no work for the government. I have minorities as employees and they are well compensated for their efforts. You lost me there! Good night!
u r a pompous ass... and you impress no one with your two bit 10 wheeler business... or that you hire minorities (bet your best friend is black too...lol)
Well I sure as hell am not trying to impress you! I could care less what you think. BTW it is 18 wheeler but I guess I can't expect accuracy from a 4 wheeler whose only contribution to society is smoking dope and plucking an electric twanger!
Thanks for your comment. I have been a small businessman all my life. My only salaried job was my stint in the Air Force. Since 1974 I have been self-employed. I've had several businesses and there is no way in hell I would start a business today. The paperwork is a full time position -- and it should not be so! Taxes, licenses, audits, inspections, and all that government crap from the local city level, county level, state level, and national level is a profit killer. I quit in 2005 and sold everything off. That is how I see it from this low level.
Rocky, thank you, spot on.
I cannot see how anyone could open a small business here in the USA now. SO much crap from .gov. I had two small businesses that I shut down in the past (not well thought out, my fault!) decades ago. The only one working out OK is our bearing business in Peru! Yes, there is a lot of hassle by their .gov, but it seems less burdensome overall.
If we really want America back, we have to cut spending, cut "programs", cut size of .gov, cut..., well you get the idea. I do not see it happening anytime soon.
I am semi-retired now. Now when I fill out the forms, under Occupation I write "Taxpayer" and under Employer I write "Retired".
For the life of me I can't see why a small business even needs a loan -- for anything. I never borrowed a cent to start nor maintain any of my businesses. I figured that if I could not self-finance then I was doing something wrong. One business I had wanted to explode and become much bigger. It was all I could do to turn down work outside our geographic area. I think the laws of physics were telling me "No!". If a restaurant or hardware store is doing great business, that does not guarantee that it will be a success in another location. Some do, some don't. Organic growth is the best and most successful. Having one's own skin in the game is essential. Borrowing money means that somebody else has a thumb on your scales and a nose in your bookkeeping. No thanks.
I appreciate your comment! As of now I am currently in negotiations to sell my business to another trucking company who has the ability to buy me out and expand what I have created. Still not sure if I should, but the buyout offer is very attractive and I could walk away free and clear (with a hefty profit) or still run the flatbed division for them as an employee as they are new to this avenue of trucking. Either way I still love this business. If I sell I will probably start another company (call me stupid) as I love the challlenge and it is what gets me out of bed every morning.
I'm down to employing (babysiting) two people at this point. Fed, state, county, city licenses/regulations, EPA, OSHA, insurance companies/regulations, photo traffic enforcement, parking tickets, payroll taxes, customer billing/collections, banks and credit cards---my head spins day and night.
I hate it all and don't know how you do it Jerome. I'd run with the money if I were in your shoes. Buy one truck for yourself and work for cash(gold/silver) if you got bored.
you said you were going to bed and blew me off.
by Jerome Lester H...on Sat, 09/18/2010 - 00:53
#589288
Excuse me but you write nonsense! I am going to bed!
I'd like to start a business collecting waste and dumping out in the countryside. I will hire only immegrants, pay them less than minimum wage and offer no benfits. Should be raking in dough, but for some reason, I can't get the paperwork to go through...
You, sir are an utter and complete moron! Talk to me when you decide to join the real world! Your posts are puerile and inane and you have nothing to offer that will be to a benefit to anyone that reads them! See my response below to Kathy as it also applies to you! Good day sir and God bless!
It's true that if you're already set in your point of view that you will find no benefit in my posts. I will offer you this >.
It is the worlds smallest violin for all of the failed business owners who do not have the skills necessary to compete in this economy. Ain't competition and capitalism a bitch?
"Ain't competition and capitalism a bitch?"
Hell no! It is an awesome motivator! Ask any business person here and they will tell you that it is a force which is thrived upon! If there was no competition, I guess life in my business would be easier. But it would not bring me the personal satisfaction that I get from my customers who choose to use my business instead of some other because of my dedication to fulfilling my customer demands to their satisfaction.
Apparently you're not up to the task if your business is failing.
My business isn't failing! I'm done responding to your nonsense! Go troll someone else, loser!
you said you were going to bed 45 minutes ago. your a hypocrite and don't take criticism very well, like i do. you don't hurt me at all. i wave and throw hugs and kisses to you.
Back at you! My apologies!
i have fired people that i am certain the government would have kept.
I have made decisions in a hurry, saving my butt. Government is too slow to respond in a timely fashion and many decisions are committee based cause of fear of taking responsibility. CYA is allways the beaurocrats first rule
and a few forceful people can steer the commitee to the desired outcome with out being on the hook for the shity decision or policy
How is it that people are too dumb to fend for themselves, yet so intelligent that
they can vote for the right person to fend for everyone else?
Wishing the government to be a great protector and benefactor does not make it so. It is not difficult to find evidence that it is anything but.
All you're really asking for is to exchange the potential corruption of a private
merchant for the assured corruption of a government bureaucrat. If a merchant cheats you, you won't go back. If a merchant cheats enough people, he'll go out of business. If a government bureaucrat cheats you, then he receives no punishment. If fact, he'll probably receive more funding and more authority to do a job he was too incompetent to do and had no incentive to do effectively in the first place.
+299,999,999
I often ponder the same question.
How is it that people are too dumb to fend for themselves, yet so intelligent that they can vote for the right person to fend for everyone else?
This will go right over the head of pan and every other leftist troll on ZH. If they would take the time to understand and act upon it the world would truly be a better place. Nice job!
See this post by Lew Rockwell. I especially like the viewpoint of the guy quoted in the last two paragraphs.
The Tea Party as a Leaderless Movement
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/65494.html
Dr. Head...well put… the Tea Party has been hi-jacked...evidence- one of the dumbest people on the planet, Palin is their mouth piece. A real Tea Party activist would despise both parties and would rather not vote than put another corrupt talking head in power.
Just because the TV says that Palin leads the Tea Party doesn't make it so.
Alright Crockett, you thread hi-jacking, gun-toting, tax-evading, anti-establishment, but still want my SSI check and discounted pharmaceuticals, fellow American. Who leads the Tea Party.
Alright Crockett, you thread hi-jacking
I'm participating in a thread, not hijacking it.
gun-toting,
I rarely tote.
tax-evading
If I didn't pay half of every dollar I earn to one government agency or another I wouldn't bother to complain.
anti-establishment
You got that right.
still want my SSI check
As I am self employed, I pay 12.6% of my income right off the top for Social Security. If there is no provision for me to get some of that money back, then isn't that fraud, plain and simple?
and discounted pharmaceuticals
Not a fan of pharmaceuticals. Doctor tried to put me on alpha blockers and I said "no."
Who leads the Tea Party.
According to LewRockwell.com, obviously the authority on everything TEA party (obviously not an authority since there is no authority in the TEA party since it is a headless organization...)
One can authoritatively discuss culture without claiming to be a leader of that culture. Margret Meade became an authority on the Samoans but she never claimed to be the Queen of Samoa.
See the difference? And you accuse me of spinning!
Samoa has a structure. He's claiming the TEA party doesn't. How can anything be said about something that has no structure?
Please provide a citation to back up your claim that Rockwell says the Tea Party has "no structure."
Excerpted from The Tea Party as a Leaderless Movement
The Tea Party is not “an organization” as such despite the efforts of some people to co-opt the idea and infiltrate it from the top down. And it is just those people whom the media picks up on because it finds it impossible to report on the story without presenting it in a collectivist context. Neither the government nor the media has the ability to think in terms of individual actors (except as scapegoats). Each of us is invisible to them: they will never see “you” or “me,” they can only see “us” as members of one special interest group or anothe...
At this point he can make any opinion he wants about it, because according to him, there is no 'it'.
At this point he can make any opinion he wants about it, because according to him, there is no 'it'.
Are you saying that when people come together voluntarily they don't exist? If three people each independently chose to sit on the same park bench and talk about the weather do they somehow dematerialize?
I stand corrected, thanks for the clarification.
You're right. She doesn't. It's the Koch brothers.
The Koch brothers run the Tea Parties. Two of the richest people in the US.
A Tea Party is simply a protest by individuals against government policies. Just because some bigwigs try to co-opt the anti-government fervor of regular folks doesn't mean that those bigwigs actually fund or control all protest.
Have you ever been to an anti-government protest of any kind? Did you get a check from the Kochtopus?
Just because some bigwigs try to co-opt the anti-government fervor of regular folks doesn't mean that those bigwigs actually fund or control all protest.
They do and they do. Although I agree they don't pay for the food, shelter and transportation of the "regular folks" who travel to these events.
A Tea Party is simply a protest by individuals against government policies.
You're naive Crockett. Don't be a tool. It's past time you looked under the hood.
You don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. I believe that I know how to run my life better than some politician. You seem to think that politicians, perhaps those on the blue team, are working hard to provide you with a better life. Talk about naive!
All protesting and change must stand the litmus test. It must be for a good purpose. Good purpose defined as keeping those in power right where they are.
All protesting and change must stand the litmus test.
So now you're in charge of judging the motives of all six billion inhabitants of planet Earth? You really don't understand what it means to be human -- to be an individual -- do you?
Who cares if I understand what it means to be an individual. Let's discuss empathing other people.
How do you differentiate your feelings from other people's feelings? You have to stop acting stop reacting. Just let it in. But when you do that you stop being an individual you become simply an extension of the person or entitity you are empathing. This procedure is constantly being pushed and shoved on people to some extent or another. Because you come into contact with these group conformed gang energies.
Everything on earth ties to everything in heaven. If something occurs down here it occurs after death. What do we have down here? Let's see. We have a lot of counterfeiting. Counterfeit courage, counterfeit love, counterfeit abstracted money. Actors, actresses. drugs, 7 billion people trying to act in their self interest but constantly being formed and conformed.
You don't control the body you inhabit. It takes a herculean effort just to get some control over it. It takes you more effort and practice to just learn how to use your hands than it does to learn to read write and speak. You have very little control and changing anything in the world is about as easy as being in the middle of an explosion and forcing it to stop.
The people who control this machine are not nice people or (things). Because yes some of them are just fucking things. You're nothing but energy to control, minds to change, wills to weaken. The fed violates sef/other relationships in mathematics and in politcs and in logic. Religion violates self/other relationships in logic and what is taught. Corporate evangelizing violates the self/other relationships while simply hijacking the religious model and changing the highly abstract promise of peace and ease with a more realistic cargo cult like cleaning products and status symbols.
So you see. It's all should basically work as pure gang energy. With the most closely connected most agreeing people overpowering the people who don't agree with them. But there's something more sinister lurking underneath. Something that takes all connections and distorts them into something else hijacks them or misdirects them.
http://www.crystalinks.com/chippewa.html
This prophecy reads like a freaking check list of current events. But you can do same things in every culture. There are india prophecies that describe thier society to a tee. Chronically weak people, money as the only determination of righteousness, etc etc.
And I'm sure as we go along more and more of these checklists will get marked off and it will all seem to be going well. Then it will just fuck up in the last minute and all seem to go wrong. Because it's all a promise that is never intended to be kept. But only used to learn how to control and conform and use. Now back to the phsyical world. If you want to see it as a power struggle of controller and controlled. Look at the magnetic field reversal patterns. They are not equal. Sometimes top stays on top for an EXTREMELY long time and then bam switch, then it's only a few thousand years of geologic time before it switches back. One thing is certain. The suns going pop. The earths going to rumble. The gang energies that make up the basic core flows of the sun are going to pop over shove out a magnetic field that sends every core of every planet on a lava lubricated flip. The core sliding within the planet is going to fuck the crust up severely and change our precession angles. Again.
So maybe asking me if I know what it means to be human isn't the question. Maybe the question is do I still fucking care. I know unrelenting crazy when I see it. Bu Bye.
I know unrelenting crazy when I see it.
Ah, so you do own a mirror and know how to use it. That's a good start. The question is, what are you going to do to improve your situation?
Nothing. Didn't you pay attention. When the hippies started protesting vietnam and fighting back against the military industrial complex it set off a wave of massive fucking drug use. It's going to be the same scene this time only the spitting will be replaced by chopping people to fucking spaghetti sauce with an axe and the pot and lsd will be replaced with crack and crystal meth. It will slowly spiral down to a point of absurdity with increasing intensity in a fibionnaci pattern. You will see governments that rise and fall in 3 days.
I'm connected to literally thousands of people and all of them ain't leaving but many of us and many of who they are connected to will leave as well. And it's going to leave a mark.
The people in charge don't care about equality don't want it and don't believe in it. All they believe in is confuse em and use em and when they dunk you in the river it's not purification ritual. They are just washing their food.
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/i/information+society/where+the+i+divides_200...
Do svidaniya, comrade.
rich with money, is the exact opposite of rich with life.
I like you Velo
59, recently retired by choice. No appointments to keep, barefoot all day and eating from my ex driveway garden. Its a joy to actually have some time to simply live and enjoy Being rather than doing. How very friggen nice. Too bad the rest of the planet is going to hell. For a poor guy, i got it made.
Sold my crewcab and trailer ,paid taxes and got silver for the last time.
The ease in my heart from not having to be or do is a relief. The quiet accepted stress that comes from being self employed is considered normal. No more of that.
That's no way for a slave to act. Get back on the hampster wheel and start making the government/bankers some more money!
What Lew Rockwell seems to be ignoring is the derivatives collapse. Everything he talks about is a drop in the bucket in comparison.
Add the following amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of Production and Trade.", along with phasing out Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, closing military bases, etc., and we're well on our way to a "Real" recovery.
Bit of a raw nerve Bishbosh? We`re good listeners here so please share what is troubling you and maybe I will unjunk you by 1..
"tyler, you and pento have some fucked up ideas about what teabaggers are about... unless you're a stupid fat white man over 50, then you would fit in perfectly.... so fuck both of you cuntholes"
You missspelled cunthole, and don't call them teabaggers.
I'm not greedyand selfish. I don't want things from Washington that I am not willing to pay for. In fact, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is. HEY WASHINGTON!!!! I would like to let you keep ALL of the money that I have paid into Social Security so far (I'm 32 and have been working since age 15). I am willing to not ask for any Social Security money from Washington when, and if, I retire. I just would like to not have the money stolen from me from this point forward. Same with Medicare. Do we have a deal Washginton?
Where do I sign up? Oh yeah....it's called renunciation.
I feel like that kid in Schoolhouse Rock..."DARN!"
+ again!
Deal! I forsee a future where everyone is gonna have ALL their financial dealings encrypted so that Govts cannot get their greedy hands on their money/currency.
+100.Even better apart from exceptional cases,start to pay people back based on how long they have paid in.
"deluding oneself and preventing any real change is what the average American individual excels in, more than anyone else in the world. "
I wouldnt be so sure.
I'm on board with dickhead. But I'm fifty and paid in for 35 years. Can I please just haz .50c on the dollar and a juicebox, pleez??
Well, you might get a juicebox, but $.50 on no dollars (left in the cookie jar) is still nothing.
(Dr. Dickhead)
We already have hyper-inflation...Obama calls everyone making above $250k a ...BILLIONAIRE !!! HAAHAHA
Really I guess maybe in your circle of friends that's middle class. But when your making minimum wage greeting people at Walmart because you can't survive on what you've saved from working all your life then ya ass it looks like a billion dollars. Where I stand the devide is getting bigger and bigger and there's more of them then you and hey they got guns and a long memory.
Please cite the portion of the post in which goldmiddelfinger says that those making $250K annually are "middle class."
Can't find it, you say? Then what was your point?
The notion that teabaggers are somehow about 'reform' is ludicrous.... they are about perpetuating the system that got the US into this mess in the first place... tyler i often agree with you, but sometimes your nostalgia for the 'good times' really is fucked up... obama didn't get us in this mess, and if he'd quit listening to people like bernanke and geithner who did, he might start getting us out of this shitpile of a mess created by nixon, reagan, and the bushes, i'm seriously considering ending my following of your blog... it's getting to the point where you're just coming across as a racist douche bag
Don't let the door hit ya, where the good Lord split ya...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReYfu5E-hOE
Mention Obama & Tea Party (actually just Tea Party) and every Obama lap dog stirs itself from the apparently appealing & hypnotic aroma of Obama's ball-sac to bark out 'Racist'.
We've tried to reason with you, but it doesn't work. It is more fun to say 'racist' and get your panties in a bunch.
+1
And don't they get all bunched up in a hurry... of course they're not really racist, they just happen to hang with other wasps (white, agree, stupid, people upset that a black man took their country away). Glenn and Sarah said they should gather together to "take their country back" and so it shall be!
Call me crazy (in ZH speak that means junk me... ouch) but I do seem to recall an election in 2008 that had the majority of Americans voting for Barack Obama's platform. I believe that was; tax breaks for everyone making less that $250k (btw everyone gets the lower tax rate on the first 250k so the poor millionaires still get one); health care reform (which was severely watered down by the GOP / TP shills for corporate America); and putting an end to the GOP induced nightmare in Iraq. How "communist" of him to work tirelessly against the GOP party of NO to pass legislation to meet the major planks in his platform THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA constitutionally mandated him to pass. But go ahead, take it all back... it was obviously an invalid election since all those minorities voted this time (or he never would have won).
hate to admit this, but he really did lie.
At least he stole his campaign from The Waterboy. Yes we can. Wich is much better than walter mondale stealing "Where's the Beef" from Wendy's. If the fucking tea party gets into this place you'll see a November chalked to the gills with "Gold, Bitches!!" But it will be the same paper gold.
The Tea Party can't "get in" because it is an amorphous group of tens of millions of individuals. The only shared goal of the tea partiers is telling the government to bugger off.
You continue to believe the All Knowing God of Television when it intones "Sarah Palin leads the Tea Party." But that simply isn't so.
SRV - ES339 said: of course they're not really racist, they just happen to hang with other wasps (white, agree, stupid, people upset that a black man took their country away).
You claim that you know me inside and out and yet you failed to notice that I have black family members whom I love. Doesn't that make you feel kinda dumb? Why do you hate the diversity of the Tea Party?
crockett, i think i told you, i have an old dear friend named crockett. anyway, i like you. i just found heaven tonight on ZH. you know i am a wasp. but i was baptised catholic and my father made us confirm Episcopalian. am i still a wasp? he was an atheist, my mom was HUGE catholic. he taught me it was a bunch of shit. he also asked me if i ever smoked marijuana. i think he was agnostic, actually. i learned a lot from my father. he was big bugger and i was little bugger.
I don't know if you're a WASP but it seems you're busy as a bee. I'm not a WASP but rather a WGISIAXCA. That's a white, German, Irish, Scots-Irish American raised Catholic but now an atheist.
i am agnostic. i don't know anything. do you mind me asking what your real name is? probably harry, huh.
Say what... you really need to get a grip my friend.
Oh, and having a black friend does not mean you are not a racist, it means you have a black friend.
I am a racist times x 10,000.. Now can we talk about dramatically lessening the size of government or do I need to raise my racist quotient yet further prior to that conversation? No, I have no black (close) friends..
And just where were you and your friends when Bush ran up the largest deficit in history (from 2000 to 2008) and brought the entire world to the brink of financial ruin, created the Homeland Security farce, and wasted hundreds of billions in a war waged to fatten the wallets of the military industrial complex?
And just where were you and your friends when Bush ran up the largest deficit in history
I was donating to and campaigning for John Kerry in 2004 and then Ron Paul in 2008. I was learning all I could about sound money and Austrian economics. I was speaking out online and in the real world at every opportunity.
created the Homeland Security farce, and wasted hundreds of billions in a war waged to fatten the wallets of the military industrial complex?
I was marching side by side with Cindy Sheehan and sending checks to Code Pink and Iraq Veterans Against the War. I was serving as a member of the local Democratic Committee. I was speaking out online and in the real world at every opportunity.
Now you tell me what you have done about Obama's bombing of Pakistani and Yemeni civilians and his escalation of the war on the beleaguered Afghan people.
You are like a bed bug... just can't get rid of you... I wasn't asking you and quite frankly, I'm not interested enough to even read your post.
You go right ahead and hide your head under the covers.
SRV - ES339 said: Oh, and having a black friend does not mean you are not a racist, it means you have a black friend.
You apparently don't have any black folks in your family. If you can't understand that it's possible for a white man to love a black child then that makes you the racist. Deal with it.
I've been blessed with a three year relationship with a beautiful woman from Haiti, who happens to have the most amazing 5 year old girl I've ever met. Perhaps you may want to read my comment again... I did not call you a racist... I simply pointed out that the fact you have a black friend (or relative) doesn't give you a pass. The fact that you bring it up in defence of a perceived accusation is... interesting.
The fact that you bring it up in defence of a perceived accusation is... interesting.
Yes, it's interesting that you bring up your black friends when you are called a racist and at the same time cite this as a fault in others.
perceived accusation
Does that mean that you have withdrawn your accusation in post #589961 that folks who Tea Party are just a bunch of racists who hate the idea of a black president? Well that's great. And I'm willing to accept your apology as long as you promise never to make the same mistake again.
Wow... brilliant debating skills... now if you could just work on that reading comprehension issue we should be "good to go!"
Thank you. My skill is based on delivering a clear, concise and truthful message. Perhaps you should give that a try rather than relying on obfuscation and innuendo. But then you'd lose the edge that helps you propagate your lies, wouldn't you? That's a shame.
u r not well... best wishes.
u r not well
Yes, I see. My opposition to Obama's killing of innocent people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan proves that I'm a racist. I just can't help myself.
Partisan idiot post of the day, with the race card to boot. Take your toys and go home, Mary.
mbasham,
Try using your skirt, your purse strap is busted. Nancy.
"i'm seriously considering ending my following of your blog..."
Please. Go. If that is really what you take away from this place, than you aren't doing anybody any favors by staying; least of all yourself.
It seems that you have little to offer in terms of intrinsic, intellectual value anyways so...good riddance!
Racist??? Hahahahaha!!! Nice try with that old copout, dumbass.
Hit the road.
[quote]"What I can't figure out is why some people are so threatened or angry
at the Tea Party movement. What threatens them?"[/quote]
Perhaps what threatens the "Progressive" world view of those others is the
Tea Party principles: Small government,
fiscal responsibility, following the Constitution, and education about rights.
After all, none of these principles actually support the "Progressive" notions
of an all-powerful US Govt. dictating everything EVERY Citizen should or should
not be doing while they're alive in the USA.
There are no valid (or perhaps honest is better) counter principles to be had
for the typical "Progressive" (Socialist Decepticrat?).
Can you imagine arguing in favor of an "Irresponsible Fiscal Policy?"
How about "Ignoring the US Constitution?" How about "Less Rights Education
for our Children?" Let's see the hands in favor of a LARGER Federal Govt...
If they were to be completely and Intellectually Honest about what they
("Progressives") are supporting, everyone would see the "Emperor has no clothes."
So they have to grasp at straw men, such as "Racism", "Idiocy", "Hatred", etc.
to hide their own lack of good counter arguments.
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which
granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money
of their constituents." - James Madison
"Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government." - James Madison
It don't get much clearer than that!
Amen! Good post!
And deluding oneself and preventing any real change is what the average American individual excels in, more than anyone else in the world.
While I will agree that the average American is not so adept at revolutions, I think it is unfair to dismiss them as delusional.
The average American family is too busy trying to live life than to find the time to put all the bankers, politicians and charlatans under a forensics microscope.
Average American family: Wake up. Get the children ready for school. Get ready for work. Drive to school. Drive to work. Return 10 hours later. Fix dinner. Help the kids with homework. And if time permits, sit for an hour and talk to the spouse or relax for a mindless hour of television. Go to bed.
Rinse and repeat.
Where is the time to figure out if John Paulson is trying to crash the banking system with exotic derivatives, or if TARP is justified even if your Treasury Secretary tells everyone the world will end without it?
The average American may be gullible, but perhaps it's because they don't have the time nor energy to study Bloomberg terminals and put everything under a forensics microscope like you can.
I ask why all the effort? Why are both parents working? My wife works full time and I have a small home-based business. We spend a LOT of time with the kids educating them to the dangers this blog warns about. We have guns, ammo, gold, silver, cash, food, water, a BIG dog, and a great life. However, we do NOT have designer clothes, big screen tv, debt (other than home), latest gadget, etc.. The whole machination working against the common boobus-americanus is the delusional 'American dream' perpetuated by the Federal Reserve! The devaluation of the dollar now mandates both parents must work to live 'the American Dream'. This delusion is destroying the middle class. It ain't worth it. Live simple and with intelligence. Don't say you can't. If you do, then you have too much 'stuff'....Find the time to 'get intelligent'. That is more important than 'stuff'
Ok. Fine. You've got a lot of free time. Why aren't you a revolutionary?
Why weren't you warning everyone about Lehman, AIG, Freddie, Fannie or Paulson's derivative portfolio?
My point remains the same.
You can warn people, but their greed won't let them listen. I warned about the housing bubble and no one cared, they just wanted to chase it. People really are greedy.
True revolution begins from within. I am living the revolution by sharing with others what the revolution has revealed. I live the revolution. That is all one can do. It will manifest itself in great power needed for change when many are living the revolution in their own life. Find the revolution in yourself and you will see the change it brings about....
What? You're living the revolution?
You're living a Mr. Mom character, and the vast majority of people can't identify with all your free time.
When you tell your neighbors about the revolution that you're living, they will probably ask if you can pick up their dry cleaning.
While they merrily go on their life of ignorance and enslavement.....I am not my brother's keeper. I share with them what is perceived as 'the truth'. It is their responsibility to 'act'. That is all one can do. BTW I lived your corporate illusion for over 20 years before the 'discontent' overcame me....
Brilliant avatar! "Be like water my friend." -- Bruce Lee
both comments +1...you are a true revolutionary. It starts with you and only you. Personal resposibility. You are bringing up a new generation of free thinkers and you have no idea how your chosen way of life influences others. Keep up the fight!
The revolt will come in the form of non-participation. He is in effect, starving the beast, and it scares the shit out of TPTB.
The dirty little secret is that it is EASIER to live with less than to keep struggling to aquire more. Problem is, that doesn't do much for growth.
Every move I have made in the last three or four years has been with the intention of getting out, and I am almost there. I will pick up my toys and go home. That's my simple revolt. And when I no longer pay the taxes to carry the load for those who don't? So be it. Go find your own shovel and a place to grow a few spuds. When I no longer purchase the consumer garbage? Too goddamned bad. Better find a way to make things we NEED.
Am I advocating a deflationary spiral and an economy that won't support the amount of people alive today? I guess maybe I am. I'm just not sure I give a damn anymore. I'm too goddamned tired. When you work all day to make enough money that you can afford to raise animals, garden, hunt, fish and build things in your spare time, you start to wonder why you don't just turn your spare time into your full time. Look close enough? Know how much money it takes to live if you have some priorities? Not very damn much.
That's tellin' em, Coop.
I've actually been trying to earn less which each passing year. I mean, if your modest home is paid for and you make enough to pay the bills and still set a little aside, what's the point of busting your hump just to pay for more welfare to support those you've never met or more warfare to kill those who have done you no harm?
I'm greedy. Greedy for freedom.
I'm greedy like you, Crock.
Best part about being greedy for freedom is you can grab all you can get your hands on and there's still plenty left for everybody else.
i like U
Beautiful.
I'm glad that you and kc liked the quote. I appreciate your critical sense and so I've added it to my notes for the novel I'm writing. Seriously. This time I've got actual words on paper and everything.
I agree with the sentiment you expressed above, also. Love lives inside that.
I would only add that no matter how much freedom you have, it's never enough!
You sound like you're ready for www.reason.com (enjoy!)
+
Revolution is the act of perceiving the truth. You appear to be on that path. True 'Freedom' is a 'non-action', "Starving the Beast" as you insightfully say. To be 'Free' is to be 'free-of'. Negation reveals the 'true' Positive...
..and by making less effort to conform you are filled with the energy required to sustain yourself in a comfortable way...
@ Colonel
You very nicely summarize what, to a degree, I am doing. And I bet many others, quietly.
Atlas is shrugging.
No USA business for me. I don't "work", have not for years. I have my assets spread WAY out.
2011 is our "Year of Austerity" for me and my wife (this year is our 25th, so no austerity now, or else!).
YES, the Colonel calls it like it is! You CAN save money! You CAN live more off the grid! You CAN have it all! Prioritize.
Diversification and flexibility. The answer to all questions about how to handle the future.
+ a well deserved $1270 Colonel C!
Yeah, I think if you lived in Pakistan, or Argentina, or even Canada, I bet you'd find people are not so much better than people in the US.
People are people and most of them have a life.
this average American family you describe doesn't have time to fuck or probably take any Viagra. well I was a single mom my whole life and had to do all you described by myself. but I knew my priorities, let me tell you.
The average American family is too busy trying to live life than to find the time to put all the bankers, politicians and charlatans under a forensics microscope.
This is a direct result of the fiat currency regime instituted with the Federal Reserve. Before the Fed, folks saved sound money which earned interest and did not lose its purchasing power to the ravages of inflation. This was called The Miracle of Compound Interest and allowed for the eventual retirement of the prudent working man for the first time in history. When the Fed came along in 1913 the Miracle of Compound Interest was replaced by the Rat Race leading to the specific problems mentioned in your post.
Notice how the lil' Mrs didn't have to work outside the home UNTIL Credit Cards became ubiquitous?