Political Cartoon is by Milt Priggee at miltpriggee.com.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Taxes And The Recession
I am amazed that as much as the Republicans say they worry about our growing deficit, they still want to extend all of the Bush tax cuts. Somehow they have convinced many Americans that not extending these tax cuts will not hurt the deficit, but will hurt business -- especially small businesses. This is such a lie.
The truth is that the Obama/Democrats plan to extend only part of the tax cuts will affect only the richest 5% of Americans. The cuts will be retained for 95% of Americans, and the Democratic plan will not affect that 95% at all. Even among the 5%, the bulk of the restored taxes will be paid by only 1% of Americans -- all of them making over a million dollars a year. Take a look at this article (with accompanying easy to read charts) by the Tax Policy Center for the truth.
The people affected by the Democratic plan already have plenty of money. If they wanted to use that money to spur job growth, they could already do it -- but they aren't. Extending the cuts won't create any new jobs. It will just go into bank accounts of the rich and do nothing for the economy except increase the deficit -- by at least $680 billion over the next 10 years. How can the Republicans possibly justify making the rich even richer when they tell us we don't have enough money to stimulate the creation of new jobs.
And these taxes will not hurt small businesses. Only 3% to a maximum of 6% of small businesses will be affected at all, and only those making over $1 million (in profit) will be significantly (and then only to the tune of about $11,000 -- a tiny fraction of that million dollar or more profit).
But the Republicans don't really care about small businesses. If they did they wouldn't have blocked the Democratic bill that would actually provide over $12 billion in tax cuts for small businesses and create a $30 billion program for low interest loans for small businesses (both of which were supported by conservative groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of Business).
They just tell that lie about small business being hurt because they know if Americans knew the truth they wouldn't like it -- the truth that the only people the Republican plan would help are the filthy rich.
Frankly, the Republican plan to extend the tax cuts for the richest Americans would also extend something else -- the recession (and it would increase the deficit). The only way out of this recession is through job growth -- especially among small business. But the Republican plan wouldn't do that.
That's why they keep screaming about socialism and muslims and birth certificates. They want to keep the people's mind off the real issue -- working our way out of this recession. While the Democrats aren't doing enough to combat the recession (in my opinion), the Republican plan would be disastrous for ordinary Americans.
It is time for Americans to wake up and realize there is only one issue this year, and that is how to get out of this recession. Don't let the Republicans fool you into thinking that giving the rich even more money will do that.
Isn't His 15 minutes Of Fame Up Yet ?
This story makes me wonder if American culture is even worth saving. It seems that Levi Johnston, the high school dropout whose only claim to fame is impregnating the wild-child daughter of Sarah Palin, has filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Why would he do that? Because that is the first step toward running for office in Alaska.
The letter of intent allows a candidate to start collecting campaign funds. It seems that Levi is thinking of running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. But since the mayoral election is not until 2012, his "handlers" say he might run for city council first.
Now, you may be asking yourself what qualifications does Levi have to hold public office. Absolutely none. He never graduated from high school and has not held a full-time job for more than a few weeks (which he got from a company trying to keep the Palins happy), and if you've ever heard him speak it is obvious that an original (or even logical) thought has never entered his mind.
But that doesn't bother Levi. He's not planning on running because he has some good ideas to improve the city. He's just trying to sell a TV "reality" show so he can make a living without actually having to work like a normal person, and some nut has convinced him that Americans would watch a show where he runs for Sarah Palin's old job. A company is filming a pilot right now and they are trying to shop the idea around to various channels -- none of whom has made any attempt to buy the show yet.
I hope no one buys this silly idea for a TV show. I would hate to think American culture has sunk so low that people would actually watch something as ridiculous as this. But then 18% of Americans think Obama is a muslim, so we know there are a lot of really stupid people in the United States. Maybe they are stupid enough to watch a show where this uneducated bumpkin tries to run for elected office. After all, people do slow down in large numbers to see a car wreck and this would be a colossal wreck of sorts.
The current mayor of Wasilla, Verne Rupright, seems to find the idea amusing. He said, "Since I am nearly old enough to be Levi's grandfather I think it would be wise for him to get a high school diploma and keep his clothes on. The voters like that!"
I have to agree. Johnston needs to shut his mouth, get his diploma, and get a real job and hold it for a few years. Maybe, just maybe, after he knows what it's like to have to work for a living like nearly everyone else does, he might be qualified to run for office. Until then there's absolutely no reason for anyone to vote for him since he's little more than a performing clown (and not a very good one).
Someone needs to do him a real favor and let him know that his 15 minutes of fame are up (and have been for a while now). He's now just a rather sad joke.
Monday, August 23, 2010
NBC Rates The Governor Races This Year
The political pundits at NBC News have put out their forecast for this year's governor races in the United States. Although things could still change between now and November (about two and a half months), this is how they see things standing right now. For me, there were a couple of surprises.
First is the race in Minnesota. They rate it as a toss-up between Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer. Emmer is the nutty teabagger who wants to cut wages for anyone who receives tips. He also wants to pass a law that says Minnesota can nullify any federal law it doesn't like (which would clearly be unconstitutional). I really don't see the people of Minnesota electing this crazy gasbag.
The other is the race in Texas. They rate the state as only leans Republican (instead of probable Republican or solid Republican). I would have put it in the probable Republican category, but maybe they know something I don't. Maybe Blue Dog Bill White has more chance than I thought. He is a conservative (sadly), so maybe this conservative state is tired of Rick Perry and willing to elect another conservative (even if he calls himself a Democrat). This is not something that should thrill the national party though, since Blue Dog Bill can't be expected to support any truly progressive ideas.
In addition I would move Oklahoma to solid Republican (or at least probable Republican). In the current political climate I just can't see them electing any Democrat. I would also move Georgia and Florida from toss-up to leans Republican. And California, Massachusetts and New Mexico should be moved from toss-up to leans Democrat. But that's just my personal opinion at this time.
Anyway, here is how NBC currently rates all the contests:
TOSS-UPS
California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Vermont
LEANS DEMOCRAT
Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Oregon
LEANS REPUBLICAN
Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas
PROBABLE DEMOCRAT
Colorado
PROBABLE REPUBLICAN
Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, South Carolina, Nevada, Tennessee
SOLID DEMOCRAT
Arkansas, New Hampshire, New York
SOLID REPUBLICAN
Alaska, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Iran Shows Off Unmanned Bomber
With the world concentrating on its powering up of its first nuclear reactor, it looks like Iran felt the need to toss out a new threat to anyone who might wish to bomb the new reactor. They unveiled a new unmanned bomber (drone). The drone, named the "Karrar", is supposedly capable of carrying two 250 pound bombs or one 500 pound precision bomb, and has a range of 620 miles.
It does not have the range to attack Israel, but it could attack ships in the area and bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most military experts don't expect this development to upset the balance of power in that area. With its tiny military budget, it is unlikely that they will be able to produce the drones in sufficiently large enough numbers to pose any real threat. They will probably be fairly easy targets for advanced ground-to-air missiles also.
It did however serve as another opportunity for Iranian leader President Ahmadinejad to engage in some more of his famous nonsensical double-talk. He said, "This jet is a messenger of honor and human generosity and a savior of mankind, before being a messenger of death for enemies of mankind. The key message of friendship. We must make efforts to render all the enemy's weapons useless with our defense potential."
He may convince a few Iranians with that nonsense, but the rest of the world knows he's trying to issue a threat (although not a very frightening one).
Palinisms
Throughout the short history of America its leaders have generally been fairly well educated and had a better-than-average command of the English language. We may not have always liked what they said, but they've usually said it correctly and with a certain amount of logic. George Bush broke that tradition and was famous for his mangling of the English language. He mispronounced, misused and made up words. His one saving grace was that even though he said things incorrectly a person could usually understand what he meant.
Sarah Palin takes the Bush legacy a step further. She not only makes up words that don't exist, but she is a proponent of creating word salads -- stringing together a series of words which when examined have little or no meaning (even though it started out sounding like it would have meaning). The folks over at The Huffington Post have compiled what they believe to be the 15 craziest "Palinisms". Here they are (with the date she uttered them):
“Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet.” 9/25/2008
"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where – where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border." 9/25/2008
"So we discussed what was going on in Africa. And never, ever did I talk about, Well, gee, is it a country or is it a continent, I just don't know about this issue." 11/11/2008
“I don’t know if I should Buenos Aires or Bonjour, or… this is such a melting pot. This is beautiful. I love the diversity. Yeah. There were a whole bunch of guys named Tony in the photo line, I know that.” 4/15/2010
“Obviously we loved sports, and the baby was born during the spring track season.” (from her book)
“Believe it or not – this was in the 60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse…. Isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.” 3/6/2010
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." 8/7/2009
"When the American people elected President Obama they gave him responsibility to handle this disaster. He promised to “heal the earth, and watch the waters recede...” or something far-fetched like that." 5/27/2010
“I didn’t believe the theory that human beings – thinking, loving beings – originated from fish that sprouted legs and crawled out of the sea. Or that human beings began as single-celled organisms that developed into monkeys who eventually swung down from the trees.” (from her book)
“With the gray Talkeetna Mountains in the distance and the first light covering of snow about to descend on Pioneer Peak, I breathed in an autumn bouquet that combined everything small-town America with rugged splashes of the Last Frontier.” (from her book)
"I think it's (negative coverage) appalling and a violation of our freedom of the press." 5/21/2010
"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate." 7/18/2010
"'Refudiate,' 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!" 7/18/2010
"I'm not politically correct. I am not one to be a word police." 2/7/2010
"I didn't really had a good answer, as so often -- is me." 3/5/2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Democrats Doing Well In Contributions
For many years the Republican Party raised and spent far more money each election season than the Democratic Party did. This put the Democrats at a serious disadvantage and could well have cost them several elections. That changed in 2008. Giant corporations could see which way the wind was blowing that year and directed much more money to the Democrats (in hopes of buying some good will). President Obama also proved to be very adept at tapping the internet for millions in small donations.
But after the Democrats passed the new law re-regulating the giant Wall Street financial firms, the corporate money switched back to the Republicans (they are now getting about 70% of it). Couple that with the supposed unpopularity of Democrats, according to the mainstream media, and one would believe the Democrats are probably again falling behind the Republicans in political donations. But that would be wrong. The Democrats are more than holding their own in political fundraising this year -- at least so far.
Here are some fundraising numbers for you to peruse and ponder:
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
Raised in July..........$11.6 million
Spent in July..........$11.6 million
Transferred to state parties..........$4 million
Cash on hand..........$10.8 million
Outstanding debt..........$3.5 million
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
Raised in July..........$5.5 million
Spent in July..........$11 million
Transferred to state parties..........$1.5 million
Cash on hand..........$5.3 million
Outstanding debt..........$2.2 million
DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
Raised in July..........$4.4 million
Spent in July..........$3.5 million
Cash on hand..........$22.5 million
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE
Raised in July..........$4.2 million
Spent in July..........$2.6 million
Cash on hand..........$21.2 million
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
Raised in July..........$6.2 million
Spent in July..........$4.2 million
Cash on hand..........$36 million
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
Raised in July..........$8.5 million
Spent in July..........$3.5 million
Cash on hand..........$22 million
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