REPUBLICANS HAVE NO ELECTABLE CANDIDATES...Huntsman?

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Staying on the subject of nominating candidates for president, I want to comment on the mess that has arisen among Republicans and their choices for president.

Obviously winning IOWA does not mean winning the country and winning IOWA does not mean you are ready for prime-time debating. IOWA spawned Bachmann and Perry as front runners and now the Republicans want nothing to do with them.

Now they are asking Christie (NJ governor) if he would please run for president because now they know Perry and Bachmann are unelectable.

Christie is not ready and he should get older and lose some weight before he seriously tries for the office BUT what about those Republicans with no one credible to put up against Obama and this is their BEST ever chance to defeat Obama; they have nada.

Yes, I am discounting Romney because even though I regard him as capable and smart, he has been such a flip-flop artist that people don’t really take him seriously.

I am still for John Huntsman and I feel he is the only credible challenger to Obama. I do like Ron Paul but he is also unelectable.

During some of the debates the audience was heard booing a gay soldier asking if don’t ask, don’t tell would be brought back if a Republican wins…yes. The audience cheered when Perry admitted he has executed more prisoners in Texas than anybody else, this in the face of mounting evidence that many death row prisoners are actually innocent.

Until and unless a moderate Republican crowd gets into the nominating process, the extremists will put up unelectable candidates that appeal to their narrow conservatism but are just a joke to the great majority of American voters.

This election is for the Republicans to lose and right now they are heading in that direction.

Related articles

• Again, Christie says he won't run (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• How the media controls who becomes the next president: "Ron Paul is unelectable?" (moanti.wordpress.com)
• Rick Perry's stumble gives Sarah Palin, Chris Christie and even Ron Paul a second chance (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• Who is Unelectable? Poll finds Palin Within 5 Points of Obama (treeofmamre.wordpress.com)

PRIMARY PROCESS: Go Florida!

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I was just bitching what a screwed up process we have in this country to pick presidential candidates and then…FLORIDA WILL NOW DESTROY THE SANCTITY OF THE 2012 PRIMARY CALENDAR.

The earliest primaries and the ones that candidates MUST campaign in and win are in Yahoo infested IOWA. New Hampshire takes second place which is absurd for such a small, very independent minded state to matter at all in the grand scheme of things. South Carolina is next and determines how a candidate holds up in the South. Nevada follows and I have no idea why since it has a small population and only cares about gambling.

BUT these states protect their early primary turf because it grants them importance on the national stage and brings in millions of dollars spent by each candidate’s campaign. Are these states somehow representative of the U.S. population…hell no…and that is why it is so absurd to have the early primaries in these bullshit states.

Each political party controls when and where the primaries are held and I remember Michigan being punished last time when it tried to hold a primary out of sequence (they were not seated at the convention).

Arizona had tried to jump ahead last time but now FLORIDA is now looking at the end of January to hold the primary and Florida is a state with importance because it has the largest elderly population and because it has a population at all and should be instrumental in picking the candidate for president.

I am told the other states will just move up their primaries in January making it appear that candidates will have to campaign over the holidays and that is plain stupid; that’s what we need during the holidays.

Now I hear that Colorado, Georgia and Missouri are angling for an early primary; all the states cannot have primaries in January, you have to give the candidates time to campaign in those states.

I guess it can get out of hand and the political parties need to keep some semblance of order in the nominating process BUT I feel that there are states that represent a broad swath of the American population and there are states that do not…Iowa being a very good example of a state that is very “narrow” in scope and should not play a role in the nominating process.

The political parties owe it to all Americans to make the process fair and representative and NOT give the media the role of appointing the candidate for the highest office in the world.

Related articles

• Overheard on CNN.com: Presidential primaries needs overhaul (news.blogs.cnn.com)
• Republican Primary Calendar Takes Shape (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Florida About To Blow Up GOP Primary Calendar? (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Calendar Chaos? Florida Threatens To Move Primary Date Up (abcnews.go.com)
• Florida Expected to Move Primary to January (politicalwire.com)
• First on CNN: Florida zeroes in on primary date, threatening presidential calendar (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Florida pols look to move up GOP primary (cbsnews.com)

IOWA: Cannot be picking presidential candidates...

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In this Sunday’s Free Press, Ron Dzwonkowski writes about our totally dysfunctional nominating system for the highest office in the land.

I still don’t quite understand how a bunch of yahoos in Iowa get to name who runs for president and they are a bunch of farmers to boot with totally different political priorities than lets say states with factory jobs, etc.

Tim Pawlenty had to bow out of the race due to third place in a “straw” vote? Michelle Bachmann got a boost in Iowa because they like her? What about the rest of the country?

Rick Perry also got an instant rush to first place because of Iowa and look at him now…unelectable! Of course, the media has a huge role also since they analyze those stupid straw polls like they have any meaning; it’s as if the media picks the candidates based on how they answer questions.

This is total bullshit and I know it has everything to do about politics and money and politics but for the good of the country, the political parties need to change the way candidates are selected.

Dzwonkowski writes about an organization called AMERICANS ELECT which is pushing for a different process of selecting candidates using the internet. Their rules state that a candidate for the presidency must have a VP running mate from another party…no full party ticket?

I am not sure if this alternative process will not just be a third party and be a spoiler in any election which sometimes allows “bad” candidates to win.

I hope individual states will be able to set their own primary dates and candidates will have to appeal to states with the largest population first instead of a bunch of yahoos in Iowa that represent only themselves and not a wide swath of Americans.

I think voters need to get vocal about this issue so in the next election, Iowa and Iowans, don’t count for anything…it is a nice state thought.

Related articles

• Bachmann keeps pushing GOP: Don't pick 'compromised' candidate (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Santorum: 'Slow and Steady' Will Win Iowa (abcnews.go.com)
• Bachmann: Don't settle for lesser conservative (cbsnews.com)
• Five Unanswered Questions About the Iowa Caucus (swampland.time.com)
• Q&A: Bob Vander Plaats, Iowa's Social Conservative Kingmaker (swampland.time.com)
• Perry first to RSVP for Iowa GOP's largest annual fundraiser (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Iowa Mulls Earlier Caucus Date (politicalwire.com)
• They're back; 2012 GOP hopefuls returning to Iowa campaign trail (iowacaucus.com)

STANDARD & POOR: Need to be punished...

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Just wanted to re-visited a previous topic and that is the Standard & Poor’s downgrading of U.S. credit.

At the time I said that they had ulterior motives for doing that because they don’t get paid for doing that, it does not mean shit to the world economy (US still the safest place to put your money) and no other rating agency followed their lead.

What they knew was coming down the pike was a government investigation into their rating of toxic assets sometimes known as CDOs or collateralized debt offerings.

If you remember, these financial instruments are what brought our housing and banking industry down. People were granted mortgages for no valid reasons by mortgage brokers that would turn around and sell the mortgages after making a handsome commission, to others who collected those mortgages and wrapped them up into CDOs and sold it to investors.

This would work fine if everyone paid their mortgage on time and paid those mortgages off in time but because the people paying those mortgages should not have received those mortgages in the first place because they were not qualified financially to obtain a mortgage, those CDOs collapsed.

Now Standard & Poor rate financial instruments such as CDOs as to their credit worthiness, i.e. are they a safe investment or not. Well Standard & Poor rated those toxic assets as investment grade which prompted many to invest, taking their word for it.

Well Standard & Poor gets paid by the people trying to sell those toxic assets so obviously, they are not going to rate them un-buyable and here is where we have a problem with conflict of interest.

I feel that Standard & Poor should be in jail for what they did to the country because if they did their due diligence (did their job) we would not be in as big a mess as we are.

S&P downgraded the US economy so they then can use the word revenge when the US SEC goes after them with civil legal charges, seeking whatever they can get from them and then shutting them down. McGraw-Hill Co., which own S&P has already split from them to protect their core business.

Somebody on Wall Street needs to start paying for what happened and S&P, the arrogant little bastards, is a great place to start.

Related articles

• U.S. SEC may recommend S&P lawsuit (cbc.ca)
• SEC may recommend legal action against S&P (sfgate.com)
• SEC may recommend legal action against S&P (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• SEC weighing civil action over S&P CDO rating (marketwatch.com)
• US authorities investigate Standard & Poor's (telegraph.co.uk)
• S&P Timeline : Culpability Then Threats (themoderatevoice.com)
• Reported Standard & Poor's Investigation Lends Credence To Senate Financial Crisis Report (huffingtonpost.com)

RIGHT-TO-WORK: Now is not the time...

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The Right-to-Work issue is coming up again. Right-to-Work (RTW) legislation would prohibit forced unionization and some legislators in Michigan feel that passing this legislation would somehow help revive the Michigan jobs outlook.

In general, I have always been pro- right-to-work legislation because I feel that it is the way things will work in the future as unions become passé because their existence is no longer needed and because they have become a drain on our economy.

Our Republican Governor, Rick Snyder, who touts himself as a business leader and not a politician, feels that a political battle over RTW legislation would be counter productive and an unnecessary distraction from the job at hand which is to create more jobs. The Detroit Free Press agrees with him and I have to also; this is not the time.

There have been letters back and forth about this issue and just as much data either supporting the benefits of RTW or not.

It is very clear that many “large” companies and maybe even some small ones did not come to Michigan because of the forced unionization. All of the foreign auto giants established manufacturing in RTW states bringing with them thousands of jobs and an invigorated middle-class to areas (Mississippi) that have not prospered as other states have.

Boeing moved to South Carolina to escape forced unionization and the thousands of potential workers there are overjoyed even as the NLRB, Obama and Unionists try to somehow prevent there move using dubious political and quasi-legal means.

States like Michigan with their forced unionization have lost and will continue to lose companies and jobs to states that are labor friendly or RTW states; forced unionization does not have one positive facet to it…it only deprives companies optimal performance and profitability.

If you argue that unionism keeps companies honest and forces them to treat their employees’ right, I will disagree with that as an outdated way to look at labor; may have been that way before but makes no economic sense today.

So YES to right-to-work legislation but not right now.

Related articles

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• Union: Documents show Boeing aimed to trump unions (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

FLU SHOTS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS OR ELSE...

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Here is an issue that just personally pisses me off so I have to speak.

I have been in the healthcare business for most of my life either working in a hospital, an ER, a clinical laboratory, as a field medic and now for over 30 years, in the medical industry as a manufacturer of medical devices.

When I read a headline that says “Workers’ choice: Flu shots or ax…Hospitals act to protect patients, but some employees balk” just makes my blood boil.

My mother, who is near 90, refuses to get a flu shot (even though at her age it could be a life saver) because 20 years ago she got a serious bout of the flu right after getting a flu shot. She obviously thought that the flu shot caused her to get the flu even though I said that was impossible since the virus in the vaccine is inactivated (dead) BUT since it takes a couple of weeks for the vaccine to take effect, you can get the flu in that period of time. Cannot convince her and so the flu may be the death of her BUT that is her superstitious bullshit and she will stick to it.

BUT health workers, educated and degreed, to believe that a flu vaccine is dangerous to them somehow? – That is just plain stupid and dangerous.

In the past, since vaccines were produced in eggs, if you had a severe allergy to eggs, you could not get the vaccine but people with egg allergies are rare. Today, vaccines are produced in mammalian cells which enable the vaccine to be produced much faster and stored frozen for a long time.

There are over 24,000 deaths in the U.S. from complications of the flu. Over 150,000 people are hospitalized because of it and now with even more virulent strains of the flu virus coming our way, it is absolutely critical for people to get flu shots. Healthcare workers especially should get vaccinated since they can spread the virus to already weakened and compromised hospital patients.

In the past, some health centers demanded a flu shot or the wearing of a mask well that made no medical sense whatsoever. I saw nurses with masks half off scratching their noses while touching patients.

I cannot believe the amount of organizations that have been established to fight the flu shot mandate saying it should be a choice and not a mandate where you lose your job if you don’t comply. Hell, if I was a patient I would demand that the hospital I am going to have a strict flu shot mandate…it is the patient’s health in question and not your superstitious ignorance.

I can’t believe that some health professionals are claiming a flu shot violates their religious beliefs. I remember only one religion (Christian Scientists I think) where they would not accept medical intervention especially getting blood transfusions. I remember loosing some patients to that belief but what the hell; its their lives. I just didn’t like when they forced their children to die for their beliefs but I think a new law was passed banning that practice.

Some of these groups are going to their legislators to demand laws that would prohibit health workers from having to get flu shots as part of their employment.

That is totally absurd and any politician that succumbs to their bullshit will definitely lose my vote and maybe if patients start demanding that the nurses caring for them have been vaccinated, maybe hospitals will get some balls and start firing these yahoos.

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• Flu Vaccine Supply Ample this year (mystrongmedicine.com)
• Survey: People Have Big Plans For Flu Shots (blogs.wsj.com)

UAW AT FORD: Workers a little too arrogant...

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Now that the UAW is going after Ford instead of Chrysler, the headlines are beginning to fly. Basically, Ford workers want a “richer” deal than GM workers got. Please remember that Ford CAN be struck, unlike GM and Chrysler.

In TV interviews with Ford workers leaving their plants, all the ones interviewed were arrogant, demanding and even threatening…we better get what we want or else.

They are pissed that their leader Alan Mulally got a real big bonus…only for saving your stinkin’ jobs dudes! They are even more pissed that white collar workers got some wages and bonuses restored…but they had a lot taken away from them and they do actually design and engineer the cars that the blue collar workers build and if they did a poor job of designing and engineering cars, the cars would not sell and the blue collar workers would have nothing to build and therefore no job and no profit sharing and…

I am not saying that UAW workers should get nothing but the arrogance with which they are demanding much more than GM workers received, is very off putting and will piss off the public even more and bring down even further the low opinion the public has of the UAW and unions in general.

Ford may not have taken a bail-out from the government / taxpayers and has managed to do a pretty good job surviving the great recession but they took a really big hit in the years when cars were not selling at all and YES, the UAW workers AND the white collar workers gave concessions to keep the company afloat AND their jobs in place.

But the company is in debt big time and needs to get that taken care of with continuing profitability which is very questionable now that we know we are heading into a second dip recession where auto sales will stall again.

I will repeat again and again that one thing Ford cannot do is to add to its fixed cost of building autos and that means NO wage increases, NO cost of living adjustments, NO enhanced unemployment benefits, etc. which would add to fixed costs of production which Wall Street does not want to see and Ford worries about Wall Street because Wall Street can make Ford a safe investment again.

Yes, give signing bonuses like GM did and an increase in profit sharing which would not add to fixed costs of production but most importantly, give the workers some job security which should be the most important issue for the workers and not plain money greed.

If we return to the bad ole’ days of UAW greed and Ford acquiesces to that greed and becomes threatened by the possibility of a strike, then Ford must kiss all the hard work its done to stay off the public dole and viable, goodbye and the UAW can kiss its job security goodbye and the workers can stick their demanding arrogance where the sun don’t shine.

Bob King has his job cut out for him…his hair cannot stay jet black forever, unless he colors it to hide the stress.

Related articles

• UAW president to address union, Ford negotiators (windsorstar.com)
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• Chrysler, UAW Talks Break Down: Sources (huffingtonpost.com)
• Report: Chrysler and UAW extend talks by a month, Ford next (autoblog.com)
• UAW shifts talks from Chrysler to Ford (sfgate.com)

Obama: Solyndra...were you not listening...?

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I just heard from somebody that was asked if he would vote for Obama again, he said he would have to hold his nose but that he would since there was no other valid option for him.

Holding one’s nose while voting for Obama maybe one way he may get re-elected but even holding one’s nose may not do the trick if things continue to go the way they have been for Obama lately.

The SOLYNDRA issue may do some harm. That is the company that manufactured solar panels in California, was given a $535 million loan guarantee by our Department of Energy and then declared bankruptcy but not before Obama used the company to show the country how his stimulus money was creating new technology and new jobs.

The speed with which the company declared bankruptcy has pointed to some serious idiocy on the part of the Obama administration or as some are saying, Obama’s blindness or inability to listen to warnings from experts and charging along because Solyndra was just the company he needed to promote the success of his plan even if Solyndra did not have a viable business plan to begin with.

The House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee is conducting hearings into this debacle (the taxpayer’s money is gone) but the bosses at Solyndra are already invoking the 5^th against criminal self-incrimination…so you know this will not be pretty.

It brings into question Obama’s own ability to lead or to do the right thing. He seems to be all about politics and public relations and his public perception but he is throwing caution to the wind and making some horrendous mistakes with OUR money.

This does not bode well for his ability to lead this nation out of economic turmoil; he seems like a stupid hot headed immature twit hiding behind a serious, well dressed and well spoken façade; just looking and speaking presidential is not enough, you have to show that you can actually have the wisdom to make smart decisions and he obviously does not have that capability.

Once again it appears that Obama did not listen to sound advice of experts but to big money contributors to his campaign…I hope we have another choice in 2012.

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UAW: Skip Chrysler?

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Just heard this morning that the UAW is skipping Chrysler and going right after Ford…why?

I told you before that Marchionne of Chrysler is not like those Detroit pussies that give the UAW everything they want; Marchionne marches to a different drummer and he will go to compulsory arbitration rather than to do what he feels is not right for Chrysler; he does not give a shit what GM settled for, times are different now…no more same old shit!

They gave Chrysler an extension on the contract till October so they can concentrate of Ford.

Is Chrysler going to wait and see what Ford does? Don’t forget that Ford can be struck but that would be the death knell for the UAW if it came to that.

More details are coming out about the GM contract and there are some good changes but I still believe GM gave out too much by increasing wages for start-ups which impacts their fixed costs of building autos.

The drama continues…

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Just heard this morning that the UAW is skipping Chrysler and going right after Ford…why?

I told you before that Marchionne of Chrysler is not like those Detroit pussies that give the UAW everything they want; Marchionne marches to a different drummer and he will go to compulsory arbitration rather than to do what he feels is not right for Chrysler; he does not give a shit what GM settled for, times are different now…no more same old shit!

They gave Chrysler an extension on the contract till October so they can concentrate of Ford.

Is Chrysler going to wait and see what Ford does? Don’t forget that Ford can be struck but that would be the death knell for the UAW if it came to that.

More details are coming out about the GM contract and there are some good changes but I still believe GM gave out too much by increasing wages for start-ups which impacts their fixed costs of building autos.

The drama continues…

Related articles

• After Chrysler, UAW turns its attention to Ford (content.usatoday.com)
• UAW shifts talks from Chrysler to Ford (sfgate.com)
• Chrysler, UAW miss another deadline (money.cnn.com)
• UAW, Chrysler extend contract for a second time (seattlepi.com)
• UAW Turns to Ford After Extending Contract With Chrysler (businessweek.com)

DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL: Has ended...new military?

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The DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL policy about gays in the military has actually come to an end.

Gays in the military can now be openly gay and cannot be drummed out of the military for being gay and gays discharged in the past few years for being gay, can re-apply for reinstatement to the military.

What dooooo it all mean?

I have not made it a secret that I firmly believe that gays are born that way and do not become gay for some reason. For a naturally born heterosexual male (can’t talk for females) to “choose” to become gay is not only absurd but is an insult to everyone’s intelligence.

While I was in the military (1966-1970) homosexuality was not a big thing then but even at my young age (19) and relative naïveté about certain issues, I was aware of some guys being more effeminate than others but now know that they were not gay but just not as manly as other “men” were and for this reason were picked on. In my barracks alone, we had two (2) such individuals hang themselves in the bathroom.

Life is not always fair and our social backwardness has not helped but I am happy to see some progress in my lifetime.

Reading some surveys, it appears that most people in the military did not care much about the issue in the first place; there is always the hard core group. I think older soldiers may still be anti-gay but I think the younger members of the military, as young society in general, have no problem with fellow soldiers being gay.

I have always had a problem with very public displays of affection; but to me that goes for both heterosexual and homosexual individuals and I think there are and have been regulations in place addressing that issue.

I know the military has changed dramatically since I was a member and I hope the transition will be smooth. The military brass has said that all soldiers have been trained in what to expect and they see no problems whatsoever in the military continuing to do its job as always…I do hope so.

Related articles

• "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Over? Don't You Believe It! (neosecularist.com)
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PALESTINIANS IN THE U.N.: Good ploy but don't blow it...

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I just have a few words to say about the drama unfolding as we speak at the United Nations.

President Abbas and the Palestinians will be petitioning the United Nations to recognize them as a sovereign nation.

Everyone empathizes with them since their quest to become a sovereign nation has been going on for many generations with no end in sight but the blame for this stalemate cannot be just put on Israel, they both share in the blame.

I hope that this dramatic move on the Palestinian’s side will actually make something happen. I have noticed that French President Sarkozy has actually proposed a time-table to make negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians move swiftly and firmly forward with an end in sight.

What cannot happen is the granting of sovereign status by the U.N. to the Palestinians. Why…because they are NOT a sovereign state and they are not even close to being one and as such, the granting of their wishes would not only be absurd but internationally illegal.

The Palestinians are not one nation, do not have one government and do not have a unified population or a unified “land”; they are not a nation or a state at all; granting them legal status as a nation will cause legal chaos and will make things even worst for both sides.

The U.S. will veto any such motion in the Security Council but they make take it to the General Assembly where it could be voted on.

I hope that the Palestinian plan is just a ploy to finally get both parties to sit down and talk seriously with a definite date for an agreement; this is long overdue and will take both parties to agree to compromises.

Related articles

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• The President Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (abcnews.go.com)
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• What would Palestinian statehood mean? | Harriet Sherwood (guardian.co.uk)
• UN general assembly discusses Palestinian state - live updates (guardian.co.uk)
• Obama, at UN, Explains Rationale for Opposing Palestinian Statehood Bid - New York Times (news.google.com)
• United Nations General Assembly 2011: Obama Pressures Palestinians To End Bid (huffingtonpost.com)

FAIR TAXATION: Obama does not know what that means...

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Well we have been having quite a few heated discussions about Obama’s call for “fair” taxation or tax the wealthy more or Buffet’s alternative tax. It seems Obama is misleading many people, including my wife, that somehow the rich or how about the not poor, are not paying their fair amount of taxes. I think some facts are in order.

First, Obama said that he wants millionaires to be taxed at a “higher RATE” than their secretaries, referring to billionaire Warren Buffet.

Higher RATE is not the same as paying more taxes.

Ordinary income which includes WAGES is taxed on a moving scale with 35% reserved for the very top wage earners. Interest income is also taxed as ordinary income. Buffet’s secretary gets taxed on her wages but Buffet makes most of his money NOT from wages but from investment income which is taxed at 15%.

Investment income is when you buy a stock a $5 and sell it for $10; the difference is investment income (if held for 12 months or more) or if your mutual fund distributes capital gains which are also investment income taxed at 15%.

Why 15%? Because the government wants to encourage investment in stocks, etc. which help companies raise capital to start a business (IPO) or grow a business which usually translates to more jobs. If you raise the rate on investment income, fewer people will invest and that will stymie growth; it’s that simple.

The facts also state that 10% of the highest earners pay more than 50% of all federal taxes (70% of federal income taxes according to the Congressional Budget Office). Also 46% of low and medium income families will pay NO federal income taxes.

Obama is desperate to soak the rich and he is trying to paint a picture of the “rich” not paying their “fair” share but that is simply not true as evidenced by recorded facts.

If you want “fair” you need to take out ALL tax exemptions for everybody and just have a basic “flat” rate based on your income. Right now our TAX CODE has more than $1 Trillion in deductions, exemptions and credits and benefit ALL taxpayers, no matter what their income and most of us have gotten used to these benefits (like a mortgage interest deduction) but hey, you want to be fair Obama, then have some balls and make it “really” fair.

In a basic flat rate, tax rates would be much lower than now and they would be based on amounts earned.

The Republicans are correct in saying that Obama is trying to start a class war; poor against the rich and why... because the election is coming in 2012.

He appears to have given up on trying to work with the Republicans (and for very good reason…they don’t want to do what is good for the country; they just want to win in 2012) and is therefore positioning “himself” against “them” and making them to be the villains by protecting the rich while hurting the poor.

There are things Obama can do to help the economy but he can’t seem to get any good advice or as some say, he is unwilling to take good advice and just goes his own way which, as we can see, is the wrong way.

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• Partisan politics ruining economic prosperity? ()
• Obama calls for Taxing Millionaires at Middle Class Rates; Republicans Panic (skydancingblog.com)
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• Big Democratic Pollster/Adviser Mark Penn: Obama Is Dooming Himself With His Class Warfare Gambit (minx.cc)
• Seriously, The Buffet Rule, Don't You Think That Is Just Asking For Class Warfare? # (evelyngarone.wordpress.com)
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IRISH CATHOLICS: Have had enough...

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I was surprised to see another article in the New York Times about the strained relations between Ireland and the Vatican.

The article under “News Analysis” was titled: A RUPTURE OF REVERENCE FOR THE VATICAN SETS OFF A TRANSFORMATION IN IRELAND by Sarah Lyall (9-18-2011).

I guess what is happening between Ireland and the Vatican is truly historic. Ireland is as Catholic as they come. Hell, divorce was only legalized here in 1995; can you even believe that? Irish and Catholic are synonymous where 87% of the population is Catholic and 90% of primary schools are run by the Catholic Church.

These mega Catholics now only feel rage, disgust and defiance towards the Church and the Vatican where they have had nothing but humble reverence for ages. Never has an Irish leader showed such outrage and indignation towards the Church.

As you all know by now, the rage is fueled by priestly abuse of children in Ireland but most of all by the Vatican’s cover up of the abuse as I have mentioned many times over before.

Enda Kenney, the Irish prime minister said “The rape and torture of children were downplayed to uphold instead the primacy of the institution – its power, standing and its reputation.”

The Catholic Church has dictated the social policies of Ireland basically forever but now Ireland is declaring that the Church will follow the laws of Ireland and not its own canon law; there is only one law and that is the law of Ireland.

I see a change taking place of historical proportions. I know the Church has survived many of such upheavals and is still standing but I sense a difference now. I sense a “rupture of reverence” between Catholics and their leaders which I hope will lead to another transformation in the Catholic Church because it really needs to be transformed.

Related articles

• Irish Rupture With Vatican Sets Off a Transformation (nytimes.com)
• VIDEO: Ireland's closeness to Vatican tested (bbc.co.uk)
• Vatican denies claims of abuse cover-up in Ireland (guardian.co.uk)
• Vatican blasts Ireland - Chicago Sun-Times (news.google.com)

GM / UAW DEAL: Too much for these times...

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It appears that the UAW and GM have reached a tentative deal on a new four year contract. The initial buzz is that it a win-win situation for both the UAW and GM. Since no details have been officially announced, we have to settle for some carefully leaked rumors.

I have maintained that the auto companies could not add to their fixed costs of producing cars but it appears GM did just that by agreeing to raise the wages for new hires by $3 / hour which does not appear to be a great deal BUT it still adds to the fixed cost of building an auto.

Enlarging the profit sharing formula was expected and should have been the only concession of GM.

Also expected was a promise to invest in U.S. plants and not to outsource which is a huge deal for job security for U.S. workers.

Giving all workers a signing bonus of $5,000 was a mistake even though it does not add to fixed costs. It could actually help the local economy as workers blow $5,000 on “stuff”. It was a mistake because I did not read about any concessions on the UAW part such as higher co-pays in their healthcare coverage, etc.

Usually, what is agreed with one company (GM) is now offered to Ford and Chrysler to accept and in this way all UAW workers get basically the same.

Since the American taxpayer bailed out GM and Chrysler and for that matter, the UAW, I do not see this as a fair contract where with unemployment up in Michigan to over 11%, workers are getting bonuses for just signing a contract (which they still have to approve).

GM should have stuck to giving the UAW job security and a bigger profit sharing slice and that should be enough for the union in these tough economic times.

I hope Ford and Chrysler work out their own contracts without increasing wages for new hires and no signing bonus; just be grateful you have a job!

I will be waiting for the fallout to come…

AUTO TALKS: Binding arbitration only solution...

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Detroit is all abuzz about the UAW contract talks with the Big Three auto makers because the deadlines have passed and still no deal and something is starting to smell…

The UAW extended the contract with Ford and the talks came to a stop there. It intensified the talks with GM and Chrysler but had to also extend the contract deadline and this morning we learn that Sergio Marchionne, head of Chrysler, released a letter to Bob King of the UAW saying basically, we had a deal so why are you fuckin’ around with this contract.

Marchionne is not from Detroit, he is from Fiat/Italy and he does not know or give a shit, how things work in Detroit, he knows what he wants and he doesn’t mince words talking about what he wants and expects…love this guy.

The usual in Detroit, is that the UAW picks a “strike target” and negotiates a contract with that strike target only (not all three at once as it is trying to do now). Once it gets its contract with the strike target it takes the same contract to the other two and tells them to sign on the dotted line.

This year it is totally different and historic. The UAW can only strike Ford and have put those talks on hold while it gets a contract signed by Chrysler and GM which they will then take to Ford who must sign it or it will be struck.

But Marchionne doesn’t care about Ford or GM, he only cares about Chrysler and I think he wants a “custom” deal with Chrysler. He has already said what he will agree to offer and that is that. He is offering bigger profit-sharing checks, investing in existing plants which will create more second tier union jobs but no additions to fixed costs which means no raises, no bonuses but job security.

The workers want raises, they want a $10,000 per worker contract signing bonus and they want all their benefits back, the ones they gave up to save their jobs during the bankruptcy crisis. They obviously have not learned anything from the time the all were nearly out on the street.

If they two sides do not come to terms they go into “binding arbitration”; a stranger tells them what to do and that is that. I feel the UAW will come out with the short end of the stick if talks go into binding arbitration.

Bob King but not his workers, knows the world is watching. If the auto makers give in to the UAW’s exorbitant demands, Wall Street will crush their stock prices, Obama will definitely be thrown out of office and his Republican replacement will kick both the auto makers and the UAW’s asses, the UAW will not be able to unionize another auto company and the nation will be so anti-union that the union’s demise will be greatly accelerated.

Bob King is between a rock and a hard place with no wiggle room…it must go to binding arbitration because only when that happens he will be off the hook with his UAW members and with the auto makers; it will be out of his hands.

Related articles

• UAW extends Chrysler, GM contracts after deadline (usatoday.com)
• GM, Chrysler: No deal reached yet with UAW (money.cnn.com)
• Detroit Three, UAW extend contract, keep talking (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

RICK PERRY: Attacked but not smitten...

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No doubt you have been hearing about the clashes among the GOP presidential candidates during debates that can make them or break them.

Rick Perry would never be a candidate I could ever vote for mainly because he is a religious nut case and a Neanderthal on social issues but he has charisma and he does not back down from a taken position like Romney does.

The other candidates jumped on Perry because he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Well it is. Ponzi would pay investors with money he would collect from new investors and kept that up until the whole thing collapsed. Social Security pays retired workers with money supplied by new workers or actively employed workers. Since costs have been going up constantly, there will be a point where more money is going out than coming in at which point the whole scheme becomes unsustainable.

Perry, it seems, is just saying that things need to be fixed or altered in the Social Security system or the system will fail. We all know that but I think he went out of his way to scare the hell out of people that will depend on Social Security as their ONLY pension benefit and now has to explain himself and exactly what he intends to do.

He was attacked for mandating the vaccine against cervical cancer for every little girl in Texas. Legally mandating the vaccine probably was over the line at that time but today, the vaccine is a proven entity that is absolutely a benefit to the health of all women and should be given to all girls at age 12.

Michelle Bachmann attacked Perry for forcing a vaccine that could potentially harm girls, echoing the moronic and very harmful nonsense promoted by Jenny McCarthy saying the preservative in vaccines (thymersol) causes autism.

McCarthy persuaded countless parents not to vaccinate their children causing disease we thought we wiped out, to re-emerge again endangering children’s lives based on information by a rogue researcher that has been prosecuted for fabricating his data just to get back at pharmaceutical companies or something to that effect.

Bachmann, never the one with all he facts straight, tried to defend her position saying she met a woman that told her, her daughter became ill after getting the vaccine against cervical cancer; she believed one strangers account? This is what she would base her actions on…rumors?

Bachmann then accused Perry of ordering the vaccines because he got a big donation from the company making the vaccine. He did get a donation but was that his motivation? Perry said he just wanted to prevent cancer!

All I can say is that the debates are interesting but oh so sad…

Related articles

• Michelle Bachmann Kills Little Girls (ken_ashford.typepad.com)
• Michele Bachmann Proves She's an Anti-Science Idiot (reason.com)
• Michele Bachmann Thinks That Gardasil Causes Mental Retardation. It Does Not. (blisstree.com)
• The Takeaway: Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Social Security Debate? (aarp.org)
• GOP foes attack Perry's record (capitolhillblue.com)
• Why Bachmann's Done (talkingpointsmemo.com)
• Perry assailed by GOP rivals, defends his record (thenewstribune.com)

POPE & VATICAN: Charged with crimes against humanity...

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I have had a few stories about the Vatican and priestly abuse of children to report on and the time is now.

The first article was in the New York Times 9/4/2011 titled: “Vatican Denies Claims by Ireland on Abuse”…Church Says It Did Not Hinder Inquiries.

In essence, the Irish government accused the Vatican of encouraging priests and bishops NOT to report cases of abuse to the local police. The evidence was a secret letter sent from the Vatican ambassador in Ireland where he stated that he had “serious reservations” about the government guidelines of reporting abuse and termed the guidelines as violating Canon Law.

You can see why this letter would be “evidence” of a “cover-up”. The Irish government also issued a report where they provided evidence of predatory priests being moved from one parish to another by bishops that knew full well they were abusing children.

The Irish government is now debating whether to pass a law which would make failure to report allegations of abuse to local police, a crime punishable by jail time.

As the Vatican lamely defends itself in the face of insurmountable evidence of a cover-up and NO Roman Catholic leaders being prosecuted and punished for actively covering up child abuse, I read the headline “Clergy Sex Abuse Victims File International Court case Against Pope.” The survivors of priestly abuse network are seeking an investigation of the Vatican and top Vatican leaders for possible crimes against humanity.

They named the pope as a defendant, among others, since he was the leader of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which in 2001 was in charge of overseeing abuse cases.

Crimes against humanity include rape, sexual violence and torture according to an international treaty which mandates the international court’s actions.

The Survivors Network said that the Church is still in denial and has not punished those that abetted the abuse and has not moved to categorically end abuse which they claim continues to this very day around the world.

I am glad to see that governments and citizens are not letting the Vatican off the hook for crimes against humanity and allowing the Church to move on as if nothing has happened (denial) and to continue to proclaim itself as the representative of God on earth; how sick is that?

Related articles

• The Pope Isn't Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
• Emperor Benedict Accused of Crimes Against Humanity (scotteriology.wordpress.com)
• Bishop of Derry calls for end to celibacy in Catholic church (guardian.co.uk)
• Vatican Lashes Back at Ireland Over Abuse (nytimes.com)
• Pope Accused of Crimes Against Humanity by Victims of Sex Abuse (frstephensmuts.wordpress.com)
• Vatican rejects Irish critics over sex abuse (cbsnews.com)
• Vatican Rebukes Ireland - Daily Beast (news.google.com)