Thanks to Roy Zimmerman with Rick Overton at http://www.rickoverton.net/

A song by Roy Zimmerman with Rick Overton about the evils of “Socialism”, like Roads, schools, military, police, and firefighters. The horrors!

As reported by the State Journal:

Assembly Republicans convened their floor session a few minutes before its scheduled start Friday evening and moved Gov. Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill toward final passage before Democrats could enter the chamber, prompting howls of outrage from Assembly Democrats.
The action, taken on a voice vote, prevented the Democrats from introducing any amendments to the bill, which severely curtails public employees’ collective bargaining powers.
Democrats began yelling as they entered the chamber to find the majority Republicans were voting on the bill.
“This is unbelieveable. Unprecedented. Un-American,” yelled Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha. “This is just the most outrageous thing I have ever seen.”
Barca called the actions “illegal” and a violation of Assembly rules.
“There is a stink in this body. There’s a stain on the history of this state with what you’ve done.”
Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, responded by saying that he started early because “Honestly, I thought you guys weren’t showing up.”
Fitzgerald acknowledged that Barca was correct in his reading of the rules, and members allowed the bill to return to its amendable stage. Fitzgerald then moved to adjourn the Assembly until 10 a.m. Tuesday, prompting a standing ovation from Democrats, who promised to continue working on amendments to the bill.

The following is an unedited letter that a #99er named “Mark” wrote where he described his story of how his American Dream ended, how policies didn’t help him, how politics cheated him, and after which why he euthanized himself.

I hope you are touched by this, in at least some small measure.  And, if anything, learn that WE must be as active, if not moreso, than the sociopaths, plutocrats, and corporatists who have been shaping policy in this country over the last 30 years.

Inaction; Ignorance; Willful disassociation. These are as unpatriotic as they are cowardice.

A constitutionally limited representative democratic republic (as Thom Hartmann would say) requires active participation.  What, do you expect that the monied interests are going to do nothing, just because you want to sit home and catch up on in-touch magazine?  Wake up.

Get involved with your local Government.  Become a Committee member.  Write, Call, or See your Representative.

Is this what kind of country we are?

To the unemployed, sick, disabled and poor:
Hello,

I’m unemployed over two years now, a 99er without any benefits for three months. I followed Unemployed Friends almost from its start, never posted until now, but am grateful for my time with you all. I did as asked with calls and e-mails, etc. I’ve a confession to make to you all. I’m a criminal.

I’ve obeyed the 10 commandments and all laws except: I’m unemployed and that’s now a crime, I’m poor and that’s a crime, I’m worthless surplus population and that’s a crime, I’m a main street American Citizen born and raised in the USA and that’s now a crime, and I’m euthanizing myself as I write this note — so arrest my corpse. This isn’t a call for help, the deed is done, it’s not what I wanted. Death is my best available option. It’s not just that my bank account is $4, that I’ve not eaten in a week, not because hunger pangs are agonizing (I’m a wimp), not because I live in physical and mental anguish, not because the landlady is banging on the door non-stop and I face eviction, not that Congress and President have sent a strong message they no longer help the unemployed. It’s because I’m a law abiding though worthless, long-term unemployed older man who is surplus population. Had I used my college education to rip people off and steal from the elderly, poor, disabled and main street Americans I would be wearing different shoes now — a petty king. Hard work, honesty, loving kindness, charity and mercy, and becoming unemployed and destitute unable to pay your bills are all considered foolishness and high crimes in America now. Whereas stealing and lying and cheating and being greedy to excess and destroying the fabric of America is rewarded and protected — even making such people petty king and petty queens among us.

Since the end of 2008, when corporate America began enjoying the resumption of growth, profits have swelled from an annualized pace of $995 billion to the current $1.66 trillion as of the end of September 2010. Over the same period, the number of non-farm jobs counted by the Labor Department has slipped from 13.4 million to 13 million — there is no recovery for the unemployed and main street. We taxpayers have handed trillions of dollars to the same bank and insurance industry that started our economic disaster with its reckless gambling. We bailed out General Motors. We distributed tax cuts to businesses that were supposed to use this lubrication to expand and hire. For our dollars, we have been rewarded with starvation, homelessness and a plague of fear — a testament to post-national capitalism.

Twelve years ago, I lost the last of my family. Ten years ago, I lost the love of my life, couldn’t even visit him in the hospital because gays have no rights. I fought through and grieved and went on as best I could. Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with Diabetes and Stage 2 high blood pressure with various complications including kidney problems, mild heart failure, Diabetic Retinopathy. These conditions are debilitating and painful. I am on over eight prescribed medications, which is very difficult without insurance and income. But I struggled on and my primary caregiver was very pleased with my effort overtime with my A1C at seven. Still these physical disabilities have progressively worsened, and I have had a harder and harder time functioning in basic ways. All the while, I give thanks to God because I know there are many more worse off than me — and I tried to help by giving money to charities and smiling at people who looked down and sharing what little I had.

I am college educated and worked 35 years in management, receiving written references and praise from every boss for whom I worked. Yet, after thousands of resumes, applications, e-mails, phone calls, and drop ins, I’ve failed to get a job even at McDonalds. I’ve discovered there are three strikes against me — most 99ers will understand. Strike one — businesses are not hiring long-term unemployed — in fact many job ads now underline “the unemployed need not apply.” Strike two — I am almost 60 years old. Employers prefer hiring younger workers who demand less and are better pack mules. Strike three — for every job opening I’ve applied, there are over 300 applicants according to each business who allow a follow up call. With the U3 unemployment holding steady at 9.6percent and U6 at 17 percent for the past 18 months, the chances of me or any 99er landing a job is less than winning the Mega Million Jackpot. On top of that, even the most conservative economists admit unemployment will not start to fall before 2012 and most predict up to seven years of this crap.

I believe the Congress and President have no intention of really aiding the unemployed — due to various political reasons and their total removal from the suffering of most Americans, their cold-hearted, self-serving natures. Had they really wanted to help us, they could have used unspent stimulus monies or cut foolish costs like the failed wars or foreign aid, and farm subsidies. The unspent stimulus money alone cold have taken care of ALL unemployed persons for five years or until the unemployment rate reached 7 percent if Congress and the President really wanted to help us — and not string us all along with a meager safety net that fails every few months. In any case, if I were to survive homelessness (would be like winning the mega-millions) and with those three strikes against me, in seven more years, I’ll be near 70 with the new retirement age at 70 — now who will hire an old homeless guy out of work for nine years with just a few years until retirement?

So, here I am. Long term unemployed, older man, with chronic health problems, now totally broke, hungry, facing eviction. My landlady should really be an advocate for the unemployed — she bangs on my door demanding I take action. A phone call and a “please” are not enough for her — she is angry. She is right to be angry with me, I am unemployed — as apparently everyone is now angry with us unemployed.

Two hundred and eleven and social services cannot help single men. Food banks and other charities are unable to help any more folks — they are overwhelmed with the poor in this nation. So I have the “freedom” to be homeless and destitute and “pursue happiness” in garbage cans and then die — yay for America huh? It’s the end of November and cold. A diabetic homeless older person will experience amputations in the winter months. So I will be raiding garbage cans for food, as my body literally falls apart, a foot here, a finger there. I have experienced and even worked with pain from my diseases — hardship I can face. I just cannot muster the courage to slowly die in agony and humiliation in the gutter.

I have no family, I have no friends. For the past two years, I’ve had nobody to talk with as people who knew me react to the “unemployed” label as if it were leprosy and contagious. I am not a bad person, in fact people really like me. But everyone seems to be on a tight budget these days and living in incredible fear. It is hopeless since we all are hearing more and more that we unemployed are to blame for unemployment, that we are just lazy, that we are no good, that we are sinners, that we are druggies, yet we are the victims who suffer and are punished while the robber baron banksters and tycoons become senators, congress, presidents and petty kings. So the only option left for me is merciful self euthanasia.

It is with a heavy heart that I have set my death in motion, but what I am facing is not living. So off I go, I have made peace with God and placed my burden on Jesus and He forgives me. This nation has become evil to the core, with cold-hearted politicians and tycoons squeezing what little Main Street Americans have left. It is not the America into which I was born — the land of the free and the home of the brave with kind folks who help neighbors — it is now land of the Tycoon-haves and the rest of us have-nots who march into hopelessness and despair.

Every unemployed person I have met over these past two years have been saintly. Sharing what little they have, and being charitable — being kind and patient and supportive. Isn’t it amazing that we Americans who suffer so much, have not taken to the streets in violence, riots or gotten out the guillotines and marched on tycoons and Washington in revolt as would happen in most other nations? But rather we plead with deaf politicians to please help us. We don’t demand huge sums — just 300 bucks a week, barely enough to cover housing for most. Most of all we say, please help us get a job, please allow us dignity.

I can’t help but juxtapose our plight to the tycoons and politicians. They are never satisfied with their enormous wealth, and always want more millions no matter whom it hurts. They STEAL from pension funds, banks, the people and government, and little Wall Street investors. Then rather than face punishment, they become petty kings in this world. They are disloyal to America, unpatriotic, and serve their own foreign UN-American greedy causes and demand more and more and more. I feel that this is not the nation into which I was born. I was born in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. America, where people give as much as they receive. America, where all people work for the common good, and try to leave a better and more prosperous nation for the next generation. America, where people help their neighbors and show charity and mercy. This new America is alien to me — it is an America of greed and corruption and avarice and mean spirited selfishness and hatred of the common good — it is an America of savage beasts roaring and tearing at the weak, and bullying the humble and peacemakers and poor and those without means to defend themselves. I am not welcome here anymore. I don’t belong here anymore. It’s as if some evil beast controls government, the economy, and our lives now.

I must go now, my home is someplace else. Goodbye and God bless you all. God bless the unemployed and poor and elderly and disabled. God bless America and the American people except the tycoons and politicians — may God retain the sins of tycoons and politicians and phony preachers and send them to the Devil.

Mark

A “spoiled brat” is a child that exhibits behavioral problems from overindulgence by his or her parents.  Some children, when they want something, cry, kick, yell, scream, whine, and nag until they get their way.

Every parent has seen this behavior.

I want my ‘tax cuts for the rich’, and I want it NOW!

Unfortunately, the nature of Democrats has been that of the weak parent who constantly gives in to their child at the first sign of crocodile tears.  The parent thinks that they are compromising, or simply preventing a worse scenario in public, but we all know that spoiling these children only guarantees future continuance of this behavior.

Not only that, but the outside observer of this event, more often looks at the PARENT as the problem! (see November 2010 elections as an example)

UNCOVERS:

The Democrats are far too timid, far too conciliatory, and far too easily played the fool.  At some point, after being burned and used, time and time again, you need to Ferberize the child, take the toy away, and discipline the bad behavior.

Being implacably steadfast, if you know you are doing the right thing for 98% of the country, is the right thing to do.  And if you want to be a party in control of the Government, you cannot allow the temper-tantrum to control the debate.

If you allow it, that becomes the norm, and then instead of actually being productive, you spend all of your time managing the level of noise that the tantrum produces.

They expect you to back down, Democrats… man up!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Veruca Salt- Spoiled rich girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.
I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.

Full transcripts here

Here’s one solution for the airport body scanner situation:

Bring our troops home… deploy them to the airport.

That’s right. You’re concerned that the minimum wage TSA workers aren’t well equipped or trained to do the task? Well, we have qualified individuals that are already on the payroll. In fact, we have several hundreds of thousands of them.

Ask them if they would rather be stationed at an airport in NYC, Chicago, or Miami vs. Baghdad or Kabul.

Support the Troops! Protect the airports!

That’s right, about 4 million people will have to now worry about where their next meal will come from because the millionaire Republicans wanted to play politics.

FOLLOW-UP:

Where are you, Mr. President?

WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?

Our original post If They Build It, Don’t Tax The Rich discussed this in-depth, but I wanted to expand a couple of talking points to lead into this idea.

RESPONSE:

Simply, Governments collect taxes to pay for the services it provides.  So EVERY party is a party of tax and something.

The question is if the taxes pay for services that work, or services that don’t.

FOLLOW-UP:

The Democratic Party is the party of “Tax and Reinvest.”

Tax the Rich, they can afford it.

When very wealthy individuals and big corporations make a lot of money, they should be taxed at a higher rate.

Why?

So that they DON’T pay that tax to the Government.

What?

They reinvest the money right back into the gears of the economy.

SIDE POINTS:

When someone is faced with paying a high tax over a certain amount of money, they look for ways to NOT pay it.

When rates were much higher high-income earners would:

• reinvest it back into their business (buy equipment, build bigger factories, hire more people, capital investments)
• make donations to charitable organizations (museums, scientific research, human and health services)
• put it back in stable long-term investments (bonds, treasuries, municipal)

Progressive Taxation Example: