(no subject)
I found this posted to the www.snopes.com message board a few minutes ago by a member known as "Sandman" and I thought it rather interesting:
I know the title of this is a bit, well, aggressive. Sorry about that. “Hate” is a pretty strong word, and I don’t really like to use it, especially directed towards a fellow human being, but I just can’t take anymore.
I need to get this off my chest, so here’s my list, in no particular order. I shall strive to abstain from ad hominem attacks. I could go on for pages and pages on each of my points, but I will try to be brief in deference of readability.
1. If we must pattern the government after a card game, why does it have to be Three Card Monte?
Is anyone else getting weary of the administration’s habit of bait and switch public relations? First it’s WMD. Then it’s the potential acquisition of WMDs. Then it’s “bringing freedom to the Iraqi people.” What’s it going to be next?
The administration must be consistent. An inconsistent government is one that is difficult to trust, and I, for one, have lost confidence in what my government tells me. When I find out that the President includes statements in his State of the Union address that his staff knew for a fact was inaccurate, this does not fill me with joy. When the reason that more than 1500 American soldiers have been killed is nebulous and shifting, this does not inspire me to cheer. When the President looks me in the eye from my TV set and crows, “You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie!” while behind him a major American city has transformed into Beirut circa 1980, this makes me shudder.
I have a problem when the same man who stated that “nation building” was wrong while campaigning for President later engages in a war to build a nation in our own image.
I can not support an administration I do not trust. I can not trust an administration that keeps shifting the cards on me.
2. What’s with the Jethro act?
I know this seems trivial, but it really bugs me! Look, I know it’s an act. You know it’s an act. The whole world knows it’s an act, you simply do not get to be the President of the United States if you are a fool. So why act like one? The folksy, “aw, shucks” demeanor is simply not appropriate in the leader of the free world, and I expect a US President to be able to speak coherently even if he is off script. Come on, he went to Harvard! Yeah, I know he graduated with a “C” average, but still. Harvard! It’s not like he went to Cactus Community College and Feed Store! Didn’t at least one of his professors say, “Look, I know you’re from Texas and all that, but people will take you more seriously if you don’t sound like an inbred hillbilly.” (No offense to hillbillies or to the citizens of the great state of Texas. I’m having visions of those TV commercials with the cavemen…)
Please, Mr. President. The world judges us on the image you present. Can we turn up the brightness knob a bit?
3. Daddy, are we gonna lose th’ farm?
The President has made tax relief a priority in his administration, and I have no problem with that. But it’s not really as it seems…
He trumpeted the repeal of the estate tax, more commonly referred to as the “Death Tax” (Ooooohhhh…scary) by Republicans, which will end up costing the nation $982 billion dollars in lost revenues over the next twenty years.
After the repeal of the estate tax, VP Dick Cheney’s family will keep somewhere between 8 and 40 million dollars they would otherwise have owed. Donald Rumsfeld could be as high as 120 million. The other members of the President’s cabinet will save between 10 and 111 million. Ken Lay, Mr. Enron himself, how much did his family save when he died? 60 million. Jeff Skilling? 50 million. Gary Winnick of Global Crossing? More than 300 million. Martha Stewart? Also more than 300 million. Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom? More than 200 million. John Riggs of Adelphia, a man who used a publicly traded company as his own personal piggy bank? 50 million dollars.
All of these people are either members of the President’s administration, or high-dollar contributors to his campaigns.
This is the most self-serving, greedy tax bill in history, and it was justified as being needed because “poor farmers were being forced to sell their farms to pay the tax.” Despite the fact that in the history of the United States of America, no farmer has ever had to sell their farm to pay this tax. Ever.
4. Dude, where’s my tax relief?
In 2001, 41% of all of the administration’s tax relief went to the wealthiest 20% of Americans.
By 2003, the percentage of tax breaks that went to the top 20% was 71. That’s right, seventy-one percent of the tax cuts went to the richest twenty percent.
If things continue as currently established, by 2010, 51% of all tax breaks will have gone to the top 1% (That’s not a typo, the top one percent) of Americans.
Where’s my tax relief, Mr. President? Is it in the repeal of the dividend tax? But most middle class Americans don’t own sufficient stock portfolios to collect dividends, while the wealthiest clean up. The average investor in Microsoft has about 1000 shares. Which means, thanks to the repeal of the dividend tax, when Microsoft issued a 16 cent dividend, the average investor made a nifty $160 tax-free dollars. Enough to take the family out for a good meal and a movie, with popcorn and snacks! Thanks, Mr. President! On the other hand, Bill Gates pocketed a slightly nicer 99 million dollar tax-free check from the exact same dividend pay-out. Enough to buy a good restaurant and make a big budget Hollywood movie, with popcorn and snacks. Houston, we have a problem.
And it gets worse. With the various legal tax shelters and dodges available under the new tax policies, huge corporations can frequently get away with paying no taxes at all. In 4 of the 5 years right before Enron (led by Bush insider Ken “Kenny Boy” Lay who had already used his influence with the administration to replace the then head of FERC Curtis Herbert with their own choice, Pat Wood, when Herbert refused to pass regulations allowing Enron to run rampant over their customers) paid no taxes at all. Haliburton, VP Cheney’s old company, has not paid a dime in Federal taxes since 1999, and in 1999 actually managed to get an 85 million dollar refund. I know very well that Bush can not be blamed for anything that happened in 1999, but his policies and decisions since taking office have not helped the situation one iota. In fact, the nation is hemorrhaging tax revenue faster than ever now.
If Haliburton doesn’t have to pay taxes, why do I?
5. Screw you guys, I’m going to Iraq!
The United States of America is the leader of the free world, and since the downfall of the Soviet Union, basically the most powerful political, social, and economic force on the planet. We have a responsibility to work with the other nations of this world, not bully them like the only big kid on the playground. Neither are we the teacher on the playground, with the rights to tell everyone else what to do and the right to be obeyed. We do not have the right to dictate to other nations how they should govern themselves. Democracy must contain within it the right to choose to not be a Democracy.
Following the tragedy of September 11th, the United States enjoyed the good-wishes, sympathy, and support of nearly the entire global community. Did we work with the international community to promote peace and the free exchange of ideas, two things we claim to value highly? Did we parley the situation into a positive influence? No, we squandered it on jingoistic rhetoric and self-serving agendas that found us mired in a war without just cause and turned our nation into the most mocked and reviled country on the planet.
Rather than pursuing those responsible for the attack, the administration made the decision to take advantage of the situation to promote a war against a nation that even the President now admits never had anything to do with it. Was Saddam a bad guy? Absolutely. But does the United States really have the right to decide for other nations how they structure their government? There is simply no reliable intelligence to indicate that Iraq was a credible threat to US security. A war under false pretenses does not make me confident in my government.
Unilateralism is not appropriate for a global community, and we are a global community, no matter how much we pretend we aren’t. The congress-defying recess appointment of a vocal anti-United Nations critic to be the American ambassador to the United Nations is just one symptom of an administration that simply does not care about international co-operation.
6. You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but the opposite is pretty easy.
At the beginning of the current administration’s first term, the United States was enjoying the largest budget surplus in history. More than 5 trillion dollars. This money could have been used to restore social security, provide health care for all Americans (40 million of whom are still without health insurance), support our struggling schools, refurbish our aging infrastructure, pay down the national debt, or any of hundreds of other valuable and desperately needed programs.
Instead it was squandered on massive tax cuts targeted at the wealthy, so that now instead of the largest budget surplus in US history, we now have the largest budget deficit ever. The President has never failed to sign any spending bill sent to him, and in fact, government spending has increased more and faster under the current administration than under any other President, and the debt is still growing. Today the Federal government is borrowing nearly 20 million dollars a day to meet expenses, a huge portion of it in the form of US Treasury Bills being bought by China and South Korea. And almost a third of every dollar in taxes goes just to paying the interest on the massive Federal debt.
So much for the tax and spend Democrats. At least they taxed before they started spending.
7. Take this job and shove it.
We need to create 100 to 150 thousand new jobs every month in the United States just to keep up with growth. Under the current administration we are actually losing jobs. This is the first administration since before WWII to see a net job loss, and you have to go back to the Great Depression to find a worse job record.
Where are the jobs going? Due to health care costs, it’s actually cheaper for a company to have one person do the work of two than it is to actually hire two people. New laws favorable to outsourcing have encouraged companies to move jobs overseas to areas where labor is far cheaper. Revisions in the tax code have made it easier for companies to make higher profits with fewer employees, and there are a lot more factors as well.
The harsh reality is that there are now college graduates working at McDonalds, using that degree to make sure your Big Mac has the right amount of Special Sauce.
In the immortal words of Popeye, “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”
I couldn't express it better myself, although granted, I'm a terrible writer, and have trouble putting ideas into words.
I know the title of this is a bit, well, aggressive. Sorry about that. “Hate” is a pretty strong word, and I don’t really like to use it, especially directed towards a fellow human being, but I just can’t take anymore.
I need to get this off my chest, so here’s my list, in no particular order. I shall strive to abstain from ad hominem attacks. I could go on for pages and pages on each of my points, but I will try to be brief in deference of readability.
1. If we must pattern the government after a card game, why does it have to be Three Card Monte?
Is anyone else getting weary of the administration’s habit of bait and switch public relations? First it’s WMD. Then it’s the potential acquisition of WMDs. Then it’s “bringing freedom to the Iraqi people.” What’s it going to be next?
The administration must be consistent. An inconsistent government is one that is difficult to trust, and I, for one, have lost confidence in what my government tells me. When I find out that the President includes statements in his State of the Union address that his staff knew for a fact was inaccurate, this does not fill me with joy. When the reason that more than 1500 American soldiers have been killed is nebulous and shifting, this does not inspire me to cheer. When the President looks me in the eye from my TV set and crows, “You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie!” while behind him a major American city has transformed into Beirut circa 1980, this makes me shudder.
I have a problem when the same man who stated that “nation building” was wrong while campaigning for President later engages in a war to build a nation in our own image.
I can not support an administration I do not trust. I can not trust an administration that keeps shifting the cards on me.
2. What’s with the Jethro act?
I know this seems trivial, but it really bugs me! Look, I know it’s an act. You know it’s an act. The whole world knows it’s an act, you simply do not get to be the President of the United States if you are a fool. So why act like one? The folksy, “aw, shucks” demeanor is simply not appropriate in the leader of the free world, and I expect a US President to be able to speak coherently even if he is off script. Come on, he went to Harvard! Yeah, I know he graduated with a “C” average, but still. Harvard! It’s not like he went to Cactus Community College and Feed Store! Didn’t at least one of his professors say, “Look, I know you’re from Texas and all that, but people will take you more seriously if you don’t sound like an inbred hillbilly.” (No offense to hillbillies or to the citizens of the great state of Texas. I’m having visions of those TV commercials with the cavemen…)
Please, Mr. President. The world judges us on the image you present. Can we turn up the brightness knob a bit?
3. Daddy, are we gonna lose th’ farm?
The President has made tax relief a priority in his administration, and I have no problem with that. But it’s not really as it seems…
He trumpeted the repeal of the estate tax, more commonly referred to as the “Death Tax” (Ooooohhhh…scary) by Republicans, which will end up costing the nation $982 billion dollars in lost revenues over the next twenty years.
After the repeal of the estate tax, VP Dick Cheney’s family will keep somewhere between 8 and 40 million dollars they would otherwise have owed. Donald Rumsfeld could be as high as 120 million. The other members of the President’s cabinet will save between 10 and 111 million. Ken Lay, Mr. Enron himself, how much did his family save when he died? 60 million. Jeff Skilling? 50 million. Gary Winnick of Global Crossing? More than 300 million. Martha Stewart? Also more than 300 million. Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom? More than 200 million. John Riggs of Adelphia, a man who used a publicly traded company as his own personal piggy bank? 50 million dollars.
All of these people are either members of the President’s administration, or high-dollar contributors to his campaigns.
This is the most self-serving, greedy tax bill in history, and it was justified as being needed because “poor farmers were being forced to sell their farms to pay the tax.” Despite the fact that in the history of the United States of America, no farmer has ever had to sell their farm to pay this tax. Ever.
4. Dude, where’s my tax relief?
In 2001, 41% of all of the administration’s tax relief went to the wealthiest 20% of Americans.
By 2003, the percentage of tax breaks that went to the top 20% was 71. That’s right, seventy-one percent of the tax cuts went to the richest twenty percent.
If things continue as currently established, by 2010, 51% of all tax breaks will have gone to the top 1% (That’s not a typo, the top one percent) of Americans.
Where’s my tax relief, Mr. President? Is it in the repeal of the dividend tax? But most middle class Americans don’t own sufficient stock portfolios to collect dividends, while the wealthiest clean up. The average investor in Microsoft has about 1000 shares. Which means, thanks to the repeal of the dividend tax, when Microsoft issued a 16 cent dividend, the average investor made a nifty $160 tax-free dollars. Enough to take the family out for a good meal and a movie, with popcorn and snacks! Thanks, Mr. President! On the other hand, Bill Gates pocketed a slightly nicer 99 million dollar tax-free check from the exact same dividend pay-out. Enough to buy a good restaurant and make a big budget Hollywood movie, with popcorn and snacks. Houston, we have a problem.
And it gets worse. With the various legal tax shelters and dodges available under the new tax policies, huge corporations can frequently get away with paying no taxes at all. In 4 of the 5 years right before Enron (led by Bush insider Ken “Kenny Boy” Lay who had already used his influence with the administration to replace the then head of FERC Curtis Herbert with their own choice, Pat Wood, when Herbert refused to pass regulations allowing Enron to run rampant over their customers) paid no taxes at all. Haliburton, VP Cheney’s old company, has not paid a dime in Federal taxes since 1999, and in 1999 actually managed to get an 85 million dollar refund. I know very well that Bush can not be blamed for anything that happened in 1999, but his policies and decisions since taking office have not helped the situation one iota. In fact, the nation is hemorrhaging tax revenue faster than ever now.
If Haliburton doesn’t have to pay taxes, why do I?
5. Screw you guys, I’m going to Iraq!
The United States of America is the leader of the free world, and since the downfall of the Soviet Union, basically the most powerful political, social, and economic force on the planet. We have a responsibility to work with the other nations of this world, not bully them like the only big kid on the playground. Neither are we the teacher on the playground, with the rights to tell everyone else what to do and the right to be obeyed. We do not have the right to dictate to other nations how they should govern themselves. Democracy must contain within it the right to choose to not be a Democracy.
Following the tragedy of September 11th, the United States enjoyed the good-wishes, sympathy, and support of nearly the entire global community. Did we work with the international community to promote peace and the free exchange of ideas, two things we claim to value highly? Did we parley the situation into a positive influence? No, we squandered it on jingoistic rhetoric and self-serving agendas that found us mired in a war without just cause and turned our nation into the most mocked and reviled country on the planet.
Rather than pursuing those responsible for the attack, the administration made the decision to take advantage of the situation to promote a war against a nation that even the President now admits never had anything to do with it. Was Saddam a bad guy? Absolutely. But does the United States really have the right to decide for other nations how they structure their government? There is simply no reliable intelligence to indicate that Iraq was a credible threat to US security. A war under false pretenses does not make me confident in my government.
Unilateralism is not appropriate for a global community, and we are a global community, no matter how much we pretend we aren’t. The congress-defying recess appointment of a vocal anti-United Nations critic to be the American ambassador to the United Nations is just one symptom of an administration that simply does not care about international co-operation.
6. You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but the opposite is pretty easy.
At the beginning of the current administration’s first term, the United States was enjoying the largest budget surplus in history. More than 5 trillion dollars. This money could have been used to restore social security, provide health care for all Americans (40 million of whom are still without health insurance), support our struggling schools, refurbish our aging infrastructure, pay down the national debt, or any of hundreds of other valuable and desperately needed programs.
Instead it was squandered on massive tax cuts targeted at the wealthy, so that now instead of the largest budget surplus in US history, we now have the largest budget deficit ever. The President has never failed to sign any spending bill sent to him, and in fact, government spending has increased more and faster under the current administration than under any other President, and the debt is still growing. Today the Federal government is borrowing nearly 20 million dollars a day to meet expenses, a huge portion of it in the form of US Treasury Bills being bought by China and South Korea. And almost a third of every dollar in taxes goes just to paying the interest on the massive Federal debt.
So much for the tax and spend Democrats. At least they taxed before they started spending.
7. Take this job and shove it.
We need to create 100 to 150 thousand new jobs every month in the United States just to keep up with growth. Under the current administration we are actually losing jobs. This is the first administration since before WWII to see a net job loss, and you have to go back to the Great Depression to find a worse job record.
Where are the jobs going? Due to health care costs, it’s actually cheaper for a company to have one person do the work of two than it is to actually hire two people. New laws favorable to outsourcing have encouraged companies to move jobs overseas to areas where labor is far cheaper. Revisions in the tax code have made it easier for companies to make higher profits with fewer employees, and there are a lot more factors as well.
The harsh reality is that there are now college graduates working at McDonalds, using that degree to make sure your Big Mac has the right amount of Special Sauce.
In the immortal words of Popeye, “That’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more!”
I couldn't express it better myself, although granted, I'm a terrible writer, and have trouble putting ideas into words.