Wow. The United States Supreme Court is just flat out poor. A bunch of old, out of touch people appointed for life to carry out the policies of their political party.
For instance their latest ruling denying an Arizona law requiring some sort of proof of US citizenship when registering to vote.
Seems like a logical and straight-forward law right? What is wrong with showing you deserve the right to vote in our elections? To function in the United States you need proof of citizenship. A birth certificate. A passport. A drivers license. If you do not have any of these it is not hard to go get one proving you are an American.
Instead the Supreme Court stated that is is proof enough that a person has the right to vote simply by checking the box on the registration form "swearing" you are a US citizen. By checking that box you are allowed to register.
Come on now. Anyone can register is what that means. There is no proof required. We are on the honor system and we know how that works. Ridiculous.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
President Obama using the IRS for Political Purposes
I know the Right has thrown accusation after accusation of improper behavior and abuses of power at the Obama Administration for years now. It seems the latest round are extremely creditable and President Obama is going to have his Presidency devalued beyond repair. First the Benghazi coverup is becoming increasingly more obvious despite Obama'a denials. The latest round of Congressional hearings have proven the White House lied and covered up the truths of the terrible events.
Now we have admissions and evidence of the Obama Administration using the IRS for political purposes. The IRS singled out and harassed conservative political groups, including during the election year of 2012. The mere mention of the IRS understandably sends a jolt of anxiety through most Americans, so the implications of this conduct for Tea Party and other conservative groups are obvious. This was the worst kind of dirty politics, and an affront to even the most basic trust in government.
Now we have admissions and evidence of the Obama Administration using the IRS for political purposes. The IRS singled out and harassed conservative political groups, including during the election year of 2012. The mere mention of the IRS understandably sends a jolt of anxiety through most Americans, so the implications of this conduct for Tea Party and other conservative groups are obvious. This was the worst kind of dirty politics, and an affront to even the most basic trust in government.
While the IRS admitted this egregious conduct, already there have been lies peddled about the depth and scope of this malfeasance. At first we were told that the breaches were limited to low-level civil servants in a few field offices. But that was also false, as we now know Washington DC-based IRS officials were involved too.
The familiar script from Obama and his phalanx of public relations protectors in the White House--that the IRS abuses are not political, and only those who want answers have any political motivations--sounds increasingly obtuse, and pathetic. All the obfuscation on these issues come from the same direction, and benefit the same side of the political aisle.
And ultimately, incompetence and ignorance are poor excuses for a chief executive. The president can only claim he didn't know what his agencies were up to so many times.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Vikings on The History Channel Great Television!
Well let me start by saying that I completely enjoy Vikings on The History Channel. Do I have some issues? Of course, but overall it is a fresh and fun series. The Norse are not a popular or overdone subject by any means and I think that is the main reason I am enjoying the show so much.
The environment and scenery is breathtaking. All I can say is "Wow". Scandanavia is quite gorgeous. I have made several trips hiking in the Colorado Rockies and I have travelled extensively in Peru. The scenes in Vikings rival for sure. It has definitely put the area of Europe on my map for a future hiking/exploring adventure!
Read about my hiking adventure at Machu Picchu
The characters are quite interesting. The main character is the best. Ragnar Lothbrok played by Travis Fimmel. He is the epitomy of Viking tough. He also has charisma and smarts though and Ragnar is clearly intent on leading raids to the west (England) rather than the east as has always been done.
His nemesis is none other than the Earl/Lord of the lands. A truly underhanded and mean Viking by the name of Earl Haraldson who cares for nothing more than his own wealth and power. Earl Haraldson wants things done his way and anyone who does not fall into line suffers greatly. Vikings is the story of Ragnar's Viking friends and family and their trials and tribulations. I won't go into much more detail so as to not spoil the show for anyone, but trust me it is worth checking out.
My main drawback with the series is that it seems to fly along. I wish they would have doubled the number of shows it took to get where they are now. This would have given them time to really develop the interesting characters. If HBO had grabbed this project they would have done it on a Game of Thrones or Boardwalk Empire level. How great could Vikings have been?
It is still must see tv for me, but oh the possibilities. Any way around it though, Vikings is good television. The History Channel has taken pains to make the conditions and story historically accurate. It is a subject that television and film have yet to give much time to. Hopefully this series will change that as the Viking culture and conquests are quite fascinating.
The environment and scenery is breathtaking. All I can say is "Wow". Scandanavia is quite gorgeous. I have made several trips hiking in the Colorado Rockies and I have travelled extensively in Peru. The scenes in Vikings rival for sure. It has definitely put the area of Europe on my map for a future hiking/exploring adventure!
Read about my hiking adventure at Machu Picchu
The characters are quite interesting. The main character is the best. Ragnar Lothbrok played by Travis Fimmel. He is the epitomy of Viking tough. He also has charisma and smarts though and Ragnar is clearly intent on leading raids to the west (England) rather than the east as has always been done.
His nemesis is none other than the Earl/Lord of the lands. A truly underhanded and mean Viking by the name of Earl Haraldson who cares for nothing more than his own wealth and power. Earl Haraldson wants things done his way and anyone who does not fall into line suffers greatly. Vikings is the story of Ragnar's Viking friends and family and their trials and tribulations. I won't go into much more detail so as to not spoil the show for anyone, but trust me it is worth checking out.
My main drawback with the series is that it seems to fly along. I wish they would have doubled the number of shows it took to get where they are now. This would have given them time to really develop the interesting characters. If HBO had grabbed this project they would have done it on a Game of Thrones or Boardwalk Empire level. How great could Vikings have been?
It is still must see tv for me, but oh the possibilities. Any way around it though, Vikings is good television. The History Channel has taken pains to make the conditions and story historically accurate. It is a subject that television and film have yet to give much time to. Hopefully this series will change that as the Viking culture and conquests are quite fascinating.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
President Barack Obama says the US has no debt crisis
Seriously? This guy must be living on another planet. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised to hear it from a President that has piled more debt onto our nation's citizens than any other president in our history as well as all previous US Presidents combined!
"We don't have an immediate crisis in terms of debt," President Obama said in an exclusive interview for Good Morning America. In the same interview he called our current national debt "sustainable".
Unbelievable.
Well let's see. Our current national debt is $16.7 TRILLION right now. The Congressional Budget Office projects that another $7 TRILLION will be added to that number over the next 10 years on our current path. That is WITH the current cuts that took place a couple of weeks back.
Seems like a pretty substantial debt problem to me. We are broke and only printing money and buying our own bonds is keeping us afloat. Am I the only one seeing this picture? One day in the coming years this is going to have to be reckoned with and it is not going to be pretty. We are all going to suffer for the excesses and waste.
After hearing Obama's comments it is even more evident why nothing gets done in Washington. The leadership does not even believe we have a major problem with government spending, tax loopholes and unsustainable social welfare programs. Nothing will get addressed in any meaningful manner anytime soon.
Until we get a President that recognizes the problem it will never be dealt with in any meaningful manner.
"We don't have an immediate crisis in terms of debt," President Obama said in an exclusive interview for Good Morning America. In the same interview he called our current national debt "sustainable".
Unbelievable.
Well let's see. Our current national debt is $16.7 TRILLION right now. The Congressional Budget Office projects that another $7 TRILLION will be added to that number over the next 10 years on our current path. That is WITH the current cuts that took place a couple of weeks back.
Seems like a pretty substantial debt problem to me. We are broke and only printing money and buying our own bonds is keeping us afloat. Am I the only one seeing this picture? One day in the coming years this is going to have to be reckoned with and it is not going to be pretty. We are all going to suffer for the excesses and waste.
After hearing Obama's comments it is even more evident why nothing gets done in Washington. The leadership does not even believe we have a major problem with government spending, tax loopholes and unsustainable social welfare programs. Nothing will get addressed in any meaningful manner anytime soon.
Until we get a President that recognizes the problem it will never be dealt with in any meaningful manner.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Some very interesting points on our disconnected government
Some very interesting thoughts on how disconnected our government has become. Check these out. They will definitely have you shaking your head I can guarantee!
Hard work and success is rewarded with higher taxes and government intrusion while doing nothing rewards you with welfare checks, subsidized housing, food stamps and free cell phones.
Your government believes the way to eliminate a multi-trillion dollar debt is to spend trillions upon trillions more.
You can get arrested for expired tags on your car but not for being in the USA illegally.
Your governments plan to get people back to work is to offer 99 weeks of unemployment checks to not work.
You have to have a signed parental permission to go on a school field trip but nothing to get an abortion.
Hard work and success is rewarded with higher taxes and government intrusion while doing nothing rewards you with welfare checks, subsidized housing, food stamps and free cell phones.
Your government believes the way to eliminate a multi-trillion dollar debt is to spend trillions upon trillions more.
You can get arrested for expired tags on your car but not for being in the USA illegally.
Your governments plan to get people back to work is to offer 99 weeks of unemployment checks to not work.
You have to have a signed parental permission to go on a school field trip but nothing to get an abortion.
Monday, January 7, 2013
US Soccer Star Alex Morgan Super Soccer and Super Hot
Just how hot is US Womens Soccer star Alex Morgan? Crazy HOT! Not only is she one of the best soccer players in the world at the moment, she is incredibly sexy. There is just not much more attractive than a beautiful womens soccer player.
The scary thing is she is only 23. She has at least a decade of dominant soccer ahead of her. As long as she avoids injury she will shatter every American scoring record. Surpassing the great Mia Hamm. Last year she led the US to the Olympic gold medal at the London Olympics. She was just voted 3rd in the Womens World Player of the Year voting for 2012.
The scary thing is she is only 23. She has at least a decade of dominant soccer ahead of her. As long as she avoids injury she will shatter every American scoring record. Surpassing the great Mia Hamm. Last year she led the US to the Olympic gold medal at the London Olympics. She was just voted 3rd in the Womens World Player of the Year voting for 2012.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Small Business Owners face Tax increase with Obama Tax Plan
The new Obama Tax Plan is not friendly to the small business owner. While President Obama and the Democrats rant about raising taxes on the rich in the United States they are not talking about how they plan to also raise taxes on the true lifeblood of our country. The small business owner. The real Americans going after the American Dream. These will be the true sufferers with the new Obama Tax Plan.
These small business owners earn 53% of all business income in the country so they are no small segment who will be dramatically hurt by the President's plan. It is clear that the President has absolutely zero understanding of business as shown by his ideas and performance. Paying higher taxes will reduce the amount of profits business owners would otherwise re-invest in their companies, making them less likely to expand and hire more workers. Economists agree that tax increases in general limit economic growth.
Under Obama's plan, the 33% tax rate would rise to 36% on taxable income above $231,000 for a married couple filing jointly. The top tax rate would increase from 35% to 39.6% on taxable income above $397,000. Obama's plan also would phase out the personal exemption and gradually reduce itemized deductions for individuals making more than $200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000.
The top capital gains tax rate would rise from 15% to 20%. Qualified dividends, which are now taxed at a top rate of 15%, would be taxed as ordinary income for top earners, or at a top rate of 39.6%. That, some business owners complain, would leave them with less money to hire new workers or keep the ones they have.
"Raising taxes on small businesses instead of taking a balanced approach that also cuts spending is wrong," Boehner, said recently. "It's only going to make it harder for our economy to grow. And if our economy doesn't grow, Americans don't get new jobs and the debt problem that we have will continue to threaten our children's future."
These small business owners earn 53% of all business income in the country so they are no small segment who will be dramatically hurt by the President's plan. It is clear that the President has absolutely zero understanding of business as shown by his ideas and performance. Paying higher taxes will reduce the amount of profits business owners would otherwise re-invest in their companies, making them less likely to expand and hire more workers. Economists agree that tax increases in general limit economic growth.
Under Obama's plan, the 33% tax rate would rise to 36% on taxable income above $231,000 for a married couple filing jointly. The top tax rate would increase from 35% to 39.6% on taxable income above $397,000. Obama's plan also would phase out the personal exemption and gradually reduce itemized deductions for individuals making more than $200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000.
The top capital gains tax rate would rise from 15% to 20%. Qualified dividends, which are now taxed at a top rate of 15%, would be taxed as ordinary income for top earners, or at a top rate of 39.6%. That, some business owners complain, would leave them with less money to hire new workers or keep the ones they have.
"Raising taxes on small businesses instead of taking a balanced approach that also cuts spending is wrong," Boehner, said recently. "It's only going to make it harder for our economy to grow. And if our economy doesn't grow, Americans don't get new jobs and the debt problem that we have will continue to threaten our children's future."
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