A Little Racist

After the Obamaslide a GOP friend complained about the electoral college system, saying, "Romney won nearly half the states and still lose the election." "Obama won 26 states and Mitt only had 24. That's less than half and he lost the popular vote too. The math adds up the same way. My guy got more votes than your guy." "Not via the electoral college. Obama won the most populous states with the excpetion of Texas." Mitt's constituency was the Deep South and square states in the West with the least population density in the nation. "Well, it's wrong." "You didn't feel that way in 2000." Even with Florida stolen from the Gore camp, the VP had more popular votes than his opponent, the ill-fated GW Bush. "So suck it up and act like an American for once. E pluribus unum." "Out of one many." My Republican friend was better educated than most voters. Former GOP vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan agreed with my friend in a recent interview, "President Barack Obama got turnout. The president should get credit for achieving record-breaking turnout numbers from urban areas for the most part, and that did win the election for him, but it was close." It wasn't close and I propose a Pax Obama to heal the chasm created by the right-wing pundits fearmongering race war to their aging audience, however hundreds of thousands of these listeners have mailed requests for their states to secede from the Union. Over 100,000 letters have deluged the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Troughout my adult life I have fled the USA whenever the GOP have been in power. Europe in the 80s. Asia in the 90s. Thailand during the GW Bush years. So to those dissenters I say, "If you don't love this America, leave it." Not that they could survive in Mexico or socialist Canada.

Beerability

Supposedly after his 1989 defeat in the NYC mayoralty race by David Dinkins, Rudy Guiliani supposedly asked his wife in tears, "Do people really not like me?" The answer was yes, however four years later the ex-federal prosecutor conducted a campaign promising to clean up New York by having the police wage war against petty crimes "It's the street tax paid to drunks and panhandlers. It's the squeegee men shaking down the motorist waiting at a light. It's the trash storms, the swirling mass of garbage left by peddlers and panhandlers, and open-air drug bazaars on unclean streets." Guiliani didn't have to be a nice man to be mayor in the 90s. People wanted the streets cleaned of crime and to this day many New Yorkers attribute his reign of law and order as the catalyst revitalizing Manhattan as the center of wealth. Paul Ryan the GOP Vice-Presidential candidate for 2012 is considered a likable fellow by his supporters, however no one has yet to see him holding a beer unlike Barack Obama, GW Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush Senior, and Ronald Reagan. There are no photos of Jimmy Carter with a beer in his hand, although his younger brother came out with Billy Beer. Willard Romney as a Mormon is Taliban strict about beer, wine, and spirits. He is no fun at a barbecue or anywhere else and Silversun Pickups caught the fever this week by telling the presidential nominee to desist in using their hit song PANIC SWITCH for his rallies. Paul Ryan also suffered a lambasting from the guitarist of his favorite bands Rage Against The Machine. Tom Morello blasts him for having rage, but rage against "rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment." Yes, Paul, people really don't like you. And Mitt, the same goes for you. ps there are no images of Rudy Guiliani drinking beer. Only him getting dragged out in a dress. Different folks, different strokes.

Red Hate Blue

After two months away in Thailand I'm rapidly re-introducing the chasm between Americans. The rift has many origins, however it's an election year and the opposing camps are staking claims on the high and low grounds. The complete lack of humor is frightening. None of them can take a joke as witnessed in the following postings after a longtime friend posed the question to her Facebook family Why Would Anyone Vote For Romney ??? Mary Beth reaped the whirlwind. AC - Because we want to get Obama out! August 10 at 2:25pm · Like · 3 I responded 'that bad you'll vote for someone wearing magic PJs. Good luck in Bizarroland Mary Beth's daughter countered AC's entry - Oh, lots of reasons: Women have too many rights! Too many children are getting health care! Everybody knows rich guys have all of our best interests at heart and will take care of us! We're sick of all this government, and electing Romney is so much easier than moving to Somalia, where government doesn't get in the way of the job creators! SG - Hey Marybeth, First of all nothin but love for you or anyone else posting here. Now, I'm not saying I'm voting for Romney cause I'm a Libertarian/Independent and my guy's gone but I simply can't vote for Obama, sorry. I grew up fairly poor in a house with nine kids and the first rule was "ya don't spend what ya don't have". I really worry about kids born today that are already 1/4 million dollars in debt, this ain't monopoly. His tax the rich scheme is also bogus, you could pretty much just confiscate everyone's money and we would still be in a mess. He also, to me anyway, just seems like the ultimate grifter, more in love with the game and himself than anything else. Mary Beth's daughter - Why does the pay-as-you-go rule only apply against Democrats? Why don't rich guys have to pay as they go too? When it's time to pay up, Mitt and his fellows might have to contribute more than their 14%, while you and I are paying 40%. Why was it ok for Bush II to take us from giant surplus to giant deficit? Why would be believe what any Republican says after what that party did to us for the 8 years of Bush's reign? The very first trillion-dollar national debt occurred under Reagan. Wars are expensive, and you can't start 2, as Bush did, and refuse to tax your friends to pay for 'em. The video pioneer from Hurrah - Anybody who still plays with their Ken doll might vote for Romney. He's plastic and can turn 360° around to any position. MB - Rich guys create jobs, takes risks, and we dont pay 40% in taxes. August 10 at 6:11pm via mobile · Like · 1 RM - Voting all comes down to personal perspective. Whatever view of America you are looking through determines your voting agenda. People voting for Romney make most of their money through the market and don't punch a clock. They have their own interests in mind and take offense at the existence of any other valid perspective. There is no candidate perfect for all perspectives but I vote on the golden rule and the constitution. Whichever candidate upholds these qualities gets my vote. August 10 at 6:28pm · Like · 1 Margot Brown I don't play the market at all. I have America's old fashioned entrepreneureal spirit needs to return. We are all different and this is what makes us great. This is why everyone wants to live here. I dont have my own interest are heart. I'm happy and feel obligated to help the poor. And I do with charity work all the time. I'm a registered independent. He has his time. We are worse off. Our work ethic is gone. Our service is gone. The quality if service is gone. Our youth are uninspired and lazy. They have the opposite of hope. They are selfish. Ironically they are selfish. Our black's are worse off. We need to help the poor and uneducated. Welfare can't do this. Never has never will. Inner cities are worse than ever. This Pres is out of touch. Nothing for free is never wise. It does not give self esteem. White Male - ‎"our blacks" yipes. The youth aren't lazy, they are disenfranchised by the whole system. Check out etsy if you wanna see entrepreneurs of the new generation. Mary Beth's daughter - If you make, say, $120K a year, an upper middle class income for which you work 60 or 70 hours a week, you can pretty much expect to pay 40%. If you're a hedge fund manager and make $20 million, you can expect to pay 15% or less, because your money is classed capital gains, not earned income. If you've inherited $20 million and you don't work at all, you can expect a 7% to 10% return, every year, on the investments your fund manager makes for you, and you'll pay 15% or less on that. It's possible that you'll invest a few million in a factory that employs lots of people to make something wonderful, but there's no necessity, and the Tax Code doesn't push you in that direction. MB - What is wrong with that? I don't pay 40%. I make that much. Is there something wrong with being wealthy. Is a crime nowadays? But it is a crime to get money for doing nothing. Mary Beth's daughter - Absolutely not! But there is something wrong with, say, Warren Buffett's secretary paying taxes at a higher rate than he does. We're not in debt because of 'Welfare Mothers.' The de-funding of the government does impact programs that help the poor, but not as much as it does other programs, that we expect the government to operate. Like FAA inspectors, meat inspectors, OSHA enforcers... It's nice to have those guys. But it's no fun to pay them. August 10 at 8:26pm · Like Peter Nolan Smith there is something wrong with wealth if you stole it like the bank did and do and worse they don't spend it. SM - Marybeth, look what you started.... troublemaker. Russell is right it does come down to personal perspective. From mine, a very small business owner barely scratching the middle class, (and scratching lighter every day) employing people, this administration has not worked. Truth be told it really hasn't worked for anyone. Has it?..... Marcia, I really don't have money to invest, but if you can find me a manager in this economy that's able get 7 to 10 percent return, I'll visit tough tony tomorrow and borrow up to my eyeballs. Trying to be funny but the point is, the current President has not only done nothing to encourage business investment he has in fact discouraged it. Finally Margot, your choice of words are indeed suspect, but you are right, while entitlements may seem like a good thing when out of control, they will ultimately bring an economy to it's knees. ie. Last month 80 thousand new jobs, 90 thousands new disability recipients. August 10 at 9:07pm · Like · 1 Peter Nolan Smith what brings an economy to its knees is the systematic siphoning of capital from the money flow. steven there is no place safe since the banks don't offer an interest rate in tune with inflation. the banks have accumulated trillions and won't let go, because all they know is accumulation and not creation of capital Peter Nolan Smith it not about the rich, for even they are being vacuumed by the banks' destruction of the monetary system. Steven Georgio Peter, the interest rate the banks offer are in fact dictated by what the fed's will allow them to offer. No? And the siphoning only occurs in an unfriendly environment. (aka government environment) As I've aged I am however more unsure of most things so please don't take anything I say as written in stone. Still searchin for the truth, and as far as I can tell I still havn't heard it. Peter Nolan Smith - SG the truth is always invisible August 11 at 5:30am · Like SG - Peter, no wonder I'm havin so much trouble finding it!!!!!!!!!! Now for an important question. Who was a better cultural icon for children growing up Lambchop or Topo Gee-Gee-O ???????.........GO. Peter Nolan Smith Steven that is a tough question, but as a patriot I'll have to go with Sherri's hand lamb. Peter Nolan Smith there are three ways to wealth; birth, marriage, or theft. Hard work earns money. Frugality used to grow your money, but the banks have racketed the Fed's interest rates, so saving money shrinks its value. The current 1.1% interest from a million in the bank puts you on par with a Cuban worker's annual income of $10,000, of course they don't have to pay for health care because their godless socialists AFC - WELL I AM VOTING FOR ROMNEY SORRY! August 11 at 3:13pm · Like Peter Nolan Smith Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness - John Wayne in THE SEARCHERS Of course the discourse veers back to the natural lack of civility besetting the two camps of red and blue. If you can't laugh at yourself and others then you can only fight and as a long time street fighter I know to walk away from those that no one can win. By the way I'm voting Obama

Rejoice Ryan Cometh

GOP candidate Mitt Romney announced his running mate this weekend and arch-conservatives hailed the Massachusetts ex-governor's choice of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. The media touted the decision as bold gambit in the bid for the White House, while pundits cautioned that the Vice-Presidential candidate's unyielding commitment to fiscal austerity, privatization of Medicare, revisionist views on abortion, birth control, and entitlements will create an unbridgeable chasm from the Republican duo. Representative Ryan has firmly stated to the press that his failed 2012 budget proposal will be the blueprint for the nation's recovery from the ongoing economic crisis. The lynchpins of his budget called for the dismantling of social services to the middle class and poor accompanied by further give-aways to the rich by cutting capital gains taxes to zero. The party fundamentalist faithful have rallied to the Mormon/Catholic ticket and Ryan's proposed Path to Prosperity, however recent polls suggest that the nod to Ryan has shifted the race in Obama's favor. The Las Vegas Gaming Commission forbids betting on political races, however the bookies at UK's Ladbrokes are offering 2/5 odds that the president will repeat his 2008 victory, then again they had Romney opting for Tim Pawlenty as VP 9/4, so bet at your own risk. The house never loses. ps Ryan has passed two laws in Congress; renaming the Janesville PO as "Les Aspin Post Office Building and levying a $.39 tax on arrows.