Tag Archives: United States

A New Pledge of Allegiance for a New America


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah

We’ve become a nation selfish to a fault.

We don’t want to pay taxes, but we want services.

We launch hate filled screeds about taxes as tyranny, yet don’t lift a finger to stop the steady erosion of real constitutional rights.

We rebel against the idea that health care is a right and then complain about how high the insurance rates of the insured explode from de facto coverage for those who have none.

Social Security is an unfair entitlement to those who don’t use it. It’s what keeps a loaf of bread in the house when they do.

If poor people need help, let them visit the local church. Of course, they’ll be taken care of… if they aren’t gay, or Muslim, or mentally unstable, or any of a thousand other reasons.

Unemployed people are a bunch of lazy goldbrickers living off the public dole. Unless, of course, we become them.

We want to cut taxes to cut a deficit, but want to give more tax revenue to businesses who pass it along to shareholders with nary a job created.

It’s only a matter of time…

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United State of Me, and to the republic which only I want, one person, among millions, and selfishly, with as little liberty and justice as possible for anyone who disagrees with me.

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Don’t Do Unto Others As They May Decide to Do Unto You


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
Guns and Bibles

GUNS AND BIBLES - Ameican Christians like to howl about their persecution, but it's hard to feel their pain. Having control over almost all political posts, have unlimited money and influence, and can demonize and run rough-shod over others, it's not persecution...it's the Tyranny of the Majority,

American Christians are quite vocal in the belief they’re oppressed, but it’s hard to feel their pain. They’re the overwhelming majority in this country. Virtually every member of every legislative body and every elected representative is Christian. Their lobbies are as potent as any on K St. The government funds them by not taxing them. They routinely work to defeat bills clear majorities want and that deprive citizens – sometimes other Christians – of their civil rights.

If that’s oppression, sign me up. It sounds like a sweet deal.

However, there are persecuted and oppressed Christians. For example, many countries have real zero tolerance for anything other than their God and prophet. They sometimes force Christians from their homes, turn them into refugees, or kill them.

Popester

NO MEA CULPA - If the Pope thinks Christians are the most oppressed instead of the oppressors, he should take his next vacation in Baghdad. BTW Your Holiness, don't forget the up-armored Popemoblie. The Natives are restless.

Meanwhile, American Christians busy themselves with important issues like the proper etymology of Christmas v. Holiday. Living in their secure homes and working in their secure jobs they feel it’s their God-given right to rewrite history books, let pedophiles escape unpunished, or denigrate science because it doesn’t completely jibe with their Bible.

There’s no doubt the intolerance against Christians in countries like Iraq is awful. It’s the tyranny of the majority directed against the few. But except for the degree of modern persecution (the Christians don’t exactly have a bloodless history either), how is that any different from the tyranny of the American majority against the minority here?

I’m not a Christian and I’m sure there are many Christians who’d argue I have no right to an opinion about their religion. However, I’d point out that by the same logic, Christians have no right to an opinion about Islam or me or Druids. But, they never seem shy about exercising the same freedoms they seem unwilling to share with anyone other than themselves.

It is the Christian Sabbath, the last one before the holiest of Christian holy days. Whether you call it Christmas, the holidays, or Festivus, it seems like a good time for Christians, indeed everyone, regardless of religion or the lack thereof, to borrow the concepts of peace and harmony espoused in the Bible, the Quran, and most other religious texts in the world.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

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Budgeting in the United States of Me


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
Lady Taxes

WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF ME - A debate about taxes is a good thing. Today's debate about taxes...not so much.

Taxes are a lot like salaries. If you paid someone $1 million a day (oh wait, we do) they’d scream bloody murder they should’ve gotten $1,ooo,ooo.o1. If you taxed someone 1%, they’d whine they shouldn’t have to pay more than 000.1%, with those whining the loudest being the people with the lowest tax rates and highest pay.

Perhaps the most oft-repeated charge against Obama bin Karl Marx and the Democrat Politburo is that they’re dangerous socialists. But according to a recent story from CNBC, a funny thing happened on the way to the Kremlin. If you look at their list of the 10 most socialist states, there’s a whole lotta red in Governors’ mansions. In fact, six of 10 governors sport big red Rs next to their names. BTW, the People’s Republic of California didn’t even make the list.

All the tri-cornered hats and tea bags notwithstanding, the charge that most states are tax and spend Central Bureaus is shaky too.

Despite the screeching about high taxes, Americans enjoy some of the lowest taxes in the western world. American companies pay the second highest taxes, but they don’t mention their taxes are high because American companies gorge on taxpayer-funded corporate welfare far more damaging than the most greedy, imaginary, Cadillac-driving welfare queen.

American Productivity: The Bee’s Knees
They also don’t say they’re leaving the US not so much because of high taxes, but because they can hire workers from Third World countries at pennies on the dollar relative to Americans workers. Oh yeah, American workers who are generally rated as some of the most productive in the world.

The uber-capitalist view on this is that government is inherently inefficient and can’t be trusted with a dollar and there is massive fraud out there to be picked like leaves from the Liberty Tree. However, everyone’s favorite tax and spend worker’s paradise, California, has the lowest number of employees per 10,000 residents.

Tax Penguins

YEA! - That's what poorly funded schools do for you.

And when it comes to California’s current economic pickle, it’s useful to remember that if California were a country, its economy would be the eighth largest in the world – somewhere around the size of Spain’s. Fixing California’s problems is as difficult as fixing the two national economies that’ve already gone off the edge – Iceland and Ireland. BTW, both have smaller economies than California’s. But take heart don’t tax and spender conservatives, if Ireland goes, we could overtake Spain. USA! USA! USA!

Plus, a remnant from the last misguided tax revolt is a draconian tax and spend process worse than the broke Eurotrash’s. You may have heard of it, Prop 13. Prop 13 makes it extremely difficult to raise taxes to support social programs, infrastructure projects, and most importantly, education. So, California’s educational system has dropped from best in the nation to sub-Alabama levels since its introduction, its roads look like mule trails to the Hindu Kush, and social and educational programs have taken the biggest hits in the sausage slicing process…in a state with more poor people than any other.

Rid the government of fraud you say?

That’s a dandy idea, but none of our erstwhile CEO/politicians can explain how much there is, where it is, or how to cut it. BTW, if we removed of all of it, the spending effect – like banning earmarks – would be like pissing into a hurricane.

Of course we could start cutting the continued contracts with known fraudsters like, Blackwater/XE, Halliburton, and dozens of others carbuncles on the ass of the American economy. But hey, what do I know…except that having worked in both the public and private sectors I can vouch for the fact that fraud, abuse, and waste in corporate America is roughly the same in government America after being scaled to their relative sizes.

Moossilini and the Gajillionaire
Yes, people have a right to complain when their tax money isn’t spent wisely and no one wants to pay any more than necessary (excepting gajillionaire Warren Buffet, but you know how crazy the unbelievably rich are). But there’s the rub. One man’s waste is another man’s essential. If it were easy, we wouldn’t have a problem – even if Moosilini says it is. Still, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

Yet, you can bet that when it comes to the cutting, some of the same folks who now complain righteously, albeit incorrectly, aren’t going to be happy.

Do you think that Granny holding the “Get Rid of Obamunist” sign is going to be happy when the people she voted for decide that her Social Security and Medicare are wasteful perks? How about those who are ready to send Junior off to college only to find that all that grant money went poof? And when Mom gets e-coli from some ConAgra-raised hamburger, treated with bum drugs, and it eventually kills her (without even the courtesy of a death panel) the FDA doesn’t look so wasteful anymore.

We are all Americans and part of the responsibility of every American is to chip something in for the common good of the nation – or we would be called the United States of Me.

Stop yelling about how bad you’ve got it.

You could be working 14 hours a day in an Indonesian sweatshop to make shirts you’ll buy on the cheap at Walmart.

Always low taxes…Always.

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Are Burka Baggers in America’s Future?


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
Burka Train

ALL ABOARD! - Will the xenophobic Arizona 'Papers Please' law beget burka bashing in the US?

Burka rage as female lawyer rips veil off Muslim woman
Don’t Ban the Burqa, Just Shun Its Use

The country is atwitter over the Arizone-out “Papers Please” law. Whether you think it’s an unenforceable affront to Hispanics or the best thing since trampled tacos, America isn’t the only place where xenophobia reigns supreme.

The Arizona law’s supporters use skin color as their fear-those-who-are-different baseline. In other countries, clothing is the culprit. Italy, France, Belgium,  Australia, and several other countries either have, or are considering, bans on burkas. And just as Arizonans justify their law with an illegal immigration strawman argument, the burka baggers say their law is needed because burkas are everything from traffic hazards to bank robbery work togs.

Some of the arguments are clearly solutions in search of a inconsequential and stupid problems.

Caution: Slow Moving Burkas Ahead
Traffic hazard? They’re no more a hazard than drivers chatting away on their Bluetooths (Blueteeth) or engaging in hands-free driving while putting on makeup or in futile attempts to correct a bad hair day.

Bank robberies? How is wearing a burka any worse than wearing a baggy sweat shirt? In fact, one could argue burkas actually help catch crooks. Wouldn’t you remember a burka-clad woman handing you a robbery note more easily than a non-descript fella wearing a baggy “I’m With Stupid” sweat shirt?

The most logical argument the burka baggers have is that it’s unfair for Muslim men to “force” Muslim women wear them – still, a dubious reason.

Arizona Burka License

BURKAS PLEASE - What's the difference between brown skin and burkas?

Many Muslim women choose to wear burkas as part of their religious convictions. Requiring them to reject their burkas is like preventing the Catholic Church from requiring nuns to wear their habits – not to mention that funny hat Ratzy unabashedly struts.

One might argue both positions are the evil spawn of mean and unfair patriarchal cultures, but they are religious reasons nonetheless. Unless their male kin bully them into wearing them, that decision is between husband, wife, and their God.

As much as I hate to say it, Sarah Palin is right that America is based on a more genteel Judeo-Christian model (whether it’s legal or not is another post). We generally discourage domestic violence – although some of the most fundamental adherents demand their woman’s utter obedience. But when obedience crosses the line to violence, law has a legitimate case.

We Have Nothing to Fear But the Fearful Themselves
No matter how acceptable burka beatings and honor killings are in other cultures, they’re against the law in the west. Existing domestic violence laws are already on the books, so it’s questionable we need to do anything, much less ban burkas.

But the nation being what it is, there’d be little surprise if the Americans who cower in fear of lanky, amateur videographers or brown-skinned men in front of Home Depot felt moved to ban burkas too.

If and when they do, let’s hope they examine their motives a bit more intently than they have so far. They could begin that discussion with a prime tennent of what many of the far right groups see as governmental gospel.

Just how big can Big Brother be in a small-government nation?

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Arizona, What Was the Point?


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
Clueless Protesters

FIRM GRASP OF THE ISSUES - Protestors take to the street in support and opposition to the recently enacted Arizona immigration law. After a lot of yelling and screaming, the protesters decided to recall the law because no one could remember the point of it.

Arizona passed a law to crack down on illegal immigrants. Sure, it’s stupid, unenforceable, and mean-spirited. It’s criticized as racist with at least some justification and it promotes profiling. Backers say they did it because the Federal government has fallen down on the job and has been unable to “seal” the border and say it’s not racist, prohibits profiling, and will dramatically cut illegal immigration.

Few could legitimately argue that the Feds have done a splendid job enforcing immigration laws – not just during this administration, but going back through several Democan and Republicrat administrations. Equal opportunity ineptitude if you will.

Are Ya Fer Us or Agin Us?
There’s a plethora of arguments for and against:

  • What are we going to do with the illegals already here?
  • How are we going to “seal” the border anyway? The French already tried something similar to keep the Germans out, can you say Maginot Line?
  • Who’s going to do all the work Americans don’t want to do?
  • Employing illegals is just another way of exporting American jobs – presumably the ones Americans do want, but that don’t seem to fit the profile of your average illegal immigrant farm worker?
  • People from Canada aren’t beating the doors down to get in, what’s up with the Latinos.
  • It’s the responsibility of business to stop hiring them.
  • It’s the responsibility of the state to stop them and turn them over to the Dept. of Homeland Insecurity who will deport them just in time to catch the next Coyote limo out of Mexicali for the late shift at the avocado grove.
  • It’s the Feds responsibility to act like a small government and arrest them. Although it is a little confusing to be a small government and run around picking up people were minding their own business.
  • It’s up to militias to take the law into their own hands, because, well, it just KICK’S ASS!

Ad infinitum.

He Spreaks the Truth

HE'S GOTCHA - Arizonans can stay only if they have the proper papers.

Sure, some of those positions are a load of crap, but others have value. But the thing is, the nation is split yet again over something that means absolutely bupkis and is no closer to solving the problem than we’ve ever been.

Here’s the thing. It’s not exactly clear exactly what the law does that’s much different than it’s ever been. Police always could stop people and ask for ID if there was probable cause – probable cause being anything from doing 36 in a 35 zone to wearing an AK47 as you try to board the Southwest flight to Amarillo.

Opponents of the law say it promotes profiling. True, despite the Hokie Mom’s claims that it specifically prohibits profiling. Right, “you betcha.”

But profiling has gone on since the first cop stalked the first criminal and as much as we are loathe to admit it, it actually serves some useful purposes. The trick is restricting it appropriately so that we don’t roll up every Tom, Dick, and Harry because they have brown skin, white skin, or a sort of mauve one – anything other than white, because everyone knows whites are genetically incapable of committing any crimes other than the white collar sort.

Opponents say it’s racist, and it sure looks that way, but it’s no more racist than the current laws. Cracker sheriffs always could arrest someone for breathing while being a minority. It’s not right, but it happens and the new law doesn’t change that one bit. Net gain to net loss – zero.

Man Up Racists, Embrace You Gooberness
And some advice to the law’s backers – don’t act so damned put out when you do something that you know – without a shadow of a doubt – will cause you to be labeled a racist if you don’t like to be called a racist. That’s just dumb. If you really think what you’re doing is right and you truly believe it’s the way of the world that Mexicans can only be pool boys, man up and own the word. Because after all, it’s a word – nothing more, nothing less.

So here we are with a new law that codifies something already practiced. Some police will enforce it as a Godsend from the scourge of dangerous foreign lettuce pickers. Others will refuse to enforce it because, well, it’s stupid. Lawsuits will fly. Federal, state, and local government will spend untold dollars and huge amounts of time on a law designed to reinforce the status quo while the Gulf of Mexico turns the consistency of grease in a McDonalds deep fat fryer and we’re bailing out companies that are simultaneously too big, too small, and just right to fail.

And the illegals?

They’ll keep coming and going like they always have.

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