I share your concerns and agree
Posted By: sm on 2008-12-12
In Reply to: I am aware that AAMT is not - zoesnana
with everything you have said, but after having been in this business since the early 70s, I've learned never to expect anyone to speak up on behalf of MTs except the MTs themselves. I have never paid membership fees to AAMT and have never had the need to pay for certification, but I would pay MT union due in a heartbeat.
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Agree...great post. Please come back and share...sm
your ideas.
If we can't share the wealth, we can at least share a laugh...nm
x
Yep. I have my concerns too. But....
he is the master of his own destiny...and we shall see where he attempts to take us.
What concerns me...... sm
is not so much whether or not I can survive the high bills. Of course, I am concerned for my kids, but I am really concerned about the elderly in the cities where they depend on electricity to heat their homes in the winter and cool their homes in the summer. The extreme temperatures are hard on the elderly.
Offshore concerns
To follow is a post on today's MTS Main board under off shore concerns/mg. Maybe some of you could help her out.
I mentioned this a few messages below, but the blog has its first post. I am NOT supporting any Ad things on there and will not be making anything off this.
http://violatingamerica.blogspot.com/
If you have a link that would be useful to others to write their gov't reps, companies, news sources, etc, feel free to post them or e-mail me so i can get them up there. I am also looking for any news stories or any information we can get. One way or the other, we might be able to make a difference.
The OP brought up her concerns....
I brought up mine. I find mine more concerning than hers. And I don't understand why Democrats accept certain behavior in their own and lamblast the other side for the same perceived weaknesses. Why is that?
I do think these are valid concerns...(sm)
and ones that have to be addressed. However, I don't see anything wrong with setting a goal, which is what Obama has done by saying it should be closed in 1 year. I think he purposely left himself some leeway by saying a year, and at the same time let people like me who support him that it will get done.
Personally I think they should be tried in a military court, which would avoid a lot of the bureaucracy that is associated with the regular US court system. They may want to go by the world court rules when trying them? You're right. Noone knows exactly how this is going to be done yet, but we all know that something has to be done.
As far as housing them here, I don't see a problem with that. Right now we house murderers, rapists, and some of the worst criminals immaginable. I don't think that these prisoners from Gitmo would pose anymore of a threat that some that are already there. However, I do think that Gitmo prisoners would have a really hard time in a prison here because of other prisoners.
Obviously, there is a lot to be worked out, especially when it comes to those in Gitmo who are actually guilty, but there has to be something done soon about the ones who aren't.
The only thing that concerns me
is having that information hacked into for anyone to have access to. I think that is my biggest concern.
So you don't believe we have national security concerns?
If you do believe we have national security issues then what is your answer to keeping us safe?
In reply to the concerns you raised.
My first reaction when reading your post was one of curiosity. I was an IC during the latter Clinton years and I do not recall paying 40% of my earnings to tax. What I remember was an aggregate tax payment composed of income tax, social security tax and self-employment tax, which essentially represented a burden I shouldered as an IC that compensated for the lack of employer contribution to SS, Medicare and FICA. To my knowledge, this tax structure has not changed since then for ICs. I also remember paying my taxes quarterly, and being responsible for calculating enough tax not only to cover my required amounts, but also to pay in extra each time if I wanted to generate a return at the end of the year. I made a decision NOT to be an independent contractor because I was a single parent with a mortgage. The self-employment levy felt like double tax to me as compared to what I had been accustomed to as an employee and, most definitely the total percentage of tax burden as an IC was greater than that of a full employee status.
On checking my returns from those years (which I still keep in the house) I find the total tax burden I had for all the components of my tax liability amounted to 27%. I am wondering if you did not get a return back then because you did not contribute more than the minimum rate during the course of the year and that later on, your contributions did allow you to have a return. Also, to account for the lower rate during Bush years, did your family situation change between Clinton years and Bush years, did you get married, have children, add an earned income tax credit deduction, add dependents, start itemizing your taxes. All these changes would account for a lower percentage rate of your tax liability, thus allowing for a return.
I am also wondering why you would look back instead of forward when assessing the issue of whether or not you will be "taxed more." Have you read Obama's tax plan? If not, please go to this link and take a look. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/#tax-relief
Essentially this is what you will find (please excuse the format challenges of cut and paste).
Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief
Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.
• Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
• Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000: Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the Obama plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to file an income tax return.
• Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.
It also might be worthwhile to check out the plan on the economy here
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/
Scroll down to At a Glance and browse the links of interest to you.
Here's the link for healthcare
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
Again, scroll down to At a Glance and select links of interest.
I have provided Obama website links because you expressed doubts about democratic policy. McCain's website also should have similar information available on these issues as well for your comparison. After reviewing the information (if you were not already familiar with it), ask yourself where the information is coming from that is making you fearful that your taxes will be raised. I would really be interested in any response you may feel inclined to post in this regard. On a personal note, I will not be trusting McCain with the economy or with handling my HARD EARNED tax money. I do NOT want one more single penny to be used to fund the war, bankroll Israel's apartheid and nuclear weapons arsenal, prop up our struggling corporations or trickle up into the pockets of the richest among us in the form of continued Bush tax cuts to the rich, which McCain has openly stated he will continue if elected.
The constituents who brought her their concerns...
does freedom not extend to them also? They don't have a right to at least ask about the books? Which is what they did...and she took their concerns to the city council, which is her job as mayor. Why do you seek to curtail others' freedom in the name of freedom? They did not get what they wanted, but they certainly should have the freedom to ask and be heard. Isn't that exactly what you are saying we must protect??
You are expressing a lof of our concerns and fears
The dems won't even tell us where they are going to get the money from. They should do the math, Obama promises that middle income will not be taxed any more. Right, that's exactly like when Clinton promised during his campaign he would not increas middle income takes and within days after getting into the white house he not only didn't keep his promise but he gave the middle income the largest tax increase since who knows when. So why should I believe Obama? Especially since his voting record shows that he voted to increase taxes.
This is not a hateful post. It is a true fear that a lot of us have. You CANNOT redistribute the wealth and give to the poor who aren't doing anything to deserve it. For all those liberals who are for this type of program please send in your name and address so you can pay my share since you believe its okay. I don't! I work very hard for what I have. I'm already working 14 hours a day and I still hardly have enough money to pay bills, let alone save anything for a retirement. Why should they take more from me.
People need to be held responsible for themselves. If they need charity, that is what the churches are suppose to be for, and other organizations that help the poor. The people need to pick up some skills so they can get out in society and earn a living like the rest of us do.
For all the conservatives out there you need to keep expressing your opinions and fears. People need to be aware of what this Obama is and what his socialist programs will turn America into. This is not the America that our founding fathers fought for. Socialists have infiltrated the system, written laws that protect them and screw us, all the while telling you that you need to feel patriotic about getting screwed. Conservatives need to stand up for what's right and not be bullied by the liberals anymore.
This is not hysteria - it is people expressing their concerns
The moment somebody brings up something that is questionable (and with good reason) about Obama the liberals are quick to say it's hysteria. Watching all the news stations its the same way. It was even brought up on one of the stations tonight about the vicious attacks on Palin. Now their coming out with a porn movie intentionally starring someone that looks like her (I'll be a lot of the liberals and liberal media are happy about that). But once again I heard the liberals say that the poor democrats have been "picked on" for so long that this is okay behavior. The disgusting way they turn it around and will say conservatives are "picking on Obama", but with their dirty campaign tactics and commercials they are only "bringing to light" the truths about McCain. It's all very one sided and I see that on this board too.
Conservatives have a very real and very valid concern about Obama and his shady past (to include where he was born and if he is actually legitimate to become president). The people who are his mentors, spiritual advisors, who gave him his start in politics, and the people who are advising him, along with the dirty bashing from liberal media, makes it very hard for one to have any "faith" in this person. He is so busy covering up his past, his voting record, the people he associates with, etc, etc. Sure he's a stellar speaker. After all - he is a lawyer. He knows how to capture his audience with stories. But lynch mob....I'm hearing it on Obama's side too.
The subject did not change. I will address you concerns
You remember the one about the fact that our tax system has always been progressive and the table posted above shows you just how moderate in comparison Obama's proposed tax rate is. What I want to know is were those 7 republican presidents between 1932 and 1981 all MORE socialist than Obama or what?
Then you haven't been listening to a lot of people's concerns
It is clear half the country feels safer with McCain. The other half doesn't care.
Feel free to direct your concerns to the Administrator. sm
You can reach the adminstrator at Admin@MTStars.com. As far as deleting, since the incident of several weeks ago, I have made a concerted effort on BOTH boards to keep the bashing to a minimum.
The Nobel Peace prize is given for environmental concerns. sm
The Nobel Peace prize was given in 2004 to Wangari Maathai of Kenya, an environmental activist, for forming the Greenbelt Movement, so the Peace prize being given for environmental concerns is not new......
Please share, then
Please share who they really are, since you seem to know. I've been following this board for 4 years or so and I surely don't know who this poster is. Whoever they are, though, they speak the truth about your postings, Observer. You are not always the "lively" debater you claim to be when you utilize sarcasm, accusation and put-down so frequently.
I do notice that the posters from the Conservative board repeatedly accuse the posters on the Liberal board as all being the same person. Dream on.
probably not- they just share
the same talking points.
okay, let me share something with you
I found myself alone and with two children with NO child support for quite a while and YES, it does stink but you know I found a job and continued to better myself, eventually receiving a little over $200 a MONTH in child support for 2 children. Now, I don't blame anyone for my situation. I made some poor choices along the way and I PICKED MYSELF BACK UP, prayed,and did the best I could. I received AFCD for ONE MONTH... I received food stamps for ONE MONTH and after that the only other thing that helped me was a little bit of help to cover what my insurance through work didn't cover for my children; that lasted about a year. After that, not a thing... I was back on my feet, I was making better money and working two jobs, one from home. There is all sorts of help out there already and it is awful nice that it was there to help me and my children in our time of need but ya know what?? I was grateful for that. I never once thought I was owed that help and never once complained when that help stopped.
I also know a couple of people who took advantage of the financial aid for school, etc. and when they were done they were able to make the money they needed to survive.
I feel for your daughter, I really do..... but it will get better if she keeps going and strives for more than the $10/hour job.... raise her expectations a little bit and she will get there.... You know no one said this life was going to be easy and I've had my share of hardships too, mostly brought on by poor choices. I will pray for your daughter this evening and I hope things will get better for her.
There are good people out and there may be room for more help to the ones who are helping themselves if the ones who are not willing to change their circumstances and are satisfied with all the help they get continue to live off the taxpayers' money.
IMO if someone is receiving ANY kind of government assistance, they need to be drug tested and made to be accountable for every cent they receive. If they can't NO MORE HELP. PERIOD.
There are plenty of people out there on disability for back injuries for instance who are collecting a check and who knows what else YET they go out and paint houses or do construction work and get paid under the table. Do you know that in Indiana, if you receive disability, once you are approved, they do not check again, unless they have received a complaint and even then, no guarantee they would lose it. Funny how I personally know someone who applied for disability and received it within 2 months and I know another person who had to use continuous oxygen and had other real medical issues that kept him from working and he had to appeal a denial for two years, after having to retain an attorney, before they would approve his. There is something definitely wrong with that picture.
Also, there are so many people in the grocery line, using their WIC or food debit cards and then go outside to a nicer car than I have... maybe it's a relatives, who knows? But they are dressed in nice clothes and eating steak and high $$$ food that I can't always fit into our budget, and I see them with 5 kids.
Some people learn from their mistakes and some people don't think they have made mistakes and continue to manipulate the system and quite frankly it disgusts me.
Sorry this is so long, I haven't even said everything I would like, but I sincerely hope something works out for your daughter.
I would try if you had any to share.
x
Thanks, that was great. May I share
You've probably already read it, but it's worth reading more than once.
We’re Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore
How did the Party of Lincoln and Liberty transmogrify into the party of Newt Gingrich’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk?
By Garrison Keillor August 26, 2004
Something has gone seriously haywire with the Republican Party. Once, it was the party of pragmatic Main Street businessmen in steel-rimmed spectacles who decried profligacy and waste, were devoted to their communities and supported the sort of prosperity that raises all ships. They were good-hearted people who vanquished the gnarlier elements of their party, the paranoid Roosevelt-haters, the flat Earthers and Prohibitionists, the antipapist antiforeigner element. The genial Eisenhower was their man, a genuine American hero of D-Day, who made it OK for reasonable people to vote Republican. He brought the Korean War to a stalemate, produced the Interstate Highway System, declined to rescue the French colonial army in Vietnam, and gave us a period of peace and prosperity, in which (oddly) American arts and letters flourished and higher education burgeoned—and there was a degree of plain decency in the country. Fifties Republicans were giants compared to today’s. Richard Nixon was the last Republican leader to feel a Christian obligation toward the poor.
In the years between Nixon and Newt Gingrich, the party migrated southward down the Twisting Trail of Rhetoric and sneered at the idea of public service and became the Scourge of Liberalism, the Great Crusade Against the Sixties, the Death Star of Government, a gang of pirates that diverted and fascinated the media by their sheer chutzpah, such as the misty-eyed flag-waving of Ronald Reagan who, while George McGovern flew bombers in World War II, took a pass and made training films in Long Beach. The Nixon moderate vanished like the passenger pigeon, purged by a legion of angry white men who rose to power on pure punk politics. “Bipartisanship is another term of date rape,” says Grover Norquist, the Sid Vicious of the GOP. “I don’t want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” The boy has Oedipal problems and government is his daddy.
The party of Lincoln and Liberty was transmogrified into the party of hairy-backed swamp developers and corporate shills, faith-based economists, fundamentalist bullies with Bibles, Christians of convenience, freelance racists, misanthropic frat boys, shrieking midgets of AM radio, tax cheats, nihilists in golf pants, brownshirts in pinstripes, sweatshop tycoons, hacks, fakirs, aggressive dorks, Lamborghini libertarians, people who believe Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk was filmed in Roswell, New Mexico, little honkers out to diminish the rest of us, Newt’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man suspicious of the free flow of information and of secular institutions, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk. Republicans: The No.1 reason the rest of the world thinks we’re deaf, dumb and dangerous.
Rich ironies abound! Lies pop up like toadstools in the forest! Wild swine crowd round the public trough! Outrageous gerrymandering! Pocket lining on a massive scale! Paid lobbyists sit in committee rooms and write legislation to alleviate the suffering of billionaires! Hypocrisies shine like cat turds in the moonlight! O Mark Twain, where art thou at this hour? Arise and behold the Gilded Age reincarnated gaudier than ever, upholding great wealth as the sure sign of Divine Grace.
Here in 2004, George W. Bush is running for reelection on a platform of tragedy—the single greatest failure of national defense in our history, the attacks of 9/11 in which 19 men with box cutters put this nation into a tailspin, a failure the details of which the White House fought to keep secret even as it ran the country into hock up to the hubcaps, thanks to generous tax cuts for the well-fixed, hoping to lead us into a box canyon of debt that will render government impotent, even as we engage in a war against a small country that was undertaken for the president’s personal satisfaction but sold to the American public on the basis of brazen misinformation, a war whose purpose is to distract us from an enormous transfer of wealth taking place in this country, flowing upward, and the deception is working beautifully.
The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this. The election of 2004 will say something about what happens to ours. The omens are not good.
Our beloved land has been fogged with fear—fear, the greatest political strategy ever. An ominous silence, distant sirens, a drumbeat of whispered warnings and alarms to keep the public uneasy and silence the opposition. And in a time of vague fear, you can appoint bullet-brained judges, strip the bark off the Constitution, eviscerate federal regulatory agencies, bring public education to a standstill, stupefy the press, lavish gorgeous tax breaks on the rich.
There is a stink drifting through this election year. It isn’t the Florida recount or the Supreme Court decision. No, it’s 9/11 that we keep coming back to. It wasn’t the “end of innocence,” or a turning point in our history, or a cosmic occurrence, it was an event, a lapse of security. And patriotism shouldn’t prevent people from asking hard questions of the man who was purportedly in charge of national security at the time.
Whenever I think of those New Yorkers hurrying along Park Place or getting off the No.1 Broadway local, hustling toward their office on the 90th floor, the morning paper under their arms, I think of that non-reader George W. Bush and how he hopes to exploit those people with a little economic uptick, maybe the capture of Osama, cruise to victory in November and proceed to get some serious nation-changing done in his second term.
This year, as in the past, Republicans will portray us Democrats as embittered academics, desiccated Unitarians, whacked-out hippies and communards, people who talk to telephone poles, the party of the Deadheads. They will wave enormous flags and wow over and over the footage of firemen in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and bodies being carried out and they will lie about their economic policies with astonishing enthusiasm.
The Union is what needs defending this year. Government of Enron and by Halliburton and for the Southern Baptists is not the same as what Lincoln spoke of. This gang of Pithecanthropus Republicanii has humbugged us to death on terrorism and tax cuts for the comfy and school prayer and flag burning and claimed the right to know what books we read and to dump their sewage upstream from the town and clear-cut the forests and gut the IRS and mark up the constitution on behalf of intolerance and promote the corporate takeover of the public airwaves and to hell with anybody who opposes them.
This is a great country, and it wasn’t made so by angry people. We have a sacred duty to bequeath it to our grandchildren in better shape than however we found it. We have a long way to go and we’re not getting any younger.
Dante said that the hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who in time of crisis remain neutral, so I have spoken my piece, and thank you, dear reader. It’s a beautiful world, rain or shine, and there is more to life than winning.
I don't think it's safe too share too much on here. SM
I did it once and I was crucified for it. Won't do it again. Truthfully, and this is not meant to be mean, I don't think I would have much in common with most on this board at all.
Please share with me how I'm 100% wrong here.
.
I do not share your minimization....
of a very accomplished woman. And I agree that the American people are intelligent enough to realize that fact.
Obama = socialism and redistribution of wealth, and all his "plans" will stick a knife in the heart of an already challenged economy.
NOBAMA. :)
I don't share her views but no need to ban her. nm
Website I'd like to share...
Disclaimer: It will probably not appeal to the McCain supporters, so need for you make snarky remarks about it.
I don't even know how I ended up at this site, but it has so many topics on it, instead of recommending a link just to one or two, I'll give the whole page. Be sure to scroll down.
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/ (although I don't consider myself a 'wonk' LOL)
Try the home page too:
http://thinkprogress.org/
One of my favorite political websites, that I've been going to every day (and causing me to spend far less time on this board) is Talking Points Memo: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
Would anyone else like to share their favorite websites that are lib or nonpartisan? TIA
They share the SAME PHILOSOPHIES!!!
It has nothing to do with Ayers being an advisor, mentor etc. THEY SHARE THE SAME PHILOSOPHIES -- don't you guys get it????
maybe they can share technology....I would take one of these too!
http://www.teslamotors.com/
I wish I could share your confidence. (sm)
Bush made frequent use of "signing statements" in order to get what he wanted, and not all of them were publicized at the time. He would sign the bill and then add a little "P.S." that basically nullified it if Bush so chose.
If this vehicle is available to Obama, as well, then we may not know it for a while. 
Please be so kind as to share where
you get your information. I am interested in reading or watching what has you so concerned. My interpretation of current events is much different than yours appear to be.
Please share the stories of these
Poor mistreated, misguided kids. If this were happening, the nightly news would be flooded with stories, continuously, nonstop day in and day out. That's all you would hear. Please give us a break. You are breaking my heart...
of course I didn't share my feelings with my son, but thank you. nm
nm
I share your sentiments totally. sm
Some would see this as political from the get-go. They would read this and dismiss it saying, oh those stupid Republicans. It has not penetrated some of their conscious or subconscious thinking that there really is more to this than politics. The stakes are more than high. Historically, Muslims spread Islam barbarically and without mercy and were ony stopped from taking Europe by the Crusades. They are ready to spread again, only this time, it is the United States they have their eyes on. I found this article that I believe illustrates not only what will happen, but has a good understanding of what is happening now.
Preventing a Premature Exit From Iraq
By Ed Feulner
CNSNews.com Commentary
October 19, 2006
BAGHDAD (Jan. 21, 2009) -- Iraq's bloody civil war worsened today, when 10,000 heavily armed troops from the Shiite state of Shiastan pushed north from Najaf and Rumaythah. The attack threatened to trap three battalions of U.S.-backed Sunnis in the region.
The latest round of fighting has triggered a new wave of refugees into Kuwait and Jordan, the United Nations reported today. Millions of Iraqis have fled the country since American troops pulled out in 2006, a controversial withdrawal that al Qaeda celebrates as a watershed victory.
Word of today's offensive pushed crude oil prices to $210 per barrel, a new record, certain to cause problems for the newly inaugurated American president ...
All right, enough with the doom and gloom. The preceding paragraphs are fiction, but they reflect what's likely to happen if the United States pulls out of Iraq before the country is stabilized and able to function on its own. Unfortunately, some of our politicians want to do exactly that.
We believe that a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq should begin before the end of 2006, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wrote in a letter both signed in August. Even if our task there remains unfinished?
As President Bush put it on Oct. 11, when you pull out before the job is done, that's cut and run as far as I'm concerned. And that's cut and run as far as most Americans are concerned.
Heritage Foundation experts James Carafano and James Phillips explained in a recent paper what's likely to happen if we withdraw quickly. Such a shortsighted U.S. policy would be a severe blow to the Iraqi security situation, Iraqi oil exports, U.S. allies in the region, the global war against terrorism and the future of all Iraqis, they write.
If we leave now, we'd leave the Iraqi army (with all its heavy weapons) up for grabs. That's likely to spark a civil war, as soldiers align themselves into religious and regional militias.
Under that scenario, we can expect Iran -- already a regional power -- to support the Shiite Muslims in the south, a move that would give Tehran control of most of Iraq's oil. Not that this would necessarily keep the oil flowing; as the civil war escalated, guerrillas would cut pipelines and blow up oil wells.
Right now, Iraq produces 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, and the country's government aims to increase that to 2.7 MBD by year's end. If production is disrupted, though, worldwide prices would skyrocket.
If we cut and run, Iraqi civilians would be the biggest losers. Millions would flee the starvation, disease and destruction that civil war brings. Meanwhile, al Qaeda would tout its role in forcing the U.S. out, providing a huge recruiting boom for the terrorist group.
This doesn't mean we should stay indefinitely. As they say, there are only two exit strategies from any war: A country can win and go home, or it can lose and go home. Either way, all our troops eventually will exit Iraq. What really matters is what they leave behind.
We've made progress in Iraq, and we'll continue to do so. Many of al Qaeda's senior leaders have been killed or captured and the group's popularity among the Iraqis is low. We need to keep training Iraqi forces and preparing them to stand on their own.
In the long run, only Iraqis can assure the success of Iraq. But if, in the short run, we cut and run, we guarantee failure -- for them and for us. We can avoid the bleak future outlined above. But we must steel our resolve to get the job done right.
(Ed Feulner is the president of The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based public policy research institute.
I expected that so where do you all get your info...please share so ...sm
we can all be on the same page here. I love how people criticize but back it up with nothing. And again I repeat...this is just ONE of the places I go to the ONLY place I go to.
So where do you go to get your info? DO TELL...
BTDT. Just thought you might want to share
nm
Sounds like we share the same governor...
don't even get me started on property taxes. Where is that decrease he promised?? lol. Shoulda known.
I'll share. Put this in your pipe
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fannie9-2008sep09,0,4063126.story
"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs To Get Golden Parachutes"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090802605.html?hpid=topnews
"Ousted Fanny, Fredde CEOs Could Still See Big Paydays." Daniel Mudd (Fannie Mae) and Richard Syron (Freddie Mac), who are stepping down, have already made millions at the trouble mortgage giants and are expected to take away millions more.
http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSWAT01001720080909
"Obama Dismayed on Big Fannie Freddie Exit Packages."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/business/24gret.html?em
"What Will Mac 'n' Mae Cost You and me?"
http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/investing/fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-shares-are-worthless/
"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Shares are Worthless." Do you know what's in your 401K, IRA, mutual funds?
I thought this was not about anyone's fair share...
they had the ability to pass it and get on with it, and chose not to. And the only reason for that is, they did not want a Democrat majority tied to a "Bush" bill. They hated him last week, and now all I hear is "We are trying to pass the President's bill..." That is just too weird, old-timer, I'm sorry.
But they STOLE more than their fair share.
nm
The reason I don't believe it, I will be happy to share with you. s/m
First of all, I went to the blog just to see what was there. I saw a picture of Obama. I HEARD a voice that MIGHT have been Obama's although I had some doubt but then I am not a voice recognition expert. I haven't heard it on the news but don't you know that the news media will pick up on ANYTHING that they think is sensational? The trouble is people believe it. I agree with your mother. She is a wise woman. If you want the truth listen to the candidates speak out of their own mouths. There has certainly been enough opportunity to do that. McCain and Palin don't have a plan to criticize because all I hear from them is scare tactics and that does not impress me. See my previous post where I quoted what John McCain said at his rally about Obama. THAT I believe. Hope this explains it.
GP....I hope you will come back and share...
the "what comes next" email.
Thanks!
Do you share the same gene pool as
Ahmadinejad? Denying the genocide perpetrated in the name of Israel's so-called national security is every bit as evil (and just about as credible) as Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial.
How many times do we have to go down this road. Sticks, stones, rocks, and homemade pipe bombs versus assault rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, pistols,
Semi-automatics, breach grenades, SWAT rifles, Isherman, Sho't, Magach, Sabra and Merkava tanks, Davidka, Makmat and Soltam M-66 mortars, Soltam, Rascal, Sholef and IDF howitzers, cargo, sea scan, fighter and trainer aircraft, Shaldaq, Dvora and Super Dvora patrol boats, Sa'ar 3, 4 and 5-class missle boats, Sa'ar 5-class corvettes, Gal class and Dolphin submarines, Trophy and Iron Fist protection systems, Flight Guard airborne countermeasures systems, Machbet anti-aircraft weapons, Barak surface-to-air missiles, SPYDER air-defense system, Arrow anti-ballistic missiles, Tactical High Energy Laser, Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system, David's Sling medium-range rocket defense system, B-300 and Shipon shoulder-launched missiles, shoulder-lanched multipurpose assault weapons, FGM-172 SRAWs, MAPATS, Spike, Nimrod and LAHAT ATGMs, Shafrir, Derby and Python air-to-air missiles, Gabriel naval anti-ship missiles, Popeye air-to-surface missiles, LORA theater and Jericho ballistic missiles, Nimda, Trail Blazers, IDF Nagmachon, IDF Nakpadon, IDF Puma, IDF Achzarit, Namer IFV, Nemmera ARV, AIL Storm, Plasan Sand Cat, Wolf Armoured and Golan Armored fighting vehicles, IMI Mastiff, Casper 250, IAI Searcher, IAI Hary, IAI I-View, IAI Ranger, IAI Heron, IAI RQ-2 Hunter, Elbit Skylark, Elbit Hermes and Aeronautics Defense Dominator unmanned fighter vehicles, Typhoon close-in weapon system, Kilshon anti-radiation missile launchers, Caterpillar D7/D9 armored bulldozers, Enhanced Tactical Computers, LITENING targeting pods, Spice EO-GPS PGM guidance kits, Shavit spaceflight launch vehicle, EROS earth observation satellite and Ofeg reconnaissance satellites. Oops, I almost forgot the WMDs, including chemical, biologic and, of course, the nukes.
As Marmann so astutely pointed out the other day, no matter how much Israel arms itself to the teeth, it will NEVER be enough. The more you impose fear, the more you live under its curse.
thought I would share and see the disputes on this...
Just received in email... long but worth it. sure makes you just want to say DUH to those that still dont get it doesn't it...
Read his entire message and the last 3 paragraphs should make perfect sense to you... Perhaps, if you are a left-leaning, socialistic democrat, you might re-evaluate your position on how to get this country back on track.
Taxation and redistribution of wealth is not the road to pursue because it is unhealthy for any country, its people and its economy.
Read on.
To All My Valued Employees,
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.
First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a Back Story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.
However, what you don't see is the BACK STORY:
I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... you never realize the Back Story and the sacrifices I've made.
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero... Nada... Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.
Here is what many of you don't understand... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? You defibrillate his heart! Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.
So where am I going with all this?
It's quite simple.
If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I'll fire you. I'll fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.
Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.
So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about...
Signed, THE BOSS
Please share your ideas for economic
What do you think would be the best course of action?
I hope you do have your own business and will finally have to pay your share!
What is fair is fair! Oh, by the way...Boo!
That is true, but I think that dems have done their fair share..sm
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obama's share the wealth plan
So Obama believes we should spread the wealth around. Here are his charitable contributions:
![Obama_tax_returns_2](http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/images/2008/03/25/obama_tax_returns_2.jpg" "Obama_tax_returns_2")
Too bad he wasn't spreading his wealth around these past years. Oh well he did give 800,000.00 to ACORN. You know them don't you? Do you suppose this is his idea of spreading the wealth?
Share the wealth -- Karl Marx...
as usual, take from those who have worked hard, achieved something and made something of themselves and give to those who are lazy and irresponsible and who think they are entitled just because life hasn't been fair to them. What an incentive for a great country.
I ate my fair share of soup growing up........sm
We lived on a farm and my dad grew a big garden every year....peas, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, butter beans, onions....and when the first pickings of the garden came in, mom would make a pot of vegetable soup with a little of all the different vegetables....an ear of corn, a few tomatoes, an onion, a few peas and a few butter beans. Best soup I ever ate and I wish I could have some now. Mom would always can and freeze a lot of vegetables to last us through the winter and sometimes a pot of peas and a pan of cornbread was all we had for supper. But it sho was good eatin'!
Bush got his share of being called 'cowboy'
maybe people really wanted to say 'cracker'??
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