Tag-Archive for » TEA PARTY «
Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned heads will “explode” in Washington with tomorrow’s release of his new memoir “In My Time” – and so it began on Sunday, with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who dismissed as “cheap shots” the criticism leveled at him, Condoleezza Rice and others in the book It was the latest volley in a clash that stretches back to their first years in the George W. Bush administration, reports the AP. Cheney told NBC News last week, “There are going to be heads exploding all over Washington” after people read the book. “My head isn’t exploding. I haven’t noticed any other heads exploding in Washington,” Powell said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “From what I’ve read in the newspapers and seen on television it’s essentially a rehash of events of seven or eight years ago.” Cheney and Powell had numerous disagreements in the administration, particularly over policy toward Iraq and the run-up to the 2003 invasion by U.S.-led forces. In his book, Cheney says he believes Powell tried to undermine Bush by expressing his worry about the Iraq War in private conversations. “It was as though he thought the proper way to express his views was by criticizing administration policy to people outside the government,” Cheney writes. Cheney says he pushed for Powell to be removed from the administration after the 2004 election, writing Powell’s resignation “was for the best.” On Sunday, Powell termed “nonsense” Cheney’s description of how Powell went outside with his criticism of administration policies. Powell also suggested that Cheney wrongly took credit for Powell’s resignation from the State Department in 2004; Powell said he had always planned to serve only four years. “Mr. Cheney has had a long and distinguished career and I hope in his book that’s what he will focus on, not these cheap shots that he’s taking at me and other members of the administration who served to the best of our ability for President Bush,” Powell said.
Also in the book, Cheney goes after former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her “naivete” in her efforts to negotiate a nuclear weapons agreement with North Korea. The book also details Cheney’s view that “he saw no need to apologize” for the controversial words included in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union about Iraq’s supposed search for uranium in Niger that helped justify the war in Iraq. Cheney’s writes that Rice eventually agreed with him, and she “tearfully admitted I had been right.” On “Face the Nation,” Powell labeled as “almost condescending” the tone of Cheney’s criticism of Rice, who succeeded him as secretary of state. Regarding the current president, Powell, who famously crossed party lines to vote for President Obama in 2008, said Sunday that he’s not necessarily supporting him for reelection in 2012. “I haven’t decided who I’m going to vote for,” Powell said. “Just as was the case in 2008, I am going to watch the campaign unfold. In the course of my life I have voted for Democrats, I have voted for Republicans, I have changed from one four-year cycle to another. “I’ve always felt it my responsibility as a citizen to take a look at the issues, examine the candidates, and pick the person that I think is best qualified for the office of the president in that year. And not just solely on the basis of party affiliation,” he said. Asked about the Republican field, Powell said there are some “interesting candidates,” but no one who has “emerged into the leading position.” “So let’s see if anybody else is going to join, and we’ve got a long way to go,” he added.
A very interesting column.. COMPLETELY NEUTRAL
Be sure to Read the Poem at the end.
Charley Reese’s final column for the Orlando Sentinel…
He has been a journalist for 49 years.
He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.
Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.
This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat. Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It’s a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!
545 vs. 300,000,000 People
-By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House now? He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan …
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it… is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren’t so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me
to my doom…’
When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom, if agreed, stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the heck happened?
I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN!!!
The Chair of the Sumter South Carolina Tea Party posted — and then quickly pulled — a post on her Facebook page earlier this month that joked about throwing the Obamas out of a helicopter, reports TalkingPointsMemo.com. Shery Lanford Smith posted the joke on her Facebook page on August 11th. The page has since gone “private.” In the joke, the Obamas are on a helicopter talking about how they could make people happy if they threw money out the window. The pilot says: “I could throw both of them out of the window and make 256 million people very happy!” Smith added: “If you’re one of 256 million, PASS IT ON.” Smith reportedly pulled the joke after the Sumter Item contacted her about it.
“It’s just a joke,” she told the Item. “I had no idea it would be an issue.” The Sumter SC Tea Party’s page is now also defunct
SIDEBAR: Bytch please you knew exactly what you where doing and who you wanted to see it. Joke or funny my azz that is straight up bullshyt. How would she feel or the Tea Party members started to come up missing, would you find that as Facebook humour. Oops forgot your educated folks that know what your doing at all times!
Florida Gov. Rick Scott continues his assault on the poor. (Getty Images)Oh, to be a wealthy politician in this day and age. Tanyaa Weathersbee of Black America Web is reporting that Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants poor people to pay $35 for a drug test before they can collect welfare. Weatherbee highlights the fact that welfare recipients are not abusing drugs at a disproportionately higher rate than the general population.
In addition to rescinding a rule restoring voting rights of convicted felons who complete their sentences, the governor also wants state employees to submit to drug tests at least four times a year. Again, there is no evidence of rampant drug use among state employees.
What about those who abuse prescription drugs, most of whom are white? Law-enforcement officials in Florida approved a database that would help stop doctors from overprescribing addictive drugs. Of course, Scott wants to get rid of that database because it is too much government intrusion into people’s lives.
Maybe Scott is on that stuff, because he is clearly biased about his definition of too much government. Should government be rescinding the right of convicted felons to vote after completing their sentences? That sounds like invasion of privacy and too much government to me. We won’t mention how the pharmaceutical companies will benefit from the removal of that database. What is the fee to test CEOs of corporations that collect corporate welfare?
We get it: Republicans and Tea Party members want less government when it comes to corporations, taxes and their ability to build and maintain wealth, but more government when it comes to controlling the lives of the poor and disenfranchised. Hypocrisy at its worst.
The instant Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others were gunned down at a public meet-and-greet in Tucson, leaving six dead-including a federal judge, several retirees, and a 9-year-old student council representative-Tea Party grandmaster Sarah Palin and leaders of her movement swung into damage-control mode.
Palin offered condolences to the families of the shooting victims and called for prayers for peace and justice. Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer went further and condemned the shootings as “an attack on the democratic process.”
Palin’s and Kremer’s expressions of outrage are undoubtedly sincere and heartfelt. But those fine sentiments don’t absolve them of blame for helping to create the hyper-vicious, borderline-vigilante climate that has provoked more than one unbalanced kook -as the alleged shooter Jared Loughner clearly is-to blast away at innocents, under the guise of striking back at someone or something whose politics, ideas, religion, or race they hate.
That this country had entered a new era-where it was some thought it permissible to take the law into their own hands and bombard public officials with life-threatening letters, texts, phone calls, and in some cases physical attacks-was plainly evident during and after the health care reform debate last year.
Nearly a dozen Democrats and Republicans received threatening messages. Republican Rep. Eric Cantor got a bullet through his campaign-office window. Other legislators had their windows broken and their tires slashed. Palin didn’t help matters with her oft-quoted exhortation to conservatives to “reload”-complete with photos of her on hunting forays, gun in hand. Palin and GOP leaders drove home their message that political opponents-i.e. liberal and moderate Democrats-were ripe for attack when she plastered an image of crosshairs in a Facebook post listing 20 vulnerable House Democrats who had voted for health care reform. Giffords was one of them.
Palin sensed the dangerous line that she had edged up to with her depiction of Democrats in the GOP’s gun sights. She protested that she was not calling for anyone to slaughter them with weapons but to vote them out of office.
House Republicans gathered Thursday at a lumber warehouse in Virginia to unveil their new “Pledge to America.” So what are they promising? To make the Bush tax cuts permanent for everyone, to repeal health-care reform, and to reduce federal spending. The Pledge is 45 pages. If this doesn’t Scare Democrats and Independents to the voting booth in November to vote for Democratic, well, nothing will.
Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein says “Their policy agenda is detailed and specific-a decision they will almost certainly come to regret. Because when you get past the adjectives and soaring language, the talk of inalienable rights and constitutional guarantees, you’re left with a set of hard promises that will increase the deficit by trillions of dollars, take health-care insurance away from tens of millions of people, create a level of policy uncertainty businesses have never previously known, and suck demand out of an economy that’s already got too little of it.”
The New Republic’s Jon Chait is also unimpressed:
“It’s a reprise of every theme of Republican economic policy-making the party has followed for 20 years.” He adds, “The Pledge to America fulminates against debt, but it should be read as a plan to explode debt through the ceiling.”
Sarah Palin and her supporters may think she’s hot stuff, but reality says different.
According to a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll, 59 percent of Americans think Sarah Palin is not fit to be president of the United States
Meanwhile, 26 percent say they think she would be an effective commander-in-chief. The poll also shows Republicans splitting 47-40 on the question of whether Palin can lead the country.
Those numbers should be comforting to liberals, but on the other hand, 76 percent of respondents said Mel Gibson’s recent misogynistic and racist tirade won’t affect whether or not they’ll see his movies
As previously reported, conservative radio host and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck is hosting a rally in Washington, D.C., Saturday on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech — but he says the date was not chosen intentionally.
“Whites don’t own Abraham Lincoln,” Beck said in a recent broadcast of his Fox News show. “Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King. Those are American icons, American ideas, and we should just talk about character, and that’s really what this event is about. It’s about honoring character.”
The “Restoring Honor Rally,” which has Sarah Palin booked to speak, will taking place at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday- the sight of Dr. King’s speech – and is intended to “celebrate America by honoring our heroes,” according to the event’s website.
Beck, who has called President Obama a racist, says the rally is not political, and will even spend time celebrating Dr. King.
Meanwhile…
Rev. Al Sharpton will also hold an event in D.C. on the same day to honor the 47th anniversary of the famous speech.
“When we heard about Glenn Beck, it was puzzling,” Sharpton told the New York Daily News. “Because if you read Dr. King’s speech, it just doesn’t gel with what Mr. Beck or Mrs. Palin are representing.
Beck is expecting approximately 100,000 people at the event.
DC Metro Map
For readers who live in the DC area or are familiar with its metro system, writer Jason Linkins wrote a hilarious piece last week about a real visitors guide from rally organizers warning attendees to avoid certain stops on the Orange and Blue Lines, and to stay away from the Green and Yellow Lines altogether.
Linkins wrote in his Huffington Post piece: ”As someone who rides the Green and Yellow Lines all the time, I can assure you that there are no ‘rules’ that state these subway lines must be avoided at all times, especially at night. But then, I guess I’m not using ‘A Cliche-Ridden Guide To Avoiding The Black People On The Subway In Washington’ as a rulebook.
According to a tell-all book to be released this month, staunch Republican and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin reportedly had a one-night stand with former Heat/Hornet/Laker brother Glenn Rice.
The book, entitled “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” by Joe McGinniss, said that Palin and Rice met when she was a sports reporter for Anchorage TV station KTVV and Rice was a 6 ft. 8 forward at the University of Michigan.
The tryst occurred in 1987, and Tea Party Palin was described by a friend as the aggressor, with a pal reporting “she hauled his a** down.”
The book also reports that Palin was once seen snorting cocaine off the top of a 55-gallon drum while snowmobiling with friends as well as smoking pot with a professor.
The 230-page book is due in stores next week.