The Truth About Tax Cuts

Editor’s Note: This is another guest post by Two Clubs. This post tackles the issue of tax cuts.

The Truth About Tax Cuts…

We are all very aware that the United States has a budget problem. The Republicans have taken to the roof tops and are shouting that spending cuts are required to solve the budget crisis. To these folks, who claim to be the party of business, they continue to focus on only one side of the balance sheet and completely ignoring the other. In this post I’ll try and do both and explain the real world impacts of tax cuts and how the country got into this mess.

The Republicans think that the government should be run more like a business. This mantra has been repeated for decades. Fair enough, we’ll look at the budget issue through the lens of a business and see how the problems can be fixed. The Republican solution to all of America’s budgetary problems is encapsulated in the proposed Paul Ryan budget. This budget is heavy on reducing social spending while extending Bush era tax cuts and hoping to make them permanent. From a business perspective, this concept is completely void of common sense. Here’s why.

To make things as simplistic as possible we’ll point out that in business everything you do is based off of revenues and access to capital. All decisions are based on your ability to generate revenue and sustain your access to working capital. From hiring employees to carrying larger inventories of products everything is linked directly to your ability to generate revenue. When your revenues drop your ability to gain access to working capital is restricted by your lenders and creditors. The same issue arises when your debt load becomes unmanageable. This is where the government finds itself. This is the root of all of its problems.

Currently the government is spending more that its revenues can sustain. This is increasing our debt and gives our creditors heartburn. The Republicans point to social spending as the root of all evil, and believe that by reducing spending in this area we can solve the budget problems. This is where they are wrong, as our business example will show.

To the government business, revenues are collected in the form of taxes. When taxes are cut revenues drop. This is where we find the big problem. The Bush administration passed a series of tax cuts that greatly restricted the government’s ability to generate revenue. The biggest part of this problem is that the tax cuts were passed on to those in the country who really didn’t need the tax relief in the first place. These tax cuts were akin to the government having a huge sale and slashing prices on everything, but only allowing those consumers with the right membership card to attend. That membership card was only available to those in the top 1% of earners in the country! Goods were flying out the door, but revenues were not meeting the levels to sustain the bottom line. These tax cuts reduced the business revenues by some $200 billion a year. That was only half the issue though.

Back after 9-11 the government (a Republican government!) went on a spending spree, engaging in two wars and creating a massive expansion of government, and money pit, called the Department of Homeland Security. Defense spending has better than doubled, to just under $664 billion, an increase of almost $350 billion. The DHS budget is tagged at $42.7 billion. This was an increase of almost $400 billion in spending just between these two departments. Add in the $200 billion in revenue shortfall and you have a massive $600 billion a year problem that started in 2001 and has remained unchecked to today.

So what are we to do? Do we keep the big red and white sale sign out there, reducing our revenues? Do we continue to spend in areas that might not be prudent? I think it is wise to again treat this like a business. We need to increase our revenues. This means eliminating the Bush era tax cuts, getting back $200 billion a year in revenues. This also means reducing spending in areas that caused the problem to begin with. We need to reduce our military spending back to 2000 levels, which would still see us spending as much as the next top 30 military spending nations combined. We need to look a lot closer at the way money is spent in Washington bureaucracy, and not in the way of entitlement programs for the common good. These programs were created to be self sufficient and were operating just that way, until the government started to abuse their powers and borrow against them. Leave these programs alone and focus on fixing the big revenue problems. That’s the elephant in the room the GOP appears to be blind toward. They like to call the Democrats "the tax and spend party", but they are doing nothing to face the reality that their own Republican brethern are the "tax break for the wealthy and spend our children into the poorhouse party." You can't call out the other guys as failing to fix the problem when it was you who created the problem to begin with, and are actively preventing mitigating strategies from being put in place. The big spending has to stop and the revenues must increase. Achieve these simple goals and our business is again capable of meeting its financial needs.

The Girl With Dragon Tattoo Red Band Trailer

Oh man, Christmas can't come soon enough. If this movie is half as good as the original, we are in for a treat. This has the potnetial to be Fincher's best movie ever. I didn't realize Daniel Craig was in this as Mikael Blomkvist. Stellan Skarsgård casting as Martin Vanger is perfect. Trust me, people won't like him after this performance. Sicko but he gets his eventually...oops spoiler alert!! However, if done right, the stealer could be Rooney Mara (of Social Network fame) as Lisbeth Salander. I've seen all three movies of the trilogy and I hope they do all three in america. Guess it depends on how well the first one does.

Also, listen closely as Trent Reznor (fresh off his Oscar win for Social Network) and Karen O cover Led' Zepplin's classic "Immigrant Song"

For those who have Netflix, catch the trilogy, it is worth your time.

Jon Stewart owns Bill O'Reilly

These two should have their own show together. I'd actually watch that. I actually like O'Reilly but Stewart makes him look like a fool. Stewart is a genius.

Roger Ailes Profile

The head of Fox News is profiled by Rolling Stone. Learned some interesting things. I didn't know much about his background. Very interesting piece and shows how Fox News blurs the lines between journalism and politics.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-20110525?page=1

DJ Shadow - I Gotta Rokk

The Godfather of Trip hop is back with a new album due out in September. Check out his first single. Sounds like he still has it. Of course not for everyone but you can't deny this guy's talent and his influence is huge in this genre.

Kenna - 'Static'

Just found out about this song. Have always liked Kenna but haven't followed his stuff from the last few years. Guess it's time to catch up.

Below is alive version recently performed. Thanks to SKOA for posting this.

Theophilus London - "Last Name London"

July Theophilus London drops his debut album. Been a fan of his work since I heard his work with Maximum Balloon. Enjoy!

Warpaint - "Elephant" Live on Jools Holland

This is their best song in my opinion off their debut album which was released last year. I think I prefer the studio version better but some of the tempo changes in this performance were a nice touch.

Tinie Tempah with Eric Turner - Written in the Stars

This guy is huge across the pond, let's see if he blows up big here.

RIP Macho Man

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=13648901

Karen Elson - The Truth is in the Dirt

Just saw this video. Another great song off the underrated debut album from Karen Elson which was released last year.

Foster the People - Pumped up Kicks

YouTube - Uprising - Muse make fun of an italian tv show in this "live" performance - hilarious!

YouTube - Uprising - Muse make fun of an italian tv show in this "live" performance - hilarious!

This is from last year I believe. Hilarious when I saw it then and hilarious today. For whatever reason, Muse was asked not to play live. So in protest, the lead Singer, Matt Bellamy played drums and the drummer was lead singer and guitarist. Not that the hostess or audience seemed to know.

War and religion Funny

Lady Gaga goes to Farmville

System of a Down is back

http://www.antiquiet.com/news/2011/05/system-of-a-down-reunion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiquiet+%28Antiquiet%29

They returned last night in Edmonton to perform live for the first time in 4 years. While maybe still rusty, I'm glad there back. The best part of the review is what follows.

System has yet to confirm if they will record new material, but if they do, here’s a suggestion for guitarist Daron Malakian: let Serj Tankian do the singing. Your vocals on 2005’s Mezmerize and Hypnotize were easily the weakest and most distracting part on both of those records. Serj’s voice is one of the best parts of SOAD; don’t get in his way, stay out of it.

I couldn't agree more, SOAD sucked when Malakian took over the vocals. He was awful and made me not listen to them. I would just put on Toxicity and remember the good old days. Hope they come to my neck of the woods.

Introducing the chromebook

I've been waiting for this for a long time. Still not out yet. Should be inetersting to see how it looks and how it does. Google will have to marry Android and Chrome eventually though. This fragmentation can't last. If they want to compete with Apple and Microsoft, they need to unify and since both are open source, shouldn't be that hard. I'll probably get this or the iPad 3 when it comes out.

Pink floyd - Comfortably Numb

One of my favorite Pink Floyd songs performed by remaining living band members today in London at O2 arena. David Gilmour joined Roger Waters (along with a surprise appearance by Pink Floyd’s drummer, Nick Mason) performing Comfortably Numb and Outside The Wall together.

James Blake - Limit to Your Love and the Wilhelm Scream

Man this guy is impressive. Might be my next CD I get.

Introducing Seasick Steve - Don't Know Why She Loved Me

Performed on Later With Jools Holland

Chicago Trip Report and Pics

Hi All,

Been very quiet on the blog lately due to being out of town in Chicago last weekend and then swamped with work and after work activities this week. Below are some of the pics taken from cell phone during my trip. I met up with the inner circle crew for this trip. The inner circle consists of Stew, Sticky, McLovin and Mole Eyes (actual names and images have been concealed due to national security concerns).

Stew (your hero) and Sticky sojourned out to Chicago together and met up with McLovin and Mole eyes who came in from California. We got into Midway on Friday morning and checked in at the lovely holiday inn express and then grabbed lunch at Coaches bar and grill. Sampled a local variety of beer called 312 with lunch. Wasn't bad but kinda pricey which we would discover was the norm for libations throughout the city. After that we hopped on the El into downtown to meet up with Mole Eyes. McLovin was working from her company's Chicago office and met up with us later in the evening. The three of us ventured to Millennium park and saw the sites and then walked around lake shore dr and Michigan avenue checking out the buildings and amazing architecture.












We went back to the W Hotel where McLovin and Mole Eyes was staying and had some drinks. Stewman introduced the inner circle to his new favorite drink, Ginger Ale and Crown Royal.



McLovin eventually showed up and we had a few more drinks and then cabbed it to the recommended steakhouse called Kinzie Chop House McLovin made a generous offer to treat us all for dinner and we definitely took advantage eating some very tasty steaks, side dishes, appetizers and desserts on top of more drinks and a bottle of expensive wine (at least expensive to this wine novice). Thanks McLovin and check out Kinzie if ever in town, it was tasty and excellent service!!

After that we went to Gilt Night club for some more drinks. We wealked into a packed darkly lit restaurant/bar and quickly hit the bar up. Sticky and I were so confused on the beers as they had about 12 beers on tap and we only recognized 1 which was the PBR, not a favroites. We ordered one of the beers and it tasted awful so they let us trade it in for another that was much better but nothing special in itself. After that we sat and chatted and then McLovin started living up to her name and started chatting up some guys and Mole Eyes surprisingly started chatting up some ladies. Sticky and I hung out with Mole Eyes and the ladies. One of the ladies was drunk and angry after just getting dumped by her considerably younger boyfriend. She was a buzz kill and after McLovin exchanged some digits we followed her to Paris bar where she was meeting up with the guys from the last bar. This place had a nice vibe and a awesome DJ spinning some great tunes from the likes of Lykke Li, Florence and the machine and Mark Ronson. Sticky and I got a table and just chilled as it had been a long day for us since we had been up since 3:00am and had more than a few drinks. The ladies were chatting the guys up and after a hour or so Sticky and I exited the house and snagged a cab back to the hotel. The ladies eventually made it to their hotel later that night.

Woke up the next morning with a slight headache and somewhat dehydrated but overall felt fine. Called the ladies and it turns out Mole Eyes(this how she got the name) eyes were shut closed after some sort of allergic reaction with her contact solution and they were red and in pain. She stayed in the room for the day since we had the cubs game at night and McLovin joined Sticky and me at Giordano's We ordered a medium Pepperoni, Sausage and Black Olive deep dish. I had been waiting for this moment and it did not disappoint.




After that the three of us ventured to the Field Museum. We walked around for almost 3 hours and checked out the 3-D dinosaur movie discussing Sue, the T-?Rex. Impressive fossil of this gigantic creature.



We then cabbed it back to the W to pick up Mole Eyes and went to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. I really liked the old feel of Wrigley and the smallness of the parks. A lot of history in this stadium. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we left after the 4th inning due to 30 degree weather (with windchill) and rain. The game was actually canceled after the 6th inning. Thanks to Sticky for treating us to the game, very nice of you. After that we ventured to wrigleyville and drank some more at a bar. We hung there for a few hours then migrated back to the W for more drinks and some late night appetizers. After that Sticky and I cabbed it back to the hotel and we flew home the next day. Overall fun trip, wish it could have been longer. Downtown Chicago is awesome.

Tone Def Poetry Slam - Jon Stewart

From last nights episode of the daily show. Absolutely hilarious and right on once again showing the hypocrisy of Fox News.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-11-2011/tone-def-poetry-jam

Freakonomics on Poker

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/05/10/levitts-poker-paper-its-a-game-of-skill/


If you want to purchase the paper. I'll just wait for the next Freakonomics book to come out.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w17023

Lonely Island Feat. Michael Bolton - Jack Sparrow

FULL ALBUM STREAM: ‘ROME’ WITH DANGER MOUSE & DANIELE LUPPI BY

http://www.antiquiet.com/news/2011/05/rome-album-stream/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiquiet+%28Antiquiet%29

This is going to be one interesting album!

More words we need to understand…

Editor’s Note: This is another guest post by Two Clubs. This is the second in a series on government and politics. Enjoy this reading and hopefully you may learn the definitions of some commonly misused terms.

This past weekend the South Carolina GOP held a convention to fire up the troops and scare the bejesus out of anyone who would listen. It was the same old series of talking points from the usual suspects of criminal stupidity. Senator Jim DeMint, Representative Tim Scott, and ex-Governor Rick Santorum were all bringing their best scare tactics to the table in hopes of finding traction with their base.

Senator Jim DeMint spoke about the creep of socialism and told attendees “this is our last chance to get it right. 2012 is when we have to lay it all on the line. We have to go to the mat.”

Representative Tim Scott continued down that same avenue. “There's no question that we are moving, step by step, closer to socialism. So that puts democracy at risk to some extent.”

Rick Santorum, the ex-Pennsylvania Governor and possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, attempted to raise the specter of Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy when discussing government intrusion into the lives of Americans. He was especially critical of education, saying, “I don’t know, maybe they called it early pre-K or something like that, that the government sponsored to get your children in there so they can indoctrinate them.”

This is the stuff that makes the head of the average non-American explode in frustration. The contradictions and dissonance in their policy position is astounding. These people who represent our supposed better interests pick these terms out of mid air and attempt to use the stupidity of the common man against them. Terms like socialism, fascism and indoctrination all have a negative connotation in American society, simply because Americans have been indoctrinated to view these words as euphemisms for negative consequences. If people would learn the true meaning of these terms they would see through these snake oil salesmen and see the obvious lies in what they say.

First, let’s examine the bugaboo of socialism and why it is evil. It is hard to believe that a political or social philosophy could be evil but that is the talking point from a certain party in American politics. This concept is mind numbingly stupid when you consider that almost every other country in the G20 is more socialistic in their governmental structure than the United States, and, last I checked, none of the citizens of these countries were crushed under the yoke of oppression. In fact, using the adjusted Human Development Index as a measure, the United States ranks 12th in quality of life for its citizens, and quickly dropping in that measure.

The textbook definition of socialism is a system where the means of production is commonly owned and controlled through cooperative interests. This definition is open to much interpretation and, in the extent of socialistic practices, varies greatly from example to example. I could go to great lengths to explain socialism in action, but that is a moot point. The important thing here is understand why the Republicans use this as a scare tactic and why they are bastardizing the term.

Socialism to the Republicans is the artificial control of the free market. That is really all they are concerned about. They want nothing more than to have a non-regulated marketplace where anything can be done to make a buck. Anything that is restrictive of that marketplace is socialism in action. I don’t think we need to go very far to find examples of why an unregulated marketplace is a bad thing. Whether it be lead in paint, salmonella in food, immoral lending practices by banks or unscrupulous trading practices by corporations I think we can agree that regulations are required to protect the common good of our society. These controls are not examples of socialism, they are illustrations of a functioning society acting in a responsible manner. Acting collectively, to protect everyone equally, is a core tenet of the constitution, so it shouldn’t be scary in any shape or form. What is scary for Republicans is the idea that acting collectively might just give everyone the same access to those aspects of our society that we deem as being necessary for a quality life. If we did act collectively, as our government was designed by the founding fathers, we could have the same freedoms that other G20 countries have, like universal healthcare, quality education, equal access to low cost food and drugs, and a removal of the corporate power structure.

I find it ironic that Republicans and conservatives continue to fall back on using socialism as a scare tactic when they themselves embrace some of the most socialistic constructs any free society can develop. Conservatives, as a stereotype, are a religious bunch. They fall back on their religion and all for it to be the central focus of their being. They come together and work collectively under the banner of their particular church, gaining the benefits of a community. This is socialism in action. Republicans and conservatives are huge supporters of the military and military spending, yet this is as socialistic as you can get. We use our collective resources to fill the ranks and pay for the weapons systems. That is socialism in action. The Republicans are also huge supporters of big business. Most corporations, who get so much from their political stooges, generate their working capital from selling common shares. A group of people come together to commonly own and cooperatively control the production of a product. This is socialism in action. When these huge corporations suffer from their own stupid mistakes it is the tax payer that is expected to bail them out and pay for their operational errors. It can be argued that this is socialism for corporations in action, (although it is more accurately aligned with fascism). Conservatives don’t hate socialism, per se, they just hate it when it helps out people who have different beliefs as them.

The second term of discussion is fascism. Republicans like to use the term fascism and socialism interchangeably, even though they are contrary political positions. This is another term badly misused or mischaracterized by conservatives and the mass media alike. Fascism is an ideology based on authoritarian nationalistic beliefs. People are taught from a young age (called indoctrination) that their country and their belief system is superior to that of any other. Fascism relies on the development and promotion of a national mythos where ancestry and culture make the country unique and powerful. This helps develop a singular collective identity, where others who have different ideas are ridiculed or purged from society all together. An example of this is American exceptionalism preached by hardcore conservatives.

Core functions of fascist regimes have been control over education, family policy, and an embracement of militarism, showing a willingness to freely use force without significant provocation. Fascist states believe that the individual does not exist but is nothing more than a cog in the corporate machine. During WWII, corporations were key partners in running the government and collected huge profits for doing so.

When Republicans toss out the term fascism it is hard to keep a straight face. This is the party that believes in American exceptionalism and is pushing for the establishment of state religion through adoption of Christian standards. They are strongly pro-life, wanting to outlaw abortion and the mother’s right to choose. They believe education should not be an open system, but instead should be closed with a very dogmatic curriculum. These Republicans and conservatives also believe that we need a strong military and should be free to use it as often as possible. Finally, and most importantly, the GOP firmly believes that by empowering the corporations, and drafting policy for their benefit, we make our country stronger. How this group of people can call anyone else fascist is beyond logic?

The final term to pick apart is indoctrination. Merriam Webster informs us that soft definition of indoctrination is the instruction of fundamentals or rudiments of any given subject. Basically, this is called teaching. If we assume this to be the definition then we are all indoctrinated into believing what we think we know. The harder definition tells us that indoctrination includes the imbuement of a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view or principle. This is the indoctrination that the Republicans like to roll out there as a scare tactic and an example of all that is wrong with our education systems. The only problem with their allusion is it is flat out wrong.

Indoctrination really boils down to the teaching of a single point of view. This is done in fundamentalist religions and totalitarian societies. The regulated curriculum in our school system is exactly what prevents indoctrination, forcing instructors to provide an open perspective to their students and abide by a secular point of view. This important to recognize because it is aligned with the constitution and the freedoms guaranteed in the first amendment. If indoctrination is taking place in this framework then the entire system the founding fathers framed is an abject failure. Seeing as how these “patriots” are so enamored with the founding fathers we can assume this is not the case. If these merchants of misdirection were honest they would be looking in their own backyard for examples of indoctrination.

The reality is the Republicans prey on those people who have a very closed perspective, one developed because of indoctrination. The GOP base is very decidedly Christian, most of which being fundamentalist. This component of the base was brought up to believe that their interpretation of God is the only true deity and all others are false idols. They believe they are the chosen few and are bent on promoting their own kind into positions of power. If you are not one of them, you are the enemy and inherently evil. Most of these people were home schooled and force fed religious belief as children. This prevented them from developing a broad perspective and questioning their teachings. If we look at the definitions again we’ll find that this is the textbook example of indoctrination.

At this time in our country’s history it is important to recognize the snake oil salesmen and call them on their inaccuracies. We can’t let them get away with the twisting of the facts and the scapegoating of ideologies or beliefs which they have twisted in shapes beyond recognition. We need to be aware and not fall for it. We need to be able to look at all potential solutions to the problems that plague our nation and adopt the solutions that best work regardless of the scary words some may try and wrap them in. There is a rhetorical battle going on in the country where negative euphemisms are quickly attached to solutions in hopes of marginalizing them or eliminating them from the discussion. Socialism, fascism and indoctrination are just a few of the terms used to scare people into thinking their country is at risk. Ironically, as people run from these solutions they run right into the trap of greater corporate control. In fact, these terms that are being used against the people only become accurate when the word corporate precedes them in a sentence. I think that the next time the Republicans toss out the terms socialism, fascism and indoctrination that they should be fed the terms projection, transference and introjection.

What a photo

Bin Laden Photographs

So a few days ago, the white House announced they would not release the photo's of Bin Laden's dead body. I for one believe without a doubt that Osama is dead. I don't need to see pictures to prove to me he is. However, I feel we should be able to see the photos. The price that we all have paid to capture this guy is so large that we deserve to see the body. This manhunt has been the costliest in man kind history. We all have funded in our taxes the effort to capture him. Numerous people world wide have suffered greatly at the hand of this man. We deserve to see the photos. Wrong decision by the President.

Edit*
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-ladens-death-confirmed-al-qaeda/story?id=13543148

Al Qaeda confirms his death.

Julian Assange on Facebook

I actually think there is some truth to his statements on Facebook and other big tech sites.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20059247-17.html

Geronimo-E KIA...

So were the code words uttered by a Navy SEAL to inform the national security team watching on feeds in the White House that Osama Bin Laden was dead. Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and the target of the largest and most expensive man hunt in the history of man kind met his demise in a mansion compound in Attabad Pakistan. SEAL Team Six of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group aboard multiple Black Hawk Helicopters flew into the compound and engaged in gunfire with Bin Laden and some others. They put a bullet in his head and one in his chest, killed other members of his team and gathered intelligence and evidence before leaving with his body, all in forty minutes. As I sat watching TV last night and watching the President make his statement, I felt a sense of pride sweep over me that no matter where you may hide or how long it will take, the United States will catch you. I wish I could have been in DC to celebrate with the crowds who gathered in front of the White House rejoicing in celebration that this symbol of evil had finally met his demise.

Not everyone felt completely the same though. Below is Two Clubs opinion on the nights event and his feelings of trying to understand it all. I will have my opinions about the vents and Two Clubs statements afterwards.


Bin Laden dead. Was it worth it?

I first heard the news from my wife, who received an update on Facebook. Al Qaeda leader and financier, Osama bin Laden, had been reportedly killed during a raid of a compound outside Islamabad, Pakistan. Watching a re-run of The Taking of Pelham 123 was now a secondary interest. Learning more about the assassination of bin Laden became primary.

Information was slow to come out as the press corps appeared to be waiting for the official announcement from the President. Even though the details were sketchy there was a definite reaction from the American people. The one term that kept coming up in describing the events was “jubilation.” For some reason this troubled me. I decided to turn in for the night and wait for more details surrounding the events and the potential fallout from the action.

When my dogs dragged me out of bed to feed them the following morning it gave me opportunity to check the newswire and see what other details there were in regards to the stunning news of bin Laden’s death. I read as much unique information as I could find but details were still sketchy. What was made very clear in the media was the American reaction. From political leaders to first responders to the common man on the street the response was similar. The same word that still resonated through the media was “jubilation.” This still troubled me. I needed to figure out why.

I began to look at the many photos of the American reaction that were splashed all over the Internet. What I saw was a wild, almost uncontained, celebration of bin Laden’s death. These pictures looked all too familiar to me. We’ve seen these types of scenes in the Middle East when a key campaign is won or someone is martyred. These are the types of scenes that we have openly criticized as being irrational or the people being over-zealous in their support of a flawed cause. Had we become that which we most often criticized?

I can understand the desire to see the leader of AL Qaeda killed, but this reaction seemed over the top. There was a disconnect in logic. It had been almost 10 years since the September 11th attacks, and our reasoning for going into Afghanistan and Iraq had changed multiple times since then. Osama bin Laden had become an afterthought in the search for redemption. Why was there such an outpouring of emotion for this killing when the world had changed so greatly since 9/11? This is likely the dilemma my conscience was wrestling with. What has this changed and is this action worthy of a celebration?

As I sat in the dawn’s early light of the day after bin Laden’s killing, the thing that kept running through my head was what has changed? Was the economy going to get better? Were more jobs going to become available because of this death? Was the value sucked out of my house by the housing bubble going to magically return? Was my retirement any more secure, or were the political vultures going to continue to pick at that corpse? Were health care costs going to drop and become affordable? Was anything that directly impacted my current existence going to change as a result of this assassination? I couldn’t see how this made any difference to the issues that matter.

I will admit that I do find some satisfaction that another terrorist has been killed in a very grizzly fashion. I also think it is great that it was our intelligence community and one of our SEAL teams that got the job done (this is how you respond to instances of terror, not through large military engagement). Unfortunately I don’t think this is a time to take to the streets and celebrate. Not when the streets are filled with the problems caused by chasing the shadow of bin Laden and his ilk with the costly machinations of our military. When measured against the trillions of dollars spent in making war against two nations one has to wonder, was the over-reaction all worth it? Did we win anything by killing bin Laden or did bin Laden win the war by bankrupting our nation?

It is tough to be celebratory, even when achieving a long term goal like this. Not when there are so many other troubles facing this country. I’ll take to the streets in celebration when the villains from Wall Street get tracked down and dealt with in a similar fashion. Or when the economy gets fixed and well paying jobs are available again. Or when things become affordable based on my miserable ever shrinking salary. Or my future is re-secured with the money and tax dollars I invested in vehicles like my home and retirement saving plans. Until then I’ll remain reserved over the killing of another terrorist mastermind and hold my celebrations for when my country is made whole again.

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As usual Two Clubs eloquently expresses his opinions and frustrations like no other. I agree with a lot of what he has stated above but I must admit that I think the celebration was justified and that American's should find satisfaction in this killing.

It is true that we have many issues facing this country from the economy, unemployment, rising oil prices, political partisanship and fighting two endless wars that will not end anytime soon, even with Bin Laden's death. However, America as a country needed something to celebrate. This malaise that has infected this country for the past decade needed a temporary antidote even if it is not the cure. We needed something(albeit briefly I'm sure) to have us stop squabbling with each other. Most importantly we needed this to show the world that we will not ever give up in our quest for justice. Millions of people around the world from the US, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa have been affected by this man and his minions. Not that his death will end the terrorist acts anytime soon, but at least we can have some hope and a moment of glee in time a chaos and despair. At least let us revel in this moment before returning to reality. God knows we spent enough money along with too much blood, sweat and tears to achieve this.

Not the right direction for Microsoft

This is profits from their online division over the years. Microsoft will have to keep pumping money into this division because it is the future, but this is pathetic.

GSP vs Shields

GSP fights Jake Shields this weekend. Probably one of St. Pierre's toughest fights but I predict he will win. Probably a unanimous decision. To see why GSP dominates, check out these stats.

Kate Moulene on Poker

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-moulene/how-poker-can-save_b_854134.html

One of the best op-eds I have read on the recent poker developments. Moulene makes many great points, most of them common sense which of course is contrary to what our government does.

Bil Simmon's on the Maloof's and the Kings

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/110425&sportCat=nba

Bill Simmons once again makes many good points, especially how the Maloof's over leveraged themselves in Vegas and Sacramento and the ineptness of the NBA and their owners and commissioner.

Gary Loveman on Internet Poker

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/26/news/companies/gary_loveman_poker.fortune/index.htm
Caesar's entertainment CEO Gary Loveman's editorial on online poker.

Hey Gary, I agree with you on your opinions but you get the biggest part of it factually wrong, Online Poker is not illegal in the US. Also, don't be fooled by his stance either. Of course he wants it regulated because when it is, Caesar's entertainment may well become the next Poker Star's.

Edward Reid - Britain's Got Talent 2011 Audition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySey8kbOiO4&feature=player_detailpage

Well done Sir. Funny and entertaining.

Bill Maher Rolling Stone Interview

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/bill-maher-the-rolling-stone-interview-20110420?page=1

Excellent piece by Tim Dickinson

The Future For Online Poker Players

This is just a dramatization. LOL!

At least we still have Wall St...

http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/04/19/keeping-us-safe-from-poker/

Sorry haven't blogged much besides poker stuff. Been busy at work and other stuff and not much time to peruse the Internet for other stuff. The little I've read has been on poker.

Party at the DOJ

Not MrSrslySirius best but still pretty good.

Bill Rini on implications of DOJ indictments

http://www.billrini.com/2011/04/16/fallout-full-tilt-pokerstars-pullout/

The blackout Period Has Begun

Black Friday has hit the on-line poker world. This is only good for the brick & mortar casinos who must be rejoicing right now. Sucks for everyone else.

Good piece by pokernews on the day's events and what will happen going forward.

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/04/a-closer-look-at-online-poker-black-friday-indictment-10224.htm

This professor is awesome

http://www.brobible.com/brommunity/story/greatest-class-email-ever-sent-by-a-professor

Full DOJ indictment of Poker Sites

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6sKjUYL3e6LZGM0Y2I3ODAtMmM3MC00Mjc2LWE4OGYtNDZhYWNmYzUwM2U3&hl=en&authkey=CJ6Jmu0C&pli=1

Does this really surprise anyone?

No Sex U and their hypocrisy coming to light

http://deadspin.com/#!5791461/the-truth-about-race-religion-and-the-honor-code-at-byu

The guy who brought the house down

http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/web-kings-life-on-the-line/story-fn6ck45n-1226039907165

D-Day has arrived. Is this the end of On-line poker in America?

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April11/scheinbergetalindictmentpr.pdf

In a word, WOW. This is huge. We knew this day would come and I for one thought it would be much earlier than today. I'll have to see if I can login tonight on the poker sites. Not sure if those domains were the ones seized. This is such a joke. On-line poker is no different than the stock market which many more people partake in and much more money is "gambled" every second than what is gambled in on-line poker. This government needs to regulate and tax this instead of indicting people. Even the companies and players want this. When was the last time a industry was begging to be regulated and taxed.


EDIT:

From Pokerati.com

12:20 PM - Pokerstars is starting to block US players from their cash games, and its hard to think the others won’t follow suit.

12:00 PM - News orgs both in and out of poker are starting to come together with their releases. Pokernews is the first (and so far only) poker news site to release something on the subject, whereas the WSJ, Fox Business, and Forbes all have releases as well. At this point I’ll refrain from posting a story unless it reveals any new information, as now the story is gaining traction, but needless to say here is where we stand:

The download IPs to Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars, and the Cereus Network are reported to have been seized by the US Government.
The charges are widely varied and include bank fraud, illegal gambling, money laundering, and UIGEA violations.
The owners of the three sites have been targets, but so far none of them have been apprehended. Some other defendants related to the banking end of the accusations have been arrested and are due for arraignment in the coming days.
About 75 bank accounts in 14 countries have been seized or are in the process of being seized by the US Gov’t in connection with the indictment
As of 12:05 PM PST, UB.com is still seized by the DoJ. fulltiltpoker.com and pokerstars.com are still up and running. All three clients are reported to be up as well.
11:45 AM - Gary Wise (of former Poker Beat and current Pokerstatic & ESPN fame) posted a short blog on the subject. I agree with both things he has said. The sites are in trouble, the DoJ did this for a reason, but poker will go on….it may be much more live-based than online-based after this, but it will go on.

11:30 AM - Just after taking a quick glance at the DoJ’s statement, this is definitely the real deal and likely the result of years of investigation. In other words, they aren’t messing around. The fact that SDNY is asking for $3 BILLION dollars in damages certainly suggests they plan on bankrupting the companies involved and shut them down. Of course in any civil case you generally don’t get as much money as you ask for….but the repercussions for online poker in the US now that the Department of Justice has definitively said “what these sites do is ILLEGAL” could be massive.

11:20 AM – Marketwatch has the first story on this. The indictment is against the founders of the three sites and includes the seizure of 75 bank accounts used by the sites and payment processors. The DoJ has also released the necessary information about the indictment on their website. Looks like its definitely serious.

11:06 AM – This is a fast moving story, so its worth just getting something up now and elaborating later, but it appears that the three biggest US-facing poker rooms, Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and the Cereus Network, have all been hit with illegal gambling charges. Right now UB.com is the only page that I can see that has the “official DOJ notice” of a site seizure, but FTP and Stars are currently still up. If this is true this could mean a world of hurt for US poker players, depending on how things go down.


Wow on-line poker in America will never be the same. Pokerstars already blocking players. Once FTP follows suit, no more on-line poker in America.

Gary Wise with screenshots of the home pages.

update:
Statement from the useless PPA which I am a member of

PPA Comments on Federal Action Against Online Poker Companies
WASHINGTON, DC. (April 15, 2011) – Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato, Chairman of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, issued the comment below on today’s announcement on federal action taken against online poker companies.

“On behalf of the millions of poker players across the country, we are shocked at the action taken by the U.S. Department of Justice today against online poker companies and will continue to fight for Americans’ right to participate in the game they enjoy. Online poker is not a crime and should not be treated as such. We are currently gathering all of the information around today’s announcement and will offer detailed analysis when the full facts become available.”

AZ State Legislature is making the state look worse and worse

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13380432

Man one thing after another. Bad enough the state has to deal with the corrupt Sheriff Arpaio. This body of legislatures is awful. From the Governor down, just awful. Wasting time on crap like this. Arizona is quickly becoming the laughing stock of the nation. Just one thing after another.

Split or Steal

Popular game show in England. Not sure how it is played but the ending is simple and suspenseful.

Rooting for your home team

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/steigstory/04-10-2011-Steigerwald

Got angered reading this editorial about why grown men shouldn't wear their favorite teams gear to a game. The only part I agree with somewhat is if for example you are sitting in the dog pound at Cleveland dressed in Steelers gear, that may not be a smart move...but it doesn't mean you should be beaten to death or made to be a vegetable for the rest of your life like Bryan Stow in LA on opening day of this years baseball season. I hope they find the bastards that beat him up and beat them to a pulp.

I don't wear my favorite teams gear, mainly because I don't own any except for maybe a hat, but if I did you better bet I would wear it.

Katy Perry - E.T. ft. Kanye West

Awesome Song

Bill Simmons on Tiger Woods

Excellent piece by Bill Simmon's about Tiger Woods echoing Charles Barkley's famous commercial that "I am not a role model"

Hanna - Movie Review

"I just missed your heart" are the first and last lines of the fast paced, hypnotically sounding and splendid movie title 'Hanna.' I caught the movie yesterday and all I can say is wow. By far the best movie I have seen this year so far. To be fair I haven't seen many movies this year but this so far stands out. Saoirse Ronan, the academy award nominee for 'Atonement' was absolutely amazing in this flick. She should be nominated for a best actress award but will probably be bypassed as this movie is early in the year and this is not your typical Academy Award film. She teams up with 'Atonement' director Joe Wright once again and they have created a great movie detailing a 16 year old girl who has been living 60 miles south of the arctic circle being raised and trained by her father played by Eric Bana. You come to find out Bana is a former European spy who worked with the CIA and was being sought by Marissa Veigler played by Cate Blanchett. I won't give away any big plot lines but go and see it. Besides the great acting by Ronan, the other two things that impressed me about this movie was the cinematography by Alwin H. Kuchler and the amazing music and scores done by the Chemical Brothers. I would advise people to check out the soundtrack. It adds a vital piece to the movie.

This is why Phil Ivey is the greatest poker player in the world

I never get tired of watching this. I was watching this back in 2005 and every now and again I view it again thanks to You Tube. Ivey is the man. He went on to win this of course.

Biggest pot in televised poker history

Phil Ivey gets Durred by Tom Dwan

Title X and Republican Lies

John Kyl cannot retire fast enough. Today he stated that 90% of Planned Parenthood's services are performing abortions. Such a blatant lie. The Republican crusade to end funding for Title X dumbfounds me since it was started by Richard Nixon, a republican president. However, as we all know republican's prior to 1996 would not be republicans today.

This link will tell you what Title X is all about.

The Title X Family Planning program ["Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs" (Public Law 91-572)], was enacted in 1970 as Title X of the Public Health Service Act. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. The Title X program is designed to provide access to contraceptive services, supplies and information to all who want and need them. By law, priority is given to persons from low-income families.

In fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated approximately $317,491 million for family planning activities supported under Title X. At least 90 percent of the appropriation is used for clinical family planning services as described in the statute and regulations (45 CFR Part 59). $70 million of this is allocated to Planned Parenthood. Now the republicans will have you believe that Planned Parenthood needs to be wiped off the face of the earth because all they do is perform abortions. This is far from the truth and further more none of the funding from the government is used to fund abortions because this is against the law. Find more below.


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/planned-parenthood-center-budget-shutdown-threat/story?id=13328750

Wake up America. When will we revolt against the the untruths spouted by the Republican party?

Staying Alive and Another Brick in the Wall Mashup

Well done. Enjoy!

Pie chart explaining why Glenn Beck left Fox News

From HuffPo Comedy

Alan Simpson letter

Got this in an email today. Can't vouch for the authenticity but I'm sure this is true.

Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming, Co-Chair of Obama's deficit
commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he
compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats.

Here's a response in a letter from a unknown fellow in Montana...
I think he is a little ticked off! He also tells it like it is !
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight..

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY
YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15
years old. I am now 63).

3 My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other
Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for
decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give
OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus
bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme
that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the
proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing
retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to
age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the
goalposts YET AGAIN.

5 I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare
from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the
game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy
to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay
the bills.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our
entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why?
Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that
you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come
to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on
your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for
YOU.

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during
your pathetic 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and
how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the
American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you
proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual,
have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators called
Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcases
who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from
millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That's right,
sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of
advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and
you know that we know it.

And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch.

Obama to the rescue...yeah right

Great Blog piece by Michael Lewis
http://michaeljlewis.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/a-government-will-shut-down-because-of-planned-parenthood-the-effing-hypocrisy-of-the-gop-and-the-worst-fiancee-maybe-ever/

Let's see, what is causing this shutdown to happen:

1. Republicans refuse to compromise
2. President Obama refuses to lead and force a deal.

Republicans weant $60 billion in cuts. Democrats want $30 Billion. Why not just make $45 Billion in cuts. Simply and sensical right? Even former president George W. Bush could do that math!

Also, Planned Parenthood has been a great service for generations in this country. Abortions are a very small part of the services they provide. Trying to get rid of them would do way more harm then continuing their existence.

Question to Republicans: You want to make abortions illegal. You also want to cut programs that help low-income families and mothers. Who will support the kids that will be born who come from very little and will have very little?

Obama's weakness, bat-shit republicanism and ignorant and greedy masses will cause this economic depression to linger on longer than it should.

At LEAST Charlie Sheen is back to WINNING!

Honeymoon from Hell

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/japan-earthquake-tsunami-australian-cyclone-zealand-earthquake-swedish/story?id=13322822

At what point do you just say, time to go home. For me, it would have been after the earthquake in Christchurch.

American Idol Shocker

So this morning I watched the results show and after fast forwarding through all of it, I stopped at the final three. I admit I was surprised to see Pia in the bottom three but once I saw her there, I knew she would be going home. American usually get's it wrong on this show. In my opinion they really only got it right with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. In the past, great singers such as Latoya London, Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson have left prematurely. This year we add Pia Toscano to the list. She was by far the best singer in the group but maybe not the best performer. She wasn't bad but she lacked the pizazz of James Durbin. My first reaction after hearing her name, I said I'm done watching. Of course I'd like to be done watching but I'll continue to watch but with less interest. I think James and Lauren are the front runners right now. Stefano, Paul and Haley have not shot. Jacob won't win because he is gay, just a fact. James and Lauren will battle it out for the title.

I still think with the right team behind her, Pia has the voice and looks to be a big star. I don't see her as a pop queen like Clarkson but she could be like a Celine....only time will tell.

Quick Idol top 9 recap

All the performances were not that bad. Even the performers who I don't care much did fine. I thought Lauren (who took my advice and appeared very mature) and Pia did the best and enjoyed Scotty's also. I'd say in the bottom 2 are Haley and Paul with Paul going home. He did perform last which is a positive so he may not. I also thinks he has picked the best songs this season so far but not enough to save him. I'm probably wrong in my picks but this year is going to be really hard to pick a clear winner.

What are Entitlement Programs?

Editor’s Note: This is another guest post by Two Clubs. This is the first of a possible series on government and politics. This first one is on entitlement programs and what they mean. This is a stellar beginning.

As we arrive on the eve of the much talked about shutdown of the federal government, we have to wonder what is to become of this country? Not because a bunch of egomaniacal politicians, bought and sold by corporate interests, have decided to hold hostage the citizens of the country in a game of ideological chicken over budgetary table scraps, but because of the sheer stupidity that the common person displays when trying to discuss the details of the issues. All too often people are easily deceived into believing the bullshit floated in the mass media simply because they are confused (no, baffled is the better term) by the terminology dreamed up by spinmeisters like Republican pollster, Frank Luntz. Until people can cut through the obfuscation and understand the language being used against them this country is heading in the wrong direction.

Thomas Jefferson believed that government was a direct reflection of the people, and if the people were ignorant of the issues the government would not be representative of the common need. With this reason in mind, and Stewman’s permission, I’m going to begin a series in which important terms, repeated in the media and used to frame issues, are fully explored and explained in way to help people understand the issues that much better.

Today’s term is Entitlement Program, and is brought to you by Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Education spending (Pell Grants), and programs that supplement the poorest in our nation.

Republicans and Democrats are having a very public hair-pulling session over budgetary cuts. They try and tell you that these are important to the future of the country, but they aren’t being honest. The Republicrats are arguing over what amounts to somewhere between a .8% to 1.7% cut in spending, and much of that scheduled to come from entitlement programs. The politicians argue that cutting in these areas is important because it is spending we can’t afford. On the surface this makes sense, until you actually start to drill down into what they are saying and begin to see what their real motivation is. We need to cut through their bullshit and really see what they are proposing.

First, what are entitlement programs? We hear so much about them, but the average guy on the street doesn’t know what they are. Entitlement programs are those institutions of government which provide personal benefits, either through financial or social means, to each and every taxpaying citizen of the country. Unfortunately, the context used to describe these programs has changed over the years and taken on a whole new meaning. The term has become a euphemism for giving benefits to the undeserved, completely altering the meaning altogether.

As previously mentioned, entitlement programs come in many shapes and forms. The big ones are Medicare, Social Security and Unemployment Insurance. These are the ones that Americans really need to get their head wrapped around because these are the ones that should hit home the hardest. These programs are not a giveaway of taxpayer money. They have a specific purpose and provide specific long term benefits. These are mandatory programs that taxpayers have contributed toward for generations. These are entitlements that you and I are currently paying into. When you get your paycheck stub there are line items which outline how much is taken out for each of these programs. This tells you the amount you contribute to this pool every two weeks. These are long term benefit programs, underwritten by the government, guaranteed to payout in the future when you need them. The only “entitlement” I see in these programs is that we are all entitled to receive benefits because we have paid into them our whole lives. I will repeat this, because it is the money shot.

We are entitled to these benefits because we have paid into them our whole lives!

This is like being forced to carry automobile insurance. You pay into the pool knowing that if unfortunate circumstances arise you will have access to the resources to pay for damages to your car or the property of others you may have damaged through your negligence. The major difference is that you may never use your automobile insurance and may never gain benefit from that coverage. With these entitlement programs you will, unless you die prematurely, receive benefits in the future. The money you pay into these programs will be returned to you in your later years through Social Security payments and Medicare benefits. You will be getting back the money you paid into the program as long as you live long enough to collect!

So why are politicians attacking entitlement programs? Because there is a massive pool of money there to be exploited! Think about it. Every working stiff in the country has been paying into these programs since the 30s. That is a lot of coin. That much money can buy a lot of power and influence.

There currently are two streams of thought focusing on limiting these entitlement programs. One is to restrict payments while the other is to privatize. Both are nothing but pure power plays and a way to allow corporate interests to dip into that big pool of money.

If politicians can delay or reduce payment of benefits it gives them an incredible reserve of free money to play with. This liquid capital can then be moved around to where it can influence and buy greater power, or just siphoned off into corporate welfare programs. The money that the likes of GE, Exxon, Boeing, Bank of America, Microsoft, CitiGroup and Google get back in tax rebates (all of these companies paid less taxes than you did last year, and most of them paid none) have to come from somewhere, and it is most likely coming from the pool of entitlement programs you and I pay into every two weeks. This is why the age and requirements keep changing, and not to our benefit.

The other popular entitlement elimination strategy bounced around is privatization. Some of the deep thinkers in our political world actually think that Americans should be given private accounts where their retirement savings are gambled in the stock market. Yeah, we’ve seen how that has turned out, time-and-time again. How many Wall Street scandals and collapses of investment firms do we need to see to know that this has disaster written all over it? Now, this doesn’t stop these pointy headed idiots in Washington from pushing this concept forward. Why? Because they get grotesque amounts of money from Wall Street lobbyists who want nothing more than to get their hands on the trillions of dollars in these systems. These parasites make money by gambling yours, and they make money whether they win or lose. To them, it doesn’t matter if they lose your life savings, because the money isn’t theirs to begin with. The only thing this idea proves is that politicians don’t give a shit about you or I and they are only in the public sector because it provides access to power and money.

You know, the reason why Social Security is such an important and successful program is because it is government run and underwritten. Once you pay into the system your money is guaranteed. There is no potential to lose it because the government has a social contract to pay these funds back to you in your retirement years. There is oversight and regulation in place to safeguard these monies. This is as safe an investment you can make, as long you continue to hold your representative’s feet to the fire and make him protect your money!

So as we ponder the shutdown of the federal government, we need to better understand the issues these so called representatives are using against us. Only by understanding the language and how it is framing the issue will we be better prepared to protect our individual investment in our country and protect ourselves from the real transfer of wealth that is taking place. The money you pay in taxes should be going to help people like you and me through the long established entitlement programs and not to aid corporations who make billions in profits. We are entitled to these programs we pay into because it is our money and we have the pay stubs to prove it!

Thank You Baby Jesus

For the first time in my life I can recall, my prayers have been answered. Glenn Beck will be leaving the Fox airwaves full time later this year. This guy is one of the worst things to have ever been put on the airwaves. He is a fear monger, liar and extreme whacko. This has made my day. I am smiling while typing this. Bye bye douchebag!

SF Gate says it best " Beck, a hyper-conservative given to wild and hard-to-substantiate claims, and the occasionally crazy rant (to where the blog Gawker's called him an "unhinged crybaby"), has lost a slew of advertisers (like Geico and Proctor & Gamble), so it's no surprise that his daily TV show's coming to an end.
Glenn just plain does stupid things on his show and on Fox. From calling President Obama racist, then taking back the statement, to the consistent use of Nazi and Holocaust imagery, upsetting not just Jewish groups, but anyone who has at least half-a-brain to be aware of what's decent and acceptable to do on television."

The Supreme court has become so partisian

9 people, 4 dems, 4 republicans and one moderate who is the swing vote. Every decision is usually voted down party lines. So disgusting. Not sure how this decision is overturned by them. What a joke. Accountability needs to be given some where and this gentleman deserves the punitive damages.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jury-gave-john-thompson-14-million-wrongly-spent/story?id=13269542

Props to Pawlenty

This whole birther movement is a joke. The President was born in America, is and always has been an American citizen and is not Muslim. So the majority of Americans who believe contrary to this need to STFU and get with reality and stop living in teapartylandia and stop listening and believing 100% the foxnewsphobia that is pervading their brains.

Props to Pawlenty for saying the truth


BTW, alert the media, I have his birth certificate...OMG look at that!

Rome: Two Against One (MP3) @ Antiquiet

Check out 2 songs off the upcoming Danger Mouse and Daniel Lupi's album "Rome"

Rome: Two Against One (MP3) @ Antiquiet

View this blog and other in dynamic ways

Google has made enhancements as to how you can view any blog on the blogger platform.
Go to http://stewmansworld.blogspot.com/view/sidebar and you can see the blog in five different ways. Really neat stuff. On the top right is the drop down list to change between dynamic views.