Can Democrats finally say, “I told you so!”

Confirmed what everyone who isn’t a Republican already knew, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor  confessed in an interview with Ryan Lizza (The New Yorker) that he and Paul Ryan talked John Boehner (R-OH) out of accepting  President Obama’s final offer during “Grand Bargain” negotiations in 2011. 

Transcript from The New Yorker,

LIZZA: There’s sort of a final meeting with Paul Ryan and you and Boehner where it seems like there’s a final sort of discussion about whether this offer needs to be rejected or not. The way it seems to be reported is—it seems like Boehner wanted to do it, you and Ryan sort of talked him out of it. Is that--

CANTOR: I would say it’s a fair assessment, because, in the end, we felt that—well, let me back up, this is probably a longer answer. Yes, it’s probably an accurate conclusion.

Flashback to 2011, the president had a bargain almost completed. It was reported that Boehner wanted to do the deal, but he backed out at the last moment. It seems that Democrats suspicions were correct – Tea Party backed Cantor and Ryan, who have been huge fans of the sequester, killed the best shot at a compromise.

Cantor further went on to admit they didn’t want the deal and they’ll “have it out” on those two issues “in the election”.

CANTOR: But when we got to the debt-ceiling negotiations, there was yet an analogous vein we could have proceeded on, which would’ve not gotten us this Grand Bargain big deal, but what could have gotten us a little step in the right direction toward trying to restrain costs and expenditures. So, in a way, that’s what I think that the reason why we said no in that meeting, “Don’t do this deal,” because what that deal was was basically going along with this sense that you had to increase taxes, you had to give on the question of middle-class tax cuts prior to the election, and you knew that they had said they weren’t giving on health care … In the end, we knew that they weren’t coming our way, and you were already going to cede all those tax dollars, you were going to take from people without having fixed the problem structurally. So that’s why we said, “Let’s just get what we can now, abide by our commitment of dollar-for-dollar, and we’ll have it out, as the President said, on these two issues in the election.

Mr. Cantor, the election is over sir. You had it out and lost. The American people voted and agreed with the President – a fair and balanced approach.

The sequester may have been President Obama idea, but it obviously doesn’t belong to him. 

After spending some quality time with my child on Halloween -doing the costumes and trick-or-treating- I started browsing on my Facebook and came across a post on a "friend's" wall that caused a feeling of distress to wash over me. 

I won't say whom it was or what was completely said out of respect for that individual , but I will show you just a small fraction so you can get the drift: "A member of the church did not appreciate seeing pictures of my children going
trick-or-treating, and began attacking me as a Christian via email". 

In full closure, I have to say that I am not a Christian, but I do believe in God and Christ. My faith has got me through some tough times. With that said, I found it hard to believe that someone would actually attack or even judge and criticize someone else for allowing their children to dress up and go trick-or-treating.


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I'm sure by now you have heard of Republican presidential nominee Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan by now. If you don't know the details, they consists of a corporate tax rate of 9 percent, a personal tax rate of 9 percent and a national sales rate of 9 percent. 

You may even think it’s a good idea to have flat tax rate, but anyone supporting Herman Cain’s presidential bid should do the arithmetic– become financially literate, and make this unforgivable
misrepresentation transparent to the nation. 

What am I talking about?


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Uggggggg, its Monday morning. The ill effects of over indulgence are hitting me squarely between the eyes. I open them and a blast of illumination blinds and causes a
curse about sunlight. I raise my head and another curse escapes my lips. What did I say? I don't remember.  

I stumble around while I try to wake up, yawning profusely; none of these things are fun to me, And before you tell me to get more sleep, let me please inform you that even after a full night of sleep I still feel like death on Monday mornings.

My thinking is slowed due to the alcohol still circulating in my system. I wonder how many brain and liver cells I have killed? The coffee and Advil - disappointing; the
49ers not (a football team for those that do not participate in watching the greatest game on earth), Which means, I still have a headache and I'm still very tired.  

Yes, Virginia, I have a hangover. 

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When you see this type of headlines, what do you think? What underlying questions  enter your mind? Do you say what? Or ask why? Maybe even ask who would do this?

All good questions, however, one question will answer all: Why would any state legislature, swing state or no, pass a law restricting voting rights (by restricting voting hours, requiring ID, etc.) when there is virtually no evidence of voter fraud?

Make no mistake:There is an organized, national partisan effort to restrict voting rights.Across the country, GOP-controlled state legislatures (since the 2010 mid-term elections) have passed measures to make voting arduous for certain citizens who have shown a marked propensity for supporting Democrats. The new laws could make casting a ballot "significantly harder" for more than 5 million eligible voters, according to a new report by New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice.

Republicans insist that they are only trying to prevent voter fraud, which has become a Republican cottage industry over the last 20 years because it justifies questioning the eligibility of thousands of would-be voters — often targeting poor and minority citizens in urban areas that lean Democratic, but that claim doesn't hold up to cursory scrutiny. While many Americans believe the oft-repeated tale that the ballot box needs to be protected from fake voters, in-person voter fraud is virtually non-existent and the true aim of Republican efforts appears to be voter suppression. 

As far as voter fraud goes: a major probe by the Bush's Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud – and many of the cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of their ineligibility. A much-hyped investigation in Wisconsin, meanwhile, led to the prosecution of only .0007 percent of the local electorate for alleged. In Texas, where Governor Rick Perry used a highly unusual procedural maneuver to accelerate passage of a bill requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote, the state Attorney General found no cases of voter impersonation fraud. Zero.


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Obama opens a speech with: "Go to hell you say? Bitch! Just zip it," and goes on to say, "We've been out of brownies, rice and we miss pork chops in summer.", and that we should "creep in the frozen aisle and think one thought, trick the bridesmaid and get her to take it off." 

This isn't a likely speech from the ever-so-eloquent U.S. President Barack Obama, but if you're tuning into “Bad Lip Reading” on YouTube, the “leader of the free world” is a victim in a hilarious parody video clip titled “Trick the Bridesmaid” (Below).

The funniest thing to hit the Internet in a long time is definitely the online group (also known as BLR). Newly famous for inserting their own words over speeches and music videos, and lately, for poking fun at presidential contenders in a totally realistic way. In their Rick Perry video, released earlier this month (below), the GOP hopeful explains that “what's good is getting these goats for our computer industry.” He also dives into rambling sentences about food, including Doritos, tamales, and ice cream. 

Fair warning, most of the videos are a little foul-mouthed and not all are safe for work, but they're good for a laugh. I mean, who doesn't want to hear the most powerful man in the world speak phrases like this, “'Cause even long-legged women can't tell there's a blue-eyed hobbit.” 
 
Now, let’s watch that video again:

Let's hear it for the occupiers!

Yes, I am talking about the "Occupying Wall Street Protesters" in New York City. 

In case you have been under a rock for the last couple of weeks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street

"Beginning from one simple demand – a presidential commission to separate money from politics – we start setting the agenda for a new America." The participants of the event are mainly protesting against social economic
inequality and corporate greed, among other concerns.

The movement is leaderless, centered upon the statement: "the one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%." The protests have brought together people of many political positions including political independents, conservatives, libertarians , anarchists, socialists, and liberals. Religious beliefs vary as well including, but not limited to, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists.
 
The protesters' messages seem to be varied with a variety of demands such as raising taxes on the rich, raising taxes on corporations, ending corporate welfare, support for trade unionism, and protecting Medicare and Social Security in their traditional forms. Some protesters are calling for the end to the Federal Reserve, as well as an end to all wars that the United States is involved in and end to the War on Drugs.

By October 1, similar demonstrations had been held in Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Portland, Maine, and Denver.

 They're also now backed by powerful labor unions with hundreds of thousands of members and millions of dollars behind them. 

I am extremely happy with how this sorely needed movement is gaining momentum. The only concern I have is the real lack of a message. But, I am here to say, I have one for them - The Second Bill of Rights!


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On September 21, 2011, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the two American hikers jailed as spies in Iran were released on $1 million bail Wednesday and flown out of the country. The men were arrested along the Iran-Iraq border in July 2009 and sentenced in August to eight years in prison. A third American in the group, Sarah Shourd, was freed last year on bail.

The plane carrying the freed hikers has landed in Muscat, Oman. It is unclear how long the men will stay in the Gulf state before heading home to the U.S.   

Released U.S. hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer made brief statements to assembled media after arriving in Oman.

"We are so happy we are free, and so relieved we are free," Fattal said. "Our deepest gratitude goes towards his majesty, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, for obtaining our release. We are sincerely grateful (to) the government of Oman for hosting us an our families."

Bauer said: "Two years in prison is too long, and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in American and Iran."

Because of that simple  statement made by Bauer, on Friday, September 23, 2011, Bill O'Reilly of the O'Reilly Factor on Fox news, discussed them on his "dumbest thing of the week" segment with Greg Gutfeld and Arthel Nevelle.

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I am unable to complete this article in a timely matter due to the size and extent of the issues involved. There is simply to many factors stretching over  the last three decades. These factors include , but not limited to:

1. Ronald Regan
2. Devaluation of the Dollar

1. De-regulation

1. Trade Agreements

1. Bush's Tax Cuts

I have decided to write an article on each of  these factors and write the conclusion here.

I will try to write a paper each day, but reality will more likely be every other day.

It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. --Thoreau

There is something perverse about more than enough. When we have more, it is never enough. It is always somewhere out there, just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes. –Unknown

You cry over spilled champagne! Your complaints are not over the lack of necessities, but the abundance of benefits. You bellyache over the frills, not the basics. Over benefits not essentials. The source of your problem is your blessing. –Unknown

Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. --Thoreau

Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed. --Albert Einstein

It is useless to shout to the drowning moneylender “ Give me your hand !” He does not know how to give. Instead, shout: “ Take my hand !” and he will clutch at it.

"Greed is good! Greed is right! Greed works! Greed will save the USA!" - From movie Wall Street -  1987

On Monday, President Barack Obama released his long-awaited debt reduction plan, outlining a roughly $3 trillion savings blueprint that was, of course, immediately criticized by top congressional and other Republicans.

President Obama proposed a new higher tax rate for millionaires, the “Buffett Rule,” as he calls it, which is a nod to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has criticized a system that allows the rich to pay a smaller portion of their income in taxes than middle- and working-class Americans because wages are taxed at a higher rate than investment income.

The rule would eliminate “special lower rates for the wealthy” and require people with incomes of $1 million or more to pay at least the same percentage in taxes as middle- income Americans, he said. The plan also calls for $1.5 trillion in new revenue, which would include about $800 billion over 10 years from repealing the Bush-era tax rates for couples making more than $250,000. It also would place limits on deductions for wealthy filers and end certain corporate loopholes and subsidies for oil and gas companies.

As expected, the Republican reaction was swift and condemned the president’s plan, calling  it "class warfare" among other things.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said,  "By raising taxes on job creators, Obama may win back some support from disgruntled liberal voters, but America will lose even more sorely needed jobs."

Job creators? He can't be serious? Where are the jobs? Maybe overseas, but not here in America. If anything, they have been cutting jobs!

For more than 235 years, the U.S. Postal Service has adhered to this unofficial creed. But now, the agency that is responsible for delivering  over 480 million pieces of mail everyday (over  177 billion pieces of mail annually),  employs some 574,000 workers, making it the second-largest civilian employer in the United States (excluding the federal government), following only Wal-Mart, operates 31,000 post offices and locations in the U.S. ( Postal Facts 2010), just a few weeks after the federal government avoided default, the U.S. Postal Service has been pushed to the brink of default and could cease to operate all together if Congress does not help it resolve its "dire financial situation," according to spokesman Dave Partenheimer.

First of all, before I begin my rant or should I say my bog, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this. I really appreciate it. With that said, I hope you will not get disturbed, bothered, or distressed, about anything I may say. If you do, then maybe you need to take a deep look at your individuality, your character, your personality, your status, in other words yourself.

With that said….it’s time to Wake up! 

America, America, where have you gone? Or should I say….Americans, Americans, where have you gone? I know where you have gone………FACEBOOK!   No, Facebook is just a symptom of the disease that plagues America today (great article about types of people on Facebook - are you one of them?). Since this is the case, what is wrong with America or Americans then?  

The answer is rather unpretentious…… an epidemic of stupidity in America.

Some random truths about Americans:

“Why does everyone hate us?”   ~ Americans on the World.

“Why do they hate us?”   ~ Canadians on Americans.

“I'm going to have to ask you to sit at the kids' table.”   ~ The UN on America.

“Would you like fries with that?”   ~ Americans on Obesity.

“We have nukes.”   ~ Americans on Foreign Policy.

“Praise Jeezus! Fuck Islam, Judaism, and that one with the blue guy!”   ~ Americans on Religion.

“I don't give a fuck.”   ~ American teenager on their future.

Scientists suggest that rednecks may eventually fuse with their firearms and create a new species of primitive ape-men.

America has the world's largest prison population, and even prisoners have more rights than the sick and poor.

Americans are also enslaved easily. You just need to offer them free stuff and they will follow you without hesitation. If they resist offer them food, porn, or power.

93% of adult US Internet users are on Facebook. (source: BlogHer, April 2011) and according to Facebook’s latest self-reported statistics say that the average user spends 55 minutes a day on the site, which implies nearly 30 hours a month.

In 2003, the Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad investigated Americans' knowledge of world affairs. The task force concluded: "America's ignorance of the outside world" is so great as to constitute a threat to national security.

Americans are prone to a condition known as wood-headedness, where those afflicted believe what they would like regardless of the facts. Another common disorder is head-assedness, where the head becomes lodged in the ass resulting in an anal personality.

The most common stupid Americans are the rednecks from the southern states, and Jessica Simpson.