You are the 47 Percent

By Joel Mathis in the Los Angeles Daily News, September 23, 2012

Are you married? Have a job? How about a kid or two? Did you get a tax refund last year because your status as a working parent made you eligible for an Earned Income Tax Credit?

Congratulations: Mitt Romney thinks you’re a welfare-addicted bum.

See, when Romney talks about that 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay income taxes, he’s talking about you.

You may not think that’s true, because of course you pay plenty of taxes – there’s the payroll tax that comes out of your check every week, the fee that goes to pay for Social Security. And of course, the world is a maze of taxes for you: Every time you fill up the gas tank or buy a birthday gift for the kid, the price is a little higher because of the extra few cents that goes to the state or local governments.

Surely Romney’s talking about somebody else?

Somebody who sits at home and waits for a government check they didn’t earn?

Nope. He’s talking about you.

See, to get to that 47 percent number, Romney has to include folks who actually work but didn’t officially pay income taxes because they didn’t earn enough, or because they qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Nearly two-thirds of Romney’s laggardly 47 percent paid payroll taxes.

And to state the obvious: You generally have to be on a payroll to pay the payroll taxes. You have to have a job.

Now: Romney obviously wasn’t taking you into account when he said that 47 percent is “dependent on government” and “entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

Which is the problem: Romney wasn’t taking you into account. He and the rest of the Republican Party have been so solicitous of so-called ‘job creators” that they’ve treated job doers rather shabbily. It’s something to think about when you vote in November.

The Real Mitt Romney

Wow!

Mother Jones magazine obtained this video clip. It tells what Mitt Romney thinks about 47% of us.

Responding to a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Romney went on: “[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

How stupid can this man be?

As reported by the Associated Press;

According to the TaxPolicyCenter study, 38 million — half of those who owe no federal income taxes — escape owing money to the IRS because their income is too low. For them, merely using the standard deduction, personal exemptions and other basic parts of the tax code allow them to avoid income taxes.

Overall, 93 percent of those who owe no federal income taxes earn $50,000 annually or less. But 5 percent of them earn $50,000 to $100,000 and the rest — around 430,000 nonpayers — earn more than $100,000 annually. That includes 4,000 households earning more than $1 million a year, thanks largely to tax exempt interest, reduced rates on capital gains and dividends and other deductions.

This entire event is not going to derail the Romney campaign. Obama made his remarks about some people clinging to their guns in 2008 and it made little impact on his win – but we all know what he really believes and that comment will have an impact on this election.

The question is: what does Romney stand for and what would he do as president? Unless he can provide convincing answers his chances to win the election are considerably diminished.

Innocence of Muslims

“Innocence of Muslims” is the Muhammad movie by Sam Bacile (which is believed to be an alias for Nakoula Basseley, a Coptic Christian from Egypt) that caused Muslims to kill United States ambassador, J Christopher Stevens. The anti Islamic video claim Islam is a lie and Mohammed was a pedophile.

The movie clip is a clumsy effort to identify Mohammed as a sadistic killer, a rapist and a plunderer. The use of this clip as a justification to attack American embassies is difficult to understand as the government of the USA has supported the Arab Spring. If Muslims believe that all non-Muslims must be killed than the message is communicated. Many Islamists must be happy to watch the unjustified attacks we have witnessed this past week.

My opinion is the United States should minimize its connections with an Arab world. Another reason to end our reliance on Arab oil.

History Repeats Itself in the Middle East

A senseless movie clip is obviously being used as a motivator to commit crimes against Americans in Muslim countries and nations with high Muslim populations. It has been reported that some of the rioters have been using relatively sophisticated weapons such as rocket propelled grenade launchers (not exactly the kinds of weapons in the hands of most rioters). Relying on television reporting, I can only conclude that these riots are not spontaneous but are the work of Al-Qaeda and other associated groups.

Some people are comparing the attack on the embassy in Libya to the hostages taken by Iran in 1979. They are incorrect. Republicans who are condemning Obama should recall the death of American marines in Lebanon during the Reagan presidency. 241 American servicemen were killed in that October 1983 massacre. Major motivation for that bombing was the ill will generated by the Multinational Force (MNF) among Lebanese Muslims, especially Shiʿa living in the slums of West Beirut and around the airport where the Marines were headquartered. That MNF group was there to bring peace to that war torn nation. President Reagan ordered the marines to begin withdrawing from Lebanon immediately after the bombing. Their withdrawal was completed on February 26, four months later.

There was no serious retaliation for the Beirut bombing from the Americans. We never seem to learn!

Sure, Go Ahead and Vote for Mitt Romney

Neither candidate for president is acceptable to me.

Barack Obama spent his time focusing on a new health care law instead of focusing on the economy. We all know how that turned out. Unemployment is still over 8% and we have health law that large numbers of Americans do not like.

Mitt Romney is a very wealthy businessman who made his money maximizing the profits for his employer, Bain Capital. Companies do not concern themselves with the number of jobs created. They concern themselves with maximizing their profits. As governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney created a health care program that is almost identical to the Obama plan. For reasons that I do not understand he now opposes that plan for the entire nation. While governor, Mr. Romney supported abortion rights but today he opposes abortion for any reason. ON a host of other issues Mr. Romney has switched his views from those he held when governor and as a candidate for senator. That earns his the title of “flip-flopper.”

Let’s look at what has happened in the Obama administration which is a good indicator of his second term. Let’s consider what a Romney administration is likely to do based upon Mr. Romney’s own words.

1) Obama has not brought about the revival of the economy. Then again it was WWII that brought the USA out of the Great Depression. FDR was unsuccessful in his efforts.

2) Both political parties have outsourced the jobs we need for those lacking technical skills. Neither party has put in place significant re-training programs for the unemployed.

3) Both political parties have willingly provided tax deductions and subsidies for big business.

4) The Christian coalition wants to take America back to the 1950s. Those were the days when obtaining an abortion wasn’t legal anywhere in the nation.

5) Trickle down economics were a failure. Thirty years ago CEOs and other top corporate managers earned 20 times the average worker pay but today they earn 200 times the average worker pay.

Morningstar’s footnoted blog reports that the Fed-Ex ” total compensation for the chairman, president, and CEO, Frederick W. Smith, jumped to $13.68 million for fiscal 2012, compared to $7.26 million in fiscal 2011. The other NEOs received total compensation ranging between $5.7 million and $7.7 million, with each of the top five executives getting an increase of more than 60% from his prior year’s total.”

6) Supreme Court appointments are critical to the future of the nation. Conservative justices would overturn Roe vs. Wade and other progressive rulings.

7) Conservatives would end the Medicare and Social Security programs that have enabled working people to live their retired lives without fear of serious illness or starvation.

8) The GOP, based upon its leading members, would enlarge the military and challenge any nation that dares to defy the United States.

9) A Republican administration would reduce all government regulations. Would reduce taxes for corporations. Would support “drill baby drill.” Would build a fence along the Mexican border from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.

Personally, I do not believe either party cares enough about the average American to significantly improve their situation.

The Democratic Party just does a better job of conveying that they are the party with concern for all Americans. Can we believe them? Do we have choice?

Proud to be White Mister!

Proud to be White!

I have been wondering about why Whites are racists,and no other race is……

Proud to be White
Michael Richards makes his point…
Michael Richards better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld does make a good point.

This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points…

Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this?

There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.

You call me ‘White boy,’ ‘Cracker,’ ‘Honkey,’ ‘Whitey,’ ‘Caveman’… And that’s OK…
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink .. You call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you….
So why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma’uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET….

If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we’d be racists.

If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.

If we had White History Month, we’d be racists.

If we had any organization for only whites to ‘advance’ OUR lives, we’d be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that??

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships… You know we’d be racists.

There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US …
Yet if there were ‘White colleges’, that would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights.
If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you’re not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, car jack us, and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.

I am proud…… But you call me a racist.

Why is it that only whites can be racists??

There is nothing improper about this e-mail…
Let’s see which of you are proud enough to send it on.
I sadly don’t think many will.

That’s why we have LOST most of OUR RIGHTS in �this country.
We won’t stand up for ourselves!

BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!

It’s not a crime YET….But getting very close!

Barack Obama Then and Now

This video confirms what you thought. Barack Obama has the same thoughts and ideas today that he had four years ago. There is nothing new. I wrote back on December 21, 2008 that we might be inaugurating a new president on January 20, 2013.

No Sale at the Democratic Convention

Every national political convention is exciting. I am certain that all those people who were at the Democratic Convention were thrilled to be there. They are the group that will return home and spearhead the next 60 days of hard campaigning.

The Democrats do put on a far more emotional event than Republicans. It probably has to do with the kinds of people, their culture, that makes Democrats.

Bill Clinton was the star speaker at this convention. If there was ever a man who could win a third term as president of the United States, this is that person. But, he is not the candidate.

Too many people are unhappy with the Obama administration for his re-election to be an easy path. There was nothing I heard in his speech tonight that gives me hope that he can turn this nation’s economy around in the next four years. Then again, there was nothing in the Romney speech that gives me that kind of hope.

A lack of specifics in the candidate’s plans leaves me sad and disappointed. Unless there is some dramatic event before November 6, I will struggle to decide my choice before that date.

Michelle Obama’s Message – We Are One Of You

Michelle Obama did an excellent job of telling all of us that she, her family, Barack, and his family are all just like the average families of America. Her message, Honesty and Hard Work Count. It was a well presented message.

It was a good message for the First Lady to present to the nation. It just did not discuss the fact that too many Americans are either unemployed or under employed.

As a start to a political convention this event was well done on day one. I am quite sure that the rest of this convention will be equally well done. Conventions don’t solve problems.

President Obama will have to offer details of his plans for a second term. Mitt Romney gave us no detail on his plans. There is no evidence that either of these men can deliver an American recovery