Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn’t know this. It’s easy to check out, if you don’t believe it.
Be sure and show it to your kids. They need a little history lesson on what’s what and it doesn’t matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts!!!
Our Social Security
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:
That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary. (No longer Voluntary)
That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program. (Now 7.65% on the first $90,000)
That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year. (No longer tax deductible)
That the money the participants paid would be put into an independent ‘Trust Fund’ rather than into the general operating fund and would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program and no other Government program. The fund would have covered Social Security payments for 100+ years. (Under Johnson the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent.)
That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income. (Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be taxed)
Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to ‘put away’. You may be interested in the following:
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it? A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding? A: The Democratic Party.
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities? A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US.
Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants? A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country and at age 65 began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it, in order to get their votes!
Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!
And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it! (Thanks, Ron!)
The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.
CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, “It’s Not Easy Being Green”.
ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, “We Shall Overcome”. Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper’s sake.
President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper’s plight.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.
The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn’t maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.
The grasshopper is later found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.
The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be careful how you vote in 2010.
(Thanks, Ron!)
A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine America can suffer terrorist attacks without any inconvenience to themselves.
Pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. (These events are actual events. They really happened! Do you remember them?)
HERE’S THE TEST
1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
Superman
Jay Leno
Harry Potter
A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:
Olga Corbett
Sitting Bull
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
Lost Norwegians
Elvis
A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
During the 1980’s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
John Dillinger
The King of Sweden
The Boy Scouts
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
A pizza delivery boy
Pee Wee Herman
Geraldo Rivera
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
The Smurfs
Davey Jones
The Little Mermaid
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens , and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:
Captain Kidd
Charles Lindberg
Mother Teresa
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
Scooby Doo
The Tooth Fairy
The Sundance Kid
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
Richard Simmons
Grandma Moses
Michael Jordan
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
Mr. Rogers
Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill’s women problems
The World Wrestling Federation
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:
Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
The Supreme Court of Florida
Mr Bean
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 2002 the United States began to fight a war in Afghanistan against:
Enron
The Lutheran Church
The NFL
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
Bonnie and Clyde
Captain Kangaroo
Billy Graham
Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
And now we can add: In 2009, 31 people wounded and 13 American Soldiers murdered on base at Fort Hood by a Major who was….. You guessed it – A Muslim male extremist between the age of 17 and 40
No, I really don’t see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?
So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people.
Instead we conduct random searches of a 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President’s security detail, an 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and a Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest we be guilty of profiling.
As the writer of the award winning story “Forrest Gump” so aptly put it, “Stupid is as stupid does.” (Thanks, Ron!)
I am posting this for all my readers and that includes conservatives, liberals, and everybody in between. Even though we disagree on a number of issues, I count all of you as e-friends. The proposal is to promote a “Congressional Reform Act of 2009.” It would contain eight provisions, all of which would probably be strongly endorsed by those who drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (but not the incumbents).
I know many of you will say, “this is impossible.” Let me remind you, Congress has the lowest approval of any entity in Government, now is the time when Americans will join together to reform Congress – the entity that represents us.
We need to get a Senator to introduce this bill in the US Senate and a Representative to introduce a similar bill in the US House. These people will become American heroes.. Please add any ideas on how to get this done.
Thanks,
A Fellow American
***********************************
Congressional Reform Act of 2009
Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.
Two Six-year Senate terms
Six Two-year House terms
One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
No Tenure / No Pension. A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.
Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.
Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.
All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/10. The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work. (Thanks, Ron)
We all laugh with Jeff Foxworthy when he tells the “you might be a redneck” jokes. This is a little different than his typical lines that make you laugh…
You might be a redneck if it never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, ‘One nation, under God.’
You might be a redneck if you’ve never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.
You might be a redneck if you still say ‘ Christmas’ instead of ‘Winter Festival.’
You might be a redneck if you bow your head when someone prays.
You might be a redneck if you take off your hat, stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.
You might be a redneck if you treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have.
You might be a redneck if you’ve never burned an American flag, nor intend to.
You might be a redneck if you know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.
You might be a redneck if you respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.
You might be a redneck if you’d give your last dollar to a friend.
Boy, in these cases I’m GLAD I’m a redneck! (Thanks, Ron!)
Is the federal “Cash for Clunkers” a success? I, for one, think not. Let’s look at facts:
A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline. This kind of vehicle (provided it isn’t too old!) qualified for the “Cash for Clunkers” program.
A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year. A large percentage of the cars sold get an average of 25 mpg overall.
Looking at the previous two facts we can determine that the average “Cash for Clunkers” transaction will reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year. Simple subtraction. Wonderful!
The “Cash for Clunkers” program claims to have sold 700,000 vehicles. Again, simple arithmetic tells us that saves 224 million gallons a year. Great!
Using current refining techniques, that equates to a bit over five million barrels of oil per year, which is about one quarter of one day’s U.S. consumption. Awesome!
Five million barrels of oil at the current rate of $75 per barrel costs about $375 million. That’s annually saving $375 million. Excellent!
The cost of the “Cash for Clunkers” program was $3 billion. Yeah, we all knew that.
We paid $3 billion this year to save $375 million annually? WTF?
At that rate it is 8 years to the break-even point and that doesn’t include the fact that many of these “Cash for Clunkers” cars would have been replaced well before those 8 years were up. Huh?
The 8 year break-even point is determined WITHOUT the interest on that $3 billion that we will HAVE to pay because we didn’t have the money in the first place. If the interest is even an extremely low 2%, that creates an extra $60 million (2% of $3 billion) the first year in interest alone. That pushes the 8 year break-even point even further out. No, I’m not doing the compound interest on this to find the exact break-even point.
And here’s the kicker: the $4500 you got from the government if you took part in the “Cash for Clunkers” program is taxable. That’s right. You got $4500 in “free money” to help you pay for a car, but you were taxed on that car for the full amount. (Who knows how much the car was marked up while the “Cash for Clunkers” program was going on.) Plus, the $4500 will be counted as income so you’ll be paying applicable Federal, State and Local Income Taxes on it. Plus, it is possible that the $4500 will kick you up a tax bracket as well!
So after all that, tell me how great the “Cash for Clunkers” program was.
No, I’m not talking about the tent where Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John McIntyre and Frank Burns lived while stationed at M*A*S*H 4077. I’m talking about my back yard – it’s a freakin’ swamp! Don’t believe me? Check out the photos:
We haven’t had enough time without rain here for me to mow the bottom of our hill in our back yard. You can see in one picture where I’ve pushed the mower across the “mud stream” to get to the little bit of hill that we own on the other side of the “mud stream” – it’s to the left of the stump left by the willow tree that fell down.
Ed McMahon died last week. Prior to his stage accomplishments he was a distinguished Marine Corps fighter pilot in WWII earning six Air Medals and attaining the rank of Colonel. He was discharged in 1946 and was later promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the CA Air National Guard.
Farrah Fawcett died last week. After she was diagnosed with cancer, she became an activist for cancer treatment and devoted her last remaining years encouraging people to seek treatment. She documented her plight on film and used it to encourage others to stay positive and upbeat despite their diagnosis and suffering.
Michael Jackson died last week. He was perhaps one of the greatest singers of modern time. He will also be remembered for his eccentric lifestyle that included sleeping with a chimpanzee, living in a carnival-like atmosphere at Neverland, his fascination with Peter Pan, and his numerous masks and costumes. He also admitted to finding pleasure sleeping with young boys, paying out millions of dollars in settlements to the families of these boys despite being acquitted by a court on one allegation of sexual molestation.
QUESTION – Which of the above did the House of Representatives declare a moment of silence for? (Hint – It wasn’t the first two.)
QUESTION – Which of the above’s family received a personal note of condolence from President Obama? (Hint – It wasn’t the first two.)
Had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?
Had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?
Given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
Had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?
Had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent “Austrian language”, would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
Had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?
Had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the fourth of May (Cuatro de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
Had mis-spelled the word advice and potatoe would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle as “proof” of what a dunce he is?
Had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?
His administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?
Had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
Had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
Had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?
Had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
Had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?
Had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?
Had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?
So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive?
Can’t think of anything?
Don’t worry. He’s done all this in 5 months — so you’ll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.
John is 63 years old and owns his own business. He is a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year is now all but gone. With the stock market crashing and all the new taxes coming his way, John knows he will be working for a good number more years.
John has a granddaughter, Ashley. She is a recent college graduate, drives a late model car, wears all the latest fashions, and also likes going out and eating out a lot. Ashley campaigned hard for Obama, and after he won the election she made sure her Grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received more than an earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that Obama won the election.
Ashley recently found herself short of cash and could not pay her bills, again. As she has done many other times in the past, she emailed her Grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply:
“Sweetheart, I am replying to your request for more money. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and am sympathetic to your financial plight. Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your Grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own….the ‘Ashley Economic Plan’. Let me explain. Your grandmother and I are highly productive, wage-earning tax payers. As you know, we have lived a comfortable life and in return have forgone many things like fancy vacations, luxury cars, etc. We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But this plan has changed. Your president is significantly raising our personal and business taxes. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less income for us. Less income means we must cut back on many business and personal expenditures.
One example is, we were forced to let go of our receptionist today. You know her. She always gave you candy when you visited my office. Did you know she worked for us for the past 18 years? I can’t afford her anymore. That is a taste of the business side.
Some personal economic effects of Obama’s new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc. By your vote, you have chosen another family over ours for help. Judging from your email requesting more money, I recommend you call 202-456-1111. That is the direct telephone number for the White House. You yourself repeatedly told me I was foolish to vote Republican. You said Mr. Obama is going to be the people’s president and is going to help every American live a better life. Based upon everything you have told me and things we heard from him as he campaigned, I am sure Mr. Obama will be happy to send a check or transfer money into your checking account. Have him call me for the transaction and account numbers, which by now I know by heart.
Perhaps you now can understand what I have been saying for all my life: those who vote for the president should consider what the impact of an election will be on the nation as a whole, and not just be concerned with what they can get for themselves (welfare, etc.). What Obama voters don’t seem to realize is all of the “government’s” money he is “redistributing” to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (deemed “less fortunate”) comes from tax money collected from income tax paying families. Remember how you told me, “Only the richest of the rich will be affected”? Guess what, honey? Because of our business, your Grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way. But in the real world, we are far from it. But, as you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money. Less money for everything, including granddaughters.
Congratulations on your choice for “change”. For future reference, I encourage you to attempt to add up the total value of the gifts and money you’ve received from us over the years, and compare it to what you expect to get over the next four years from Mr. Obama.
Remember, we love you dearly… but from now on you’ll need to call the number referenced above when you need help.
Just an observation about Microsoft’s “It’s Better with Windows” web site. For those of you who don’t know what it’s about, here’s a breakdown:
Asus came out with it’s eee series of laptops that are small, light laptops that can’t use Windows Vista because they simply don’t have the horsepower. Originally they came out with a customized version of the Xandros OS – a Linux distribution. Now one can choose to have Windows XP installed on the laptops. The reason for the change is that Microsoft has changed its mind about the Windows XP end-of-life cycle because of the fiasco that is Vista and the fact that Windows Vista is not being adopted as readily Windows XP was.
Meanwhile, back at the observation of the web site….
It’s a really nice looking web site – nice graphics and all. However, their claims on the web page fall on deaf ears with me and here’s why. I liked the graphical background so I thought I’d download it to see if I could use it on web pages I develop. I can’t because the text on the page is actually on the graphic. Strange thing, though, when I checked the properties of the graphic I found that it was created with Photoshop CS4 (the latest version)….. on a MAC! (See the Properties Sheet) Once again proving that Microsoft is hypocritical. Why else would you slam Macs in your ads (I’m a PC; You find it, we’ll buy it; etc.) and then turn around and use it to create your marketing web site graphics – and possibly the entire site?
Anyone who has read my site for a while knows that I’m not exactly a fan of Microsoft. You can read this post and this post to see what I mean. IMHO, Microsoft’s products are “good enough” not great, especially their operating systems. Windows 7 is already vulnerable to the same exploits as Vista, XP, and NT; and yet Microsoft proclaims it to be all new and secure. As a friend of mine has said: “If you put lipstick and rouge on a pig, it’s STILL a pig.” By making a slick GUI, Joe User buys into the Microsoft marketing machine; those of us who peek under the hood and kick the tires know it’s just a paint job on the same old car.
So, to wrap it up, I’ll take the Xandros Linux laptop, please! It will compete for my time with the OpenSuSE Linux laptop I currently use at home.
Muscatine, IA
