Flimsy takedown notices on YouTube are getting ridiculous. Patterico has been all over it:
Perez Hilton, the latest "copyright thug" Carrie Prejean vs. President Obama. Who is the bigger homophobe, and why is Perez Hilton ashamed of drawing a distinction?
Susan "BushFascist" Roesgen Who's more like a fascist: the president who uses nationalistic rhetoric to drum up support for two foreign wars, the president who forces banks and corporations to surrender power to the government, or the network who suppresses dissent that reveals their hypocrisy in drawing a distinction?
While we're talking about embarrassing videos that some might wish would simply disappear, let's not forget this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn0tMMYEkQU
5.02.2009
An Honest Debate
TEA Party organizers- "What's that, Mr. President? You welcome a 'serious conversation'? Name the time and place."
Rock on.
Rock on.
4.24.2009
Still Confused?
Still wondering why all those hateful Americans took to the streets on Tax Day? Still wondering why ordinary people think that the government has gone crazy? Have you seen this graphic?
$100 Million. You know, the deficit portion of this year's budget (not TARP, not the Omnibus Spending Bill, not the Stimulus... just the 2010 Fiscal Year budget) is standing at $1.7T. That's $1,700,000,000,000.
$100 Million is nothing next to that. To put that in perspective, trimming $100M off of the governments deficit spending is comparable to a 390lb woman who resolves on New Year's Eve to slim down to a trim 195lbs by year's end.
Then, she trims her fingernails instead.
You think that's bad? Knock $100M off of all government spending, not just deficit spending. Now it's the whole fat camp roster trimming their nails.
$100 Million. You know, the deficit portion of this year's budget (not TARP, not the Omnibus Spending Bill, not the Stimulus... just the 2010 Fiscal Year budget) is standing at $1.7T. That's $1,700,000,000,000.
$100 Million is nothing next to that. To put that in perspective, trimming $100M off of the governments deficit spending is comparable to a 390lb woman who resolves on New Year's Eve to slim down to a trim 195lbs by year's end.
Then, she trims her fingernails instead.
You think that's bad? Knock $100M off of all government spending, not just deficit spending. Now it's the whole fat camp roster trimming their nails.
4.21.2009
Parade Rained Out
Courtesy of Forbes. Tea's still on, though.
Money quote:
Money quote:
If the government increased the top tax rate from the current rate of 35% to 100% (yes, that's right 100%), it would only collect an extra $400 billion this year. In other words, confiscating all the income that is currently taxed at 35% would not raise enough revenue to cover any of the annual deficits projected in the next 10 years. There is no way that tax hikes on the rich alone can pay for proposed spending in the current budget.
4.15.2009
In Search of a Vision
The TEA Party was fun. I'll probably go to the next one, on the 4th of July. I might even help plan and prepare it, if I have time between summer classes and Army annual training.
My question is this: where is the movement headed? There is a lot of populist anger being displayed today in cities across America, directed against the status quo of our government- where will that anger be directed? In the short term, I assume the turnout numbers of the nationwide protesting may be used as a hammer to align the spending priorities of Congressmen more closely with their constituencies.** In the short term, I'm fine with that.
In the long term, though... I want to see a vision. I want to hear a plan of action. There's another Boise Tea Party planned for the 4th of July- by then I would hope that the movement has gone beyond protesting poor decisions to the point of offering solutions, promoting fiscal conservatism, and supporting candidates for office who reflect the desires of their constituencies.
**We've seen a little of that in Boise- Democrat Representative Walt Minnick recently declined to pursue earmarks for Idaho .
My question is this: where is the movement headed? There is a lot of populist anger being displayed today in cities across America, directed against the status quo of our government- where will that anger be directed? In the short term, I assume the turnout numbers of the nationwide protesting may be used as a hammer to align the spending priorities of Congressmen more closely with their constituencies.** In the short term, I'm fine with that.
In the long term, though... I want to see a vision. I want to hear a plan of action. There's another Boise Tea Party planned for the 4th of July- by then I would hope that the movement has gone beyond protesting poor decisions to the point of offering solutions, promoting fiscal conservatism, and supporting candidates for office who reflect the desires of their constituencies.
**We've seen a little of that in Boise- Democrat Representative Walt Minnick recently declined to pursue earmarks for Idaho .
Boise TEA Party
Taxed Enough Already, they say.
To be honest, I'm not quite sure what that's like. The only job I've held were I paid much in the way of taxes was a 6-month stint at a sawmill, in between college and the Army. My time on Army active duty was largely tax free, and my drill pay now while going to college doesn't crack the threshold. I can look forward, though, and see that the path on which our national spending is taking us is not the path I want to be on.
So, I went to my first protest. I was hardly alone in my newness- many people that I spoke with had never protested anything before today. One gentleman admitted to protesting in the past, but hastened to reassure me that "it hadn't been this century". Some present were obviously used to making their voices heard- there were a few scattered "No World Order" protesters sporting "9/11 was an inside job" signs who were mostly ignored by the mass majority of anti-tax, anti-spending, anti-deficit sign carriers. Idaho's finest turned out en masse as well- I expected the Boise City and State Police motorcylce policemen, but Nampa officers were present as well, and one officer belong to the 350-mile distant Moscow, ID department.
The crowd marched about a mile and a half along the Boise greenbelt to come out at the Capitol building (currently undergoing renovation) and spread out across the Capitol park to sign patriotic songs and dine on roast pork. The crowd at the park was estimated at 1500-2000 people. UPDATE: The Idaho Press-Tribune says the Boise PD is now estimating the crowd at 2500. Cool.
On my walk home from the park, I stopped in a local coffee shop to get the hippies "take" on the event (which was still ongoing at the time). I stood, drank my coffee, and listened to hipsters saying things like "yeah, there's some economic sense to lower taxes, but protesting the stimulus is just ridiculous". Ok, some irony there... How about this one? "We should have counter-protested or something... like gone out there with signs saying 'McCarthy Was Right!'".
...
...
Sweetheart... McCarthy was the guy who claimed that the American government was riddled with Communists. I don't think "counter-protesting" the anti-spending masses with that little slogan will have quite the effect that you think it will.
To be honest, I'm not quite sure what that's like. The only job I've held were I paid much in the way of taxes was a 6-month stint at a sawmill, in between college and the Army. My time on Army active duty was largely tax free, and my drill pay now while going to college doesn't crack the threshold. I can look forward, though, and see that the path on which our national spending is taking us is not the path I want to be on.
So, I went to my first protest. I was hardly alone in my newness- many people that I spoke with had never protested anything before today. One gentleman admitted to protesting in the past, but hastened to reassure me that "it hadn't been this century". Some present were obviously used to making their voices heard- there were a few scattered "No World Order" protesters sporting "9/11 was an inside job" signs who were mostly ignored by the mass majority of anti-tax, anti-spending, anti-deficit sign carriers. Idaho's finest turned out en masse as well- I expected the Boise City and State Police motorcylce policemen, but Nampa officers were present as well, and one officer belong to the 350-mile distant Moscow, ID department.
The crowd marched about a mile and a half along the Boise greenbelt to come out at the Capitol building (currently undergoing renovation) and spread out across the Capitol park to sign patriotic songs and dine on roast pork. The crowd at the park was estimated at 1500-2000 people. UPDATE: The Idaho Press-Tribune says the Boise PD is now estimating the crowd at 2500. Cool.
On my walk home from the park, I stopped in a local coffee shop to get the hippies "take" on the event (which was still ongoing at the time). I stood, drank my coffee, and listened to hipsters saying things like "yeah, there's some economic sense to lower taxes, but protesting the stimulus is just ridiculous". Ok, some irony there... How about this one? "We should have counter-protested or something... like gone out there with signs saying 'McCarthy Was Right!'".
...
...
Sweetheart... McCarthy was the guy who claimed that the American government was riddled with Communists. I don't think "counter-protesting" the anti-spending masses with that little slogan will have quite the effect that you think it will.
4.13.2009
Hey, a new blog!
Lest I belabor my last few milblog readers with my idealistic (and tiresome) politics, I've established this blog for the occasional political rant. The title is of course from the same Robert Frost poem that I pilfered for my milblog: Build Soil. Next up: pics and story from the Boise Tea Party Protest on April 15th.
Of course... if you're in the mood for some war stories, mosey on over to acutepolitics.blogspot.com. May I recommend some old reader favorites:
Dead Eyes
Awkward First Dates
War Cocaine
How Human Are We?
Iraqi Knickknacks
Walker: [Iraqi] Ranger
Of course... if you're in the mood for some war stories, mosey on over to acutepolitics.blogspot.com. May I recommend some old reader favorites:
Dead Eyes
Awkward First Dates
War Cocaine
How Human Are We?
Iraqi Knickknacks
Walker: [Iraqi] Ranger
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