A Glimpse Into Our Future; This Could Happen Here

The protests in Greece turned violent today

Athens, Greece. Oct 19. 2011.  The Financial Times is reporting today that Greece has erupted in violence as the Greek Parliament passed their austerity package designed to prevent the nation's economic collapse.

The Greek Parliament had no other option, having borrowed so much that they cannot possibly pay it back without dire cuts in government service.

From the Financial Times:

"A protest by more than 100,000 striking workers did not deter Greek lawmakers on Wednesday evening from approving the country’s latest austerity package at its first reading, by 154 votes to 141.

The result, which followed a day when clouds of smoke billowed over the Athens skyline after angry rioters set fire to piles of rotting rubbish and clashed with police in one of the biggest demonstrations seen in the Greek capital for decades, was a success for prime minister George Papandreou, improving the odds that Greece will be able to draw down the next €8bn tranche of its bailout loan from international lenders." 

We in the USA are going down the same path as Greece has. Our government has lied to us by telling us we can borrow and spend our way back to prosperity. 

President Obama does not understand the math

In the end we simply must stop spending money we don't have, because eventually there will be no one left willing to lend us more.

President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, is convinced the solution lies in more spending, which can easily be financed by raising taxes on the "top 1%."

Obama's own class warfare rhetoric has inspired all these protests in the streets, which have so far been mostly peaceful. It will not take much for these protesters to turn to violence, especially if the President keeps encouraging them.

But the problem for Obama is that our top 1% simply doesn't have enough money to fund all the generous government programs he wants. Right now, the "top 1%" pays 40% of all Federal Income taxes, and pays about the same in taxes than the "bottom 95%," with the next 4% paying the other 20%.

The reason for this is because the "bottom 40%" pay virtually no income taxes. In fact, many get Earned Income Credits, which are a type of "reverse tax" in which low wage earners get a tax refund, even if they paid no taxes.

President Obama keeps saying that the top earners don't pay enough.  Using his logic, the top 1% should be paying much more, and everyone else should be paying much less.

But... what happens if you keep increasing the tax burden on the rich, and lowering it on everyone else, while simultaneously adding more new very costly government programs like Obama-care, for example?

Eventually, you end up with no one left to tax, once you make everyone poor. Then the whole house of cards comes crashing down and the riots begin.

President Obama's Teleprompter Stolen in Virginia

Local Police round up suspect

Richmond VA, Oct 18, 2011.  A van containing President Obama's teleprompter and podium were stolen from a Virginia hotel parking lot on Monday, NBC12 in Richmond reports.

The truck was parked at the Virginia Center Commons Courtyard Marriott near Richmond before the president's scheduled Wednesday appearance in Chesterfield, the Richmond station reports.

In addition to the teleprompter, $200,000 worth of audio equipment and presidential seals mounted on Obama's podium were inside the stolen vehicle.

The truck was recovered on Monday at 12:30 p.m. at a Holiday Inn Express near the Richmond airport.

The Defense Information Systems Agency released the following statement on the incident:

"A government vehicle was stolen and has been recovered. No classified or sensitive information was in the vehicle. We take incidents such as this very seriously, and a formal investigation is continuing in coordination with relevant law enforcement agencies."

At this time, officials have not said if any other items were missing from the van.

Angry President demands return of teleprompter

President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, has angrily demanded that the thieves return his teleprompter. "They can keep the Presidential seals, and the audio equipment, but I need my teleprompter back" President Obama said, reading off a 3"x5" index card.

The Defense Information System Agency said Tuesday in a statement that a government vehicle was stolen and then recovered. The theft is being investigated in coordination with law enforcement agencies.

President Obama Spins Another Tall Tale

Washington DC, Oct 7, 2011. President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, spun a work of creative nonfiction yesterday in his latest pitch for his jobs plan, fudging the facts of a Boston schoolteacher’s "White House visit" as he portrayed the man as a poster boy for his jobs bill.

“I had a chance to meet a young man named Robert Baroz,” the president said at a midday news conference. “He’s got two decades of teaching experience. He’s got a master’s degree. He’s got an outstanding track record of helping his students make huge gains in reading and writing. 

In the last few years, he’s received three pink slips because of budget cuts. Why wouldn’t we want to pass a bill that puts somebody like Robert back in the classroom teaching our kids?”

There are two problems with this. First of all, Obama never met Baroz. And secondly, Baroz remains happily employed. He did get three pink slips in the past four years due to budget cuts, but each time his job was saved by additional spending bills.

"Just shut up and pass the bill"

It's really interesting that the President wanted to stress Baroz's skills in his tall tale. Because in Boston his skills really don't matter. His union seniority does. Obama seems to be implying "we are losing a great teacher due to budget cuts"... when the truth is "we are losing a good teacher due to his lack of union seniority."

The budget cuts just would have made him the first to go. The School Board does not have the option to fire the worst teachers and keep the best ones. They must fire the last ones hired first.

So the President seems be saying that we should never fire any teacher. No matter what the budget situation is. Whether this is a sound policy you can decide for yourself.

President Obama did have a chance to meet Baroz, but they never actually met. The closest Baroz actually got to Obama was the front row of a Rose Garden press conference on the jobs bill in September, with a handful of other teachers. He later met with White House aides and Obama’s education chief, but never met the president.

White House spokeswoman Joanna Rosholm said: “The President highlighted the story of a great Boston teacher who is not in the classroom today because his school, like so many across the country is facing a budget crunch. If Congress will pass the American Jobs Act, then we can put thousands of teachers like Mr. Baroz back in the classroom.” 

Robert Baroz

Baroz, who supports Obama and his efforts to expand the government, said that he doesn’t mind if the president, or his speechwriters, took some liberties with the facts. It was all in aid of a higher truth, he said.

“People who want to fuss over the word choice are missing the point. It’s about our investing in education and in communities,” Baroz said. 

Essentially, Baroz was saying the President used him as a metaphor. 

“It was technically correct; yes, I did lose my position three times within four years in the Boston Public Schools. To me, the question he posed to the people was a rhetorical question. The emphasis was on ‘like Robert.’ It’s people who are like me, highly qualified, and are not working. That’s the spirit of it.”

Biden Wins 6th Annual "Bob Barker Look-a-Like Contest"

Atlantic City NJ, Oct 6, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden, D-DE, easily won the trophy in this year's Bob Barker Look-A-Like Contest at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort here. Biden entered against a field of 44 contestants from the USA and several foreign nations, and easily won the two day contest.

Bob Barker, the legendary game show host, was actually one of the judges. Mr. Barker told us after the contest that Joe Biden did the best job of capturing his spirit and personality. "It was like looking in a mirror" he said "this guy could even fool my own mother, God rest her soul." 

This was the sixth annual contest, and the first time Vice President Biden has entered. The judges were especially impressed by his performance during the talent competition where he sang all three verses of the Tiny Tim classic hit "Tiptoe Through The Tulips With Me."

"This is a real shock and a genuine honor"

Afterwards, the Vice President told us he was shocked that he won. "I honestly didn't expect to win. Especially after my poor showing in the Swimsuit Competition," he told us.

Donald Trump presented the gold plated trophy to the Vice President saying "You worked hard for this award, and you deserved to win it."

The trophy came with a $500 check, and Biden said he will enter the contest again next year. "Unless someone new comes along, I think I can win this thing again," he said.

Why the U.S. Credit Rating was Downgraded

I don't think most people understand how bad our nation's financial condition is today. President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Keyna, is still convinced that our national credit rating was downgraded because "Standard and Poors made a mistake!"

Well... lets look at the actual numbers:

U.S. Tax revenue (income)...................$2,170,000,000,000
U.S. Budget (spending).......................$3,820,000,000,000
U.S. Deficit ("new debt")......................$1,650,000,000,000
U.S. National Debt............................$14,271,000,000,000
U.S. Debt added in last three years......$4,070,000,000,000
U.S. Welfare Spending...........................$495,600,000,000
U.S. Spending on Foreign Aid..................$56,800,000,000

U.S. Budget cuts made.........................$38,500,000,000


These numbers are so huge that it is sometimes hard to understand them, so lets remove 8 zeros and pretend this is a household budget instead of a national budget. Perhaps this will put it into a context that we can more easily understand::

Household salary (income)..................................$21,700
Household spending...........................................$38,200
Household borrowing..........................................$16,500
Accumulated credit card debt............................$142,710
Household Debt added in last three years............$40,700
Household spending for charity.............................$4,956 Gifts to friends and neighbors..................................$568

Household Spending cuts made..........................$385

If you were a lender, would you consider this loan applicant a "good risk?" Would you give them a good credit rating? 

Harry Reid Blocks Obama Jobs Bill. Obama Blames GOP

Reid says "I really had no choice"

Washington DC, Oct 4, 2011. The Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, campaign sent out an email today asking supporters to urge Congress to at least vote on the president’s jobs bill almost immediately after Democratic majority leader Harry Reid blocked a vote on the bill in the Senate. 

On the Senate floor today, Republican leader Mitch McConnell asked for unanimous consent to proceed on voting on the bill. 

Reid, who has struggled to find enough votes for the bill in the Democratic caucus, objected to the motion and killed the opportunity for a vote. 

About ten minutes later, Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, emailed this message to supporters:

"President Obama is in Dallas today urging Americans who support the American Jobs Act to demand that Congress pass it already.

Though it's been nearly a month since he laid out this plan, House Republicans haven't acted to pass it. And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is out there actually bragging that they won't even put the jobs package up for a vote -- ever.

It's not clear which part of the bill they now object to: building roads, hiring teachers, getting veterans back to work. They're willing to block the American Jobs Act -- and they think you won't do anything about it.

But here's something you can do: Find Republican members of Congress on Twitter, call them out, and demand they pass this bill."

But, it wasn't Republicans who blocked the bill. It was Democrat Senate majority leader Harry Reid!

Senate Republicans sought to answer President Obama’s demands for a vote on his jobs plan this afternoon, but were thwarted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who used a parliamentary maneuver meant to block amendments on the Senate floor. Reid then proceeded to accuse Republicans of “obstruction” and engaging in a “political stunt.”

Reid used a procedural move known as “filling the tree” – a tactic Reid has perfected during his tenure in the Senate leadership.  Filling the tree involves loading legislation with amendments until the limit is reached. Since the majority leader enjoys "the right of first recognition" this means he can offer amendments before anyone else.

This is how Harry Reid feels about you

Reid managed to fill the tree before Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) could offer the president’s jobs plan as an amendment to a bill cracking down on Chinese currency manipulation.

Reid blocked the bill because he knew it would fail if it came to a vote. There just weren't enough votes for it, even on the Democrat side of the aisle.

President Obama's own party was rejecting his bill because it had permanent tax hikes built into it... in exchange for a few temporary jobs.

Sharpton's Group Admits Passing out Scam Forms

Sharpton denies any knowledge of this scam

Atlanta, Oct 2, 2011.  Last week more than 700 senior citizens filled out a form promising a $500 check from the American Opportunities Stimulus Program.

They supplied information like their name, address, birth date and social security numbers, all with the promise of getting a Visa Check card in return. But on Thursday, Fulton County government put out a warning that it might be an identity theft scam.

Fulton County even sent their own camera crew to the Atlanta headquarters of Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, where the forms were being handed out by Vanessa Emerson and her son,  Brandon. 

The National Action Network is Sharpton's own community organizing group, much like Jesse Jackson's own Rainbow Coalition, or Barack Obama's ACORN.

In the video Vanessa Emerson can be seen brandishing a photo copy of a U.S. Treasury check saying, "I'm going to show ya'll, I got my money," to encourage senior citizens to fill out the form so they could get "their money too."

After the alarm went out, Brandon Emerson returned hundreds of the forms to the NAN headquarters at 632 Peoples Street so they could be given back to the seniors who filled them out. Even though his mother was wearing a NAN tee-shirt in the Fulton County government video, her son claimed they are not affiliated with the organization.

Worried seniors continued to stream to the local NAN headquarters on Friday fearing someone may be trying to steal their identities.

"I am scared and I'm going to the bank now and put a fraudulent lock on my account," senior Bobbie Early told 11 Alive News on Friday.

Eventually the Southeast Regional Director for NAN showed up at the headquarters and began reassuring seniors no one was going to compromise the information.

Tyleis Speight admitted that the forms had been collected there, but claimed she was a victim, too. "National Action Network has been frauded as well," Speight said. She said they're still trying to find out who was responsible.

Vanessa Emerson displays a copy of her check

 Reached by phone on Friday, Vanessa Emerson said she and her son had no idea the forms they'd been collecting might be fake. She said they were going out of town and would comment more when they return next week.

The national NAN office insisted they knew nothing about what had happened.

"We had no knowledge of what was going on," said NAN Executive Director Tamika Mallory. "We would never authorize anything like that," she added.