If You’re Looking For Good News Then Don’t Listen To This Show ~ Ep. 1429 ~ The Dan Bongino Show

From the Dan Bongino Show's description of this episode in his Show Notes (a.k.a. Newsletter!):

In this episode, I discuss the disgraceful, disastrous collapse of the country at the hands of the liberal forest fire, and what we can do about it after last night’s election.

Dan starts out this episode by explaining the quote, "Democracy is the theory that the common man knows what he wants and deserves to get it, good and hard," from H. L. Mencken.  Yes, it is actually true, that when very liberal laws are passed, it is going to affect the voters that voted in the knuckleheads that are going to put the shaft to everybody... And don't forget, good and hard!  Want poor medical care?  Just get the government involved so that it is "fair" to everybody.  Yes, so we can all equally get horrible health care... You know, that social justice thing.  

Want high taxes?  Oh, so, you think the high taxes are only going to "soak the rich," as they often say?  Really?  Dan will explain that one pretty well, but I'll mention how that works here.  It could be very bad if you own stocks with a new tax on unrealized capital gains.  That means, if you a bunch of stock, or a collection of old coins, that if the market value goes up, even if you do not sell any of those capital assets, you pay a tax on what you would get as a "capital gain."  Oh, surely, only people with assets over something like $4,000,000 would have to worry about that tax.  No worries for you, with your nice little 401K growing along with the economy, probably no affect on you, right?  No.  Wrong.  If that tax is to come along soon, you know what people that are holding those assets are going to do? They will sell their stocks or collectible cars, and guess what that is going to do to the market value of your 401K. Oh, and not to mention, it may start getting more difficult to find a good job, if the businesses and people that can finance them are kind of out of money after paying higher taxes...  Don't forget, that taxes on the rich basically ripple down through the economy, good and hard.  And not mentioned by Dan here, so let me add, there will be inflation, which is a tax on everybody.

Of course, I don't want to reiterate the whole show, but I wanted to get something in here that is a small example of what Dan is telling us in this episode.   This was one of those shows, though, that Dan is extremely agitated, and I'm not saying that in a bad way.  Heck, this was just the episode that came out Wednesday, after the run-off election in Georgia on Tuesday this week.  I can only imagine how it is going to be in Thursday and Friday's episodes, considering what happened on Capitol Hill on Wednesday evening.

Please don't let the introduction, or title, or my writing, deter you from seeing this episode.  This episode will help to prepare you for what we will have coming to all of us soon, good and hard.

Because I know that Dan Bongino would prefer that I embed the Rumble.com video here, I am now doing that! It finally came to me how to do it, and I am very pleased, because it doesn't require me to use the JavaScript code to do it! So, when you are watching, you will not be seeing it via youtube.com again. Nope, not here. Ever!  No more screwtube embedded video here! Forevs! So, it's now RUMBLE all the way, Dan.  For Dan's show page on Rumble.com, click here.

Be sure to see the SHOW NOTES for Episode 1429 for related news stories.

Looking for news? The Bongino Report brings you the top conservative and libertarian news stories of the day, aggregated in an easy to read format to assist the public in getting accurate information.

People don't get rich by being dumb ~ By Patrice Lewis

When the time comes that the government removes too much of the money my husband and I work so hard to earn, we will be too poor to move. In many ways we already are.

But the rich are not. And unlike the useful idiots, rich people are smart enough to know when enough is enough. "Atlas Shrugged" is not fiction. It's a blueprint.

Video provided by iwanttomarrycarrie

I think I understand what Patrice is saying here. Unfortunately, other people will think they understand what she is saying, and it won't be quite the same thoughts I have. I am betting that Patrice knew when she wrote this that many would misunderstand her column, and that she already has her responses written for those that don't get her point.

Right off the bat, there will be people that will think she is saying that people that don't ever get rich are dumb. Those people that would think that are wrong. No, because Patrice would know as well as anyone that there are many people that are not dumb that never get rich. In fact, she is also probably aware that there are people who are rich that may be dumb. Of course, there will always be people that are rich because of the luck of the draw: Inheritance of a large family fortune, winning the jackpot in a multi-state lotto, or getting a large settlement in a law suit. It happens.

That being said, those that focused on the relationship of wealth and intelligence probably missed the main point of her column. Patrice was saying that those with the financial freedom to move to a location with a lower tax burden or less regulatory restrictions or without high union wages, will do so. The states that assume that the producers are not aware, or too dumb to know, that other states have a better business atmosphere, will lose the potential revenue of the businesses and the jobs that could be provided. So, who are the dumb ones? Just sayin'...

I realize it's counterintuitive for politicians to allow people to keep more of their own money, but it's an indisputable fact that lower taxes (for everyone) stimulate economic growth through job creation and discretionary spending.

But politicians still prefer to dress up their redistribution schemes in pretty words about egalitarianism and helping the poor. My goodness, after 50 years of hearing such nonsense you'd think people wouldn't fall for that kind of twaddle, but I guess I'm wrong. Some people still believe politicians are working for our good rather than chaining us into government dependency. Some people still want something for nothing. "Those evil rich people should give me some of their money," is the logic, "because they have too much and I don't have enough. They should share." It's immaterial that the sharing isn't voluntary; it's theft at the point of a gun.

Meanwhile, elite liberal professors at elite liberal universities reinforce this mantra to their students, thus ensuring another generation of useful idiots who will toe the Marxist line. Oooh, this makes me mad.

People don't get rich by being dumb

By Patrice Lewis

Posted: October 02, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010



A long time ago, I visited some friends who lived in a tiny town of about 500. Everyone knew everyone else. Like most of the folks in and around the area, these people were low income. One day at the grocery store, my friend's mother wrote a check for some groceries. "If this check bounces," she joked, "we'll have to skip town."

"Nah," the clerk replied with a smile. "You're too poor to move."

I was surprised at the implied insult and later asked my friend's mother to explain. "We're all poor around here," she said. "Even if we wanted to move and even if we could find someone who wanted our house, we couldn't sell it for enough money to afford a house anywhere else, so we're stuck."

I've remembered that incident for almost 30 years because I realize how true it is. Poor people are often too poor to move.

Rich people are not.

In this week's column, John Stossel explains in his typically blunt style that rich people, when taxed too much, simply choose to move away rather than surrender more of their money to government goons. It's a simple case of Atlas Shrugged. "Progressives want to raise taxes on individuals who make more than $200,000 a year because they say it's wrong for the rich to be 'given' more money," he writes, then adds, "A tax cut is not a handout. It simply means government steals less. What progressives want to do is take money from some – by force – and spend it on others. It sounds less noble when plainly stated."

To me, this is perfectly logical. If conditions are not suitable where you live and you have the resources to move, then you leave. That's the purpose of having individual states, which can compete with one another for citizens and, by extension, tax revenue. If someone doesn't like the taxes levied upon him in one state, he can move to another – and the left-behind state loses the taxes it might have collected from that person.

Astoundingly, politicians seem unable to grasp this concept.

But then, the intelligence level of politicians has always been questionable. "Politicians are not economists," my husband notes caustically. "Most get elected for being photogenic and having the best speaking ability." We expect politicians to be experts in economics when in reality they're merely experts in pretense.

This simple, basic concept – that rich people provide jobs, and if they're harassed to the breaking point they'll simply depart and take those jobs with them – is apparently beyond the understanding of politicians and progressives alike. More than two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson noted, "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

To me, punishing people for being rich is like killing the goose that laid the golden egg. If you keep the goose alive, it gives gold forever. If you give rich people the ability to keep more of what they earn, they create endless jobs in the private sector. As the saying goes, I've never seen a poor person give anyone a job.

Now, before all my progressive readers e-mail and tell me why rich people are scummy jerks who receive endless government back-scratching deals and therefore deserve to be taxed to death – let me say that I agree with you, to a point. Doubtless there is as much of an unholy alliance between the government and some rich people as there is between the government and bankers (too often it's the same people).

But the fact remains, we need the wealthy – and not for the money we can steal from them. We need them to provide private-sector jobs for the rest of us poor saps who don't have the brains, capital or drive to start multi-million dollar companies that employ hundreds of thousands.

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

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The Forgotten Man ~ By Robert Ringer

Take your time reading this one, folks, to make sure that you totally grasp what Robert elucidates in this column. I think that he actually shows why there is a nominal number of Democrats in the Tea Party Movement. Until reading this, I had been wondering why there would be any Democrats in the tea party.

What gave birth to the tea parties is that the Forgotten Man syndrome is like a metastasizing disease. As politicians long ago realized, there aren't enough rich people to support all of the X's. As the number of X's (i.e., those who live off the surpluses of others) increases, a lot of A's and B's must, by necessity, be reclassified as C's. And that is when they become candidates for joining the tea-party movement.

Put simply: When A's and B's are transformed into C's, they mysteriously lose their enthusiasm for new laws to help out X. Put even more simply, they suddenly realize that they are now the Forgotten Man. And that realization is what automatically qualifies them as tea-party people. No recruitment necessary, thank you.

By Robert Ringer

Posted: April 30, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

Why have the combined mudslinging voices of the media (so-called), congressional Democrats and the thin-skinned boy wonder who occupies the Oval Office not been able to turn the tide against the tea partiers? If you look at the poll numbers, the answer is obvious: Most Americans are tea partiers.

However, most of them are not yet in enough pain to skip a day at the ball park and stand in a crowd of thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) and listen to tea-party speakers. That's a shame, but it doesn't change the fact that they identify with the tea-party movement.

So, what is the common bond with which they identify? Taxes? Health care? Financial regulation? I thought about this question as I was rereading Amity Shlaes' landmark book, "The Forgotten Man." In it, she quotes Yale philosopher William Graham Sumner, who, clear back in 1883, explained the crux of the moral problem with progressivism as follows:

"As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine … what A, B, and C shall do for X."

Shlaes goes on to add: "But what about C? There was nothing wrong with A and B helping X. What was wrong was the law, and the indenturing of C to the cause. C was the forgotten man, the man who paid, 'the man who never is thought of.'"

In other words, C is the guy who isn't bothering anyone, but is forced to supply the funds to help the X's of the world, those whom power holders unilaterally decide have been treated unfairly and must be compensated.

FDR, however, did a switcheroo on Sumner's point by removing the moniker of "the forgotten man" from C and giving it to X – "the poor man, the old man, labor, or any other recipient of government help." Zap! Just like that, Sumner's forgotten man was transformed into the opposite of what he was meant to be.

Today, I believe it is the tea-party people who represent Sumner's Forgotten Man. They are taxed and told what they must do and what they must give up in the way of freedom and personal wealth every time a new law is passed. I believe it is this reality that bonds the tea-party people together.

Put another way, it is not health care or any other single issue the tea-party people are most angry about. It is all of the issues combined that have to do with impinging on their individual liberty. Above all, they are outraged by the fact that immoral politicians and bureaucrats not only violate their God-given right to live their lives as they please, they dismiss them as "extremists." Collectively, the tea-party people are today's Forgotten Man.

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

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Lower and simplify taxes! ~ By John Stossel

Today, April 15, is a very special day! It's tax day! While 47% of the population don't pay any taxes, the rest of us, both individuals and corporations, must spend hours upon hours just filling out the tax forms, only to find out how much we get to pay to Uncle Barry. (Uncle Sam has now retired. He didn't like what kind of changes were coming to transform America.)

In his column, Stossel illuminates the kind of burden of time and cost it takes to get through all the complexities of the tax law. Does it not seem like a huge waste of productive time and money that could be used for other things? But, hey, I guess the tax attorneys and accountants really don't mind at all!

What are we to do? Some people say scrap the income tax for the Fair Tax, a national sales tax. Others want a flat income tax of, maybe, 17 percent. One form; no deductions.

There's always danger in proposing a replacement for the income tax: We could end up with two taxes. I wouldn't put it past our greedy Congress to promise that a national sales tax – or worse, a value-added tax – would replace the income tax and then, once the new taxes are in place, to say that the need for revenue is so great they must retain the income tax, too.

Let's not take our eye off the ball: lower and much simpler taxes.

By John Stossel

Posted: April 14, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

It's that joyous time of year: income-tax time. So I spend time with my accountant. I don't want to see him, but I must. I could not do what he's doing. The tax code has grown so complex that today most Americans hire someone to do their taxes.

For the money I pay my accountant, I could get a hundred massages. I could buy a fancy motorcycle. I could take a cruise ship to Venice and back.

Better yet, I could do some good in the world. I could pay for two Habitat for Humanity homes

or help three kids escape government schools by paying their tuition at a good Catholic school.

What a shame that I pay my accountant instead.

How'd we get to this point? U.S taxes were once simple! The government funded itself on tariffs and excise taxes. It didn't violate our privacy by asking us how much we made or how many dependents we have.

But in 1913, the politicians decided they needed an income tax.

At first, they took little money: just 1 percent on incomes between $20,000 and $50,000. Those were big incomes – adjusted for inflation, $50,000 is $1.1 million today. The top bracket paid 6 percent, but that only applied to people who earned at least $11 million. Anyone who made less than $400,000 paid no income tax.

But leave the amounts aside. The increase in complexity is just as evil.

In 1913, the first tax form and instructions totaled four simple pages. Today's 1040, with instructions, totals 176 pages. How did this happen? Because politicians win votes by giving gifts to favored groups.

On my FBN show tomorrow, I'll show clips of the pandering legislators applauding themselves for offering tax credits to special interests. The favored groups cheer their tax breaks, but the result is that everyone else pays more, and everyone must spend more time deciphering the rules.

And with every credit, the tax code gets more complicated. The code is now 3,784,745 words long, not counting the 2009 and 2010 changes. It will get worse in the future.

Americans spend more than 7 billion hours trying to comply, according to a forthcoming study from the National Taxpayers Union.

"That is the equivalent of 3.7 million employees working 40-hour weeks year-round without any vacation. That's more workers than are employed at the five biggest employers among Fortune 500 companies," writes David Keating in the NTU study.

"Counting time and money for individual taxpayers, the compliance burden would total an incredible $103 billion for individual taxpayers alone."

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

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More tyranny + more taxes = More American tea parties ~ By Chuck Norris

I dare anyone in the state-controlled media to try to disparage Chuck! He has facts, truth, honor and a black belt behind him.

Be sure to watch both videos that I have included with this post. The related video was one I just uploaded to youtube today, from today's Fox & Friends. Kelly Wright did a good job with his report, but it seems to just touch the tip of the iceberg when you add the accurate information that Chuck includes in this column.

While this column may have to be categorized as "commentary" because Chuck provides opinion, his information - JUST THE FACTS - are right on, and can be checked out on the original sources. What you need to know, folks, this is going to be our reality unless we take action and get a lot of new people elected this fall that will turn things around.

Friends, it's not too late, but the window is closing fast. We likely have one more chance to drop our partisan divides and elect only those who will be strict constitutionalists and preservers of our founders' vision and principles, before the entire American economy and government collapses.

As patriots, we're not intimidated by power. We won't be demoralized by a few trying to demonize all of us. We're not going to disappear like a bad dream because we love our republic too much to let her sink without a fight. It's a patriot equation that we've learned and carry on from our forefathers: more tyranny + more taxes = more tea parties.

So shout it loud and proud this week: "We will remember in November!"

By Chuck Norris

Posted: April 12, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

As early as 1733, colonial frustrations were felt against the British Parliament via the Molasses Act. Indignation grew over the decades, erupting in 1764 when Parliament enacted the Sugar Act and the Currency Act. But it was not until 1765, when Parliament levied the first direct tax upon the colonies via the Stamp Act, that larger protests permeated all the 13 colonies. And though that tax was repealed in 1766, the appeasement was short lived. Parliament passed the Townshend Acts beginning in 1767, placing a tax on a number of essential goods, including paper and tea – something which in turn led to the Boston Massacre in 1770, the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress in 1774 and, of course, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, etc.

What's so amazing is that no matter how vast Parliament's control and taxation upon the colonists back then, it all pales into insignificance to Washington's control and taxation upon Americans today. Let me say that again: England's total revolutionary oppression and taxes pale into insignificance to Washington's present control and taxation upon U.S. citizens today.

Our founders fought for a far less oppressive system than in Britain. And though some taxes were levied on early Americans for some consumptives, the burden of taxation was laid largely upon tariffs for the first roughly 150 years of our republic until the inception of the income tax in 1913. Tragically, however, in the last 100 years, the feds have grown government into a gargantuan gargoyle whose taxation tentacles overreach every aspect of our lives.

America's founders would have been horrified at the bloated federal bureaucracy we have now and the maze of taxes we have to navigate: income taxes, employment taxes, capital gains taxes, estate taxes, corporate taxes, property taxes, Social Security taxes, gas taxes and even death taxes – it was excessive taxation like this that drove the founders to rebel in the first place.

What we need now more than ever is smaller government and lower taxes. But that is certainly not what we're getting from Washington. Even as some rejoice over the passing of Obamacare, their joy will certainly turn to mourning once they've experienced the trickling down of related costs and taxes over the years.

When President Obama was recently cornered about prospective taxes and what it will cost to cover Obamacare, it took him 17 minutes and 14 seconds to give a single answer. And his final concluding remarks were, "Boy, that was a long answer. I'm sorry, but I hope everybody – but I hope I answered her question."

Let me summarize. Americans for Tax Reform has pulled from Obamacare legislation almost 20 taxes coming down the pike (with references to the location in the law and the dates the taxes begin) that will be paid by every American in one way, shape or form.

• individual mandate excise tax (Page 324/Sec. 1501/January 2014)

• employer mandate tax (Page 348/Sec. 1513/January 2014)

• excise tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans (Page 1979/Sec. 9001/$149.1 billion/January 2013)

• hike in Medicare payroll tax (Page 2,040/Sec. 9015/$86.8 billion /January 2013)

• medicine cabinet tax (Page 1,997/Sec. 9003/$5 billion /January 2011)

• HSA withdrawal tax hike (Page 1,998/Sec. 9004/$1.3 billion/January 2011)

• flexible spending account cap – aka "Special Needs Kids Tax" (Page 1,999/Sec. 9005/$14 billion /January 2011)

• tax on medical device manufacturers (Page 2,020/Sec. 9009/$19.2 billion /January 2010)

• raise "haircut" for medical itemized deduction from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of AGI (Page 2034/Sec. 9013/$15.2 billion /January 2013)

• tax on indoor tanning services (Page 373 of manager's amendment/$2.7 billion/July 1, 2010)

• Blue Cross/Blue Shield tax hike (Page 2,044/Sec. 9016/$0.4 billion)

• excise tax on charitable hospitals (Page 2,001/Sec. 9007/Min$/immediate)

• tax on innovator drug companies (Page 2,010/Sec. 9008/$22.2 billion)

• tax on health insurers (Page 2,026/Sec. 9010/$59.6 billion /January 2011)

• elimination of tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D (Page 2,034/Sec. 9012/$5.4 billion /January 2011)

• $500,000 annual executive compensation limit for health insurance executives (Page 2,035/Sec. 9014/$0.6 billion /Jan 2013)

• employer reporting of insurance on W-2 (Page 1,996/Sec. 9002/Min$/January 2011)

• Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 1,999/Sec. 9006/$17.1 billion /January 2012)

The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, conveniently also reported that the exact number of new IRS employees needed to implement and manage America's new socialized health program is undetermined, though estimates range from thousands of employees on a low end to 16,500 employees on a high end. Or do the feds think the 93,000 present IRS employees can handle the additional workload? Not surprising, the CBO concludes:

CBO has not completed an estimate of all of the discretionary costs that would be associated with H.R. 3590. (Those costs would depend on future appropriations and are not included in the tables accompanying this letter.) As indicated in CBO's earlier estimate, such costs would probably include an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion over 10 years for administrative costs of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and at least a similar amount for expenses of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Was the White House or Congress covering those additional costs?

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

RELATED VIDEO:

April 12, 2010 - Aren't we taxed enough already?

Video provided by TheREALjohnny2k

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Taxing Atlas ~ By Patrice Lewis

John Galt, this one's for you! 

Patrice Lewis has a rant that I am sure all of us can understand about this time of the year, especially if you are in the half of the American population that DOES pay taxes!

And because of the theme of this great column, I threw in a couple related items at the bottom of this page. A video that I uploaded yesterday morning discusses just how OUT OF CONTROL the U. S. Government is. Deficits, debt, and then the ultimate crisis that is going to happen for the very reason that Patrice will mention here. People are going to just quit their businesses, end their non-profit charities, and basically, we can then ALL put out our hands for the government to take care of us. At the end of the video, there is a very special segment where somebody says, "Tick-tock, Mr. Bauer, you're running out of time..."

Well, that brings me to the final part of MY rant, in the related story: Did America already commit Obamcide? You decide.

So in this season of filing taxes and proving how complicating our government is, we should think long and hard about the kind of hope and change that will lead to further complications by introducing yet more government rules and regulations and red tape.


Otherwise the real Atlas – that sleeping giant of middle America – may shrug, give the government the "finger" and watch the economy collapse.

By Patrice Lewis

Posted: April 10, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

The following column can officially be termed a "rant." Sometimes I just need to vent, and this is one of those times.

Taxes have been on my mind this week. That's because I finally finished our taxes on Tuesday night, in time for our appointment on Wednesday afternoon.

Taxes are a complicated business for us. We have four sources of self-employed income, and that means all sorts of fancy paperwork that needs to be filed. Thankfully, our tax preparer, Valerie, is incredibly competent at making sense out of nonsense.

But poor Valerie's business has become more complicated. "Look," she said, pulling a notebook off a shelf. "These were the tax amendments we studied from last year's continuing education class." The notebook was half an inch thick. "And here is this year's notebook." The notebook was three inches thick. I'm not exaggerating.

It's not just personal income taxes that are getting complicated (like they were ever simple, right?). All nonprofit organizations in the U.S. are suddenly being required to provide preposterous amounts of paperwork, documentation and other proof that they are, indeed, nonprofit. It's like the government is trying to bleed all the joy out of being charitable.

But the government is desperate for money, and who knows how many of those evil and secretive nonprofits are engaging in nefarious behavior to elude paying their fair share of Planned Parenthood's operating expenses? So now nonprofits are required to pony up paperwork demonstrating their worth and status.

And on and on it goes. Prove this. Document that. Take everything – employment, personal lives, charitable endeavors – and reduce it to nothing more than a dipping pot of money for an ever-increasing and ever-intrusive government, which wants nothing more than to seize control of your assets and resources in order to, um, spread the wealth.

And of course most of your wealth is not spread to individuals or groups (deserving or not), but to the government oversight of those individuals or groups. In other words, any time a government entity runs a "charitable" organization – spreading your wealth – it skims off a huge percentage for (cough) administration costs. Gotta pay all those bureaucrats, after all.

And of course there's always the Ponzi schemes of Medicare and Social Security that robs Peter to pay Paul. What's wrong with this picture?

While no previous administration was ever innocent of increasing the size of government, there's no question the pace has intensified drastically in the last decade. We are being micro-managed to death. Our driving habits, our health care, our energy usage, our lighting options … the list is endless, and endlessly humiliating. I mean honestly – we're supposed to be grown-up men and women, independent and responsible. We shouldn't have to report to Big Brother for permission to live decent ordinary lives.

Now we learn that nearly half of U.S. households escape paying federal income taxes. This means that half the people in this country are paying for the other half's share of benefits.

Unlike liberals, I don't resent the wealthy. They're the ones who create jobs. They're the ones who keep the economy going. And if they're taxed to the point where they decide it ain't worth it, what then?

And you don't have to be wealthy to reach the breaking point. At what point will small businesses simply conclude all the increasing hassle of government red tape and excessive micromanagement isn't worth it? At what point will charities conclude it's too much trouble to comply with federal interference and throw in the towel? At what point will nonprofit groups grow tired of proving themselves and decide it's not worth continuing their efforts?

See my point? The more the government complicates our lives, the more we reduce our efforts to start businesses, act charitably, do something for the public good, or simply follow our dream (pursuit of happiness, remember?). There goes the economy.

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

RELATED VIDEO:

April 09, 2010 ~ "Deficit, Debt, Crisis," or should that be, 'Tick, tick, tick... We're running out of time"

I think you will understand the meaning of this video just by watching the last minute of the video. But, you should see the whole thing. It is the budget deficits, the national debt, and the oncoming crisis that all has to do with the unemployment problems: How we got here (deficit spending), where we are now (huge national debt), and where it will go from here (crisis) that will determine what happens in the next few months.

Video provided by TheREALjohnny2k

RELATED STORY:
Did America Commit Obamacide? ~ By John Kubicek

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Is there anything worth dying for? ~ By Alan Keyes

Below, you will read some very excellent words of wisdom for Sen. Harry Reid and the Republicans In Name Only (RINOs), written by Alan Keyes. And then, following the excerpts from his column, you will find a very nice surprise. I have posted the video of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," along with the lyrics to the song (which Alan Keyes says that Dingy Harry should listen to on November 3, 2010, after he is defeated).

God Bless the USA, and God Bless YOU, tea partiers!

The day after the election this November, I advise Majority Leader Harry Reid to listen to the whole Lee Greenwood song. Maybe then he'll understand why he no longer holds that powerful job in Washington. Tea-party people are putting their legs and arms, their heart and courage to the words. They are writing the tune that heralds the day of his departure. Are there still people in the GOP who hear it as well? Will they stand up in time to reassure us that when Obama's anti-American socialists are tossed out, real, proud, God Bless Americans will replace them? If so, Alleluia! – and pass the hymns of praise. If not, I don't think the tea-party people will let it be. They'll just act out another Greenwood verse or two and see to it that Americans can again breathe free.

By Alan Keyes

Posted: April 09, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

Does Sen. Harry Reid have a more accurate understanding of the tea-party movement than RNC Chairman Michael Steele? Commenting on the little tsunami of tea partiers who flooded his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., ("to demand an end to the Senate majority leader's term") he reportedly said "he was confused about what tea partiers mean when they cite the Constitution and call for liberty, freedom and limited federal government. 'The people who are really upset don't really know why they're upset. … What do they mean?'" The only aspect of the tea-party movement Reid professes to understand is the "anger at government and Washington during a recession."

This means, of course, that Mr. Majority Leader Reid has something in common with the RINOs of the GOP, including RNC leader Michael Steele. The difference is this: Reid sees the concern for liberty, while pretending not to understand what it's about. The GOP leaders pretend to understand the concern for liberty, while refusing to acknowledge that it's much on the hearts of tea-party participants. They prefer to promote the half-truth that it's all about debt and deficits.

For both Reid and the GOP leadership, the fulcrum of politics is money. They share, and want the American people to accept, a purely materialistic definition of political goods. The Democrats seek votes by promising to redistribute the goods they say the Republicans want to keep for the rich. The Republicans seek votes by promising better administration of the goods the Democrats squander with their destructive taxation and spending. That way there will be more goodies for everyone. Neither Obama faction Democrats or RINO Republicans are authentically concerned to preserve the democratic republican form of government or respect everyone's God-given rights.

My experience at the tea-party gatherings and with the tea-party organizers convinces me that these matters are of deep concern to participants in the movement. They seem to have little trust for the Democrats' government Santa Claus or the Republicans' green-eyeshade efficiency experts.

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

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July 14, 2007 ~ God Bless the USA - Lee Greenwood

Video provided by Fuzzy700

LYRICS:

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I'd worked for all my life.

And I had to start again,

with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars,

to be livin here today.

'Cause the flag still stands for freedom,

and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,

to the hills of Tennessee.

Across the plains of Texas,

From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,

and New York to L.A.

Well there's pride in every American heart,

and its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

And I'm proud to be and American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

Be sure to check out johnny2k's Tea Party Gear!

The U.S. is not dead … yet ~ By Herman Cain

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Herman Cain Posted: November 30, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" was an expression popularized by Mark Twain after hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal circa 1897. A daily overdose of bad news about our economy, military casualties and bad legislation being rushed through Congress by the Democrats would make it easy for someone to be ready to pronounce the death of the United States. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Despite all of the attention devoted to negative stories about the recession, jobs, the wars and what the liberals are trying to do to this country, we are not dead yet. The operative word is yet. Yes, we are on the brink of bankruptcy as a nation. Yes, our economy is stalled due to a recession that did not have to happen. And yes, our situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating because of a procrastinating president. Yet, there are many things for which we can be thankful. Our Constitutions is not broken. It is simply not being enforced, and it is being misinterpreted by some people. The First Amendment to the Constitution says that government cannot impose religion on the people. It does not say that religion cannot be exhibited in government. Liberals ignore this fact as they try to eliminate religion and faith from our culture. All of our currency is inscribed with "In God We Trust" for a reason. READ FULL STORY >

Even worse than taxes ~ By John Stossel

From WorldNetDaily

By John Stossel Posted: November 18, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 Bill O'Reilly is mad at me because I'm not mad enough about taxes. Last week on "The O'Reilly Factor," we talked about California's and New York's enormous budget deficits and planned tax increases. Those states would have big surpluses had they just grown their governments in pace with inflation. But of course they didn't. Now the politicians act like their current deficits are something imposed on them by the recession. But that's nonsense. They created the problem with their reckless spending. Let's look at the particulars. Had the government of New York state grown at the rate of population and inflation over the past 10 years, it would have a $14 billion surplus today. Instead, spending grew at twice the rate of inflation. So New York has a $3 billion deficit. To dent California's deficit, bureaucrats will withhold an extra 10 percent from every taxpayer – at least from those who don't flee the state. New York planned to raise the price of new license plates, but then backed off. The visible tax was unpopular. But the hidden taxes grow. Hidden taxes are more pernicious because they disguise what we pay for government. We blame merchants, not our legislators, for the high price of gasoline, liquor, cigarettes and phone calls, but the money goes to the political thieves. New York imposes a gas tax of 61 cents a gallon – almost a quarter of the cost of the gas. New York City taxes cigarettes at $4.25 a pack. Washington state collects $26 per gallon of hard liquor. Illinois politicians take a sneaky cut when you buy junk food: They add 6.25 percent to the cost of soda and candy. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]

2 ways to spur a Republican renaissance ~ By Star Parker

From WorldNetDaily

By Star Parker Posted: November 07, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 RNC Chairman Michael Steele and the New York Yankees can look back on a good week. Maybe Steele deserves extra credit. No one was writing obituaries a year ago for the Yankees as was the case for the Republican Party. Now we have a different picture. Borrowing from the words of Mark Twain, reports of the death of the Republican Party were greatly exaggerated. The operative question today for Mr. Steele and his party, in the wake of winning governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, both Obama states in 2008, is "Now what?" Will voter discontent that led to these Republican victories be parlayed into a genuine Republican renaissance? As independent voters move away from Democrats and lean back toward Republicans, which is what happened in Virginia and New Jersey, and what polling over the year has shown to be happening nationwide, will Republicans build a solid new tent? Will they rebuild their party with values critical for restoring a sick nation to health? In order to genuinely rebuild, Republicans must successfully take on two big challenges – one internal and one external. First, a notion that has divided the party – that free-market economics and the social "values" agenda are separate cards to be played – must be purged. The more libertarian stream – Republicans whose principal concerns are limited government, low taxes and free markets – have viewed Christian social conservatism as dead weight in the party. This is a mistake. Christian conservatives, on the other hand, with legitimate concerns about the moral framework of the nation, concerns about the integrity of the American family and about the ongoing abortion holocaust, have given shorter shrift to the importance of constitutionally limited government and free markets. These two streams within the Republican Party that have been flowing in parallel must be channeled into one powerful river. It is not either-or. Both are essential. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]

How to end the recession in 12 months ~ By Herman Cain

From WorldNetDaily

By Herman Cain Posted: October 12, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 Unemployment has hit 9.8 percent. New jobless claims grow each month. Federal spending is increasing exponentially, while current tax revenues are decreasing. The value of the dollar is in a nose dive. The deficit for fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, 2009, has come in at $1.4 trillion dollars, nearly four times the deficit of any previous year in history. Business bankruptcies are on the rise, while some businesses are literally hanging on by their cash-flow fingernails. Newsflash! The $789 billion "stimulus bill" is not working. And no, don't give me that baloney that the stimulus needs more time. The bill was philosophically flawed from the beginning, but the big-government-and-more-taxes members of Congress refused to even consider solutions offered by the less-government-and-fewer-taxes members. Meanwhile, Congress is trying to ram a $1 trillion-plus health-care deform bill down our throats, with a Cap & Trade & Tax & Kill bill waiting in the wings in the Senate. The Democrats are also secretly talking about a second "stimulus" bill, but they are not calling it a stimulus. I call it more government spending with no new results. Here are three suggestions that would get this country out of a recession in 12 months, not that the Democrats will listen or even consider any of these ideas. These are not original ideas. They are just great ideas from several sources that Congress and the president are ignoring because they would result in less government control. The reason that we would be out of the recession in 12 months is that businesses would get excited and start planning to grow their business instead of making plans to just survive. It's just that simple. The prospect of bigger government and more taxes does not inspire businesses to grow. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]

When half gives and half takes ~ By John Stossel

From WorldNetDaily

By John Stossel Posted: October 07, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 "The government who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul," George Bernard Shaw once said. For a socialist, Shaw demonstrated good sense with that quotation. Unfortunately, America has become a laboratory in which his hypothesis is being tested. The theory of government I was taught says that government provides benefits, primarily security, to the entire population. In return we pay taxes. But lately the government has been a distributor of special privileges, taking money from some and giving it to others. America is now about evenly split between those who pay income taxes and those who consume them. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center recently disclosed that close to half of all households will pay no income tax this year. Some will pay less than zero – that is, they'll get money from those of us who do pay taxes. The Tax Policy Center adds that this year the average income-tax rate for the bottom 40 percent of earners will be negative and that their cash subsidy will equal 10 percent of the total amount the income tax brings in, thanks to the Earned Income Tax Credit and President Obama's "Making Work Pay" program. The view from the top also shows the lopsidedness of the tax system. The top 20 percent of earners makes about 53 percent of the income in America but pays 91 percent of the income tax. The top 1 percent pays 36 percent. The IRS says the bottom half of earners pays less than 3 percent. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]

Taxing to the last breath ~ By Doug Powers

By Doug Powers Posted: July 13, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 The year 2009 may well be the most expensive year in history, both in a financial and constitutional sense, and it might get even worse. The cap-and-trade bill will be debated in the Senate soon, talk of another stimulus is flying around, and Barbara Boxer and others are ratcheting up the rhetoric so as to make us believe that if we don't commit to giving all remaining money and freedom to Washington now, we'll be dead before dinner. Some are trying to make the case that only another stimulus will save the economy, which is a little asking the captain of the Titanic to hit another iceberg in the hopes it will plug up the holes made by the first one. The very idea of a second Obama stimulus is sheer madness, which is exactly what makes it a very real possibility. And to top it off an administration that has been called "Gilligan's Island without the professor" is in control of General Motors – but you can read all about that in next month's issue of Czar & Driver magazine. There should be nothing more disconcerting to Americans than seeing a bunch of politicians in a hurry. The president, Senate Democrats and a few falsely labeled "Republicans" rushed through the stimulus package like Trent Lott scurrying through South Central at dusk. Now, to cover the enormous "stimulus" outlay that, by design, does nothing but increase the size and reach of the government, they must reload the coffers by trying to tax you for each time you toast bread or exhale ("pay as you blow"?) via carbon and energy taxes. The quest of carbon-based life to spend every last penny on earth to get rid of carbon will turn out to be either the most costly suicide ever, or the most expensive scam of all time. Frankly, I'm not thrilled with either option, but I have a pretty good idea which it is. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, because cap and trade is going global. President Obama met with other G8 leaders in Rome to figure out ways to control Earth's temperature using nothing but the remaining contents of your paycheck. Impressive. I'll bet even MacGyver couldn't do that! I have to admit, creating a fear of naturally occurring phenomena like the weather and temperature to achieve power while providing a justification to steal both money and freedom is medieval, but conceptually brilliant and a time-honored tradition among people seeking a way to take advantage of the ignorant. [CONTINUE READING]

Why we'll leave L.A. ~ By Rick Newcombe

By Rick Newcombe Posted on WorldNetDaily.com: July 11, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 If New Yorkers fantasize that doing business here in Los Angeles would be less of a headache, forget about it. This city is fast becoming a job-killing machine. It's no accident the unemployment rate is a frightening 11.4 percent and climbing. I never could have imagined that, after living here for more than three decades, I would be filing a lawsuit against my beloved Los Angeles and making plans for my company, Creators Syndicate, to move elsewhere. But we have no choice. The city's bureaucrats rival Stalin's apparatchiks in issuing decrees, rescinding them, and then punishing citizens for having followed them in the first place. I founded Creators Syndicate in 1987, and we have represented hundreds of important writers, syndicating their columns to newspapers and websites around the world. The most famous include Hillary Clinton, who, like Eleanor Roosevelt, wrote a syndicated column when she was first lady. Another star was the advice columnist Ann Landers, once described by "The World Almanac" as "the most influential woman in America." Other Creators columnists include Bill O'Reilly, Susan Estrich, Thomas Sowell, Roland Martin and Michelle Malkin – plus Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonists and your favorite comic strips. From the beginning, we've been headquartered in Los Angeles. But 15 years ago we had a dispute with the city over our business tax classification. The city argued that we should be in an "occupations and professions" classification that has an extremely high tax rate, while we fought for a "wholesale and retail" classification with a much lower rate. The city forced us to invest a small fortune in legal fees over two years, but we felt it was worth it in order to establish the correct classification once and for all. After enduring a series of bureaucratic hearings, we anxiously awaited a ruling to find out what our tax rate would be. Everything was at stake. We had already decided that if we lost, we would move. You can imagine how relieved we were on July 1, 1994, when the ruling was issued. We won, and firmly planted our roots in the City of Angels and proceeded to build our business. Everything was fine until the city started running out of money in 2007. Suddenly, the city announced that it was going to ignore its own ruling and reclassify us in the higher tax category. Even more incredible is the fact that the new classification was to be imposed retroactively to 2004 with interest and penalties. No explanation was given for the new classification or for the city's decision to ignore its 1994 ruling. [CONTINUE READING]

Cap-and-tax: Government vs. America ~ By David Limbaugh

By David Limbaugh Posted: July 10, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 There is still time to stop the legislative monstrosity known as the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill before the Senate approves it. But for that to happen, Americans must learn how bad it is. Let's briefly review the basics: the bill is ostensibly designed to curb man-caused carbon emissions (presumably without outlawing breathing) to retard global warming. Even if we accept, for purposes of argument, the assumptions of radical, hysterical leftist environmentalists that man-caused global warming will destroy the planet if evil, rich capitalists don't radically curtail their own contributions to the catastrophe, Waxman-Markey would not prevent this Armageddon. Climate scientist Chip Knappenberger, of New Hope Environmental Services, calculates that the bill would only reduce Earth's temperature by 0.1 to 0.2 degree Celsius by 2100. The Heritage Foundation's Ben Lieberman says he's found no "decent refutation of the assertion that the temperature impact would be inconsequential." Unfortunately, the bill's negative impact on the economy would not be inconsequential. Lieberman says the bill would cause estimated job losses averaging about 1.15 million from 2012-2030, and the cumulative projected loss in gross domestic product would be almost $10 trillion by 2035. The national debt from this bill alone, disregarding the multiple bailouts, stimulus packages and health care "reform," would increase by 2035 for a family of four by 26 percent, or $115,000. Heritage is not alone in making these claims. The far more liberal Brookings Institution estimates the bill would cost 1.8 percent of GDP in 2035 and 2.5 percent by 2050. Heritage's "Foundry" blog concludes, "Economists from liberal think tanks, conservative think tanks, and industry associations agree that Waxman-Markey will reduce income by hundreds of billions of dollars per year." [CONTINUE READING]

AMERICAN THINKER: July 4 Atlanta Tea Party Cancelled

By Jason Lee June 23, 2009 With as many as 20,000 people in attendance, the Atlanta Tea Party on April 15 was one of the largest and most successful Tea Parties in the country. The Atlanta Tea Party on July 4, 2009 had been expected to be just as large. Unfortunately, plans have changed. Simon Property Group has forced the cancellation of the Atlanta Tea Party. The Atlanta Tea Party was forced to cancel its Independence Day celebration in Gwinnett, after losing its location due to the objection of Gwinnett Place Mall (a Simon company.) The Tea Party had been scheduled to take place in the parking lot of the old Macy's building at Gwinnett Place since March.

"It is unfortunate the event had to be canceled," said Julianne Thompson, event co-organizer. She continued, "The old Macy's building is on private property, and not owned by Simon Malls, however the mall manager asked the property owner and I to come in the office on Thursday of this week [June 18], and told us Simon does not want political events on its property. They were also concerned about the fact we were using the term 'protest.' Although the event was on private property, the mall was able to assert authority on the matter due to reciprocal property easement agreements." Event Co-Chair Debbie Dooley stated, "Our Atlanta Tea Party team tried for the next day and a half to find an alternative location large enough for the event, and with the proper layout for our vendors, children's activities, and fireworks show, but we could not find anything suitable that would have been available on July 4th.

With just a few days left until the Fourth of July Tea Parties begin, this is very unfortunate timing! One wonders why Simon Property Group waited until now to interfere. Liberal Atlanta paper's snarky reaction. Following the money, connecting the dots: [CONTINUE READING]

They are reporting on us already - July 4th tea parties

July 4th tea parties planned By James Q. Lynch Des Moines Bureau james.lynch@gazettecommunications.com It worked so well on Tax Day, organizers of protests against government taxing and spending policies will host another round of tea parties on the Fourth of July. There’s likely to be more emphasis on spending – the $787 billion federal stimulus plan, the multibillion dollar bailout packages for General Motors than at the April 15 tea parties that attracted thousands of participants in Iowa. “President Obama and the congressional Democrats are out of control,” Deborah Thornton of Iowa City said. She’s helping organize a rally in Coralville after the annual Fourth of July parade there. Plans for the rally have not been finalized. An Iowa City rally in April drew more than 300 people. In Cedar Rapids, Tim Pugh is organizing a rally and family picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tree of Five Seasons at 105 1st Ave. NE. He’s hoping for 400 people – about the same number that participated April 15. In addition to spending, he said, people are concerned with new taxes, such as a tax on cellphones, being considered at various levels of government. More than 1,110 Fourth of July Taxed Enough Already tea parties are being planned by the American Family Association to let citizens voice their opposition to Obama’s spending plans that would result in record deficits. If government controlled health insurance is put into law, as Obama wants, the deficits will climb several trillion dollars higher, according to the group. This round of tea parties will build on the Tax Day rallies that drew 600,000 people, the American Family Association said. Thornton reported an uptick in attendance at Johnson County GOP meetings after that rally. Not all of the participants were Republicans, she added. “I keep adding names to my e-mail list every day,” she said. Likewise, Pugh said, a network of people has grown out of the Tax Day tea parties. They are communicating about issues and slowly organizing to lobby decision-makers. “In the long run, it will be good, but these sorts of things take time,” he said.

See this story by James Q. Lynch

For more information on the tea parties, visit: http://www.crteaparty.org/ or http://www.axthetax.net/.

RELATED STORIES: Taxed Enough Already Tea Party Date Set Why I'm having tea in Boiling Springs ~ By Alan Keyes Distractions, Distractors, and Detractors ~ By John Kubicek RELATED VIDEO: