In honor of my little brother Jakey, who loves the movie Up!

Glenn Beck Interviews his favorite 2012 candidate Alan West on his radio show

Bailout Recipients

Recipients:
928

Total Committed:
$619,034,603,101

Total Disbursed:
$563,995,106,739

Total Returned:
$258,727,505,73

Political Hell

A powerful senator dies after a prolonged illness. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to Heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the guy.

"Well, I'd like to but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in Hell and one in Heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in Heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to Hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him, everyone is very happy and in evening attire. They run to greet him, hug him, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar. Also present is the Devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug and waves while the elevator rises. The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on Heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit Heaven."

So 24 hours pass with the head of state joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well then, you've spent a day in Hell and another in Heaven. Now choose your eternity."

He reflects for a minute, then the senator answers, "Well, I would never have said it, I mean Heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in Hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to Hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he is in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. The Devil comes over to him and lays his arm on his neck. "I don't understand," stammers the senator."Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and club and we ate lobster and caviar and danced and had a great time. Now all there is, is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.

The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning! Today you voted for us! The election is over."

-unknown author

WAKE UP AMERICA! - CHAPTER ELEVEN

AMERICA - CAPITALIST OR COMMUNIST?

By "capitalism" I mean an economic system characterized by private property and voluntary exchange. By "communism" I mean an economic system characterized by public property and compulsory exchange. The myth that the America is a "capitalist country" is widespread. According to the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels (first published in 1848), the following ten steps are necessary for a communist takeover:

1. "Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the populace over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form."

For each of these ten planks I now give the measures that could be interpreted as implementing the plank, as well as my "communist percentage," determined by the extent to which I think the plank has been implemented:

1. Abolition of Property Rights.

• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises. (Taxes on things, including property.)
• Zoning laws and regulations - the Supreme Court ruled zoning constitutional in 1921.
• Federal ownership of land; Bureau of Land Management - in Nevada 87% of land is federally owned.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - broad powers to seize any private property during "emergency."

  Communist percentage: 25%.

2. Heavy Progressive Income Tax

• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises. (Taxes on things, including income.) The Sixteenth Amendment classifies income tax as an indirect tax, or tax on a thing, as opposed to tax on a person.
• Corporate Tax Act of 1909.
• Revenue Act of 1913.
• Social Security Act of 1936.

  Communist percentage: 85%. (Maybe 15% of the population don't pay the taxes.)

3. Abolition of Rights of Inheritance

• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises. (Taxes on things, including inheritances.)
• Estate Tax Act of 1916.
• Social Security Act of 1936.

  Communist percentage: 30%.

4. Confiscation of Property of Emigrants and Rebels

• Confiscation of property of American Indians.
• IRS confiscation of property without due process.
• Internment of Japanese-Americans during WW II; confiscation of their property.
• Confiscation of drug-merchant property.
• RICO Act of 1970 (Racketeering Influenced & Corrupt Organizations) - used as a basis to confiscate property.

  Communist percentage: 20%.

5. Monopoly National Bank

• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have the power to coin money, regulate the power thereof.
• National Bank Act of 1863 - established federal monopoly.
• Federal Reserve Act of 1913.
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 1933.

  Communist percentage: 90%. (Maybe 10% of transactions are done by barter or private currency.)

6. Centralization by the State of Communication and Transportation

• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have the power to establish post offices and post roads.
• U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States.
• Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 - placed railways under federal regulation; created Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).
• Federal Highway Act of 1916.
• Air Commerce Act of 1926.
• Federal Radio Commission, 1927.
• Federal Communications Commission, 1934.
• Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938.
• Interstate Highway System, 1944.
• Federal Aviation Agency, 1958.
• Department of Transportation, 1966.

  Communist percentage: 80%.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the the soil generally

• Department of the Interior, 1849 - now includes: Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Department of Agriculture, 1862.
• Anti-trust Acts, 1902.
• Department of Commerce and Labor, 1903.
• Tennessee Valley Authority, 1933 - Hoover Dam, Muscle Shoals Project.

  Communist percentage: 40%.

8. Equal liability of all to labor; Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture

• First labor unions, then called federations, 1820.
• National Labor Union, 1866.
• American Federation of Labor, 1886.
• International Workers of the World, 1905.
• Department of Labor, 1913.
• Railway Labor Act of 1926.
• Civil Works Administration, 1933.
• Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1933 - farmers receive government aid only if they relinquish control of farming activities.
• National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
• Works Progress Administration, 1935.
• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 - set minimum wages.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 - effectively the equal liability of all to labor.
• Davis-Bacon and Walsh-Healy Acts - require government contractors to pay "prevailing wages."
• U.S. Unemployment Service.

  Communist percentage: 60%.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the populace over the country

• Farmers Home Administration (FHA).
• Zoning.
• Government subsidies favor large agribusinesses.

  Communist percentage: 10%.

10. Free education for all children in public schools; Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form

• Gradual shift from private education to state funded education began in the New England States in the early 1800s.
• Smith-Lever Act of 1914.
• Smith-Hughes Act of 1917.
• Federal school lunch program, 1935.
• Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 - children work only with government approval.
• National School Lunch Act of 1946.
• National Defense Education Act of 1958.
• Federal School Aid Act of 1965.

  Communist percentage: 95%.

The average for my "communist percentages" is 53.5%, that is, according to these criteria America is halfway between capitalism and communism. Note that for four of the most important criteria - education, communication, banking/currency, and taxation - my "communist percentages" are very high.

Note that the U.S. Constitution specifically empowers Congress to implement five of the communist planks. In practice, Congress has demonstrated its power to implement, at least to some extent, all the communist planks.

Also note that the two essential distinguishing characteristics of capitalism are private property and voluntary exchange. The U.S. Constitution gave Congress wide powers to violate private property and voluntary exchange. In practice, this is exactly what Congress has been doing. The Bill of Rights has slowed down Congress's march towards communism. But gradually the Supreme Court has been effectively dismantling the Bill of Rights. Today many courts rule defense based on the Bill of Rights inadmissible, particularly regarding tax matters.

Capitalism is individual power. Communism (including socialism and much of modern "liberalism") is coercive state power. Private property and voluntary exchange constitute individual power. Government ownership and regulation attempt to eliminate individual power.

The solution is for individuals to seize back the power they have relinquished. The next three chapters will tell us how.

http://www.buildfreedom.com
Copyright © 1992 Free America Institute ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

So I urge all Americans to put their courage to the test. Be firm in our conviction that our cause is just. Reaffirm our faith in all things for which true Americans have always stood. I urge al Americans to arouse themselves and stay aroused. We must not make any further concessions to communism at home or abroad. We do not need to. We should oppose communism from our position of strength for we are not weak. There is much to be done. The time is short. Let us begin--in earnest--now, and may God bless our efforts I humbly pray.

-Ezra Taft Benson

Montana Bear Tragedy

This is a very sad story about a bear.. Everybody should heed
the warnings not to feed wildlife because they become dependent and don't forage for themselves any longer. It is such a tragedy to see what has been done to our country's wildlife! The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect U.S wildlife.

Animals that formerly were self-sufficient are now showing
Signs of belonging to the Democrat Party. They have apparently
learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for
their care and sustenance. This photo is of a black bear in Montana
turned Democrat. He's nicknamed Bearack Acorn Obearma. It is
believed that he has become a campground organizer.

What it means to be a libertarian

Top 3 Health Care Policy Proposals

Top 3 Policy Reforms to Grow the Economy

Mitt Romney: "Believe in America"

Help! A few months ago, I got tired of working, so I quit my job. For some reason I couldn’t get my parents to pay my rent, and the landlord keeps asking why I haven’t paid. I’m afraid I’ll get evicted soon! What should I do to get money? -Broke and Desperate

Dear Broke & Desperate,

It is at difficult times such as this when one’s character and will is tested. Don’t give up on not working, but instead be creative about obtaining food and shelter. Here are some options to get you thinking a bit more creatively:

- If your parents are the conservative type who worry about their image in the community, you can cleverly hint at how you’ll embarrass them to within an inch of their lives if they don’t start being more ‘supportive’.

- It’s not easy to find people to support you if you are searching for people at the same level or above you on the attractiveness index. So find a girlfriend (or a boyfriend, works either way) who is considerably below you on the attractiveness index, and try to develop a relationship where your contribution is only your physical appearance, in return for which you can expect to be ‘taken care of’.

- Run for office, and go into politics. Sure, you’ll have to do some work in the beginning but later on down the line you’ll be able to live off of public money while whoring around claiming you are doing whatever you’ll be eventually accused of for the good of the people.

I hope these examples will help put you on the right track. Do let us know how this works out for you.

Sincerely Yours,

Sarcastic Sage

Obama Budget Cuts Visualization

16 Year Old Understands Tea Party Better Than Democrats

BE HUMBLE

“Don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say yes.”

So you still think the internet is free...

So you still think the internet is free...

Entrepreneurs can change the world

The Ten Principles of a Free Society

by Ron Paul

Recently by Ron Paul: Another Illegal Killerthon

This is the Appendix to Ron Paul's new book, Liberty Defined.

1. Rights belong to individuals, not groups; they derive from nature and can neither be granted nor taken away by government. *** our rights are given to us by GOD
   
2. All peaceful, voluntary economic and social associations are permitted; consent is the basis of the social and economic order.
3. Justly acquired property is privately owned by individuals and voluntary groups, and this ownership cannot be arbitrarily voided by governments.
4. Government may not redistribute private wealth or grant special privileges to any individual or group.
5. Individuals are responsible for their own actions; government cannot and should not protect us from ourselves.
6. Government may not claim the monopoly over a people's money and government's must never engaged in official counterfeiting, even in the name of macroeconomic stability.
7. Aggressive wars, even when called preventative, and even when they pertain only to trade relations, are forbidden. ***I disagree
   
8. Jury nullification, that is, the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts, is a right of the people and the courtroom norm.
9. All forms of involuntary servitude are prohibited, not only slavery but also conscription, forced association, and forced welfare distribution.
10. Government must obey the law that it expects other people to obey and thereby must never use force to mold behavior, manipulate social outcomes, manage the economy, or tell other countries how to behave.

Hope Isn't Hiring @ HopeIsntHiring.com

To our friends living in Arizona, Iowa, Maine and Missouri, Happy Tax Freedom Day! Tax Freedom Day represents how long Americans must work this year before they have earned enough money to pay state and local taxes. Can you guess which state's residents have to work the longest to pay off all that they owe?

Since the New Deal, Republicans have been on the wrong side of every issue of concern to ordinary Americans; Social Security, the war in Vietnam, equal rights, civil liberties, church- state separation, consumer issues, public education, reproductive freedom, national health care, labor issues, gun policy, campaign-finance reform, the environment
and tax fairness. No political party could remain so consistently wrong by accident.
The only rational conclusion is that, despite their cynical "family values" propaganda, the Republican Party is a criminal conspiracy to betray the interests of the American people
in favor of plutocratic and corporate interests, and absolutist religious groups.

Why? Because they're evil GOP bastards!

I found this on a site called evilGOPbastards.com and I thought it was hilarious! Why? Because I'm an evil GOP bastard that's why!

National Debt by President

Notice the contribution of FDR alone, if only Obama was on here!

How much tax do we really pay?

Item	Rate	Notes
Federal personal income tax	17% (2011 est. - 18.2%)	Top 25% rate. It ranges from a credit up to well over 40%. Source
State & local income taxes	10.1% (2009 - 10.6%)	State taxes range from under 6% to over 12%. Local taxes run from zero to 2.75%. Source, source, source, 2009 source
Sales tax	9.7% (2009 - 10.3%)	Figure is the average rate. State sales taxes range up to 8% and local taxes run from zero to over 5%. Source, source, source, 2008 source, 2009 source
Social security & Medicaid	7.65%	Total rate is actually 15.3% since half is paid by the employer, but we're ignoring that to be kind. Source, box 1
Federal corporate income tax share	3%	Based on corporate taxes being approximately 1/6 of personal taxes, and that they are paid by individuals in the final analysis. Source
Property tax	2.5% (2007 - 2.7%)	Yearly average actual costs range from under $200 in Alaska to almost $1900 in New Jersey. Source
Fuel/gasoline tax	.5% (2009 est. - .6%)	Approximately 23% of the 2005 gasoline price is for federal & state taxes. The federal excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. Per the CPI, about 6% of the average budget is for transportation. Estimated. 2010 estimate, $.45 per gallon average. Source
Other	5% (2009 est. - 7%)	Includes estate tax, fees, licenses, inflation losses, inheritance, deficit allowance, gift, and others too numerous to mention. Estimated.

Total tax percentage paid by the above average US citizen, 2005 - 54.4%

Total tax percentage paid by the above average US citizen, 2009 est. - 57.7%

Note 1: the total tax paid is closer to 46-48% (2009, 47-50%), since the figures above do not distinguish between taxes on gross and net income, nor do they adjust for tax planning. Note also that the Tax Foundation's numbers are closer to 34% for the actual "average" US citizen.

Note 2: Inflation effects are likely quite understated - if actual inflation is 6% and one is only earning 4%. the tax rate is not the main issue.

Note 3: This page is not intended to be definitive and completely accurate on tax rates and issues - to do so would be virtually impossible considering all the factors. Its primarily intended to show a fuller picture than is normally presented.

---

A partial list of the various ways in which citizens of the US are taxed:

• Accounts Receivable Tax
• Building Permit Tax
• Capital Gains Tax
• CDL license Tax
• Cigarette Tax
• Corporate Income Tax
• Court Fines (indirect taxes)
• Deficit spending
• Dog License Tax
• Federal Income Tax
• Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
• Fishing License Tax
• Food License Tax
• Fuel permit tax
• Gasoline Tax
• Hunting License Tax
• Inflation
• Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money)
• Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
• IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
• Liquor Tax
• Local Income Tax
• Luxury Taxes
• Marriage License Tax
• Medicare Tax
• Property Tax
• Real Estate Tax
• Septic Permit Tax
• Service Charge Taxes
• Social Security Tax
• Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
• Sales Taxes
• Recreational Vehicle Tax
• Road Toll Booth Taxes
• School Tax
• State Income Tax
• State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
• Telephone federal excise tax
• Telephone federal universal service fee tax
• Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
• Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
• Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
• Telephone state and local tax
• Telephone usage charge tax
• Toll Bridge Taxes
• Toll Tunnel Taxes
• Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
• Trailer Registration Tax
• Utility Taxes
• Vehicle License Registration Tax
• Vehicle Sales Tax
• Watercraft Registration Tax
• Well Permit Tax
• Workers Compensation Tax

President Barack Obama's First Ad of 2012