Florida homeowners: When did we secede from the U.S.A.?

by Baitball Blogger on Thu Apr 05, 2012 Original It seemed like a simple cause and effect scenario. The case before the Florida Supreme Court would have decided who was responsible for the repairs of defective construction work in a development. But before the Court ruled on the case the Florida legislature came up with House Bill 1013. What it does is interfere with a basic American principle: the right to due process of law. Due Process is a simple concept. It’s defined as “[f]air treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.” The key words are “citizen’s entitlement.” For most of us, that translates to, constitutional right. We just assume that the courts will be available to reinforce our rights, when nothing else will. It’s just the ordinary concept of checks and balances. But that’s what the Florida legislature interfered with when it passed House Bill 1013. Homeowners are blocked from relying on the court for remedies for shoddy workmanship. So now, instead of holding the developer responsible, homeowners will have to resort to special assessments among their own members to resolve faulty construction work. In some towns and cities, this will mean hardship for future homeowners because much of this work is performed before the first homeowner moves in. If anyone is expecting the local government to act like some fail safe system, performing building inspections to ensure that work meets appropriate standards, they can check into my website, www.keystoneworksite.com for the rude awakening. There’s a lot about this state that many people don’t realize until it’s too late. When you sign that contract and become a homeowner a transformation begins which turns you into something less significant than what you were before you moved in. Like Pinocchio on Donkey Island, none of us realize what we’re in for until it’s too late. Except here in Florida, where the borders are surrounded on three sides by water I’m always reminded of a school of fish which is herded into one big bait ball for someone’s easy pickings. In this case, the special interest group which benefited from the bill at our expense was the Florida Home Builder’s Association. You can understand why they would lobby for this law, but what’s the legislature’s excuse for it? Or the excuse of the people who voted for them? I mean, who in their right mind elects a politician who turns around and treats them in this manner? If this isn’t bad enough, the bill applies retroactively, which will have the effect of hamstringing the one case which the Florida Supreme Court reviewed in December and might have given the homeowners some relief. Right now the bill is on its way to the governor’s office where Rick Scott’s signature will turn it into law. As long as people continue to vote based on party labels, we’re going to see this drift away from the rights that every American assumes is theirs from birth. It’s just hard to comprehend that this roll back in rights is coming from a Republican led state legislature. The disconnect is classic Florida. The Republicans voters, who claim they are against a government that encroaches on their freedoms, vote for representatives who pass laws which encroach on our freedoms. There is no other way to see it because nothing can be more American than the system of checks and balances, yet the bill will prevent us from setting the process in motion. Even the cry for “no-new-taxes” rings hollow when the kind of laws that continue to come out of a Republican led legislature whittles away at our consumer protection laws. House Bill 1013 is just another example of how we exist to feed the system, but we are never allowed to break even. That’s the reality. If you walk into this state for the sunshine and climate, be prepared to pay for it in ways you never dreamed of. I’ve lived here long enough to know that change will not come from within, so the hope is that someone on the outside will step in and remind our Florida leaders that we didn’t relinquish our citizenship at the border. Of course, the extreme would be to throw up our hands, admit defeat and acknowledge that we no longer are part of the union. It might be easier for everyone concerned to just begin the cumbersome process of updating the textbooks to describe the United States as a nation composed of 49 states instead of 50. Though the whole costly mess can be avoided if you allow Puerto Rico to take our place. This entry was inspired by an opinion piece in the Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/..

Letter To Mitt Romney

Dear Mitt,

I heard your comments about the president: 

We have a president who I think is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps," said Romney."

"Or maybe not enough time working in the real world.

That you spent one more year at Harvard than he did might lead me to question what that says about you.

But that's not where I think we have a bit of a quarrel.

You seem to think that you worked in the real world.

You didn't.  You never have.

Finance is not the real world.

Let me tell you about working in the real world.

Working in the real world might mean flipping burgers at a fast-food joint.

Working in the real world might mean that your third job, with no union protections, is changing the bed linens in the hotels that the wealthy like you frequent.

Working in the real world is teaching in an underfunded inner city school, or an impoverished Native American reservation.

Working in the real world is going underground day after day to dig coal while the man running your company tells the supervisors to falsify the safety report.

Working in the real world is driving a long-haul truck not knowing when one is going encounter an unmaintained stretch of highway or perhaps even a bridge that will collapse as you drive across it.

Working in the real world means if you are lucky you have health insurance, but before the Affordable Care Act you could not change jobs because your child or your spouse or even yourself has a medical condition, which would now be considered "pre-existing."

Working in the real world means having to take any job you can get to try to pay the mortgage to keep your family housed.

In the real world we don't spend more than $20,000 for a lobbyist so that we can have a car elevator -  many in the real world don't even have a car.

In the real world we don't have dozens of overseas bank accounts, and investments in Iran oil.

In the real world we do not have a wife who says that her husband doesn't even know how many dressage horses she has.

In the real world, we might attend a Nascar race, more likely we watch part of one on a television, perhaps in a shot and beer bar with our friends, who are not owners of Nascar teams.

In the real world, we don't get to "retire" and still get paid from the profits of a company we left in a fashion classified as "carried interest" and taxed at 15% for ten years after we are no longer working - we work for every dime we get, and we pay payroll taxes and income taxes on it.

Mitt, I never went to Harvard, although my spouse did.  She's proud of the time she spent at the august university.  I am surprised that you seem embarrassed by your time there.  In the real world people are proud to be the first in their families to attend such elite institutions, as I am sure your father George was proud of you.

In the real world, we do not demean those who better themselves, through hard work or through education. 

In the real world we cannot take 8 years of our lives to run for President, knowing we never have to worry about paying for our next meal or our auto insurance if we have a car.  Heck, in the real world most of us cannot afford to run for public office.

Mitt, do yourself a favor.

Stop pretending that you know what the real world of Americans is.   You don't.

Let me tell you one thing about the real world.

We can spot a phony.

You sure you want to pretend you know what the real world is?

Have a nice holiday weekend.

From someone who has
- served in the US Marines
- unloaded trucks
- waited on tables
- worked a 2nd job as a bouncer
- sold books and cookware door to door
- worked with computers
- managed people
- consulted
- and, yes, taught public school students, whose parents most definitely work in the real world, if they are lucky enough to have a job.

Yours

an American who works in the real world

Originally posted to teacherken on Fri Apr 06, 2012

 

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney,Employment,Health Care,1%,Current Events

Friday Funnies: Conservative Clowns Edition

Jay Leno: “The Supreme Court has ruled that anybody can be strip-searched for any kind of arrest. That's something to think about the next time you bring 12 items into a 10-item-or-less lane.”

"Republicans are now starting to accept the fact that Mitt Romney will be their nominee for president. But you know, they're not that excited about it. It's kind of like starting to accept that you're going to prom with your sister."

“First Lady Michelle Obama will appear on 'The Biggest Loser' tomorrow night and will bring the overweight contestants to the East Room for a workout. You get the feeling that's about the only way Newt Gingrich is ever going to get in the White House?”

Jimmy Fallon: “Last night Mitt Romney went three for three by winning the primaries in Maryland, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. Not to be outdone, Rick Santorum went three for three by offending women, atheists, and Latinos.”

Jimmy Kimmel: “Mitt Romney is catching heat for a possible violation of election rules. He was at a sub shop handing out free sandwiches. Special Romney sandwiches — they come on really, really white bread.”

David Letterman: “Congratulations to Mitt Romney. He won the Wisconsin primary. He won the state of Wisconsin because of his pro-cheese position.”

“Mitt Romney is trying to get female voters and Rick Santorum said, ‘What? Women can vote? Are you kidding me?’”

Jon Stewart: "The (Supreme Court) ruling that anyone who's arrested -- even accidentally -- can be strip-searched was decided five to four, with the votes for the searches coming from the Court's five conservatives. You know -- the 'defending personal liberty' guys. Which is weird because I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I'm willing to bet Big Government feels it's biggest when it's inside your anus."

Conan O'Brien: “Three people have won the Mega Millions lottery. You know what that means — three more votes for Mitt Romney.”

“Newt Gingrich said that Mitt Romney has no principles. In other words, he has given Romney his official endorsement.”

Bill Maher: "This was the week the Supreme Court heard all the arguments about health care. The mood in Washington very tense. Angry, incoherent Tea Party protesters were everywhere, including the five on the Supreme Court."

"We learned this week that Mitt Romney is building a car elevator in his house. An elevator for your cars. I get the feeling this guy wants to be president so he has a place to live while he's remodeling his beach house."

"George Zimmerman's family has been all over TV this week. The dad told Fox News that the real problem is so much hate coming from Obama. You know what, man. Obama has drones and Seal Team Six. If he hated you, you'd know about it."

Technorati Tags: Political Humor,Mitt Romney,Rick Santorum,Late Night Talk,Politics,Jay Leno,Bill Maher,Conan O'Brian,Current Events

Florida homeowners: When did we secede from the U.S.A.?

by Baitball Blogger Thu Apr 05, 2012 Original

It seemed like a simple cause and effect scenario. The case before the Florida Supreme Court would have decided who was responsible for the repairs of defective construction work in a development. But before the Court ruled on the case the Florida legislature came up with House Bill 1013. What it does is interfere with a basic American principle: the right to due process of law. Due Process is a simple concept. It’s defined as “[f]air treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.” The key words are “citizen’s entitlement.” For most of us, that translates to, constitutional right. We just assume that the courts will be available to reinforce our rights, when nothing else will. It’s just the ordinary concept of checks and balances. But that’s what the Florida legislature interfered with when it passed House Bill 1013. Homeowners are blocked from relying on the court for remedies for shoddy workmanship. So now, instead of holding the developer responsible, homeowners will have to resort to special assessments among their own members to resolve faulty construction work. In some towns and cities, this will mean hardship for future homeowners because much of this work is performed before the first homeowner moves in. If anyone is expecting the local government to act like some fail safe system, performing building inspections to ensure that work meets appropriate standards, they can check into my website, www.keystoneworksite.com for the rude awakening. There’s a lot about this state that many people don’t realize until it’s too late. When you sign that contract and become a homeowner a transformation begins which turns you into something less significant than what you were before you moved in. Like Pinocchio on Donkey Island, none of us realize what we’re in for until it’s too late. Except here in Florida, where the borders are surrounded on three sides by water I’m always reminded of a school of fish which is herded into one big bait ball for someone’s easy pickings. In this case, the special interest group which benefited from the bill at our expense was the Florida Home Builder’s Association. You can understand why they would lobby for this law, but what’s the legislature’s excuse for it? Or the excuse of the people who voted for them? I mean, who in their right mind elects a politician who turns around and treats them in this manner? If this isn’t bad enough, the bill applies retroactively, which will have the effect of hamstringing the one case which the Florida Supreme Court reviewed in December and might have given the homeowners some relief. Right now the bill is on its way to the governor’s office where Rick Scott’s signature will turn it into law. As long as people continue to vote based on party labels, we’re going to see this drift away from the rights that every American assumes is theirs from birth. It’s just hard to comprehend that this roll back in rights is coming from a Republican led state legislature. The disconnect is classic Florida. The Republicans voters, who claim they are against a government that encroaches on their freedoms, vote for representatives who pass laws which encroach on our freedoms. There is no other way to see it because nothing can be more American than the system of checks and balances, yet the bill will prevent us from setting the process in motion. Even the cry for “no-new-taxes” rings hollow when the kind of laws that continue to come out of a Republican led legislature whittles away at our consumer protection laws. House Bill 1013 is just another example of how we exist to feed the system, but we are never allowed to break even. That’s the reality. If you walk into this state for the sunshine and climate, be prepared to pay for it in ways you never dreamed of. I’ve lived here long enough to know that change will not come from within, so the hope is that someone on the outside will step in and remind our Florida leaders that we didn’t relinquish our citizenship at the border. Of course, the extreme would be to throw up our hands, admit defeat and acknowledge that we no longer are part of the union. It might be easier for everyone concerned to just begin the cumbersome process of updating the textbooks to describe the United States as a nation composed of 49 states instead of 50. Though the whole costly mess can be avoided if you allow Puerto Rico to take our place. This entry was inspired by an opinion piece in the Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/..

Mitt Romney: Portraying Obama As A Wimp

   Sommetime one just has to love those Russian Federation newspapers, especially when it comes to their coverage of the American election season. Even the Russians understand that Mitt Romney is an “ Etch A Sketch “ ass-hat in a suit.

   Portraying Obama as a Wimp

By Sergey Markov      Translated By Joanna Swirszcz

It is necessary to analyze Mitt Romney’s statements in the context of the campaign battle. It’s clear that Romney assumes that he has already won the Republican primaries and is preparing for the battle with Obama.
Insofar as Obama has been getting relations with Russia back on track, Romney’s task is to prove that Obama is carrying out flawed policies because Russia appears to be the main adversary of the United States. And Romney wants to portray Obama as a wimp who would make concessions to Russia, while at the same time presenting himself as a cool guy who is defending American interests.
But Barack Obama actually defends the real interests of the U.S. more than Romney.
Romney is just suggesting the same style of politics that those radicals and aggressors, such as Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, followed and who managed — through their actions — to make so many people all over the world begin to hate America.
Barack Obama is currently trying to fix their mistakes. He’s betting on the fact that the U.S. has become a peaceful leader, engaging in continuous dialogue with other countries.
But the neoconservatives, who are trying to gain control over Romney, are striving to make America the lord of the whole world, subjecting all other nations to its rule without a thought for their interests.
Romney, if he becomes president, will implement the policies of the neoconservatives.
And it’s not worth justifying his words as campaign talk. This will not absolve him of responsibility.
This is Romney’s most grave geopolitical mistake.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, when Republicans were battling with Obama, they instigated the war with South Ossetia.
I suppose that John McCain, Dick Cheney, and Condoleeza Rice led Saakashvili to believe that the Republicans were interested in provoking Russia into military action. And all this in order to simulate the start of the Cold War, the very conditions under which the “wimp” Obama would be likely to lose against the “strong” McCain.
So, now Romney is ready for a nuclear war, just for the sake of his own victory?! If you go with his claim, that sort of conclusion is possible.
Undoubtedly, the United States is now the strongest nation in the world. But strength should not give rise to irresponsibility, as it has among the neoconservatives. On the contrary, great strength means great responsibility. This is what we expect from America’s political leadership.
Some would have liked for Romney’s words to have turned out to be “a slip of the tongue.” Or that he would have apologized for them — not to have apologized to Russians or to Russia, but rather, to have apologized to the voters whom he has been leading into deception.
Or maybe Romney wants the U.S. budget neither to serve the American people nor to increase their wealth, but instead to serve new foreign policy adventures?
In the beginning, they were fighting mythical weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Afterwards, they got tangled up in an adventure in the Caucasus in order to hold Russia in check ...
But I am sure that the American people are a smart people, and they would hardly pick a presidential candidate for whom Russia is the main geopolitical foe.
Romney’s words about Russia’s continued support for Syria testify to his ignorance of foreign policy. Russia doesn’t support Syria. We support the principle of nonintervention into the internal politics of independent nations. The principle of opposing the outbreak of civil war.
During his time, Vladimir Putin told George W. Bush, “It’s not necessary to start a war in Iraq!” And during that time, the American press also wrote that Russia was holding an anti-American position and supporting Saddam Hussein’s criminal regime.
But as it turned out, President Bush quickly took an anti-American position by starting the war in Iraq. If he had heeded Putin’s advice, if he had not started that insane war, then America might have been more respected in the world.
This is the same thing that we tell the United States with regard to a possible war in Syria: Don’t do anything stupid! It is unnecessary to be aggressive simply because you want to punish and bomb Syria. There is no reason to bomb anyone! And the rest of the world will have a much easier time dealing with a non-aggressive United States!
These are the common truths that Mitt Romney, too, must come to understand.   Original ( In Russian ) 

 

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney,Barack Obama,President,2012 Elections,Politics,Current Events,Russian Federation

 

 

Pro-Birth Is Not Pro-LIFE!!

By ladijules  on Tue Apr 03, 2012    Original

I was reading an article recently about an argument between the Catholic church and Obama's Affordable Care Act. It seems that this act requires that all employers (with the exception of actual churches) provide health care insurance that covers birth control at no cost.The Catholic church argument against this? That they are pro-life, birth control is against their religion, its immoral and it should not be provided.  Of course, most of the more conservative Christian churches immediately jumped on the Catholic churches bandwagon with this one.

And that's when it really hit me (maybe I'm slow) - these people are NOT pro-life at all. They are pro-birth. Let me say first, I'm not even to the abortion topic yet. Right now, I'm talking about simple birth control. Condoms. Pills. Tying Tubes. All of these churches (and the politicians they are associated with) are saying they are completely against that. I had to ask... how are these people pro-life?? They certainly are not pro-reality!! They are only.. simply... pro-birth. Let me explain what I mean.

Lets look at reality and birth control. People use birth control for a reason. Because they don't want children right now, for whatever reason. According to these churches, birth control even inside marriage is "immoral". What they are apparently saying is that once you get married, you either must not engage in sexual activity with your spouse or you are supposed to have and raise all the children "God" has "blessed" you with.

First... I think most spouses of both genders would be really annoyed if they could only have sex to procreate.  Talk about a way to destroy a relationship! "No honey, we can't have sex anymore. We had twins from the one time we had sex and we can't handle anymore!". Sorry, In a normal, healthy relationship, I don't see that happening. The need for intimacy with the one you're in a relationship with is too essential to keeping that relationship alive and functioning. So, according to these churches, no sex unless you make a baby.

How is that pro-"life"?

Of course, if you and your spouse do give into those desires, you can not protect yourself from getting pregnant. At all. So if you get pregnant, oh well. You have a baby. Great.  I've been married 23 years.  That means I would have had the potential to have at LEAST 20 kids by now!!! Lets face the facts... the majority of couples in the entire world that could possibly support and raise that many kids these days is REALLY small. Financially alone most of us couldn't do it. These days, it takes both couples working their tales off just to afford 2 or 3 kids. But 20 kids? Not all of us are the Duggart family, we can't afford it and we wouldn't want it. Having that many kids means SOME one, usually the mom, has to stay home and be enslaved to the kitchen, laundry and nursery to care for them all. Which means, there is only one income to support all those mouths to feed. Good luck with that. Unless you are an executive with a golden parachute you'd be living in complete poverty. So would your children.

How is that pro-"life"?

The world already has a population of 7 BILLION. And that is with most couples in the "first world" nations only having a few kids per couple. Can you imagine if EVERYONE had 20 kids? Scientists are already in a panic because we have reached our limit for natural resources. They are now predicting major wars over water and land resources since we keep polluting them to attempt to provide for everyone on the planet. Without a major change, they are predicting major, terrible wars and mass starvation if something isn't done about our population. And yet.. these churches want you to constantly procreate.

How is that pro-"life"?

That is of course saying you can actually take care of another baby. Or any baby. Another fact.. sadly, there a lot of people out there, single and married, who should never have had kids. Child abuse and neglect occur every day, in ways we don't even want to consider. If those children are not killed outright by their parents (in ways that are just terrible to behold), then they live with the catastrophic effects of child abuse. Those effects can linger for life, causing depression, self hatred and criminal activity and that's just for starters. Their lives are a constant struggle with pain and self doubt and they often become under achievers.Without help, they will often go on to abuse others including their own children.

How is that pro-"life"?

Then there is the idea of "if you don't want it, put it up for adoption". For some reason, all these people think adoption is the perfect solution. I don't know who came up with that line of bullshit. It's sort of a solution, in SOME cases,but not all. The simple fact is, the only babies really in demand are healthy white ones. The kids that aren't that.. are of different races, born with disabilities or drug problems and such, are very hard to place even now! Never mind when we have an even larger number of them. So what happens to those babies no one wants? They are abandoned at hospitals until the state can find a foster home for them. Unfortunatly, the number of decent foster homes is going down dramatically, so they will be there a LONG time before a slot becomes available.Then they are dumped in foster home after foster home until they are 18, then kicked out of the system on their own with little or no support. Most of the kids this happens to end up with major mental issues, as well as having been abused. (See above). They are never really cared for, never get love from a "real" parent, never learn to love themselves, never have a stable background or upbringing. They are cast out on the world with no help and no safety net, with fewer skills and somehow are expected to hit the ground running... when all they usually do it hit the ground.

How is that pro-"life"?

It also occurs to me that these same people who say they are pro-"life" are the same people who scream about providing any kind of funding for children and families. They are constantly blaming their political enemies for allowing services such as welfare, medical care and food stamps. But how will families live and provide care for their children without it? Even when we are just having 3 kids per couple, if someone loses their job the whole family can be put in the poor house. So they are telling us essentially to have those 20 kids but they aren't going to help us provide for them. Once they are BORN, they are your problem, not their's. Again, sounds like pro BIRTH to me. They want to force you to have a child you either don't want or can't afford to feed.

How is that pro-"life"?

There are already countries in which access to birth control is rare or non-existent. In those places, women are forced to have child after child, since they often also have no say over if they will have sex or not. What happens to those children? As already stated, it takes a massive amount of resources to raise just 3 kids to adulthood - and that is in a first world country! In poorer countries its even worse!! Look at Africa. Do you know how many children die each day from starvation and lack of medical care? I can answer you. Thousands. They die a horrible death, slowly wasting away in agony because their parents can not afford to feed 15 kids.

How is that pro-"life"?

Let's continue to look at another side of this. What about children born with disabilities? Simple fact.. there are families (I know one) in which ALL of their children are disabled. What about the children? All are disabled enough that they will never have a "life" as we know it. They will have to be cared for their entire lives. At a VERY great financial expense to the families and to society. As the parent of a disabled person myself, you can not possibly know the pain we go through with our children. I look at my son, and know the hell he has been through. Schools that are abusive, not having a voice to speak up for himself. Living very little of life, because he's just not able to interact with it. Knowing he will probably never have a girlfriend, knowing he will have to be cared for by a society that often rejects him. More, a society that doesn't want to have to pay the 100,000 dollars a year it will take to house him in a decent group home for his life. But according to these churches, it doesn't matter. They still expect you to continue to have children even if that child will be born with life limiting disabilities.

How is that pro-"life"?

Everything I just covered above is dealing with the "no birth control inside of marriage" idea. What about the "no birth control" idea outside of marriage? What about that poor teen aged girl who was only given an abstinence only education by the same church? Who wasn't even given the most basic knowledge of exactly what sex IS, never mind the lesson on "how you get pregnant"? Essentially, that poor girl is sent out into the world with no education at all, no protection.. and gets taken advantage of by a boyfriend and gets pregnant? She is going to have hell to pay from her parents, who some how think she should have known better but didn't give her an education to know, Period. Then you are going to stick her with raising a baby that is a constant reminder of "how she screwed up" and how she is such an "embarrassment", "immoral" and a "slut" according to her parents and the church who refused to educate her in the first place? How nice of you. What about that woman who was minding her own business and gets raped and impregnated? Lovely that you want her to be reminded of something horribly traumatic and disgusting every day of her life! Let me guess she "deserved it" and it was "Gods will" that she was raped, right? What about that little 10 year old who "played a game with Daddy" and gets pregnant? Nevermind the fact that her little body can not handle a pregnancy with out permanent damage, or the fact that the child will be born from incest or the terrible mental damage it will do to her to be forced to have her own sibling. Congratulations all you pro-birthers. The idea that birth control should be non-existent and so should abortion just doomed all those innocent females to a living and perhaps life threatening hell. And doomed the baby as well.

How is that pro-"life"?

I could go on and on. There are a thousand issues on this topic. But what I see is this: Calling these people and churches pro-life is wildly incorrect.

They are pro-birth. But they are also:

Pro-child abuse

Pro-women slavery

Pro-starvation

Pro-fear

Pro-environmental destruction

Pro-cruelty

Pro-ignorance

Pro-destruction of marriage

Pro-poverty

Pro-overpopulation

Pro-war

Pro-insanity

Pro-self hatred

Pro- "don't give them a chance"

But they most CERTAINLY are not PRO LIFE!!!!!!!

Technorati Tags: Health Care,Politics,Pro Life,Abortion,Birth Control,Conservatives,Religion,Current Events

Satan Writes To The right Winger's

A Letter From Satan To Right-Wing America

by raptavio   Mon Apr 02, 2012      Original

   The past few years have been such a success for the Forces of Darkness; it has been a time of preparation for a great harvesting of souls for eternal damnation in the pits of Hell. Oh, I don't mean the big stars, the Osama bin Ladens, the Saddam Husseins, the Moammar Ghaddafis. Don't get me wrong, we're thrilled to have them here in the fires of torment as our eternal playthings.No, I'm talking about the new crop of souls that my lieutenants and I have been sowing and tending with great care, coaxing them all into My service, helping encourage them to, in turn, recruit more willing souls into service as well, and patiently waiting until the days of their mortal lives are spent and they can be welcomed home, here, with me.And I want to thank you, so very many of you, for joining my legions. Why, I anticipate the arrival of so many of you that I've ordered new additions to be built onto the Fifth and Seventh circles to accommodate you all.Oh, don't look like that. Don't pretend you aren't wholly in My service. Join me over the Orange Runic Inscription as I detail your corruption.Of course I don't speak to all of you. Just because you subscribe to a conservative or right-wing ideology doesn't mean you're in my service. There are plenty of you out there who believe what you believe with the best of intentions. I'm working on bringing you into the fold, of course, but all in good time.But the rest of you -- well, you know who you are, in your heart of hearts, in that dark little place in your mind that you try to pretend doesn't exist. That place of fear, wrath and hatred that drives your ideology even as you try to make yourself seem driven by rational principle. You who no longer want your beliefs to simply win in the sphere of public debate. You who no longer see as your only goal that your ideology be put into practice to make your nation and the world a better place for all. No, whether or not you admit it openly, you now will not be satisfied until those who sit on the other side of the political divide are defeated, demoralized, ruined, hurt, killed, destroyed. It isn't your world being a better place that drives you any more, but the thought of what pleasure you would derive from that pain and suffering.And it was so easy to corrupt your souls to this point, too. Because it was the noblest of impulses that was the key to your conversion: Your love. You love yourself, your home, your family, your spouses, your children. And all I had to do was whisper in your ears that they were threatened. Threatened by gay people who want to make them gay too. Threatened by Muslims across the world who want to kill them. Threatened by Leftists who want to enslave them. Threatened by people of different races, and different cultures, who seem dark and sinister because they don't behave or act in ways that are familiar to you. That made you afraid. And I know how fear disconnects you from your rational natures. It makes you so pliable as you look for whatever solution offered to quell your fear.And I had such willing accomplices. The talking heads in the media to whom I intimated that ominous rhetoric about looming threats to your way of life would boost their ratings. The political leaders to whom I suggested that fear is a powerful motivator of the grassroots. And my personal favorite - those men at the pulpits who ostensibly serve my Enemy, whom I convinced to deliver My message to you, the faithful, who sat in their pews.You heard My message of fear. You thought on it. You talked with other people, at the local diner, at your jobs, on the Internet, wherever other people who heard the same message were. And you became afraid. Afraid of the Other. The Other race. The Other religion. The Other culture. The Other sexuality. The Other philosophy. You saw The Other not as someone to meet, to get to know, to learn from. You saw The Other as the source of all those fears that I'd been whispering in your ears through My proxies.And when you are afraid, it takes just the barest nudge to turn that fear into anger. After all, The Other is the source of your fear. What have you ever done to The Other? Why does The Other threaten your way of life, your family, your property? Yet The Other is there, seeking to do you harm. How dare The Other! You must fight The Other!From there, it became simple. When you feel that anger, you get a rush from it. It's a heady, righteous feeling. It's intoxicating. It's adrenaline. You seek out your next fix of outrage to feed your anger. Someone says homosexuals want to rape your children? That pisses you off. What a rush. Someone says the President is a secret foreign-born Muslim? How dare he lie and deceive you in order to sit in the most powerful office in the world! There's that feeling - it feels so alive! Someone says the government is trying to take your guns away -- those guns you plan to use to protect yourself from The Other? Well, molon labe! Oh, that defiance feels so good!And my minions are there, telling you that your anger is justified, telling you to get madder, never once suggesting you consider whether or not what you're hearing is true. And that anger grows, and festers, and becomes hatred.And that's when you gave your souls to me. Willingly, eagerly. Because hatred is the ultimate rage-high. Hatred is the twin feeling of being superior to The Other and being angry enough to want to destroy The Other. You were completely hooked. You became junkies, and I, and I am not called the Father of Lies for nothing, became your dealer, using My agents to feed you that steady stream of hatred to keep you in My thrall.Now, things which would have shocked your conscience before seem normal, even just. A woman called a "slut" and a "prostitute" and having her reputation smeared for days in the media? That's what she gets for trying to get her insurance to cover birth control. That Muslim country on the other side of the world? Bomb them into the Stone Age! That abortion clinic that got bombed? Those baby killers had it coming. A black teenager shot and killed by a vigilante? He was a hoodie-wearing thug anyway.And you fantasize, don't you. You fantasize about shooting those gangbangers across town, seeing the light leave their eyes. You fantasize about catching a straggler at that Pride rally and beating him senseless. You even dream of the day when you can get those guns and ammo out and take back your country from those Leftist scum. Then you can have your vengeance, your vengeance against the Other -- the Other taking whatever form I tell you it takes. And I'm there with you, telling you that you're the superior one, the righteous one, and that The Other is less than you, less than human, that the world will be better for The Other's removal from it.And now you belong to Me, and serve My will. You teach this hatred to your children, allowing Me to fill their hearts as I have filled yours. And one day, you will be welcomed into My home, where I will give you your due reward for giving your souls to Me. And honestly, I am a patient Nemesis. I don't care whether you live out your days stewing in your hatred, succumbing to a natural death, or whether you allow your hatred to erupt in a blaze of violence and destruction that claims your life in the end. Because either way, you will be Mine when it's over.Would you like to know what I have in store for you as your final reward? Well, I'll tell you. You see, in truth, evil knows no ideology, no philosophy. There are plenty of people down here from all political stripes. And I'm gathering together damned souls from The Other. And you will be assigned to be their tormentor.And you think this is a delight; and surely when you begin your task, you will be eager and excited. But soon, all too soon, you will see their agony, the agony you inflict upon them, and that germ of a conscience left within you will awaken. It will grow. And you will realize that you are hurting other people. You will realize what you have become and it will horrify you. And that is when My trap will close upon you, and you will be forced to continue their torment, and to watch, hear, and smell, every moment of the agony you cause, to every soul you torment, for all eternity.I'm looking forward to seeing you here. Until then, carry on, continue to serve Me, and know I will always be there, in the media, in the public square, on the Internet, and at the pulpit, to give you another dose of rage, whenever you want. Spread My message of fear, anger and hate, far and wide, to all those who have ears to listen. I'm counting on you.Thank you for all that you do for Me,Lucifer

Technorati Tags: Right-Wing,Christians,Conservatives,Republicans,Mitt Romney,Rick Santorum,Current Events,Satan

Blogging Soiftware Test

Yes, I am still at it. I will find some blog software that will work to my satisfaction, eventually. At the present time, nothing for a Linux distro comes close to Windows Live Writer.

Mitt Romney Gets Less Than Cheerful Endorsement

    The Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel has decided to endorse Republican presidential wanna-be Mitt Romney in what has to one the most depressing endorsements that I have ever read.

We recommend Romney, too, in Tuesday's primary election. He is the clear choice in an uninspired - and now dwindling - field.

But we do wonder which Romney we'll see in the fall.

Is it the Romney who favors a reasonable solution to the nation's broken health insurance system? Or - shake that Etch A Sketch - is it the Romney who blasts "Obamacare"?

       We all know that  it will be Mr.“ Etch A Sketch “ Romney who shows up in November. That is only if he doesn’t change his mind/positions so many more times that he loses his mind. Ooops. To late.

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney,Republican Party,2012 Elections,Politics,Current Events

Republican Chain E-Mails: “ Obama Scares Me “

Anyone else tired of conservative chain e-mails yet?

by Shinobi Mystic  on Sat Mar 31, 2012

We all get them.  Those crappy, conservative chain emails that are paranoid rants full of healthy amounts of bullshit that help spread the conservative, bubble mentality.  I have, unfortunately, quite a number of friends and family members who feel compelled to send these to me at every opportunity and, for the most part, I just ignore and delete them (after reading them and letting my blood boil to unhealthy levels).  However, I recently received one from my mother (who feels compelled to send these to me every chance she gets in an effort to save me from my liberal brainwashing) and I could not resist responding to its amazingly ignorant points.  Stay with me below the orange mystical symbol for my point-by-point rebuttal.

If you haven't seen it yet, this email claims to be a letter by Lou Pritchett, the CEO of Proctor and Gamble that is basically a fear-driven rant about President Obama.  The subject line in the email marked it as "A chilling letter."  I snoped it (as I always do) and apparently it's correctly attributed.  He wrote this letter that was intended to be published as an op-ed piece in the New York Times, but, apparently, they refused to publish it. You can read the letter here.  So now it's been condemned to conservative-chain-email hell and will, no doubt, haunt us for years to come.  The following is my point-by-point rebuttal that I sent as a response to my mother's email.  Pritchett's email is in blockquotes with my responses after.

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
Any of the others, you truly scare me.

He's scared of the president?  I'm not sure why.  President Obama has not passed any legislation that should scare anyone in any way.  And if he has, please name one.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

What's there to know?  It's not like he's lived some secret covert life.  This smells very much like he's implying the whole birth certificate issue which is a completely crackpot conspiracy theory that has been debunked numerous times by anyone with access to the internet and a half an hour of time on their hands.  How much has anyone known about any President?  I worked as a background investigator and know what's involved in conducting a national security background investigation.  Our presidents are subjected to the most stringent form of this investigation, so to implicate the president in any kind of coverup of his background is to also implicate the investigators and agencies who did all the hard work of investigating his background, which includes, by the way, confirming where they were born and whether they are a citizen or not.  Is the FBI, Dept. of Homeland Security, and OPM all involved in a vast conspiracy
of covering up the fact that the president is not qualified to hold that office?  Again, one has to hold to crackpot conspiracy theories to believe any such nonsense.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
Visible signs of support.

There is absolutely nothing in Obama's background that shows that he has ever lived above his means.  It's not like he has 2-3 mansions in various places and lived some kind of extravagant lifestyle.  Both he and Michelle worked at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004 (he as a law professor and she as an associate dean), which means they would have had a combined income that would have placed them in an upper middle income bracket.  There is nothing unusual about the lifestyle that they lived.  Also, thousands of students graduate from Harvard every year from all sorts of backgrounds and presumably got their education the same way as President Obama, through a mix of grants, scholarships, and student loans.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth Growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

So apparently only Americans who followed a lifestyle/career track like Pritchett deserve to be called "true" Americans.  Thousands of Americans live overseas in a variety of cultures for a variety of reasons, many in the formative years of their life (children of military servicemembers, for example).  The idea that this somehow makes them less of an American is laughable to everyone except those who have never made any effort to interact with any other culture than their own.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

Nor did Adams, nor Jefferson, nor Madison, nor Lincoln, nor Reagan.   George W. Bush ran an oil company in Odessa, Texas and his administration brought on the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. More smokescreen that means absolutely nothing.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus Don't understand it at its core.

Again, nor did Adams, nor Jefferson, nor Madison (who led our country to victory in the War of 1812), nor Lincoln (who led the Union to victory in the Civil War), nor FDR (who led us to our victory in WWII).  Being in the military has never been a qualification for the office of the President, nor should it be.  Non-military presidents have been some of the country's strongest leaders and there is no correlation between military service and good presidents.   U.S. Grant, Jimmy Carter, and George Bush were all military veterans and their presidencies are considered by most historians as the worst in our country's history.  Besides that, Obama's leadership over the military has been exceptional.  Under his command, the military has demolished the Somalian pirate threat, killed Osama bin Laden, brought the Iraq War to an end, and killed numerous other high leaders in Al-Qaeda.  He has not shown any incompetency in leading our military thus far.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

What evidence does he offer for this?  When has Obama ever blamed others for anything?  Everything he has ever gained in his life, he achieved by working hard to get it.  He takes responsibility for his actions as President.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned Yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to Publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

People who point out problems in America's foreign policy are not "radicals."  They just don't wish to see us continue to perpetuate problems that can negatively affect our country.  Conservatives seem to think that America has never done anything wrong.  That's a dangerous attitude that can lead our country to destruction if we're not willing
to admit when we're on a path that can damage our country or our country's reputation among the world.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' Crowd and deliver this message abroad.

See the previous point.  Again, conservatives don't seem to have the capability to see America's shortcomings, something which is necessary if we want to fix those shortcomings and make ourselves into a better nation.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style Country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

And most of Europe's socialized countries (England, Germany, France, Finland, Belgium, etc.)  run rings around us in quality of life statistics.  Higher average life expectancies,
lower infant mortality rates, lower drug use rates, lower crime rates, higher literacy and education rates, lower illegitimate birth rates, higher rates of citizens covered by healthcare, lower child poverty rates, lower overall poverty rates, (I could go on and on, but you get the picture).

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system With a government controlled one.

See the previous point.  Universal healthcare rates in both Canada and Europe raise overall quality of life statistics dramatically.  As opposed to our privatized healthcare system (at least before the Healthcare law) where we had an average of 122 citizens dying a day due to lack of healthcare coverage.  Not something to be proud of.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
Capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

Oil production in the U.S. under Obama is higher than it has been in almost 10 years.  Our oil production rates and oil exports to other countries have increased past the levels of the Bush administration.  Oil drilling rigs have quadrupled in number under Obama's presidency.  But even beyond that, why is it so bad that Obama is attempting to find newer alternative sources of energy?  Oil is not going to last forever, and if we're able to obtain other methods of producing energy it'll only help us in the long run.  However, it might hurt the oil companies who provide an awful lot of money to Republican campaigns, so obviously, Republicans aren't real happy with that.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose That lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of Living in the world.

This is complete horse puckey.  Statistically, our standard of living ranks way down on the scale compared to other countries in the world, as I've already shown in the above quality of life statistics.  When all of those statistics are compiled together, we rank on the scale at #13.  The countries that rank in the 12 slots above us are all of those socialist European countries that Pritchett doesn't want to be like.  If capitalist, trickle-down economics worked, then our country should have been the most prosperous that it's ever been under George W. Bush, who cut tax rates on the wealthy and deregulated corporations.  Instead, what happened is that in our country, under Bush, job growth fell, and the average wage for middle income workers dropped almost 5%, leaving our economy teetering on the brink.  There hasn't been a clearer rebuttal of conservative economics than Bush's presidency.  All of those facts are what led me to quit conservatism and the Republican party.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics Against certain banks and corporations.

Why?  Because he wanted to make them responsible for all the damage they caused to our country and its economy.  I guess conservatives don't want banks or corporations to ever have to suffer any consequences for the problems they caused.  Considering that this is coming from the CEO of a major corporation, I would take it with a very large grain of salt.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from Challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

No.  They just don't feel the need to listen to the party who presided over the worst economic disaster in 70 years.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider Opposing points of view from intelligent people.

He appoints many intelligent people to the committees he creates to draft new legislation.  I'm assuming he's referring here to conservatives.  If that's the case then see the previous point.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both
Omnipotent and omniscient.

Based on what?  Obama has never implied this about himself in any way.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything You do.

The same media who did nothing to challenge Bush's baloney on why we should go to war with Iraq, a country that was not involved in 9/11 and did nothing to threaten us in any way?  If that's the case, then they're equal opportunity protectors of both Republican and Democrat administrations.  This is more of an indictment of our media's ability to investigate factual information.  As I've said before, all the cable news channels (CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews) are all crap, and if that's where you get all of your information then you are woefully uninformed about what's going on both in our country and the world.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, Conservative points of view.

No, they offer BS opinions that have no basis in any statistical or fact-based evidence.  And what legislation has Obama passed that has silenced these people in any way?

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Examples, please?   I'd like to know one way in which Obama has restricted any of his liberties or freedoms as an American citizen.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will Probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Yeah, because he might be shipped off on the trains to one of the many concentration camps that Obama has built and gassed in one of the many gas chambers that Obama is readying for his mass genocide on the American people.  Really, I don't understand how you can take anything like this seriously.  I would ask again, in what way has Obama curtailed any of Pritchett's freedoms or liberties.   There is nothing in this letter that has any merit in the world of facts and statistics.  It's a completely emotional, fear-based rant that is designed to get people to vote Republican out of pure fear.  And, of course, if we get another Republican administration, then he will get all of his corporate tax cuts and loopholes that will provide him with a much fatter income, so he's definitely got a dog in this hunt.   Just like the rest of the Republicans, he offers nothing in response to what he claims is horrendous and "scary" leadership by President Obama.  Republicans have no plan, no vision, no ideas, so all they have left to play is pure, irrational-based fear to get people to vote for them.  This letter is indeed "chilling" if only for the fact that it is not rooted in reality in any way.  If this letter is the best that Republicans have to offer in response to Obama, then I have no doubts at all that Obama will handily win a second term as president.

8:12 AM PT: Wow!  My first diary to make the rec list.  Thanks everyone!

1:17 PM PT: Correction Update:  As has been pointed out already in several of the comments, Lou Pritchett was not the CEO of Proctor and Gamble, although that's what the chain email asserted.  I should have been more diligent in checking that.  He actually worked as the Vice President there and is currently retired.

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