Is It Too Late To Save America… Or Were We Doomed From The Very Beginning?

It appears too late for me and my family to go back to what I work towards for over 30 years. Its virtually all gone now. In response to a direct question about what I do for a living, after discussing with the author about his post here, I sent this reply in an email:

You asked what I do for a living. After preparing myself for and then chasing the American Dream (TM) since I was 13 (that is how long I worked), I lost my career as a high tech systems integrator in automation and robotics. I worked my way thru college, paid all my student loans, then went from one industry to the next as each was off-shored (textiles, pc boards, heavy machining, furniture, boating, automotive, etc) reinventing and reinvesting in myself (to date, I have spent over $100K in education and hold three college degrees and multiple extra training courses in a variety of curriculum related to automated manufacturing and robotics). I realized early on that Ross Perot was correct and lived the sucking sound trying my best to stay ahead of the game and find an industry that would stay.

I eventually created my own business in 2003 that catered to virtually any type of automation and human assist in production. I advised customers of how to automate certain processes, designed systems to do it, then sold the system to the customer. This lasted until 2009, where I had to file bankruptcy due to credit cards which were used to pay extreme medical expenses (our BCBS premium at the time was over $1200/month) and with several surgeries that my wife had to have for her scoliosis (which is worse now than ever before).

In 2009, a systems integrator hired me to work for them, basically selling their automation systems. Almost one year later, they assembled the three salesmen and project managers and laid us all off, while holding us to the non-compete. It took over a year in court for me to get paid the money and commissions I brought them in less than a year.

Most of the competition has closed their doors, as well, and there are none hiring me. I have a proven track record and have made myself and others a great deal of money.

The problem is being self-employed, taxes and insurance will break you. One small health issue and it is a down hill slide from that point on. Then, as 2008′s crash hit us, everything began to fall apart and from every indication, it won’t be coming back any time soon.

I realized long ago that the old two party meme was a sham and that the corporations have indeed taken over politicians.

Socialism would be a dream compared to what we are experiencing, which is Fascism 101.

Sorry this is so long, but thanks for your inquiry. Maybe this can help explain why I am so pissed off.

I have never been lazy. I have always worked my butt off, pursuing the American Dream Lie. But now, I am doing what I can to make ends meet and feed my family. I believe that Fascism has already hit America. It may very well be too late to stop it, but what if we could?

Some ( like Charlie McGrath below) will say that it is all over and that the hammer falls soon just like it is already falling in Greece (I tend to agree with this sentiment):

If you still believe that the economy is turning around and getting better, read this and check yourself.

So, is there something anything that we, as American citizens can do? Would it make any difference if we do what I suggest and NEVER VOTE FOR AN R OR D AGAIN? What if we actually vetted politicians in the way Kenny suggests by asking all the right questions:

Are you going to call for an end to the illegal wars and to bring all of our troops home now?

Gonna take any money from AIPAC? Take a trip to Israel? Got the courage to stand up to the Israeli lobby? Wanna fight another war for Israel? Got a kid of your own to sacrifice for the cause? Have an opinion on the phrase “We’re all Palestinians now?”

Iran? Syria? Please don’t give me the same old lines.

What about the Federal Reserve and Wall Street? Trillions stolen? The usury scam? Debt slavery? You’re either with us or against us .It really is the 0.001% vs all the rest.

War on Drugs? Medical marijuana and full legalization? Afghan heroin, CIA smuggling, cartel enabling, big bank drug money laundering?

GMO’s, vaccines, FDA corruption, aspartame, fluoride water, factory farms, food freedom? The crimes of Monsanto and their ilk?

War on Terror, TSA, FBI setups, Homeland Security, Patriot Act, NDAA, NSA, internet censorshp, etc. etc. etc.?

The UN, globalism, neocons, neolibs, sociopaths, psychopaths, social engineering, mind control, nefarious agendas, world banks, world government, world order?

Media lies, media whores, media crimes?

Blackmail of and bribes to politicians for control? How would you handle threats against you and yours for not going along with the big money flow?

Heck, the bill of rights? Seems like every one of them is under assault. Got a problem with rational, logical, common sense interpretations of our basic freedoms?

There’s this little litmus test that I must always bring up.  9/11.  It’s a make or break vote here Park. Step up … OK? Look into false flags if you haven’t. There’s a lot to learn.

I would say that if they fail any of the litmus test, they should receive ZERO votes. On the other hand, is there enough thinking people around to understand these pertinent questions?

Webster Tarpley also lays out a plan to help correct what has happened. You can listen to the interview for a run down at “To Cut Gas Price in Half Now, Ban Commodity Index Swaps and Synthetic Exchange-Traded Funds as Toxic Derivatives; Make CFTC Impose 100% Margin and 5% Position Limits; Collect 1% Wall Street Sales Tax“. He also points out the fraud that is Ron Paul along with the other “reactionary hyenas”.

And btw: Paulsterity comes, whether or not it is Ron Paul, Paul Ryan or any of the criminals who have you brainwashed. Stephen Lendman lays it out perfectly:

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 62% of Ryan’s cuts come from “programs for lower-income Americans.” Over 10 years, it slashes $5.3 trillion from non-defense areas. At the same time, he allocates an additional $200 billion for defense and imperial wars with automatic add-ons annually plus unknown tens of billions in black budgets.

Specific proposed cuts include:

(1) $2.4 trillion from Medicaid and other low or moderate household income healthcare programs. Medicaid loses $810 billion. By repealing Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and subsidies for those most in need to buy health insurance, he gets another $1.6 trillion.

(2) $1.2 trillion from programs other than Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare programs.

(3) $134 billion from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamp aid. If enacted, up to 10 million recipients would be entirely shut out.

(4) At least $463 billion from other programs serving America’s most needy, other than Medicaid and SNAP.

(5) At least another $291 billion in low-income discretionary programs, including Pell Grant tuition aid for needy students.

Ryan directs his cuts at vulnerable households unable to get by on what he wants reduced or eliminated. Millions will lose healthcare. Millions more won’t have enough to eat and will be dependent on what food banks provide. Education will suffer more than already. Poor students will have to forego it altogether.

He also explains that the Dems are virtually lock-step, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to the ObamaManiacs:

 

What Democrats endorse isn’t much better. Timing mostly differs to get past November elections.

For starters, Obama and Democrats agreed to the following cuts over the next decade:

 

• $4 trillion overall:

• $770 billion from education, environmental, transportation, and other infrastructure cuts, as well as lower wages and benefits for federal workers when they need more, not less;

• $480 billion from Medicare and Medicaid, besides another $1 trillion from Obamacare;

• $360 billion from mandated domestic programs, including food stamps, home heating assistance, income for the poor and disabled, federal pension insurance, and farm subsidies; and

• $400 billion from military-related spending from unneeded weapons, as well as healthcare and other benefits for active service members and veterans.

Is the answer bailing out of here? Some have told me to leave this country before its too late. Don Lucas wrote me and told me his story:

Mr. Buelahman,

I enjoy reading your site. My bio in a nutshell. Christian 45 years, lived in Christian commune in early 70′s 3 years, 9 years military, 18 prison guard, now semi-retired ( I work at painting and repairs when I can). In the 90′s I was a far right Christian patriot. I wrote tracts about the Founding Fathers and Constitutional liberties. During Bushes second term (in my ignorance and single issue ‘pro-life’, I voted for the lessor of two evils thinking erroneously that I was doing Gods will.

I have had a life long love of history, politics, and religion etc. I firmly believe that to vote for a candidate who by his words and/or actions will start and/or continue the US Wars of Aggression against poor people in order to steal their resources is morally wrong and refuse to participate.

Enough of the bio. IMO, the US can’t be fixed. There is not enough will or enough patriots to overthrow the government etc. We will follow the example of all know empires and fall, except because of our shrinking world ie communications, our monster size military and all of it controlled by the bankers and corporate Amerika the fall will be more rapid.

OK to the point. I encourage you and those you love to leave the US. I have lived in Colombia SA for a year. My wife is Colombian, which is of course a big help. My Spanish is coming along well. We plan to return to the US during 2012 and then return to Ecuador and Peru looking for a country in which to put down roots. I encourage you to do the same. My friend you can’t believe how free you feel living in South or Central America. You can do it on the cheap. You can live well on $1200 a month. Medical care is first rate and the climate, depending on your location is fantastic, the people are friendly and if you chose a country like Belize (English speaking, a big plus), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, etc you will find many expats to converse with.

Just a little something for you to think about. As for me, I’ve made my choice and do not miss living in a police state one bit.

If you would like further info on leaving or have any questions, feel free to email.

God bless you

I explained all the issues that make leaving America impossible for me and my family. But don’t think for a second that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind numerous times.

But the sad fact is that even if you wanted leave, they are making it as difficult as possible for you to do so.

I feel as if I must ride it out and tell others about what I know and understand. Its all probably just a waste of time (I know several folks who have given up on educating others), but I have two main reasons for doing so: I don’t want my fellow Americans to starve and come to a horrible end AND I have a child that I want to know that I did what I could to stop it. For some day, she will ask me what I did to try and correct what has occurred. I will be able to show her and explain to her the effort I put into this blog and to local folks.

I asked in the Header, “Were We Doomed From The Very Beginning”? If you want a really wild explanation for why I am beginning to think so, read this excellent post, entitled, “The Constitution Con“. Many of the points I already knew, but it brings a new understanding to the Founding Fathers and their motivations.

I also recently listened to this interview that Charlie McGrath did with Stephan Molyneux and it is enlightening, especially in its discussion of minarchism and anarchism. They also hit on the subject linked above.

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Len Richmond’s Film “What If Cannabis Cured Cancer”

I have referenced this film several times here, but have not offered the entire thing for your viewing pleasure and education. Altho I have not been given permission from Len to add it to my Youtube Channel, he did suggest that I link to a version with Serbian subtitles (just disregard them and watch the movie). I have shared it with several people, including my new friend Eamon, who has recently posted Rick Simpson’s video (Run From The Cure), investigating whether or not Cannabis can cure cancer, at his blog “The Great Purification” (please visit and check him out).

The following is one of the most important films on this subject that you can ever see and share. Len is a warm and caring person who was affected in his personal life by cancer and it set him on a course of discovery that culminated in this work.

This Is A Must Watch!

 

What if Cannabis Cured Cancer

I follow Len’s work because I trust what he is doing and believe that what he has produced is one of the most important avenues towards educating and curing ourselves of that menacing disease. He can be seen in this following video in a Q&A setting that is informative, as well:

After the screening of his documentary, “What if Cannabis Cured Cancer”, director Len Richmond discusses marijuana and cancer with the audience. Photographed by Steve DeVol.

And its not just from the medical side, altho that is my main purpose. For even that maniac, Pat Robertson has come out to say,

“I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing possession of a few ounces of pot, and that kind of thing — it’s costing us a fortune, and it’s ruining young people.”

As Kenny pointed out, there must be some other agenda (or maybe he is finally completely losing his mind and saying what is obviously true). I dunno what his motive is, but I agree that it should be made legal again.

Of course, you could always simply do what many Doctors themselves won’t do, and that is use their own recommended cancer treatments. You see, many are saying that Unnecessary Cancer Treatments Are Accelerating Death (as found at Activist Post).

Many doctors themselves state that they would not receive conventional cancer treatment if they had cancer. Their decision to refuse mainstream cancer treatments likely has to do with cancer drugs being found to have been found to actually make cancer worse and kill patients more quickly. And yet when individuals first hear that they have cancer, they hastily accept the treatment assuming that it is the only hope for survival.

Short of surgery that removes the growth (generally only successful if done very early, as my friend Korn Likker recently went thru, and is now recovering, is finding out first hand), most of those treatments are what actually kill the person, before cancer can get them. And this doesn’t address the concern that the quality of life before it gets them is greatly diminished. Some suggest that 75% of Physicians Refuse Chemotherapy Themselves.

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers, and well wishes for my buddy Korn Likker. He is in intense pain, but the doctor said the surgery was a total success (he got all of the cancer). If this country (or even starting with this state) had any compassion, they would immediately re-legalize cannabis, or at the very least, allow medical marijuana treatments. But they don’t really care, do they?

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Did I rub you the wrong way or stroke you just right? Let me know below in the comments section or Email me at buelahman {AT} g m a i l {DOT} com

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“I’m proud that even in these difficult times we’ve fought for and secured the most funding for Israel in history”

And I could never be more ashamed of such blatant and complete ass-kissing by a person who holds what was once considered one of the most prestigious and important positions of admiration in the entire world. I am ashamed that my fellow Americans are either too far brainwashed by the system that they support such stupid alliances based upon lies and world Imperialism, or worse, they agree that we SHOULD be taking the world’s resources for our own and calling ourselves the world’s policemen.

“America’s commitment and my commitment to Israel and Israel’s security is unshakeable” ~ Barack Obama

I am embarrassed by such a display. This is America, by God. America doesn’t kowtow to anyone. America, once a beacon of democracy, now is “proud” to support the murderous apartheid that Israel has become. America is proud that Israeli dual citizens run our government… that Zionist killers and thugs are able to strong-arm our leadership in Congress (and obviously, this ass-kissing sycophant, Obama)… that much of your tax dollar (to the tune of $3 BILLION/year) is funneled BACK to the very politicians who are sucking out Israel’s ass.

Jesus, people, you are paying for them to screw you over and protect Israel’s interests over yours.

“I am proud to say that no US administration has done more in support of Israel’s security than ours. None. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. It is a fact.” ~ Barack Obama

Considering WHO ass-kisser was speaking to (the 71st General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism), this is no surprise. Obama has shown himself to be able to pander to whatever audience is in front of him. It makes no difference that yesterday he said the sky is blue, for if the current audience prefers to hear that the sky is chartreuse, then he will say so. He doesn’t mind lying, for he doesn’t care AND he knows he will get away with it.

“We will keep standing with our Israeli friends and allies just as we’ve been doing when they needed us most.” ~ Barack Obama

What do these killers need us for? Do they need my tax dollar more than I do? Seriously? Are you rednecks paying attention to this man? HALF of everyone you know is in poverty or considered poor, yet our tax dollars are going over there to protect a bunch of killers and thieves. Is that where you want your money going? Or would you prefer to take care of our own, for a change?

Maybe you need to understand exactly what Israel and Zionism is (they are NOT the same thing). Zionism, also does not equate to Judaism. And this is the entire thing I am trying to get across to Jews… you better step up and shut this craziness down, otherwise, you simply perpetuate the hatred and anger towards you as a race or whatever it is that Jews are (religion, or whatever).

Does it matter who is the dog or who is the tail? Sure, Israel wants to expand its borders (altho I doubt that the world’s Elites give a damn about that) and the banking cartels will back this because they need to sew up the Middle East. As does America’s hegemony. The bankers already have secured Europe and America. Apparently, we are too far gone. So, the ME and North Africa needs to be shored up and they don’t care if it is “Greater Israel” or not, for when it comes time to cut their head’s off, they will.

Hell, they know the entire storyline in the OT cannot be verified via any historical methods, so basically, we have one book that tells us about Israel’s existence and its kings, etc, yet, no one can find any proof that these people actually lived in reality. (h/t to a commenter at  Kenny’s Sideshow):

Be ready for a major upsetting of the apple cart. Unknown to almost all laymen, a huge number of scholars have quietly come together agreeing on a historical fact that will overturn the entirety of “court history” when all the facts they have gathered become widely known.

They agree that the various tales of “ancient Israel” are largely fictional. Based upon the known facts of geography, history, archeology and even biblical scholarship, many of them argue there was no such entity as “ancient Israel”—that it never existed. Is it possible that ancient Israel is a hoax?

If a hoax it is, then clearly “ancient Israel” is the most profitable hoax in history, with the possible exception of its twin fairy tale, the “court historian” view of what happened to the Jews of Europe during World War II (it is claimed that there was a systematic policy of exterminating them by the German government; among the specific claims are that 6 million Jews were gassed to death; however, there is no evidence of any of this).

In spite of the sensational nature of these findings about “ancient Israel,” they are, so far, all but totally unknown to the general public, including even history buffs.

Colleges have been reluctant to teach the facts, and many Christian pastors stay away from these truths as if they would be cursed by God, Himself.

There was a time, not so long ago, when one simply did not question the Old Testament. If the Old Testament said something had happened at some time in the past, then it happened, and that was that, regardless of whether there was any other evidence for the event outside of it’s pages. No one even considered that it might be fictional. Today that is no longer the case.

Simultaneously, a firm North American union needs to be finalized, in conjunction with a firm European Union, with an ultimate step of global dominance, economy and hegemony. All of these actions/steps appear to me to be movement to a world government/control. But we have some hope (altho this hope for world peace may come in the form of BRIC missiles in our back yard). The world is awakening and we are going broke. We can’t afford the Empire and the world is tired of it.

UPDATE:

Know Your Enemy:

h/t NorthernTruthSeeker

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Did I rub you the wrong way or stroke you just right? Let me know below in the comments section or Email me at buelahman {AT} g m a i l {DOT} com

If for some reason you actually liked this post, click the “Like” button below. If you feel like someone else needs to see this (or you just want to ruin someone’s day), click the Share Button at the bottom of the post and heap this upon some undeserving soul. And as sad as this thought may be, it may be remotely possible that us rednecks here at The Revolt please you enough (or more than likely, you are just a glutton for punishment??), that you feel an overwhelming desire to subscribe via the Email subscription and/or RSS Feed buttons found on the upper right hand corner of this page (may the Lord have mercy on your soul).

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Revolt or WordPress.com

The Same Thing

From an old horn player to you…

The Same Thing – Allman Brothers (2011/03/22 Beacon Theatre)

With the Jukes Horns & Tom Guarna, guitar; Joe Balllia, drums.

http://fourcorneredroom.blogspot.com/2011/04/allman-brothers-band-2011-beacon…

h/t Kenny’s Sideshow (also check out his Youtube Channel)

If you like what you see here at The Revolt, please subscribe via Email subscription or by the RSS Feed button found on the upper right hand corner of this page and/or hit the Share Button at the bottom of the post to share via various means.

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Revolt or WordPress.com

Weanie and The New Revolt

My brother called me the other day and told me about an old friend of ours, Weanie, who had just passed away. Her real name was Jeanie, but when her Daddy saw her for the first time after she was born, he looked down at the little red-headed girl and said, “She looks like a Weanie’”

It stuck. For the rest of her life she was called Weanie. All her family, friends, teachers, co-workers, everyone.

I was a good bit older than Weanie and really didn’t get to know her as well as my younger brothers, but the little we did hang out, I could tell she was genuine and cared. Cared about life, about her family about the situation our government has taken us (and the fact that we are letting them). She opened her home to people who didn’t have one. She cared and not everyone does what she did with as little as she had.

I didn’t know she had much of a political side, for truthfully, other than a very few people I know from my hometown, I am one of the few that seem to study this crap (Dr Doug, Ollie and a few others notwithstanding). Hopefully Ollie is here now checking us out (I asked her via Facebook and also asked that she keep this between us for right now). I do wish people would say something in comments, so Ollie, if you are reading and something strikes your fancy or if you disagree or can add additional information, please do so. You folks are important to me, because you are some of the few that seem to have eyes to see. I know we don’t always agree, but we are both open to learning from each other (I hope I have shown that I am). Of course, when I feel I am correct and have studied a subject matter and convinced myself I am on track, you better be prepared to debate, if you have another theory or idea. I don’t form these thoughts willy-nilly. I study and try to come up with a logical progression (but I am no writer, so it is sometimes difficult for me to get the point across for others to understand).

Back to Weanie. Apparently she was a big fan of The Revolt (did you notice I changed the name?). Only slightly, for I feel it was just a bit misleading. I know things now that I wasn’t so sure about when I first started this blog a few years ago… that it isn’t ONLY about revolting from a Red State, but that it is a revolt from the corptocracy; from this Fascist ideology that has swept this country. I finally shucked the brainwashing and see that it isn’t just red states and blue states. It is a Fascist State.

Weanie must have known this because she would read regularly and she would tell her husband, Jason, what I was writing about on some particular day and according to my brother, she would mostly agree and tell others about it.

Now don’t get me wrong. I know this place is no blog magnet, meaning very few people read here (yesterday, this blog received about 890 hits, so this blog is no killer of stats). Many are robotic links and I erase at least 25 porn spams that my spam filter finds daily. So who knows what the real count is.

But I have never been about trying to get numbers. Anyone who pays attention knows that I don’t like ads and I have never received a nickel here. Sure, I’d love to make some money, but I know that this is simply an opinion blog and I have not wanted to cloud the opinion by asking for money in any way (and I don’t intend to start now). The way I look at it, when someone starts paying me money, then I am beholden to them (as an example, when I was “teaching” a church group that called me an assistant pastor, which I abhor and would never have called myself that, I refused money offered to me). I never want to be a paid shill for an ideology. I simply want to see truth and help others see it, too.

I do want to be a source of information to a certain type of person, tho, so I find myself balancing anonymity and the desire to spread my thoughts to people who are interested. Many know who I am in real life (and it isn’t that difficult to find out). Until recently, I was very afraid to let people know about this place, for it rubs the general population the wrong way, due to the way politics brainwashes people. But if I am going to be true to what I feel and believe can help fix this great country, then it appears I will need to open up a bit more. To let people know who I am and why I do this. I once explained to Scott at American Everyman that I keep my anonymity because of threats I have received over the years. Literally, I have had people threaten to kill me over this blog and my opinion. But I have also held a career that was sometimes dependent upon the very people who I think are brainwashed and duped. This was always a double-edged sword and to be honest, I thought may times that it would cost me my job or career.

But now that I have lost it all (my business, bankruptcy, my new job and virtually everything except my family and friends, what else do I have to worry about?

Because many of the death threats had to do with the left/right paradigm and me revolting from a red state. Well, I am revolting from the entire corrupt fascist system. So the way I figure it, either I will double the threats or maybe minimize them when people realize I ain’t on the other “side”. I am on the side of truth and truth is not contained within the left vs right paradigm.

And, yes, I know I can be a prick. I know that when some jerk wad comes around and isn’t even slightly open to what I am sharing and they become a dickhead, I have the ability to become a bigger dickhead. This scares some people. It turns others off. But the one thing you will notice is that I will not sacrifice my values or opinion just to make someone happy, or much less to make them believe we think the same. Just ask my buddy Lynda, who shares here. She and I have had some disagreements and she knows I am can be an asshole, but she still hangs out. I assume she knows that I love her, no matter what my opinion is (and vice versa). And believe me, she has no problem telling me I am an asshole (even tho she does it with tact and love every time).

The same holds true for Doug. Of all the people who are regular, Doug knows me as well or better than anyone and I am willing to bet he will acknowledge what I write here about myself and about how he feels about me (Doug is really my best friend, if the truth be known). And I believe the same holds true for all you regulars that I appreciate immensely. I think that most of you know that I am sincere and mean well, even when I am being an asshole. I appreciate you very much, Lynda, Doug, kelso, Ed, Roschelle, 2Truthy, B waves, Just Me, Kenny, Greg, Scott, Jay, Suzan, Reverend Manny, Lisa, Tengrain, Joanaroo, Chicken Bill, GranAmVixen, Wilderside, (hopefully, Ollie), G (if you still read… I read every post of yours still) and the all the others who are regulars but change your screen name every time you comment. Forgive me if I missed someone, for I know I have.

What I am saying is that you are all important to me. I learn from you and this is my practice for the community work I believe with my whole heart I must begin to establish soon.

But I hope you ALL know that I am genuine. That I mean what I say and say what I mean.

Sometimes I wonder why others have a blog. Is it to gain friends? To become famous? To fulfill some writer’s dream? To make money? To run elbows with the famous or the interesting?

Maybe all that would be ok, but none of that is my reasoning and/or purpose.

If nothing else, this blog is a way for me to let off steam. A way for me to share these redneck thought patterns I have. I don’t always claim to be right and I never claim to be perfect. Many times, I ask for clarification and additional information that you might can share to color in the picture that I might see or might draw for you.

I wrote recently about community and how we might be able to take back this country. This is one very real, but almost ineffectual way to create community, but it is a place to start and learn. Of course, not all of you have sat down with me and looked me in my eyes as we speak, but I would be willing to bet a dollar to a donut that the ones who do know me, know without any doubt that I am serious and am truthful (maybe to a fault). For it is true that the truth can hurt. It breaks down barriers we put up to protect ourselves. It tears down the walls of lies that keep us penned up.

I honestly believe that as I begin to open up this blog a bit more, I have a small opportunity to make a difference to some people… and some of those I would have never expected (you might be surprised how cautious I am to share this place with people who actually know me personally).

I also know that where I am from, I can be considered overly offensive, simply from some of the language that I use. I generally use foul language when I get pissed and/or for effect, and since I stay pissed about the government and how things are done here in America, I use a lot of foul language. This offends some of you and for that I apologize and will try to work on that (I am not saying I will never cuss again, for at times, there is no better way to get a point across, imo).

Weanie apparently read here a lot and I wish I had known. I wish that people who care, whether or not you agree, would say something. Explain how you might think I am incorrect or give me a slap on the back when I hit the right button.

I know there are more of you out there and you are welcomed here.

But SAY SOMETHING!

Weanie, I will miss you (Susan and I have thought and spoken about you many times since the last time we saw you before moving). I am glad you aren’t suffering.

Jason, take care, my man. Weanie was a good one! (and so was your Dad, btw)

SOME Ongoing Disasters!

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/07/16/the_world_s_worst_ongoing_disasters

SOME of The Globes Worst “ONGOING” Ecological Disasters

NIGERIA

Disaster: Oil spills
Going since: Around 1966

Damage done: The Deepwater Horizon incident may have been the worst oil spill in U.S. history, but it pales in comparison to the ongoing catastrophe that has afflicted Nigeria’s Niger River Delta over the last five decades. As many as 546 million gallons of oil are believed to have spilled since oil exploration began in this region — the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez spill every year. There are around 2,000 official spill sites in the region, some of them decades old.
Oil companies operating in the region blame thieves and sabotage for the majority of the spills, though local activists say aging equipment and lax safety are the cause of many of them. The number of severity of the spills may actually increase in coming years as the industry moves into more remote and difficult terrain in the delta.
It’s not just the spilled oil that can be dangerous. Pipeline explosions, like in the one that killed more than 100 people outside Lagos in 2008, are increasingly frequent as well.

CHINA

Disaster: Coal fires
Going since: 1962

Damage done: China’s recent industrial growth depends heavily on coal — the source of 70 percent of the country’s energy — a major reason why it recently became the world’s largest carbon emitter. The country’s mining sector is also extremely dangerous, killing as many as 13 miners every day. But nowhere is the danger of China’s out-of-control coal addiction more evident than in the 62 raging underground coal fires that have burned in Inner Mongolia since the early 1960s.
Covering an area more than 3,000 miles long, China’s northern coal fires are estimated to destroy as many as 20 million tons of coal per year, more than the entire annual production of Germany. According to some estimates, these fires could be the cause of up to 2 to 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. A new initiative by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region aims to put half the fires out by 2012.
Inner Mongolia’s coal fires may be the most severe, but they are hardly unique. An underground fire in Centralia, Pa., begun the same year as many of China’s, is also still burning.
[remember they are battling an enormous oil spill in the China Sea currently]

HAITI

Disaster: Deforestation
Going since: 1492

Damage done: Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island, as well as similar geographic and climate conditions. So why do severe storms and hurricanes — not to mention earthquakes — only cause horrific human tragedy on the Haitian side? One large reason is the almost complete destruction of Haiti’s trees.
When explorer Christopher Columbus first landed in what was then dubbed Hispañola, around three-fourths of it was covered in trees. Today, 98 percent of its forests are gone — one of the worst cases of deforestation in human history.
The main culprit is charcoal, by far the country’s most popular fuel source, which consumes up to 30 million trees per year. The Dominican Republic has banned cutting down trees for charcoal and subsidized propane as a substitute, and the contrast can be seen in satellite photographs of the border.
Without roots to hold the soil together, hurricanes and earthquakes are much more likely to case deadly landslides. The erosion of high-quality topsoil has also devastated Haiti’s agricultural sector, exacerbating its endemic poverty.
The list of challenges confronting Haiti following this year’s earthquake is long and daunting, but if the country is ever going to stand a fighting chance, what it needs more than anything else is more trees.

UZBEKISTAN/KAZAKHSTAN

Disaster: The shrinking of the Aral Sea
Going since: The 1960s

Damage done: Straddling the border of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth-largest inland water body and home to at least 20 species of fish and a thriving coastal economy in the surrounding towns. In the early 1960s, the Soviet government built more than 45 dams and 20,000 miles of canals in an effort to create a cotton industry on the desert plains of Uzbekistan, depriving the sea of its main sources.
Over the next three decades, the sea shrank to two-fifths its original size, turning fishing villages into barren desert outposts. Thanks to the high salt content in the remaining water, all 20 fish species are now extinct. Drinking water supplies in the area are dangerously low and the ground contains dangerous pesticides from the cotton farms. When the wind sweeps across the now-dry sea bed, it spreads up to 75 million tons of toxic dust and salt across Central Asia every year.
Thankfully, dams constructed in the last decade on the Kazakh side seem to be leading to a partial recovery. The Northern Aral’s surface span has grown by 20 percent and fish and bird species are starting to return. The Southern Ara

PACIFIC OCEAN

Disaster: The Eastern Garbage Patch
Going since: Discovered in 1997

Damage done: Somewhere between California and Hawaii lies the world’s largest garbage dump — a massive soup of plastic and debris one-and-a-half times the size of the United States and 100 feet deep. The “patch” is the product of the North Pacific Gyre, a loop of currents that picks up trash from the West Coast of the United States and East Asia and funnels it into an endless loop in the North Pacific.
Within the patch, pieces of plastic outweigh zooplankton by a factor of 6 to 1, and are often mistaken by fish and birds for food. Chemicals from the plastic can also make their way into the food chain, including fish consumed by humans.
The patch is the most widely publicized example, but this is a global problem. According to the U.N. Environment Program the world’s oceans contain 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. These plastics are responsible for the deaths of more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year.

The world is going to be close to it’s breaking point very very soon!

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

I wanna hold your hand…

Lately, it seems I need a daily reminder that I am a very Blessed woman. A friend sent me this video– I had seen it before, but it is worth the lesson again, and again……

                                      http://www.wimp.com/watchingthis/

                                                …. yes; I am Blessed. AND so is he!!

The Sweetest Deal EVER made—

…. who made it and who was in on it????

Okay folks– just for the sheer sake of jumpstarting your nervous system today. Read this report. I promise you that in it you will discover one sentence that will make you pause your breath for a second– and then you will think “ How did I not already figure that was coming”. What a deal folks, what a deal!!!!!!!!!!!

European Stocks Climb for Sixth Day; BMW, BP Shares Advance
July 13, 2010, 12:14 PM EDT

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-13/european-stocks-climb-for-sixth-day-bmw-bp-shares-advance.html

July 13 (Bloomberg) — European stocks climbed for a sixth day to a three-week high as Alcoa Inc. began the U.S. earnings season with profit that beat estimates, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG raised its forecast and BP Plc gained.
BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, jumped the most in 15 months after saying higher volumes in 2010 will boost profit. BP increased 2.9 percent after installing a new cap on its leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico and as Abu Dhabi said it’s considering making an investment in the company.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 1.9 percent to 255.99, erasing this year’s losses. The measure has risen 8.2 percent over the past six days amid easing concern about the economic recovery and speculation that the selloff in equities since April has overshot the outlook for company profits. The gauge remains 5.9 percent below this year’s high.
Earnings “forecasts look too low and we expect a strong majority of companies to beat their numbers,” said Graham Bishop, the London-based head of pan-European equity strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. “We already know a great deal about the performance of the global economy through the second quarter. Consensus economic forecasts have actually been revised materially higher.”
Portugal’s PSI-20 Index was the second-weakest western European market today as Moody’s Investors Service cut the nation’s credit rating by two notches to A1 because of a growing debt burden and weak economic growth prospects. The gauge gained 0.1 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 surged 2 percent. Germany’s DAX rallied 1.9 percent.
Greek Bond Sale
Greece’s ASE Index surged 2.6 percent as the nation sold 1.63 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of 26-week Treasury bills at a rate below the 5 percent charged by the European Union for its bailout package, easing concern the country faces punitive costs to borrow.
BMW rallied 8.3 percent to 42.13 euros, leading a gauge of auto stocks to the biggest gain among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. The luxury-car maker forecast 2010 sales volumes will rise by about 10 percent to more than 1.4 million units, with a full-year profit margin of more than 5 percent expected for the automobiles segment. Rival Daimler AG advanced 5.4 percent to 43.81 euros.
Automakers Advance
Peugeot SA climbed 5.3 percent to 24.37 euros and Volkswagen AG preferred shares gained 5.2 percent to 77 euros. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price estimate on the French carmaker by 3 percent to 34 euros and on the German automaker by 4 percent to 78 euros, saying increased demand and “attractive valuations” favor the industry, according to a report today.
BP advanced 2.9 percent to 410.35 pence, extending yesterday’s 9.4 percent jump. The oil company installed a new cap on its leaking Gulf of Mexico well and will start testing today whether this will stop the gusher while work continues on a permanent plug. Separately, the Financial Times reported that BP expects to be able to write off the oil-spill cleanup costs against taxes, without saying where it got its information.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the emirate is considering making an investment in BP.
‘Still Thinking’
“We are still thinking about it,” he said in an interview in Abu Dhabi today, when asked about potentially buying a stake in the London-based oil producer. “We are looking across the board. We have been partners with BP for years.”
Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer reported second- quarter profit that topped analysts’ projections as higher metal prices boosted sales. Earnings from continuing operations were 13 cents a share, exceeding the 11-cent average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Profits for S&P 500 companies are projected to have increased 34 percent in the second quarter and by the same amount in 2010, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Intel Corp., the biggest maker of semiconductors which reports quarterly earnings after the close of U.S. exchanges today, is among 23 companies in the index to announce results this week.
Burberry Group Plc surged 3.7 percent to 818.5 pence, the highest level since at least 2002. The U.K.’s largest luxury retailer posted a 27 percent gain in first-quarter sales, beating analysts’ estimates, led by growth in Asia and deliveries to wholesale customers.
Unilever, BAT
Unilever, the world’s second-largest maker of consumer products, gained 2.9 percent to 1,898 pence and British American Tobacco Plc advanced 2.6 percent to 2,277 pence as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded both companies to “buy” from “neutral.”
SEB AB surged 4.9 percent to 48.75 kronor after the second- largest bank in the Baltic countries returned to profit in the second quarter as loan losses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania decreased.
DNO International ASA rallied 4.9 percent to 8.74 kroner, the highest close since April, after the Daily Telegraph reported that RAK Petroleum Pcl has made an offer to buy the remainder of the Norwegian oil producer. DNO Chief Executive Officer Helge Eide said he had “no comment and no information” on the report.
–Editors: Andrew Rummer, David Merritt.

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

The 99er’s

WTF are people supposed to do?? Hell, I wish my Grandfather was here so I could get some insight as to how to navigate through times such as these!!! He was born in 1898. I did listen to him when he spoke about the Depression– but I sincerely would like to of heard the deep ‘how tos’. God Bless those fromback then– and God Bless us from today!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/12/AR2010071205144_2.html?wprss=rss_nation

THE 99er’s

By

Michael A. FletcherWashington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Even before his unemployment checks ended, Dwight Michael Frazee’s days were filled with the pursuit of any idea that could earn him a buck. But few are working out, and now his nights are filled with dread.

In the coming weeks, the Senate is expected to resume its debate about whether to extend the emergency jobless benefits that were passed in response to the steep increase in unemployment caused by the recession. But people like Frazee, who have suffered the longest in the downturn, will not be part of that conversation. They are among the 1.4 million workers who have been unemployed for at least 99 weeks, according to the Labor Department, reaching the limit for the insurance. Their numbers have grown sixfold in the past three years.

The 99ers are glaring examples of the nation’s most serious bout of long-term joblessness since the Great Depression. Nearly 46 percent of the country’s 14.6 million unemployed people have been out of work for more than six months, and forecasters project that the situation will not improve anytime soon. Currently, the Labor Department says there are nearly five unemployed people for every job opening.

Frazee, 50, has applied for work at more places than he can remember since he lost his construction job two years ago. He has tried car dealerships, Kmart, Home Depot and the funky shops on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, near Toms River. He looked into becoming a commercial crabber, working in title insurance and as a bail bondsman. But no dice.

While searching for work, he lived on $585 a week in unemployment payments. But the checks were cut off in May when he reached 99 weeks. Now Frazee, who is married and has a 5-year-old daughter, is in a financial free fall with no safety net.

“My life has been total stress. I sleep maybe four hours a night, worrying about money,” he said. “I understood the president and Congress had to stabilize the banks, get Wall Street going. I figured something would be done for middle-class Americans, that they couldn’t abandon us. But I was wrong.”

Since the recession began in December 2007, lawmakers have passed several extensions that stretched the normal 26-week limit for unemployment benefits to as long as 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. In the Washington area, only workers in the District, where unemployment is 10.4 percent — well above the 9.5 percent national rate — qualify for the longest-term unemployment benefits. Virginia and Maryland residents can receive benefits as long as 86 weeks, including 60 weeks of federally financed benefits. The Labor Department has no statistics on the number of workers in each jurisdiction who have exhausted their benefits.

With the federal extensions now up for renewal, Congress has shown decreasing enthusiasm for them amid increasing concern about the ballooning deficit.

On several occasions, Senate Republicans have said they would not vote for stimulus bills that included unemployment extensions, saying any new spending must be offset by cuts elsewhere. With the extensions expired at least temporarily, more than 2 million Americans have lost their unemployment benefits, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research organization. A report by the House Ways and Means Committee estimated that 21,700 Virginians, 12,300 Marylanders and 5,200 D.C. residents lost their benefits when the extensions ended.

Congress’s inaction has been accompanied by a growing sentiment among lawmakers that long-term unemployment benefits create a disincentive for the jobless to find work.

“Workers are less likely to look for work, or accept less-than-ideal jobs, as long as they are protected from the full consequences of being unemployed,” said Michael D. Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “That is not to say that anyone is getting rich off unemployment, or that unemployed people are lazy. But it is simple human nature that people are a little less motivated as long as a check is coming in.”

That was disputed by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, who cited a recent study ordered by congressional Democrats. “These benefits do not inhibit job seekers from vigorously looking for or accepting work,” she said.

The growing backlash against unemployment insurance has left the 99ers with few political advocates. President Obama, buffeted by GOP criticism of his economic policies as unemployment rates hover at their highest levels in 28 years, has been struggling to win support for renewing the extended jobless benefits. Consequently, any help for the 99ers is off the table, at least for now — leaving them angry at their political leaders.

“President Obama talks a lot about making the victims of the gulf disaster whole, but what about the victims of this economic disaster?” Frazee said. “Nowadays, he seems mostly concerned with image. Now, he doesn’t want to be seen as a big spender. But people need help.”

A 34-year-old resident of Vienna, Va., named Brian, who withheld his last name because of his embarrassment about being out of work, worked in corporate finance for nine years before being laid off three years ago. He exhausted his unemployment benefits long ago and has been living off savings and credit. “Before this, I figured that if you can’t find a job in two years, you’re not looking,” he said. “But I keep looking and jobs just are not there. The economy is not recovering. It’s being propped up by government spending. But when that ends, I think this whole mess is not over with.”

Here in Toms River, Frazee has not earned a regular paycheck since working as a $75,000-a-year laborer during the construction of the Borgata hotel in Atlantic City. That was in July 2008, just as the economy was imploding — and just after he was returning to health after having a cancerous appendix removed.

Since then, he has not worked, save for a recent four-day stint cleaning up a construction site at a nearby state college. He has fallen behind on mortgage payments for his sunny townhouse, and he is staring at the prospect of foreclosure even after negotiating a loan modification with his lender, Wells Fargo.

Most of the time, Frazee said, he has been confident that things would work out, if only because they always have. He started as a construction worker after his father’s endorsement helped him land a spot in the Laborers’ International Union Local 415 shortly after he graduated from Toms River South High School in 1978.

When he wasn’t working construction, he had jobs on oil rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., and in the Gulf of Mexico. He also was a bounty hunter. “I’ve never been one to feel sorry for myself,” he said. “I’ve always worked.”

Until now. The longer he is out of a job, the more unemployable he feels. He suspects that potential employers are turned off by his age and by the fact that he has been out of work for so long. But he is moving near the top of the hiring list for his union. And in the meantime, he has been buying mail-order children’s quartz watches from China and selling them on consignment at local convenience stores. He clears close to $3 per watch.

“I’m a union construction worker, but I think I can be a hell of a salesman,” Frazee said. “A lot of the stores around here are owned by Indian Americans, and they like me. They’re taking my watches. Maybe India and China are going to help me out of this jam if my country won’t.”

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

They are ALL wrong!

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/exclusive-new-audio-mel-gibson-admits-hitting-oksana-threatens-kill-her-listen-it

The above is the full 8 minutes

Ya know– I hate ‘sound-bites’ and I sure am wise enough to know when I end up listening to something in pieces, that I do not nor will I ever have the entire history regarding anything that I just heard. Now– I do know the following–

1] This woman was in control of the call and dialoge

2] I do not believe he knew it was being taped

3] She said what she wanted said on the tape

4] If we taped anyone of us during a domestic tyrate it would not be pretty

5] He sounds like every Biker [sorry bikers] I ever knew

6] IF domestic violence did happen, he is wrong– flat out wrong

7] I am not a shrink, so there can be no diagnosis from me while I sit in my armcahir

8] I have used almost every word he used at one time in my life

9] I actually don’t think this tape is any of our business

10] Obviously he is out of control about something way past what we are aware of… in their life together

11]… He should never ever hit nor threated to put her [or anyone] under.

12] Can anyone one of us look back honestly in our own lives and say that we or someone we knew had never ever gotten into a heated screaming match? Would you want it recorded for all to hear out of contents??

AGAIN== Mel is wrong with his rage and violence…  I am just speaking to the ‘taping’.

The media is having a hayday with this…  Mel needs help, counceling…. something. And she needs to just do what she has to do in court, get to court and settle whatever she wants to settle– but ya know, somewhere in the nasty oh-so-wrong shit is a bid for money– and tons of it. I am not saying Mel didn’t do terrible stuff, he most likely sure as hell did– but I am just not excusing her or the media on this one either. The Radar Online folks stated that she personally did not give them the tapes. I am sure she sure as hell had a hand in it– she needed public outrage, or so she thinks. Screw this mess… I want to hear the well is capped and the clean-up is going well, and the troops are coming home [which will add to millions of more unemployed Americans because WHERE ARE OUR TROOPS GONNA WORK?? So there ya have it– this story is not a news worthy story!!! Jobs, Troops, Wars, Unemploymeny, healthcare, enviornment are true stories!!!

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

$16.00 Per Month…

I am lost and forgotten in this hell where countless Americans exist!! My Unemployment runs out very soon… and also while you read this, know that they only cleared me for $16.00 per month for Food Stamps! Now let me bitch about the new healthcare for Pre-Existing folks. What I feared the most about this bill came true! I knew they all talked about healthcare for everyone– no one turned away or denied. BUT what they never ever said was ’ affordable to the poor”. I contacted the state about the pre-existing Ins. Oh, I can get it– but the premium is 600 per month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Suck, things suck badly! WTF! People need jobs!!!!!!

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20100712/US.Jobless.Aid.Analysis/

WASHINGTON — Keeping unemployment benefits flowing for millions of workers whose jobs were eaten by the recession should have been a slam dunk in an election year.
But until this month, Senate Democrats have been unable to bring themselves to pass a simple bill that just does it. Instead they’ve demanded a series of unrelated and often controversial tax and spending add-ons that have enabled Republicans to mount successful filibusters.
Now that the legislation has been shorn of all the extras, the bill could win final passage soon. It can’t come soon enough for more than 2 million people whose checks have been cut off in a five-month impasse in which there’s plenty of blame to go around:
_ Democrats and their leaders made several decisions that in retrospect look like miscalculations, like pulling the rug out from under a bipartisan measure launched back in February and loading a subsequent bill with $24 billion for governors — guaranteeing that most Republicans would vote against it.
_ Republican moderates voted one way in March to help the bill pass but changed their minds just weeks later, having gotten religion from GOP leaders and tea partiers on the budget deficit.
Little remembered amid the ongoing partisanship and recrimination is that jobless benefits also got sideswiped by President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
To reduce the health care bill’s impact on the deficit, Democrats decided to close almost $30 billion in tax loopholes. Until the final health care push, those revenues had been designated to cover the cost of extending other popular family and business tax breaks as part of a broad bipartisan jobless benefits package.
Besides the jobless aid, the measure contained a payroll tax holiday for businesses, tax breaks for business, health insurance subsidies and help for doctors facing a cut in their Medicaid payments. It had support from across the political spectrum, from Obama to conservative Senate Republicans.
Some liberals, however, balked at the deal, which was cut principally by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and the committee’s senior Republican, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. The liberals didn’t like that their “jobs agenda” seemed hijacked by business lobbyists, who won items like research and development tax credits and some arcane measures such as tax breaks for NASCAR tracks. With unemployment hovering just under 10 percent, they also thought it was too light on subsidies for preserving and creating jobs.
So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blew up the agreement, instead advancing a pared-back jobs bill excusing businesses from having to pay the employer share of Social Security taxes this year on any new workers they hire. Economists were dubious it would produce many jobs. Meanwhile, unemployment aid would wait for later legislation.
“We could have had this bill passed in three days and … Reid decided to scuttle it,” Grassley complained. “Baucus read about it in the paper.”
The delays meant that Congress had to pass a short-term extension of jobless benefits at the end of February. Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., worked out a deal for a quick vote to avoid an interruption in benefits.
But another Kentucky Republican, Sen. Jim Bunning, single-handedly held up the bill for days, demanding that government spending elsewhere be cut to pay for the jobless benefits rather than add to the federal debt. Bunning folded on March 2. But his fight resonated with tea partiers and millions of other voters worried about year after year of trillion-dollar deficits.
In the meantime, Reid resurrected the longer-term jobless aid package. He mixed in familiar elements like extending expired tax breaks and added a $24 billion package of aid to cash-starved state governments so they could avoid layoffs of tens of thousands of public employees — a key part of last year’s economic stimulus bill.
The result was a bill adding almost $100 billion to the deficit. That meant that GOP support would be limited. But it still passed in March with support from several Republicans, including key moderate Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and George Voinovich of Ohio.
That was the bill’s high point. The political sands soon began to shift.
Another short-term unemployment insurance extension — needed to buy time for negotiations on the bigger bill — came at the end of March. It would be the last. Beginning in June, hundreds of thousands of workers unemployed for more than six months started losing the weekly checks.
More Republicans picked up on Bunning’s position and demanded cuts in other programs, including Obama’s $862 billion stimulus bill passed a year earlier, to pay for the extension.
It was a message the party felt increasingly comfortable with after losing the health care fight, especially as the European debt crisis roiled the markets and the U.S. government’s debt topped $13 trillion. Republicans stressed that with the unemployment rate still near double digits, jobless benefits averaging $300 a week should be extended — but that they should be paid for.
“You never know in politics when that magic moment comes when things really begin to change, but I believe that it has occurred now,” GOP Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona told reporters March 26. “I think you’ll see a much greater commitment now to fiscal responsibility.”
The short-term jobless aid extension passed, but it took until late May for their House and Senate negotiators to agree on a longer-term jobless aid package featuring new business tax increases but still racking up $115 billion in new government debt over the next decade.
This time, conservative House Democrats recoiled. House leaders were forced to sharply pare the measure back, eliminating new aid for state governments as well as a longer-term fix for doctors threatened with a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments.
The House passed the bill on May 28, returning the measure to the Senate, where debate consumed the Senate’s entire June schedule. Democrats still wanted to help governors with their payrolls but ultimately acceded to cutting it by one-third and paying for it partly with cuts from last year’s stimulus bill. Even that measure failed just before Congress recessed for the July 4 holiday.
Reid is now resigned to a stand-alone six-month extension of unemployment benefits at a cost of $33 billion. Aides say he will try to pass it when West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin names a successor to fill the seat of Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who died two weeks ago. Those who lost benefits will get them retroactively.
Democrats also maintain hopes of passing a $16 billion aid package for governors aimed at preserving the jobs of tens of thousands of state workers through the election. They intend to pay for it in part by cutting food stamp benefits.

All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the “fair use doctrine” in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BuehlahMan’s Redstate Revolt or WordPress.com

According to Uncle Sam’s Accountants…

                             http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/

These are the figures for U.S. Trade per Country….

Call me crazy– but first : I don’t believe ‘all’ the figures
and secondly I just keep thinking ‘ what exactly did we trade for that couldn’t of been produced here?”

And why the hell do we trade with our enemies???? To win their hearts and minds…?  How about winning your own citizens hearts and minds so they can get back to work, make a liveable wage, stay healthy… and pay into their own systems .

General… oh General….

Nation building in Afghanistan is not our job— it is theirs.

By Eugene Robinson
Friday, June 25, 2010
Washington Post

The good news? Nobody has to pretend anymore that Gen. Stanley McChrystal knew how to fix Afghanistan within a year. The bad news? No
President Obama was absolutely right to sack the preening McChrystal, whose inner circle, as portrayed in Rolling Stone magazine, had all the seriousness and decorum of a frat house keg party. And it was a brilliant political move to turn to Petraeus, who is made of purest Teflon. Critics who might have been tempted to blast the president for changing horses in midstream can hardly object when he has given the reins to the man who averted a humiliating U.S. defeat in Iraq.
Note that I didn’t credit Petraeus with “winning” in Iraq. He didn’t. What he managed to do was redeem the situation to the point where the United States could begin bringing home its combat troops. If the Obama administration’s aims in Afghanistan are recalibrated to accommodate objective reality, then Petraeus can succeed there, too. But this means that the general’s assignment should be a narrow one: Lay the groundwork for a U.S. withdrawal to begin next summer, as Obama has pledged.
After relieving McChrystal of his command Wednesday, Obama called in his national security team and read the riot act. No more bickering, sniping, backbiting or name-calling, the president ordered. Play nice.
But all the comity in the world doesn’t resolve the essential tension between those who believe our goal in Afghanistan should be defined as “victory” and those who believe it should be defined as “finding the exit.” Two thousand years of history are on the side of the “exit” camp, and the fact is that at some point we’re going to leave. The question is how much time will pass — and how many more young Americans will be killed or wounded — before that inevitable day comes.

McChrystal, who designed the counterinsurgency strategy being attempted in Afghanistan, didn’t disguise his opposition to administration officials such as Vice President Biden, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and special envoy Richard Holbrooke, who questioned whether the strategy could work. Petraeus is far too good a politician to fall into that trap. He won’t allow any daylight between himself and the civilian leadership.
But ultimately, there’s going to be no way to avoid the central question: What kind of Afghanistan will we leave behind?
One answer would be that we have to leave in place a durable, functional central government that has full legitimacy and control within the nation’s borders. This would provide the United States with a reliable ally in a dangerous region and also ensure that Afghanistan would never again be used as a launching pad for attacks by al-Qaeda. But to get the country to that point, given where it is now, could take a decade or more of sustained, concentrated attention. It would mean not just defeating the Taliban but molding the regime of Afghan President Hamid Karzai into a reasonably honest, effective government. This would be a tall order even if Karzai were a stable, consistent, loyal partner. Does anybody believe that he is?
A better answer would be that it’s enough to leave behind an Afghanistan that no longer poses a serious threat to the United States or its vital interests. Nation-building would be the Afghans’ problem, not ours.
Petraeus was successful in Iraq because he realized that he couldn’t create an Athenian democracy in Baghdad. But the highly imperfect Iraqi government is light-years beyond what the general is likely to be able to achieve in Kabul. Even after the war, Iraq was left with modern infrastructure, a highly educated and sophisticated population, and a sizable percentage of the world’s proven oil reserves. Afghanistan has none of these advantages. The political culture is stubbornly medieval; the populace is poor, uneducated and wary of foreign influences. Afghanistan does have great mineral wealth, apparently, but no mining industry to dig it out and no railroads to get it to the marketplace.
In recent testimony before Congress, Petraeus was less than definitive when asked about Obama’s July 2011 deadline. Because he has such credibility and standing in Washington, his view on when we can begin to leave Afghanistan will be more important than McChrystal’s ever was. I hope that by putting Petraeus in charge of the war, President Obama hasn’t consigned us to a longer stay. His comments Thursday seem to indicate the possibility.

Oh– and I can bet you that Petraeus told the President that he would accept this position with a few conditions– Like ‘Hey I am a Battle Field General.. And I want to WIN, [ like there is such a thing as win] not mandy-pandy around. I am going to make a few changes to your rules of combat– LIKE allow the men to shoot!!!!!” “ Oh and by the way, Rolling Stone Mag, set up McChrystal!”

Motor Vessel Linda, Zionistic Murderers, and the Venal American Congress

You know its bad when the IDF won’t even use the current name of the boat they just stopped. We also need to understand that seven of the nine killed on the Mavi Marmara were reportedly shot IN THE BACKS and HEADS.

Nine Turkish men on board the Mavi Marmara were shot a total of 30 times and five were killed by gunshot wounds to the head, according to the vice-chairman of the Turkish council of forensic medicine, which carried out the autopsies for the Turkish ministry of justice today.

The results revealed that a 60-year-old man, Ibrahim Bilgen, was shot four times in the temple, chest, hip and back. A 19-year-old, named as Fulkan Dogan, who also has US citizenship, was shot five times from less that 45cm, in the face, in the back of the head, twice in the leg and once in the back. Two other men were shot four times, and five of the victims were shot either in the back of the head or in the back, said Yalcin Buyuk, vice-chairman of the council of forensic medicine.

Dude, those people were systematically hit. You do not accidentally put 4 rounds in a man’s head.

Kenny’s Sideshow links to a post that suggests that Israeli Sharp Shooters were employed. Not only that, but the murderer (Staff Sargeant S) will get Israel’s Medal of Valor.

How nice. Especially from America’s Closest and Bestest Friend in the world.

The hero John Boehner said it best:

“… Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorists which threaten its very survival. The United States has no closer friend than Israel, and the American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Israelis…”

And don’t think it is just the “right-wing” hacks that are protecting the murdering criminals. That stalwart “left-wing” hack, Brad Sherman, believes that we should take things even further. He thinks that any Americans that were on that ship (one was shot in the head, so he won’t be in prison any time soon) should be arrested, have their balls cut off and fed to Bibi Netananywho.

In a conference call organized by The Israel Project, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told reporters that activists participating in the flotilla were aiding Hamas and therefore breaking US law.

“The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 makes it absolutely illegal for any American to give food, money, school supplies, paper clips, concrete or weapons to Hamas or any of its officials,” Sherman said, as quoted at Jim Lobe’s foreign policy blog. “And so I will be asking the Attorney General to prosecute any American involved in what was clearly an effort to give items of value to a terrorist organization.”

Brad, you dumb-ass. Do I have to do a contribution search on you to find where your money roll is buttered? Bet how much of your funding comes from AIPAC?

Click to enlarge

As a matter of fact, the contribution list is long and telling (originally from Maplight.org, and reproduced at OpEdNews):

AIPAC campaign contributions to congressmen, highest first, full list at link…
http://maplight.org/us-congress/interest/J5100/view/all

Top Senate Recipients Funded

Joseph Lieberman $1,226,956
John McCain $750,368
Benjamin Cardin $487,572
Mitch McConnell $415,710
Richard Durbin $376,387
Carl Levin $366,378
Arlen Specter $338,080
Debbie Ann Stabenow $329,053
Bill Nelson $324,691
Jon Kyl $312,358
Mary Landrieu $291,609
Frank Lautenberg $260,333
Robert Menéndez $219,135
Daniel Inouye $197,750
Harry Reid $179,640
Sheldon Whitehouse $170,421
Ron Wyden $163,771
Maria Cantwell $162,598
Mark Udall $161,173
Christopher Dodd $158,132
Barbara Mikulski $152,050
Kent Conrad $150,410
Susan Collins $139,518
Mark Pryor $138,250
Jeff Merkley $136,130

Top House Recipients Funded

Mark Kirk $458,979
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen $141,507
Howard Berman $122,600
Eric Cantor $119,350
Ted Deutch $104,031
Steny Hoyer $100,050
Shelley Berkley $98,501
Gary Peters $94,522
Ron Klein $88,550
Nancy Pelosi $83,400
Steve Israel $77,000
Nita Lowey $68,600
Paul Hodes $65,950
Ike Skelton $64,049
Kendrick Meek $57,601
Deborah Halvorson $56,622
Gabrielle Giffords $56,000
Eliot Engel $54,600
Brad Sherman $53,500
Janice Schakowsky $53,195
Roy Blunt $47,550
Dan Burton $47,350
Alcee Hastings $46,150
Mary Jo Kilroy $46,135
Bill Foster $45,550
Debbie Wasserman Schultz $45,060
Robert Andrews $43,825
Patrick Murphy $41,000
Gary Ackerman $39,950
Brad Ellsworth $38,850
Silvestre Reyes $38,750
Lincoln Diaz-Balart $35,775
Steven LaTourette $35,325
Allyson Schwartz $33,625
Jerry Moran $33,300
Melissa Bean $33,150
Mike Pence $31,700

FULL LIST

http://maplight.org/us-congress/interest/J5100/view/all

The fact of the matter is that Israel is America’s enemy. (h/t American Everyman)

They aren’t our ally. Nothing could be farther from the truth than that bogus lie perpetuated on gullible Sheoplistic Americans (especially the brain-numbed religious ones that believe that bombs represent Jesus and that somehow, defying all logic, they believe that the contemptuously evil Zionists will “carry Christ’s cross for them”). I don’t know what’s worse, the fools who defy Christ, but carry His name, or the evil and murdering assholes who laugh at those very same false-religious buffoons’ every gullibility.

It is time to cut off that evil cancer known as Israel. That is what you do with enemies. Cut their head’s off, right? Let us cut off the money and the head will follow.

It Was JUST Paintball Guns

h/t Kenny’s Sideshow

I am amazed that these Turkish people are so scared of paintball guns that cause little holes in the skin and muscle. Can you imagine a bunch of black-faced, hooded, black uniform “Terrorist” looking assholes shooting at your ship, then dropping down on to the ship in open waters? What would you do, Mr America? Open your arms or beat the shit out of them? View the other video at Kenny’s place to see what a person who was on one of the ships said happened. The question to you, dear reader is, “who you gonna believe?”

Maybe these people were simply defending themselves. I guess it’s just the redneck in me, but I would be scared shitless and would beat the fuck out of anyone that was threatening me. If I thought I might die without a fight, I can damn well guarantee it.

But, paintball guns? Really?

I wonder if these gung-ho asswipes ever considered this subject in the same light our own American law enforcement consider such a thing? No chance for something to go wrong, huh?

My next immediate thought is what would cops/terrorist-looking hooded gunmen in black uniforms think if the tables were turned and they were looking at a bunch of paintball guns?

Something tells me they would have pulled out their REAL guns and shot their asses.

What if you knew that the Zionist controlled White House not only supports such action, they are also helping cover it up. Or worse, did they give the ok beforehand?

But Washington’s role may not merely be an after-the-event complicity. Michel  Chossodovsky has raised the serious question as to the purpose of US chief of staff Rahm Emanuel’s top-level visit to Tel Aviv just days before the attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.  [3] Why didn’t the US voice objections to the well-publicised Israeli warnings that its forces were going to (illegally) intercept the aid convoy? Did the US give a behind-the-door thumbs up to this assault? In that case, no wonder the White House is now endorsing an Israeli-controlled inquiry – confident and cynical that such a probe will lead to nothing of importance, not least the role of the US in this crime against humanity.

And guess who else is against this action? Basically the whole damned world, that’s who (with the exception of America’s bitches).

NEW YORK – The United Nations Human Rights Council passed Wednesday a resolution condemning Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla and calling for a Goldstone-like inquiry into the deadly military operation.

During a second bruising day of debate in Geneva, the 47-member body passed the resolution with a majority vote of 32. The United States voted against the Palestinian-backed document and several European countries abstained.

The resolution accuses Israel of violating international law and calls for the immediate lifting of Israel’s blockade on Gaza. It also calls for an independent fact-finding inquiry, similar to one mandated by the Human Rights Council, which resulted in the Goldstone report.

h/t America20XY

Funny thing, that article is originally from The Jerusalem Post. I wonder what American media has to say (the FuxNews folks above notwithstanding)?

Oops. The MSM tried to pull a fast one and guess who steps up to the plate? Glen Greenwald:

Ouch.