I hope you all have a beautiful day!
Please watch Moyers & Company on PBS discussing the issue of our times and the book “Winner Take All Politics”. Everyone needs to watch this series, especially episode #3 on http://billmoyers.com/ .
Everyone should watch the entire series and upcoming episodes.
Bill Moyers is not promoting any political party only presenting the researched facts Period!
This show brings to light precisely what happened to some of the safety nets put into place in 1933 shortly after the Great Depression began. As my father told me when I was just a boy… “We won’t have another Great Depression because the Government put safety nets in place to prevent it from ever happening again”. So I asked myself (after the 2007-8 economic meltdown now know as “The Great Recession”), ”What Happened”? This is a compelling and nonpartisan series.
Whether you read anything else or not on this site You Must Watch The Moyers & Company Series http://billmoyers.com/. Then Vote next year for whoever you think will best preserve our future and that of our children’s. If anyone cares about our country, all of us and the future for our children they owe to themselves and the USA.
What is the Difference between
Mitt Romney and a Carpetbagger?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carpetbagger
In United States history, carpetbagger was a pejorative term Southerners gave to Northerners (also referred to as Yankees) who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877.
The term referred to the observation that these newcomers tended to carry “carpet bags,” a common form of luggage at the time (sturdy and made from used carpet). It was used as a derogatory term, suggesting opportunism and exploitation by the outsiders. Together with Republicans they are said to have politically manipulated and controlled former Confederate states for varying periods for their own financial and power gains. In sum, carpetbaggers were seen as insidious Northern outsiders with questionable objectives meddling in local politics, buying up plantations at fire-sale prices and taking advantage of Southerners. Carpetbagger is not to be confused with copperhead, which is a term given to a person from the North who sympathized with the Southern claim of right to Secession.
The term carpetbaggers was also used to describe the Republican political appointees who came South, arriving with their travel carpet bags. Southerners considered them ready to loot and plunder the defeated South.[1]
In modern usage in the U.S., the term is sometimes used derisively to refer to a politician who runs for public office in an area where he or she does not have deep community ties, or has lived only for a short time. In the United Kingdom, the term was adopted to refer informally to those who join a mutual organization, such as a building society, in order to force it to demutualize, that is, to convert into a joint stock company, solely for personal financial gain.
THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION:
“THERE APPEARS TO BE NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CORPORATE VULTURE CAPITALIST LIKE MITT ROMNEY AND A CARPETBAGGER!”
NEXT QUESTION: DO VOTERS HAVE ALZHEIMERS, OR DO THEY THINK THAT EVEN A CARPET BAGGER IS BETTER THAN A BLACK PRESIDENT IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
ANSWER: “IT MAKES NO CENTS TO ME!”
What can we learn from The Fall of The Roman Empire?
By Guy Powers
Many historians of the modern age have researched this subject such as Edward Gibbon (1737 – 1794), John Bury, David S. Potter and Fergus Millar to name a few. Many Papers have been written as part of an application to Harvard University and others on this very same subject…. The Shortest paper was an essay best describing “The Fall of The Roman Empire” in on word, which was “GREED”.
I tend to embrace clarity and the beauty of a simple word like “Greed”, which in my opinion does in fact state the reason for The Fall of The Roman Empire quite sufficiently.
Historians and philosophers are always looking deep into the facts surrounding the Fall of The Roman Empire and will also give their assertions as to who and what was to blame. But the word Greed covers it all, whether it is religion, government, military, taxation on the masses, high salaries for the loyal few or just becoming to complacent and comfortable and not doing anything other than complaining and procrastinating.
So for now let’s go with Greed as a common element. It works for the Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire as well as the situation many countries in the world are facing today including the USA. We have extended our military to suit our demands globally thereby causing tremendous debt and economic burdens on our government and ultimately each and every one of us. We have banks and Investment Houses and Super PACS running our lives and changing elections through their control and desire to serve their own agendas.
The USA was founded on the principle of Separation of Church and State.
Lets keep it that way!
Prior to the 1929 -1930 Great Depression the great divide between the Rich and the Middle class was at an all time high much the way it is today. Is there something fishy here? Probably so! Plankton is eaten by fish; small fish are eaten by medium size fish;
medium size fish are eaten by large fish; and large fish are eaten by enormous fish. But somehow the fish have figured out that they should never eliminate the smaller fish if the food chain is to survive. Henry Ford figured that if he paid his workers a better rate then more people could purchase his automobiles. Lets get back to jobs here in America that pays a living wage. Lets get back to making things here in the USA and punish those who out source jobs abroad and reward those who keep those jobs right here at home.
Too many companies are broken up, sold off and jobs are eliminated while CEO’s and COO’s make millions and billions of dollars.
Where do we go from here since they say, “You can never go back”?
Nuclear weapons of mass destruction held by the super powers are a means to an end or a deterrent to ever start a nuclear war. The UN should have peacekeeping forces paid for by all countries. The US should not be the police for the world. We should maintain a strong well-equipped and trained military, but keep it here and insure that the UN does its job.
We should find a way to have Health Care work at an affordable rate for everyone regulated by the government and run privately which every American Participates in including all government officials and worked elected or appointed.
We should have honest elections without PACS and Super PACS. We should not allow corporate donations for campaigns. A Campaign Sales tax should be used to collect campaign funds. Free TV and Radio Debate time can be arranged on public stations with only costs plus 10% being allocated to these stations.
Elections can be done with honesty and be verified to prevent election fraud.
Term limits should be imposed. No taxes on savings up to 1 million dollars. No Lobbyists. No inheritance tax on anything fewer than 1 million dollars.
We need to value an educated society and make college more affordable and accessible to qualified students on a merit bases and eliminate race, religion, preference and gender from the equation.
We don’t need to re-distribute wealth, we just need to go back to the more equitable tax rates with far fewer loopholes.
We need to regulate fuel costs and develop independency from foreign oil and develop new energy sources that are also environmentally sound.
End lobbyists and let “We The People’s” voice be heard at election time.
Don’t let them scare you by quoting the Deficit issue. It will go away naturally when the economy and the GDP improve with just simple cuts and spending and modestly prioritized revenue increases ( go to Granite-Springs web site and read what Economist Vincent Truglia’s Blogs say at http://www.granite-springs.com/?page_id=155 ).
Basically it is back to the beginning. Lets cut down on GREED and create a society where many can succeed and follow their dreams!
We cannot get frustrated and elect people who think deregulation and cutting taxes for the 1% will create more business opportunities and jobs. That plan failed and it is what helped drive us to the brink of another Great Depression. Why would we be so stupid to try the same thing again and expect a different result? Are those who advocate doing the same thing again so arrogant and not willing to admit their failures that they will preach this to us again believing that we are all stupid? So lets not change horses mid-stream in our recovery. We are on the right track towards a Great Future for all Americans. We’re not stupid and to prove this we will vote out those who do advocate more of what got us in this mess and replace them with people who care about all Americans and want a great future for all!
STOP GREED AND VOTE FOR YOUR & AMERICA’S FUTURE!
Once upon a time there were Eight Republican / Tea Party / Libertarian Candidates all wanting to win the 2012 Presidency in November. Even The Donald considered entering the race, then hosting a debate and now reconsidering entering the race again. But as it stands now two have dropped out (Oops! I mean suspended their campaigns, which means they can still receive campaign contributions, and maybe lift their suspended status and rejoin the clowns. I think the comedy writers are hoping for the two suspended clowns to jump back into there race and even The Donald because they don’t really have to write funny lines when the clowns are dictating the lanes to the writers on a regular basis.
You can’t make this stuff up. If you did and it hadn’t happened no one would believe you. The religious far right extremists are wagging the tail of the main stream Republicans who want all the votes they can get to defeat President Obama in 2012.
These people think anyone is better that Obama and are willing to vote for anyone too. If Adolf Hitler is still alive I hope he has gone deaf!
The issues that are thrown around by these extremists are over the top, ridiculous and based on their own ideologies and the facts be damned.
Did you ever here the one “But Obama Hasn’t done anything”?
Only if you can’t read, hear or see would that be acceptable to anyone. Fortunately most people can read, hear, see, and understand math, science, basic economics and History. These are the Americans who weigh in on things using facts to determine whom best to vote for.
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask Osama Bin Laden which President was in office for eight years while he roamed around a free man and which President was in office when the Navy Seals blew his ass into oblivion and dropped into the sea to sleep with the fish!
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask the Twenty some odd al Qaeda leaders who were killed and or captured while President Obama was President.
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask the 20 – 26 year old children who now are on their parents medical insurance plans if that is helping them.
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask those Soldiers who President Obama presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to if he was sincere or not.
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask the Newly appointed Consumer Watch Dog he just appointed why it took so long.
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask why he got his 2 month Payroll tax extension approved after John Boehner withdrew his Machiavellian, racist, and discriminatory 12 month payroll tax extension plan shoved back up his “where the sun doesn’t shine part” by his own party!
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask the record number of illegal immigrants who have been deported “What Happened?”
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask yourself… Why haven’t I been paying attention and where do I get my information?
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask the US troops who have and are being returned home from that stupid and wrongful war in Iraq that the previous administration made possible. No weapons of mass destruction. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. How many enemies and new terrorists have we created by killing so many Iranians and their families and our soldiers who died for their former President’s arrogance?
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask how come the Bush Tax Cuts for the 1% never produced jobs and why can’t President Obama get Congress to let it expire.
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then ask why have the former Dixie-crats become far right extremists and don’t want a black man to be President or why do they want to eliminate Social Security and Medicare? Do you think racism has anything to do with this? President Johnson signed the Equal Rights Amendment into law and magically the Dixi-crats became Republicans and Tea Partiers!
If President Obama hasn’t done anything yet, then think again! He is on the side of the 99%ers and the 1%ers. All President Obama wants to do is restore the economy and make us all as safe as possible while creating a more equitable balance. We were attacked on 9/11 under the GW Bush Presidency and not under the Obama Watch. So Thank God and President Obama for a better time in US history and hope as we see now that he will no longer tolerate the arrogant Republicans and Tea Partiers. Vote as many Tea Party and Republican people out of office in 2012 and watch what happens this time around! Give us a chance to improve ourselves for our sake and the sake of future generations!
The Fact:
Most Americans are upset about the size of the US Government’s National Debt.
Some will blame the past Bush Administration and some will blame the current administration, but either way no one seems to be happy about it.
The Fear:
Much-ado-about various politicians and organizations for a wide variety of reasons and agendas have bantered around regarding how painful it could be to eliminate or reduce this debt.
The 2012 New Year Relief Gift:
Though my wording on this subject might not be as precise as the words of a skilled and educated Economist would be, the message is the same…. Once the economy rebounds and the GDP grows all that will be needed is to make small amounts of government spending cuts and increase small amounts of revenues (like allowing the special interest Bush Tax Cuts for the 1%ers to expire as originally planned for (they were, after all a temporary tax cut and not meant to be permanent). Then in a few years (3-6) the US National Deficit will reduce drastically or be eliminated providing we don’t have people in office who are determined to create debt for the sole purpose of not being able to fund the programs that they are against like Medicare & Social Security. Or, as a skilled an educated economist told me, “It is simply math and history that proves this point to be true”.
The Bottom Line:
You don’t have to vote out of fear. You can now vote for your future and for the future generations to come. Happy New Year!
“In Good Faith” is Not Just Words!
By Guy Powers
In Good Faith:
1. As an Independent, I always hope the people we elect will do their best for those who they serve (all of us). We owe this good will to them even if we didn’t vote for them. Give them an opportunity to prove themselves before criticizing them. This is Good Faith on the voter’s part.
2. Congress and the Senate would best serve all of us if they acted in Good Faith and worked together with the newly elected Presidents in hopes that the President succeeds in doing what is best for all Americans.
In Bad Faith:
1. All those who act out to complain and ridicule a newly elected President from the day they win an election is in Bad Faith. It is shooting your self in the foot, because if the President fails we all fail. Radicals are too quick to try and destroy a President for the sole purpose of getting the Presidency back the next time around. This is Really Bad Faith!
2. Congress and the Senate do a great disservice to all of us if they act in Bad Faith and refuse to work with the newly elected Presidents just to gain the Presidency back in the next election. When the Congress and the Senate succeed in damaging the President for their self-serving mission of regaining the Presidency they are destroying all of us in the process. This is Extremely Bad Faith!
The Solution:
1. Since John Boehner and Mitch McConnell set out to destroy President Obama form the day he won the election and did nothing for all of us in this extreme act of bad faith we are left with only one choice in the 2012 Presidential Elections, and that is to strike out and punish the Guilty Extreme Bad Faith Congress and Senate People who acted this way. Vote them all out of office and replace them with Democrats who will work with President Obama to help bring back the American Dream for All Of US! Vote for President Obama again and see what he does this time around after having been burned by the opposition!
2. Don’t vote for Right Wing Extremists out of frustration and fear just to vote for anyone else in times of economic stress and global chaos. Anyone is not the answer. Just ask Germans who voted that way in the 1930’s. Look what happened!
3. Get out and drum up the vote, or the extreme self-serving nightmare will win out.
They are doing everything they can to make voting as difficult as possible in Democrat’s areas throughout the country.
Part Two of “The Little Engine That Should”
By Guy Powers
The Little Engine That Should, Could and Would perform his/her work to the peak of efficiency and perfection when he/she feels like a loyal team player (employee). The Little Company that employees the “The Little Engine” would reap the benefits of his/her quality production efforts and so will the employee.
How would this work?
With companies who produce a product or service that has a usual charge for it, it is easy to establish an environment where workers feel a part of the big picture and are happy team players. Adopt an Incentive Based Program and not A Salary Based Program. Here is how it works:
1. Lets say for simplification purposes that the average time it takes and employee to perform a billable task is two hours. And Lets say the worker’s hourly rate is $25.00 per hour. Thereby establishing that the worker is being paid $50.00 to complete this billable product/service task. Lets establish that the company will mark this service up 150% thereby establishing a billable cost to the buyers of $125.00. This will generate a $75 gross profit for the company. This is a key element, so that companies can accurately estimate the cost of their products and services.
2. Once this has been established the worker knows how much their standard rate for each job is to be paid to them by their company (while eliminating his/her salary), he/she begins the process of figuring out the most effective and efficient way to produce the tasks at hand. Once workers realize that they are being paid what they are worth, and reap the benefits for their work, productivity will increase and you find that good to excellent workers may produce their tasks in substantially less time than two hours and yet be paid for two hours and the company will make 3 hours worth of gross profit as well. A “Win-Win” situation.
3. When things get slow, no one gets fired, laid off, down sized or whatever polite term you wish to apply for losing one’s job.
4. What if the task performed by the employee comes back with client requested changes and/or additions. The same type of rate standardization process goes into effect. Something simple may be billed at 15 minutes time and so on.
5. What if a task is returned as unsatisfactory? The employee makes the correction without charging for it.
6. When the hourly billable rates increase, so does the company’s gross profit rate.
7. Managers of each department will charge the company in a similar fashion and the company will make their gross profits in the same manner.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS:
A higher level of quality.
A higher level of productivity.
A great work environment.
Happy Campers.
A Successful Growing Company.
The Little Engine That Should is Working Hard, Happy and Earning more each year than they did before and so is the Company!
Why do I think this method will work so well? Because I worked for a company like this and it was everything I stated.
And yes, I know not all companies can operate this way or public municipalities such as Fire Departments, Police Departments, and Public Schools etc. But, non-the=less there are many companies that would greatly benefit from this “Incentive System”. Just ask The Little Engine That Should!
DEFINITIONS FOR GOVERNING:
TOTALITARIANISM, DICTATORSHIP, DEMOCRACY, SOCIALISM
WITH A CONCLUSION: “WHAT IS THE POINT?”
By Guy Powers
(From Wikipedia)
TOTALITARIANISM: (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. Totalitarian regimes stay in political power through an all-encompassing propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that is often marked by personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror.
The concept of totalitarianism was first developed in a positive sense in the 1920s by the Italian fascists. The concept became prominent in Western anti-communist political discourse during the Cold War era in order to highlight perceived similarities between Nazi Germany and other fascist regimes on the one hand, and Soviet communism on the other
(From Free Merriam-Webster)
DICTATORSHIP:
A government organization or group in which absolute power is concentrated
(From www.Democracy-Building.info)
DEMOCRACY:
U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) defined democracy as:
«Government of the people, by the people, for the people»
Democracy is by far the most challenging form of government – both for politicians and for the people. The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means “rule by the (simple) people”. Rulers created democracies as a reaction to a concentration and abuse of power. The theory of a modern democracy was not formulated until the Age of Enlightenment (17th/18th centuries), when philosophers defined the essential elements of democracy: separation of powers, basic civil rights / human rights, religious liberty and separation of church and state.
(From Free Merriam-Webster)
SOCIALISM
1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.
(Guy Powers Opinion)
CONCLUSION: (WHAT IS THE POINT?)
One might ask….”What is the point of reading all these dictionary definitions? The point is that these words have been bantered around to persuade Americans to think that by having social safety nets in place such as Social Security, Medicare, Government Regulated (not run) Health Care, and perhaps Education that somehow if you support any of these things that you want this country to be a Socialist Country. Well, read the definitions above and see for yourself what the differences are. In my opinion these safety nets are for the “Good of the majority, which out weigh the good of the minority”, (or at lest that is what I was taught and how I was raised).
When Government Regulates for “The Good of The Majority” it under the rule of a Democracy… Period.
When the “Grover Norquist” pledge is signed by elected officials such as most Republicans, Tea Partiers and a few Blue Dog Democrats, it is my opinion that they represent the “Good of the Few at the Expense of The Many”, as they turn our country into a homespun style Dictatorship/Totalitarianism Government “Of The Few, For the Few, By The Few!”
Bottom line: Don’t let the debate be Democracy vs. Socialism, when in fact the real debate is Democracy vs. Dictatorship/Totalitarianism.
The Little Engine That Should!
By Guy Powers
Once Upon a time, there was an engine that worked very well.
Then as time went on and the company grew they elected a governing body to manage it.
Of course there were different philosophies on how to grow and how to preserve the business. This created polarization and endless debates all while they collected ever-increasing salaries, benefits and bonuses. Meanwhile the workers began to grow discontent as they watched their salaries go down and benefits erode. Some lost their jobs as the engine was being neglected and wasn’t working very well. The company had fallen on hard economic times and the bean counters wanted to cut back on expenses. The visionaries disagreed and wanted to buy a new engine from some of the preferred suppliers who had been lobbying for the company to buy more engines from them.
Frustrated by all this and afraid of their future groups began to surface all with different solutions, none of which anyone could agree with. What to do, what to do said the little engine? Am I to be put out to pasture? Surely there must be a way for me to work again!
They all went to sleep that night wondering, “What should we do”.
As the early morning sun rose the next morning everyone woke up to see a giant sized lawnmower placed neatly in the center of the town square with an envelope attached to it.
The little engine looked curiously at the lawnmower, as did the board of governors and the workers. So, the President went over to the giant lawnmower and took the envelope off it. When he opened the envelope it had a note inside which he read quietly to himself.
The he smiled, took a snap shot of the note with his iPhone and put it up on Face Book for all to read. One by one everyone began to look at the message on Face Book. And on by one they began to smile as they read the answer it became clear to all when the note was revealed which said… “Prime the pump. Don’t cut down on fuel expenses now. Then start the little engine up and watch it work again.”
The Moral of the Story is…. Stimulate the Economy now, don’t cut back or things will get worse! The Little Engine Should Work Again!
