How True is This Cartoon: Then and Now?

Moving my writings from another forum which I've closed, I ran across this response to the political cartoon below, sent to me. Then I wondered, in light of the current situation, if the cartoon itself should be updated. The budget deficit under the current Obama administration has been tripled by a runaway Democrat Party controlled Congress in less thank 6 months and they're not finished.

My original answer to the cartoon is still relevant today, so I shall let it stand.

So, what do you think?

Anni

Greenberg cartoon 08/08/2008



My original response dated August 15,2008

Real cute. Ha Ha. I did laugh.

So it kindled my interest.. how true is that cartoon???

First, we need to compare who controls the purse strings in Congress, with who is in the majority leadership there during each year. Truly it's Congress where deficits are controlled. Spending is approved and controlled by Congress and not the President, since the President can only propose a budget, large or small, and he can only veto it when presented on his desk. If Congress can over-ride his veto, most likely the President will sign it.

Here's the Congressional Budget Office record...year by year http://cbo.gov/budget/data/historical.pdf what's missing that I don't have time for is.. which side was in charge each of those years.. I know some but not all.. even with that
what we also have to consider is the domestic and world events that went on at that time which may have needed emergency funding not normally done. Scroll down on the paper for break down the cost of medicare, social security and defense spending. As to who was in majority each year, it's not noted, but there are other sources to fill in these gaps.

As you study the figures, note the record revenues collected since 2004 as I pointed out before (for those who think we don't pay enough taxes)and note year 2000 when the highest earnings were realized from the stock market during the .com era; not everyone went broke when the bubble burst. 2003 was the lowest point in the stock market for the decade so look at the revenue collected that year and then the continued growth of tax income as the economy grew and the stock market grew.

Also note debt held by public during the Clinton years & Carter years so it's not just Reagan and Bush.

By this comparison, Clinton is the worst until 2003 when the Iraq war started and as a side note, the fact that Clinton kept thwarting military budget and therefore reduced our defense spending, we have to question how come his administration outspent his predecessors overall, since you want to compare presidents per this cartoon.

Also, take note of the table : Revenues by Major Source which is an eye opener for those who think Corporations don't pay taxes.

Again also see how in residue of dot com boom, 2000, 2001, 2002 dip in markets and then growth in revenues as the economy recovered. Look at 2006 & 2007 for corporate tax revenues collected during the supposed favoritism toward corporations by tax reductions. Tax reductions started in 2003; the CBO figures bare out that tax reductions work and that people earn more and pay more when tax rates are lowered.


Here's a few more educated democrats point of view with facts: I know it's to 2006 but remember after 2006, Democrats took majority leadership in Congress, so I wouldn't want to start digging around how they handled the final years of the Bush administrations budget.

http://engram-backtalk.blogspot.com/2006/10/update-on-federal-budget-deficit.html

also, please read Clinton's support for budget balance here:

http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1997/TPBUDRES.2.htm

Believe me, I'm not happy with either side in Congress about how they waste money.

Thanks for this... I learned a lot doing the research

Anni

Cold Bucket Magic

It's the hardest time to write; when one is down and feeling like no amount of words will do the magic that can be done with a cold bucket of water while one is sleeping. Unfortunately that cold bucket will only wake-up 1 person per bucket; and we need to wake people up by the thousands, for it will take no less to turn around.

I've been trying to wake people up for many years. The blog is my current medium to try to reach as many as possible, but alas, it's a slow grow, unlike the relentless politicians, social organizers and their publicists, the media, who have countless other agenda driven people carrying forth the Utopian message designed to enslave. I wrote many times before that what we're embracing is not new nor is it a new message, but the people who have not heard it, studied it or lived it, are easily fooled.

My audience is still small and needs to be seeded to regrow year after year, time after time. Freedom and the pursuit of Liberty does not grow on it's own, it needs tending and vigilant care like advised and warned by the writers of our country's foundation. It's of quoted that Benjamin Franklin said: "We founded you a Republic, if you can keep it". No, Mr. Franklin, it seems we could not because as I wrote today on Twitter: "We may be remembered as the highest educated stupid people per square mile in history, who in the end preferred sheepdom to freedom".

I keep reading many who say "2010, 2010 we will take it back". I will be on board, believe me, even though I feel we are on the raft and they're on the cruiser, yet I don't believe for a minute that, what took the socialist hijackers of our country years to achieve will be let go on a whim of an election. I also don't believe that the agenda is finished.

World governance is the phrase being used more and more frequently and seriously by leaders of the world and, in case you are wondering, there is no room for a strong nation of freedom loving people, who know its true meaning, under world governance. To achieve total world governance the agenda must start with no less than the true breakdown of American society to which end we are well on our way now with the countless bills being passed in Congress designed to do the deed.

What we need, NOW, is to halt each and every bill currently in front of Congress. No more passing of any bills without full reading & investigation.

What we need, NOW, is to halt approval of any appointees until we fully examine their intention, clearly in front of Americans. None of the mutual admiration speeches we are currently forced to listen to and no more gutless questions by gutless representatives.

What we need NOW, is no less than a march on Washington to halt the agenda.

What we need NOW, is for millions to wake up before it's too late!

What we need NOW, is that "cold bucket magic" to wake up the lulled, the appeased, and the apathetic.

What we need NOW is for YOU to wake up AMERICANS, before it's too late.



Thanks for reading and for passing this on!

Anni

Speaking of Taxes, Part V: Tax "Speak" Explained

Welllll, sort of. Fact is I'd probably need as many pages as the tax code to fully explain taxes; and therein lies the rub. Ever since inception, Congress has done nothing but try and fix, simplify, close loopholes in and explain the tax code. That's almost 100 years worth of legalese! Just the sheer enormity of the wasted trees makes me want to report them to the EPA but, alas, the EPA has to be ashamed of their own paper mountain.

Congress writes and passes the tax laws yes, Congress and NOT the President; most of whom don't control their own spending, but know quite well how to increase the balance of their own accounts while decreasing yours. It's the same bunch of people who know how to vote themselves a pay raise, year after year claiming they need it to cover the cost of living increases. They do it just before Christmas recess during which time you're in a charitable mood or are too busy to notice.

Every year they promise to correct the tax laws, loopholes and unjust taxation and each year they increase paper waste. And so they come up with term that challenges the most intelligent among us to understand and like the other laws they enact it's subject to numerous interpretations guaranteeing another tax code correction somewhere down the line.

Since tax information is so much in the news, mainly about how much we should or should not pay, I thought I'd simplify a few terms most confusing to taxpayers as to their true meaning or what Congress is really saying:

Tax Break = If we give you a break, you owe us one so don't hold us accountable.

Tax Cut = Applies only to those who qualify, usually the people who don't have to pay taxes anyway. For the rest of you, a part of your anatomy will be collected to pay for the deficits created giving those tax cuts.

Tax Refund = You lent us your money for free and we spent it already so you should be glad we give it back to you.

Tax Credit = Government Redistribution Program; or those who work more pay for those who don't. This credit should not be confused with a loan like the kind you have to repay with interest.

"Nigh", they say, "It's not us that's keeping it from you, it's the other party who's at fault, so elect us if you wish for that cut and spending cutback!"; and elected they get, time after time. Then once in office, like for poor ole' Charley Brown, Lucy keeps pulling that football. Will we ever learn?

Put simply they don't want to give you a break because that would mean they'd have to tighten their own favorite charity which is their re-election platform entitled: "I brought home the bacon!"

The fortunate part of the Internet is that you can virtually look up anything you want to know. The unfortunate part is that there is a lot of misinformation out there. It is also unfortunate that many who swear they know about who pays most of the tax and swear they know where most of it is spent, don't bother to use the first source of information; the place where the spending takes place and all bookkeeping is kept. In other words how many amongst you are willing to look it up and study the Congressional Budget Office site or http:/www.cbo.gov//budget to get the accurate information. (That is until this last April, going forward I'm almost certain it will be misinformation.)

The main information we are seeking here is the annualized historical budget data entitled Revenues, Outlays, Deficits, Surpluses, and Debt Held by the Public, 1968-2007. Notice it says Held by the Public? That's everyone who works and earns in the USA! And it's the most revealing figure why they need to continue to collect taxes from you and I and it's also the most revealing about why they will never cut spending if they are to survive. "Survival" here means keep the government bureaucracies in place forevermore without which they cannot justify being in office.

In short, they'll never cut taxes really, and they'll never be transparent about them either. In fact they keep passing hidden taxes under such titles as fees, dues, licenses, etc., and you keep paying. It's when you stop paying when they'll start paying attention to you, again.

Speaking of Taxes, Part IV: It's Sheer Torture

Since Congress in focusing so much on inhumane torture being conducted on the captured combat prisoners I thought I'd address the cruelty of an unjust and inhumane treatment by Congress designed to torture us, the taxpayers.

Please consider that age old torture that is called the Chinese Water Torture where a drop of water is dripped at regular intervals on the forehead of the unfortunate victim. The difference between the Chinese Water Torture and Water boarding is that those who administer water boarding can pretty well tell if you are near death but those that administer the drops cannot tell when you will go mad. So, as a victim of water boarding you experience fear of death but as a victim of Chinese water torture you experience actual madness; permanent or temporary depends on your psyche.

Drip. It always amazes me how quickly and easily a new tax is approved. Always cast in a positive light of promises that will be fulfilled once the tax is enacted. They always embellish it and explain how much you need to pay those taxes for the good of you, your offspring and country. They tell you it will pay for all the "needs" that government owes you for paying taxes. Isn't that an oxy-moron? Nevertheless it's indoctrinated into your psyche that without government entitlements, you would not survive.

Drip. It also amazes me how easily taxpayers approve of what Congress does. Why on earth do they re-elect their representatives time after time if that's not the case? It's because the easiness with which tax increases are approved by Congress are also easily embraced by the people electing the representatives who do the deed.

Drip. I can't count the many times I've heard someone say that they are perfectly willing to pay more taxes because it would do good here or there and after all it should be paid for by sinners doing this or that. Of course once enacted, no publicity, no investigation, no light shed on it will reveal the waste nor the corruption behind the spending of it. Deep pockets are available and you will only hear on the topic again when they want to collect more of the same. Unfortunately once a tax code is written, it is never unwritten .. it's rewritten ad-nauseum to help close "loopholes", but like a bell, it will not be un rung.

Drip. Tax or budget cuts on the other hand are never discussed with a positive attitude but always with a threatening one. If we have to cut here/there then you will have to do without this/that which "we" have provided for you. Or we have to cut everywhere (except our perks, pensions and salaries) and you will suffer the consequence. The population is threatened to have their police, firefighter and teachers reduced in their own communities. Never is there serious thought given to reducing government spending.

Drip. When they do finally agree to cut some waste or another, they announce it with such glee: "See, we just "saved" you money! Be thankful to us! Look what we've done for you!" (This done, usually just prior to an election.) Of course out of billions 100mil is a mere pittance, but it's given so much publicity that you are ready to believe that the new saviour has at last arrived.

Drip. What is never emphasized is that tax cuts are notoriously stamped with an expiration date and they are very rarely retroactive but usually put on "next" year's tax cod with a myriad of caveats .

Drip. Now they want to introduce more taxation into the citizens lives. The VAT..or the Value Added Tax. Like all sales taxes will only go up and will never go away.

Drip. Soda Tax. A sinner tax for those that drink that sugar laden beverage.

Drip. Fat Tax? For obese Americans...the thought being they cost more.

Drip. You drive too far/too much tax. The mileage meter tax Oregon introduced.

Drip. Footprint tax. Voluntary so far at San Francisco Airport but I bet it won't be long before it's mandatory. Those smart meters they put on your energy consumption will make sure you get taxed for footprint usage.

Drip. Breathing tax. You're killing the environment by exhaling CO2.

Drip. Preservation tax. To preserve everything except human beings.

Drip. Health tax on top of the already collected Medicare tax. Did you know that initially Medicare was not a separately collected payroll tax? The behemoth gets bigger

Drip. _______- Fill in the blank tax.. Think I'm kidding? The trouble with taxing specialized sinners is that eventually you'll be on the list.

And so it goes Drip. Drip. Drip. It's downright torturous.

The drips have been torturing the taxpayers for a long time and it's going to get much worse so I am seriously wondering when the taxpayers will finally go mad? Believe me, the Government won't let us die because they need us alive to keep paying; but will they be able to predict when we will go totally mad?

Think not.. as the British could not.

Thanks for Reading

The Future You Wanted?

I have news for you. The whole idea behind the persecution and the proposed (pushed) prosecution of former legal advisers and leaders of the Bush administration is to stop people from enrolling in such time honored activities as espionage leading to the defense of our freedoms and safety.

Let me expand: by being totally "open" to the world, in other words by revealing our secrets to the world, it leaves open the door of not only the prosecution of our servicemen and servicewomen in the CIA, FBI and other armed services, but also the hatred, the persecution and safety of their existence. It is the calculated way of bringing down anyone who may be doing their job to leave the service for fear of their livelihood if not their very lives. The ones that will replace them will be the "yes" men/women whose job will be in name only. The supposed safety they'll protect will be the safety of the government carrying out our takeover to the fullest measure.

If you think we'll have another honest election in the USA according to the rules of the Constitution, think again. In writing the "Whoever Controls the Media" I pointed out that the Internet is the next media to conquer which has already been conquered to a large extent by this administration with Google on their side, it will be easier. Yes, Google the gathering media that will have any secrets recorded and will happily pass it on to the government agencies that ask, just like they did in China. They refused to reveal child pornographers and molesters during the Bush administration, but when it came to protecting the rights of people in China they folded and turned over information on people that were inquiring and inquisitive about Democracy and the ways of the Republic. Will they do it if Pres. Obama asks? Remember they endorsed Pres. Obama, sit and sat on his advisory board so they know the agenda.

If you really believe that they will not control you by 2010 election time, you better consider all Senate Bill 773 and all the other restrictive parenting bills being pushed fast and furious to turn this country fast to being fully Socialized. I honestly don't believe there's enough time to stop it because the people have elected a virtual monopoly government and they are succeeding in cutting out the other side of all relevant discussions. The current Health Care Bill is the perfect example of this being ram shod into law without due process of the opinion of opposition, nor of people being able to debate its merits and flaws. Nay, without people deciding whether they want it! This power grabbing, people controlling legislation is only the beginning


There's no leadership currently from any front willing to take on this task here and abroad and therefore, we'll go down silently into dust. The only person speaking up is Vaclav Klaus the President of the Czech Republic who they dismiss for being from a small country and because his agenda is the opposite side of this world sweeping move toward oppression. Hear his speech a couple of years back....


Those who lived it, experienced it, lived through it know nothing yet those who write and theorize about how well it will be done this time know everything, according to the media and even according to the current leadership of the European Union. What is said is dismissed totally yet proven correct within minutes in the same Parliament. Read and hear this and tell me our government isn't doing the same as Vaclav Klaus warns.



If you ever wonder how what happened under Hitler could have happened under the noses of honest, caring citizens, you are living it now.. this is how:

• You believe the way to peace is by being "brought together" under one leader and belief
  

• You think the Man should be given a chance.. even after he has proven himself treasonous by revealing secrets to the enemy. Yes, we are still at war with the Taliban!

• You think what is happening is the result of Bush therefore it will play out to normal after he corrects all the wrongs Bush has done. Blame someone else for our woes syndrome.

• You think what the man does is weird but OK because he has a right to his opinion. Therefore it's OK that he embraces the likes and ideas of the Weather Underground, Rev Wright, Chavez, idealizes Castro, bows to the Saudi King; yet snubs our ally the Brits by returning Churchill's bust (a gift to the White House not to him).

• You let him slide on his promises .. especially the one about being able to examine each bill he signs before he signs it to let your voices be heard. Even those who wrote the bills don't have time to read it. Have you spoken up? Has President Obama, Senator Reid or Speaker Pelosi asked for or listened to any opinions?

• You think you have time
  

• You think you have time until the next election.
  

• You think you have time....until they knock on your door and silently lead you away to a re-education center; that's when you discover that the CIA, FBI and the Armed Services have turned on their own people and now you are considered the enemy for the reason that you were brought up knowing the original Constitution of the United States of America.

You think I'm too dramatic? Well, maybe. In "Biting the Hand That Feeds" I point out that once control is given, the government does not ask for permission again. It has been proven time and again: just look at the Taxation system, Social Security system, Educational system... etc etc etc. I am sad and angry and have been seeing the steady deterioration for well over a decade. You may think it was in my crystal ball or you can finally hear us: that those who lived it, just know.

Thanks for Reading
Please share this with others.

Whoever Controls the Media

Most of you know as a matter of fact if you studied any history of war, that those who control the media control the nation. Media control was used by everyone during modern day wars as the way to convince a people to any takeover, leadership or control. It's no accident that many coups were actually delivered and done over the radio waves.

Radio as means of communication was masterfully used by Hitler, Churchill and FDR. When the main stream changed to Television, it was mastered by new leaders beginning with JFK, and used well indeed by Reagan. But the difference is that no head of state of central government controlled the media in the USA. Media control in the countries under such leaders as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro and now Chavez has never been experienced here in the USA.....until now.

Those of you who have enjoyed free speech, free media and take it as a matter of course in the USA do not know nor would you recognize if it slowly subtlety changed. But those of us coming from the other side recognize the changes almost immediately. It has been slow and creeping over many years, but now it's obviously controlled and if you listen to more than one source you can still hear the discrepancies, omissions and downright lies as they become more and more daring and predominant.

One of the most obvious clues is when politicians make outrageous and obvious lies yet the media lets it lie. (Pun intended) Other ways you'll notice it when there are obvious omissions of news and the most blatant is when previous news is altered. Another way is when you notice how easily the media dismisses a counter argument to a point, if they air it at all. Recent example is the dismissing of VP Cheney's knowledge about who were briefed about the handling and questioning of captured terrorists, and what results were derived by the Congressional approved torture techniques. The former VP would know more about the subject because he was there than those that were given more media time.

Now we reached and reaching another plateau; one that is the most obvious and most masterful. There's no dispute about President Obama's masterful use of the "new" media: the Internet and specifically social networking during his campaign. Now however he's working overtime to control the rest of the media while others of his circle are fast working on controlling Cyberspace. Witness the recently introduced Senate Bill 773 the Cybernet Security Act of 2009. It is nothing but the most blatant danger to our freedom of speech, freedom of thought and privacy.

This Senate Bill is being pushed to be passed quickly and implemented in a year. Please read it and please do work to stop it. It creates a "Cyber Police" bureaucracy under the guise that we need it to protect our infrastructure but it goes far beyond that. It will allow regulation, unlawful spying and give power to shut down all or parts of the Internet on a moments notice on top of which it creates a neighborhood Cyberspace watch program.

You may wonder why such hurry to implement something so invasive and you need not look far. 2010 is touted to be one of the most important midterm elections for the Senate and House the control of the Internet could play a large role in distribution and availability of information on all candidates as they become more savvy in the usage of it. Remembering that this truth is not lost on the President nor should it be lost on you:

THOSE WHO CONTROL THE MEDIA CONTROL THE WORLD!

The Cybernet IS the new media!


Thanks for reading.
Please share with others.

Captain Phillips Who Should You Thank?

Read it through and weep for the Navy Seals
True heroes as they are, they never receive credit.
Yet put again in harms way more dangerous than need be,
And ruled by a man in the White House, who we should all question his loyalty.

Anni