Dear Mr. President, In regards to the so-called "entitlements" . . .

@BarackObama

Dear Mr. President,

In regards to the so-called "entitlements" the Wall-Street-created "Campaign To Fix The Debt" lobby wants to cut ie: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, in order to save themselves from paying more (or in many cases ANY taxes), and these "shared sacrifices" yourself and others keep talking about -- I do not see the necessity at this time for "shared sacrifice" from the Middle Class.

Here's why: It has been reported that around 93 percent of the benefit in this recovery has been gained by the wealthy and big corporations. Meanwhile, the middle class and the impoverished have continued to suffer. Many have lost their jobs, their savings, and their homes. Poverty has increased.

Mr. President, the Middle Class and the indigent have ALREADY sacrificed. We've DONE our share! Now it's time for the wealthy to step up to the plate and take their turn and do their share. This means corporations that pay no taxes, as well as corporations that pay no taxes and additionally receive subsidies from the U.S. Government.

Since the beginning of this recession, there has been no "shared sacrifice". Wall St. was bailed out and has reaped record profits while the rest of America still suffers, still sacrificing.

Let those who have already sacrificed be protected from further financial harm and let us demand that those who have benefited most from the bailouts and the recovery (namely Wall St. and the very wealthy) step up to the plate and take their rightful turn at "sacrifice".

Please leave our Medicare and Social Security alone! We Middle Class have done more than our share of sacrificing already!

REFERENCE article:

9 Greedy CEOs Trying to Shred the Safety Net While Pigging Out on Corporate Welfare

http://www.alternet.org/economy/9-greedy-ceos-trying-shred-safety-net-while-pigging-out-corporate-welfare

(NOTE: Parts of this letter were adapted from other DU posts and links)

Just a few words about the employer intimidation going on re: voting

What you do in the voting booth is YOUR business - and no one else's. Not your friends. Not your family. Not your wife/husband/partner. Not your employer. No one! It's private.

Unless your employer demands to see your market ballot and to know how you voted -- THEY DON'T KNOW. And that means you can vote how YOU want to vote. If your employer asks, tell them what they want to hear and leave it at that.

Who you voted for is none of anyone else's business, anyway. It is personal, private information.

Your employer cannot find out who you voted for without going to court to get the record of your vote -- your completed ballot. I've never heard of anyone doing that, for one thing. And for another, ballots do not have identifying info on them ie: name.

I suppose in some cases, employers could look up your voter registration and just fire all Dems - but I'd think it would hurt THEM to do that since they'd have to get rid of probably half of their workforce. Turnover costs money no matter what the reason.

There is a limit to the damage that can be done by these petulant threats to employees about who they should vote for (threats put out on the suggestion of Mitt Romney, we've learned).

This is nothing but another voter intimidation tactic. Don't fall for it, folks. They cannot stop you from voting and they cannot stop you from voting for whoever YOU want to vote for and they cannot find out who you voted for - not without a lot of trouble and expense - if at all.

So VOTE and vote the way YOU want. Because the only person who knows how you voted is YOU.

Badly-written rant about what's at stake here in 2012

Romney's business was Bain, and success meant making money for its shareholders - at any cost. Even at the cost of shutting down huge plants and decimating lives and local economies to do it.

But wait a minute here. Is Bain the anomoly? Are they some exception because they do/have done this?

Newsflash: That's all most businesses care about and especially big corps - making profit and big money for their CxOs and shareholders - AT ANY COST to other people, the economy, the environment.

They don't care.

They don't care how they do it or who they hurt in the process. Because they have no conscience. They have no conscience because they. are. not. people.

There are however, people who also have no conscience. We call them psychopaths. Mitt Romney is probably one of them. George W. Bush was probably another. The Koch Brothers? No doubt.

Look out. These people and entities run. the. world. And they are ONE STEP from having complete control of the United States.

That is what this election is about. They want it. They want it BAD. Look at all the money they're spending to get it.

Will "we the people" (the ones with consciences and mortgages to pay who do the work for them and who they feed off of) stop them from this corporate coup?

Because I'm telling you if we do not stop them WE. ARE. DONE. The United States will officially be US, Incorporated. Everything run by corporations for profit. Not just healthcare, which is bad enough, but the prisons, water systems, school systems, libraries, transportation systems, road and bridge maintenance - everything - owned and run by corporate entities who only care about profit, not people. ALEC exists to do just that. Privatize EVERYTHING. Including the U.S. government.

Oh you might think that's a good thing. After all "big government = bad", right? Well, actually wrong. Keep reading.

Privatization IS a good thing - for THE BIG CORPORATIONS.

But it's not for the rest of us.

Bain is just the tip of the iceberg. They are the epitome of the bigger issue here.

Listen: This is the huge moral issue of our time. Not abortion. Not gays. Those things are just distractions from the real problem: The unmitigated love of and pursuit of money and profit at all cost to humans, society, economies.

In a word: GREED. The love of money is the root of all evil. This is true. And we are faced with the biggest moral choice we've ever made in the history of our nation. Right now. And many people don't even realize it.

Why do you think they hate regulations? Because regulations force them to care. Sometimes regulations make it hurt THEM to hurt others for profit. They don't like that. But - that's the only way they will STOP.

Not stop making profits. No one wants that. But regulations are the the only way we have to make them STOP HURTING PEOPLE, local and national economies, society, public health, and the environment in order to do make their profits.

It's that way for all psychopaths (or whatever conscienceless entity in question). It's the only thing that makes them stop hurting someone else to get what they want --it has to hurt THEM to hurt others. It's the only way they "get" it. It's the only thing they understand.

Corporations can make profits and be successful while also being socially responsible and moral. While also caring. We've seen some of them do it. But Bain Capitol certainly was not one of them. And sadly, most of them are not. And the worst ones want to own and run America.

Bain is just part of a bigger issue. It's the epitome of THE bigger moral issue here: A country and a world run by pure GREED and "I got mine fuck you"-ishness.

It's IMMORAL. It's unsustainable. It's DEADLY. But it will make Bain Capitol, AT & T, Exxon-Mobil, the Koch Bros, and the rest really happy.

Just one more step - the 2012 election - and they'll OWN IT ALL.

That's what they want in 2012. Are we going to give it to them? Our lives, our country, our government, our health, our children's future? All of it? Complete control -- to Exxon-Mobil, Sheldon Adelson, Koch Bros, et al?

Is it what's best for the rest of us? Is it what's best for our economy, our environment, our families, our future? No public services at all. All our tax dollars go to support big corporations who operate everything that USED to be public - and they do it purely for PROFIT and almost completely unregulated. That's what ALEC exists to promote - and guess what? It's working because no one has stopped them. What's ALEC? Look here: http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

ALEC is pushing, in the states, voter suppression, privatization of every public service in existence for corporate profit - even the USPS, massive deregulation, massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporate entities, massive gutting of collective bargaining rights. They do this though "model" legislation given to them and written by - CORPORATIONS.

But wait. WE THE PEOPLE didn't elect these corporations. Why are they writing our laws? They are not our representatives!

Well they are writing our laws. HUNDREDS of them and they've passed in state houses all across this country. All done in secret, without most voters knowledge or awareness.

If they sell some drug or device (reference some recent ALEC "model" legislation) that makes sick or kills people - they're not liable. If their roads or bridges collapse and people die, they're not liable. If they provide shitty or no service, too bad. You still have to pay your bill in full and you can complain to their customer service department -- in India. They're not liable. If your water is horrendously expensive and contaminated and your air too filthy to breathe - they're not liable. They're just there to make and rake money off of the public - to make profits. That's it.

YOU are the host upon which the corporate parasite feeds. And your children, your parents and your Earth. And when they've bled you dry? Drop dead. When you are no longer of use to the Corporate State, your life is no longer of any value.

Why do you think they've not use for actual healthCARE in the United States (not health "insurance" - healthCARE)? Because this is their attitude. Mark my words. Alan Grayson said it and they called him "crazy". But he's not crazy. He's RIGHT. Their healthcare plan is: don't get sick or hurt. If you do, die quickly.

Talk about "Entitled". Talk about "dependent". Talk about "refusing to take responsibility for lives". Well. There you go. Don't you think it's Corporate America that has this problem in spades? It is. And now, they want to own and run the United States.

2012 is the year in which they intend to complete their corporate coup.

That is where we need to be looking - that is where the fingers of blame ought be pointed. Griping about "greedy" Grandma collecting her social security (that she paid into all her life) isn't the problem. Griping about some imagined "47%" that feed off the public trough and allegedly haven't paid in (Our veterans have paid with their service, our seniors paid into Medicare and SS all their lives) isn't the problem.

Our big corporations are the guiltiest of public parasitism - with their taxless profits and huge government subsidies all while they ship our jobs elsewhere - and their "model" legislation they've written and fed to our legislators across the country. And that is why they furiously point the finger at US -- to distract from the corporate coup they're conducting right under our noses.

But WE are not the issue here.

See, big government ISN'T the problem. BIG CORPORATIONS are the problem. They are controlling our government. That's the problem. Governments should be under the control of the people, not big corporate entities that exist to make big profits at any cost.

In 2012 - will WE THE PEOPLE begin to take back control of our elected officials from them?

It's time. And it's our LAST chance to stop them from controlling it all.

This "big government" bullshit is just that: Bullshit. It's another distraction designed to keep people from looking at the real culprits - the BIG CORPORATIONS that CONTROL our government. 'Cause honey, that's where the problem is.

We are ONE STEP from this new gilded age where corporations and the very wealthiest own, run and control everything. Including YOUR government. That means YOU have no voice or choice -- in anything. It's not YOUR country anymore. You're just the host the corporate parasite feeds off of.

THIS is what the 2012 election is about. Either you want a government that represents ALL PEOPLE or you want a government that is 110% controlled and run by and for CORPORATIONS and the very wealthiest.

Careful now and don't be distracted by bullshit. I'll say it again: This is the moral issue of our time - unmitigated GREED - not abortion or gays or whatever. Those are meant to distract the public from the corporate coup going on right under their noses.

Election 2012 is about whether we want to give complete and permanent control of our government to corporations. Like Bain Capital. That's it. It's about privatizing the United States of America. Putting it completely, once and for all, in corporate (not public) hands.

Just look at them trying to buy themselves a President (Romney) - how much money have they spent buying this guy? Sheldon Adelson, the Koch Brothers, etc.

Meanwhile, most of Obama's donations come from me, my mother, my neighbors and friends in $25 or $50 increments. In other words Obama's money comes from PEOPLE.

The choice is clear. Please. Don't be distracted by bullshit. Pay attention. AND VOTE.

So GWB kept us safe, eh?

So GWB kept us safe, eh? Listen...do you hear them? Braying like some possessed religious cult.

Excuse me? George W. Bush DID NOT "keep us safe". These people, these propagandists are NOT going to rewrite THIS history. Not for me. Because I REMEMBER that day.

HE. KNEW. That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw those planes fly into those buildings and it remains my primary thought about 9/11 - the heartbreak of knowing that it certainly could have been prevented had we elected (rather than having selected for us by a partisan court) a competent and conscience-possessed LEADER.

The man who led the country before Bush was out of office by the time the attacks happened no longer had any control over these events or methods of preventing them.

And George W. Bush ignored that former President's warnings about al Queda and immediately cancelled the daily meetings President Clinton used to have regarding their activity inside our country.

Now, you can call me whatever you want to call me. I've been called every name in the book. You'll have to make up new ones to surprise or hurt me. But I'm telling you that George W. Bush DID NOT keep this country "safe". Quite the contrary.

And I WILL NOT sit silently by while his propagandists try to rewrite history every 9/11.
_ _ _ _ _

CIA Documents Confirm that Bush Administration Ignored Repeated Warnings about Osama bin Laden Attack Plans

http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/cia-documents-confirm-that-bush-administration-ignored-repeated-warnings-about-osama-bin-laden-attack-plans?news=844661

Bush held up plan to hit Bin Laden

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/aug/05/afghanistan.usa1

Clinton Told Bush That Bin Laden Top Security Threat, Time Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7JlpJ_EHfAA&refer=us

The Bush White House Wad Deaf to 9/11 Warnings:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/opinion/the-bush-white-house-was-deaf-to-9-11-warnings.html?_r=1

I'm telling you HE. KNEW. And he did NOTHING.

Furthermore, it took BARACK OBAMA 13 years later to finally eliminate what should have been Bush's primary and ONLY target both before and after 9/11.

And it took BARACK OBAMA to finally END the needless and hideously expensive war (in terms of both dollars and lives) that Bush subsequently started in Iraq. This needless killing spree was based purely on pretentious lies and done for nothing but political and profitmaking purposes. And it had NOTHING to do with 9/11 although it was presented to the American people as something that had everything to do with it.

How many of the 9/11 hijackers were from Iraq or Afghanistan?

ZERO.

They were mostly from Saudi Arabia, the remainder were from UAE and Lebanon.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/02/06/saudi.htm

I'm telling you this false narrative and this attempt to rewrite our nation's history will NOT continue with me and I will not allow it to stand. Especially not on days like today.

George W. Bush did NOT keep this nation safe.

He inexplicably (to a sane mind) ignored warnings from our previous President, from his own national security team, from his own FBI and CIA officials, from multiple other nations, and from his own advisors and his own PDB(s).

HE. KNEW. And yet he did NOTHING to keep this nation safe.

Worse, he subsequently dragged us into a needless and very expensive war based purely on lies.

Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline

If Mr. Bush had a conscience, he'd be ashamed for what he's done - and for what he failed to do - deliberately or otherwise.

But as is, it's only the rest of us who REMEMBER and feel the shame of what this man has done in our nation's name - and the pain for all those who lost their lives in these needless and preventable events.

My heart resides with those who died. And my anger remains focused on the one man who could have prevented it -- but inexplicably - didn't - and then worse, went on to make sure others needlessly died in Iraq, too.

That is all.

How to have an opinion on women's reproductive rights

"us people" . . .

Ann Romney calls those demanding more of the Romneys' tax returns "you people".

Condescending much, Mrs. Romney?

Someone should inform Mrs. Romney if "us people" are going to pay OUR hard-earned tax dollars for the Romneys to live in OUR White House and pay their salaries and benefits, then "us people" are essentially their •employers•.

If The Romneys don't want to submit to a financial background check + drug test & any other vetting that employers typically do before hiring someone, then perhaps the Romneys shouldn't get the JOB.

And "Us people" would be just fine w/ that.

Trayvon Martin is dead because he was wearing a hoodie? Bullshit.

Geraldo (or anyone else) citing the fact that Treyvon Martin was wearing a hoodie as the (or a) reason he was murdered is pure horseshit.

Here's why: This is just like saying a woman was raped because she wore a short skirt. Or, because she was walking on a certain street or walking at a certain time of day.

It doesn't make a damn bit of difference. What all this is - is a way to blame the victim for the violent behavior of criminals.

I doesn't matter what Treyvon was wearing or where he was walking. It doesn't matter what a rape victim was wearing or where she was walking. Neither deserves to be the target of a violent crime. Period.

What matters is that these crimes go unpunished and the perpetrators get away while our society REFUSES to hold them responsible for THEIR behavior - instead busily blaming the victim.

George Zimmerman is still walking free. Treyvon Martin is dead and Geraldo is making excuses for him. And this shit happens all over the U.S. every day. This particular case just happened to get on the radar.

While these almighty American Taliban men in the U.S. capitol and in the various states worry about what women do with their little uteruses and who pays for it, actual lives are prematurely ended or ruined every damn day - with a whole lot of impunity, unabated and most often, unnoticed.

Hate crimes.

You black? You're a target. You a woman? You're a target. You gay? You're a target. I could go on....

When is somebody going to worry about that? When will the American Taliban's "pro-life" asses gonna worry about THAT? The need to get their high and mighty noses out of women's lady-parts and DO something about actually saving some lives instead of making a lame-ass pretense of it.

They can start when they •stop• blaming victims for the criminals' behavior.

NO Parasites for President

WHY does this man - Willard Romney - want to be President?

Consider the following in regards to Mr. Romney:

1) He refused to serve in his country's military. So did his father. So did his sons. Why, if they're such great, devoted, patriotic Americans who deserve to be America's "First Family", did they not serve?

2) He refuses to pay the same tax rate as everyone else on his huge income and profits and in fact his company sent lobbyists to Washington to ensure that HE would never have to pay more than 12 - 15%, if that. And he still whines that that is too much! Everyone else pays around 20 - 35%, or more.

3) He doesn't believe that American jobs are worth anything and doesn't give a damn if Americans even have jobs. He worked to eliminate them. For profit. HIS profit. WHAT is important to him? It certainly isn't the United States of America. So why does he want to be President?

4) If he becomes President, who will he represent? I'll tell you who: He will represent (and is the poster boy for) one percent of America. The very richest amongst us. That is all.

What about the rest of us? Well, here's an example . . . (thanks riverwalker - http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002251189)

We know Romney's family does not believe in serving in the military.

You can say "OK, nothing wrong with that". And there isn't -- unless you are a hawk that fully supports a war that others have to fight. Civil War, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq 2, Afghanistan, etc.

No Romney has ever served. Ever.

In 2007 when asked why his 5 healthy trust-fund sons did not fight in the war he supported, he answered with some stupid Winnebago comment - and tossed the crumb that he "personally contributed $25,000 to various organizations that support military personnel".

Keep in mind that Willard Romney makes that much by 10:00 am EVERYDAY in interest alone.

By 2007, when he made the statement, nearly 4000 US troops had died in Iraq, not including Afghanistan.

>>$25,000 divided by 4000 comes to about $6.25. Six dollars and twenty-five cents.<<

So there you go. And so I ask again. WHAT about the rest of us?

And I ask again, WHY does this man - Willard Romney - want to be President? It's quite evident that he has no respect, regard for, or loyalty to the very nation he says he wants to lead -- the same nation that helped himself and his father amass their vast ocean of personal wealth at bargain basement tax rates at the expense of the rest of us and our own economic security. Like the rest of his family, he refused to serve in the military, offering pittances and pathetic excuses instead. But he wants to "serve" in the Oval Office? Serve WHAT? Considering his record, I can only assume that would mean serving himself and the rest of the 1%. Serving them our lunch. Our economic stability, our futures and our lives would continue to be feasted upon by these Beasts of Greed so that they can amass even more privilege, power and wealth at the expense of everyone else.

Again. Still.

He is not a leader. He is a parasite upon this nation just like all the other parasites who own and control this country from Wall Street and from corporate boardrooms. Those who sent swarms of lobbyists to DC in the past and who continue to do so now to ensure our government does their bidding -- and only their bidding, to the exclusion of most of the rest of America.

That isn't "leadership". It's GREED.

Leaders serve. To serve means to GIVE, not just take, like a parasite. To be a leader is to be the polar opposite of Willard Romney and his family are, or have been. To say he is not fit to lead the United States is an understatement. His entire life has been spent - like the rest of the 1% - bleeding the rest of us dry.

People like Romney like to refer to the middle class and poor who are struggling and partake of public assistance as "parasites". But wait - who are the real parasites here?

Somebody has to pay the taxes Romney and the rest of the 1% doesn't. That means everyone else pays them - or they simply get added to the national debt. What about those millions of jobs Romney and the rest of his wealthy 1% friends have eliminated or sent out of the country in the past several decades in order to fatten their bank balances and bottom lines, thereby driving the middle class into poverty and the poor even further into poverty. Yet simultaneously, they all want to cut public assistance and burn the social safety net from beneath those they've sent hurling into it.

That isn't "leadership". It's GREED. And it sure as hell isn't "serving" anything, except themselves.

NO Parasites for President.




RE: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/questions-about-romneys-sons-and-military-service/

My response to "rape is a gift" Rick Santorum

Here's a petition to ignorant control-freak Rick Santorum regarding his remarks about pregnancy and rape: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/dont-punish-rape-with-pregnancy/

My response (somewhere in the petition many pages back and I've edited it a bit since):