Those patriotic Tax-Cutting Conservative Republicans Vs. those darned liberal Tax & Spend Democrats!

We are continuously confronted with the dichotomy of ‘Tax & Spend’ Democrats and ‘Conservative’ Republicans. If you subscribe to labels, sound bites, and doctrinal hype it seems very obvious who does what. Who spends the country into the ground, and who are the fiscally conservative bunch out to rescue the Republic.

Why, you ask, are Democrats always demonized as liberals who would spend every cent you have and then some, and who would burden our succeeding generations for centuries to come? And why do Republicans always portray themselves as fiscal conservatives who only want to cut taxes and needless spending?

But, are these the realities? It's pretty mind-boggling what we discover when we take a good long, sober look at the actual truth of ‘what really is’.

Let’s cut to the chase. What is the actual, literal truth about the so-called ‘Conservatism’ of the Republican Party and the ‘Tax & Spend’ proclivities of the Democrats? If you have bought into all the partisan hype, you will be totally surprised and blown away. But, if you like to turn over rocks to look for yourself to see what is underneath, you may already have a pretty good notion of the truth.

Turns out, the only real mystery is how the myths of ‘Conservative Republicans’ and ‘Tax & Spend Democrats’ ever came to be in the first place!

The fact is that fiscally ‘Conservative Republicans’ are nothing of the sort, and that ‘Tax & Spend Democrats are actually far more fiscally responsible. Hard to believe? Consider *this:

1. Every Republican administration IN HISTORY has increased the national debt;

2. Since 1946, Democratic presidents increased the national debt an average of 3.2% per year. The Republican presidents increased at an average of 9.2% per year. Republican Presidents out borrowed and spent Democratic presidents by a three to one ratio, proving Republicans are the real ‘borrow and spend’ party;

3. At no time since 1945 when Republicans have been in total charge of both elected branches of government have they ever reduced spending;

4. That ‘Great Communicator' and hero to the Republican right, President Ronald Reagan entered office in 1981 calling for a balanced budget, but never submitted a balanced budget. In truth, he was an award winning, record setting liberal spender and grower of an ever expanding government;

5. Each and every time the Republicans practiced their ‘Trickle Down Economic Theory’ has led to dismal failure. The first time under Hoover and led to the ‘Great Depression’. Reagan then tried in and the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and the economy declined - leading eventually to Clinton’s ‘It ‘s the Economy, Stupid’ election victory. Now unfortunately, we are all witness to the results of the third time under Bush II;

6. Clinton inherited the Republican deficit spending problem and - and fixed it. He got the growth of the debt down to one third of one percent his last year in office. Contrary to the myth fostered by so-called ‘conservative’ Republicans, revenue increased and spending decreased. So, Clinton was actually the conservative the Republicans claimed to be - but were not and are not;

(And to distract everyone, the Republican right focused on Clinton's admittedly 'liberal' sexual activites - which had very little to do with governance as a whole - but it sure made good lurid copy!)

7. ALL Democratic administrations from Lyndon Johnson’s to date increased the rate of revenue increase, while reducing the rate of spending increase;

8. ALL Republican administrations from Nixon’s to date increased the rate of spending increase while reducing the rate of revenue increase;

9. Under Republican leadership the national debt has doubled in size relative to the GDP;

10. In the last 60 years whenever Republicans held all the power, they never used it to reduce the debt; In fact they have ALWAYS increased it!

So, laying all the partisan doctrine aside, who are the REAL conservatives? Any open minded person not blinded by partisan dogma can easily judge for themselves simply by checking the facts, and having a close look at this * in depth analysis of the US NATIONAL DEBT.

So, why are Republicans so eager to misinform and mislead the public about their true record? It should be very obvious to all. Republicans do truthfully claim to be the ‘party of business’. As a result, their dogma is largely dictated by business, business ‘capitalism’ (Corporatism), and monetary interests.

Corporate capitalism has zero conscience and could care less about the public interests, whether they be in America or some other place. National interests are of concern only to the degree they may affect corporate profits. But, they, quite naturally do not want the public to know the real extent of their criminal assault on the wealth and welfare of the public or our descendants, possibly down to several generations and beyond. So, administrations, particularly Republican administrations often resort to various subterfuges to hide their transgressions. (Click on chart at left for a great example of this phenomenon)

And, why don’t Democrats rightly claim their mantle of ‘fiscally conservative? That too is obvious to me. Democrats too, are largely the party of business and business interests - just not to the same extreme degree as Republicans. There is merely enough of the leavening effect of ‘public interest’ with Democrats to ameliorate and temper the resulting policies.

And those, gentle reader, are the realities!


* http://www.cedarcomm.com/~stevelm1/usdebt.htm

"Bloom, or Blossom Where You Are Planted"

There’s an old proverb saying,

‘Bloom (or blossom) where you are planted’.

It’s a benign saying meaning you should to try to do your best in the environment you find yourself in. But a corollary to this is contained in a quote from J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur in 'Letters from an American Farmer’, (1782) having, though probably not intended, a somewhat less benign flavor:

“Men are like plants, the goodness and flavour of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar soil and exposition in which they grow. We are nothing but what we derive from the air we breathe, the climate we inhabit, the government we obey, the system of religion we profess, and the nature of our employment.”

I think de Crèvecœur means that men are products of their nurturing environments. Most of us will readily agree. Thus, if a person is the product of a close-minded, fearful, or paranoid culture, they usually, if not always, become so themselves. Conversely, a person raised in a tolerant, open, liberal and more intellectual climate tends to be the same. In other words, we are very apt to take on the shades of our nurturing environments. This has important ramifications for the future of humanity. For if we continue to breed and produce backward looking, intolerant, and fearful groups of people, mankind, and civilizations will inevitably trend backwards to earlier, less congenial times.

The evolution of civilization is then in great danger of regressing. All progress and advancement is stifled and societies tend to lapse into a form of feudalism. The Dark Ages are a prime example of this very phenomenon coming to pass. The onset of the Dark Ages coincided with the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire. The people now called ‘Flat Earthers’ gained ascendancy. Not because the earth was then flat, but because their priests and leaders insisted that was so.

After sliding backwards from a ‘classical golden age’, civilization required many centuries to recover, in what is now called ‘the age of enlightenment’. From roughly 1300 AD until well after 1800 AD, even the most civilized and advanced cultures on earth were mired in a climate of fear and repression where the more thoughtful and clear headed people were shouted down when they spoke out - if they were lucky - or burned at the stake (or worse) if they were not. Thus Galileo was forced to ‘recant’ his belief the earth was round - as ‘heretical depravity’,- and placed under house arrest for the rest of his life:

“I, Galileo, son of the late Vincenzo Galilei, Florentine, aged seventy years, arraigned personally before this tribunal, and kneeling before you, Most Eminent and Reverend Lord Cardinals, Inquisitors-General against heretical depravity throughout the entire Christian commonwealth, having before my eyes and touching with my hands, the Holy Gospels, swear that I have always believed, do believe, and by God's help will in the future believe, all that is held, preached, and taught by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

- (translation of the prologue of Galileo’s recantation, 1633, in which he later attests; ‘with sincere heart and unfeigned faith I abjure, curse, and detest the aforesaid errors and heresies’)

After being shown the error of his ways, Galileo must have felt he was one of the lucky ones, because so many others were hideously tortured and put to death in various ways simply because they held opinions not approved by the church. Opinions many of which are now abundantly proved many times over to be the truth. A simple denouncement by anyone of status often resulted in the horrible death of an innocent.

Thankfully, such days are long past, at least in most western cultures. But, they still exist for others, with the Taliban being a prime example. But, I am minded of the excesses of Christianity when I read some of the vociferous words of today’s Christians. Words by people otherwise unremarkable, and who would appear completely normal if one met them on the street. Words like those by the late Jerry Falwell who said, “Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”.

And, words like those by *Pat Robertson - who claims his TV programming is seen in 97% of US markets, who said, "Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up." Because of these kinds of intolerant positions, I maintain the only real differences between Christians and the Taliban, is in the specific beliefs, and the nomenclature. The basic approach is the same.

The problem I have with Christianity - and for all religions for that matter - is their absolute insistence a person must accept all their tenets at face value (as interpreted by their leaders) - much like the ‘Inquisitors General’ of Galileo’s time. These are solid beliefs held with no evidence whatsoever, except what is written in ‘The Book’. Most of them are also tracts written 2000 or so years ago by barely literate herdsmen, and passed down through succeeding generations - and interpretations.

Nevertheless, many Christians still insist they be accepted verbatim, without question. A good example is a bumper sticker I once saw:

“The Bible said it, I believe it, That settles it”

And, in some circles, they will still kill you for disagreeing with some point or the other! There's no one so certain as one who holds a strongly held religious belief . . . . . . . And to me, their attacks are a lot like attacking someone because they no longer believe in the Easter Bunny!



* If you want an in depth look at Pat Robertson, here you are

(http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2008/spring/sizemore-christian-aces/)

Christianity - The Biggest Scam and Ponzi Scheme of All Time

So you think Bernard Madoff's 60 Billion Dollar scam was an all-time record? Think again. The biggest scam in history is Christianity, which has been going on now for over 2000 years and shows no sign of faltering. The amounts of money, treasure, lives and destruction involved are staggeringly uncountable.

Christians are commanded to believe in their God, and Jesus Christ, the 'Son of God', from whom the name 'Christian' is coined. They are told in the Bible to believe by faith alone since, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

In other words, it doesn't matter there's no proof, 'just believe because we say it is so'.

They are told that the all the proof needed is in the Christian Bible, which is composed of two parts - the 'Old' and the 'New' Testaments - as interpreted by their all-too-human Christian leaders:

Jesus, the 'Son of God' referred to the Old Testament as the "Word of God" which "cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

He said, "until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matt. 5:18).

Paul added, "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16).

It came "out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).

Although human authors recorded the messages, "prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Christians are commanded to believe in the Bible without question, because everything contained therein is the 'True Word of God' under this so-called logic:

God cannot err.
The Bible is the Word of God.
Therefore, the Bible cannot err.
God Cannot Err!

And, when questioned about possible inconsistencies or errors in the Bible - no matter how many or how ridiculous - Christians invariably reply the Burden of Proof (of the error) is on the critic - not the Bible! It's sort of the 'Mother of all Catch-22's'!

This is mirrored in a Christian (I suppose) bumper sticker I once saw:

God Said It; I Believe It; That Settles It!

Is there any wonder the current Christian leader of our country George W. Bush appreciates and uses this approach?

Evangelical Christians - and ALL Christians are commanded by Jesus in the Bible to be evangelical, though not all are in fact - relentlessly seek to * export their 'faith' to others around the world. They spend billions of dollars to 'convert the wicked and Godless', with their de facto definition of 'Godless' being 'non-Christian'. They piously claim to be fulfilling the 'Spiritual Needs of native peoples' by bringing them the 'Word of God' and 'salvation'. In the process they destroyed the lives and cultures of millions of people around the world over the centuries, while robbing them of treasure and sustenance. They have have been responsible for millions of deaths through their forcible 'conversion' and 'perfection' of non-Christians. Like some Islamics, they seem none too concerned if millions of innocent 'heretics' and non-believers must die in the process.

Over a period of about 300 years from 1484 to 1782, Christian churches put to death over 300,000 women accused of witchcraft in Europe and America. Incredibly, Christians later insisted with straight faces, the witch hunts were a 'result of theological misapplication and the people involved were penitent'.

You see, if you are a Christian, you can be forgiven for anything - except disbelief!

We have all heard of the 'Inquisitions' (of which there are four recognized), where heretics and apostates were punished and put to death - often by burning at the stake - for 'heresy' and 'apostasy' , which were defined as questioning, or opposition to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Christian Churches. Many non-Catholic Christians ('protestants') were victims. Any protestant falling into the hands of authorities in Catholic countries - through shipwreck or otherwise for example, was subject to be tried and punished for heresy or apostasy.

Galileo Galilei - the great astronomer, mathematician and philosopher of the 16th and 17th centuries was tried and convicted of heresy by the Roman Catholic church. His sin was proving the Earth orbited the sun. This ran contrary to church doctrine, which placed Earth at the center of the universe. Galileo's inconvenient fact is also inconsistent with the literal meaning of scripture - and incidentally unreconciled even today, with the excuse that it's all in how scripture is interpreted! Galileo was forced to 'recant' and spent the last years of his life under house arrest.

Incredibly, there are still some Catholics today who muleheadedly insist the church was right and Galileo was wrong, even though they admit the heliocentric ('Copernician Theory') was correct as far as it went. They maintain Galilieo brought all his troubles on himself by being so public with his opinions and proof. In other words they want things both ways in the Christian tradition of never admitting error in the smallest degree. Ever. I assume that must be what a 'perfected' Christian is all about, a la Ann Coulter.

And then there were 'The Crusades' - seven in all, which took hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives. Pope 'Innocent III' (what an ironic name!) avowed salvation could be bought simply by going on a Crusade - to 'convert' apostates at the point of a sword! There was even a (disputed) 'Children's Crusade' of up to 30,000 children and/or poor people who marched towards Jerusalem to 'peaceably convert' the Muslims there. When the Mediterranean Sea did not part as planned, many were sold into slavery or otherwise died. According to contemporary accounts, none returned home.

One overriding theme is evident throughout 'Christianity' to this day, and that is the wealth of the church and its leaders, at the expense of their followers. This is the biggest scam of all time, and still in full flower, with millions of 'victims' willing and eager to contribute, up to everything they own.

Take Pat Robertson for one well-known example. There are thousands of others, with perhaps the greatest offender of all being the Holy Roman Catholic Church.


* "(19) Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, (20) and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." Matthew 28:19-20

Entertainment Value of Republican Politicians

I want to go on record that I heartily & sincerely appreciate all the efforts by Republicans over the past couple years to entertain and amaze the rest of the American public. You know, we've had everything from the cross-dressing Rudolph Guilianni;









. . . to Florida Representative Mark Foley who loved nothing better than turning over new 'pages' in his life - only he obviously meant those of the Congressional page boy sort:







And, of course, who can ever forget Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho,
who solicited gay sex in a Minneapolis airport restroom stall. Craig first claimed (in court), "Yep. I de Ho, I'm guilty as sin." but, then came back to say, 'Wait a minute now, I am NOT de Ho, and I never should have admitted 'I'm guilty as sin'. I'm actually and completely as pure as the driven snow!"

And he went on to RESIGN his US Senate seat, then flip-flopped 180 degrees on us - after we were so expectant and all - and UNRESIGNED his seat, apparently saying, "I demand do-overs!"

What's not to love about the entertainment value these ever-lovin' Republican good ol' boys provide for the rest of us? Whoo-Ah!

And by golly, I've stumbled across yet another fine, upstanding, anti-gay Republican legislator, Florida State Representative Bob Allen, who has been forced to bite the er, uh, uh, er, 'dust'' and resign his seat. Who, in spite of all his personal anti-gay efforts and convictions, this poor, innocent victim has been forced into the act of soliciting gay sex - in the form of offering to 'give a $20 blow job' in fear for his very life:

Such sacrifice!

And, what's so greatly entertaining about this guy Bob Allen, is that he offered to pay for, and perform the sex act only because he was 'afraid of black men'. That's what you do right? When you're afraid of someone, a black guy, you just tell the guy, "Hey man. I'll give you $20 if you'll just let me give you a blow job!"

Right? Kind of a 'Catch 22' eh? Damned if you do, damned if you don't! What is it with those Florida boys anyway?

And, three and a half months prior to this signal event, John McCain had appointed this ol' boy as his Florida campaign manager!

I mean, God almighty Damn! You just can't make this kind of stuff up!


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289137,00.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/07/rep-bob-allen-cites-.html
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid47894.asp

Holy Cow - you just can't make this kind of stuff up!

Wow! I've been turning over some rocks looking into some of the stuff swirling around Sen. Ted Stevens and his attempts to get his seven felony convictions overturned. This is pretty bizarre.

Some new information is turning up concerning Bill Allen (the ex-VECO CEO) and his modus operandi. During Stevens' trial, Allen's nephew Dave Anderson submitted an affidavit which helped convict the senator. Now Anderson is trying to disown the affidavit and claiming that among other things, that Allen has a murder plot against his life

Recall that one of Allens' conditions demanded for cooperating with the FBI on prosecuting Stevens and the other Corrupt Bastards, was that his own children (Allen's) be left alone and not charged with anything. In other words, Bill himself would take the fall for everything. (I got the same sort of impression when Bernard Madoff confessed' to his two sons who then 'turned' him in. This is the ponzi scheme affair where Madoff is accused of stealing $60 Billion from investors.)

Now, new information about Dave Anderson, an ex-VECO employee who worked on Steven's 'cabin' is coming out. Anderson you will recall, says he submittecd an affidavit believing he and twelve others had an immunity agreement with the FBI. The FBI disagrees, and now Anderson says he submitted false information in the affidavit, and Stevens' lawyer is trying to get the convictions thrown out using that as one excuse.

Anderson also claimed that an Anchorage journalist 'saw documents' which would validate his claim for immunity.

Now, here's some background from that very journalist on the claim, and on Allen's almost unbelievably evil activities. If any of this is true, it is revealing of the methods Bill Allen apparently operated under. Murder plots and bulldozing the guy's house? This old boy is a real bully and doozy - and apparently totally used to getting his way. Holy Cow - you just can't make this kind of stuff up!

Holy Cow - you just can't make this kind of stuff up!

2008 Highlights & Gutbusters

The year 2008 in review:

The highlights of 2008 for me, and proof positive that the Easter Bunny gods sure do have a sense of humor:

1: The video of President Bush nimbly ducking two shoes thrown his way during a press conference;

2: Seeing the merry, fun-loving face of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens on the front page of the newspapers the day he was indicted;

3: Watching Sarah Palin's infamous 'turkey pardon' video;

4: Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin - simply by repeating Palin's words verbatim;

5: Ann Coulter's jaw being wired shut;

6: OJ's court conviction and sentence;

7: Elliot Spitzer's $1000/hour date who trashed his entire life and career;

8: John McCain's statement "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" one whole week before the biggest economic meltdown in over 70 years;

9: "Joe the plumber", who campaigned for McCain, and turned out to be a non-plumber, back-taxes-owing deadbeat;

10: And who can forget Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol - raised on the strict 'abstinence' principle - showing up 7 months pregnant right after Palin's selection as McCain's VP pick?

Yepper, there were lot's of other things too, and it sure turned out to be a gut-busting year all right!

Holiday Songs For People in the News

GW Bush:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas;
  
• We Three Kings Disoriented Are

Dick Cheney:

• You Better Watch Out;
  
• Do You Hear What I hear?;

Larry Craig:

• Nuts to You;
  
• Nut Cracker;
  
• (Chest)nuts Roasting on an Open Fire;
  
• Silver Balls

Mark Foley:

• What Child is This;
  
• Oh Come Let Us Adore Him

Barack Obama:

• Joy To The World;
  
• Go Tell It On The Mountain

Jesse Jackson:

• Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?

Michael Jackson:

• The Little Drummer Boy;
  
• What Child Is This?

John McCain:

• I'll be home for Christmas;
  
• Silent Night

Bernard Madoff:

• Sleigh Ride;
• Fleeced Navidad

Sarah Palin:

• I'll Have a Blue, Blue Christmas;
  
• Never Do a Tango With An Eskimo;
  
• Baby, It's Cold Outside

Condoleeza Rice:

• I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas