Posted on 01/31/2003 5:07:21 PM PST by backhoe
At the request of members, I am restarting those "Tales from the Dark UnderBelly Of the Beast"-- the stories and issues that the press and media either ignore, won't even talk about, or will mention once and forevermore claim "it's old news..."
Naturally, some will be stories which interest me, or things I think we all need to be aware of.
I am experimenting with a minor change in presentation- when I can, I will cut to
with a keyword or two and see what kind of links to "mainstream" stories I can find in contrast to what we see here and on other sites.
May I remind you of a couple of points to bear in mind?
Each link usually has many other links within- follow them all to get "the rest of the story."
Don't forget the "open multiple browsers" trick with control-n -- this allows you to hold your place with one, and use the others to follow links, run searches, etc.
Rather than go back and rehash old links, I'll give you links to the original posts here:
-DUBOB 10- the *best of* the Dark Underbelly Series--
-DUBOB 9-- even *more* tales from the Dark Underbelly of the Beast..... --
DUBOB 8-- still *more* tales from the Underbelly***
DUBOB 7-- even *more* tales from the Dark Underbelly of the Beast.....
DUBOB 6-- yet *more* tales from the Dark Underbelly of the Beast.....
DUBOB 5-- even *more* tales from the Dark Underbelly of the Beast.....
DUBOB IV- yet more Tales from the Dark Underbelly of the Beast-
DUBOB III -- "Tales from the Dark Underbelly of the Beast"
DUBOB 2-- more tales from The Dark Underbelly of the Beast-- thread II
-The Dark Underbelly of the Beast- Stories the Media won't Discuss...--
tagline...
What Went Wrong? [ 1 ... 3, 4, 5 ]
I started following the 2008 race sometime in early 2007, when only the most pathological politics junkies were paying much attention. As a result, I peaked a bit too early, and by September I just wanted the darn thing to be over.
And now, finally, it is. There are still votes to count, and a few open races and ballot measures to resolve, but the Big One is in the can. For the first time in 12 years, weve gone to bed knowing who won, and the Atlantic Seaboard folks didnt even have to stay up that late. For the first time since LBJ (I think), a Democrat won more than 50% of the popular vote. Though I had a preferred candidate, this was my greatest prayer - an unambiguous result. No one-state shenanigans and cries of stolen elections. (Voter fraud is another story, but thats a Donkey Party tradition, and I doubt he needed it to win.)
In one sense, its good that the Democrat won. Wed already been warned months in advance that anything other than an Obama victory would mark America as a racist nation, and such philosophical luminaries as Erica Jong were warning of a second civil war in the event of a McCain third stolen Bush term victory. Well, no chance of that now. And, for the first time since Bill Clinton absconded with the White House furniture, the Daily Kos/MoveOn.org wing of the Democratic Party can consider themselves Americans again. Republicans are infinitely more gracious losers. (We made much of Clintons never topped 50% of the popular vote in the 1990s, but we never, EVER claimed he wasnt the President. That juvenile insanity needs to die. Stake its heart, cut off its head, boil it in garlic, nuke it from orbit; leave no doubt. We may be two parties, but we are not Two Americas. Were all in this together.)
Like 2006, it wasnt the GOPs year. Sen. McCain prevailed in the primaries largely on the backs of independents and Democrats, and because Mike Huckabee preferred to shred the party rather than let Mitt Romney anywhere near the GOP ticket. (Yes, Im still bitter about that idiots personal vendetta.) Gov. Sarah Palin energized the base and helped make it much closer (popular vote) than I expected, but McCain is an honorable man who ran as a my turn candidate rather than with any platform of ideas the GOP was likely to rally around. My main reason for supporting McCain was his support for victory in Iraq and elsewhere, which America owes to our men and women in uniform who have sacrificed so much to make it possible. McCains real goal, it seemed, was to win the nomination he felt had been stolen from him in 2000. Had he fought with the same vehemence in the generals that he did in the primaries, he might have done better tonight.
By contrast, Barack Obama worked his bad-dancing butt off to win the presidency from well, pretty much the day he was sworn into the Senate. He took on the inevitable Clinton machine and won the nomination. Although his post-racial, post-partisan facade slipped badly toward the end, his acceptance speech tonight was worthy of the historic moment of our first President-elect who happens to be black. He didnt win BECAUSE hes black; had that occurred it would have cheapened the accomplishment. Obama won because he ran a better race, and better motivated his base. He was opposed by over his policies, his past, and his personal associations not for his pigmentation. (I really need to stop alliterating.) Considering how much money he raised, Baracks true colors in 2008 are gold and green.
I dont see Obama as our first black President. Hes not African-American in the traditional sense; his paternal ancestors dont have that legacy of slavery; his Kenyan father spent little time in the U.S. His mothers side of the family was fairly well off, and his education was more elite and privileged than most peoples, certainly more than mine.
Obamas rise to prominence reminds me far more of John F. Kennedy than Jesse Jackson. JFKs big hurdle was his religion. So, I would argue, was Obamas. JFK had the Pope and Catholicism. Obama had Rev. Wright and Liberation Theology. For JFKs presidency, religion turned out to not be much of an issue (especially that whole thou shalt not commit adultery thing). Only time will tell how much President Obama will bring from Wrights pews to the Oval Office.
As a conservative, little of the Obama platform appeals to me. But as with any presidency, Obamas will not be treated by the House or Senate as tablets inscribed by a burning bush on Mount Sinai. He may have solid Democratic majorities in both houses, but as Clinton and Carter learned, congressional Democrats have a legislative ego that transcends party. If he fails to treat them with proper respect, the unholy Pelosi/Reid duumvirate will school him in a hurry. And if Obama doesnt treat the congressional GOP with at least minimal respect, they survive in sufficient numbers to throw their sabots into the machinery. Its lopsided, but DC is still a two-party town. Bill Clinton made the grave mistake of calling the congressional GOP irrelevant in one of his first addresses to Congress. Less than two years later, he was bellowing that he was still relevant to the first GOP House majority in 40 years. Hubris is still the #1 killer of political ambition, and The Messiah had better chain someone to his side to whisper remember thou art mortal into his ear at every opportunity, or hell very likely be facing a GOP congress in 2010.
Vice President-elect Biden, the one-man growth market for American comedy, said that Obama will be tested. Does anyone believe he isnt correct? Al Qaeda surely cannot resist the opportunity. Ahmadinajads Iran is drooling with anticipation. Likewise China, eager to assume dominance in the 21st century. (Yes, Im learning Mandarin.) Venezuela. North Korea. Canada (*grumble* Zamboni-drivin freaks ) And our allies like Columbia, India, infant Iraq, Sarkozys France, nuclear Pakistan, etc. have to wonder what Obamas America will mean to our relationship with them. Like JFK, Im not that hopeful that President Obama will be ready from day one to handle a crisis. What will Obamas Bay of Pigs (with lipstick) be? Or his Cuban Missile Crisis? How will he fare? Does it give ANYONE comfort that Joe Biden will be there every step of the way? Or that John friggin Kerry might be Americas Ambassador of Hopenchange as Secretary of State or Defense?
I dont mean to be utterly negative. Obama claims to be a pragmatist, and if he turns out to be one then hell likely make some decent cabinet picks. He will push policies more left-leaning than I would prefer, but I believe in the sausage-grinder of American lawmaking; lips and buttholes become tasty, tasty frankfurters with the right preparation. And it takes just one catastrophe to change presidential priorities in a hurry. Witness 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, the Fannie May debacle. Under the right circumstances, even the biggest isolationist can become the most committed nation-builder. Even a Clinton can decide to pass comprehensive welfare reform. Even a conservative can pass a bailout bill that makes Sweden look capitalist. Its all about adaptability. Its less about getting your agenda passed than about dealing with the zillion things that you never guessed would come your way.
So I head to bed knowing that our next President will be that guy rather than my guy. There are a lot of happy people in this country tonight, and many who are genuinely scared of what the next four years will bring. All of us will be Obamas responsibility come January. Hell be opposed - every president from George Washington to George Dubya has been, vehemently, and it would be unAmerican to expect otherwise - but how he deals with it will determine his legacy. The best Presidents exert influence far beyond their enumerated powers, by virtue of their skills and their character, and the nature of the challenges they face.
Frankly, Id be happy if Pres. Obama is merely adequate, and presides over another holiday from history for the next four years. His fundamental transformation talk scares my side of the aisle. He may think of it in terms of unicorns and orgasms, but some of us have starker visions of gulags, reeducation camps, great depressions, and stuff going Boom. Id be ecstatic with four boring, adequate, uneventful, not-unemployed years.
As much as I like and respect George W. Bush - and I do - the last eight years have been more eventful than anyone in 2000 imagined or hoped or feared they would be, George W. Bush included.
Oh well. Ready or not, here comes 44: Captain Messiah, and his sidekick Gaffey. I will pray for them, and for the country. Because I still believe with Ben Franklin that in these perilous times, we must all hang together, or surely we must all hang separately. United we stand, divided we fall. The American family will certainly bicker over who gets the good seat in the living room and control of the remote during prime-time but we must work together to put our house in order and to get the damn neighbor kids off our lawn when they try to T.P. us.
So, congratulations, President-elect Obama. Whatever happens next, you made history tonight.
Dont screw it up.
Just wait a couple of months. These thugs will be wearing American Civilian Corps uniforms and will be armed and ready and willing to enforce whatever mandates the Anti-Christ wishes to impose. Let us take two sources the statements made by Barack Obama as a candidate and the lessons of history combine them and make some predictions. The results are not pretty. President Obama: How Bad Will It Be?
These three results -- a new World War, a new Great Depression, and permanent damage to the Constitution are given in decreasing order of damage to the United States. That happens to be the reverse of their odds of happening.
Posted on Wednesday, November 05, 2008 9:29:13 AM by Chairman_December_19th_Society
Ok, today's wish - no recriminations. Let the enemy party beat us up, but let us not do it to ourselves. Time to invoke the Reagan Maxim regarding fellow Republicans.
But let's figure out who "fellow Republicans" are, and I won't mince words here.
If you agree to take a political position in the incoming Administration, you are NOT a fellow Republican.
If you do not support Repbulican filibusters against liberal legislation, you are NOT a fellow Republican.
If you vote for legislation expanding taxation, fees, or anything that "quacks like a duck," you are NOT a fellow Republican.
If you vote to weaken our military, no matter what else may be in the legislation, you are NOT a fellow Republican.
If you vote to allow leftist judges or justices into our Courts, you are NOT a fellow Repblican.
If you believe in an "expansive" definition of the Constitution, you are NOT a fellow Republican. If any of the above, expect the full wrath and fury from the REAL Republican Party as we seek to rebuild from the ashes of the carnage. Part of rebuilding means back to basics.
So, the way forward?
First - Sarah Palin. I won't necessarily commit that she is the leader out of the wilderness and into the promised land, but her ideas are - and she does have a way of resonating with the "common folk".
Second - "Tax cuts for all." Trust me, there's going to be ample opportunity for this moving forward. But we have to say "ALL" and MEAN IT!!!
Third - NO deficit spending (defined as more than 101% of non-bond receipts; actually a "little" deficit spending is a good thing, but it has to be less than the "natural" rate of inflation).
Fourth - NO bailouts. If a company goes south, it was meant to go away.
Fifth - We HAVE to come to terms with compensation of "Wall Street Executives". It's a white hot issue, and probably a good part of what was behind our drubbing yesterday.
Sixth - We HAVE to understand the main reason we lost yesterday WAS NOT our message, it was an unfortunate set of circumstances (of which the "fifth" item above is a symptom, but it shows we "got the message"). All exit polls coalesce around this. So BACK TO MESSAGE!
Seventh - We NEED to do a better job communicating using the tools we have. The paper and broadcast media are gone - they are liberal; they are the enemy. We must recognize that. We are likely to lose talk radio - accept it, its coming. But we have the Internet. And we have the mail system (think "Committees of Correspondence" here - if this is unfamiliar, then read your history of the American Revolution).
Eighth - We NEED to understand that we have a VERY intractible enemy. He doesn't sleep, he doesn't give up. If one of his legislative proposals die, it comes back later in a new form. We need to adopt the ways of our enemy here - we must be intractible in our ideals, we must never tire, we must never stop. We must believe we are right, because, well, WE ARE RIGHT!
Ninth - We must take to heart John 3:16.
Tenth - NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER STOP BELIEVING.
We will prevail. When it gets to be the darkest, the light that shines becomes even more brilliant and even more noticable.
The future is ours. It starts today. Let's get to work!
Here's an encouraging poem a friend e-mailed me:
Last week I threw out Worrying. It was getting old and in the way.
It kept me from being me; I couldn't do things God's way.I threw out a book on MY PAST (didn't have time to read it anyway). Replaced it with NEW GOALS, started reading it today.
I threw out hate and bad memories. (Remember how I treasured them so?) Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too; threw out the old one from long ago.
Brought in some new books too, called I CAN, I WILL, AND I MUST. Threw out I MIGHT, I THINK and I OUGHT. WOW, you should've seen the dust.
He helped me to do some cleaning and added some things Himself. Like PRAYER, HOPE AND FAITH, Yes I placed them right on the shelf.
I picked up this special thing and placed it at the front door. I found it-its called PEACE. Nothing gets me down anymore.
Yes, I've got my house looking nice. Looks good around the place. For things like Worry and Trouble there just isn't any space.
It's good to do a little house cleaning, get rid of the things on the shelf. It sure makes things brighter; maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.
He knows damn well the next four years will not merely be interesting. They will be damaging.
As for Thatchers observation, it is proving out. There is no turning back.
The healing begins!
Your sickening unAmerican traitorous, racist, money-grubbing, torturing, hateful ideology got struck a death blow and you and your fellow jackal-blowhards are left writhing on the floor, gasping for breath as the final death tremors subside and your bodies stiffen into rigour mortis.
You really have to commend our watchdog media.
You just know that there were and are tremendous celebrations at the news of Mr. Obamas victories by our nations enemies all over the world.
His supporters in Hamas, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Chavez and Castros followers are all surely out in the streets.
But so far, this is as much as the Associated Press is willing to reveal:
An unidentified woman holds up the Iranian daily newspaper Rozan with a photo of US President elect Barack Obama, as a cleric and others walk pass in Tehran, Iran on Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008. Iranians Wednesday welcomed the landslide victory of Democrat Barack Obama as Americas first black president, saying he partly owes his triumph over Republican Sen. John McCain to the deeply unpopular war-mongering policies of President George W. Bush.
An unidentified Iranian man decorates on his shirt with a badge of US President elect Barack Obama, in Tehran, Iran on Wedensday Nov. 5, 2008. Iranians Wednesday welcomed the landslide victory of Democrat Barack Obama as Americas first black president, saying he partly owes his triumph over Republican Sen. John McCain to the deeply unpopular war-mongering policies of President George W. Bush.
And we will have at least eight more years of the media protecting their protege this way.
Some must reads for today - Updated, scroll down for new:
You know who you are: But I dont. Two people have generously donated to the site and left me no way to send a personal thank you. Please know I appreciate it more than I can express. You help keep the site running.
H/T Lynda: NY Times suddenly discovers nuance in Gitmo issues that used to be all about Bushhitler. That didnt take long. Watch the double-standards begin to fly!
The Daily Show makes a similar discovery: Theres lots to make fun of other than the White House. You dont say! A President Obama will be treated very differently, then, I guess, than Bush?
A particularly good podcast: from PJM - quite fun, and insightful
Chrenkoff: America will continue to be a terrorist target. The left doesnt believe it, yet. And if its true, its Bushs fault for making them mad because - you know - terrorists didnt hate us before then.
An oldie from Vanderleun (H/T Larwyn) that you may have missed and shouldnt: How Beautiful We Were
Pope Benedict XVI: Congratulates Obama. The text remains private, but let us remember what Benedict said last spring (and what is currently on my header: Those who hope live differently. If I can make any suggestion to my Catholic and non-Catholic friends on this day, I say pick up a copy of Benedicts God and the World and Mother Angelicas Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures. Both are more superChristian than superCatholic and both are suerInsightful. If you found this post from yesterday to be helpful, youll like those books, as both inspired it.
The First Obama Joke: H/T Dan Barack Obama won the election because he saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens. New York Times, The Next President. The New York Times is purely bananas.
AJ: Nattering Negativity, looks at the fissures in the GOP and ponders.
Harry Reid: Crowing and unclassy. As ever.
Sorry, Mr. Reid: Yer man has no mandate; he ran on tax-cuts and other centrist ideas. But then, so did Bill Clinton. We know. We know.
EJ Dionne: Dont play to the center-right, Obama! Keep away from the center-right! Were not a center-right nation!
California: Votes to ban gay marriage. Center-right.
Ruth Marcus: Will the Dems be able to resist overplaying their hand? See Dionne, Ms. Marcus. (Note: Ms. Marcus suggests Obama begin by reversing President Bushs order prohibiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, signing the Bush-vetoed expansion of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program and enacting an equal pay law overturning the Supreme Courts decision in the case of Lilly Ledbetter.). Yeah dont overplay.
It is remarkable to note, however, that - finally - someone in the press managed to correctly identify President Bushs position as prohibiting FEDERAL FUNDING of EMBRYONIC stem cell research as opposed to their usual, hes against all science! Hes against all stem cell research! Hes a Neanderthal dishonesty. That only took 8 years.
Washington State: goes Euthanasiac. They apparently believe that A Tsunami Can be Drawn With Pastels. They are mistaken.
From the email: An interesting quote Id never seen before: We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism. - Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, 1959 Actually I dont think that really IS a Khrushchev quote. I know THIS one is, though: If anyone believes that our smiles involve abandonment of the teaching of Marx, Engels and Lenin he deceives himself. Those who wait for that must wait until a shrimp learns to whistle.
Tom Shales: The Press Behaved Badly last night. Well theyve been behaving badly for over a decade, but last night, even my husband - who does not care about this sort of stuff - had to turn them off for all their self-congratulating glee. He found it infantile.
Ed Morrissey: Good Analysis.
Wizbang: First 100 Days: Congrats and See you on the battlefield of ideas!
Instapundit: Showcases the diff between lefties and righties rather succinctly. More distinctions here. Note: Also, no one ever thought for even a second that an Obama win would cause the right to riot. The same cannot be said for the left. I hope theyll grow up, now.
The Peoples Cube: A fella who survived the Soviet Union dusts off the slogans and says Comrade again.
Steven Den Beste: Good news and bad news. Read.
Hamid Karzai: Expects Miracles from Messiahs
A post-election break from hype: it wont last, though
Boundless energy: Confederate Yankee is already looking at 2010. Not yer girl, here. Shes taking a break. Bumperstickers, even! Capitalism goes on
Survival Guide: if you feel you need one
Sincere & cautious congrats: I pray that you may acquire wisdom
wisdom beyond your tender years, your thin experience, and your inconsequential legislative achievements wisdom as a public servant in office, rather, that is at least commensurate with the skill youve shown as a campaigner, which has been a genuine marvel.
I pray for your health, because, with due respect, I regard the prospect of your Vice President-elect having to step into your shoes with genuine panic.
Hope and pray youre wrong: From an email: I did not vote for Obama but I am afraid for him. I feel like whoever put him in place is going to try to make a martyr of him to create chaos in the nation.
The Racial Angle: Still not gone, but reading that makes me think that now perhaps some racial issues will be addressed from within the African American community, itself, which might be a healthy thing. Introspection is always a good thing.
The Wheels on the Bus: Go round and round
Todays Eyeroll: LA Times writer: The nation is in dire economic straits.
Yes, yes, yes. I see. Unemployment is 6%. Gasoline prices are a whopping $2 a gallon. The Dow is 9,000. People are actually paying cash for things. Run for your lives.
The 60s: Theyre finally ending About damn time.
Curt: Offers curt congrats
Geraghty: Balls in his court
Fears: For the churches
And hope: for life
Meanwhile: Stocks are tumbling
The parasites are now in full control. The host taxpayer will be expected to work even harder just to stay even. This is a way of breaking the country. The Muslims are dancing in the streets as middle east money just bought the US presidency for a clown without a clue.
You know what?
That's a very intriguing idea.
The "bitter, clinging conservatives" in my household have always rebuilt, adapted, used up, done without-- because we don't believe in being wastefull.
IOW, we recycled long before it became a pseudo religion to the MoonBat Left.
Maybe we ought to start a new movement? Kind of a low-level John Galt thing?
It may be, and we need to get our numbers up as high as we can.
If you are a gunowner who values the Second Amendment, the single most effective thing you can do is join the NRA and add to its numbers. The telephone number is 1-877-NRA-2000.
If the NRA doesn't suit you, and many people have legitimate complaints about its compromising ways, then there are several other alternatives:
And there are others: the Second Amendment Sisters, and the National Association for Gun Rights (I don't know much about them, but their website looks accurate to me with regard to the Heller decision).
WATCH ALL THE VIDEOS BELOW and I MEAN ALL .....They're farking frightening and show how little we've done to counter-act the counter culture revolution.
Links below lifted from another thread.
Yuri Bezmenov Explains Soviet Strategy for Subversion...a Condensed version at dailymotion if you don't want to watch all nine videos at YouTube below:
Yuri Bezmenov Explains Soviet Strategy for Subversion:
Listen to "Jose" who called Savage's radio program. He essentially echoes what Bezmenov SAID more than 20 years ago in frightening detail. IT'S A MUST HEAR---ALL PARTS!!!!
Obamas birth cettificate may be required.
Dont count on it; theyre convinced he can walk on water and feed the multitudes with a single loaf of bread. They wont ask for anything from him except that he allow them to genuflect before him and drink the holy Kool Aid.
Remember, that's my theory why we went down to defeat in 2006...
I said something along the lines of,
"I've read all the theories why we lost so badly, and I still say this: Once elected, the Republicans taxed & spent & regulated like a bunch of Democrats- no wonder the voters decided to try The Real Thing!"
He's not a socialist, but socialists endorse him.
He did not have an affair, but Michelle gets rid of his mistress.
America's enemies won't see his weakness as a provocation. But they do.
http://www.yeahrightblog.com/yeah_right/2008/11/the-onion-on-obama-supporters-funny.html
Check out this video of Obamas deranged post-victory supporters!
SCAPEGOATING SARAH
H.R. 1022: Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007
If you don't think this night mare WON'T be back over the next 4 years, year after year, until it passes both houses, you need medical attention.
I work in Chicago. I deal with a great many attorneys in my job, many of whom are staunch Dims and breathless Obambi supporters; some were even active in his campaign. More than one told me that at or near the top of Obambis agenda is a new Hate Crimes bill, with a wide expansion of what will be considered a hate crime. Included is this proposal: The public display of the Confederate battle flag will be considered a hate crime. Yup. So those states that still have even a small patch of the flag on their state flags, monuments, cemeteries, etc. will have to get rid of it. Anyone displaying a Confederate flag patch on a baseball cap, decal on a car bumper, or any other such public display, will be subject to criminal charges. (Oh, by the way: It will be okay to publicly display the Soviet hammer & sickle flag; in fact, it will likely be encouraged.) What's next? Any school, library, building, etc. named after any long-dead Confederate must change its name? Will all those statues in parks and town squares have to be pulled down?
Congressman Billybob
Latest article, "President Obama: How Bad Will It Be?"
The Declaration, the Constitution, parts of the Federalist, and America's Owner's Manual, here.
Have no fear- The One will halt the rising creeks, heal the planet, and make the French love us again ( Oh, gag me! )... Well, Im not going anywhere as long as I have a voice. We may have to go back to Xerox machines and small presses distributing handbills, but Ill be damned if I let my country slip in to That Good Night without a fight. Im the one who dubbed Clinton Little Big Fraud, so Ill have to work on something for The One. We may have to set up a Free Republic in Exile like Degaulle did when the Nazis overran France, but well manage. It does distress me that so many people were suckered by a typical Chicago Machine empty suit, but he had 95% of bothe the press and entertainment arms of The Media Hive trying to get him elected, and covering up for him, so its not surprising. Carry on. Good plan. Anti Americanism around the world (pictures)
Rush In a Hurry - War: Us vs. Palin-Hating Moderate Republicans (11/6/08)
Black box 'will collect every email, web visit in UK'
Stoning Victim 'Begged For Mercy'
Once thought safe, WPA Wi-Fi encryption is cracked
Kindergartners given homosexual 'pledge cards'
DNA Chunks, Chimps And Humans: Marks Of Differences
Palin Is Unstoppable
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country. Lincolns Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.
I would love nothing better than to be able to stop writing about left and right. I wish we had a better vocabulary to describe our distinctions, because these words are limiting and off-putting. I am determined, with the merciful conclusion of this abusively long election season, to work diligently at spending less time entertaining these distinctions. But for today, I think it is only fair to note a very important and glaring difference between left and right - and in so doing - consider how we may, finally, stop needing to indulge in what is tedious.
Victor Davis Hanson says Lets not imitate the left in our opposition. I agree.
It has been wonderful - really beyond wonderful - to consider how differently most of the right has reacted to their defeat than the left did in 2000 and 2004. In the two previous elections, the left responded by calling the other half of the country stupid, morons, and Nazis - Jane Smiley called them unteachably ignorant - they indulged in high drama, sniffling apologies to the globe, and denunciations of their fellow countrymen as lying between repugnant and reptile in the dictionary.
And oh, yeah (eyeroll) George W. Bush was not their president.
While youll see a few disgruntled extremists on the right say foolish, even ignorant things - and many throwing daggers at the sickening double-standards of the press - theyre not indulging in that sort of dehumanizing (and very adolescent) hate of their fellow countrymen or the president-elect. The reports theyre filing read very differently than those following the Bush wins. They read as grown-up, tolerant, open-minded discourses, not tantrums. There is a willingness to be hopeful, even in defeat.
And there is a determined respectfulness being offered to the winners - people who could not manage maturity and respectfulness in their defeat and who, sadly, are not always managing it in their victory, either.
Im hopeful that the left - if it takes the time to actually condescend to notice how well it is being treated by the vanquished - might consider that self-indulgent defamation is the lesser way; that such a consideration may inspire introspection, and perhaps the smallest bit of regret for some of their appalling excesses toward the right and toward the American President who did not return hate in-kind.
Im hopeful. Im an optimist. I KNOW that the folks on the right - for all of their faults, and both sides certainly have faults - want America to be successful and strong and exceptional and free. Im hopeful that hugely empowered left will discover that - beyond the feel-goodism of free social programs which are never free -they actually, really do want all of those things, too. That theyll look back on the last 8 years and realize, finally, that their enemy was never George W. Bush. Bush, the guy who never dehumanized them, was only trying serve those corny ideals.
And then, miraculously, we may actually have unity.
Some similar thinking from my girl crush, Donna Brazile:
The one mistake that we continue to make is that we label people. We say youre conservatives, liberal, progressive, right wing, left wing. I think people just want to spend one day being Americans. They want to come together around a common purpose, common values.
I wondered the other day if the catharsis of this election might open up a vein of generosity (or at least decency) from the left as concerns President Bush. I have not seen it yet, but Im going to be optimistic and keep looking.
But maybe its enough just to see a little appreciation from the right, to start. Like this, for instance:
I link, therefore, I Err has a little mini-round-up of appreciation for George W. Bush. Youll want to read it all.
From Alppuccino at Protein Wisdom:
At 10:40, President Bush will keep his streak alive by telling everyone how much he loves America. Just as he always has. And hell show everyone how much he loves America by preparing Obama as best he can for the next 4 years.
Read it all; its doubtful that Obamas team will come into the White House finding Os missing from their keyboards, any rude messages greeting them. And that is how it should be in America, a respectful transition.
Many liberals refuse to concede Bushs humanity, much less his achievements.
But that humanity is precisely what I will remember. I have seen President Bush show more loyalty than he has been given, more generosity than he has received. I have seen his buoyancy under the weight of malice and his forgiveness of faithless friends. Again and again, I have seen the natural tug of his pride swiftly overcome by a deeper decency a decency that is privately engaging and publicly consequential.
[In 2005] the White House senior staff overwhelmingly opposed a new initiative to fight malaria in Africa for reasons of cost and ideology In the crucial policy meeting, one person supported it: the president of the United States, shutting off debate with a moral certitude that others have criticized. I saw how this moral framework led him to an immediate identification with the dying African child, the Chinese dissident, the Sudanese former slave, the Burmese womens advocate. It is one reason I will never be cynical about government or about President Bush.
[The treatment of President Bush] from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.
Until we fix, within ourselves, our enthrallment with hate for others, simply because they hold differing views, well never pull it together. In 2006 we watched a right-wing blogger be called less than human by a left-wing reader. Weve seen President Bush being referred to as the chimp and the monkey by the wits who insisted that ideology trumped having a decent respect for anothers humanity. I wrote about that a little here:
Thus, George W. Bush is Chimpy McHitler. Hillary Clinton is a pig in a pantsuit. Barack Obama is O-Bambi. Cindy McCain, who has exhibited some courage and laudable compassion in her life, is reduced to a pill-popping beer-frau, and so forth. From there it is smooth sailing down an ever-descending river of hatred, until we are incapable of seeing anything good in the other, both because we have willfully hardened our hearts, and because our hate especially when it is supported by a group of like minds feels safe and inviolable.
With that in mind, youll want to read this excellent piece over at Conversion Diary, wherein Jenifer ponders pictures from a Nazi-era photo album and wonders, how such common-variety people managed to support and enable such profound evil.
One thing that stands out in all these examples is that the victims of the widespread evil were categorized as something less than human not only that innocent people were killed or enslaved, but that their humanity was taken away by the societies around them So here is the advice I would offer to my children, and to my childrens children:
Every decade or so, take a look around the society in which you live, and ask yourself if there is any group of human beings who are seen as something less than human. A big tipoff is if dehumanizing words terms other than man, woman, child, baby, or person are used to describe any category of people.
And if you ever see that going on, you might be in the midst of something gravely evil.
Dehumanizing people begins with baby-steps like name-calling, or the sort of intellectual dishonesty that delights in deliberately twisting the meaning of others in negative and misrepresentative ways. Those are the little gateways to the great evils that come once youve managed to thoroughly de-humanize others.
Weve had 8 years - Id say 12, really - of people demonizing and dehumanizing others, from both sides, and it is not getting us anyplace good. I believe that the response of most of the right to Obamas victory is a step toward changing that. But the left has to do their part, too.
Pope Benedict XVI said, those who hope live differently. The election of Barack Obama was borne on this word, Hope.
If the people who voted for hope were sincere, then let them begin, today, to embrace it - and to live differently - without the kneejerk move to hate the other side. The right, responding levelly to their defeat, has offered the opening. Will the left take it?
UPDATE: Seems some will. Here is mostly accurate, and apprecited praise from a surprising quarter:
Would America have elected Barack Obama if white Americans had not gotten accustomed to seeing (in succession) two African-American Secretaries of State? I dont think so. Before Bush, African-Americans were appointed to some good posts but not to our #1 foreign policy job. Two African Americans (one with a pretty odd first name) served as Americas face to the world. That eased Obamas way. It is not Tiger Woods in whose footsteps Obama is walking its Rice and Powell .Fact is, W never gave any evidence of holding racist attitudes even just the slur the occasionally slips out of the mouth of even our most liberal leaders.
Same with Arabs and Muslims Bush, after 9/11, never resorted to anti-Arab or Muslim stereotypes. He drew distinctions between terrorists and Arabs Had he not done these things, Arabs and Muslims might have experienced not just hate crimes but pogroms.
Meanwhile, from Grand Rants:
Here is a man who is regularly compared to Hitler in casual conversation in Leftist circles high and low. His honor has been regularly impugned, his intelligence (or, as the press loves to put it, his intellectual curiousity) constantly demeaned, his verbal stumblings consistently mocked, and his accomplishments in office discounted or ignored. He is a man who kept his head down and did his job, despite the slings and arrows hurled at him by fortune made all the more outrageous by nearly the entire Democratic party.
I for one, would like to say thank you to Pres. Bush. For keeping us safe. For watching out for us. For persevering in spite of all the spite. I believe history will ultimately judge you as one of Americas best presidents, and I believe you deserve that judgement.
H/T to Opinionated Catholic, who writes:
The throwing under the bus of the President by even his friends and indeed the base has been shocking to me. Many groups will find out soon enough how they took Bushs support and advocacy for them for granted, Catholics, especially.
Meanwhile, Jules Crittenden is beginning to enjoy Omerica, Quin Hillyer is saying America is over, kaput, finished, Evan Thomas suddenly finds Obama slightly creepy and when you refuse to release medical records, and the press doesnt care conjecture begins about your mental health.
So what's it gonna be? We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, here are three predictions for life in Obama's America:
1. America's political and pundit class will go through a clinical bout of ideological amnesia that will be dizzying and appalling for those of us with memories of life before January 2009.
This happens virtually every time a new president, and certainly a new party, takes unified control of the government. On a host of issuesincluding government spending, regulation, and especially foreign policyyou can expect to see Republican officeholders and their champions in the press rediscover their inner-small-government souls and rail about how Obama and the Democrats are budget-busting socialists desperate to start what vice-presidential candidate Bob Dole once declaimed as "Democrat wars."
On the flip side, expect Democrats to start rattling sabers like the did under the Mad-Bomber-in-Chief Bill Clinton, who was quite happy to dispatch planes and bombs wherever and whenever he felt necessary or threatened by a domestic situation. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is the template here of what reason's Matt Welch identified as "temporary doves," that is, folks whose taste for war is highly dependent on party affiliation.
Obama, who is certainly something of a "stealth candidate" (to use an election-night phrase from Fox News' and NPR's Juan Williams), has never been shy about asserting his bellicosity. He's against "stupid" wars, don't you know, which gives him plenty of latitude to prosecute what he considers smart ones (and conflicts necessary to prove that he's no George McGovern). And here's a Canadian dollar that says that Obama's withdrawal plan from Iraq is precisely the one recommended by Gen. Petraeus.
Similarly, he will almost certainly follow the domestic policy trajectory of one George W. Bush by increasing spending (he's already promised that today we spend, tomorrow we scrimp), increasing regulation, and increasing interventions large and small into the economy. The main difference will be that all this new stuff comes at the end of the Bush bender. And that Obama and his defenders will swear that they are radically changing course from the past eight years when in fact they will continue in the same grim direction, full speed ahead, Mr. Emanuel.
Obama's conservative and Republican Party detractors will animate the corpse of Ronald Reagan and weep many crocodile tears about the end of the free enterprise system that they somehow missed out on during the GOP turn at the helm. Bailouts that were "reluctantly and sadly" necessary under Bush, to use Newt Gingrich's phrase, uttered mere hours before the House GOP scuttled the plan, will be unendurable socialist slights under Obama. At least the second half of that statement will be true.
Oh, and all that liberal fretting over the singular abuse of executive power, domestic surveillance, and the like, under Bush-Cheney? That's going to disappear faster than the Lackawanna Six, regardless of what Obama does (and don't expect him to renounce any of Bush's power grabs once he's sworn into office). If resentment resurfaces (and it probably will), look for conservatives to have their knickers in a twist this time around.
2. The Culture Wars will be reignited and, as always, the main casualties will be children, the truth, gays, and that evilest excresence of capitalism since novels, nickelodeons, comic books, and video games. And Obama, like Bill Clinton, will be far more conservative on this sort of thing than anybody on either side wants to admit.
I'd say Sarah Palin's smartest public moment came during the vice-presidential debate when she and Joe Biden wrassled over gay marriage. Biden ducked and weaved and talked a long-winded game about equality and fairness and all that sort of crapand then he had to admit that he doesn't support allowing gays and lesbians to get married to each other like the rest of us:
Biden: I'm being as straight up with Americans as I can in my non-support for anything but a traditional definition of marriage.
Ifill: Let's try to avoid nuance, Senator. Do you support gay marriage?
Biden: No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be able to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it....
Palin: My answer is the same as his and it is that I do not.
Social conservatives, who still retain at least a half-nelson hold on the GOP despite their inability to stand athwart history yelling stop, have been energized by the defeat at the polls of gay marriage in Florida, Arizona, and California. They will not let this issue go and an Obama administration will somehow seemed miffed by attacks on gay marriage yet do nothing about ending marital discrimination against same-sex couples.
And the folks at places such as the Parents Television Council will continue thundering on about indecency on the public airwaves (and why the Federal Communications Commission ought to be regulating content on satellite and cable too). In this sort of jeremiad, they will find an ally in Obama and his puritanical friends on the left, who similarly like to run down market-based culture, especially video games. "Turn off the television," Obama is fond of saying, "turn off the video games." Like Bill Clinton, who along with First Lady Hillary Clinton hosted a seemingly endless series of White House events decrying vulgar culture, Obama hasn't been shy about pulling a Janet Reno when it comes to threatening industry to undertake "self-regulation": "Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this [rating] system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included," Obama said in 2007. "But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would."
And on issues that intersect with pure culture war issuessuch as drug policydon't expect Obama to do the right thing. Or to get credit from conservatives for agreeing with them while doing the wrong thing.
3. Liberals and conservatives will continue to try and define everything in terms of right and left when the proper lens, now more than ever, is choice versus control.
When it came to scorching the concept of "the ownership society," George W. Bush was like Lt. William Calley armed with a thousand Zippo lighters. Not a hut or a tree or a popsicle stand was left standing. Bush never came close to delivering on what was going to be the large theme of his presidency: The notion that when people owned themselves, their retirements, their education, their you-name-it, we all benefited because we were all more invested in everything around us. Conservatives were never fully comfortable with this sort of thing for some of the reasons hinted aboveif your life is your own, then you've got every right to do whatever you want with it as long as you're not infringing on other people's equal rights to do the same. Liberals have never been comfortable with it either. They're scared of all those bitter, gun-clinging religious freaks and whatever the hell they're doing out there in the middle of the country. Like conservatives, they prize conformity and hierarchy over a more-anarchic and leveled society.
In the end, of course, Bush turned out to be the worst sort of foxhole capitalist. "I'm a strong believer in free enterprise," he told a national audience. "So my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention. I believe companies that make bad decisions should be allowed to go out of business. Under normal circumstances, I would have followed this course. But these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly." And so came the bailout, the final death blow not just to the idea of the ownership society but to the idea that the GOP really believed that markets are functioning properly even when people lose money. The attacks on markets, on capitalism, on creative destruction, as too risky and unpredictable, will only intensify in Obama's America.
Indeed, in Obama's America, look for an intensified nostalgia for simpler, starker choices, whether it's in retirement plans, health-care options, trade possibilities, you name it. The financial "crisis" and the ensuing bailout that no one fully seems to understand (least of all the people who conceived and enacted it) sets the table for a long series of chin-pulling national conversations about how complex everything has gotten and how we need to simplify, simplify, simplify.
China is not only selling us goods that put Americans out of jobs (not true, but never mind), they're buying up all of country. Having to navigate a health-care market is too perplexing, so can we simplify the choices available? Same for education, especially at the K-12 level, which has already been federalized to an unprecedented degree under George W. Bush. And retirement accounts too. It strikes me as unlikely that Obama and the Democrats would seriously try to kill 401(k)s, but look for them to make all sorts of gestures toward simplifying everyday life.
In that third, non-game-changing presidential debate, Obama put on his best Jimmy Carter and decried you, me, and everyone else for our "profligate" ways. Seriously. And when we're done getting through the current crisis via massive deficit spending, he promised, "We're going to have to embrace a culture and an ethic of responsibility, all of us, corporations, the federal government, and individuals out there who may be living beyond their means." Which is a way of telling you that you'll have fewer choices if he has his way. Because it will be his way or the highway.
Though you might get to do universal service.
Nick Gillespie is editor in chief of reason online and reason.tv.
JOHN HAWKINS looks at how the right-leaning blogosphere is coping with defeat, and compares it to how the lefties dealt in 2000 and 2004.
Plus, Victor Davis Hanson on how to criticize our next President: "It seems to me that conservatives have a golden opportunity to offer criticism and advice in a manner that many liberals did not during the last eight years. By that I mean I hope there are no conservative versions of the Nicholson Baker Knopf-published novel Checkpoint, the creepy documentary by Gerald Range, the attempt to name a sewer plant after an American President, or the celebrity outbursts that we have witnessed with the tired refrain of Hitler/Nazi Bushthat all have cheapened political discourse. When I hear a partisan insider like Paul Begala urging at the 11th hour that we now rally around lame-duck Bush in his last few days, I detect a sense of apprehension that no Democrats would wish conservatives to treat Obama as they did Bush for eight years."
JOHN HINDERAKER: "It's a bit late for investors to notice that pretty much everything Barack Obama wants to do will hurt the economy." It's not too late for Obama to notice that and change his plans, though.
UPDATE: Michael Moynihan: "To all of those who saw in Obama's victory some sort of economic panaceaand believe me, I have spoken to plenty of people who, like Andrew Young, believed an immediate market recovery would follow the rejection of the Republican PartyI'm here to remind you that it ain't going to be that easy." Nope.
Plus, media accountability you can believe in. Chris Matthews announces new position as editor in chief of Pravda.
More - Who will take care of these people? (h/t steve)
by Baron Bodissey
by Dymphna
I found On the Issues while researching Obamas gun control record. It seems to be relatively unbiased (at least in my brief look through the site). Check out his page on gun control.
Former Spook, an ex-intelligence analyst, described Russias deployment of SS-26 Iskander to Kaliningrad as a shot across the bow of the incoming administration. The purpose of these missiles was to threaten to destroy components of the planned US anti-missile defense shield in to be based in Poland. The SS-26s themselves are fired from mobile launchers and designed to launch effective missile strikes at small-size targets of particular importance on very short notice. Russian President Dimitry Medvedev also said that Russia plans to jam a radar located in the Czech Republic, used to detect in-bound missiles and guide the Polish-based interceptors.
TEN QUICK FIXES FOR HOME-REPAIR PROBLEMS, from the book When Duct Tape Just Isn't Enough: Quick Fixes for Everyday Disasters.
The left unleashed. This, I am sure, is just the beginning - and here I thought the mask was already off. Apparently, gruesome is their game face. Silly me.
Am I the only blogger that has been the lucky recipient of waves a hate mail. It started last night, after Obama was declared. Ah yes, Obama the uniter. Open season on Jews with a different opinion .....
Here's John, mdf0220@aol.com - he's on a tear
Kikes like you Pam make me sympathize with Hamas and Himmler.
and this ....
Thats what we all need, two crazy cunts running for office. I have a really good idea; why dont you all go and fuck yourselves OK? You were the problem with America but now your movement is in ruins and you have been swept out of power. And with this sewer of a website as evidence of your stupidity, its no wonder why. I think the fairness doctrine will do some good. In fact I have already written my Congressman and Senator, both democrats, to get this legislation passed. We are now in power and you are all dead meat. Conservatism is dead! There is a God! For the future I would say stop listening to half crazed twats like this and stop nominating loonies like Palin and maybe you can make a showing in 2012. Doubtful but who knows.
John
email: mdf0220@aol.com
IP address 67.82.227.96 (Hicksville, NY)
and then there is the melodious teetop@gmail.com
fuck you stupid ignorant ugly ass cougar bitch fuck off and die!!!!!
So tolerant. Especially the one who looks forward to the Fairness Doctrine's shutting down of opposing points of view.
I will spare you the rest. You're welcome.
Dennis received this from a woman who is very active in the Birmingham (MI) Republican Women's Club. She, in turn, received it from the woman who's daughter was stiffed on the tip. Looks as though the daughter had used her cell to capture the pic and send it to her mom. Guess there won't be much "turning of the other cheek" during the Obama Administration.
I think we have just seen the beginning. My daughter is working in a bar in Chicago right now,12:20am. She was waiting on a table of 6 black men and this is the tip they left her. Open the attachment. It shows the paper that they left her on the table as her tip. So as we are watching the first black President giving his acceptance speech the black Americans are now calling the White House the Black house (and my daughter) "Bitch." I am so upset!
UPDATE: Other bloggers have written me as well. I am not alone. The inmates are out of a weekend pass - and believe me their reign won't be long. Wait until the folks see what they have wrought. Ouch!
Kate over at Small Dead Animals has received mail from what appears to be the inspiration for the book American Psycho - here. I am sure he has shared many a meal with Jeffrey Dahmer before they killed him in the cooler.
ripley51 wrote: |
OMG. I just found this on the website. Where's backhoe with the snappy uniform pictures for youth involvement? |
Ann, you're more of an old-timer than I am, but I've been around a while, and you know I don't comment much about abortion ( which I believe is a great evil ) or the gay stuff ( leave the kids out of it, and keep it private ) but...
But, in those "silence of my soul" moments ( when it's eternally 4:00 O'clock in the morning, and you can't get back to sleep, and you can't quit remembering all the things you wished you'd done differently ) I really do wonder-
Is the blood of those 50,000,000 babies so heavy on our hands, that we've lost God's grace? Is there no way back?
Is Obama really the Abyss...
staring back at us?
Actually they do in a way.Many lefties advocate one thing that results in aids and accrued costs to the health care system which we pay for through taxes...but oppose others....... Lets see here... gov't should ban smoking gov't should regulate the prices of drinks in bars (Stelmach's plan) gov't should regulate what parents pack in their kids lunches gov't should regulate how people raise their kids gov't should regulate speech the list goes on and on....................... BUT homosexers are free to strut about scantily clad in "pride parades", overstep public nudity laws, and, etc. Looks like some people are more equal than others....... |
Check out this entry from a blog run by an old friend of mine:
( And like I always tell youse guys- use the links, and read the comments, dam it... )
President Obama To Bring Back Slavery
November 6th, 2008 by SG --
From President-Elect Obamas website:
(Click to enlarge)
Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.
Someone should tell Mr. Obama that Mr. Lincoln freed the slaves.
While they are at it, they should also tell this Constitutional scholar that the Constitution now forbids involuntary servitude:
Amendment XIII
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The Republican Party got rid of slavery 143 years (and a bloody Civil War) ago.
And the Democrats have been working ever since to bring it back.
51 Comments »
A sample?
SG
November 6th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Just in case anyone think Mr. Obama is not serious about this, bear in mind that his new Chief of Staff wrote a book demanding this very thing:
Amazon.com: The Plan: Big Ideas for America: Rahm Emanuel, Bruce Reed: Books
http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Big.....038;sr=1-1
Rahm Emanuel wants us to have compulsory national service just like Israel.
_________________
Just an old Keyboard Cowboy, ridin' the Trakball into the Sunset of America...
Of course, we don't deserve it, but when just enough voters have been made stupid by the TV and public "education," what can you expect?
I dug in to the grocery money ( neither of us have a job... ) and renewed my membership in the NRA, GOA, and the Second Amendment Foundation. If we'd had more to spare, I'd have rejoined JPFO and the Second Amendment Sisters, too.
Keep these handy...
Click the pic to go to the Gun Facts v4.2 download page!
-The FIVE-MINUTE HANDBOOK (RKBA)--
After the appropriate time has passed ( after Duh1 takes office and starts clowning around... ) I'm going to make this:
"Don't blame Me
I voted for Sarah"
Possibilities I'm entertaining in the interim?
"Where's mah Free Gas?"
"I want my mortgage paid!"
I tried to wake people up, over this manufactured ( yes, it's a construct ) "issue" for years & years:
-A Gay ( or not! ) Old Time- GM links--
Here's the money quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1083139/posts?page=266#266
"...actor John Barrowman on what it really means:
Its been a long wait but we legitimised our relationship to each other a long time ago when we signed our mortgages together and this is just something that forces people who dont want to recognise it that they have to."
That's right- it's not about "tolerance," or "choice," or any of the other touchy-feely Oh! So! PC things-- it's about force...
The new battle line?
choice versus control.
And folks should be sure to check out this thread....
Obamas Chief of Staff Pick Took Campaign Contributions from Wall Street
And check out the info at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2127740/posts?page=13#13
I hope someone sends these Emanuel links off to Limbaugh.
President Bush could not even claim his victory for weeks in the 2000 elections because of democRAT attempts to steal the election.
He has been insulted and degraded like no other president in memory.
I, for one, will not cut this poser or his comrades ANY slack...
It depends on several factors. The most significant is your marginal tax rate since the 401k withdrawal is treated as income. In addition, most would be hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty.
So, if youre currently in the 25% marginal tax bracket, 35% of a 401k withdrawal would go to the tax goons. Unless you are in a situation thats exempt from the the 10% penalty, then it would be 25%.
If it was a sizeable withdrawal or youre close to the break point for the next tax bracket, you could end up paying a more since the withdrawal might push you into the next bracket.
Waiting patiently for smarter Freepers to tell me what I got wrong. :)
1. Set aside a food and water supply for 3 months, to start.
2. Save as much cash on hand as possible.
3. Pay off as much debt as possible.
4. Guns and ammo
Thats my four-point plan, along with getting on my knees and praying every day for my family and country. I think America is in for darker days than we have seen in about six decades.
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