Shut Down?

What happens to the social safety net if the government shuts down on April 8?

Good question-and it seems nobody really knows for sure...or they just aren't telling.

The Obama administration won’t say one way or the other if programs like Social Security, unemployment insurance, or food stamps will be cut off or will continue.

So which is it? And why don't they say?..could it be that they don't know?.....c'mon.

They do say however there is a plan B, which has been in place since 1980 to cover all of the asses of all of the agencies.......just in case.

What plan? You may ask,and how does it work?

"During an absence of appropriations, agency heads must limit obligations to those needed to maintain the minimum level of essential activities necessary to protect life and property."

In other words the government is saying......."Just trust us."

What are considered essential activities?

Ask Social Security and they reply..."no comment"

Ask The Department of Labor and they tell you,...."We decline to say."

Ask USDA about food stamps and they will tell you,...."It is too premature to speculate."

But not to worry too much because this has happened before.

The federal government closed for 21 days from December 1995 to January 1996. Monthly Social Security checks continued for existing beneficiaries even though Social Security Administration initially furloughed most of its workers.

So don't freak out... just yet...if you relay on any of these programs..everything is cool.. at least for a little while longer.

Put your pitch-fork back in the closet and save it for another day.

But while you have it out you might want to give it a good sharpening.


Because practice...makes perfect.


ickenittle

Not So Merry Old England.

It seems that every where you look today there are protests of one sort or another breaking out all over the world. Some want democracy while others are trying to slow the financial pressure put on the poor through so-called austerity measures.

A quarter-million mostly peaceful demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday against the toughest cuts to public spending since World War II, with some small breakaway groups smashing windows at banks and shops and spray painting logos on the walls.

Organizers of the March for the Alternative said people from across the country were peacefully joining in the demonstration, the biggest protest in London since a series of rallies against the Iraq war in 2003.

As many as half a million public sector jobs will be lost, about 18 billion ($28.5 billion) axed from welfare payments and the pension age raised to 66 by 2020, earlier than previously planned.

Sound familiar?

As America migrates from democracy to plutocracy, The Leona Helmsley theory of "only the little people pay taxes." is becoming our official policy.

 Again and again we see tax cuts for the wealthy few, tax breaks and subsidies for the big corporations that operate as fronts for those wealthy few, and budget cuts for us. Just a few weeks ago we watched as an extension of the Bush tax cuts and a huge cut in the estate tax rate was pushed through. Now we watch as the discussion turns to cuts in Social Security and the rest of the so-called "safety net."

It looks like Britain has the same plan as the US. They will balance their budget on the backs of the poor and working class, while keeping the war machine idling and the corporate tax cheating game running at full speed.

The 400 riches people in America have more money than the 155 million people on the bottom. Does that sound like the rich and corporations are hurting any? The rich just get richer.

Middle class people have less money today than 10 or 15 years ago. That money didn't disappear, it has been transferred upward to the rich. Those Republicans you voted for, helped themselves to your money to pay their campaign promises to their rich corporate owners.

  G.E. Bringing good things to their shareholders.

General Electric-The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.

So not only did GE, the highly-profitable recipient of federal contracts and bailout money, not pay taxes, we paid them $3.2 billion. And you can thank our political hacks for making it all possible.

General Electric spent $235.2 million in political money since 2000--paid no federal income taxes in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

And in 2002, the company has eliminated a fifth of its work force in the United States while increasing overseas employment.

How do these mammoth tax dodgers get away with this? It's simple... they hire the think-tanks from the federal government to work for them after they leave. It's called the revolving door.

The smart "problem solvers" who were once on the inside spotting the tax cheats, move to the outside... where they trade that know how.. for a fat paycheck- to companies like GE to find ways to get around paying taxes. It may be unethical but it isn't illegal.



Knowing how to catch a thief comes in handy when you want to become one.

This is happening on a Global scale and the people of the world are becoming wise to the shenanigans. They are taking to the streets in protest.

Because the world isn't broke...it's that all of the money is in the hands of the thieves.

And politicians and the media are their paid guard dogs. They are looking out for numero- uno... at the expense of everyone else.

 Is the IRS finally coming out of it's coma?

In 2009, the Internal Revenue Service announced plans to release a new enforcement unit called the Global High Wealth Industry, the goal being to better investigate the complex finances of America's wealthiest taxpayers.

America's richest taxpayers.. those with incomes above $10 million found themselves at the wrong end of an audit .Nearly one in five..18.5 percent -- of America's richest households dealt with an audit last year.

Sneaky tax evasion tricks have become a growing problem in recent years, with popular strategies including converting income into capital gains and stashing cash in Swiss Banks.

Criminal investigations by the IRS also increased by 14.2 percent this year.

No wonder the House Republican­s have been making complaining­ sounds-whining about the IRS lately and want to cut it back. The IRS has been making the GOP's constituent­s' pay their dues. Nothing will incur a Republican­'s ire more than that.

They try to lay the burden of the economy at the feet of the poor-claiming it's time to pull the plug on all that...."free shit."

When in reality the biggest consumers of "free shit" are the Too-Big-To- Fail banks and Wall Street gamblers, multinational corporations and every dirty politician with an (R) or (D) after their name.

Oh BTW, GE just announced that $14.2 Billion in profits it made...and those taxes it didn't pay...just wasn't enough...they need more.. and are telling their nearly 15.000 U.S. workers to make major"concessions" this year, for the "good" of the company.


Maybe it's time for G.E employees to start a new business...something like, Pitchforks R' Us.

Place an order for more than $100 and you get a free sharpening tool.

Some "free shit"  can be a good thing.


ickenittle

Republican Mean Spirit Test



If there was a "means" test for determining a mean spirit in a leader, would Republicans pass with flying colors?

The answer is yes-and they'd be damn proud of it. Just take Wisconsin's soon to be former Governor Scott Walker. In recently released e-mails he and his thuggish cohorts spend several days planning nasty little ways to get even with democrats.

Walker schemed a plan to take away computers and parking spaces, and deny a year of service in the retirement system to punish the 14 democrats who left town for three weeks to block his union busting bill.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's staff consulted the Legislature's attorney for days trying to find legal ways they could penalize Senate Democrats for leaving and pressure them to return.

"I would just be somewhat cautious in whatever we do so that it doesn't end up creating sympathy for the Dems," Tad Ottman, a Fitzgerald aide, wrote to his chief of staff John Hogan on Feb. 20. "The more directly we can tie whatever action we take to what they are doing the better it will be."

The emails released show that Fitzgerald knew all along that they were barred from arresting the democrats or charging them with a crime or acts of treason. Though you know they sure wanted to.

"It now seems that monetary penalties and removal of privileges may be our only recourse," Fitzgerald legislative aide Rob Richard wrote on Feb. 20, citing the constitutional prohibition on arrest.

I say we not only make it hurt for them, we have to make it hurt for their staff as well," Richard wrote on Feb. 20.

How nice, do you suppose he punishes the neighbor kids when his own kids misbehave? Or maybe he gives his secretary a hard time when his wife says, "not tonight honey..I have a headache."


After other emails were released- an Indiana prosecutor cohort resigned after the emails showed he suggested Governor Walker stage a fake attack on himself to discredit unions protesting his budget repair bill.

"If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions' cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the unions," Lam said in his email.

Currently, the media is painting the union protest as a democratic uprising and failing to mention the role of the DNC and umbrella union organizations in the protest," he continued. "Employing a false flag operation would assist in undercutting any support that the media may be creating in favor of the unions."

So, Indiana officials are suggesting to the Wisconsin governor that they should use agent provocateurs as "union members" to attack (with firearms if necessary) to get public sympathy , and to suggest the use of lethal force on peaceful protesters?

Oh, and how many innocent people did they convict in Indiana due to their Fascist mindset?

Republicans do not govern, they rule.






 Let's erase history to make it more business friendly;

Maine Governor Paul LePage has ordered state workers to remove from the state labor department a 36-foot mural depicting the state's labor history. Among other things the mural illustrates the 1937 shoe mill strike in Auburn and Lewiston. It also features the iconic "Rosie the Riveter," who in real life worked at the Bath Iron Works.

The governor's spokesman explains that the mural and the conference-room names were "not in keeping with the department's pro-business goals."

New definition of pro-business; Sell out the people to honor the corporations.

Big business and Wall Street have come out of the recession with their pockets stuffed with cash and they can't wait to get their greedy hands on the public commons.The Welcome sign is up and they are being given the keys to the kingdom.

The Pro-business mantra is chanted all across America- Governors are slashing corporate taxes as they strip state budgets to the bone. House and Senate Republicans are intent on deregulating, privatizing, and cutting spending and taxes so their corporate and Wall Street buddies will do even better.

The new Republican slogan is "rising tides lift all boats."

What they don't tell you is they plan to privatize the tides- then make you rent the boat.


In George Orwell's story 1984The "party" erased history so citizens could never bring up the past to challenge their authority. As Orwell said, "he who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future."

Here it is in real life.

Roll back workers' collective bargaining rights and decertify unions if at all possible give massive tax breaks to corporatio­ns, falsely claiming it is a guaranteed precursor to "job creation."

Enact massive cuts to public education funding which can only result in privatizing­ education to either religious institution­s or for-profit entities.

Sell off state assets to private corporatio­ns at whatever price they choose

Dismantle "business-­stifling" regulation­s at the state level and install corporate-­friendly administrator­s in the name of stimulating­ business and, again, "creating jobs"

Install special "emergency­" rights allowing them to usurp the authority of other government entities (such as municipali­ties or school districts who they decree to be "in crisis."

Isn't this an attempt at a corporate /fascist take over of America?

Let’s remove all potentially­ biased historical references from textbooks-wiping the slate clean.

The Texas State Board of Education is a leader in the field; revisiting history while "correcting" the past to include the benefits of slavery – particular­ly to the slaves, such as they didn’t have to worry about looking for housing or pay taxes. It kept the price of cotton goods down for everyone else.

We’d realize labor unions weren’t necessary. Workers LOVED those 14 hour/6 day work weeks with children working with adults in mines saving parents expensive childcare costs.

Shopping at the company store allowed paying rent for the company housing with one convenient stop.

Let's promote all the virtue of business with slogans such as: “competiti­on BAD – monopolies and trusts GOOD”. Replace labor affirming murals with business affirming murals of Comcast, General Electric, Enron, BP and Bank of America.

Let's rebuild America into something we all fear.


Someone said this long ago;

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching­­­ that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporatio­­­ns have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.­­­"

-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864

(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)

         Lincoln was right then and he is right today...heed the warning.

ickenittle

                                                  

Let's Play Kick the Poor





Minnesota Republicans are pushing legislation that would make it a crime for people on public assistance to have more $20 in cash in their pockets any given month. This is a more generous change from their initial hideous proposal, which banned them from having any money at all.



On March 15, Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee testified in front of the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee on House File 171. Buechner told committee members, “We would like to address the provision that makes it illegal for MFIP [one of Minnesota’s welfare programs] families to withdraw cash from the cash portion of the MFIP grant - and in fact, appears to make it illegal for MFIP families to have any type of money at all in their pockets. How do you expect people to take care of business like paying bills such as lights, gas, water, trash and phone?”



House File 171 would make it so that families on MFIP - and disabled single adults on General Assistance and Minnesota Supplemental Aid - could not have their cash grants in cash or put into a checking account. Rather, they could only use a state-issued debit card at special terminals in certain businesses that are set up to accept the card.

The bill also calls for unconstitutional residency requirements, not allowing the debit card to be used across state lines and other provisions that the Welfare Rights Committee and others consider unacceptable.

I wonder who would be providing those cards and terminals and to whose campaign did they contribute.

Koch Family Welfare Store coming soon?

So collecting aluminum cans or selling your '78 Ford LTD so you can afford to upgrade from Top Ramon to Cup O' Noodles will be a crime?


And all those "special terminals" in certain businesses that are set up to accept the card will be owned by republican campaign contributors and none of them will be located in wealthy neighborhoods, so that the rich won't have to stand in checkout lines with all-those icky poor people.

Arizona is at it again.


It might not be a scarlet letter...yet.


But a Chandler Republican lawmaker wants the debit cards now given to food stamp recipients to be bright safety orange. And if there's any doubt about the card pulled out of someones wallet at the checkout, that would be erased with the mandate that there be, in large, black print, the words,

"Government Food Stamp Card."  in other words,


"Look over here everyone -another Welfare Bum!"


First-term Rep. Jeff Dial said his goal is not to stigmatize those who qualify for the aid, formally known as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Instead, Dial told Capitol Media Services he wants to prevent fraud.

"If that does concern people that they have a bright orange card, I hope they go get a better education or better jobs and stop using that card," he said.      


 Do these words of wisdom apply to the disabled and the elderly as well?

Last week Republicans were saying,"get a job loser," This week they're saying,

"Get a better job loser!"

As of last month, there were more than 431,000 Arizona families getting some assistance.

Dial said the bright orange color and bold lettering would make it "very clear" what the card is. That, in turn would direct the retailer to demand additional identification proving that the person presenting the card is, in fact, the legitimate holder.

I wonder if he would approve of a siren going off at the same time the card gets swiped through the machine "just for kicks."

Dial said the fact that funding comes not out of the state budget but from the federal government does not reduce his desire to curtail fraud.

"What it comes to is, we're all paying taxes to the federal government," he said, with the state only administering the program. "It may not be coming out of our budget. But we should be good custodians."



Protecting the American Taxpayer.

 The warrior of waste reduction.


If that were true how about going after some of those corporate Welfare queens.



In Minnesota and Arizona it's a crime to kick a dog.

But it's OK to kick the poor.


Because they deserve it- just ask a Republican.


ickenittle

Home Sweet Homeless

Foreclosures in 2010 were just the tip of the iceberg as banks are predicting that at least a million more homes are set to enter the repo market early this year.

Added to the the mess is rampant unemployment on top of even tougher lending standards and you have a mixture of too many houses with too few qualified buyers leaving the housing problem in extended- double limbo.

Basically there are just too many homes and not enough buyers, which drives prices further down. And the road to ruin is forcing more people to walk away, which keeps the foreclosure machine grinding out more empty houses that no one can buy.

The machine is well oiled and running at full capacity- fed by the banking empire in its attempt to stave off its own looming demise. The empire needs the fuel to sustain its sacred balance sheet which suspends for a time the lie that they are fiscally sound.

From  2006 to 2011 housing values have plummeted and are expected to bottom out at 40% Which is great if you have the ability to snap up a bargain -but not so great if you are stuck with a house that has lost 40% its value and you are still paying what it used to be worth. Home ownership has been so decimated that right now we are at 1998 price levels.

Over a million homes were repossessed in 2010 with pitiful few being resold. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association there are right now-eight million Americans who are a month behind on their mortgages. Five million are at least two months behind and one million more will getting kicked out this year.

Deutsch Bank projects that 48% of all mortgages in America with have 0 equity at the end of 2011.

Real ghost towns are beginning to emerge in certain areas. New Orleans has a 21.5% rate of empty houses. Dayton Ohio has 18.9% empty. Even people with jobs are having a harder time getting a loan. The financial institutions have tightened lending standards and are requiring more from buyers than ever before.

Government has made it worse in its effort to avoid another credit crisis, borrowers need bigger downs and can expect to pay higher fees to cover risks-with better credit scores than before. Plus government guaranteed loans are coming with higher premiums for government backed mortgage bonds.

Only 47% of all Americans have full time jobs so all this recovery talk seems nothing more than hot air. Until the job problem is addressed there will be no housing recovery. It takes an income to buy a house-until that gets better the rest is just rhetoric. And this was before the crisis in Japan.

The big scam

Banks continue to hold onto their REO (real estate owned) inventory.Why is this you ask?

The biggest reason - if they move a property off their books, they have to take the loss.  If they keep it on their books, they can value it much higher, making their balance sheet look better.  And, many of these banks, especially the huge ones, have separate divisions that are responsible for maintaining the bank's REO property. 

What most people don't realize is that when a foreclosed home is finally sold, the original mortgage holder does NOT get paid back first, it's the people who maintained the property that get paid first. 

Obviously, these divisions that maintain the property are charging $100 to cut the grass, meanwhile they pay some guy $30 to do it.  They are marking up everything - lawn maintenance, snow removal, etc... They even charge extra fees for paying the property tax.  Remember, in most cases, the companies that maintain these foreclosed properties are actually subsidiaries and divisions of the large banks who are the mortgage holders.

 So, contrary to popular belief, the longer a home sits vacant, the more profit a huge bank can make.


Now there is a new fear looming over 2011 called stagflation-which means high unemployment and inflation occurring at the same time-and even as the Federal Reserve prints money as fast as it can to slow it down signs are beginning to emerge that inflation is here to stay.

Now that gas costs more and food costs more pretty soon everything will cost more to live in that house that is worth nothing. And don't forget you won't be making more to make up the difference-unless you get another part-time job.

The Federal Reserve just released their Flow of Funds Report and U.S. households have lost $6.3 trillion in real estate wealth from the peak.

This kind of inequality is rare and the last time we saw this kind of wealth inequality divergence we ended up in the Great Depression.

If you look around there is loss as far as the eye can see- unless you are one of the thieves living behind the walls of a beautiful gated community.

If so you might want to invest in a moat.


Welcome to the lost decade.


ickenittle

Michigan's Tin-Pot Governor



Seems Governor Scott Walker was just a  handy distraction with his union busting bill. He and his cohorts have even worse legislation designed to shatter democracy and turn America cities into mutant corporations.

Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder is turning out to be quite a Tin- Pot dictator.

Snyder wants to be able to fire at will elected officials by appointing a fiscal emergency czar called an Emergency Financial Manager who would have to authority to sell entire towns to corporations.

The so-called Michigan Martial Law Act. gives Governor Snyder the right to do away with whole cities or school districts without the public having any say in the matter.You wouldn't even be able to know what's going on in your own town!

This would give the Governor the right to appoint an overlord-overseer which could be a person or corporation to merge cities or sell them out right to the highest bidder. You might wake up one morning to find out Corporation X has taken over your town-and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do about it because the people you voted for to represent you- have all been canned and a corporate citizen is now calling the shots.


According to the law, which has already been approved in the House, the governor will be able to declare “financial emergency” in towns or school districts and appoint "someone" to fire local
elected officials, break contracts, seize and sell assets, and eliminate services.

Welcome to the new American dictatorship. Now Governor Snyder can starve the cities giving away tax breaks that create a "fiscal emergency" that he can officially declare as a state emergency then seize control.

Hitler did the same thing in 1933 with his Nazi Enabling Act. Hitler declared one party rule, abolished the unions, and declared Germany a "Christian Nation."

What Governor Snyder is doing is attempting to do is declare one party rule (Republican), abolish unions and declare Michigan a "corporatist state".


This is the Republican vision for America...got that yet?

If you don't want America to become one giant company store you'd better turn off Fox Lies slap yourself hard in the face and come out of your coma.

Being brain washed is one thing.

Being brain flushed is entirely.. something else.


The good news is- you can  recall a  new governor in Michigan
after 6 months-so even if you were dumb enough to vote him in,there is  still time to redeem yourself.



ickenittle

Newt Gingrich Is Like Jupitor

 Self appointed guardian of  public morals-former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is once again talking about his presidential aspirations.

Gingrich has longed for the presidency especially during the Clinton years during which he was carrying on an affair with a staffer- while trying to get Clinton impeached- for carrying on an affair with a staffer.

After being fined $300,000 for ethics violations in 1997 for using tax-deductible money for political purposes- Newt set aside his presidential aspirations to work behind the scenes in the creation of the new republican party-the one we are currently plagued with today.


 Now Gingrich is and is attempting to re-package the old image of Newt the ethics violator, hypocrite, liar, general scum, and marital cheat with a scrubbed up "new and improved "version one of open honesty about past  "dalliances," "mistakes," "judgement errors" and "indiscretions."


Newt Gingrich is a lot like Jupiter.


Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and largest planet within the solar system.

Newt Gingrich is about as close to his sun (the presidency) as Jupiter- and the largest hypocrite in the Republican polarization party system.

Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These Planet's are known as the outer planets.

In comparison Newt Gingrich can be classified as a giant gasbag- and is known for his way-out-there-conservative ideas and hypocrisy the size of Jupiter.



Wife #1 after Newt

Speaking about his reputation for being an adulterer, Newt compares his wives to automobiles and this is how he explained his reasons for wanting a divorce from one of his wives;


She called a minister they both trusted. He came over to the house the next day and worked with them the whole weekend, but Gingrich just kept saying she was a Jaguar and all he wanted was a Chevrolet. "'I can't handle a Jaguar right now.' He said that many times. 'All I want is a Chevrolet.''


Jupiter is pretty dense for a "gas planet" and so it seems is Newt Gingrich- (if this is the best he can do.)

"Sorry honey...you just aren't a Chevrolet."



Wife #2 After Newt

 Gingrich left his cancer stricken first wife-who obviously became a Chevy Chevette- to be traded in for a multiple sclerosis stricken wife he then left for his mistress turned wife, obviously a newer model.

Newt likes a sure thing because when he's ready to leave his current wife he first proposes marriage to the next model before calling a tow truck to haul the old wife away.

Wonder if he then donates her to charity?

When asked by second wife the AMC Pacer about how he could go against the things he preaches like family values, Newt said this;


“It doesn’t matter what I do,” he answered. “People need to hear what I have to say. There’s no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn’t matter what I live."

Jupiter has four large moons and about a dozen smaller ones orbiting around it.


It's shape is unusual called an oblate spheroid due to it's rapid rotational spin. It also has a bulge around it's middle.

Newt Gingrich also has a bit of a paunch which he is trying to get rid of in order to look more presidential.

He too has quite a spin, and about as many former mistresses and wives orbiting around him.


If Jupiter was a man he would have dumped Venus by now but not before Uranus promised she'd marry him first.


Newt blames his bad behaviour on his love for America. "I was just working hard for America- I worked too hard and things happened."


Things happened?



Newt's ex wives and lovers.


Tsunami's happen.... Earth quakes happen....Car accidents happen..


C'mon Newt.


If working hard for America makes you cheat on your wives, you might be a little too in love with America,


Someone better cover up the Statue of Liberty... pronto. 



You just never know what turns these Republicans on.



ickenittle

Wisconsin's Scott Walker's Palace Restoration



 Wisconsins' soon to be former Governor Scott Walker needs a bigger shovel as he adds daily to his already mountainous pile of lies and exaggerations.


The latest being passed on via the Fox Lies Network is a trumped up amount of money needed to "restore" the Capital building so severely damaged by posters put up with blue painters tape. Walker's Department of Administration Secretary estimated the cost for marble restoration would be a whopping $7.5 million to repair the damage caused by the painters tape.

Seems a bit of a stretch to reasonable people but not to Emperor Walker, who wrecks the budget then tries to fix it with other peoples money.


Walker's administration said it would need $7 million to repair the damage and between $60-$500,000 just to assess the condition to the building. Wonder if that includes new furnishings for the Governors office as well which probably doesn't have gold plated plumbing fixtures in the executive rest room-like other palaces have.

After being criticised for the outrageous figure the Governors office walked back the figure paring it down to an equally outrageous $347,500 if "restoration" experts weren't needed.

If he's so quick to walk-back these numbers,what else has the Emperor with no clothes miscalculated?

Governor Walker must be disappointed apparently he views the Capital Building and his office to be something like the Vatican.

Oddly, it never occurred to Walker or his Administrator to consult with the Capital janitorial staff to use some good old fashioned elbow grease to remove the tape residue....if there really is any.

For a state that is supposedly so broke it can't make it's payroll-Governor Walker sure is knows how to spend taxpayers' money like a drunken sailor.


And what he doesn't spend he gives away to needy corporations.


Maybe Governor huckster was looking forward to a little kick-back from yet another no bid contract.


Wonder if he runs his personal finances this way;

When Governor Walker needs a car wash in his budget, does he go to the body shop and get an estimate to have it repainted?


When Governor Walker's wife asks for a maid to vacuum the carpet-does he call in carpet installers to install new carpet?

Maybe when his grass needs to be mowed he calls up Halliburton instead of the kid next door-who could really use the work to help his parents, now unemployed teachers.....pay the electric bill.



ickenittle

Governor Walker And Skippy Peanut Butter





Contaminated with salmonella -Skippy brand peanut butter is being pulled from grocery store shelves nationwide in a massive recall.

Contaminated with right wing insanity soon to be former Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin will be removed from Wisconsin's State Capital building in a statewide recall.

Both Skippy and Walker have been found to be toxic and unfit for human consumption. Skippy super chunky and creamy lite peanut butter have traces of salmonella that can prove life threatening to children,the elderly and those with weak immune systems.

Scott Walker has been proven to be a toxic, corrupt shill that is life threatening to the health and welfare of the good people of Wisconsin and those exceptionally at risk like public employees, teachers and anyone with a weak stomach. 

The symptoms of Salmonella include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

The Symptoms of Scott Walker syndrome include, loss of democracy, freedom to negotiate, access to public buildings, threats of  illegal arrests, manufactured deficits, broken legal contracts, plundering of State funds, collusion with corporate entities, extortion and holding hostage public employees with threats of layoffs.

Recovery from Salmonella poisoning sometimes requires hospitalization and plenty of bed rest.

Recovery from Scott Walker Syndrome is recall or die- a slow painful death caused by poverty brought on by having no Medicaid to take your kids to the doctor when they eat a tainted peanut butter sandwich.

Then not even being able to buy a state life insurance policy after June 1st to pay for their funeral -because he wants to privatize that too.

If Governor Scott Walker was president then Skippy Peanut Butter would remain on the shelves as is, when enough people got sick or died-their only recourse would be a lawsuit to cover the cost of their dead children.

This is the Republican dream of deregulation where bad peanut butter stays on the shelf until enough people stop buying it and the company goes out of business.


This is Scott Walker's Koch Bros. vision


This is the Tea Party Republicans'  nightmare vision.


At least for awhile we can still count on having a government that inspects our food.

Better stock up while you can until the Scott Walkers' of the world take over.

Otherwise food safety will be a crap shoot-right along with job security, fair wages,and the ability to have a decent life.


ickenittle

Chow Mein At Record Levels

The price of food in China has sky rocketed and the Chinese people aren't happy.

"China is a rich country-yet food prices are sky high." said one citizen who wanted to remain anonymous.  "we can't afford property yet all the corrupt officials gamble our money away in La's Vegas."


Sound familiar?


In America food prices are rising and Americans are saying,"prices for food are going up and my wages are going down.We can't afford our house payment- yet all the corrupt Wall Street bankers were allowed to gamble our pensions away on La's Vegas style investments."

Small pockets of demonstrators have been popping up in China in the Internet inspired jasmine movement which directs people to show up in locations like McDonald's en- mass just to make their presence known.

It's the peoples way to subtly say."Hey... we're here-and we aren't happy."


In America demonstrations are growing as Republican Governors begin ramping up austerity measures  called budget repair bills, in which they deliberately create a deficit by giving tax breaks to corporations then try to make public workers pay for it.

In Wisconsin the people are loudly saying,"We don't buy it -and we're not happy."


Chinese officials have stated they will clean up the corruption and fearing a giant mass of angry Chinese peasants, have promised to create a more fair distribution of wealth. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to punish any abuse of power by officials and narrow the growing wealth gap. He promised to curtail food costs and tackle surging property prices. He also cut economic growth targets and said the government would focus on ensuring the money gets spread around.

In America Republican Governor Walker has closed the Capital to the public, violating a court order-written new illegal laws ,and called for the arrests of Democratic law makers. What abuse of power?


Republican officials have stated they will clean up the corruption that threatens the economic imbalance-by weakening the enemy by foreclosing on their homes, reducing their retirement pensions and ending collective bargaining rights in order to maintain the status quo.

The Chinese government describes its system this way,one of the key elements of the Chinese system is that it does not try to suppress social demands as much as to respond to them before they turn into political ones.



Everyday politics in China is about how to handle social demands.

In America everyday politics is about how to handle elitist demands.


The American Empire Government describes it's system this way;

"One of the key elements of the American system is that it does not try to suppress political demands by the wealthy-it responds to the needs of the top 10% effectively by ignoring all the rest.

In China the people fear the government.

In China the government fears the people.

In America the government fears it's Corporate Citizens.

In China a thug like Governor Scott Walker- would be punished-and removed from office. He might not get the death penalty but if he did his family would be charged for the cost of the bullet.

The Chinese government is Communist.

The American government has strayed into Fascism.

By October the U.S. Postal Service will be broke.

This week 236 House Republicans and 13 democrats voted down a motion to end tax-payer funded subsidies for Big Oil.

Yet we are told America is broke and we all need to make sacrifices.

Unions are told their contracts don't need to be honored -yet Wall Street bankers contracts were honored giving them their bailout bonuses.

In China the people wouldn't put up with this-and the government would respond. The shear number of Chinese people keep the government in check. They wouldn't want to start a war.



In America Republicans don't care if they start a war. They only care about winning at any cost and enslave us in their ideology.

Seems now a days -China feels more like the way America used to.



ickenittle