WatchA relative forwarded this to me. I didn't write it. --Patrick
I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:
I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:
• Social Security
• Medicare/Medicaid
• State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
• Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
• US Postal Service
• Roads and Highways
• Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
• The US Railway System
• Public Subways and Metro Systems
• Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
• Rest Areas on Highways
• Sidewalks
• All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)
• Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
• Public and State Universities and Colleges
• Public Primary and Secondary Schools
• Sesame Street
• Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
• Public Museums
• Libraries
• Public Parks and Beaches
• State and National Parks
• Public Zoos
• Unemployment Insurance
• Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
• Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
• Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
• Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
• Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
• Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
• Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care
I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:
• Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
• The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
• The government-operated Statue of Liberty
• The Grand Canyon
• The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
• The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
• All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC
I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.
I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.
I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.
I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.
Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.
Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.
SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.
_____________ _________________________
Signed Printed Name/Town and State
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The budget is much much too big but what you are calling welfare isn't why. Or it depends on what you call the budget. Social Security and medicare are not part of the general budget or general tax revenues and should be dealt with separately. These should be reformed to at the very least conform to their original limited intents. It won't happen of course. There are way too many seniors who vote. The reason ss & mc are always rolled into the general budget numbers by the federal government is to cover up the horrible true costs of the military and interest on the debt.
A realistic look at the rest of the budget would show that the military spending overwhelms the federal budget. One of the most fair assessments of this is http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm which shows the real amount of military spending as a percentage of the budget. Even then there are items lacking. A huge amount of military spending is deliberately hidden within other departments budgets. The so called welfare items that everyone is so worked up about is less than 10% of the budget.
So 10% of the budget represents “The mental disorder of liberalism is a cancer that is destroying America” or a parasite killing the host???? What then would the 60% plus of the budget that goes to the military be called? Remember that the military doesn't even include homeland security. The US represents 48% of the military spending in the entire world. Why??
I'm not in favor of wealth distribution schemes by any means. But outside ss&mc they just don't represent that much of the budget. I am not anti military either. I come from a military family. But military spending is way out of control. I am very curious why the people that say welfare is bankrupting the US aren't similarly concerned about the cost of the military which represents the bulk of the budget.
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Exactly, Welfare accounts for less than 5% of the 2.9 trillion dollar budget.
2001 vs. 2012
Causes for Changes in CBO ForecastsThe U.S. budget situation has deteriorated significantly since 2001, when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast average annual surpluses of approximately $850 billion from 2009-2012. The average deficit forecast in each of those years is now approximately $1,215 billion. The New York Times analyzed this roughly $2 trillion "swing," separating the causes into four major categories along with their share:
Recessions or the business cycle (37%);
Policies enacted by President Bush (33%);
Policies enacted by President Bush and supported or extended by President Obama (20%); and
New policies from President Obama (10%).
CBO data is based only on current law, so policy proposals that have yet to be made law are not included in their analysis. The article concluded that President Obama's decisions accounted for only a "sliver" of the deterioration, but that he "...does not have a realistic plan for reducing the deficit..."
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Now is the time to cut policies (No Child Left Behind, etc.) enacted by Bush and Obama, apparently Obama is not doing that.
We could get a 43% reduction right now.
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I think many Americans are mad about things like:
* Trillions of dollars of new debt
* Rising unemployment
* Trampling on freedom and liberty guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
* Zero Transparency and accountability for billions of taxpayer funded rescue plans.
* A "Crap and Trade" scheme that will cripple companies, hinder commerce and kill jobs.
* Homeland Security labeling 2nd Amendment advocates, anyone opposed to abortion and even citizens protesting big, wasteful government as possible "terrorists."
* Politicians voting for a $500 billion tax increase without even reading it.
* Reward Companies who practice irresponsible financial behavior (and need a bailout) and punish tax payers by forcing them to pay the bill.
My guess is that the politicians who gave us the above, and so much more, are the 'enemy within' that we here about. Isn't part of the oath of the office of the President of the United States to protect us from "enemies, both foreign and domestic"?
Just a thought.
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@bob,
I don't see where I said welfare is bancrutping America. It is wrong. It is anti-American. Forcing a voter to pay for the personal welfare of another voter should be against the law as it gaurentees more votes for the politico making such laws.
As I plainly said, the Armed Forces support the WHOLE of America - free and bond, rich and poor. The acceptable reason taxes are collected by the gov is to maintain the republic. Welfare supports ONLY the INDIVIDUAL willing to allow the gov to be nanny. Welfare also helps maintain the gang community, drug community, and illegitimate birth commnity. Can't make it much simpler. Forced wealth redistribution is not American, and should have remained against the law.
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BAP, specifically taxing the rich to pay for health care of the uninsured is an unconstitutional redistribution of wealth. While government has the constitutional power to tax to "promote the general welfare." it does not have the right to tax one group for the sole and specific benefit of another.
But thats only if anyone cares about an insignificant issue such as the rule of law.
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those pesky founding docs keep getting labeled "living" by some very left-leaning folks.
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@BAP: I don’t see where I said welfare is bancrutping America. It is wrong. It is anti-American. Forcing a voter to pay for the personal welfare of another voter should be against the law as it gaurentees more votes for the politico making such laws.
So you are OK with American poor going hungry like in Mexico, India, etc. You need to realize we need a certain amount of welfare in this country unless we plan on treating our poor like we are a 3rd world country. Unless corporations can provide a living wage to ever American citizen, it is our right as moral Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddist to help those weaker than us....now should someone want to ride the train for longer than 18 mos I propose we take them off of welfare and move them to the hospital ward for treatment of mental illness.
You do realize 75% of all welfare recipients are white of anglo-germanic decent right?...I dont think this would be as big of a issue if you knew that this wasnt a color issue of "crackhead slaves" (as you called black americans)getting a free ride.
Here are the facts, let me help you understand this better because you keep spouting redneck rhetoric:
Currently total social welfare expenditure constitutes roughly 35% of GDP, with purely public expenditure constituting 21%, publicly supported but privately provided welfare services constituting 10% of GDP and purely privately services constituting 4% of GDP.[7][8]
Its main components are mandatory and universal primary and secondary education, highly subsidized tertiary education, unemployment and disability insurance, income subsidies for low wage workers, housing subsidies, food stamps, guaranteed public pensions and public health insurance programs that cover roughly 20% of the population but pay circa 50% of all medical bills nationwide. The Social Security system, which encompasses most social insurance programs is the most prominent part of the American welfare state, and remains the largest government program in the United States and the world.[1][9] The American welfare state is distinguished from other welfare states in the developed world through its extensive reliance on the private sector, and the lack of universal income support and universal health insurance. Many services provided by the government in most other developed nations, are outsourced to the private sector with the cost borne by jointly by employers, employees and government agencies.[10] Critics have charged that this trend burdens American businesses and makes them less competitive, while supporters claims that it lowers the amount of government intervention in the economy.[11] While all Americans are enrolled in the Social Security system, have access to public Medicare health insurance once they reach the age of 65, 20% receive health coverage through Medicaid and about 25% receive wage subsidies through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), most welfare state programs usually do not serve more than 5%-10% of the public.[12] Current empirical evidence indicates that the American welfare is successful in reducing poverty, inequality and mortality considerably. Public pensions, for instance, are estimated to keep 40% of American seniors above the poverty line.
From the 1930s on, New York City government provided welfare payments to the poor.[8] By the 1960s, as whites moved to the suburbs, the city was having trouble making the payments and attempted to purge the rolls of those who were committing welfare fraud.[8] Twenty individuals who had been denied welfare sued in a case that went to the United States Supreme Court, Goldberg v. Kelly. The Court ruled that those suspected of committing welfare fraud must receive individual hearings before being denied welfare.[8] David Frum considers this ruling to be a milestone leading to the city's 1975 budget disaster.[8]
After the Great Society legislation of the 1960s, for the first time a person who was not elderly or disabled could receive a living from the American government.[9] This could include general welfare payments, health care through Medicaid, food stamps, special payments for pregnant women and young mothers,and federal and state housing benefits.[9] In 1968, 4.1% of families were headed by a woman on welfare; by 1980, this increased to 10%.[9] In the 1970s, California was the U.S. state with the most generous welfare system.[10] Virtually all food stamp costs are paid by the federal government.[11]
Before the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, welfare was "once considered an open-ended right," but welfare reform converted it "into a finite program built to provide short-term cash assistance and steer people quickly into jobs."[12] Prior to reform, states were given "limitless"[12] money by the federal government, increasing per family on welfare, under the 60-year-old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.[13] This gave states no incentive to direct welfare funds to the neediest recipients or to encourage individuals to go off welfare (the state lost federal money when someone left the system).[14] One child in seven nationwide received AFDC funds,[13] which mostly went to able-bodied single mothers.[11]
After reforms, which President Bill Clinton said would "end welfare as we know it,"[11] amounts from the federal government were given out in a flat rate per state based on population.[14] The new program is called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).[13] It also encourages states to require some sort of employment search in exchange for providing funds to individuals and imposes a five-year time limit on cash assistance.[11][13][15] The bill restricts welfare from most legal immigrants and increased financial assistance for child care.[15] The federal government also maintains an emergency $2 billion TANF fund to assist states that may have rising unemployment.[13]
Millions of people left the welfare rolls (a 60% drop overall),[15] employment rose, and the child poverty rate was reduced.[11] A 2007 Congressional Budget Office study found that incomes in affected families rose by 35%.[15] The reforms were "widely applauded"[16] after "bitter protest."[11] The Times called the reform "one of the few undisputed triumphs of American government in the past 20 years."[17] Critics of the reforms sometimes point out that the reason for the massive decrease of people on the welfare rolls in the United States in the 1990s wasn't due to a rise in actual gainful employment in this population, but rather, due almost exclusively to their offloading into workfare, giving them a different classification than classic welfare recipient.
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you're reeeediculous. some people would wonder why you cut/paste vs adding link ... but not me.
end forced wealth transfers between voters today
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Right, let em die. Who cares if poor people die as a result of governmental policies that would put millions of families in the streets without a meal.
You would make a great leader....
High unemployment, No Welfare, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid = millions of dead poor and old people....neither of which can fend for themselves
Nice idea!
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wow ... you deal in fear, class envy, and race baiting ..... are you Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton?
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El Cerrito, CA
Premium
Old Russian Joke: In capitalism it is man against man. In socialism it is the other way around.
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@BAP33
Stay off the crack, keep your 6 kids under control and seek something higher than a 3rd grade education. I am a poor righteous teacher, born to god and loved by earth.
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common lib action .. resort to personal attacks.
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I see a lot of posts from what I would consider "elitist intellectuals," liberal supporters of big government. Supporters of socialistic or communist ideology, fiat money, "fixing things" (usually things that gov't broke in the first place). Support of government dependency and limitless handouts. Inflation, intervention, liberalism, laws, lawyers and lawsuits, unions, moral bankruptcy, subsidies, tariffs, tyranny and unintended consequences. As Ron Paul says "We're loosing our prosperity because we're loosing our freedom. People didn't shrivel up and die before we had this 'never ending list' of government programs. That's a pile of feel good nonsense-believe it at your own risk.
GOVERNMENT POLICY: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, KEEP FIXING IT UNTIL IT IS.
Whats missing in America is common sense, and a few other things like the rule of law, sound money, support for the Constitution, freedom & liberty. Everyone needs to live within his or her means, even more so when we're talking about big government and its federal agencies which the Constitution makes absolutely no provision for. Taxpayers should no longer be FORCED and EXPLOYTED to maintain unconstitutional branches of government. For too long Washington bureaucrats have grown fat with wealth and power, all in the name of the "common good", comrade...it's time for this to end.
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ELVIS - you won't get any traction with those comments. Its the ugly truth. Plus you can't spell for shti.
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@BAP
..as if conservatives dont resort to attacks, lets stick to the topic at hand moving forth. A combination of Socialism and Capitalism is good for everyone. If you dont like paying for the parks, military, healthcare, social security, welfare then you have a choice to leave our country. YES, these programs need reform. I love America and all that comes with it. I am happy for the diversity that is starting to sprout up in rural white America and am not afraid of the white man being pushed out. If you choose to, sign the pledge then leave our country. No need for my tax dollars to go to someone that doesnt want to take their children to the park or to watch Sesame Street with their kids while they grow up.
My father spent 6-8 years fighting during WWII and he didnt fight for you to bring our society back into the stone age. We are not a 3rd world country and if you believe having a park is too expensive...then leave.
Period.
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you are wrong to equate constitutionally mandated national defense with unconstitutional voter-to-voter forced weath transfers via welfare handouts. Wrong.
Period.
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Like I said, Leave our country. We as Christians have a duty to support those that are weak of mind, spirit and soul. Apparently, the conservatives in our nation have no compassion for those who do not have. It is exemplified in the amount of vigor each of them put into labeling progressives as socialist. If you think that a "crack addicted single mother of 5 (each with a different daddy) that is a 6th generations-removed slave" should simply be left out on the streets with her children then leave our country so you dont have to support her.
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Carlsbad, CA
Malcolm's website
This is what no public services looks like. We would never tolerate it in this country. When people actually see it first hand, they tend to learn a little compassion.
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Elvis said- "I see a lot of posts from what I would consider “elitist intellectuals,” liberal supporters of big government. Supporters of socialistic or communist ideology, fiat money, “fixing things” (usually things that gov’t broke in the first place). Support of government dependency and limitless handouts. Inflation, intervention, liberalism, laws, lawyers and lawsuits, unions, moral bankruptcy, subsidies, tariffs, tyranny and unintended consequences. As Ron Paul says “We’re loosing our prosperity because we’re loosing our freedom. People didn’t shrivel up and die before we had this ‘never ending list’ of government programs. That’s a pile of feel good nonsense-believe it at your own risk.
GOVERNMENT POLICY: IF IT AIN’T BROKE, KEEP FIXING IT UNTIL IT IS.
Whats missing in America is common sense, and a few other things like the rule of law, sound money, support for the Constitution, freedom & liberty. Everyone needs to live within his or her means, even more so when we’re talking about big government and its federal agencies which the Constitution makes absolutely no provision for. Taxpayers should no longer be FORCED and EXPLOYTED to maintain unconstitutional branches of government. For too long Washington bureaucrats have grown fat with wealth and power, all in the name of the “common good”, comrade…it’s time for this to end."
Abe said- " ELVIS - you won’t get any traction with those comments. Its the ugly truth."
I'm with you Elvis. But I agree with Abe too. There is no willingness on the part of most of the "liberals" on this site to even begin to listen to reason. Did you see my post about the girl who was left waiting out on the side of the road with a cracked skull for 20-30 minutes because government regulations (in England that is where the incident took place) required that the EMT's FINISH their lunch break first? And someone (one of the regular liberal KOOLADE drinkers) has the audacity to say this is not an example of government regulation gone wild! It is amazing, simply amazing that a rational human being could say that this is not an example of government over-regulation.
Anyways you are not alone. More people are waking up every day. Most of the sheep are sleeping and the some are BAAAing but I'm glad that others are awake and telling the truth.
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2nd. Class. right you are...cracked skull - but gov't regulations PREVENTED timely care - is anyone really surprised. Let me take that back, is anyone with a brain really surprised? I heard a less sad but equally stupid example of "Govermnent Care" in which a women with two bad eyes HAD to go completely blind in one eye before the government would authorize corrective surgery for her other eye. UGH - and some people WANT this type of so called CARE???
Years ago, while the government and the unions were just ramping up oppressive rules and regulations my brother told me a an experience he had. He worked for Chryselr Corp., in Detroit, as a carpernter. He got called to an office to fix a wooden door that had been hit, crunched, and needed fixing. Someone had already cleaned the broken glass that had fallen on the floor so the first thing he did was grab a pair of pliers to get the remaining pieces of broken glass out of the door frame when someone yelled "STOP - YOU CAN'T DO THAT" My brother said "what the hell are you talking about?" The first guy said "That's the glazers job - you know the glass guys. You can't do their job - you'll be in violation of union rules and get written up...you just sit here, pointed to a chair, and said when the glass people are done THEN you can go about fixing the door." He said he waited for 45 minutes before two guys showed up, took out a pair of pliers, and in about 90 seconds removed the remaining broken glass from the door. Complete inefficiency - thats the Government's plan and the resulting negative, unintended conseqences. Multiply that stupidity by millions of times per week, all across America, and you begin to see why America is not as competitive as she could be without excessive government regulation. But progressive liberal socialists don't want you to know that.
Oh, BTW, my brother also laughed when he got Government checks in the mail for NOT growing crops (wheat, if I'm not mistaken) on his farm. He'd call the government a bunch of "Dumb Sh**'s"...he said "I wasn't going to wheat anyway!!!"
RE-ELECT NO ONE, turn off the TV, get active and help take back America (a ONCE great country). We can do this!
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2nd. Class. right you are...cracked skull - but gov't regulations PREVENTED timely care - is anyone really surprised. Let me take that back, is anyone with a brain really surprised? I heard a less sad but equally stupid example of "Govermnent Care" in which a women with two bad eyes HAD to go completely blind in one eye before the government would authorize corrective surgery for her other eye. UGH - and some people WANT this type of so called CARE???
Years ago, while the government and the unions were just ramping up oppressive rules and regulations my brother told me a an experience he had. He worked for Chryselr Corp., in Detroit, as a carpernter. He got called to an office to fix a wooden door that had been hit, crunched, and needed fixing. Someone had already cleaned the broken glass that had fallen on the floor so the first thing he did was grab a pair of pliers to get the remaining pieces of broken glass out of the door frame when someone yelled "STOP - YOU CAN'T DO THAT" My brother said "what the hell are you talking about?" The first guy said "That's the glazers job - you know the glass guys. You can't do their job - you'll be in violation of union rules and get written up...you just sit here, pointed to a chair, and said when the glass people are done THEN you can go about fixing the door." He said he waited for 45 minutes before two guys showed up, took out a pair of pliers, and in about 90 seconds removed the remaining broken glass from the door. Complete inefficiency - thats the Government's plan and the resulting negative, unintended conseqences. Multiply that stupidity by millions of times per week, all across America, and you begin to see why America is not as competitive as she could be without excessive government regulation. But progressive liberal socialists don't want you to know that.
Oh, BTW, my brother also laughed when he got Government checks in the mail for NOT growing crops (wheat, if I'm not mistaken) on his farm. He'd call the government a bunch of "Dumb Sh**'s"...he said "I wasn't going to wheat anyway!!!" I DIDN'T SAY THIS ALREADY
RE-ELECT NO ONE, turn off the TV, get active and help take back America (a ONCE great country). We can do this!
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Malcolm says
no public services ... and a $30K SUV gasguzzler. Send them some Prius or cars that run on sunlight.
by the way, that is what currupt tyranical governing will get ya every time.
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4X says
4X .. you know conservatives out-give libs (or hide as progressive -- same thing). You know it, because you do read and follow news. And conservative Christians FREELY give the most of their income vs anyone. So, while you are wrong, you are also hovering near pathetic on this one. We feed folks every weekend, and ask them for nothing but FOR SOME ODD REASON, they all pitch-in (that can). The gov takes money from voters and hands it to less-productive voters so they will value money less and the gov more. Conservative Christians like me don't need the gov's help when it comes to giving. So, now you have tried racisits attacks, class envy attacks, and moralists attacks. You don't have to leave this land though .. it is yours and mine ... from Califonia, to the New York highland ...
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Please don't desecrate the magnificent Woody Guthrie with ignorance of his work.
This Land Is Your Land
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I was walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me
I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me
When the sun came shining and I was strolling
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting
This land was made for you and me
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me
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oh, sounds like "highland" .. but, island makes much more sense. lol "desecrate" and "ignorance" .. actually, "bad hearing and never read the words". Good thing you dont over-react or anything crazy likethat.
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Carlsbad, CA
Malcolm's website
Bap33 says
Of course you know that SUV was part of our group and it was filled to capacity.
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Malcolm's website
Oh, and your point is exactly right, a government that doesn't spend its resources on the general welfare but has instead used them for the benefit of the powerful yields this result. Sounds like a more extreme version of our own government but things are going to change now.
It amuses me that people call Obama a Socialist when he has slashed taxes across the board and saved the banking system for the benefit of the private sector. In reality our debate is about distribution of existing resources to projects, which spinoff many more times private economic activity than the original cost.
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@Honest Abe
This has nothing to do with the United States government or Liberals or Conservatives or Christians or Muslims. This is an old misconception brought on by the implementation of Japanese LEAN MANUFACTURING practices, the point is that if it was not your brothers job then he needed to get back to his business as usual. Lean Manufacturing involves several concepts focused around reducing 7 WASTES. If it was not your brothers role, he was wasting HIS and the COMPANIES time by removing the glass. If it was his role, then you have made a valid point on how UNIONS can sometimes corrupt good practices in favor of saving a union job. I have seen this overzealousness in my prior workplaces also and do understand your point, however, this is not the rule in a union workplace....it is generally the exception. It is all about running a LEAN organization that does not waste TIME, MONEY or RESOURCES.
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@Elvis
I am a progressive who actually do not support any of the above programs you speak about. I am for reforming these programs so that they fit into our budget with less government, less taxes. We as citizens need to give up the shirts vs skins game being played by the politicians and realize that we all benefit from these programs. Social Welfare programs simply need to be reformed so that they fit within the budget. We "elitist intellectuals" could also say the same for the amount of monies being spent on the WARS being waged by the conservative Christians that pray so heavily on Sundays for Christs return. Your inference to us being "elitist intellectuals" could be countered with a reference to the "Redneck Rampage" we have seen throughout the threads as well.
Here is where we get our money from...pay close attention to how businesses only pay 305B in taxes while individual taxpayers pay 2 trillion in taxes. Obama just reduced our investment as citizens, and YES he increased our debt cleaning up the mess that has resulted from the S&L Crisis on 89. However, we should Quit looking for any excuse to blame Obama's policies when you should look at the past 3 presidents as the architects of this mess.
For the record, I would never support spending more than you take in regardless of what the money is spent on (Defense, Social Welfare, General Funds, etc.)...its just not a fundamental practice that is taught in economics. If we cannot afford these social policies then Obama needs to do as he said he would: USE THE SCAPEL IN PLACE OF THE AXE.
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It is obvious that from Patrick's list at the beginning of this there is too much socialism. Too much reliance on gov't.
I just read Patrick's quote during an interview "So again, corporate control of government is being used to part people and their money". He sees a corporate fascist in every corner. It is the gov't stupid and the voters that elects the gov't. The peoples' representatives make laws and that is where the power lies. The representatives are all corrupt (except for a handful). We certainly deserve the gov't we get - a corrupt one. We need reformation and revival in the land - a Biblical one. God help us.
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Malcolm says
fair enough .... this quote amuses me. Guess we are even. lol
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I dont know if i would be willing to part with any of the services noted above in exchange for less taxes...is anyone willing to sign the pledge?...because I am not. I only want to see these services reformed. I just think some of these services should be forced into the for profit sector and moved away from the non-profit mindsets....I mean, really, do we believe that Sesame Street has not turned a profit on the elmo dolls?
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RE: PBS,
circ - 1992, I sat and enjoyed a special they had on "Amazing Grace" ... how the song was made ... I ordered the VHS and gave money to the fund rasier ...... and then again when they did the Doo Wop special .... and I was becoming a real PBS fan ... but, low and behold, as soon as they were not having fund rasier they had prime time Sodomite programing, so I made a note to self to never give another dime, and I wont. They went to the conservative right when money was wanted, and took the money to broadcast their liberal crap. I enjoy Nova. I enjoyed Sesame Street. But, I will not support Sodomite programing directly if I can avoid it.
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LOL
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Sarasota, FL
The satire is fair commentary on the hypocrisy we have in this country regarding what is "socialism." The danger we face now is we participate in global socialism while pretending to be a center right capitalist nation. The dishonesty portends years of strife in addressing the budget and trade deficits and other matters. Even officially "socialist" Europe controls spending by EU regulation (not to exceed 3% of GDP); Europe controls immigration (less so for Great Britain and the citizens are highly irate about it); Europe doesn't maintain a globally socialist expansive military as we do. We are perhaps to the left of Europe at this point. We should take care of our own, but no way can we provide health care, jobs and education for the entire world without dilapidating our currency and standard of living.
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Saint George, UT
elliemae's website
Bap33 says
4X says
Ditto.
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you can't pledge not to use those things when a lot of them have no private alternative because the government squeezed them out. That's the ugliness of government interference into the economy. Back in the 1980s, they were literally jailing people who ran their own messenger services to protect their monopoly.
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But wait, there's even more ugliness of government interference on the way! DON'T BUY HEALTH INSURANCE - GO TO JAIL.
I heard a taped verbal exchange in which a reporter was asking Nancy Pelosi "Is it true, under the proposed plan, individuals who did not buy health insurance would go to jail?" At first she offered a double talk (newspeak) answer. The reporter said "you didn't answer my question...would an individual go to jail if they didn't buy health insurance?" Her reply was: "Well if everyone had health care insurance, and a person without health insurance went to a hospital, it wouldn't be fair for YOU to pay for him, would it?" Hahaha.
Notice the hypocrisy: (1) She still didn't answer the question and (2) she's using, as her argument, one of the points that people who OPPOSE Obama's proposal use, haha.