has anyone gone to/seen any of the tea party protests going on today? there are hundreds of people outside of the congressional office that i intern at right now.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/15/tea.parties/index.html
Texas governor says secession possible
Posted: 11:56 AM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
(CNN) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn\'t ruling out the possibility his state may one day secede from the nation.
Speaking to an energetic and angry tea party crowd in Austin Wednesday evening, the Lone Star State governor suggested secession may happen in the future should the federal government not change its fiscal polices.
"There\'s a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We\'ve got a great union. There\'s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we\'re a pretty independent lot to boot." (Video below: Tea party fires up debate)
Perry, who is beginning to gear up for what could be a challenging re-election race, rejected more than $500 million in federal stimulus funds earlier this year and has been highly critical of President Obama\'s stimulus package. (Related: Joe "The Plumber" speaks at Michigan tea party)
His comments come a week after endorsing a resolution in the Texas state House reasserting state sovereignty over federal mandates.
Specifically it states that "all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed."
Texas, America\'s second biggest state in area and population, was its own nation for 10 years before joining the United States in 1845.
Should Texas one day secede, one man may already be vying to be its president. Actor Chuck Norris said last month he may be interested in the post.
“I may run for president of Texas,” Norris wrote in a column posted at WorldNetDaily. “That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.”
Quote from: Mamalakabubadaya;226813has anyone gone to/seen any of the tea party protests going on today? there are hundreds of people outside of the congressional office that i intern at right now.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/15/tea.parties/index.html
Well...they are represented. They are just in the minority. It\'s democracy, get used to it. They were elated for the last 8 years when they were in the majority. If nothing else it is political theatre, which is entertainiment like all the rest.
Also, these bailouts were proposed and authorized by the previous administration, so keep that in mind too.
I heard an interesting discussion on the news over the weekend with two key points:
1.) Banks are doing fine; more people invested money in banks in the 4th quarter than any time in history, so they are not running out of money.
2.) A percentage in the high 90s of the mortages in this country are being paid on time and are collecting interest. No mater how large a percentage isn\'t, more are, so that argument is a wash.
3.) [this is a conspircacy] Recently (07 and 08) banks had to start reporting their assets differently than previously. You can thank the post-Enron (Sarbanse-Oxly) legislation for this. The most important change is that assets had to be reported at the current value, not at the projected, average, or logical market value of the asset.
If I had an asset that normally would be worth $100,000 dollars, but because of current economic situations, I have to list it at the current market price of, say, $10,000; a net loss in of $90,000 even though the asset is still worth $100,000 (or more), just not today.
Enron kind of took advantage of that loop hole and reported that same asset for $10,000,000, which caused that legislation.
...this is why markets should be free. They are like wars. Regulators are like generals; always getting ready for the last crisis.
This Tax Is for You
A levy on Joe Six Pack.
Today is the dreaded April 15, but at least in Oregon it\'s even going to cost you more to drown in your tax sorrows. In their sober unwisdom, the state\'s pols plan to raise taxes by 1,900% on . . . beer. The tax would catapult to $52.21 from $2.60 a barrel. The money is intended to reduce Oregon\'s $3 billion budget deficit and, ostensibly, to pay for drug treatment.
If it passes, Oregon will overnight become the most taxing state for suds, one-third higher than the next highest beer tax state, Alaska. The state may do this even though Oregon is the second largest microbrewery producer in the U.S. The beer industry and its 96 breweries contribute 5,000 jobs and $2.25 billion to state GDP. Kurt Widmer of Widmer Brewing Co. says the tax would "devastate our company and small breweries throughout the state." Adds Joe Henchman, director of state projects at the Tax Foundation, "This microbrewery industry has gravitated to Oregon in part due to low beer taxes."
For Oregon to enact punitive taxes on its homegrown beer industry makes as much sense as Idaho slapping an excise tax on potatoes or for New York to tax stock trading. Even without the tax increase, taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in a glass of beer, according to the Oregon Brewers Guild.
But Democrats who run the legislature are desperate for the revenues to help pay for Oregon\'s 27.9% increase in the general fund budget last year. If they have their way, every time a worker steps up to the bar and orders a cold one, his tab will rise by an extra $1.25 to $1.50 a pint. Half of these taxes will be paid by Oregonians with an income below $45,000 a year. Voters might want to remember this the next time Democrats in Salem profess to be the party of Joe Six Pack.
I keep hearing my conservative friends saying Obama will be a 1 term pres, but the republican candidates so far are pretty hilarious.
I don\'t think Obama is so much of a bad president, just congress is full of retards and it doesn\'t allow him to get anything done.