Category: Politics & Government

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The Gas Tax Hustle

If you’re listening to the political hype about the “Gas Tax Holiday” you know about this program that’s proposed initially by McCain (video) and backed by McCain and Hillary (opposed by Obama), which offers a break (3 months) from paying the taxes on gasoline through the summer – designed on the surface to ease the spending for Americans on gasoline for summer travel etc.

If you care enough to dig through this bullshit, they you’ll learn enough that this plan is fundamentally flawed for Americans and could actually be detrimental to the US economy as a result (says notable scholars and economists).

The highlights:

  • The plan would ultimately benefit the Oil Companies not the American people. There are no restrictions in the plan to prevent oil companies to further raise the price of gas to accomodate a cut in price. Ultimately we could pay the same and when the tax gets implemented again – BAM! a drastic increase.
  • The national average price of gas when this was first announced was $3.38, the current average as of today is $3.67 Cutting the cost by 18 cents (the current tax levied) amounts to less than a 5% reduction. This reduction could mean an average savings of between $20 and $28 per person depending on the source.

    Wow that’s totally enough to have a holiday in Flushing for a day!!! What a scam.

    The cheapest gas in the world – ranked is:
    1. Venezuela at 12 cents
    2. Iran at 40 cents
    3. Saudia Arabia 45 cents
    44. United States $3.45

    The most expensive in the world – ranked is:
    1. Eritrea $9.58
    2. Norway $8.73
    3. United Kingdom $8.38
    4. Netherlands $8.37
    5. Monaco $8.31
    108. United States $3.45

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Bueller? Bueller?

My first introduction to Ben Stein was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off… monotone snoozer of a teacher for the prankester hero Ferris Bueller. My next revival of this character was a call to action for stoners to get the red out with Clear Eyes (Wow) and then as a smarter than thou game show host where you can win his money (I still couldn’t understand how he made the money in the first place *it was loaned*).

What I didn’t know about this Stein, I wouldn’t have known if I wasn’t pissed off about his latest movie, Expelled and furthered by his own personal conviction of its theory of Intelligent Design. Quoted during an interview on the Trinity Broadcasting System, regarding his latest movie:

Stein: “When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers [biologist P.Z. Myers], talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed … that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you.”

Stein: “…Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people.”

Science leads to killing people? Science? The methods and tools that have brought us inventions such as the light bulb, the telephone, film, the internet, automobiles, and the printing press – all items Ben has utilized in his existence. This guy has lost it and I’ve now completely wrote him off as an intelligent character. I should have know, an academic economist whom was once Nixon’s speech writer and now adamantly defends him, has no appreciation for the methods that have created modern progress.

Science is a repeatable method for discovery which is measurable practice which seeks to understand the nature life and justification for that reality. This practice is rooted in the development of human society from farming to nutrition, civil services such as plumbing, medicine, and technology such as the internet.

Learn why Expelled is anti-science propaganda aimed at creating the appearance of controversy where there is none.

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I got 99 problems and Clinton ain’t one of em

I think I just posted on how the American people dislike politicing as a reason why they don’t get more involved… It doesn’t help when you have mass media fuck up the whole process and promote superficial gossip and pedestrian issues in their “debate” that have already been hashed out for months and of which have no real reflection on resolving issues for the American people.



“It took us 45 minutes before we even started talking about a single issue that matters to the American people…” – Obama spoke the next day.

ABC held the twenty-something Democratic debate in Philli with hosts George Stephanopoulos and Charles Gibson on a very key night as this being the last meeting from the “big” primary on Tuesday in PA and probably the last chance to debate the issues before the Democratic Nomination is cast. Of course with such an opportunity, ABC hooked up with TMZ and Fox News to present a meaningful, sought after debate on reverends, bosnia, weather ungrd, lapel pins, american patriotism, the dream ticket and would you support the other in the final race.

True, true. It wasn’t until the 16th question that the “Number one issue” was asked on the economy. Some questions that were not raised during this debate:

  • How they will deal with the crumbling American infrastructure
  • Scuttling NAFTA or try to fix it?
  • Is China an adversary or allie?
  • What’s your take on the Tibetan protests?
  • If we get out of Iraq, and Al-Qaeda got back in, would the US go back?
  • Is there a plan to end military forces in Afghanistan?
  • Will you, as president, initiate American military action against terrorists residing in Pakistan?
  • What plans do you have to reverse the trend to outsource American jobs internationally?
  • What steps will you take to improve and/or promote national to local public transportation?
  • What will you do for the American service men to either expand time between service calls and/or shortening service time in the field?
  • Policies regarding undocumented workers
  • How to fix no child left behind? Further the education of our children?

Obama raises a great point – what was that BS? The “main stream media” has announced the real loser of the debate was ABC, but I maintain that it was really the American people for ABC obviously does not respect or think to highly of the intellect of it’s viewers to only spend 39 minutes of a 2 hour debate on real topics. No wonder the crowd turned on Gibson and Stephan.

Quite possibly, this whole show was a set up from the Clinton side. Of course no one really pointed out that George Stephanopoulos was the Communications Director for Clinton’s campaign and Bill Clinton’s most senior and closest personal aide until he resigned the position in Bill’s 2nd term amid pressures of poor ethics and disheartened by Bill’s sexual encounters (and lying about them) in the white house. Conflict of interest? Well this wasn’t the first time that Stephanopoulos let his bias out – what about grilling Edwards early on in this process?

Through it all, Obama has a good attitude about all this – stay above the fray and work for a better politics of tomorrow. Brush your shoulders off:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you think Senator Obama can beat John McCain or not?
CLINTON: Yes, yes, yes….

I guess that “experience” argument is done?