US POLITICS SPRING 2011: Let's just call off this country.

shut the heck up

Didn't realize the 'cut/cap' measure the House passed actually includes a stipulation that any future tax increase will require a two-thirds majority vote in both houses!!!

This is some devastating fucking news. Now we slide faster towards the Oligarchy Singularity.

I really need to re-think moving to Sweden.

Oh wait it still has to get passed by everyone else. Nevermind.

how devastating, a bill that will never pass the senate or get the president's signature

xp

Call me Almost Rupurt Murdoch

adam, you should probably move to sweden tho

The prime ministers of Sweden are only very rarely shot down in the street. Much less often than US presidents, tbf.

Plus taxes go to free health care and sweet parks rather than G.E. and the military.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare/7seal/R3_Seventh_Seal.jpg

Grim scene all around.

in case some of you aren't on the planned parenthood email list: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/health/policy/20health.html

A leading medical advisory panel recommended on Tuesday that all insurers be required to cover contraceptives for women free of charge as one of several preventive services under the new health care law.

Fucking excellent.

(actually, MAYBE Obama will stand up for Roe v. Wade ... God forbid some Goldman Sachs' daughter gets knocked up by some Williamsburg hipster douchebag and can't safely abort the kid.)

This is also why Roe v Wade isn't going anywhere under ANYBODY's Supreme Court, despite its potential overturning's use as a bogeyman by the Dems in elections for 30+ years. Get a new line, please.

please no quoting burt stanton's blog itt

The Swedish Consulate snuck in and removed the photo that went with my grim-scene comment above--not necessarily funny with it there, but baffling without.

The simple-minded endorsements of the Gang of 6 plan drive me nuts--

I hope the fact that it supposedly closes deductions will cause House Republicans to oppose it. If it became law, I visualize the Social Security and the Medicare and the other domestic spending cuts happening, the lower corporate tax rates happening, and the Social Security and Medicare age eligibility going up, but then oops-- the corporate and rich people deductions won't disappear as they're supposed to, and we'll be stuck with a deficit again (in addition to little money for domestic needs).

- the corporate and rich people deductions won't disappear as they're supposed to

^god, this. i mean, i could get behind lower corp rates IF these ridiculous loopholes were closed up and revenues were to actually go up. but my faith in that actually happening hovers right around zero. some good time reading if you're bored or are looking to be depressed. thinking of sending out an ALL CAPS forward of the following to everyone I know:

60-year-low tax revenues contribute to deficit growth:
http://economiccrisis.us/2011/04/60yearlow-tax-revenues-contribute-deficit-growth/

history of top marginal tax rates in the US:
http://ntu.org/tax-basics/history-of-federal-individual-1.html

U.S. rates vs rest of world (US came in at number 37):
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tax_hig_mar_tax_rat_ind_rat-highest-marginal-tax-rate-individual

corporations exploiting a variety of loopholes that allow them to pay an effective rate of 0%
http://accounting-financial-tax.com/2011/06/12-big-yet-famous-corporations-pay-no-tax/

"The truth of the matter is that federal taxes in the United States are very low. There is no reason to believe that reducing them further will do anything to raise growth or reduce unemployment." - Bruce Bartlett
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/are-taxes-in-the-u-s-high-or-low/

(Bruce Bartlett has spent many years in service on the staffs of Representatives RON PAUL and Jack Kemp and Senator Roger Jepsen. He has been executive director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House, and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during the George H.W. Bush administration.)

http://accounting-financial-tax.com/2011/06/12-big-yet-famous-corporations-pay-no-tax/

^actually, negative zero. i mean, how the fuck do you "make the US more attractive to business" at that point? just, like, pay them to keep their doors open?

But those are exceptions some will claim. Right....

My senator Mark Warner is one of the business-friendly Dems in the Gang of 6. Ugh. He eats up that trickle-down nonsense and the lower corporate rate needed junk and pretends that he's making it Democrat friendly.

sure, they're some exceptions. i realize that most small businesses aren't granted the same backrubs and handjobs the big boys are. i'm sympathetic to the fact that our *nominal* corporate rates are on the high side compared to the rest of the industrialized world. so ok lower the rates, but close the godammned loopholes. but no. Grover Norquist might throw a fit.

if these nitwits who ostensibly run our country can't admit that revenues are a major problem, particularly when fighting two wars and dealing with a massive aging boomer population, i really don't know what else you can say about it except we're pretty much fucked. and why the zomg librul media </sarcasm> isn't talking about this non-stop is beyond me.

The minority Progressive plan on that Simpson commission has apparently been lost or thrown away. Why can't the Progressive caucus stomp their feet and someohow get someone's attention? Surely there must be a handful of Dems in both Houses who could stand behind something else than what is being offered.

how the fuck do you "make the US more attractive to business" at that point? just, like, pay them to keep their doors open?

fyi we already do this with the ethanol and agribusiness and big oil

true. and yet there are people who are over the age of 6 in congress who with a straight face will say that ending those is tantamount to a tax increase.

Sully starts to feel hope and change:

Indeed, Obama, from London, looks like what he actually is: a Cameron Tory. His preferred solution is exactly the British right's: 3:1 spending cuts to tax hikes, but with tax reform thrown in as a great sweetener. It shows just how unconservative the current GOP is that it would rather risk the entire global economy than adopt the austerity measures of its British cousins.

Bleh.

allen west tortured civilian captives in iraq, was booted from the army for it, and ran on it in 2010 fyi

http://articles.cnn.com/2003-12-12/us/sprj.nirq.west.ruling_1_allen-west-iraqi-detainee-military-justice?_s=PM:US

and now he's torturing Debbie Wasserman-Schultz!

you know i might have parts of that wrong... let me look into it.

not a great guy, however

xp

the CNN story from 2003 states straightforwardly that an attack was prevented, but maybe not

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2010/03/allen_west_military_career_abuse_iraqi_detainee.php

When that didn't work, West admitted to pushing Hamoodi's head into a clearing barrel full of sand, which is typically used for clearing weapons. West then put his gun into the same barrel, near Hamoodi's head and fired.

"In my anger I do not know if I fired two shots in to the barrel or one into the air and another into the barrel," said West in his sworn statement.

West claimed that the tactic worked. "Mr. Hamoodi came forth with names, location, and method of attack." The attack was to occur near the Saba al Boor police station with rooftop snipers from Fallujah, after Hamoodi signaled to them what Humvee contained West.

Soldiers set up surveillance in hopes of catching those involved in the ambush, which was supposedly scheduled for the next day. But the attack didn't occur. A search of Hamoodi's home reportedly turned up no evidence of the plot.

Hamoodi, who was interviewed by the New York Times nine months after the interrogation, said that he was never involved in any assassination plot and that the information he gave was induced by fear of death.

Hamoodi was detained for 45 days, then released without having been charged. West told the Times, "It's possible that I was wrong about Mr. Hamoodi."

anyway, allen west.

good thing there aren't any clearing barrels in the house chamber amirite fellas

yeah the wiki account is

West, who was not responsible for conducting interrogations in Iraq and had never conducted or witnessed one, had his men detain Hamoodi.[11] In the process of detaining Mr. Hamoodi, soldiers testified that Mr. Hamoodi appeared to reach for his weapon and needed to be subdued.[11] Hamoodi was beaten by four soldiers from the 220th Field Artillery Battalion on the head and body.[12] West then fired his pistol near Hamoodi's head,[11] after which Hamoodi provided West with names and information, which Hamoodi later described as "meaningless information induced by fear and pain."[11] At least one of these suspects was arrested as a result, but no plans for attacks or weapons were found.[11] West said "At the time I had to base my decision on the intelligence I received. It's possible that I was wrong about Mr. Hamoodi."[11]

West was charged with violating articles 128 (assault) and 134 (general article) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

will, that corporation tax story source is www.ctj.org . they have lots of great pdfs highly recommended to infuriate u with the injustice of it all.

Restoring American Exceptionalism | Allen West for Congress

here's another "how we live now" kind of thing. could have gone on the casey anthony thread, or the suburbs thread, but i'll put it here: the case of Raquel Nelson

http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/pedestrian-convicted-of-vehicular-1014879.html

http://www.theagitator.com/2011/07/18/prosecutors-and-grieving-parents/

Enter the Marietta, Georgia, case of 30-year-old Raquel Nelson, which has been bandied about in the comments section the last few days. Last April, Nelson was crossing a street with her three children when her 4-year-old was struck and killed by a car. She was crossing at an intersection, but was apparently not in a designated crosswalk. The driver who killed her had been drinking, taking painkillers, and was blind in one eye. He also has two prior hit-and-run convictions. Nelson and her daughter were also struck and injured. Residents of Nelson’s apartment building have complained to the city about the intersection. The nearest crosswalk is a half mile away.

If we have as little to fear from overly aggressive prosecutors as supporters of Caylee’s Law claim, we could expect the prosecutor in this case to show some discretion and mercy for Nelson, right? Yes, she admits to jaywalking. Yes, she erred, and subjected her kids to unnecessary risk. But she just lost her son. It’s hard to fathom a more punishing, heartbreaking sentence. Moreover, the underlying “crime” here was a misdemeanor, one most of us commit every day. So mercy, right?

Of course not. Nelson was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide. Which is insane. She was convicted last week. When she’s sentenced later this month, she could spend more time in jail than the man who struck and killed her son.

more analysis:

http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/07/19/raquel-nelson-was-not-jaywalking-when-hit-and-run-driver-killed-her-child/

http://t4america.org/blog/2011/07/18/prosecuting-the-victim-absolving-the-perpetrators/

Sad.

Meanwhile back in Washington:

A few wealthy donors have called Cantor to tell him they wouldn’t mind if their taxes are raised. During two closed meetings this week — one with vote-counting lawmakers, and another with the entire conference — Cantor told colleagues that some well-heeled givers have told them they’re willing to pay more taxes. Cantor, according to an aide, has responded that House Republicans aren’t standing up for the wealthy, but rather for the middle class, who want to see their taxes stay low.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59422_Page2.html

not concerned about the poor, evidently

god if only there was some way to raise taxes on the very wealthy while keeping them static on middle-earners. *shakes fist unto heavens*

Well, given the inflated attitude towards what is middle class, I believe him. Remember those "I make $500,000 a year and can barely get by" stories?

"I'm not rich, look at all these mortgages I'm paying!"

everyone above poor is "middle class." The way everyone in the military is "fighting for our freedom."

Remember those "I make $500,000 a year and can barely get by" stories?

they weren't as funny as the "I'm a millionaire and can barely get by" stories

I could easily imagine making 10 million a year and still having trouble getting by. It's a question of budgeting when you're not below the poverty line.

If his seat is ever contended, that seems like a comment that he could be called on.

I’m shocked there isn’t more of an uproar about this. Could you imagine what the Tea Party would be saying right now if there was a law on the books that allowed immigrants to indefinitely avoid taxes on income sent back to family members in the old country, in Mexico and Venezuela and India?

Imagine the uproar if Barack Obama, in the middle of this historic revenue crunch and "We're so broke the world is going to end tomorrow!" debt-ceiling hystgeria, decided to declare a second “one-time tax holiday” for, say, unwed single mothers, or recipients of public assistance? Middle America would be running through the streets firing shotguns out its truck window, waving chainsaws in mall lobbies, etc.

As it is, leading members of the Senate are seriously considering giving the most profitable companies in the world a total tax holiday as a reward for their last seven years of systematic tax avoidance. Hundreds of billions of potential tax dollars would disappear from the Treasury. And there isn’t a peep from anyone, anywhere, on this issue.

We’re seriously talking about defaulting on our debt, and cutting Medicare and Social Security, so that Google can keep paying its current 2.4% effective tax rate and GE, a company that received a $140 billion bailout en route to worldwide 2010 profits of $14 billion, can not only keep paying no taxes at all , but receive a $3.2 billion tax credit from the federal government. And nobody appears to give a shit. What the hell is wrong with people? Have we all lost our minds?

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/holiday-in-scambodia-20110720

What the hell is wrong with people? Have we all lost our minds

can't lose what we never had eh

I see in the piece Taibbi explains how a previous such holiday did not result in companies hiring more people, but merely giving out more bonuses and such

The Georgia story above is just batshit. It's so plainly obvious that a vehicular homicide statute only encompasses people driving vehicles -- it's the unlawful killing of another USING a vehicle. Maybe if you actually throw someone in front of a vehicle you're "using it" in a sense (it's a stretch), but you can't accidentally "use" a vehicle you're not even riding in.

It's a dick move to prosecute her for negligent homicide but vehicular?

The fact that the judge didn't dismiss the charge -- lol Georgia ... ;_;

it's a dick move to prosecute her, period.

she was convicted, also. by a jury.