Great Information…..

While I can not claim credit for the compilation of facts below, after confirming the facts I felt that it was important to share…..

$34,000:
The amount of federal taxes that Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (D) failed to pay during his employment at the International Monetary Fund despite receiving extra compensation and explanatory brochures that described his tax liabilities.

True:  http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/01/timothy_geithner_obamas_nomine.html
$75,000:

The amount of money that the  head of the  powerful tax-writing committee, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), was forced to report  on his taxes after the discovery that he had not reported income from a  Dominican Republic rental property. His excuses for the failure started with blaming his wife, then his accountant and finally the fact that  he didn’t speak Spanish.

True http://www.nypost.com/seven/09102008/news/regionalnews/rangels_spanish_excuse_128444.htm

$93,000:

The  INCREASE in the amount of petty cash each of our Congressional representatives voted to give themselves in January 2009 during the height of an economic meltdown. That’s a $40 + million INCREASE!

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-recession-congress-gives-lawmakers.html See video here from Fox

$133,900:

The amount Fannie Mae “invested” in Chris Dodd (D-CT), head of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, presumably to repel oversight of the GSE prior to its meltdown. Said meltdown helped touch off the  current economic crisis. In only a few years time, Fannie also “invested” over $105,000 in then-Senator Barack Obama.

True:  http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/07/top-senate-recipients-of-fanni.html

$140,000:

The amount of back taxes and interest that Cabinet nominee Tom Daschle (D) was forced to cough up after the vetting process revealed significant, unexplained tax liabilities.

True:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123335984751235247.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Wall Street Journal

$356,000:

The approximate amount of income and deductions that Daschle (D) was forced to report on his amended 2005 and 2007 tax returns after being caught cheating on his taxes.  This includes $255,256 for the use of a car service, $83,333 in unreported income, and $14,963 in charitable contributions.

True:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123335984751235247.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Wall Street Journal

$800,000:

The amount of “sweetheart” mortgages Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) received from Countrywide Financial, the details for which he has refused to release details despite months of promises  to do so. Countrywide was once the nation’s largest mortgage lender and linked to  Government-Sponsored Entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their meltdown precipitated the current financial crisis. Just days ago in Pennsylvania , Countrywide was forced to pay $150,000,000 in mortgage assistance following “a state investigation that concluded that Countrywide relaxed its underwriting standards to sell risky loans to consumers who did not understand them and could not afford them.”

True:  http://rightvoices.com/2008/08/21/more-sweetheart-loan-details-on-senator-chris-dodd-d-ct-chairman-of-the-senate-committee-on-banking-housing-and-urban-affairs/

$1,000,000:

The  estimated amount of donations by Denise Rich, wife of fugitive Marc Rich, to Democrat interests and the William J. Clinton Foundation in an apparent quid pro quo deal that resulted in a pardon for Mr. Rich. The pardon was reviewed and blessed by Obama Attorney General and then Deputy AG Eric Holder, despite numerous requests by government officials to turn it down.

True:  http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/20/nation/na-holder20

$12,000,000:

The amount of TARP money provided to community bank One United despite the fact that it did not qualify for funds, and was “under attack from its regulators for
allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses.”  It turns out that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a key contributor to the Fannie Mae meltdown, just happens to be married to one of the bank’s former directors.

True:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258284337504295.html Wall Street Journal

$23,500,000:

The upper range of net worth Rep. Allan  Mollohan (D-WV) accumulated in four years time according to The Washington Post through earmarks of “tens of millions of dollars to groups associated with his own business partners.”

True:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/14/AR2006051401032.html Washington Post

$2,000,000,000:

($2 billion) the approximate amount of  money that House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is earmarking related to his son’s lobbying  efforts. The son, Craig Obey, is “a top lobbyist for the nonprofit group” that would receive a roughly $2 billion component of the “Stimulus”package.

True:  http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/a_plan_for_stimulus_money_national_parks/C530/L37/

…and this as a list of these related stories:  http://search.yahoo.com/404handler?src=news&+++%0A+fr%3D404_news%26ref%3Dhttp://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/01/obama-democrats-by-numbers.html&url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090129/ap_on_go_co/stimulus_national_parks_2

$3,700,000,000:

($3.7 billion) not to be outdone, this is the estimated value of various defense contracts awarded to a company controlled by the husband of Rep. Diane Feinstein (D-CA).  Despite an obvious conflict-of-interest as “a  member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband’s firms.”

True:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/22/MN310531.DTL

$4,190,000,000:

($4.19 billion) the amount of money in the so-called “Stimulus” package devoted to fraudulent voter registration ACORN group under the auspices of “Community Stabilization Activities”. ACORN is currently the subject
of a RICO suit in Ohio .

True:  http://www.ocregister.com/articles/stimulus-economy-percent-2295331-bill-pelosi

$1,646,000,000,000  ($1.646  trillion):

The approximate amount of annual United States exports endangered by the “Stimulus” package, which provides a “Buy American” stricture. According to international trade experts, a “US-EU trade war looms” which could result in a worldwide economic depression reminiscent of that touched off by the protectionist Smoot-Hawley Act.

True:  http://www.asiaing.com/2008-national-export-strategy-the-new-global-main-street.html

and http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/01/022685.php

Background:  Smmot-Hawley Act:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot-Hawley_Tariff_Act

After reading this, it makes no sense why we as a society, a people who are struggling during these tough financial times would continue to keep these “thieves” in office.  Do your part, and I’ll do mine at the voting booths and we can get these corrupt incumbents out of Washington!!!

National Debt Road Trip – Great Video Analogy

Ever wonder where we went wrong with national spending?  PoliticalMath provides us with visualization to help us decide…..

Are you willing to continue traveling 174 MPH down the road we’re traveling?

I AM NOT!!!

Wanna know where America is headed?

Like it or not folks, we’re are almost a socialist society; and worst still of many of our fellow countrymen and women fail to see that by accepting these nationalist policies being touted in Washington we are consciously traveling down a road that inevitably dead-ends with the Treasury empty, citizens carrying the heavy burden of increased tax bills and ultimately our precious democracy in ruins.

Our Founding Fathers organized this great republic back in 1776 with a Declaration of Independence from Brittan in order to provide a quality of life that is impossible under a tyrannous rule –a country where national and state sovereignty are critical and individual freedoms are up held judiciously, however here we are 233 years later ready to hand it all back.

Since Americans are rarely students of history, and we tend to ignore the ancient history of 233 years ago when we search for the answers of how to move forward; I ask that you look to Brittan under the socialist rule of the “European Union” only a decade into the process to gain a clear perspective of just where these nationalist polices are taking us.

Did you know that citizens of Brittan are born 20,000 £ in debt?  Have you seen our own national deficit?  What if the current administration continues spending at this rate over the next 8 years, what kind of debt will our unborn children be faced with?

Daniel Hannon, Member of European Parliament for South East England spoke earlier in August to the Heritage Foundation and gave an astounding speech outlining the pit-falls and landmines that Brittan has experienced over the past decade under nationalist agendas, specifically in relation to healthcare, bail-outs and stimulus.

EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!!!!  Mr. Hannon comes in about 5 min in….Listen. Learn.

Another Corrupt Adviser for Obama

Do you know the name Lawrence Summers? 

Lawrence Summers was the Treasury Secretary under President Clinton who was the mastermind behind the loopholes in the financial regulations that allowed the toxic derivatives market to almost bankrupt this country.  He now holds the post of Obama’s top economic advisor, and received $8 million dollars from Wall Street firms last year – hedge fund firms which Summers and his protégé, Tim Geithner are using to clean up toxic assets with taxpayer dollars.

Summers was the proponent behind the prevention of hedge fund regulation during the Clinton administration, which was at the center of the collapse of the derivatives market last year.  In addition, Summers was paid outrageous amounts for speaking engagements at D.E. Shaw, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as late as November 2008, shortly before these companies received bailout funds from American taxpayers.

The scariest point, is now Summers is in charge of overseeing the $2.86 trillion of bailout funds to these same companies he once protected from regulation, and received large payments from in the past year.  Someone scream, CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

Before we put a weasel at the helm of the financial crisis, I beg Congress to question Dr. Summers about what has happened to change his 1998 theory about regulations on financial companies:  “the parties to these kinds of contracts are largely sophisticated financial institutions that would appear to be eminently capable of protecting themselves from fraud and counterparty insolvencies. … ”

The same man, who less than a decade ago claimed that the financial district could self manage their loss factor is now been placed at the “forefront of the Obama administrations work to provide regulatory framework that will strengthen the financial system” as described by the White House spokesman Ben Labolt.

Read the article from Robert Scheer @ truthdig.com

Tallahassee, FL Tax Day Tea Party

We are holding a tax day tea party on April 15 near the front steps of Florida’s Historic State Capitol at 5:00 P.M. This is part of a tax day tea party national movement. More than 300 tea parties are already planned around the country for April 15, including more than 25 in Florida.

Featured speakers in Tallahassee include:
* Preston Scott, host of “The Morning Show” on 100.7 WFLA FM
* Senator Mike Haridopolos (R-Melbourne, District 26)
* Representative Ritch Workman (R-Melbourne)
* Matthew Falconer, LowerTaxesNow.org
* Francisco Gonzalez, The James Madison Institute

Also, musical entertainment will be provided by:
* H.J. Kuntry
* BenJammin Franklin
* Conserv O Punk

Please come and join over 1,000 Tallahassee area residents as we join in the American tradition of a taxpayer tea party. Stimulus-free tea will be provided.

If you can, bring a sign, a love of freedom, and a friend!

Sign the SAVE THE NATION Petition Today!

Dear Friend,

Will you take a moment now and join me in telling the White House there is a better way to restart the American economy with the FairTax?

As you know, this is a very dangerous time for America and each of us must do everything we can to change the course of the nation. Only the FairTax is big enough to solve our economic crisis without borrowing and spending the trillions in massive debt cripples our economy for generations to come…

That’s why I’m asking you to take a moment now to join me in telling the President we need the FairTax.

By adding your name, you’ll be help grow our citizen army for the FairTax, which is growing everyday for good reason. The FairTax is a real and permanent stimulus plan that America needs now more than ever. While our petition to the President makes this point very clear, it will only be heard if we have at least 100,000 names from grassroots citizens like you–who care deeply about their country and know that we can do better. FairTax supporters have already had a huge impact in the past few weeks alone. Indeed, we’ve placed full-page FairTax ads in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Tulsa World, and Investor’s Business Daily. Members of Congress even discussed the FairTax on the U.S. House floor during a one-hour “Special Order.” And speaking of Congress, we just picked up four more co-sponsors for H.R. 25, the FairTax bill, bringing our total to 51 this session. And we continue to add new names to our FairTax citizen army everyday thanks to the support of concerned Americans like you.

Will you help keep the momentum going: Please take moment now to read and sign our “Save the Nation” Petition for Tax Day 2009, just a few days away. Help us work to create a better nation for ourselves, our children and grandchildren during this critical time for our country.

Showcase: FairTax

Americans, are you tired of money leaving your paycheck before it ever reached your bank account?  Are you a business owner who dreads quarterly tax time, or relinquishing all those dollars allocated for payroll taxes?  Do you find it asinine to have to wade through all of the tax code changes each and every time Congress tweaks the rules a bit?  Contact your congressman and ask that they support the FairTax.

The current tax code unfairly hampers personal and business financial opportunity and discourages hard work by penalizing the income of workers and it inhibits economic growth, capital formation and most importantly, job creation.  When taxes are automatically taken out of our paychecks we have no control or choice over when we pay, or how much we pay on taxes, making it grossly unfair to all wage-earning Americans. 

The current tax system allows for massive loopholes encouraging politicians and lobbyists to pick winners and losers.  These “tax holes” are manipulated by high-priced lobbyists for their clients, not to mention for other special interests.  The complexity of the current system opens the invitation to those with the means to manipulate the tax code, which is why there are more registered lobbyists in Washington for taxes than for any other issues.

The FairTax is fair to all Americans, in all tax brackets, and is simple to understand.  Under the FairTax, all wage-earners keep 100% of their paychecks and allow funding for Social Security and Medicare to be more secure.  Everyone is subject to the same consumption tax rate (23 cents for each dollar of retail spending) with no exceptions and no exclusions, with those least able to share in the cost of government carrying no federal tax burden at all.

Bringing the FairTax to a vote only requires 31 members of Congress!  If 11 members of the Senate Finance Committee and 20 members of the Ways and Means Committee support the FairTax, they can bring the FairTax bill out of their respective committees and onto the floor of both the house and the senate.  At that point, it is the leadership’s decision to go to a full vote by the entire membership.

Co-sponsorship for H.R.25 (the FairTax bill of 2009) currently has a sponsor, John Linder (Ga-R) and 51 co-sponsors from congressional districts all over the country.  To see the full listing of co-sponsors go to http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_cosponsor.  We are well on our way to gaining the support needed to have Congress vet the FairTax on the floor, however, we need your help!

Grassroots leadership for the FairTax has been instrumental in educating citizens and encouraging them to contact their representatives in congress by initiating the SAVE THE NATION petition and providing a user-friendly web form to assist in contacting the appropriate member for your area.  Go to https://secure2.convio.net/afft/site/Advocacy?id=121&pagename=homepage to tell Congress to support the FairTax today!

FairTax Gaining Steam

In an email sent to FairTax grassroots leadership today it was extremely clear from the tone and enthusiasm set by Ken Hoagland, National Communications Director that the effort is gaining ground and membership due to organized efforts of state leadership.

A sneak copy of the ad that will run in Monday’s issue of Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) was released, which will undoubtedly cause another jump in membership and awareness.  In addition, “Save the Nation” rallies will be held in Jacksonville, FL on April 11^th and Columbia, SC on April 15^th with Sean Hannity broadcasting live from the rally in Columbia.  Even before these efforts, the membership is currently growing by 300-600 new supporters each day.

The most exciting release was the launch of a national push for the FairTax; “Joe the Plumber” is representing the cause tonight on Real Time with Bill Maher and Sunday evening on Geraldo At Large.  Tune in and support “Joe “in getting the message out.

Click here to RSVP to the Jacksonville, FL Rally on April 11^th

Click here to RSVP to the Jacksonville, FL Rally on April 15^th

In need of steady ground

Wow, it is now day 58 of the Obama drama, and my head is pounding from all that ways he and his congressional cronies have politicized the economic crisis.   While it has been rather comical to see the Administration dance around being deficient in of confirmations for cabinet positions; the lack of the right hand knowing what the left hand is up to is more than unnerving, it is dangerous.  Our country is seriously at risk.

News has been breaking for about a week surrounding the President’s budget and specifically his plans for Universal Health Care, dubbed “ObamaCare”.  From what I have seen, we are in trouble here.  Obama has no solid ground that he is basing his budgetary numbers on. The Administration officials refuse to pinpoint ballpark costs of ObamaCare by stating, “it depends on details to be worked out with congress.” 

Sorry to tell you folks, but that is politician speak for “We have no idea.  It depends on how many hidden programs and earmarks can be added to legislation without you catching wind.”

Reports today from Fox News.com state that for ObamaCare to guarantee coverage for all Americans, heath experts estimate the cost to be $1.5 TRILLION over the next decade.  These funds are in addition to the current and climbing $2.4 TRILLION the US spends on health care each year.  Keep in mind; this is more than any other major country – including those who already have socialized medicine.

It is claimed that the President’s budget includes $634 billion as a down payment on this colossal socialization.   These funds are to be generated partly from spending cuts, and additionally from tax increases.  However, with a President and a Congress who increased spending by 8% over last year, and have doubled the national deficit in the first 60 days, how can we trust that spending cuts will ever come to fruition?  This is a spend, spend, spend group of politicians, and it seems that tax increases are the only way the funds needed could be generated.

This is just another socialist power-grab, people it’s time to WAKE UP!.  As a country, we are already suffering through a virtual collapse of our capitalist economy, and the financial structure is no more stable now than it was before the Obama Administration threw an additional $2 trillion at it back in Feb. 

I urge you citizens, get on the phone to your congressional leaders, and write a letter, have a tea-party, whatever it takes – We must stop this Administration from bankrupting our grandchildren.  This proposal is not a temporary plan – it is permanent reform.  It sends more of our tax dollars into the black-hole of government spending, with no plan for greater efficiency other than an electronic records program that is already in use in much of the nation, and will be abused by Heath and Human Services and reduce costs by limiting the exact prevention and early treatment services that the Administration touts that it is trying to implement. 

If you know someone on Medicare, or a Veteran that receives care at a VA facility, ask them what they think of the care they receive.  Then think about that kind of care for every American, it would be a crying shame to see the best hospitals in the country like Mayo Clinics, Johns Hopkins and Mercer end up like Walter Reed.

Prevailing wage stifles stimulus

According to recent reports the government has placed a stipulation on how the stimulus dollars that are issued to individual states for certain projects will be spent.  In case you missed the memo, there is no such thing as “no-strings-attached” money.  However, this sneaky stipulation only helps to stifle the stimulus on a local level.

Fox News reports that the 1931 Davis-Beacon law that provides that union wages be paid to workers rather than market wages, a provision that is normally only applied to federal highway projects has been attached to the $787 billion stimulus package.  States who contract workers for agriculture, energy, housing and construction projects that will be funded with stimulus funds are mandated to pay a prevailing wage.

In a state like Florida, the Davis-Beacon mandate will only stifle the already dismal economy for a couple reasons.  Point 1, Florida’s economy is based largely on the construction and housing industries, so many of the projects that will be completed in the state will fall under this provision which in turn lessens the amount of projects that can be completed nearly by half.  Point 2, Florida’s worker base is mostly non-union, therefore many ‘shovel ready” projects have been bid using market rate values, thus contractors will struggle to keep afloat in paying higher wages for these projects than was originally budgeted.

It was my understanding that the stimulus package was intended to create jobs, not to mandate wages for workers.  I feel that this stipulation only defeats the goal for which it is intended because instead of putting 100 souls to work for market wages, we can employ 50 for almost twice as much money.  This reeks of income-redistribution.

Union representatives have argued that “its about time that workers were making higher wages”, and that “people should not have to work 2-3 jobs to sustain a middle class lifestyle”. However, what makes workers “deserving” of higher wages?  Will they be more productive at this higher wage?  Studies say, No.  Where in the constitution does it stipulate that the government should demand that companies provide wages necessary for workers to engage in a lifestyle that they want?  To my knowledge it does not.  The union’s point of view is very destructive.

 Businesses have been transporting jobs outside of the US for years, and not for the reasons that the media will have you to believe.  Companies have discovered that foreign workers are more productive for less money than their American equivalents’.  Personal entitlement is out of control in this country.  Many Americans have adopted the mentality that they should work less for more money.  I believe that this is directly correlated to politicians “class-warfare” rhetoric and the union’s urgency that companies “owe” workers something that they have not earned.

As a taxpayer who is enraged by the passage of the massive $787 billion stimulus package, I am now truly fuming at the knowledge that the funds will not go as far to stimulate the economy, nor create the number of jobs as was originally touted by the Obama Administration.

Read the whole story @ Fox News