Hard Truth

I recently blogged about the looming financial and economic crisis headed our way, due to the burgeoning debt created by the government, its policies and spending. Now, I'm doing it again. Well, sort of. What I'd like you to do is to take 9 minutes and 5 seconds out of your day to watch a video from the Comptroller of the United States, David Walker. Mr. Walker lays out the problem directly and succinctly so you'll understand it. This is quite possibly the single most important video you might watch this year, (if it succeeds in waking you up).

The Democrats and Republicans are in the process of ruining this country with their profligate spending and their current march towards a new fascist state. The front runners in the upcoming presidential contest are set to make matters worse than they currently are, (and that's pretty damned bad). Both of the Democrats are looking to raise taxes and increase spending to new and unheard of levels, creating a fascist state the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 1930's. In the process they will literally bankrupt the country and enslave our children and grandchildren to the debt that has been and will be created. The Republican will certainly do no better.

Unless people are made aware of Mr. Walkers words, (here and elsewhere), things shall continue as they are currently are and we will face an economic crisis of monumental proportions. The "Great Depression" will look like a minor blip by comparison. None of us will be able to prepare for what's likely to come, no matter how far back in the mountains you choose to run. There will be no escape from this looming economic catastrophe.

So, please take a minute. Watch. Listen. Learn. Act. Link to this video and spread the word, while there's still time.





via kdt

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, National Debt, Election 2008, David Walker, The Coming Depression, Politics, Fascists

REAL ID Redux

It's been some time since I wrote anything concerning the seemingly inevitable REAL ID Act and what the department of Homeland Security plans to use it for. Well, Declan McCullagh, over at CNET has a new piece on some of the most frequently asked questions concerning this travesty and how they'll go about foisting it upon the American people, (whether we wish it or not). One of the questions jumped right out at me, since it exposed yet another lever in their arsenal.

Q: What about buying firearms?
That's an open question. Homeland Security last month refused to rule out requiring Real ID for firearm purchases in the future.

When asked about requiring Real ID to buy a firearm, Homeland Security replied: "DHS will continue to consider additional ways in which a Real ID license can or should be used and will implement any changes to the definition of 'official purpose' or determinations regarding additional uses for Real ID consistent with applicable laws and regulatory requirements. DHS does not agree that it must seek the approval of Congress as a prerequisite to changing the definition in the future."

Not that a significant segment of the NRA crowd wasn't already on board with the national ID scheme, ( little brown people and t'rrists are hard acts to follow), but this has the potential to make things exceedingly difficult for those of us who are opposed to this and are gun owners and 2nd Amendment advocates. The worse part is that these DHS thugs don't even require oversight or Congressional approval for their infringements upon our rights. If they take the decision to impose new rules that require REAL ID Act approved documentation to purchase firearms, then it's a done deal.

Q: Does Homeland Security have the authority to do that kind of expansion, or can only Congress expand Real ID?
Homeland Security has the authority. The text of the law says that, starting May 11, "a federal agency may not accept, for any official purpose, a driver's license or identification card issued by a state to any person unless the state is meeting the requirements of this section." Official purpose is defined to include "any other purposes" that Homeland Security thinks is wise.

The potential list of "purposes" could be long. Real ID could in theory be required for traveling on Amtrak, collecting federal welfare benefits, signing up for Social Security, applying for student loans, interacting with the U.S. Postal Service, entering national parks, and so on.

If gunowners think they're safe then they are sadly mistaken and are on the wrong side of the issue. The time is here and now to put your foot down and just say no to the REAL ID Act. We do not need an internal passport. Especially, one which is as insecure as the REAL ID cards will be. No encryption and your info is not only shared with other states, Mexico and Canada, it will also be available to any 7-11, bar, grocery store or business with a scanner. Talk about ID theft potential. Not only will your rights as a gun owner be imperiled your every expectation of privacy will be shredded along with those rights.

My rights as a gun owner are no longer negotiable, especially where the DHS is concerned. Yours shouldn't be either. Take a stand now, because regaining your rights is a hell of a lot harder.

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Libertarian, REAL ID, Department of Homeland Security, Gun Owners, 2nd Amendment

What's Good For The Goose...

.....Is good for the gander. So goes the old saying. A case being argued before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seems to be using that in formulating their decision on a tax case involving a Jewish family, the Church of Scientology and the Infernal Revenue Service. It seems that the Co$ gets special tax breaks for "religious training" that adherents of other faiths do not receive and the reasons for this are perplexing the judges of the 9th. As usual, Department of Justice lawyers for the IRS are obfuscating the issue and acting as if there is nothing wrong with their granting of privilege to the Co$.

A Jewish couple's bid to take a tax deduction they say the Internal Revenue Service reserves only for members of the Church of Scientology is getting a friendly reception from a federal appeals court, increasing the possibility of a ruling that could create a tax break for taxpayers of many religions who pay tuition to religious schools.

During arguments on the case this week, three judges who ride the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals expressed deep skepticism of the IRS's position that the way the agency treats Scientologists is irrelevant to the deductions the Orthodox Jews, Michael and Marla Sklar, took for part of their children's day school tuition and for after-school classes in Jewish law.

"The view of the IRS is it can unconstitutionally violate the Constitution by establishing religion, by treating one religion more favorably than other religions in terms of what is allowed as deductions, and there can never be any judicial review of that?" Judge Kim Wardlaw asked at the court session Monday in Pasadena, Calif.

"That is not at all what I said," a Justice Department lawyer representing the IRS, Ellen Delsole, said.

"That's the bottom line," Judge Wardlaw and a colleague on the panel, Harry Pregerson, both replied. "This does intrude into the Establishment Clause," Judge Wardlaw added.

----------------

At about the time of that deal, the IRS agreed to allow Scientologists to deduct at least 80% of the fees paid for "religious training and services."

The Sklars took similar deductions for religious education on their returns for the early 1990s, without challenge by the IRS. However, the IRS rejected their deductions for 1994 and beyond.

As usual, the IRS has refused to provide evidence and tries to make the case that what they are doing is fair, regardless of equal treatment under the law.

"You tell us you don't know anything either, but you read the Wall Street Journal," Judge Pregerson said to Ms. Delsole. She said that even if the benefit for Scientologists went too far, the solution was not to give it to "one taxpayer and one more religion."

"That's your best argument: two wrongs don't make a right," the third judge on the case, Ronald Leighton, said. He called the agency's refusal to explain its agreement with the Scientologists "a frustration that is hard to get beyond."

Ms. Delsole warned the court that the IRS would have difficulty resolving tax disputes if it could be forced to justify those deals in cases involving other taxpayers. "Every person who can find out about it from any other religious group is going to come in and want the same thing and that would really tie the IRS's hands," she said.

As we are all well aware, if average Joe and Jane American took this tack we would quickly find ourselves being held guilty of contempt of court and would promptly be jailed till we recanted of our wicked ways. Apparently, the same rules do not apply where gubbmint lawyers are concerned. They can show all the contempt they wish as long as it is in pursuit of making their case. So much for equal treatment, eh?

I do wish the Sklars the best of luck in seeking justice against the IRS. They're likely to need it, regardless of the outcome of their case. The IRS and their DoJ allies will draw this out for years and take it all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. The unfortunate aspect is that the 9th Circuit is the most overturned court in the country, even when they're right. All taxpayers should be treated equal, while the onerous tax laws are enforced. Equal rights mean just that. Equal.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, IRS, Scientology, Religion, Equal Rights

None So Blind

Were you aware that you owed roughly $500,000 dollars as your part of the "National Debt"? Were you also aware that your government has been lying to you about that same debt? Using 3 sets of books for their accounting purposes the US Government has understated the debt by $50 TRILLION. The US government would have you believe that the Debt is a measly $9.19 trillion. If a corporation or small business kept their books in such a manner they would already be in prison and their company would be defunct.

The real current National Debt is $59 Trillion dollars and growing by the day. It may well have already reached the point where this country cannot even afford to pay the interest on this debt. This is not something you're likely to hear on the evening news since the powers that be would much rather the public stayed ignorant of the truth. If the truth of the matter were well known those who valued their families would likely break out the torches and ropes. US Today reported on the matter last year and guess what? Not a peep from the establishment or the other media.

Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.

The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition.

Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to $516,348 for every U.S. household. By comparison, U.S. households owe an average of $112,043 for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and all other debt combined.

Unfunded promises made for Medicare, Social Security and federal retirement programs account for 85% of taxpayer liabilities. State and local government retirement plans account for much of the rest.

This hidden debt is the amount taxpayers would have to pay immediately to cover government's financial obligations. Like a mortgage, it will cost more to repay the debt over time. Every U.S. household would have to pay about $31,000 a year to do so in 75 years.

Your elected representatives have screwed us and continue to screw us. With every dollar they spend on ANYTHING that debt grows some more. Our children will be no more than indentured servants, more like slaves in reality in order to pay this debt. We also shall have to pay our part as it is going to be coming due with a vengeance as the Boomers retire and start collecting all of their "benefits" like Social Security and Medicare.

Tax rates in this country will be skyrocketing as reality catches up with the obligations the power brokers have taken on in our names. There is a solution, according to the government, tho. They allude to it in the US Today article, (it's their "reason" for not including SS and the like in calculations).

The White House and the Congressional Budget Office oppose the change, arguing that the programs are not true liabilities because government can cancel or cut them.

Cancel and cut Social Security and Medicare. That'll go over real well, eh?

The Comptroller of the US, (the head bean counter at the GAO) has been speaking about this debt for years and, for years he has been ignored. He even went so far as to create a "Menu of Delayed Pain" to insert into the budget back in 2003. The powers that be removed it. He did manage to get it inserted in the back of a Social Security budget, tho. It gives you an idea of what is necessary to fix things. It ain't pretty.

Menu of Delayed Pain

• Increase Federal Income Taxes: 2003 - 69% 2008 - 74%
• Increase Payroll Taxes: 2003 - 95% 2008 - 103%
• Cut Federal Purchases: 2003 - 106% 2008 - 115%
• Cut Social Security and Medicare: 2003 - 45% 2008 - 47%
  

The Menu shows what needed to be done in 2003, when he first started sounding the alarm bells. The 2008 figures show what we need to do right now. Doesn't look very nice, does it? The government actually needs to start selling "its" assets. They have to cease their wars, foreign aid and spending. They must downsize. You know what, tho? Nothing's going to be done this year. Or next year. Or the one after that. Politicians are notably silent on this matter and will continue their silence until it is too late and we reach a tipping point. If we do reach a tipping point we will likely be looking at an economic catastrophe that makes 1928 pale in comparison.

The politicians are silent, along with their partners in the media. With one exception. CNN's Glenn Beck has actually had the Comptroller on his show to highlight the situation. Judging from the stunning silence it looks like no-one cares. Perhaps they'll care when the house of cards comes crashing down. Perhaps they'll care when they realise what has been done to future generations of Americans. All in the name of expanding government power. Perhaps we'll get lucky and the masses who are currently hypnotised by American Idol, Oprah and the race for the White House will finally wake the hell up and grab their pitchforks. I'm not going to hold my breath for any of those, tho.

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National Debt, Republican, Democrats, Libertarian, Politics, Disaster Economics, Economics