Limbaugh, Rosen, Mirror Images

To gain an upper hand with the pubic, communications specialists, including political advisers, radio and TV pundits, celebrities, bloggers, and anybody else with a megaphone will try to trivialize, criticize, vilify, and expose their political enemies using every tool at their disposal..

Demagoguery is a useful and very effective political tool and it will be exploited throughout the year attempting to sway the election.  I enjoy watching it being played about and admire the skills of the best players.  As a lower form of persuasion, with practice just about anybody can get good at it, but the masters perform an excellence that is a joy to watch.


In the heat of the battle, some will go too far and go over the line, exposing themselves to pubic attack by the very enemies they wish to destroy. The enemies will, of course, take advantage of the opening and use the inflammatory remark to turn the tables, and attempt convince the public that the other side is not credible.

To his audience's amusement, Rush Limbaugh baits the left with outrageous remarks and accurately predicts the reactions.  He is very successful and knows exactly how to do this.  He made himself a target and damaged the right when he went too far with Sandra Fluke.  The left created a war on women from his comments projecting those comments onto the republicans.

I listened to his outrageous comments that week, and those who are familiar with him know that he knows better than to seriously connect the use of birth control pills with promiscuity.  He stated on several occasions that if Fluke could not afford the vast amount of birth control pills that would strap a student who could afford the $43,000 plus fees, plus room and board per year to go to Georgetown University Law School, she must be promiscuous.

Knowing that the cost of contraception does not increase with frequency, the comments, although off color, were meant to ridicule through satire, something he quite good at, but a cheap shot, nonetheless.

On CNN, Hilary Rosen, a White House consultant, trying to ridicule the idea that Mitt Romney would ask his wife about women's issues, said that this stay-at-home mom never worked a day in her life, obviously referring to her wealth advantages, not her homemaker work ethic.  The right turned the war on women around by projecting her statement onto all stay-at-home moms creating outrage among many women.

I listened to her comments and understand the context.  I don't know much about her, but although she has apologized, she did not seem to be inferring that stay-at-home moms do not work.

The left will say Limbaugh is worse for using sexual epithets.  The right will say Rosen is worse for denigrating the moms around the country, but if either side was to remove themselves from their tribal connections, they could see that the events are mirror images of each other.

Tax Increases for 2013

With the tax increases to support Obamacare and the expiration of the Bush/Obama tax cuts, unless the world ends in December, we will be hit hard with new taxes on January 1, 2013.

Taxes that will happen unless Congress acts:

Five of the eighteen tax increases in Obamacare will begin next year.
The health care 2.9% surtax on investment income starts
Medicare tax increase.
The death tax will rise.
The Payroll Tax Cut will expire.
The Alternative Minimum Tax Patch will expire.
Tax cuts from the 2009 Stimulus will expire.
100% expensing of business purchases will end.

Bush/Obama Tax Cuts Expiring:

The child tax credit will be reduced from $1000 to $500.
The 10% income tax rate will expire.
Dividend tax rate will increase.
Marriage penalty reduction will expire.
Employer-provided child care credit will be reduced.
Adoption tax credit will be reduced.
Dependent care tax credit will be reduced.
Tax on bonds for school construction will be increased.
Tax on scholarships will be reinstated.
Student loan interest deduction will decrease.
Employer provided education assistance will decrease.
Highest rate going from 35% to 42%.
The 25% bracket will increase to 28%.
The 33% bracket will increase to 36%.

Proposed New Taxes

Capping itemized deductions.
Capital gains tax from 15% to 20%.
Millionaire tax.
Spectrum Tax - a tax on mobile phone and other devices users.
Capital gains earned by managers of investing partnerships increased to their ordinary income rate.
Airplane Tax Hike - depreciable life of aircraft to be extended from 7 to 12 years.
Ten additional tax increases on selected energy companies.

President Explains Gas Prices and other Current Issues

The president explains high gas and food prices, the lingering recession, the high unemployment, Solyndra, the cost of health care, the number of people on food stamps, and more.

A Purpose Too Noble

So now that we are serving on the school board, the purpose of adequately running the schools under our charge takes on an eerie sense of higher duty.  Seeing things from the inside, our purpose is elevated to something we believe to be above common man understanding.  It is never stated as such, but comments amongst ourselves send signals.

We try to do the right things, the necessary things, but the public seems to just get in the way.

A very dangerous arrogance grows around the fact that we understand the divine purpose of education and the public is to give us money to fund that activity at a level we determine adequate.  We are educated in the art and science of managing an education institution either by the classes we take at the conventions, being privy to inside information, or by the mere fact that we were elected.

This belief or attitude invades our approach to money.  Since our purpose is noble and our specialized knowledge unique, we understand the need for an unspecified amount of money that grows with every new regulation, every new teaching method, every new text book revision, new art class, specialized grass seed, food trend, bus safety feature, city ordinance, every new sport, band uniform, AV equipment, student trip, architectural technology, football jersey, and board retreat.

Sometimes the government greed for that money comes very near to crossing the line of what is allowed by law and we know it.  Abusing the tort immunity fund and adding kids to the free and reduced food program are just a couple of ways of getting more money from the public without their consent.  Placing the kids up as pawns and hostages to get referendums passed is another.  The threat of eliminating sports is always effective.  The threat of eliminating academic classes never works.

We are not consciously involved in any deception or fraud, it is all justifiable.  We were elected so we are deemed by the community to be something much greater than what we actually are. We now consider ourselves the elite political class at the lowest level of aspiration.

We become the mastermind.  We are driven by our boundless conceit and these delusional aspirations.  We alone are uniquely qualified to carry out the divine nobility of education.  If only the public would understand.  Our own visions of what is best is bestowed upon us to disseminate to the public.

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Certainly a human nature trap.  Not everybody that serves on a local government board falls into this trap, but I would imagine that the ones who do, seek and achieve higher office.

Apologizing for Pejoratives Applied to Women

Revised on 3/12/2012 to add Chelsea Carter, Jenna Bush, Barbara Bush, and Meg Whitman.

Far from a complete list, these women are waiting.  Would somebody please give a call and apologize to:

Gennifer Flowers
Kathleen Willey
Monica Lewinsky
Hillary Clinton
Paula Jones
Sarah Palin
Willow Palin
Bristol Palin
Laura Ingraham (done)
Michele Bachmann
Ann Coulter
Chelsea Clinton
Meg Whitman
Jenna and Barbara Bush
Michele Malkin
Carrie Prejean (done and then revoked)
S.E. Cupp
Christine O'Donnell

Save the Planet 2/29/2012

“No, the overall goal is [not to get the price of gasoline down, but] to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy.”

“Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.”

“What I’m doing since I became Secretary of Energy has been quite clear. What I have been doing is developing methods to take the pain out of high gas prices.”

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Americans don’t like oil spills.  Americans don’t like the potential of an oil spill no matter how remote.  American don’t like strip mines.  Americans don’t like refineries.  The US has the strictest regulations and safety standards for energy exploration and production in the world  Oil drilling and mining is banned all across the country and offshore.  Where it is not yet banned, those who oppose this kind of thing are attempting to use whatever means they have to delay or stop the projects.  So other countries do it for us.

But we have no control over the other part of the planet.  So no other country has to comply with our EPA regulations, environmental impacts injunctions and they don’t.

In Nigeria, for example, every year since 1969, oil operations in the Niger Delta have spilled as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez. Chad has no environmental laws whatever.

So what do the misguided do to save the planet?  They take the responsibility of protecting the environment out of the hands of those who are the best at it and export it to those who have no interest in keeping things clean.  The revelation that the planet exists beyond the borders of the U.S. has yet to hit some.

On the other hand, exporting pollution is OK if the agenda is to eliminate fossil fuel altogether.  By keeping the cost of oil up, the people who are the most suspicious of markets are attempting to use those very markets and the hard earned American money to advance the alternative fuels to a market that is not quite ready for it.

Equity Investment Firm 2/17/2012

Take over a large failing corporation with the intent to turn it around.

File bankruptcy making the stock in IRA’s, 401k’s, and pension plans worthless.

Lay off 50,000 workers and close 1000 distribution centers.

Quietly and slowly continue to layoff more employees for three years.

Discontinue three brands and cut their support.

Close 17 manufacturing plants affecting 1000’s jobs and small businesses.

Pump $50,000,000,000 into the business and print new stock for an IPO to raise more.
Shut the debt holders up with some of the new stock.

Get the government to abate corporate income taxes for 10 years.