Go Ahead Be an American - This pretty much Sums it All Up!!

reply to post by survivalstation

In 2008, Reese's editorial was updated with some topical political references (e.g., Nancy Pelosi's name in place of Tip O'Neill's; the Army and Marines listed as being in Iraq rather than on "U.N. Missions") and circulated via e-mail under the title "The 545 People Responsible for America's Woes" (or just "545 People), often with additional material not written by Reese himself tacked onto the beginning or end of the article.

Thanks. Does anyone have a link to the updated article?

Mr. Reese's comments are very pertinent. It would be great if they became a catalyst for change like Pearl Harbor or . . . 9/11.

At least this time they have the American people pointed in the right direction to vent their ire, that is, pointed at their elected representatives.

Mr. Reese has gently lobbed the ball into the people's court.

All they have to do is slam it down the throat of Congress like Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe would.

You'd think that after the big financial bailouts of the Obama administration's first term, and with April just around the corner the words "tax revolt" would be heard more in conversation.

My bad. Didn't see the legislators. I knew they liked to hide.
Okay, I admit. It's my fault. Turns out, I'm not so good at the fact checking thing.
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reply to post by ipsedixit

Mr. Reese's comments are very pertinent. It would be great if they became a catalyst for change like Pearl Harbor or . . . 9/11.

At least this time they have the American people pointed in the right direction to vent their ire, that is, pointed at their elected representatives.

Mr. Reese has gently lobbed the ball into the people's court.

All they have to do is slam it down the throat of Congress like Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe would.

You'd think that after the big financial bailouts of the Obama administration's first term, and with April just around the corner the words "tax revolt" would be heard more in conversation.

It is good that this artcle has educated some, awakened others. Congress controls the purse strings and thus controls the government. He who has the Gold makes the Rules.

Just remember that this does not mean that all congressmen are corrupt. Imagine the outcry that is heard when it is suggested that all terrorists are muslims, or all A are B. You get the point; same rules and logic should apply.

Rather, the blatant level of graft should tell us that there are excellent examples to single out the worst offenders, and make public examples of them. That will do wonders towards taking the steps necessary to correct the problem with a few steps.

This is an oportunity to remove the Pelosis, the Reids, the Barney Franks, and the like. And when we do catch them with their finger in the till, slam it shut HARD!, not just a litle love tap like Charlie Rangel got. Give the jail time plus very painful monetary fines - that's a good start.

How to fix the problem? The whole lobbyist thing has got to be fixed, and that will be hardest b/c the loudest howls against it will come from the most corrupt.

Next, term limits should be voted in by the people. Is it possible to do this via states rights? I don't know. But I do believe that this is one of the things where the TPM could be used as an ally.

This is a big part of why im moving to the jungle of Costa Rica next week.

Excellent Article:

I am going to send a copy of it to my Representative and to the two Senators from Missouri.

I already sent the Senator's a letter stating that unless they sponsor a bill to instate term limits for themselves they would not have my vote and that I would vote for whomever the opposition was just to get some fresh perspective in town. Further, I explained that I would actively campaign against them in the district based on the principle that our founders never wanted politics to be a career.

I of course haven't heard back from them nor have I seen any evidence of them proposing legislation.

you ask yourself why this continues and it's always the same type of people in office.

it's because the u.s. political system has been hijacked by two political parties.

they recruit amongst the population the best and the brightest to continue their political goals.

you can't be president of the united states unless you're a democrat or a republican. is that democracy when you exclude 90% of the american population who aren't registered to these two parties.

reply to post by Angelicdefender2012


Have you ever wondered why the world isn't perfect? Everyone wants the world to be perfect...

Oh, wait, I understand. This article is crap, most anti-taxation individuals simply don't understand the basics of running a nation nor the negative repercussions of defunding the government.

Originally posted by Deebo
Hmm I am confused... When a fella like Jared Loughner comes along and takes out the trash, you all whine about how crazy he is, and pray for the politicians recovery. Not advocating what he did, but I do not understand. You hate them yet support them at the same time.

Deebo

edit on 26-3-2011 by Deebo because: add

The way of the gun is not the proper way to address the problem. I wouldn't tolerate it if my worst enemy got cowardly shot like that. Nope, wrong way and it only creates more terror.

We don't need more fear, we need more people that can articulate the problem and motivate the masses to steer the ship in the right direction. We need to fire the 535 people in Congress that represent corporate America, but leave "we the people" scrambling for crumbs.

reply to post by randomname


It's not even about those two parties. That is just a dog and pony show for the lethargic masses. They even fooled you my friend ...

Originally posted by madnessinmysoulOh, wait, I understand. This article is crap, most anti-taxation individuals simply don't understand the basics of running a nation nor the negative repercussions of defunding the government.

I think anyone who understands the fundementals of government and a society in general understands that taxation is necessary. I don’t think that most people in this thread are anti-taxation as much as they are anti-excessive taxation.

The Federal Government has some enumerated powers. These powers include the power to levy taxes, borrow money and make laws for the following purposes:

For The General Welfare:

1. International and interstate commerce (trade)
2. Naturalization
3. Bankruptcy
4. Coin Money, establish its value
5. Weights and Measures
6. Punish counterfeiting
7. Postal Service
8. Issue patents and copyrights
9. Establish Federal Courts
10. Govern District of Columbia
11. Purchase real estate for necessary buildings

For the Common Defense:

1. Define and punish Maritime and international Crimes
2. Declare War
3. Make rules for, and fund Military Services

This list represents the sum total of the functions the federal government is constitutionally authorized to do. The limitation on Congress by the Constitution is further emphasized in Amendment Ten of the Bill of Rights.

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” ~Amendment 10, U.S. Constitution

However, as we all know over the years the Government has pushed the boundaries of these enumerated powers and through force and intimidation of the States infringed upon States rights and those of the people mostly though illegal “regulations”.

They achieved this by forming organizations such as the Department of Energy and Education and the Environmental Protection Agency etc., represented and lead by political appointees are not subject to the will of the people like the elected representatives. They created self serving competing bureaucracies that compete for more and more influence through larger fiscal budgets and spheres of control.

If we limited the Federal Government to the execution of the powers enumerated in the Constitution we could have a small income tax if any and have plenty of money to spare.

Then States and other lower level governments could execute the will of their local constituents as they saw fit with regard to any social programs, education, etc. This would as the founders intended allow for a lot of freedom of choice to form communities of like minded individuals with whom we shared common values.

People could vote with their feet when it came to those issues and since the money required to manage such things could only be taxed locally the limits of the power of local government would be balanced with the will of the people.

By running programs and mandating values at the national level the politicians have created a system in which we have little choice in how we are governed.

Pretty simplistic analysis if you ask me - nothing new. To me the bottom line is not that we are taxed, but that the average person pays more taxes as a percentage of their income than does the average corporation. Let's collect everyone's fair share - including every corporation and muti-national corp in business in the U.S. - and we wouldn't have near the fiscal p[problems we do today. It's a scam and the people are left holding the bag.

This is the first time I actually printed something off of ATS. Thanks.

reply to post by Forsakenthinker


I too did a double take that he left out the whole senate. Then I realized that he spelled the word "One hundred", because, technically, in proper grammar, you cannot start a sentence with a number...

We cant vote anyone out of office. We are made to believe our vote counts, sadly, it does not.

reply to post by Angelicdefender2012


Very observant,
Very true.
But we forgot something,
Me and you.

We forget and
We overlook
The true mastermind,
The real type of crook.

Politicians scramble,
Politicians plan, but
They are guided by
An invisible hand...

From within their castles,
Within their lairs,
The banksters plot
Dreadful affairs.

They care not who
Gets in their way
For they will destroy
And they will slay.

They have targeted
The middle class
And will lie, cheat and steal
To kick their a$$.

It's a secret war
And most are unaware
That these evil bastards
Just don't freaking care.

With tainted riches
And printed notes,
They buy their bitches
Essential votes.

And once in office,
The elected must repay
Their debts to banksters
And special interests at play.

In the end,
It's the Golden Rule that wins,
And banksters have the gold
From which to wash their sins.

---------------------GhostLancer

reply to post by Angelicdefender2012


Wow, super awesome job!!!

Thanks for sharing this!!

Voting people out does not accomplish anything. It's been done, you know. I have come to a similar conclusion as the person blaming human nature. In the end, there is absolutely nothing we can do. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. And someone will always have the power.

The economy was demolished because the dollar is permanently interconnected with oil due to OPEC trading in it. Without oil, any modern society on the planet collapses. Every time anyone in the world drives to the store, they are essentially ensuring the security of the US economy. So no, wars do not bankrupt us. They prevent us from going bankrupt. We maintain an iron grip on the worlds resources, and it doesn't matter what our economy, or currency technically should be worth. Corporatons have conquered the entire civilized world via economic warfare, and they did it under the flag of the USA. (or dollar sign, whatever)

Originally posted by GhostLancer
reply to post by Angelicdefender2012

 

Very observant,
Very true.
But we forgot something,
Me and you.

We forget and
We overlook
The true mastermind,
The real type of crook.

Politicians scramble,
Politicians plan, but
They are guided by
An invisible hand...

From within their castles,
Within their lairs,
The banksters plot
Dreadful affairs.

They care not who
Gets in their way
For they will destroy
And they will slay.

They have targeted
The middle class
And will lie, cheat and steal
To kick their a$$.

It's a secret war
And most are unaware
That these evil bastards
Just don't freaking care.

With tainted riches
And printed notes,
They buy their bitches
Essential votes.

And once in office,
The elected must repay
Their debts to banksters
And special interests at play.

In the end,
It's the Golden Rule that wins,
And banksters have the gold
From which to wash their sins.

---------------------GhostLancer

GhostLancer...absolutely brilliant...you beat me to it....removing the politicians is only the first step....the bankers and those that they control would have to be systematically taken care of as well.

The columnist that wrote the original piece...awesome for his piece and he got the ball rolling...but in order to take care of this country and start over....we need to have a plan in place first...it would be self defeating cut off one arm of an octopus when all the arms are involved.

On a lighter side...enjoyed the Dr. Seuss meter...in fact...Dr. Seuss wrote similar diatribes against the "Axis" in WWII.