Category: History

Posted on

What exactly is the Tea Partiers problem?

Once again my TV was filled with images of angry people complaining about big government and runaway spending and too many taxes. The facts really say otherwise so why are they so upset and have been. I know the primary reason is they lost the 2008 election and their GOP partners can only complain and stomp their feet. But what I just don’t get is why are the tea partiers so upset – really.

With Tax Day again upon us, two story lines will predictably dominate the media coverage on April 15th. In their perpetual war on taxes, conservatives will claim that rates are too high even as those Americans who receive tax credits get “welfare.” Meanwhile, frothing-at-the-mouth Tea Partiers will protest about being “Taxed Enough Already.”

Here, then, are 10 Inconvenient Truths for Tax Day:

1. Over 95% of Working Households Got Tax Cuts
2. Only 2% of Tea Baggers Know Obama Cut Their Taxes…
3. …and 52% of Tea Partiers Think Their Taxes are Fair…
4. …and Think the Federal Tax Level is Over Double What It Is
5. 1% of Families Earned 24% of All Income…
6. …and 57% of All Capital Income
7. 400 Richest Taxpayers Saw Incomes Double, Tax Rates Halved
8. Only 1 in 500 Families Pay the Estate Tax
9. Corporate Taxes Have Plummeted as a Share of GDP
10. The U.S. Loses $345 Billion a Year to Tax Evasion and Fraud

10 Inconvenient Truths for Tax Day

So they protested *not* paying taxes? Really?

I also don’t understand how a rational compassionate human being can be against a needy person getting the health care they need without having to destroy their financial lives. Do tea partiers really believe that affordable health care is something open to merit? Really?

I know the protesters aren’t all racists but why do they automatically use images and words that invokes racism? I know if President Obama wasn’t black that some of the words and images wouldn’t be used in the protests.

Why does it seem that the protesters will take the word of known liars and not do their own research when forming beliefs on public policies. Are they that gullible? Really?

Where were these people when Bush was running up huge debit to fight an unneeded war and violated our 4th amendment rights with impunity?

Oh that’s right – then they agreed with everything. Really??

Posted on

From my film vault

I was doing some spring cleaning this weekend. One box had a VHS tape that had a video transfer of a couple of old Super 8 movies I did more than 20 years ago. One I did for fun in 1983 and the other was my final project for a film production class I had in college back in 1990. I replaced the titled cards, sprinkled in some sound effects, added some royalty free music, and uploaded them to my YouTube Channel.

The video transfers are bad. It looks like the place where I had it done just pointed a video camera at a screen while they projected the movie so there is a lot of jitter and the title cards are pretty much unreadable. The picture quality is also poor.

I was able to fix some not so great editing I did on the 2nd the film. If I remember I was crushed for time so I did the edits quickly without making sure the pacing was right so one scene would run too long before a cut to another where the actor was standing around before I said action. Editing it digitally helped tighten those edits so the pacing looks better today.

The Pepsi Chaser (1983)

The Guide (1990)

Posted on

Health care reform passed – This is just the start

I have HCR hangover and we still have another bar to hit. The Stupak agreement is another example of Christian privilege that violates my religious rights and a woman’s right to her body. I hope that the price was enough and that we keep working on shaping the reform into what it should be including a viable Public Option that ends the monopoly practices of the health insurance industry.

Posted on

Weekend Ear Candy – In the air tonight – Phil Collins

It’s late one summer evening and I’m lying in a lean-to tent during a camp out weekend with my Scout troop back in 1982 I think. I am alone in the tent since I was so “popular” every one wanted to bunk with me. My only real friend was my small transistor radio. And a storm was moving toward the camp.

The sky flashed with lightening and low rumbles of thunder shook the ground as the storm drew closer.

I HATED thunderstorms so I turned on the radio and laid it on my ear to muffle the storm. “In the air tonight” came on and at just the time it seemed to sync with the storm noise and actually made it more enjoyable – it added a freaky twist to the song and the storm. Now when I hear the song it transfers back to that time and place.

In the air tonight – Phil Collins

About Proudly powered by WordPress