Makers and Takers. Republicans have a jobs plan for 100% Employment. It's called Slavery.

How did the Rich get their Wealth? By stealing the Labor and Wealth of the Poor. You can call it whatever new name the Rich have dreamed up; Austerity, Fix-the-Debt, Sequestration, Trickle Down Economics but it's all the Rich using the Power of Government to steal from the Middle Class and the Poor.

Now, for the past 30 years Republicans have gotten bolder and more outspoken in their plans to help the Rich institute a Neo-Feudalist Wage Slave State under Corporate Dominance.

"I've been dealing with the minimum wage issue for the last 28 years that I've been in elected office," House Speaker John A. Boehner said to reporters on Wednesday. "And when you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it."

John Boehner is a Republican; Republicans work for the Rich. Anything which hampers the ability of the Rich to steal more and more of the labor produced by the American Middle and Working Class is anathema to them. The Rich have ordered the Republicans to Destroy the Middle Class, President Obama had better not help them.

Under President Obama Income Inequality has continued to grow and even accelerated. In the third quarter of 2012, Corporate Profits were $1.75 trillion, up 18.6% from a year ago, after-tax profits are at their greatest percentage of GDP in history. But the record profits come at the same time Workers Wages have fallen to their lowest-ever share of GDP. Pretty Shitty Marxism...

While Corporate Profits are at an all time High, CEOs use the Carried Interest Tax Loophole and Off-Shore Tax Havens to hide Hundreds of Billions of Dollars.

1. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.

• Number of Offshore Tax Havens in 2010? 371. 
• Amount of federal income taxes Bank of America would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $2.5 billion.
• Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $1.9 billion tax refund.
• Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS in 2010, even though it made $4.4 billion in profits.
• Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? Over $1.3 trillion.

 2. JP Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon

• Number of Offshore Tax Havens in 2010? 83.
• Amount of federal income taxes JP Morgan Chase would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $4.9 billion. 
• JP Morgan Chase has stashed $21.8 billion in offshore tax haven countries to avoid paying income taxes. If this practice was outlawed, it would have paid $4.9 billion in federal income taxes. 
• Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $416 billion. 

3. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein

• Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2008? Zero. $278 million tax refund.
• Number of offshore tax havens in 2010? 39.
• In 2010, Goldman Sachs operated 39 subsidiaries in offshore tax haven countries.
• Amount of federal income taxes Goldman Sachs would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $3.32 billion.
• Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department? $824 billion.
• During the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs received a total of $814 billion in virtually zero interest loans from the Federal Reserve and a $10 billion bailout from the Treasury Department.

 4. General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt

• Number of offshore tax havens? At least 14.
• Amount of federal income taxes General Electric would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $35.7 billion.
• GE has stashed $102 billion in offshore tax haven countries to avoid paying income taxes. If this practice was outlawed, it would have paid $35.7 billion more in federal income taxes.Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $3.3 billion tax refund. In 2010, not only did General Electric pay no federal income taxes, it received a $3.3 billion tax refund from the IRS, even though it earned over $5 billion in U.S. profits.
• Taxpayer Bailout from the Federal Reserve? $16 billion.During the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve provided GE with $16 billion in
• financial assistance, at a time when Jeffrey Immelt was a director of the New York Federal Reserve.
• Jobs Shipped Overseas? At least 25,000 since 2001. 

 5. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam

• Amount of federal income taxes paid in 2010? Zero. $705 million tax refund.
• In 2010, Verizon received a $705 million refund from the IRS despite earning $11.9 billion in pre-tax U.S. profits.
• Amount of federal income taxes Verizon would have owed if offshore tax havens were eliminated? $525 million.
• Verizon has stashed $1.5 billion in offshore tax havens to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. Verizon would owe an estimated $525 million in federal income taxes if its use of offshore tax avoidance was eliminated.
• American Jobs Cut in 2010? In 2010, Verizon announced 13,000 job cuts, the third highest corporate layoff total that year.

Beyond Welfare Queens these Moocher Corporations, who use legerdemain and duplicitous book keeping to "make" profits, are Welfare Emperors and Pharaohs.

Thus the Nation's Wealth continues to consolidate in the hands of the Very Rich with the 1% controlling over 40% of Country's Wealth.

The Rich hate America. The "American Dream" isn't their Dream. Their interests never line up with that which concerns the 99%. The Rich don't recognize a need for a Clean Water Act, it's just an impediment to their pursuit of Profits. The Rich don't see a need for Obamacare or Medicaid or Medicare. Those Government Regulations and Officials undercut their attempts to extract as much profit from the sick, dying and old. They don't see Social Security as an asset to aid in retirement but as a pool of unrealized Capital.

Unionized and Pensioned Municipal Workers are a threat as the stability and relative job security take away the Rich's Most Powerful weapon, the layoff and firings.

All Governmental Functions, outside of a Robust Interventionist Military are wasteful or as the Plutocrats Astroturf Organizations deem them, Un-Constitutional (As when the Koch Brothers tried to start a Tea Party Movement in 2002).

But, all of the maneuvers by the Rich are designed to crush the Middle Class. A thriving Middle Class is always a Danger to the 1%. And how do you crush a wide disparate group of people? Why Divide & Conquer.

So, in 2009 the Plutocrats gave explicit instructions that every outlet they control would blame President Obama for everything wrong. And the Rich knew the work they had done with Conservative Think Tanks and Toxic Right-Wing Radio had cultivated a Ready Audience eager to blame the Other, Barack Hussein Obama, for all the Nations' Woes. Or as Bill Maher succinctly summed up the Conservative Message, 'America was just swell until President Blackenstein and his group of Thugs ruined everything.'

Of course, the Plutocracy's Economic Hit Job and their Republican Hit Men have been working for decades using Piss Down Your Back and Tell you It's Raining Trickle Down Theory to undercut the Middle Class and increase Income Inequality.

Sequestration is just another technique to hamper the Government. But, the Government functions which will be hampered aren't those that affect Rich. The Sequester provides the Plutocracy with yet another opportunity to grind the Middle Class into dust. After which the Rich will swoop in like Vultures and pick at the remnants.

But, all of this is just new names and a new twist to the Very Old Dance the Rich and Powerful have engaged in throughout Recorded History. Fix-the-Debt and Austerity are just new names for the techniques the Rich have always used to steal from the People. And that is Slavery.

We've got a Gun Violence Epidemic and only Criminal Cops in Chicagoland to stop it

Chicago has become the go to example for Gun Nuts to decry Gun Control measures. Insane Gun Huggers scream out Chicago!!! as the definitive case of failed Gun Control. And why? Because ALEC, the NRA and the Gun Nuts have undercut sensible gun laws and undermined the safety of Chicagoans and the American People.

Of the 50,000 guns recovered between 2001 and March 2012 in Chicago, more than half came from outside the state.

The majority of Guns used in commission of crimes inside Chicago come from outside the city.  So, thanks NRA for allowing the laxity of irresponsible gun nuts to kill children in Chicago. It's almost as if Wayne LaPierre and David Keene enjoy when children die.

Now, Illinois has been court ordered to pass a Conceal Carry law by June 2013.

Here's the situation. You are a responsible gun owner. You now have a brand new conceal carry license/permit.

Bang! Bang! Bang! You're near the park at Roosevelt Rd and California Ave. You hear multiple shots, being incredibly brave (or crazy) you advance towards the sound of gunfire. You rush into the park and see two individuals with guns:

Person 1 is pointing a weapon at Person 2. Person 2 has a gun drawn but it appears to be in the "alert" position. At the feet of Person 2 is Person 3 apparently bleeding profusely.

Now, which one do you shoot? Go!

There is no PC Logo spinning over the head of Person 2 identifying him as the "good guy". Person 1 doesn't have on a black hat.

Identification is nigh impossible and in most cases couch-borne concealed carry commandos aren't going to get clean shots. And unlike in video games, which the NRA are set upon Blaming for Gun Violence, when some Gun Nuts caps an innocent it doesn't just cost the shooter some points.

But, while having to worry about the looming gun fights from buffoonish Gun Nuts and Gang Bangers, Chicagoland Police Officers keep committing crimes and official misconduct. Thanks for making the Job harder for the rest of us Officers!

In January, three Schaumburg Police Officers - John Cichy, Matthew Hudak and Terrance O'Brien - were arrested and accused of peddling marijuana and cocaine in DuPage County for at least six months. Prosecutors said they skimmed from police drug seizures. 

"Quite frankly, it makes me sick to my stomach," Jack Riley, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the Midwest said. "From my point of view, I'm battling the Mexican cartels (and) 100,000 street gang members in Chicago — and now I've got to worry about this."

Quite Frankly, that's Quite Right Jack Riley.  

Northbrook Police Officer Enrique Guzman, turned out to be a Northbrook Burglar. In February a 5 month joint FBI/Northbrook Police Department investigation resulted in the arrest of Guzman who had been video recorded stealing jewelry from a residence.

$122,000 USC a year and you're pulling off burglaries on duty? Either Guzman has a gambling/drug addiction or...

In Des Plaines several Police Officers are facing suspensions and posssible termination stemming from a city investigation of alleged misreporting of DUI arrests to obtain overtime pay, Des Plaines officials said. In 2011, Des Plaines was awarded $116,190, the third-largest STEP (Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program) Grant in the Illinois. 

DUI arrests are the easiest arrests to make if your work "midnights". There really is no need to falsify reports or arrests.

So besides dealing with the flow of illegal weapons into the Chicagoland area and their use in the commission of crimes I and my fellow officers have the criminals in our ranks who are undercutting our authority and tarnishing All of Us in the eyes of the law-abiding populace.

Christopher Dorner, Criminal Cops, Second Amendment Remedies and the "Connecticut Effect"

“Fucking burn this motherfucker!” - heard on air stated by various Law Enforcement Persons during the Final Siege on Christopher Dorner.

Thanks for making the job harder, Officers! Now, I don't have a problem with Dorner apparently being killed but don't hem an haw about it.

The apparent death of Christopher Dorner in a dramatic blaze is going to require a Special Investigation to determine it's beginnings and the events which lead to it's fiery conclusion.

I say apparent death, because as of right now there is only circumstantial evidence Dorner was killed in the fire. Investigators have reportedly found Christopher Dorner’s wallet beside charred human remains at the Big Bear forest cabin.

In the old Marvel Superhero Role Playing Game of the 1980's, a villain received massive Karma Bonuses (which could be used to increase scores or aid in attacks) if he died a mysterious death. Villains always return in the comics.

Now Dorner proved a great boon for the NRA because Dorner showed that a determined American with a Gun can use Tea Party endorsed "Second Amendment Remedies" to exact justice from Government Officials, while also proving to be the biggest fear of White Knights everywhere,

You know what I am? I'm your worst fuckin' nightmare, man. I'm a *ni[clang]* with a badge which means I got permission to kick your fuckin' ass whenever I feel like it! - Eddie Murphy, 48 Hrs.

However, with all attention focused on the bizarre Dorner/LAPD vendetta, over 1700 Americans have been lost to gun violence. Killed because the NRA and Republicans are busy stoking fears and extracting money from the foolish.

The most Recent Insane NRA Ad pretends the United States is actually the vast wasteland of so many a Dystopic Post-Apocalypse ravaged land where One Lone American and his Gun stand between his homestead and the Hordes who threaten annihilation.

Of course, after blaming videogames and movies, the NRA isn't going to treat the basic underlying problem, that their efforts to push more guns into more hands is fueling the massive number of gun deaths in America.

So, with that in mind Wisconsin NRA Spokesman Bob Welch let it be known that as soon as the "Connecticut Effect" was neutralized the NRA would be back up to it's old tricks of buying politicians to force through their policy of Unrestricted Gun Violence 

Here's what the NRA has in mind for America: Thomas Matusiewicz, a 2nd Amendment Hero, took it upon himself to get his son justice when an unelected judge would not give him.

Delaware State Police said Thomas Matusiewicz, 68, walked into the lobby of the New Castle County Courthouse on Monday, pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and shot Christine Belford, a 39-year-old mother, and her friend Laura Mulford, 47. He then exchanged fire with police, striking two officers who were protected by armored vests. 

Belford and Mulford, both from Newark, were at the county courthouse on Monday to attend a child support arrears hearing for David Matusiewicz, Belford's ex-husband. 

Delaware State Police said David Matusiewicz and his father entered the courthouse lobby about 7:40 a.m. David Matusiewicz went through a security checkpoint while his father remained in the lobby. About a half-hour later, Belford and Mulford entered the lobby, and Thomas Matusiewicz approached and shot them, police said. 

Thomas Matusiewicz then exchanged gunfire with police, taking a bullet in the upper body but dying from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, said Delaware state police spokesman Sgt. Paul Shavack.  

The shooting was the culmination of years of strife between the Matusiewicz family and Belford, who battled David Matusiewicz for custody of their three daughters. In 2007, he kidnapped the girls and took them to Central America, court records show.

Justice Republican NRA Style! Of course, the NRA and Gun Nuts blame the courthouse for being a gun-free zone. And that's right, after all the Holy Second Amendment has no provision stating convicted murders brought into the courthouse or estranged husbands bent of vengeance shall not have guns. What part of Shall Not Be Infringed1!!!1! Don't libtards understand?

Even when provided demonstrable evidence that More Guns does not equal more safety:

But that doesn't matter to the NRA. Because the NRA is all about pushing as much product of the Firearms Industry into the Nation as possible. Even if the NRA Plan to Put an Armed Man into Every School is the dream scenario of Child Molesters everywhere and a core plank of the NAMBLA platform, just as Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Posse did,

[an] investigation "uncovered a number of posse members with arrests for assault, drug possession, domestic violence, sex crimes against children, disorderly conduct, impersonating an officer - and the list goes on."

It's not about Safety it's about Money. While the Firearms Industry is enjoying record sales due to all the fear-mongering and evil bullshit spewed by Wayne LaPierre and Davide Keane, the Gun Manufacturers would adore having an automatic deposit of monies from the Federal Government into their accounts.

Just Follow the Money,

We will not surrender. We will not appease. We will buy more guns than ever. We will use them for sport and lawful self-defense more than ever. We will grow the NRA more than ever.

And who is this "We" Wayne is talking about? When Wayne says "We will buy more guns than ever" what he means is keep transferring your wealth to the Makers of Death and the Peddlers of Violence.

Hey it's Saturday where's my mail? The Republican Plan to eliminate the USPS

Thank You for all those Cards and Letters - Wun'erful, Wun'erful! The Lemon Sisters, Stan Freberg Comedy Show

The Republican Plan to eliminate the Post Office is proceeding very nicely. The US Postal Service declared they will be stopping mail delivery on Saturdays.

Now, Republicans do want to have a USPS but it would be a rump left to handle the unprofitable deliveries in Outer Wyoming and the Nevada Nuclear Waste Sites.

Incredibly lucrative mail routes, in Manhattan or along the Magnificent Mile in Downtown Chicago will be just handed over to UPS, FedEx, DHL and other private services. And as is their wont, those Corporations will slowly and surely turn the screws, raise prices and add delivery fees for letters which used to cost a stamp.

Gone will be the days when you could mail a post card from the Big Island to Chicago unless, you're willing to pay $20 USC for the privilege of having your mail carried by FedEx.

Privatize, Deregulate and Cede control to Corporations.

Of course, the Republicans plan is to destroy the Postal Workers Union because of the Unions strength and the solid Middle Class opportunities provided by a job with the USPS. 

Republicans loathe the Middle Class. A Middle Class is a hamper to their political power and proves to fickle for the Plutocracy to control. Republican political maneuvers are directed by their Plutocratic Masters to end the American Dream and bring about a Neo-Feudalist Dream State. As John Nichols of The Nation points out Postal cuts are Austerity on Steroids.

What the Plutocracy wants is a pliant work force with no disposable income. And they aren't disguising their actions, otherwise they wouldn't have run one of the scions, Le Dauphin of Bain Capital W. Mitt Romney for President in 2012.

It's a multi-pronged effort to steal away capital from the Middle and Working Classes. Every Republican tax scheme ends up increasing taxes on the Middle and Working Classes (while decreasing them on the Rich) and slashing government benefits for the American people.

And now by steadily eroding the Post Office (and it's Jobs) and sending that work to cutthroat Capitalists who'll pay less, disband Unions and raise prices the Republicans will cede more and more of your life to Corporate Hegemony.

It's all part of the plan to tie up your meager income so that at the end of the year, you've gained Nothing and are treading water, forever doomed to an endless life of labor, while the Upper 1% see their wealth spiral exponentially higher and higher.

Update:

A working mom could work overtime this month and use it as time off next month without having to worry about whether she’ll be able to take home enough money to pay the rent. 

- Republican Eric Cantor explains to the American Enterprise Institute on 02/05/13 how to get Working Class people to vote for their subjugation to the Republican Neo-Feudalist state. Additionally, there's a nice undercurrent of "the Nightmare" of the last couple of years that President Obama and his *cough* black *cough* Thugs have just ruined America!

Don't all these Negligent Discharges, Gun Homicides, and Kidnappings make you feel safer?

Since the NRA endorsed Newton CT Massacre 1600* Americans have been slaughtered by Guns. It's unclear at this time if any of the dead were listed among the 506 organizations, public officals, celebrities and American citizens on the NRA's "Enemies List".

"The NRA is now revealed as an insane organization," Paul Krugman.

I disagree Paul. The NRA isn't insane, they simply have no compunctions or scruples about keeping the spigot of money flowing to the Firearms Industry and rivers of innocent blood flowing in the streets.

So, stories like the 4 people shot, with 3 killed (2 of them children) in Denver today won't dissuade Wayne LaPierre from his Holey Mission.

Nor will any of these recent events:

• In Eugene, Oregon, a totally responsible Open Carry Gun Nut negligently popped off a round, while his piece was strapped in his leg holster, and shot himself at an Internet cafe.
• A Conservative Domestic Terrorist, Jimmy Lee Dykes murdered a bus driver and kidnapped a 6 year old, holding the boy hostage for 8 days in his underground bunker, until a breach and entry killed Dykes.  
• Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL known for claiming a record number of sniper killings in Iraq was one of two men shot dead at a Texas gun range, allegedly at the hands of a fellow military veteran, officials say. Kyle, the author of the best-selling American Sniper, and Chad Littlefield, also a veteran, were gunned down Saturday afternoon on the grounds of the expansive Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in Glen Rose, Texas, southwest of Fort Worth, law enforcement officials said.
• The unnamed "security officer" hired to protect students, who negligently left his gun unattended in a Lapeer County, Michigan charter school student restroom "for a few moments", will not lose his job keeping children "safe".
• In Calveras County California, former airline captain Philip Marshall, 54, killed his son Alex, 17, and daughter Macaila, 14, each with a single bullet to the head, as they slept under blankets on the living room couch. He then pointed the gun at his head and committed suicide.
• A Cleburne, Texas man who negligently shot his daughter Feb 1st, while cleaning and loading his gun, will not face charges.

Do any of these incidents make you feel safer?

Conservative Domestic Terrorists have hopped on the NRA band-wagon that Obama and his children are out-of-touch elitists for having armed security, the Secret Service, around them 24/7 and demand that every red-blooded American be afforded the same rights. (Although Wayne LaPierre is, of course, not an out-of-touch elitist for having armed security.)

And I agree. In order to purchase firearms, every American must go through the same background investigation, psychological examinations, and weapons-handling training that the Secret Service goes through. Any flags which would disqualify one from being an Secret Service Agent will disqualify the person from owning guns.

In 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2,694 children and teens in the United States died because of a firearm. Another 15,578 children and teens were injured.

We are not a Free Nation. We, the People are being held hostage to the whims of murderous right-wing terrorists and criminal gangs. The massive influx of firearms into society did not make us safer. It hasn't even presented the illusion of safety.

Guns! And Slaves! And how to eliminate them both.

Paranoia's got no hold on me - Anthrax, Time

Last weekend, thousands of people, many holding signs with names of gun violence victims and messages such as "Ban Assault Weapons Now"  and "Stop the NRA" joined a rally for gun control on Saturday, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.

Of course, sane rational Americans, alliteratively called Gun Grabbers, outnumber the Gun Nuts by the Millions but the Gun Crazies are loud and violent.

The Internet Gun Crazies will not be bargained with nor dissuaded. No evidence, no number of dead children, no facts about the proliferation of guns and the causal link to gun homicide and gun violence will every move them. Debate them if you wish, but, it's best to ignore the Gun Nutters and Trolls. However, if, as is their wont, they send you veiled or unveiled threats report them to Law Enforcement.

The Second Amendment was designed by the Founders to allow Slave Owners to oppress and kill their property and put down Slave revolts.

Today, Slavery is alive and well. The American people are held in bondage to the Gun Industry. The chief apologist and lobbyist is the NRA. The NRA methodology has been to cultivate a state of panic and paranoia that without a gun you're going to get robbed, raped and killed in America. There's also the Gun Industry taunt that without a big gun you aren't a man.

The fact is the proliferation of guns is driving homicide, deaths and injuries in this country. We are awash in firearms. 300,000,000 at least.

The NRA, Gun Nuts, and the Gun Manufacturers especially, don't want any discussion of guns. Their Republican stooges have blocked the CDC from studying gun violence because you can't let the public know how many lives are destroyed by guns.

Gun Nuts also get mad when anyone points out that other Gun Crazies are broadcasting their intent to murder Americans with their guns. Or when a Murderer guns down an innocent person who accidentally and innocently drove onto his driveway because the NRA and Faux News have told the Gun Nuts that every brown skinned person is a potential terrorist.

One of the key flaws in NRA and Gun Crazies "thinking" is that the conclusion is that because of the 2nd Amendment we can have no restrictions or limitations on weapon ownership. If a 14 year old wants bring a piece to school to "protect himself" from bullies. I don't see an age limit in the 2nd Amendment.

If Gayle Trotter wants to argue before the US Senate that AR-15's aren't enough firepower to take on the 3-6 hardened criminals who are attacking mothers everywhere in the United States and wants to add a Colt M203 to the weapon for launching 40mm grenades then what part of a "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED??!?!??!??" don't you Gun Grabbers understand?

That interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is Not Rational nor Constitutional. Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Warren Burger, a conservative appointed to Chief Justice by Richard Nixon, said of  the idea that the second amendment confers an individuals right to own a gun, 

"the second amendment has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, ever perpetrated on the American public by an interest group in my lifetime."

Even the two most recent SCOTUS cases of McDonald v. Chicago and District of Columbia v. Heller included majority decisions which stated the Right-to-Bear-Arms is not unlimited.

Nonetheless, the way to get rid of Guns is to go after the Gun Makers and the Gun Industry. They have flooded the nation with 300,000,000 weapons. Until we stem the flow of weapons all of our efforts will be the equivalent of digging out from an avalanche.

We need to treat them as we would Heroin producers and Drug Lords. The Gun Industry is a Drug Cartel and their product is having a worse impact on Society than Heroin.

But, make no mistake the NRA's arguments aren't the Protection from Tyranny bullshit spewed by the racist chicken hawk cowards who want to murder blacks, "leftists" and everyone they perceive to have taken their country from them.

Wayne LaPierre's two main proposals to curb gun violence were the most intrusive Big Government idea since Prohibition. LaPierre wants a Federal Database documenting every possible American's medical problems and want armed Government Workers patrolling every School in the Nation.

Of course, the Gun Crazies ignore this because the NRA has so duped them that they would support the biggest tyrannical over-reach of Government because Right-Wingers love Slavery..

But, while it makes little sense to go after law-abiding Gun Owners because we shouldn't, proliferation makes any sort of Weapon confiscation impossible. Of course, every time there's another Gun Massacre, get Republicans on record defending the right of the Murderer to have his weapons. 

Such as when the Republicans defended the rights of Criminals and those on the FBI's Terrorist Watch List to buy as many weapons as they want and not be burdened with those pesky background checks.

So, by focusing on Gun Makers we can force Republicans to reveal that they and the NRA don't care about Americans or the Constitution and are owned by the Gun Industry while merely interested in keeping the flow of money to the coffers of the Gun Industry. Republicans don't represent the United States. They are the Party of the Old South Risen Again.

As such, the Republicans have taken to looking back to the Constitution. Not the US Constitution but the Confederate States of America version;

Language promoting "the general welfare" was omitted, while the right to own slaves was explicitly guaranteed although foreign slave trade was forbidden). 

To guarantee Southerners their much-desired states' rights, the federal government had no authority to levy protective tariffs, make internal improvements, or overrule state court decisions, while states had the right to sustain their own armies and enter into separate agreements with one another, and were given greater power in amending the constitution.

Nullification and State's Rights are vogue for Right-Wingers once more.

From the Mississippi governor to lawmakers in Texas, Missouri and Wyoming, even local sheriffs in Oregon and Kentucky, many of those who oppose the president's proposal believe it is within their legal right to not only refuse to enforce federal legislation, but to make it a crime for a federal agent to try and enforce the law in their states.

Senator Chuck Grassley and Undead Ann Coulter both have pushed racist bullshit that conforms to the bullshit prejudices of Right-Wing Dupes, Tea Party Terrorists and Gun Crazies by declaring gun violence is "black violence on blacks". Because the Republicans are the Party of Bigots and Racists.

But, while I am for a strict Originalist Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, Gun Nuts can have as many muzzle loading Blunderbusses and cutlasses as they desire, We, the People have to deal with the real world problems caused by the proliferation of firearms.

So, start by removing the indemnity George W(orst President Ever) Bush and the Republicans granted Gun Manufacturers and Sellers have against law suits. Every family destroyed gun should embark on a class-action lawsuit against the Gun Maker. 

Anytime a gun is used in the commission of a crime the Manufacturer, Seller and Buyer should be potentially liable. And if those companies are put out of business they have only themselves to blame.

Gun makers and sellers enjoy the profits of selling weapons make them responsible for the carnage that flows from their trade, until they begin to police the proliferation of their product.

Illinois passes Drivers License's for Undocumented Immigrants

Governor Quinn signed into law the Illinois State Legislature bill which will allow Undocumented Immigrants to apply for valid State Driver's Licenses starting October 1, 2013.

This is a fantastic development. One of the most worthless arrests I have to make is a No Valid DL. Sans another violation (DUI, Reckless Driving, Speeding 30+ over, No Insurance, Texting in a School Zone, etc...) it's a huge waste of time and resources. And not just for me, but for all the associated Circuit Court Persons.

What this will accomplish is multi-fold. First off thousands of residents in Illinois will now have proper identification. With valid licenses they will be able to acquire insurance and be held liable for minor traffic infractions and accidents.

Additionally, they won't compound minor accidents or violations with a panicked desire to flee the scene.

Now, Right-Wing morons are livid over this citing their fantasy scenarios of Voter Fraud and their general fear of the Brown People but, the Totalitarian Right should applaud this for a number of reasons.

Right-Wingers, with their inherent distrust of Government, should be against arbitrary political boundaries being used to make people "criminals". And as all conservatives are Totalitarians they should applaud the identification process.

However, Right-Wingers are easily lead by their Corporate Controllers. Corporations and Plutocrats love "illegal" immigrants but want their Right-Wing stooges angry at them.

Corporations have always used the immigrant worker to undercut and control the American worker, in a multitude of ways. Plutocrats get to drive down wages and control employment opportunities while displacing Nativist anger at the incoming immigrant as opposed to the Business which happily employs the "illegal".

Also, Corporate interests are best served by having a ready supply of non-citizens because they can exploit them easily. Citizens in America have rights, benefits and protections. "Illegal" immigrants are a a dime a dozen and can be tossed aside if they get hurt or fired if they step out of line.

So, expect the usual round of Right-Wing Outrage and racist ignorant screeds but this is a win for Justice and Law in Illinois.

Turning the US Senate into the Polish Seym

The Golden Freedom, which the magnates defended with every bit of chicanery and power they commanded, was the freedom of the few to oppress the many... ~ James A. Michener's, Poland

In the novel Poland, Michener describes how the "incredible liberum veto, by which one man in a Seym (parliament) of hundreds could negate and prorogue the entire work of the Seym by merely crying 'I oppose!' was a major cause of Poland's disappearance from the map of Europe". 

The Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom was "partitioned" out of existence by Prussia, Austria, and Russia during the 18th century by subverting the Polish Parliament.

Polish Magnates (Representatives) were bought off by the foreign nations to obstruct and Filibuster any and all reforms in the Parliament. Then having stymied and brought the Nation to a standstill they simply moved in and did as they pleased.

Filibuster Reform in the US Senate has apparently being undermined. The current Unconstitutional rules adopted by the Senate allow for secret holds, opposition and obstruction by singular Senators who cry 'I Oppose!'

The Republican Senators abusing this Unconstitutional rule are doing so for the Plutocracy and Powerful Interest Groups who own them.

The Agreement reached this Thursday morning would permit a Senate majority to bypass the filibuster on a motion to proceed to debate with the condition that either a group of senators on each side of the aisle agrees, or the minority is guaranteed the chance to offer amendments.

The new rules limit debate time for sub-cabinet and district court nominations and reduces the number of required hours between cloture and final confirmation from 30 to two. It also lowers the number of cloture motions required to go to conference with the House.

“This does very little to change how the Senate as a body functions,” said a pro-reform Democratic aide. “After these small changes the Senate will operate much the same way as it did yesterday.”

Like the Polish people of the 18th century We, the People are being held hostage to the whims of Rapacious Moneyed Predators. And the Plutocracy's Senators will stand up and oppose any efforts which hamper the efforts of the Rich to sink their talons deep into Us and drain the American populace of their Money and Lives.

Addendum:
Of course, the Partitioning of Poland did have a positive impact on American History as numerous Polish Officers came to the US and provided The Continental Congress and George Washington with an experienced Officer Core. Including, Chicago's favorite Polish Count Casimir Pulaski, the "Father of American Cavalry".

Related:
Arizona Republican White Power! Celebrate the White Man's Burden

Here in Chicago we celebrate Casimir Pulaksi Day. All across Cook County government offices are closed, Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Public Library, Springfield Public Schools, and Illinois state-wide public and private schools are closed as well. Wisconsin (the whole state) also closes on Pulaski Day. According to Arizona Bigot Tom Horne, Illinois school districts are inconsistent with American Values for honoring a foreigner.

How Dare the Government interfere with Boeing! The Free Market is Always Superior!

"Corporations are people, my friend."

If Boeing 787 Dreamliners fall out of the Sky, then it's up to consumers to have the freedom to choose whether or not they would fly on them! The Free Market does everything better! Governments interfering, by grounding all 787's, is just Socialism. 

Regulations are Marxist. Caveat Emptor!

It appears the problems with Boeing's 787 are more than just minor winkles to be ironed-out and are indicative of a deep-seated flaws stemming from a desire to skimp and do all facets of production on the cheap.

Corporations don't want a Free Market. Boeing, especially doesn't want a Free Market. They want the semblance without the substance.

Boeing exists because of the machinations, under-handed deals and Government contracts especially over the last decade.

In 2001, Boeing moved it's Corporate HQ to Chicago, Illinois. Boeing brought all of 500 employees from the Seattle Sprawl Complex because then Governor George Ryan pushed the Illinois Legislation for a 20 year property tax exemption and $56,000,000 in tax subsides from the city and state. Boeing now has the backstop of special tax structures crafted for Corporate Welfare to fall back if they somehow incur a tax liability.

Boeing has repeatedly pulled stunts like this before. On January 4 2012, Boeing announced it was moving Air Force tanker work out of Kansas to other U.S. plants and closing its Wichita operation next year.

In 2008, Boeing asked Kansas officials to help win a $35 billion contract for 18 Air Force tankers. Wichita's Mayor Carl Brewer says Kansas had a long history of coming through for Boeing. Boeing received 650 tax breaks over the last 30 years and $3.5 billion dollars in bonds from Kansas.

One Boeing press release claimed 'Tanker Win Would Bring 7,500 Jobs, $388 Million to Kansas.' However, after securing the $35 Billion Dollar contract from the US Government and and getting special tax dispensations from Kansas Boeing continued their Race-to-the-Bottom and left the workers in Kansas high and dry.

What Corporations want from Government are negligible taxes, lax financial laws and no regulations.

It's part of the Myth of Self-Regulation. When Corporations are allowed to regulate themselves they use their connections in Government to receive Special dispensations and unfair advantages.

Corporations allowed to regulate themselves use shoddy construction materials and eliminate safe-guards and safety systems as was demonstrated with BP's Deepwater Horizon platform.

Corporations allowed to regulate themselves, lie and have actors pretend to be Doctors to promote the benefits of their products, as Tobacco Giants did for decades.

The Republican Party has been propagating the Myth of Self-Regulation for decades. Basically, that if the insidous government wasn't strangling Businesses with onerous regulations the engine of Capitalism would operate at 100% efficiency. It's as big a fraud as Perpetual Motion Machines. And designed for the same reason; to dupe and swindle Americans and transfer billions from the Poor to the Rich whom the Republicans slavishly serve.

To Arms Second Amendment Heroes! Conservatives make plans to "shoot people". Most Likely, on Gun Appreciation Day.

Get Ready. Gun Appreciation Day is on 01/19/13. Conservatives are not hiding their intentions. Like a poor fighter, Right-Wingers are "telegraphing" their next move. Molon Labe.

Gun Nuts, Right-Wing Second Amendment Heroes and the simpering Republican Party are actively pushing for a violent shooting Civil War. If Gun Nuts have their way, 01/19/13 will be the start of their Campaign of Murder and Gun Violence.

The CEO of Tactical Response James Yeager a Tennessee-based company declared he is "gonna start killing people."

"I'm not fucking putting up with this," Yeager declared in a Youtube Manifesto posted Wednesday. "I am not letting my country be ruled by a dictator. I'm not letting anybody take my guns. If it goes one inch further, I'm gonna start killing people."

It turns out Yeager's Blackwater-lite accreditations are false. It also turns out that when Yeager was in Iraq as a Contractor he froze, ran and hid during his one firefight.

Yeager would later write in a personal account of the incident. As more bullets chew into the cars, another voice can be heard on the tape shouting "Drive, drive, drive!" But no car moved. 

Yeager "punched the gas to the floor and the engine raced, but the car stayed stationary." The ex-cop had forgotten that the car he was driving had a manual shift, and had failed to engage the clutch or the gears. 

Yeager, unable to see the attackers, blasted away pointlessly at a barricade before running to take cover in a ditch on the opposite side of the road.

Isn't that just typical. Big Tough Talking Gun Nut at home was worthless when actual bullets began to fly.

Child-Raping Chicken hawk Coward Ted Nugent is back comparing Domestic Terrorists and himself to Rosa Parks.

"There will come a time in America where Gun Owners will be Rosa Parks and we will sit in the front of the bus."

I'm still waiting for Nugent to suck-start a 9mm and fulfill his vow of being dead after President Obama won re-election.

Two Portland Oregon Gun Nuts decided to exercise their Second Amendment Rights by walking around Downtown Portland, near shops and stores, with AR-15s slung across their backs.

Portland police identified the men as Warren Drouin and Steven Boyce. The men told officers they were hoping to educate the public about gun rights. Drouin said he hoped people would approach them and talk to them, instead of calling police.

I'd like to ask a "responsible gun owner" what is the difference between these two and James Holmes or Adam Lanza just prior to their mass murders?

The only difference is Intention. Please show me how someone can know Drouin and Boyce's intention by merely looking at them. I see a person strolling around brazenly carrying a rifle I assume he is planning on using said rifle. And Mister Gun Nut, openly displaying his rifle, wants people to approach him and talk? Is Drouin so absorbed in his 'ITS MY RIGHTS' or just dishonest?

Former USMC Corporal Joshua Boston let Senator Diane Feinstein know that he "will not have some woman" telling him he can't have his guns. For being 8 years in the Military Corporal Boston seems to have failed to grasp the concept of Civilian-controlled Military or the whole "Well-Regulated" verbiage actually written in the Second Amendment. But, hey when you're a willing pawn of the Gun Manufacturers and Military-Industrial-Complex, as former Cpl Boston is, you won't let some woman who never wore the EGA make "regulations"!!!

66% of the Residents of Virginia want an armed Police Officer in every school. Where do they think the funds are going to come from? Do they think the Department of Justice is going to just send them a check? Eric Cantor declared he wouldn't provide emergency government funds for the residents of Joplin, MO after the horrendous tornadoes and 67 Republicans voted against funding for Eastern Seaboard residents after Hurricane Sandy.

Under Republican tutelage DOJ has routinely slashed funding for State and Local police work. In Wisconsin, DOJ used to provide money for the 3 Wisconsin crime labs to conduct specialized forensic work. Because of Right-Wing budget cuts Wisconsin no longer conducts this work.

Conservatives and Republicans want Americans afraid that when the "Tyranny" becomes to much for the Insane Gun Lovers they will engage in Violence and will invoke their Liberal-Hunting Permits, indulge in their murder fantasies and begin shooting the "Moochers", the Poor, those Scary New Black Panthers and "Leftists" who've stolen their country from them.

No Austerity! No Fix-the-Debt. No more Too-Big-To-Fail! The Rich are naught but Fire-Breathing Wryms.

Smaug the Magnificent was listed as the Richest Fictional Character in History in 2012.

J. R.R. Tolkien wrote of Smaug that when Bilbo Baggins took a small chalice from of "his" hoard Smaug's Rage was the kind which "is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy lose something they have long had but never before used or wanted."

Plutocrats are fire-breathing Wyrms, destructive nearly invincible forces which don't create but destroy and steal hordes of Capital which they proclaim to be theirs. They are destroying people's lives and livelihoods in pursuit of profits.

The Plutocracy believe the Government should exist for One Purpose with Two Basic Powers; To Protect their Property by 1) Quelling Domestic Dissent and 2) Opening up Foreign Markets for their Use.

Of course, everything else is "Unconstitutional" or "Socialism".

The SEC needs to adopt a Financial Transaction Tax, such as the one the U.S. Government had the federal level from 1914 to 1966. And the state of New York, in conjunction with the New York City from 1905 to 1981.

Such a fee won't hurt Grandmas stocks or minor investors. But what it will do is curb the rapacious behavior of Wall Street and the Banking Criminals who conduct billions of trades a second to manipulate the Stock Exchange.

Did you ever wonder why, in the midst of the Computer Age, the center of the American Financial World is still Wall Street? It's because large Banking Giants have located untold numbers of Terrabyte sized Massive Server in Warehouses geographically close to the NYSE in order to gain a pico-second advantage over other Financial Monsters.

Banking Criminals are not limiting their thievery to merely electronic wizardry but are still engaging in the time-honored traditions of Currency Manipulation and Money Laundering for Criminal Gangs, Terrorist Organizations, Rogue Nations as well as American Plutocratic Cheats.

Just 3 years ago UBS agreed to pay a $780 Million dollar fine to avoid `criminal prosecution and to keep the names of 52,000 American criminals, who illegally sheltered monies in Switzerland, secret. 

Now UBS has been ordered to pay other $700 million to $1.5 Billion for it's criminal involvement in the LIBOR currency manipulation.

HSBC was convicted of LIBOR currency manipulation and was fined $1.9 Billion in December 2012. HSBC was one of 7 Banks which routinely laundered money for International Drug Lords, FARC terrorists and Al Qaeda and Iran.

The second oldest Bank of Switzerland, Wegelin founded in 1741, has agreed to pay $58 Million in fines to the US Government because,

The bank had admitted to allowing more than 100 American citizens to hide $1.2bn from the Internal Revenue Service for almost 10 years.

However,

Otto Bruderer, a managing partner at the bank, admitted that Wegelin had sheltered US clients from tax between 2002 and 2010, and said it was aware that its conduct had been "wrong". 

Mr Burderer's further admission that assisting tax evasion was common practice in Switzerland has caused huge concern among the Swiss banking community, according to the BBC's Switzerland correspondent, Imogen Foulkes. 

The Rich are Rich because, like Dragons, they've stolen Billions from poor working people across the planet for Generations. Banks, like UBS, HSBC or the defunct Wegelin merely made the theivery easier by providing the paperwork and structural apparatus. But, when it comes down to it, the Rich are Fire-Breathing Wyrms willing to burn everything to enjoy the fruits of others labors.

Back here in US there exists a ripe plum which the Rich Wyrms have been salivating over for decades. 

Social Security is one of the last depositories of easily accessible capital waiting for the Capitalists to swindle it into their private bank accounts. If George W. Bush and the Republican Congress had succeeded in 2005 of "privatizing" Social Security, $2.5 Trillion would have vanished in 2007 and 2008. Poof. Manipulated away. Gone just like the equity in your homes thousands of pensions and retirement investments swindled via criminally toxic Goldman Sachs assets. 

Like Smaug The Rich! Want! That! Horde!

Rich Wyrms hope people are foolish enough to believe that cutting their own meager earned-benefits is the way to help the Nation.

However, the Rich don't recognize National Interests. They are pan-National. All they want from America is lower and lower tax rates on Capital (with higher tax rates on Labor) and lax financial laws which give them the ability to move money quickly from one Nation to another.

A big component of their plan was revealed in the Fiscal Cliff Rigamarole. The Republicans and Fix-the-Debt wanted the ability to move Hundreds of Billions of off-shore profits made via wage slave labor into the US without any taxes. Calling it a Territorial Tax System. Once here they could realize Billions in profits from merely moving money around. It would have been a windfall for those who make money by the manipulation of figures not from creating jobs, building factories or inventing new products. But from Legerdemain.

And Fix-the-Debt is merely the latest in the effort of Corporate Moochers to fool the country once again. 

Corporations and Plutocrats are the biggest Moochers in World History. They've been hiding their stolen loot in off-shore tax havens and manipulating Stock prices and currency and engaging in sickening criminal acts all the while revealing in their Power and Magnificence. Believing they are Too-Big-To-Fail, just like Smaug.

Whose Side are You On? Gabby Giffords or Alex Jones?

Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband NASA pilot Lt. Cmdr Mark Kelly have begun a Campaign Americans for Responsible Solutions against Gun Violence

Meanwhile, Alex Jones went on Piers Morgan Show and showed the True rambling, insane Face of American Gun Owners. Alex Jones, Zardoz LaPierre, James Holmes, Adam Lanza and the Murderers in Chicago are the Reality of Guns in America.

The "Argument" that Gun Laws would not have stopped Columbine or The Dark Knight Killings or the VA Tech Massacre, or the Northern Illinois shootings or the NRA-endorsed Newton Connecticut Killings or the Tinley Park Lane Bryant Murders or the latest 4 shot to death in Aurora, Colorado is used by the NRA and their Republican Allies in order to distract Americans from the facts about Gun Violence in America.

The Unrestricted Gun Violence Supporters continue to make the "Argument" that Gun Laws don't stop Gun Crimes.

How is this an Argument? When has any Law, in and of itself, ever stopped a Crime? 

Despite all the laws we have against Murder, Theft, Assaults, Vandalism and Tax Evasion these crimes continue to occur daily.

Since the Laws we have don't stop those actions does that mean we should ignore the crimes and abolish the Laws?

This is an Argument Gun Manufacturers have crafted. For the very simple reason that Gun Control hurts their profits. We have been flooded with Hundreds of Millions of Firearms. They make money as we are killed by their products.

The NRA exists to represent the Interests of Firearm Companies. Wayne LaPierre and The Republicans stand with and for the Rights of the Merchants of Death.

Who is representing the American People?

Hillary Clinton's and Mark Kirk's Health

Senator Mark Kirk is back in DC for the 113th Congress. A year long arduous journey has brought him from the brink of death back to the US Senate.

Having spent a year undergoing intense physical therapy to relearn to walk and speech therapy to relearn speech after his brain was severely damaged I wonder if Kirk feels at all bad about his anti-Obamacare vote.

Kirk ran on this slogan in 2010, “I’m Mark Kirk and I can’t wait to vote against the health care bill next week.”

Probably not. Doctrinal Republicans never feel sorry for their I Got Mine-ism. Had Senator Kirk been a working man, a teacher, or an enlisted Veteran he'd have been bankrupted and probably forced to choose to discontinue therapy before competition if he had even had a Healthcare coverage plan which didn't seek to fire him for missing a year of work.

Of course, Senator Kirk committed a similar infraction to the one which resulted in Jesse Jackson Jr. expulsion from Congress, in that Senator Kirk used his campaign to funnel money to his then girlfriend, Dodie McCracken.

The girlfriend, Dodie McCracken, who works in public relations, has acknowledged receiving more than $143,000 in fees and expenses for her campaign work. A former live-in girlfriend, she is no longer romantically involved with Kirk, according to a campaign aide.

At the heart of the matter is Vertolli's assertion that the Kirk campaign may have improperly hidden money to McCracken by paying her through another company working for the campaign. Because the money was not paid directly to McCracken, her name does not appear in Kirk's federal disclosures. 

But, Faux News doesn't ever have to cover anything, like Senator Kirk's health vis-a-vis his stance on National Healthcare or his financial improprieties, which will cause their mouth-breathing constituents to pause and reflect. IOKIYAR.

On the other hand, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has continued to be vilified and ridiculed for her Health problems. Because after all she's a Democrat, a Woman and a Clinton.

Merely having one of those qualities makes acceptable fodder for Right-Wing assassination fantasies.

Laura Ingraham laughingly declared Secretary of State Clinton's concussion was the "Immaculate Concussion"! See that's funny!!!

Even after the discovery of a life-threatening blood clot John Bolton, Charles Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg, Glenn Reynolds and other Right-Wing scum merchants doubled down and increased their despicable month long smears about Hillary Clinton.

Toxic Conservative commentators know the truth. They can spout off their heinous theories and it feeds and enflames their audience instead of alienating them. Despicable conservative liars will, of course, claim 'Both Sides Do It!' and that's bullshit.

No one was claiming Dick Cheney's multiple heart attacks were too avoid testifying to the 9/11 Commission (Remember that whole 9/11 thing?) or the Iraq War WMD lies. Yes, Comedians joked that Dick Cheney's stole the hearts from the breasts of children to extend his despicable war criminal life but, major networks didn't bring on guest after guest (including high-ranking former Federal Government employees) to laugh and jibe about a potentially life-threatening medical condition.

If the Right didn't have False Equivalencies they'd have no Equivalence at all.

Faux News can never silence the Right-Wing extremists who espouse Clinton Conspiracy Theories because that is their audience.

The only Americans who continue to adhere to Right-Wing Ideology are bigots, sexists, religious fanatics and the Rich.

Conservatism is Terrorism.