Epic Air Force One Fail

Ok gang! Common sense quiz. What happens when you take a Boeing 747 and a fighter jet and fly low over Manhattan? If you answered "an ensuing panic" then congratulations you are smarter than certain administration officials who saw no problem with doing this. You may ask why the administration would do this. Well, it was to update the photo archive of Air Force One near the Statue of Liberty. No big deal right? Wrong! This is extremely heartless and not well thought out, especially in a post 9/11 world.

Just listen to the news coverage from Manhattan or the 911 calls from panic stricken people on the streets and in the offices. It is heart-breaking to hear a person convinced that another plane attack is about to occur and actually believe that they have only moments to live. Why would they believe that? Well, no one was told that this would be happening today. Also, many in the area have been under the impression that if they see a 747 and a fighter jet that the fighter jet is there to shoot it down because an attack is occurring. But, hey how could our administration know about that. Especially, when the White House Press Secretary has to ask the White House whats going on (don't think about that one too hard it will give you an aneurysm).

Well, at least it didn't cost us anything! Oh wait, it did! The cost for this photo-op is estimated to be around $300,000. That is $300,000 of your taxes going to terrorize innocent people in Manhattan. This also does not include the money businesses lost when they closed down to evacuate offices. Or the money that Wall Street lost when is closed down. You know you can buy a cheap version of photoshop for just $80 and save us, the taxpayers, $299,920. You know what I'll even kick in a few dollars to get it express shipped to the administration.

Honestly, I think that this administration is either very arrogant or simply stupid. Either they didn't care how the people would react or they couldn't foresee this being an issue. Either way they have some issues to address.

Why you should be mad!

During this recession, you, the common man, have had to change your lifestyle. You can afford less, so you spend less. You have been forced to shop around for the best deals so that your dollar can buy you as much as possible. You have cut unnecessary spending, taken shorter or no vacations, worked for longer hours.

Is your government doing the same? No!


You have let it be known that you are worried. Many of you attended the Tea Parties across the United States of America in protest of spending. Through blogs, protests, phone calls, letters, and emails you have told your representatives that you are mad and don't want this trend to continue.

Are your representatives listening? No!

So, Americans (especially those in my soon to be ex-home state of Taxachusetts) I say be mad. You have every right to be upset with the way the system is running. However, I ask one thing. Do not roll over and take it! Do not just mumble under your breath that this is business as usual; that this will never change! Get upset and use your anger for action. Vote those whom you deem the biggest liars, cheats, and thieves out of office. Run for office yourself! Take action!

Just say to yourself that enough is enough. Your government no longer represents your interest and has become your master. In Massachusetts they tell you that if you don't like "Tax A" then that's fine because they will just go to "Tax B" or "Tax C". They will get your money one way or another. In the end what do you get out of paying your unrepresentative government? Nothing! Programs are being cut, teachers/police/firefighters are being laid off, hell we can't even keep the lights on in certain cities (such as in the dirty 'burg). Yet, the government still wants more of your money.

There is a way to stop this! There is a way to simply cut spending! However, it all starts with you. So be mad and do something!

A response...

I've been a follower of Michael Graham's blog for a long time now (http://www.michaelgraham.com/). A recent item he covered got me to thinking so for the first time I decide to reply. Here is my response to him talking about how the Boston Globe reporting and math skills are a bit below par:

Not to defend the Globe here... but... Recently, I was in North Carolina to look at graduate schools and I noticed that their taxes are a bit weird. While they do have a low tax rate of 4.5% they also have County Tax which varies. For example the county tax in Wake County is 1.75% so tax comes in at 6.25% (which is higher than Mass).
I guess that I am merely splitting hairs here, but, there is more to this. The thing is I don't mind paying more tax there. Overall, the tax burden is much less in North Carolina than it is here. While sales tax is slightly higher, the state taxes much less items overall then in good ole Taxachusetts. This new tax hike is horrible. It is the government saying that if we can't tax you one way we will tax you another way. No matter what! And what happens? People like me with a degree (not to be all high and mighty) ended up leaving the state. So, now you have less people to tax and a brain drain starting in this state. Which in turn means more taxes next year.
How about this Massachusetts... cut the spending. If you don't have the money stop spending so much. Its what I've done during this recession why can't my government do the same. I think this is particularly funny timing; coming after the Tea Parties... Oh well! I guess those in power will never learn.

For those of you who have not heard of Michael Graham he is a local radio talk show host in Boston on 96.9 FM. He is amazing to listen to for those of you who are of the moderate persuasion. Keep up the good work Michael Graham.

The True Role of Police

While searching the myriad headlines available on the internet today, I came across an amazing editorial from The Guardian in the United Kingdom. The article discusses recent events of over-policing and the thuggish tactics the met use throughout the nation. It points out that the populace are becoming impatient and fed up with the double standards and the excuses. The fact that cops can make up facts to protect themselves and get away with it. The idea that police are used as a tool of the government to enforce policies. The thought that police can brutally murder a man and then lie about it and no one asks questions. By the end of the article the writer asks the question as to what is the true role of a police force. His answer, I feel, is quite amazing:

This aggression is no doubt linked to the government's nasty habit of writing laws that
prefer the convenience of security forces to the rights of free citizens. But the police
are public servants, not government enforcers. Their job is to keep the peace,
not clear the streets of dissent.

Think about that comment for awhile and read the article. Ask yourself can this happen in the United States? The answer is an astounding "yes" and already does. It is my belief that police are a) needed to deter serious crimes (ie murder, rape, assault, robbery, etc.) b) should be held more accountable than the average citizen c) should not be used to enforce policies of a government. This means that police agencies should be transparent, that a cop is human and his word should not be a golden ticket and should be questioned (which many of you have learned the last time you fought a speeding ticket), that in the end his job should be to keep the peace and nothing more.

Hey Keith Olbermann...

... how about next time you read your rhetoric before you spit it out! Maybe double check to make sure that in a twenty minute period you don't contradict yourself!

I noticed this slight problem the other night while looking for coverage of the Tea Parties. I turned on MSNBC to see that Keith Olbermann was on giving his 5 stories of the day (and by 5 stories I mean 5 talking points of the Democratic Party). Wanting to see an argument that was contrary to my own and wanting to maybe see how the other party thinks I kept watching. Needless, to say I was baffled and here is why...

Olbermann Story #5: Texas wants to secede from the Union! Basically, he misinterpreted the governor asserting state sovereignty as a sign that Texas wants to secede. He had on a guest and laughed at how stupid right-wing nutjobs are in Texas. However, he pandered to the left with the argument stating that the governor was merely trying to appeal to the right-wing extremists who make up his party and trying to garner their support for votes in the upcoming election.

Olbermann Story #3: twenty minutes later... Once again he is on with a guest laughing at how stupid conservatives are! This time he was discussing how stupid it was that the right was "crying" about a new report by the Department of Homeland Security labeling right-wing extremism to terrorism. They laughed together about how apparently the GOP is trying to tie itself to right-wing extremism in order to come off as a victim and garner support for its cause. According to him, the GOP does not contain right-wing extremists.

Whoa wait a second didn't Olbermann say that the Texas GOP consisted of right-wing extremist just twenty minutes prior? Yes... yes he did. Good job Keith Olbermann at not checking your work before you read it and giving an unbiased opinion on something.

Boston Tea Party: The Response

I think this man said it best on his poster at the Boston Tea Party.

I must say that I am extremely disappointed and down about the response from the media about the Tea Parties. After the rush I felt while attending two Tea Parties in Boston, I rushed home to turn on the news to see how it was covered.

Crap! I believed would be the best word to describe the coverage. When I turned on the television the only network cable news station that covered it was Fox News. MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, and CNNHN all ignored these Tea Parties after they were over. The next day there were just a few words spit out about how bad and crazy they were. The local news stations did no better. All of them only put up a one or two minute blurb. Fox25 went as far as having their reporter find the fringe people who attended and catch them off guard with false statements. I will say however, that while the Keller Instinct was critical of it he did at least present it better than any other station.

Most of us have seen the youtube video of the CNN reporter harassing a father and talking over him while he tries to make a point. This was about on par for the coverage of these events. The media marginalized the whole movement when the did cover it. They always tried to frame the people who attended as nutjob right-wing extremists who blindly follow Fox News and the GOP. Furthermore, every mention (even in print) of the Tea Parties was either followed by or preceded by the mention of the GOP, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc.; trying to tie this movement to the right.

Obviously, the media did not "listen to the people" and missed the point entirely! This was not a GOP thing or a Fox News thing. While Fox News did promote this, they were fairly late in jumping in. The people were not all right-wing or conservative. Most of the people were moderates and did include liberals. The point was not anti-Obama it was anti-big government and outrageous spending/taxation.

Overall, two scary points have emerged from this coverage. First, the media no longer reports they try to actively put down those with dissenting opinions. Second, the media can flat out just lie and make up its story. Scary.

Boston Tea Party 15.04.09

On tax day this year I headed out with two friends to attend two separate Tea Parties in Boston. Needless to say, the experience was amazing. We attended these Tea Parties to send a message to our government. A message that we the people are fed up with out of control government spending. This message was bipartisan and the people who attended held a variety of different beliefs. I myself a libertarian was joined by my girlfriend Kristen, a moderate, and her friend Shannah, a strict liberal who voted for Obama. We spent the night before creating signs together with the hope to show the government that spending and taxation is getting out of control.

The first Tea Party was held on the Boston Common from 1100 to about 1530. It was amazing. I spent hours walking around reading and laughing at the signs people had created and talking to others about current issues. The crowd was extremely diverse. There were kids and parents, teenagers in high school, the college crowd, moms and dads, the elderly. They represented different socio-economic levels within society as well from the poor to moderately rich. The event was marked by several key speakers yelling into a microphone to those who could hear and the occasional cheers and jeers of the crowd. In the end I would say at the height about 1500 people were present.

Next, a few hundred of us with our signs marched through Boston towards the second Tea Party. This experience was phenomenal. We had a police escort all the while people would stare in bewilderment at us (maybe understanding the message we were trying to portray). There were a few occasional jeers from random Bostonians, but, mostly the comments were uniformed (such as "F#@! Fox News" or "Go back to Soviet Russia"). At first, only a few hundred people were present, yet, within the hour almost 2000 people had showed up. We were treated to the quips of Michael Graham (an amazing public speaker if I might say so) and other speakers. After which crates of tea were thrown into the harbor followed by the singing of the national anthem (which almost made me cry).

The end result? For a grassroots movement this was an exemplary start. Not once during both Tea Parties was there a fight or an arrest. We proved that we can hold a peaceful protest to get a message out. While some might not take this seriously I feel that there are more people listening now. I just think its was amazing that with a crowd that had moderates with anti-spending posters mixed in with conservatives with anti-Obama signs mixed in with militia men with their flags mixed in with liberals with elephant flags mixed in with all sorts of other ideas that the worse thing that happened was a few words shouted.

undocumented = illegal

Lately, there has been a movement to label people who come into our country and either a) overstay their visas or b) cross the border illegally as undocumented workers/persons. The idea is that this alleviates the illegal activity which they are committing by staying here. Well, I hate to say it, but, in the United States we have laws which state that if your documents are not in order or if you do not have documents you are (wait for it) *illegal*. So, by giving these persons this title one is simply admitting that there is illegal activity going on involving these persons.

However, apparently in the Unites States and even more so in Massachusetts people don't care. There are even movements to grant these people rights and legal status. Recently, the police chief of Fitchburg stated publicly that illegals (and yes I use the correct word) should be granted drivers' licenses. This would help police identify the person that they are pulling over. Wow! This is just simply a horrible idea. It grants people who are illegal a positive step forward towards legal status and thus rewarding them for illegal activity. How come when I go to the RMV I have to prove that I am who I am, that I've live in Massachusetts, so on and so forth to get a license, yet, we are about ready to just give them away to anyone who wants one (who is also not here legally)?

As Michael Graham has been blogging and writing about furiously over the last few days there is also an issue with a local representative (surprise she's a democrat). D-Rep Richardson of Framingham wants to grant illegals more rights to even include the right to vote. Yes, you did read that right. The right to vote! This she argues will help them become part of the community. To me it sounds like a way to ensure the Democrats stay in power in this state (besides who are these illegals going to vote for). Pretty soon those who come here illegally will have the same rights you and I enjoy as citizens.

Non-citizens will have the same rights as citizens if this continues!

I just have one question to ask those who propose this. If you were to visit say France or Canada would you expect to be able to vote there or have the same rights as citizens if you simply decided to stay there longer than you were allowed to?