Political Crap

Federal Employees Not Paying Their Taxes!

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:20:14 +0000

Nearly half a million federal workers and retirees owe the IRS over $3 Billion in federal taxes. The worst offenders are in the US Commission on Civil Rights, where just under 10% of the employees are delinquent in paying their taxes.

Ten government agencies have more than 5% of their employees or retirees with delinquent taxes to pay.

I would be interested in knowing how these figures compare to those of the general population.

Again With the Environmental Hypocrisy by the Democrats!

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:02:13 +0000

From an AP Article:

—”A flock of small jets took flight from Washington Thursday, each carrying a Democratic presidential candidate to South Carolina for the first debate of the political season….

No one jet pooled, no one took commercial flights to save money, fuel or emissions.

All but Biden, who flew on a private jet, chartered their flights — a campaign expense of between $7,500 and $9,000.”—
So here we have yet another example of hypocrisy by candidates who claim to care about the environment. Every one of the Democratic presidential candidates has spoken out on environmental issues, stressing the need for regulation to help the environment and curb global warming.

So do they not feel the need to help the environment themselves? Perhaps they think they’re too important to worry about the hoops they want others to jump through. They can make all the important decisions and let “the little people” worry about following them. Why should we try to help the environment when all the good we could possibly do in whole a year is counteracted in one day by the private jets of a few Democratic hopefuls?

Republicans have the same type of private jets and are just as guilty of the same indiscretions. The difference is, Republicans aren’t trying to be elected president by railing on environmental issues and stressing the need for environmental regulation to curb global warming. Republicans are plenty hypocritical about a variety of things, but when it comes to the environment, you can’t get more hypocritical than the Democrats.

“Inconvenient Truth” Producer Shrugs Off Environmentally Conscious Living

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:05:37 +0000

Further proving that politicians and celebrities alike want to tell us what we should and should not do, yet many times, they feel that their own directives don’t apply to them personally.

The latest example of this is Laurie David, producer of “An Inconvenient Truth”, and wife of Seinfeld creator Larry David. Though she urges people to drive hybrid cars and use environmentally friendly toilet paper among other things, she flies in polluting private jets, and owns a summer home in Martha’s Vineyard where she and her husband have been cited for numerous environmental violations.

It’s hard to trust public figures when it’s clear they only care about what’s best for themselves. Not you. Not me. Not the environment. Not any of the countless other pet projects they like to adopt. Only themselves.

Please note that this is not a commentary on Global Warming itself or on environmentalism. The evidence for Global Warming is strong, and it’s hard to argue that being environmentally conscious is a bad thing. The problem here is not in the message, but in the hypocrisy displayed by Ms. David.

From TheBatt.com:

“Laurie David, the producer of “An Inconvenient Truth” and global warming activist, told Texas A&M students to change their “individual behavior” in order to consume fewer resources and to help battle global warming. As an employee of Easterwood Airport, I would like to point out that Mrs. David flew to our campus in a luxurious private jet, which could be seen from 10 miles away due to the thick plume of smog it left in its wake. I am neither denying nor confirming the epidemic of global warming, I am simply pointing out that hypocrites such as Mrs. David don’t care about the environment, only their own political agendas. This is proven time and again by these celebrities’ and lobbyist’s “do as I say, not as I do” attitude.”

From GasDetection.com:

Even worse is David’s chic but hypocritical environmentalism at her summer home in Martha’s Vineyard. She was issued a “notice of apparent violations” for building a 26-foot-long barbecue station, stone-and-concrete bonfire pit, and outdoor theater on an environmentally sensitive patch of their 14-acre North Road property without the proper permits. They were also cited for tearing up protected vegetation to make way for a lush, sodded lawn, among other crimes against nature.

The commission has since ordered her to remove the offending structures and restore the area to its previous state. All these violations were allegedly done to prepare for a political fundraiser hosted by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (another faux Green). Alas, there’s no such thing as cheap environmentalism on the Vineyard.

Laurie David has been labeled a “Gulfstream liberal” by Eric Alterman, himself a proud member of the Left and a regular columnist for the Nation. He recognizes that Ms. David’s brand of environmentalism is nothing more than a facade, a distraction from the financially secure yet intellectually boring life of the fabulously wealthy. But this hobby has dire consequences for the rest of us. By transforming her politics into a religion, and by demonizing all who question her positions, including the author Michael Crichton, who actually is a Harvard trained scientist and physician, Laurie David makes the environmental movement seem bizarre and more than a bit ridiculous.

Yale Bans Prop Weapons From Stage Productions in Reponse to Virginia Tech Tragedy

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:57:29 +0000

The stupidity and overreactions of some people never ceases to amaze me. It’s hard for me to believe that anyone actually thinks this is a good idea, or an appropriate response to the massacre at Virginia Tech last week.

Betty Trachtenberg, Dean of Student Affairs at Yale University decided that in light of the shooting deaths at Virginia Tech last week, all portrayals of weapons, from swords to knives to guns, must be removed from theatrical productions.

Sarah Holdren, the director of a student production at Yale, was perplexed by the whole thing. In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, Holdren revealed that Trachtenberg’s reasoning was that “she needed to look out for a whole campus of potentially vulnerable undergraduates.” “She made it sound as if I was trying to traumatize people,” Holdren said.

In the end, Trachtenberg agreed to allow weapons that were designed as to look obviously fake. Holdren substituted wooden swords for the standard prop swords, and gave a speech before the first production, explaining the change and giving her own commentary on the Dean’s decision.

“We cannot cure the violence of this world by limiting the artistic creations that seek to address it,” she said.

Republican Scam! Giving Out National Leadership Awards To Those Who Donate $500

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 03:13:11 +0000

This is truly a perfect example of political crap!

The Republican party is running a sort of bait-and-switch scam where they call small business owners, and tell them they’ve won a National Leadership Award, and they want to help you work on the press release. When you call back, they play a message from Representative Tom Coles, and then ask for $500 so your name can be added to the list. They also tell you that your $500 donation will get your name in the Wall Street Journal and an invite to dinner with the President of the United States.

I got called by this group, and I posted my story on one of my other blogs, Comic Strip Politics. Here’s a basic synopsis:

I was working in my home office, and my wife came down with a message. Jessica Brown from Congressman Tom Cole’s office had called, and apparently, he wanted to give me a National Leadership Award. All I had to do was return the call at 1-877-213-0603 and they would work on my press release.

My wife though maybe it had something to do with the many websites I operate online, but I immediately smelled a rat. I figured it was a Nigerian Scam of some sort, using a random name and a phony award to get people to fork over their money. After some fruitless searching, I searched for the phone number they had left at which to call them back, 1-877-213-0603. That’s when the whole plot began to unfold.

It seems that I’m not the only one being called by Congressman Tom Cole’s office and being offered a National Leadership award. Anyone who is a “small businessman” is being called and offered this award. The message is always the same, telling them that they have won a National Leadership Award and they need to call back so they can get started on their press release.

When you call back, you are told that they are the National Republican Congressional Comittee, and they patch you through to a recorded message from Tom Coles about how the NRCC needs you to donate $500 to they can fight the Democrats and help small businessman such as yourselves.

Another blogger actually recorded the call, so you can see for yourself exactly how it all went down. This has got to be one of the sleaziest fundraising methods I’ve ever heard of. If a private company tried this or a charity, they would be condemned by everyone, and hypocritical Congressmen would be the first to throw the stones.

If you read this site on a regular basis, you know that I’m have no affiliation with a political party. I am certainly not a Democrat, and this is not is not some kind of Republican bashing post to make Democrats look good. To be honest, I think the Democrats are capable of just as sleazy things. Nearly all politicians are, and that’s why politics is such crap!

Anyway, so that’s my story. Leave a comment if you’d like and tell me what you think about all this.