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TroyinEwa/Perv
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For me, the Tea Party started out as a good thing. I recall their main beef were the bailouts if memory serves me right (and it often doesn't). Grass roots but it was looking to define itself.

 

The problem was that it was co-opted by Republicans. It did not stay indepedent. Any new 3rd party has to fight not being taken over by one of the major parties. I'd feel the same about them if it were the Dems that took over. However, the point I knew I would never support them was when they got in bed with candidates who were the religious right. They are basically, the religious right under a new name.

 

The Republican heirarchy is scared of them. As it should. They are all about getting elected and puttig forward the best candidate who is the most electable. Ideology takes a back seat. The TP could care less about electability which is actually a good thing, the problem is their candidate can't get elected nationally. Not unlike the Libertarian party for many years.

 

One of the things I hate is the rhetoric that questions patriotism. We all love America but for some, if I don't agree with their ideology it means I can't really love America. Complete and utter BS.

 

 

The Tea Baggers were 100% for the bailout of the auto industry and the bail out of Wall Street under GWB.

 

When Obama became President, bailing out those two entities became an act of Socialism. Figure it out.

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US troops may stay in Afghanistan until 2024

 

 

 

America and Afghanistan are close to signing a strategic pact which would allow thousands of United States troops to remain in the country until at least 2024, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

 

The agreement would allow not only military trainers to stay to build up the Afghan army and police, but also American special forces soldiers and air power to remain.

 

The prospect of such a deal has already been met with anger among Afghanistan’s neighbours including, publicly, Iran and, privately, Pakistan.

 

It also risks being rejected by the Taliban and derailing any attempt to coax them to the negotiating table, according to one senior member of Hamid Karzai’s peace council.

 

A withdrawal of American troops has already begun following an agreement to hand over security for the country to Kabul by the end of 2014.

 

But Afghans wary of being abandoned are keen to lock America into a longer partnership after the deadline. Many analysts also believe the American military would like to retain a presence close to Pakistan, Iran and China.

 

...

 

 

Read my lips.

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Somebody sent me this on FB. Wonder how many HH has given up?

 

So, you’re a Republican that hates taxes? Well, since you do not like taxes or government, please kindly do the following.

 

1. Do not use Medicare.

2. Do not use Social Security

3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.

4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.

5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.

6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.

7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.

8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.

9. Do not use public restrooms.

10. Do not send your kids to public schools.

11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.

12. Do not live in areas with clean air.

13. Do not drink clean water.

14. Do not visit National Parks.

15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.

16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.

17. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.

18. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.

19. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.

20. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.

21. Do not apply for educational or job training assistance when you lose your job.

22. Do not apply for food stamps when you can’t feed your children.

23. Do not use the judiciary system for any reason.

24. Do not ask for an attorney when you are arrested and do not ask for one to be assigned to you by the court.

25. Do not apply for any Pell Grants.

26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.

27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.

28. Do not use any product that can trace its development back to NASA.

29. Do not watch the weather provided by the National Weather Service.

30. Do not listen to severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.

31. Do not listen to tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake alert systems.

32. Do not apply for federal housing.

33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.

34. Do not swim in clean rivers.

35. Do not allow your child to eat school lunches or breakfasts.

36. Do not ask for FEMA assistance when everything you own gets wiped out by disaster.

37. Do not ask the military to defend your life and home in the event of a foreign invasion.

38. Do not use your cell phone or home telephone.

39. Do not buy firearms that wouldn’t have been developed without the support of the US Government and military. That includes most of them.

40. Do not eat USDA inspected produce and meat.

41. Do not apply for government grants to start your own business.

42. Do not apply to win a government contract.

43. Do not buy any vehicle that has been inspected by government safety agencies.

44. Do not buy any product that is protected from poisons, toxins, etc…by the Consumer Protection Agency.

45. Do not save your money in a bank that is FDIC insured.

46. Do not use Veterans benefits or military health care.

47. Do not use the G.I. Bill to go to college.

48. Do not apply for unemployment benefits.

49. Do not use any electricity from companies regulated by the Department of Energy.

50. Do not live in homes that are built to code.

51. Do not run for public office. Politicians are paid with taxpayer dollars.

52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…

53. Do not apply for any government job whatsoever as all state and federal employees are paid with tax dollars.

54. Do not use public libraries.

55. Do not use the US Postal Service.

56. Do not visit the National Archives.

57. Do not visit Presidential Libraries.

58. Do not use airports that are secured by the federal government.

59. Do not apply for loans from any bank that is FDIC insured.

60. Do not ask the government to help you clean up after a tornado.

61. Do not ask the Department of Agriculture to provide a subsidy to help you run your farm.

62. Do not take walks in National Forests.

63. Do not ask for taxpayer dollars for your oil company.

64. Do not ask the federal government to bail your company out during recessions.

65. Do not seek medical care from places that use federal dollars.

66. Do not use Medicaid.

67. Do not use WIC.

68. Do not use electricity generated by Hoover Dam.

69. Do not use electricity or any service provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

70. Do not ask the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild levees when they break.

71. Do not let the Coast Guard save you from drowning when your boat capsizes at sea.

72. Do not ask the government to help evacuate you when all hell breaks loose in the country you are in.

73. Do not visit historic landmarks.

74. Do not visit fisheries.

75. Do not expect to see animals that are federally protected because of the Endangered Species List.

76. Do not expect plows to clear roads of snow and ice so your kids can go to school and so you can get to work.

77. Do not hunt or camp on federal land.

78. Do not work anywhere that has a safe workplace because of government regulations.

79. Do not use public transportation.

80. Do not drink water from public water fountains.

81. Do not whine when someone copies your work and sells it as their own. Government enforces copyright laws.

82. Do not expect to own your home, car, or boat. Government organizes and keeps all titles.

83. Do not expect convicted felons to remain off the streets.

84. Do not eat in restaurants that are regulated by food quality and safety standards.

85. Do not seek help from the US Embassy if you need assistance in a foreign nation.

86. Do not apply for a passport to travel outside of the United States.

87. Do not apply for a patent when you invent something.

88. Do not adopt a child through your local, state, or federal governments.

89.Do not use elevators that have been inspected by federal or state safety regulators.

90. Do not use any resource that was discovered by the USGS.

91. Do not ask for energy assistance from the government.

92. Do not move to any other developed nation, because the taxes are much higher.

93. Do not go to a beach that is kept clean by the state.

94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.

95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.

96. Do not attend a state university.

97. Do not see any doctor that is licensed through the state.

98. Do not use any water from municipal water systems.

99. Do not complain when diseases and viruses, that were once fought around the globe by the US government and CDC, reach your house.

100. Do not work for any company that is required to pay its workers a livable wage, provide them sick days, vacation days, and benefits.

101. Do not expect to be able to vote on election days. Government provides voting booths, election day officials, and voting machines which are paid for with taxes.

102. Do not ride trains. The railroad was built with government financial assistance.

 

The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less taxes today since 1958 and is ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries. Chile and Mexico are 33rd and 34th. The Republicans are lying when they say that we pay the highest taxes in the world and are only attacking taxes to reward corporations and the wealthy and to weaken our infrastructure and way of life. So next time you object to paying taxes or fight to abolish taxes for corporations and the wealthy, keep this quote in mind…

 

“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.†~Oliver Wendell Holmes

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The only 4-star general in US history who never saw combat. :p

 

He was also the guy who drafted my father in WWII!

 

 

"I hate to think of the day my grandchildren will be defended by volunteers." - Lewis Blaine Hershey

 

 

So, you two were promptly trained in Hershey BARS?

 

HH

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Hershey Guest Worker Scandal Result of Lax Govt. Oversight: Immigration Expert

 

 

Aug 19, 2011

 

By Mike Elk

 

 

 

State Department lacks expertise and manpower to oversee J-1 visa program:

 

In Palmyra, Pa., about 400 guest workers from a variety of countries walked off the job and staged a strike on Wednesday to protest their working conditions and pay at a warehouse run by a Hershey subcontractor. Guest workers presented a petition to management and then marched out. Three labor leaders—Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Rick Bloomingdale, SEIU President Healthcare Pennsylvania Neal Bisno and SEIU Local 668 President Kathy Jellison—were arrested after staging a sit-in at the warehouse's entrance.

 

The guest workers were students who signed up to work in the United States on a four month cultural exchange visa. Students pay fees and travel ranging from $3,000-$6,000 to work on a temporary contract and then travel freely in the United States.

 

The guest workers were supposed to be paid $7.85-8.35 an hour. The workers, however, were forced to live in company housing and were charged $395 a month for rent – nearly twice the rate of rent for Americans living in similar housing in rural central Pennsylvania, according to the National Guestworker Alliance spokesman Stephen Boykewic. After deducting rent and other fees from their paychecks, guest workers took home between $40-$140 a week.

 

The students were in the United States on a program called the J-1 visa program, a little-known guest worker program that allows students to enter the United States for four months, if they work for most of that period.

 

The J-1 program is increasingly being exploited by companies looking for sources of cheap labor. According to a report by Economic Policy Institute, in 2010 353,602 people enter the United State every year to work on the J-1 visa program. Workers routinely have wages for exorbitant rent taken away from them in schemes similar to the Hershey warehouse workers. Guestworkers are especially easy to exploit since if they speak up, they can be deported if companies withdraw their visa.

 

Unlike other guest worker programs regulated by the Department of Homeland Secretary or the Department of Justice, the guest worker program is overseen by the Department of State since it is intended to be merely a cultural exchange program. As a result, the State Department has only 13 compliance officers to oversee a guest workers program with 291,000 workers.

 

“We have heard cases of this all over the country. The J-1 program is completely out of control. State Department is not the right agency to be running this thing,†says EPI immigration policy analyst Daniel Costa. “It’s basically a guestworkers program and it’s not run through Department of Homeland Security or Department of Justice. The State Department does not have the have expertise, experience or interest it seems in regulating the labor market.â€

 

State Department Spokeswoman Beth Gosselin responded to In These Times: “US Department of State is engaged in a fact-finding mission about the incident in Pennsylvania. We take the responsibility for the J1 visa program seriously. We are making sure that the companies that are sponsoring these students ensure that the rights of these students are meeting.â€

 

Costa disputes that the State Department, with its small staff, can seriously regulating the program. They outsource the responsibility to their sponsors. They are basically stamping papers," he said. "Even if they find out some sponsor running this thing is doing something wrong, the only remedy they have is to cancel the designation of the sponsor and another sponsor with a different name springs up to do the same scheme."

 

The State Department has no expertise in how to regulate employment relations so there is no way that they can regulate this guest worker program effectively.

 

The J-1 visa program is increasingly being exploited by employees looking to find cheap labor, especially in the area of farm work, where growers are experiencing a shortage of labor as ICE cracks down on undocumented workers. According to the North County Times, the J-1 visa program “already places interns and trainees in all fields of agriculture from Maine to Florida to California and Hawaii.â€

 

As more and more corporations like Hershey’s subcontractor Exel look to programs like the J-1 as sources of cheap labor, regulating these guest worker programs may become a big issue. However, regulation can only be effective if workers feel comfortable reporting their problems.

 

Since their visas depend on their employers, guest workers can be easily intimidated by employers to not report labor rights violations. According to National Guestworker Alliance spokesman Stephen Boykewich, guestworkers at the Hershey warehouse were forced to attend captive audience meetings and were threatened with deportation if they organized. In their home countries, recruiters sent threatening e-mails to the guestworkers, called their parents. In one instance, according to Boykewich, a recruiter flew to Pennsylvania from China to threaten the guestworkers.

 

The Hershey workers were able to speak up about this problem as a result of community allies. According to Boykewich, about six weeks ago a guest worker walked into a local legal aid clinic and asked what they could do about the situation. The legal aid clinic put the student and other upset students in touch with local labor leaders and community allies. Community allies, upset that 400 jobs that could be going to Central Pennsylvania residents were instead going to exploited guest workers, vowed to stand by the guestworkers and fight deportation if workers went on strike.

 

“Unemployed workers here connect with them, they had allies. They are all part of the same chain of decades of subcontracting and outsourcing that led to this,†says Boykewich.

 

With community support, 300 of the 400 guest workers continued to strike Thursday and will continue on strike until they are paid what they say they are owed. The dramatic protest by the guestworkers and community allies comes months after the dramatic public protests that resulted in 16-day occupation of the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison. It also follows 100 longshoreman being arrested for trespassing in a nonunion port last month in Longview, Wash, illegal strikes at New York City construction sites this month, and the massive ongoing Verizon strike of 45,000 workers that began this month.

 

“We are seeing a very real shift happening. The solidarity between a group of essentially captive guest workers and American workers is unusual, and gets right at the heart of both global labor patterns and the hallowing out of the American economy,†says Boykewic, who added:

 

"There was something iconic about Wisconsin and there was a new infusion of energy. Before there was a national conversation happening at kitchen tables about the individual problems workers were having, but not at national discourse in the media. Wisconsin was the catalyzing moment that created an energy of people thinking about these connections between each other. ..."

 

The strike and protest at the Hershey factory and other recent dramatic actions indicate that we may be in the early stages of a wave of dramatic worker action.

 

Workers, it seems, may have reached a breaking point as corporations lower wages and governments cut important social services. As workers around the world from London to Chile to Greece protest corporate abuses and government cuts, it appears that things in the United State may finally be boiling over.

 

 

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Somebody sent me this on FB. Wonder how many HH has given up?

 

So, you’re a Republican that hates taxes? Well, since you do not like taxes or government, please kindly do the following.

 

1. Do not use Medicare.

2. Do not use Social Security

3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.

4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.

5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.

6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.

7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.

8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.

9. Do not use public restrooms.

10. Do not send your kids to public schools.

11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.

12. Do not live in areas with clean air.

13. Do not drink clean water.

14. Do not visit National Parks.

15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.

16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.

17. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.

18. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.

19. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.

20. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.

21. Do not apply for educational or job training assistance when you lose your job.

22. Do not apply for food stamps when you can’t feed your children.

23. Do not use the judiciary system for any reason.

24. Do not ask for an attorney when you are arrested and do not ask for one to be assigned to you by the court.

25. Do not apply for any Pell Grants.

26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.

27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.

28. Do not use any product that can trace its development back to NASA.

29. Do not watch the weather provided by the National Weather Service.

30. Do not listen to severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.

31. Do not listen to tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake alert systems.

32. Do not apply for federal housing.

33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.

34. Do not swim in clean rivers.

35. Do not allow your child to eat school lunches or breakfasts.

36. Do not ask for FEMA assistance when everything you own gets wiped out by disaster.

37. Do not ask the military to defend your life and home in the event of a foreign invasion.

38. Do not use your cell phone or home telephone.

39. Do not buy firearms that wouldn’t have been developed without the support of the US Government and military. That includes most of them.

40. Do not eat USDA inspected produce and meat.

41. Do not apply for government grants to start your own business.

42. Do not apply to win a government contract.

43. Do not buy any vehicle that has been inspected by government safety agencies.

44. Do not buy any product that is protected from poisons, toxins, etc…by the Consumer Protection Agency.

45. Do not save your money in a bank that is FDIC insured.

46. Do not use Veterans benefits or military health care.

47. Do not use the G.I. Bill to go to college.

48. Do not apply for unemployment benefits.

49. Do not use any electricity from companies regulated by the Department of Energy.

50. Do not live in homes that are built to code.

51. Do not run for public office. Politicians are paid with taxpayer dollars.

52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…

53. Do not apply for any government job whatsoever as all state and federal employees are paid with tax dollars.

54. Do not use public libraries.

55. Do not use the US Postal Service.

56. Do not visit the National Archives.

57. Do not visit Presidential Libraries.

58. Do not use airports that are secured by the federal government.

59. Do not apply for loans from any bank that is FDIC insured.

60. Do not ask the government to help you clean up after a tornado.

61. Do not ask the Department of Agriculture to provide a subsidy to help you run your farm.

62. Do not take walks in National Forests.

63. Do not ask for taxpayer dollars for your oil company.

64. Do not ask the federal government to bail your company out during recessions.

65. Do not seek medical care from places that use federal dollars.

66. Do not use Medicaid.

67. Do not use WIC.

68. Do not use electricity generated by Hoover Dam.

69. Do not use electricity or any service provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

70. Do not ask the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild levees when they break.

71. Do not let the Coast Guard save you from drowning when your boat capsizes at sea.

72. Do not ask the government to help evacuate you when all hell breaks loose in the country you are in.

73. Do not visit historic landmarks.

74. Do not visit fisheries.

75. Do not expect to see animals that are federally protected because of the Endangered Species List.

76. Do not expect plows to clear roads of snow and ice so your kids can go to school and so you can get to work.

77. Do not hunt or camp on federal land.

78. Do not work anywhere that has a safe workplace because of government regulations.

79. Do not use public transportation.

80. Do not drink water from public water fountains.

81. Do not whine when someone copies your work and sells it as their own. Government enforces copyright laws.

82. Do not expect to own your home, car, or boat. Government organizes and keeps all titles.

83. Do not expect convicted felons to remain off the streets.

84. Do not eat in restaurants that are regulated by food quality and safety standards.

85. Do not seek help from the US Embassy if you need assistance in a foreign nation.

86. Do not apply for a passport to travel outside of the United States.

87. Do not apply for a patent when you invent something.

88. Do not adopt a child through your local, state, or federal governments.

89.Do not use elevators that have been inspected by federal or state safety regulators.

90. Do not use any resource that was discovered by the USGS.

91. Do not ask for energy assistance from the government.

92. Do not move to any other developed nation, because the taxes are much higher.

93. Do not go to a beach that is kept clean by the state.

94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.

95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.

96. Do not attend a state university.

97. Do not see any doctor that is licensed through the state.

98. Do not use any water from municipal water systems.

99. Do not complain when diseases and viruses, that were once fought around the globe by the US government and CDC, reach your house.

100. Do not work for any company that is required to pay its workers a livable wage, provide them sick days, vacation days, and benefits.

101. Do not expect to be able to vote on election days. Government provides voting booths, election day officials, and voting machines which are paid for with taxes.

102. Do not ride trains. The railroad was built with government financial assistance.

 

The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less taxes today since 1958 and is ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries. Chile and Mexico are 33rd and 34th. The Republicans are lying when they say that we pay the highest taxes in the world and are only attacking taxes to reward corporations and the wealthy and to weaken our infrastructure and way of life. So next time you object to paying taxes or fight to abolish taxes for corporations and the wealthy, keep this quote in mind…

 

“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.†~Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

Some call it having your cake and eating it.

 

The big push with the tea party group is home schooling of their kids. It should be interesting to see how that turns out.

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1. Do not use Medicare.

 

I pay for this. It is not free, so of course I will use it!

 

2. Do not use Social Security

 

I am FORCED to pay for this, so I will use it or give me all the money back, with interest...WTF!!

The railroads have a far BETTER retirement plan then SS!!!

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