Political Fairy Tales

A friend of mine posted this to her wall today, and I initially just blew it off with a comment about how, Roosevelt actually put people to work, but the more I thought about it, the more pissed off I got. Read it and weep.

"Moses said to the children if Israel, "Pick up your shovels, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the promised land." Then about 75 years ago, Roosevelt said, "Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this is the promised Land." Now, Obama has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the price of Camels and bankrupted the promised land. Copy and paste if you agree."

I DON'T agree, and I'm about to tell you why it's wrong in so many ways. It would be easy to dismiss this as just some, silly, Internet BS, if it weren't so demonstrative of the stupidity of the, "Teabagers" and right wing idiots in this country, who don't know history, and don't do any research, and just publish this kind of garbage without really knowing what they are saying.

I'll start at the top. The, Bible is fiction. So your, Moses quote doesn't need to be addressed except to say that for the sake of argument, we'll pretend it happened.

Let's next address the legacy of FDR. He was probably the greatest President this country has ever had. He took over during a terrible depression that was caused by unregulated banking (which we have reinstated, starting with the, Reagan Administration and ending with, "W", that lead to the closest thing we've had to a depression since then. After, Roosevelt, we had 50 years of economic stability, which we had never had in the history of our country). He gave us, "The New Deal" which gave us Social Security. Most people don't know that, "The New Deal" originally included a National Health Care Plan, but that part he had to give up to get the, Republicans to vote for it. The, "R's" have spent the last 60 years trying to repeal, "The New Deal".

His policy's lead to Civil Rights legislation and Medicare/Medicaid being passed in the 60's. The, "R's" opposed this, too.

And as for, "laying down your shovels"? WTF? Have you not read a history book? Did your parents not live through the depression? The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the, Works Progress Administration (WPA) put hundreds of thousands of out of work Americans BACK to work. They created the, Tennessee Valley Authority to electrify rural America. Brought power to the Indian Reservations, and created the roads and facility's we use to this day in our National Parks! Those people picked up some, DAMN SHOVELS!

My Grandfather was a railroad engineer for the B&O, and lost his job, in rural West "By God" Virginia. My mom told me the WPA was all that kept them alive. They didn't call it the WPA, they called it the, "PWA", for, Papa Works, Again! Shovels were, indeed, picked up.

Now, onto the, "criticism" of our current, President. I fail to see how he has stolen your shovel. HE isn't the one who got us into the current financial mess. It started with, Reagan and his deregulation, and continued through, "W". Clinton didn't oppose deregulation that happened when he was, President, which is a disappointment. But when he left office, we had a Federal SURPLUS! Which, "W" blew in eight years with unnecessary wars and, "no-bid" contracts to his friends at, Halliburton. You can't blame this deficit on, President Obama. No way, no how. He inherited it, pure and simple.

"Taxed your asses". 90% of the people in this country got a tax DECREASE in the last year. 90%. The only people seeing an increase in their taxes are people making over $250K a year. I'm so rich, I retired at 47, I have taken my children to, Paris, New York, Chicago, Washington DC just because I could. I paid $1200 for meal at, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago last summer, just so my kids could say they have had the experience. I just bought a $43K sports car for shits and giggles, so I can drive it on nice weather weekends. And I DON'T MAKE $250K a year! How was YOUR year, "Teabager"?

Between November of 2007, and January of 2009 I saw my portfolio lose 1/3 of it's value. Almost made me cancel my annual trip to, Belize to see, Jerry Jeff Walker in a little bar, on a tiny island. And I don't make $250K a year! And yet in 2008, and 2009, I paid over $2000 in Federal Taxes at the end of the year, after paying over $500 quarterly! I don't even want to tell you what the, "R's" in the STATE did to me!

This year, with, President Obama in the White House, I got back $179 form the Feds. I owed the fiscally conservative, State of Utah, over $600 of my pension they wanted back! While decreasing school funding, and services for the poor. Very, Christian.

Now, this is the part that REALLY pisses me off. The, "raised the price of, Camels" part. I quit smoking cigarette's about 8 years ago, after 20 years as a nicotine slave. But I still enjoy a couple of cigars a week. And have some friends who own a cigar store/gift shop. No Federal legislation affecting, tobacco has been passed while, Obama has been in the, White House. So, HE didn't raise the price of, Camels, but I'll tell you who DID!

The, Republicans in Utah! After promising, "No new taxes" this year, spineless, idiot, Governor, Gary Herbert allowed a new tobacco tax to become law without his signature. Sure, now he can say he didn't SIGN it, but he let it happen.

Adds a dollar a pack to those, Camels. And my friend who owns the cigar store? She has to come up with, $90K the first of July to pay the new tax on her stock of cigars, or lose her store! The oldest tobacco shop in town, Jeanie's Smoke Shop on State Street is just going to close down, because they can't afford to stay in business. I know these folks, and in an interesting twist of irony, I've been told, they are, Mormons! I never ask, I just bought their cigars.

If you don't know what, Roosevelt stood for, and you don't know about the tax cuts, and you don't know who REALLY raised the price of your smokes, and why there is a deficit instead of a surplus, but you just post this stuff anyway? You are part of the problem with the way things are in this country.

"Defriend" me if you like. I don't care. But this kind of BS cannot continue to go unchallenged. It's the reason we had, "The Bush Administration" People not paying attention. Oh, and for the last time, we, "D's" are NOT coming for your guns. Relax.