Problem: Biased Emails, False "News", Slanted Views...
Are your right-wing brother-in-law / neighbor / co-worker / friend(s) plugged into Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, (et al), and keep sending you emails about "Obama spending" and "Obama deficits" and how the "Stimulus" just made things worse?
Well, let's set the record straight, once and for all.... Now, you may not like this, and you may not agree with it... but, it's just like gravity, these are the facts... Here goes....
Well, let's set the record straight, once and for all.... Now, you may not like this, and you may not agree with it... but, it's just like gravity, these are the facts... Here goes....
Government spending increased dramatically under Bush. It has not increased much
under Obama. (Note that this chart does not reflect any spending cuts resulting
from deficit-cutting deals.)
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under Obama. (Note that this chart does not reflect any spending cuts resulting
from deficit-cutting deals.)
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The numbers in the two charts above come from Budget of the United States Government:
Historical Tables Fiscal Year 2012. They are just the amounts that the government spent and borrowed, period, Anyone can look them up. People who claim that Obama "tripled the
deficit" are just plain wrong; (or are specifically trying to mislead.)
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Historical Tables Fiscal Year 2012. They are just the amounts that the government spent and borrowed, period, Anyone can look them up. People who claim that Obama "tripled the
deficit" are just plain wrong; (or are specifically trying to mislead.)
_____________________________________________________________________
In this chart, the brown lines on the left side -- keep doing DOWN -- they show what happened to jobs under the policies of the Bush Administration and the Republican Congressional majority. (We were losing lots of jobs every month, and it was getting progressively worse.)
The BLUE lines, going UP -- show what happened to jobs when the stimulus was put into
effect. We stopped losing jobs and started gaining jobs. The leveling off on the right side of the chart shows what happened as the stimulus started to wind down: job creation leveled off at too low a level. It's factual that the stimulus reversed what was going on before the stimulus.
Bottom line.... You don't have to like it, but those are the actual facts. - Selah...
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The BLUE lines, going UP -- show what happened to jobs when the stimulus was put into
effect. We stopped losing jobs and started gaining jobs. The leveling off on the right side of the chart shows what happened as the stimulus started to wind down: job creation leveled off at too low a level. It's factual that the stimulus reversed what was going on before the stimulus.
Bottom line.... You don't have to like it, but those are the actual facts. - Selah...
_____________________________________________________________________
On The Election of Barack Obama (11-05-08)
America turned a new page yesterday; actually, they turned to a whole new chapter. I literally had ‘shivers’ voting yesterday. There was a visible excitement in the crowd I saw, and it was non-linear. I talked to a young black guy in a UPS uniform, who stood just behind me in line. After a few dabs of polite conversation, I asked him who he was going to vote for. His immediate reply was: “Obama…” We both kind of looked at each other awkwardly, and then I said, “Me too…” I swear to god, we almost hugged each other.
That’s what happened yesterday in America; all across our land. There were tears of joy, tears of relief. It was a stunning, whopping “landslide of hope” at a time where America is in deep despair. -- Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea.
There was another important "first" yesterday; - it’s the first time in modern American history that a STATED, “anti-war” candidate has been elected to the presidency. The people of America made a BIG statement yesterday, we are tired of war. Sick and tired. We made our voice heard, loud and clear.
What happened yesterday hasn’t happened in 44 years. Yesterday, a Democrat running for president received more than 51% of the vote; in the form of a man who is not a party hack, or a “set-for-life” Beltway bureaucrat. What happened yesterday was a triumph of decency over personal attack, - of peace over war, - of “hope” rather than continued national bickering.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. All week long I have been asked, "Gee, Tom, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" -- Are you kidding?? -- We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it’s this: -- Anything Is Possible.
Yesterday, an African American was elected President of the United States! We can now pry our economy out of the hands of the lobbyists-centric congressional-profiteers and return it to the people. Our government was founded on the principle of: “…of the people, by the people, and for the people…”
Yesterday, America started a new chapter and all of us can rejoice in a great moment. I’ll make a deal with you; as a proud Democrat, I vow to be nice about it. I won’t treat the Republicans in my life the way they have treated me for the past eight years. I’m going to reflect the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. He was called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. I for one, am going to follow his example. How about you?
But back to yesterday…. Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Who woulda thunk?… Here’s my hand salute President Obama… “Live long and prosper!”
That’s what happened yesterday in America; all across our land. There were tears of joy, tears of relief. It was a stunning, whopping “landslide of hope” at a time where America is in deep despair. -- Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea.
There was another important "first" yesterday; - it’s the first time in modern American history that a STATED, “anti-war” candidate has been elected to the presidency. The people of America made a BIG statement yesterday, we are tired of war. Sick and tired. We made our voice heard, loud and clear.
What happened yesterday hasn’t happened in 44 years. Yesterday, a Democrat running for president received more than 51% of the vote; in the form of a man who is not a party hack, or a “set-for-life” Beltway bureaucrat. What happened yesterday was a triumph of decency over personal attack, - of peace over war, - of “hope” rather than continued national bickering.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. All week long I have been asked, "Gee, Tom, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" -- Are you kidding?? -- We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it’s this: -- Anything Is Possible.
Yesterday, an African American was elected President of the United States! We can now pry our economy out of the hands of the lobbyists-centric congressional-profiteers and return it to the people. Our government was founded on the principle of: “…of the people, by the people, and for the people…”
Yesterday, America started a new chapter and all of us can rejoice in a great moment. I’ll make a deal with you; as a proud Democrat, I vow to be nice about it. I won’t treat the Republicans in my life the way they have treated me for the past eight years. I’m going to reflect the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. He was called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. I for one, am going to follow his example. How about you?
But back to yesterday…. Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Who woulda thunk?… Here’s my hand salute President Obama… “Live long and prosper!”
"Vox Populi..." The Voice of the People - Here's mine...
Several of you have asked me when am I going to comment of the “immigration-situation” in America. Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought and here it is. I don’t mind saying this upfront; the “immigration” problem is a very multifaceted problem. At once, I agree with building a ninety-two foot wall around America with razor wire on top, -- while at the same time perhaps we should just throw open our borders and declare everyone citizens. I don’t know the answer to either extreme. What I DO know is “people”; I’m one and I’ve been watching “us” for a long time. When it was still being published, I loved reading the comic strip, Pogo. One of the author’s famous quotes was, (paraphrased), “I’ve met the enemy, and he is us.” The same may apply to the immigration-problem.
While I DO like what Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas states: “a balanced immigration bill is consistent with conservative values; I’m also waiting to see what the right-wing, Rush-types have to say… seems to me, they’re hiding in the bushes (get it?) on this issue.
While I’m waiting, I’ll state my own views… My first observation is that the “exclusionists” are wrong when they say the current wave of immigration is tearing our social fabric. The facts show that the recent rise in immigration hasn't been accompanied by social breakdown – more likely, -- social repair. There may be no actual “cause and effect”, but if you look at the published statistics, as immigration has surged, violent crime has fallen, teen pregnancies and abortion rates have declined, teenagers are having fewer sexual partners and losing their virginity later, teen suicide rates have dropped, and the divorce rate for young people is on the way down.
There’s something to be said for the view that over the past decade we've seen the beginnings of a moral revival, and some of the most important work has been done by Catholic and evangelical IMMIGRANT churches, and by Hispanic mothers and fathers monitoring their kids. The anti-immigration crowd says America is under assault. Well, if that's so, we're under assault by people who love their children.
My second observation is that the immigrants themselves are like a “booster shot” of traditional morality injected into the body politic. Pointedly, immigrants work hard. They build community groups. They have traditional ideas about family structure, and they work heroically to make them a reality. This is evident in everything from divorce rates (which are low, given immigrants' socioeconomic status) to their fertility rates (which are high), and even the way they shop.
Hispanics and Hispanic immigrants have less money than average Americans, but they spend what they have on their families, usually in wholesome ways. According to my Google-search, (and Simmons Research), “Hispanics are 57 percent more likely than average Americans to have purchased children's furniture in the past year... Mexican-Americans spend 93 percent more on children's music.”
According to the government's Consumer-Expenditure Survey, (paraphrased), “Hispanics spend more on gifts, on average, than other Americans. They're more likely to support their parents financially. They're more likely to have big family dinners at home.” This isn't alien behavior here folks; it's admirable behavior, it’s the antidote to the excessive individualism that the far-right decries.
My third observation is that good values lead to success, and that immigrants' long-term contributions more than compensate for the short-term strains they cause. There's no use denying the strains immigration imposes on schools, hospitals and wage levels in some markets, (however, I will point out that economists are sharply divided on this.) Over the long haul, today's immigrants succeed. By the second generation, most immigrant families are middle-class and paying taxes that more than make up for the costs of the first generation. By the third generation, 90 percent speak English fluently and 50 percent marry non-Latinos; (much like our own immigrant background.)
My fourth observation is that government should be at least as virtuous as the immigrants themselves. Right now (under Bill Frist's proposed legislation), the government would push immigrants into a chaotic underground world. The Judiciary Committee's bill, which Senator Brownback supports, would tighten the borders, but it would also reward virtue. Immigrants who worked hard, paid fines, paid their taxes, stayed out of trouble and waited their turn would have a chance to become citizens. This isn't government enabling vice; it's government at its best, encouraging middle-class morality.
To the far-right, let me make another point… women who have recently arrived from Mexico have bigger, healthier babies than more affluent non-Hispanic white natives. That's because strong family and social networks support these pregnant women, reminding them what to eat and what to do. But the longer they stay, and the more assimilated they become, the more bad habits they acquire and the more problems their subsequent babies have.
My final point is this -- as we contemplate America's moral fiber, do the real threats come from immigrants, or are some people merely blaming them for sins that are already here?
As always, I welcome all replies…
While I DO like what Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas states: “a balanced immigration bill is consistent with conservative values; I’m also waiting to see what the right-wing, Rush-types have to say… seems to me, they’re hiding in the bushes (get it?) on this issue.
While I’m waiting, I’ll state my own views… My first observation is that the “exclusionists” are wrong when they say the current wave of immigration is tearing our social fabric. The facts show that the recent rise in immigration hasn't been accompanied by social breakdown – more likely, -- social repair. There may be no actual “cause and effect”, but if you look at the published statistics, as immigration has surged, violent crime has fallen, teen pregnancies and abortion rates have declined, teenagers are having fewer sexual partners and losing their virginity later, teen suicide rates have dropped, and the divorce rate for young people is on the way down.
There’s something to be said for the view that over the past decade we've seen the beginnings of a moral revival, and some of the most important work has been done by Catholic and evangelical IMMIGRANT churches, and by Hispanic mothers and fathers monitoring their kids. The anti-immigration crowd says America is under assault. Well, if that's so, we're under assault by people who love their children.
My second observation is that the immigrants themselves are like a “booster shot” of traditional morality injected into the body politic. Pointedly, immigrants work hard. They build community groups. They have traditional ideas about family structure, and they work heroically to make them a reality. This is evident in everything from divorce rates (which are low, given immigrants' socioeconomic status) to their fertility rates (which are high), and even the way they shop.
Hispanics and Hispanic immigrants have less money than average Americans, but they spend what they have on their families, usually in wholesome ways. According to my Google-search, (and Simmons Research), “Hispanics are 57 percent more likely than average Americans to have purchased children's furniture in the past year... Mexican-Americans spend 93 percent more on children's music.”
According to the government's Consumer-Expenditure Survey, (paraphrased), “Hispanics spend more on gifts, on average, than other Americans. They're more likely to support their parents financially. They're more likely to have big family dinners at home.” This isn't alien behavior here folks; it's admirable behavior, it’s the antidote to the excessive individualism that the far-right decries.
My third observation is that good values lead to success, and that immigrants' long-term contributions more than compensate for the short-term strains they cause. There's no use denying the strains immigration imposes on schools, hospitals and wage levels in some markets, (however, I will point out that economists are sharply divided on this.) Over the long haul, today's immigrants succeed. By the second generation, most immigrant families are middle-class and paying taxes that more than make up for the costs of the first generation. By the third generation, 90 percent speak English fluently and 50 percent marry non-Latinos; (much like our own immigrant background.)
My fourth observation is that government should be at least as virtuous as the immigrants themselves. Right now (under Bill Frist's proposed legislation), the government would push immigrants into a chaotic underground world. The Judiciary Committee's bill, which Senator Brownback supports, would tighten the borders, but it would also reward virtue. Immigrants who worked hard, paid fines, paid their taxes, stayed out of trouble and waited their turn would have a chance to become citizens. This isn't government enabling vice; it's government at its best, encouraging middle-class morality.
To the far-right, let me make another point… women who have recently arrived from Mexico have bigger, healthier babies than more affluent non-Hispanic white natives. That's because strong family and social networks support these pregnant women, reminding them what to eat and what to do. But the longer they stay, and the more assimilated they become, the more bad habits they acquire and the more problems their subsequent babies have.
My final point is this -- as we contemplate America's moral fiber, do the real threats come from immigrants, or are some people merely blaming them for sins that are already here?
As always, I welcome all replies…
