Journal damn_registrars's Journal: Let me get this straight... 23
A while ago, some billionare brothers, who hardly pay any taxes and never give more than casual lip service to things like the plight of workers or environmental stewardship decided they needed a way to pay even less in taxes and care even less about the part of the world that is not insanely wealthy. They decided one way or another that the best way to meet this goal was to start their own political movement; which they ironically called the "tea party". This party promised uninformed voters the world.
The Tea Party rather bluntly declared itself to have objectives including avoiding taxes altogether and the destruction of the IRS. They made various claims of income taxes being unconstitutional and also statements of how good god-fearing Americans should do everything they can to avoid paying taxes, including not filling out tax claims at all. Then, in a rather strange twist this new political movement filed with the IRS for tax exempt status - rather than just simply avoiding taxes altogether in the way they had advocated for their followers to do.
And now, this group that has openly called for the end of the IRS and taxes, is crying foul that the IRS was investigating it.
When people left the country to avoid the military draft, they were shunned as outcasts, hippies, cowards, commies, and Un-American. But now we have a group that is openly opposing the government and we are being told - even by the supposed leftist media - that they should be greatly rewarded for their courage.
What the fuck happened to this country?
The Tea Party rather bluntly declared itself to have objectives including avoiding taxes altogether and the destruction of the IRS. They made various claims of income taxes being unconstitutional and also statements of how good god-fearing Americans should do everything they can to avoid paying taxes, including not filling out tax claims at all. Then, in a rather strange twist this new political movement filed with the IRS for tax exempt status - rather than just simply avoiding taxes altogether in the way they had advocated for their followers to do.
And now, this group that has openly called for the end of the IRS and taxes, is crying foul that the IRS was investigating it.
When people left the country to avoid the military draft, they were shunned as outcasts, hippies, cowards, commies, and Un-American. But now we have a group that is openly opposing the government and we are being told - even by the supposed leftist media - that they should be greatly rewarded for their courage.
What the fuck happened to this country?
I was present at Tea Party events 2008-2010 (Score:2)
Did you attend any rallies? Do you have clue #1 about recent history? Seriously?
I actually met Andrew Breitbart. My right hand is in the movie "Hating Breitbart", at the Tax Day Tea Party scene.
Your little JE blaming the victim here is a sad piece of work, in
Re: (Score:2)
I really don't know what you're talking about, and think your view of Constitutionally conscious Americans
The Tea Party being scrutinized by the IRS has nothing to do with their sense of "Contstitutionally conscious". The Tea Party is openly encouraging members to break the law by not paying taxes. Frankly I am being kind by comparing the Tea Party to draft dodgers, but I thought perhaps extending an olive branch would be useful here.
Did you attend any rallies?
Tea Party rallies? Tea Party rallies do not welcome people of my type (non-conservative). I go instead off of what people who do attend them - including you - say of their go
Re: (Score:2)
Don't you know by now not to argue with "morans"?
Re: (Score:2)
If Americans (you included) actually were "Constitutionally conscious" would not be ignorant of the fact that it was amended specifically to allow federal income taxes. Here, Smitty, educate yourself [wikipedia.org] about the 16th amendment.
Full text of the Constitution [archives.gov]
Re: (Score:2)
So maybe, just maybe, we've enough debt and oppression afoot to question whether this was all a swift idea, and consider an alternative.
Re: (Score:2)
So maybe, just maybe, we've enough debt and oppression afoot to question whether this was all a swift idea, and consider an alternative.
So then why only question those amendments? Why not assemble a constitutional congress and reevaluate the entire thing? Congress has the power to do it, I think it is probably time they do so. That would probably settle things pretty quickly, as it would encourage the conservative southern states to team up and leave the union so that the north can prosper.
I for one don't expect that this country as we know it will last more than another 20 years. And I would much rather see it dissolved peacefully
Re: (Score:2)
But I agree, and think we should be prepping for a re-ratification of our 1787 Constitution at the 250 year point. That's far enough out there to plan it and constrain it and have a sober contemplation of whether the last century of Progress has been worth two hoots.
Re: (Score:2)
Why not assemble a constitutional congress
And who would be in charge of that? The rich and powerful, who are the problem in the first place.
I for one don't expect that this country as we know it will last more than another 20 years.
That could have been said anytime in our history, and would have been true. The country is nothing like it was in 1990, and in 1990 it was nothing like it was in 1970.
Re: (Score:2)
Our challenge is convincing 'enough' people to participate in politics. Not necessarily run for office, but show up, participate, and hold these elected jackwagons accountable--or vote them out.
Re: (Score:2)
I couldn't agree more.
Re: (Score:2)
So maybe, just maybe, we've enough debt and oppression afoot to question whether this was all a swift idea, and consider an alternative.
The trouble is the way the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution. Like when they ruled in the Lessig decision that "limited" means whatever Congress says it means. Being able to search your car without a warrant is clearly unconstituional, as are "free speech zones" and searching anyone within 100 miles of a border.
I see no solution.
I was going to journal about this... (Score:2)
You said it well, though. It seems to me that the people openly opposing taxes would be the ones most likely to be attempting to invade them. Going after the tea party seems like a good expenditure of funds, aren't the conservatives against government waste? I mean, you don't investigate Islam an a Baptist church.
And what's this "God Fearing" from those Koch brothers? If they really were Christians they'd "render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's".
The Kock monsters are probably from Venus. Fucking sociopat
Re: (Score:2)
You said it well, though
Thank you. I'm a little puzzled as to why so few people are saying this. From my vantage point it seems that the "liberal" media is still afraid of the Tea Party and the GOP in general.
It seems to me that the people openly opposing taxes would be the ones most likely to be attempting to invade them.
I presume you meant evade, yes? :) Although invading taxes might be interesting, too. Of course being as the conservatives in congress keep finding ways to further remove power from the IRS, which makes it that much less likely that a tax cheat will get caught.
Going after the tea party seems like a good expenditure of funds, aren't the conservatives against government waste?
Sure, they are opposed to "government waste", but of course
Re: (Score:2)
I presume you meant evade, yes? :)
Yeah, I have no idea how that happened. I must have had what my mom calls a "senior moment". Getting old sucks.
The misspelling of Koch's name was deliberate, though.
of course only for the conservative definition of waste - which of course is only applicable when discussing spending that they are philosophically opposed to.
Very true. Giving me the money I put in social security for the last forty years back is waste to them, as is feeding the hungry, spending on scientific
Re: (Score:1)
Getting old sucks.
The other option sucks more...
And Koch is a punk, a patsy...
Odd how every Republican President...
And I see you're still playing cowboys and indians... set in stone some habits are...
Re: (Score:2)
The other option sucks more
Yeah, I agree, despite my grandmother's experience in her hundred years on Earth. She outlived two husbands and three of her four children, lived in arthritic pain, and spent her last five years weak and frail in a nursing home. I'd personally rather be dead than in a nursing home, but unless I'm living in hell I'd prefer to be alive.
I see you're still playing cowboys and indians
I almost always vote against both of them if I have an alternative, although I've voted for candidates
Re: (Score:1)
My problem with the Republican party is...
You're still doing it... I think you're just trying to drive me crazy
Who's he a patsy for?
Criminals who would never be seen in front of the camera. Koch/Murdoch/Bush/Obama are paid clowns. A little closer to power are Kissinger, Lieberman, and Rumsfeld, but even they are middlemen. The guns are off screen..
Re: (Score:2)
You're still doing it... I think you're just trying to drive me crazy
I have problems with both parties. I just think of the two, the Republicans are generally worse. Perhaps you're right about the Koch brothers, but I just don't see how anyone with that much money could be anyone else's patsy.
I see you friended me, I've had a policy of friending everyone who friended me; if someone is reading my JE's I like to read theirs in return, but I hit slashdot's 400 friend limit. :(
Sorry.
Re: (Score:1)
I have problems with both parties. I just think of the two, the Republicans are generally worse.
That is wrong. republicans and democrats are two members of the same team. They work together for shared power. Right now the republicans' job is to scare people into voting for democrats, to make it appear that there is opposition. But we can't make it too lopsided because one side would dominate and end up fixing the blame on one or the other. So now we create scandals to bring people back to the other side a b
Re: (Score:2)
That is wrong. republicans and democrats are two members of the same team.
Pretty much, yes. They trade sides often.
I'm friending almost everybody that is not a spammer, which is a dwindling part of the population here, to pick out their journals from the cesspool
A bit of advice: if you're following journals check their user history and only friend those who journal; slashdot has a 200 friend limit that they raise to 400 if you're a subscriber. Once you hit the limit it's hard to impossible to do anything at
Re: (Score:1)
They trade sides often.
Yeah, between offense and defense.
Re: (Score:2)
The misspelling of Koch's name was deliberate, though.
Oddly enough I didn't notice the h->k substitution in your message, I had to go back to find it. That might mean I'm due to have my eyes checked again - once I can find an ophthalmology office that can correctly bill me, that is. Clearly, all the bullshit - complete with collections calls that never should have happened - is well worth it to live in a country free from evil, evil, socialism.
Giving me the money I put in social security for the last forty years back is waste to them, as is feeding the hungry, spending on scientific research, etc
The last part of that in particular is why I keep ending up voting for democrats instead of third-party candida
Re: (Score:2)
As to Obama, he hasn't yet started any wars, and when he took office the economy was worse than at any time since the Great Depression, and the economy isn't great but it has improved greatly. He's certainly not a great President, though. I was especially annoyed with health care reform, that was just a gift to the insurance companies. We need a system like sane countries, all of whom have cheaper care but beats ours in every metric. I've known people who have died from lack of health care.
If you haven't re