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Spencer Bachus and the '17 Socialists' in Congress

April 10, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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OK, so Rep. Spencer Bachus, an Alabama Republican, told a Birmingham paper that there were 17 socialists in Congress. Of course, Newsweek has proclaimed "We're All Socialists Now." And a new Rasmussen poll found that just 53 percent of Americans thought "capitalism" was better than "socialism." I dunno, maybe the s-word isn't so negative an epithet anymore here in America. Liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias thanks Obama for that:

I think it reflects the fact that on a basic level “socialism” is good branding. The whole idea is that we should put society first rather than capital, or money. That sounds good! But in the United States we never had a Socialist Party so “socialism” was primarily associated with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which was not at all good. But to people under 30, there’s less of that old resonance. And saying that Obama, who’s popular, is a “socialist” may simply tend to make people have warmer feelings toward the word “socialism.”

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Have we forgotten about Nazi Germany and Italian socialism? Do the young think this was just a fluke that these were horrible and that there is such a thing as "good socialism"? Do they not know the phrase "Absolute power corrupts absolutely!" Do they not understand that socialism can only be in existance by the total and complete control by the government in every part of one's life. And that the only way the government can pay for all things is that the government owns all things! There is no such thing as individualism or any real reason to excel for all things belong to the government and all people work for a decided given salary. Can the young in this country not look at the many failed socialist governments and see that socialism is a curse on the people and it cannot work without secretiveness, police actions against the people, corruption, kangaroo courts, etc.? There is no such thing as individual rights or protection under the law! The law is twisted and used to force people to obey those in control of the socialist government. Everything is thought of as being "for the State" and no regular person is safe. If there is anything that is not in compliance with your way of living...your lifestyle, you can rest assured that you will change! Socailism uses lying and cheating as a norm. These people will tell you anything in order to get power from you, but once they have the power, you or your cause no longer matters. Many people are disillusioned by the idea that socialism is for the people. Socialism is not for the people, but only for those with the power of government so that they can make all the rules and decide what they think is right for society.
Be warned!

John Currier of AL 10:19AM September 09, 2010

NO, we can certainly not have capitalism AND socialism. You have been reading too much Robin Hood. The rich provide jobs for the poor. If there are no rich to provide those jobs (which socialism does away with)where will the poor, the middle class etc... get their jobs? Look at the Soviet Union--failure. Look at Zimbabwe--failure. Look at Venezuala--failure.On the other hand look at once failing Ireland who has CUT capital gains taxes so that the rich could afford to treat their employees well--they are thriving now with one of the best economies in the world. Lastly, I leave you with this...written by a Russian man who has seen this all before:
American capitalism gone with a whimper . . . . .
"It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.
True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.
Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather than the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us (Russia) about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blinds the foolish...
The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more than ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?
These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.
Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.
So it should be no surprise that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.
Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.
So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.
The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.
The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.
Stanislav Mishin

Misti Wells of AL 11:57PM July 16, 2009

The difference between the government and a corporation is the power to threaten and use physical force.
There is something wrong with you moral code if you think that good comes out of the barrel of a gun.
And there is something wrong with your logic if you think that taking loot by force, from people who earned it, to give it to people who didn't earn it doesn't do any harm. This is nothing less than a reward for non-productivity and a punishment for productivity.
Put it another way. Let's say you work 40 hours/week as a physician. You could work another 4 hours (call it late office hours one day a week). If the marginal tax rate--the rate you will pay on the marginal income you get from this--is 60% after federal taxes, FICA and other payroll taxes, state taxes, and if you're unlucky enough city taxes, would you consider working until 9pm on Thursday? Why??
Or another way. Let's say you have accumulated $1M through hard work, taking risk, and 15 years. You can invest this in a startup that promises to make telecommunications much more effective. The risk the company will fail is 80%. If it succeeds, you may get a 1000% return. At what tax rate does this proposition become a loser.

Bearster of NY 9:41PM April 13, 2009