Bourgeois Deviant

Hey all. Migraine Nation tipped me off to a simple web page that is, it purports, independent of the Obama '08 campaign. It calculates your tax cut under the Obama tax plan, should (when) he be elected. It also notes what the difference would be under the McCain tax plan. All it takes is a minute and its enlightening, if not a bit sparse on substantiation. Until I see information to show me otherwise, I am inclined to trust it.

Big surprise! The Obama tax plan saves you more tax money. Well, unless you're a plutocrat or oligarch.

Its not like I wasn't going to vote for Obama anyway. Its just that tax policy, despite being an adult (sort of) and tax payer for the last fifteen years, I've never really felt is really as important as things like foreign policy, national defense and domestic issues like conservation, farm policy, etc... Anyhow, it only caught my interest a bit more because I had a Facebook dialogue with an old friend who is a small business owner in which he claimed he was voting for McCain because he did not want to pay higher taxes under Obama. Aforementioned page does not talk about taxes on business, nor am I in the slightest bit aware of any kind of business tax policy in this country. It just reinforced my agitation with the American peoples' inability to see a bigger picture, long run world view.

This old friend is a good person. His opinion is valid. I just don't think its that well informed or imbued with any sense of community or broad world view. I know other people who wretch about the Federal Government specifically because of the tax issue. Every time I hear it, it sounds incredibly selfish no matter who says it. It would make more sense and sound a great deal better to complain about how the money is used or where it goes or the priority of those who are managing it. And yes, it does suck to send your hard earned dollars to the Government every year, but so what? No one likes it. Quit your whining and look to the bigger issues that, when dealt with to a solution, will do more to cut your taxes and improve your quality of life than just voting for a man or party that says you get to keep your money. Think about it like taking your medicine.

Sure I am talking in broad strokes and generalizations are easy. So? Its my blog and I'll do what I want. And I have been for over three years now. May I make it three more. Good day.

P.S. d.a. has some more depth on why the fiscal conservatism thing blows.

Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, fiscal conservatives can suck me (for the time being), John McCain, Republicans, taxes

Labels: Daily Kos, Democrats, Mitt Romney, Republicans

For the first time in recent memory, I actually woke up from a bad dream. I don't recall the specifics, but thats not what is important as to why I write this now. What woke me up was the disquieting feeling that my country was unraveling and the world didn't care. In fact, it seemed like the world welcomed it.

Now dreams, direful or otherwise, are seemingly the subconscious mind's attempt to catalog the days events. Mrs. Deviant and BFD went out to see the Grands and left me to my own devices for the weekend. So, what's a 30 something father to do on a Friday night? Go on a news binge of course.

I watched and read a great deal of news content. The News Hour, Washington Week, NOW, TDS, and Bill Moyers. In addition, I read some news from the Times and Post. What stuck with me were George Tenet's book release and the ever brewing Attorney Generals' scandal. The latter was of particular interest to me as I was privy to a private email exchange earlier in the week that left deep impression on me. Though I have no permission to do so, I feel compelled to reprint a few excerpts. The identity of its generator(s) shall remain anonymous. What I viewed last night and the following are responsible for the dreams that woke me.

It is difficult for anyone who believes in truth, facts and government to make sense of this crowd [The Bush Administration] because they do not believe in any of those things. They believe in an ideology; and they have faith in that ideology. You know well the dangers of faith, in anything. Nothing else matters. Anything that does not conform to the ideology either gets warped until it does or ignored.

They are also arrogant: and were allowed to remain so during the 6 years the Republicans controlled Congress. There were no - understand what I said, NO - oversight hearings during all that time. Now, however, there are lots of oversight hearings. Now, the Constitutional system of checks and balances is starting to work. And now it is hard for this crowd to adjust their ideological world to a world where truth, facts and government are valued...

... Yes, it is sad and serious what has happened to the Justice Department. What kind of a statement is it when the President says that he has renewed confidence in the Attorney General "...because he has not committed any crime...."? What kind of a lesson is it when the Attorney General not only uses but abuses the time honored tactic for avoiding a perjury charge, i.e., " I don't remember/I have no recollection, etc."?

The Justice Department leadership has been captured by politicians who surround themselves with young, inexperienced, like-minded, :"baby ideologues", who graduated from Christian focused law schools. And [Gonzales] is right when he says he doesn't know who made various decisions. That is because no ONE person in that circle makes a decision. The circle does: and circles don't leave fingerprints or records. Why should they? It's not just to avoid indictment/impeachment. It's mostly about Group Think according to the ideology. If you are 'with us' fine: if not, you and your views don't count.

The career lawyers at the Department are just waiting it out. What else can they do? If they raise a public protest, they loose their jobs. They are not paid enough to be able to afford that.

On the decision to go to war that Tenet was, seemingly, an integral part of despite his recent and perhaps flaccid disavowal...

... No one in the Executive Branch - or their advisers - had any blood that would be exposed if we went to war. No one ( with one or two exceptions ) in the Congress did, either. Nor did most Americans. The fighting and dying would be done by those in our society who did not know how to register their views. Most of them had enough to do to make ends meet. Their lives, like those of their parents and grandparents, were ones in which they learned how to make the best of what happened TO them. They don't know how to make something ELSE happen to - much less FOR - them.

And why did the decision-makers in both active branches of our government let themselves decide to start a war based on a lie? Because it was the easy thing to do. People were still scared because of 9/11. And no one had the guts to tell the American people that there is no such thing as a risk free society: and that bad things happen not only elsewhere, but also here...

In closing and a statement I wholeheartedly believe to be true:

... Unless we start investing our own well being more closely with our political decisions, we are going to continue to decline as a Nation.

Other people should realize this and quickly.

Bill Moyers asked Jon Stewart if all of his work in examining and parodying the media has made him lose his innocence. His response was that he thought a person lost their innocence the day their first child is born. Not that I was unaware, uncaring or even innocent before, but since becoming a father nine months ago, the depth of my concern and worry about where our country is headed, the nation where my son will grow up, has increased many fold. By necessity, my innocence has become a thing of the past.

Labels: 9/11, Alberto Gonzales, American news media, BFD, Bush Administration, Congress, Constitution, dreams, faith, George Tenet, Hubris, ideological extremists, Jon Stewart, Republicans, War on Terror