Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Caution!  Political parties make up little white lies

 Political parties are not opposed to stretching the truth or telling a little white lie, it is up to you to search out the truth so you can vote for the best qualified candidate.  Bill Clinton stretched the truth with his sexual advances, he threw a mask on when dealing with Congress, he made the Republicans think he was a republican and got many items through Congress. Bush’s presidency was ripe with whatever it took to make their side of the issues shine a ray of sunshine on their faces.  The worst example being getting us into the Iraq war because they supposedly had “weapons of mass destruction”.
The past three years while the Republicans  have been in power in the House of Representatives, most all of their membership in that house have signed a pledge against any legislation that would increase taxes. They have become an obstructionist party, hardly allowing legislation to pass in Congress, while President Obama has been attempting to right the economy, get us out of wars and right the ship of state. 
Both parties have friendly journalist who make up stories for their benefit.  The most recent “story” is that the Social Security system is going to run out of funds in 2033.  The Common Dreams.org editorial staff has researched the folly of their “story”.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Defending Social Security Caucus and also chairman of the Senate aging subcommittee says, “The most effective way to strengthen Social Security for the next 75 years is to eliminate the cap on the payroll tax on income above $250,000.  Right now, someone who earns $110,000 pays the same amount of money into Social Security as a billionaire.  That makes no sense.”
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement.  “The trust fund solvency date for Social Security has seen fluctuations many times in recent decades, from a depletion date as distant as 2048 in the 1988 report to as soon as 2029 in the 1994 and 1997 reports.  This year’s report is well within that range.  Contrary to the crisis myths perpetuated by fiscal conservatives and many in the media, the prevailing facts show once again that Social Security remains among the nation’s most successful and stable programs.  The Trustees report there is now $2.7 trillion in the Social Security trust fund, which is $69 billion more than last year, and continues to grow.  Payroll contributions and interest will full cover benefits for decades to come.
What I have shown you here is why you need to dig deeper into the media and political rhetoric that you see/hear and read.  Search for the truth through credible sources—go to the source when possible—
The source for this article is www.commondreams.org   April 24, 2012, titled “Experts: Contrary to Mainstream Myth, ‘Social Security is Strong’ and Could be made stronger.”

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Keep notes, watch TV, Talking Heads, read, read!

Well, the Republicans have settled on Mitt Romney as their candidate going into the Republican National Convention.  It appears that the support is tenuous at best.  Most Republicans want to beat Obama and don't care who is the candidate going up against him.
If you are Republican--Tea Party member, Democrat or Progressive NOW is the time for you to bring all your support for your candidate--be they cut-out articles, magazine articles, video notes, notes from events you have attended, whatever it is, make sure you have your support established and are able to talk about your support for your candidate.  Things are going to get rough--people against the way you think are going to be prepared also, perhaps not as prepared as you, but they are their beliefs and they will try to convince you to change your way of thinking!!  Confrontation will take place in just about any location, on the way to work, visiting a neighbor, over coffee after church, at dinner with friends, you name it, you will need to be ready.  You will need to practice confrontation with your family.  Most people are not comfortable with presenting a point and winning an argument.  Remember, state your point, clearly, have hard evidence ready to back up what your are saying and try--please try to be calm!  Do not belittle your "friend", people don't like that.  Allow him/her to state why they support their view on the issue and listen for evidence.  Listen where they have received their evidence--you are going to present "neutral" evidence as much as possible--example, Christian Science Monitor information--your "friend" may not present unbiased evidence, example:  Opinions from newscasters, political news(CNN and MSNBC  FOX News,).  Hopefully you would have watched/listened/read your opponents point of view and be ready to have a come-back.  Maybe, just maybe, your friend may present enough evidence that will change your way of thinking!!  It is your job to be ready as possible to walk into that voting booth and be sure of your vote.