George Bush doesn't care about black people...

[Sherpa]

NWS

Funny as hell

http://www.theblacklantern.com/

[motomike]

Omg...

[kinghami3]

It's true, he told me himself. At a special press announcement only I was invited to, the President said to me, "Andrew, I really, really don't care about black people."

[JRB]

Omg...
:stupid:

[Flakey Jake]

Did anyone ever think any different? He doesn't care about Mexicans or Puerto Ricans either, other than as a convenient source of cheap labor.

[flatulant_man]

i can't believe this. and when the press fvcks up and makes the finding/looting mistake, it is, of course, blamed on bush. as far as i remember, we are still not a communist country and the press handles itself. god.

[JRB]

See you bitches in the PD forum.

[aggrorider]

Wow is all I have to say. Very sad situation.

[-dustin]

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129734&highlight=kanye

VH1's Driven featured Kanye yesterday. i bet his mom, a college prof, is proud.

[BigMike]

Thats pretty frikkin funny

[stosh]

Longest Boringest video evah.

[Sherpa]

Longest Boringest video evah.

:stosh: = N8?

[Curb Hucker]

bwahahahhahahaha

[bluebug32]

I definitely didn't need this point to tell me that he hates blacks or minorities all together

[syadasti]

I definitely didn't need this point to tell me that he hates blacks or minorities all together

He likes Saudis with oil :D

[JRB]

I definitely didn't need this point to tell me that he hates blacks or minorities all together
I would surmise that it is anyone he doesn't feel equal to him. I would think that is most everyone. :think:

[Sherpa]

Thanks for getting my thread moved. Jerks.

[BIGHIT756]

hmm, that was a dumb video. its not bush's fault that some comments made by the ****ing press were worded different. Ooooooooooh no their black, we MUST be treating it differently. God dammit, every damn time something happens with black people, the blacks pull out the racist card. I'm gonna play the "i dont give a sh!t card" this time, and continue liking bush, who MUST hate black people. :rolleyes:

[ohio]

God dammit, every damn time something happens with black people, the blacks pull out the racist card

Oh man, that's a funny sentence. There's so many layers to it... genius. Pure genius.

[Changleen]

I'm gonna play the "i dont give a sh!t card" this time, and continue liking bush, who MUST hate black people. :rolleyes:Funny how it's turned from 'not caring' into 'hating' - Are you channeling yourself?

[sugarbushrider1]

hmm, that was a dumb video. its not bush's fault that some comments made by the ****ing press were worded different. Ooooooooooh no their black, we MUST be treating it differently. God dammit, every damn time something happens with black people, the blacks pull out the racist card. I'm gonna play the "i dont give a sh!t card" this time, and continue liking bush, who MUST hate black people. :rolleyes:



YES! Finally someone sees it my way over here. :thumb:

On the same page, but off topic slightly, is the whole BET channel sherade. What would happen if the white population made a White-only channel? RACISM!! :think:

[Changleen]

YES! Finally someone sees it my way over here. :thumb:

On the same page, but off topic slightly, is the whole BET channel sherade. What would happen if the white population made a White-only channel? RACISM!! :think:You mean Fox? Black people are used as props on Fox.

[ridetoofast]

of course only whites are capable of racism, blacks don't have the 'power' necessary to be racist :rolleyes:

[ohio]

YES! Finally someone sees it my way over here. :thumb:

On the same page, but off topic slightly, is the whole BET channel sherade. What would happen if the white population made a White-only channel? RACISM!! :think:
Yes, you're terribly oppressed. What a hard life you lead. You are so limited because society is holding you back for your whiteness.

I see you're from CT/VT, and you ride Sugarbush. Let me guess: your Dad works in finance in CT and owns a vacation home in Vermont (maybe you go to school in Vermont, but my money is on the former). Being the victim of "reverse" racism that you are, I bet it was really hard to get a good primary education, get into a good college (if you're there yet), and land a job that allows to to afford expensive bicycles that you ride around even more expensive resorts (this is assuming you pay with your own money and not Daddy's). Yup, it's certainly tough being a white male. Let me know where I was wrong.

Outlets like BET result from a complete lack of programming on mainstream TV that caters to a certain cultural audience. In the past it wasn't worth enough money for networks to go after black viewers. You want "white" programming? Turn on ANY of the networks, and they are catering to the majority (by gross income), who happen to be... drum roll... white. Now that the cultural balance is shifting, we will see more network programming catering to black/latino/asian tastes. If, eventually, caucasians cease to be the largest cultural group (by gross income) and as a result networks stop catering to them, then maybe there will be a good reason for there to be a white specific cable channel.

[ohio]

of course only whites are capable of racism, blacks don't have the 'power' necessary to be racist :rolleyes:
What world do you live in? Anyone is capable of racism. It's just not that threatening from a group that doesn't have any power. Put them in a position of power and it becomes threatening, e.g. if you're all alone in Harlem, anti-white racism becomes very threatening. Imagine that situation, and then understand that it's the way many minorities are made to feel THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME. The good news for you, however, is that outside of Harlem, YOU get to be in a position of power and discrimination from, say, Mexican migrant workers doesn't threaten your health or ability to put food on the table.

[ridetoofast]

i think you are missing his point.

no one denies that programming is targeted at demographics.

he was addressing if a network was proposed to be OVERTLY white, specifically the title...

[ridetoofast]

What world do you live in? Anyone is capable of racism. It's just not that threatening from a group that doesn't have any power. Put them in a position of power and it becomes threatening, e.g. if you're all alone in Harlem, anti-white racism becomes very threatening. Imagine that situation, and then understand that it's the way many minorities are made to feel THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME. The good news for you, however, is that outside of Harlem, YOU get to be in a position of power and discrimination from, say, Mexican migrant workers doesn't threaten your health or ability to put food on the table.

listen to any of the dribble that the 'civil' rights leaders of today like sharpton, jackson, farrakhan (sp?) spout out.

according to them blacks are incapable of racism because they lack economic power or some such idiocy like that

[ohio]

i think you are missing his point.

no one denies that programming is targeted at demographics.

he was addressing if a network was proposed to be OVERTLY white, specifically the title...
Read further into my post. I specifically addressed at which point it would be acceptable for a station to be overtly targetting whites.

Additionally, there's no need for to attract the white audience now, so why would any station limit themselves by labelling themselves.

[kidwoo]

You mean Fox? Black people are used as props on Fox.

Tee hee.

Do you guys get fox news down there? If so is it the American version we get or is there a NZ affiliate?

I don't have cable at my house but I try to get my fill whenever I'm out of town for work. To someone with limited television access like myself, it's the best entertainment out there.

[ohio]

listen to any of the dribble that the 'civil' rights leaders of today like sharpton, jackson, farrakhan (sp?) spout out.

according to them blacks are incapable of racism because they lack economic power or some such idiocy like that
Read my post again. I explain the difference between being capable of racism, and racism being threatening. Racism without power is not threatening. I haven't paid attention to any of the above 3 in a long time, but if depending on their use of the word "racist" in context (using it interchangeably with "discrimination," rather than as "a belief of superiority based on skin color"), they may be saying the same thing.

[sugarbushrider1]

Yes, you're terribly oppressed. What a hard life you lead. You are so limited because society is holding you back for your whiteness.

I see you're from CT/VT, and you ride Sugarbush. Let me guess: your Dad works in finance in CT and owns a vacation home in Vermont (maybe you go to school in Vermont, but my money is on the former). Being the victim of "reverse" racism that you are, I bet it was really hard to get a good primary education, get into a good college (if you're there yet), and land a job that allows to to afford expensive bicycles that you ride around even more expensive resorts (this is assuming you pay with your own money and not Daddy's). Yup, it's certainly tough being a white male. Let me know where I was wrong.

Outlets like BET result from a complete lack of programming on mainstream TV that caters to a certain cultural audience. In the past it wasn't worth enough money for networks to go after black viewers. You want "white" programming? Turn on ANY of the networks, and they are catering to the majority (by gross income), who happen to be... drum roll... white. Now that the cultural balance is shifting, we will see more network programming catering to black/latino/asian tastes. If, eventually, caucasians cease to be the largest cultural group (by gross income) and as a result networks stop catering to them, then maybe there will be a good reason for there to be a white specific cable channel.



Ohio, this just shows what ignorant bastards you all really are. My father was a Vietnam veteran, discharged after a large peice of shrapnel became lodged in his quad, up by his pelvis. He is an electrician. I think its funny how you obviously disagree with witht he stereo-typing of blacks, yet you have no reserve in stereotyping against me. Anything to get along with the other monkeys right? :cool: I attend a Vermont university, yes, and no, daddy did not pay for it all. Actually, my parents had a very small part in my education costs. I was awarded nearly $15,000/yr for football, my highschool gpa, and community service. I want a mountain bike, but I cannot afford one, thanks to my schooling costs, and dmy love of snowboarding. So theres another one you can shove up your a$$.
I feel like I should have never had to explain myself to that extent on a forum where we all have a voice to speak our opinions.
Furthermore, yes society does hold white people back for being white. Why is it the wealthy of this country who work their asses off need to pay increased taxes to pay for those who aren't as hardworking? Why is it that I can look at a group of black males with pants at their knees speaking words that I can't understand, nor was meant to, without holding that against them? "thats their culture." Can't tell you how many times i heard that one. :dead: Why is I can flip a channel and see a bunch of "Gangsters" rapping about killing girls, shooting "niggas" and carrying guns, all the while promoting the messages against white people? My BET comment was just that! If I made a WET, with a bunch of hicks singing racist songs and talking in thick southern accents with confederate flags wouldn't that be close to the same thing?
So, Ohio, aside from making an ass of yourself, you also deepened my disgust with the far left. Hopefully, that was your purpose.

[F.O.G]

Bush must hate black people....That must be why he placed Condi Rice as Cheif of Staff to replace the other black gentleman Colin Powell. I didn't see a lot of color or diversity in the Clinton admin at that level.

[Silver]

Bush must hate black people....That must be why he placed Condi Rice as Cheif of Staff to replace the other black gentleman Colin Powell. I didn't see a lot of color or diversity in the Clinton admin at that level.

A little copy and paste from a poster who I think is pretty smart:

As individuals (you mentioned Rice) I'm sure he gets along swell with people who aren't white. Having said that, I'm also sure that he gets along just swell with Cheney's daughter. I hardly think he points at her when she enters the room and screams "She's a dyke!"

Having said that, he's got no problem with policies that hurt both groups as a whole. (To get an example of both of those, his appearances at Bob Jones University serve to illustrate.) The bigger issue is that none of the people in the Superdome are campaign donors...but that also ties back into race to some extent.

[ohio]

Why is it the wealthy of this country who work their asses off need to pay increased taxes to pay for those who aren't as hardworking?

So are you saying that your dad, as an electrician who isn't wealthy, is not as hardworking as people that are wealthier than him?

[ohio]

Why is it that I can look at a group of black males with pants at their knees speaking words that I can't understand, nor was meant to, without holding that against them? "thats their culture." Can't tell you how many times i heard that one.

I am actually curious how many times you HAVE heard that one, and from whom. There is a tremendous amount of criticism of the morality and the lifestyle that popular rap promotes, both from within and without the black community. If you don't hear that criticism, it's more a reflection of what you choose to take note of, than of reality.

[sugarbushrider1]

Ohio, I've had enough explaining myself to you. I think your ignorant, stupid (for lack of a better word) and are just looking to pick a fight. I hoped my post would quiet you down, showing you that you had made no significant point in your wordy response, but apparently I wasn't simple enough for you.

[kidwoo]

but apparently I wasn't simple enough for you.

Strike that, reverse it, carry on.

You are a child who has much to learn. Every word you type makes that more and more evident. You've done nothing but recycle the popular verbiage of your upbringing and your limited exposure to the rest of the world......and it's painfully obvious. Come back when you have an original thought that can be conveyed without a higher density of insults than information. I can only hope you pay attention to something other than your buddy's jockstraps while you're in college. Careful though, you may meet a hot black chick who's dad talks funny.

[sugarbushrider1]

When I make a response and just get slammed for it, I have a reason to be pissed off.

[Ciaran]

When I make a response and just get slammed for it, I have a reason to be pissed off.
You are not being "slammed". You are being smacked down for acting like an ignorant little brat. Plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less. Get used to it though, because if you are going to try and match wits with people who are obviously miles ahead of you you are going to be smacked down quite a bit.

If you want to throw an opinion out there and see what people have to say that's different, but when you're a kid and you are espousing your underdeveloped opinion as fact to adults, of which many have had experiences your young mind has never even heard of, well you have to expect a smack down now and then.

As for your POV, I suggest you look up the words: COMPASSION, and EMPATHY and then try practicing them. :nuts:

[sugarbushrider1]

Alright, I can understnad where your coming from. Topics like these really get me heated, so I think from here on out I'm going to stay away from the PD forum. I still believe what I say is true, but I realize I could have been a little easier on what I said. So I offer an apology. I won't take back what I said, but in the future, I will try to remain cool. I want to stick around, because I think I have a lot to learn on bikes before I go out and buy one for myself at the end of next summer. So, take it how you want... Cheers.

[kidwoo]

I think from here on out I'm going to stay away from the PD forum.

No need to do that, just be willing to elaborate without so many insults.


in the future, I will try to remain cool. I want to stick around,

Sweet. Welcome back.

So why do you oppose high bracket taxes and how long and to what degree have you been paying them?

[sugarbushrider1]

I just don't think taxes should deend on income, that's all. I've been working for 4 years now, but only having to pay taxes for 2, which I know hurts my credibility, but I just don't see why someone who went to college and worked hard should have to pay more taxes than someone who doesn't necessarily work as hard (not that all cases apply)

Hows that?

[ohio]

are just looking to pick a fight.
That's most of it, yes. But the easiest way to do that is to point out the inherent contradictions in someone else's statements.

I'll be more civil:

Good for you for going to school on scholarship. My apologies for thinking you were wealthy (didn't realize that was an insult). I would like to know how you reconcile your opinions about the wealth being the result of hard work, with the pride you have for your father, who is not wealthy?

I also disagree that there is no criticism of the gansta rapper image, and I think that you would find a tremendous amount of material, from sources both inside and outside the black community, containing such criticisms. You certainly won't find me defending the lifestyle or the messages found in gangsta rap.

Lastly, the "WET" as you describe it exists in the form of TNN, but I don't think that's the point you were trying to make. If you had made it through to the second half of my first reply to you, you would have found an explanation of why there isn't an overtly labelled "White" channel, and why an overtly labelled "Black" channel exists and is okay. My mistake for getting you so riled up in the first half that you probably didn't read the second half...

EDITTED for, punctuation.

[sugarbushrider1]

That's most of it, yes. But the easiest way to do that is to point out the inherent contradictions in someone else's statements.

I'll be more civil:

Good for you for going to school on scholarship. My apologies for thinking you were wealthy (didn't realize that was an insult). I would like to know how you reconcile your opinions about the wealth being the result of hard work, with the pride you have for your father, who is not wealthy?

I also disagree that there is no criticism of the gansta rapper image, and I think that you would find a tremendous amount of material, from sources both inside and outside the black community, containing such criticisms. You certainly won't find me defending the lifestyle or the messages found in gangsta rap.

Lastly, the "WET" as you describe it exists in the form of TNN, but I don't think that's the point you were trying to make. If you had made it through to the second half of my first reply to you, you would have found an explanation of why there isn't an overtly labelled "White" channel, and why an overtly labelled "Black" channel exists and is okay. My mistake for getting you so riled up in the first half that you probably didn't read the second half...

EDITTED for, punctuation.


Ohio, thanks for the post. I guess I am young, maybe thats why I get so riled up on this stuff. My apologies.

With my father, no he isn't wealthy, but He did raise 3 kids fairly comfortably. I think his ability to do that is a direct result from his hard work. Its all relative. I'm saying it sucks he has to pay more taxes than say some other electrician that works 1/2 as hard in a larger company.

I also want no one to come away from this thinking I am at all racist. I despise those who are, it really is one of the biggest common forms of ignorance in this country, along with the rest of the world. I just can't help being pissed off by those "gangsters" shouting how they want to kill people, rape their girlfriends, steal and caryy illegal firearms, and then go after Bush and the rest of the government for doing a bad job, much like Kanye West did, although I realize his rap isn't as violent as others. And it doesn't even just apply to blacks- look at Eminem.

I think its time we moved on, and get back to talking about the stuff that brought us here in the first place. Take care,

Grant

[Silver]

I just don't think taxes should deend on income, that's all. I've been working for 4 years now, but only having to pay taxes for 2, which I know hurts my credibility, but I just don't see why someone who went to college and worked hard should have to pay more taxes than someone who doesn't necessarily work as hard (not that all cases apply)

Hows that?

How do you propose funding the largest military in the world without income taxes?

(Keep in mind, a revenue neutral consumption tax would be at least 30%, and with politcial pressure end up much higher than that after credits/exemptions are tossed in. That 30% is tax-inclusive, by the way, which is the way you'd think about income tax. Tax exclusive, which is the way you'd normally compute sales tax, and you're looking at a 43% tax rate on everything. In the best of all worlds. The real world rate would be much higher to be revenue neutral.)

One more thing: I went to college so I wouldn't have to work as hard as a construction worker :D

[kidwoo]

One more thing: I went to college so I wouldn't have to work as hard as a construction worker :D

Fvcking liberal college elite.

You think you're so fvcking smart. Fvcking fvck fvck hate fvck freedom fvcker media fvck state and local gvck ferc bias jesus fvck.

[kidwoo]

Hopefully someone with more patience than me (I'm in the gunfight in another thread and it's interfering with my drinking) can explain trickle-down economics and it's failure in the 80s here.

Listen sugar, there was a man called "dutch" who liked to mouth off about welfare moms driving cadillacs, and 20 taxes on a loaf of bread and a bunch of other things that just did not exist but were taken as some sort of common call to eliminate taxes. People had to listen because he was the president. Unfortunately some believed him.....made sense if your name was Monsanto but didn't make so much sense if you were just starting out in the world (like you) or didn't make your living off of the fluctuations in the stock market.

Our current leader (sic) and the media that follows him likes to say some of these same things. I beilieve you may have heard them yourself. Right now that's all you sound like.......a rehash. It's not as simple as you are making it. It's not like the government is trying to punish you for working hard......but rich whiners who are never satisfied like to make you think so.........and I see you typing but it's their voice that's coming out.....not yours. Trust me....they don't want you, they just want your vote.

[sugarbushrider1]

Well, I respect your opinion but I can't change my train of thought. I'm not completely new to this, I took a few courses in American politics and government in HS and am enrolled in Poli-sci 101 up here-not thats its a lot but im not pulling this stuff out of my a$$. You make good points, however.

[Westy]

I just don't think taxes should deend on income, that's all. I've been working for 4 years now, but only having to pay taxes for 2, which I know hurts my credibility, but I just don't see why someone who went to college and worked hard should have to pay more taxes than someone who doesn't necessarily work as hard (not that all cases apply)

Hows that?

Think of it this way. It takes money to make money. You have two paths being successful, being born rich or starting with nothing and busting your ass. Imagine trying to pay for college all by yourself, no family to go home to for meals and laundry, no one to help you get loans and although smart your grades weren't the best in school because you were working third shift at a gas station to keep food and a roof over your head. If the gov taxed the crap out of you like they did a lawyer pulling in 250K it would be much much harder for you to be successful no matter how hard you work. Just think about higher tax brackets getting taxed extra for having the opportunity to become wealthy, or the opportunity for their parents making them wealthy.

It seems to me that there is an illusion of "lazy" people living the good life in this country. Pretty much anyone who is lazy has already had their jobs shipped to China. The poor in this country aren't exactly starving but it is still a really really ****ty life.

[fluff]

Also bear in mind that the rich benefit more from the taxes that make the USA a country where you can drive around in your $100k merc without constant fear of being killed for it*

*These things are relative...

[ohio]

Also bear in mind that the rich benefit more from the taxes that make the USA a country where you can drive around in your $100k merc without constant fear of being killed for it*

*These things are relative...
Have you had a look at corporate law in this country? The rich have it very very good. They (we) owe their (our) wealth to this country and our legal structure which is responsible for our economic growth and their prosperity. Think of taxes as an investment, and 30%-40% starts to seem less painful. Also keep in mind that once you're no longer living paycheck to paycheck, there are numerous numerous tax shelters that make the effective tax rate on the wealthy far lower than the gross rate.

All these wealthy could very easily leave if they wanted to (far more easily than a poor person could). I don't see any mass migration to other countries when there's a top-bracket tax hike, do you?

[fluff]

Have you had a look at corporate law in this country? The rich have it very very good. They (we) owe their (our) wealth to this country and our legal structure which is responsible for our economic growth and their prosperity. Think of taxes as an investment, and 30%-40% starts to seem less painful. Also keep in mind that once you're no longer living paycheck to paycheck, there are numerous numerous tax shelters that make the effective tax rate on the wealthy far lower than the gross rate.

All these wealthy could very easily leave if they wanted to (far more easily than a poor person could). I don't see any mass migration to other countries when there's a top-bracket tax hike, do you?

I remember reading a quote from some Harvard professor (I'll try and find it when I have time) that suggested that a tax rate that accurately reflected the benefits to the very affluent of living in the US would be around 90%. It was to do with the very fact that the US had the power and stability to allow people to become so rich. Of course the same logic applies to all nations, but I'd rather be rich in the West than anywhere else.

[sanjuro]

YES! Finally someone sees it my way over here. :thumb:

On the same page, but off topic slightly, is the whole BET channel sherade. What would happen if the white population made a White-only channel? RACISM!! :think:
Uh, isn't the 7pm tv lineup Friends And Seinfeld reruns. Followed by the 11pm Cheers and Everyone Loves Raymond hour?

Most TV shows have entirely white casts. There are a few exceptions, like The George Lopez Show or the whole lineup from UPN, but even the shows with a minority they are usually a token character (like The King of Queens).

I don't think there is anyone wrong with a white only tv show, since the rise of black tv is not equality, but because the recognition of the black purchasing power (typically higher than whites in commercial goods).

However, anytime someone says "whites-only" it does sound pretty ridiculous, particularily in places like Vermont, which are whites only anyway.

[sugarbushrider1]

yeah, but its mroe of the fact that they can get away with naming the channel Black entertainment television. I realize a lot of tv is geared at whites, but channels like mtv and vh1 are more geared twoards blacks, yet dont come out and say it, which is fine.

[Westy]

yeah, but its mroe of the fact that they can get away with naming the channel Black entertainment television. I realize a lot of tv is geared at whites, but channels like mtv and vh1 are more geared twoards blacks, yet dont come out and say it, which is fine.

What makes you think that? They target the suburban youth market, which seems to be all about the hiphop these days. Do you think 50 Cent makes sells millions of CD's because every black person buys one and no one else? There isn't a lot of money to be made targeting a minority population.

[sugarbushrider1]

Thats true, but if there is a limited amount of money to be had, why has BET stayed in the game so long amongst competitors such as MTV, MTV II and VH1?

[ohio]

Thats true, but if there is a limited amount of money to be had, why has BET stayed in the game so long amongst competitors such as MTV, MTV II and VH1?
Ever wonder why there's no BET II, III, and IV? Why you were able to point out THREE competitors that serve up similar types of programming but targetted at suburban (white) youths. Maybe it's because there's three times the money to be had made in white suburban alone than in black audiences...

[sugarbushrider1]

true... I'm seeing a lot of different sides to this.

[kidwoo]

true... I'm seeing a lot of different sides to this.

Yay!!!!!

Good to have you back.

[sugarbushrider1]

Ha... I really don't want to sound like I'm just jumping on the bandwagon here, but i can be completely honest in saying that what you guys said about basically chilling out and realizing other views completely sunk in, and I'm putting that to good use in my everyday life as well as on here. I'll always be republican, but maybe liberals aren't too too bad. haha

[Reactor]

Income taxes with a variable fee schedule are based on at least two different princples.

1. The cost of living isn't directly related to the income you make. If you're a executive making 200k a year, it doesn't cost you 10 times as much to eat as a Janitor earning 20k a year. Maybe you spend 2 or three times as much, but not 10x. Assuming you work at the same company, your medical insurance and drug/Dr. copays are the same, even though you make ten times as much. In the end you have a much larger disposable income than the janitor. To charge you and the janitor the same tax rate would hurt him many times more than you. The bottom line is that most "flat tax" schemes are actually regressive, because it costs more of your income to cover the bare necisities when you're poor.

2. People earning more money generally got more benefit from society or are reaping more of a benefit from society. The government pays for about 75% of the cost of running most universities and colleges. This is true for both private and state schools. This is in large part because it's beneficial for the country and society as a whole to have a base of educated people/workers, especially in the information age. I paid taxes to put you through school and I want a return on my investment. Their are many other examples, but I'm not going to bore everyone.

[Changleen]

Income taxes with a variable fee schedule are based on at least two different princples.

1. The cost of living isn't directly related to the income you make. If you're a executive making 200k a year, it doesn't cost you 10 times as much to eat as a Janitor earning 20k a year. Maybe you spend 2 or three times as much, but not 10x. Assuming you work at the same company, your medical insurance and drug/Dr. copays are the same, even though you make ten times as much. In the end you have a much larger disposable income than the janitor. To charge you and the janitor the same tax rate would hurt him many times more than you. The bottom line is that most "flat tax" schemes are actually regressive, because it costs more of your income to cover the bare necisities when you're poor.Right.2. People earning more money generally got more benefit from society or are reaping more of a benefit from society. The government pays for about 75% of the cost of running most universities and colleges. This is true for both private and state schools. This is in large part because it's beneficial for the country and society as a whole to have a base of educated people/workers, especially in the information age. I paid taxes to put you through school and I want a return on my investment. Their are many other examples, but I'm not going to bore everyone.Exactly.

[N8]

Dems Mum on Nagin-Farrakhan Summit
Sept. 28, 2005 11:09 p.m. EDT

Top Democrats who blasted President Bush for bungling the Hurricane Katrina crisis declined to comment on Wednesday on Nation of Islam chief Louis Farrakhan's claim that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gave him key evidence suggesting his city's levees may have been blown up.

NewsMax called the offices of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. Barack Obama and Rep. Charlie Rangel, as well as ex-President Clinton's Harlem office, and followed up with emails detailing Farrakhan's claims about his Nagin sit-down.

Not a single Democrat was willing to say whether it was appropriate for Nagin to huddle with the racially polarizing black leader, let alone feed him info that stoked Farrakhan's levee conspiracy theory.

On Friday, Farrakhan told a rally for his upcoming Millions More March:

"We flew to Dallas, Texas - members of the Millions More Movement - where we met with Mayor Nagin . . . Mayor Nagin told us there was a 25-foot crater under the levee."
Farrakhan cautioned: "He didn't say there was a bomb. He just said there was a crater," then added: "I say they blew it [up]."

A full five days after Farrakhan cited Nagin as his source for news that not all the levee damage looked natural, Nagin himself has had nothing to say about the levee plot theory - a silence that some see as a tacit endorsement.

Two weeks ago Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said that Farrakhan's theory was gaining currency in Nagin's city.

"I was stunned in New Orleans at how many black New Orleanians would tell me with real conviction that somehow the levee breaks had been engineered," Robinson told NBC's "Meet the Press." "These are not wild-eyed people," Robinson insisted. "These are reasonable, sober people who really believe that."

Mayor Nagin's office was not answering his phones Wednesday morning, with no answering machine available to leave messages.

[ohio]

Dems Mum on Nagin-Farrakhan Summit
Sept. 28, 2005 11:09 p.m. EDT

Top Democrats who blasted President Bush for bungling the Hurricane Katrina crisis declined to comment on Wednesday on Nation of Islam chief Louis Farrakhan's claim
No one comments on Farrakhan because no one cares what he said. This is like posting an article that democrats remained silent in the face of claims by Anna Nicole Smith that she had been told by John Kerry that Dick Cheney himself caused the hurricane with his giant Halliburton weather machine.

[Changleen]

Yeah, Seriously. What a bunch of sh1t, N8.

[sanjuro]

I should point out a simple search on Yahoo News search engine revealed zero stories with the words Nagin and Farrakhan.

[ohio]

I had to resurrect this one. On the plane yesterday, someone left a copy of Ebony in the seatback in front of me... so I picked it up and leafed through.

Having never read any "black" magazine, I was curious about the content. Honestly, it was all pretty inspiring stuff, and seeing the specifics it seems absolutely ridiculous for there to be anything similar for white folks. Most of it was uplifting stories about black people succeeding (economically, socially, academically, etc.). Nothing about supremacy, about how blacks are different from whites, about "rising up against the oppression." It was all internal messaging about lifting up oneself and role models as examples of what is possible. On an individual level it was about taking responsibility for ones own future, and not accepting a position as "underprivileged" even though it is more diffiicult to succeed. On a group level it was about seeking equality, so that it's no longer so exceptional to see a black female surgeon that they have to publish it in the front section of the magazine.

If you were to switch the people to white folks, the magazine would be laughable. No one wants or needs to read about some white person becoming a respected politician. We don't need these role models sought out and highlighted. They're everywhere. It would make for a very unremarkable, and frankly boring publication.

Hopefully that makes it a little clearer why, almost by definition, a magazine celebrating the the achievements of whites would be a magazine of achievements OVER other races, while a magazine celebrating the achievements of blacks can be a magazine of achievements towards EQUALITY with, not SUPREMACY over, other races.

[valve bouncer]

Yeah well said mate. THe white man is still being opressed however. Look at me.....they reckon I'm a weirdo here. How can they think that? Damn jackers.

[Changleen]

George Bush doesn't care about Government Employees!

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131738&page=5

New Orleans Will Fire Up to 3,000 City Employees (Update1)

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- New Orleans will fire as many as 3,000 employees because the city wasn't able to find financing to keep them on the payroll, Mayor Ray Nagin said.

Only essential workers such as police and firefighters remain, Nagin said during a press conference. He said the cost of the recovery from Hurricane Katrina, which flooded the city five weeks ago, made the reduction necessary. The cuts represent about 40 percent of the city hall workforce, the New York Times said.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco yesterday asked President George W. Bush and Congress to change a federal law to help pay the salaries of local government employees assisting with the recovery from Katrina. The state may lose more than $1 billion in tax revenue due to the storm, Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc told state legislators last week.

``Unfortunately, we have searched high and low, we've checked with federal sources, we've checked with state sources, we've talked to local banks and other financial institutions, and we are just not able to put together the financing necessary to continue to maintain our City Hall staffing at its current levels,'' Nagin said.

Departments were requested to immediately provide names of employees essential to New Orleans's recovery, Nagin's office said in a statement. Employees who haven't been contacted by their direct supervisor to report back to work should consider themselves laid off.

Last Paycheck

The affected workers will get their last paycheck on Oct. 14, Nagin said. The employees may be entitled to unemployment benefits, the statement said.

Louisiana has a budget of $18.7 billion for the fiscal year that began July 1, LeBlanc said.

New Orleans depends on sales taxes and since there isn't anyone in the city, there isn't any coming in, said Bryan Pedeaux, who owns a building in the city's French Quarter neighborhood. He said the A&P supermarket in his building reopened on Oct. 1 and traffic has been ``surprisingly'' sparse, he said.

``Now we're getting into the real difficult time, which is the economic and social dislocation,'' Pedeaux said in an interview from New Orleans. ``The city has almost no tax base.''

Residents and business owners in some areas of the city were allowed to return beginning last week. Some sections of the city -- once home to 500,000 before the storm and flooding that followed -- won't be rebuilt, Nagin said Sept. 30 at a press briefing.

Losing Jobs

Katrina came ashore along Louisiana's Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, wiping out small towns, killing at least 1,200 and causing as much as $100 billion in damages. The storm surge that followed overwhelmed the system of pumps and levees that protected New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, leaving 80 percent of the city flooded.

Louisiana's death toll from the storm is 972 as of today, said Bob Johannessen, a spokesman for the Louisiana Health and Hospitals Department. In the days following the storm, Nagin had said that as many as 10,000 people may have died.

Greg Albrecht, an economist for the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office, told legislators the state may permanently lose as many as 125,000 jobs, according to the Associated Press. Congress has already approved $63 billion in emergency spending to help the storm-ravaged areas.

New Orleans will probably lose several hundred thousand people because of Katrina, Pedeaux said. Many businesses doing cleanup have had to bring in people because there are few workers in the city and many don't have housing, he said. He said it took him 10 days to find two carpenters to do a temporary repair job on the roof of the building he owns.

``We're in bad trouble here,'' Pedeaux said. ``This is a disaster.''