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Democracy for America personal blog for Kevin Lynn
How I Intend to Spend My $600 Stimulus Package Allowance . . .
Linked to groups: DFA Pasadena, Democracy For Downtown, California for Democracy
Dear All,
Later this week each taxpayer in this country will be receiving their portion of the economic stimulus package that was passed by what can only be described as the combined stupidity, irresponsibility, and corruption of our executive and legislative branches. Granted there were those who tried valiantly to craft a just and effective package but in the end we got what we got because ultimately influence is for sale in D.C. and the majority of our representatives served us the 21<sup>st</sup> century version of the phrase “let them eat cake.”
I mean really, does any thinking man or woman believe that a paltry $600.00 is going to revive an economy and nation that is trillions in debt, hemorrhaging billions of dollars each month in the most failed and reckless military venture in our nation’s history, and running record trade deficits??
I believe the $600 check I will be getting is nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from the hundreds of billions being spent to bailout the perpetrators of the current financial fiasco. In a word I am disgusted. But what can I do? What can we do?
Well, I could drink the kool-aid and buy that iPhone made in China for $300 that I have been “Jonesing” for the past couple months; or, I could make a month and half worth of minimum credit card payments; OR, or I could do something that could (with the help of millions of other patriotic Americans) do some real good. Imagine if the checks we are given help to some day bring Bush and his cronies to justice. I am going divvy up my $600 (or whatever amount I get) in the following manner to the following causes and campaigns:
$50 To the Progressive Democrats of America’s Change Makes Change program. https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/309/donate.asp?formid=donate
$100 To Brave New Films to help them continue making those great videos, https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/552/p/10040/donate
$100 To Democracy for America so they can continue to do the good grassroots organizing and training that they do so well across the country. https://democracyforamerica.com/contribute
$200 To the campaign of Laruette Healey who is a strong fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidate running in the Democratic primary in the 40<sup>th</sup> Assembly district. http://www.electhealey.com/
$100 To the campaign of Tim Goodrich who co-founded the organization Iraq Veterans for Progress and is running for a town council seat in the city of Torrance. http://www.goodrichforcouncil.com/index.php
$50 Well, the last $50 . . . I’m just not sure what to do with. Ah, I think I’ll just head on down to Borders and feed my mind. . . .
Best regards,
Kevin Lynn
Delegate and Member Executive Board,
California
To donate the check to progressive causes and campaigns is perfect! While I would have preferred that the $150 billion in this "stimulative package" would have been spent on infrastructure, education and renewable technologies, this is a second best alternative!
BTW, Dean is first. Obama is a close second. Clinton? Far down the list!
Hi all, just wanted to report on the convo I just heard in McDonald's.
Two white men talking, one in his 60s, the other in his 30s. It started with a long bitter discussion about the sinking economy, that if the Euro hits $1.68 "it's all over and there's no getting it back."
Went from there to the subject of guns, how Mike Bloomberg is a "turncoat" compared to Giuliani and how it should be OK to have guns in NYC and that one should certainly kill any intruder in one's home.
Then to how if a Democrat wins you might as well leave the US because it won't be worth living in. How "they should have killed all the Kennedys, because they were the worst". How all politicians are in the thrall of "the super-rich Mafia" anyway (meaning the military-industrial complex).
And finally comparing of notes about movies that "open your eyes to history" (yikes) one in which Nicholas Cage was selling guns to someone and the other, "Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington.
So, like Howard, Barack was right.
Still using library computer b/c of burned out power cord at home, and session almost over so bye until later.
-- volney
Things seem to be looking up for Obama. I sense cheer and optimism on the blog. He's such a good person, and we need his leadership so much.
I never thought I'd feel disgust for the first woman to run for president, but I do. The behavior and rhetoric and dirty tricks of the Clinton campaign make my stomach hurt.
I keep hoping the good sense, the fairness, the optimism of the American people will triumph over the opportunistic, the equivocating, the bigotted, and the ignorant elements that also make up our national character.
Hope you all have a good day.
Hell, i hate em too..........but Ill take it...........% toward retirement, kids education, rum and cigars, vacation..........a nice NZ hiking hat.........no political contributions................
Michael Moore will be on Larry King tonight for the full hour according to Michael Moore himself.
- Thanks for the heads up about Moore, Joan :)
By Denise in San Mateo County on Apr 30, 2008 2:33 PM EDT
Great idea Indy.
linda b -
Latest from DCW (Obama has now reached a tie with the reps, exceeds with govs and senators - only behind by 19 with DPL and DNCs):
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html
Candidate Clinton Obama None
Gov. 11 14 6
Sen. 13 18 17
Rep. 78 78 66
DPL 10 4 5
DNC 144 119 135
Add-Ons 4 8 64
Total 260 241 293
Last Updated: 4/30/2008
Mike - Try a Kavu kayak hat. We have them - they're very kewl.
http://www.kayakshed.com/prod/Chillba.cfm?Sale=0&CategoryID=55
Hi mary,
Cool.........but Im olde school.......traditional Kiwi hat, you know, curled up on one side....mate.
My new tradition will be to scale a mountain..........have a rum n coke and cigar at the top.......rest..start back down........nice dinner and a jacuzzi at nite.
Check out who is in this pic
http://www.villagehatshop.com/b2b-asian_conical.html
My son and many of his lacrosse buddies where these when they're playing around on the field and don't need their helmets.
spread is now slipped to 18 lead for Clinton in SDs:
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html
It seems like that's what you get when you don't get a toolbar...of course, I don't know why that's what you get when you don't get a toolbar.
Well, at least I got me a tool bar and a working comment box.
May I redirect your attention to the issue of genetic manipulation and the effort to monopolize the food supply?
Another SD for Obama
O 3
C 2
Todays total (so far).
mary vb
I only see one SD for Clinton today and that's Bill George. Who is the other one?
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html
...
4-30-08 - Added Rep. Bruce Braley (IA) for Obama
- Added DNC William George (PA) for Clinton
- Added Rep. Baron Hill (IN) for Obama
- Added Rep. Lois Capps (CA) for Obama
Stay tuned... we'll update this list as we find out more.
...
Oreo said...
<dd class="comment-body">Ambinder has a new super for Clinton DNC Luisette Cabanas (PR). We'll add her when he get a valid source with more info.
</dd><dd class="comment-footer">April 30, 2008 12:39 PM
</dd>
...
There are several reasons why this position is consistent with the authoritarian Republican ideology. If the pater familias is going to be in control, he's definitely got to have a say in which family member gets to be healthy and which one gets to die. It's sort of a microcosm of the paternalistic state. Both punishments and rewards have to be close at hand and nothing is going to be closer than the threat to life itself that's posed by microbes.
In the alternative, the freemarket proponents have long been touting what they call "consumer driven health care," of which this "families in charge" is just a slight variant, for the simple reason that it assigns the responsibility for a service delivery function somewhere other than on the source. In other words, families are charged with responsibility for something over which they have no actual control--a hallmark of Republican thinking.
The reality is that if health care were something people could provide for themselves, they would. Of course, there was a time when it was possible and expected that people could heal themselves. They either learned what we now call "first aid" or died early. Which may or may not have been a drawback, because, even if they didn't know about dealing with invasive bacteria and viruses, they might have had other knowledge and/or information which the larger community was poorer for not having.
But, that was before the advent of man-made chemicals and poisons--carcinogens which have managed to reduce so much of our population to a condition where they need constant health care just to maintain a semblance of life. The reason health care is consuming fully 17% of the national budget is largely because the wasting behavior of past generations is catching up with us. We may worry about leaving a debt for our grand-children, but it's pretty clear that our grandparents gave little thought to how the externalities of industrial production were going to affect us.
Which is not, however, what makes McCain's family-supervised health care totally idiotic in the face of current events. What puts his proposals really beyond the bounds of reason is that it would assign health care to the likes of the fathers of the 450 children recently removed from an abusive situation in Texas, or the Austrian man who fathered seven children with his daughter. Some things are just not best left to the pater familias.
Can we expect CNN to inquire if that's McCain's intent--to entrust the medical care of women and children to incestuous males? Not likely. But, somebody should ask for a clarification.
The IRS sent us a refund and then, a few days later, a letter telling me I'd made a mistake calculating the tax and had sent them too much. So, ok, I let the spouse deposit it in the bank.
I'm more dubious about the rebate that's supposedly coming. I read/heard somewhere that this money is going to have to be reported as income on next year's return and then you'll pay whatever your normal rate is--i.e. 25% of $600 would be $150. That's what you'll owe next April. In the mean time, you're expected to spend $600 and pay whatever sales taxes go along with that and, if everyone spends fast enough, it should turn over four times or more, dropping at least ten percent into the tax till, so, in no time, three quarters will find its way back to the tax man.
The question is will you be any better off? Or will you just be another year older and deeper in debt. Of course, if you use the rebate to pay off old debt, it will throw a wrench into the system. LoL
Sending money to political candidates will be much like buying a vegetarian lunch. How much good it does depends almost entirely on who needs lunch more, you or someone else.
greetings
it's been a few years
how is everyone?
i met jim dean the other day in winston-salem!
i showed him all the empty envelopes from the
swatches that that were mailed to me to put together
the stitchintimefordemocracy quilt.
it was great meeting him!
take care
annNC4DEAN
The post didn't turn out quit like I thought it would. Sorry for using up so much space and the tiny print.
so nice to 'see you'! the quilt turned out beautifully - have you visited hdqtrs to see it hanging? thanks again for that! that quilt might be museum material if this 50 state thingy really makes history (I suppose that depends upon who's writing the history books!).... anyway, it's art gallery material to me. well done. ;)
I miss having breakfast and lunch with you all.
My two super delegates just went for Obama (DNC and Congressman) in the last couple of days and it was interesting that it happened during the Rev.Wright eruption. the lunch table talk at the convention was that how Clinton would be diminished by this next week and here is why. If she wins Indiana (and I now expect her to by a couple of points) it will be because of the rantings of Wright and the media storm and Obama will have lost those points, she didn't win them fair and square.
so the super delegates go back to looking at who has the money and national support to take change to McCain and America, and that is Obama, and it doesn't matter whether he wins or loses Indiana. Rev. Wright will be a tired story by November.
FEC reporting period ends at midnight and you can all be super delegates by kicking in a few more bucks
Hi, Ann!
Speaking of North Carolina, Free Spirit called last night, and we talked for a good while. She says to say Hi! to everyone, and wishes ya'll good luck!
My DNC rep. was for John Edwards and stays in close touch, and now came out for Obama. Clinton delegates switched to Edwards at our convention to keep him viable and stop Obama from adding another National Delegate thereby creating in effect another super delegate. The end result though will be another vote for Obama in Denver in all probability so it didn't quite work out as they planned.
It took my three days and my lunch hour to get on and now I have to leave you to go to work. I'll be back when the blog gods allow.
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By Joan In Florida on Apr 30, 2008 12:05 PM EDTHoward Dean is first, plain and simple as that!