The BP oil spill catastrophe did not have to be this bad. It’s one thing to gush millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s quite another to disrupt the lives of millions of Americans – needlessly.

Obama Gaffe

Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines gaffe as a social or diplomatic blunder. At freedictionary.com, gaffe is defined as a clumsy social error.

Many news organizations and web sites have concentrated on gaffes made by BP such as lying about the amount of oil blasting into the gulf or BP CEO Tony Hayward wanting his life back, etc. You’ve read and seen many such faux pas. (Note to students: the spelling of faux pas does not change between singular and plural usage but the pronunciation does. "Fo Pa" is singular; "Fo Pas" is plural. Synonyms would be blunder, foul-up or whatever slang you choose to describe it.)

The Obama Administration made the supreme gaffe, and it could very well change the outcome of the 2010 elections if something is not done fast. It may be too late, already. (continued below)

Compare the photo at left to the one above. This is what Americans want…and expect. We want a clean beach, not a closed sign. You see, the Washington elite have no idea about what Main Street Americans do when planning a vacation.

We’re not rich. We don’t have the luxury of taking off on a moment’s whim. We, the small people, work for a living and must plan our vacations precisely. A friend of mine must put his name on the vacation list each October for the following year. That requires advance planning. Do you have any idea what it’s like to plan a Florida beach vacation nine or ten months in advance, cut discretionary spending to save for that vacation, and show up to see a Beach Closed sign?

Vacations mean something to us "small people" who have been working with little or no increases in our salaries because the inflation rate is good, if you don’t count gasoline and groceries. That’s exactly what we spend a great deal of our money on – gasoline and groceries. We’re not paid enough to have brokerage accounts so we invest what we can in 401K plans; and that went to hell-in-a-handbasket in 2008. Many of us have seen our retirement goals delayed or destroyed. At least we can take a few days away from it all and take a nice vacation. Oh, wait!!!

The biggest gaffe, Mr. President, occurred when our beaches were not protected at all costs. Yes, hotels and restaurants on the Gulf Coast have been affected. Fishermen have been affected. Many have lost, are losing or will lose income. Yes, BP has pledged to help these people out by helping them recover lost income. But, Mr. President, you cannot help us "other" Americans recover a lost vacation.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Have you received an email about Congressional pay raises and retirement, etc. that looks like this. Well, it’s a pure and simple hoax. Perhaps a better word would be LIE!!!

The Hoax Email

Really important! Hope you all do it!

This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.

An idea whose time has come

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn’t pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered…in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn’t seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don’t care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.

Have each person contact a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.

(The truth follows)

The Truth

Prior to 1984, neither Members of Congress nor any other federal civil service employee paid Social Security taxes. Of course, the were also not eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Members of Congress and other federal employees were instead covered by a separate pension plan called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act required federal employees first hired after 1983 to participate in Social Security. These amendments also required all Members of Congress to participate in Social Security as of January 1, 1984, regardless of when they first entered Congress. Because the CSRS was not designed to coordinate with Social Security, Congress directed the development of a new retirement plan for federal workers. The result was the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Act of 1986.

Members of Congress receive retirement and health benefits under the same plans available to other federal employees. They become vested after five years of full participation.

Members of Congress under FERS contribute 1.3 percent of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2 percent of their salary in Social Security taxes.

Members of Congress are not eligible for a pension until they reach the age of 50, but only if they’ve completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Members of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension.

The amount of a congressperson’s pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member’s retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.

Source: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

Conclusion

One of the primary problems with government and politics today is that people don’t know the truth and will take anybody’s word about anything dealing with government policy or members of Congress when they would never take that same person’s word about anything else.

I’m not saying any political party is innocent. The Republicans in Congress, though, have been out of power since 2006 and they lost the presidency in 2008 and they are throwing as many things against the wall as they can.

I attended a Tea Party Express rally just to see what it was about. Well, I saw an awful lot of people who have probably sent this hoax email to thousands of others. Their heart, I think, is in the right place. I believe they believe in what they’re talking about.

They’re as wrong as can be about most things but they’re fervently wrong about them! It took me about three minutes to perform a search on the Internet to disprove the hoax email. Come on people, let’s start doing some thinking before promoting someone else’s agenda.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder devastate many lives each and every year. PTSD and brain injury do share numerous symptoms and numerous strategies for overcoming or, at least, dealing with the changes that come.

A military wife writes, "He got hurt over there,but copes. He is now out too. He says he will finally seek help, but I dont know where to turn. He is not the same man, he drinks constantly, is always angry and withdrawn, is mean and distant…"

Another writes, "I didnt meet my husband until he was already back. However there are days that I dont feel like I know him at all! There are days that his PTSD is so bad its like he gets lost somewhere in the shuffle. … I have to remind myself that he is not who he used to be and this is who he is now." (continued below)

Larry and Beth Jameson, authors of Brain Injury Survivor’s Guide, received the following email. "I emailed you a few weeks ago about my husband who is a year post injury. He is definitely getting better, but I get concerned about all the ups and downs. When he is particularly tired (which can last for days), he is more confused. This morning he was going to take a shower, but instead of doing so he put two pairs of pants on (one over the other). Once I convinced him of what he needed to do, he ended up taking a shower in his underwear and couldn’t figure out why that wasn’t right.

"He usually doesn’t have this much trouble. He sometimes forgets which clothes are his clean ones and which are his dirty one, but that is usually it. The only thing I can figure is that he is tired, and it gets frustrating because I think he is getting better and then he goes backwards. He seems to get real tired and then he is like a completely different person. And he is tired a lot of the time."

Another email summed it up this way. "I suffered a brain injury about 39 and half years ago. I have had horrible things come out of this. I need support badly!"

Help is Needed

No one prepares to have a brain injury. Because each brain is different prior to such an injury, the help needed varies from person to person. The medical community needs far more information, and the health insurance industry rarely provides for the needs of a brain injury patient.

Another lady wrote to Larry and Beth. "I just want to say thank you. My father fell ill with Acute Viral Encephalitis on April 24th of this year. It has been quite a battle dealing with insurance issues. He is a retired Marine and even after further years of dedication to our government via civil service, Tricare has denied his coverage for cognitive therapy. My father has always been a pillar for our family and we have all suffered an extreme loss in losing a husband, father, son, and brother. Thank you most for giving us hope, especially the hope my mom has gotten from your book. We are a family that is spread throughout the country, leaving her as my dad’s primary caretaker. To hear the hope and resolve in her voice after discovering your website and then book has given me a sense of hope for her and my dad that I have formerly struggled with. So, thank you for giving hope to my father, my mother, and my family. You are both a blessing to this world."

More Brain Injury Information

Larry and Beth Jameson have a mission in life: to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites with hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver. A longtime friend of Beth wrote, "I have loved Beth since we met in I think fourth grade, and her blog reminds me again why. The blog is one of the things that makes your site so special, her personality coming through, and she frames the realities in ways that communicate the good, the bad, and the hard. I can only imagine what hope she gives people and what a lifeline your site must be to so many."

The Louisiana wetlands of Plaquemines Parrish are dying as a result of suspected malfeasance at the Deep Water Horizon oil platform that has caused what might go down in history as the worst ecological disaster.

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser is the voice of American frustration. On Wednesday, his voice was one of several as James Carville and Mary Matalin toured the area in an airboat. Nungesser said, "The same oil that’s been out there two weeks ago is still out there, and nothing is being done. The marsh is dying. It’s dead."

Nungesser is clinging to hope that President Barack Obama’s visit to the region on May 28 (tomorrow) will result in much needed changes. He said he wants the President to support plans wanted by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for the Environmental Protection Agency to issue dredging permits so that a berm can be constructed to protect the state’s threatened marshlands.

Anderson Cooper’s coverage of the Louisiana wetlands that aired Wednesday night should be a wake up call to America and to Congress, in particular. It’s time to quit squawking about the spill itself and get on with the clean up. British Petroleum is dragging its feet on providing sufficient resources, and its time for the President to read them the riot act. (continued below)

What Needs to Happen

Billy Nungesser and Bobby Jindall need to be given authority to hire whoever is necessary to do whatever is necessary to protect the wetlands from further damage and also to begin an earnest effort to clean what can be cleaned.

British Petroleum is responsible to pay for everything, so turn Nungesser and Jindall loose. For the time being, forget environmental studies. Those Louisiana guys don’t need anyone telling them how to clean their backyard. Just get out of their way, and let them get it done.

Republicans Need to Step Up

Republicans need to stop blocking legislation that would force British Petroleum to pay for everything – regardless of how much it costs. They need to realize this is one of America’s great resources and, for just a few moments, climb out of Big Business’s bed and do what’s right for the American people.

Voters Need to Pay Attention

This is serious stuff. It’s time to REALLY take names and kick a few butts. Any member of Congress who stands in the way of resolving this issue and who causes a delay of one minute more than what has already happened needs to be voted out of office, no matter what!

I don’t care if your Congressman or Senator stops by to wash your car and mow your yard, if the dude or dudette stands in the way of making the Gulf Coast whole again, and as quickly as humanly possible, bring ‘em home. Period.

James Carville told Anderson Cooper of CNN that he hoped President Obama would look BP in the eye and say, "I’m yore daddy," right before he tells them what will be done. Well, it is our responsibility as American citizens to look at our politicians and follow Carville’s advice.

All together now, "Who’s your daddy?" "I’m yore daddy, and this is what I expect you to do."

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

The Platinum Award for having one’s head planted firmly up one’s ass goes to Republican Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri. He does a DIS-service to his party and his nation by insisting the taxpayers of the United States spend $485 million dollars for an unwanted piece of equipment for the military.

For four years, the Pentagon has been trying to get rid of this program. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would urge President Obama to veto any bill that extends the competitive engine program.

Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said this piece of equiment "is an unnecessary luxury we simply cannot afford, especially in our current fiscal condition."

The Problem for Everyone Else

Congressman Akin and his cohorts in crime on the House Armed Services Committee added this $485 million boondoggle to the Defense Spending Bill. Now, exactly how many members of Congress do you suppose will vote against defense spending? I can see it now: Republicans bash Democrats and President Obama for being soft on defending our nation. (more below)

The committee also decided to give a no-bid contract to Pratt and Whitney, a United Technologies Corporation unit, providing them with a ten-year monopoly on the airplane engine market. Being the good guys and gals that they truly must be, they also decided to give the Pentagon thirty F/A 18 Super Hornet fighter plans, eight more than they wanted.

In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if I got enough awards to go around ’cause there seems to be a whole lot of folks in the House of Not-Really-Representing-Citizens who have their heads firmly stuffed deep. So, with that said, here are YOUR Congressmen and Congresswomen:

House Armed Services Committee Members

Sixty-one members of the House of Representatives on one committee? Reckon there’s any back scratching going on there? With Republican Akin and the Democratic committee chairman both from the Show Me state of Missouri, should it be any wonder this would be the Show Me the Money Committee?

I mean, in other action taken by the committee, they made plans to spend $10.3 BILLION for ballistic missile defenses, which is $361.6 million more than requested by President Obama. But Rhode Island Congressman Langevin explained that the extra funds would strengthen our defenses against "the most immediate threats from nations such as Iran and North Korea." What immediate threat is he talking about? Can either of those countries launch a missile capable of reaching the United States? I think he just read the headlines in the newspaper and found a couple of countries he could throw in as a justification for overfunding the President’s request. Boy, it’s a good thing Australia didn’t invade Antartica!

Oh, the committee did come up with one money-saving idea. Rather than funding the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System with the requested $352 million, they cut out $300 million. One of the functions of the NPOESS is to provide information to the military about weather conditions so they’ll know whether or not to fly those planes they don’t want.

The NPOESS website says, "The NPOESS will circle the Earth approximately once every 100 minutes. [It] will be able to monitor the entire planet and provide data for long-range weather and climate forecasts. The data gathered by the NPOESS will aid in reducing the potential loss of human life and property by allowing more efficient disaster planning and response to severe weather conditions such as tornadoes and floods. Military users will benefit from the NPOESS as well, tactically and strategically. The NPOESS will permit the military to capitalize on favorable weather conditions or avoid harsh weather conditions that could hinder maneuverability."

Then, again, I guess ocean-monitoring is not on anyone’s agenda. After all, what could possibly happen out in the ocean that could affect the citizens of the United States?

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas. Keep up with Arkansas Elections 2010.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Dr. Jocelyn Elders, former Surgeon General of the United States, favors the legalization of marijuana. She said, "I have been speaking out about it for a long time. I’m a member of the board of advisors of a medical marijuana group. To me, it’s not nearly as toxic for our bodies as tobacco or alcohol. It should be legalized. As far as we know, it doesn’t cause lung cancer, it doesn’t cause people to go out and drive drunk and commit crimes. If it helps reduce the nausea and vomiting and reduce leg cramps, make patients feel better, what’s wrong with that? We should make it available to people who need it. I feel if people want marijuana, they could get a prescription. Then we can tax it and know who is getting it. I don’t think it is a drug that is doing harm to this country. By arresting people, putting them in jail for crimes related to marijuana, we’re spending millions on drug enforcement and it causes more problems. Young people are convicted of a crime, they can’t get money to go to school, we have over 2 million prisoners a years and many related to drug use—it is a vicious cycle and one we created." (interview with Annette Fuentes posted online August 3, 2009)

Republican Congressman Mark Souder (yes, the same one who recently resigned for having an affair with one of his Congressional employees) authored a bill in 1998 that revoked student aid for any student caught possessing marijuana. By 2006, over 200,000 students had been denied aid. In February 2006, Congress softened the law so that it would affect only those who were convicted of possessing or selling drugs while they were in college and receiving aid.

Taxing Marijuana Sales

Imagine legal marijuana sales being taxed like cigarettes. The federal cigarette tax is a fraction over five cents per cigarette. While there is a large variance in state taxes on cigarettes, the average is about 50% higher than the federal tax. In other words, with an average tax of over twelve cents per joint, how much revenue could be raised in the United States?

Create Marijuana Jobs

What if the legalization applied to marijuana grown ONLY in the United States? There could be production and quality standards for U.S. grown marijuana. Do you think we might see marijuana farms? Marijuana production facilities? Jobs?

Refocus the War on Drugs

First, this would greatly reduce the demand for marijuana grown in other countries. Then we would simply increase the penalties for non-U.S. grown marijuana use and sales to something very prohibitive…very, very prohibitive. Exactly how much savings would eventually be generated for law enforcement agencies?

Other Sources of Information about Marijuana

NORML – Working to Reform Marijuana Laws

New Poll: 49% of Colorado Voters Support Taxing and Regulating Marijuana

NORML Blog

Washington, Wonkheads and Willy-Nilly politicians simply don’t get it. Americans are tired of do-nothing political parties. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party have failed to produce a government of the people, by the people and, especially, FOR THE PEOPLE.

The latest example: Americans are tired of deficits. We tried it using credit cards and got our ass burned by big banks. Now, we don’t really appreciate Washingtonians running around building higher and higher deficits by spending money we don’t have or cutting taxes for the richest among us.

Republican Jon Kyl and Democrat (DINO) Blanche Lincoln want to cut about $250 million in estate taxes for the richest Americans. This is $250 million more than what was done during the Bush Years. Now is not the time to cut these taxes.

It’s Time to Pay the Bills

We know that America has long had a deficit that must be paid sometime. We know that the Clinton Administration left office with a budget surplus (taking in more than was being spent). We know the Bush Administration ran wild by cutting taxes and spending billions of unfunded dollars. (continued below)

An unfunded dollar is like using a credit card when you don’t have the money and really don’t know how you’re going to pay the bill when it comes due. Perhaps it’s time to do something none of us really wants to do – Pay the Bill. It will help when the tax cut for the rich comes to an end later this year, but we don’t need Senators Kyl and Lincoln giving them another cut.

People quickly talk about cutting Social Security and Medicare. It would not be morally right to do that with so many people having made plans based on those programs being available. More importantly, there are a great number of people who have been forced into factoring those programs into their future because of personal tragedies in the financial industry.

As bad as it hurts our feelings, Congress needs to increase the Medicare withholding tax by at least one percent (1%). While they’re at it, they need to increase the FICA tax by one percent (1%) as well. For those of you making $500 per week, those taxes would cost you $10. Ten bucks to help stabilize Social Security and Medicare is not a bad deal, and it would reduce the burden on our children in the future.

It’s Time to Pay for the Unfunded War

Yes, it’s important to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to stem the flow of dollars, but we need to pay for what has already been spent. Let’s increase the severance tax on oil being taken from our reserves by corporations not incorporated in the United States. This would include all three of the ones involved in the Gulf Oil Spill: BP, Halliburton and Transocean. Oh, you thought only American companies were drilling in the Gulf?

Part Two of this would be termination of Halliburton contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. They can’t, or won’t, tell us where the money is going, so stop giving it to them!!!

It’s time to end the tax benefits for companies sending American jobs overseas. This should be a no-brainer. After all, why is the government subsidizing the reduction of our tax base? Let me put this a bit more plainly. We are currently spending money to lower our income. Is there a school in America that teaches the value of increased expenses and reduced income? Those of you who are Capitalism Hawks ought to be jumping on this with both feet.

Hey Washington -

We’re tired of listening to you blame one another for getting nothing done. Either get it done, or come home. Oh, wait a minute – we’re going to take care of that for you, I hope. I took part in early voting the other day and, though I really did not plan it this way, I walked away not having voted for a single incumbent.

I do not belong to the Tea Party movement. I’m just a pissed off American citizen.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Memory problems seem to be multiplying as I get older, and that has brought several realizations into my life. Most of those revelations involve the need for pen and paper and a renewed spirit to write notes.

Of course, it’s then important to remember where those notes are. I use iGoogle, a free service, as my home page for when I get on the Internet. You can add gadgets to your home page – like a To Do List. My list has things like, "Change air conditioning filter on the 1st of the month."

I can also use it to tell me where my regular "to do" lists are such as "baseball schedule on refrigerator" or "grocery list on bar" or something like that.

Now, what’s all this have to do with dinosaurs becoming extinct. Well, just look at the cartoon below.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

If you have been counting signs at Tea Party rallies, you know that socialism is very much on their minds. At a Tea Party rally in Minnesota one lady said, "I want Medicare. I just don’t want the government involved in it." Sorry, lady, but Medicare is a government program and, yes, it is an example of socialism. In other words, it is a government program designed to provide a benefit to the people paid for by taxes, just like the Interstate Highway System…and your local police and fire departments.

Another lady interviewed by the New York Times at the Washington Tax Day Rally was Jodine White of Rocklin, California. Jodine finally said, "I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security. I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I’ve changed my mind."

What I find extremely intriguing, though, is that Karl Marx could easily have been a modern-day Tea Party leader, you know, if you look at it from the perspective of losing things you need. Of course, one major difference is that Marx blamed corporate capitalism rather than government for the problems of the masses.

Known as the Marxian Laws of Capitalism, Marx mentioned the following issues:

1. a reserve army of the unemployed
2. a falling rate of profit
3. business crises
4. increasing concentration of industry into fewer firms, and
5. and increasing misery among the people (continued below)

Reserve Army of the Unemployed

What is the purpose of having a large number of unemployed persons? It simply allows the corporation to hold down wages "because there are a large number of people willing to do the job at this wage." Today, not only does America have a sizable army of unemployed, but many of the jobs have been sent beyond our national borders or workers have been brought to America from low-wage areas of the world.

The basic rule still holds: it allows corporations to hold down wages.

Falling Rate of Profit

Corporations use falling rate of profit, especially in today’s stock market world, to justify just about anything and everything. Stock analysts are wooed and feted as though the corporation is seeking a lifelong mate, and, perhaps they are! Assuming you haven’t had your head in a hole for the past two decades, how many times have you heard that employees are being laid off? Why? To guard against a falling rate of profit.

Perhaps there has been a change or two in employee benefits to guard against a falling rate of profit. Corporations are changing health insurance plans to lower their costs. Corporations have stopped making contributions to a retirement plan (if they have one at all) or have reduced or stopped their 401K match.

Why don’t employees just pack up and go somewhere else? See Reserve Army of the Unemployed above.

Business Crises

The Global Economy is the buzzword for business crisis. Corporations "must" layoff employees in order to compete. Corporations "must" send jobs overseas in order to compete. Corporations must hire low-wage workers from other countries in order to compete. Corporations "must" scale back employee pay and benefits in order to compete. Maintain a Reserve Army of Unemployed and protecting the Rate of Profit are seen as business crises.

Increasing Concentration of Industry into Fewer Firms

Karl Marx was truly a prophet if he envisioned the world of corporate mergers we live in today. Even Ross Perot’s old mega-company, Electronic Data Systems, has been swallowed by Hewlett Packard. And you’d need a scorecard to keep up with bank mergers. A lack of serious government oversight led to "too big to fail" and we have seen firsthand how that has impacted the American and world economy.

How many jobs have been lost due to corporate mergers? And why are mergers the "big" thing? To protect the rate of profit, maintain an army of unemployed and be able to compete in the global economy, of course.

Increasing Misery Among the People

Now we have a link to the American Tea Party Movement. The signs they carry and the talks they give seek light above the darkness of misery they perceive. But they’re not the truly miserable. Look to the millions of Americans without health insurance. Look to the millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed.

Many of these were riding the same economic bubble that permeated American society. Lured by easy credit and adjustable rate mortgages they became part of the boom that went bust. Ronald Reagan’s trickle down economic theory has never been more evident as scandals of Bernie Madoff, Wall Street and others trickled down to wipe out the life savings of many Americans.

The Goldman Sachs scandal may very well prove to be the tip of the iceberg as Wall Street firms created investment instruments to rob the poor and give to the rich.

Misery has visited and is visiting the people, and it’s doing it in so many places.

Misplaced Frustration

The American Tea Party Movement places blame at the door of government, and I will agree that goverment failed to protect its citizens. The lion’s share of that failure, though, lies in government not providing adequate oversight of corporate wheelings and dealings.

How do you get government to protect the citizens from corporations? By doing the very things Tea Partiers don’t want done: government oversight.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

The Tea Party Express Tour motored into Little Rock April 3, 2010 to the excitement of a few hundred people gathered at the Arkansas State Capitol.

A number of those gathered were Tea Party regulars, having been in Washington on September 12, 2009 and also in Searchlight, Nevada a few days earlier. I talked to one man who was joining the caravan in Little Rock and planned to continue his travels through the rally in St. Louis on Monday, April 5.

I circled the crowd and weaved through those gathered numerous times and am quite happy to report that I saw no display of weapons. These people had peaceably gathered to express their displeasure with the way things were going in Washington D. C. That’s the way it should be.

A few political candidates were in attendance: Trevor Drown is running as an independent for U. S. Senate; Conrad Reynolds is running for the same position on the Republican ticket, as is State Senator Kim Hendren. I did not see any other candidates I recognized. If there was a theme, it’s that Blanche Lincoln needs to be voted out of office. The banner pictured here stood above a table where attendees could sign a petition to get Trevor Drown’s name on the ballot. He needs to gather 10,000 signatures. You can learn more about these candidates at Arkansas Senate Election 2010.

Singer Songwriter Diana Nagy led the crowd in singing the National Anthem, even though her voice had almost disappeared due to the several months of traveling and singing in all sorts of weather conditions. I am including a video of Diana leading this song at another rally where her voice was much better than when she visited Little Rock.

Diana was followed by Singer songwriter Lloyd Marcus, who performed his Tea Party Anthem, in almost the exact way as shown in this video taped in San Antonio in September, 2009.

I’ll be adding a few more thoughts about the Tea Party movement over the next few weeks and months. After attending the Little Rock rally, it doesn’t appear as bad as portrayed by some media outlets, nor is it as good as portrayed by others. Certainly, I saw a few things at the rally I could not support, but, honestly, I could say that about any political rally. Please support our supporters.

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.