Entering The World Of Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden

Though I’ve really only just begun to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, I believe I am getting the gist of it (please nobody email and ruin the story for me :-0 ).

Having not yet finished the novel (only now preparing to finish up part one), I allow that I could be completely off here (so far as my thought relates to the novel) but it seems to me that businesses in America are rapidly, all, becoming Taggart Transcontinental, every executive  a Hank Reardon.

Assailed and slandered by government, despised by the public in response to those assailments and slanders.

Detested and disfavored, considered to always be corrupt and to be of no social value.

It seems we no longer desire their products as much as we do their ignominy.

I listen to people in everyday life, as I stand in line at the grocery store (often the Wal-mart grocery store which just so happens to be evil), or as I pump gas (evil oil companies) and am flabbergasted by the anger I hear in peoples voices.

I listen to callers on talk radio, read the blogs and comments and the anger is clear.

But what I hear most in those voices and see most in those written words is jealousy.

Their conversation betrays that they believe these businesses and executives are taking from them rather than providing something to them. That these businesses and executives owe them something.

Of course none of these people dare reveal that they are in fact jealous, rather they pretend that their anger is a righteous one; one that is patriotic. They don’t want more taxes and restrictions placed upon these companies for their own gain but for the good of the nation.

It’s a sickening damn lie and the context of their words betray them. Not that I do not understand their are some true believers among them. We call them socialist to be kind and communists to be truthful.

I believe president Obama and the administration he has assembled are true believers and are demonstrating that everyday and not simply in their attack on capitalism.

I hear people who believe they have a right to covet what these businesses have earned. They want these businesses and the executives who run them to pay more taxes so that they themselves might pay less or so that those businesses and executives can add more to the public coffers.

Five percent of Americans pay over half the income taxes while forty percent pay no income taxes what so ever.

We are heading in a very bad direction America and we had better let the current administration know that we have no intention of going there short of being dragged kicking, screaming and biting.

If our kicking, screaming and biting get us safely out of this administration, then we had also better be damned sure that the next administration knows that we bite when provoked.

P.S.- don’t read into the kicking, screaming and biting. I get enough emails from moonbats who think I’m a recruiter for a militia or some such similar idiocy.

 

Technorati Tags: Atlas Shrugged,Taggart,President Barack Obama,economy,big business,socialism,Communism,capitolism,welfare,welfare state

Seriously, Shut The Hell Up You Damn Cry Babies

The majority of this posting is pure personal commentary and rant.

Gallup Poll released the following poll today.

Gallup

Three in four Americans (76%) want the government to take actions to block or recover the bonuses insurance giant AIG paid its executives after receiving federal bailout funds.

Poll Results

Question	Answer
Which comes closer to your thinking about this matter: The government should not intervene because the AIG bonuses were part of existing contracts in place before the bailout money was given to AIG,  (or) the government should take actions to try to block or recover any bonuses paid to AIG executives because the company was given government bailout money?	17% -government should NOT intervene 76% -government should intervene
How do you personally feel about these bonuses – outraged, bothered, or not particularly bothered?	59%-Outraged 26%-Bothered 11%-Not particularly bothered
Views on AIG bonuses by party affiliation	Democrats: 83%- block/recover bonuses 70%- Outraged Independents: 77%-block/recover bonuses 54%- Outraged Republicans: 67%-block/recover bonuses 56%- Outraged

Seriously, shut the hell you damn cry babies.

The majority of you are not outraged, you are jealous.

Your personal envy of another should not have effect on their personal incomes.

As has been established, the government knew of these bonuses long before the bonuses were paid. The stimulus bill allowed for these bonuses to be paid.

I must also ask, are those of you who believe these bonuses should be returned also demanding with the same amount of outrage that president Obama and other politicians return the monies they received from AIG?

ABC

AIG employees kept doling out donations to politicians, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, after getting bailed out with federal funds last year, raising the question of whether those politicians will now return the money. […]

top AIG recipients for the 2008 campaign:

1. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., $103,100
2. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., $101,332
3. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., $59,499
4. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., $35,965
5. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., $24,750
6. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, (R) Pres $20,850
7. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., $19,975
8. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn, $19,750
9. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., $18,500
10. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) Pres $13,200
11. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., $12,000
12. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., $11,000

That is just the tip of an iceberg I do not have time to climb at the moment.

 

 

Let’s not forget also, who the controlling partner in AIG is, our government.

The government owns at least 79% right now.

Politicians are of course suggesting now that the employees who received the bonuses be taxed on those bonuses at up to 100%.

Carolyn MCcarthy (D) New York would like to take it even further if she knew of a way.

MSNBC

A hundred percent, as far as I‘m concerned, is not even enough.  If I could tax them 1,000 percent, I would tax them 1,000 percent. 

Why the hell aren’t more Americans outrage at the above statement?

Why aren’t more outraged at the very idea of retroactively taxing a business?

That would set a dangerous precedent, that I assure you, you want no part of. What will you think of a retroactive tax when they come for you?

The damned jealousy of some makes me so angry. At one time it did not bother me much at all, but it seems to be a prevailing tendency in America.

What happened to the America I grew up in?

Not that jealousy did not exist, however it did seem that the majority of Americans sought their own success and did not begrudge the success of another.

Barack Obama is not only creating policy that ushers this nation into a true socialist (as opposed to the semi-socialist nation we have been for sometime) state, but the people are clamoring for it weather they see it or not.

You may recall the Fox Dynamic poll I posted about on February 20th of this year.

Those polled concluded that Americans rely on the government too much while at the same time expressing that they [the person polled] believed in the majority that the government should provide, food, healthcare, housing, and employment.

Who the hell are we that we think we deserve something without having earned it , while those who have earned something (AIG executives) are not deserving of what they worked for!?

What happened to the American attitude of government staying out of the way and we will provide our own opportunities and either succeed or fail based upon our own efforts and merit?

 

Technorati Tags: AIG,bailout,stimulus package,socialism,republic,President Barack Obama,welfare state,bonuses

Ronald Reagan 1964 RNC

An eerily timeless speech.

The more things change, the more they stay the same it seems.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "Ronald Reagan 1964 RNC", posted with vodpod

Are We Socialists? A Poll

I had briefly heard Glenn Beck talking about this poll but wasn’t able to hear his comments in full but I heard enough to think, holy hell!

So, are we [Americans] socialist?

For years I’ve thought we were tending towards socialism and that we would embrace it when and if it came.

I believe that Bush the younger took a big step towards socialism and that president Obama is currently jogging towards socialism and will breakout into a full run very soon.

I want to show you question 32 first.

If you are having trouble reading the text, the question is:

I’m going to read you a list of items, for each one please tell me
whether you think it is the responsibility of the federal government or not.
First, do you think it is the responsibility of the federal government to
[ITEM], or is that not the responsibility of the federal government? (RANDOMIZE)
SCALE: 1. Yes, is responsibility of federal government 2. No, is not the
responsibility of the federal government 3. (Don’t know)

The responses are as follows:

Make sure all Americans have food/ 68% say yes.

Make sure all Americans have health care/ 66% say yes.

Provide housing to those who cannot afford it/ 52% say yes.

Make sure all Americans who want a job, have a job/ 51% say yes.

I think the first question concerning rebuilding communities is also an indicator, but would be better dealt with separately at a different time.

The final question of rescuing failing financial institutions could be considered encouraging, but it really isn’t.

The only reason people say the government should not rescue these organizations is because they [perhaps rightly so] are angry with the organizations.  The American people blame [wrongly so] these financial institutions for our current economic situation and they [the American people] want to see these institutions suffer.

Consider the above responses and then consider along side the following poll questions and responses.

Question 39: Do you think Americans are starting to rely too much on the government and not enough on themselves?

A case of schizophrenia?

The polled persons want the federal government to supply food, health care, employment and housing and at the same time they believe Americans rely too much on government and not enough on ourselves?

Are we socialists?

Yes I think so, reluctant perhaps, but socialists none the less.

There is a lot more to this poll, follow the link at the beginning of this post to see the whole of the poll. I thought the whole of the poll is disturbingly revealing.

Technorati Tags: American economy,economy,socialist,socialism,republic,president Obama,Obama,president Bush,welfare,welfare state,nanny state