OK – this doesn’t have much to do with retirement income or savings but I just couldn’t resist putting my two-cents worth into this debate. The pentagon announced today that it was definitely an aircraft. Sorry – this pilot isn’t buying it.
First of all it was a missile –not an aircraft. Yes, modern jet planes can climb that high and that fast, but aircraft have large wings and stabilizers. Missiles, on the other hand have very small fins.
When an aircraft climbs at a very high speed it is very steady (unless the pilot is scared silly and his hands are shaking) and the contrail is very clean and straight. If you look at this video you will see what looks like a very shaky contrail with lots of small wiggles. That is indicative of a missile. Missiles have very small fins and they often over-correct slightly during the acceleration phase of the flight. Go on you tube and look for videos of missile firings and you will see contrails with similar wiggles.
So who –or what, fired it? Lets look at some possibilities:
China – I have several friends in the P-3 Anti-submarine community. They have been telling me for years about the Chinese submarine threat. China has built dozens of very high-technology, ultra-quiet diesel submarines and the US Navy is very worried about this threat and takes it seriously. But with two wars going on, spending on anti-submarine technology has lagged behind. One senior officer friend of mine who just retired told me of the high level of frustration in the Anti-Submarine community about the increased threat and the fact that we are losing the technology war in this field.
We know the Chinese military is often at odds with their own government. And the Chinese are very upset with our printing of money and devaluing all of the billions of dollars China holds in long-term US Government bonds.
Lets say China wanted to get out attention and make a point. What better way that to fire a missile near our coast but aimed away to the west so NORAD wouldn’t go on full alert and scare the crap out of everyone?
Black Operation – Some have theorized that some type of black operation was testing a missile. Our black ops folks are pretty smart. Don’t you think they would have driven their boat or submarine further offshore, or waited for nightfall before doing such a thing? What would the point be of doing black ops in daylight during rush hour anyway?
Terrorist strike went bad – OK this one is not very plausible, but it is possible I guess. Although that was a pretty big missile, and it would take some doing by relatively unsophisticated terrorists to secure a missile, transport it to the West Coast and fire it off. I was listening to Glenn Beck on the radio and he humorously theorized that the terrorists were told ‘to attack the west.” So they shot the missile towards the west…Now they are sitting in a cave in Afghanistan scratching their beards and petting their goats and wondering what went wrong.
Accidental (or test) firing by the US Navy – Again, this one is possible –but not very likely. It is true that the USS Regan Carrier Strike Group was operating nearby –actually they were heading south to help out the cruise ship that was stranded off the northern Baja coast.
I have spent lots of time in US Navy shipboard Combat-Information-Centers (CIC), which is the nerve center for fighting a combat ship. This is where the radar, sonar and missile firing techs work and where the targets are selected and the missiles are fired.
This was either a ballistic missile (not likely) or a surface-to-air (SAM) missile. You cannot fire a SAM without a target. The radar operator has to first find a target, designate it and then go through a firing procedure that takes at least two separate people to do –one of whom is always a Chief Petty Officer or a line officer.
The chances of a SAM being accidentally fired are so remote as to be on the edge of possibility. Also if a missile were somehow accidentally fired there is a destruct procedure that could be affected within seconds and this obviously wasn’t done or the video would have shown the explosion.
As for a test, the Navy has a missile test range about 100 or so miles from where this missile was fired. The Navy would never fire a test missile in that location.
So which is it?
I would lean towards China (or some related player). I know that verges on sounding like a conspiracy theory –but when I consider the possibilities, it appears to be the most plausible. A terror act gone wrong would be my next closest guess. So what are your thoughts? (Nothing nutty please). Go ahead and leave a comment.
I went to a campaign event this week for a local guy who is running for Congress. The question of fund raising came up and it turned out that the incumbent who has been in Congress for ten years, has raised over $2.5 million –85% of which came from various lobbying groups in Washington.
His challenger had so far raised around $800,000 –and it was just the opposite. Eighty-five percent of the challenger’s contributions came from within our district –mostly in small donations of $100 or less. This is not unique to one party. I went on the web and did some research and found out that this is typical. Once a congressperson is in Washington for a few years, almost all of their funding comes from political interests with lobbyists in Washington. Here are a couple examples:
Representative Barney Frank (D. MA) who heads the banking committee raised over 80% of his money in Washington –most of which came from banking interests that he is tasked to regulate.
Senator Chris Dodd (D. CT) raised over $10 million for his last re-election campaign –only $30,000 came from Connecticut.
Senator Ted Sevens (R. AK) raised over $8 before he decided not to run after being convicted for taking a bribe. Only $320,000 came from donors in Alaska (Steven’s recently passed away but his conviction was overturned before he died).
How Congresspeople Raise Money
When doing my research I learned a few things. When a new congressperson gets to Washington, one of the first things they do is attend a fund raising training camp put on by their party. This is where they learn how to make phone calls to lobbyists and other methods of raising money. The Heritage Foundation estimates that the average Representative or Senator spends over 40% of their time raising money.
Every congressperson spends almost 4 hours a day fund raising. They make calls, attend fund raising luncheons, cocktail parties and dinners. Think about it: A typical congressperson needs to raise $3 million every two years to assure their reelection. The maximum donation is $2600 from any one person or Political Action Committee (PAC), but the average political donation raised in Washington is closer to $1500. If you divide $1500 into $3 Million that means your congressperson has to secure at least 2000 separate donations. That is a lot of cocktail parties. No wonder half of them come home as lushes.
So if you wonder why your Representative or Senator has little on no time for you, its because her or she are spending all their spare time raising money and speaking with the lobbyists and special interests who provide it.
All this got me to thinking. Isn’t there a better way?
50/50 Campaign Finance Reform
I can’t remember where I first heard of it, but sometime last year I read about a plan called the 50/50 Campaign Finance Reform Plan. There are four parts to the plan:
The maximum donation would be raised to $5,000. This means it would take fewer donations to reach the amount needed to run a campaign.
Challengers would be allowed a $7,500 maximum donation to help them overcome the natural advantages of an incumbent.
Fifty percent of all money raised by a Representative would be raised within his or her congressional district, and Fifty percent of money raised by a Senator would have to be raised within his or her State. Challengers would be held to the same standard.
Representatives and Senators could only accept donations from outside their district (or State) in an amount equal to what they raised in their home district (or State).
What would this accomplish?
First of all, our Senators and Representatives would spend less time raising money and have more time to do their jobs. (Maybe they would actually start reading bills before they voted on them).
And, since a Senator or Representative had to raise 50% of their money at home, they would have to spend more time in their district (or state). In order to raise the money they need they would have to hold more town hall meetings and attend meetings such as Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce and so on where they could here from us.
But most importantly they would have to care about their local constituents –our issues, our needs and our concerns, –at least as much as they pay attention to the issues of the special interests who support them in Washington.
This is a non-partisan idea. If this idea appeals to you, click below to Digg, Tweet or Facebook this post. Lets get our Congress back to working for the people.
I can’t claim originality for this post. The list of taxes came from one of those Internet letters that seem to go around forever. But this one really opened my eyes. This is a list of City, State and Federal taxes that are common throughout the United States. Some clever person arranged them by word length rather than alphabetically.
As long as this list is, I am sure it is not complete and there are some taxes out there that most people don’t know about. If you know of any that are missing, please leave a comment.
Sales Tax
School Tax
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Excise Taxes
Property Tax
Cigarette Tax
Cable TV Tax
Medicare Tax
Inventory Tax
Real Estate Tax
Well Permit Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Inheritance Tax
Road Usage Tax
CDL license Tax
Dog License Tax
State Income Tax
Food License Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Gross Receipts Tax
Social Security Tax
Service Charge Tax
Fishing License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Building Permit Tax
IRS Interest Charges
Hunting License Tax
Marriage License Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Personal Property Tax
Accounts Receivable Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Many of these taxes were started during WW-II to help pay for the war and they were supposed to end when the war ended. Other taxes were initiated to bring electrical and telephone service to rural areas of the country. With the exception of some far flung areas of Alaska, I can’t think of any areas that do not yet have telephone service or electricity –but they are still collecting the tax.
Hardly any of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and the United States was the most prosperous nation in the world. We had practically no national debt, the largest middle class in the world, and most Moms stayed home to raise the kids. One hundred years ago most of the government’s income came from customs duties and other taxes on trade and most state and local income came from property taxes and various business fees.
Thanksgiving was made an official holiday by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as “A Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer.”
Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled “General Thanksgiving,” the decree appointed the day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”
While there were Thanksgiving observances in America both before and after Washington’s proclamation, this represents the first to be so designated by the new national government.
Here is what George Washington had to say:
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
The latest online scam is a phony email supposedly from the IRS. The subject line reads: Notice of Unreported Income.
The rest of the message looks like this:
Taxpayer ID: alisa-00000448089147US
Tax Type: INCOME TAX
Issue: Unreported/Underreported Income (Fraud Application)
Please review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website (click on the link below):
review tax statement for taxpayer id: alisa-00000448089147US
Internal Revenue Service
The line in blue in the email is a hyperlink to a phony website that is basically a vehicle to steal your identity. This email has been received by –and frightened a lot of seniors. If you receive an email like this it is totally phony. do not under any circumstances click on the link in the email –just delete the entire message.
The American Seniors Association (ASA) was started in 2005 as an alternative to AARP. Although AARP bills itself as a non-partisan organization, they have become more and more political over the years causing many members to shy away from the organization. Another complaint was that AARP was essentially becoming a big insurance company and the profits from those activities changed their perspective from helping members to helping themselves. This gave rise to an organization with a different mission.
Here is the ASA Mission Statement
The American Seniors Association’s mission is to provide seniors with the choices, information, and services they need to live healthier, wealthier lives.
Our members’ dignity and security matter most to us, and that’s why thousands of Americans every year turn to the American Seniors Association for the help they need.
We offer our members better choices to help with:
• Medicare
• Insurance
• Prescription Discounts
• Travel Services
• Auto Club
• Information on Where to Find the Facts
We are driven by a uniquely American philosophy that starts with the understanding that government doesn’t tax and regulate “things.” It taxes and regulates “people.” Individuals like you and me. That’s why we treat every member as an individual, with a different story and different priorities, freely united as individuals to provide each other with better values in the services we want and need.
ASA has been running a program this year where AARP members can send in their AARP card when they join and receive their second year of membership free. So far this offer has resulted in hundreds of thousands of torn AARP cards arriving at their offices. ASA membership costs $15 per year. Click here to learn more about ASA.
Data just out from the National Council on Aging show that the number of seniors looking for work has swelled more than 120% to over 1.8 million in the last year. Within that group, those who were 75 and older increased by 80 percent.
There are some 29 million seniors – those 55 and older – employed or actively looking for work in the United States, which is about 18 percent of the civilian labor force. And their numbers are expected to grow. Seniors from the early phase of the baby boom are now retiring at the rate of 14,000 per day. That number is expected to increase 12-15% by the end of 2010.
According to a story from the Reuters News services “This economic crisis has had just a horrible impact on the entire population, but it has had a very severe impact on older people,” said Sandra Nathan, workforce development vice president at the National Council on Aging.
Nathan said her organization was seeing a record number of people seeking assistance with job training and employment. “Before people used to retire and stay retired. Now what we have are people 75 years old and older who are still in the workforce,” Nathan said.
With a national unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, the highest in more than 25 years, the odds are stacked against older Americans seeking work. An array of new or expanded programs, however, are aimed at leveling the playing field.
The U.S. government has allocated stimulus dollars to bolster programs targeted at getting older workers onto private payrolls and off of the shaky U.S. social security system. Even individuals over 75 are being encouraged to get training and job hunting help.
We are seeing this effect here at Official Geezer Guide as more and more seniors are looking for information and ways to supplement their retirement income. Both traffic to the site and sales of Geezer Guides are up sharply.
I just returned from visiting my sainted mother who lives in Alexandria, VA, just across the river from Washington DC. The rest of the country may be grappling with a recession –but not DC. Thanks to out-of-control government spending, DC is booming!
Everywhere we went the restaurants were full, shopping malls were crowded, real estate was selling and I saw more Mercedes, BMWs and Porsche’s than you would see in Beverly Hills.
And jobs are going begging. When we went to one of the largest shopping malls in suburban Virginia, almost every store had a sign out that they were hiring. Every government agency is hiring. The new US Patent Office in Alexandria is hiring over 5,000 people which is kind of strange since patent applications have fallen since the recession began. Obama said he would create jobs –and he is. But it’s looking like most of them will be in the Washington DC area.
And don’t forget the lobbyists. Since Obama was elected back in November, the number of registered lobbyists has increased over 40%. There are now over 30,000 lobbyists throwing money and favors at the 435 members of the House and 100 Senators.
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