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Saturday, August 4, 2012

You didn’t build that

What he actually said

Last night I received an e-mail with a link, alerting me of another LTTE that was full of distortions. This morning I reread the letter and decided to address the issue and only mention the letter writer (without using his name) for background information. The letter writer's logic is not unique, so my response is to all who hold his views. I don't do "cold turkey" but I thought it was pretty good advice not to mention locals who chose not to participate in this venue...It's my version of a  12-step program...:-)

It's funny because I hated diagramming sentences when I was in high school, but I suspect it was because I didn't know what I was looking for, and the "compound predicates" confused me into submission...:-). Today that's what I do with a post, letter, or an article when I want more clarity. Hey, it only took 45 years for me to get some use from it.

The very first sentence told me that the letter writer was a red- baiter who still fears the socialists of the Cold War, and it was yet another us vs. them(government) letter. You read this letter in our fine hometown newspaper, The Victoria Advocate, or you can read it here.

I didn't need a clarification of Obama's speech because I understood the context on the day he gave it. The ad Mitt Romney aired- cut out the part where Obama emphasized that infrastructure, friends, teachers, parents and relatives helped everyone of us along the way. The Romney campaign knows that because Mitt Romney told the 2002 Olympians, “You Olympians, however, know you didn't get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided; communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians; let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities."..You tell me the difference between the two speeches.

The letter stated that everyone paid taxes to provide the necessities, but that's only partially true. Ask the residents of Cuero, Yorktown and Kennedy if the big Ford Shale trucks are paying proportionately for what their damage has done to the roads. The letter goes onto define success in a limited sort of way because even the guy in the Romney ad had several thousand dollars available to him in government grants and loans. Its equivalent of someone getting into the front door because of affirmative action and then denying others by saying, “I did this all on my own."

How quaint, the writer stated, “the rich should pay taxes at a reasonable higher rate but Obama chooses to ignore reason, the economy, and the jobs provided by the rich." A quick look at the stock market and corporate financial reports will tell you that the corporations and the rich are doing reasonably well in this economy. The jobs are not there because there is no demand that justifies a lot of hiring. The 2001 & 2003 Bush tax cuts benefited the rich but did not produce jobs, and that's a matter that cannot be disputed. He can call it demonizing the rich all he wants but this weekend; they'll be out on their yachts not worrying about the problems of the middle class.

The last paragraph of the letter emphasizes the need for understanding economics' instead of repeating partisan talking points. Turn off the television when a political ad comes on because like all the other advertisements, they are meant to prey on the uninformed. I don't think the informed are stupid; they're just occupied with more important things in his or her life. That's too bad because politicians know that and will take full advantage. We need to know that outsourcing started 30 years ago and it had nothing to do with President Obama, Mitt Romney or Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric. How ironic, quoting Albert Einstein saying,” The difference between stupidity and genius is genius has its limits."... If someone is getting their information from political television ads, then they don't know politics or anything about the issues because the 30-second ads are subliminal messages designed to fool the uninformed.

I've decided since "Mohammed cannot go to the mountain. I'm going to bring the mountain to me" meaning that my main mission at Vic Ad was to present my side of the issues; I can't do that anymore because I refuse to join Facebook. I wish that I had more opposition because that's the only way that we can turn the corner. Too many people take it for granted that the sole thing the left wants is government intervention to protect the interest of the poor and disadvantaged. That gives the right the chance to put portray progressive and liberals as wanting to tax the winners in society in order to reward the losers, and then they can put on a charade as being the champions of a hard work and innovation. Progressives and liberals in Washington are starting to make inroads now, by accusing conservatives for pushing the agenda of the wealthy. Liberals and progressives need to continue the narrative because the rules governing the markets are written by the rich and powerful and they are meant to redistribute the wealth upward.

In the coming months, I will give my version of how the game is fixed to benefit the affluent. The wealthy will complain about the Federal Reserve but will use it for their advantage, and conservatives will always portray themselves as free marketers, but they aren't. A free market does not need “Free trade agreements or patents and copyright protection." As always, I will welcome contradiction.

19 comments:

born2Bme said...

I read that latter last night and was itching to comment, but decided to hell with it. You can't fix stupid, so why try?
Those people will never see any other way except those that come from Fox.

Mike said...

born2Bme

I thought the same thing but I didn't want my answer to go in the “unverified comments” where the letter writer or anyone else will never notice... I guess you're right, they'll never learn but I guess I'm just too bullheaded to know when to quit trying...:-)

I always like it when the right defines the American way using their dog whistles..."Obama's policy is in contempt of American way."lol

Just come out and say it "he's not one of us"..Well he's not and I'm glad of it...:-)

born2Bme said...

I doubt most people even realize what the "real" American Way is. I think the author of that letter is dillusional.

Edith Ann said...

I couldn't help myself. I posted:

"Oh, thank goodness! Mr. Novosad has recovered from the coma he has been in! This is indeed good news! I do hope he writes again, after he has gotten up to speed with reality."


Too bad the writer will probably never see the comment--I doubt hehas a clue about turning on a computer, and I don't think there is a crawl at the bottom of the screen on FOX News featuring Victoria Advocate comments.

Mike said...

I haven't seen anyone come to the letter writer's defense but you would think if a person is going to pen his name to an article that will seen by his friends, family members and business associates , he would take all the steps to make sure his letter is 100% accurate.

I can understand submitting a religious belief because that’s a view based on faith or even an ideological difference because it’s just a different point of view but he writes the letter as if he was on the Mitt Romney campaign team.

born2Bme said...

Probably C&P'd most of it straight from some far right site, just changing a few areas to make it his own.
The sad part is that I truly believe that he believes every word he wrote.

born2Bme said...

OT just a little bit, but have all of you seen the cussing posts appearing lately? Is that what Chris Cobbler wants for his newpaper? He can't keep as close an eye on things when he just lets FB handle everything.

Mike said...

I've noticed the language and the incomprehensible posts that get to remain and the idea of using real names was supposed to fix that..I think we were sold a bill of goods.

I can remember when threads were closed just for having a different opinion than the letter writer.

Some of the old posters would be considered choir boys in today's FB format.

Mike said...

HELP..My blogspot is showing ads on my end and I didn't ask for them...Is anyone else seeing this?

I guess I'll have to waste an evening finding a way to disable them.

Edith Ann said...

I see no ads on your's or on mine.

Good observation Born on the VA comments. Anything goes now, just like FB. I truly think they lied about the reason for the hook up with FB because it is clearly out of their control. They cannot delete comments I'm told, and apparently that may be the case or the prfanity would be removed.

Sad, isn't it!

born2Bme said...

Guess it's time to start sending the VA complaints about the language they are allowing kids to see. Right?
There's strength in numbers, on both sides.

Legion said...

One nme bohers wre n d hose n he was jost veseteng, he no nd arsted tats vpd fur U.

You mean post like that? Yeah there is a outstanding bunch of comments on the VicAd lately.

Mike said...

You had me at first I thought you using the latest texting lingo I was not aware of.

In agreement it's pretty bad

Edith Ann said...

Think about it--a newspaper's business is words. Sure it's news, but it is the readable word.

If anyone at the Victoria Advocate truly thought the alliance with Facebook would improve the quality of the posts, and provide transparancy, then they have truly been given way too much credit for being smart thinkers!

When you couple the quality of the stories they post online (I'm talking mistakes, goofs and idiot headlines) with the forum comments such as Legion has cited, you have a product that makes the National Enquirer like like a first class publication!

Being the only daily in the area, they know if we want to know, most likely we will come look. More and more folks are going to the Chronicle, and I can see why.

But, back to a comment made earlier---yes, as one who got deleted for negligible infractions, I do find it annoying to see the profanity.

Like Marie said--Be careful what you ask for...

Edith Ann said...

I do hope the teachers don't pee their pants when they are being told about the 'Newspapers in Education' program.

Mike said...

I just saw this quote on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" show and it explains quite a bit but what if anything does it mean to you?

"The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself."

Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Unknown said...

Once upon a time, I thought that when I left Victoria, I would not have to deal with that level of ignorance. Unfortunately, I was forced to realize how wrong I was and quickly. Those who continuously refer to Obama as a socialist, and truly believe Romney is the Champion of the Small Business Owners, are definitely lacking something in the way of intelligence or education, I can't decide which. The point is, people like that cannot be reasoned with.

However, the next time I hear that Obama hates business owners, or that Romney is what the US economy needs, I might just scream. Bush was in office for eight years. Wasn't that enough?

Mike said...

Regardless of politics, I think senate decorum should be maintained, so that's why I think senate majority leader Harry Reid was wrong for taking his allegation to the senate floor without verifiable truth. He should not have said someone told him Mitt Romney has not paid any taxes for 10 years. He is not the first but he's the leader of the senate. John Kyl, senate minority whip, as many recall said " "well over 90 percent" of Planned Parenthood's activities are related to abortion. The number is actually 3 percent and when it was pointed out, Kyl's office put out a clarification, saying the Senator's statements weren't intended to be "factual."..It's no wonder people mistrust government.

I read some disturbing news about Caterpillar in the Washington Post, so if potential employees have a choice between that company and other area plants, they should choose the latter.

"In the previous six-year contract, Caterpillar won a two-tier wage structure: Existing employees would get to keep wages that average about $26, but there would be no raises and new employees would be paid wages pegged to the existing market — roughly $12 to $19, depending on the job classification. Instead of the old defined-benefit pension plan, the company would put 3 percent of each worker’s base pay into a 401(k) retirement account, and match employee contributions up to an additional 3 percent. The company would continue to pay 90 percent of the premiums for a generous health insurance plan, and profit sharing that averaged $2,300 a year."

http://wapo.st/T99jcF

That might sound like a good deal to some but if you read the story (it's something I will elaborate more on in the coming months) the bottom is that Caterpillar is turning the tables on unions and guess what will happen when this contract expires. It might even read like a “beggars can’t be choosers”
statement.

The author also wrote "Because of its size and reputation, companies like Caterpillar also need to acknowledge that they have an outsize impact on the social, political and economic environment in which markets operate. Caterpillar should not expect voters to embrace its aggressive free-trade philosophy if globalization merely gives it license to grind down the incomes of average workers. It shouldn’t expect politicians to approve more money for public works projects, or give the green light to increased coal and shale-oil production — both big generators of Caterpillar sales — if the profits from those sales won’t be shared fairly with front-line workers. And it shouldn’t expect to win the good opinion of investors or the public if its human-resource strategy is to become the recognized leader in the corporate race to the bottom."

Mike said...

Michael

Mitt Romney's tax plan and Paul Ryan's budget is all people need to see what side they are on.

you are dead on..don't relent..:-)