The Beforemath
Probably nothing.Jeb Bush, during his 1994 campaign for governor, when asked what he would do for blacks.
I applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing the value of diversity on our nation’s campuses.
George W. Bush praising the Supreme Court affirmative action decision that contradicted his administration’s position on the issue. 6/24/03
One amendment today said we could not sell guns to anybody under drug treatment. So does that mean that if you go into a black community, you cannot sell guns to any black person?
Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY) Congressional Record, April 2003
Why is this man in the White House? The American people did not vote for him. He’s in the White House because God put him there.
General William G. Boykin, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, October 2003
Well, you know what I knew – that my god was bigger than his.
General William G. Boykin, discussing fighting Muslims in Somalia, October 2003
God told me to strike al Queda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you can help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.
George W. Bush speaking to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, July 2003
The cost of the war will be small. We can afford the war, and we will put it behind us.
Treasury Secretary John W. Snow before Congress, March 2003
The fact of the matter is that this [increased American casualties] is a sign of the success of our operation, not its failure.
Republican strategist Ralph Reed, 10/28/03
Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.
Governor George W. Bush, 4/9/99, on Clinton’s military action in Kosovo
I’m the commander, see. I don’t need to explain.President George W. Bush, November 19, 2002
President Clinton is leading our country down the path of "mission creep" that will suck our military into a quagmire that resembles Vietnam – a situation that America has vowed never to repeat..
Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL), on Kosovo, 4/28/99
The first rule of diplomacy is not to make the situation worse. Yet, the administration’s lack of foresight and planning for the refugee crisis has compounded the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in the Balkans. . . the military campaign has also suffered from deficiencies in political mismanagement and planning. The military deserves better political leadership than this.
Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO) , on Kosovo, 4/7/99
You know if there was any piece of legislation I would pass it would be to blow up the colleges of education. I know that’s not politically correct…
Reid Lyon, Chief, Child Development and Behavior Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, adviser to George W. Bush on child health and education welfare. 11/09/02
We will abolish the Department of Education and federal meddling in our schools...We support eliminating the Departments of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, and Energy, and the elimination, defunding ... of The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Legal Services Corporation.
Republican Party Platform adopted 8/12/96, p.22
We condemn the [Clinton] administration’s policy of confrontation first.
Republican Party Platform, 2000
[Environmentalists] are a socialist group of individuals…they are not Americans, never have been Americans, and never will be Americans.
Rep. Don Young (R-AK), member of the House Committee on Resources, 8/19/96
Republicans consider private property rights the cornerstone of environmental progress.
Republican Party Platform, 8/12/96, p.28
A species goes out of existence every 20 seconds. Surely a species must come into existence every 20 seconds.
Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-ID) 7/7/96
The best way to get the news is from objective sources. The most objective sources I have are people on my staff.
George W. Bush, 9/22/03
In the early days of the war, the plan was criticized by some retired military officers embedded in TV studios. But with every day and every advance by our coalition forces, the wisdom of our plan becomes more apparent.Vice-President Dick Cheney taking a swipe at General Wesley Clark, 4/25/03
I would eliminate the payroll tax and institute a national sales tax to cover Medicare and Social Security. The sales tax would slide depending on need...
Bill O’Reilly, The No Spin Zone p.175, 2001
Tim Russert: Do we have evidence that he’s [Saddam Hussein] harboring terrorists?
Dick Cheney: There is. In the past there have been some activities related to terrorism by Saddam Hussein.
Tim Russert: Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to these operations?
Dick Cheney: No.
9/16/01
Emotional appeal about working families trying to get by on minimum wage are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist.
Tom Delay, (R-TX) 4/23/96
When I see someone who’s making $300,000 to $750,000 a year, that’s middle class.
Rep. Fred Heineman (R-NC) 10/25/96
I don't understand how poor people think.
George W. Bush 8/26/03
Tim Russert: Is $87 Billion the end of it? Will the American people be asked for any more money?
Dick Cheney: I can’t say that. It’s all that we think we need for the foreseeable future for this year.
9/14/03
George understands what a great president must understand. The first three words of America’s most sacred document are "We the People," not "Us vs. Them."Governor Tom Ridge, 8/3/00
We must find new issues that polarize in our favor.
Anthony Fabrizio, Republican Strategist, 2/26/97
Americans should not sit idly by as our individual rights are surrendered. We should enlist the American people to rein in an out-of-control Court.
Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO) 3/6/97
Some members of the federal judiciary threaten the safety, the values, and the freedom of law-abiding citizens. They make up laws and invent new rights as they go along, arrogating to themselves powers King George III never dared to exercise.
Republican Party Platform 8/12/96 p. 13
posted by x4mr at 9:35 AM
3 Comments:
For the sake of my own spirituality I try not to get sucked into the political and prefer to comment on your more esoteric content.
These quotes are just damning, laying bare beyond all doubt the sheer bankruptcy of the Republican soul. My god, it defies the imagination.
If the Democrats can successfully tap into the economic concerns and point out the (true) fact that the republicans focus solely on the welfare of the super rich, and reinforce this with facts on the growing gap between rich and poor, they can really take over in 2008.
The last paragraph from the republican platform about King George is just priceless. Perhaps God has a sense of humor.
Amazing. Only the fact that it's true makes it believable.
The last photo is clearly symbolic. Is that THE place on the other side? The color has a subtle bloody quality, or is it my imagination? Maybe the context makes it creepy. What is that place?
There is a better tax plan that's already on the front burner, the FairTax Act of 2007 (HR 25). While many who are invested in the current income tax system seek to demagog the well-researched FairTax plan, FairTax's theoretical underpinnings have been professionally reviewed, and its acceptance in the professional / academic community continues to grow.
Renown economist Laurence Kotlikoff believes that failure to enact the FairTax - choosing instead to try to "flatten" what he deems to be a non-flattenable income tax system - will eventuate into an irrevocable economic meltdown, because of the hidden aspects of the current system that make political accountability impossible. Tom Frey, of the DiVinci Institute, foresees the coming collapse of the income tax system.
Here is why the FairTax MUST replace the income tax. It's:
• SIMPLE, easy to understand
• EFFICIENT, inexpensive to comply with and doesn't cause less-than-optimal business decisions for tax minimization purposes
• FAIR, loophole free and everyone pays their share
• LOW TAX RATE, achieved by broad base with no exclusions
• PREDICTABLE, doesn't change, so financial planning is possible
• UNINTRUSIVE, doesn't intrude into our personal affairs or limit our liberty
• VISIBLE, not hidden from the public in tax-inflated prices or otherwise
• PRODUCTIVE, rewards, rather than penalizes, work and productivity
Its benefits are as follows:
For INDIVIDUALS:
• No more tax on income - make as much as you wish
• You receive your full paycheck - no more deductions
• You pay the tax when you buy "at retail" - not "used"
• No more double taxation (e.g. like on current Capital Gains)
• Reduction of "pre-FairTaxed" retail prices by 20%-30%
• Adding back 29.9% FairTax maintains current price levels
• FairTax would constitute 23% portion of new prices
• Every household receives a monthly check, or "pre-bate"
• "Prebate" is "advance payback" for taxes payable on monthly consumption to poverty level
• FairTax's "prebate" ensures progressivity, poverty protection
• Finally, citizens are knowledgeable of what their tax IS
• Elimination of "parasitic" Income Tax industry
• NO MORE IRS. NO MORE FILING OF TAX RETURNS by individuals
• Those possessing illicit forms of income will ALSO pay the FairTax
• Households have more disposable income to purchase goods
• Savings is bolstered with reduction of interest rates
For BUSINESSES:
• Corporate income and payroll taxes revoked under FairTax
• Business compensated for collecting tax at "cash register"
• No more tax-related lawyers, lobbyists on company payrolls
• No more embedded (hidden) income/payroll taxes in prices
• Reduced costs. Competition - not tax policy - drives prices
• Off-shore "tax haven" headquarters can now return to U.S
• No more "favors" from politicians at expense of taxpayers
• Resources go to R&D and study of competition - not taxes
• Marketplace distortions eliminated for fair competition
• US exports increase their share of foreign markets
For the COUNTRY:
• 7% - 13% economic growth projected in the first year of the FairTax
• Jobs return to the U.S.
• Foreign corporations "set up shop" in the U.S.
• Tax system trends are corrected to "enlarge the pie"
• Larger economic "pie," means thinner tax rate "slices"
• Initial 23% portion of price is pressured downward as "pie" increases
• No more "closed door" tax deals by politicians and business
• FairTax sets new global standard. Other countries will follow
It's well past time to scrap the tax code and pay for government the way that America's working men and women are paid - when something is sold.
(Permission is granted to reproduce in whole or part. - Ian)
Well, Ian, I lack the resources to engage a debate on the plan you advocate, but a brief glance suggests its regressive.
Jumping to the punch line, we must have a tax system where the mega rich pay their fair share. As Robert Reich says, they have to. Why? They are the only ones who can. It's physics. The middle and poor can't pay it, period. We bankrupt the country by giving it away to the rich. The scorpions are stinging the frog.
Navigator,
As usual, your sense of smell is accurate. You don't ever want to be standing with the view of that last image.
You would have the taste of iron in your mouth.
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