Barack, Just Do It.
The Drudge Report says that Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez is exhorting President Obama to follow the path of socialism. What made him think President Obama would listen?
“Come with us, align yourself, come with us on the road to socialism. This is the only path. Imagine a socialist revolution in the United States,” Chavez told a group of workers in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar. …”Nothing is impossible. Who would have thought in the 1980s that the Soviet Union would disappear? No one.”
This article from WSJ suggests that other “activist organizations” are feeling their oats. They’re not shy about recommending how the rest of us behave. From nongovernment organizing to nongovernment government. Who elected them? Why do they need to be elected?
Nonprofit leaders are reeling from the recent news that President Barack Obama’s proposed budget would limit tax deductions on charitable contributions from wealthy Americans. But now the philanthropic world has something else to worry about. Today the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), a research and advocacy group, will release a report offering “benchmarks to assess foundation performance.” Its real aim is to push philanthropic organizations into ignoring donor intent and instead giving grants based on political considerations….
The report, titled “Criteria for Philanthropy at its Best,” advises foundations to “provide at least 50 percent of grant dollars to benefit lower-income communities, communities of color, and other marginalized groups, broadly defined.” … Two years ago, an advocacy group in San Francisco called Greenlining began releasing similar reports. Greenlining’s aim then was to pass legislation in California mandating that foundations report to the public the percentage of their dollars given to “minority-led” organizations and the percentage of their boards and staffs made up by racial and ethnic minorities. The legislation was dropped when several foundations promised to donate money to causes Greenlining favored.
Mandating can take several forms. The most effective is mandate occurs when something is only being suggested. But in the right atmosphere all suggestions become orders. The founder of TaxCheatStamps.com recently received a letter saying he’s going to be audited by the IRS. “There is no doubt in my mind that my family is being politically persecuted for making a mockery of our new Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the Obama administration.” Is he being persecuted? We can’t be sure because the IRS audits peope routinely. Will it have a chilling effect? Only coincidentally. This is the problem when a climate of fear begins to take hold. Even mice begin to cast long shadows. Even the perfectly innocent and ordinary takes on the aspect of menace. Fear marks the moment when a population begins to lose its accustomed freedoms and is too ashamed or embarassed to admit it.
We are many, they ( the control freaks) are few.
Don’t be afraid… be ornery.
In a Nation of Cowards, Money Conquers All
(In the right hands, you understand,
…and, of course, an enlightened choice of “language“)
Socialized Healthcare, Truckloads of money for the NEA, not only will “fix” the economy and bring full employment, but will avoid
“some sort of racial flare-up or conflict”
in addressing the
“painful legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination.”
– Attorney General Chided for Language on Race –
“I’m not somebody who believes that constantly talking about race somehow solves racial tensions,”
Mr. Obama said.
“I think what solves racial tensions is fixing the economy, putting people to work, making sure that people have health care, ensuring that every kid is learning out there.”
I think if we do that, then we’ll probably have more fruitful conversations.”
(At least in the opinion of America’s first black president wrt the PC Prowess of America’s first black attorney general.)
Witch Hunt Meets Dogfight
“Want to lose one million more jobs? Just keep talking.”
The ad slams “political rhetoric and short-sighted legislation” banning luxury travel by companies whose financial problems have prompted taxpayer bailouts.
Citing a recent industry study, the U.S. Travel Association says that 20% of companies that have not received taxpayer help have nonetheless cancelled events and meetings, FEARING PUBLIC CRITICISM.
Travel Industry Slams Obama, Congress Proposals in New Ads
In February, Mr. Obama rebuked financial institutions, saying,
“You can’t take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.”
Industry executives say there has been a wave of trip cancellations by corporations worried about “bailout backlash.”
Among them: Wells Fargo & Co., which got $25 billion in government money, recently cancelled plans to send 40 employees to a Las Vegas conference.
(the Wachovia open will not be called the Wells Fargo Open, either, although it will receive a million w/o notice or attribution)
Meanwhile entities still brave enough to risk bookings to Maui do so under a Pseudonym.
Geoff Freeman, the travel association’s senior vice president for public affairs, said the group is soliciting 60-second video auditions from industry employees, seeking a “face of the industry.”
“You’ve all heard of Joe the Plumber…well, we’re looking for Joe the Bellman,” he said.
—
Gulfstreams for Nancy, Greyhounds for the rest of us.
(AF One for THE One, of course)
One of four print ads in the campaign includes a photograph of the back of President Barack Obama’s head, superimposed over an empty stadium.
“Imagine holding a convention and no one showed up,”
the headline says.
“Until political conventions are held via conference call, we shouldn’t expect business to do so either,”
the text reads.
A quarter million jobs here, a quarter million jobs there,
pretty soon you’re talking real unemployment.
“The Department of Labor is reporting a loss of nearly 200,000 travel-related jobs in 2008, and Commerce Dept data predicts a loss of an additional 247,000 travel-related jobs in 2009.
THAT NUMBER MAY GROW IF THE RHETORIC IS NOT TONED DOWN.“
People, the only fix for this problem is a collapse! let them keep up the hype, it will only tighten the noose around their necks until the air is all gone, then, maybe then we can get America back…
re #4: Sorry, wrong thread! (kinda) will repost there.
wildernesscalling:
My hope is the hypoxia is so extreme it chokes off their Ammnesty attempt in the bud!
This is the problem when a climate of fear begins to take hold. Even mice begin to cast long shadows. Even the perfectly innocent and ordinary takes on the aspect of menace. Fear marks the moment when a population begins to lose its accustomed freedoms and is too ashamed or embarassed to admit it.
The measure of freedom in a society can possibly be calibrated by the balance of fear between those who compose the government and the populace. If those in government fear a reaction to what they do to the people; be the reaction financial, criminal charges, civil suits, electoral removal, or other means … they will be circumspect in what they try to impose on the people. I note that our bipartisan permanent governing class has an electoral turnover rate approximating the mortality tables for their age cohort. Further, we are having it rubbed in our faces that not only are there two sets of laws, one for us and one for them; they cannot have any criminal charges or civil penalties imposed even when caught because they protect each other. Finally, it is an absolute that regardless of party, and regardless of how relatively poor one may be when elected; somehow one’s net worth when leaving DC is always orders of magnitude over the product of ones annual salary and allowances times the number of years in DC. Funny how that always happens.
I would say that we are fighting against the tide as far as relative fear is concerned. Any individual can be destroyed by nameless bureaucrats regardless of the law. I leave it to the better minds than mine here to ponder how to restore the balance to the point where “We The People” are at least on even terms, if not back in charge.
Subotai Bahadur
Conservatives are much more likely to donate to charitable causes.
The minute that leftists groups mandate where charitable donations go, is the minute that charitable donating ceases.
I stopped supporting United Way years ago, when they continuously ran ads featuring Barry Bonds saying how important it was to “support African-American and minority children”.
What about the rest of the children??
Why not ALL children??
They also had the problem of the Boss that ran off with much of the money!
Uncle Jefe:
The bank I work for (gee, is it safe to utter that phrase these days?) encourages employees to donate to United Way but we can opt for either general UW funding or specific funding to individual local charities. My money goes to the latter. I too find the PC and libtardity of many national non-profits to be not only obnoxious but a bad investment on my part. So I keep it local and narrowly directed towards those whose missions I know are in line with what I care about.
BTW – did anyone else think “back-door reparations” when they read about the NCRP report?
ahhhhh, the “siren song” of socialism – few realize that’s not a rhythm section accompanying the music. Keeping the beat is accomplished by hob-nailed boots, the snare drums are automatic weapons fire and the bass is the boom of cannons. Those high-pitched screams in the backgound are not synthesized sounds.
This band called Freedom’s End will be playing near you soon. Tickets are free, but attendance at every performance is mandatory. You will applaud!
By law, foundations must give away 5% of their corpus (contributed capital) every year.
So long as the corpus can be invested with a return greater than 5% + expenses, the foundation can sustain itself longer than 20 years.
To quality as tax exempt, the foundation’s donated monies must meet 3 criteria:
* the cause cannot make a profit
* the cause must be worthy
* the cause cannot be political in nature
The first criteria is Leftist stupidity, as free-market entrepreneurs can obiviously deliver the greatest, measurable ROI – for any problem. And, entrepreneurs accept accountability as integral to the mission.
The second criteria is undefinable mush.
The third goes un-enforced by the IRS.
#6 Wilderness… I agree with you fully sir. After a point the quickest way around the fire is straight through it, and I don’t think I’ll be alone when I get fed up of having to live in constant fear as #9 Subotai mentions.
America’s full of people like me, quietly watching (okay, >I< shoot my mouth off a bit). I like to think of all these people as potential energy, stored for use at a later time. The last pack of totalitarians that felt the effects of that energy didn’t fare so well and I’m at least cheered by the small fact that this go around we won’t have to waste time and energy crossing oceans to get to them.
I caused my company to stop supporting the United Way in the late 1970′s. That is when I learned that non-union print shops were not allowed to print any United Way materials.
It may be that I just hang around with people who think like me; but, I am hearing a lot of pent up frustration and not much in the way of ideas of what to do about it. If someone comes up with a plan that will galvanize this group to action, I think that a major opposition movement could develop very quickly.
Is Chavez trying to be humorous ? The Soviet Union collapsed because socialism never works. Why do people keep wanting to try this failed political philosophy again and again ?
ROFLMFAO Chavez what a little tree pruner he has become now that the fruits of Demcracy have been pruned what’s left is a dying and naked tree.
”Nothing is impossible. Who would have thought in the 1980s that the Soviet Union would disappear? No one.”
More than a few people saw that one coming, especially those who traveled there.
Road trip. The Rope and Chains Tour, brought to you by The We The Peep Hole Foundation™.