Tag Archives: Romney

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Posted on November 12, 2012 by | 11 comments

Something Wicked This Way Comes

You would think I would be over it now, but I’m still a little bitter about it.  I just still can’t believe how stupid the American Electorate is.  Now everyone is screaming about how the Republicans need to ‘reach out’ to this group or that group.  They need to ‘evolve.”  And you know what?  That may be true.  In fact, let’s say (for sake of argument) it’s 100% true.  Still.  We had one chance to steer the country away from a fiscal Greece-style cliff and what did we do?  We hit the gas.

Why?  Because of “birth control, binders and Big Bird,” oh my!!!

 As you can imagine, many of my more liberal friends have been teasing me this last week.  I can take it, bring it on.  What is…well…I don’t want to say its “sad,” because it is just part of the gig.  What’s “kind of sad” is that an uninformed vote means just as much as an informed one.  Don’t get me wrong; I get that people have different points of view. If President Obama is your guy and you can list off the reasons why, I have nothing but respect for that.  But, if your only two reasons are (and I honestly heard these) “He is just trying so hard, I just feel we need to give him a second chance,” or “Bush was just so bad,” you should just go back to watching “Dancing with the Stars” and let the grown-ups talk. (FYI, I really enjoy watching DWTS.)

As I look back at it, what REALLY gets me is things like this:

This is honestly one of Obama’s super-charming campaign slogans that (apparently) many single women took to heart.  But let me let you in on a little secret: nothing about this election had anything to do with your “lady parts”.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE fan of “lady parts.”  HUGE FAN.  I’m a huge fan of women.  I look at my wife (who, four kids and twenty-one years later, is still SMOKIN’ HOT) and all she does: cleans, cooks, full time job, volunteer work, she works with the Young Women at our church–she amazes me.  I firmly believe all women should be put on a pedestal, I really do, for all those reasons.  Plus, when you put a woman up on a pedestal, it is easier to look up her skirt (wicked grin).

To me it is ironic that women, who supposedly are strong, voted to be taken care of by government.

“But Danny,” you whine, “what about contraception?”  Either way the election went, nothing would have changed in the realm of contraception.  Nothing, zero, zip, noda, regardless of who won.

“But Danny,” you continue to whine, “what about abortion?”  It amazes me that abortion rears its ugly head every election.  It is one of those divisive issues that doesn’t mean a thing.  Regardless of your personal thoughts on abortion, for it or against it, the fact Roe v. Wade was brought about judiciously, took that debate entirely out of the legislative arena. In other words, you cute little bugger you, no president or Congress could pass any laws to undermine it as long as that precedent stands.

Yes, it’s true: Romney could have appointed Supreme Court justices that might overturn that precedent (though I doubt it).  But even if he did, NOTHING would have changed. Congress has codified the principles of Roe v. Wade into federal law, so the only way to completely overturn it would be, the Republicans would have to control the White House, Congress, and 60 votes in the Senate (something that has never happened in the history of the republic), and that is assuming all Republicans are pro-life.

Now I’m well aware that I’m being completely hypocritical with this next statement.  I get it.  I just can’t believe anyone would base their vote on ONE issue.

The biggest threat to anyone’s “lady parts” is the fiscal solvency of your nation.  That threat is actually real.  The made-up bull crap about abortion and contraception is just that: Crap.  How could anyone vote for anything based on phantom stories when we have a very real and compelling prospect of an irrecoverable economic disaster?  Un-be-freaking-lievable.

In case you can’t tell, I’m still amazed, and a little peeved at the election results.

 

LIFEZILLA:  I don’t know about you, but I could really go for a punch in your face right now.

 

 

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You Would Think I Would Get Sick of Being Right ALL the Time

Posted on October 28, 2012 by | 3 comments

You Would Think I Would Get Sick of Being Right ALL the Time

You would thing I would get sick of being right all the time…but I don’t.  I really don’t.  What made me say this was this article. The title “Obama sees executive pay rules as next financial reform” about made my head explode.  At first I thought, the only compensation the government should be setting is government workers.  What business is it of the government to dictate to private industry what should be the job of the board of directors, and stock holders?  And then, in my little right leaning brain, I got thinking about “the rich need to pay their fair share,” and “the rich need to pay a little bit more.”  Now, for the record, I’m not rich.  Once I thought I had $707 in my bank account.  It turned out I was holding the statement upside down and it really was saying LOL.  It’s sad really.  I just want you to know I’m not defending the rich because I am one.

I was remembering back when Romney released his recent tax records, how everyone was FREAKING out that he “only paid14% in taxes.”  I’ll explain it, even though I’m an idiot.

For easy math, let’s say I make a $100,000, and (again for easy math) let’s say I pay half of that in taxes.  I have $50,000 to do with what I want.  Let say after I pay for the house, food, cars, savings, and such I have $10,000 left.  I choose to invest that $10,000 in stocks.  Now, anyone will tell you investing money is a gamble.  I could make the wrong choice and lose it all.  So the government, knowing that investing money is important to the economy and growth, and knowing that the money I’m investing has already been taxed at 50% (easy math) made it so any money I get back from my investments would be taxed at 14%.  So if I earn $1000.00 dollars from my $10,000 dollar investment, I pay $140.00 on that grand.  Really, there is nothing ‘unfair’ about that.

According to Reuters (which is apparently a News organization) Obama paid 20.5% taxes in 2011.  GASP!!!!!  He paid more than Romney!!!  WHY, WHY, WHY?  IT’S SO UNFAIR!!!

Oh, but wait

Mitt Romney’s 2011 Taxes:

Adjusted Gross Income: $13,696,951
Charitable Giving:          $  2,250,772
Total Federal Taxes:       $  1,935,708 (That’s Million with an M)

Let’s compare this to the average American who pays taxes:

Average Income:                  $45.000
Average Taxes Paid:            $5,060
Average Charitable Giving: $900

Average Percent Paid to federal taxes: 11%
Average percent of charitable donations: 2%

Romney’s income is roughly 304 times that of an average American.  Oh yeah, he is doing pretty well.  He is taxed 382 times what the average American pays in taxes.

Percentages are fun, but it is the dollars behind the percentages that matter.

Just for fun, look at this:

The federal government spends about $112,500 a SECOND.

A SECOND.

If the federal government taxed every penny Romney made it would cover about 2.03 minutes of one day, in one year.

The truth of the matter, is that there are not enough people in this country who make enough money to cover these costs. NO MATTER WHAT THE RATE IS!!!!

The question we should be debating isn’t, “How much can we tax a millionaire?”  Instead, we should be asking, how we can create MORE Millionaires.

That and cut the spending.

 

LIFEZILLA:  I decided I no longer need the approval of others.  What do you guys think?

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Obama Wins !! (?)

Posted on October 22, 2012 by | Comments Off on Obama Wins !! (?)

Obama Wins !!  (?)

Well, according to a CBS News affiliate in Arizona.

For 17 seconds, during an episode of “The People’s Court” CBS ran a lower third graphic that showed Obama won the November 6 election with 99% of the precincts reporting.  The “nationwide results” showed President Obama winning the election with 43 percent of the vote, to Romney’s 40 percent -– or 40,237,966 votes to 38,116,216.

Well, isn’t that just really cute?

OH WAIT!!!  I didn’t mention that this was on Friday October 19.  Two weeks before the election.  I know.  It is unbe-FREAKING-lievable.

I’m not suggesting they screwed up and ran the “results” too soon. But I think it is a little troubling that someone invested the time to key in the data for the graphic to appear on the screen in the first place.

Don’t believe me, watch it here.

Can you imagine the uproar if the graphic had appeared showing Romney won on Fox News?

 

LIFEZILLA: “I feel like [I’m] an island of reality in an ocean of diarrhea.”

 

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Here, Let Me Give You a “Big Bird”

Posted on October 9, 2012 by | 11 comments

Here, Let Me Give You a “Big Bird”

 Two things.  First, a few weeks ago my beloved told me that I can sometimes sound “mean” in my articles.  In retrospect that might be true. I feel like this 90% of the time I write:

So I can see how it would come across that way.

Number two.  I had a friend write me and say that I come across “narcissistic” in my writing.  Pfffffff…Narcisa-What!?  I have two things to say to that: One,  I don’t have a narcissistic bone in my smokin’ hot body; and two, even if I were, do you know what is awesome about being a narcissist?  Me.

So…on to today’s article.

At the risk of repeating myself, I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to fully express how I feel about this.  It is maddening to me.

It seemed like it was just a few minutes after Mitt Romney got finished handing the President his…butt the other night at the first Presidential debate, that I received this picture in an email:

I chuckled.  It’s funny. The fact that the Obama campaign has turned this into the focal point of this election is NOT.  Honestly.  It is now in the realm of the ridiculous.

For those of you that may have missed it, Mitt Romney pointed out the government shouldn’t be borrowing from China to pay for things such as public broadcasting.  He even said he liked Big Bird.  And who couldn’t?  I love Big Bird.  I watched Sesame Street growing up.  (I’m still kinda angry no one told me how to get to Sesame Street.  Stupid song).  But here is a little secret.

SESAME STREET DOESN’T NEED THE TAX PAYERS MONEY!!!!

On CNN last Thursday (October 4th), Sesame Workshop Executive Vice President Sherri Westin said it was “misleading” to say that ending public funding for Sesame Street would hurt the program.  She said, “Quite frankly, you can debate whether or not there should be funding for public broadcasting. But when they always try to tout out Big Bird, and they say we’re going to kill Big Bird—that is actually misleading, because Sesame Street will be here…Big Bird lives on.”

And it’s true.  In 2010 Sesame Workshop former CEO Gary Knell received $988,456 in total compensation.  That’s almost a million bucks.  I don’t berate him a penny of it.  I wouldn’t care if he made $10 million.  I just don’t think the program needs a dime of the tax payer’s money.

Sesame Workshop’s 2011 financial statement showed the program made $46.9 million in licensing from June 2010-June 2011, and made $41.9 million in distribution fees and royalties.  Overall, Sesame Workshop showed more than $136 million in total operating revenues. At the end of June 2011, its net assets totaled $227 million.   Financial reports from 2003 – 2006, show ‘Sesame Street’ made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales.  From 2008 – 2011 they made $244.4 million in licensing alone.  In other words, they aren’t hurting.

So why is it the Obama Campaign released this commercial even though Sesame Street has asked it to be taken down?

I’ll tell you why.  No, I think the President’s own words will be more effective.  He said, “If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things.”

It looks like the President is following his own advice.  I guess if I didn’t have an idea on how to fix the economy, energy, Libya, out of control gas prices, or unemployment, I would be focusing on a big yellow talking bird as well.

According to Forbes we, the tax payers, spend $300 million on public broadcasting, which in the grand scheme of things is not a lot.  A fifty cent coupon in the grand scheme of my household budget isn’t a lot either.  But if I use a hundred of them, it’s fifty bucks.

Put a fork in it.  This bird is done.

 

LIFEZILLA:  Proudly read in many FINE, FINE establishments…and where you are.

 

 

 

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It Failed Because it was PASSED

Posted on September 19, 2012 by | 6 comments

It Failed Because it was PASSED

 The President and his minions have been running around blaming Republicans for everything.  This isn’t shocking; both sides do it.  The Democrats have essentially been saying, “Republicans and Democrats weren’t unified. We couldn’t get together. He didn’t get to finish all the things he wanted to do, etc, etc, bluh, Bluh, BLUH.” On September 14, 2012, future Vice President Paul Ryan was speaking at the “Values Voter Summit” in Washington and, I feel, he nailed it with the following line:

RYAN:  It is true that President Obama, he had a lot of problems not of his own making.  But he also came in with one-party rule and the chance to do everything of his own choosing.  The Obama economic agenda failed not because it was stopped, but because it was passed.

AUDIENCE: (applause and cheers)

RYAN: That’s a key distinction.

(I didn’t take the time to figure out how to shorten the clip, and just show the part I wanted, so here is a link to the entire speech.)

 

 

“WHOA, WHOA, WHOA,” my liberal friends scream, “look what Obama inherited.”

Well, look what Mitt Romney will inherit.

 

Seriously, look at those numbers.  Ask yourself: Are you really better off than you were four years ago?

Giving credit where credit is due, Obama isn’t all bad.  I think trying the soft hand approach when it comes to the Islamic countries, after Bush and Cheney, was the right thing to do.  At first.  It obviously didn’t work, yet he continues the policies.  I like the fact that the President is killing terrorists like it is his job.  I REALLY like the fact that he is using drones to do it.  Kudos to the President.  But at the number one issue–the economy–he is HORRIBLE.  Again, look at the numbers.

Do you wanna know the main difference between Clinton and Obama, from my little brain? During the first two years of the Clinton administration, he pushed a hard leftist social agenda.  It was rejected by the American people in the 1994 midterm elections when the Republicans took over the house for the first time in 40 years.  Almost the exact same thing happened with Obama.  What did Clinton do?  He worked with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  He went from a hard left President to a moderate.  Together they reached agreements on welfare reform, a capital gains tax cut, and a budget deal that led to four straight balanced budgets.  Under Obama’s leadership (or lack thereof) the senate hasn’t HAD a budget for almost four years!!

Obama ran as being a unifier. He has been a divider.  He is an ideologue; it is his way or the highway.  Come November, let’s send him packing.

It’s time for someone else to take the wheel.

“If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.”

–         President Barack Obama, February 2, 2009

 

LIFEZILLA: Seriously, I make crippling depression look good…

 

 

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Racism and the Mormon Church

Posted on March 28, 2012 by | 5 comments

Racism and the Mormon Church

 Before I launch into this I want to convey that this is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.  When I first started this site I thought I had a lot to say.  It turns out I don’t.  I thought I would easily crank out an article a day.  It turns out I’m more shallow than I previously supposed.  That’s more depressing than you would think.  Seriously, try diving head first into ankle deep water.

I have been kicking this around for the last few weeks.  What really got me thinking about it is the Travon Martin case that is being tried in the media. I’m not a lawyer and, as you know, not the brightest knife in the drawer (whaaaaa?) so I’m not going to throw all my “two cents” in about this situation.  But I did want to comment on the racial aspect of it.  What really got me is when Reuters, which is, apparently, a news organization, called George Zimmerman (the man who shot Travon Martin) a “white Hispanic.”   You read correctly, a “white Hispanic.”  Now, being as how I’m not a racist, it wouldn’t bother me if he was white, or Hispanic, but when they combined them both to make political hay, it kind of bothers me. Using their logic Reuters should call our President a “white black man.”

But none of this is the point of today’s article.

With the Republican convention getting closer, and with it looking like Mitt Romney is going to be the nominee, I thought I would be ahead of the curve and write about what I KNOW is going to rear its ugly head:  Racism and the Mormon church.  Well, dear reader, in what seems to be the theme of my life, I’m so far BEHIND I think I’m ahead. A two second Google search revealed it has already happened.  Soooo….in what may be considered a case book example of what happens when you let stupid people play with computers, I’m going to plow forward.  After all, I have been kicking it around for a few weeks.  I don’t want to waste all my research (and by ‘research’ I mean taking long showers thinking about it).

Apparently on Monday, March 12, 2012, “Black Clergy And Other Concerned Christians Ask Governor Mitt Romney To Renounce His Racist Religion” (eye roll).  Seriously, after all my research I don’t even know where to start.  I could go through and pick this article apart line by line.  And I’m half tempted too.  It is so full of mis-quotes and conjectures.  Sincerely, I feel like I could have eaten a box of “Alpha-bits” and crapped out a better article.  But I’ll just hit the highlights.

First of all, this article cites Brigham Young several times.  Brigham Young, who lived in the 1800’s, was quoted this year, 2012, as the authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I’m not a mathematician, but I can do some math in my head and he has been dead for, well, a really long time.  In another two second Google search I found the Church’s official statement on racism.  Among other things it states, “The Church unequivocally condemns racism, including any and all past racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church.” Is it just me, or would that include Brigham Young?  I think it would.

Now, going off on a little tangent here, anyone who knows anything about the church, any church, knows the leaders are flawed.  Even prophets from Adam on down have done questionable things (and by “questionable” I mean “ohmigosh-are-you-kidding-me?”) David, who was knee deep in women, couldn’t resist temptation.  Lot (who was the only man righteous enough to escape Sodom and Gomorrah) gets drunk and has sex with his daughters.  Jacob tricked his dad into giving him the birthright blessing, and now stands at the head of Israel.  The list goes on and on.  So the fact Brigham Young had some opinions that were WAAAAY off base, doesn’t surprise or bother me.  We, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taught to not blindly follow our leaders.  We are encouraged to question, and then ask God in prayer.  We are promised that if we ask with real intent, having faith in Christ, we will receive an answer to our prayers (Moroni 10:4-3).

Speaking of the “Book of Mormon” lets go back to the article.

They claim 2 Nephi 5:21-23 as “cursing African people and causing them to have black skin in order for them not to be attractive to white people.”  Well, that’s not true.  There aren’t any Africans at all in the “Book of Mormon.”  2 Nephi 5 describes two groups of Israelites who recently landed in the Americas, a dark skinned group who are known as “Lamanites” and a light skinned group known as “Nephites.”

Several times in the Book of Mormon the Lamanites are the more righteous people.  Before the birth of Christ the prophet Samuel risked his life standing upon a wall of a city calling the unrighteous Nephites to repentance.

PLUS, if you are going to cite 2 Nephi 5 (which, taken out of context, sounds bad) you really should include Jacob 3:9 which states, “Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins.”

Hmmmm….They failed to mention that one (it’s about 30 pages away from 2 Nephi chapter 5).

To add to the racial mix in The Book of Mormon, for 200 (plus) years after the coming of Christ there “were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.” (Book of Mormon, 4 Nephi 1:17) So marriage between the two groups was surely to happen.

At the end of the Book of Mormon a group of people break away and call themselves Lamanites, but that was not a racial division, it was cultural.  We are never told the color of their skin.

In the article Rev. O’Neal Dozier states, “The Book of Mormon degrade the Lamanites, which are the Native American Indians in the same way they do black African people.”  Well, that’s not true either.  It is true the Church has always considered Lamanites to be the ancestors of Native Americans, and as such they are members of the House of Israel.  The Church has never excluded them.

The article then goes into a tangent about Baptism for Dead (which… is…racist…how?) Citing someone who is “a former Mormon,” again, there is a stellar reference.  As far as I know, baptism for the dead is unique to the LDS faith, but it does have biblical references, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” 1 Corinthians 15:29

None of that matters to the article at hand.

The article concludes with, “Romney’s nomination would cause the erroneous view that has long existed in the minds of black people, that the Republican Party is prejudice to become a reality. Also, if Romney gets the nomination, President Obama’s super pacs will educate the American people about his racist religion and he will probably lose to Obama.”

This is crap.

I HATE IT when anyone takes it upon themselves to speak for a group, “erroneous view that has long existed in the minds of black people, that the Republican Party is prejudice.”  I’m not speaking for them, but I’m preeeeeeeety sure: the former head of the Republican Party Michael Steele; Supreme Court Judge Clearance Thomas; Congressman Allen West; and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would all disagree.

Which is worse, being bigoted against someone because of the color of their skin, or their beliefs?  Isn’t bigotry ugly in any form?  In my humble opinion, distorting the facts about someone’s faith, or beliefs to cause a division is ugly and at best intellectually dishonest.

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