We the People My “Bleeep”

The Rich Get Richer…In Congress

By Elizabeth MacDonald

Published November 18, 2010

FOXBusiness

Is this what was called ”Taking America Back?” Is this the “Right Track” for America that was mentioned during mid-term elections?  What kind of men destroy their own country, as if they’re in it, but not of it? Somebody stop this ride, I think I’m gonna  hurl, see you in 2012.

Those Bush tax cuts for the rich might matter a lot to 261 Congressmen.

That’s because they are millionaires, according to a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics, based on an analysis of 2009 financial disclosure forms.

That means about half of the members of Congress are millionaires, versus an estimated 7 million, or 5%, of US households, with an estimated net worth of $1 million or more, says the Spectrem Group, a Chicago consulting firm, which looked at federal data.

If you count just individuals, the percentage of the American population who are millionaires is estimated to be much lower, at 1% — raising concerns at the Congressional watchdog group that elected officials may be out of touch with the financial problems many Americans struggle with daily as unemployment hits levels not seen in two and a half decades. The report comes as Congress is debating whether to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest in a lame duck session.

Who are the richest? Once again, the same Republican who has topped prior such lists, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranked No. 1. Issa, who has argued strenuously for the Bush tax cuts to remain for the upper brackets, is estimated by the Center to have a personal wealth that surpasses $303.5 million. He earned much of his fortune from founding a car alarm company, Directed Electronics, and owns numerous investments.

Another Californian comes in second, Democrat Rep Jane Harman (D-Calif.) at $293.4 million. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) comes in third at $238.8 million.

Rep. Harman is married to Sidney Harman, former Undersecretary of the Department of Commerce in the Carter administration who is the founder of Harman International Industries, an international audio and infotainment equipment company. He also purchased Newsweek for a reported $1, and is now merging that with the Daily Beast.

Kerry is married to Teresa Heinz, heiress to the Heinz (HNZ) food fortune.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Rep. Vernon Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) round out the list of lawmakers who in 2009 recorded an average wealth of at least $100 million, the Center says.

Five Democrats and five Republicans comprise the 10 wealthiest in the House, the new report says. Six Democrats and four Republicans rounded out the top 10 in the Senate, the Center says.

General Electric (GE) had the most Congressional investors, the Center’s report says, with 82 elected officials holding stakes in the conglomerate, the recipient of numerous, lucrative federal contracts.

Bank of America (BAC) ranked second, with 63 members investing in the country’s biggest bank by assets, which also ranks among the top five companies that got the most taxpayer bailout help [READ THE FULL STORY]

Related Articles

• Congressional Members’ Personal Wealth Expands Despite Sour National Economy (gloucestercitynews.net)
• While Rome Burns, Congress Members Get Richer (yzerfonteinchronicles.blogspot.com)

America Needs A Hero, Her Name is Wisdom.

I’ve read a lot of information about America from diverse political and moral points of view; and to be honest I feel that I have been purposely lead to this information for its revelatory impact. I have never thought that America was a superior country, but from my first thoughts, I’ve believed that this country was under covenant blessing, especially as I studied history at the college level. But what I have been smacked in the face with, is that America is not the country I thought it was. I feel like I’m in the Matrix. We have our surface issues, and then there is another agenda at work in America, and I am forever changed.

My perception of my country has rounded a corner, the America I once knew, as flawed as it was, is different. This country has been a republic for two-hundred and thirty-four years. Two-hundred and thirty-four years of Republicans and Democrats and the American citizen and look where this country has ended up, nose deep in corruption and debt. America has never been an ideal and perfect place or country where everyone lives in harmony and everything is for the good of all.  The U.S has always been a land of segregation, struggle, injustice, deception and violence, with some righteousness mixed in. So what do the Tea Partiers want to take America back to? And what do the Democrats want to go forward to? I think Republicans, ultimately, will widen the gape between the wealthy and the poor. Mankind has been given the liberty to establish and govern ourselves; therefore the fault for our present state of affairs is our own. Man did not create this Earth, or the Universe in which it hangs, or its inhabitants. So to think that man will pull our country back from the brink of economic disaster is fruitless. If our leaders and bankers who govern this country really wanted something better for America, wouldn’t we have gone in that direction? The truth is we don’t make decisions based on wisdom, we make them based on GREED.

Americans are frustrated and fed up with our political system, because consistently, we have co-signed leadership that, collectively, fails to put the good of this country and its citizens first. Our political system lacks integrity. Politicians are doing what they do best when running for office; they say what they know the people want to hear. They use their kids and dogs in their ads; they say the right “buzz” words. They drop the right names, they roll up their blue sleeve shirts, they use the veterans, they kiss babies, and the country ends up trillions of dollars in debt, because they lack wisdom.

How does America manage to fall from the top of the leader board in Math and Science to 21 and 25 compared to students from 30 industrialized countries? How come 1.2 million students drop out of school every year; that is 6,000 students each day; and one student every 29 seconds; in a country that  boasts of many Ivy League and top quality educational institutions? A country that has Microsoft and FACEBOOK, modern technology and billionaires, can’t educate children, that’s right, because they don’t have wisdom. 

Suction Abortion 10 weeks

Salt Abortion 19 weeks

There are currently 1.3 million abortions performed each year in the United States. Now while the human fetus is in the womb it is legal to kill it, but once born if someone decides to kill the infant, that’s murder. Does that really make sense? Only to those who lack wisdom.

Wisdom is a deep understanding and realizing of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time and energy. Wisdom is the ability to optimally (effectively and efficiently) apply perceptions and knowledge and so produce the desired results. Wisdom is comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action. Synonyms include: sagacity, discernment, or insight. Wisdom often requires control of one’s emotional reactions (the “passions”) so that one’s principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one’s actions [Wikipedia]. Wisdom, therefore, has to be understanding, ability, perceptions, knowledge, judgement, right and wrong based on the Word of God, because true wisdom comes from outside of ourselves. This is the change that America needs.

James 1:5 NASB – But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

The Righteous Choice To Think America! pt2

I think there are hyper citizens, of the United States of America, that are responding first to the ethnicity of the President of the United States, that is their first outrage. The second outrage is that this Black Man made it into the oval office. If this “movement” is purely about health care than why are they using images of an African witch doctor, and talking about communism, and socialism and other words like secession.  This is clearly not about health care at all. This rhetoric sounds like a group of white people who are fearful of retrobution by the descendants of former slaves.

I will be honest with you. All of this has me very concerned.  What this man had to say about our president is disturbing. Where are we headed as a democratic nation of people? If segments of our society incite fear along racial lines, while toting guns and calling for the death of our president; then we are setting this nation up to implode. We are now surrounded by countries that are nuclear capable, that hate America, and can infiltrate our borders and breach our securities at anytime apparently, and cause catastrophic devastation on our soil. We are now in a vulnerable situation with our economic recession, and inward turmoil will only make us easy prey for those who want to destroy this country. I read, that to overtake a strong man, you must first bind that strong man, and then spoil his goods. We are in tremendous debt, we have outsourced so many of our jobs, our unemployment rate is at an all time high, we have millions without health care, not to mention the increased need to feed our hungry and house our homeless. I simply feel that hysterics is not the way to go.  We need to carefully assess the language of that health care plan, because taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for abortions, or any other agenda that might be hidden in the fine print. I am of the belief that if objections  like that are not clearly articulated in the plan than tax dollars will fund abortions as a “ necessary” procedure. I don’t want the government making to many decisions about our lives either. But we don’t want to voluntarily make health care affordable. Those who want to make a lot of  money and live the ultra rich lifestyle, should, but not to hurt and demise of others. Perhaps all of ” Corporate America” needs to take the hippocratic oath.