I apologize in advance if this column bores many people to sleep. Although Tip O’Neill said that “all politics is local,” arguing about potholes is not as exciting as the War on Terror. However, to get to our destinations in life, those potholes occasionally develop accidental relevance.
I received a letter in the mail the other day from the American Jewish University, formerly known as the University of Judaism. Although I graduated from the UJ in only four years, it took me about a decade to get my diploma, since they sent it around the country rather than around the block where I had my actual physical address.
This was the first time in 17 years that I had received a piece of mail from the UJ (now AJU), and it was a letter announcing that the AJU Alumni Association actually existed. More importantly, it actually was going to do things.
The head of the steering committee, a Brian David Goldberg, attended the college with me. He was as political as I was, and I figured one day he would be a senator, or perhaps the head of a powerful congressional committee. He is now the chairman of the college alumni association steering committee. In all fairness, it is tough to plan life at age 18. I knew what I wanted in life, and went out and got it, but not everybody does. Sometimes that can be a blessing.
This guy and I were not best buddies by a long shot, but the guy I knew was tenacious, hard nosed, and ambitious. He seems determined to turn the AJUAA from the joke it is into an actual real organization.
I bring this to the world because the UJ I attended was a classic example of how to not thrive as an organization. They have a very competent President in Robert Wexler (not the democratic congressman from Florida) and an equally capable head of the business department in Mark Bookman. Unfortunately, those two men are overrun by a business model that simply does not work. Like many Jewish institutions, it is liberal, aka socialistic. My memories of Brian Goldberg are that he has a capitalist streak in him. If he does, his venture to turn around the AJUAA may succeed. If he goes about it as a typical Jewish nonprofit, he will fail. Here is my letter to him.
“Brian,
It seems like only yesterday you and I were throwing punches at each other in class…warm fuzzy memories indeed. Ok, enough reminiscing. Let’s get down to brass tacks. It isn’t your fault that it took 13 years to get an alumni letter to an alumni living a few blocks away, but you have a big task ahead of you. I have created successful ventures from scratch, and you are basically trying to start something out of nothing.
I have always said that the UJ was academically outstanding, socially limiting, and philosophically bankrupt. The education was fine, and comparable to any accredited institution. The problem is that if the UJ had an actual mission statement, I never knew what it was. I donate to Chabad and to Hillel because I can figure out what their actual purpose is, and that they actually have a battle plan to implement it.
Is the purpose of the AJUAA to organize social functions? I am sure you are not dedicating time for sock hops and ice cream socials. So let’s assume that the entire reason this organization is rising from the grave is to make money. If the reasons are not financial, then it is a complete and utter waste and should be taken out back ‘Old Yeller Style.’
The University’s business plan has always been to hope that rich Jewish people die and leave a donation. This allowed the UJ to survive, but not thrive. It was losing money every year, and every attempt to get rid of dead weight in the budget failed because of sentimental attachments to various individuals that refused to exit the stage gracefully. Former Chairman Jack Ostrow (rest his soul) once said, ‘It’s better to have people question why you are leaving than when you are leaving.’
I bring this up because of the sentence in your letter that states, ‘The administration has decided that the Alumni Association is going to be decentralized.’ To me this reads, and please correct me if I am wrong, that the administration is saying, ‘Screw yourself, you’re on your own, we do not have the time or resources to back a losing venture that has never amounted to anything.’ Is anybody advocating that the University back the AJUAA to the hilt to give it a fighting chance? If you can make this thing succeed it will be impressive, but I wish it had more support.
Anybody can armchair quarterback, so here are some suggestions.
First of all, having steering committee meetings at 7:30am is fabulous if the goal is to limit turnout, which is ideal for National Security Council meetings. People work during the day, which makes evening meetings a more sensible option. I would avoid Monday nights during football season, but that is my personal bias…no matter. Anyway, those issues are cosmetic. The serious issues are financial.
Does the AJU have an annual fund? I received my MBA from USC, and frequently receive calls from their annual fund. Heck, the UCLA annual fund calls me, and I took one extension class there back in 1994! Setting up an internship program where college students get college credit for cold-calling alumni and other individuals could work. Work study programs put UJ students in the library and the computer center. Put them on a telephone and have them dial for dollars. For the students there on scholarships, it is the very least they can do.
Next, if you have a budget greater than zero, hire an administrative assistant. Secretaries are worth their wait in gold, and most high flying executives would be lost without their secretaries. It is impossible to focus on making money when bogged down in paperwork. Every lost phone message is lost revenue.
Next, train the people to understand that all money is good. Be apolitical at all costs. The UJ was always to the left of Leon Trotsky ideologically. It is one thing to have socialists running the political science department. It is another to have them anywhere near anything involving money. I called up a few years ago to get copies of my college transcripts. The registrar Jill L. (very pleasant woman) no longer worked there. When I jokingly explained to her replacement that I wished my grades were better, she replied, ‘Well President Bush is an idiot with low grades, and he did fine.’
Are you kidding me? I explained to her that in a very divided country, to bring up politics with a total stranger on the telephone was not only inappropriate, it was bad for business. On more than one occasion, the University of Socialism has held up a ‘republicans need not apply’ sign. Some of the biggest contributors to Jewish institutions are people who love Israel, and many of them are Israelis, Persian Jews, and evangelical Christians. Many of these people are republicans. The AJU might as well just take hundred dollar bills out and burn them.
Oh, wait a sec, we already did that. Michael Milken offered the UJ 6 million dollars, and we turned it down. Last time I checked, he was not a drug lord or a mad dog killer. He was simply a brilliant businessman who made his money in the 1980s. Profits are not the same as greed, and the Milken High School across the street is thriving thanks to him.
UJ students know who Noam Chomsky and Che Guevara are, but they don’t know who Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol or John Podhoretz are. They are Jewish intellectuals. Dianne Feinstein and Gray Davis were invited to the university. What about Bruce Herschenson, Norm Coleman, Eric Cantor and other powerful respected individuals who would be thrilled with an invitation? How about Dr. Thomas Sowell, who could teach economics better than anyone on Earth now that Milton Friedman is gone?
I talk to UJ students currently attending from time to time, and the UJ seems cut off from anybody that is politically to the right of Barbara Boxer. This is bad for business.
Brian, you may think this is irrelevant to what you are trying to do, but think about it. If the parent company has a track record of failure (failure is a harsh word, but it has not reached its potential by a long shot), then the subsidiary will most likely fail.
You need to rapidly find alumni who are going to get in front of students and give them lessons they simply will not learn in the classroom. Here are some quick lessons.
There are no ugly billionaires. There is nothing noble or romantic about being poor and struggling. Rich people give more to charity than poor people because they can. The secret to life is to find rich and powerful people and get them to like you. Rich and important people never get tired of hearing how rich and important they are. If I thought it would help me get to the top, I would find these people and kiss their hides in Macy’s window. I would pull at their trousers and ask them where they want to be kissed. I didn’t do it because I liked it. I did it because it worked. Promote yourself shamelessly and relentlessly. Nobody achieved wealth and power by being too shy to tell the world how fabulous they were. Don’t become schoolteachers or social workers under any circumstances unless you love financial mediocrity. Become investment bankers, stockbrokers, and lawyers. Not legal aid lawyers mind you, but corporate hired guns willing to defend tobacco, gun, and food and beverage companies.
Also, and this may seem trivial, but either have a Halloween dance or don’t, but having a ‘Hal Levine’ dance is what I mean by being philosophically bankrupt. When I look in the mirror, I know exactly who and what I am, and the AJU must do the same.
The Golden Rule is that he who has the gold makes the rules. I did not make these rules up, but again, they work.
I know you know all this, but it genuinely bothers me that USC could track me down on business in Singapore (to ask for money of course) while the UJ takes 15 years to build a rec center because the left hand doesn’t know what the far left hand is doing.
You have a big task ahead of you. Many of the students who graduated from the UJ have feelings towards the institution ranging from outright contempt to complete neutral detachment. I personally want your venture to succeed because a stronger alumni network puts more money in my pocket.
Lastly, anybody can offer criticism and suggestions without offering help. I don’t open my checkbook to losing venture, and like any VC guy, I want to see a solid business plan and a track record of success. Otherwise, it’s a waste of money.
I am willing to help in the form of free advertising. I frequently promote www.chabad.org and www.uschillel.org when they need my help. My blog is currently the # 4 political blog in Los Angeles (check http://krla870.townhall.com for verification), and I only started this 6 months ago. Send me a link to the AJUAA site, assuming one even exists, and I will add it to my site. If anybody who is a UJ alum wants me to promote something important to them, I am happy to do it provided it is not politically left wing. Let them screw up society without my help.
I back winners. Create one, and I will back you.
If you are wondering how I could have the time to write this lengthy letter, it is simple. This is my column for the day. The Tygrrrr Express can be found at http://www.blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com and supported at http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/21020.
I am never going to be warm and fuzzy, but I am pretty d@mn effective. So either use me as a resource or don’t. Either way, good luck. You’ll need it, and it is deserved.
I wish AJU and AJUAA a peaceful Yom Kippur and a productive year.
Eric”
I will leave my readers with the wisdom of two brilliant people. The first is my late grandfather, who was an Orthodox Rabbi and a businessman. He told me once that he wanted me to be successful by following in his footsteps. I told him that I did not wish to be a Rabbi. He replied, “I don’t want you to be a Rabbi. I want you to be a businessman. Never send a Rabbi to do a businessman’s job.”
The other person who helped me along was a man named Norman Lee. Before the incredibly long “College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Judaism,” existed, the undergraduate program was simply Lee College. Norman Lee gave me a merit scholarship. Boy did he understand merit. He told me, “Never be ashamed of making money. As long as you live life the right way, and you live an honest, ethical life, and you make sure to give back, make as much money as possible so you can help more people. People say wealth will not make you happy, but it absolutely can contribute to a blissfully happy life.”
Then he smiled, and in his aristocratic British accent, with his wife Sadie by his side, said one thing I will never forget.
“Eric…I’m rich…and I’m happy!”
Lord I miss that man. I hope the University of Socialism lets me spread his message to every student that passes through those doors, along with a lecture in Reaganomics.
eric
Check out the Mises Institute at Auburn, Alabama.
(www.mises.org) The Mises school is growing rapidly, even in California, though not in Washington, DC.
I almost flunked an economics class at the University of Maryland because I refused to accept Keynesian economics (socialism) when the world of economics called him Lord – secular and religious.
He destroyed Great Britain, and it took until 1989 for Russia to admit failure. China was faster, only 30 years from 1949 until Chairman Deng started his “free market society in 1979. Old socialists have a hard time proving that socialism is good. Just the politicians continue to practice it, as long as they can fill their pockets at the public trough.
Al Hodges
Retire Professor
El Cajon, CA
Professor Hodges, I worked for the Chinese for a decade. 90% of the Chinese economy is controlled by the government to this day.
And I’m sorry, but I have to say this: To deny the place of socialism, along side capitalism, in a functional and fair society is to deny your own heritage. Without socialism, there would be no remnant of Judaism today.
JMJ
Great write. I’m all about business, and it gets me giddy to see people who understand that being wealthy is in no way a morality issue…
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run – Web Reconnaissance for 09/21/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
[…] The University of Socialism « THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS The University of Socialism « THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS […]
Socialism, leveling the playing field for those who can’t hack it. The only thing Socialism is good for is making 1% of the population elitists (Party Bosses in USSR for example) and making sure that the rest of the population is equal, equally miserable that is. USSR, Cuba, Chad, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, China, South Africa, Venuezuela, etc, etc, etc
Trying the SAME OLD THING and when it fails (see above) liberals are surprised.
DUH!
All,
Check out the Left, aiding terrorists…again.
http://noliberalspin.townhall.com/g/63e45818-3d90-4580-bb94-f6b43172e1d0
Gunny, it’s not about “leveling the playing field.” It’s not about totalitarian communism. Socialism is about working together, as a society, to accomplish universally common goals and provide univerally utilitous services. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
I was at first so taken aback by Eric’s post, that I wasn’t going to comment. Statements like “There are no ugly billionaires,” or “(Michael Milken) was simply a brilliant businessman who made his money in the 1980s,” are so far-out that it’s hard to address them. But when a professor chimed in echo, that drew me in.
A few points to ponder:
If instead of the Diaspora working together in tight communities for their common good they chose to all just individually do their own things, there migt well be no indentified Jews remaining today, let alone Israel.
Most of the great socialist thinkers were Jewish. Through a confluence of their Jewish identity, understanding and witness of Jewish history, abuse by the surrounding Christian societies, the dictation of their work into “UnChristian” trades and professions, and the wonderful Jewish tradition of secular educational upliftment, these great thinkers were able to deduce better ways to organize societies. Socialism and capitalism and democracy, together, they concluded, was the key to prosperity and progress.
The Israeli military, perhaps the finest on Earth per soldier, is a perfect example of socialism in working action. If instead Israel privatized and contracted out their military, Israel might well not be here today.
JMJ
And Gunny, it’s a shame you post on Townhall, a site that lacks the juevos to have open commentary.
JMJ
Jersey.
Again, WTF are you babbling about?
Not only does TH allow OPEN commentary, they allow LIBERAL BLOGGING on their site.
Let’s make a 100.00 bet. We’ll go on Dummycrats Underground. I’ll get my login and you get your’s. I’ll start making PRO Bush comments and we’ll see how far my posts are wiped and I’m banned.
Please, get your facts STRAIGHT before you post. It’s gets VERY TIRESOME rebutting your posts.
Town Hall is indeed an open forum. To say it isn’t is an outright lie.
About your post, Eric, you certainly know a lot more about business than I do. What I know could be written on the head of a pin with room left over. I hope they take your advice because, ignorant as I may be on the subject, it seems like sound advice to me.
Here’s wishing you a great weekend! :)
They kicked me out already, Gunny, and they require registration.
JMJ
Jersey,
“they require registration.”
Gee, so does Dummycrats Underground!
You only get blasted if you use profanity or personally attack someone. Again, something absent on Dummycrats Underground.
Jersey,
“they require registration.”
Gee, so does Dummycrats Underground!
You only get blasted if you use profanity or personally attack someone. Again, something absent on Dummycrats Underground.
Gunny, I’m not a Democrat, don’t like the DU, and don’t post there. I don’t post on Moveon either. Maintsream Partisan Shill Pseudoblogs are not for me. Blogs should be for regular folks like you and me and eric and my good friend SteveO at BRINGITON.ORG.
JMJ
JMJ said;
“And Gunny, it’s a shame you post on Townhall, a site that lacks the juevos to have open commentary.”
JMJ also said;
“They kicked me out already, Gunny, and they require registration.”
If they dont have open commentary, how come they kicked you out ?
I meant simply that you have to register and they are cowardly punks, averse to debate.
JMJ
Have to register ?
Makes them cowardly punks ?
Yes.
JMJ
Explain to me why ?
I registerd at the KOs and H. post, and here at Erics.
I don’t recall. I must’ve upset someone. I blog a lot.
JMJ
Why does having to register have to do with being cowardly punks, I dont get it.
I dont doubt you that you upset someone.
Micky, given how quick you are to upset, that doesn’t surprise me. I stand by what I said about “Townhall.” And of all the ironic monikers I’ve ever heard, “Townhall” is truly the sleaziest.
JMJ
You still dont explain why.
You just say” It is because I say so”
Why does having to register make them cowards and punks ?
I asked a legitimate question with no hostility attached.
My blog requires registration, am I a coward and a punk ?
Now if you want to talk punks and cowards, I registerd at Huffington and put up Erics letter from Osama to them, they took it down. I had to do it in 350 word sections, because they have a word limit.
Taking down the post makes them cowards and punks, not me having to register.
Jersey,
I gotta say it. You’re a typical puffed up, arrogant, stuffed-shirt, elitist liberal who couldn’t hold his own at a 5th grade debate much less on TH.
For example, I’m an intel analyst by trade and I’m TRAINED to remember sh*t. I busted out a libturd posting under two names and sent that idiot packing. I don’t like to brag about my bona-fides by I’ve been into history since a kid and have my BA in History and my MA is in Sec/MgMent with an AT background.
Thus, I LOVE it when you libs show up on TH with your revisionist history pablum. I eat you people alive. I’ve got archives of factual CREDIBLE links and not the “feelings” of how it SHOULD BE! And THAT is the difference between US and YOU. We live in the REAL world, you libs live in a frigging mental UTOPIA.
Last night, some libturd showed up yammering about the 2d Amendment and one of the TH’ers, a conservative lawyer who has been working in the area for almost 30 years F*CKING flambé the moron.
So please, show up and post, we’re ALWAYS looking for new targets.
PS: Never tell me that you’re not a liberal. You are through and through. I myself, am PROUD to be a STAUNCH RIGHT-WINGER and able to take the fight to the LEFT.
Micky2,
Come on brother, you KNOW the left hates freedom of speech. ANYONE who strays from the party line must suffer. Ex: Lieberman.
Soros has bought and paid for the DNC and everyone in it. The vote the other day confirmed that moveon.org OWNS them lock, stock, and barrel.
PS: Oblahma’s solution to the Social Security BS? Raise taxes. How original. Only a STUPID frigging liberal would keep throwing money at a fund that returns LESS THAN 1%! MY TSP (government fund) returns, on AVERAGE 7-9%.
Liberals, proving again and gain that they try the same stupid sh*t, expecting a different result, and are amazed when they get the SAME RESULT as the previous hundred times.
Gunny, for such an educated man, that was one heck of an empty ad hom diatribe.
Micky, if you can’t open your blog to all, then you don’t deserve to blog at all. You certainly can, of course, and I’d be last person to say that you can not, or to try to stop you, but IMHO a blogger who can truly back up his stand shouldn’t be afraid to take on all. I do.
JMJ
Well Gunny, you know what the description of insanity is.
JMJ , My blog is open to all. With the same requirements as Erics.
Whats the big deal ?
Asking you for your blog name and e mail qualifies me to be undeserving of a blog ?
Who the hell are you to say who deserves what ?
And makes me a punk and a coward.
You are a peice of work , you know that?
By the way, you still havnt made any clear, concise or factual rebutals to any of my claims or questions. Everything is just opinion or so because you say so,
Jersey said;
“Gunny, for such an educated man, that was one heck of an empty ad hom diatribe.”
Tell him why you think this ! Be real ! Dont just blurt it out there ! Why was it empty ?
Any fool can run around and mock and critisize others statements. Give an example, reason or something to explain your opinion.
Since when do any of us qualify to be the deciding factor on what is the best blog or not?
You are a repeat offender. On another post just recently you apologized for what you are doing this vey minute.
Here, take a look.
You said;
“Micky, you’re right! I did impose my personal opinion on Microdrive. I was wrong for that. As an atheist, Micky and Cody, I should put aside my Catholic point of Christian view, lest I be a hypocrite. My sincere apologies. In the future, I will try to put my theo-intellectual biases aside. This is America, after all. We Americans should appreciate and abide our fellow American’s theological perspectives. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
For some reason you have this fantasy that your opinion is the best and final word of all knowledge.
You gotta knock that crap off already.
You also apologized for making things personal , and then a day later bring my unborn grandkids in as some reafirmation of your opinion
Jersey,
If I’m wrong DEBATE IT! Otherwise, you’re just Hanoi John refusing to sign the SF 180!
PS: My blog is OPEN to comments. bring it.
Micky2,
Nice pin back of his ears.
“Tell him why you think this ! Be real ! Dont just blurt it out there ! Why was it empty ?”
Micky, did you read it? It was all ad hom and no debate at all.
And all I was saying is that if you have to REGISTER on a blog, then it’s not really a blog. It’s an exclusive club. I am the type of person who would never belong to such a club, and personally find them offensive.
And when you (The GOP and their supporters) practically double the US debt in all of years, start a war and don’t even pay for it and stick it with the reserves, then yes, YOU are putting the bill on future generations. If you want to have wars and tax cuts and no-bid government contracts, then you should figure out a way to expense all that, lest you just put the bill on your kids, just as this failed president is going to put his war on the next president.
Gunny and Micky, you guys are a couple of wierd characters sometimes. Don’t get me wrong – it is entertaining, and sometimes quite thoughtful – but man ‘o man you guys have one setting, and it’s always attack.
I read a great quote in The Nation today. It’s from Ryszard Kapuscinski, the late, great Polish journalist/novelist, referring to what he saw as the “three contagions” of nationalism, racism and religious fundamentalism:
“All three share one trait, a common denominator – an aggressive, all-powerful, total irrationality. Anyone stricken with one of these plagues is beyond reason. In his head burns a sacred pyre that awaits only it’s sacrificial victims. Every attempt at calm conversation will fail… A mind touched by such a contagion is a closed mind, one-dimensional. monothematic, spinning round one subject only – it’s enemy. Thinking about our enemy sustains us, allows us to exist.”
His was a great mind. Though I accuse neither of you of the second “contagion,” certainly the first and third come to mind. It’s ironic that those you believe are your enemies share these same contagions. And it’s befitting that those you do not understand lack these contagions. Please try to understand that I am not a nationalist and not religious (and, I comfortably presume like you both, not racist). This is where we are not meeting minds but rather fighting each other instead of our debates.
JMJ
Jersey said;
“And all I was saying is that if you have to REGISTER on a blog, then it’s not really a blog. It’s an exclusive club. I am the type of person who would never belong to such a club, and personally find them offensive.”
You are changing your story again because you dont want to answer the question.
First of all, That is not ” ALL ” you said.
You said that the blogs that require registration are punks and cowards.
NOW…I’ll ask you again ,And I’ll be very precise.
Are Eric and I punks and cowards because we wnt you to register your e mail adress and blog name? It is registration no matter how you spin it.
If you envision these blogs as exclusive clubs, then you certainly cant approve of unions. Unions after all are exclusive by a host of requirements and means. And I can quote you on several posts where you defend them vigorously.
JMJ said;
“And when you (The GOP and their supporters) practically double the US debt in all of years, start a war and don’t even pay for it and stick it with the reserves, then yes, YOU are putting the bill on future generations.”
Do really think that the contractors and suppliers in this war are taking post dated checks ?
I have proof that you are wrong.
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1731&issue_id=18
42% of Your Taxes Pay for War
Updated: 3/12/2007 Posted: 3/1/2006
42 Percent
That is the percentage of your federal income taxes that went to pay for past wars and the military in fiscal year 2005 (FY05), the year for which we are now filing our income tax returns.
“”FCNL estimates the U.S. spent $783 billion in FY05 for past and present military activities. “”This includes funding for the Defense Department, Energy Department nuclear weapons programs, military-related activities of other agencies, foreign military financing and training, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mandatory spending for military retirement and health care, veterans programs ($69 billion), and the estimated portion of interest paid on the national debt which can be attributed to past wars and military spending ($170 billion).
The time period leading up to April 15, when federal tax forms and payments are due, is an excellent time to raise questions about federal government spending priorities with other people in your community and your members of Congress. Please start by forwarding this email to five of your friends who pay taxes. Find out more about the federal budget.
How We Arrive At this NumberFCNL makes this annual computation of the percentage of our tax dollars that go to the military based on an analysis of federal government spending that is paid for with general revenues from individual and corporate income taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties and other sources. In the language of the federal budget, these expenditures are categorized as “federal funds outlays.” In FY05, federal funds outlays totaled $1,865 billion.
The federal funds budget includes spending for all discretionary programs (for which Congress appropriates funds each year) and for all mandatory programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, earned income tax credit, and other programs and services for which benefits are provided to all who meet certain eligibility requirements established by law.
The federal funds budget does not include revenues or expenditures for trust funds. Social Security and Medicare trust fund revenues come from separate, dedicated payroll taxes–not income taxes, and benefits are paid from the trust funds, not general revenues.
These calculations are based on figures in the White House Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2007.
JMJ said;
“Gunny and Micky, you guys are a couple of wierd characters sometimes. Don’t get me wrong – it is entertaining, and sometimes quite thoughtful – but man ‘o man you guys have one setting, and it’s always attack.”
We attack BS
You have little attcking to do because we speak facts
As far as finding great literal geniuses goes that doesnt really confirm or prove any of your claims.
Once again you rely on opinion to try and win your case. What s worse is that its someone elses opinion of what you percieve Gunny and I to be,
So far all you have done is make statements and claims that are either false or have no merit.
You have yet to answer one question with any logical conviction, point , clarity, or fact.
Gunny and Micky, you guys are a couple of wierd characters sometimes. Don’t get me wrong – it is entertaining, and sometimes quite thoughtful – but man ‘o man you guys have one setting, and it’s always attack.
Gee Jersey, could it be that we’re always UNDER attack from the LEFT that makes us so combative?
Micky, be honest. I did say REGISTER. Read where it first came up.
I meant exactly just that. Why is it that so many conservatves get so hung up on petty things like this? I said, “I meant simply that you have to register and they are cowardly punks, averse to debate.” That’s it. Get over it. I stand by it. I think Townhall is a sleazy site. They should just call it GOPLapDogs.com
“42% of Your Taxes Pay for War.” That’s not true even if you squeeze in the entire MIC governmental spending and/or narrowly define the revenues as coming only from net income tax revenues and not FICA or any other type of tax fee or tariff. Military expenditures have averaged about 1/5th of government spending for years. It remains true today. Therefore, what you are saying is simply and plainly wrong. Look it up. And I never said “the contractors and suppliers in this war are taking post dated checks.” That’s ridiculous and (hopefully not) unscrupulous inference. What I’m saying is that were are borrowing the money to pay them as opposed to paying for them with current tax revenues. Please, God, try to get what I’m saying.
Gunny, you have to learn the difference between “attack” and “critique.” We on the Left are getting very tired of the incessant failures and corruption of the Right in power. We are simply telling you that.
JMJ
Its all opinion Jersey , you prove nothing and say nothing.
Once again you failed to answer anything with proof or references or documentation.
I have impecable sources. You have nothing.
Your dancing and dodging.
See ya !
If you’re truly an educated man, then you know I’m telling the truth. Rather than rationizing what I want to believe, I only believe what is first proven to me.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus23sep23,1,5219922.column?coll=la-utilities-business
“… The country’s debt burden was $5.7 trillion when Bush took office. Thanks primarily to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts, the debt has risen about 58% over the last six years.
…
Meanwhile, we’re increasingly relying on foreign powers to keep us afloat. About half of the government’s debt is to itself, such as emptying the Social Security trust fund and leaving an IOU for future generations.
The other half is in the form of publicly offered U.S. Treasuries. Of this amount, we’ve borrowed about $611 billion from Japan and $408 billion from China. Other major creditors include oil-exporting nations like Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.”
Nice bunch.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0116/p01s01-usfp.html
“… Unlike in previous major wars, the United States has cut taxes at the same time it has increased military spending. “It’s fair to say all of the money spent on the war has been borrowed,” says Richard Kogan, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank in Washington. “But eventually everything has to be paid for. …”
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul126.html
“Even the White House concedes this spending will swell the single-year budget deficit to a record $525 billion. This is money the Treasury simply does not have, which means it must be borrowed, printed, or raised through taxes. None of these options are good for the American economy. It is especially sobering to consider just how much we eventually might spend in Iraq given our open-ended mission to rebuild it. A decade in Iraq easily could cost American taxpayers one trillion dollars and cause endless budget deficits.” – Ron Paul back in 2003
The closet thing I could find to your tax/spend military stat is one narrowly focused on net federal income tax revenue alone – that is; no FICA or any other kind of tax, and you have to add FUTURE spending to that to get the figure…
http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm
“In Michigan and around the United States, nearly 40 cents on every dollar goes to pay for future and past military expenses, while social spending on issues such as education, housing, and nutrition receive pennies.”
This, though, also negates the shell game of the general coffers and the borrowing mentioned above. Direct allocations change from year to year, budget bill to budget bill. Now, with “Pay-Go,” this will be especially true and easy to see.
Enough facts for ya’??????????????????
For an educated man, you sure don’t seem to follow current events. It took me all of about 10 minutes to find these sources. Really, it’s not that hard.
JMJ
NOPE.
we still pay 45% of our taxes into the war right now.
All far left looney websites JNJ, I went to each one. Its not that hard to pull a bunch of anti war websites.
RON PAUL? PLEASE!
Sorry if the posts are short but my posts keep getting shot out to nowhere.
War resisters?
lewrockwell is ron paul
These guys make my point, notice they say “IS”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0116/p01s01-usfp.html
The US is spending about $10 billion a month on Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end of this year, the total funds appropriated will be nearly $600 billion – approaching the amount spent on the Vietnam or Korean wars, when adjusted for inflation.
L.A. Times has almost no credibility anymore.
You should really find sources that dont hold grudges against Bush.
As far as the future goes , WE TODAY my son and I are paying for Clinton and Carters screw ups.
And now the loony left wants us to pay for G. warming with no concrete evidence one way or the other.
As least todays threat is real.
I still stand by the FACT that we are spending 45% of our taxes on the war today.
Your claim is only still opinion and speculation,.
Face it ! You cant prove the future !
Still… accusations… no proof.
JMJ said;
“If you’re truly an educated man, then you know I’m telling the truth. Rather than rationizing what I want to believe, I only believe what is first proven to me.”
First of all “knowing that you are telling the truth” is only possible if you can gaurantee and prove your claim that we are putting off the war debt on our kids.
Do you have a crystal ball ?
Also you said you believe what is proven to you.
You some how confuse proof with predictions.
You said;
:The country’s debt burden was $5.7 trillion when Bush took office. Thanks primarily to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts, the debt has risen about 58% over the last six years”
War cost money. But since you dont understand or approve of the the war, why explain the reason for the cost ?
After the first gulf war Clinton racked up a surplus. How was this done if we owed money on the first gulf war ? First of all Clinton invested practically nothing on defense or pro active defense. As a matter of fact he let OBL go twice.
We do have an economy capable of balancing our budget after wars , its been done after every war we went into hock for.
Micky, face reality. I have little problem with conservatism, but I do have a problem with those who pretend to be conservative. At what point will you realize that those whom you believed were conservative were not? You just discounted Ron Paul and the CSM. Please, tell me what the heck you really believe, because I haven’t a clue.
JMJ
JMJ said;
“Meanwhile, we’re increasingly relying on foreign powers to keep us afloat. About half of the government’s debt is to itself, such as emptying the Social Security trust fund and leaving an IOU for future generations.
Bush proposed privatization of the SS program because he saw this happenening before he took office. This problem is not his fault. We can put that one on the administrations previous to Kennedy. ( you know baby boomers ?)
You quoted;
“It’s fair to say all of the money spent on the war has been borrowed,” says Richard Kogan, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank in Washington. “But eventually everything has to be paid for. …”
A think tank ? ( I have one of those)
“But eventually everything has to be paid for” ( is this guy the genius in this think tank?)
You quoted Ron Paul;
“A decade in Iraq easily could cost American taxpayers one trillion dollars and cause endless budget deficits.” – Ron Paul back in 2003”
Once again, so what ? What would you expect anyone to say ? War cost money!
( But notice he says “could”) theres that speculation again.
You said;
The closet thing I could find to your tax/spend military stat is one narrowly focused on net federal income tax revenue alone – that is; no FICA or any other kind of tax, and you have to add FUTURE spending to that to get the figure…
This doesnt change the fact that I am right. You said it wasnt even true.
Well the numbers dont lie because they are drawn on proof positive historical records.
2005 thru 2007.
Your numbers are a guessing game.
You quoted;
“In Michigan and around the United States, nearly 40 cents on every dollar goes to pay for future and past military expenses, while social spending on issues such as education, housing, and nutrition receive pennies.”
So if 40 cents out of every dollar goes to future wars, we must be able to afford this one, right ? the last three issues are not threats to human life.
AROUND the united states ? what the hell is that supposed to mean ?
Here and there ? LOL
Not only did you misquote, but you completely misunderstood.
Micky, you are officially outmatched. Try again tomorrow, when your head is fresh.
JMJ
If you intend to convince me or anyone of your veiws and beliefs you really should try and find more nuetral references.
The sites you use will back up your suspicions because that is most likely where you got your talking points from.
Ron Paul is defined by most as a libertarian, left of the right.
Whatever the case, hes an idiot who blames his country for the war and radical islamists actions. This fruitcake almost threw a hissy fit at the last debate.
He seriously lacks composure. I dont want him anywhere near the big red button. YIKES!
AND ONCE AGAIN, KNOCK IT OFF !! I DID NOT DISCOUNT THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR !
AS A MATTER OF FAT IF YOU READ IT CORRECTLY I SAID THAT THEY MAKE MY POINT FOR ME !
You just cant win JMJ , only because your positions are always based on opinions and when you cant win with that you mis construe and put words in my mouth.
You lost this one.
You cant prove something that hasnt happened yet. And you have weaseled your way out of every question by playing word games and semantics.
On this other post which for some reason you wont approach anymore , I made this abundanly clear.
http://blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/to-moveonorg-with-luv-osama/#comments
Your whole platform is based on hate and contempt.
You never really get to see the other side of me or quite a few other opponents because you only give them subject to expose one side of themselves.
We dont only attack !
But all the things you say leave us no choice
I blog at alot of liberal websites, and I can confidently say that you do not represent the mainstream liberlals.
WE debate, come to conclusions on the REAL fault at hand and then approach solutions.
This is impossible to do with you.
JMJ said;
“Not only did you misquote, but you completely misunderstood.
Micky, you are officially outmatched. Try again tomorrow, when your head is fresh.
JMJ”
Just cause you say something jersey, doesnt make it true, okaaaaaaaaay.
Show me my misquotes.
HA! you get shot down and all of a sudden its OH! you misquoted, you misunderstood.
I look back on all the threads and you do this to everyone! You start accusing them of misquoting and not understanding.
I’ve read all these threads today, and its absolutly true !
What a joke.
Jersey,
Gunny, you have to learn the difference between “attack” and “critique.” We on the Left are getting very tired of the incessant failures and corruption of the Right in power. We are simply telling you that.
Incessant failures and corruptions of the Right?
1. Evidently, you failed to read my blog where I posted CRIDBLE LINKS to ALL of Bubba’s and HIllary’s various scandals.
Those are CREDIBLE links Jersey, not what I “feel.”
2. The LEFT never said a PEEP out of the recent Dianen Feinstein scandals wherein she directed military contracts from her committee MILCON to her HUSBAND’s COMPANIES.
BTW, I blogged that was one of the first ones to get it hot off the presses.
3. Red Nanny P-LOUSY yamemred about cleaning up Congress and then goes on to ignore William “Freezermoney” Jefferson little issue. She NEARLY appoints an IMPEACHED ex-Fed judge by the name of Alcee Hastings (Progressive Caucus) to head the Nat Intel Cmte! Then, after the crap hits the fan, she appoints Reyes. Check my blog for HIS bio.
You see Jersey, we DO critique the Left as we critique the Right. The difference IS, our racists like Duke get booted, your party called their racist an “elder statesman.” We on the Right SLAMMERIZE our bums like Cunningham, you “censure” yours (Torricelli) or simply ignore it (Jefferson).
I could go on and on.
BTW:
“If you’re truly an educated man, then you know I’m telling the truth.
That’s an appeal to flattery. Just another of your many fallacies.
Gunny, the Clintons scandals are silly. The right’s are incessant and deadly to thousands, from the deregs of mining, to the pol-shill appointments that failed to handle Katrina, to the failing infrastructure left unattended leading to Katrina and the bridge collapse in MN, to the no-bid robbery of the tax payors, to the mercenary armies murdering with impunity, to the blame-the-lowest-rank shame of Abu Ghraib, to the unreg of the “sub-prime” markets and their subsequent collapse, to covering up for child molestation in congress, and on and on. And that’s just this admn and the last couple of congresses! Let alone the nun-murderers of the School of the Americans tlike that sick animal Oliver North, and the allowed massacre of Kurds and Shi-a after the Gulf War, to the arms and drugs and money deals of Reagan, and so forth. The Dems crimes are childishlessly petty in comparison!
Micky, you missed my points on so many levels, I’m just going to have to give up on this one. I don’t even know where to begin.
JMJ
I dont give up, please dont give up, show me what I missed.
Lets begin by admitting what you said was wrong and incomplete.
You have yet to prove that our kids will pay the bill like you said they would.
By the way. Your arrogance has never been more apparent than when you claim that I am ” officially out matched”
So now you are the officiall huh ?
The Clintons scandals are silly ? That might be true if there werent so many.
And yes, I am truly an educated man , which is all the more reason for your quitting
Jersey,
“The Dems crimes are childishlessly petty in comparison!”
I wonder if Vince Foster, Ron Brown, and 1,000,000 Rwandans would agree with you. For America’s “first black POTUS”, Bubba sure dropped the ball there.
BTW, thanks for confirming what I already knew. That scandals, as long as they are Dhimmicratic in origin are okay. I wonder if KKK Byrd stil owns a few pillowcases in white?
Micky, you twisted my points and tangented the debate too far, in my humble opinion. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t keep up with it.
I mean, “Bush proposed privatization of the SS program because he saw this happenening before he took office. This problem is not his fault. We can put that one on the administrations previous to Kennedy. ( you know baby boomers ?)”
The looting of SS didn’t begin until the late seventies.
Ron Paul is a “fruitcake,” “future wars” as opposed to the future cost of this one, what tax money goes where when it’s all in general fund – you either said things that were just outrageous, wrong, or just moot. I don’t know how to respond to these things.
I’ll keep debating with you, but let’s move on to the next topic. Eric has a great new post on Ahmedinejad. I disagree with him, but he certainly put the conservative perspective in focus.
Gunny, what are you talking about? What one Earth did Vince, Ron and Rwanda have to do with corruption on the part of Clinton? Yeah, Rwanda was a mess, but what would you conservatives have had us do? As for Ron and Vince, crazy conspiracy theories are not for me.
And you shouldn’t morally equivicate because when you do you’re just arguing against yourself. And if you still chose that route, the fact is that a few hundred thousand dollars in corruption (Whitewater, “The Fridge” Jefferson, “The Stamp” Rostenkowski, for examples) pale in comparison to Abramoff and the Duke, let alone billions in no-contracts given by conflicted interests in the White House. No corruption is acceptable, but some things are certainly worse than others. It’s one thing to steal a candy bar, it’s another thing to steal a whole store.
JMJ
NO ! I’m not gonna do it your way holmes.
My feelings on ackmajinnydaddy are on the other post and there is no debate on that with you.
You are so wrong on that one its an insult to even engage you on it.
Anyone that far gone is past debate.