NetFuzz - Feel The Fuzz Y’all

Preach it loud brotha Neal: “I’m hearing
this more and more often these days. The ever-present wealth envy has
settled (for the time being) on the idea that evil, nasty, putrid,
scummy, disgusting, horrible, noxious rich people just don’t pay taxes,
and it’s about time someone come along and make them pony up. I’ve
already read for you several emails from people complaining that they
know for an absolute fact that rich people are rich because they don’t
pay their taxes … and they know this because they know a CPA
somewhere and their CPA friend told them so.

I regularly get calls from organizations representing this charity and that asking for donations.  Now, I don’t mind donating to what I feel are worthy causes, and nowadays I usually do so directly to whatever charity I choose rather than going through one of these fund raising companies.

I am not saying that every front end to a charity is bad, but that vast majority of the ones that I have dealt with or been called by qualify as crooks and scam artists in my opinion.  Oh?  How can that be?  How can I be so cold?  I am going to explain, and you might be shocked by what you find out.

First thing, when someone calls you from one of these companies like the State Police fund, or the Fireman’s Charity League or even the one I received just tonight, the Sheriff’s Department taking donations for “Puppy Patrol” which is taking money for programs that teach kids to say no to drugs in school.  These all sound great, don’t they?  Yes they do, and that’s what they are counting on.

You see, it’s not the charities themselves that are the problem, at least not in most cases (there are some fraud charities out there, but they are rare).  No, the problem normally rests in these front end companies that do the soliciting and collection.  That problem is the amount of money, the percentage that gets passed on to the charity.  This is where it gets criminal in my opinion.

This “Puppy Patrol” charity that called me tonight, one thing I asked early in the phone call was how much actually got to the charity?  Most callers don’t like to answer that one.  In this case, it was 15% … yep, that’s it, only 15%.  For every dollar they collect from people, they keep $0.85 and give $0.15 to the charity.  OMG!!!  For every $100 they take in, they keep $85 and pass on $15, that’s it!  If they collect one million dollars ($1,000,000) in a year, they keep eight hundred fifty thousand ($850,000) and give only one hundred fifty thousand ($150,000).  Does it start to make sense now?

That’s right; these companies keep most of the money and only send bare minimums to the charity.  Now, they’ll claim that they have light bills to pay and employees to pay and more and that’s all true.  However, why can reputable charities accomplish all of this and keep only 20%?  They pass on 80% and not 15%, so what’s the big difference between these two types of companies other than one is legit and the other is run by greedy bastards that are exploiting people’s good nature for profit.

So, what’s my point in all this?  Before you give your hard earned money to some charity, make sure you ask them how much actually makes it to the charity.  If they only give 10% or 15% or something silly like that, don’t give them your money.  Instead give it to a local charity or directly to another to make sure that your entire donation goes where it should.  Personally, I don’t give to any company that passes on less than 70%, but that’s just me.

One thing that I hate in this world is hypocrisy. Especially from those people that hold influential positions or places, who then abuse their status while attempting to be high and mighty. In the end they fall fast and hard if anyone with a brain or any common sense actually listens to what they have to say, rather than lapping up the idle vitriol that comes forth without question.

In this case, I must focus my ire upon Oprah. Now, I have never really been a big fan of Oprah or her show. However, she has done some good things and I have always thought that though her views were slanted, she tried to do some good for people.

Now she has crossed a line in my opinion. Actually, she crossed it once a while back and has kept on going. This is where the hypocrisy comes in. Keep in mind that Oprah has the eyes and ears of millions of people in the world; I mean literally millions of people that watch her show and are heavily influenced by whatever she says and does. A great many of those people that follow her show aren’t even influenced, they live their lives by her. Whatever she says to eat, read, do or otherwise is exactly what they eat, read, do and so on.

The first thing she did is not something I take issue with, but it sets up what I do take issue with. First thing, she publicly endorsed Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama. That in and of itself I don’t have a problem with, she is free to support anyone she wants. She even made it known on her show that she supported Presidential Candidate Barack Hussein Obama. That’s OK too, although I have a small issue with that because I think that her entertainment show ought to be separate from her personal political affiliations. That’s just my personal opinion, but since she doesn’t have a politically themed show, I don’t think it’s appropriate.

Now, the next thing is what really got my goat, especially with what comes later. A large portion of her audience (the majority of which are women) wanted her to interview Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. I thought this would be a good idea, she is after all the first female Republican Vice Presidential Nominee ever. What ticked me off was that Oprah declined the interview, much to the anger of her fans, saying that she would not use her show as a platform for politics or endorsing politicians.

OK, we are talking about an interview based on a historical moment (first potential female Republican VP), not an endorsement. Plus, she had previously come out with her support for Barack Hussein Obama. To me, if you are going to do one, you should do the other. Especially when your reason for the other flies in the face of the first thing you already did.

That was bad enough, but now I read that Oprah is going to move her show to Washington during inauguration week. Still, not bad by itself, but it just goes to further show what a hypocrite Oprah is. She supports Obama on her show, snubs Palin on her show, then moves her show to Washington for Obama’s inauguration. Wow. I mean, I can understand liking and/or supporting one candidate and not the other, but doing so publicly on such a large scale while claiming it was in the name being fair? One word comes to mind, hypocrite.

One last thing, this isn’t about my own preference for one candidate or another. I am not some “right wing” blogger with an axe to grind. This was about blatant hypocrisy by a very powerful and influential woman. Truth be told, I didn’t like either candidate, but since Barack Hussein Obama won, I hope he does all the stuff he said. He talks a good game, but he is still a politician and I don’t know that I believe it.

This came to me via email by my family, it is so profound I had to post it.  I don’t know who the original author is, but they have my vote.  I did some clarity editing but it is for the most part as I found it.

On to Bailout Plan B:

Simply put, I am against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.  Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to all Americans as a “Dividend”.  To make the math simple, let us assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18 and over. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.

Divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion, and that gets you to a hefty $425,000.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a “Dividend”.  Of course, it would not be tax free, so let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.  Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500 in taxes. That sends $25.5 Billion right back to Uncle Sam.  Neat, huh?

It also means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in their pocket, so a husband and wife have $595,000.

What would you and your family do with between $297,500 to $595,000?

Let’s see:

• Pay off your mortgage … housing crisis solved!
• Repay college loans … a great boost to new grads!
• Put away money for college … it’ll be there and allow more people to actually be college grads!
• Save it in a bank … create money to loan to entrepreneurs and earn some interest!
• Buy a new car … create jobs!
• Invest in the market … capital drives growth!
• Pay for your parent’s medical insurance … health care improves!

Remember, this is for every U.S. Citizen 18 and over, including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers, Enron, and every other company that crushed their employees. If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it instead of trickling it out.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U.S. Citizen.

As for AIG - liquidate it and sell off its parts.  Sell off the real estate and let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean up.  Where is the bailout for Small Business America when we fall on hard times?  Why should AIG get preferential treatment just because they are a “big” company?

Here’s my rationale, we deserve it and AIG does not.  We were never invited to the last 10 years of party time bonuses.  And remember, in reality, this plan truly only costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

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UPDATE: It looks like AIG got more than it bargained for, and no, not in a bad way.  Instead of the $85 billion dollar bailout mentioned above, the have gotten about $150 billion so far.  That’s not a typo folks.  We have people that are homeless, starving and dieing in the streets and our Government gives $150 billion dollars to an insurance company (don’t insurance companies rip us consumers off anyway?) because they couldn’t run their business on their own.  How lame.  You can hit the link to read more here.

Well folks, here we are, one week into the (pre) Obamanation.  I find it interesting that the stock markets fell for days straight after Obama one, instead of going up.  I mean with all of the Bush haters out there (read: Media Bias), I thought people would be doing the conga through Times Square when the Messiah won the election.  It will be interesting to see how things play out now that Obama has the job and people are starting to see the real Obama versus the “Hey, vote for me, I will pay your mortgage and put gas in your car” Obama that was on the campaign trail.  Most of you that read this will assume that I am bashing Obama … and well, you are right, I am.  But not because of McCain or anything like that.  When you get down to it, both of the presidential candidates were still politicians, I don’t believe either one of them.  I hope that I look back on this later in life with fond memories of good times and baskets of warm puppies, all brought on by the Chosen One’s masterful manipulation of the force, such that all the world’s problems get solved with a wave of the hand.  Wow, the cough medicine is in full effect tonight.  I think that’s enough for me, remember to thank a soldier since it’s Veteran’s Day.  It is to them we owe our freedom.

I was talking to a friend at work today, about the election the day before.  Well, more about the outcome really.  I was expressing my amazement at the turnout for voters, more than I have ever seen, huge numbers of new voters, especially young people.  That was when it dawned on us, all of the young people are who voted for Obama.  They listened to hiw carefully crafted speeches and they bought it, hook, like and sinker.  Those of us that have been around awhile know better, but the new voters actually believe the hype.

So, let us take a look at this, shall we?  Here is a man, who is portrayed by the media to be all but the second coming (and maybe even that too).  This man wants to be in charge of the most powerful nation in the free world.  This man, Barack Hussein Obama, who has less time in office than Sarah Palin who gets attacked left and right for her “inexperience”, wants us to trust him with everything that is America.  He claims to be knowlegable enough, and smart enough to handle the job of running a super power, but he doesn’t know that his own aunt is in this country illegally.  He knows that she is from Kenya, but claims he didn’t know that she was in fact not a citizen and that she had been ordered back to her home country some time ago.  Something doesn’t add up here.  Either he is hiding something and lied about it, or he is just that freakin’ clueless.  Either way, I don’t think I want him in my white house.

On another note, according to this article, she was living in public housing.  OK, there is nothing wrong with that, but does that mean that he cared so little for his own family that he couldn’t take some of his piles of cash and help her out by getting her into a better place?  Again, not the kind of thing that makes me want him deciding the future of the country I call home.  This whole thing sounds pretty darn lame if you ask me, and don’t get the impression I am just bashing Obama, cause I am not.  I don’t like McCain either, but this story about Obama’s aunt just had me flabbergasted, so I felt I had to share.

Read more …

You know, as I watch everything unfold in these last few days before election day, it is obvious that this election or maybe the winner of this election, is not about who is best for this country and it’s people.  No, it’s about who has more millions to throw at Radio, Television, Internet and any other advertisement they can think of.  I mean, jeese, Obama (The Mesiah) has his own freakin’ TV channel!  When did that ever sound like it was proper?  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great PR move, but it’s not the way I want to elect a president.  Brainwashing the public with SO MANY repetitive ads that they go to vote as veritable zombies.

Another thing while I am on a roll, who in their right mind thinks that robotized cold calling at all hours of the day and night is a good idea?  Hmmm?  It’s not people, let me tell you.  I think I am going to end up voting for whoever called me the least, which I guess means I am voting Libertarian again.  I am a registered Republican and I get more calls from Obama that McCain.  Truth be told, I don’t like either one all that much, I just think McCain will do less damage before he is through.

Unless you have a few hundred million to spend on advertising, you don’t have a chance of winning the presidential election, and that’s just sad.  It should be about who is best, not who is sold the most like a damn used car.  It seems that noone in the media, or in politics, or business either I guess after all that has happened, gives a damn about anyone but themselves.  What has this country come to?

Do you really want to know how Barack Obama is going to cut taxes on 95% of Americans when 45% of these Americans don’t pay income taxes in the first place? You should already know the answer to this question … but if you’ve been listening to too much sports talk radio, here you go. It’s very simple. Obama will just pass a series of new tax credits for the Americans. Tax credits — sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Those tax credits will lower taxes for just about everyone! Well … there are a few things you need to know about these so-called credits.

First … these tax credits will not be available to the evil high income earners who we rely on to create the new jobs that will help our economy grow. The tax credits are only for people who might be likely to vote democrat.

Secondly … they’re not just tax credits, they’re “refundable” tax credits. In other words, they’re a fraud. As we know, about 45% of Americans don’t pay income taxes. A tax credit is not useful to someone who owes no income taxes … unless, that is, it is a “refundable” credit. Now what does that mean? It means that if you do not make enough to pay income taxes, the government will simply write you a check equal to the amount of the credit you can’t use! Do you know what we used to call this? Welfare, that’s what. Barack Obama’s promise of a tax cut for 95% of Americans is really nothing less than a promise of a new welfare income redistribution program. Doesn’t make sense or sound fair does it?  Can anyone say “buying votes”?

You know, I am really tired of the motion picture industry as well as the recording industry now that I think about it, complaining about how things like file sharing, digital rentals, iTunes and DVDs are killing their box office business.  I mean, I am really tired of it.  Why?  Well, has anyone actually paid attention to the new movies, TV shows and music that the entertainment industry as a whole is putting out nowadays?  If you have you know that 90% or more of it is unoriginal and terrible, it sucks bad.

I am real tired of old movies being re-made.  Anyone see Walking Tall?  Yeah, it was nothing like the original (which was a great movie), and it sucked.  Not becuase it deviated from the predecessor, but because they wrote a really lousy movie and figured if “The Rock” was in it that it would be a hit no matter what lame ass story they came up with.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the Rock, but I think even he had to know that movie was awful.

Want even more proof that Hollyweird is out of ideas?  Movies that get made based on video games.  HELLO!  There is a reason that a game is popular and a movie of the same name is not.  You play the game, you interact with it, you get to evolve with it.  In the movie you are watching a poorly written copy of the game that you already have in your head.  It can’t come close to what you already have experienced.  And if you have never played the game, it won’t make any sense anyway.

What about movies based on comic books?  Now there is nothing wrong with that really, but DO THE MOVIES CORRECTLY!  I mean come on, how many batman movies did they have to make before they got it right?  Did it take some big name star to pull it off?  NO!  The big name stars bombed, but the unknown actor kicked ass.  Why?  Because they FINALLY wrote a good story!  Come on Hollywood, hire some good writers.  Drop the FX budget a little and work on the story, you’ll be glad you did.

OK, I gotta stop now, I am getting all worked up.  I just wish that the entertainment people would wise up and quit blaming the lackluster performance of the crap they produce on all of us consumers that don’t buy it because it’s steaming piles of crap layered on baked crispy crap, topped of with crappy whipped crap topping.  Who wants to spend $20 at the movies to watch these tired old poorly done remakes anymore?  Exactly.