Fiscal Cliff Deal: Republicans Break No Tax Increase Pledge

In my opinion, we are well and truly screwed. Every member of the Republican House who voted for this legislation should be replaced in the next primary election. Now, the news...



Transcript:

11:20 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Happy New Year, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Happy New Year, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: A central promise of my campaign for President was to change the tax code that was too skewed towards the wealthy at the expense of working middle-class Americans. Tonight we've done that. Thanks to the votes of Democrats and Republicans in Congress, I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans while preventing a middle-class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession and obviously had a severe impact on families all across America.

I want to thank all the leaders of the House and Senate. In particular, I want to thank the work that was done by my extraordinary Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Leader Harry Reid, Speaker Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, and Mitch McConnell. Everybody worked very hard on this and I appreciate it. And, Joe, once again, I want to thank you for your great work.

Under this law, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. Millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. Companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research that they do, the investments they make, and the clean energy jobs that they create. And 2 million Americans who are out of work but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they’re actively looking for a job.

But I think we all recognize this law is just one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody. The fact is the deficit is still too high, and we're still investing too little in the things that we need for the economy to grow as fast as it should.

And that's why Speaker Boehner and I originally tried to negotiate a larger agreement that would put this country on a path to paying down its debt while also putting Americans back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges, and providing investments in areas like education and job training. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough support or time for that kind of large agreement in a lame duck session of Congress. And that failure comes with a cost, as the messy nature of the process over the past several weeks has made business more uncertain and consumers less confident.

But we are continuing to chip away at this problem, step by step. Last year I signed into law $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction. Tonight’s agreement further reduces the deficit by raising $620 billion in revenue from the wealthiest households in America. And there will be more deficit reduction as Congress decides what to do about the automatic spending cuts that we have now delayed for two months.

I want to make this point: As I've demonstrated throughout the past several weeks, I am very open to compromise. I agree with Democrats and Republicans that the aging population and the rising cost of health care makes Medicare the biggest contributor to our deficit. I believe we've got to find ways to reform that program without hurting seniors who count on it to survive. And I believe that there’s further unnecessary spending in government that we can eliminate.

But we can't simply cut our way to prosperity. Cutting spending has to go hand-in-hand with further reforms to our tax code so that the wealthiest corporations and individuals can't take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most Americans. And we can't keep cutting things like basic research and new technology and still expect to succeed in a 21st century economy. So we're going to have to continue to move forward in deficit reduction, but we have to do it in a balanced way, making sure that we are growing even as we get a handle on our spending.

Now, one last point I want to make -- while I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they’ve already racked up through the laws that they passed. Let me repeat: We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic -- far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff.

People will remember, back in 2011, the last time this course of action was threatened, our entire recovery was put at risk. Consumer confidence plunged. Business investment plunged. Growth dropped. We can't go down that path again.

And today’s agreement enshrines, I think, a principle into law that will remain in place as long as I am President: The deficit needs to be reduced in a way that's balanced. Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part. That's how our economy works best. That's how we grow.

The sum total of all the budget agreements we've reached so far proves that there is a path forward, that it is possible if we focus not on our politics but on what’s right for the country. And the one thing that I think, hopefully, in the New Year we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much.

We can come together as Democrats and Republicans to cut spending and raise revenue in a way that reduces our deficit, protects our middle class, provides ladders into the middle class for everybody who’s willing to work hard. We can find a way to afford the investments that we need to grow and compete. We can settle this debate, or at the very least, not allow it to be so all-consuming all the time that it stops us from meeting a host of other challenges that we face -- creating jobs, boosting incomes, fixing our infrastructure, fixing our immigration system, protecting our planet from the harmful effects of climate change, boosting domestic energy production, protecting our kids from the horrors of gun violence.

It’s not just possible to do these things; it’s an obligation to ourselves and to future generations. And I look forward to working with every single member of Congress to meet this obligation in the New Year.

And I hope that everybody now gets at least a day off, I guess, or a few days off, so that people can refresh themselves, because we're going to have a lot of work to do in 2013.

Thanks, everybody. Happy New Year.

END 11:28 P.M. EST

Read a Fact Sheet Provided by the White House.

Congress approved a plan to end Washington’s long drama over the “fiscal cliff” late Tuesday after House Republicans surrendered to President Obama’s demand to let taxes rise on the nation’s richest households.

The House voted 257 to 167 to send the measure to Obama for his signature; the vote came less than 24 hours after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) and most other top GOP leaders took no public position on the measure and offered no public comment before the 10:45 p.m. vote. Boehner declined even to deliver his usual closing argument, leaving House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to defend the measure as the “largest tax cut in American history.”

The bill will indeed shield millions of middle-class taxpayers from tax increases set to take effect this month. But it also will let rates rise on wages and investment profits for households pulling in more than $450,000 a year, marking the first time in more than two decades that a broad tax increase has been approved with GOP support.

The measure also will keep benefits flowing to 2 million unemployed workers on the verge of losing their federal checks. And it will delay for two months automatic cuts to the Pentagon and other agencies that had been set to take effect Wednesday.

Source: Washington Post article Congress approves ‘fiscal cliff’ measure 

Read for yourself what is actually in the act:

BILLS 112hr8eas

Also read the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the financial impact of the legislation:

American Taxpayer Relief Act



See for yourself who voted for and against the legislation, and who ran and hid: (I have identified the representatives from North Carolina in red to make them more easily identifiable)



FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 659 (Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)
      H R 8      RECORDED VOTE      1-Jan-2013      10:57 PM
      QUESTION:  On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments
      BILL TITLE: To extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003, and to provide for expedited consideration of a bill providing for comprehensive tax reform, and for other purposes

	AYES	NOES	PRES	NV
REPUBLICAN	85	151		5
DEMOCRATIC	172	16		3
INDEPENDENT
TOTALS	257	167		8

---- AYES    257 ---

Ackerman Alexander Altmire Andrews Baca Baldwin Barber Barletta Bass (CA) Bass (NH) Benishek Berkley Berman Biggert Bilbray Bishop (GA) Bishop (NY) Boehner Bonamici Bono Mack Boren Boswell Brady (PA) Brady (TX) Braley (IA) Brown (FL) Buchanan Butterfield Calvert Camp Capps Capuano Carnahan Carney Carson (IN) Castor (FL) Chandler Chu Cicilline Clarke (MI) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Clyburn Coble Cohen Cole Connolly (VA) Conyers Costa Costello Courtney Crenshaw Critz Crowley Cuellar Cummings Curson (MI) Davis (CA) Davis (IL) DeGette DelBene Denham Dent Deutch Diaz-Balart Dicks Dingell Doggett Dold Donnelly (IN) Doyle Dreier Edwards Ellison Emerson Engel Eshoo Farr Fattah Fitzpatrick Fortenberry Frank (MA) Frelinghuysen Fudge Gallegly

Garamendi Gerlach Gibson Gonzalez Green, Al Green, Gene Grijalva Grimm Gutierrez Hahn Hanabusa Hanna Hastings (FL) Hastings (WA) Hayworth Heck Heinrich Herger Herrera Beutler Higgins Himes Hinchey Hinojosa Hirono Hochul Holden Holt Honda Hoyer Israel Jackson Lee (TX) Johnson (GA) Johnson (IL) Johnson (OH) Johnson, E. B. Kaptur Keating Kelly Kildee Kind King (NY) Kinzinger (IL) Kissell Kline Kucinich Lance Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) LaTourette Latta Lee (CA) Levin Lipinski LoBiondo Loebsack Lofgren, Zoe Lowey Lucas Luetkemeyer Luján Lungren, Daniel E. Lynch Maloney Manzullo Marino Markey Matsui McCarthy (NY) McCollum McGovern McKeon McMorris Rodgers McNerney Meehan Meeks Michaud Miller (MI) Miller, Gary Miller, George Moore Murphy (CT) Murphy (PA) Nadler Napolitano Neal

Noem Olver Owens Pallone Pascrell Pastor (AZ) Payne Pelosi Perlmutter Peters Pingree (ME) Pitts Platts Polis Price (NC) Quigley Rahall Rangel Reed Reichert Reyes Ribble Richardson Richmond Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Ros-Lehtinen Ross (AR) Rothman (NJ) Roybal-Allard Royce Runyan Ruppersberger Rush Ryan (OH) Ryan (WI) Sánchez, Linda T. Sanchez, Loretta Sarbanes Schakowsky Schiff Schock Schwartz Scott, David Serrano Sessions Sewell Sherman Shimkus Shuler Shuster Simpson Sires Slaughter Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Speier Stivers Sullivan Sutton Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Thompson (PA) Thornberry Tiberi Tierney Tonko Towns Tsongas Turner (NY) Upton Van Hollen Velázquez Walden Walz (MN) Wasserman Schultz Waters Watt Waxman Welch Wilson (FL) Womack Yarmuth Young (AK) Young (FL)

---- NOES    167 ---

Adams Aderholt Akin Amash Amodei Austria Bachmann Bachus Barrow Bartlett Barton (TX) Becerra Berg Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Black Blackburn Blumenauer Bonner Boustany Brooks Broun (GA) Bucshon Burgess Campbell Canseco Cantor Capito Carter Cassidy Chabot Chaffetz Coffman (CO) Conaway Cooper Cravaack Crawford Culberson DeFazio DeLauro DesJarlais Duffy Duncan (SC) Duncan (TN) Ellmers Farenthold Fincher Flake Fleischmann Fleming Flores Forbes Foxx Franks (AZ) Gardner Garrett

Gibbs Gingrey (GA) Gohmert Goodlatte Gosar Gowdy Granger Graves (GA) Griffin (AR) Griffith (VA) Guinta Guthrie Hall Harper Harris Hartzler Hensarling Huelskamp Huizenga (MI) Hultgren Hunter Hurt Issa Jenkins Johnson, Sam Jones Jordan King (IA) Kingston Labrador Lamborn Landry Lankford Latham Long Lummis Mack Marchant Massie Matheson McCarthy (CA) McCaul McClintock McDermott McHenry McIntyre McKinley Mica Miller (FL) Miller (NC) Moran Mulvaney Myrick Neugebauer Nugent Nunes

Nunnelee Olson Palazzo Paulsen Pearce Pence Peterson Petri Poe (TX) Pompeo Posey Price (GA) Quayle Rehberg Renacci Rigell Rivera Roby Roe (TN) Rogers (AL) Rohrabacher Rokita Rooney Roskam Ross (FL) Scalise Schilling Schmidt Schrader Schweikert Scott (SC) Scott (VA) Scott, Austin Sensenbrenner Smith (NE) Smith (WA) Southerland Stearns Stutzman Terry Tipton Turner (OH) Visclosky Walberg Walsh (IL) Webster West Westmoreland Whitfield Wilson (SC) Wittman Wolf Woodall Yoder Young (IN)

---- NOT VOTING    8 ---

Buerkle Burton (IN) Graves (MO)

Lewis (CA) Lewis (GA) Paul

Stark Woolsey

Read more about the fiscal cliff deal and how other people are reacting to it on the following websites:

Ace of Spades: Senate Tax Bill Passes House

BreitBart: OFFICIAL: GOAL OF 'FISCAL CLIFF' TO BREAK GOP ON NO TAX INCREASE PLEDGE

             Commentary: GOP Plays Into Obama’s Hands on Cliff 

Daily Kos: House passes fiscal cliff bill 

National Review: The Left and the Cliff 

Think Progress: House Passes Senate’s Fiscal Cliff Bill 

Where Is The Outrage?: Fiscal Cliff – We got a parachute

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Franklin Merchants Meet With Town Regarding 'Communication Problems' with Main Street Program

Last night, merchants filled the Franklin Town Hall to discuss with Franklin Aldermen their concerns over a lack of communication with the Main Street Program, a perceived bias against them when they organized events, versus when the town organized events and other grievances. The video above was of the entire meeting.

One of my personal observations is that a couple of the Aldermen and perhaps the Main Street Staff do not like the new group, Venture Local Franklin or the Streets of Franklin organizations that have arisen to fill needs that have not been met by the Main Street Program. To me, there seems to be some animosity that is of a personal nature.

Commentary

Since I have personally been involved in the Venture Local group and Street Fest, I'll give my perspective. I personally saw attempts by the town to hurt the effort by Main Street Merchants to hold a mutually beneficial Street Fest by changing the rules they had to play by...among them was suddenly not allowing merchants to put up tents in the parking spaces in front of their businesses as they had during the previous three Street Fests, not allowing them to string a banner across Main Street in the days prior to the last event, and some attempted intimidation by someone in the town administration sending police officers to deliver news of the changes to merchants involved in the planning and promotion of the event.

I think it came through very clearly in the video who some of the people responsible for getting us to this situation. It was my original intent not to take my camera to the meeting and record it because I was concerned that merchants might be afraid to speak up with it there. Several of the merchants and a couple of the Aldermen spoke to me in the days and hours before the meeting and convinced me to record it.

I am glad that they helped me change my mind.

I think that this is part of a problem the town has had for a number of years now, with certain people having the idea that it is either their way or the highway. It has previously blown up over the way the Picking on the Square has been handled and last year's dust up over the Nikwasi Indian Mound.

In my personal opinion, nothing will change until certain Aldermen are no longer on the Town Board. You can watch the above video and judge for yourself in that regard.

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Franklin TDA 09-10-2012

I will be posting a higher resolution video of this meeting here later. Until then, here is a low resolution version that was processed with speed in mind.

I may also have some commentary on what happened at this meeting once I calm down enough to put words on the public record here. I am interested to see if the local papers will convey what happened at this meeting or if they'll white wash what happened.

I will be processing an HD Version of this video later this week, but felt it was important enough to get this out as soon as I could so people could watch it and make their own judgments about what happened.



<center>AGENDA</center>


Town of Franklin Tourism Development Authority

MOnday, September 10, 2012

5:30 pm @ Twon Hall



I. Call to Order by Candy Presley



II. Approval of minutes



III. Financial Report



IV. Financial Report
     a) Finance/Budget -Summer Woodard, Chair
     b) Policy & Procedures - Summer Woodard, Chair
     c) Funding Evaluationb Committee - Deb Heatherly, Chair




V. Unfinished Business
     a) Grant Request for Advertising in Dashboard & Saddlebags
     b) Grant Request for SMCFTPA - Nikki Pons
     c) Grant Request for Downtown Businesses - Martha Holbrooks



VI. New Business
     a) Billboard Request for Gun Show - Ron Haven
     b) Billboard Request for Shop Franklin First - Linda Schlott
     c) Update from Angel Media on website and Comcast
     d) Update from Sylvia Cochran on Smoky Mountain Rumble
     e) Update from Ron Smith on Ruby Bash



VII. Items from the floor



VIII. Announcements


IX. Next meeting October 8th, 2012 Board Retreat


X. Adjournment

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Ron Paul Stealth Candidates Throw Temper Tantrum

Ron Paul Supporters are often like little children getting mad and pitching a temper tantrum. The video below shows them in action.

And they wonder why they can never get respect in the party? They show up once every two or four years and expect us to cater to their every desire and whim.

I'll have respect for them when they show up at local party and candidate fund raisers, when they show up to help set up for events, to place signs for party candidates.

I'll have respect for them when they show up at local party precinct meetings or when they show up to help build precinct walking maps, man the phones for local candidates, go knock on doors or take people to go vote.

Read more about the stealth delegate effort on the Ron Paul 2012 website http://is.gd/RPstealth

Read more about the stealth delegate effort on the Daily Paul website http://is.gd/DPstealth

Think this is a new phenomenon?

It is not. It is just a continuation of an effort by Paulbearers to gain power in the party, and if successful, the nation using nonviolent strong-arm tactics that subvert the results of the party primaries. If they want delegates, let them get them through legitimate means during the primary...by getting people to agree with them and show up and cast ballots. They don't do this because they know they can NEVER achieve power without having to resort to subversive tactics that reveals more about them than they realize. The Founding Fathers would recoil in horror at their tactics.

Read more about a similar effort that took place during the 2008 election on my blog http://is.gd/TP2008Stealth

Video source: Reason.tv Read their take on it at http://is.gd/A2t2DY

**note** I've also cross-posted this on Facebook because the nearly always clueless Matt Mittan has once again taken the side of old night and chaos.

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Apple Injunction Against The Nexus 7 Tablet

I think I now know why so many liberals love Apple.

Apple hates the Free Market. It wants to control every aspect of your use of Apple products and hates the idea that it has to compete with other manufacturers who are capable of producing better products. And when they do, they sue.

Remember the Nexus 7 tablet that was just introduced at Google I/O? Well, Apple has decided this inexpensive tablet must not reach the marketplace. Never mind that the device is aimed at the Kindle Fire audience, and not an iPad audience.

Samsung has been dealt another patent blow in a Northern California courtroom, and this time it involves a product that isn’t woefully out of date. Apple has been awarded a preliminary injunction against sales of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus — an important product for Google’s Android strategy — in the U.S., according to a report.

Reuters was at the courtroom in San Jose, Calif., where Judge Lucy Koh once again slapped an injunction on a Samsung product running Android. However, this time, instead of an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (which never sold that well when it was new on the market a year ago), the device in question is Galaxy Nexus, the flagship device for Google’s Android 4.0 software release. The Nexus was just given away to all attendees at Google I/O this week.

Source: GigaOm (go read the entire article)

These patent suits is why I quit using iTunes and have decided to never buy another Apple product again. Perhaps it also explains why a post I wrote entitled Mocking Apple Users has remained one of the most-read entries on this blog, finishing only behind Legendary Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton Dead and Tribute to the US Navy SEALS.

Perhaps Apple should move it's headquarters from Cupertino, California to Beijing, China, where it belongs.

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Santorum: Might As Well Have Obama Over Romney Full Video of San Antonio Speech

The latest brouhaha in this excrutiatingly long and drawn out 2012 Republican Primary (thanks for nothing, RNC dimwits) implies that Rick Santorum would prefer President Obama to President Romney. I think his words have been taken out of context. Mind you, I am saying this as a supporter of Mitt Romney. First, as is my custom, I present the full speech so that you may gain an understanding of the context of how and when the words were said, so that you don't have to rely on soundbites created for political spin and to generate page views by irresponsible journalists and political pundits:

Rick Santorum Addresses The USAA in San Antonio, Texas



Rick Santorum Press Availability 


The full extent of Rick Santorum's remark is as follows:

What I’ve said in this campaign is that if you look at the record on a lot of issues, I’ve taken a consistent approach throughout the course of my career. I believe in these fundamental freedom and the way we solve problems in America. And there are many on the Republican side of aisle who don’t… 

That’s the sort of the approach. That’s the differentiation, if you will, between me going up against Barack Obama, where there really are real contrasts on the issues, as opposed to a lot of these candidates where it’s a race between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. That’s not how you win. 

In the last century, there’s one person, one Republican candidate, who defeated a Democratic Incumbent for re-election. One in the last century. And that was Ronald Reagan. Almost every other time we ran a moderate because we had to win. Republicans and Conservatives were so worried about getting control back that we have to win so we have to nominate someone who can appeal to- 

No, you win by giving people a choice. You win by giving the people an opportunity to see a different vision for our country not someone who’s just going to be a little different from the person we have in there. If they’re going to be just a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk on what may be the Etch-a-sketch candidate of the future.”

Source: USAA Speech in San Antonio, Texas, transcribed from the first video in this blogpost.

He was answering a question during the Q&A Session that followed his speech to the USAA in San Antonio, Texas yesterday. No one at the event seems to have objected to the words in their original context. Someone decided to make a mountain out of a molehill.

For an example of the spin and yellow journalism as "journalists" sought to generate controversy where there is none, check out this article from CBS News:

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Thursday said Republicans should give President Barack Obama another term if Santorum isn’t the GOP nominee and for a second day compared rival Mitt Romney to an Etch A Sketch toy.

Santorum reiterated an argument he has made before: The former Massachusetts governor is not conservative enough to offer voters a clear choice in the fall election and that only he can provide that contrast.

“You win by giving people a choice,” Santorum said during a campaign stop in Texas. “You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than the person in there.”

Santorum added: “If they’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future.”

Source: CBS News

I will repeat what I've said in other blogposts, on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and in conversations: This tinkering with the Republican Primary schedule so that the nomination process takes longer has done nothing but harm the party, the candidates and the chances that the eventual nominee will win the general election this November.

In a more perfect world, every member of the RNC who voted for this change to the Republican Primary Calendar should be brought up on the stage during the RNC Nominating Convention in Tampa, be tarred, feathered and rode out of the convetion on a rail so that they might be properly humiliated for their role in harming the Republican Party. I've embedded a visual aid below:

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Macon County Commissioners Meeting 12-06-2010 Full Video

Things are continuing to be ugly in the effort to slide in a steep slope ordinance "under the radar" and part of that is the continued attempt to ostracize Jimmy Goodman and all others who are supporters of private property rights in Macon County. A perfect example of that was the December 2 meeting  of the Macon County Commissioners that was requested by Lewis Penland, the Chairman of the Macon County Planning Board. Click here to watch that meeting and judge for yourself.


The full video of last night's meeting of the Macon County Commissioners for you to watch and judge for yourself:



If you are on dialup and cannot watch the video, here is an audio recording of the meeting:

If you wish to have a copy for your MP3 Player, here is a download link for that. 


There was no agenda nor other supporting documents for this meeting. 

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Fake @ChadNesbitt Twitter Account Shutting Down Ahead of Subpoena

The pranskster who ran the ChadNesbitt Twitter Account is feeling the heat and is shutting the effort down. Here is a post from the TwitLonger account:

On Wednesday 27th October 2010, @chadnesbitt said:

Message to: #avlnews @mxnews @citizentimes @WLOS_ABC13.

I started the @chadnesbitt account on Twitter as a form of political expression. Twitter is rife with satire accounts, and I considered @chadnesbitt an effective way to draw attention to the antics of one of the most divisive public figures in Buncombe County: Chad Nesbitt, Chair of the Buncombe County Republican Party.

The idea was to satirize the actions of the real Mr Nesbitt by using similar language and statements he is known for. Since the joke only works if it’s clear that @chadnesbittwasn’t representing the real person, I was careful to make sure no reasonable person would confuse the two. Precautions included:

--> An eye-patch on the avatar
--> Spelling errors in the bio
--> A #satire hashtag in the bio

The project was fun at first, but quickly became tedious. I was starting to think it was time to wrap it all up when Mr. Nesbitt announced the Secret Service had asked him questions about the @chadnesbitt account. Allegedly, certain statements I had made could be construed as a threat to the President.

I anxiously waited for a visit or call from the authorities. When none arrived I assumed the Secret Service was merely asking Chad questions they would ask any local political opposition. (eg: “Any crazies we have to watch out for?” “Are you planning a counter-protest?”) One of the questions may have been about the Twitter account - and Chad seized on this as a way to force the hand of local authorities to shut @chadnesbitt down.

I’d like to review, and give my perspective, on the “threatening” tweets. As I do so please keep in mind these are only three out of 200+ innocuous comments.

1) Brainstorming ways 2 disrupt #Shuler event on Saturday. Doing so will make crowd vote #Republican & get me a lot of attention.

2) Oops - my informant tells me the #Clinton visit to #Asheville is on Thursday! :-O My bad! I’m going to have to think fast! :-O

3) What are good ways for #Avl #Republicans to make themselves known during Thursday’s #Clinton visit? #avlteaparty #bcgop

These tweets were made _after_ Chad disrupted a Democratic Party get-out-the-vote rally a few days earlier with one of his street sweepers. The point of the joke was that Chad is more interested in bringing attention to himself and promoting his party, than crafting a reasonable campaign strategy to counter a Clinton visit.

If anyone is going to take the three aforementioned tweets seriously as a threat, they would also have to take these tweets seriously:

4) Yesterday's anti-annexation rally, which I organized all by myself, went amazingly well. I put the call out, and people came. (Oct 13)

5) I now have a secret mole in the DemocRAT camp. (It's Gopher Face with a mustache.) (Oct 12)

6) I've started a club for #BCGOP: "Tummy Sticks" - because America needs to beat#socialism in the gut! #Republican #Asheville (Sep 26)

Clearly, when taken in context of the entire Twitter account, no reasonable person would assume tweets 1-3 are meant as anything other than satire.

Once President Clinton left town, I committed myself to using @chadnesbitt for at least one more week; primarily to demonstrate to Mr. Nesbitt that I’m not scared of him or his hyperbolic press releases.

As I’ve said publicly via Twitter - If I’m hurting Chad’s feelings or causing him any kind of harm - he should contact me. Although he is a public figure, and I am entirely in my rights to comment on his antics as long as he remains so, a simple “Please stop this, you’re causing distress” would have put my project to a screeching halt. He could still do so via “@bcgop” and/or his personal Twitter account: “@neverleft”. (Note about@neverleft - I was following that account, but he blocked me. He’ll have to unblock in order for him to send a Direct Message.)

Finally, it has come to my attention that Buncombe County may be seeking a subpoena to determine the owner of @chadnesbit.

I have nothing but respect for County Attorney Ron Moore. My only regret in all this is that he may have to waste taxpayer dollars investigating whether there is a legal basis to prosecute a satire account on a public figure.

Mr. Moore, if you’re reading this, please accept my deepest apologies. I’m sure you would much rather be focused on more pressing issues. I am a politically-motivated, peaceable, satirist - with no intent to cause violence to anyone. Hopefully, the next paragraph in this letter will make both our lives easier.

I will no longer Tweet from @chadnesbitt. I’m a simple person who doesn’t enjoy this kind of drama. If I wanted attention, I’d run for Chair of a political party.

- Anonymous (aka: @chadnesbitt)

Previously:

FAKE TWITTER ACCOUNT LEADS TO SECRET SERVICE INTERVIEW AHEAD OF CLINTON VISIT

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Bill Fishburne Calls Shenanigans on the Asheville Tea Party

Looks like the shenanigans of the Asheville Tea Party have not gone unnoticed. 


Go get 'em, Bill. I've noted before that an endorsement of Eichenbaum was not a surprise, and questioned their use of weird voting.


And, shortly after the WCU Young Americans for Liberty Forum, the moderator of that event (Matthew Hoaglan) announced that he was going to be Eichenbaum's Campaign Manager. You can see a video of Matthew at the event here. 


This is not the first time that ethical concerns have been raised about members of the Asheville Tea Party. Read this comment thread at Conservative Thunder.

The common thread in all this is most of the people involved are Ron Paul Supporters and have been involved in an attempt to take over the Buncombe County Republican Party. 


Related: 

Are Conservatives Awakening to the Libertarian Takeover of the GOP?

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How Conservatives Can Use Obama's Astroturf Campaign Against Talk Radio Against Itself

Yet another Obama Plan for Astroturfing is underway, this time it involves taking the seminar caller effort to another level...complete with public website and talking points to help the "fake listeners" find a conservative radio show and provide them with talking points aimed at disrupting talk radio and get a Socialist Health Care Plan passed. Read more about it at News Busters. Also, read more about it at Tech President, a lefty site that describes the program, called Groundswell, thusly:

"So OFA built a program, called Groundswell, that slices up certain organizational tasks into discrete bits that can be accomplished by individuals but add up to a substantial effort, a la the crowdsourcing efforts of Pro Publica's distributed Reporting Network.


The benefit for volunteers is that it gives them achievable, tangible tasks to do that fit into the nooks and crannies of their day to day lives. The benefit for OFA is that they get buy in to the organization's missing that also has the effect of multiplying the organizing efforts that those on the Democratic National Committee's payroll might hope to achieve.


Organizing for America's new media director Natalie Foster says that both On the Air and Groundswell are part of a drive within Organizing for America to encourage experimentation and creativity amongst staff, particularly those staff with the programming chops to pull something like this off.


The projects, says Foster, "demonstrate what’s great about the 'labs' concept, and having software engineers embedded with our New Media team. Building out the DNC/OFA Innovation Labs was an early decision last year, and Nathan Woodhull does a great job leading that team.""

I have an idea, why don't conservatives use the website to get our message out as well? What you do is call in to the radio show currently being targeted by progressives, and tell the call screener that you are calling the show via a link from Obama's Organizing for America, and that you are a conservative wishing to expose the astroturf effort. Give out the URL of the website (radio.barackobama.com/) and read a little from it for the call screener or host. Tell them that they have been targeted by Barack Obama's campaign arm in an effort to interfere with the show and that you're not happy about it. Perhaps you should suggest that the listeners of the show call the White House Switchboard and complain about these tactics. Be nice to the operators when you call. (202-456-1414)


Lefties (Progressives, Socialists and Communists) have always made it their bailiwick to interfere with or deny Free Speech. I think it is time we gave them a taste of their own medicine.

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Former NC Governor Mike Easley Campaign Fined $100,000, NC Democratic Party Fined $9,000 For its Part

BREAKING NEWS:


Raleigh, NC--Former North Carolina Governor Mike Easley's Campaign has been ordered to pay $60,000 in civil penalties and $40,000 to pay for the investigation into it's violations of Campaign Law in North Carolina. The Democratic Party of North Carolina has been ordered to pay $9,000 in civil penalties for it's part in funneling donations to the Easley Campaign in violation of North Carolina Election Law.


Here is the audio of the result of the North Carolina State Board of Elections investigation into the Easley Campaign hearing:

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Lefties upset over anti-Obama stickers Where have they been for the past eight years?

Photo Courtesy KTLA

The Obama-Joker poster shows President Obama with white face paint, dark eye shadow and smudged red lipstick and also has the word "socialism" printed in bold, dark letters under the image of his face.

It's unclear who created the image and who is posting it across the city. No one has taken credit so far.

Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous.

Hutchinson is challenging the group or individual that put up the poster to have the courage and decency to publicly identify themselves.

"Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery," says Hutchinson, "it is mean-spirited and dangerous."

"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."

The poster has also gone viral online, crashing the website that first posted images of it and rising to the top of Google's "Today's Hot Trends" list.

Source: KTLA

Commentary

Suck it up, Lefties. We have endured 8 years of far, far worse from you regarding President George W Bush. Consider this a very small part of the pay back you have coming for you...or if you are into pagan eastern traditions...consider it Karma.

One of many items for sale at Hate-filled Lefty websites and websites of Ron Paul supporters.

To remind you of some of the cruel things Lefties (and their brothers in the Ron Paul Cult) have posted about the President immediately preceding Obama, check out some of these websites:

Bush or Chimp?

Bush Assassinated in movie (this article also chronicles the lefty hatred of W)

If you took any of the above, or, indeed any show of hatred toward Bush and inserted Obama's name or likeness in it's place, and we suddenly see the Left (and their Ron Paul brothers) exposed.

Here is an article from 2004 regarding Bush Derangement Syndrome:

It is truly laughable at the number of things that Bush has been blamed for in this world. He is blamed when he does something (anything) and he is blamed when he does nothing. He is blamed for things that occurred even before he was President, as well as everything that has happened since. What makes Bush Hatred completely insane however, is the almost delusional degree of unremitting belief in Bush's evil; while simultaneously believing that the TRUE representatives of evil in the world are somehow good and decent human beings with the world's interests at heart.

This psychological defense mechanism is referred to as "displacement". One way you can usually tell that an individual is using displacement is that the emotion being displaced (e.g., anger) is all out of proportion to the reality of the situation.The purpose of displacement is to avoid having to cope with the actual reality. Instead, by using displacement, an individual is able to still experience his or her anger, but it is directed at a less threatening target than the real cause. In this way, the individual does not have to be responsible for the consequences of his/her anger and feels more safe. How else to explain the remarkable and sometimes lunatic appeasement of Islamofascists by so many governments and around the world? (e.g. here)

A very good example of displacement that comes to mind is the plot of an old movie called "The Seven Percent Solution",which is about Sherlock Holmes' intense obsession with Moriarity. In Holmes' mind (distorted somewhat by the use of cocaine) Moriarity is the master criminal who must be stopped at all costs. He is evil incarnate, and the source of all the diabolical events of the world (sound familiar?).

Not until the end of the movie, under hypnosis by Sigmund Freud, do we discover that in truth, Mr. Moriarity was Sherlock's hopelessly mundane math teacher, who happened to be having an affair with Holmes' mother and escaped when Holmes' father murdered her (with the young Sherlock looking on). This event in his youth apparently traumatized Holmes to such an extent, he was eventually driven to using drugs to eradicate it from his memory. And pursuing the mythical genius of crime--instead of holding his father or his mother to account.

I submit to you that this is exactly the same process going on now in the minds of many of the Bush Haters. They want desperately to forget that there is a tidal wave of terror reverberating around the world and to pretend that everything is America and Bush's fault. So what do they do? They lionize terrorists like Arafat. They explain away the horror and brutality of Zarqawi and his followers. They support Palestinian suicide bombings and vote for resolutions against Israel. They believe that Osama is a reasonable person, but that Bush is not. They threaten violence toward Bush and hold demonstrations; and implement Sharia Law in their country without a qualm. Hundreds of their fellow countrymen are murdered by terrorists, but they demand that their troops be pulled out of Iraq (thinking that if they hadn't cooperated with the evil BushHitler, their countrymen would have been spared).

Rather than blame the terrorists; rather than admitting they have to take action against them; their fear is transformed to anger and displaced onto President Bush. If everything is his fault, then the reality of what happened does not have to be faced (this also explains the intense psychological denial that these same individuals tend to have about 9/11). Bush thus becomes the "criminal mastermind", so devious, so evil, that everything he says is a "lie", everything he does is part of a vast global conspiracy. His family has intimate ties to Bin Laden and the Saudis; He is trying to avenge the insult to his father by getting rid of Saddam; He plans world domination etc. etc. I could go on an on, but you get the point.

Source: Dr. Sanity

My advice to you Lefties and other Obama worshippers, get over it. We aren't going away, and I'd like to let you chew on this: You ain't seen nothing yet.

You are getting just a tiny taste of what we have endured for eight years. Hopefully, you'll only have to endure it for four.

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