The Rich Already Leaving The US Ahead of Obama's Tax The Rich Promise

Wealthy Americans are already starting to abandon ship. The first high profile case was Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, who gave up his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore. A part time resident, he moved there permanently to avoid being overly taxed if Obama gets his way; though his lawyer claims it was for other reasons.

Now there's 68-year-old Denise Rich (ex-wife of billionaire trader Marc Rich) who turned in her passport back in November of last year. She's selling her posh Fifth Avenue co-op penthouse (all $65 million dollars worth of it) and moving to London. Her former lawyer says she's moving

"so that she can be closer to her family and to Peter Cervinka, her long-time partner."

But others believe it's also to save a bunch on taxes when the time comes.

You might recall that Rich's ex, Marc, was an international commodities trader who was indicted for illegally making oil deals with Iran during the Iran Hostage Crisis, and for tax evasion. He fled the country and was a fugitive until Bill Clinton pardoned him in 2001.

But Saverin and Rich aren't the only two who have left or are planning to leave the country. Around 1,800 people handed over their passports and green cards last year compared to between 300 and 400 in 2008. That's a huge jump in four years. And you can bet that if the rich are Obama-taxed, they will start leaving in droves. There's nothing stopping them, other than a hefty exit fee, but it's probably worth it to them in the long run.

What most people who berate the rich (especially those in the theatre world) fail to realize is that many of the wealthy, like Rich, also happen to be philanthropists and patrons of the arts. If you tax them too much, and they don't leave and take their money with them, they will stop supporting charitable organizations and the arts. The economy and the Madoff scandal have already sent theatres to an early grave, taxing the rich will bury even more.

And guess what? Rich is a Democrat.

Five Ohio Anarchists Busted By FBI For Trying To Blow Up Bridge

The five Ohio anarchists, who had planned on blowing up a bridge in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Cleveland, look like they could have stepped right out of Central Casting.  When I think of anarchists I think young, scruffy and stupid, like 20-year-old Connor Stevens, 23-year-old Joshua Stafford, 20-year-old Brandon Baxter and 26-year-old Douglas Wright, but Anthony Hayne is 35 and old enough to know better. As for stupid- apparently blowing up bridges, in their minds, does not constitute terrorism. And disrupting corporate America by blowing up a bridge downtown (which is what they had initially wanted to do) also effects your ordinary working schlub- a fellow 99%er in need of that weekly paycheck to pay his/her mortgage, and put food on the table for his/her kids. It seems that thought eluded them.

"Taking out a bridge in the business district... would cost the corporate big wigs a lot of money not just because of structural damage to the bridge but because it's going to stop a lot of people going to work," Brandon Baxter, 20, allegedly said in a secretly recorded conversation.

Apparently an informant alerted the FBI after the 'anarchist five' complained about their cohorts not wanting to "act violently", not enough action I guess, and so the group was infiltrated back in October by the Feds. For months they plotted how best to harm "Corporate America and the financial system,", they purchased explosives (which they had no clue did not work) and fretted about which target would be best:

They initially plotted to distract the police with smoke grenades while knocking signs off bank buildings, but decided there weren't enough people in Cleveland willing to participate in a riot.

Some of the other plots discussed were: targeting the headquarters of a neo-Nazi or Ku Klux Clan group; attacking a hospital or bank with stink bombs, explosives or paint guns; sinking a cargo ship; derailing a train; and action at the G8 summit in Chicago or the Republican convention in Florida.

They eventually settled on the plot to blow up a bridge that spans the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, although they had also discussed blowing up a bridge downtown.

Once the decision was made, they asked the informant to help them obtain the explosive materials and riot gear. Wright, naturally, said he could raise the funds selling pot. Even though they claimed they were not terrorists and didn't want to physically harm anyone, use of explosives anywhere leaves the possibility of injury.

They were arrested and charged with "conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce", after they attempted to detonate the inoperable bombs, which means prosecutors won't have too much trouble getting them a nice 8x12 in the slammer.

"The complaint in this case alleges that the defendants took specific and defined actions to further a terrorist plot," said Steven Dettelbach, US Attorney for the northern district of Ohio.

"The defendants stand charged based not upon any words or beliefs they might espouse, but based upon their own plans and actions."

Adios Anarchists.


Source: News.com.au

Jon Lovitz Skewers Obama

Former Saturday Night Live comedian and Democrat Jon Lovitz (who happened to vote for Obama) layed into Barack Obama on a podcast of his  ABC’s of SNL.

“This whole thing with Obama saying the rich don’t pay their taxes is fucking bullshit. And I voted for the guy and I’m a Democrat. What a fucking asshole.”
“The rich don’t pay their taxes? Let me tell you something, right, first they tell you–you’re dead broke–This is the United States of America, you can do anything you want, go for it. So then you go for it, and then you make it, and everyone’s like, Fuck you.” 

Co-host Kevin Smith argued with Lovitz that he was unfairly ripping on the 99%, Lovitz fired back by saying the director was “masquerading as a 99%er.”

More and more are becoming disenchanted with Obama, but not enough to make much of  a dent, and probably not enough to stop them from voting for him again.  And there are still many who are as enamored of him as they were when they voted for him four years ago.

Listen to other parts of the podcast, below.

LANGUAGE WARNING!

Michigan $1-Million Lottery Winner Loses Her Food Stamp Benefits

24-year-old Amanda Clayton ought to be ashamed of herself. So should her mother Euline.  Last September the young mother of two hit the jackpot when she won the $1-million dollar Michigan lottery. Granted her winnings dwindled to about half of that when she chose to take the money in a lump sum (less taxes), but that's still a hefty sum for an unemployed mom.  She immediately purchased a second house and a new car. But what Amanda didn't do was notify the Michigan Department of Human Services that she now no longer qualified for her $200.00 per month food stamp allotment, because, well, she thought she deserved it because she still had bills to pay.  According to an interview with Amanda on Detroit Local 4 TV station, she thought the state would cut her off, but since they didn't she figured it would be okay since she wasn't working. After all, she now has two houses to deal with. Amanda doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with continuing to collect food stamps even though she has a tidy sum in the bank, two houses, and a brand new car. No- because she has that typical feeling of entitlement that many 99%ers have, the classic 'the government owes me mentality.' 

And mama, Euline?  She won't comment on whether  what her daughter did  was right or wrong, although she did say "... it‘s nobody’s business if she’s not breaking the law.”

Well, as it turns out, it is against the law, and after much outrage Amanda is no longer receiving those food stamp benefits.   In fact, anti-fraud officials are on the case.



Bilking the government isn't anything new, it happens all the time in some form or another, and to a greater or lesser degree. Unlike the Seattle couple that were living in their $1.2 million house and collecting a lot more in welfare subsidies than the paltry $200.00 per month Amanda was getting for her food stamps, willfully stealing from the state is stealing from you and me, and that makes me angry.

"DHS relies on clients being forthcoming about their actual financial status,” Department of Human Services Director Maura D. Corrigan said in a prepared statement. “If they are not, and continue to accept benefits, they may face criminal investigation and be required to pay back those benefits.”

Millionaire Obama Has Nothing In Common With The 99% Who Still Adore Him

This photo has been making the rounds on Facebook, along with all the expected nastiness.

The individual that photoshopped these two pictures together clearly wanted to make everyone think that Romney is completely out of touch with the people compared to Obama. After all, here's millionaire Mitt Romney getting his shoes shined, while Barack Obama is fist-butting, or whatever that gesture is called, the common man.  The problem is, that's no shoeshine man, that's a TSA agent with a security wand doing his thing.

Whether it was a deliberate act to mislead or not, it was enough to cause a maelstrom of anger directed towards not just Romney but the entire Republican lot.  Even when one liberal 'friend' posted that he did not approve of the misleading propaganda, one piped in saying it was fair play because of Republican "lies." Referencing some programme she saw, another launched into a long diatribe about the Republican candidates'  "mansions" and how she believes Obama has her best interests at heart.  She believes he simply wants to put the country back on the right track- including cutting the debt. She went on to say that she believed the right wing wealthy candidates have nothing in common with her or the majority of the country.

Talk about out of touch, both my 'friend' and Obama. My friend is as out of touch because of her woeful, willful ignorance.  Obama, on the other hand is just out of touch because he is who he is. First of all, he's an elitist and a millionaire, to boot. People talk about Obama as though he's one of them, when he's not. He's one of the so-called "1%" along with all the Republicans everyone loves to lambaste:

In 2010 Gingrich paid 31.7% tax on $3,142,066 adjusted gross income, while Obama only paid 26.3% on $1,728,096. Newt Gingrich has a net worth of 7 million, on the other hand Obama has a net worth of 10.5 million.  And it's not like Obama lived in a nice, modest home when he was a Chicago senator.  In 2005 he purchased a home for over 1.5 million dollars, although it's not worth as much due to the housing crash. Obama also takes $4 million vacations, and his wife has a penchant for expensive designer clothes, as frightfully ugly as they might be.

Obama has absolutely nothing in common with my 'friend' or the other 99% who still adore him.