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Romney’s Pants are On Fire…

 

Romney pumped out at least 20 lies last night, masquerading them as fact. What I found interesting is the statement he made about his sons who could tell the same lies over a period of time until they were accepted as fact. This is obviously a family trait.

Here are some examples of Romney’s fabrications:

Mitt: “I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut. I don’t have a tax cut of a scale that you’re talking about.”

A Tax Policy Center analysis of Romney’s proposal for a 20%  across-the-board tax cut in all federal income tax rates, eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax, eliminating the estate tax and other tax reductions, would reduce federal revenue $480 billion in 2015. This amount to $5 trillion over the decade.

Mitt: “I will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle-income families. I will lower taxes on middle-income families.”

The studies Romney cites actually further prove that Romney would, in fact, have to raise taxes on the middle class if he were to keep his promise not to lose revenue with his tax rate reduction. Combine this with his statement two weeks ago that “Middle Income” means an annual earning averaging $250,000.00 with a minimum of $200,000.00. That sure sounds like upper income to me. Us $50-60,000.00 folks will get taxed.

 

And what about corporations that ship jobs overseas?

If he’s such a businessman… who has actually sent companies to China… don’t you think he knows about the tax break?

I wonder ho many lies will come out of the VP debate? Ryan certainly has been spouting them since his nomination.

Frankly, I don’t believe anything the Republican candidates say. If they have learned to do a good performance of untruthful things then that is what has to be addressed. Obama better wise up to this.

 

 

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My Favorite Blogger Post of the Day:

Regarding Mitt Romney’s truly stupid comment about how airliners should have openable windows:

Romney ought to confine his remarks to the things he knows best: Having offshore bank accounts, hiding his tax returns, closing American factories and raping companies.

Heh. Indeed.

Badtux the Snark-appreciatin’ Penguin

Does Romney know he doesn’t live in Switzerland? Take a look at his tax return.

 

Romney, in his 1040 income tax form, listed himself as being in a foreign country…uh…the USA.

“If you have a foreign address,” the tax return instruction reads, “also complete spaces below.” In the space below, under “foreign country name,” Romney’s form reads “USA.”

 

Of course, it probably points out how rarely Romney actually fills out income tax forms. If he made the 12 years of forms previously available, maybe we could get a true sense of where Romney comes from.

 

Watching Romney on 60 Minutes led me to remember the things he was lying about…

 

Post these on your websites if you want to be aware of what Romney-Ryan will do to Medicare… and what they will do to employment and tax income, etc.:

Gee, I’m lucky… being in the oldest category they only grab about 50% of my retirement payments from Social Security (or all of my pension each year for the next 8… then it’s gone.)

Did you hear Romney say he was going to cut taxes on Middle America? Go you remember ythe other day when he said the income rate of Middle America started at $200,000.00 a year in annual income… and averaged a quarter of a million dollars. All at once I was not part of Middle America any more. Neither were ALL of the people I know and deal with every day in West Virginia.

I hope most people realize the bullshit Romney is bubbling over with. We have the possibility of having the worst president in history. Let’s avoid that situation by not voting for him.

 

How do Romney’s 47% of non-taxpayers break down by state?

Romney better take a good look st the Republican south when insulting half of their population.

Bob Schieffer sums up Congress pretty well…

 

Bob said this on CBS last Sunday:

There will be three more unemployment reports before the election. Congress has gone on vacation for the next five weeks, leaving work on their desks involving jobs, taxes and the budget deficit.

Congress managed to get through last year without passing one single piece of significant legislation. It would be hard to do worse than that, but this crowd may actually manage to do it.

And there’s also a couple of fairly important items that have to be resolved one of these days: whether to let the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year, and whether or not to block a draconian $110 billion across-the-board cut in defense and domestic spending.

No word on what if anything they plan to do about those items. Truth is, no one expects them to do anything until after the election. The way it stands right now, if the U.S. Capitol caught on fire, this Congress could find a way to make it a partisan issue and do everything but call the fire department.

They went on vacation? I expect we’re paying for these yoyos to spin out at the end of the string.

Look at it this way:

 

 

Poll shows Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on the rich is a winning political position…

The proposal Obama has made to raise taxes on households making at least $250,000 a year was the subject of a poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

The survey found that 44% thought the tax increase would help the economy, 22% thought it would be harmful, and 24% didn’t think it would make a difference. An identical percentage, 44%, said a tax hike on better-off Americans would make the tax system fairer, while 21% said it would make the system less fair.

There is a deep partisan divide over the proposal.  Democrats, by a large margin, said the tax hike would boost the economy and make the tax system fairer. Republicans thought the opposite, though by smaller margins.

Since this has to be decided before Jan. 1st when all the Bush tax cuts disappear by law, it will be interesting when it gets Congressional attention. Odds are it won’t be until after the November election and will depend on who gets elected President.

Take the Tax Fairness Pledge…

If you filed on April 15th and want to find out how much you saved in your taxes, you can go to FairEconomy.org and take the Tax Fairness Pledge”… something the top 400 of the very rich could effect our whole economy by taking. The top 1% of the country took in 90% of the income gains in 2010, so they’re doing just fine. But lately the folks at the top have not been asked to pay their fair share in taxes.

If these rich folks had paid their fair taxes, what could it have meant? Just how rich are they?:

Even if they only paid ALL of their Income gains above 35% they could cover at least half of all this stuff!

What about you? Are you paying your fair share (or more) of taxes? You can find out HERE by using the calculator, then sign the Tax Fairness Pledge, where you can select necessary areas to contribute excesses to.

My thanks to United For a Fair Economy.

The extra $40.00…

President Obama in a live speech today defended maintaining the tax deduction to the Middle Class to say that it is $40.00 a paycheck. What difference, the critics say, does $40.00 make?

Thinking about this as I went out for groceries in Martinsburg, I passed by gas stations where the price was now $3.85 a gallon for regular. Only two weeks ago it was 40¢ a gallon less. Given my regular driving record, that adds $40.00 to a biweekly part of my monthly Social Security payment.

In other words, $40.00 is a lot of money when you’re not sitting on a pile coming in from your low-taxed investments.

Since Republicans don’t mind cutting taxes on the wealthy, but don’t want to continue the payroll cuts on the other 90% of us, maybe our answer is not to drive ANYWHERE anymore. Of course, then, a lot of people won’t get to their jobs. Or get their kids to school. Or make doctors’ appointments.

The world changes and we get poorer.

And meanwhile our state, local and federal governments are doing nothing to bring the once regulated price of gas down to where we can afford it again.

Looks like Boehner is ready to raise some taxes… What will Grover Norquist say?

Two quotes for the afternoon:

“I think there is room for revenues, but I think there clearly is a limit to the amount of revenues that are available.”

John Boehner

 

“The comment was significant because Boehner and other Republican leaders have repeatedly insisted that tax increases are off the table, and most Republicans in the House and Senate have signed a “taxpayer protection pledge” vowing not to raise taxes.

“That pledge was devised by Americans for Tax Reform, an advocacy group run by Grover Norquist, whom Boehner dismissed as “some random person in

America” when he was asked about Norquist today. Later in the day, Boehner revised his comments.”

– Nancy Cordes, CBS News

 

Getting a late start on the blog today…

Bill & Elly Wide Awake

Elly and I had to get up at 6AM today, eat, walk the dogs and head for Baltimore to BWI to pick up our grandson Milo who flew in from Connecticut to visit his Aunt Penny and our other three grandchildren. We had to get to the airport, which is an hour and a half away from us at least, 45 minutes before his plane lands so that one of us (me) can get the consent papers to pick him up, go through the x-ray and search procedures to get down to the gate and then wait for his arrival.

Then we had to reverse direction and get him to Penny’s house for lunch. In all it took about 6 1/2 hours out of our day and now I’m back and can start posting and reading everyone else’s posts.

So give me some time to see what’s going on and I’ll get right back to you.

Repeat after me: LESS TAX CUTS!

I’m getting really tired of these right-wing corporation kissers who are demanding MORE TAX CUTS when we are already taxing less as a percentage of GDP than we have since 1950 (and if you remember at that point, the upper 1% of rich Americans was being taxed close to 90%).

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BCA) puts it this way in it’s report:

Federal, state and local taxes — including income, property, sales and other taxes — consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010.

“‘The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts,’ says Michael Ettlinger, head of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress.”

Let’s get down to the real changes that are necessary:

A. If we are going to cut expenses let’s bring home the troops and cut the military…

B. Let’s get the same deal on pharmaceuticals that the VA has for all Americans (and save $50 Billion)…

C. Bring the tax levels on the upper 1% back to what they were the day before Bush lowered them…

Of course, we are going to see the Republicans hang on to the Paul Ryan plan because they have all but married it. Don’t expect changes from the House then. And hope that Obama and the Senate don’t knuckle under. Just get us to the 2012 elections and eject the idiots who have made the House the non-voice of the people.

Obama is apparently going to propose a tax increase… It’s about time!

While I’m sure the tea-party types (and, hell, most of the Americans who have bought the Koch Brothers’ self-indulgent crap) will yell like wounded hyenas over this, an increase in taxes for those earning the big bucks has to happen.

Here’s a clip from HuffPo… but go in and read the whole thing:

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com
Higher taxes have been missing from the fierce budget battle that nearly shut down the federal government. But President Barack Obama is about to put them on the table – at least a modest version that he had pushed before and then rested on the shelf.
Most economists and budget analysts say a comprehensive mix of spending cuts and tax increases is essential to any viable deficit-reduction plan. Yet few players in the negotiations have gone there.
It comes in the scramble to heed what is widely viewed as a loud clamor from voters to slam the brakes on runaway government spending. There has been no corresponding public demand for raising taxes.
The president is expected to bring back his recommendation, first made in the 2008 campaign, to end Bush-era tax cuts for households earning over $250,000 a year.

When you pay your taxes on April 15th, think what life would be like if you were a big corporation…

My niece Kelsey posted this on her Facebook page and I thought it deserved a wider distribution. Thanks to our pal Bernie Sanders, we get a good look at the good deal you get on taxes if you are one of the top 10 corporate entities on his list:

Wow! What are we doing wrong?

How Gov. Haley Barbour Cuts Costs…

Haley Barbour, Air Traveler

It’s hypocrisy time again among the Republicans. Taegan Goddard put up this piece which he took from Time Magazine this morning. 

And this guy may run for President (that will take care of his flying costs for at least four years if he wins.)

clipped from politicalwire.com

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, his wife and three aides flew in a luxury jet to Washington in February “for a weekend of politicking, including an appearance on Fox News Sunday and a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference,” Time reports.

 

He told the gathering: “Our problem is not that we tax too little. It’s that we spend too much.”

However, it appears Mississippi taxpayers “paid the tab for Barbour’s first-class travel. State documents obtained by Time show that Mississippi shelled out $7,020 to shuttle Barbour and his entourage to and from D.C. on its Cessna Citation, a cost that Barbour says is justified by state work he did in D.C. over the same weekend.”

I just joined The Other 98%… you should, too

Here are their stats:

We are…

Hard-working Americans who are tired of seeing CEOs and lobbyists hijack our democracy to serve themselves at the expense of everyone else.

Middle class Americans who for decades have dutifully paid our taxes while watching the biggest corporations and very wealthiest Americans pay a smaller and smaller share (50% less since 1950).

Citizens tired of borrowing trillions from China, mortgaging our children’s futures in order to give handouts to the wealthiest 2%.

Citizens tired of being ignored amidst the media fascination with the antics and misinformation of the Tea Party, a fringe 2% which distracts us from solving the very real problems facing America.

Disenfranchised Tea Partiers outraged about Wall Street bailouts and the unfairness of a system that gives massive tax breaks to global corporations and the very rich while leaving the rest of us to pick up the tab.

We are all of us…

No matter what creed, color, religion or trade, we’re all in this together. Everyone — from the single mom just scraping by to the richest man on the hill — share a common interest in keeping America the best country on Earth.

We are often too busy to be heard, but we are everywhere. And we are hopeful.

Join us.

I found them when I saw this comparison of George Soros with the Koch Brothers at The Political Carnival:

Staying out of the weather and watching the Congress…

It’s been snowing steadily since nine this morning and, while the dogs love walking around in it, I’m looking for reasons to stay inside today. One of those reasons is to watch the Senate debate the START treaty, which is not even close to the action in the tax cut extension debates earlier on, and flipping back to the House of Representatives who nearly completed debate on the rule for taxes when Rep. McGovern (D-MA) pulled the bill off the floor. Lawmakers are uncertain if they have enough votes to bring the tax bill to the floor.

Before the debate on the tax bill starts, the House first needs to pass the rule on how the debate and votes will go, with a simple majority vote. If the rule passes, the will be three hours of general debate and one amendment to change the inheritance tax provisions in the bill. For the last two hours, though, nothing has happened and the House is now out. The Democrats were supposed to go into a closed meeting, but the word from CSpan is that the Closed Meeting has been delayed. Whether or not they come back this evening, I don’t know.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which the House voted to end yesterday, went the to Senate and lost. The Senate has failed to get past a roadblock on a bill that would repeal the policy banning gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The procedural vote failed, 57-40, and was mostly along party lines. Sixty votes were needed to move forward.

All in all, it has been pretty dismal in Congress today.

Renewing the Bush Tax Cuts Is Like…..

Renewing the Bush Tax Cuts Is Like:

” driving your car off the cliff, paying a tow truck twice the price of the car to haul it back up, then driving it back over because your brother-in-law’s cousin’s friend told you this time it will fly.”

(this is a contest By larry beinhart (about the author)

Go to this section of OpEd News to Enter and see the other responses.

Saturday morning and I’m watching the Senate vote on the tax bill…

Right now they are voting on the Baucus Amendment, which is identical to the bill passed by the House last week. This extends tax cuts across the board up up to $250,000 per family income. If this fails they go to the Schumer Amendment which extends the Bush tax cuts up to $1,000,000.00.

I don’t believe either of these will pass, since the Republicans are holding out for complete extension of all Bush tax cuts… including those for the very wealthy which will cost our country over a trillion dollars this year. However, what will be seen in public is that the Democrats are trying to deal with the two problems of the economy and the deficit, while the Republicans are holding out to make the deficit much, much worse and to benefit the very wealth 1% at the top of our population.

It looks like we are getting a straight “NO” from Republicans (even Brown from Massachusetts and Collins from Maine who were hinted at to be crossovers.) I didn’t see on the Democrat side what Ben Nelson did, or if any other Dem went for the Republican side. It’s no surprise but fucking Lieberman just went with the Republicans (What a surprise!, says my wife.)

Vote on this one was 53 to 36… since, due to the filibuster it needs 60 votes, this one didn’t make it.

____

Harry Reid just interrupted the proceedings to go over the next week’s schedule.

Now they are voting on whether to move forward with the Schumer Amendment with the million dollar break.

____

Schumer’s Amendment would extend unemployment for a year as well.Since it looks like all the Senators are on the floor now, this vote should go faster than the last. Looking at the floor I see that Democrats are talking to Democrats and republicans are talking to Republicans and no pleasant interaction is happening between parties.  Our Senator Rockefeller has voted against this one, and I’m surprised. Perhaps I shouldn’t be, but when even Ben nelson votes for it, I wonder why Rockefeller ties in with the right on this one. Lieberman voted No on this one as well.

Tom Harkin has voted No on this one… and, if so, there must be a reason. Durbin has voted No as well. Something tells me they want to go to the original drafting of the bill with no amendments. Or else they are trying to make sure nothing gets through and the Taxes are automatically restored on January 1st (which, as you know, would be my preference.)

Vote is 53 – 37 and the motion is not agreed to.

_____

Now Mitch McConnell is giving a speech to insult Democrats for wasting time and claiming that there is BiPartisan demand to extend the tax cuts for everyone, including the wealthy, and he also claims that the public agrees (just not the 70% who have been polled.)

So now we’re going into open speeches by both sides. It begins with Mary landrieu (D – Louisiana) commenting on Mitch McConnell’s insults and questioning if he is not embarrassed by saying publicly that his main goal is to prevent Obama from being reelected in 2012.

God, it’s hard to watch this crap.

Welcome to December… let’s watch Congress drag us further into misery.

We are starting December with a very heavy rain… it began around midnight last nite and was still raining five minutes ago when I brought the dogs in from their 10:30 AM walk. I expect it to keep raining most of the day. The low spots on our back lot are flooded already and I imagine groundwater rises are happening all over town. I’ll find out when I go out to the store a little later.

December begins the three or so weeks that Congress has remaining in the Lame Duck Session before all the overpaid and underaccomplishing elected officials head home for the holidays to brag about what they did or didn’t allow to get passed and beg for money. Perhaps they will leave after making at least one or two progressive legal advances get through before the Republicans take over the House and add to their seats in the Senate. Taxing the Wealthy would be one legal wonder. I don’t count on it as Obama seems, as usual, getting ready to cave. To me, the best thing would be for nothing to happen and the taxes go back in place for everyone.

I heard one Republican Congressman say on a TV interview that if the taxes go back to pre-Bush levels, the average tax increase for us poor middle-classers will be around $2,150.00.  This, of course, is not true… the average is thrown way off by the top 1% of the population whose millions-through-billions in income throw off the 99% that averages in the lower thousands. This is being done to scare the middle and lower class voters into supporting the Reps and Senators being paid off by the Murdochs of the world. I expect my taxes to go up a couple of hundred dollars at most… and the amount that would be taken from the wealthy 1% would bring in a huge amount of bucks… perhaps over a trillion dollars.

In reality, if the overall Bush tax cuts for EVERYONE are extended for a couple of years it will put us the same trillion-plus deeper into debt. And if you think that will improve our economy and increase jobs I have a great bridge to sell you.

David Stockman, Reagan’s Budget Director, says GOP has abandoned fiscal responsibility…

This morning on Fareed Zakaria’s show:

So, is there something we DON’T know?

A Quote We Should All Remember…

This from an ABC interview…  I think it sums things up pretty well:

“The rich are always going to say that, you know, “Just
give us more money, and we’ll go out and spend more,
and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you.”
But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope
the American public is catching on.”

Billionaire Warren Buffett

Joe Conason quoted a group of millionaires supporting the end of the Bush Tax Cuts for them…

I appreciate these guys, and Joe Conason should be patted on the back for pointing them out. Here is their letter to President Obama:

We are writing to urge you to stand firm against those who would put politics ahead of their country.

For the fiscal health of our nation and the well-being of our fellow citizens, we ask that you allow tax cuts on incomes over $1,000,000 to expire at the end of this year as scheduled.

We make this request as loyal citizens who now or in the past earned an income of $1,000,000 per year or more.

We have done very well over the last several years. Now, during our nation’s moment of need, we are eager to do our fair share. We don’t need more tax cuts, and we understand that cutting our taxes will increase the deficit and the debt burden carried by other taxpayers. The country needs to meet its financial obligations in a just and responsible way.

Letting tax cuts for incomes over $1,000,000 expire, is an important step in that direction.

…and that from over 40 patriotic Americans.

This has me pissed off…

From McClatchy:
Democrats unlikely to repeal tax cuts for the rich

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com
Democrats in Congress are poised to play a leading role this month in thwarting their party’s effort to raise income tax rates on the wealthy.
Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at the end of this year. President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have been eager to extend the breaks for individuals who earn less than $200,000 annually and joint filers who make less than $250,000. Those who earn more would pay higher, pre-2001 rates starting next year.
However, a small but growing number of moderate Democrats are balking at boosting taxes on the rich. Many face electorates that recoil at the mention of any tax increase. Some represent areas that are loaded with wealthier taxpayers. Further, some incumbent senators who don’t face voters this fall are reluctant to increase taxes on anyone while the economy remains sluggish.

Without their support, the push to raise rates on the rich probably will fail.

Picked this up from Op Ed News…

As a blogger, I find this particularly displeasing (and a violation of Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech).

This is the opening couple of paragraphs, but the rest is worth reading (and responding to):

clipped from www.opednews.com

Boycott Philly? Why Philadelphia’s Licensing and Taxing of Blogs is Creeping Fascism
By Darren Wolfe (about the author)

The recent decision by the City of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania to require a Business Privilege License ($50 a year or lifetime cost of $300) of blogs and that the blogs be taxed on any profits has generated a well deserved outcry from free marketers across the country.

Many have invoked Chief Justice John Marshall’s famous words, “The power to tax involves the power to destroy.” They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.

The tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is
the licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government’s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.

Read the rest HERE.
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The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE.", "r to destroy.\u201d They are right, this will be the end of independent blogging in Philadelphia and around the world when this spreads across countries.\n\nThe tax is actually the least of the threats to blogging the city is creating. The major threat is\nthe licensing. Once the precedent is established that blogs can be licensed the government\u2019s control of the blogosphere will grow in small increments until it can shut us all down by simply requiring and then denying said license.\n\nRead the rest HERE."]}