I might be unemployed but I’m not getting taxed. Thanks, I think?

Apparently, the Republicans and Democrats are close to a deal for extending Tax Cuts and Unemployment Benefits. A few months ago the debate was strictly about tax cuts so how did we get to this point? And who was involved in this deal? Or was the Obama Administration working backroom deals again?

Republicans don’t want the Bush-era tax cuts to end for all citizens. They especially don’t want them to end for small business owners who would be penalized by higher taxes. If the tax cuts expire, they will increase to higher levels. Republicans feel with higher taxes, business owners would not hire people or create new jobs. But what constitutes as a small business?? Some small businesses have multi-billion dollar revenues. They only classify themselves as small businesses in order to enjoy great tax benefits.

The Democrats want tax cuts permanently extend for all but the highest earners. If they don’t extend, the middle class will have to deal with a tax hike. And the middle class is already dwindling as we speak. Democrats want tax reductions that would benefit everyone making less than $250,000. Most people I know are scratching their heads trying to figure out when did $250,000 become a middle class salary? If $250,000 is a middle class salary, then I should be on welfare and living in the projects.

So what does unemployment benefits have to do with any of this? Apparently at the end of the year, they are set to end as well. And the Republicans were not going to sign off on them. They felt that the benefits were another thing that would increases the deficit. Probably, but aren’t tax cuts going to increase the deficit? So the two issues were somehow combined into one measure and that is how we got to this point.

So how long should tax cut extensions last? A one-year extension would put us right back where we are a year from now. A two-year extension would be revived again during the 2012 campaign. A three-year/four-year/five-year extension would be some other presidents’ problem.

Democratic constituents back home must be confused about what is going on in the District of Columbia. Republican senators and moderate Democrats blocked liberal Democrats from cutting tax rates on high income levels. I keep saying these “Blue Dog” Democrats are going to be the death of the Democratic Party. Even though the Republicans were able to do this, they still don’t have enough votes to extend tax rates permanently. So if it’s a stalemate, does that automatically mean you should compromise? President Obama doesn’t have his back up against the wall (i.e. held up at gunpoint). So why not call the Republicans bluff?? Is it because Obama doesn’t have the confidence that it will work out in his favor? He has proven before that he can be easily punked (please don’t ask me to name an instance because there are too many – but just to throw out some - British Petroleum and Shirley Sherrod)!!!

I didn’t major in finance and I don’t know anything about balancing a budget (À la Congress Charlie Rangel). I can balance my check book and the last time I looked I didn’t see an increase in salary. The problem middle class people have (if we are still being called that) is that everyone else is getting over but us. Many people were previously unemployed because of illegal actions by corporations. Many people are currently unemployed because corporations are trying to get them off their year-end books. Yet the people who run these corporations are about to receive a tax cut while their former employees fight for unemployment benefits!! If we are going to reduce the deficit, we have to make hard decisions. We can’t keep cutting taxes! I even hate saying it myself but fiscally it doesn’t make sense. What does make sense is to do SOMETHING that is going to create job growth. After this debate, the next one better be about how to create jobs. This two party system is getting real old. If the current parties can’t figure out how to decrease the deficit and create jobs, we will need a 3rd party who can.

My take on Tuesday’s Election Results: A few wins and a lot of losses. But the Republicans shouldn’t get it twisted.

You’ve heard about it in the news for months and finally it has arrived. The republicans swept through America like the plague on Tuesday. We knew they were going to get some wins but WOW!!!!!!!!!! From the national stage to the local stage –democrats took some L’s!!!!! It didn’t even matter if they were long time politicians. If they looked, smelled or felt like Democrats they got “lit up!!”


In my current state of North Carolina, the republicans had a historic victory. In 2008, North Carolina was thought to have turned a corner (A Red State to a Purple State). That didn’t last long. The republican’s almost took over the Mecklenburg County Commissioner Board with 3 at large bids. They only received 1. The other 2 went to the democrats. One of the democrats, incumbent Harold Cogdell Jr was everywhere speaking to anyone who would listen to him. I guess it worked out for him....


When I went to bed early Wednesday morning; Congressman John Spratt was talking
about a re-count. Dude!! It’s South Carolina, give it a rest and keep it moving. That’s why I’m laughing about people making a big deal about Republican candidate Nikki Haley (or the name her parents gave her Nimrata Randhawa) winning as South Carolina Governor. They haven’t had a democratic governor in 10 years. You can celebrate the fact that she is a woman but this was no upset.


Former Governor Charlie Crist is now unemployed after getting his head handed to him.
And based on the results Congressman Kendrick Meek should have never entered the
race. The democrats knew he couldn’t win but they let him run anyway. He was another person that got caught up in Obama’s 2008 win and thought he could duplicate it. Meek seems like a nice guy but he has the appeal of a loaf of wheat bread.


President Obama’s old Illinois Senate job was won by a republican and the governors’
race (as of this post) was still neck and neck. Republican candidates cleaned up state governors’ races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming and New Mexico. And Wisconsin has its first Republican Senator in 18 years!!!!


Blacks and other Minority Republicans kicked down the door on Tuesday night in grand fashion. At first glance, the minority “Tea Party” backed candidates help the Tea Party image of being inclusive. But after another look, Tuesday’s high level turn out of white male voters helps to negate that same message. I hope the congressional black caucus is not waiting for these new folks to join. Their allegiances are owed elsewhere.


Both snoozefest candidates Harry Reid and Andrew Cuomo beat lunatic opponents to win Governorships. And California turned down pot, elected a senior citizen and passed on a former CEO. Christine O’Donnell lost (no surprise) making witches and warlocks sad all across the nation (although she did say she wasn’t a witch). Personally, I would not have had a problem with her being a witch (even though she said she wasn’t a witch). Sabrina the teenage Witch was cool and she was cute too. And Bewitched was a hilarious television show (but again, she said she wasn’t a witch).


Republican Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao lost his bid to become a second
term U.S. House of Representative member. Cao became congressmen under
amazing circumstances. The democrat who had the job before him was crooked
and Hurricane Katrina misplaced the residents of the majority black district. He
seemed like a nice guy when you watched him being interviewed but I guess that
seat was always meant for a Democrat.


What happened on Tuesday was not a surprise or a fluke. With Obama’s “Spock” like nature, he comes across as being distant. But that’s just part of the problem. The real problem is what the democrats fail to understand.


The Democrats didn’t win all those seats in 2008 because they were such great politicians. Many of them were in office during “The Bush Years” and they let him walk all over them. They won because they were riding Obama’s coat tails (this list doesn’t include black politicians in mostly black districts, whites in strong democratic districts and Nancy Pelosi). Obama was able to win folks over by engaging them and making them believe he was different. He used social media to reach younger voters and he had canvassing in every state. And he was even on black radio more than Lil Wayne.


But a funny thing happened during the two years of the Obama presidency. The democrats stopped engaging the people that voted for them. Many of these folks were young, first time voters, and minorities. No one explained how politics worked and how they needed to stay active. These voters were left to watch the congress and the White House horse trade for the last two years. While politicians made closed door deals and argued over birth certificates and gay soldiers. The same people that voted for Obama, young people and minorities, were losing jobs, and homes. Ask an inner city black male, age 20 – 30, if he is doing better now than he was two years ago. Ask a teenager in the suburbs how hard was it to get a job last summer. And the first time voters….well you shouldn’t have expected a lot from them. If 2008 was the first time a 40 year old man voted……well….um…no comment. So in 2010, did you really expect these same people to come out in full force? As they say in New York….Come on son!!! Many Obama voters are suffering from voter apathy. And it showed on Tuesday night. The Republicans didn’t win a victory because American’s are tired of Obama. They won because their base was motivated and the other side wasn’t.

And they said we wouldn't make it. My experience with a White Male Tea Party Member.

Loyalty to country, always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it. ~ Mark Twain

A few weeks ago I met a member of the Charlotte NC Tea Party. It was by accident because I don’t randomly go around meeting Tea Party members. I always thought I would meet a porn star before running into a tea party member. I actually didn’t realize he was a tea party member until after I met him. Let’s rewind it back to how we met.


I was at a Crossroads Charlotte event concerning the state of our city. I was making an attempt to get out and meet people. In retrospect, I should have kept my behind at home. It was a downer of an event. No offense to Crossroads Charlotte because they put on a good event. It was the subject matter that bothered me. I spent my night listening to Charlotte officials telling us how broke we were.


Side Note: Top officials in education and local government have either taken raises or decided not to cut their salaries.


So after all the presentations, we sat around in groups coming up with solutions. I went on my usual rant about politicians being on the take……blah blah blah blah. I know they said they wanted solutions but screw that. I think we need to put a foot up in someone! Or we can just vote people out of office (for the non-violent types). The Politicians in my group (i.e. all of the Republicans) liked that kind of talk. They were big on cutting taxes and holding people accountable. And to be truthful, I like the sound of that as well. We also had the HWIC (Head Woman in Charge) of our local Public Broadcasting Station in our group. She was soliciting signatures to help save her station. Yep! We are so broke we can’t even keep PBS open.


So the rest of the group consisted of my wife and some crazy cat lady. She looked like she slept in a clothes basket, woke up and put on whatever was in it. She kept talking out of turn and pissing everyone off. And she looked like she combed her hair with pine cones. But I digress…. We didn’t come up with any solutions but I met people that I normally don’t come in contact with. I signed a petition for PBS (I’m a sucker for Ken Burns Documentaries). And I took a card from Corey Thompson, candidate for Mecklenburg County Commission At Large. He told me to call him so we could talk about the issues. He seemed like a nice guy and he was a school teacher in the hood so he couldn’t be too bad. Two weeks later I checked his website and that’s when I learned about his Tea Partying (is that even a legitimate word?). Citizen Wifey didn’t like that at all. She is a registered Democrat and I am an Independent. I use to be a Democrat but if you read previous posts………….well that’s another subject for another time. Anyway, I wondered why a nice guy got hooked up with a group like that. I only really knew about the tea party from what I saw on television. When most black people think of the tea party they think “CRAZY IGNORANT WHITE FOLKS.” And it doesn’t help when they have racist signs and crazy people on the tell-lie-vision.


But recently we have found out that the Tea Party members aren’t as crazy as they appear. It appears they are educated and make a good bit of change. Lex Luthor was also educated and paid so they are in good company. I have been debating on whether or not to call Thompson. I have some questions regarding his membership with the them.

1. Why are they so upset with the Government now when we have been on a downward spiral since the last president?
2. If they are a legitimate organization, what’s up with all of the racism?
3. What do you co-workers think about your Tea Party affiliation?


Sometimes I get curious and I want to know more about this dude. Finding a tea party member is like discovering a Yeti. But on the flipside, I might talk to him and want to punch him in his face. Oh, okay…it probably wouldn’t be like that. But I don’t want to get involved in a Rush Limbaugh type conversation. I dislike when racists try to convince you that they aren’t racists. They will say something like “I have plenty of black friends!” My response - “Your maid doesn’t count dummy!!!!” Or maybe I might find out this guy isn’t as bad as his group is advertised? He might have reasoning to show why his cause is just and true. I just wonder where was this party when Dubya “The Decider” (he of the “wire taps and debt to China” set) was in office? It could go either way because you really never know a person. People can tell you what you want to hear and if you are dumb enough you’ll believe it.


As of Today, Thompson was in 3rd place after 100% of the precincts reported their votes. It looks like he will make it to November’s General Election. Now he will really be under the microscope. If people don’t know about his tea party affiliation they will now. And his Democratic challengers will make sure everyone knows.

How do you grade a Cultural Icon?

This ain't politically correct. This might offend my political connects. – Jay Z

No one said it was easy being the Head of the American Empire. Every two months someone is grading President Barack Obama on his performance. I can’t remember previous presidents being graded in this manner. But since he is the “First Black” President, it is of no surprise. That means he is graded on a different presidential scale. Such is life!!! But it’s well within the rights of American Citizens to critique their leaders. If you listen to the Mainstream Media, they would have you believe that “every race and gender has a bone to pick with Obama.”


If you listen to Black Talk Radio, some black folks are heated with the 1st Brother in Chief. They are upset because they feel he does not care about black folks. High unemployment rates for black men and problems with metropolitan school districts are serious points of contention. I understand the pain in their voices but I believe they forgot something important. Obama didn’t run on a black issues platform. His run for the White House was based on America being color-blind. So there is no need for black folks to be upset about something Obama didn’t promise. What we can be upset about is his philosophy of “a rising tide lifts all ships.” Uneven unemployment numbers based on race and ongoing discrimination in hiring can’t be overlooked. It’s apparent that some people are riding in motorboats and others canoes.


What bothers me is not the criticism of Obama but the complaints from black folks when he is criticized. It’s as if he can’t do wrong and if you have a problem with him you are a traitor to your race. Why do Black Folks place such blind faith in their elected leaders? These people make a living off of telling you what you want to hear. They are most effective when you hold their feet to the fire. I don’t think that Obama doesn’t care about black folks. I believe he has different people in his ear (asking for STUFF) and he has to please them all. If you look at most modern day presidents, different ethnic groups had to stay on top of them in order to push their agendas. Why do we act like because Obama is black things will be different? If you look at who is surrounding him, you can see that not much has changed since Bill Clinton was in office. He practically has the Clinton Administration working for him. And although Clinton was the originally 1st black president (Per Toni Morrison), ethnic groups had to stay on him too.


Why isn’t it possible to separate Obama the man from Obama the President? How are we supposed to keep our politicians honest when we hold allegiances to them based on race? I’m personally not pleased with some of Obama’s decisions but I don’t think he is a total failure. There is a difference between wanting someone to fail and giving them constructive feedback. As black folks we need to know the difference. We can’t have serious debates regarding the issues if we can’t accept different viewpoints. The year 2010 is around the corner and “WE” have got to do better. We have people that don’t even know what the public option is and why we need it. It’s obvious that black folks don’t understand how the political game is played. We have to hold these politicians accountable regardless of race or gender. They work for us!!! They are not celebrities!!! If we treat them as such, they gain a false sense of security. Then they become lazy and stop doing what we elected them to do. In the end, that’s when it comes back to bite us in the behind (City of Detroit anyone???).