The Tribune Online, 40

Giving Thanks... 

Thanksgiving Day is generally a time that most Americans take to consider families, friends, co-workers, health providers, and anyone else that may have intersected with our hurried lives to make it more tolerable, if not more comfortable during those rough bouts. As I look over some work done some years back about the life of Booker T. Washington, I came across this photo below of his standing next to one of his closest friends, Clarence W. Allen Sr., a prosperous funeral director in Mobile.

Clarence, Sr. had a great grandson, Roger Allen who would marry a lady by the name of Tina. Tina became a world renowned sculptor and you can find some of her work at her website http://www.tinaallen.com. Unfortunately, Tina died September 9, 2008 at a much too young age.

My great fortune was that I got to know her quite well when she and Roger resided in Mobile before our parting the city, with her eventually going out to reside in California and my moving to Roanoke. Thus, I am fortunate to have known this very warm and giving person and to know that I can travel to various places to see reminders in her great works of art. 

Giving More Thanks...

From the book "How One Becomes Wealthy Despite Society's Ignorance and Stupidity":

"Kofi reminded me of Fred, who I told you reminded me of Sidney Poitier. Sidney was probably my favorite black actor and I guess it might have been that my grandmother loved him in the movie 'Lilies of the Field' and also the fact that she was my first source of survival wisdom. The two men she always spoke fondly of were Sidney Poitier and Booker T. Washington, whom she got to see and speak when she was a child."

Today, I'm watching a wonderful film starring Sidney entitled "The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn" a warm and wonderful film befitting Sidney in his golden years...a good family feature for Thanksgiving. You can order it via "Netflix".

Suvival Demands Acumen...my response

A respondent said this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXtrtw26L64  which is based on an "IR/IPAR" concept, illustrated below, might be too complex to understand...my response:

     "A major reason people will not survive is due to a lack of knowledge, and that includes knowledge that has either been incorrectly interpreted or dumbed down to deceive...such is the case of jackleg preachers...of which Booker T. Washington was very critical. Without acumen (vision) a people will perish. "Civil rights" has no merit without economic sustainability...as paraphrased by Booker T. Washington in his program of self-reliance for newly freed slaves." 

Continued Tax Breaks for the Top One Percent?

Economic Asininity at best, a continued ripoff at worst. The Republicans claim that these tax breaks to the top one percent spur economic growth and job creation. Big Banks are overflowing with capital that they won't release to small businesses for any number of reasons...and because they have this opulence to put into our economy via small businesses that are given to job creation is not one they can fall back on.

I remember shortly after taking on IBM in Federal Court, Big Blue at the time was making so much money, that they opted to buy "tax credits" of other companies, just so they wouldn't have to pay the IRS, in the name of "job creation". That scheme lasted only so long, when Big Blue hit the skids with the great "Wall Street" failure. The stock today is about a $140/share, back then it dropped to less than $40/share wiping out portfolios left and right for other " corporate get rich schemers". IBM eventually sold out to LORAL which turned right around and sold high tech info to China...making us wonder if this is going to somehow bite us in the asininty. 

Republicans still want to insist that allowing the top "fat cats" to continue to hide and hoard their ante to the US will somehow increase economic growth and create jobs? You fooled us once with that gimmick, and you want to see if we suckers can stand another dose of this asininity? Now, who's really trying to dumb down the nation?

Soaking the rich?

This is the portrayal of the Obama Administration by the "right wingers" when that's not the case at all. I, as a small business owner, don't like being taxed any more than any other small business owner, feeling I can best use that capital to grow my business as opposed to sending it to "Uncle Sam". However, it's a necessary obligation to maintain the economy that protects and defends the freedoms which allow us to function without excessive "state controls"..."free enterprise" if you will.

Therefore, let's talk about taxing fairly as to which the Republicans feel that it should not excessively affect the top one percent, even though that percentage controls as much as 80% of the "wealthflow" of this nation. There is also the claim going as far back as the "Great Depression" that this brood is responsible for whatever the American fiefdoms have "trickled down" to them...which is exactly the problem, no matter how this opulent group may have acquired their wealth...hook or crook.

Much, if not most of that wealth is not put back into the economy, but either hoarded off shore for future generations or supposedly job creation, with that also taking place primarily off shore as well...for most assuredly the banks are not allowing capital to flow to main street to those businesses in need. Therefore, should "Uncle Sam" hit the one percent in the "T-Bags"... I say hell yes, unless they can produce a track record of results in job creation in the states with their opulence...supporting their tax breaks.