Good News for Investors

Finally, we have some good news for investors. Robert Herz has resigned from the FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board). Why is that important? He and his cronies were responsible for pushing the economy off the cliff with their experimental mark-to-market regulations that made it impossible to bring companies like Lehman and AIG back from the brink. The repeal of mark-to-market in 2009 was the single biggest factor in the recovery we've seen in both the stock and bond markets. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Racial and Gender Hiring Quotas

Dodd and Frank once again slide a special interest rider into a mega bill. Section 342 of the new Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act imposes both gender and racial employment quotas on the financial services industry. This will cost taxpayers over $58M annually and companies over $4B annually. It's also racial and gender bigotry. The is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Founding Fathers - Brilliance or Luck?

This segment examines the motivation of the Founding Fathers. Currently, many political groups are using the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as symbols of what we want to strive for, but do we really understand their motivations. Was the success of these documents brilliance or luck? This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Rick Scott's Political Balancing Act

The two party system just isn't giving us any real options come November. The Florida Gubernatorial Republican primary left us with what looks like a solid conservative candidate in Rick Scott. Look a little deeper and you have to ask yourself, "Is he any different than the people we're complaining about right now?" I don't think so! This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Who's Crossing the Border?

Pew Research recently showed data suggesting that the number of illegal border crossings has been cut in half. Now my question is, who is still making the trip? Bad guys of course! This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Is President Obama an economic Idiot

As President Obama announces potential tax cuts to businesses, you have to ask yourself, "Is he an economic idiot?" This proposal is all hype and political maneuvering. Congress can't make this happen and even if they did it still doesn't create the right long term effect. What we need is to eliminate corporate tax completely and forever. This will bring back corporate investment, repatriate offshore profits, and put people back to work.

Pledge of Allegiance

What does the Pledge of Allegiance mean to you? This video investigates the meaning of the words and how it might help us come together as one America. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Time to Clean the Cabinet

It's time to clean the White House's cabinet. The appointees have failed, one right after another. On top of that we now have the DOJ refusing to charge terrorist murderers and the State Department reported Arizona to the U.N. on Human Rights violations. It's time to clean house. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

McCain...Really??

The Republican and Democratic parties have failed to provide us with reasonable candidates. They are giving us a choice between bad and worse when we enter the voting booth. We must stop the idea of career politicians who can buy elections with special interest money. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Unions Can Move the Mosque

The building of a Mosque near Ground Zero is not an expression of 1st Amendment rights. The people who can stop this are the Union and Merit Construction workers of NYC. It's time for them to step up! This is part of the Political Common Sense for America video series.

Red Light Camera Lawsuit

How can we expect politicians to be honorable when we can't do it ourselves. There are several lawsuits trying to stop the use of cameras to catch and ticket people who run red lights. If you break the law then suck it up, pay the penalty, and maybe save a few lives. What are we thinking?

Political Common Sense for America - Newsletter

Quick & Easy Non-Partisan News
This weeks edition of
Political Common Sense for America - Newsletter:

http://tinyurl.com/vol42-081310

----

Making Headway Deporting Illegals

Recently, ICE Director John Morgan claimed great success with record deportations. The problem is that he doesn't know his history and when you calculate in the number of illegal births every year, we're not making much headway. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America video series.

What Is Your Life's Blueprint?

This is a reading of the Dr. Martin Luther King speech, sometimes called "The Street Sweeper". The purpose of this video is to make people aware that in 1967, Dr. King understood that education, perseverance, and self-worth was going to change more than all of the politicians and legislation combined. At a time when we have 30% dropout rate, it's important to hear these words and make certain that our children have a blueprint for their lives.

Political Common Sense for America - Newsletter

Here is the link to this week’s Political Common Sense for America - Newsletter. This week I discuss: Unwed Mothers, Job Killer Tax Regulation, and Pres. Obama’s dereliction of duties. Old Grumpy Guy can’t stand the self-righteous attitude of the politicians.

Just click on the following link:

http://www.thefranklinparty.org/Newsletter/vol41-080610.pdf

You can also find an archive of all the past newsletters at:

http://www.thefranklinparty.org/Newsletters.html

Please feel free to pass this on to friends and family; and as always, thanks for your email comments and continued support!

Overturning Gay Marriage Ban

There is a lot of press right now on the overturning of the gay marriage ban in California, but I think the bigger issue is that the government shouldn't have anything to do with it in the first place. Marriage is a religious ceremony that has been hijacked by the government to enforce a legal contract on people. This is a contradiction to the 1st Amendment. Find out how this can be fixed.

Rep. Waters Should Go To Jail

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) used her position and power to better her personal wealth. The House Ethics Committee wants to chastise her, but I think she should go to jail. Find out exactly why and what the media isn't focused on. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Obama Ignores the Boy Scout Anniversary

Obama has now twice chosen to make a campaign stop instead of fulfilling his duties as President. In this latest disgrace, he ignored an invitation to talk to 45,000 boy scouts at their 100th anniversary. Instead he went on ABC's "The View" to chat it up and campaign for himself and the Democratic Party.

Suing Mexico for Illegal Immigration - Part 2 - Drug Cartels

Judge Bolten has castrated the Arizona Immigration law and now more than ever we will have to deal with the problem ourselves. One idea is to have all 50 states sue Mexico and the drug cartel families for damages. It's time to point the finger at the real bad guys.

Suing Mexico for Illegal Immigration

Mexico is currently suing Arizona over their new immigration law. What if we as citizens and states start suing Mexico for illegal immigration practices. What if we sue to recover the hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars used to cover their mistakes as a nation and the mass exodus that it has caused?

FOXNews is Soft on the Tea Party

I believe that FOXNews is Soft on the Tea Party. After rightfully attacking the NBPP and the NAACP for racially bigoted remarks, FoxNews, barely covered the horribly racial blog letter where Tea Party Express' Mark Williams suggested that "colored people" want to go back to being slaves.

Stop the Unemployment Checks

It is time to stop the unemployment check extensions. We need a far more effective and transparent way to help the people who are truly in need. It's time to stop funding people who don't really need it. We need our representatives in Washington to stop pandering for votes and start creating jobs.

Tea Party Bigots

This video examines the NAACP's claim of bigotry and racism within the Tea Party. I chastise Mark Williams for writing a very racially insensitive blog and also call out the NAACP for their less than clean record. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America video series. You can find the full letter that was posted by Mark Williams at: http://www.thefranklinparty.org/Newsletter/markwilliams.pdf

Is LeBron James a Runaway Slave?

Jesse Jackson has made ridiculous racist claims against the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but has stayed silent regarding the New Black Panther Party. In this video we describe how outrageous and hypocritical he is being. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America video series.

Who is Dr. Donald Berwick?

Dr. Donald Berwick is now in charge of a larger share of the U.S. Budget, then the Pentagon. He was put in place with no vetting or discussion because our leaders in Washington don't care about the Constitution or your opinion. They have systematically taken your taken your vote and made it worthless. Check out who Dr. Berwick is and how he intends to run the most important agency in the government. This is part of the Political Common Sense for America video series.

Regulations and Unions Stain the Gulf

Everyone wants to throw BP under the bus for the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, but what about the Federal Regulators and the Unions? How have they made matters worse? How have they put special interest in front of the health of the Gulf and the American people? This video is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

LeBron James is Smart on Taxes

This video points out that LeBron James may have had more than basketball on his mind when he chose Miami for his new home. It also shows that our state and local taxes have more to do with employee and employer decisions than you might think.

Racially Based Voter Intimidation

This video takes a look at the racially based voter intimidation that occurred in Philadelphia last fall. The Department of Justice has failed us again and it is time to take a different approach. The real questions is, "Who should be responsible for reining in the militant radicals of all cultures?" This video is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Texas Rep. Riddle Interviewed on Immigration

This video is an Interview with Texas Rep. Debbie Riddle on the Immigration legislation she is reintroducing in the state legislature. Her intention is to provide the citizens of Texas with the safety and security they deserve. This video is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Pres. Obama's Ignorance on Technology

The purpose of this video is to demonstrate Pres. Obama's Ignorance on Technology. This includes his statements at a college graduation, where he suggests information distracts us from Democracy. What part of having more information and hearing alternate viewpoints distracts us from being able to make an intellignet decision on the successes and failures of our political leaders?  This kind of rhetoric demonstrates just how low a politician will go to protect his job.  Stop trying to keep the voter ignorant.  Information is the key to our future!

This video is part of the Political Common Sense for America series.

Political Racism

I grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It was a time of upheaval and a time of introspection. We as a country weren’t living up to the Constitution and it was catching up with us. Even though we had emancipated the slaves, we still hadn’t given them the rights allowed them by the Constitution as citizens of this country. In my opinion, it was tele-vision that opened our eyes to the injustice.

It was the efforts of a handful of leaders on both sides that made it possible for us to move past all of that insanity. Until recently, it appeared the lines of color, that had once divided us, had almost dis-appeared. Don’t get me wrong, there were still lines, but they had changed. The delineations were now based on class which was measured primarily by financial status. That’s right, we might not have gotten all the way to measuring a person by their character, but it was clearly more about their income than it was the color of their skin.

This is why I’m dumbfounded that our current leaders are attempting to create a divide between races once again. The President has even gone as far as calling upon African-Americans and Latinos to help him continue this change. What change? Back to a time when you hated your neighbor because of the color of his/her skin? Are these people mad or just manipulative power mongers that will create a race war just to maintain control?

Michelle Obama, during the campaign, said that she was finally proud of America. Well, is she proud of what her husband and her party are doing right now? How proud can you be of undoing the work of Martin Luther King? I’m personally tired of the identifiers. I’m Polish, but I don’t need to be called a Polish-American or a European-American. It’s time to live up to the legacy of the past civil rights leaders and just become Americans.

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

What is wrong with our elected officials? Have they lost their minds or are they really that bad at math and economics? Is it because most of them have never actually run a business or worked a job outside of a law office or outside of Washington? How hard is it to understand that the one thing, the only thing that will make it better for Main Street is Jobs!!!

Let’s stop all of the talk about a Climate Change Bill or a Financial Reform Bill. Just stop it. You guys aren’t smart enough to come up with anything that will really work, even if there was a problem. Let’s focus on creating jobs, and then after we get some tax base built back up, then, and only then, can we talk about anything else.

Are you ready Washington? I’m going to give you the simplest and most straightforward jobs program you’ve ever seen. Give every small business ($100M in revenue and less) a $5000 rebate for every new hire that they employee for a minimum of 6 months. There, nothing complicated, no mental gymnastics, just plain and simple. Take the group that hires the most people and reward them to do a lot of it.

Now, I can hear the cries of the budgetary hawks, “Where are we going to get the money for this?” Okay, here is where the math and accounting skills come in, so for those in Washington I’ll go slowly. Right now, we the taxpayers are paying people on average $250 per week in unemployment. That comes to $6000 for 24 weeks, or 6 months. So, what we will be doing is paying employers to hire people with the same money that would have been used for their unemployment. Oh my, goodness, I’m a genius…Not! This idea is just basic common sense that one of our contributors came up with months ago.

Wait there’s more…not only will we be saving $1000, but it won’t cost taxpayers $5000 because the people that get hired will be paying taxes. It’s almost like the taxpayers will be getting interest on their investment before they pay for it. Think about what this could do for the consumer led economy.

So, I have one question…Why haven’t we seen this bill brought in front of the House? Why hasn’t one Congressperson made mention of this? I’m baffled!

Understanding the Federal Budget

The two video's below discuss the basics of the inflow and outflows from the Federal Budget.  It is necessary to understand these before you can make an informed decision on Tax Reform.  In future posts I'll cover different options of Tax Reform.






If you have any questions please comment here or send them to info@thefranklinparty.org ..thanks.

ACLU Sues Over Drone Attacks

Please tell me this is just a silly mistake. Tell me that the ACLU was just kidding, a bad April Fool’s joke. Wishful thinking, but the reality is the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has decided to sue the U.S. Government for details on the drone strikes in our war against terrorists. They feel that the use of these surgical strikes may be against international law.

“The government's use of drones to conduct targeted killings raises complicated questions – not only legal questions, but policy and moral questions as well,” said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project.

Okay, here’s my cut at this, the ACLU is way out of bounds on getting involved in this issue. Why are they out of bounds? The “A” stands for American. When did international law become part of their mission? Civil Liberties, refers to defending the Bill of Rights for all citizens. I don’t believe we are using drones on American’s.

Even if they could somehow explain all of that, then I still have to question their goal here. If they somehow prove that drones aren’t supposed to be used, then what is the alternative?” Option 1 is to use missiles, which are far less accurate and create greater civilian casualties. Option 2 is to place more American servicemen, and women, in harm’s way to keep us safe here in the 50 states. Is the ACLU’s goal to encourage the death and injury of more Americans soldiers? If so, then I have to think it’s time for all of these people that call for regulation of industries to place the ACLU in their cross hairs. Maybe, to maintain their non-profit status they need to stay closer to their original mission statement? Maybe, we need to rein in the power and money that supports this rogue group.

Prop 8 - Division between Church and State

By Brian J. Boeheim – Author of Political Common Sense for America

Did I miss the moment in time when religious freedom became something we voted on? If I recall, the whole reason people came all the way here, from Europe, on wooden ships was to avoid religious persecution. How then have we come to the point where the religious act of bonding two people through marriage has become something politicians stump on, judges rule on, and voters vote on. This is not about sexual preferences; this is about the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and the right to freedom of religion. It reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”

How did all of this get started?

In order to maintain control of ownership, debt, and taxation; the government once again stepped over its Constitutional authority. Through the Internal Revenue Service, and licensing laws, it has set up a legal definition for marriage. It has no authority to do that. If anything the federal government should be preventing individual states from defining marriage.

What’s next a legal definition of prayer? I can see it now, prayer as defined by lawyers and politicians. This wouldn’t just be limitations on where and when you can pray, but also how and with whom you can pray. How does that feel? Well, that is the legal equivalent of what our government is doing with the religious sanctity of marriage.

When the government stepped in front of the church, as the gate keepers for marriage, we started down a very slippery slope. By leaping over the dividing line, our political leaders have once again created a legal and political quagmire, which is the epitome of the term “religious argument”. Along with the expended time and energy, we’ve spent millions of taxpayer dollars arguing over rights which we already have.

Let’s look at what people want. First, people want to have the ability to define themselves as married in the eyes of their God. Second, people want to have the ability to share their physical lives together. Finally, the government wants to be able to define your union as a partnership, so that it can tax and impose laws upon you. So, the question is; “How hard can it be to satisfy everyone?”

Break it Down and Keep it Separate

It’s easier to find a solution if you just step back and break the problem down into its fundamental parts. First, marriage is a religious union between two people and the government has no say in it. Remember, the whole concept of separation between church and state. Second, let’s eliminate the term “marriage” from all legally binding contracts regarding ownership or debt. Let’s also eliminate the term from government documentation. Yes, that includes the IRS taxation law. This will create a clean break between church and state on the topic of binding relationships.

C3 Contract

Now that we have given marriage back to the religions, we still need to handle the day-to-day legal implications of two people joining in a life partnership. We need a definition which can be used to define couples who have decided to share their lives, property, and debt. I propose a Commitment, Cohabitation, and Collaboration contract, otherwise know as a C3 Contract. Every couple who wants to have all of the benefits, of what is now considered a legal marriage, would enter into this contract. It would replace the licensing process that states require and it would simplify the whole mess.

The C3 contract would be simple and could easily include a prenuptial agreement. The three C’s would be defined as follows: Commitment means that the two people are committed to each other until death, or such time that there is an irreconcilable breach of the contract. Cohabitation simply means that the two people must live together for over 50% of the calendar year. Finally, Collaboration means each person financially shares in all property ownership and is responsible for the other person’s debts and living expenses.

People always want to make this about same sex marriage, but there are many other people who would benefit from this shift in legal definition. What about two people in their golden years? They could improve their living environment and have the piece of mind that someone is there if they need help, without confusing the matter with any religious implications. How about two single mothers who could combine households to provide a better and safer living environment for their children? If both parties agree contractually, why shouldn’t they be considered in a legally binding partnership? The benefits would be huge. The C3 Contract would provide them a legal way to share expenses allowing them to improve their standard of living. They could also assume the “next of kin” status to make decisions in health and emergency situations. All of this while providing the government with a clear definition.

We need to get the government out of places it doesn’t belong. We need to take personal responsibility for the relationships we have, and understand how we are defining those relationships. If it is a marriage you want then go to the church, synagogue, mosque, or temple of your choice. If it is a partnership, then the C3 Contract will fit the bill perfectly for all of our citizens, not just the citizens our judges and politicians think are worthy.

Madoff to Head Banking Regulation

Now that I have your attention, I want you to realize that this headline might as well be true. Sen. Chris Dodd has been “the man” within the Senate Bank-ing Committee since well before the tragic collapse of our financial system. He allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to become a cesspool of junk mortgages. He allowed banks to become brokers and brokers to become banks. Now here he is unveiling a new finance regulatory reform bill that fixes nothing. Why are we allowing one of the people responsible for our financial failure to define the new rules going forward?

Sen. Dodd’s new bill of financial regulatory reform doesn’t address the key causes of the economic crisis. Let’s be clear what caused our problems: the Fed was too loose with their monetary policy, Fannie and Freddie were allowed to guarantee almost $1.5 trillion in junk mortgages, and as we have reported in previous articles, there was a total failure to regulate Credit Default Swaps.

How Sen. Dodd can ignore the Credit Default Swap issue is beyond me. Credit Default Swaps are insurance policies on bonds. Currently there is no transparency or margin requirement. How can you allow companies to write these policies without any collateral? This is what helped sink AIG and Lehman. It would be a simple process to create transparency on these financial devices, since we already require all other commodities to be traded through clearing houses and have collateral.

Finally, the use of mark-to-market evaluation for bank loans works in the favor of large companies and hog ties financing to small businesses. Please explain to me how this will aid the growth of jobs? It’s clear that Sen. Dodd and his committee have no clue and need to take a pass on this legislation. We can wait a year until we replace the current legislators with people that actually care about the future of the American people.

Healthcare Hypocrisy

I’m really sick and tired of being told how we need to spread around the risk and cost of healthcare and health insurance. How about spreading around a little more personal responsibility? Why do the people who make an effort to stay healthy have to cover the majority of the cost burden for those too ignorant or foolish to take care of themselves?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the poor child who has leukemia, or similar illness, should be covered. It’s not his or her fault. They didn’t do anything wrong, but the person who smokes 2 or 3 packs of cigarettes needs to either quit or pay more. This goes for those who are severely overweight too. Think of the cost savings if we could cut lung cancer by 20% and diabetes by 20%. Yet, we don’t hear about any incentive plans within the current legislation to positively reinforce good behavior.

Instead what we have is a President, who instead of focusing on national security and Chinese relations, is parading around the country promoting a healthcare bill that few American citizens want. It’s ironic since he is one of the people that has ignored personal responsibility and expects myself, and others, to pay for the illnesses he will most likely get from the smoking habit he continues to nurture. Does anyone else take offense to having a person who can’t manage his own health risks wanting to have ownership over ours? It’s almost like hiring Fat Albert as your personal trainer. How do you think that would work out?

Lastly, I am at a loss for how they keep coming up with the 30 million uninsured Americans. No matter how I look at it, that number includes people who are not citizens. It’s one thing to cover those citizens that have less, but those from other countries that have less…I don’t think so.

Green Jobs or Political Favors?

Once again we see that the discussion around Green Jobs has a hidden agenda.  I'm not always a fan of Stossel's reporting, but this is eye opening.

Palin “Family Guy” Upset - Political or Personal?

I know most everyone has heard about the Family Guy depiction of a Down Syndrome girl as Sarah Palin’s daughter. Sarah and her oldest daughter took offense to the depiction and felt it was in poor taste. I think it was an opportunity missed by the former Governor.

In my opinion, the Palin family has a right to be upset with the personal nature of the comparison. I believe that children of public figures should be off limits to the political games played by all parts of the media machine. If we can’t have a level of decency around our children’s privacy then we just degrade into a bunch of name calling school yard bullies. I believe we need to strive to be smarter and classier as a culture.

On the other hand, I think Sarah Palin missed a great opportunity to define the public perception of special needs children, while separating it from some political agenda. The representation of this girl with Down Syndrome as socially functional, well mannered, and attractive; was in my opinion an opportunity for former Gov. Palin to denounce some of the stigmas that many people still have around this birth syndrome. Instead, the Palin’s chose to focus on the personal nature of the representation. This was one of those opportunities to turn lemons into lemonade, but it seems that Palin’s handlers aren’t doing their job helping her spin the media’s schoolyard shenanigans into useful fodder to promote an agenda that benefits us all.

They Think We’re Stupid!

On Tuesday February 9th, the U.S. Government reported that the illegal immigration population has fallen for the second straight year. They claim that the number fell by 1 million or 8% between 2007 and 2009. The decline, to 10.8 million people in January 2009 from 11.8 million in 2007 and 11.6 million in 2008, coincides with the national economic downturn.

They must be joking?
Do we look that dumb?
Do they think we’re stupid?

How do you go about counting illegal immigrants with any level of accuracy? Aren’t they hiding? I could have told you there were probably less, but to throw out numbers like this is just plain ridiculous. What do you do, go through the state and federal correctional facilities, and ask for citizen-ship and then multiple by 100? Do you count the number of anchor babies and then multiple by 20?

Don’t get me wrong, I get statistical analysis well enough to understand that you can extrapolate the whole from a sampling of the parts, but this is nothing more than a wild guess. I’ll give you one guess who was responsible for this research? That’s right Homeland Security. Janet Napolitano does it once again. Okay Janet, here is the big question of the day, “If you can count them, how come you can’t catch them and deport them?” Maybe it’s time to stop the acting the role and really do your job. Uphold the law, illegal means illegal, and if you can’t or won’t then get out of the way.



– Reference Article -

Supreme Court Errors Again

The Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations and Unions can spend freely to support or oppose a candidate. This overturns a 20-year-old ruling that prohibits corporations from using money coming directly from their general account. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has once again manipulated the Constitution to work for special interests.

Critics of campaign finance limits have for years argued that these laws were a restraint of freedom of speech. On what planet does a corporation get the right of freedom of speech? Corporations and Unions are not citizens of this coun-try. They do not get to hold up the Bill of Rights and claim them. There are laws that clearly give corporations rights, but freedom of speech isn’t one of them. What’s next? Will corporations make false claims about a products and when sued they can just say that it was their opinion under freedom of speech?

We have just given the keys to the kingdom to the wrong gatekeeper. The amount of money that goes into a political campaign has already gotten out of control. The MA Senatorial race saw over $10M spent in the last 9 days alone. Now what is to stop GE from using all of their NBC stations ad time to support specific candidates? What is to stop FOX from doing the same thing? What is to stop a foreign corporation from funding billions of dollars to elect the next President? This appears to be just another way to create international influence on our elected officials.

- Reference Article -

When Does Accountability Start?

I have been posting on this blog and others. I've posted video blogs and been on over 30 radio shows over the past year and everytime there is a question about Pres. Obama and his administration I get the same response,

"Look what Pres. Bush left for him, it takes time to clean up the mess."

OK, I'm tired of arguing this point. Here's what I propose. Tell me exactly when we can start holding this President and his staff accountable. It has been a year, since they took over. What is the actual date, that I can circle on my calendar, at which time all American's can look and say, "Enough time has gone by, now what have you done for us?"

Please let me know when the excuse of the failure of past leaders no longer will be a good enough answer.