UPDATE: I got a call from a loyal ‘Grok reader saying that my math was wrong (" I’m willing to pay $500 extra") saying that it should have been $5,500. My caller was right, but when I pointed out that those words were Obama’s, there was a stunned silence for a couple of moments.
Yes, ObamaMath, not GrokMath.
Update II: Apparently, a number of people have caught it, as The Corner has a post on it as well ("With math skills like this, no wonder the federal deficit is $1.3 Trillion"). Perhaps, this Hahvad trained Constitutional lecturer needs to visit Education Secretary Arni Duncan and get him some learnin’?
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"For Patriots willingly gave and continue to give up their lives for their families, neighbors and Country, and never had or have to be Asked. "
The Washington Examiner has this snippet from Obama’s recent trip to Las Vegas to act like the House in taking $$ from the rubes (hey, didn’t he once say that we shouldn’t go to Vegas using tax money??)(emphasis Washington Examiner):
But last week, we had a separate vote on a part of the jobs bill that would put 400,000 teachers, firefighters and police officers back on the job, paid for by asking people who make more than $1 million to pay one-half of 1 percent in additional taxes. For somebody making $1.1 million a year, that’s an extra $500. Five hundred bucks. And with that, we could have saved 400,000 jobs.
Most people making more than $1 million, if you talk to them, they’ll say, I’m willing to pay $500 extra to help the country. They’re patriots. They believe we’re all in this thing together. But all the Republicans in the Senate said no. (emphasis added)
That triggered four thoughts: Ask, Patriots, We could have saved 400,000 jobs, They believe we’re all in this together
"Ask"
Ask: Say something in order to obtain an answer or some information
You have to love politicians when they say that they are "asking" for folks to do something, do more of it, or give something. Especially when the operative word really is demand or require and it is codified into law or regulation. There is no voluntary "asking" going on here. Asking something of someone else means you will get one of three answers: yes, maybe, or no. Two of which, by definition, results in a "do nothing" outcome.
When Obama is saying that he is asking, he has no intention of allowing a voluntary reaction and has already gamed the outcome. In fact, he really wants no answer at all – it is the Progressive way of redefining the language of saying "I’m taking this from you – and you have no voluntary action in this at all. But I’ll make you look bad first (after all, that is the Community Organizer way)". Just think of what happens when your answer is "no" to his asking?
"Patriots"
Patriot: A person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors
A patriot is one who is internally driven, unmotivated by external forces or people, in his love of Country. Any action a patriot takes is driven from within himself; it is an internal value.
It has nothing to do with paying an involuntary bill from the Government.
Obama is trying to use one of the fundamental values of true Americans simply to support his redistributionist and extravagant government spending policies. This is not World War II where our national future was at stake – and many people voluntarily gave more than what was required to the government.
Simply writing a check to a government bill is not patriotic – that is just being a law abiding citizen.
We could have saved 400,000 jobs.
Once again, we see the outlook that all good things stem only from Government outlook in the Progressive mindset. Sure, Government can provide a paycheck; economists often speak of the case of hiring millions of people to first dig holes in the ground and then fill them up again. Seriously, that is not a job – a real job adds to the process of wealth creation – Government jobs simply are overhead (and would be viewed as such, primarily, from a private sector standpoint). A government job does not exist unless Government first takes something from someone else – that is not wealth creation.
To boot, Obama is only about saving or creating government jobs when you look at his plan. Because of his socialistic / Marxist background and upbringing, those are the only jobs worth mentioning in his mind. I do believe that he thinks that private jobs are of (or shouldn’t be) of much consequence – his policy actions belie his smooth words. Government jobs are a protected special interested, and just like the Soviet Union nomenklatura – they have risen to a favored status with better benefits, better pay, and higher status than the private sector jobs that support them.
They believe we’re all in this together
The other perversion of the language and culture is that of conflating Government and Society, and Progressives harp on this with the tomfoolery of "since we elect the government, the government is just us". Thus, there is no separation of Government and Society in their eyes so anything that Government does should just be accepted as it always benefits us all in one way or another (as there, by definition, no society). For them, they are synonymous words.
This is not what the Founders laid down – and in fact, feared this. They were adamant that Government should be restricted, chained, and kept separate from Society – almost akin to the "wall of separation" that Progressives wish to keep between religion and Government (I smell another perversion here, as the Founders knew that our Republic would only hold "for a virtuous People").
As always, Progressives are constantly undermining traditional values and definitions for their own aims.
For Patriots willingly gave and continue to give, up their lives for their families, neighbors and Country, and never had to or be Asked.
Patriotism is not a bill to be paid.
