A Case of Welfare Fraud?

Consider this, if you get food stamps and use them for purchasing alcohol, tobacco, drugs or any other non approved food items there is a good chance that you will be found out and when you are you WILL be charged with the crime known as WELFARE FRAUD.

Do we allow these Welfare Executives at AIG to keep up this bad behavior? This is the second instance of these bums living off our dime, a dime that is getting harder to come by, and squandering the money on frivolous things like horseback riding and getting their toenails cut at a high dollar salon while the rest of us can scarcely afford the milk and eggs it takes to bake a cake. Let'em eat cake? INDEED!

Apparantly these Welfare Executives have some kind of problem. Our lack of correction for this behavior will only make us enablers to it and they will never be cured of their dependency on government assistance. Get these bums off the public dole and treat them like you would a single mother who did something like this.

AIG executives spent thousands during hunting trip

By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS – 22 hours ago

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A handful of top executives from American International Group Inc. spent thousands of dollars during a recent English hunting trip, even as the New York-based insurer asked for an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.

The news comes as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday told the insurance giant to do away with golden parachutes for executives, golf outings and parties while taking government money to stay afloat.

Cuomo said he has the power under state business law to review and possibly rescind any inappropriate AIG spending as long as the Federal Reserve is propping up the huge insurer with almost $123 billion in loans announced since Sept. 16.

"This was an annual event for customers of the AIG property casualty insurance companies in the U.K. and Europe, and planned months before the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's loan to AIG," company spokesman Peter Tulupman said Wednesday morning.

In a prepared statement later in the day, the company said, "We will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure that these activities cease immediately. AIG's priority is to continue focusing on actions necessary to repay the Federal Reserve loan and emerge as a vital, ongoing business."

AIG officials declined to say which AIG executives attended the trip, which reports have said racked up an $86,000 tab. News of the hunting trip surfaced just days after AIG received an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve, on top of a previous $85 billion emergency loan granted last month.

The company said last week it would stop "all non-essential conferences, meetings and activities that do not clearly maximize value and service given the current conditions."

Last month, and just days after the U.S. government stepped in to save AIG with a $85 billion taxpayer-funded loan, the company picked up a $440,000 tab for a week-long retreat at a posh California resort for top-performing insurance agents.

Lawmakers investigating AIG's meltdown said they were enraged that executives of AIG's main U.S. life insurance subsidiary spent a lavish amount on the retreat, complete with spa treatments, banquets and golf outings. Last week, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called the event "despicable."

At that time, AIG issued a statement saying that the "business event" was planned months before the Sept. 16 bailout and that it was held for top-producing independent life insurance agents, not AIG employees. Of the 100 attendees, only 10 worked for the AIG unit hosting the event, it said.

The insurer said Chief Executive Edward Liddy sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson "clarifying the circumstances" of the event. In the letter, Liddy assured Paulson that AIG is "reevaluating the costs of all aspects of our operations in light of the new circumstances in which we are all operating."

The insurer then said it canceled a future California retreat that was to be held later this month.

Regarding the recent hunting trip, "We regret that this event was not canceled," Tulupman said Wednesday.

Shares of AIG fell 37 cents, or 13.2 percent, to $2.43 in trading Wednesday.

GOP to Steal the Election?

We're hearing a lot about the trumped-up charges against ACORN these days—but very little about the massive voter suppression campaign being orchestrated by the Republicans. The GOP is trying to purge thousands of Democratic voters off the rolls in states like Ohio, Florida, and Colorado.¹

John McCain and Sarah Palin are falsely accusing a community organizing group—ACORN—of voting fraud to distract the media from their own party's wrongdoing.² Worst of all: It's working.

The truth is, McCain is vilifying ACORN to justify voter suppression—making it harder for Obama supporters to vote.

The GOP's voter suppression campaign could steal this election. But we can stop them with a rapid-response fund to support legal actions, run newspaper ads to get the media talking about GOP voter suppression, and prosecute anyone who tries to steal this election.

Can you chip in $25 to kick off our No Stolen Elections fund?

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/suppression.html?id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=3

The simple act of raising funds to protect this election will send a warning to right-wing operatives who think they can get away with voter suppression.

For over twenty-five years, Republicans have promoted the myth of voting fraud to argue for restrictive voting laws—but Bush's own Justice Department found virtually no organized voting fraud.³ Now McCain is attacking ACORN in order to justify a frenzy of lawsuits making it harder for Obama supporters to vote.

Here's what he's not telling you:

• The only fraud committed was against ACORN itself. ACORN hired 13,000 workers to register a remarkable 1.3 million new voters. And a few of them turned in registration forms with inaccurate and even made-up names to get credit for work they didn't do. ACORN fired them and turned them over to the authorities.⁴

• ACORN reported the fraudulent registration forms. In most states, ACORN is required by law to submit all forms collected whether they appear to be bogus or not—that way election officials, not partisan groups, can make the call. ACORN flags cards that may not be legitimate. And in many places, the charges of fraud only came up because ACORN was the one who flagged the cards!⁵

• This won't have any impact on the election. No one is allowed to vote unless they are properly registered. And there is no evidence of false registrations actually leading to organized voting fraud.⁶
  

We can't let false charges of voting fraud distract us from the very real voter suppression campaign that is already well under way.

Republicans are looking for typos on voter registration forms, threatening to challenge homeowners facing foreclosure, and falsely warning that voters with outstanding traffic tickets may be arrested if they go to the polls.⁷

Help protect this election from Republican voter suppression. Click here to contribute $25 to our No Stolen Elections fund:

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/suppression.html?id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Noah, Laura, Ilyse, Daniel and the rest of the team

P.S. You can learn more about the false charges against ACORN by clicking here:

http://acorn.org/quickfacts

P.P.S. Republicans aren't just smearing ACORN—they're smearing Barack Obama, too, by sending around untrue emails about him.

Have your friends or family ever forwarded you an email with false attacks on Obama? If so, be sure they know the truth. Forward the email to The Center for Political Accuracy, and they'll reply with the true facts for you to respond with:

info@politicalaccuracy.org

Sources:
1. "States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal," New York Times, October 8, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html

"Check-off box delays thousands of voter registrations," Denver Post, October 14, 2008
http://www.denverpost.com/previous2/home/ci_10713377

2. "ACORN defends efforts amid voter-fraud allegations," Associated Press, October 14, 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_el_pr/voter_fraud

3. "In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud," New York Times, April 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12fraud.html

"The Truth About Fraud," Brennan Center for Justice
http://www.truthaboutfraud.org/

4. "The Truth About ACORN's Voter Registration Drives," ACORN
http://acorn.org/quickfacts

"Group Answers Charges of Voter Registration Fraud," New York Times, October 14, 2008
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/acorn/

5. "Voter Group Admits Mistakes, Defends Work," ABC News, October 14, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31241&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=5

"Is there ACORN fraud in Florida?," Orlando Sentinel, October 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31239&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=6

6. "'Fraud' vs. 'Suppression'," Politico, October 14, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31240&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=7

7. "After A Surge in Registration, A Surge in Suppression," Brennan Center for Justice, October 7, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31236&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=8

"Democrats fear GOP will turn away foreclosed voters; GOP won't rule out using residency change to challenge a ballot," Indianapolis Star, October 3, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31237&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=9

"Vote-scam fliers target black neighborhoods," Philadelphia Daily News, October 2, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31041&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=10

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 4.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

What Joe the plumber will find out.

As the owner of a small business I've got to say after watching the news this morning, people really don't seem to understand how this works.

Joe the plumber may buy a business that brings in $250k per year, but that doesn't mean Joe himself will be making 250k a year. Out of that 250k comes your operating cost, things like vehicles, equipment, taxes (both business and personal), licenses, liability insurance, employees pay, HALF of his employees Social Security tax, ALL of HIS own Social Security tax, etc, the list goes on and on.

The truth of the matter is that when politicians are out there talking about small business in general they usually mean those shops that are in the 50 to 250 employee range, the shops like Joe the Plumber and me that employee 2 to 5 people aren't even on their radars.

The truth is that if you're a business grossing around $250 grand a year, once you get done paying all the fees, deducting all of your material and overhead, pay your employees, pay your accountant, pay your taxes, and finally yourself you'll be lucky if you can clear $40k per year, and that's YOUR GROSS PAY. You'll still have to pay your personal income taxes out of that, and you'll have to pay BOTH the regular employee share of Social Security tax PLUS he'll find, he has to pay the employer share of the S.S. tax. They call that self employment tax.

So if Joe the Plumber has a good year and makes that big 250k gross for his tax return, he's going to find out that in the end, depending on his personal deductions, ol' Joe might get to keep anywhere from 20k to 30k for himself, and that's if and only if he's managed it very tightly.

So Joe, here's to you and all the other men and women out there that think they're going up into a higher tax bracket simply by being in business. When your company makes 250k, that doesn't mean you're going to keep anywhere near that.

So Joe, if you've got big dreams about big money by buying a business that makes 250k per year, don't worry who you vote for, you're going to get hosed by a lot more people than the president, and you probably would end up better off under Obama with your tax situation, especially the first year.

McSame Debates Himself on Bush

Last night during the final debate John McCain told Barack Obama if he wanted to run against Bush he should've done it four years ago.....we beg to differ.....

Employee Free Choice Act NOW!!!

http://freechoiceact.org/petition/

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country, their lives, their futures.......

You remember how good we had it here in America...

Back before the days when corporations were on welfare (and acting like crackheads getting pedicures at palatial California spas on our dime)

Back before our jobs were auctioned off to the lowest communist or 3rd world bidder...

Back when a young man or lady could come out of school and actually find an entry level position with a company that had a real potential of turning into a career......

Sign this petition, demand better treatment, better conditions and better pay.

We are the American worker. We built this country, we made the CEO a billionaire, we paid our dues, now it's their turn to sacrifice a little for the good of the common cause....They'll still be rich even if they pay you what you're worth.
Sign the petition,

http://freechoiceact.org/petition/

They're going to keep on screwing you if you don't take control of your life now.

Sitting around waiting on the boss to do the right thing or playing politics isn't the way either, so how did Dad and Mom do it back in the 50's and 60's? How did they ensure for themselves and their families a living wage? Healthcare? Retirement?

They formed a union when the boss wouldn't treat them fairly. They did the same thing our grandparents did in the 30's and 40's. Unions made the middle class a reality and gave you and me and upbringing that would NEVER have been possible just a few years before.

But here we are in 2008. We find our jobs farmed off to communist and 3rd world countries. We've been put in direct competition with men and women earning 15 to 50 CENTS PER HOUR.

Our largest banks and corporations are on public welfare yet these barons that have gotten us into this mess still refuses to work with us. The ones that made them rich in the first place.

FUCK THAT!

Take your life in hand, demand a contract, demand justification for being fired, demand an end to the brown noser style politicking that's been the norm for so long.

It's character, not the size of the wallet or the biggest nose stain that should count in the workplace.

Be a hero to your family, be a leader to your children.

Take America back for them.