Donald Trump summed up in one photo.

This picture was taken in Mumbai, where Trump was advertising the building of yet another gaudy edifice with his name attached in giant letters for all of the lesser people to admire.

The picture started to circulate early last month and in response a number of folks did not believe it to be real.

However Snopes was contacted by the photographer who confirmed its authenticity.

Shoving his immense wealth in the faces of those who are barely surviving each day.

Yeah, that's our president elect alright.

Hillary Clinton just released eight years of tax returns. Oh the Republican candidates are not going to like this.

Courtesy of Time: 

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released eight years of tax returns Friday, as well as a complete listing of the millions she and her husband have received for paid speeches over the years. 

Clinton’s release of her returns from 2007-2014 bring to 38 the number of years of publicly released tax returns by the Clintons over the course of four presidential campaigns, topping former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s previous record of 33 years set last month. 

Since 2007, the Clintons have paid $43,885,310 in federal taxes, with an effective tax rate of 35.7 percent in 2014—roughly the same as Bush’s average of 36 percent. 

The Clintons reported devoting more than 10 percent of their income to charity, outpacing Bush’s reported 3.1 percent average from 2007-2013. 

Earlier this year, Clinton filed her personal financial disclosure revealing she and her husband earned more than $30 million in paid speeches since January 2014.

Wow! Over 43 million in taxes!

And yet the Clintons still give 10% to charity. 

Kind of makes old Jebbie look like a stingy asshole doesn't it?

Anybody want to lay odds as to whether or not "The Donald" is willing to reveal this much about HIS taxes? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Bill Maher slams the Republicans for their double standard when it comes to government handouts.

This is from Friday's show that I did not get to post because we were all too busy screaming for Dakota Meyer to run away before it's too late.

Here is more from Raw Story: 

“Someone has to explain to me why Republicans believe that not working and getting free money — you know, like the ‘takers’ — is the worst most corrupting thing that could ever happen to a person, except if you’re rich,” said Maher. 

“The very first thing our new Republican Congress tried to do was get rid of any tax on inherited wealth, which they call the death tax, although really, what better time is there to pay a tax than when you’re dead?” he went on. 

“Yeah, we used to understand that and the estate tax used to be pretty high, but then President George W. Bush came along and worked tirelessly to make sure that rich, idle trust fund brats got every penny that was coming to them,” Maher said. 

“I wonder where he got the idea to reward dumb asses who leach off their dad’s success,” he quipped.

He has a point. The Republicans are not against giving tax breaks and handouts to people, so long as they are not people who actually NEED them. 

In Netflix documentary "Mitt," Romney essentially admits that he too is a "taker."

This all comes from the Washington Examiner article concerning the new documentary.

Get a load of this exchange: 

As he spoke, Romney held the notes he had made during the debate (candidates are not allowed to bring any notes with them to the stage, but are allowed to make them during the debate). Romney pointed out that in every debate he began by writing "Dad" at the top of the paper. 

"That's what I start with: 'Dad,'" Romney explained. "I always think about Dad and about I am standing on his shoulders. I would not be there, there's no way I would be able to be running for president, if Dad hadn't done what Dad did. He's the real deal …" 

"You're the real deal," said one of Romney's sons. 

Romney didn't pause. "The guy was born in Mexico. He didn't have a college degree. He became head of a car company and became a governor. It would have never entered my mind to be in politics, how can you go from his beginning to think, I can be head of a car company, I can run for governor, I can run for president?" 

Romney wasn't finished. "The gap — for me, I started where he ended up. I started off with money and education, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School. For me it's moving that far" — Romney held two fingers close together — "for him, it's like that," Romney said, holding his arms wide apart.

I found that to be a VERY telling exchange, and one that came right after the first Presidential debate that many believed that Romney had won decisively.

Not only was Romney admitting that without the leg up provided by his wealthy father he would not be running, he was also admitting that he did not think he could beat the President in a second debate: 


"Sitting presidents have a very hard time in these debates," Romney told the family. "They feel like, who is this whippersnapper coming up here who knows nothing? And so they don't prepare, and they just think they can waltz through it. Then they get crushed in the first debate, and then they come back."

Of course Romney proved that he was correct in that assumption, and President Obama crushed him in the second debate and essentially sealed the deal as to who would win the election. 

However going back to the remarks at the beginning of this post, it seems to indicate that Romney understood that much of his success, if not all of it, was due to the accomplishments of his father.

This of course helps to explain gaffes like suggesting that 47% of Americans are takers and would never vote for a Republican, and that all young people have to do is ask their parents for tuition in order to attend college.

It also illustrates that Romney himself should be identified as a "taker," as he was somebody who not only allowed his father to pay for his education, and get him his first jobs, but also used his name in order to open doors and find donors when he decided to run for office.

What Romney, and many others who come from wealthy families, fail to understand is that THEY are the most egregious "takers" of all.

Without the benefits of a wealthy father, the best education that money can buy, and the influence of his father, Mitt Romney might well have ended up as the manager of a local Office Max instead of the most recently defeated Republican candidate for president.

Yet he, and others in the GOP, become indignant at the idea that those who come from more modest means might need a government that gives them a hand with their education, or helps pay the bills when they are unemployed, or subsidizes child care so that they can work.

It is this lack of compassion that turns many of us off when it comes to Republican politics, and it had much to do with why we are not today hearing what a President Romney has to say on this MLK holiday.

Home Depot billionaire warns that if new Pope does not back off criticizing the rich, charitable donations might dry up. How Christian of him.

Courtesy of TPM:  

Billionaire Home Depot founder Ken Langone has a warning for Pope Francis. 

A major Republican donor, Langone told CNBC in a story published online Monday that wealthy people such as himself might stop giving to charity if the Pope continues to make statements criticizing capitalism and income inequality. 

Langone described the Pope's comments about a "culture of prosperity" as "exclusionary" statements that may make some of the rich "incapable of feeling compassion for the poor." Langone, who is leading an effort to raise money for the restoration of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan said he relayed these concerns to Cardinal Timothy Dolan in New York. Specifically, Langone said he told the church leader he spoke to a donor who could give millions of dollars to the cathedral project but was worried about the Pope's "exclusionary" remarks. 

"I've told the cardinal, 'Your Eminence, this is one more hurdle I hope we don't have to deal with. You want to be careful about generalities. Rich people in one country don't act the same as rich people in another country,'" said Langone.

So to be clear this Langone guy is threatening the Pope to go easy on he and his buddies or they will stop donating money to the poor.

Once again I let me just mention how impressed I am with the morality of the religious.

I still find much about the Pope to be concerning, however I am always gratified when he sticks to the conservatives or exposes them for the raging hypocrites that mos of us already know them to be.

I have a problem with all religions to varying degrees, but there are certainly times when I have to take my hat off to certain religious leaders.

This is without a doubt a completely reasonable, and accurate, observation, but those who keep trying to "fix" our education do not recognize, nor accept, this reality.

The idea that MOST religious people seem to embrace is that secularism is the reason that our country is so materialistic, but that assumption crashes on the rocks of reality once you have the opportunity sit in one of this country's numerous garish looking mega-church's and listened to one of the thousands of money making seminars that they offer.

(Source)

Wealth inequality in the United States. A video to blow your mind.

This is a very well made video, and I urge you to share it far and wide.

I don't think that most of us understand that the policies of the Republican party have ALWAYS been to make the rich folks richer and to keep the burden of supporting the government squarely on the backs of the working class.

And they have proven to be frighteningly adept at accomplishing that feat.

Today we are seeing a virtual destruction of the Middle Class and STILL the Republicans are not satisfied, and are continuing to work to strip away the government programs that keep these people from falling into abject poverty.Is it any wonder that the President wants to raise the minimum wage in this country?

Hey did you think that your opinion of Mitt Romney could NOT get any lower? Wanna bet?

Yes, that arrogant, over privileged asshole want to be YOUR President.

What do you say to that?

Well now Romney is a shoo-in with THIS endorsement. Don't you think?

Courtesy of News 10 in Tampa Bay:  

Porn star Jenna Jameson chose a familiar stage to make her endorsement for the 2012 presidential election Thursday night. At a San Francisco strip club, the former adult actress and stage performer said she was ready for a Romney presidency. 

"I'm very looking forward to a Republican being back in office," Jameson said while sipping champagne in a VIP room at Gold Club in the city's South of Market neighborhood. "When you're rich, you want a Republican in office." 

Jameson made the comments exclusively to a CBS SF staffer who was attending an event marking the 8th anniversary of the gentlemen's club.

Well now THAT is certainly an endorsement guaranteed to bring the Romney campaign quite a lot of attention.  Though one has to wonder if Jameson is aware that, according to a Romney aide, one of "Mitt the Twit's" promises once elected is to "crack down on porn?"

Still you can see how a successful business person like Jameson would appreciate a candidate whose tax plan ONLY benefits the wealthy.

Of course other than that these two really don't have that much in common. After all one is morally bankrupt human being, who has made a fortune in a truly despicable manner, and who is willing to degrade themselves every way possible in order to get what they want.

And the other is a porn star.

Ann Romney's tax deductions for her horse hobby is more than the average American makes annually. Update!

Courtesy of The Political Carnival:

The Romneys declared a loss of $77,000 on their 2010 tax returns for the share in the care and feeding of Rafalca, which Mrs. Romney owns with Mr. Ebeling’s wife, Amy, and a family friend, Beth Meyers.

The average wage earner in America makes about $46,326.00 a year, and THEIR hobby is often to look for a second, or even third job to help support their families.

But hey there's nothing wrong with being wealthy (And Mitt and Ann Romney have never been anything BUT wealthy), unless of course you are trying to convince voters that you understand what they are going through and empathize with their plight.

The problem with Romney is not only THIS perception of snobbishness during a time when the 99% have found their voice, but also that it adds to an already disgruntled feeling among Americans that Romney bought and cheated his way into the GOP nomination.

And this point is being made dramatically clear by a lawsuit filed by 160 Republican delegates, suing the Republican party for the right NOT to have to cast their vote for Mitt Romney during the 2012 convention in Tampa, Florida.

Ow! That's gotta hurt!

Of course you know what the Romney's will say to this right?

"Let them eat cake."

Update: It looks like the Romney's horse is going to the Olympics:

Ann Romney’s dressage horse, Rafalca, and her trainer, Jan Ebeling, earned a place on the U.S. Olympic Equestrian team on Saturday, cementing the Romney family’s already deep ties to the Olympic games. The official announcement is expected to come Sunday by the U.S. Equestrian Federation.

I referred to Ann Romney's involvement in dressage as a "hobby" which I think is exactly what it appears to be. However if it is considered a business investment, perhaps that allows for the tax deduction. 

I am not an expert on taxes by any means, but something about that simply does not sound right to me. And if the horses are now involved in the Olympics how does THAT effect their status as a business expense?

Do we have any tax experts who can explain this?

Stephen King writes something that will probably ONLY scare the crap out of rich people. Boo 1 percenters!

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

At a rally in Florida (to support collective bargaining and to express the socialist view that firing teachers with experience was sort of a bad idea), I pointed out that I was paying taxes of roughly 28 percent on my income. My question was, “How come I’m not paying 50?” The governor of New Jersey did not respond to this radical idea, possibly being too busy at the all-you-can-eat cheese buffet at Applebee’s in Jersey City, but plenty of other people of the Christie persuasion did. 

Cut a check and shut up, they said. 

If you want to pay more, pay more, they said. 

Tired of hearing about it, they said. 

Tough shit for you guys, because I’m not tired of talking about it. I’ve known rich people, and why not, since I’m one of them? The majority would rather douse their dicks with lighter fluid, strike a match, and dance around singing “Disco Inferno” than pay one more cent in taxes to Uncle Sugar. It’s true that some rich folks put at least some of their tax savings into charitable contributions. My wife and I give away roughly $4 million a year to libraries, local fire departments that need updated lifesaving equipment (Jaws of Life tools are always a popular request), schools, and a scattering of organizations that underwrite the arts. Warren Buffett does the same; so does Bill Gates; so does Steven Spielberg; so do the Koch brothers; so did the late Steve Jobs. All fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough. 

What charitable 1 percenters can’t do is assume responsibility—America’s national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts. Charity from the rich can’t fix global warming or lower the price of gasoline by one single red penny. That kind of salvation does not come from Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Ballmer saying, “OK, I’ll write a $2 million bonus check to the IRS.” That annoying responsibility stuff comes from three words that are anathema to the Tea Partiers: United American citizenry.

Let me first go on record as saying that Stephen King is my ALL time favorite writer.  In fact I used to have  a bookshelf in my home that contained nothing except King books.

However even if THAT were not true, I can tell you that after reading this articl he would certainly NOW be my favorite author of all time simply for having the guts to speak out against these assholes who bitch and moan about high taxes while lighting their cigars with $100 bills and having caviar face cream rubbed on their mistresses.

I urge you to read the entire article, but be prepared for some rather colorful language and some no holds barred truth. 

After all Mr. King has quite a lot of experience writing about the evil that lurks beneath the surface, and the scary things that go bump in the night, waiting for the opportunity to prey on the weak and defenseless, so this is right up his alley.

More clueless comments from Camp Romney.

The other day while Mitt was showing solidarity with the college kids by helping them catch up on some much needed sleep he also let slip this.

This kind of decisiveness, this attack of success, is very different than what we’ve seen in our country’s history. We’ve always encouraged young people: Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.

Yeas what is it with these college kids anyhow, taking out government loans when their fat cat parents are sitting on piles of cash? Do they like spending the nest twenty five years of their lives paying back hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt?

Romney is EXACTLY the kind pf leader these kids need to emulate. One that avoided the war to hang out in France and push his religion on others, who had his dad purchase him the best education money could buy, who made his own money by taking over companies and sending their jobs overseas or liquidating them and divvying up the profits with the wealthy shareholders.

Clearly Romney's rallying cry to energize these young people will be, "Yes, I can...take what is yours and make a profit off it while destroying your way of life."

And look Mittens is not the ONLY Romney showing a connection to the peons..sad fucks....every day people of this country.

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. Or wealthy. Or a stuck up over-privileged bitch."

Anny Romney also demonstrated her incredible lack of compassion by saying THIS to her fellow lady people:

Romney alluded to the fact that not all women can stay at home saying, “I love the fact that there are women out there who don’t have a choice and they must go to work and they still have to raise the kids. Thank goodness that we value those people too. And sometimes life isn’t easy for any of us.”

Yes, Ann Romney LOVES the fact that there are women who don't have obscenely wealthy husbands and HAVE to work for a living. If not for them WHO would she have hired to clean her house, raise her children, and give her her weekly beauty treatments?

Oh the Romneys!  They are so much like all of us that seeing them is almost like looking into a mirror.

A very, very expensive, jewel encrusted golden mirror.

The Daily Show wonders if perhaps we should NOT do away with the Bush tax cuts to the rich, but instead just take everything away from the poor to balance the country's budget?

The Daily Show - World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Is Fox News not even pretending they are not working for the corporations in this country anymore?  Some of that footage was absolutely brutal.