Jonny Wonder the Bitter Capitalist

Illegal Aliens

2010-01-06T08:07:00.001-08:00

The Honorable Tom Harkin

731 Hart Senate Office Building

Phone (202) 224 3254

Washington DC , 20510

Dear Senator Harkin,

As a native Iowan and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as myprimary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as 'in-state' tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent, (hoping to reach 'illegal alien' status rather than just a bonafide citizen of the USA )

Donald Ruppert

Burlington , IA

Who needs guns to hunt?

2008-09-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

I never understood why California doesn't allow deer hunting. It makes me miss the midwest dearly. Anyway, here's an example set by a Michigan cop of how to hunt without even using a gun...

Do you see Obama in this man's shoes?

2008-09-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=9691913

The answer is NO. Obama is a great speaker, but as is apparent, he's simply pandering to the masses in a power grab. Hope and change, hope and change. He means well, but by taxing us to death, he will be Jimmy Carter's second term. McCain may only have 25 years of experience in spending the minimum possible in his state, and ensuring a well equipped military, but he's also been a proud POW and has a great desire to ensure his country hegemony lasts indefinitely. I'm for sure voting for Barry after watching that video...

Marriage of Environmentalism and Capitalism without red-headed bastard children

2008-09-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

The green movement, whilst anchored in a solid desire to save mother-earth from its inevitable destruction (1 billion years from now), usually meddles in affairs best left alone. Usually in the form of destruction of capital and by preventing value-added products from being created. It often inflates the price of housing, gas, and many other every day items. However, sometimes... it can not only benefit the world, but it can benefit the aspiring and entrepreneurial. Case and point..

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/recyclebank-pays-homeowners-recycle/

Recycle Bank is exploiting the rising prices of commodities (mostly caused by environmentalists and a Republican gubm't sellin' money for a rate less than the price of inflation).

So these guys are actually, unlike mandatory recycling programs, sharing the % of recycling earnings with the citizens living in their geographic zone. I'd even recycle under these circumstances. All I have to do is get the old Chinese lady living next door to stop going through my garbage every Monday morning at 5 AM! Sweeeeet.

Let private industry handle everything... from trash collection to supplying power. Next topic... Power....

SF/NYC Housing Paradox

2008-09-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

I've constantly argued that environmentalists and "preservationists" (usually landowners that love seeing artificially inflated home values) are the ones that create high prices in California and NYC. Of course, we all know that land is NOT limited (they're called high-rises see Chicago, Buenos Aires, Miami, etc) and that the high prices experienced here are entirely man-made in the form of draconian laws, punitive regulations, and disincentives toward development (thanks Chris Daly). But I'm not quite as eloquent as the man who wrote this article.. but what does he know? He's just an econ prof at Harvard. Why he's not a liberal elitist, I don't know... oh yeah. It's due to the fact that he's a professor of economics, and not political science/sociology/journalism/any other worthless area of study (with regards to land use policies).

http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_3_houston.html

Bottom line: Fuck set-asides for BMR's and "affordable housing" and just let the Chicago and Houston models reign supreme.

PS, I'm in favor of the Chicago model over Houston's über - efficient model. Land isn't as finite as the SF Chronicle leads the masses to believe, but in California, there are boundaries that are natural. Of course, there's also tons of "wetlands" that do not need protection and should be replaced with midrise development. Perhaps a discussion for another day.

Sarah Palin is Hawt

2008-08-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

So, today we get the announcement that a budget-balancing, deficit-crushing, corruption/pork barrel murdering hottie as Veep.

Hm. Kinda hot. Anyway, no need to mention her lack of experience, she's voted on more issues as a governor than Barry Hussein ever contemplated as a Senator.

In January, 07, she started work to reduce the gen. fund spending in Alaska by $150 million; not small change in that state (the state with the 5th highest GDP in the country). She regularly puts the interests of her citizens above the interests of Oil and Gas companies whilst still encouraging them to drill the shiznit out of the great barren landscape of Alaska. ANWR, drill the shit out of it! Of course, since the proposed drilling area is only the size of LAX, no one, not even mating caribou, will ever notice the black oil being pumped out, further shrinking our account deficit.

Lifetime member of the NRA? I'm getting a chubby just thinking about her firing an M-16.

Best Video Ever

2008-08-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

No time for a post today, but here's a great video.

Electoral College, Hope, Change

2008-08-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

"Our republican Constitution will sink into a mobocracy,—the worst of all possible governments. . . ."
-Thomas Jefferson

I'm not an idealist. I'm a pragmatist. So I understand that, as much as I loathe to admit, Barry Hussein has a commendable lead in the popular vote. And this reminds me of why I love the constitution sooooo much. Our forefathers luckily predicted that stupidity can run amok in a democracy, so our Republic has a few built-in safeguards.

Barry has the popular vote thanks to the media and Hollywood. Sound like a typical right-wing rant? Well, there's a ton of truth in the this. Hollywood loves Barry, but they don't have substance themselves, so they don't need a lot in a candidate. And they're soooo educated, I respect their opinions. And the media only portrays Barry in a positive light, and there's simply no denial on this front.

However, he won't win the election.
Here's why:

This is the final electoral map from 2004. What's going to change in 2008? Nothing. New Hampshire will vote for McCain this time around (McCain is enjoying a sizable lead there) and Iowa will switch to Barry since he supports their nonexistent - without - subsidies economy (ethanol).

Michigan and Ohio are definitely the wild cards. I hate to posit racism as a source for my information, but I am originally from the midwest. Michigan and Ohio are NOT LIBERAL PLACES. NOT AT ALL. Now, they elect economically liberal morons frequently to positions of power because they promise them the world, then deliver them 8% unemployment rates. Howell, MI is the former home of the KKK. 1968 race riots anyone? 83% white populace in Michigan? I hate to say it, but Barry Hussein may not be able to do anything to budge these people from voting for a semi-black man. Also, the "religion and guns" and "typical white person" comments are not lost just because the media has stopped bringing them up.

Take what is said above, and apply it to 87% white Ohio. His being semi-black should not be a reason to cast a vote against him. His voting record in the senate is the reason not to vote for him that these middle-class people should use when they cast their McCain votes.

Tax Related Voting Record
• Voted NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007)
• Voted NO on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007)
• Voted NO on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006)
• Voted NO on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006)
• Voted YES on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut. (Feb 2006)
• Voted NO on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends. (Feb 2006)
• Voted NO on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends. (Nov 2005)

Just say NO to tax and spend Liberals, kiddies.

Of Welfare and Idiocy

2008-08-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Aside from being called "heartless", "inhumane", and a other various colorful adjectives, there are substantial reasons that I'm against welfare states. To start off, I am heartless... but that's not the reason why I hate welfare. This chart only illustrates one form of welfare, but it's indicative of the wonders that Billy Boy, Ronny, and both George's have done for us (I love them all). Barack would love to see that chart snake upward...

I'm a friggin' capitalist, and I have to keep it real. And I hate wealth redistribution in nearly every form. I'll throw it on the record that when it comes to taxes, I do not have any issue, in theory, to sales tax. Moving on....

James Madison (the guy who, you know, signed on the dotted line for that Constitution thing) once said "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

Let me also go with a more contemporary quote from the father of modern conservatism, Big Ron: "No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"

But Jonny Wonder, don't the ends justify the means? Isn't it a goal to help the poor, the downtrodden, those unable to help themselves?

Sure, it's a worthy goal... for the 15,000,000 NGO's, nonprofits, and so on out there that specialize in helping people. Why can't Americans help themselves??? Do we need to take more than a small percentage of our wealth and transfer it to bureaucrats who absorb half then transfer it back to the poor?

Interesting tidbits from Prof Edgar Browning of Texas A&M (also author of my microecon textbook in undergrad)...

"In 2005, total federal, state and local government expenditures on 85 welfare programs were $620 billion. That's larger than national defense ($495 billion) or public education ($472 billion). The 2005 official poverty count was 37 million persons. That means welfare expenditures per poor person were $16,750, or $67,000 for a poor family of four.

Those figures understate poverty expenditures because poor people are recipients of non-welfare programs such as Social Security, Medicare, private charity and uncompensated medical care. The question that naturally arises is if we're spending enough to lift everyone out of poverty, why is there still poverty? The obvious answer is poor people are not receiving all the money being spent in their name. Non-poor people are getting the bulk of it.

Browning's concluding chapter tells us what the welfare state costs us. He acknowledges the non-economic costs such as infringements on liberty and strains on the political process, but focuses on the quantitative economic costs. The disincentive effects of Social Security have reduced the GDP by 10 percent, the federal income tax (as opposed to a proportional tax) by 9 percent and past deficits by 3.5 percent for a total of 22.5 percent. He guesses that welfare programs have reduced GDP by 2.5 percent. The overall effect of redistributionist policies has created incentives that have reduced GDP by a total of 25 percent. Without those, our GDP would be close to $18 trillion instead of $14 trillion."

So we're robbing Peter to pay Paul, and we're damn inefficient at it. Great. We're also destroying the fabric of our economic system. Awesome. Do I have a proposal that would weigh less on the backs of the working class, entrepreneurs, and big business cats? Well, solutions are tough to come by as even NGO's and nonprofits lack accountability to a degree. I believe that the HSA's that GWBush brought into being were an excellent start. Save your hard earned dollars in a tax-deferred account, get a debit card to bring to Walgreens to buy your drugs with, and pull all the money out when you retire if you're still alive, all while getting a great return of 5% or so. I'm a huge fan, in fact I have a BlueShield HSA and it's amazing. Social Security? Private accounts... YES, there is HUGE risk in it. But there's huge risk in bankrupting our economy. Why not let those who aren't savvy investors be able to put it in low risk treasuries instead of stocks? 30 years of contribution still equals retirement.

The money needs to be withheld from the bureaucrats, and our government should be thinned to the likes of Andorra.

Kilpatrick is Detroit

2008-08-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Usually, I'd love to rant and rave about some sort of partisan, liberal abomination... but since both parties are not new to being wickedly corrupt in this fine country of ours, I'll travel a different route.

What we have here is a somewhat refreshing juxtaposition. Corruption is fine.... when your city looks like this:

What's the difference?

First off, let's start with Chicago and Richard Daley. Daley is a graft-alicious mayor. However, he maintains a virtuous city due to the ease and uniformity of his corruption. Bribes for throwing an addition on your house? A mere $3k donation to your local alderman will get the permit granted. The alderman tithes over the appropriate donation to the Daley machine, and the city continues operating.

Want a liquor license? Same, uniform pricing on your graft. No one wants to impede development, no one wants to wring the last dollars out of someone's broken hand.

Now... we have Detroit.

We have a mayor who is governing a city which has lost half its population and is on a downward spiral that makes New Orleans look like it has a bright future. We have a mayor with a false sense of entitlement who is taking what few dollars are left and frivolously spending them between his whores and his bling'd out lifestyle. Shocker when he gets arrested for something that's a non criminal issue: an affair. Yeah, maybe you could have gotten away with lying under oath on such a nonissue... IF ANYONE LIKED YOU. You've pillaged a city with nothing to offer so that you can cruise an Escalade through these beautiful streets:

Seriously? You're worse than the board of supervisors in San Francisco. For reference to the seething corruption I am referring to, read on:

In 2001 Kilpatrick used his Detroit seat to run for the mayoralty, defeating city council president and former police chief Gil Hill 54% to 46%. However, getting elected proved to be the first of several battles before his 2005 re-election contest when victory was far from assured. The city’s media homed in on the mayor’s lavish lifestyle, his leasing a Lincoln sedan for his wife using city funds and the charging of $210,000 to city for entertaining raised more than a few eyebrows.

A stripper party at the mayoral mansion merely exacerbated Kilpatrick’s poor standing, earning him the sobriquet of ‘hip-hop mayor’ on account of his ‘bling’ lifestyle. Kilpatrick’s supporters however saw this as a racist slur. Local media scrutiny was nothing compared to the unhelpful election year intervention by Time Magazine when it labelled Kilpatrick one of America’s worst mayors. Kilpatrick has repeatedly claimed that he has presided over a reversal of the city’s poor finances, inherited from Dennis Archer’s administration, though critics on the council and among staff have blasted the scale of his cuts to services.

Throw him in the slammer... dispose of key.

I Heart Iraqi Oil

2008-08-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

But I love American oil.

All it takes is for oil prices to rise to almost $150/barrel and then to drop back to $120/barrel for people to realize that we're possibly being taken advantage of? People is smart.

So, we haven't built a refinery since 1976. Back then the government stopped issuing permits because electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells were just around the corner. Sound familiar? Now, we don't add refining capacity OR drilling capacity for the same reasons. Or so that democrats can keep getting their contributions from the ENVIRONMENTAL LOBBY. Worse than the Oil Lobby, these clowns insist on subtracting from our economy by setting aside vast lands for their own good. Mind you, of course, that oil derricks and wells only take up about 1 acre on the 87 MILLION ACRES OWNED BY THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT. That's right, we have 87 million acres set aside. Only a very small percentage of that produces oil. Of course, that small percentage has enough oil to supply us with about 75% of our needs... and all the while we're pumping it we could be making our autos more efficient if the market still demands it!

But the caribou can't figure out how to walk around the oil installations? Environmentalists insult the intelligence of their closest intellectual match... the caribou and elks of Alaska.

Here's a recent scene illustrating how the people's party (democrats) cares about its constituency:

"While Republicans on the House floor shouted “vote, vote, vote” and “lower gas prices,” the Democratic majority turned off the lights, cameras, and microphones. Determined Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell offered unanimous-consent requests to vote on lifting the ban on deep-water exploration, and the Democrats objected. When McConnell asked Democrats if they’d overturn the ban at $4.50 a gallon, they replied “no.” When he raised the price to $5, $7, and $10, they cried “no,” “no,” and “no.”"

Democrats have no interests of ours floating through their minuscule minds.. just how to get re-elected and be lifetime politicians. Just like welfare recipients who have no intent of weaning themselves off the government teet, we need to ween these lunatics off the environmentalist lobbies' teet and back on to the demands of their constituency.

Do the world a favor today and punch your nearest Sierra Club employee.

Edit:

I forgot to post my sources. Read the PDF on this page. It's no big deal; just a research paper that shows how drilling now reduces prices immediately even though the supply comes online at a later date:

http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/9543/

Mortgage Bailout. Outrageous

2008-07-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

400,000 people. Is that a large number of citizens? We have some 305 million people in this country. So, we're talking about a very small slice of the populace. Tiny. Minuscule, even. However, we're about to spend $25 billion dollars to bail out that many borrowers who are deemed to need this to stay in homes that they are renting from various banks.

Just after that ridiculous farm bill (aka, feed the rich off the backs of the many for being inefficient).

Where to start with this pile of crap bill. Oh, I know.

So, we are going to guarantee mortgages that were based on inflated appraisals, questionable/nonexistent incomes, and total fraud? That's awesome. I wish I was a homeowner, you could be footing my bill for being a fool.

What we have here is shear greed that's siphoning off public funds that could... oh, I don't know, maybe used to pay down our massive debt. These 400,000 people are all worthless peons. Why the harsh words? Well, they knew their homes weren't worth what they were borrowing against them. They borrowed the money in order to finance Hummers, gas bills, and credit card spending on whatever consumerist crap they decided they wanted that day (i'm guessing name brand shoes for their 3 year olds were on the list, along with matching Harleys for mom and dad).

'They aren't deadbeats, they were mislead!' rings the chorus. Yes, in 20% of the cases, I could imagine that being true. But it was mostly greed. When you sign an ARM, there's a RIDER inserted that has, in BOLD lettering a 1 page note explaining in very simple terms, that the rate will adjust in 2-5 years. If interest rates are at an all time low, will they go up or down? Morons.

What angers me so much about this, aside from once again spending my hard earned dollars on someone else, is that the value of contracts in America are about to be non-existent. This proud country was founded on a few principles... life, liberty, and property. Yes, property. Look it up.

If contracts are no longer valid between borrower and lender, lender and financier(CDO, MBS buyer) and so forth, what makes us any better than Venezuela? How shall we attract future FDI (foreign direct investment) to finance our outstanding debt obligations?

Per Bill Fleckenstein, "Are contracts no longer to be viewed as law, but rather are to be viewed as nothing other than mere whim? If we are to allow mortgagees who are in trouble to stand down and have their problems taken up by taxpayers, what then of contracts anywhere? Can we demand foreign governments, or foreign companies, or foreign individuals to stand by their commitments to Americans if Americans will not stand by their commitments to one another?"

Why don't these fine folks just come to terms with their place in life? They're renters. Rent from the bank, rent from a landlord, rent from a GSO, what's the difference? I'm a renter; nothing wrong with that. Next time, read the fine print in your CONTRACT, and abide by it. Or just invest in the stock market with your savings, and rent. Don't pay $550,000 for a property that can command only $1200/month in rent. Don't buy a $700,000 condo in SoMa and expect the appreciation to pay the mortgage, since your $100k/annum combined salary is NOT enough to pay the mortgage.

Get educated, masses, and don't force the government to siphon hard earned funds to pay for your mistakes. Assholes.

Global Redistribution of American Wealth

2008-07-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about sending dollars abroad to purchase actual goods or services (read: Oil and cheap crap from China), but the Obamessiah's newest prophecy. He wants to tax Americans to reduce poverty in nations abroad that are victims of their own tyrannical despots.

From Barry Hussein's recent German speech...

"With billions o f people living on just dollars a day around the world, global poverty remains one of the greatest challenges the international community faces. It must be a priority of American foreign policy to commit to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring every child has food, shelter, and clean drinking water"

Since when are we responsible for every countries worst off? Since when do we have the audacity of world socialism? The Global Povery Act (S. 2433) that Barry has sponsored is just another way to tax the rich and redistribute to everyone else based on need, rather than on merit. Why have that money reinvested in the US when we can send it abroad to the world's poor? Never mind that NGO's and nonprofits are already doing that with quite measurable success.

Someone, please assassinate this ass clown.

Technorati Test

2008-07-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile

California Transferring Businesses to Juiced Ownership

2008-07-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

Chronicle Article

What a delicious article from the San Fran Chron. What we have here is a standard bankruptcy case right? The old lumber town and the lumber mill are unable to continue being profitable due to ... due to ... well.. what's the reason?

"The vast acreage has been at the center of a legal, financial and environmental storm ever since Pacific Lumber's takeover by Texas financier Charles Hurwitz in 1986. At that time, the company and its practices became a lightning rod for high-profile protests, including Julia Butterfly Hill's two-year residence in the boughs of an old redwood she named "Luna."

That same period birthed the so-called Headwaters Agreement, in which state and federal agencies paid about $500 million to preserve more than 7,000 acres of old-growth forest as parkland. The pact also regulated more stringently how and where the company could harvest timber on the remaining 210,000 acres.

Under those constraints and a mountain of debt, Pacific Lumber was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in January 2007."

Hmm.. so we have an agreement that took money from taxpayers in order to cancel a company's mission of profiting from the land. And not just Pacific Lumber.. but the truckers that make a living on the logging trucking... the skilled artisans that craft the lumber into works of art, furniture, or future homes... the furniture stores that sell the lumber will have to pay more for scarcer lumber, or send the dollars to Thailand to purchase their goods. The salesmen in the furniture store suffer as a result of less products at affordable prices to move.

And why did the government do this? To save something that's renewable AND in total abundance in Humboldt/Mendocino/Butte counties.. something that BURNS DOWN EVERY YEAR? Would our entire state be on fire as we speak if, perhaps, some of those "precious" (plentiful) trees were logged? The fires probably wouldn't be spreading as fast.

So, now that the government successfully bankrupted an otherwise successful company, they're transferring their assets to a politically connected family. The well - known Fishers. I like the Fishers, personally, but this move is disgusting. The government has bankrupted one company to transfer the property to a connected couple. That's fair.

"The Fisher plan offers $530 million for the land, promises to keep the Scotia sawmill running with a workforce cut from 350 to 250, and to harvest about 50 million board feet from the forest each year. The company will also seek certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, which advocates sustainable forestry.

Pacific Lumber is currently harvesting about 100 million board feet each year; in the 1990s, annual harvesting maxed out at 300 million board feet."

So, obstructing one company that predates the past 10 state governments to transfer the land to a private couple that will now due the government's bidding. Stop adding value to the economy whilst simultaneously "saving and preserving" a renewable resource.

Idiots.

Test Run

2008-07-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

I'm welcoming myself to the fine world of blogging, today, July 30th in the year of Jonny Wonder, 2008.

I'm a psuedo-republican living in San Francisco, terrified by cold weather and maniacal pit bulls that are known to chew on human legs as kibble:

It's a pretty amazing city with all the views, the abundance of night life, and of course, the crap politics. The pit bull above is being trained as we speak to kill on command. City Council members only, however. If you say the words Chris Daly or Tom Ammiano around him, he goes into a feverish rage.

He also chews on effigies of the clowns mentioned above.

The content of this blog will mostly pertain to the destruction of California and San Francisco from within. The willful leeching of value added products into government "services" that benefit none other than those employed directly and indirectly by the opaque government that reigns this third world country.