Happy New Year, ameriKa! Uncle Sugar loves you

Those poor, helpless multi-billionaires. Just by coincidence, they call the shots in the government that makes this kind of decision!

http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.html

Americans continue to agonize over government "giveaways," but as News of the Weird has noted several times, somehow federal farm subsidies continue unabated -- even though much of the money no longer goes to cuddly "family farms" but to rich urban industrialists who hardly know a plow from a sow. In the latest accounting from Environmental Working Group records, the weekly New York Press revealed such "agrarian" handout-seekers as Manhattan billionaires Leonard Lauder and David Rockefeller -- and Rockefeller's son Mark. (In fact, for 10 years now, the federal government has handed Mark $54,500 a year not to grow anything on his 5,000 acres in Idaho. According to the Press, Mark never intended to, in that he only bought the land because it was adjacent to the upscale, socialite-hangout South Fork fly-fishing lodge he runs next door.) [New York Press, 6-15-10]

News Link • Bailouts
10 bailed-out banks spent $16.3M lobbying in 1H
08-31-2010 • Eileen Aj Connelly, AP Business Writer
The 10 banks that received the most bailout aid during the financial crisis spent over $16 million on lobbying efforts in the first half of 2010, as the debate over financial regulatory reform reached its height. Disclosure reports show that the banks that got the most government help in late 2008 and early 2009 also invested the most to influence members of Congress, the White House, the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and a long list of federal agencies as new rules were enacted governing Wall Street and the nation's financial system.Read more: Ten Bailed-Out Banks Spent $16.3 Million Lobbying in First Half
Read Comments • Make a Comment • Email this News Link • Send Letter to Editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's some great news, despite the ominous, horrible, ghastly, outrageous state into which our freedoms have sunken. Only in dictatorships is there any restriction on what you can and can't photograph. Thank God for the following decision, but woe unto any country where it's necessary!

You CAN Photograph That Federal Building

Oct 19, 2010 ... The right of photographers to stand in a public place and take pictures of federal buildings has been upheld by a legal settlement reached in New York.
...............Under the settlement, announced Monday by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Federal Protective Service said that it would inform its officers and employees in writing of the “public’s general right to photograph the exterior of federal courthouses from publicly accessible spaces” and remind them that “there are currently no general security regulations prohibiting exterior photography by individuals from publicly accessible spaces, absent a written local rule, regulation or order.”
www.prisonplanet.com › Featured Stories - Cached

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a good one. The big banks aren't whoring it up for the feds enough already, so they're now joining the rest of the "private" sector in doing volunteer work on a massive scale.
Banks are *supposed* to be part of the private sector. They are supposed to be working for the good of the customer first and foremost. Oh, yes, self-interest and self-advancement is what any business is all about, but doesn't that depend on keeping customers happy and well-served at all costs?
Of course it does. In a great free enterprise-based economic like ours, anyway -- right? But who are ameriKa's banks really in it for? One could say they're a virtual arm of the government and nothing "private" about them at all, but it would be every bit as accurate to say that the government is an extension of the banks. Or another branch of the incestuously close family tree. Slice it however you like, all the large institutions in this society are ranged against us as an attack army for from hell. Yes, all of them!

Wall Street Is the New Tax Collector? Governments Relinquish Taxation Powers to Big Banks
Wall Street titans have found a new way to screw over the poor and middle class -- as surrogate tax collectors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Follow the money as they follow the money. Like bloodhounds.

The New Tax Man: Big Banks and Hedge Funds
Nearly a dozen major banks and hedge funds, anticipating quick profits from homeowners who fall behind on property taxes, are quietly plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into businesses that collect the debts, tack on escalating fees and threaten to foreclose on the homes of those who fail to pay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me get this straight: the government that has a money waterfall for funding warfare is so strapped it has to bleed working people the rest of the way dry..... in order to fund giveaways?
Is this the greatest country in the world experiencing total downfall, or is this Alice in Wonderland meets Godzilla?

Cash-strapped governments ramping up tax-collection efforts
Tax officials throughout the Washington region are trying new and often extraordinary measures to collect tens of millions of dollars in delinquent payments, as huge projected budget deficits threaten to slash public services.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Go to work for the government. A great way to save on taxes.

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/078826-2010-11-17-government-employees-owe-billions-in-delinquent-taxes.htm?From=News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of Alice in Wonderland, do you ever feel like you're sometimes searching "Through the Looking Glass" for the basic information you have coming from the System?

Man Makes Ridiculously Complicated Chart To Find Out Who Owns His Mortgage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/18/man-makes-ridiculously-co_n_785315.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/16/mortgage-security-chart_n_784274.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bringing people power to bear on the birth certificate issue!

http://boycotthawaii.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Odds and ends:

Can you tell which of these government spending projects are real or fake?
If only the American people knew...
[Link ever goes dead, search REAL OR FAKE in Youtube.]

Group Tallies Families' "Hidden Health Tax"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124353194170163283.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
You're paying for your own and somebody else's.

British banks revolt against Obama tax plan
British banks and stockbrokers may refuse to take on American clients if new international tax proposals outlined by President Obama are passed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/5374095/British-banks-revolt-against-Obama-tax-plan.html