What’s So Wrong With Socialism

October 28th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

The Story

There was a girl that lived with her mother. She had never been on her own and liked the comfort of being taken care of. Her mother made a good living, so providing her daughter with the basics was no big problem.

One morning the mother got up and made breakfast for her and her daughter. The daughter came in and asked her mother if she could have some money to buy a new outfit for upcoming job interview. The mother said, No. I had to pay the rent, the electric, and other bills, I don’t have the money.

The daughter was upset but she let it pass. Later that day, one of the daughter’s friends showed up at the house. Her mother did not like the friend, so she told her she wasn’t allowed to come in. So the friend called on the phone. The mother answered and told her not to call again.

The daughter was so upset, she went into her room and slammed the door. The mother came in behind her and told her that there were to be no closed doors in this house. The daughter got upset and told her mother that she was going to move out.

The mother freaked at the thought that her daughter would move. So she reached into her pocket and gave the daughter money to buy a new outfit for her interview. The daughter was relieved. She and her mother had come to an understanding and she no longer felt like she needed her own space.

Her mother gave her want she wanted, not what she needed.

The Story

There was once this woman that lived in the Ghetto. She had dreams of opening her own community center to help her neighborhood. She had seen promises made and broken and felt it was time for a center that could not be underfunded or closed due to budget shortfalls.

She worked as a nurse for the last 10 years, saving and investing her money to get to the sum she needed. When she finally hit her target, she was super excited. She began working on the plans for the center. She decided to run the idea by her local officials to get some publicity for her project.

She was stunned to hear her local politician say, You have saved to much money. Instead of building a community center, I want to take the money you have saved and give it to the people in your community. What good is a community center if the people are suffering?

The woman planned on giving financial advice, not financial assistance. The woman planned on giving her time and heart, not her money. The woman had dreamed of leaving a legacy, not helping a politician win re-election off her years of scrapping by.

The officials took her dream and made it impossible.

The story

There was a man who was brought up around money. His father knew how to make it and his mother knew how to spend it. His father would say, Money doesn’t grow on trees. His mother would say, You can’t take it with you. He adopted some principles from both.

So when he got the money and the power, he knew he had to invest in his father’s company to keep it strong. He also knew he had to spend some money too, so like his mom, he wanted to give lots of money to charity.

When tax time rolled around, the man was hit with hard reality. He could save the jobs of his employees and not invest in new equipment or projects, or he could lay people off and divert money towards mandated healthcare. With either option, he would no longer be able to donate to charity.

All the promises he had made to different organizations would have to be taken back. He was heart broken. What was the point of having all this money, if he couldn’t decide how he wanted to spend it.

The system took the lessons taught by the man’s parents and discounted them.

The Last Story

There are three roommates living in an apartment. One was a full time student with a full time job. One was a full time student with money from his parents to pay for living. The other was a part time student with no job and no money.

Every month when rent time came, the part time student would give excuses as to why he couldn’t pay his portion of the rent. After the third month, the other two roommates finally spoke up. The part time student made promises to find a job, but they often found him in front of the video game.

They were through. They went to the rental office and told the people, we need to get this man’s name off the lease and out of our house. The renter asked why. The men told him that he wasn’t paying his share of the rent and was making no attempt to get a job.

The renter said, the rent has been paid on time, so I don’t understand why you are complaining. The full time student with family money said, I brought the furniture, the T.V., and my mom sends us all the other basics; toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, etc. Why should I have to pay his rent also? The full time student with the full time job said I work eight hours a day and spend another six at school. Why should he get to play the video game while I’m out slaving.

The renter said, you both have the means to carry this man. It’s your responsibility as Americans to share with him. Both men were furious.

They were working to better themselves but had to carry someone else’s burden on top of their own.

The Point

Socialism sounds great if you are on the bottom or in political power. If you aren’t doing anything to better yourself, then you welcome someone giving you something. If you control the power, you relish the fact that you can keep a person’s vote by giving a little at a time.

But what happens to those who want it for themselves? The funny part is we all claim to want it for ourselves. We want to own a house but we don’t want to save. (If you save your money, then I’m not talking to you.) But the truth is you know the people I’m talking about.

You get up everyday to go to work, they don’t, but they have better clothes than you. You save for a vacation but end up having to spend that money to get your car fixed, damn transmission. They take two or three vacations to local beaches. You cut coupons and bargain shop and they come over and eat all your food.

You don’t mind, though. That’s why they keep coming. They spend their money at the club on Saturday night because they know they can eat Sunday dinner at your house. And that’s cool. But what happens when the government tells you that Sunday dinner is mandatory and you also have to feed this person and that person too. What happens to your Sunday dinner?

What if someone doesn’t like meat? Do you have to fix a vegetarian dish for them? What if someone doesn’t like Iced Tea? Do you have to check with them on which drink they would like? What if someone didn’t like the color of your dining room? Do you have to change the color?

See, it’s fine when it’s your idea but when someone else tells you how to run it, things change. It no longer is, You will eat what I cook. It becomes what does the government want me to cook. You no longer search the internet for new recipes. You don’t experiment with new ingredients. You stick with what is approved.

Now you might say, Not in my house. I run my house. Well guess what? You also have the power to run your government. Everyone complains that the government is corrupt and does nothing but cause more problems. I wonder how the answer to that problem could be more government.

They messed up Wall Street, now you want to trust them with health care. They destroyed company accountability, now you want to make them accountable for your child’s education. We have the most hated Congress in history, now you want to give them control of government spending. How will this help any of our problems?

A personal issue I have is this; What does that say about you? It pisses me off to think that a politician in government could tell me my worth. You see, just because I don’t make $250,000 a year now, I need help. The truth, this debacle on wall street and the high cost of gas caused me to re-evaluate my spending. Last year, my daughter had four pair of name brand shoes. Now she has one and three pair of no name shoes. What’s even funnier, she likes the no name shoes better.

I can understand the mantra on change going around. Things haven’t been working in the last eight years, so we have to make a change. The truth is, things crashed in the last two years. President Bush won re-election even though we were in an unpopular war. Why? Because the economy was good. Housing sales were up, unemployment was down, and America was in great shape.

No one was concerned about what would happen next. We were all just living in the moment. Buying $600 iphones like we needed them to breathe. Moving into $500,000 houses because that was the American dream. Finding the biggest, gas guzzling SUV because it sent the message of success.

Then all of a sudden life caught up with us and we start looking for someone to blame. I blame myself for constantly wanting to get my hair done, even though I know how to do it myself. I blame myself for hiring someone to cut my grass, when it would only take me and hour or so to do myself. I blame myself for thinking my three year old really cared about the Nike swoosh on her shoes. And I don’t expect someone with money to pay for the mistakes I’ve made.

I believe that the lesson’s I’ve learned will get me to the $250,000 mark and beyond. I know that trivial things like clothes that fade with the next fashion trend are not a good investment, unless I own stock in the company. I know that a car’s purpose is to get you from point A to point B and it doesn’t matter who says, “That’s my car”, when I roll down the street. I know that governments make promises that never materialize, So it’s better if I do it for myself.

That’s how I want my worth determined. What I’ve done through my own sacrifice, not what someone else gave me. I told my daughter the other day, there will come a time when she has to realize that when someone gives you something, they often want something in return. I told her to remember that everything that shines is not gold and when things seem to easy, there is usually a problem.

She told me, “So if I get it myself, no one can take it away.” I told her, Yes, but I felt this pit in the center of my core. I’m trying to teach my daughter self reliance, when she is surrounded by people with their hands out. I don’t want to teach my daughter, You work to pay the government. I want to teach her to work hard and give back. As Jay-Z said, I can’t help the poor, if I’m one of them. I got rich and gave back, to me that’s the win win.

And that sounds wonderful, just like Sunday dinner, but what happens when the government tells you how to give back? When they are paying for Bear research and your community has poor or no health care clinics. When they are paying for wooden arrows and your community has no jobs. When they are paying to keep financial institutions from falling when your community fell years ago.

They say, I’m going to take from the rich and give to the poor. What the hell is $500 going to do to help you? Seriously. You can’t even pay mortgage for a month with that money. Wouldn’t it be better spent if it stayed in the hands of your employeer who could then hire more people, maybe even give you a raise or promotion. Or maybe it could stay in the hands of the people that donate Millions every year to building community centers or finding a cure for AIDS.

And yet again, what does that say about you? You work hard but life gets in the way, you should be taken care of. Where will you get your lessons of survival? Or are you like the daughter in the first story, willing to take any little thing that puts off dealing with a major issue. Or are you like the politician in the second story that thinks you can spend money better than the person that earned it? Or are you like the tax man in the third story, that doesn’t think a business owner can make responsible decisions? Or are you like the renter in the fourth story that thinks as long as things get done, it doesn’t matter who makes the sacrifice?

Oh yeah, one thing I forgot. What happens when the government decides that you have gotten a break for to long? What happens when the margain for being rich is pushed down to $125,000? What happens when you graduate college, get a great job, and then have to turn around and pay for someone else to go to college before you finish paying off your tuition debt? How then do you save for a home or for your retirement?

If you think that spreading the wealth helps everybody, just look at the people around you. How many of them will do the right thing with money they recieve? And don’t lie to yourself, you know the people around you. And if you are one of the people who doesn’t see anything wrong with the spending habits of those around you, you are probably the example your friends and family are looking at.

P.S. If you think the guy in the last story will actually get a job, write to me. I want to hear why you think that man will get a job when he still has a place to live without one!

Sonskystar Wants Your Vote

October 16th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

Local Politician Sonskystar gave a speech in front of Any Town U.S.A. today.  Here’s a copy of her words:

Hello, Everyone.  We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s go.  I know this is usually the part where I throw out names and Thank You’s but I think we have more important issues to discuss.  So for all the assistance I’ve garnered along the way,  Thank You.

Now, I know you are surprised to see a Black Woman running as a Republican.   And I know people will try to scare you about me.  But this is not the time to let their tactics interfer with your future. I’m not asking for your vote.  I’m asking for your ear, a little of your time, and eventually your success.

The Civil Rights movement in this country came at a high cost.  We lost some of the bravest most dedicated Americans to ever grace this country.  But their fight was not in vein.  Some would try to tell you we are in the same fight now.  I beg to differ.  We are in a new age.  And we need a new movement, a Hip Hop Movement.

We can not overlook tragedies from the past.  We can not act as though slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation never existed.  But we can refuse to let it control our futures.  We can give honor and respect to those who came before us, but that can not cause us to stand idle like the battlefield hasn’t changed.   We must stand and say Thank You Dr. King,  Malcolm X, and all the rest but this is our time to pick up where you left off.  You gave us the level playing field and now we have to take advantage of your sacrifices.

If you’re listening right now and thinking to yourself, ‘You know she doesn’t sound like your average politician.’  You are right.  I am not.  See most politicians would come out and make you every promise under the sun.  You give them a problem, they come  up with a promise for a solution.

The lower class and lower middle class have given our votes to the Democrats for years.  What have they done for you?  Have your communities gotten cleaner or safer?  Have your schools gotten better?  Are there more after school programs and assistance towards getting into college.  And I’m not talking about paying for college.  I’m talking wanting to go to college.  What’s the use of throwing money at people, if they don’t have the skills to make it in college because they weren’t taught properly in public schools.

Okay, now she’s starting to sound like a politician.  I’m not finished yet. This will shock you.  I will not make you any promises.  I’m not going to stand here, pull out my book of magic spells, my wand, and whip up all the change we need.  It doesn’t work that way.  My plans will fail if I can’t get you to fight with me.

The Democrats want to give you.  And that sounds great.  But what happens when the funding runs out?  What happens when they deem the program unworkable.  The promises made by Politicians fade and beauracracy flourishes.  And you are left with the same old problems, this time compiled with dashed hopes and dreams.

What I offer is priceless.  I offer self sufficiency.  I don’t want to give you fish, I want to teach you to be fisherman.  I want to give you the power to take care of yourself and your community, no matter how the wind blows in Washington.  I want to take away the promises and replace them with actual results.

I think most Politicians get into office and forget their role.  They get into office and start to think they know best.  I’m not that smug.  If one single person had all the answers, we wouldn’t have any problems.  As your elected official, my job would be to give you every tool available to do it by yourself.  And to fight anyone that impedes on your progress.  I mean anyone.  Because I know my success will only come when you are first successful.

Real change comes with a price tag attached for everyone.  I can not bring change.  That’s one promise I will make you.  I can not do it.  But you can.  You can decide to stand up and fight.  Because the fight of our time is coming.  And you’ve already taken the first step.

In just listening to another point of view.  Just giving me the chance to show you, I understand.  I grew up in a rural community where Confederate Flags still waved from flag poles.  Then I lived in the projects with my single mother.  I know the struggles are real and seem insurmountable but they aren’t.  Did you hear me?  If we all get together and start taking one step at a time, we can crush what seems to be an ever present road block.

That’s how the Civil Rights movement started.  Single acts from brave Americans.  Before there were large marches, there were small marches.  Before there were recognizable names, there were people fighting.  Before there was light at the end of the tunnel, there was a dream.

So when they tell you, ‘She’s a Republican.  She’s an Uncle Tom.  A trader to her race because she sides with ‘Whitey’.  Then you say, ‘I have white friends and family.  What’s wrong with loving all Americans not just those with the same skin color?’  So when they bring up things from the past, you question how that will get you into the future.

Guess what?  You have started to pile stones onto your foundation. And that’s how it starts.  A few brave Americans deciding to longer go with the status quo.  A few brave Americans willing to stand up when everyone wants them to fail and say I’m still going to fight.

And the change starts to come.  Little changes to fix little problems, making the bigger problems seem less threatening.  And we have some major problems that need fixing.

Communication is our major barrier.  We have so many people pointing to the past.  And hell, in some cases the right here and now.  But you don’t hear a way out.  A real way towards self sufficiency.  Now I could point fingers but what would that solve.  Nothing.  We would still be in this downward slide with more weight dragging us down.

Instead let’s start talking about the real issues that plague our communities.  And that’s where it all starts.  In our communities.  Everyone is interested in the Presidential Election but what about your local elections.  This is where the majority of the issues that face average Americans are really hammered out.  What does it matter if the Federal Government pledges Millions of Dollars to this or that, if your local officials decide the money would be better spent some where else.

The Federal Government gives a state $10 Million for new computers in schools.  But the state and local governments decide to give that money to the Teacher’s Union because they supported them in the last election.  Then they complain that the school doesn’t have the resources it needs.  Local Officials have to be held to a higher standard of accountability and transparency.  It’s not enough to have meetings where people voice their opinions to have them overturned by the very people they voted into office.

Then you get parking lots instead of community centers.  Students are forced to pay for school books, while politicians get pay raises.  And then they come back to you with the same promise that next time will be different.  Next time I’m going to do something about substance abuse in our communities.  Next time I’m going for better social programs.  But those programs never come.  The solutions never appear.  And the problems are never solved.

That’s a major reason to let faith based initiatives continue.  Government can not fix every problem with the same solution.  Each community faces different challenges.  And who better to know the challenges than the people who live there.  If you are tired of waiting for a new community center and you want to open one through your church, funds should be made available.  I trust you more with caring how that money is spent than a politician with campaign debts to pay off.

My family is saturated with drug abusers.  My biological mother was an addict when I was born and is still addicted today.  And that breaks my heart.  But my oldest sister was an addict and now she’s found her way back. All praises to God.  She’s working two jobs, trying to settle her debts of the past, and not making any excuses why it’s too hard.  Recovery is possible.

For my sister, it all started with a small business in her community that was willing to give her a chance. A white couple who lived in her Ghetto community didn’t see color or her past.  All they saw was a woman trying to get her life back.  All they saw was an opportunity to help.  And they should be rewarded so they can give that chance to as many people as possible.

The federal government couldn’t reach my sister.  The local government couldn’t reach my sister.  One couple of brave Americans not only reached her, they grabbed her, held her tight, and refused to let her fail.  And in return, she refuses to let their outreach be in vain.

There is something to be said about people who faced adversity and come out the other side.  They develop this wonderful trait called character.  They can look back and realize the mistakes they made.  And they begin to notice those decisions also had an affect on their communities.  And this is when great men and women are born.

And that’s what we need.  A real rebirth in our communities.  Who cares how the drugs got here?  How do we get them out?  Who cares how low our property values are currently?  How can we get them to rival  other neighborhoods in the city?

The problem is, we look to government to solve those problems.  Let’s look to the great men and women being born out of these hard circumstances.  They know why the problems exist, they were there.  Let them have a hand at revitalizing our communities.  Let them have the victory and pride in knowing they are the stewards of the people.  Let them fight for job growth by opening businesses.  Give them unused city buildings or space to start financial counseling and debt elimination.

People, when I say we are on the door step of a new movement, please believe me.   We are in the ‘Keep it Real’ stage in our history.  But we don’t apply it when in matters.  If somebody steps on my shoes, I’ll knock him out.  If you look at me wrong……you know what I mean.  We need people who will say the things people don’t want to hear.

We need the former drug dealers and addicts to speak up.  We need the single mother’s and once absentee father’s to speak up.  I can follow in Cosby’s footsteps and tell you bluntly all the problems in our communities or I can let the men and women you see everyday explain how to help you out of your current situation.  I can let them work and prosper.  My job would be to fight anyone that would dare say they aren’t qualified.  My job would be to fight anyone that said money could be better spent paying for my next election.  My job would be to make sure anyone that tells you it’s not worth the fight is silenced, by any and all means necessary.

And with each new stone, with each new victory, you will see change.  I’ll still be me.  But I doubt you’ll still be the same.  Success is contagious.  Today we are surrounded by all the reasons we can’t make it.  What happens when you start seeing everyone around you prove that theory wrong?  You get that little flutter in your heart thinking, ‘Why can’t that be me?’.  And you hear my loud mouth saying, ‘It can be you’, drowning out all the reasons and excuses.

You decide to go to Malik’s debt management class.  Not only do you come out with a sense that things are going to be different because this plan depends on you; you also found out about Mrs. T’s new daycare program,  Rev. Johnson’s new job training program, Shantel’s new health and awarness clinic, and a host of other programs and businesses set up by people just like you.

You go home happy.  Dare I say, optimistic.  And you look into the eyes of your child and now you want more for him or her.  Now you want to attend every P.T.A. meeting to let every parent know that you are starting a new tutoring program.  Not just for the kids but for adults that want more than they presently have.  And you become infectious. And you bring change.  And you strengthen the foundation of your community.

And when it’s time to pick the city counsel, the people will cry out for you, Mrs. T, and Shantel.  You will get your opportunity to start building your community floor by floor, because each and everyone of you worked together to make a solid foundation.  And no one will be able to take it from you.  And no financial crisis will cripple you.  Because your progress was not built on false promises but hard work by new movers and shakers.

A new generation with new problems.  We are no longer fighting for our right to learn to read.  We are now fighting for schools that don’t pass students even when they can’t read.  We are no longer fighting for our right to not be called property.  We are now fighting to be responsible home owners.  We are no longer fighting to to be called men and women despite color.  We are now fighting to become men and women by character, dedication and sacrifice.

Our schools need help.  That’s why charter schools are so important.  And vouchers to make those schools affordable are even more important.  Now that you’ve started your tutoring program, more parents are getting involved in their child’s lives.

Let me point something out real quick.  Some may say, these ideas have been tried before.  To that I say, by the wrong people.  You can not give this job to the government to handle.  The government doesn’t know how to make a tutoring program interesting in the Urban areas.  If you leave it to the people in those areas, I’m sure they will create the buzz needed to get people to participate.  They know the people, what they want, and they know how to get them there. The programs are more effective.

The targets are reached.  Young boys one step away from being haunted for the rest of their lives by a felony.  Young girls one step away from being single mothers.  Young men and women one step away from contracting H.I.V.  Young men and women one step away from taking my job, they just don’t know it yet.  And I welcome that.

Some people will tell you it’s a right to own a home.  I am not one of those people.  Home ownership is a privelage and a responsibility, not a right.  But it is also a struggle.  Saving for a down payment while trying to start your own business is almost an impossiblity.  Saving while trying to finish school and take care of a family fits into the same category, nearly impossible.

That’s where my job comes in.  I’ll fight to get social programs that do not help propel self sufficiency removed, freeing up money for new programs.  Cut government programs that should be handled by locals and give them vouchers for home down payments.  Reward small business owners with better loan options depending on the number of jobs they create.  This gives them incentive to make their business grow.

And other programs that I think miss the target will have to be adjusted as well.  I don’t understand why you can get welfare for not working but the minute you get a job, you are cut off.  It’s like the government wants to reward you for relying on them.  Take that power from them.  Don’t let them control your vote by controlling your destiny.

If you currently live in public housing, I don’t expect you to miraculously solve all your problems in a month or two.  It takes time to catch up on old bills and buy a car that allows you to get back and forth to work. It takes time to balance a budget; to figure out how much you can afford to spend on housing, insurance, and every thing else it takes to make it in this country.

You should be awarded for taking a step forward.  And I will fight to make sure your food stamps aren’t cut off because you have a minimum wage job.  I’ll fight to help keep your benefits until you complete your G.E.D., college courses, technical school courses, or save enough to know you can handle it on your own. I’ll fight to make sure you see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Because I know when you come out the other side, you will have character and courage to know nothing can stop you.  And you will want to give back to the community that gave you that feeling.

And the cycle will continue.  One victory at a time.  A new movement, with a new voice.  A new Hip Hop generation that refuses to go unheard or to let someone else shape our development.  A new foundation  to build upon.  Forged by fixing the problems of the hear and now, not of the past.

But all this means nothing without you.  Whether I’m elected or not, I will continue to fight.  I don’t want your vote because I think I know what ‘s best.  I’m depending on you to tell me what your community needs.  And I just your words aren’t enough.  I need your action, passion and motivation.  There are some people in some high places that don’t want you to think for yourself.  They have more education than you.  They have years on capital hill to prove they know better than you.

But what they can’t give you is results.  They promise them but where are they.  You are the only one that can get results. And you need someone that tells everyone else, back off and watch this new generation in action.  You don’t need another politician that wins your vote with promises.  I’ll be a servant to you.  If you say that policy isn’t working.  I’ll cut it, even if I fought for it in the first place.

Who knows how many projects and programs will fail before we get it right.  Like I said, I don’t have a book of magic to make the problems disappear.  But together we have a chance to try.  To take each little victory and build upon it.  When we find a crack, we won’t ignore it or let it fester until it drags us all down. We’ll fix it, learning from each lesson along the way.

And you will be the Author in this new chapter in History.  Names that aren’t known yet, will fill the history books with little stories that lead to massive change.  And all the haters that tell you it won’t happen, will remain nameless.  History seldoms records the neigh sayers.  It always records the accounts of the one’s willing to fight.

So will you fight with me?  Will you stand up and say enough with the promises?  Will you say my votes’ new cost is character not entitlements?  Fight with me for your future, the future of those in your community, and for your community as a whole.  Let’s get that first victory, so we can start to build a foundation that can not be broken.  Let’s show the Hero’s of the past, our time is now.  And we will fight just as they did.  And will win just as they did.

God bless you, your family and the United States of America.

Does Your Vote Have A Price?

October 14th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

Does the 15th amendment come with a price tags attached?   I’m starting to wonder.  This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue.  This is an American Issue.  We are all given the right to vote, if we don’t take advantage of that right, should we be paid to do so?

I’ve started to talk to my friends more about politics in the last few weeks.  I usually leave the subject alone because they don’t really pay attention to the news.  When I throw the facts at them, they tell me I’m getting my information from the wrong places.  So I ask, where do you get your information?  They say, Ted from my job said.  And I stop them right there.

I got into this heated debate with my “life coach”, the person I talk to about personal stuff, and she said it’s about time the Government paid her for a change.  Now I know she is in the 40% of Americans that don’t pay any Federal Income Tax.  When I bought that up to her, she said I shouldn’t have to pay any taxes.

I could tell you the rest but I bet you can guess where this headed.  So now I asking, How much does your vote cost?

Most people think I’m talking about money.  That’s only half the equation.  Are you putting a price tag on your skin color?  There are black people that are voting for Obama just because he’s black and there are white people that are voting for McCain just because Obama is black.  And neither is right.  They are both putting a value on a non issue.

But that’s not the real issue at hand.  The major issue should be, If you have the right to vote, why do groups like Acorn even need to exist.  My “life coach” says, Most black people don’t think their vote counts and therefore they won’t vote.  What was the purpose of the 15th amendment?  What was the purpose of all the civil rights marches in the deep south?

People died so that black votes would count.  Not just black people, white people too.  Your vote counts.  And if you don’t believe that, Acorn has a cigarette and a dollar to prove it does.  Is that what your right is worth?

If it is, you shouldn’t be able to vote.  That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.  I can respect you voting because you think a candidate will lower your taxes but if you don’t pay taxes I don’t understand how you could use that as a reason to vote for any candidate.  Let me explain.

When Barack Obama says he’ll cut taxes on 95% of Americans, it’s a lie.  I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings but it’s the truth.  40% of Americans don’t pay taxes, so how will they receive tax cuts.  He changes the words so he doesn’t have to say I’m creating a welfare state.  Where I’ll take money from the Rich that pay taxes and send a check to those who don’t.

My husband to be wanted to vote for Obama.  And I have had a hard time trying to explain why that wouldn’t be a good thing.  Luckily Obama did it for me.  At a campaign stop, Obama was asked by a small business owner if he was going to have to pay more taxes.  Obama responded by saying he is trying to spread around the wealth.

Finally my man got mad.  He works 6 days a week and the thought of free checks for those who refuse to work made him mad.  He finally got it, with no assistance from me.   Obama will create a government where the top pays for the bottom.  It sounds good, unless you plan on getting to the top in this life time.

Now McCain isn’t free from criticism on this issue either.  He had the perfect opportunity to put his money, I mean the American People’s money, where his mouth is and he didn’t.  McCain should have voted against the Bailout but he didn’t.  He too attached a price tag to your vote.  He doesn’t plan on making a welfare state, but he still let the government, wall street, and the American People who signed on the dotted line off the hook for this crisis we are currently in.

Are these two candidates really the best America has to offer?  Or do we as Americans like the Quid Pro Qou of politics?  If you vote for me, I’ll give you this.  Should we change our standards and make the candidates run on policy not on profit for ourselves.   Should we limit emotion and vote more practical.

If you don’t believe in Abortions, then why would you vote for Obama.  Is it because you think you’ll no longer have to pay for healthcare?  If you don’t believe in War, then why would you vote for McCain?  Is it because you make over $250,000 and believe Obama tax increases would cause you to lose your home.    That’s what our politics have come down too.  What’s best for me, not what’s best for the country.

And if that’s the truth, then you can’t blame the politicians for not listening when we speak out.  Well you can blame them but it’s not fair.  They are only doing what you respond too.  If you said we don’t want any new spending and any candidate that offers more government spending will feel the wrath of American voters, how would that change the landscape of Politics?

What could a Politican promise if the American people wanted facts instead of fairy tales.  If you believe any candidate that says I’ll fix all the problems in America, then you are a fool.  Problems will continue to exist no matter who is President.  We can’t control actions other nations.  Hell we can’t control actions of the American People.  And being that we all are human, mistakes will me made.

So instead of asking who will give you more, ask who will make an effort to not create more problems. If you are pissed off that the government is now into banking, imagine what will happen if they get their hands on Healthcare, College Tuition, or any thing else in the private sector.  Does government intervention help anything?

Pay attention when they put the price tags on your rights.  When they figure out they can pay for your vote, then they don’t have to run on policy.  They can run on your emotion.  They can use fancy words or straight talk without mentioning how they actually plan on running this country.  And this is up to us as the American People to stop.  But it’ll only happen when we put our Country’s needs before those of our individual needs.

The truth is, betting on America as a country, is way better than voting for any single politician.  Then your vote will be priceless.

Will Republicans Wimp out on Race?

October 12th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

I usually don’t post something someone else has written, but this will be an exception.

Will Republicans ever fight back when it comes to charges of racism or racial insensitivity? Democrats—and many of their allies in the mainstream media– are masters at putting Republicans on the defensive on race—even when significant numbers of their own in Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania said that race was a factor in supporting Clinton over Obama .

Regardless of their racial “glass houses,” when the political battles begin in earnest, you can be certain that many liberal Democrats and Obama supporters will throw the usual “racism stones” and make race baiting a key tool of the fall campaign. It has already begun. When Democratic Chairman Howard Dean recently said that Republicans use race baiting, hate and divisiveness, there was nary a peep from the National Republican Leadership or its surrogates. The same when he said that that the Republican National Committee could get a large number of people of color in a single room only if the “hotel staff” were present.

The Obama candidacy is cheapened when his supporters in the liberal media, including some black journalists, and their allies, are quick to label any criticisms or lack of support as racism. If working class white Democrats in Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, along the I-4 corridor and in the Panhandle do not identify with Obama’s elitist comments on guns, or religion or his liberal views on domestic and foreign policy they must be unenlightened “rednecks” or “hillbillies.” If black or Hispanic, they must be “sellouts” for not supporting a “person of color.” Indeed, it cheapens Obama’s success for his supporters to claim any criticism is race based.

When the racial shoe is on the other political foot, however, white liberals and the media do not sing the same “they must be racists” tune.

Just two years ago, Kenneth Blackwell, former secretary of state of Ohio and Republican nominee for governor, was the first black person to be a candidate for governor of a major party in the state. Lynn Swann was the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania and Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor in the state of Maryland and the first African-American to serve in statewide office, was candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Steele especially was the object of vicious racist attacks by black and white liberal Democrats. All three of these outstanding black candidates lost. Were the whites who voted against them racist and the blacks and Hispanics who supported their white opponents traitors? Where was the call for racial loyalty by blacks and the so-called enlightened liberal progressivism of the elite liberals in these elections? I do not recall hearing cries of racism from black or white Democrats—or Republicans. Were these men rejected because of race, philosophy or political affiliation? Liberals, black and white, would say it was—surprise–political philosophy.

If white and black liberals can have the luxury of rejecting black Republican candidates because of political affiliation and philosophy, why can’t black, white, and Hispanic Republicans or Independents oppose a black Democrat—Obama—because of his positions on domestic and foreign policy matters?

When it comes to race baiting, given their party’s history, Democrats should be the last group to criticize anyone on race and Republicans should not wimp out and be silent when they do. Republican leaders, black and white, should remind liberals and the media that it was the Democratic Party that gave us slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, opposition to anti-lynching laws and George Wallace-Lester Maddox stand-in-the-doorway obstruction to civil rights.

Let it not be forgotten that it was the Democratic Party—including Obama and Clinton who agreed with the process—that disenfranchised nearly two million Floridians until that process was reversed recently by the party’s Rules Committee. Prior to that action, the silence and lack of protest from state and national civil rights and liberties establishments, as well as black and liberal leaders, was deafening. Remember how they shouted “every vote counts” and descended on Florida attempting to blame Republicans for allegedly “disenfranchising” Florida voters in 2000? The hypocritical message on disenfranchising voters: “If Democrats do it, no problem; if Republicans, then we protest.”

Finally, Democrats should be reminded how they and their allies have turned race baiting and racial divisiveness into an art form as we saw in a Missouri Democratic Party ad implying that electing Republicans would bring about cross burnings and the 2000 NAACP ad accusing then Gov. George W. Bush of being complicit in the dragging death of James Byrd, even though Bush supported the death penalty for the perpetrators.

There is perhaps no better way for state Republican Parties and the McCain campaign to respond to such attacks than to take a cue from the Republican Party of Florida and work to develop their own corps of black, Hispanic and women surrogates who will fight back. These surrogates would let Democrats and their friends in the media know that race baiting will not be met with silence and the usual Republican “turn the other cheek” philosophy. This would forcefully remind the media and the electorate that the issues in this campaign are not about race, gender or ethnicity, but rather who has the integrity, experience and judgment to be Commander in Chief; who best understands the threats to our freedoms from those who want to destroy us; and who will demand accountability in K-12 education so that black and Hispanic children can compete in the 21^st century world.

Such surrogates would remind working class and blue collar independents of all races that Obama and the Democrats will raise taxes, convert our health care system into a post office- like “take a number and stand in line” government monopoly, and will turn the other cheek to terrorists.

They would remind Americans and the world that it is the United States, at the direction of President George W. Bush, which has given billions to fight HIV/AIDS and disease in Africa; worked to end genocide in Darfur; sends millions in food aid and relief to disaster stricken areas of the world and supports free trade in our hemisphere to aid our neighbors and benefit our and their economies—all of which are ignored and discounted by the Obama machine. Democrats and their media allies usually ignore the good that American does in the world.

Clarence V. McKee is communications chair of the Broward County Republican Party and a member of the African-American Advisory Council of the Republican Party of Florida.

Don’t Cross A Democrat: Ask Joe Lieberman

September 8th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

Joe Lieberman is putting all his eggs in the basket of John McCain. The once Democrat, now Independent, was rumored to be John McCain’s first choice for Vice President. Of course the Right went crazy, forcing John McCain to make a more Conservative Pick.

Even though McCain had to stick with his party, Joe Lieberman decided to stick with his friend. He gave a moving speech at the Republican National Convention and the Democrats were not happy about it. Due to his stance on the War in Iraq, Lieberman changed his political affliation to Independent after losing the democratic primaries in Conn. He still caucuses with the Democrats giving the 51-49 majority in the Senate. His reward? Chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee.

Now if the Head Chair of the Homeland Security Committee with a majority in charge is willing to stick his neck across Party Lines should the public not take notice, for a couple of reason. If Lieberman can’t agree with the protection of our Homeland by the democrats; pay attention. If you believe in Change, then pay attention when the Democrats cut down someone for thinking independently. If think Integrity matters, then pay attention as the democrats let Lieberman stay at his post until they can manuvuer him out with out causing them to lose power. If you disagree that much with him, why isn’t he gone already?

Which brings me back to the Bill O’Reily and Barack Obama interveiw last week. If you read my post you know I don’t think Obama will be willing to stand up to the Democratic Party. And I think this helps to cement that idea. Hillary is out stomping for Barack Obama, even though he wasn’t Man enough to pick her for Vice President, just so she isn’t chastised by her Party. It isn’t because she believes Barack Obama is more qualified than John McCain, I assure you.

Obama knows to be careful not to upset the Left. You can tell by his inability to say we’re winning the war in Iraq. He continues to point to Political Reconciliation but 15 of the 18 benchmarks have been met. He refuses to say the Iraqis are standing up, even though they just gained control of Anbar Province. I’m beginning to see why he sticks so closely to his talking points. Just Ask Joe Lieberman.

Pro-Life + Pro-War = Oxymoron

September 2nd, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

This is just to funny. Now I’m not knocking the dude that says this. He writes to me every so often accusing me of not doing my research. Then he throws a bunch of facts at me, as if I need his assistance in Research. I like it though, because ususally those that disapprove of my writings call me names instead of having a Civil Disagreement.

Having said that. How can you believe in War and still be Pro-Life? (Full Discrestion; I’m Pro choice.)

This is like equating an Unborn baby to Radicals. How can you in good conscience compare the two. If you want a real comparison, then Check out the Article; B.M.W. + K.K.K. + M.S.B. = A Common Thread.

War has been present since the beginning of Life. I’m sure even the Dinosaur’s fought over Territory. It’s a weakness in Man to want to control Everything. And as long as Humans run this Planet, I have a sneaky suspicion there will be War.

Does this mean we can’t Promote Life? Or is the Unborn Baby what most of Us are willing to fight for. The future of our Country. The Future of our Family. The Future of our beliefs and ideals. Yes, we want babies to continue to be born, but we have to protect the Future for them. We have to fight for them to have the same or better than we had.

To think the two don’t collide , I find absurd. Just Ask a Jewish Person if being Pro-Life means you have to be against War. As the Germans killed Mothers, Fathers, and Babies Alike. What if America believed Not Fighting was more important than Saving those Unborn. The world could have lost an Entire Segiment of it’s Population. The world could have lost an Entire section of it’s Culture. Not to mention the Woman that were saved and had babies.

Without War this Discussion would be Null and void. Without War there would be no United States of America! Without war, I would still be a slave and my daughter would follow in my footsteps. Because those who are unwilling to fight, will be conquered by those who have Weapons. And Born or Unborn, those with weapons really don’t care.

Is Barack Obama the Tony Soprano of Politics?

July 22nd, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

I wasn’t completely wrong in my assertion on Barack Obama, I just underestimated the Gangsta in him.

You think I’m being funny, I’m not. In the Mafia underworld there is a tier of power and at the top sits THE DON. Is it really that hard to make the comparison, we’ll here I go?

Don’t touch my Made Men

Everybody knows you can’t touch a Made Man. If you have a problem with that Made Man you go to the Don and ask his permission to handle your business, but if THE DON says no, keep your hands off.

Barack Obama has made Michelle Obama a Made Man. She is now cloaked in his protection. If anyone has something to say about Michell Obama, Barack is coming after you full force. Never mind she made herself a public figure by going out on the campaign trail and making comments that warrant reporting. Never mind that most Americans think the character of a First Lady matters. NO. NO. NO. THE DON says she is untouchable, so there she stands.

I decide the fate of my MADE MEN

If a MADE MAN becomes more trouble then their worth, THE DON will handle the situation.

When Jeremiah Wright was Barack Obama’s top seller, helping him get elected in Chicago, he was a MADE MAN. So when Wright’s comments became a media story, most reports waited to hear what THE DON had to say before voicing their own opinions. Then when he could not longer provide protection to Wright without compromising himself, he took away his status. Now everyone thinks Wright is the the LOON. Never mind the fact, Barack Obama said that he got most of his values and morals from this man. Never mind the fact, Barack Obama spent over twenty years in Trinity Church, got married there, and even let his children be baptized there. Wright is wrong because THE DON said so.

I wasn’t wrong, I was right

Incorrect assessments can lead to a power struggle, so THE DON can never be wrong.

Barack Obama is now in Iraq visiting the troops for the first time since he started to campaign for President. This will be the first time he has talked to the Generals on the Ground, and now he’s starting to imply the surge is working. Anyone who watches the news knows the surge it working. Everyday we don’t hear something about Iraq, we know were winning. Yet Barack Obama can’t bring himself to say, the country I love is winning in Iraq. Why?

Because the Don can’t be wrong. Even though he knows his main supporters aren’t going anywhere, he still refuses to state plain facts, because they contradict his original position. See, that’s gangsta, to know you’re wrong and have everyone to scared to call you on it. Gangsta.

Don’t question me

Even THE DON has to sit down to meetings he doesn’t want to. If another family has just as much power as your family, and they want to talk, you go and talk.

Now this really makes Barack Obama Gangsta. Fox News is the highest rated news network on cable T.V. That’s a fact. More people sit and watch O’Reily than all the other networks combined. Why hasn’t Barack Obama appeared on O’Reily, Hannity and Combs, not even a little sit down with Geraldo?

They would ask tough questions that Barack Obama would have to answer. Now you would think this far along in the campaign, Barack Obama could handle anything. He should be able to spit answers to any question asked of him. THE DON doesn’t want to speak, so he doesn’t. Never mind he is running to become President of the whole United States, not just the left wing that supports CNN and MSNBC. How about us independents that want real answers to real questions?

I’m THE DON

Let’s do a little run back. Don’t you talk bad about anyone close to me. Even though I’m surrounded by crooks, shady people, and far out preachers, don’t question my ability to judge another man’s character. My wife is off bounds, I don’t care what she does. I don’t care if they say we’re winning, I don’t want to fight. I don’t need to know what’s actually going on, if I’m wrong, I’ll say I was right when the smoke clears. And don’t you ask me any questions about my opinions, just believe in the CHANGE I stand for.

Tell me how that’s not Gangsta. The funny part, the American People love a good Gangsta.

P.S. It’s funny because there are different kinds of Gangsta. President Bush is a Gangsta, but he puts his money where is mouth is, and dares you to stand in his way. He is more concerned with his own ideals than the ideals of others. He is a respected Gangsta. You might not like him, but you gotta respect him.

Now Barack Obama is another type of Gangsta. He’s the type that only cares about the power. When it comes down to getting his hands dirty, he passes the buck. His opinions will change when the sentiment of his peers changes, not when common sense calls for it. It’s hard to respect a man, we you don’t know where he’ll stand tomorrow.

Please Help! Barack Obama

June 30th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

With the Presidential campaign in full swing, it’s only right I get pissed off about something.

Barack Obama doesn’t want to be just another politician. I didn’t believe it when he said it, and everyday I believe it even less. John McCain has all this experience and a record of bipartisanship, but lacks the charisma of a garden snake. So what to do?

Barack Obama. Everyone knows your black. Even the white people who voted for you all over this country, they know you are black. So why do you show up at a black event and bring up race. Literally. I thought you didn’t want to be known as the black candidate. You had already won the Democratic Nomination, why then would you want to play the race card.

I want to like you. I’m trying. I loved the speech at one of those graduations, when you stood up and told fathers they need to play a greater role in their Children’s upbringing. I loved when you stood up and told graduates to go out and find a purpose instead of seeking out a hummer payment.

What I don’t understand? Number 1, wanting to pull out of Iraq. I haven’t heard anything about that in the news lately. Why? Because we’re winning. We are winning a war and the would be next president wants us to pull out. Only a real politician would change the message that got him elected when it no longer made sense. Oh wait any rational person would change their minds with differing circumstances. What makes a real politician, a presidential nominee that won’t acknowledge his own country’s success, because it would have a negative affect on his campaign.

Iraq, Jeremiah Wright, Trinity Church, time to go when you bring to much negative spotlight on Barack Obama.

Number 2, NO ENERGY POLICY. To hear a democrat tell it, we can get ourselves out of this oil crisis by taxing the oil companies. This is how I figure it. Imagine you invented a new drug to cure cancer. Now over the 15 years it took you to develop this technology, the government has been giving you tax breaks. Basically rewarding you for not really receiving a profit, because in the development phase your not making alot of money.

Your drug is approved and hits the market. It works. Everyone is cured and we live happily. Then there comes another kind of cancer, so you say, O.k. I got these tax breaks, so it won’t hurt the investors researching a new drug. Then along comes the government and says you have to solve this problem. We are going to repel all your tax breaks to help treat the sick people.

Why would you research a new drug? You would be like, people still pay for my first product. Why should I spend all this money, with no incentive. Oil companies have been investing billions of dollars in their companies, and now that their product is in high demand you hammer them with more taxes. Who would want to invest in a company they know will be paying a majority of their profits to the government.

And I have a question. Do the Caribou have to pay taxes for their trips across A.N.W.A.R? Is the cost of their food going up? Shouldn’t people care more about other people? It makes sense to drill where there is oil. To the critics that say we wouldn’t see that oil for at least ten years. That was the excuse over 12 years ago, when Bill Clinton signed the bill that made it illegal to drill of oil off our coast.

Then there’s the alternatives. Ethanol is eating up our food supply. Wind, solar, tidal, etc. are all years and years into the future. The most viable way to get off oil dependency lies in nuclear power, but yet again the democrats say No. The insurance companies say it’s not safe. You would think the trail lawyer democratic party would relish in the thought of suing the power plants, but I guess they draw the line at making policy that would matter.

In the life I’ve lived, you learn to see through bravado and look for substance. I just don’t see any substance in Barack Obama. The thought of him being in office, makes me not want to enter the next tax bracket. If he gets into office, it would probably be better to stay lower class and allow the government to take care of you. Because the harder you work and the more money you make, the more he’ll require you to give to those that don’t make as much.

So instead of having extra money to pay down your student loan, you will be paying for the tuition of someone that didn’t even try to compete for a scholarship. Instead of having extra money to save, you’ll be paying for insurance for someone that’s never worked a day in their life. Instead of having the money to put a down payment on a house, you will be bailing out the companies that robbed millions of people of their dream of homeownership. That’s scary.

I would like to think the harder I work, the more I should have, and the more I have, the more I can use to help people. People I really think need help. Working mothers that need help with childcare. College students that take lower paying jobs helping their communities, because their student loan is held for a year or two. Young people who study hard but have never had someone tell them they can go to college. Not because it’s free, but because you worked for it.

I want someone to write and tell me some substance of Barack Obama. Please help me.

BARACK OBAMA TRYING TO FIRE BLACK LEADERS

June 13th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

With his successful campaign, without the support of “black Leaders”, Barack Obama has already started signing the pink slips of Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the rest.

Now, Al Sharpton can come out a publically make an ass out of himself accusing the Duke Lacrosse Team of Rape, but can’t give his support for the first black candidate to actually have a real chance of becoming president. Maybe a little jealousy you weren’t taken seriously?

Rev. Jesse Jackson was also silent in the big build up to history. Though Jackson’s image was damaged in the black community with his mistress and love child, the Media still hold him as a ‘black leader’. Where was he shouting Barack Obama’s praises?

I thought about it hard, and I figured it out.

Barack Obama is about to cause some major layoffs. He will ship the “there is some magic white man out to get you” jobs overseas never to return. How can they continue to attack a government about not caring, when the president is a black man?

Now we should have been the ones to run these so called ‘black leaders’ off the scene. Take Al Sharton. He was taped by the government trying to negotiate a drug deal. His defense, they were out to get me. Okay. He is constantly in trouble for not paying taxes, most recently before starting his 2004 campaign when investors paid his owed taxes to clean his resume. I have to pay taxes, what makes you better than me? More recent than that, he was promoting Loan Max. You know the company that charges ridiculous rates for car title loans. Yeah they prey on poor minorities, not just blacks, and Sharpton was their spokesperson.

Now Jackson did the damage to himself, and we judged him accordingly.

Now they see their careers going down the drain. If they don’t have the race card, their hand is weak. They can’t win. People will start to realize the boundaries they set are imaginary. There is nothing that can stop them. How are they going to survive when black people are succeeding and they can’t intimidate people into taking them seriously.

I don’t plan on voting for Barack Obama, but I am so proud that he won the nomination. I can’t back his platform, but I respect the amount of work he put into accomplishing his goal. He ran a campaign free of facts and still one, that takes some charisma.

Having said that. Barack Obama sign those pink slips and will personally walk around and hand them out. I mean it. I will personally hunt down all those who tell us we can’t because a white person will stop us. On my own dime, I will tell them, your services are no longer needed.

Then we could place ads for real black leaders to step up. You know the people of color that made millions of dollars last year. Our ads would read:

A GIRL CAN DREAM.

Confederate Flag Coming to Hillsborough, Florida

June 9th, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

Did you know that once, the United States had a war within itself? Yeah, the United States of America had a Civil War. We even called it The Civil War. It is apart of our history, the very fabric of our society.

The South broke away because the very fabric of their economy was being threatened. Slaves. Human Capitol. The funny thing, they lost. Slavery was abolished and we’ve spent the last hundred plus years trying to heal from that.

How do you heal if you try to erase the memory, instead of excepting and moving on?

In Hillsborough County Florida, The Sons of Confederate Veterans have plans to erect a 30×50 foot Confederate Flag on a 139 foot pole, the highest allowed, on private property on a busy highway intersection.

The group says the flag is not a racist statement but a piece of history. Most local businesses don’t find it offensive, but are worried about their customers.

Imagine so one telling a black organization, that they couldn’t erect a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. It wouldn’t happen. Robert E. Lee has memorials in my home town, Richmond Va. I took until my adulthood to realize I was standing on history.

I lived in a city where battle plans were made, soliders gathered and watched over each other, and decisive clashes took place. That’s history. It can not be changed or altered, nor should it be ignored.

I don’t care if you fly the Confederate Flag. I will assume you have racist beliefs. I will hold you accountable for my assumptions. I might be wrong, but it’s what you choose to show me. So if I was one of those shop owners, I would be worried.

I wouldn’t shop in the area because you were NOT offended. Because you did not stand up and say, we can find another way to honor the Confederate Soldiers, just because of the implication.

Local NAACP President Curtis Stokes was outraged the commissoner would allow the project to be completed. It’s your community. Instead of fighting the flag, use it for encouragement.

Ask them why they feel the group needs to make the flag so big? Tell them it’s because they are irrelvant in today’s society. It’s because they lost and because of it there is nothing that can stop you from one day having a statue raised of yourself for curing cancer or eliminating the national debt.

Choose the message carefully. Don’t tell our black people this is a sign of racism. Tell them that this is a sign that the racist are losing. Teach them about overcompensation, then maybe they won’t be so pressed to hustle for a hummer.

So I say raise the flag, watch the ecomony in the area decline, and realize that America isn’t as racist as we are thoughtful. We don’t mind you honoring our history, because it’s not just yours, but you should be sensitive in your praise.