Wednesday - February 16, 2005

Reader’s Corner: Post Three

Steel brought up a point that I am struggling with but feel has enough merit to post about.

A few days ago I wrote about how the MSM is have a tizzy fit over the proposed cuts in the VA budget.

Allan followed up with a chart which showed it was actually GOING UP 2.7%!!

This led Steel to email me with a very valid point but my problem is I can not seem to be able to substantiate the actual numbers of people involved in the same situation Steel is in.  I will post what he sent me so you can read and then I want you all to hear me out.

Here is his first post:

I am a vet on total disability. My pension is 846.00 @ month. It goes up adjusted to inflation. Approximately 3% per year.

SSI is supplemental security income. The threshold for qualification is, and has been, about 8 dollars shy of ‘total disability’ from the VA. This too, increases with the cost of living annually. Approximately 3%. (actually, I think the figure is 3.4% for both)

Therefore, I can’t get it.

Now you may have heard that W’s budget seeks to limit the increase in the VA’s budget to 2.7%

The left screams outrage. But wait a minute.

If the annual increase in my benefits is restricted to 2.7%, then next year I will be under the SSI threshold and thusly ... qualify. Full SSI for me would be about 850.00 a month, thereby doubling my income.

I suspect that this is intentional. It is a sneaky, under-the-radar way of increasing vet’s benefits. If the left doesn’t get wind of it, they can’t fuck it up. BUT, if I’m right it’s a story that would be headline material tomorrow ... BIG TIME!!!

And if it’s brought to fore, then W gets a big hand. And the left can’t say no.

Now stop and think about this for a moment. If my assumption is correct, well then yahoo and bully for Bush. If I’m off a bit, then it COULD become a movement for all the vets to say, ‘We want to contribute and we don’t need the annual increase’. In so doing, they double their pensions. Elegant no?

So I wrote him back trying to get a better feel for what he meant.  I also had concerns about the actual total number of people eligible.  His response was this: (stuff in parenthesis is mine for clarification)

SSI is a program for disabled people run by the SSA as an adjunct. The qualifying threshold for SSI has historically been a few dollars less than total VA disability.

For instance. When I first started getting my VA, I got 812.00 per month and the threshold for (getting) SSI was 805.00.

Both go up the cost of living index annually so ... I will always be about eight bucks away from getting SSI.

I’m not retired (from the military). I’m 56. AND I have never put enough into Social Security to get any payments were I 62. Avoided working in system for very long time. And knew I’d never see 60.

But anyone can get SSI. Provided they are disabled.

TWO DIFFERENT THINGS ENTIRELY.

Now if the VA’s pension is limited to 2.7% and SSI still goes up 3.4% ... I’ll get SSI next year. Because I will be under the threshold. Remember, the cost of living index is tied to annual inflation. Should be about 4% this year.

Full SSI is the same as the threshold amount. Should be about 838.00 this year since I get 846.00 per month. Do you follow?

I don’t know how many vets are on full disability (but) it’s a bunch. THAT is why SSI is under our reach. The dollars would be significant.

Also, SSI will not let you reject the difference back to the VA to qualify. It’s a catch 22 that has been in place for ‘Nam vets for YEARS.

IF this is not the case ... then vets should rally to ... give back the COL increase to help with ... ‘whatever’ for a year and THEN would qualify for SSI. Doubling the income for totally disabled vets.

He went on to say:

Based on the vets I’ve met while in or around the hospital, the number will be huge. A couple of hundred thousand I imagine nationwide. Not many ‘Nam vets on SSA yet. But plenty are labeled ‘total’ disabled. Agent Orange is one reason. Soon, Gulf War Syndrome. The situation affects any vet not yet 62 who is totally disabled and not yet retired with pension. They can be disabled for any reason. Car wreck for instance. Cancer for instance. Drug dependency for instance. 

OK, readers.  Here’s the part I want you to bear with me on.  To try and find this info, maintain the blog, do my yard work, eat, do daily chores, read/respond to emails, do research and such takes up most of my day and part of my night.  Plus I am on dial-up (OK, OK, damn it!  I think I may go to cable really soon as the DSL thing did not work out.)

So, if any of you can find it, will you let me know how many people are disabled vets in the US that fall under this threshold?

And is the next raise REALLY 2.7% or is that just the increase in the budget (as both numbers seem to be identical)

So far I found this site which says:

The amount of basic benefit paid ranges from $106 to $2,239 per month, depending on how disabled you are.

At the VA site I saw this. By clicking on the first link you can see a spreadsheet with numbers of vets but I could not break the codes.

So if anyone can help here, it just might mean that Steel may be on to something.  And President Bush may be doing our vets one hell of a great service.  I would just feel better knowing how many vets fall under that threshold he mentions as this could really be a wedge to throw at those who claim to want to help vets but ignore this little loophole.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/16/2005 at 07:49 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Politics •  
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This Story Could Have Some Legs

Allan provided y’all a link to the story about the assaassination of the Lebanese former Prime Minister which resulted in the US pulling its ambassador.

Fingers are pointing at Syria.

Having worked at an Embassy for 6 years, let me tell you, whenever you recall an Ambassador there is some serous shit in the wind.

And just to muddy the waters a bit we have news that Russia is now selling missiles to the Syrians.

Maybe it’s time we GIVE better missiles to Israel?

Keep your eyes open on this one.  Politics is the ultimate chess game----and we are the pawns.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/16/2005 at 06:54 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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   Tuesday - February 15, 2005

Anyone Staying On Top Of This?

Sorry, but I have not had much time to do so.

In January House Bill 418 was proposed which would:

“replace a more restrictive 2004 law and give the federal government additional control over the design and content of driver’s licenses and ID cards, limit to whom and under what circumstances states are allowed to issue them and mandate participation in a network of identification databases open to some foreign officials.”

This bill gives the government much more power over how states issue drivers’ licenses and what to do with the data collected from them.  Representative Ron Paul is VERY concerned. In a letter he asks:

“What is to stop a corrupt foreign official from selling or giving the most sensitive information about your constituents - their name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and other identifying characteristics - to Mexican drug lords, to terrorist cells that most experts believe are operating in Mexico and possibly Canada, to terrorist organizations overseas, to human traffickers who will use their identities to create even more convincing fraudulent documents?”

I smell a national ID card.  Don’t you?  All under the guise of “immigration control.”

With the government getting so much power what’s to prevent them from demanding even more than the basic info contained on licenses now?  Like whether or not you are registered to own/carry/conceal a firearm?

This is very disturbing.  Read all about it here.

Here is the link to Ron Paul’s letter to the Speaker of the House.

As far as I am concerned the Feds should just require that states link their databases in order for checks to be done on individuals.  States should also have instant access to the Social Security database of numbers to ensure no abuse is taking place.  Other than that what gets put on the license should be a state issue.

Plus, why the hell don’t these Congress-cretins try making it easier for states to get rid of illegals instead of sheltering them under some guise of constitutional protection?

This will be nothing more than another intrusive law which criminals will tip-toe around the actions which the state/federal officials will ignore as they are ignoring laws on the books now.

DISTURBING!  DISTURBING!  DISTURBING!!

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/15/2005 at 06:52 AM   
Filed Under: • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration • Politics •  
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Could It Be?

What do you think of this? VERY VERY interesting, is my opinion.

Joe Lieberman, SecDef.

Your thoughts?

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/15/2005 at 06:47 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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   Thursday - February 10, 2005

I Completely Forgot!!!!

Until I was reminded at James Taranto’s ”Best of the Web” I completely forgot that the Dummycrat senator who chose not to run for re-election (see earlier post today) is the same asshat who ran like a yellow-bellied coward back to his home state when a terrorist threat was announced for the D.C. area.

The Best of the Web covered it with these comments:

“Sen. Mark Dayton said Tuesday he is closing his Washington office because of a classified intelligence report that made him fear for the safety of his staff,” reports CBS News. Dayton, a Minnesota Democrat, says the office will be shuttered until after Election Day:

“I take this step out of extreme, but necessary, precaution to protect the lives and safety of my Senate staff and my Minnesota constituents, who might otherwise be visiting my Senate office in the next three weeks,” he said on a call with reporters.

“I feel compelled to do so because I will not be here in Washington to share what I consider to be an unacceptably greater risk to their safety,” he said.

Dayton doesn’t exactly look like a profile in courage, given that no other members of Congress have followed suit--though John Kerry and John Edwards have been avoiding the Capitol for some time now.

He only returned to D.C. after the election.

Chicken piece of shit should have stayed under his mommy’s skirt.

P.S.  While you’re at it, see if any stories about this coward mention the fact that he bailed back in October.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/10/2005 at 10:43 AM   
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A Golden Opportunity!

The recent announcement that Senator Drayton of Minnesota will not run again for office means a golden apple has just fallen right into the laps of Republicans.  I hope they do not squander the opportunity to pick up another seat in the Senate next year.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/10/2005 at 07:35 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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   Monday - February 07, 2005

Re-Defining “Stark, Raving, Lunatic Barking Moonbat”

Sheila Jackson Lee (don’t you love the use of those names as it applies to a victimized person of color who ‘s ancestors suffered under slavery and she, herself, is feeling the effects?  Jackson.  Lee.  I love it.  She should take herself to court and sue herself over her racist, hate-filled imagery of names.) But I digress.

More appropriately, why can’t someone put this bitch out of her misery?  I, for one, would celebrate her demise.

The “C**T from California” recently called our soldiers an occupying force in Iraq.  The “racist hate-mongering named” representative, also known as the C**T from Texas came to her defense by redefining what the term “occupying force” means. Check this out for plain ole bald-faced bullshit:

“I believe that we can, if you will, change “occupying’s” definition to being collaborators—collaborators with the Iraqi people and moving them toward their own self-government. So I think it is not a harsh term. We were there occupying, if you will, and we needed to do so for a certain degree, if you believe that the war created the havoc that occurred.

“I think you can look at the U.S. presence in [Iraq] many different ways; and for large numbers of Iraqi people, despite the democratic elections [on Sunday], we are occupying,”

I believe if we were to tell our troops they were being called collaborators they’d have something to say about it.  With fully automatic M-16s, sniper rifles, and frag grenades.

Also, there is a Marine General that would love to modify his definition of “fun to shoot people” to possibly also include these two barking moonbats.

Read the article to see what others think of these morons.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/07/2005 at 06:55 AM   
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Typical Democrat, Liberal, BS

Typical Democrat, Liberal, BS

According to Joe Biden, the leftist from Delaware, Iran is being misunderstood.

He thinks we need to address its emotional needs!

WTF is wrong with these people?  Don’t they realize what makes up these looney-toon sand pounders?

Assbite wants to give Iran a nonaggression pact.  AW, ain’t that special?  He’ll sign the USA up to be non-aggressive and then when Iran turns aggressive will demand we do nothing because we are “better than that” and we also signed the agreement.

He’s a piece of shit that revels in the role he can play to bring about the downfall of the US. He should also be on the list of those who re-election gets stifled.

For a fine fisking of what this asshole said, go here.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/07/2005 at 06:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Politics •  
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   Friday - February 04, 2005

Democrats Seeing Writing On The Wall?

Democrats Seeing Writing On The Wall?

Or is this just a warm-up for the judicial nominations?

The Senate overwhelmingly voted Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General. That is good news.

But the pessimist in me can’t help but wonder if this was done (after they’d threatened to filibuster it) in an effort to later say they were NOT being obstructionists when they voted Condi and ‘Berto.......as they DO, IN FACT, stonewall Supreme Court nominations.

Here’s the roll call.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/04/2005 at 07:55 AM   
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Go, Condi, Go!!

Go, Condi, Go!!

I love this woman!  I wonder if she’d marry me?  (stares off dreamily........)

She is now in Europe causing the Euro-weenies to get their collective panties into a very tight wad.

If anyone thought she was going to go there to make nice with them, then this visit should prove otherwise.  I may be speaking prematurely but it sure seems she is much better than Colin Powell at this game.

In typical media-biased fashion CNN (communist news network) made a comment in the article that I have yet to see the relevance of regarding this visit:

Rice’s arrival in London comes after several days of unusually upbeat news out of Iraq, following Sunday’s nationwide elections for a transitional national assembly.

Go ahead, explain to me why they had to say, “unusually upbeat?” Does that not display their obvious prejudices on the war in Iraq.  There are no lack of “upbeat” stories out of Iraq.  Our government tries to get them out but the media has another agenda----Bush bad, Iraq War bad, Saddam good.

Read more about what my next pick for US President has to say on Iran here.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/04/2005 at 07:01 AM   
Filed Under: • Patriotism • Politics •  
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   Tuesday - February 01, 2005

STUNNING!!!

Via Michelle Malkin, take a trip over to this site to watch a video of the Iraqi election set to “Fanfare For The Common Man.”

Let me know what you think.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/01/2005 at 02:46 PM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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Please God!!!  Let This Happen!!

We should be so lucky to have this happen---Howard Dean in charge of the DNC.  Especially after he just came out saying he hated Republicans!!

Goodbye, credibility.

Goodbye, moderate base.

Hello, lunacy.

Hello, moonbats and other way-far-left loonies.

YEEE-EEE-AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 02/01/2005 at 06:32 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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   Monday - January 31, 2005

The Most Expensive War In History

Did you know that you, the American Taxpayer, are still paying for the Spanish American War? For those who are historically challenged, let me refresh your historical memory ....

15 February 1898
U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana Harbor.

19 April 1898
The U.S. Congress by vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate adopted the Joint Resolution for war with Spain.

20 April 1898
U.S. President William McKinley signed the Joint Resolution for war with Spain and the ultimatum was forwarded to Spain.

25 April 1898
War was formally declared between Spain and the United States.

April - December 1898
US kicks Spanish butt in Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, Phillipines ....

10 December 1898
Representatitves of Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Peace in Paris. Spain renounced all rights to Cuba and allowed an independent Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and the island of Guam to the United States, gave up its possessions in the West Indies, and sold the Philippine Islands, receiving in exchange $20,000,000.

6 February 1899
U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris by a vote of 52 to 27.

So there you have it. A minor little war that the Spanish never really wanted a part of and probably should never have gotten involved in. The whole thing, from start to finish, was over in less than a year and the US came away with lots of new territory.

So, what’s the point? Well, let me tell you about it ....

An influential congressional committee has dropped a political bombshell by suggesting that a tax originally created to pay for the Spanish American War could be extended to all Internet and data connections this year.

The committee, deeply involved in writing U.S. tax laws, unexpectedly said in a report Thursday that the 3 percent telecommunications tax could be revised to cover “all data communications services to end users,” including broadband; dial-up; fiber; cable modems; cellular; and DSL, or digital subscriber line, links.

Congress enacted the so-called “luxury” excise tax at 1 cent a phone call to pay for the Spanish American War back in 1898, when only a few thousand phone lines existed in the country. It was repealed in 1902, but was reimposed at 1 cent a call in 1914 to pay for World War I and eventually became permanent at a rate of 3 percent in 1990.

That 3% telecomm tax you pay each month is what this is all about and now Congress wants to expand the tax to internet access. Go read the article and write your CongressCrook today. Tell him or her how you feel about this blatant bullshit! Do it now!

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/31/2005 at 12:50 PM   
Filed Under: • History • Outrageous • Politics •  
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Media Penchant For Distortion

If you read a lot of news articles (like this one, for instance) you can’t help but notice the media loves to throw around the “disenfranchisement” word or paint verbal pictures to that effect.

In this case it is for the poor, poor, pitiful, put upon, minority Sunnis.  Yep, the same disgusting bastards who, as a minority, did Saddam’s dirty works for decades.

Now the press is going around saying, “how can the elections be valid when entire segments of the population, like the Sunnis, did not vote and are not represented?”

How, indeed, you moonbats!.  Could it be because they CHOSE not to vote under orders by their so called “leaders?”

Hmmmm, no mention of that in any article I’ve read so far.

Posted by Ranting Right Wing Howler     on 01/31/2005 at 08:34 AM   
Filed Under: • Media-Bias • Politics •  
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