“Pay…and Pay a Little More”

November 24, 2019

By Jim Culp

If you are someone like me that has had some challenging life experiences, you have probably stopped (once or twice in your life) and asked yourself; “am I doing all of this for nothing?” Or at some point in your existence, you stopped and said to yourself “it just seems that all I do is pay, pay, and pay more.” Well, the trouble is…you’re probably not saying anything that is too far from the truth.

Let’s take a short trip back in time. Not too far, just 111 years. It was mid-October of 1907, and the country was in a recession. Banks were declaring bankruptcy, and thousands were without jobs. The New York Stock Exchange fell 50% from its previous year’s height, and nationwide panic ensued. People rushed to pull their money from banks (back then money was real) and many of them succeeded. Many did not. A veritable panic swept across the USA like bubonic plague. People looked to government to fix the problem, just as they did on the unemployment crisis and many others. Well, the problem was “fixed,” but it would be six years later (1913) and the fix would be permanent and irreversible. Bankers, not lawmakers, would decide what worked for us and what didn’t. Bankers, not lawmakers, would decide what we do and when we do it for the next 106 years. That brings us to today.

Your “money” today is a note of debt. It is not more worth a true value than a handful of lint you vacuum from your house’s corners (please see attached; or retrieve a Federal Reserve Note from your wallet).

You’ll notice that this note reads “Federal Reserve Note.” It’s a note that guarantees that the Federal Reserve of the United States will honor that note anywhere you use it legally. You can pay a debt, a grocery bill, or stuff it in a coke machine. It works. But the principle is based on debt. Your government is in debt, and that debt is owed to bankers. These are men that are worth trillions of “dollars” which are backed by thousands of assets across the globe. Do you notice that taxes in some years don’t seem to get higher? Well, they do. It’s done in fractions of cents over long periods of time, and we (the ignorant public) never notice it. When a tax is 4% today, and tomorrow it is 5%, there are riots in the streets. But when it goes to 4.02% in a week, no one bats an eye.

These taxes are in the thousands, but here’s a fun list for your enjoyment:

The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Is that list long enough for you? Don’t worry, it’s way longer than that. The government of the United States of America in 2019 has a federal deficit of $984 Billion. The citizens of the United States are in debt to the US Government for $16.7 Trillion. This system is built to establish credit for you, and then place you in millions of dollars of debt to the Federal Reserve System. It has taken bankers 200 years to accomplish this, but they control what happens in the United States now, and a large portion of the Earth for that matter.

So, when you pay your bills next Saturday night, rest assure that you, your government, and everyone from Hawaii to Key West is right there with you…in debt.

-Jim

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“Dems Debate”

November 21, 2019

By Jim Culp

It’s late November of 2019. Wow…it feels almost unreal to say that. We are at the threshold of another election year, and one where someone will need to take on the duty of leading this country for four years. The President of the United States is sliding closer and closer to impeachment, and the world is an ever-changing place that holds daily surprises on every front.

Last night, after a couple of hours of other television programs, we turned on the Democratic Debate. There were at least eight of them (maybe ten?) that I was watching answer questions. All of them think they have the answers, and I seriously doubt that any of them do. I watched as Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris rattled on with the same stuff. They have all the answers, and everything will get fixed properly if one of them gets elected.

I listened more closely to three of these candidates, and they were Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, and Tulsi Gabbard. I say this because each of these persons being some refreshment to the table, and I welcome that. I like these three candidates’ platforms, and hope to see them get further in the races against the diabolical Republican Empire that has taken foot in Washington D.C.

Andrew Yang is a smart guy, a philanthropist and entrepreneur. I like his tax ideas, and I like that he has an impressive resume that he could apply to our government and its broken sense of taxation.

Tom Steyer is a philanthropist and a billionaire (one strike) that has stood for Democracy for many years. He’s got some good ideas, but some liberal agendas that I am not crazy about. I’ll keep a real close eye on him.

Tulsi Gabbard is a soldier, a former Congresswoman, and a lovely lady. I am inspired by her willingness to take on the big dogs in this race. She is a champion for veterans, a long-time member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a person that is willing to take on issues that others seem to want to get away from. I really like her stance on our government going back to only declaring wars when Congress approves it (you know, like the Constitution says). I’ll keep a close eye on her too.

In the end, I think it will come down to Biden and Warren. But hey, 11 months is a long time. We’ll see.

-Jim

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“In the name… of God?” Part II

November 18, 2019

By Jim Culp

It is a time in our country when, once again, people take sides. There are Democrats, Plutocrats, Socialists, Republicans, Evangelicals, and combinations of two or more of those. I believe in our day and time that we deal with the plague of ignorance more than any other problem. In 2016, something happened that I never imagined would. Donald J. Trump became President of the United States. It was a time of absolute bewilderment for me, because this guy is a billionaire; and knows absolutely nothing of politics or governing a country. He’s spent his life acquiring properties, making deals, and living in absolute luxury.

In 2017, it was amazing to me that so many “spiritual leaders” and “people of God” were so supportive of a man with Donald Trump’s track record. He’s never been a man of ideals, except his own. He’s never been a man that any woman could trust; and is presently married to an ex-call girl. He should have been publicly denounced when he was running for POTUS after he was caught on tape saying, “you can do anything you want with these girls…grab ‘em by the pussy; anything.”

But all of that aside, it is the evangelicals that are killing me nowadays. They say that Trump has been sent by God to be our King, and that God is with him. Enter Paula White. This gal is married to the keyboardist of one of my favorite rock and roll bands, Journey. Jonathan Cain has been playing awesome music most of his life and has always had my respect as a member of Journey and Bad English.

Paula White is a non-denominational Christian who is presently holds the position of Donald Trump’s Spiritual Advisor and special adviser to the Faith and Opportunity Initiative at the Office of Public Liaison. What a title. I’m not sure if Paula has performed some of the same services as Stormy Daniels did, but I know this. She does the same kind of bullshit that our old minister did back in New Mexico (see Part I). She frequently tells her audiences that if they don’t send money to President Trump and herself, God is going to reprimand them in some way. She also claims to have the gift of “speaking in tongues.”

Well, let me tell you something… I’ve visited more than fifteen countries in my life, and not one of them would have a clue what you were saying if you showed up and said “Maga maga shikira-maga-poo!” If you weren’t arrested and jailed, you’d at least be taken to the police department for mental evaluation. I’ve enclosed a video where this goofy bitch shows you her gift. Give me a fucking break.

It is not, mind you; that I mind this woman doing this. It’s comical. It’s also not that I mind fanatics like Pat Robertson and Joyce Meyer spouting off their ridiculous nonsense to people every day. We must have someone to refer to when we need to define “radical fanatics.”

What I do mind, however; is the President of the United States not condemning people for comparing him to a deity. He loves it, and probably thinks that he is one. No, Trumpet, you’re not. You’re just another rich boy that rigged an election and got into the White House.

-Jim

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 https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/408647796738859/

“In the name…of God? Part I”

November 5, 2019

By Jim Culp

“We are living in the last days…” is a sentence frequently spoken loudly by a person of some clerical rank or statue in the early days of my youth. My family attended church services at a large property called the “Cielo Vista Park Baptist Church” out on Hawkins Boulevard. The church itself was a massive building to the south, and then there was another large building to the north of the property that housed a gym and numerous classrooms where children of all ages attended “Sunday School” on Sunday mornings. This church was our home for one to four hours every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. There were sometimes sermons that the pastor, associate pastor, or some guest speaker would “remind” the congregation that “He (the Christ) is returning soon… so give all you can so that we can save more souls from eternal damnation.” I never paid much attention to these diatribes, I was a very young boy when we started attending church services here; and was still eleven when we loaded the truck to move to New Mexico.

When we moved out there, we assumed the same posture at a much smaller church…one with a private school attached. It was on the east side of “Fighting Colt Hill” and was called Bible Baptist Church. The church is still there; I visited it in 2018. It’s the same place, just older. The school was closed years ago. But it was there that the Word of God would be drilled into my eager little brain, and the ways of this God and his Son, the Christ. The church was always called “the house of God.” However, your body was also called the “house of God,” because in Christian theory, God resides within the human being that has accepted his son Jesus (the Christ) as his eternal master and savior.

Well, for little James Matthew Culp, this was all cool. I was part of the people that God loved, and God was the reason that we had a nice home and property in the foothills, and that we could attend a school that taught the Word of God, and the teachings of the Christ when became a human for a while and visited Earth from 0 to 33 A.D.

But one day, the leader of our church brought a sermon to the crowd that changed all of that for me. He said that people in the church were not giving enough, and that his ministry could not continue unless they gave more. In church terminology, this means that people are not giving the “extra” amount that they should. Everyone in that church, except maybe a lone person or two, gave ten percent of their earnings to the church each month, and most (in addition) gave a significant amount to missionaries across the globe that this and many other churches supported with direct funds. My parents each had an income. My step-father was a (at this point) a 33 year veteran of the Santa Fe Railroad, and had the second highest seniority in the New Mexico Division. He was paid very well, and his “extra” every month was (in addition to his 10%) was a whopping 20%. My mother drew social security for my brother Dave and I. She would also give 30%. So, from my house alone; this tiny little church would receive $2,200 a month.

Now, let’s analyze that a little bit farther. Six other prominent families attended that little church at the time. They were all miners or some type of worker at the Kennecott Copper Mines in Santa Rita, or the Phelps Dodge Copper Mines in Tyrone. They all had nice incomes. None of them were rich by any means, but they had really good incomes. I say all of that to say this…that little church received a pretty fair amount of donations every month, and the church paid 100% of the pastor’s bills.

So, on the day that sermon came, I was about 14 years of age. I wasn’t the smartest kid in Silver City, but I wasn’t ignorant either. I was competent in 7^th grade math, and a really good reader. I started “putting 2 and 2 together,” as the old folks used to say. This “man of God” was  absolutely nothing but a con-artist and a scammer. He was also the Principal and Chief Finance Officer of the school that was attached to the church. He drew a whopping salary for that job. I also attended that school for 6^th and 7th and seventh grade, and later 11^th grade.

However, my mother had become the treasurer for the school and the church. This was decided by the board of Deacons, a type of Congress/President arrangement. Two months in a row, amounts of more than $1,500 from tithes could not be accounted for. When my mother brought this information to the Board of Deacons, they challenged the pastor on the issue. He promptly resigned.

When I turned 18 years old in October of 1984, I announced to my parents that I was no longer attending church. I saw the same game being played with a new Pastor and a new Principal. I joined the US Army in January of 1985, and the old town became a memory.

I told you that story to warn you that organized religion is hypocrisy and a means of a group of people to get rich. Tithing is an Old Testament tradition… and has nothing to do with Christianity. The essence of modern Christianity is based upon the teachings of Jesus the Christ, and he didn’t command anyone to support a free loader that claims he is the person that God sent to your group.

Look for Part II, coming very soon.

-Jim

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