This is Why I Am Not Voting for Obama....
- Thread starter RAYMOND
- Start date
Number of the Week: Half of U.S. Lives in Household Getting Benefits
49.1%: Percent of the population that lives in a household where at least one member received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2011.
Cutting government spending is no easy task, and it?s made more complicated by recent Census Bureau data showing that nearly half of the people in the U.S. live in a household that receives at least one government benefit, and many likely received more than one.
The 49.1% of the population in a household that gets benefits is up from 30% in the early 1980s and 44.4% as recently as the third quarter of 2008
The increase in recent years is likely due in large part to the lingering effects of the recession. As of early 2011, 15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps, 26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid and 2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits. Families doubling up to save money or pool expenses also is likely leading to more multigenerational households. But even without the effects of the recession, there would be a larger reliance on government.
The Census data show that 16% of the population lives in a household where at least one member receives Social Security and 15% receive or live with someone who gets Medicare. There is likely a lot of overlap, since Social Security and Medicare tend to go hand in hand, but those percentages also are likely to increase as the Baby Boom generation ages.
With increased government spending comes the need to pay for it, and if taxes aren?t going to increase that means deficits. Nearly three-quarters of Americans blame the U.S. budget deficit on spending too much money on federal programs, according to a Gallup poll last year, but when the conversation turns to which programs to cut, the majorities are harder to find. For example, 56% of respondents oppose making significant changes to Social Security or Medicare.
The more people who receive benefits, the harder it?s going to be to make cuts, and it?s never popular to raise taxes. In some respects that argues for letting a combination of tax increases and spending cuts that is set to automatically hit in 2013 take effect. There?s just one problem: the Congressional Budget Office says it would sink the economy into recession.
Letting the 2013 provisions come into force would be like dealing with a weight problem by cutting off your right arm. It may not be popular, but a long-term, well-planned diet is the only solution.
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Davis wrote :
.
I?m retired military, therefore I receive military retirement pay. Did I pay into the retirement system? Not directly. My contribution to the military retirement system was by serving over twenty years while being paid at well below minimum wage, no overtime, working weekends and holidays as required (of course no extra pay for that), and I did pay income taxes on that pay. I also receive retiree health care, at very low cost. I paid for that with my body. Over a hundred logged parachute jumps, many, many miles carrying a fifty five plus pound rucksack(plus LBE, weapon and helmet), countless miles running for PT, along with the many thousands of push-ups and sit-ups have all taken their toll on my body. So please, don?t lump me. and the rest of those like me, in with the third and fourth generation of welfare parasites who have done nothing to earn what they receive!
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when this number is 50% I guarantee you that someone close to you is in this category. It may not be your family yet but soon.
So lets cut these spending programs, jam more money into the military dogma and raise taxes.
What President has any affect at all on this problem. You change alot of this and you dont stay President long.
:sadwave:
49.1%: Percent of the population that lives in a household where at least one member received some type of government benefit in the first quarter of 2011.
Cutting government spending is no easy task, and it?s made more complicated by recent Census Bureau data showing that nearly half of the people in the U.S. live in a household that receives at least one government benefit, and many likely received more than one.
The 49.1% of the population in a household that gets benefits is up from 30% in the early 1980s and 44.4% as recently as the third quarter of 2008
The increase in recent years is likely due in large part to the lingering effects of the recession. As of early 2011, 15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps, 26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid and 2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits. Families doubling up to save money or pool expenses also is likely leading to more multigenerational households. But even without the effects of the recession, there would be a larger reliance on government.
The Census data show that 16% of the population lives in a household where at least one member receives Social Security and 15% receive or live with someone who gets Medicare. There is likely a lot of overlap, since Social Security and Medicare tend to go hand in hand, but those percentages also are likely to increase as the Baby Boom generation ages.
With increased government spending comes the need to pay for it, and if taxes aren?t going to increase that means deficits. Nearly three-quarters of Americans blame the U.S. budget deficit on spending too much money on federal programs, according to a Gallup poll last year, but when the conversation turns to which programs to cut, the majorities are harder to find. For example, 56% of respondents oppose making significant changes to Social Security or Medicare.
The more people who receive benefits, the harder it?s going to be to make cuts, and it?s never popular to raise taxes. In some respects that argues for letting a combination of tax increases and spending cuts that is set to automatically hit in 2013 take effect. There?s just one problem: the Congressional Budget Office says it would sink the economy into recession.
Letting the 2013 provisions come into force would be like dealing with a weight problem by cutting off your right arm. It may not be popular, but a long-term, well-planned diet is the only solution.
............................................................
Davis wrote :
.
I?m retired military, therefore I receive military retirement pay. Did I pay into the retirement system? Not directly. My contribution to the military retirement system was by serving over twenty years while being paid at well below minimum wage, no overtime, working weekends and holidays as required (of course no extra pay for that), and I did pay income taxes on that pay. I also receive retiree health care, at very low cost. I paid for that with my body. Over a hundred logged parachute jumps, many, many miles carrying a fifty five plus pound rucksack(plus LBE, weapon and helmet), countless miles running for PT, along with the many thousands of push-ups and sit-ups have all taken their toll on my body. So please, don?t lump me. and the rest of those like me, in with the third and fourth generation of welfare parasites who have done nothing to earn what they receive!
...........................................................
when this number is 50% I guarantee you that someone close to you is in this category. It may not be your family yet but soon.
So lets cut these spending programs, jam more money into the military dogma and raise taxes.
What President has any affect at all on this problem. You change alot of this and you dont stay President long.
:sadwave:
worst president ever
russian spyyou may be mistaking him for Putin the KGB
racist
dude is half white. Deep in his heart he loves you Ray Ray
gay
I doubt this anymore than George W and his staff were.
muslim
just because he was exposed to muslim in his early life dont make him muslim. He understands the world more than most. He ate dog because that was custom and they didnt have money for kobi beef from Japan.
In the meantime Mittster was chasing down gays , cutting hair , and strapping dogs to his car.
not a american
born in Hawaii . Come on really Donald
hate america
No evidence of this. He is the President . Respect that . At least I respected President Cheney when he was in there for 8 yrs.
big spender of our money
what President hasnt been. Try to run the goverment for a day Ray Ray. You would spend the entire day signing checks and not knowing or caring what they were for after awhile.
clueless
If you were able to sit with him in the oval office for 15 minutes, you would stutter and stammer like a small child . You would be dumbfounded. '
You cant be clueless and kill Bin Laden, two pops to the heart and brain and it was done.
:0074
:0074 :0corn :lol:
russian spyyou may be mistaking him for Putin the KGB
racist
dude is half white. Deep in his heart he loves you Ray Ray
gay
I doubt this anymore than George W and his staff were.
muslim
just because he was exposed to muslim in his early life dont make him muslim. He understands the world more than most. He ate dog because that was custom and they didnt have money for kobi beef from Japan.
In the meantime Mittster was chasing down gays , cutting hair , and strapping dogs to his car.
not a american
born in Hawaii . Come on really Donald
hate america
No evidence of this. He is the President . Respect that . At least I respected President Cheney when he was in there for 8 yrs.
big spender of our money
what President hasnt been. Try to run the goverment for a day Ray Ray. You would spend the entire day signing checks and not knowing or caring what they were for after awhile.
clueless
If you were able to sit with him in the oval office for 15 minutes, you would stutter and stammer like a small child . You would be dumbfounded. '
You cant be clueless and kill Bin Laden, two pops to the heart and brain and it was done.
:0074
:0074 :0corn :lol:
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From the Department of Unhelpful News Items comes this local TV report on Mitt Romney's La Jolla home and the car elevator he's building:
"The nice thing about this is that at the grade level it looks like a regular garage floor," said Cheryl Nauman, an employee at American Custom Lifts. "When you hit a button, another comes up."
Brad Davies created the sophisticated car elevator. His shop, American Custom Lifts, is located in downtown Escondido, but he has installed the lifts in homes around the world."
We just recently installed one in London," Davies said. "We have one in New Zealand [and] Norway. We have quite a few in Canada."
Clients include actor Harrison Ford and singer Britney Spears. Now, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to install a Phantom Park in his La Jolla home. First, Romney will bulldoze the current 3,000-square-foot home and build one that is 11,000 square feet. The basement alone will be 3,600 square feet and is planned to have a Phantom Park in it to store his cars.
"For the cost of the lift, delivery and installed? it's about $55,000," Davies said.
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When was the last time you needed a elevator for your cars.
it just seems so far out of line with real Americans
"The nice thing about this is that at the grade level it looks like a regular garage floor," said Cheryl Nauman, an employee at American Custom Lifts. "When you hit a button, another comes up."
Brad Davies created the sophisticated car elevator. His shop, American Custom Lifts, is located in downtown Escondido, but he has installed the lifts in homes around the world."
We just recently installed one in London," Davies said. "We have one in New Zealand [and] Norway. We have quite a few in Canada."
Clients include actor Harrison Ford and singer Britney Spears. Now, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to install a Phantom Park in his La Jolla home. First, Romney will bulldoze the current 3,000-square-foot home and build one that is 11,000 square feet. The basement alone will be 3,600 square feet and is planned to have a Phantom Park in it to store his cars.
"For the cost of the lift, delivery and installed? it's about $55,000," Davies said.
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When was the last time you needed a elevator for your cars.
it just seems so far out of line with real Americans
I was reminded of this clip from a Boston Globe column last year about how Mitt Romney's name appears on his birth certificate:
Four years ago, I asked Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom to settle the matter.
?It?s Willard Mitt Romney on the birth certificate,?? he replied, via e-mail.
Could I see it? I asked. ?Sure. He was born in Detroit. City Hall should have it,?? he e-mailed back.
Birth records are restricted in Michigan and only a person or parent named on the record, or a legal guardian or representative can request a copy. ?That shouldn?t be a problem for an old reporter like you,?? Fehrnstrom responded. It was.
For what it's worth, Romney himself has not engaged on the birth certificate issue, declaring in April 2011: "I think the citizenship test has been passed. I believe the president was born in the United States. And there are real reasons to get this guy out of office."
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wasnt Williard the name of a rat ?
Four years ago, I asked Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom to settle the matter.
?It?s Willard Mitt Romney on the birth certificate,?? he replied, via e-mail.
Could I see it? I asked. ?Sure. He was born in Detroit. City Hall should have it,?? he e-mailed back.
Birth records are restricted in Michigan and only a person or parent named on the record, or a legal guardian or representative can request a copy. ?That shouldn?t be a problem for an old reporter like you,?? Fehrnstrom responded. It was.
For what it's worth, Romney himself has not engaged on the birth certificate issue, declaring in April 2011: "I think the citizenship test has been passed. I believe the president was born in the United States. And there are real reasons to get this guy out of office."
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wasnt Williard the name of a rat ?
Mitt Romney opened up a bit to Peggy Noonan, who asked him about the understanding many reporters and political watchers have that he is so cautious with what he says because of his dad's "brainwashed" comment from his Vietnam War-era presidential run:
"I don't think my father's comment figures into my thinking at all," he says. It's his own mistakes "that make me want to kick myself in the seat of my pants," that "cause me to try and be a little more careful in what I say. . . . I've had a couple of those during the campaign, which have haunted me a little bit, but I'm sure before this is over will haunt me a lot."
Asked for an example, he mentions "I like to be able to fire people." He meant, he says, those, such as health-insurance companies, that provide inadequate services. "I have to think not only about what I say in a full sentence but what I say in a phrase." In the current media environment, "you will be taken out of context, you'll be clipped, and you'll be battered with things you said." He says it is interesting that "the media always says, 'Gosh, we just want you to be spontaneous,' but at the same time if you say anything in the wrong order, you're gonna be sorry!"
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Ray Ray
If he makes it he will fire yu and enjoy it.
he will take your umemployment money, take your house into foreclosure, forget about any goverment assistance for yu. Starve and die in the street.
meanwhile one account in the Cayman Islands made 344,000 yesterday.
Damn Willard .... you go boy
"I don't think my father's comment figures into my thinking at all," he says. It's his own mistakes "that make me want to kick myself in the seat of my pants," that "cause me to try and be a little more careful in what I say. . . . I've had a couple of those during the campaign, which have haunted me a little bit, but I'm sure before this is over will haunt me a lot."
Asked for an example, he mentions "I like to be able to fire people." He meant, he says, those, such as health-insurance companies, that provide inadequate services. "I have to think not only about what I say in a full sentence but what I say in a phrase." In the current media environment, "you will be taken out of context, you'll be clipped, and you'll be battered with things you said." He says it is interesting that "the media always says, 'Gosh, we just want you to be spontaneous,' but at the same time if you say anything in the wrong order, you're gonna be sorry!"
..........................................................
Ray Ray
If he makes it he will fire yu and enjoy it.
he will take your umemployment money, take your house into foreclosure, forget about any goverment assistance for yu. Starve and die in the street.
meanwhile one account in the Cayman Islands made 344,000 yesterday.
Damn Willard .... you go boy
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Willard training the rats.
only problem is the rats is us.
Willard training the rats.
only problem is the rats is us.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you're in Romney territory.
He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected ? probably in the top four.
He couldn't top George Washington who, with nearly 60,000 acres and more than 300 slaves, is considered the big daddy of presidential wealth. After that, it gets complicated, depending how you rate Thomas Jefferson's plantation, Herbert Hoover's millions from mining or John F. Kennedy's share of the vast family fortune, as well as the finer points of factors like inflation adjustment.
But it's safe to say the Roosevelts had nothing on Romney, and the Bushes are nowhere close.
The former Massachusetts governor has disclosed only the broad outlines of his wealth, putting it somewhere from $190 million to $250 million. That easily could make him 50 times richer than Obama, who falls in the still-impressive-to-most-of-us range of $2.2 million to $7.5 million.
"I think it's almost hard to conceptualize what $250 million means," said Shamus Khan, a Columbia University sociologist who studies the wealthy. "People say Romney made $50,000 a day while not working last year. What do you do with all that money? I can't even imagine spending it. Well, maybe ?"
Of course, an unbelievable boatload of bucks is just one way to think of Romney's net worth, and the 44 U.S. presidents make up a pretty small pond for him to swim in. Put alongside America's 400 or so billionaires, Romney wouldn't make a ripple.
So here's a look where Romney's riches rank ? among the most flush Americans, the White House contenders, and the rest of us:
?Within the 1 percent:
"Romney is small potatoes compared with the ultra-wealthy," said Jeffrey Winters, a political scientist at Northwestern University who studies the nation's elites.
After all, even in the rarefied world of the top 1 percent, there's a big difference between life at the top and at the bottom.
A household needs to bring in roughly $400,000 per year to make the cut. Romney and his wife, Ann, have been making 50 times that ? more than $20 million a year. In 2009, only 8,274 federal tax filers had income above $10 million. Romney is solidly within that elite 0.006 percent of all U.S. taxpayers.
Congress is flush with millionaires. Only a few are in the Romney realm, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. Kerry's ranking would climb much higher if the fortune of his wife, Teresa Heinz, were counted. She is the widow of Sen. John Heinz, heir to the Heinz ketchup fortune.
Further up the ladder, top hedge fund managers can pocket $1 billion or more in a single year.
At the top of the wealth pile sits Bill Gates, worth $59 billion, according to Forbes magazine's estimates.
?As a potential president:
Romney clearly stands out here. America's super rich generally don't jockey to live in the White House. A few have toyed with the idea, most notably New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whom Forbes ranks as the 12th richest American, worth $19.5 billion. A lesser billionaire, Ross Perot, bankrolled his own third-party campaigns in 1992 and 1996.
Many presidents weren't particularly well-off, especially 19th century leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan and Ulysses S. Grant. Nor was the 33rd president, Harry Truman.
"These things ebb and flow," said sociologist Khan. "It's not the case that all presidents were always rich."
A few former chief executives died in debt, including Thomas Jefferson, ranked in a Forbes study as the third-wealthiest president.
Comparing the landlocked wealth of early Americans such as Washington, Jefferson and James Madison, with today's millionaires is tricky, even setting aside the lack of documentation and economic changes over two centuries.
Research by 24/7 Wall St., a news and analysis website, estimated Washington's wealth at the equivalent of $525 million in 2010 dollars.
Yet Washington had to borrow money to pay for his trip to New York for his inauguration in 1789, according to Dennis Pogue, vice president for preservation at Mount Vernon, Washington's Virginia estate. His money was tied up in land, reaping only a modest cash income after farm expenses.
"He was a wealthy guy, there's no doubt about it," Pogue said, and probably among the dozen richest Virginians of his time. But, "the wealthiest person in America then was nothing in comparison to what these folks are today."
?How does Romney stand next to a regular Joe?
He's roughly 1,800 times richer.
The typical U.S. household was worth $120,300 in 2007, according to the Census Bureau's most recent data, although that number is sure to have dropped since the recession. A typical family's income is $50,000.
Calculations from 24/7 Wall St. of the peak lifetime wealth (or peak so far) of Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama add up to a total $128 million ? while Romney reports assets of up to $250 million.
If you consider only those presidents' assets while in office, without millions earned later from speeches and books, their combined total would be substantially lower, and Romney's riches would leave the pack even further behind.
.............................................................
He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected ? probably in the top four.
He couldn't top George Washington who, with nearly 60,000 acres and more than 300 slaves, is considered the big daddy of presidential wealth. After that, it gets complicated, depending how you rate Thomas Jefferson's plantation, Herbert Hoover's millions from mining or John F. Kennedy's share of the vast family fortune, as well as the finer points of factors like inflation adjustment.
But it's safe to say the Roosevelts had nothing on Romney, and the Bushes are nowhere close.
The former Massachusetts governor has disclosed only the broad outlines of his wealth, putting it somewhere from $190 million to $250 million. That easily could make him 50 times richer than Obama, who falls in the still-impressive-to-most-of-us range of $2.2 million to $7.5 million.
"I think it's almost hard to conceptualize what $250 million means," said Shamus Khan, a Columbia University sociologist who studies the wealthy. "People say Romney made $50,000 a day while not working last year. What do you do with all that money? I can't even imagine spending it. Well, maybe ?"
Of course, an unbelievable boatload of bucks is just one way to think of Romney's net worth, and the 44 U.S. presidents make up a pretty small pond for him to swim in. Put alongside America's 400 or so billionaires, Romney wouldn't make a ripple.
So here's a look where Romney's riches rank ? among the most flush Americans, the White House contenders, and the rest of us:
?Within the 1 percent:
"Romney is small potatoes compared with the ultra-wealthy," said Jeffrey Winters, a political scientist at Northwestern University who studies the nation's elites.
After all, even in the rarefied world of the top 1 percent, there's a big difference between life at the top and at the bottom.
A household needs to bring in roughly $400,000 per year to make the cut. Romney and his wife, Ann, have been making 50 times that ? more than $20 million a year. In 2009, only 8,274 federal tax filers had income above $10 million. Romney is solidly within that elite 0.006 percent of all U.S. taxpayers.
Congress is flush with millionaires. Only a few are in the Romney realm, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. Kerry's ranking would climb much higher if the fortune of his wife, Teresa Heinz, were counted. She is the widow of Sen. John Heinz, heir to the Heinz ketchup fortune.
Further up the ladder, top hedge fund managers can pocket $1 billion or more in a single year.
At the top of the wealth pile sits Bill Gates, worth $59 billion, according to Forbes magazine's estimates.
?As a potential president:
Romney clearly stands out here. America's super rich generally don't jockey to live in the White House. A few have toyed with the idea, most notably New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whom Forbes ranks as the 12th richest American, worth $19.5 billion. A lesser billionaire, Ross Perot, bankrolled his own third-party campaigns in 1992 and 1996.
Many presidents weren't particularly well-off, especially 19th century leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan and Ulysses S. Grant. Nor was the 33rd president, Harry Truman.
"These things ebb and flow," said sociologist Khan. "It's not the case that all presidents were always rich."
A few former chief executives died in debt, including Thomas Jefferson, ranked in a Forbes study as the third-wealthiest president.
Comparing the landlocked wealth of early Americans such as Washington, Jefferson and James Madison, with today's millionaires is tricky, even setting aside the lack of documentation and economic changes over two centuries.
Research by 24/7 Wall St., a news and analysis website, estimated Washington's wealth at the equivalent of $525 million in 2010 dollars.
Yet Washington had to borrow money to pay for his trip to New York for his inauguration in 1789, according to Dennis Pogue, vice president for preservation at Mount Vernon, Washington's Virginia estate. His money was tied up in land, reaping only a modest cash income after farm expenses.
"He was a wealthy guy, there's no doubt about it," Pogue said, and probably among the dozen richest Virginians of his time. But, "the wealthiest person in America then was nothing in comparison to what these folks are today."
?How does Romney stand next to a regular Joe?
He's roughly 1,800 times richer.
The typical U.S. household was worth $120,300 in 2007, according to the Census Bureau's most recent data, although that number is sure to have dropped since the recession. A typical family's income is $50,000.
Calculations from 24/7 Wall St. of the peak lifetime wealth (or peak so far) of Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama add up to a total $128 million ? while Romney reports assets of up to $250 million.
If you consider only those presidents' assets while in office, without millions earned later from speeches and books, their combined total would be substantially lower, and Romney's riches would leave the pack even further behind.
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so what you are saying is you love Romney ?
thats the only way you would post the way you do.
I guess you loved George W and President Cheney too.
you should be proud
I respect Obama as President. I think he can turn the country around in the next four years given the chance.
and unlike you two I am independant. If the GOP would have run someone that I could believe in it would be differant.
Newt, Mitt, Buchann, Palin, Pawlenty, Herman Cain, blah blah
PS Herman Cain is getting rich from his run and disgraceful exit for being a woman ho. Only in America
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Raymond and Skulnik are both summoned to the Oval office to meet with Obama to discuss their concerns over America.
I will report on how it went.
i got to go watch Celtics game right now tho.
this too shall pass
I will report on how it went.
i got to go watch Celtics game right now tho.
this too shall pass
naaa no more than usual
AR's thread was beginning to bore me.
Dude really cant carry on any logical arguments once truth is shown. The bloody rat bastid.
maybe you will be differant Ray Ray
:0008
Obama and His Pot-Smoking ?Choom Gang?
Obama and His Pot-Smoking ?Choom Gang?
Young Barack Obama
Unlike Bill Clinton, Barack Obama never tried to say he didn?t inhale.
In his 1995 memoir ?Dreams of My Father,? Obama writes about smoking pot almost like Dr. Seuss wrote about eating green eggs and ham. As a high school kid, Obama wrote, he would smoke ?in a white classmate?s sparkling new van,? he would smoke ?in the dorm room of some brother? and he would smoke ?on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids.?
He would smoke it here and there. He would smoke it anywhere.
Now a soon-to-be published biography by David Maraniss entitled ?Barack Obama: The Story? gives more detail on Obama?s pot-smoking days, complete with testimonials from young Barry Obama?s high school buddies, a group that went by the name ?the Choom Gang.? Choom was slang for smoking marijuana.
Maraniss portrays the teenage Obama as not just a pot smoker, but a pot-smoking innovator.
?As a member of the Choom Gang,? Maraniss writes, ?Barry Obama was known for starting a few pot-smoking trends.?
The first Obama-inspired trend: ?Total Absorption? or ?TA?.
?TA was the opposite of Bill Clinton?s claim that as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford he smoked dope but never inhaled,? explains Maraniss. Here?s how it worked: If you exhaled prematurely when you were with the Choom Gang, ?you were assessed a penalty and your turn was skipped the next time the joint came around.?
As one of Obama?s old high school buddies tells Maraniss: ?Wasting good bud smoke was not tolerated.?
Another Obama innovation: ?Roof Hits.?
?When they were chooming in a car all the windows had to be rolled up so no smoke blew out and went to waste; when the pot was gone, they tilted their heads back and sucked in the last bit of smoke from the ceiling.?
Maraniss also says Obama was known for his ?Interceptions?: ?When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way in, out of turn, shouted ?Intercepted!,? and took an extra hit.?
Although Obama himself wrote that he and his pot smoking buddies were a ?club of disaffection,? Maraniss says that?s not really true.
?In fact, most members of the Choom Gang were decent students and athletes who went on to successful and productive lawyers, writers and businessmen,? Maraniss writes. One notable exception was Ray, the group?s pot dealer who, known for his ability ?to score quality bud,? would years later be killed by a scorned gay lover armed with a ball-peen hammer.
Obama himself managed to be a pretty good student despite all the pot smoking and unconventional study habits.
?He told his Choom Gang mates that the trick was if you put the textbook under your pillow the night before you would perform better on an exam,? Maraniss writes. No way, dude!
Back to the pot smoking.
Hawaii of the early 1970s was something of a pot-smoking Mecca.
?It was sold and smoked right there in front of your nose; Maui Wowie, Kauai Electric, Puna Bud, Kona Gold, and other local variations of pakalolo were readily available,? writes Maraniss.
Obama?s pal Mark Bendix had a Volkswagen microbus known as ?the Choomwagon.? They would often drive up Honolulu?s Mount Tantalus where they parked ?turned up their stereos playing Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult and Stevie Wonder, lit up some ?sweet-sticky Hawaiian buds? and washed it down with ?green bottled beer? (the Choom Gang preferred Heineken, Becks, and St. Pauli Girl). No shouting, no violence, no fights; they even cleaned up their beer bottles.?
Of course, smoking, drinking and driving on mountain roads could also be a little dangerous. Especially the night they tried drag racing.
The race to the top of Mount Tantalus pitted the ?Choomwagon? against another friend?s Toyota. Obama was in the Toyota. The Choomwagon made it to the top first. When the other car didn?t show up, those in the Choomwagon drove back down to find them. Here?s how Maraniss describes what happened next:
?On the way down, they saw a figure who appeared to be staggering up the road. It was Barry Obama. What was going on? As they drew closer, they noticed that he was laughing so hard he could barely stand up.?
His friend had rolled the car. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. And, amazingly, they avoided trouble by leaving the driver alone to deal with the police by claiming it was just an unfortunate ?mishap.?
Maraniss concludes his chapter on Obama?s high school years by looking at a note Obama had written in his high school yearbook in a section reserved for students to give a line or two giving thanks to those who helped along the way.
Obama had written this: ?Thanks Tut [his grandmother], Gramps, Choom Gang, and Ray for all the good times.?
Maraniss notes: ?Ray was the older guy who hung around the Choom Gang, selling them pot. A hippie drug dealer made his acknowledgements; his mother did not.?
The White House told ABC News that it has no comment.
See more photos of Barack Obama as a child and teen HERE.
Obama and His Pot-Smoking ?Choom Gang?
Young Barack Obama
Unlike Bill Clinton, Barack Obama never tried to say he didn?t inhale.
In his 1995 memoir ?Dreams of My Father,? Obama writes about smoking pot almost like Dr. Seuss wrote about eating green eggs and ham. As a high school kid, Obama wrote, he would smoke ?in a white classmate?s sparkling new van,? he would smoke ?in the dorm room of some brother? and he would smoke ?on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids.?
He would smoke it here and there. He would smoke it anywhere.
Now a soon-to-be published biography by David Maraniss entitled ?Barack Obama: The Story? gives more detail on Obama?s pot-smoking days, complete with testimonials from young Barry Obama?s high school buddies, a group that went by the name ?the Choom Gang.? Choom was slang for smoking marijuana.
Maraniss portrays the teenage Obama as not just a pot smoker, but a pot-smoking innovator.
?As a member of the Choom Gang,? Maraniss writes, ?Barry Obama was known for starting a few pot-smoking trends.?
The first Obama-inspired trend: ?Total Absorption? or ?TA?.
?TA was the opposite of Bill Clinton?s claim that as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford he smoked dope but never inhaled,? explains Maraniss. Here?s how it worked: If you exhaled prematurely when you were with the Choom Gang, ?you were assessed a penalty and your turn was skipped the next time the joint came around.?
As one of Obama?s old high school buddies tells Maraniss: ?Wasting good bud smoke was not tolerated.?
Another Obama innovation: ?Roof Hits.?
?When they were chooming in a car all the windows had to be rolled up so no smoke blew out and went to waste; when the pot was gone, they tilted their heads back and sucked in the last bit of smoke from the ceiling.?
Maraniss also says Obama was known for his ?Interceptions?: ?When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way in, out of turn, shouted ?Intercepted!,? and took an extra hit.?
Although Obama himself wrote that he and his pot smoking buddies were a ?club of disaffection,? Maraniss says that?s not really true.
?In fact, most members of the Choom Gang were decent students and athletes who went on to successful and productive lawyers, writers and businessmen,? Maraniss writes. One notable exception was Ray, the group?s pot dealer who, known for his ability ?to score quality bud,? would years later be killed by a scorned gay lover armed with a ball-peen hammer.
Obama himself managed to be a pretty good student despite all the pot smoking and unconventional study habits.
?He told his Choom Gang mates that the trick was if you put the textbook under your pillow the night before you would perform better on an exam,? Maraniss writes. No way, dude!
Back to the pot smoking.
Hawaii of the early 1970s was something of a pot-smoking Mecca.
?It was sold and smoked right there in front of your nose; Maui Wowie, Kauai Electric, Puna Bud, Kona Gold, and other local variations of pakalolo were readily available,? writes Maraniss.
Obama?s pal Mark Bendix had a Volkswagen microbus known as ?the Choomwagon.? They would often drive up Honolulu?s Mount Tantalus where they parked ?turned up their stereos playing Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult and Stevie Wonder, lit up some ?sweet-sticky Hawaiian buds? and washed it down with ?green bottled beer? (the Choom Gang preferred Heineken, Becks, and St. Pauli Girl). No shouting, no violence, no fights; they even cleaned up their beer bottles.?
Of course, smoking, drinking and driving on mountain roads could also be a little dangerous. Especially the night they tried drag racing.
The race to the top of Mount Tantalus pitted the ?Choomwagon? against another friend?s Toyota. Obama was in the Toyota. The Choomwagon made it to the top first. When the other car didn?t show up, those in the Choomwagon drove back down to find them. Here?s how Maraniss describes what happened next:
?On the way down, they saw a figure who appeared to be staggering up the road. It was Barry Obama. What was going on? As they drew closer, they noticed that he was laughing so hard he could barely stand up.?
His friend had rolled the car. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. And, amazingly, they avoided trouble by leaving the driver alone to deal with the police by claiming it was just an unfortunate ?mishap.?
Maraniss concludes his chapter on Obama?s high school years by looking at a note Obama had written in his high school yearbook in a section reserved for students to give a line or two giving thanks to those who helped along the way.
Obama had written this: ?Thanks Tut [his grandmother], Gramps, Choom Gang, and Ray for all the good times.?
Maraniss notes: ?Ray was the older guy who hung around the Choom Gang, selling them pot. A hippie drug dealer made his acknowledgements; his mother did not.?
The White House told ABC News that it has no comment.
See more photos of Barack Obama as a child and teen HERE.
- Feb 26, 2001
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