How billionaires' short-term greed could upend America and destroy their own wealth
By Thom Hartmann A...
The coronavirus crisis is highlighting how dysfunctional states run by Republicans are. This is a feature of GOP rule, not a bug.For the past 40-plus years, a group of "conservative" billionaires have been working as hard as they can to reshape our federal government from one that provides education, health care, housing, food and other necessities into one that does nothing more than run the military and fight wars.
It's time to give them what they've worked so hard to get.
Read more here.
-Thom
Comments
#2
Yup, Thom nailed it as usual.
#3
I use to travel all over the USA and overseas as an Industrial Consulting Engineer. The difference in education, skill and fitness varied a lot through out the USA. I will say it was better in every foreign country that I worked in. It was definitly lower in the South Eastern States.
#4
Mr Legend:
Would you please provide documented proof of your statements. It's only fair, you are always asking it of others.
#5
#4. I should have stated that it was totally opinion. I usually do, and you can find evidence of that on past posts. It is based on my 45 years of work experience. Industrial Consulting Engineer is really only my last 30 years of work. When stating fact we should provide reference. We learned (or should have) that in grade school. A report in High School (at least my High School) was not accepted without proper footnotes. Same in College. I contantly see posting of false facts with no attempt at reference. Thus my feelings on it. I do think that in my opinion that the education level in the USA has dropped well below the rest of the industrialized world and that can easily be documented. Also if you go to other Industrialized countries the population is in better shape. Does that make you feel better.It is easy to research.
#6
I like the way you explained that. It's perfectly fine to hold unsourced opinions, but "When stating fact we should provide reference." It's easy to forget that sometimes in the heat of a discussion. Myself, I appreciate being reminded to keep it real. Besides, people's personal opinions are more valid and interesting when backed up by outside reality.
It's odd though, isn't it? In this fast-paced world of instant access to a reservoir of seemingly endless knowledge, you'd think that providing precise documentation from a body of facts that we can all agree is objective and true would not present such a huge problem in the course of constructive dialogue. Yet, the fact that we do have so much knowledge at our fingertips creates the conundrum of also having instant access to a seemingly bottomless pit of misinformation that seriously dilutes honest debate.
My opinion is that the vast body of lies of the Trump era will be Republicans' longest-lasting legacy. And our great nation is so much poorer and weaker because of it. Lady Liberty Enlightening the World is dying under an onslaught of willful ignorance from one of her major political parties.
This won't end well for any party, or democracy itself, as the electorate gets more and more disaffected and disillusioned. Naturally, Wall Street and the billionaires love voter cynicism and apathy because it increases their already disproportionate influence on government and society and further reduces the anemic checks and balances meant to reign in such ungodly power.
#7
Trump has basically legalized the lie for the Republican Party and right wing media. So much said is wrong it overwhelms the weak minded. The honest media cannot fact check fast enough. Today's classic is, "Trump Boasts He Likely Saved ‘Billions’ Of Lives In A Nation With 330 Million People". Using statistics to lie is the other ploy. South Dakota Governor brags about low Covid-19 cases but by percentage of population is more than twice as high as California. It is a fault of our system that those 2 states have the same number of Senators representing them in Congress. Do I need to post reference for that fact? MSNBC carries Trump's daily lie sessions and Cuomo's daily fact sessions on the Covid-19 cases. It is like night and day. Trump reads off numbers of supplies in the millions and then the news shows doctors and nurses with no supplies. Trump brags about testing, but we are way down in numbers. One stat that is not making the news is. How many of America's 26 million uninsured adults, do not seek medical attention, are not tested and die and are not a statistic?
#8
Mr Legend:
The way you mix fact with your opinion, you should call yourself a fabricator, not an industrial engineer.
#9
No, I base my opinion on fact. I am not a Republican. I also do not let Fox News mold my opinion. Try https://www.mediamatters.org/.
#10
Mr Legend:
Here is one of the many statements in which you attempt to present your opinion as a fact. (From #5)
"I do think that in my opinion that the education level in the USA has dropped well below the rest of the industrialized world and that can easily be documented."
To write with clarity, and unbiased words, please consider using APA guidelines. Here is a link to the site.
#11
Doorknobs: https://apastyle.apa.org/
Very cool website. I'm sure to get a big fat F on all that clarity-unbiased stuff, but it's always handy to know the rules before breaking them. No, really, thanks! You get an A+ for that source.
#12
#12. This is the internet not a research paper and I use internet links on the internet. Just curious, do you understand that the blue type is an internet link? And that internet links are a source of reference in the modern world of the internet? And then the irony of it all, do you realize that you are accusing me of posting opinion when that is all that you do?
#13
Homo sapiens are not unfeeling automatons. They form strong opinions about factual reality. But I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with mixing opinion and fact if it helps to keep them a little more grounded than would the alternative with no facts at all to light their way -- like the Kellyanne Conway universe of "alternative facts."
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