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That's why we need a strong real liberal/progressive government .. to protect the unwitting yokels from the snake oil sellers. But how are you ever going to get the unwitting yokels from falling for the crooked two party system, yet again, that we have here? People keep watching Fox Snooze and falling for their idiocy and others keep watching left-leaning media and falling for their idiocy. The left-leaning media tend to hype up the Democrat party, get them to re-elect a president that failed to live up to his first presidential term. And now, I suppose, they will be touting how wonderful it will be to elect Mrs. Clinton for president. Yee Gads, what a mess!
You know, if people didn't use snake oil, there wouldn't be a market for it. People get suckered into spending their money on all kinds of "snake oil" products. Some actually do more harm than good.
And talking about snake oil...have you noticed that broadcast television channels are showing programs that are really marketing hype to sell products. I would expect this on Cable or Satellite TV but not so much on broadcast TV. Not just brief commercials...but whole programs. Even the news often features some kind of marketing hype disguised as news. It's like most newspapers are practically all advertisements. If I buy newspapers...it's not for news anyway...I like doing the crossword puzzles. I do read what little news they have seen fit to print but you have to wade through pages of advertizements to get to it.
In every instance unions have been the best hope. Under the New Deal unions representation increased to 37% of the working people. The economy was the best the world has ever seen. Raygun came into office and started destroying unions. Without unions tariffs went from 30% to 2%. Waivers were granted to Buy American Act of 1936 like never before. The sherman anti-trust act was ignored. Unions are strong all over Europe, but especially in Germany. Why in the world would you think I was joking?
Palin -- I can't even get the people on this blog to think that democracy is the best course for people to take. The people say, we have to declare freedom of speech as amendent that requires 2/3 to overturn. That is not democracy.
But didn't you just get through saying:
??Sounds like a contradiction to me. The problem with using the term "dark money" is that anyone can claim that's what happened without any substance to back it up.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/10/virginia-primary-results_n_5479...
I'm kind of glad, even though he was a Republican, that the voters voted for someone who didn't spend a lot of money on his campaign. That's one way to take the money out of politics! They did the same thing in California. Jerry Brown won despite his opponent, Meg Whitman, outspending Brown by $140 million.
OU -- After further thought 1% really equals 69/7,000,000,000. Those 69 hold as much wealth as the bottom 50%. 1% is just easier to type. Unlike Palin I do not blame the people who use snake oil, just the sellers.
The unions fighting the ruling elite is our best hope? You're joking, right?
OU812: I think it is not just the 1%...you have to include a lot of people who are not technically in the top 1%..but who are top 1% "wannabes". Or even the ones who are in the top 10% or want to be in the top 10% or the top 20%...etc. We even have to include those poor deluded idiots at the bottom who listen and watch Fox Snooze and other right wing media. Maybe we need to make room for the poor deluded lefties who continue to listen and watch their favorite commentators who thought that voting for Obama the 2nd time was going to see a more positive change in his administration. We have to include all the poor deluded fools who still think that we can make a positive change by continuing to vote, call, write, or email their "representatives".
But, there are, of course, very wealthy and powerful people who do conspire to lead the country down certain paths. They own the major news media and use it to scare and confuse people in a manner consistent with their goals. And they will even engineer false flag operations, like 9/11, to scare people out of their freedoms and liberties. They will lie the nation into needless illegal and immoral wars. They realize that there may come a time when the people may, en masse, fight back against the war that they have been waging against the rest of us. So, they created a huge spying apparatus to keep tabs on us.
Chuck,
How can one percent = one hundredth of one percent?
Chuckle8: Yes, I agree that the protestors, some at least, "were thugs hired by the economic royalists in the Eurozone". But that doesn't change the fact that the violent protestors won against the police and overthrew the country... as it has in other countries like Egypt, Libya, Iran, and a bunch of Latin American countries, as well. It shows that it works much better than fake elections like what we have here in the U.S.
I wasn't routing for the demonstrators in this case. It also goes to show how much the US and Europe really cares for the sanctity of democratic elections. They have proven over and over again that they don't give a hoot about democracy... because democracy in the U.S. is a farce... and they really don't want democracy... a real democracy... anywhere else either.
Lots of people may die in a conflict with a ruling power in the short time but if that ruling power was left to stay in power lots more people would die, over time, from the bad laws that it created to favor the wealthy over the less wealthy.
Pal -- I thought those Ukranian protestors were thugs hired by the economic royalists in the Eurozone. Why else would they threaten a democratically elected president and replace him with a banker?
ou -- fyi 1% means 0.01%.
Yet another shoot out with police near Las Vegas...not related to the earlier one in Las Vegas.
Gee, I sure hope that wasn't you, h.
When you make such a statement, it make me wonder.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/jun/11/man-killed-shootout-henderso...
Pal -- Since I agree with you that most of things the dems do have a part that helps the ruling elite, the only part I disagree with is that dems are even remotely like the repugs. All your arguments seem to be how the things the dems do, are not anywhere near as good as they should be. That argument is what I call the perfect beating up on the good. In that vein, you forgot one important example. Medicare was a sell out to the AMA. Part D the pharma support change to medicare is an example why I say the dems are very different than the repugs. In your world view I think you would say the dems were a big sellout to pharma. In reality the dems tried to impose a tax on those making more than a million to support it. Since it was in 2006(?), they did not stand a chance.
The one really big difference and why I will be voting democratic at every turn is the vote on the Employee Free Choice Act. I think having unions fighting the ruling elite is our best hope.
palindromedary,
I don't buy into this whole fear the 1% notion. It reminds me of fearing the bogey man. 1% of the current US population of 330,000,000 is 3,300,000 people give or take a few thousand. To believe that those 3,300,000 people get together at some secret meeting to plan the demise of the remainder is too much for me to swallow, and I can swallow a lot:)).
Every human being on this planet has 24 hours in his day, 365 days in his year. Every 4 years we are given a bonus day. How we value and use that time in a large part determines how effective our life will be. Think about it.
Palin -- Since the economic royalists own the media, do you have any ideas how we can start massive boycotts, massive demonstrations etc?
OU812: You're welcome!
chuckle8: You got part of that right! But, hey, it's a "free country". You can say whatever you want...unless it's considered, by the NDAA, to be aiding and abetting terrorism...however loosely that can be defined. ;-}
My question for Thom is what is the evidence that dark money was used to help Brat? Thom states evidence that it was available, but not evidence that it was used. Doesn't anyone count signs in yards, number of ads on TV, the number flyers etc. Was the only use of the dark money to buy off commentators on faux news?
Palin -- So every time you say the dems are the same as the repugs, am I supposed to repeat the evidence that you are mistaken?
Maybe we can use the "dark internet" to subvert the "dark money revolution".
Chi Matt -- You need to read Ralph Nader's new book "Unstoppable".
Nader points out 29 (as I remember) major issues where the far right and progressives agree. He thinks they currently are and in the future will join forces. Government is a set of rules, regulations and agreements (it is nothing more). Both the left and right want to change the rules, or, in your words, they both are blaming the current government. In my view, the left wants to change the rules to protect us from the 1%, and the libertarians want to give freedom to the 1% to devour the lower 47%.
All the reprogramming was due to Ed Schulz saying he did not want to do his radio program anymore. There was not much thinking that went to the process, because there was no time. Is Sam Seder the guy you have to listen to now?
When Clear Channel kicked Tom off the air in LA, I subscribed to Thom's podcasts. I recommend it. It is $60 per year.
So, since both Democrat and Republicans are owned by the ruling elite, how are you going to accomplish that? I believe that even if we had 100% of both houses filled with Democrats...nothing would change. There would always be a snafu gotcha excuse for why things didn't go our way for a change.