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Craig Bush ~ Well said! I agree! However, until that opportunity presents itself we gotta do whatever we can to protect one another from this fascist onslaught of ill conceived bad legislation. We must make our desires felt throughout every layer of society. Then, perhaps, the opportunity to amend the constitution will be available.
Craig Bush --
Why isn't jury nullification a second way?
We passed the $5 pot fine for Ann Arbor in 73. The feds came in after that, and built a building next to campus. They shut that ordinance down. John Sinclair, Peoples Rainbow Party, was arrested for 2 joints and got 10 years. 40 years later we are still locking our children and grandchildren in a cage like an animal for smoking pot? While the bankster who laundered billions of drug money got away with a fine? A cost they pass on to the consumer. These are the people who profited the most from the war on drugs. The money made from prohibition is enormous and the parties raking it in will not go down easily.
Today law enforcement in CA is developing a new fleet of drones and instituting license plate gps technology. Our county supervisors in Santa Cruz voted for a new $12 million dollar prison and new cannabis prohibition laws. Legislators are trying to muzzle the public referendum process. Their mandate is to stall and impede the public will. They passed a measly $10.10 minum wage then delayed it for 2 years. They plan the same for legislation to end cannabis prohibition. The majority of CA's want to end cannabis prohibition now.
There is one way to end the madness. The war on drugs is immoral, unjust and evil in nature. We end cannabis prohibition the way we ended prohibition on alcohol. A constitutional amendment.
Right on Thom! Thanks for explaining that little tidbit. The courts today try to bully jurors into blindly following their orders. You are right that just the mention of "jury nullification" is enough to get you out fast. I was once asked if I thought it was possible for a police officer to make a mistake or lie. I said, "Sure! They're human, aren't they?" I was instantly dismissed. I can only imagine what kind of weak minded lemmings they wanted to fill those jury seats with. It's no wonder the courts are always backlogged.
The war on drugs is nothing more than a war against the people. We have to pull out all the stops in order to overturn this cancerous legislation. It is a true shame when a law creates far more victims then the crime ever did. Just say, "No!" to nonviolent drug sentencing.
Chi Matt -- I like how wonderfully thought provoking your comments are. I wish you would respond more directly to all my comments, but there is no reason I have that you should.
.To show you get better results, you need to have some kind of value added tests. Your students have to be cherry picked in some way. One way is they at least have parent(s) who care enough to send them to your school. It would be interesting to know the median wage of the families you teach compared to others.
. The devil would be in the details. Robert Reich in his book "Aftershock" even recommends a voucher system. If none of the vouchers can be used for private schools, my objections would start to recede.Have you not heard of HMOs or even PPO? The answer is "no" you cannot go to any hospital you want, unless you are rich
Thom referred to an NPR report on the AT&T and Direct T.V. proposed meger as an example of his disagreement with the media's coverage in general of all things corporate. You could say that the topic is mergers and monopolies, but I think he was making a larger point about NPR. The next day, he gave the other example about an NPR news story. I noticed that NPR seemed to go out of their way to report on Tea Party candidates so far in this primary season. Perhaps that was excessive dedication to covering Republicans, but it also might have been that there are bigger differences at stake in the Republican primaries, with a right-wing extremist faction being involved, than there are within Democratic primaries. I have reports on two topics I mentioned above on NPR which seem to include concerns of progressives and which I have not heard on commercial media. NPR sometimes brings to light certain issues that other news sources ignore. The Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania and also at the University of Southern California are capable of doing empirical research on news coverage. Objective research would probably be needed to show how much of a bias there is, how often, and in what areas of coverage. Sometimes, political commentary can go too far in the name of furthering one's own cause and/or audience.
Matt, you are ignoring the glaringly obvious: that public schools are failing because they are being starved out of existence by the privatizers. If they were adequately funded, and if teachers and their unions were getting the respect they deserve, we wouldn't be having this conversation. - AIW
Matt, don't you think it's a wee bit unrealistic to assume that ALL college grads love their jobs? One might think this or that profession is something he would enjoy until he actually experiences it first-hand. There are no guarantees. I once assumed that because I'm musical and have perfect pitch, I would make a good piano tuner/technician and enjoy that occupation. (Wrong.) Learned that the hard way. It's very easy to get this idealized fantasy about something you've never done before.
Your posts give me the impression you're not aware of much beyond your own little universe. Matt's enjoying prosperity in his own life, therefore our socioeconomic system is fine as is. Matt loves his job, therefore everyone else who's college educated must love his job too… unless of course, there's something wrong with him or her. Maybe I'm oversimplifying a tad, but this is how your message often comes across.
There is something about the way most of us are living that makes me incredibly sad. A majority of us are not happy with the kind of work we're doing. This means we spend a large proportion of our lives doing something we hate, that bores us or is stressful (or dangerous, even!), or all the above. (Being undercompensated doesn't help either.) Anyway I don't believe humans were meant to live like that. Thom has described ancient, indigenous cultures (like Native American cultures) where work took up a lot less space in people's lives.
One or two of the bloggers here have suggested we should be striving to create a situation where we work less, consume less and live more. That really hit a chord with me. - Aliceinwonderland
ChicagoMatt ~ Now I understand! You are obviously smoking crack!
ChicagoMatt ~ Your closed mind never ceases to amaze me. You conclude that 40% of the people like their jobs--so piss on 60% of the people. (Mind you these are your statistics and not mine.)
Just because you enjoy your job everyone else should just shut up and obey. Right? Sorry, you don't live in a vacuum. You live in a society with a wide range of reactions to jobs that you have to take into account when you consider such arrangements.
I'm overjoyed that you love your job. That is truly wonderful. However, you are the exception. Please, keep that little fact in mind when you blatantly speak inclusively of everyone.
ChicagoMatt ~ No! Are you suggesting that if we can't spend the money on death that we would refund it to the taxpayer rather than spend it on education and healthcare? No! The answer is, No! Education and healthcare first, then defense and tax refunds! There is no other way.
Are you serious?
ChicagoMatt ~ Nonsense! State your statistics to support such a contention. As Thom has stated quite clearly if it wasn't for the wars of George W. Bush, there would be more than enough money in the bucket to pay for the college education of every citizen of the US. Where do you get your statistics?
I'm just going to throw this out there and see what you all think:
Doesn't Thom constantly complain that politicians have to spend more time raising money than working for us? If so, doesn't it make sense to elect a billionaire who doesn't have to worry about raising money?
Wasn't that Ross Perot's thinking too? I'm a little too young to remember much about him, but I do remember the "giant sucking sound of jobs going to Mexico" he talked about. And it seems time has proven him correct.
Also, when you talk about the minimum wage and the working poor, there is one headwind stronger than any others against Progressive ideals - most people in that catergory, the "working poor" just want to make more money, not change the entire Capitalistic system. They don't think, "I'm getting screwed over by the system," they think, "If I work more hours, I can make more money. Or if I go the extra mile at work, I might get a raise." At least that's the impression I get from my "wage slave" friends. If the majority of the people you're trying to help don't have the time or the energy to get involved, or don't care or don't have the education to understand, your movement seems doomed from the start.
One hates to admit it; however, he does make a very good point!
Aliceinwonderland ~ Well said! I can only suggest Move to Amend, and Campaign Finance Reform. Like we've both said ad nauseum before, nothing will happen until these two gems become law.
Wow. Normally it's the righties who are called fascists on here, but I have to call you out on this one. Genetically testing people and weeding out traits you find undersireable? Very, very Nazi-esque of you. Why not "cleanse out" other traits while you're at it, to create your "perfect" American?
I agree with you about military spending, Marc. We should spend a whole lot less on the military. Let some other country be the world's police for awhile. Drop out of NATO, and let all of those Western European countries whose students have been running circles around ours have to sink a little more money into their militaries to defend themselves for a change.
Here comes the disagreement - any reduction in spending should coincide with a reduction in taxes. Saved a trillion in military spending? Give back a trillion proportionally to the tax payers.
And I've asked this question a few times, but I really can't find an answer, so I am hoping some of you know: When they give the cost of the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, does that include costs that would have happened even without the war? Like solider's salaries? They get paid with or without a war. I am just curious.
Because of supply and demand, the qualifications for universities would be much higher now, since there are so many more people applying. Only the smartest of the smart would get in, baring some sort of expansion in university building.
Even the biggest optimist has to see that things aren't going to go back to the way they were "before I was born" 30-some years ago. At least not when it comes to higher education. Think of all of the things that were different between the baby boomer's generation and their parents. Their parents probably thought their ways were better too. But to the baby boomers, the thought of going back seemed silly.
How would a 2-hour workday work for teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, etc...? And yes, I do love my job so much that I am actually sad it's almost summer vacation. It's possible to love spending time at work and spending time with your family equally. In fact, isn't that what we were all taught to strive for when we were children - a job that we will love going to, so it doesn't feel like work? Didn't we all hear the saying, "If you love your job, you'll never have to work a day in your life."?
Especially people who go to college - why would you spend all of that money on college, just to go into a field you don't enjoy? I can understand how some people of little means get trapped into jobs they hate, but since about 40% of people go to college nowadays, shouldn't that mean that about 40% of people like their jobs?
Of course, some people won't like any job, no matter what. I know people like that in my life. Whatever they have, they just want something different. It's annoying.
I'm running on little sleep and a little sunburned, so this might not be my best post, but I won't be able to sleep tonight unless I get this off of my chest. And I'm going to do the easy thing and bullet-point my thoughts:
1. Yes, ideally every school would be perfect. But they are not, and while we wait for this utopian society to come around, millions of children are falling through the cracks. As I write, it's the end of the three-day weekend, which means it's time for the local NBC affiliate to post it's every-weekend story about how many people got shot and killed in the city. Almost all of them are products of a failing public school system. It's too late for them. But the ones that will get shot and killed in the coming years - we can still do something to save them. Waiting for a perfect solution that never going to come is an injustice for those future victims.
2. Most poor people (which, in Chicago at least, is mostly minorities) WANT school vouchers. Here's an article about how overwhelmingly popular they are whenever they are tried: http://www.afrocentricnews.com/html/ofari_vouchers.html
That article points out that over 90% of black families in a survey supported vouchers. They are so popular that Milwaukee has to use a lottery system to see who gets them. For party that claims to be "for the people", the Democrats seem to be against the people on this one.
3. Quality healthcare and education are the rights of every American. School vouchers are the equivalent of single-payer healthcare. Every school has a tuition - its just in public schools that the tuition is hidden via taxes. In most cities, the enrollment on the 20th day of class determines how much funding that school will get for the following year. Attaching the money to the student (vouchers) lets the students and their parents take their business elsewhere. Denying them that right is like telling a poor person that they have to go to their local hospital, even if the quality is lower. You're allowed to go to any hospital you want, right? Why not let people go to the school of their choice as well.
4. There are only two reasons someone would be against vouchers. Either they don't care how badly the current system is failing students, or they know that letting parents and students choose their schools will reduce teacher union influence, since private and charter schools are mostly non-unionized. Forcing students into crappy schools and ultimately ruining their lives from a young age for the sake of a union is very unethical.
5. Ok, there is one other reason someone would be against vouchers, and it's mentioned in the article above: Because that would let the best students out of a failing school, and leave just the struggling students. So, since EVERYONE can't be saved, they think NO ONE should get a chance. That's like sinking a lifeboat because not everyone can fit in it. Very cold-hearted and self-centered.
I keep saying this, but the private school I work at get much better results than the local public school. AND we do it for half of the cost. But still the Democrats who run Chicago and Illinois won't even consider saving the students from my neighborhood that have to go to the public school, when I am sitting here with empty seats in my classroom. It's all about money for them - union jobs and dues. Isn't that what you always accuse the Republicans of doing? Making everything about money?
But really, what does it matter? It's never going to happen, in a solidly-blue state like this one anyway. The failing public school cycle will continue, with no end in sight.
I will definitely bring this up next time someone brings up the old "the poor are lazy" argument!
2950-10K -- Only 17% of the populace know that the repugs are in the majority in the house. We have a lot of work.
With regards to loud progressive group to counter the Kochbaggers consider this. Those kochbaggers were trained by faux news. Per Thom, faux news lost $100 million a year for the first 5 years of its existence. Air America, on the other hand, could not come up with $6 million to stay in business for another year. Faux news is given free to all cable/satellite providers. MSNBC is provided at a $5 per customer charge. This condition exists even though MSNBC is corporate controlled. The powell memo described how to create this situation.
Aliceinwonderland: I was wound up last night after being at a campfire into the wee hours with a bunch of distance running pals...including a young couple from Seattle. Had everybody from a hardcore Libertarian to a Public Policy degree holder there. We steered clear of political discussion other than me giving a nod to the Seattle folks regarding their $15 minimum wage. Too much fun being had...LOL! But this got me thinking on the way home about how unfair a frozen minimum wage really is. I just needed to vent, it's all so frustrating....I realize most voting citizens don't even know the basic fundamentals about how our government works, makes them easy targets for the scoundrels after all of the nations hard earned wealth....Jefferson must be weeping. I'm way ready to join a large group that could make a real difference, why don't we have a loud progressive group to counter the Kochbaggers?....It just seems like we progressives are to polite, no fighting instinct.
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy
People feel like the system is rigged against them, and here is the painful part, they're right. The system is rigged.
Elizabeth Warren
In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.
Confucius
10K, I feel your frustration and impatience. I share it. But we've gotta get into lockstep behind some sort of strategy. That hasn't happened yet. Just taking to the streets without a strategy or a plan won't get us very far. I don't know what it'll take to make it happen... More pain, perhaps? - AIW
Way off topic.... Minimum Wage....Why hasn't anybody pointed out that minimum wage when frozen is a reduction wage...why the F do we call it minimum wage? It's a god damn reduction wage. Why are we progressives such wimps when it comes to messaging? ...but who really cares?
I'll keep this simple....reality!!!!....most voting citizens have no clue what Thom and other progressives talk about or anything related to representative democracy...the ancient Athenian's would have kicked their sorry asses out of town. With this in mind I'm thinking that I either eat drink and be merry as the empire shits out, or I join a vigorous group of individuals dedicated to the overthrow of this FASCIST BILLIONAIRE REGIME...any takers...please reply!... I'm way ready to go!
I'm sick and tired of progressive verbal timidity giving way to the ignorance of wealthy ugly Americans a -holes like Turtleman McConnell and his twin Donald Sterling...wake up...we need to take to the streets and take back our liberty now!
Marc- very , VERY well put, my "fwend"! Funny too.