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Every time I hear a left-winger say negative things about the Supreme Court, I keep thinking about how ultra-right-winger Mark Levin wrote an entire book in 2006 (Men in Black) about how bad the Supreme Court is.
So there's another thing that bridges the partisan divide - hatred of the Supreme Court. That, along with distrust of the media, could be building blocks towards a less-polarized political future.
medhelp
Obviously my Connecticut ancestors -- two of whom were tried as witches in the 1640s and beat the rap -- knew what they were doing when they sided with the Crown 135 years later, even if the king was that mad Hanoverian George III. Of course they were promptly banished, violently so, all their property confiscated and the postwar Loyalist Claims never paid, as the promises made to Loyalists were no more substantial than the promises made to First Nations peoples or the promises of "change we can believe in" made to us by Obama. But alas the lure of money is so irresistable it suppresses even the worst lynch-mob memories, and when my paternal grandfather was hired to design dynamos for the old Alva Edison Company in 1905, back to the states my family came, and now as a consequence we are part of the permanent proletariat.
I heartilly applaud Mr. Hartman's notion of a true North American Union. I would joyfully rise for "O Canada" and even "God Save the Queen." But he must needs speak with the gravest caution of such matters, lest the wealth of Canada prompt our present overlords to conquer it as they are now trying to conquer Ukraine.
Aside to Alice: Ah yes Joni Mitchell, whose LPs are the background music of some of the most pleasurable memories of my 20s and 30s. Likewise the groups Pentangle and Fairport Convention. And then there is Tim Buckley, a true Bard, who might have been conversing with Gaia Herself when he sang, "if you tell me of all the pain you've had, I'll never smile again."
The subject article and the article which I link below should go viral and be sent to each and every political candidate and current representatives of all government offices in this country. It is urgent, and must be considered by all government officers and workers, and by all voters in America. http://www.opednews.com/articl... Article: The Happiest Countries in the World: Where Does America Rank? | OpEdNews
http://bit.ly/1n1QDcZ It is the receipt for solving all our problems in this country.
Yes. The hypocrisy wreaks. Remember, before Issa, they told Dems to "legislate, not investigate". Before their filibustering ways, the wanted "up or down" votes. And, before The Roberts Court, they didn't like judicial activism.
;-}
Palindromedary ~ So rules!! Where has he been the last few daze? We so need our Palindromedary to input his comments on this forum. Oh, where is he! If we ever needed pigs that could fly it is now!
Gee thanks "mathboy", for correcting everyone's type-0s and grammar errors on this blog! Now, have you any thoughts to contribute to the discussion, or have you decided to be the unofficial English instructor here? Just curious...
Aagh, you don't step foot, you set foot. You can't step things, it's an intransitive verb.
Aliceinwonderland ~ That may be very true... at least for the vast majority of white folks. However, it isn't true in my case. When I was 18 I volunteered for a job where I was treated as a prince. Three black boys were hired at the same job--as a summer job--and were treated in ways I can't even describe on this forum. All I can say is the experience left me in shock and disbelief. When I was 20 a good friend of mine got me a job with a very large corporation. It was an entry level job and I started on the loading dock. I was a part of a crew of four. The other three were black men, slightly older and more experienced with the company than me. They were a bunch of great guys who saved me a lot of hardship and injury by taking me under their wing. After a couple of weeks into the job we were getting along really good. However, we had a problem with the forklift driver. He kept drinking on the job and was starting to make some serious mistakes. Twice he almost toppled the stack of boxes that was behind me on top of me. I was very concerned about the situation. The whole matter met a head one day when he tried to spin the forklift in a 180 and dumped the entire load onto the warehouse floor. The next day he was gone. He was a white dude. That morning the foreman came right up to me and asked if I could drive a forklift. I never had before and said I probably couldn't. As a result of that response I believe he punished me. He put me on garbage detail instead of the loading dock. While doing the detail I couldn't help but notice that the foreman never approached anyone else on my team--all of which were black, and all of which have far more experience with the loading dock and the company than I did. The next thing I notice was another white man on the fork lift. I have no idea where they found him however, that was the last day I worked with that company. Their overt racist practices left a very bad taste in my mouth. Quitting, was never a decision that I regretted.
I agree that the AA may have left a better understanding of what racism and discrimination feels like in many white people. I also agree that maybe this was the only way to make that connection. Such understanding is a necessary part of reform; and, I must come to grips with the idea that for a white boy, I certainly am not typical. I too am through commenting on this issue.
I hear ya 10K. But that's what happens when too many people get too comfortable, take too much for granted and fall asleep at the wheel. They wind up in the ditch, which is where we now find ourselves today. We've seen with our own eyes how a democracy morphs into a plutocracy. IF we manage to de-throne these self-appointed kings and take our country back (a big, fat "if"), things will be hunki-dory for a few decades until people get complacent again, and then, to quote Joni Mitchell: "'Round and 'round we go in the circle game!" - Aliceinwonderland
If some doctors care more about making money than practicing medicine, I say, let 'em go and GOOD RIDDANCE! But if they're leaving to escape a morally bankrupt system, it's our loss but I wish them well. (SIGH) - AIW
It's just not right, the Canadian offspring of the god damn Loyalists,"Tories," have ended up better off than we descendants of the rebel army. Talk about the Founders turning over in their graves!
I've heard Randi Rhodes, in some of her rants, advocate for the red states to secede, since they suck up more government money than the blue states anyway... stupid white trash hypocrites that they are! And along with Thom & Randi, I'd say "Good riddance!" to the whole miserable, rotten lot of 'em.
Way to go, Thom! (I like it when Thom gets ornery from time to time...) - Aliceinwonderland
I predict that Chicago is on the same track as Detroit - it will just take longer to get to the breaking point, because it's a bigger city. They raise taxes and fines while at the same time reducing services, and everyone who can, leaves, and takes their money with them.
Chuck and "Anarchist Mark", I concur. But Chuck, that kind of system has been in existence for an awfully long time now and I'm still waiting for it to force universal healthcare.
Mark, 95% of that post (#29) was written by Palindromedary awhile back. It's one of those things I keep in my "political ammo" file to counter the bullshit conservatives post here from time to time. - AIW
Re: today's FCC vote
Obama is complicit in a theft from the commons. It doesn't matter whether it occurs at the federal, state or local level, it's still theft. The corporations win and everyone else loses. Have a good day!
Yes Chuck, the Repugs trashed this economy, along with those "blue dogs" in sheep's clothing. And to echo Ptg0's sentiments, it's time we "flush the toilet" in Washington DC. - AIW
Okay, here is my LAST post on this subject.
Marc, your statement ("no skills in anything except being black and latino…") was obviously made out of anger and frustration, and while it indeed was a racist & sexist statement, I know you well enough to know that you are not a misogynist or a racist. I appreciate you admitting that, since you've experienced being disqualified from a job application on the basis of your sex and color, you now know what it's like to be discriminated against for your sex and color. And I don't want to live in that kind of world either. But I think that for a white person to experience, first-hand, just a small sample of what blacks and other nonwhites have had to put up with for generations is not necessarily a bad thing.
I think Mark Saulys hits it out of the park with this statement: "White people fussing about affirmative action talk about the tragic instances when a white guy didn't get a job or spot in school seem not to notice that such tragedies occurred on a much, much more widespread basis for generations, as a fundamental rule, before affirmative action, to people other than white guys and for so many generations that it had a strong residual effect upon the structure of society."
I do not believe ANY white person, regardless of political leanings or social values, has any idea what crap our nonwhite brothers & sisters have had to put up with and what it's like, having to live with that day in and day out. Maybe it's time some of us got a little taste of what discrimination feels like, even if we are not the ones directly responsible for these injustices. And maybe, just maybe, it might motivate us all to leave racist policies where they belong, in the dustbin of history. - Aliceinwonderland
What a great idea to gather all the self-proclaimed "makers into an enclave, along with their money (note: only their's, not OURS) wall and lock them in and then wait for them to start eating their money and each other. Most if not all the "makers" are really just passengers in society, socialists when it comes to government protection of their wealth and business interests and Ayn Randers when it comes to contributing to the society that they benefit from. Fine! Let them go off on their own and fend for themselves. They can cook their own food, build their own houses, clean their own sewers and deal with their own garbage...if they can work out how to do that, otherwise they'll probably just starve to death.
Kend -- Some US senator was saying the same thing you are about doctors moving south. However, he was saying it during a hearing. He was saying it to one of the heads of the Canadian healthcare system (I think it was someone from Montreal). She said it was not true, and they have net influx of doctors from the south. I think the main reason the doctors wanted to enter the Canadian system is that the could not stand the morally corrupt medical insurance of that nation to the south.
AIW -- One benefit of the Chi Matt system, it might force universal healthcare.
Well Matt, I guess some guys get all the breaks - only not the guys you think.
One controversy is what constitutes "fair share" for whom? Maybe you could move to Lincoln Park.
I guess it's like Marc said, now you know what it's like to be a disadvantaged, discriminated against minority and, like Marc, you don't like it one bit.
I give Marc a lotta credit for seeing that, big of him.
AIW -- I did say the repugs were the only ones responsible for the bad economy. I did say mother earth would be in trouble e.g. LNG.
Chi Matt -- It seems like they should admit a certain minimum percentage from each tier level. Since your daughter didn't make it, I assume they do not try to create diversity by admitting a certain minimum number of students from each tier level.