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You know, Kend, what someone like you, of course, can't get is that the different issues, i.e., education, healthcare, housing, labor, racism, etc., are only artificially separated and are, in reality, all one issue. I.e., education is a healthcare issue, a housing issue, a labor issue, a race relations issue and a political economic or class politics issue.
If mom and dad don't have a decent job then there's problems and insecurities in the home and kids can't think about school like they should. If healthcare is needed and absent kids can't think about school. If decent housing is unaffordable, if mom and dad can't get a decent job because of racial discrimination or have the cyclical legacy where generations were deprived of education and decent employment so now someone can't get a decent job because they don't have decent education; or if the poor just don't have the clout to fight city hall to get the education, jobs, housing, healthcare necessary then poor kids aren't going to get education they need.
It's easier just to blame the victim and say, "They're no good so what do you want us to do about it?"
The poor work hard, Kend, they deserve to be compensated. There should be no such thing as the "working poor". Anybody who works full time should be able to get decent housing, healthcare and education for themselves and their children and EVERYBODY deserves a job.
What did I say that isn't true Mark. please educate me. I will be the first one to admit when I am wrong.
Needless to say, Kend, we've learned around here not to trust your interpretation of facts or events or accept it at face value.
So, sure, Kend, sure.
Sorry Alice you are correct my point would have taken better if I just said military spending. My point with solar panel companies is you may as well burn the money then try and compete with the Chinese. they take our research and build it cheaper. So every penny spend is a waste. I can't believe our countries allow it. just so you know it is over two hundred solar companies have failed in the US since 2008.
Foreign relief isn't unnecessary I just think we have to take care of your own first Or should we be working towards world single payer health care.
Einsten. I think the theory of relativity is they shouldn't stay more then two days.
Kend says "It is sad that the U.S. government always seems to have money for bank bailouts, failing solar panel companies [?!], disaster relief for other countries etc but children are not getting proper health care and education in your own country." Just one thing you've left out: the military industrial complex, which sucks up more $$$ than the above list all lumped together. I found this omission, uh, intriguing. Now tell me Einstein, how much has our government squandered on unnecessary pork barrel gravy like foreign disaster relief and (gasp!) failing solar panel companies? Are you serious?! - AIW
DAnne I felt very sorry for poor kids always that's why I worked as had as I could so my kids and grand kids are not poor. all you have to do is watch the Maury show to see what is wrong with America. Schools suck today because of the parents. If our childs school needed more money we raised it. Now schools seem to be for baby sitting. The other problem is there is lots of money in most school boards. Public schools spend more per student then private schools. My neighbour is a teacher and she told me only 55% of school board employees are in the classroom where in private schools it's over 80%.
It is sad that the US government always seem to have money for bank bail outs, failing solar panel companies, disaster relief for other countries etc but children are not getting proper health care and education in your own country.
I've already joined, thanks. BTW, do you know where to find the Hartmann piece chuck mentioned (#66) re the Heritage minions hunched over wiki? If that isn't an Orwellian nightmare come to life, I don't what is.
Stick around then, Dan! Join the parade. It's bullshit-bustin' time. - AIW
Wow! I just discovered Thom Hartmann yesterday (Geez! was it only yesterday?) and have been reading the blogs and comments backwards. Until I got to this. THIS!
This is THE most interesting thread I have ever encountered on the internet. Thanks to all of you: Alice, Marc, Mark, DAM, chuck, Palindrom., and especially to you, Loren. Loren, you are the first person to really echo the accelerating despair I've been feeling since 9/11, watching the constitution get shredded, the ever-increasing wretched rise of anti-intellectualism, yes-we-can turn into drones-R-US, AGW denialism, on and on. Yet your thinking goes so much further and your writing so excellent - that goes for all of you, not just Loren - that like, chuck, I am tempted not to say anything.
However, since
it would seem that you are more optimistic than I. I see no escape from capitalism's cancer that would leave the knowledge we as a species have accumulated intact. Best case scenario: dark ages; worst case scenario: the cockroaches inherit the planet and evolution continues from there. But specifically, from whence might this "considerable force" arise? With the technology already available to make big brother a reality today, it looks like checkmate to me and it's all over but the gnashing-of-teeth and the tears.
Aliceinwonderland ~ By the way Alice, if you are interested, you can put your quotes in the same little blue balloons that I and Palindromedary use by going all the way down on the thread--near the bottom. Look for the link at the bottom that says, "More information about formatting options." It shows how to configure quotes like we do. It really is quite easy and you will probably enjoy it immensely. DAM
Palindromedary ~ You are more than welcome. Thank you for bringing up the issues in the first place. This just goes to show that the House of Representatives has been co-opted by a large group that is clearly not qualified to represent anyone. I certainly hope and pray that this nation has the good sense to vote these ignoramuses out of office at the earliest convenience.
DAnneMarc: Thanks for that link in #32. Wow! One almost needs to be a lawyer to safely protest. At least these things should make people aware of the traps they can fall in to. Thanks!
DAnneMarc: Wow! You beat me to it!
DAnneMarc-Aliceinwonderland: I read that piece about a $5000 fine of fracking protest instigators on the bottom of the screen while watching Russia Today this morning.
But here are a couple of references to this: http://www.commondreams.org/further/2013/11/20-0
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/11/18/2962431/house-vote-protestin...
So, it might all be a matter of how it is worded...when does a fee really amount to a fine. A fee is before the fact and a fine is after the fact. It's just big money bulldozing the little guy.
OK, got it!
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/11/21/2977441/house-bills-drilling-fracking/
This bill was passed by the "Animal" House of Representatives. Here is the gist of the bill and why we don't have to worry about it seeing the light of day:
Aliceinwonderland ~ You're going to make me blush. Thank you. Actually I'm not doing anything unusual. Just exercising my Constitutional right to think. (At least, I hope that is still legal.) Nevertheless, thanks for that vote of confidence.
I tried to look for that story Palindromedary mentioned in post #23 unsuccessfully so far. What I found instead, however, was very interesting. This site was written by lawyers with legal advice about protesting in Washington DC. I thought that might be some good information to share on this blog.
http://www.portaec.net/library/action/exercising_your_rights.html
The article not only states all legal penalties for various forms of civil disobedience but some of the hidden ones protesters should avoid. For instance, kidnapping. If you seal exits to buildings or inadvertently prevent people from moving around you might find yourself charged with kidnapping. That carries a life sentence. So if you plan on protesting in DC--and we should all plan on doing so once in our lifetime--please read this article carefully. After all, what life is complete without participating in at least one shake down of DC.
In this case an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. No one should ever be punished or persecuted for exercising their Constitutional rights and standing up for what they believe in. These are the best members of our population and they should never be treated like the worst members of our population. That is a national disgrace.
Marc, I don't know what you've been eating - or smoking - but your posts of late kick ass. I really appreciate that final paragraph of your last post, refuting any notion or claim that unconstitutional laws are a manifestation of legitimate authority. Since they are not, they should be responded to accordingly. - AIW
Palindromedary ~ I must concur with Aliceinwonderland. Who is they? Please post that link so we can see what you are talking about.
As if it wasn't enough that Corporations had the rights of people and money--or bribery--was free speech, now it appears that people no longer have the rights of people and ONLY money is "free" speech. Now you can only speak if you can afford to? I want my Constitution back!
However, on the bright side folks, this is obviously the last resort of desperate people. All these people involved are criminals and we should call them such. This blatantly illegal disregard for the Constitution will not last long in the light of day.
Quite frankly, I'm getting sick and tired of Thom, Berney and others coddling these criminals by saying that because recent law has made this unconstitutional practices "legal" that it is legal. When the Constitution clearly states that "Congress shall make NO LAW..." that makes the law illegal, and the people who voted for it CRIMINALS. End of story. There is no middle ground and please don't insult my intelligence.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I too have the same reservations Palindromedary mentioned. I mentioned some time ago that you could bet that if the Prez is bending over backwards to appease all these Reich wing policies in a feighted Kabuki Theater then it would be highly likely that they would overturn the tools that made such obstructions possible just prior to the next election so that when the bad cops win it there will be little to stop them from implementing their full fascist agenda. Then all the Dems will have to do it helplessly throw their hands in the air and say, "Oh well, what can we do?" I hope we are all wrong. Let's see how much the Dems exploit this new tool at their disposals before the next election. If they do nothing or next to nothing in the meantime, we were spot on.
Palidromedary ~ I've done a lot of work in the various major school districts here in the Bay Area. (If you think the Bay Area can afford the best education system in the country you might be right; however, the reality is the exact opposite.) I don't know how many trips that I've made to various schools that were closed. It seems they make up excuses for holidays now. I don't know how many times I had to ask around as to why the school was closed and no one knew.
Apart from that, you might be interested to know that these schools today don't use textbooks. All lessons are photocopied; and, THE TEACHERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING THE PAPER FOR THE COPIER AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE. I kid you not. You heard that right. It's nothing short of a disgrace. It is a sad, sad state of affairs; and, I feel very sorry for those poor kids today.
Palindromedary says "Just this morning I read that they are going to fine anyone $5000 who instigates a demonstration against fracking..." ohmygod this is terrorism! And who are "they"; local governments, the feds, the fracking companies -- who? This is getting mighty crazy. Not only are these people poisoning us and destroying our environment; they're threatening us with financial ruin if we attempt to stop them. This is freaking me out. - AIW
Kend: Well, I certainly don't think you are stupid because you misspell words. We all misspell words..or, at least, many of us do. Even Einstein couldn't spell very well...he was, in fact, dyslexic. In fact, I misspelled "misspell" many times before I got it right. All it takes is a little more effort to get it right. I assume that you are typing in the same kind of Comment box that we are. And every time a spelling error is made (it could even just be a matter of not capitalizing the first letter)...the word is underlined with a wavy red line which indicates that the word is misspelled... or not capitalized. All you have to do is try typing that word into Google search and it usually gives you the correct spelling. I do it all the time. It also helps to learn how to spell correctly.
But then, there are other gotchas where the word may not be misspelled except that it is the wrong form of the word...example: (there, their, they're) (here, hear). Again, we all do it...some more so than others. English is so cruel! But then try Arabic! One of my greatest peeves is finding grammatical errors in a book I have just paid good money for. Some of these books...especially technical books like programming books...are so full of errors...it really just ticks me off. The publishers should be ashamed of themselves for not proof reading and editing them before publishing. Sure, they have web sites that publish erratas but that sucks!
Of course, it seems, in other forums especially...like in the more abbreviated social media like Facebook and Twitter it is often socially acceptable, or popular, to misspell and use a plethora of chat acronyms or text abbreviations. But then, the dumb old football jock is also often more socially acceptable than the computer nerd. So, really, it's all a matter of differing opinions.
http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/01/24/15-famous-thinkers-who-co...
I believe that the Republicans are not all that upset over the nuclear option. They would just love to have that themselves when or if they take power again. Obama has only 2 more years and the Repubs would just love to have the nuclear option if they ever get back in.
Since both parties are competitive and want to be in charge...the real problem is that the ruling elite owns both parties and plays them both in the way that benefits the ruling elite.
When it appears that the masses are becoming too uppity and on the verge of rebellion...then they play their Democrat savior cards. The Democrats say all kinds of warm and fuzzy things but in the end they don't follow through using some excuse like the Republicans blocked them.
The Republicans play the blame game all the time as well, of course, and they are equally deceptive and, because their ruling elite backers own the major news media, they easily dupe-the-stoops with sleight-of-hand, ridiculous, divide-and-conquer disinformation.
I suspect that if the Republicans take power again that they will so tick off the people that they will go way beyond mere letter writing, or emails, or phone calls. And maybe that's what we need...a swift kick-in-the-pants realization that the only way things will change is for a rebellion against a crooked system....break up the crooked two party system...shake them up...or it will be massive mayhem in our streets.
Palin at $75,000 / year at a 8 hour day thats over $52/hr plus benifits. At $50,000 it is still $35.00 not bad since they get all that time off.
with that said i couldn't do it. You all seen me spell. Maybe my teachers where paid too much look how many of you call me stupid. I passed everything though. i guess thats why there is so much home schooling and private schools now.