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He's just trying to hang on as Speaker and the best way to do that is to piss off the fewest number of republicans before the next session. And the best way to do that is to do nothing.
Its time to start a "Dump Boehner" super PAC to be set up with the sole purpose of getting rid of John B. It shouldn't take too many millions to convince his Ohio constituents next cycle that he has done absolutely nothing for them as Speaker, except for scramble to keep the speakership and its associated perks. Two years of constant hammering Ohio with what a loser he is will also show republicans that they are not the only ones who can raise superPAC money for negative purposes.
I know he would end up as a lobbyist , with a legal license to pass out $ on the House floor (like he did illegally as a member) and end up with a salary of several million. But at least he would be relieved of duty.
I hope he's learning that when he gives an inch the republicans will take a yard. It's their version of compromise. Don't want to compromise on any of their ideologies, but expect the democrats to compromise on theirs. Nothing is going to get passed anyway. I read that Boehner is taking a vote today on his plan B, which he knows darn well that it will never pass the Senate, so why bother? He knows, the President know and most of us know that there will be nothing passed and we'll slide gently over the fabled "cliff".
Actually both Thom and Bernie have repeadedly spoken of just how their plans could work using finacial numbers. I don't think you listen to them often enought.
"...a president who cares about those of us who are not millionaires." HUH!?!?
A total of 3,037.00/ month!?!?
Yes, be happy for what you get...'cause you get more than most working 40hrs/week. A person working 40hrs/wk making 3,037.00 per month equates to an hourly wage of $18.98 per hour...Well above the average wage of the working poor.
You may not receive an increase anytime soon...I hope though for your sake your income doesn't get cut.
I do not mean to come off "attacking" but, now I understand you sentiment.
The process of assigning a cost should be done realistically and proportionately to the benefit provided. That said, a health insurance CEO making multi-millions per year and providing no benefit in return equates simply to idiocy in regard to those continuing to allow it. A single payer system is well representative of the progressive ideas being pushed by we Democratic Socialists. We don't need, "independent and trustworthy companies," doing the economic or moral math for us. What we do need is a well informed electorate which sadly isn't happening thanks to media outlets like FOX, a company many believe to be trustworthy and independent.
Tell me you are not surprised? Can you even remember a time when a President stuck to his guns and lived up to his promises and fullfilled the expectations of the working poor and middle class voter? Even General George. Washington defaulted on his promises to those who fought against the Brittish.
There certainly have been "better times" economically for the working middle class, everyone for that matter; the 50's & early 60's. However, the Government (Right and Left) has always pandered to the Corporate Machine; that which makes huge profits for those that dance for it.
Obama, Romney, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Regan. Carter, Nixion...That's my life time to this point...Not one of them were exceptionally different than the other; they all danced for the Corporate Machine; even Carter. Not one of them helped to build a stable and prospering working middle class.
Fool me once...Shame on you.
Fool me twice...Shame on me!
For all those who voted for Obama...Shame on you.
For all of those that voted for Romney...Shame on you.
There is no such thing as voting for the lesser of two evils. That bull spit rehtoric is what has gotten us into this mess. That and charishing false idols (figure of speach).
We the People sold ourselves out! We have given up our power as The Governing Body - this "was" a Government run By the People, Of the People, For the People - allowing someone else, always with Wall St. ties and a degree in Law or Buisness - to doop us over and over with empty promises.
So the question issssss...
Are we ready to elected one of our own? Someone that isn't a career politician. Someone with a degree in History or Science, or Humanities, or maybe just a single mom with a high school diploma...
What do you think?
Progressives have a perfect idea of how to pay for progressive policies. Both sides cost out. The costing out is done, the debate is the method of paying for it or, more precisely who will pay.
What needs to be pointed out to end the sham is that a program cut is a tax, on the lower 98.
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Both political parties continue to give us the propaganda of the USA being the beacon of democracy and the best nation in the world in virtually all facets. Those of us who have lived and worked overseas know that this is a farce and many in the rest of the world view us with amusement at best.
We have the highest percentage of our population in prisons, the most expensive medical system that is only 37th in quality, the highest percentage of income inequality in the developed world, more money spent on the military than the next fifteen nations combined, the weakest gun control laws, and a corporate media that gives us fluff and modern day Horatio Alger stories.
We still have not reached bottom, however. The postal union and teachers' union are the last two union strongholds remaining, and both political parties want to destroy them. People who are surprised by Obama putting Social Security on the table with the chained index should remember that he stated in the first campaign that he would be on the ground protecting workers' rights, but he steered as clear of Wisconsin as possible while public employees were protesting in Madison, which is just one example of him not keeping campaign promises about helping average Americans.
Until Americans take to the streets in protest, as occurred fifty years ago, no change will come. If we simply vote for third party candidates, as many of us did, and take no other actions we will continue this gradual decline into third world status.
With respect to 'capitulator of the year' and associated criticisms that progressive ideas are not being pushed: North Americans are not very good at costing policies. Until you actually cost out a policy, you are just a chattering magpie and your opinion doesn't count.
I lived in Australia for 10 years. Believe me, politics there is a very different animal. Why? Because both sides of politics have costed out their policies using independent and trustworthy companies such as Access Economics. When you have your policies costed out, then the decision as to which way to vote becomes a matter of which policy priorities you agree with most. Politics is less about the cult of personality and more about the cult of policy.
So Thom, it's all very well and good for you and Bernie to bellyache about why politicians are not adopting your progressive ideas, but until you show people just how you plan on paying for your ideas, nobody is going to take you seriously. And you may very well be able to pay for your ideas, but you need to get a candidate to adopt your policies, cost them out, and then run with them. It would appear that Obama is not that individual. Once you have independent costing, nobody can dismiss you as a crackpot.
Remember the Tom Cruise lawyer character in A Few Good Men. Cruise's character was originally given the case because he was a deal maker. They knew he would never stand on principle and go to court. He would cut a deal and avoid a fight (until Demi Moore changed him). Obama is that very same deal maker, always looking to avoid a fight. I submit that when you properly develop policy and cost it out, you can more easily have the fight that Americans want to see.
Palindromedary- I don't know if you're still checking out this particular "thread" or not. In case you are... I have to say that after giving your long responses a closer look (without the time constraints I had earlier), I honestly can't claim to agree with EVERYTHING you've said. But I have nothing but empathy for where it comes from. I also appreciate that, our differences withstanding, we at least can agree on who the enemy is! Which is way more common ground than I share with lots of folks around here... -Aliceinwonderland
felpetlin: It's good that you posted all of these incidents in China but there were more....
I suspect your source was wikipedia...
You missed a few more...
April 2010:
On April 29 in Taixing,[3] Jiangsu, 47-year-old Xu Yuyuan went to Zhongxin Kindergarten[9] and stabbed 28 students, two teachers and one security guard;[4] most of the Taixing students were 4 years old.[10]
On April 30, Wang Yonglai used a hammer to cause head injury to preschool children in Weifang,[3] Shandong, then used gasoline to commit suicide by self-immolation.[4]
May 2010:
On May 18, 2010 at Hainan Institute of Science and Technology (海南科技职业学院), a vocational college in Haikou, Hainan, more than 10 men[13] charged into a dormitory wielding knives around 2:30 am;[14] after attacking the security guard and disabling security cameras, 9 students were injured, 1 seriously.[14] The local men attacked the dorm in an act of revenge and retaliation against college students following conflict the previous day at an off-campus food stall in which 4 students were injured, for a total of 13.[15]
December 2012:
On 14 December 2012, a 36 year-old villager in the village of Chenpeng, Henan Province, stabbed 23 children and an elderly woman at the village's primary school as children were arriving for classes.[23] The attacker was restrained at the school, and later arrested.[24] All of the victims survived and were treated at three hospitals, though some were reportedly seriously injured, with fingers or ears cut off, and had to be transferred to larger hospitals for specialized care.[25]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_attacks_in_China_%282010%E2%80%93201...
And Bush thought the constitution was "just a piece of paper". Convenient for him to think so because it stood in the way of what he wanted to do and get away with it. Just like he stated that things would be a lot easier for him .."if he was the dictator".
And the "unstable people in the world" that have the most arms and the power are corrupt and running our country and murdering hundreds of thousands of people in other countries because they are vain and greedy...and in addition, perhaps, are the real ones who need psychiatric attention. It's just too bad that so many people are willing to go along with the disarming of Americans which will facilitate a true and full blown totalitarian state. The German citizens in Nazi Germany might also have believed the same thing as many foolish anti-gun nuts...a "civilized" state ensuring the public safety against certain elements that they believed were acting against their best interests.
nora: very good read at that link...thanx! I had no idea about this...if it hadn't been for Monica...we'd all have been screwed instead. Saint Monica!
I was exited when he ran for Senate. I told my friends to vote for him.
Did you know that, legend notwithstanding, JFK did very little to help the Civil Rights Movement? He didn't want to upset the southern Dems.
Bobby Kennedy told the civil rights demonstrators not to engage in civil disobedience, to limit their expressions of outrage and their tactical methods to voting for good political candidates.
We were stuck with him 'cause there was nobody who wasn't worse.
I think Obama was just personally ambitious from the start, biographical accounts say as much. He wasn't in government to serve. He didn't finnish a single term in the Senate before he tried for the Presidency.
When he was state senate majority leader here in Illinois he distinguished himself by not making any enemies with corruption in Illinois politics legendarily rife. Then as now he looked out for himself, the people be dammed.
I'm not apologizing for the way I voted. We find ourselves stuck in the same no-win scenario, election after election. The really good candidates, like Jill Stein or Rocky Anderson, are marginalized, to the point where a vote for one of them amounts to little more than "sending a message..." except that no one is listening.
Like Thom says, all we have are Republicans; center-right versus far-right. We the people are stuck in a virtual, make-believe democracy that clearly does not serve us. Throughout my adult life, since the early 1970s, I have watched this country deteriorate under a steady procession of inept and corrupt "leaders" who win our votes under false pretense, then keep selling us down the river one policy at a time. Change we can believe in?! Not.
We are becoming the doormat of the world. Had enough, folks? - Aliceinwonderland
This is why Occupy is non partisan and doesn't have loyalty to politicians and why politicians and political leaders are not those who make the changes and social progress and improvements in the world but the people organized into social movements who do. When a politician is elected he ceases to be one of us, he ceases to be of the people. He rarely adequately represents us anymore as he has very different vested interests now.
To us, the people, no deal is better than a bad deal. To a politician a bad deal is better than no deal. He only cares about getting along with his colleagues in government. He's not gonna fight for us. He only wants to hold hands with them now.
No kidding, Thom, we've got our work cut out for us.
I share your anger and outrage, everyone, and feel your pain. But I will confess, I voted for Obama. I voted the lesser evil this tims. I did it without enthusiasm or confidence. I was too freaked out by Romney & Ryan to vote for anyone who didn't have a decent chance of beating them.
Early into Obama's first term, I sized him up as a weak leader at best. I wanted badly to be wrong, but on a gut level I knew I wasn't. Like many others, I sorta hoped he'd become more assertive during a second term in office, once freed from the burden of re-election. But my expectations were low. With this latest turn of events, I am as outraged as the rest of you and feel very betrayed... But surprised? Nope.
Haven't we seen this movie before? So much for Obama's promises: to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (which he wound up signing anyway, imposing martial law on the citizens of this GREAT country); to make healthcare affordable (NOT!); to keep Social Security & Medicare "off the table" (which he now is cutting). It's an Obama trademark: vow to do one thing, then do the opposite.
If Obama does sell us out to the Republicans, I think it would be high time to start talking about impeaching him as a traitor to his constituents. Isn't it also a crime to defraud those on Social Security, dipping into the till of those who spent their working lives paying into Social Security...it should be.
I certainly agree with that.Monica saved Social Security from Clinton
Ever see this about how the bad press about L'Affaire Lewinsky stopped Clinton from destroying Social Security in he late 1990s? http://www.counterpunch.org/2004/10/30/how-monica-lewinsky-saved-social-security/
But this time the DLCers are making sure Obama gets it done! And this proves ONCE AND FOR ALL that Ralph Nader was correct all along -- both parties are corrupted and no longer independent of their private sector masters.
2014 to be lost because of this?
That's exactly what the corporate fascists want. So don't be surprised.
Duplicitous.
Absolutely duplicitous. Says one thing, does another. Pure and simple.
The corporate fascists central casting office found a guy who looked the part, but could be depended on to do just what they want. And his name is Barack Obama.