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You mean "if it had been a white teen". Using "was" makes it conditional, meaning that it's possible that the victim was a white teen. Using "had been" makes it subjunctive, i.e. contrary to fact.
So --if it was a white teen walking with his hood up and eating candy --- would Zimmerman have shot him?
I don't think I have heard anyone ask that question, and it needs to be asked.
Okay, I've BEEN outraged for some time now. My question is, who exactly are you going to scream TO? Obama just okayed Keystone for fracking oil, so like I'm asking myself, "who are we supposed to call?".
So who you gonna call?
Which party has done anything to help We The People they are supposed to represent?
If I recall, Obamas' response was to issue many many many more permits to drill baby drill, and made absolutely NO changes in the process, using the same "emergency" plans that did not work on the BP Spill.
Trichotillomaniacally ugly. Wow, and the picture on Wikipedia is in fact ugly. I actually know someone who pulled her hair out in her sleep (not personally witnessed, but testified to me by her husband).
Has the Sherman Anti-Trust Act been repealed? We don't need the controversial Democratic Dodd-Frank to break up the too-big-to-fail banks. We can use the tried and true Republican legislation: Sherman Anti-Trust. All we need is a President and Attorney General with a stiff spine to institute proceedings against the big five.
Nokia is Finnish.
Our government's response to the oil spill and the banking/Wall St. disaster are the same - no willingness to hold the big guys accountable. It's time for all of us to be outraged by this circumstance - just as we are over the murder of Treyvon Martin. Social media can be very powerful, supplementing the efforts of the liberal media. Let's use it to scream for accountability!
Just as George Zimmerman has not been charged for killing Trayvon Martin, oil executives have not been charged for killing 11 workers and contaminating the ecosystem in the Gulf disaster. Apparently justice does not apply to blacks, workers or the Mother Earth in the good ol’ US of A. Thankfully people are waking up to this fact.
As of 2 years ago BP was the third largest suplier of fuel to the US military (http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/15/news/companies/BP_government_contracts/i...). Why would this government risk disturbing such a relationship?
Be aware, the term "propaganda" is passe, the correct term now is "public relations". No joke, Edward Bernays was the one who coined the new phrase because of the stigma "propaganda" was becoming associated with. So whenever you hear someone say they are working in "public relations", mentally note that they are propagandists. There is no coincidence that so many corporations and politicians openly rely on their "public relations" people to talk with the public.
N
So Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have chosen their Secret Service codenames: Javelin and Petrus. A stick and a stone--so Freudian, unless Romney chose his to symbolize that he's a stick in the mud, and Santorum to symbolize that he's as dumb as a rock.
No. No, They shouldn't. Just NO!
Stand what ground? It should be pretty obvious that "standing your ground" doesn't include chasing somebody down (someone who is trying to avoid a confrontation) and then choosing the ground to "defend"?
Isn't there something in the law that clarifies that? Isn't it obvious that George Zimmerman chose to create an altercation with Trayvon Martin?
He should be prosecuted on those arguments - they prove motive.
But I'm just a jailhouse lawyer who's been able to avoid the jail part.
First, the CEOs outsourced our low-skilled jobs, putting the savings in their pockets. Then they outsourced the high-skilled jobs. Armed with all of these skills and jobs, our CEOs are under threat by the Chinese and Indians realizing that they can cut out the middleman and have their own companies with their own CEOs. "Not to worry," says our CEOs, since they forsaw this and have been moving from manufacturing to finance. They plan to make bazillions with money. No need for employees. No need for factories. It is the ultimate in efficiency.
What happens when the Indians and Chinese create their own banks? "Not to worry," says our bankers, since they forsaw this. "My billions will keep my heirs rich forever."
Yes, indeed. But what about the rest of us? Isn't this just a replay of Spainish, Dutch and English empires?
Private Health Insurances are no good for a Public Healthcare System!
During the 90s private health insurers became mightier in Germany. It was basically a time when libertarianism was very popular there and many people felt like going the American way. But it looks like the Germans learned by watching us -- and they learned faster than we do. Under the conservative (!!) Merkel they really weakened the private health insurers. It became law, that EVERYBODY had to join public health insurance. Which actually closed the last gaps (basically freelancers who suffered in private insurances).
Yes siree, private insurers tend to screw women! A really Public Health Insurance would never do that. You can't trust banks, you can't trust private insurances, basically you can't trust corporations.....
If you're not silly, you rather trust public institutions. Government institutions are the only you can trust. Because you voted them in, people! All Government institutions are checked and balanced within our democratic system. Private institutions are NOT.
Oh yes, we can break them!
If Americans vote in a decent Congress, not too many Republicans and not too many blue-dogs, we can.
America is a free country. We can vote in a Congress that is ready, able and willing to make war on the Wall Street monopolies. These banks actually have the money that lacks in public finances -- just take it back from the banksters. We are the people, we vote in Congress and Government, we have the Federal Police, we have the power to roll it all back by violence. Civilized violence, by appointing the Federal Marshall.
We need a left-wing Congress to do something like that. Not 'Communists', not 'Marxists' -- just common sense American Liberals, which are reasonable, decent Americans!
http://strings-and-trumpets.blogspot.com/2012/03/hollywood-made-us-muppe...
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P.S.: I had to tone that article down. Actually it had been an old idea to write this, but I really overdid it last week. The new headline is "How We Became 'Muppets'". Nonetheless, I'm still convinced, Hollywood was the main factor, which influenced America in a very unhealthy way. And this is still the basic message of my article, which actually gets across much better now. I got in quite a blogger crisis because of this, which changed my entire blog.
Hi Rick,
Yes, my father did have a good pension, he was a veteran of WW II, but he never used VA services. He worked for the Government Printing Office, in Washington DC. His case was not unusual. The majority of us receive great medical care when we need it, without breaking the bank. That however, doesn't make the news. News is made by the exception, who doesn't have insurance. I believe we have the best medical care in the world, no offense, but you don't see US citizens running to Canada for medical treatment. However, a great deal of Canadians (including the Premier of Newfoundland) come to the US seeking medical treatment. As far as bus trips for Prescription drugs, I find it hard to accept. First, the generic drugs one would buy in Canada, are available at Walmart. The 6 years I lived in Canada I didn't see much difference in the price of prescription drugs in Canada compared to the US. The advantage for a US resident buying in Canada was the exchange rate. At that time, (2000-2006) The Looney was from .60 to .80 to the US dollar. So it wasn't just meds that were cheaper, everything was cheaper in Canada.
Let me give you one more anecdotal story. I've visited every Provience in Canada with the exception of Prince Edward Island. Each Provience has it's own medical system, much like HMO's here in the USA. During a trip to BC, I experieced a swollen leg. A friend in BC sent me to her doctor. The doctor would not see me, and instructed me to go to the emergency room. I did not have an OHIP card, I had to pay $300.00 before I could be seen by a doctor. I paid the money, had some tests, and lucky for me, the swelling in my leg was from sitting for a log time on the flight to BC. The $300 fee shocked me. In the US, a non citizen without insurance who goes to the emergency room is not asked to pay upfront, he is treated.
It's good chating with you. Where do you live? When I lived in Toronto, I lived in the Manulife Building for a few years, and for a few years in Rosedale. I traveled the Country extensively. I really enjoy Canada, love the People, but I do feel we have a better medical system.
Blue Skies,
I've notice a consistency with people on the far right, and Thom pointed it out the other day as well. They never directly respond to a question, but move away from it by bringing up either talking points, or going on the defensive. I've noticed that people on the left tend to be more considerate and thoughtful when responding to a question and if they don't know the answer they admit it. I'm of course referring to extremists on the far, far right as not all Republicans are like that. I've actually seen and heard some moderates who are fairly reasonable people even if I don't totally agree with everything they say. It's virtually impossible to agree on everything and I seem to recall President Kennedy saying something like "if you try to please all the people all the time, you'll please no one". I probably skewed that, but you get the idea.
The invisible hand of the free market is what caused the economic problems/crisis in the first place!!! Crisis causes desperation, leading to crimes and/or enlisting into the military. Bring our hopes of dreaming for a bright future to our knees. If the authorities of government treated our broken systems as they are broken to be fixed, but treats us like it is fixed/"RIGGED"!!!
The Occupied Movement is doing their best to raise awareness, to ripple a dialog through society to talking about what has been unspoken for much too long.
"Enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act" and "Re-Enforce the Glass-Steagall Act"
"Thom"
Please bring back Bil Moyers to your Conversations With Great Minds. He has in depth information about Glass-Steagall. If asking is'nt imposing.
First of all, there's no such thing as "pink slime". It's an epithet for beef trimmings. If I can get a bunch of know-nothings to refer to turnip greens as "green poo" then I'm sure it might deter people who can't think for themselves from eating something that is perfectly safe, provided that it's handled under sanitary conditions.
The trimming are no different from the other pieces of beef, except they're removed from the carcass with a centrifuge instead of a saw or butcher's knife, and that they are finer pieces of meat compared to the larger chunks removed the old-fashioned way. How much is safe to eat? The same as any other beef: it depends on portion size, fat content and how it's prepared.
As far as comments being blocked, I have no idea but it's a red herring anyway. Substance is more important than style.
to-dianhow
It hurts to accept it as true but I must agree with you on your analysis of the level of misogyny in our culture. People like Rush and Bill-O and many others make money by feeding this fear. Even without them though, this fear hides just under the surface at all times. This behavior you described exemplifies a victim belief system. At its' basis is the idea that the problems with the world and the negative things I experience in the world are because of other people. This belief holds that If those people would behave or agree with me or go away those problems would disappear. I think that all of us at times can fall into this thinking. It is attractive to not be accountable. There is a part of us that finds some comfort there-in. This is the part of people that Rush appeals to. He feeds the inner victim. I m sorry that you have had to experience this hatred, just because you are a women. Today it manifests as sexism. Other times it is racism, ageism. homelessism, homophobia and etc... People who embrace it are experiencing a weak moment. People who make money off of it are cowards. Rush is a fearful coward. At the risk of stating the obvious I remind that you do not deserve this treatment.