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It troubles me that they could not find an American, especially an African American capable of making the monument.
Martin Luther King memorial made in China It is perhaps a fitting tribute to racial co-operation. However, the decision to outsource to China the carving of a new national memorial to Martin Luther King has raised eyebrows in the United States.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8715823/Martin-Luther-King-memorial-made-in-China.html
Happy Anything Goes Friday
My frustration is, that in light of the existence of undetectably hackable, rigable voting machines, I see no real need for debate here in discussing elections, especially in terms of winning or loosing the vote because the candidate is or is not the favorite and the choice of the people or will ruin his/her chances for election by certain actions; and I wish that some influential groups - those we have supported for their great work now and in the past, you know, Green Peace, Unions, Progressive Magazines, progressive Web Sites and TV shows, any Progressive organizations with legal teams and with fund-raising capabilities, Van Jones?……. - would initiate a fund-raising push to legally get rid of computerized voting machines now inherent and clearly doing their dirty work in our precious election system. I believe that what happens in our next election will mirror what happened in Wisconsin’s recent recall. See Thom Hartmann Pahrumplife comment. http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2011/08/democracy-died-first-wisconsin-%E2%80%93-long-live-oligarchs#comment-92442 “The two Democrats’ winning” really has no significance if their vote in a “rubber stamp” forum is impotent. The massive passive resistance in Madison, the “punking” of Walker in the lap of the Koch brothers, the indignant Unions, the weeks of comment by progressive media outlets, the parades of intellectuals, of blue collar workers and of the usually conservative farmers couldn’t put the legislative forum in the control of progressive humanitarian brains and even notwithstanding the fishy delays in releasing the voting results in the final decisive ward, the legislative control remains with the conservatives.
Going on as if any and all elections these days are fair and just and veridical seems to engage in some kind of deceit. It tends to eliminate or lessen the significance of talking points and heated debates about election contenders for talk shows and websites, both progressive and so-called conservative, especially during election campaigns which essentially begin right after the last election in today’s media; but, having any faith in the vote in the presence of the easily hacked machines makes any talk-show or website host look like a Pollyanna or one who is OK with the status quo use of any voting machines because they can and no doubt will make any vote a vote for the Kochs and their ilk even if it’s a vote for a hamstrung Democrat.
No matter how many people can be mustered in the usual grassroots neighborhood-organized proven method, “the referendum,” this process would effect a conundrum, would be futile with manipulated voting machines. And civil disobedience would make a strong statement but would feed the empires doing the arresting, imprisoning, litigating, trying in the business of the courts, and bending the media and would exacerbate and waste brilliance effectively preoccupied with dire trouble. Instead grassroots is going to need money, organization, decorum and major legal skills to influence the legislature.
Please start copiously talking about how we can get rid of voting machines. I believe that many of us do and will appreciate any discussion on the subject. Occasionally touching on it just won’t get rid of this key problem. Talking up and effecting our best options for the people to support just may.
It has occurred to me recently that if all the middle class become impoverished and can no longer buy anything beyond that which they need to survive, who will buy the goods and services that the Oligarchs depend on to extend their wealth? What then will happen to the economy not only of the U.S. but of the world? They will have all their corporate "profits" and all their wealth, which will start to dwindle due to decreased demand on any goods they manufacture. In the end, they will destroy themselves.
http://www.gun-control-network.org/Gun%20homicide%20rates.jpg
Your guest from the ACRU the other day was completely wrong. England's gun murder rate is extremely low, and this graphic completely disproves her point that "only the criminals are armed" in England. By the way, they were neatly queued up waiting for their turn to loot stores. Only in the UK...
The Wealthy in France realize they don’t live in a vacuum. They know demand maintains a fertile climate for the working rich to get richer, the poor to get richer, and the super rich to maintain their standards in a country that has a great quality of life. The powerful people in France also know that it’s better to give a little now in self regulation then wait and have a popular revolt make changes for them.
Good for Warren Buffett! It's just possible that at his age he realized that he had SO much money that any pleasure, or security that a person can receive from "collecting" money was far surpassed. My little personal tale is similar to Andrew Carnegie on a MUCH smaller scale. After suffering through a divorce when I was 48 (to a woman I'd been married to since I was 21) I took a fresh look at my life. I had two wonderful kids, both university graduates, happily married with healthy children (MY Grandkids!). I had "done my duty" by age 50. I had stayed married through the Important years, worked the same job for 30 years, was still great friends with my ex-wife and financially got two kids through college and paid for my daughter's wedding. "Where to now?" I thought. After settling all the finances with my ex I was left with $150,000, a nice apartment and NO bills or debt of any kind. Now I know that 150 thousand dollars is a laughably small amount of money, but it was my life savings! After finishing two college degrees (online, using 120 units gathered over the years at two community colleges and one State University) I had a certain satisfaction with life. I had begun taking my Christianity seriously so my faith in God was in a good place. So, like Carnegie, I decided to give away some of my life savings. Not a lot, because I still needed to save for retirement, but about $25,000. I researched various charities and gave between $300 and $1,000 a month over the next couple of years. I got SO much satisfaction from giving that it was better than anything I could have bought with the money. I can sort of imagine how good a Warren Buffett or an Andrew Carnegie must have felt by giving away BILLIONS!! It's actually (and sadly) almost hedonistic to give away money. You get so much pleasure from giving that it's not really a "sacrifice" at all.
I don't understand why so many Millionaires and Billionaires don't enjoy the pleasure of giving away a chunk of their money. Read Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" and you can almost feel the intense pleasure that the once poor and hungry boy from Scotland felt in his giving. The satisfaction I got from giving away a pittance was just a taste of that "Satisfaction"! If the richest 1/3rd of Americans would give away just 25% of their wealth there would be NO poverty left in our Nation. If there is an afterlife I'd rather go where Buffett and Carnegie are probably going and NOT where Greedy folks like the Koch brothers are probably headed...
Peace, Randy
???
The French think about the "French Revolution" in a far different light than we think about the "American Revolution"! When I see the beginnings of Class Warfare here at home that we haven't seen since FDR in the 1930's the French think of Class Warfare in the terms of the French Revolution. I bet John Boehner's knees would tremble as he walked up the scaffold of the Guilliotine. He IS a 21st Century version of Marie Antoinette after all... But John Boehner looks tepid next to some of the Tea Party kooks that wander the halls of Congress.
The wealthy French wisely decided to give up 3% of their income every year to keep the peasants from revolting. I doubt that the French "millionaire" is any more philanthropic than his American counterpart. He merely has a clearer view of history.
I'm not a "Marxist" but I have read most of his and Engel's writings. Engels uses a more basic writing form that the average man can understand. His view of the Proletariat's struggle with the bourgeoisie is spot on. I don't agree with Marxist "solutions" but I recognize clearly the class struggle. As an "upper class white male" I clearly understand that the USA has "welfare and food stamp" programs as a tax to keep rich white men from being murdered in their beds (Tale of Two Cities?)...
The French bourgeoisie are no more philanthropic than the American bourgeoisie, they are just better educated in history. French institutional memory very clearly remembers the French Revolution and the Wealthy in America should study it as well...
Peace, Randy
re: Chubbell - They are racist. Plain and simple... as the majority of th GOP are. It is as obvious as an ass on an ass. Nothing can change it and they will always deny they are... which, given their own hypocrisy on almost any subject, translates to the opposite of their denial being the truth.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
You do realize it was the GOP that freed the slaves, don't you? Um, you do know that more Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than Democrats, don't you? I suspect Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele, Condoleezza Rice, J. C. Watts, Ward Connerly, Alan Keyes, Richard Parsons (former Chairman and CEO of Time Warner,) Joseph C. Phillips, Angela McGlowan, JJ Walker, Lynn Swann, Karl "the Mailman" Malone, Armstrong Williams, Allen West, Herman Cain, Janice Rogers Brown, Larry Elder, Thomas Sowell and Walter E. Williams will be surprised to learn they're a bunch of white supremacists. Who knows... maybe this week even Colin Powell is in touch with his Republican demons.
When the top 5% of wealth owners are paying 50% of the tax burden, asking them to foot another 3% and phrasing it as "their fair share" seems, well, awkward. That a host of leftist wealth holders in France would demagogue the issue with an open letter isn't surprising, but rather expected. I suspect they still consider themselves loyal to the Vichy cause?! ;)
Obviously Obama will do NOTHING, he is a good image of someone who is good at giving false hope, and the biggest mistake the people could ever make by electing him all because he was black. Well for those who don't know he's a badder bush wearing a mask of false hope. Remember when he won the peace prize? Wars in afghanisthan, Iraq which he promised to end, have actually been much more extended. Along with drone strikes in pakistan, secret war in yemen and airstrikes in Libya. there is just no end to this These along with his administration, consisting of bernanke and geithener are bankrupting the country!!. QE my but! for the rich oligarchs their pockets are overflowing while the poor are now in a double dip recession with wages going down and inflation on top of that!! Obviously he doesn't work for the people, he along with most of the government and fed is as hartman said on a "me" perspective. He will do NOTHING because he can do nothing, he is controlled like almost all the other presidents the US has have. And by the way for those who don't know, The ACTUAL unemployment rate is now about to reach 20 % the US is in HORRIBLE shape. Having all that said, for those who still are optimistic that Obama will actually do something are living in blindness. IT's time to wake up, and take down the banksters who are the ACTUAL cause of everything
I suspect the leaders of industry in France are smarter than their American counterparts. Because they "know" they need a vibrant economy so people can buy their stuff..
However, I fear another possibility is more likely.. Since the American conservative rule has deleted virtually all rules, the leaders of industry [in America] do not need a vibrant economy, because they can simply skip out to some other market (IE: multi national with no protectionism for American workers), once they have soaked up all the money in America.. Any way you slice it, conservative economics is destructive to life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (unless you are a CEO)..
I havent been on the boards for a couple months.. Had surgery (cervical disk).. Will try to look up this thread in a couple days..
bobbler
This kind of talk only makes the tea party stronger and exposes the progressives as the real racists as it is they who race bate at every opportunity. The progressive liberal agenda is a total failure and relies on a continuation of failed ponzi social programs that are now bringing down Europe.
The Twain Report
All The News That Mark Twain Says He Would Write If He Was Alive Today
8-25-11
In a surprise move yesterday, Groucho Marx possessed the body of
Speaker of the House John Boehner during a session of congress.
Puffing on a cigar, he said, "I came in here and all I found was this cigar and an otherwise empty brainpan."
Members of congress, unsure of what was happening but nonetheless
responding positively to the first true words that have ever come out
of Speaker Boehner's mouth, began applauding wildly.
"Thank you, thank you," said Groucho. "I have always wanted an
appreciative audience. Imagine my dissapointment when I opened this
miscreant's eyes and realized that you were here."
Dick Cheney, who happened to be present, sneered so hard that he had
another heart attack.
"Look at that," said Groucho, "I'm still killin' 'em."
Groucho then extemporaneously composed and sang this song, with Harry
Reed playing beat-box accompaniment with two 1-quart bottles of Mountain Dew on
Cheney's chest:
THE REPUBLICAN'S MOTTO SONG
We don’t care what the little people say
It makes no difference anyway –
Whatever it is, we’re against it!
No matter what it is or when you commenced it,
You gotta know that we’re against it!
You progressives are oh-so-good
But let’s have one thing understood-
Whatever it is, we’re against it!
You want a living wage and a decent retirement
But that’s another sin by great big government-
And we’re against it!
You want protection from unfair terminations
Oh you liberals, so full of recriminations-
And we’re against it!
You want the social security that you paid for
Ok, that’s real nice, but we’re busy with our whores-
And we’re against it!
You want the unemployment that you paid for, too
Well, walk a mile in our Manolo Blahnik shoes,
Because we’re against it!
You want a political party that hasn’t sold its soul
Where you gonna go, with such a foolish goal?
Because we’re against it!
You want health care that’s perfectly free?
Bend over and we’ll give you a free colonoscopy!
Because we’re against it!
You want a Speaker of the House who isn’t a tan cretin
Well, talk to his boss, his name is satan-
And we’re against it!
You want banks that don’t steal your money?
Well, we want blonde trophy wives who call us honey-
Because we’re against it!
You want a mortgage that’s written in plain English?
So move to Pennsylvania and do business with the Amish-
Because we’re against it!
You want gays to have rights, like being able to marry?
Yeah, well we want to smoke crack with Debby Harry-
And we’re against it!
You’re tired of God not forgiving you?
Join us and God will do whatever you tell Him to!
Because we’re against it!
(With a disrespectful, thieving bow to the Marx Brothers' movie,
"Horsefeathers.")
Say, if "x", then: if "conventions are your thing", then elephant is another way of just sayin'…oh…Dumbo*. So in conclusion, say, "x" is to: "donkey" is to Smarta** as "elephant" is to…(*hint: rhymes with Jumbo).
Maybe the French billionaires finally figured out what studies already show, happiness peaks at $75,000 a year. No matter how much more than $75,000 people make, they don't report any greater degree of happiness. Apparently American billionaires are getting so koched-out on Fox at their tea-parties, they've lost all perspective. After all, what good is wealth generated self-puffery when the other 98% of the population is already in or facing the possibility of economic ruin due to the reckless behaviour of a few?
They are racist. Plain and simple... as the majority of th GOP are. It is as obvious as an ass on an ass. Nothing can change it and they will always deny they are... which, given their own hypocrisy on almost any subject, translates to the opposite of their denial being the truth.
Thanks. This generic use of America for the United States drives me crazy. I remember seeing an article in the Smithsonian magazine years ago saying how Cubans had old American cars. Last time I looked, Cuba was in America. So is Nicaragua, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, Belize, Canada, Argentina, Venezuela....
Well, for one thing, the French love discussing politics at the dinner table. They also, for the most part, really love their country deeply - and it isn't just a yahoo love. In the US, the rich have been eating the greed greed greed idea for a long time. This idea is not so well regarded in France.
we...weee. misewer!lol Not only are they progressive but they are far from the puritanical hypocritical backward thinking bible thumping lunatice fringe that is more and more everyday creating more devisiveness in ...uh..hmm..what did we "use" to call America? Oh yeah, The United States! You know that once envied place of..."We the people...!"
I heard a rumor that there are safer energy sources that don't pollute like oil and coal and don't leave massive radioactive waste that last thousands of years. Solar? Wind? Water waves? or using these in combinations?
How come the "Free Market" doesn't exclusively finance the insurance on any existing nuclear power plants without using our government tax dollars and cut the budget in that area?
Yes, the Donkey whisperer is a great add. Best political add I have seen in years. Gets right to the point and is funny.
Moral of the story. Behave yourself, and be respectful of others while traveling on the BART and you will have no problems with the police.
I couldn't agree with you more Mr. Hartmann. France is a very progressive country. France was one of the first true democracies in Europe. France supported the US during the revoloutionary war, gave us the statue of Liberty. The French Aeronautical engineers are the best in the world. France also derives 75% of it's electricity from Nuclear power, and is the worlds number one exporter of electricity. This is a teachable moment, and France can teach us how to be secure in our energy policy.
I dont think there is going to be an easy "a tax will fix it" solution. I do agree we shouldn't give people a break for outsourcing jobs, but you have to look at the framework of these coorporations before you start charging them for doing so. They are called transnational for a reason, they have figured out how use every countries laws and resources, i.e labor, to their advantage, and many have set themselves up to move their operations and the drop of a dime, why else would companies operate in 5, 10, or more countries if they could do it all in the US. If you start taxing these companies in the US their just going to leave, plain and simple. So we have to choose which of these two evill we want to take. A few less jobs here at home or no jobs at all.
Then people will say "well lets bolster the true American firms to take on these global giants" through things like stimulus, or higher tariffs. Thats great, but what happens when the money runs out because even with stimulus we cant compete with $1 a day wages in places like India, China, and Brazil. All of which Thom said have "figured it out", well if he can persuade Americans to work for that much he should be president. This is one of the biggest problems we are facing and no one person, or candidate is going to fix it. right or left. Why should I buy an HDMI cable from a US firm for $30 when I can scour the world on Amazon and get it from China for $2. We can't just keep subsidizing production, just look at the sugar industry for that lesson, it doesn't work. Globalization after the WWII boom, and the Internet as cliche as it is, has slowly killed America, not a party or company. If anyone has any ideas on how to turn that around please let me know, otherwise learning to to cut things out of the budget we don't need, and learning to live within our means is going to be the best option for our future.