Forum Post: Wake Them Up, End the Duopoly
Posted 10 years ago on Nov. 6, 2013, 6:32 a.m. EST by HCHC4
(-28)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
"Our challenge is to wake up people who think that substantial change will happen in congress, to wake them up to the reality that congress is part of the problem-- both parties, both sides, because in reality, they are part of the same corporate duopoly, except for a very few exceptions. "
Screw em all is the mindset of the nation, and its up to us to lead the charge in big, radical change. Through communication, through the internet and through actions in the streets.
'Debunking The Spin - Voters Want Change, NOT 'Centrism' by the very insightful, Richard (RJ) Eskow - http://www.nationofchange.org/debunking-spin-voters-want-change-not-centrism-1383733951 . Duopoly / Monopoly - errr, what's the difference again? Never Give Up Exposing The Complete Corporate Capture Of US Politics! Occupy Democracy! Solidarity.
Even identical twins have differences.
Just depends how far you want to dig.
Or in this case, how much corruption we are willing to ignore :)
Yes there are R & D differences but what should worry Americans is the numerous similarities and the same paymasters! However, things are not cast in stone and from my RJ Eskow link, above: 'Poll after poll has reported that Americans want more done on jobs. They want higher taxes for the wealthy and corporations. They want more educational opportunity, more social mobility, and more confidence in their economic future. These are policy planks that win'.
And, 'What’s more, the voting population is changing. Even the deep Southern states are seeing growth in the numbers of unmarried women, young people, Hispanics and African Americans on the voting rolls. These groups have come to be known as the “Rising American Electorate.”
Also - 'Election Day should not be the end of people’s campaigns for change. It simply indicates a door has been opened a crack. As to whether it will be kicked wide open or slammed shut, that’s up to the grass-roots movements, not the individuals they elect.' from - http://www.nationofchange.org/election-2013-grass-roots-resurgence-1383835625 .
Political change and social justice for The 99% are not instant fixes but the rule of The Bankers as you allude to with your 'Vampire Squid' comment below, is the biggest issue we all face the world over.
Never Give Up Exposing The Corporate Corruption! Occupy Grass-roots Democracy! Solidarity.
GOP Precinct Captain Gives Shockingly Racist 'Daily Show' Interview About Voter ID
Naughty Nuns, Bad Bankers and Ballot Bandits, by Greg Palast - http://www.gregpalast.com/naughty-nuns-bad-bankers-and-ballot-bandits/#more-8899 but working people need real representation not just lip-service from the corporate bankers' paid puppets. Never Give Up On The 99%! Occupy Solidarity.
Post-Plagiarism Restructuring, Rand Paul's Opinion Column Moves To Breitbart
You guys are done. You realize this, right?
What 'guys'? What do Rand Paul and Andrew Breitbart have to do with me? Did you look at the Palast link? Do you realise that it supported your voter suppression link? What 'guys' are YOU with? We don't have the Democratic Party of FDR! 'You realize this, right'?
http://www.nationofchange.org/debunking-spin-voters-want-change-not-centrism-1383733951
Never Give Up Trying To Make Sense! Occupy Consistency! I'm cancelling our dinner date :(
You wouldn't make it through Englewood to get to dinner.
Alex Jones dropped him too?!
This won't go well for him as his father comes out of the closet as a neo-confederate.
Just like we always said he was.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/11/ron-paul-lets-it-all-hang-out
Then of course, just like daddy and his news letters, he blames the help.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/05/plagiarism-scandal-explodes-desperate-rand-paul-blames-staff.html
I would blame his his hiring practices.
Fla. Republican: We wanted to suppress black votes
Isn't it amazing......the amount of reality that has to be ignored to prove the duopoly paradigm?
I'd imagine the response to that will be.....votes don't matter anyway. So voter suppression doesn't matter.
Yep. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
It falls apart ever faster when scaled to Worldwide proportions.
It's then, that the libe(R)tarian, Ayn Rand paradigm, begins to become obvious.
The quote on water rights from Nestle's is most telling in that regard.
Yep. Well, I don't see this panning out well for them. I'm pretty sure just a few are starting to get the message.
I see the originator of the OP has become conspicuous in his absence.
In fact, one of his last statements was.
Votes don't matter.
That from a guy who supported Paul/Johnson/Stein/Anderson, in that order, in the last election.
The confusion is evident.
He belongs to that group that believes food stamps enslave the populace. He's transparent and I don't think anyone else is confused. But, that's what a PR guy does spin............in circles and ...............go nowhere.
I told him that he could always go to Somalia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saWCZVggQAs
Yes, but somehow, he always finds someone to upvote his most challenged statements.
Repetitions of things disproved.
I guess the trolls approve?
That's what the other IDs exist for. They have a problem with integrity.
LOL
Integrity is for other people.
Just ask 'em about their community, and their wheels fall off.
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The spirit of revolution should be encouraged, not attacked at every opportunity.
First things first is establishing the system is broken. Until you get enough involved, the solutions dont matter.
Go read a few books on revolution or on organizing and then ask yourself this:
"As a moderator on a major online communication tool based off of the closet thing to revolution we have seen in a long time...
Am I helping or hurting by attacking everyone who doesnt agree with me?"
OK
I will.
After you honestly answer ALL of the questions I've asked of you that you have consistently refused to answer and in some cases even acknowledge.
So, hows the afterlife cumming along for the members of the soap opera of the banned?
There's another one for you.
Oh and ask yourself this too. What revolution based on blatant lies has ever succeeded?
Texas AG Admits If Minorities Voted For Us, Republicans Wouldn’t Have to Suppress Votes
Voter suppression was and is going to be a huge issue. I'm convinced GWBush lost both 2000 & 2004 elections & Paul Weyrich still inspires the anti-democratic forces. Thanks for the good links here. Never Give Up Exposing Corruption! Occupy The Issues! Solidarity & http://www.gregpalast.com/ballotbandits/
Yep, I see that kicking the duopoly door wide open.
You are hopelessly loyal to a corrupt system.
“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
Would you not be happy if by some miracle the entire system were wiped out and we could start over?
You are here representing someone's money
Listen carefully, child, “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
"Would you not be happy if by some miracle the entire system were wiped out and we could start over?"
You are here representing someone's money
Listen carefully, child, “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
Wait? What?
Would you be happy if that happened?
There would be a whole lot dead people around.
Shit man!!
That's exactly what your old friend Ron Paul wants!!!
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/11/ron-paul-lets-it-all-hang-out
Now that's your kind of radical.
Libe(R)topian and hateful to the core!
Thank you, thats all the proof we need on whose team you are on, doesnt get much more fear mongering and establishment whoring than that.
Have a nice day Mr Globalist.
Thank you, that's all the proof that we need to see on someone that is here because they were paid to be here.
Who's we?
You're the whore that passed off the John Birch Society to the forum.
You're the whore that posted from Alex Jones and Brietbart too.
You're the one that calls the 99% asses.
You've been whoring for FLAKESnews all along.
Call me another name.
"Now that's your kind of radical. Libe(R)topian and hateful to the core!"
Are you allowed to insult but Im not?
No more crony capitalism!!
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What does this response have to do with you posting links from those sites?
I was EXTREMELY insulted by those postings from an alleged supporter.
The insult continues with your every lie.
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You ARE crony capitalism.
Personified.
A liar too.
How are those Koch products holding up in your flipped housing?
How's ALEC doing in your community?
Very well, I'm sure, thanks to you.
Besides.
WTF!
You did post that shit.
Telling indeed.
In Michigan, we voted OUT EM's. Teabbage(R)s/(R)epelican't/libe(R)tarians ignored all that.
Now we have this instead.
http://live.freep.com/Event/Live_blog__Day_8__of_Detroit_bankruptcy_eligibility_trial
A libe(R)tarian free for all attack on those hefty $18,000 a year pensions.
They already fucked them out of their contractual healthcare.
So no, those "small" differences make for BIG change.
Votes are meaningless. You voted em out, they are still there.
States vote for legal ganja, the Feds still come in and imprison people.
Its a mess.
All of this while Wall St continues to get 85 Billion PER MONTH and is posting record highs mind you.
Occupy Wall St.
So hows those EM's working out for you in Florida?
Something else in your community that I had to tell you about.
Plus this is yet something else I explained to you in detail.
It wasn't a question of who got voted out.
All you've done here is attempt to confuse the issue.
Now, let me ask you again to follow the money.
Something you fail to do every single time.
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Seriously, Does anyone really believe we can vote our way out of our problems? Even if demographics change enough to get an all Democratic congress we will still have the same corruption. No, real change will not come from politicians. The level of change you’re wanting will come when, or if, the people demand it in mass. Neither the Dems or the Repubs have your interest at heart.
If you think that you can vote and walk away, you're daft. I think there is a misconception that you can just go about your merry way. You can't do that. You want freedom? It requires responsibility. That means that you have to pay attention to legislation. Nationally and STATE wise.
See this? http://occupywallst.org/forum/right-wing-attacks-on-workers-continue/#comment-1011107
And yet, all you manage to offer is "common knowledge" or "ask anybody". Failure for you to even recognize what the issues are is what aids and abets the corruption. If you do NOT then you will wind up with the exact same corruption no matter what you put in there.
Not sure I get the point of your post. I have freedom, at least as much as anyone else. I vote, pay my taxes, pay my bills and live a responsible life. But my original point is still valid. We can’t vote our way out of our problems. Actually it sounds like we agree.
Yea, I saw your link, and choose to ignore it. Texas is one of the fastest growing States. In some areas it’s like a boom town. People looking for better jobs, lower cost of living and overall quality of life are moving to Texas every day. So you can malign Texas all you want, people are still moving here for a better life every day.
i'm broke and will probably die in debt
and your attitude about why your job and responsibility trampled across my face
I'm sorry you're broke and in debt, but why would me not being broke be a problem to you? Your resentment is unfounded. I didn't trample across your face.
You understood the point. You are unwilling or unable to deal with the post because then you would have to deal with quality of life issues. It would require a small amount of research.
You're not making sense. I didn't get your point, and still don't. Just say what you mean rather than beat around the bush.
My bad............you really are an asstard.
See, you can make sense when you put your mind to it. And even with your potty mouth we still can't vote our way out of our problems. That's the point
I should have started with asstard first. Now, go log in as someone else.
No, I'm not. I'm a really nice person. I see your still stuck on the multiple login's myth.
Just don't mention unions, Detroit, or any number realities in Texas.
You're not really a nice guy Narley. At least here, that was NEVER your aim.
I won't bring them up if you don't.
My objective here is to enlighten, inform and entertain. Don't you find me entertaining?
Actually, you're a fucking idiot.
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Texas: Endorsing lies.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/09/texas-anti-lgbt-crusader-won-local-election-by-pretending-to-be-black/
(racist lies at that)
Texas: Pro gun death.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/10/two-dead-22-injured-in-texas-birthday-party-shooting-reports/
Texas: Anti-justice
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/09/texas-prosecutor-will-serve-10-days-in-jail-for-wrongfully-convicting-man-imprisoned-for-25-years/
Texas: More lies.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/10/perry-praises-cruz-gop-should-have-laid-the-wood-to-the-president-on-obamacare/
That's just today, from a single source.
You're the one that finds this shit entertaining.
You probably enjoyed this one too.
After all, starving the poor is the Texas christian/libe(R)tarian thing to do.
Honoring Ayn is more important.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/11/08/texas-school-breakfast-garbage/
I told you once before, I don't read your links. If you have something to say, then say it. Don't try to dig up a few links that you think support your twisted vision. Anyone can do that.
So, been shopping at the sporting goods store in Detroit lately. Oh, I forgot, they probably don't have anything left after the flash mobs.
Yes, I suppose maintaining your ideological bubble is very important to you.
Where did you dig up BS about flash mobs in Detroit?
Talk about a "twisted vision".
Theres a reason Dems and Reps- another example of duopoly- shut down occupy.
Let me repeat that.
The Party that a few here slobber all over SHUT US DOWN.
Sent protesters to jail. Shut down the parks.
SHUT US DOWN.
They think they can come on here, and through some lame constant attacks convince the closet thing we have seen to real change to .... wait for it....
Back the very people that shut the fucking thing down!
I mean, how fuckin stupid is that!
Why are these people on the board?
http://thefederalist.com/2014/05/13/9-questions-to-ask-about-bidens-work-with-a-gas-company-in-ukraine/#.U3J5uMFiq3B.facebook
Wow, I thought it was only Republicans who served the oil people. Guess its just another example of both same.
Five Years In, Obama and Bush Poll Numbers Nearly Identical
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-and-bush-poll-numbers-nearly-identical-five-years-into-presidency-214919924.html
By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo News23 hours ago
For all their differences, Bush and Obama have nearly identical poll numbers at this point in their second terms …
When President Obama first ran for the White House in 2008, it was with the promise to turn the page on the presidency of George W. Bush. But for all their political differences, it turns out the American public pretty much view the two men in the same light, according to new polling data.
In the first week of November in the fifth year of their presidencies, Obama and Bush have nearly identical approval numbers, according to the latest Gallup polling.
In fact, Bush comes out one point ahead, 40 percent to 39 percent, respectively.
The Gallup daily tracking poll for November 5th 2013 puts Obama’s approval at 39 percent, with 53 percent disapproving of his job performance.
By comparison, polling for the first week of November in 2005 had Bush’s approval at 40 percent, with 55 percent disapproving of his job performance.
And the negative comparison to Bush’s numbers is potentially worse for Obama than just a tough headline.
As former Bush adviser Matthew Dowd said on ABC’s “This Week,” the real damage lies in the fact that historically low approval numbers often constrain a president’s ability to rebound with the public.
“I think what you have right now is you talked about the floor of the president's approval numbers, which are almost exactly where President Bush's were. Every time you establish a new floor, you establish a new ceiling,” Dowd said.
Noting that Bush’s approval free fall “wasn’t all about Katrina,” Dowd said Obama faces a similar assault from multiple fronts.
"The president's problems have been brewing for a while,” Dowd said. “What the Republican circus did was cover up a lot of the president's problems. That circus that went on with the Republicans for a while. And then once that was over, it revealed a deeper problem with the presidency."
(Infograph by Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News)
Of course, the most recent numbers don't guarantee that Obama's second term will end up mirroring Bush's, whose approval continued to fall to a low of 25 percent on three separate occasions before he left office. Still, they do place Obama in an interesting historical context when compared to how some other presidents have fared in the fifth year of their presidencies.
Pulling back the curtain further to look at Obama’s approval rating during the 19th quarter of his presidency, Obama places 5th out of the last 8 presidents who served for the same length of time.
His quarterly Gallup approval rating of 44.5 percent places him ahead of Bush (43.9), Lyndon Johnson (41.8%) and Richard Nixon (31.8%). But Obama falls behind Bill Clinton (58.8%), Ronald Reagan (61.3%) Dwight Eisenhower (59.5%) and even Harry Truman (45%).
What might be most striking to Obama supporters is to compare the various challenges faced by Bush and Obama at this point in their respective presidencies. In the fall of 2005, Bush was reeling from fallout of Hurricane Katrina and arguably the low-point of the Iraq War. And while he had successfully won re-election against John Kerry, his approval rating had dropped 13 points from 53 percent since the November 2004 election.
In contrast, Obama has dealt with the continuing drag of a sluggish economy, partisan divisions, which led to a government shutdown, criticism over National Security Administration spying accusations and the recent fallout over problems associated with the launch of the Affordable Care Act.
And as a result of those challenges, Obama has experienced a nearly identical polling drop as Bush, falling a statistically identical 13 points from his approval ratings of 52 percent on election day in November, 2012 .
Of course, nothing is set in stone. Unforeseen events could restore Obama’s approval ratings: The economy could improve, the 2014 midterm elections could boost Obama’s standing and early setbacks of the Affordable Care Act could recede.
But if recent history is any indicator, Obama is likely to find himself in some unexpected and unwanted company – that of an unpopular president he was elected to replace.
November 3, 2013 5:00 pm US public investment falls to lowest level since war
By Robin Harding, Richard McGregor and Gabriel Muller in Washington
Public investment in the US has hit its lowest level since demobilisation after the second world war because of Republican success in stymieing President Barack Obama’s push for more spending on infrastructure, science and education.
Gross capital investment by the public sector has dropped to just 3.6 per cent of US output compared with a postwar average of 5 per cent, according to figures compiled by the Financial Times, as austerity bites in the world’s largest economy.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have managed to shrink the US state with their constant demands for spending cuts, even though their uncompromising tactics have exacted a political price, with their approval ratings in Congress at record lows.
Democrats control the White House and the Senate and made no substantial concessions in October’s battle over the government shutdown but Mr Obama is still far from one of the main economic goals of his presidency.
The figures underline how across-the-board budget cuts are threatening future growth, as the axe falls heavily on federal investments that boost output, rather than transfers such as pensions and healthcare for the elderly.
“This is the motivation for the president’s desire to significantly increase public investment,” said Jason Furman, chairman of Mr Obama’s council of economic advisers, and a close aide since the days of his 2008 presidential campaign.
“New authority for federal investment in the 2012 fiscal year was $475bn; you look at our proposal for 2014 and it’s $624.8bn. We are proposing a very large increase and that’s because the country is not investing enough in its infrastructure and it’s not investing enough in R&D.” Federal funding for research and development has only fallen modestly so far but will decline much further under any budget path that continues sequestration. That threatens a fundamental source of productivity growth for the whole global economy because so many scientific breakthroughs are funded by US bodies such as the National Institutes of Health.
Although the intuition of most economists and businesspeople is that failure to invest in infrastructure will be bad for growth, the evidence is quite mixed, and it is hard to pin down what the “correct” level of public investment should be.
Michael Leachman, director of state fiscal research at the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities said: “Schools and transportation networks – these things are fundamental building blocks of a state’s economy. If a state’s unable to make investments in these things then its long-term growth will suffer.” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f0e71a16-4487-11e3-a751-00144feabdc0.html#slide0
To Gov. Christie, From The Teacher He Screamed At
Are you aware that poverty is the biggest determination of a child’s educational success. If not, I suggest you read Diane Ravitch’s new book Reign of Error. Take a moment and become enlightened.
Getting back to the issue of money. I am fully aware of our educational budget. Where is all of this money? To me it seems like it is being siphoned right off into the hands of private companies as they reap the benefits of the charter schools and voucher programs that you have put into place.
It certainly hasn’t gone to improve school conditions in urban areas such as Jersey City. The conditions that these students and teachers are forced to be in are horrifying. Yet you are not allowing the funds needed to improve these conditions. Are you hoping that these schools get closed down and more students are forced to go to private charter schools while the districts are being forced to pay their tuition? http://ourfuture.org/20131105/to-gov-christie-from-the-teacher-he-screamed-at
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Alex Jones: Republicans Hold a Joint Hearing on a Debunked Conspiracy Theory http://www.policymic.com/articles/37849/alex-jones-republicans-hold-a-joint-hearing-on-a-debunked-conspiracy-theory
The Government Shutdown Has Cost The Economy $24 Billion
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/16/2794391/shutdown-cost-24-billion/
Lindsey Graham Silent About Discredited '60 Minutes' Benghazi Report That He Hyped
Whole lot of you numnuts are silent on Benghazi now, innit?
The Vampire Squid is reaching its tentacles into every COMMUNITY in the country, bigger than any of them on their own. No community can withstand the effects of a banker haven of this type.
They crashed the economy. They crashed the housing market. They sold our food out. They continue to sell our air, water and planet out.
Slave trade abroad, 30 year stagnant wages here.
Taking rights, slamming the truth tellers, and creating the largest police state the world has ever seen.
The worlds largest prison population, along with the worlds largest student loan debt and personal debt.
The vampire squid will keep squeezing.
How much is left?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saWCZVggQAs
[-] 0 points by HCHC4 (-7) 5 hours ago
Food? Hmmm.. Lets see what we have:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27635.cfm
In their quest to have the entire nation dependent on the government to feed them, lawmakers rejected the rights of those people to know whats actually in the food.
Another example of duopoly. ↥twinkle ↧stinkle reply permalink
Myth #3: Food stamps make people “dependent.”
Rep. Mike Cramer (R-ND) recently served up an example of right-wing mythology, saying that food stamps are responsible for “a culture of permanent dependency.”
The right-wing Heritage Foundation and others constantly harp on this idea that democracies providing government services for people makes them “dependent” — as if people are squirrels who will lose the ability to find their own food in the wild.
This idea that government services make people “dependent” is an insult to people, democracy and civilization. Does the government service of bringing water to your house make you dependent on not taking a bucket down to the stream or something? Does a road make you dependent on not walking your donkey through the woods to town? Do police and courts make you “dependent” on not having good swordsmanship or carrying a large club?
If anyone is “dependent,” it is corporations that pay so little their employees have to come to the taxpayers for help buying food for their families. http://billmoyers.com/2013/10/08/six-myths-about-food-stamps/
AstroTurf Movements? Captain Obvious reminding us the tea party is funded by big business. I guess the reminder was needed.
In other news, the sky is still blue.
Also in other news, internet astroturfing is still rampant:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/03/us-usa-obama-twitter-idUSBRE9A20JW20131103
The Whitehouse Twitter Army. PR firms for Obamacare gets no play here either. What a one sided bummer :(
Anatomy of the War on Women: How the Koch Brothers Are Funding the Anti-Choice Agenda
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/11/05/anatomy-of-the-war-on-women-how-the-koch-brothers-are-funding-the-anti-choice-agenda/
Florida Governor Rick Scott Preaches Austerity, Spends Big On Frivolous Lawsuits
By Adam Peck on July 30, 2012 at 3:02 pm
The Sentinel also points out that the $888,000 figure was calculated before several new suits were filed, including a case involving the state’s controversial voter purge program. And even though the Attorney General’s office has been able to handle most of the legal challenges, in several instances the state has had to contract out to expensive law firms in DC and Atlanta, costing taxpayers even more. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/30/605461/florida-governor-rick-scott-preaches-austerity-spends-big-on-frivolous-lawsuits/
Florida had a testing program in 2011 that was halted by the courts not long after it was started. During its brief lifespan it had similarly poor results. Only 2.6 percent of those tested turned up positive for illicit substances. And since Florida reimbursed those who were clean for the cost of their tests, the state actually lost $45,780 because of the program.
Florida is especially important because Gov. Rick Scott owned a $62 million stake in Soltanic Corp., a chain of urgent care centers that, among other things, specializes in confidential drug testing. He transferred the shares of the company to his wife in January of 2011 just three months before both mandating that state employees would be tested and signing the law for welfare testing into effect.
Scott’s company didn’t bid on the contract to conduct the state tests. But when tens of thousands of people with their jobs and subsistence income on the line were wondering about their preparedness for their official drug screenings, it’s hard to believe that Soltanic’s business suffered — especially since Scott has a record of pursuing policies that would help Soltanic gain new patients. Even so, Scott’s ties to the medical industry highlight the hypocrisy of programs that use budget consciousness as an excuse to cut welfare spending while merely channeling state funds to private businesses — in effect, turning individual welfare into corporate welfare. http://www.salon.com/2013/08/29/gop%E2%80%99s_inane_money_eating_sham_drug_tests_for_welfare_a_huge_failure/
Final Proof The Tea Party Was Founded As A Bogus AstroTurf Movement
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-zuesse/final-proof-the-tea-party_b_4136722.html
Sean Hannity hosted Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and Citizens United as they used Fox News as a platform to launch a campaign targeted at ending the so-called congressional exemption to the Affordable Care Act. There's one problem: the congressional exemption does not exist.
On the November 4 edition of Fox News' Hannity, David Bossie, president of the conservative political organization Citizens United, and Vitter joined Hannity to announce a new campaign calling on Congress to "Live By Your Laws." While the segment aired, Citizens United's Twitter account encouraged its followers to "join the movement" with Bossie, Hannity, and Vitter to stop a rule within the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) that allegedly exempts members of Congress and their staffs as well as the White House from having to take part in the ACA's health insurance exchanges. Hannity introduced the segment by playing most of Citizens United's new advertisement. http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/11/05/hannity-helps-citizens-united-launch-campaign-o/196744
Behind Michigan's "Financial Martial Law": Corporations and Right-Wing Billionaires
"The Mackinac Center has been tied at the hip with the Republican Party establishment for years," says Doug Pratt, public affairs director at the Michigan Education Association. "It goes to their funding sources; it goes to their ideology."
Mackinac is part of a network of state-based groups associated with the Heritage Foundation, the influential right-wing think tank in Washington. Its past and present board members include Robert Teeter, a GOP strategist and '92 campaign manager for George H.W. Bush; Margaret Rieker, a former vice chairwoman of the Republican National Committee; and Joseph Lehman, a former vice president at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/michigan-snyder-mackinac-center
But workers do fear retaliation. And for good reason. OSHA doesn’t protect them. It is hobbled by antiquated legislative language and inadequate staff. That’s the assessment of the Center for Effective Government in a report it issued last month titled, “Securing the Right to a Safe and Healthy Workplace.”
OSHA is so shorthanded that it depends heavily on workers themselves, as opposed to OSHA inspectors, to report hazards. OSHA is without sufficient staff because for decades Congress has failed to properly fund the agency. In 1981, OSHA had one federal inspector for every 1,900 workplaces. Since then, as workers and employers increased, the number of inspectors declined, so that by 2011, there was one OSHA inspector for every 4,300 workplaces, one for every 62,000 workers.
The sequester cuts made matters worse, slicing the OSHA budget. The number of retaliation complaints filed with OSHA rose 46 percent between 2005 and 2012, but with budget and staff cuts, OSHA was less able to deal with them.
http://ourfuture.org/20131105/its-not-safe-out-there
So Minnesota Republican Representative Michele Bachmann told the Washington Post, commenting on the shutdown that ground many critical government functions to a halt for over two weeks. "It's exactly what we wanted, and we got it."
So, what exactly did Bachmann and her Republican colleagues get out of it? A lot more than they may have bargained for, according to scientists employed by the federal government. It is not just that government researchers were locked out of their labs and offices, but whole programs were wastefully delayed and, in some cases, endangered.
I talked to Tom Greene, an astrophysicist at Nasa Ames research center outside of San Francisco. Greene is working on the James Webb Space Telescope – the eagerly awaited successor of the Hubble, with even more power to peer into heretofore unseen reaches of the universe. He told me that more than 100 scientists had gathered from all over the world to conduct critical equipment tests in preparation for the launch. But that all ended on 1 October when the government stopped writing checks.
Not only did this delay cost the program an estimated $1m a day, but, given Nasa's tight schedule, some tests may never get done now. This "is kind of scary", Greene says, given the immense complexity of the world's most powerful telescope. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/18/republicans-antiscience-shutdown-cost
The Tea Party’s Anti-Science Attack Manifests Through Shutdown
In the middle of this conservative-led nightmare, between the furloughed workers and veterans siding with the wrong group, the government shutdown is having serious effects on the scientific community. As noted by CNN;
Among the agencies mentioned, the National Science Foundation has had it the worst. Ninety-eight percent of its employees have been furloughed, and the organization has not issued any new scientific research grants. The NSF funds non-medical science and engineering research and education programs across the country.
The National Institutes of Health, the nation’s top medical research facility, has lost almost three-quarters of its staff, forcing it to turn away most new patients from its studies. Funding for the NIH became a focal point of debate early in the shutdown when reports emerged that children with cancer were being denied entry into potentially life-saving studies.
The majority of Americans may feel the greatest impact, however, from the cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Two-thirds of its personnel have been sent home, and as flu season begins, influenza monitoring has been cut back, according to the White House.
Less than two months ago, we pointed out how the GOP-owned House of Representatives requested a number of federal agencies to speak on climate change. It wouldn’t be entirely out of left field to suggest that the same anti-science forces in Congress – the Tea Party crowd – are using veterans in order to avoid real, serious issues present in this shutdown.
We have known for a long time that the Tea Party movement was in large part paid for by a couple hard-right billionaires by the name of Koch. We know that the Koch brothers have supported moves towards deregulating industry, we know that they have bought scientists to do their bidding, and we know that they are the primary funders of several libertarian think tanks that have been prime players in the shutdown and ongoing default negotiations. http://youngprogressivevoices.com/2013/10/14/the-tea-partys-anti-science-attack-manifests-through-shutdown/
Meet The House GOP's Anti-Science Committee
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/meet-the-house-gop-s-anti-science-committee
All of the Republican members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee question the science behind climate change. Fueled by millions in donations from the fossil fuel industry, on Thursday, these Senators used the committee as a way to simply parrot the tired talking points of Koch funded organizations and industry leaders, denouncing what 97 percent of climate scientists have agreed on.
Titled “Climate Change: It’s Happening Now,” the hearing was the embodiment of the climate schizophrenia currently transfixing congress. A panelist representing the U.S. insurance industry informed Senators that the surge in weather-related catastrophes has forced billions in payouts and that climate change “increases the exposure of citizens and their property to extreme weather risk.” The GOP, on the other hand, outlined what they believe is a White House conspiracy designed to mislead the public on the threat of climate change. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/21/2328691/gop-senators-parrot-anti-science-talking-points-at-climate-hearing/
Corporations forcing people to buy their products through government legislation:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2011/10/20/how-a-conservative-think-tank-invented-the-individual-mandate/
While Obamacare and Heritage have some differences, the elephant in the room is the mandate.
Forcing you to purchase from corporations.
Wall St wins again.
CHARLES MENG, Arlington Food Assistance Center: Well, it will clearly increase the number of families we see on a daily and a weekly basis.
You know, it's -- these are families who really do need food. These are not families taking advantage of a system or a situation. These are families that are really desperately struggling, and not having enough food.
HARI SREENIVASAN: All of this as Congress is debating making new cuts, as part of a broader farm bill. The Republican-controlled House is pushing to take $39 billion out of food stamps over the next decade.
Republican Frank Lucas of Oklahoma chairs the House Agricultural Committee.
REP. FRANK LUCAS, R-Okla.: It increases funding for food banks, which have been successful in effectively utilizing government dollars and securing private sector donations in order to feed hungry Americans.
Ultimately, this bill encourages and enables work participation and makes commonsense reforms, closes program loopholes, and eliminates waste, fraud, and abuse in the SNAP program, saving the American taxpayer nearly $40 billion. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/nation/july-dec13/foodstamps_11-01.html
Corporate controlled government continues where they left off with No Child with Common Core, intent on creating a mindless generation of consumers unable to critically think.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18442-flow-chart-exposes-common-cores-myriad-corporate-connections
Look whose in the middle of it... ALEC corporations and lobbies.
Shocking.
Next.
The conservative Heritage Foundation released last week a new report on insurance premiums under Obamacare, and the conclusion was that favorite of conservative talking points: people are going to pay more for insurance under Obamacare.
Only the foundation left out one key variable in the equation, one that undermines their conclusion that "individuals in most states will end up spending more on the exchanges."
They didn't account for the financial help that the Affordable Care Act gives uninsured people to purchase insurance, one of the law's central provisions.
Under Obamacare, the sticker price for insurance isn't what most people are going to actually pay. The law offers tax credits, on a sliding scale, for people making between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. According to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of uninsured Americans have an income within that range.
Another 38 percent fall below the poverty line. They are supposed to be eligible for Medicaid under the law, and millions in poverty will be covered that way. However, more than 20 Republican states -- with an assist from the U.S. Supreme Court -- have refused to expand Medicaid coverage to them. So people in those states are admittedly out of luck, but that wasn't the ACA's intention.
...All of the above questions, though, didn't stop conservatives from touting Heritage's findings. It was splashed on websites like TownHall and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted it on his Facebook page. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/one-big-problem-with-the-heritage-foundation-s-new-obamacare-study
The fight over school curriculum in Texas, recently focused on biology, has entered a new arena, with a brewing debate over how much faith belongs in American history classrooms.
The Texas Board of Education, which recently approved new science standards that made room for creationist critiques of evolution, is revising the state's social studies curriculum. In early recommendations from outside experts appointed by the board, a divide has opened over how central religious theology should be to the teaching of history.
"We're in an all-out moral and spiritual civil war for the soul of America, and the record of American history is right at the heart of it," said Rev. Peter Marshall, a Christian minister and one of the reviewers appointed by the conservative camp. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB124753078523935615
I still sometimes see pundits claiming that the Tea Party movement is basically driven by concerns about budget deficits. That’s delusional. Read the founding rant by Rick Santelli of CNBC: There’s nary a mention of deficits. Instead, it’s a tirade against the possibility that the government might help “losers” avoid foreclosure. Or read transcripts from Rush Limbaugh or other right-wing talk radio hosts. There’s not much about fiscal responsibility, but there’s a lot about how the government is rewarding the lazy and undeserving.
Republicans in leadership positions try to modulate their language a bit, but it’s a matter more of tone than substance. They’re still clearly passionate about making sure that the poor and unlucky get as little help as possible, that — as Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, put it — the safety net is becoming “a hammock that lulls able-bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency.” And Mr. Ryan’s budget proposals involve savage cuts in safety-net programs such as food stamps and Medicaid. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/opinion/krugman-a-war-on-the-poor.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1383750575-PsWv1Yg5k57qhsZKE4+QKA
New Progressive Alliance:
http://newprogs.org/blog/2013/04/16/resist-
"Near universal allegiance to the entrenched political duopoly has produced many devastating outcomes for the average American – and will continue to. Holding on to some vague hope that the Democratic Party will simply “come around” runs counter to a true understanding of the mechanisms of modern American politics. "
Exactly. Time to Wake Up America!
The Policy and Politics of Reproductive Health Arrests of and Forced Interventions on Pregnant Women in the United States, 1973–2005: Implications for Women’s Legal Status and Public Health
http://jhppl.dukejournals.org/content/38/2/299.full.pdf+html?sid=b0811f36-d4e4-4b51-a830-e175e6eee40c
The 7 Worst Arguments In The Heritage Foundation's New Anti-ENDA Report
In advance of the Senate's expected historic vote on ENDA, Heritage Foundation fellow and "ex-gay" therapy-advocate Ryan T. Anderson published a report titled "ENDA Threatens Fundamental Civil Liberties." The report, which is the culmination of Heritage's recent attacks on ENDA in conservative media, rehashes some of the worst conservative arguments against the law, which would merely prohibit employers from harassing or discriminating against LGBT employees. Here are the seven worst arguments he uses to attack ENDA: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/11/04/the-7-worst-arguments-in-the-heritage-foundatio/196738
DeLay: 'God Created This Nation And God Created The Constitution' -
See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/delay-god-created-nation-and-god-created-constitution#sthash.zXr41YKY.dpuf
Rafael Cruz: Gays Stole The Word 'Gay,' Are 'Potential Sexual Predators' -
See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rafael-cruz-gays-stole-word-gay-and-are-potential-sexual-predators#sthash.NXLF659N.dpuf
WASHINGTON -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) has been getting a last-minute boost in his bid for governor, with a number of robocalls accusing his Democratic opponent of profiting off a dying man and favoring "abortion on demand."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/virginia-robocalls_n_4219898.html?1383683561
It's Economic Sabotage As GOP Obstructs Infrastructure Work By Dave Johnson
http://crooksandliars.com/dave-johnson/economic-sabotage-republicans
Maybe Ken Cuccinelli Shouldn't Have Built His Campaign Around Sodomy
In retrospect, maybe the sodomy part was a mistake. http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/11/ken-cuccinelli-jackson-virginia-election
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It Sure Sounds Like John Boehner Just Said He Opposes All Anti-Discrimination Laws
Par for the course. It is not a news flash that Republican lawmakers are a bit lacking in the respect department when it comes to LGBT citizens. But the stated reasoning behind Boehner’s opposition to ENDA astonished me, and the fact that it hasn’t received more attention astonishes me nearly as much. According to Boehner’s spokesperson, “The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs.” And that’s why he’s against it. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115483/enda-opposition-boehner-and-heritage-suggests-broader-opposition
Behind the right’s crazy crusade to make women pay more for health insurance Equalizing premiums for men and women is common sense -- unless you’re opposed to women’s freedom http://www.salon.com/2013/11/05/behind_the_right%E2%80%99s_crazy_crusade_to_make_women_pay_more_for_health_insurance/
Way back in 2012, when he was running for president, Ron Paul seemed to some people like a breath of fresh air. Sure, maybe he was a bit of a crank, but at least he didn't sanitize his beliefs in order to avoid offending people. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said.
But, um, maybe not. At least, not based on this look into Paul's libertarian id, delivered last night at a campaign rally in Virginia for Ken Cuccinelli:
Huh. I don't remember him being willing to deliver harangues quite like this during last year's debates. I guess he was holding back after all, just another mealy-mouthed politician unwilling to buck the polls and tell the people the raw truth. http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/11/ron-paul-lets-it-all-hang-out
Anyone have any interesting candidates for the 2014?
You're an idiot hchc it was folks like you that brought the Bush administration and the Iraq War, we could kill the GOP and change everything but fools like you keep the two party system alive.
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The state has no business in entering state contracts between two consenting adults or parties. ↥twinkle ↧stinkle reply permalink http://occupywallst.org/forum/unions-helping-to-get-enda-passed/#comment-1011684
"A "right-to-work" law is a statute in the United States that prohibits union security agreements, or agreements between labor unions and employers, that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees' membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring."
Dont like the laws they are passing? Stop giving them the power to do so.
Hey lil' right wing teathuglican multiple ID cockroach. How you doin'?
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Good idea!
Why don't you?
http://www.rickscottwatch.blogspot.com/
Oh, yeah you like that sort of thing, being a hater of the 99% and all.
BTW, it's not nice to provide an apparent quote, without attributing it's author.
Channeling Ayn Paul again?
I believe this study shows quite clearly that both parties are way off when they enact legislation. Though they say they're caring for the will of the people, their policies are no where near what any of their constituencies want.
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/08/tea_party_shocker_even_right_wingers_become_liberals_when_they_turn_off_fox_news/
Exactly, its all a scam to keep the people believing whatever they tell them to...
"It is striking that no group — Republican, Democrat, or independents — on average acted in ways that fit their respective media stereotypes. It might be assumed that Republicans would cut the most; Democrats would cut the least or even increase spending; and that independents would be in between. But on the contrary:
Republicans cut spending the least, though still considerably ($100.7 billion, or 7.4%) Democrats cut spending more than Republicans ($157.3 billion, or 11.6%) Independents cut spending substantially more than either Republicans or Democrats ($195.5 billion or 14.4%). Thus, everything the media and Washington’s conventional wisdom tells you about the will of the voters is wrong. But don’t forget the Tea Party! They, too, did not respond as expected. Sure, they were more conservative than Republicans overall, but they still come across as wild-eyed socialists compared to their D.C. representatives:
Those who described themselves as “very sympathetic” to the Tea Party (14% of the full sample), as would be expected, raised taxes and revenues less than Republicans in general, and less than Democrats and independents. Even so, on average, Tea Party sympathizers found a quite substantial $188.2 billion in additional revenues to reduce the deficit ($105.2 billion in individual income taxes)."
Hysterical. What an absolute fuckin joke.
Ooooops another libe(R)tarian ancillary.
It seems the Koch's can't keep their grubby libe(R)tarian hands off our women either.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/koch-brothers-secretly-funding-anti-choice-movement?akid=11115.1147387.scaM7f&rd=1&src=newsletter920457&t=3
Don't forget the ancillaries!!!!
Very important, those.
http://www.alternet.org/right-wings-favorite-historian-thinks-abortion-causes-climate-change
Right wing libe(R)tarians and "Christians"........#1 in Planet and democracy destruction!!
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elementary, my dear Watson. But, we must not bicker. A strategy for 2014 is needed. And 2016, and 2018, and....The book of wreckage has been building and building since Reagan. You must alert us to what the Koch's are doing so we see to it that they do not succeed.
http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/11/breaking-michigan-house-passes-bill-to-move-court-of-claims.html
they've been buying judges for years.
You left out the libe(R)tarian/conse(R)vative/(R)epelican'ts too.
Here's the latest from your good friend Ron Paul. Still sorry he didn't get his say in the debates?
He should never again open his mouth in public and that goes for his good for nothing but lies son Ayn Paul[sic] too.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/11/05/ron-paul-civil-war/
I'm sure you agree.
On felony voter rights.
Ooooops.......(R)epelican'ts again.
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/
Shocking!
An entire thread based on bullshit..........................
In the end though hchc, you lost, though I doubt you'll admit it.
Shocking too, is you lost with no one mentioning the other , hidden party.
You can call them corporatists, randians , or neolibe(R)tarians, but they DO exist. and they DO wield influence.
Here's some more links to push it over the top.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/06/koch-brothers-poured-tens-of-millions-of-dollars-into-anti-choice-movement/
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/05/paul-ryans-ayn-rand-fantasy-double-food-stamp-cuts-starve-millions.html
Oh.......and like you REFUSE to believe.
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_real_right-wing_revolution_is_happening_at_the_state_level
And that's just from a quick scan of today's news.
there's a lot more available, and I noticed that among your "links" not ONE dealt with YOUR community.
Not one.......................
Shocking!
Shooz one of the photos say republicrat...how does this offend you?
The duopoly exists.
I'm sorry, but no.....just like "free markets", it's bullshit.
This thread so far has proven it's just not so.
Strange, Ivy, that after all this time, you show up to stick up for a lie.
Where ya been?
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It seems a few people have taken this post personally.
I havent seen a post like this spark conversation in a while. Good stuff.
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Are these the actions of a group who are concerned with climate change:
More offshore drilling:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/31/barack-obama-drilling-offshore-approves
Here's Illinois State Governor endorsing it:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/28/illinois-edges-closer-endorsing-gas-fracking/?page=all
Fracking away, and claiming to be worried about pollution. But dont worry Fighting Illini, he signed it with lots of "regulations"... because we all know that matters with oil companies!!
The longer this back and forth proof of overarching corruption goes on, the higher the chances that someone may stumble across this site and read this article.
Outwitting the establishment to draw attention. Take over the parks, speak to the truth, and help open the eyes of the disenfranchised.
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Food? Hmmm.. Lets see what we have:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27635.cfm
In their quest to have the entire nation dependent on the government to feed them, lawmakers rejected the rights of those people to know whats actually in the food.
Another example of duopoly.
Going back and forth in this corrupted system is an endless game.
For every incident of corruption on one side, there is another on the other side.
In the end, all roads lead to Wall St. And there they sit, D and R feeding from the trough of money.
Duopoly endorsed TSA continues to violate rights and humiliate women:
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/tsa-apologizes-making-mom-pump-breast-milk-airport-bathroom-article-1.1033892
5 years of right-wing hate toward TSA, "Big Sis" comes home to roost
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/5-years-of-right-wing-hate-toward-TSA-Big-Sis-come-home-to-roost.html#DkeB4WdrF4d8JWo6.99
Hey....pretty good, it was first reported at Alex Jones!!
He did skip over the gun nutter that believed all the rest of his bullshit about the NSA and the NWO, and shot up LAX though.
Has talked that out as a false flag yet?.
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Heritage Foundation created Obamacare: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204618704576641190920152366
Dems and Reps both support due to massive whoring out to insurance companies. If Romney was elected, mandate would still be there.
War Machine costs US Economy 1 Trillion every year.
War loving democrats and republicans will never address this though, its the sacred cow. That and oil subsidies.
So should I put together a list of shameful things that both parties have done together? Or just Democrats to balance the thread out a bit?
But thank you to our resident Dem campaigner Captain Obvious for reminding us why we shouldnt back Republican Party. I thought that was pretty much cleared up and obvious at this point, but it never hurts to remind people.
Could you change the donkey postcard to show it shitting on the American people?
Consider it in the works!
..or the eledonk! or the donkaphant! Naw, I wouldn't change it. Maybe just a barbed tail and horned head!
100+ Comments! Hopefully a few outsiders got a chance to read that article and realize they arent alone in their struggles.
The Right-Wing's Favorite "Historian" Thinks Abortion Causes Climate Change
This is the sort of thing we can look forward to if David Barton is “drafted” to run for the U.S. Senate in Texas (from Raw Story’s David Edwards):
A so-called “historian,” who radio host Glenn Beck hired to teach at his online university and is now considering a run for the U.S. Senate, recently asserted that climate change was an example of God’s judgment “on the spot” for sins like abortion.
In an appearance on televangelist’s Kenneth Copeland Believer’s Voice of Victorythat was posted online on Thursday, David Barton pointed out that abortion was a “crime in God’s eyes.”
Copeland agreed that voting for candidates who supported abortion rights “opened the door to the curse.”
“A door has been opened and we have said, ‘You know, we embraced a wicked policy,’” Barton opined. “Okay, then I’ll take my hand of protection off your nation and whap, here comes storms like we’ve never seen before. And here comes floods like we’ve never seen before. And here comes the climate stuff that we can’t explain. All the hot times and all the cold times. Too much rain and not enough rain. And we’re flooding over here and we’ve got droughts over here.”
“And today, we’re saying, ‘Oh, no, it’s global warming,’” he remarked. “No, we opened the door that lost God’s protection over our environment and that’s our choice.”
This whole meme of God “removing his protection” from mankind generally or from America specifically for failing to hew to patriarchal ideas of sexual ethics or family structure is a familiar one, though it fell out of fashion a bit after this September 11, 2001 televised comment from the late Jerry Fallwell: http://www.alternet.org/right-wings-favorite-historian-thinks-abortion-causes-climate-change
Lets go into some details on Glass Steagall, the legislation that turned out houses into freakin roulette wheels.
Feel free to dive in. Good stuff.
GATT and NAFTA votes.
Someone here made a comment that I was reaching back to the 90's to prove my point.
Well, after both parties told us all to go fuck ourselves and shipped the jobs out, have they come back?
NO. Then its still a fuckin issue.
Dem supporters who claim to be for unions need to accept this. The people they put their faith in fuck them. Not as hard as the right, but when you ship the job out of the country, the argument over wages for that specific job cease.
For obvious reasons. ITS NOT THERE.
Dems and Reps love FastTrack.
And they, along with their corporate owners, are going to shove TPP so far up the globes ass that hopefully even the most ardent and blind ass supporters will feel it enough to FINALLY wake the hell up.
http://www.citizen.org/documents/no-acceptable-fast-track.pdf
Another ancillary.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/05/illinois-republican-same-sex-marriage-debate-should-be-about-the-bible-not-human-rights/
And another very direct.
http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/11/corporatist-republican-michigan-ag-bill-schuette-on-duty-to-protect-polluters-and-corporate-profits.html
Who runs the food stamp program? Oh look, its JP MORGAN!
To those who think our government (see Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan) dont want a docile nation dependent on their corruption, need only look through history.
Yes, safety nets are a good thing. But the more corrupt the government, the more the net starts to creep OVER, instead of under.
This government is bombing people all over the planet, just told the people to screw off and eat their Round Up, is taking away rights at record levels, attacking whistle blowers, and lets not forget the biggie...
SHUT DOWN OCCUPY.
Yes, I'm sure JP Morgan wants an aggressive, critically thinking population. HA!
http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/food-stamps-jpmorgan-banking-industry-profit-misery
Eliminating certain foods- not the junk food- from the SNAP program is coming soon. I'm going to guess Grocers America and Monsanto are already putting a plan together as we speak.
Or we can all sing Kumbuyah and hope our one day at the polls creates a fuckin miracle.
We should be happy that not everyone becomes dependent on safety nets, but to think that bankers wouldnt love it is naive at best.
Why outsourcing sucks: Xerox food stamp debacle If you thought government runs the food stamp program, you would be wrong. Government outsources the management of the electronic benefit transfer systems to Xerox Corp., a company that paid its CEO $13 million last year.
Xerox apparently didn't invest its profit in redundant technology. Some sort of technology failure on Saturday -- nobody has really explained what it was -- caused the EBT system to shut down in 17 states. Millions of poor Americans were unable to buy groceries.
This is why we shouldn't cede control of essential government services to corporations.
The Associated Press reported on the chaos that erupted:
Shoppers left carts of groceries behind at a packed Market Basket grocery store in Biddeford, Maine, because they couldn't get their benefits, said shopper Barbara Colman, of Saco, Maine. The manager put up a sign saying the EBT system was not in use. Colman, who receives the benefits, called an 800 telephone line for the program and it said the system was down due to maintenance, she said.
"That's a problem. There are a lot of families who are not going to be able to feed children because the system is being maintenanced," Colman said. She planned to reach out to local officials. "You don't want children going hungry tonight because of stupidity," she said...
...states affected by the temporary outage also included Alabama, California, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia...
In Clarksdale, Miss. — one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest states in the nation — cashier Eliza Shook said dozens of customers at Corner Grocery had to put back groceries when the cards failed Saturday because they couldn't afford to pay for the food. After several hours, she put a sign on the front door to tell people about the problem. "It's been terrible," Shook said in a phone interview. "It's just been some angry folks. That's what a lot of folks depend on."
The whole debacle suggests Xerox was cutting corners somewhere to increase its profit, and poor people paid the price. Unfortunately, American citizens can't vote Xerox out of office. That's the real downside of outsourcing.
And if you think poor people shouldn't get food stamps because taxpayers can't afford to pay for them, perhaps you agree that taxpayers also can't afford Xerox CEO's $13 million pay package.
On a brighter note, the same glitch that caused the food stamp system to shut down also eliminated spending limits on some EBT cards in Louisiana. Here's what happened, according to the Christian Science Monitor:
When word got out Saturday that the EBT cards were showing no limits, card holders rushed to area Walmarts to take advantage.
"Some people had eight or 10 shopping carts full of groceries," Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd said on Monday.
Now Xerox and Walmart are pointing fingers at each other. Heh-heh. http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/10/why-outsourcing-sucks.html
While the government outsourced its card creation needs to JPMorgan, the bank in turn outsourced the customer service end to India. So if you’re a food stamp user who has a problem or a question, don’t expect to actually get someone in your own country to help you out. They can’t be bothered to actually deal with the people they’re giving such a necessary service to.
Sounds about right. I wouldnt expect anything less from the worlds sickest and most perverted people.
The 99%?
Those you refer to as asses?
You couldn't be talking about the libe(R)tarians that run JP, you like them and crave their co-option.
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Felony voter rights?
Looks like only two states are 100% unbiased, Maine and Vermont.
The other 48 place restrictions on it, hence are repressive governments.
http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=286
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/
You never did report on your COMMUNITY'S school to prison program.
It was pioneered right under your nose, in Florida!!!
Please no removed on this thread. I can handle partisans of both sides fairly easy all on my own, no help needed.
Debunking MSM myths and fluff is more needed than ever now.
We have to dig deeper and get more radical if its ever going to work. Radicals push the envelope, the reformers should appreciate that.