@georgeob1,
georgeob1 wrote:
Debra Law wrote:
[The dilemma of "dark money" plagues our politics, our economy, and our environment. It has for a very long time.
Corporations and other business entities are artificial beings. They are born with a stroke of a pen and have no conscience. They are not real persons, but have been granted the rights of real persons. In fact, they have been granted greater rights and they are in control. Is resistance futile?
Precisely the same statements could be made about Labor Unions and the many other NGOs that actively support Democrtats. (Moreover Labor unions operate generally under government enforced monopolys. Businesses don't.)
Odd that you didn't include them.
Your response was predictable. Some corporate trolls are deliberate and serve their corporate masters in exchange for money and other trolls do so simply because they fulfill the role of useful idiot.
Labor unions are evil! We got your corporate message: Workers of America, do not unite. Do not seek out better working conditions. Do not seek out a larger share of American wealth. You should struggle quietly alone. Do not unite! Unions of people are evil!!!
Your message has been delivered. But the question remains: What category of corporate troll do you occupy, Georgeob1?
@Debra Law,
Quote:Your response was predictable. Some corporate trolls are deliberate and serve their corporate masters in exchange for money and other trolls do so simply because they fulfill the role of useful idiot.
Since you claim to be a business owner, which catagory do you fall into? If the personal attacks are going to fly because he doesn't agree with you, then let's make sure we put your mark on the wheel. Useful idiot or paid shrill?
Quote:Labor unions are evil! We got your corporate message: Workers of America, do not unite. Do not seek out better working conditions. Do not seek out a larger share of American wealth. You should struggle quietly alone. Do not unite! Unions of people are evil!!!
What's so bad about the working environment in today's America? What is so horrible about today's work places that we still require the Union to protect us? Do we not already have a dept of labor relations?
Quote:Your message has been delivered. But the question remains: What category of corporate troll do you occupy, Georgeob1?
Same question applies to you.
@Debra Law,
It has also shown that labor unions helped nonunion labor gain in wages and benefits. I belonged to labor unions before earning my college degree and was paid fairly.
Unfortunately, labor unions have been disappearing.
http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp143/
@georgeob1,
That's not entirely true George. The civilian workforce of DOD is prohibited from joining a union or participating in strikes. That of course would be the people who are not part of civil service.
0bama is a steaming pile of dog excrement.
@glitterbag,
The exception and not the rule when it comes to unions in the govt.
@georgeob1,
Read the freaking book george. It will not hurt your brain to increase your knowledge this much. It is the best caliber of deep and honest research. It took her years to do this work. Your 'strong impressions' are poorly founded and don't serve you further than justifying predispositions.
@glitterbag,
glitterbag wrote:
That's not entirely true George. The civilian workforce of DOD is prohibited from joining a union or participating in strikes. That of course would be the people who are not part of civil service.
You are of course correct. I never considered the uniformed services part of that element either. ( We called them sand crabs)
@blatham,
blatham wrote:
Read the freaking book george. It will not hurt your brain to increase your knowledge this much. It is the best caliber of deep and honest research. It took her years to do this work. Your 'strong impressions' are poorly founded and don't serve you further than justifying predispositions.
I believe I recommended Machiavelli's "Discorses on Livy" to you a while ago. Have you read it? It's a great and still highly relevant analysis of the elements that make for the stability and endurance of a republic, based on Livy's history of Rome and Thucydudes' of Athens. There is very timely and relevant material there, aptly describing political tumult such as we are experiencing now and the effective means of resolving and directing it towards successful outcomes.
I'll take a look at your recommended work.
CNN Fake news: Wolf Blitzer penned this and more, in 2003.
"Here's what worries me so much. So many Americans already have a rather low regard for journalists; so many of our viewers, readers and listeners simply don't trust us. Many of them, according to public opinion polls, believe we have political agendas and biases that taint our reporting. And many of our news consumers, no doubt, suspect we often make things up -- whether to advance a political cause, or settle personal scores, or sell newspapers and increase ratings on television. What has now happened at The New York Times has simply fueled those suspicions.
It will now take The New York Times a long time to win back the trust of its readers. The top editors and executives at that newspaper have begun the process but they still have a lot of explaining to do. And in the process of explaining, they should be as open as possible with their readers.
Journalism is not a perfect science. It is often referred to as a first draft of history. And as all of you know, a first draft can occasionally be sloppy. Yes, we will make mistakes. But those are unwitting mistakes. There must be zero tolerance for deliberate distortions, false reporting and fiction writing in the guise of journalism. They cannot be tolerated."
@Baldimo,
Baldimo wrote:
The exception and not the rule when it comes to unions in the govt.
Are you sure. Do you think there are more fed workers in the department of interior than there are in all the DOD and STATE, FBI, Secret Service? Defense takes up a big hunk of the budget.
Quote:Trump refuses to bend to the office of president
He’s attacking his opponents. He’s not offering up his tax returns. He’s not dropping his business ties. And he won’t condemn Putin.
The presidency is not going to change Donald Trump. Donald Trump is going to change the presidency.
The president-elect’s chaotic first news conference on Wednesday, two months after his victory shocked the world, unfolded much as his campaign did: defiant, with attacks on his opponents, memorable one-liners (“I’m also very much of a germophobe, by the way”), a deluge of news (he announced a Cabinet secretary) and some of the toughest questions elided or ignored, including on his potential ethical and financial conflicts and on new reports of alleged contact between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
It was clear Trump won’t be turning over his tax returns, at least not soon (“The only ones who care about my tax returns are the reporters”). He won’t be putting his assets or company into a blind trust (“I have a no-conflict-of-interest provision as president”). He won’t condemn Vladimir Putin (“If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability”). He will begin building a wall with Mexico as fast as he can, even if Mexico isn’t paying for it at first (“What’s the difference? I want to get the wall started”).
In short, he won’t be like any past president...
LINK
It is
the ways in which he will not be like any past president that pose all the problems. The violation of norms, the pretense of separating his business from his office, the rejection of transparency regarding his finances, the constant attacks on the press and media, the disinterest in policy along with the obsessions with image and reputation, the urge to bully and insult, and the daily lies are exactly the sorts of characteristics and behaviors one does not want in someone holding the Presidency.
Trump inherits a terrible 0bama legacy.
@georgeob1,
You have a deal. I will read Machiavelli's book (and attend to it very carefully - you can grill me after) if you read, carefully, Mayer's book (though it is not small and is highly data-based with substantial endnotes and bibliography). I'll order the book right now.
Liberal progressive democrats have many problems, one that jumps out to the
casual observer is that they cry wolf more than any group of people on earth.
The other big problem with liberal progressive democrats is that they go silent
when their own people are operating outside our Constitution, and the rule of law.
Quote: "I said that I will be the greatest jobs producer that God ever created" Donald Trump
Once again, this is the language (the empty bluster, the juvenile bragging) of a wresting promoter. And if he actually believes it, if he imagines that his skill set and his innate level of genius will provide him the means to govern as the US president and achieve this promise, then he's insane.
I think it is pretty clear its both.
I really do not know if America's institutions will be able to withstand the damage this guy and those who serve him will do.
Conservative Jennifer Rubin has a very good piece on the deceits and stonewalling by Tillerson today. Here's one particularly repulsive response:
Quote:Rubio also pressed Tillerson on a spate of killings in the Philippines related to the government’s war on drugs. Tillerson refused to condemn the acts, saying the United States had a long relationship with the Philippines. When Tillerson said he would need more information, Rubio pointed to President Rodrigo Duterte’s bragging about thousands of deaths and a report in the Los Angeles Times. Insisting he didn’t rely on newspapers, Tillerson still did not budge.
LINK
For those not familiar with Duerte:
Quote:Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines president, appears to have compared himself to Hitler, saying he would be “happy to slaughter” millions of drug addicts in his bloody war on crime.
During a press conference in his home city of Davao, the former prosecutor told reporters that he had been compared to a “cousin of Hitler” by his critics.
“If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have...,” he said, pausing and pointing to himself.
“Hitler massacred three million Jews ... there’s three million drug addicts. There are. I’d be happy to slaughter them.”
LINK
