When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The proposed law in Arizona allowing discrimination of gays based on religious beliefs is a hammer for what we construction veterans call "the nail happy", guys who think that more nails will hold better. I saw Dan Savage point out last night that the way the law is constructed, a Muslim cab driver could refuse service to passengers who have been drinking, because his religion forbids alcohol.
I bet the bill's authors didn't think about that!I'm pretty sure they didn't want Muslim opinions at all.
Well, of course they didn't. First off, the law is unconstitutional. And stupid. Congress can't make laws respecting an establishment of religion and neither can schmucks in Arizona or any of the other states. That's the legal part. If you consider yourself a "strict constitutionalist" like many reichtards do, you can't like the law.
And it is stupid because, how do you know that someone is gay? Unless they tell you, have to guess. If you have to guess, you have to imagine. If you have to imagine, you have to picture them having gay sex.
Eeeewwww! What's the matter with you thinking about stuff like that? Sheesh! There oughta be a law...
Really. I have people like this in my extended family. You probably do too. These folks can sit around and discuss whether celebrities are gay as if it's a fantasy football league. How 'bout that George Clooney? You don't sleep with that many women unless you're trying to hide something! Know what I mean?
People really think like that. It's all spin. A bit of projection too. If your religion wants to expand, you have to figure rival religions want to as well. Except for the Shakers, that is.And you have to presume that every religion is as devious as yours is and you have to beat them to the punch. That's why red states are stumbling all over the legal system to keep Sharia Law from taking hold. That First Amendment just isn't strong enough. Let's reinforce it with 16d nails! Just start hammering....
The bill is on Governor Jan Brewer's desk and she has until this Saturday to decide if she will sign it or not. If she doesn't- if she chooses not to decide- she still has made a choice. The bill would become law. She may go that way thinking it minimizes her involvement and makes it an executive no-decision. If it becomes law, it will be immediately appealed on constitutional grounds. The law's writers probably want this. Kansas had a similar law pass it's House but die in the Senate. Maybe Arizona will be the huckleberry?
I'm sure there are nice people in Arizona. There's just not enough of them to vote intelligent, clear-thinking politicians into office is all. That's why they have Sheriff Dickhead, Jan Brewer and John McCain. Did you know that Arizona gave up a Super Bowl rather than recognize Martin Luther King day as a holiday? In 1993 the SB was moved from Arizona to Pasadena because the state refused to have MLK day. It cost the $500 million in revenue. These are some hard-headed haters. Phoenix is up for another Super Bowl in 2016 and the NFL is warning them once again that they may lose the game. Maybe they just hate The Big Game and will go to extraordinary lengths to not hold it? That's kinda gay, don't ya think?
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Economics For Dummies
This might sound radical, outside of the south, but, if raising the minimum was a bad thing, what if we eliminated the minimum and enslaved all the people currently working at the minimum? Wouldn't that be a huge boon to the economy? If less is better, nothing has just got to be best!
Prior to the Civil War, Vicksburg. Mississippi was the wealthiest city in the country, due to the cotton trade and the nonexistent payroll of slavery. Do the math on that. It's hard to argue with wealth. And this time there won't be the overhead of actually buying someone. They are already here for one and there's no shipping and handling involved this time. And even better, for you folks trying to play the race card- minimum wage workers come in all colors, from all walks of life. It will be fair this time around. Pretty much....
You see, America is not looking to pick on any one race. As republican historians have pointed out, the slavery of old was started by black slave traders themselves and actually worked out well for the blacks because they lived pretty well (better than in Africa where their own people were capturing them and selling them into slavery!) and, thus, fared much better here than there where they had no opportunities and no wages. So, even back then, slavery wasn't about slavery.
Then, as now, it was about economics. We are all seeing it now more than ever: Paying people costs money! That's basic economics. You eliminate payroll (the bulk of it) and profits soar! Tens of millions of people currently make the minimum wage. Do the math yourself because I went to Math School on a basketball scholarship but, minimum wage workers work anywhere from 20 to 70 hours a week. Times that by $7.25 an hour times umpteen tens of millions of employees and...that's many millions of dollars that would be better spent as bonuses for CEO's.
Here's the thing. You can barely survive in America on the minimum wage. Any CEO or republican congressman will tell you that there is no way The Greatest Country In The World can afford to pay more so, there's nowhere to go but down. We can't lay everybody off and we already tried illegal immigrants so, it's got to be slavery.
And don't you worry about your own, current, well-paying job. Sure, a kid just out of college can do your job- maybe not as well, yet- but certainly a lot cheaper. But, this is America- we take care of our own. Don't you worry. We'll find a place for you in our organization. Are you handy with a whip?
Prior to the Civil War, Vicksburg. Mississippi was the wealthiest city in the country, due to the cotton trade and the nonexistent payroll of slavery. Do the math on that. It's hard to argue with wealth. And this time there won't be the overhead of actually buying someone. They are already here for one and there's no shipping and handling involved this time. And even better, for you folks trying to play the race card- minimum wage workers come in all colors, from all walks of life. It will be fair this time around. Pretty much....
You see, America is not looking to pick on any one race. As republican historians have pointed out, the slavery of old was started by black slave traders themselves and actually worked out well for the blacks because they lived pretty well (better than in Africa where their own people were capturing them and selling them into slavery!) and, thus, fared much better here than there where they had no opportunities and no wages. So, even back then, slavery wasn't about slavery.
Then, as now, it was about economics. We are all seeing it now more than ever: Paying people costs money! That's basic economics. You eliminate payroll (the bulk of it) and profits soar! Tens of millions of people currently make the minimum wage. Do the math yourself because I went to Math School on a basketball scholarship but, minimum wage workers work anywhere from 20 to 70 hours a week. Times that by $7.25 an hour times umpteen tens of millions of employees and...that's many millions of dollars that would be better spent as bonuses for CEO's.
Here's the thing. You can barely survive in America on the minimum wage. Any CEO or republican congressman will tell you that there is no way The Greatest Country In The World can afford to pay more so, there's nowhere to go but down. We can't lay everybody off and we already tried illegal immigrants so, it's got to be slavery.
And don't you worry about your own, current, well-paying job. Sure, a kid just out of college can do your job- maybe not as well, yet- but certainly a lot cheaper. But, this is America- we take care of our own. Don't you worry. We'll find a place for you in our organization. Are you handy with a whip?
Friday, February 21, 2014
Spanks for nothing!
What the schpank is going on here? Here's a rather spankable woman to put things in perschpanktive:
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2014/02/18/nr-sot-kansas-spanking-bill.cnn.html
What's the matter with people? Kansas just reluctantly struck down a bill that would have allowed discrimination against gays based on religious beliefs. No, you can't stone gays to death- yet- but, if your religion is against them, you are free to be against them, regardless of anti-discrimination laws to the contrary. It's like Stand Your Ground but for hating gays instead of blacks. No, you can't shoot them- yet. That bill passed the Kansas House but not the Senate. They're gonna try again. Arizona went ahead and passed a similar bill. It awaits Governor Jan Brewer's signature. That crazy bitch is fully capable of signing it. We'll see.
It's hilariously fascinating to me that these new laws are brought to us by the folks who tout "small government".
You've got to be fucking kidding me! That is like Senator Bob Corker saying that government should not interfere in the free market- picking winners and losers- and then 'winning' a vote against a union in a Tennessee VW plant via lies and intimidation, and possibly losing future VW investment elsewhere in the American south. That is some comically small government. It meshes well with the tragically small government that feels the need to protect religious people from gays but not children from the wrath of adults.
That brings us to the unfortunate news about spankings. We're not talking about the good, fun kind between grown men and women. That's for another day....
The small government crowd is legislating the beating of children. They are expanding the powers of parents and those who may be in charge of children, to wail on them. With parental permission, of course- for now.... It's a sort of Stand Your Ground for parents.
Some people- of the teapublican persuasion- feel that the national and societal ills are due to a lack of discipline of today's youth. It's not a new concept. You hear reichtards complaining about kids getting trophies 'just for participating' in Little League and parents being 'afraid to discipline their kids for fear of Child Services' arresting them. Bullshit. Getting a plastic trophy for showing up to LL is not causing any kid to shoot up his school. But, it just could not be the gun culture, right? The parents who deal with CPS are the ones who (surprise!) beat their kids and mistreat them in other ways. It couldn't be the cycle of abuse repeating, right?
The subject of "kids today(!)" has come up on every paint crew I've ever been on.
"I got my ass beat every fucking day and I turned out OK!"
A statement like that is accompanied by much nodding and verbal agreement. Except the guy saying it is not "OK". He's an asshole. And a doper. And I could go around the circle and see drunks and drugs and prison and jail time for every man nodding his head.
I got beat as a child, a lot. It taught me that weak people hit. Anger is one letter away from danger. Hitting children while angry teaches children to be violent when angry. Hitting children why calm is just stupid and psychotic. Violence isn't the answer with people you are supposed to love. How could it be?
There is a backlash against anti-bullying sentiment from the teapublicans. Some of the brightest idiots on FOXnews have questioned whether we're being too soft on our kids here in Sparta America. And then we get laws promoting the beating of children. These kids grow up. And, in 31 states so far, you are allowed to Stand Your Ground when you feel threatened by someone. It is encouraged. What are they training us for?
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2014/02/18/nr-sot-kansas-spanking-bill.cnn.html
What's the matter with people? Kansas just reluctantly struck down a bill that would have allowed discrimination against gays based on religious beliefs. No, you can't stone gays to death- yet- but, if your religion is against them, you are free to be against them, regardless of anti-discrimination laws to the contrary. It's like Stand Your Ground but for hating gays instead of blacks. No, you can't shoot them- yet. That bill passed the Kansas House but not the Senate. They're gonna try again. Arizona went ahead and passed a similar bill. It awaits Governor Jan Brewer's signature. That crazy bitch is fully capable of signing it. We'll see.
It's hilariously fascinating to me that these new laws are brought to us by the folks who tout "small government".
You've got to be fucking kidding me! That is like Senator Bob Corker saying that government should not interfere in the free market- picking winners and losers- and then 'winning' a vote against a union in a Tennessee VW plant via lies and intimidation, and possibly losing future VW investment elsewhere in the American south. That is some comically small government. It meshes well with the tragically small government that feels the need to protect religious people from gays but not children from the wrath of adults.
That brings us to the unfortunate news about spankings. We're not talking about the good, fun kind between grown men and women. That's for another day....
The small government crowd is legislating the beating of children. They are expanding the powers of parents and those who may be in charge of children, to wail on them. With parental permission, of course- for now.... It's a sort of Stand Your Ground for parents.
Some people- of the teapublican persuasion- feel that the national and societal ills are due to a lack of discipline of today's youth. It's not a new concept. You hear reichtards complaining about kids getting trophies 'just for participating' in Little League and parents being 'afraid to discipline their kids for fear of Child Services' arresting them. Bullshit. Getting a plastic trophy for showing up to LL is not causing any kid to shoot up his school. But, it just could not be the gun culture, right? The parents who deal with CPS are the ones who (surprise!) beat their kids and mistreat them in other ways. It couldn't be the cycle of abuse repeating, right?
The subject of "kids today(!)" has come up on every paint crew I've ever been on.
"I got my ass beat every fucking day and I turned out OK!"
A statement like that is accompanied by much nodding and verbal agreement. Except the guy saying it is not "OK". He's an asshole. And a doper. And I could go around the circle and see drunks and drugs and prison and jail time for every man nodding his head.
I got beat as a child, a lot. It taught me that weak people hit. Anger is one letter away from danger. Hitting children while angry teaches children to be violent when angry. Hitting children why calm is just stupid and psychotic. Violence isn't the answer with people you are supposed to love. How could it be?
There is a backlash against anti-bullying sentiment from the teapublicans. Some of the brightest idiots on FOXnews have questioned whether we're being too soft on our kids here in Sparta America. And then we get laws promoting the beating of children. These kids grow up. And, in 31 states so far, you are allowed to Stand Your Ground when you feel threatened by someone. It is encouraged. What are they training us for?
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Senator Bob Corker, The Honorable Corksoaker From Tennessee
I LOL'ed at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNHXESQF2Fk
So much of what happens in our lives is a direct result of our history. WWII and storming of the beaches at Normandy is a well-worn metaphor for the struggle of life itself. Of late though, the metaphor usually precedes some conservative crap about our fathers/grandfathers not fighting and dying for men to be able to marry other men or for wealthy people to be taxed, just for being successful. The truth is that none of these things were issues at the time of the D-Day, Normandy invasion. That they would be considered, is some very abstract thought that makes for a cute commercial about inexpensive shaving cream.
Does anyone, for example, think that our dad's and granddads fought on Omaha beach so that a German automobile manufacturer could come to the American south and have low-paid, non-union labor build their vehicles? I don't even think Senator Bob Corker (Corksoaker, Tn.) could think that abstractly. In WWII our men were fighting first to stay alive, but primarily to keep America free of Hitler's rule. They weren't thinking of men marrying each other or black president's bypassing a do-nothing congress via executive orders.
Ironically, the notion of Germans manufacturing anything in America was fightin' words at the time!
Who would have thunk though that today, the Germans would be the good guys here and Americans the bad?
I don't know that VW is completely innocent here but their background in Germany is one of working with the unions. They welcomed the UAW into the plant in Chattanooga to speak to the workers about joining. So, there was that. Corksoaker Bob Corker and other conservative republicans would not go that far. In a WWII analogy they would be in the bunkers on the cliffs machinegunning the Americans (metaphorically speaking) who were fighting for Union representation. Now, Is that any way to treat American workers?
In the American south and to conservative legislators all over America, yes. yes it is. Corksoaker Senator Corker would have us believe that THE American worker despises unions and the representation of workers that they offer. America is chock full of rugged individualists who, if they want to better their position in life, go in and talk to the boss man all by their self. If the bossman opts to not pay them more, they are free to go down the road until they find suitable employment or their hat floats, whichever comes first. That is how Jesus and the other founders intended it if I'm hearing Foxnews right.
If the United Auto Workers (UAW) had been successful at organizing the Chattanooga VW plant, other plants and factories in the south may have opted for union representation too. This would only lead to better wages and benefits for more workers. We had that right here in America after our guys came home from WWII. We won that war, by the way. You wouldn't think so now but, the American worker never enjoyed more prosperity than in the 35 years after WWII ended and Reaganomics began. It was a short but wonderful run! Kids of the future will never know how grand it was! Corksoaking Senator Bob Corker and those of his ilk will never allow our grandchildren to know about those wonder years. Why? Because they would want it back. They would fight to get that back.
Corksoaking Senator Bob Corker and the GOP do not represent America. They only represent the already wealthy, be they Americans or possibly even car-making Germans. Do flags even matter any more? Corksoaking Bob Corker wants the world to know that the Confederate States of America are open for business. Have your way with them! Take the country from the inside out! Forget about our borders. No one does borders anymore. No more beach-heads. No more heroes. It turns out, grandad didn't fight for fair wages, benefits, retirement and some kind of illusion called The American Dream.
Who knew? Just the corksoakers knew....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNHXESQF2Fk
So much of what happens in our lives is a direct result of our history. WWII and storming of the beaches at Normandy is a well-worn metaphor for the struggle of life itself. Of late though, the metaphor usually precedes some conservative crap about our fathers/grandfathers not fighting and dying for men to be able to marry other men or for wealthy people to be taxed, just for being successful. The truth is that none of these things were issues at the time of the D-Day, Normandy invasion. That they would be considered, is some very abstract thought that makes for a cute commercial about inexpensive shaving cream.
Does anyone, for example, think that our dad's and granddads fought on Omaha beach so that a German automobile manufacturer could come to the American south and have low-paid, non-union labor build their vehicles? I don't even think Senator Bob Corker (Corksoaker, Tn.) could think that abstractly. In WWII our men were fighting first to stay alive, but primarily to keep America free of Hitler's rule. They weren't thinking of men marrying each other or black president's bypassing a do-nothing congress via executive orders.
Ironically, the notion of Germans manufacturing anything in America was fightin' words at the time!
Who would have thunk though that today, the Germans would be the good guys here and Americans the bad?
I don't know that VW is completely innocent here but their background in Germany is one of working with the unions. They welcomed the UAW into the plant in Chattanooga to speak to the workers about joining. So, there was that. Corksoaker Bob Corker and other conservative republicans would not go that far. In a WWII analogy they would be in the bunkers on the cliffs machinegunning the Americans (metaphorically speaking) who were fighting for Union representation. Now, Is that any way to treat American workers?
In the American south and to conservative legislators all over America, yes. yes it is. Corksoaker Senator Corker would have us believe that THE American worker despises unions and the representation of workers that they offer. America is chock full of rugged individualists who, if they want to better their position in life, go in and talk to the boss man all by their self. If the bossman opts to not pay them more, they are free to go down the road until they find suitable employment or their hat floats, whichever comes first. That is how Jesus and the other founders intended it if I'm hearing Foxnews right.
If the United Auto Workers (UAW) had been successful at organizing the Chattanooga VW plant, other plants and factories in the south may have opted for union representation too. This would only lead to better wages and benefits for more workers. We had that right here in America after our guys came home from WWII. We won that war, by the way. You wouldn't think so now but, the American worker never enjoyed more prosperity than in the 35 years after WWII ended and Reaganomics began. It was a short but wonderful run! Kids of the future will never know how grand it was! Corksoaking Senator Bob Corker and those of his ilk will never allow our grandchildren to know about those wonder years. Why? Because they would want it back. They would fight to get that back.
Corksoaking Senator Bob Corker and the GOP do not represent America. They only represent the already wealthy, be they Americans or possibly even car-making Germans. Do flags even matter any more? Corksoaking Bob Corker wants the world to know that the Confederate States of America are open for business. Have your way with them! Take the country from the inside out! Forget about our borders. No one does borders anymore. No more beach-heads. No more heroes. It turns out, grandad didn't fight for fair wages, benefits, retirement and some kind of illusion called The American Dream.
Who knew? Just the corksoakers knew....
Thursday, February 13, 2014
You've got to serve somebody
The default, Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. It's higher than that in 31 states but $2.13 is as low as you can go and it's been set at that figure for 23 years now. People are making noise about raising it and of course, the usual suspects are making noise about how awful it would be for the country- and the servers themselves- if servers were paid more.
Here we go again. The economy of THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD is so fragile that it can be destroyed by Denny's waitresses getting a wage increase. How the hell did we get this far in the world?
Well, by convincing stupid Americans that stupid, nonsensical shit like that is true. Like republican legislators in Tennessee are warning Volkswagen workers not join the UAW because if they do they'll vote against future expansion of the current Volkswagen plant and that will cause them to relocate to Mexico or some other country. Essentially they are threatening American workers- the very Tennesseans they purportedly represent- that if they seek more money, the legislature will cut off their own nose to spite their own face. That is not representing the people.
They still have the balls to say it is. The argument that they make against the raise in server wages is the same against the too-low minimum wage. It will cost jobs, they say. It'll raise prices. It will cause dependency on government. Genius stuff like that. They say that to maintain the American dream, we the people have to make a few concessions. Like giving up on the American dream, I guess.
They think nothing of a CEO getting a multi-million dollar bonus essentially just for being there but freak out if a single mother of three might make rent without having to work three jobs. More and more it seems that wages for working people are being seen by legislators as a "hand out". And CEO bonuses aren't? Or are they tips they get for keeping their companies from paying taxes?
This is why I'm so hard on these assholes on Topix and elsewhere on the internet. Be a republican. Be a conservative. Even be a racist. That's fine.
But don't be all those things AND a stupid, fucking idiot who believes that fucking their self and their fellow Americans will pay off in lower prices. It hasn't yet. Why should it? I read people on the internet saying that, "well, corporations have a responsibility to shareholders" that somehow supersedes any responsibility to society in general and the American consumer in particular. It's not just that corporations are people too, my friend- they are better, more important people than you. In Tennessee, Bob Corker and his legislative friends are taking it even further, telling a corporation that they have to toe the line of the other corporations that Corker and his klan actually represent.
The big picture here is the corporations versus us. You're being told you don't want "Big Government" telling you what to do. You're not being told that in big government's place would be BIG BUSINESS. What is the difference? If one is the devil you know, how is the devil you don't know better? I know the government isn't under any obligation to make a profit. That may seem wrong but you don't know why. You'd know why though, if ever year the president got a bonus in the neighborhood of $8 or $9 million dollars no matter what kind of year the country had.
I don't know about you but I think our legislators are making quite a bit of money in tips from their better customers. We the people are not the good customers we have thought we were.
Let's see if a hike in the minimum wage ruins the country. Let's give it a chance. They've been wrong about the ACA ruining the country and they've been wrong about Obama confiscating guns and they've been wrong about a lot of things so, let's see if they're right about poor people not being so poor anymore ruining the country. Let's call that bluff. Raise the minimum for all and for servers as well. Let's go out in style like the greatest country in the world should!
Sure, they'll get even by raising prices. The fuckers were going to raise them anyway. They always do even while labor stagnates. What are they really going to do to us if we stand together? Move all the jobs to Mexico?
Here we go again. The economy of THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD is so fragile that it can be destroyed by Denny's waitresses getting a wage increase. How the hell did we get this far in the world?
Well, by convincing stupid Americans that stupid, nonsensical shit like that is true. Like republican legislators in Tennessee are warning Volkswagen workers not join the UAW because if they do they'll vote against future expansion of the current Volkswagen plant and that will cause them to relocate to Mexico or some other country. Essentially they are threatening American workers- the very Tennesseans they purportedly represent- that if they seek more money, the legislature will cut off their own nose to spite their own face. That is not representing the people.
They still have the balls to say it is. The argument that they make against the raise in server wages is the same against the too-low minimum wage. It will cost jobs, they say. It'll raise prices. It will cause dependency on government. Genius stuff like that. They say that to maintain the American dream, we the people have to make a few concessions. Like giving up on the American dream, I guess.
They think nothing of a CEO getting a multi-million dollar bonus essentially just for being there but freak out if a single mother of three might make rent without having to work three jobs. More and more it seems that wages for working people are being seen by legislators as a "hand out". And CEO bonuses aren't? Or are they tips they get for keeping their companies from paying taxes?
This is why I'm so hard on these assholes on Topix and elsewhere on the internet. Be a republican. Be a conservative. Even be a racist. That's fine.
But don't be all those things AND a stupid, fucking idiot who believes that fucking their self and their fellow Americans will pay off in lower prices. It hasn't yet. Why should it? I read people on the internet saying that, "well, corporations have a responsibility to shareholders" that somehow supersedes any responsibility to society in general and the American consumer in particular. It's not just that corporations are people too, my friend- they are better, more important people than you. In Tennessee, Bob Corker and his legislative friends are taking it even further, telling a corporation that they have to toe the line of the other corporations that Corker and his klan actually represent.
The big picture here is the corporations versus us. You're being told you don't want "Big Government" telling you what to do. You're not being told that in big government's place would be BIG BUSINESS. What is the difference? If one is the devil you know, how is the devil you don't know better? I know the government isn't under any obligation to make a profit. That may seem wrong but you don't know why. You'd know why though, if ever year the president got a bonus in the neighborhood of $8 or $9 million dollars no matter what kind of year the country had.
I don't know about you but I think our legislators are making quite a bit of money in tips from their better customers. We the people are not the good customers we have thought we were.
Let's see if a hike in the minimum wage ruins the country. Let's give it a chance. They've been wrong about the ACA ruining the country and they've been wrong about Obama confiscating guns and they've been wrong about a lot of things so, let's see if they're right about poor people not being so poor anymore ruining the country. Let's call that bluff. Raise the minimum for all and for servers as well. Let's go out in style like the greatest country in the world should!
Sure, they'll get even by raising prices. The fuckers were going to raise them anyway. They always do even while labor stagnates. What are they really going to do to us if we stand together? Move all the jobs to Mexico?
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Breaking news!
We've been down this road before, haven't we? This is where I point out that there are 315 million people in this country and only a small percentage watch FOX news and even less watch MSNBC or CNN. Fox claims something like 3 million viewers and that's not even one percent of the population. And, it's not that one percent. That one percent probably only watches CNBC Business to see if they are saying what they are supposed to be saying about the markets. That and maybe the new "Dallas" on TNT so they could see how they should be living if they weren't controlling markets and such. They'd be getting laid and committing murder, they suppose.
If there's a one percent of the population that is THE one percent, that means there is about 3 million people that more or less run things in this country and rake in most of the dough. They range from the billionaire Koch brothers to people you have never heard of but have like a dozen homes all over the world, who made or inherited fortunes. Somewhere in there too are good guys like Bill Gates (who probably made your computer) and slimey assholes like the Papa John's guy who is yet another reichwing pizza tycoon. I couldn't tell you where any of his pizza joints are but, Payton Manning owns like 30 of them.
Three million is a lot. To put it in perspective, that one percent is about the current population of The Great City Of Chicago- 2.71 million people. Just imagine everyone in Chicago being super-rich. That's super rich and within the city limits. It doesn't count the millions that are doing pretty damn good, that the suburbs would represent, people whom you watch play professional sports or read the news or own small business, a couple of Burger Kings....stuff like that.
Now, the rest of the country. That's you, me and the poor people. From sea to shining sea. 300 million of us and then some. We're the people who live week to week, day to day and are one expensive illness away from disaster. We're the people who live the hard life and strive to make things better, for our families. You probably know where you fit in.
I guarantee your cable news station and your legislators think they know where you fit and what's good for you. They will tell you on one station or the other, 24/7. And they'll vote accordingly.
How many tens of millions of Americans are making the minimum wage (or in that ballpark)? Maybe a third? A half? Can any newsman or teapublican politician tell me that those tens of millions of people wouldn't like a raise in pay? Well, not according to polls that don't include them, I guess. A survey of 100 Americans might show that 69.9%- a majority- feel that a hike in the minimum would be detrimental to economy, causing inflation of prices and actually harming poor people. Who knew? Not the minimum wage earners they didn't poll....
That shit gets reported as news and accepted as fact on cable news stations. Those people would have you believe that 65% of the people on your bus want an investigation into "BENGHAZI!!!!!!!!" And 73% believe that taxing rich people punishes success and shouldn't be allowed in a society that considers itself 'free' and 'Christian'. Furthermore, 47% believe that's the kinda shit that happens in communist Norway! Why do we have to give people 'special rights', by the way? Those 'special rights' come out of 'my rights' that my father or grandfather fought for in WWII when Hitler directly threatened our future rights. Or have we forgotten about that and 9/11 as 38% of democrats have?
Sheesh. When it comes down to it, politics is supposed to be about right and wrong and common sense. If Fox news had been in existence in the 1930's, in Nazi Germany, they would be reporting that a majority of Germans- Jews included- were in favor of confiscating the property of 'undesirables' and putting those people in work camps. People would watch some blonde Fraulein telling them that and think, well, that must be true- it was well presented and backed up with numbers! Later, a man named Goldberg would report about how wonderful the camps were. Like a resort....
Is that hyperbole? I don't think so. They are telling us that the 'majority' of Americans don't want other Americans making a living wage. Nor do they want them on welfare or to receive unemployment or even social security. They just want poor people to go away. And above all else, they don't want rich people being taxed AT ALL because that just punishes success. Tax the poor moochers instead! You know, the ones no longer with us because we wished them all off to the corn field....
There are a lot of stupid people in this country. Read the comments on any Facebook thread and you'll know there are a lot of assholes too. Topix too even though it's dying sans Ferrerman and Hegel.
The thing is, we are not a nation of assholes like the media would like us to believe. We are not all out to make as little as possible so that our glorious job creators can make more, no matter what the media makes it look like. We're certainly not disgusted with our fellow citizens having access to healthcare and, ya know, we voted the black guy into office TWICE so, it's not like we wanted him to fail because he had a communist/Muslim agenda for us. Tiny little rednecks in Kentucky or Florida may want another Civil War but 99% of the rest of the country does not.
There are problems in America. We can work them out. It's not about the ratings or polls, though. It's all about using your mind so that others can't use your soul.
If there's a one percent of the population that is THE one percent, that means there is about 3 million people that more or less run things in this country and rake in most of the dough. They range from the billionaire Koch brothers to people you have never heard of but have like a dozen homes all over the world, who made or inherited fortunes. Somewhere in there too are good guys like Bill Gates (who probably made your computer) and slimey assholes like the Papa John's guy who is yet another reichwing pizza tycoon. I couldn't tell you where any of his pizza joints are but, Payton Manning owns like 30 of them.
Three million is a lot. To put it in perspective, that one percent is about the current population of The Great City Of Chicago- 2.71 million people. Just imagine everyone in Chicago being super-rich. That's super rich and within the city limits. It doesn't count the millions that are doing pretty damn good, that the suburbs would represent, people whom you watch play professional sports or read the news or own small business, a couple of Burger Kings....stuff like that.
Now, the rest of the country. That's you, me and the poor people. From sea to shining sea. 300 million of us and then some. We're the people who live week to week, day to day and are one expensive illness away from disaster. We're the people who live the hard life and strive to make things better, for our families. You probably know where you fit in.
I guarantee your cable news station and your legislators think they know where you fit and what's good for you. They will tell you on one station or the other, 24/7. And they'll vote accordingly.
How many tens of millions of Americans are making the minimum wage (or in that ballpark)? Maybe a third? A half? Can any newsman or teapublican politician tell me that those tens of millions of people wouldn't like a raise in pay? Well, not according to polls that don't include them, I guess. A survey of 100 Americans might show that 69.9%- a majority- feel that a hike in the minimum would be detrimental to economy, causing inflation of prices and actually harming poor people. Who knew? Not the minimum wage earners they didn't poll....
That shit gets reported as news and accepted as fact on cable news stations. Those people would have you believe that 65% of the people on your bus want an investigation into "BENGHAZI!!!!!!!!" And 73% believe that taxing rich people punishes success and shouldn't be allowed in a society that considers itself 'free' and 'Christian'. Furthermore, 47% believe that's the kinda shit that happens in communist Norway! Why do we have to give people 'special rights', by the way? Those 'special rights' come out of 'my rights' that my father or grandfather fought for in WWII when Hitler directly threatened our future rights. Or have we forgotten about that and 9/11 as 38% of democrats have?
Sheesh. When it comes down to it, politics is supposed to be about right and wrong and common sense. If Fox news had been in existence in the 1930's, in Nazi Germany, they would be reporting that a majority of Germans- Jews included- were in favor of confiscating the property of 'undesirables' and putting those people in work camps. People would watch some blonde Fraulein telling them that and think, well, that must be true- it was well presented and backed up with numbers! Later, a man named Goldberg would report about how wonderful the camps were. Like a resort....
Is that hyperbole? I don't think so. They are telling us that the 'majority' of Americans don't want other Americans making a living wage. Nor do they want them on welfare or to receive unemployment or even social security. They just want poor people to go away. And above all else, they don't want rich people being taxed AT ALL because that just punishes success. Tax the poor moochers instead! You know, the ones no longer with us because we wished them all off to the corn field....
There are a lot of stupid people in this country. Read the comments on any Facebook thread and you'll know there are a lot of assholes too. Topix too even though it's dying sans Ferrerman and Hegel.
The thing is, we are not a nation of assholes like the media would like us to believe. We are not all out to make as little as possible so that our glorious job creators can make more, no matter what the media makes it look like. We're certainly not disgusted with our fellow citizens having access to healthcare and, ya know, we voted the black guy into office TWICE so, it's not like we wanted him to fail because he had a communist/Muslim agenda for us. Tiny little rednecks in Kentucky or Florida may want another Civil War but 99% of the rest of the country does not.
There are problems in America. We can work them out. It's not about the ratings or polls, though. It's all about using your mind so that others can't use your soul.
Monday, February 10, 2014
NEW BLOG REATURE!!!!!
Here at the Ferrerman Blog we proudly present a new feature that (so far) we will call, "Get a load of THIS asshole!" unless we think of another name. I almost put a comma in there, one that wouldn't be necessary unless I was specifically addressing a specific dedicated non-reader or two. English is a wonderful language. I speak and write it better than most do but sometimes the mechanics part of it- the rules- gives me pause. I'd feel shame but, I've read the comments and posts of some of my fellow citizens and, I think I might be a Rhodes Scholar.
Anyhoo, get a load of THIS, asshole!
http://issuehawk.com/tamar/2014/02/10/gay-disabled-or-on-welfare-you-are-not-welcome-at-this-oklahoma-restaurant.html
Nice, eh? Do you know that Ron and Rand Paul might support him on this? I don't know that they've been asked about this particular jamoke but I know that Rand Paul has publicly said that- in his opinion as a Libertarian- a business has a right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, that the right of the individual supersedes that of society. Thus, the lunch counters of the old south should not have been integrated and, by the way, Civil Rights were unnecessary too? You know a nation of 310 million people ought to be able to do whatever the fuck they want to do, whenever there is a black democrat in The White House. Whenever there is an "R" in there or, God forbid an "L", this doesn't apply however.
But, this prick has evidently been doing this for 44 years. In Oklahoma, it must be hard to notice these things being so close to Texas. Let's say for argument's sake that hatred for blacks and gays is pretty generic, acceptable hatred. Lots of people hate them so, big deal. That's BIGOTRY 101. I'm curious about the hatred for disabled folks. There's thousands of ways to become disabled. Many of them are pretty goddamn heroic too. I'd like to see him refuse service to a Marine who may have lost his legs in Afghanistan. He seems like a tough, old fuck but I bet he'd back down. Probably spit in the guys food though. The guy makes no apparent distinction as to how patrons became disabled.
This reminds me of the internet meme about the old lady who gets pulled over by a cop and he notices she has a gun. And then she reveals another gun and then another. And the cop, shocked, says to her: "Ma'am, what are you afraid of?" And the old lady replies, "Nothing!"
Except this old bastard seems to be afraid of everyone. He's one slip and fall or one car wreck away from being barred from his own dive. And hey- for all we know one dick away too.
Anyhoo, get a load of THIS, asshole!
http://issuehawk.com/tamar/2014/02/10/gay-disabled-or-on-welfare-you-are-not-welcome-at-this-oklahoma-restaurant.html
Nice, eh? Do you know that Ron and Rand Paul might support him on this? I don't know that they've been asked about this particular jamoke but I know that Rand Paul has publicly said that- in his opinion as a Libertarian- a business has a right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, that the right of the individual supersedes that of society. Thus, the lunch counters of the old south should not have been integrated and, by the way, Civil Rights were unnecessary too? You know a nation of 310 million people ought to be able to do whatever the fuck they want to do, whenever there is a black democrat in The White House. Whenever there is an "R" in there or, God forbid an "L", this doesn't apply however.
But, this prick has evidently been doing this for 44 years. In Oklahoma, it must be hard to notice these things being so close to Texas. Let's say for argument's sake that hatred for blacks and gays is pretty generic, acceptable hatred. Lots of people hate them so, big deal. That's BIGOTRY 101. I'm curious about the hatred for disabled folks. There's thousands of ways to become disabled. Many of them are pretty goddamn heroic too. I'd like to see him refuse service to a Marine who may have lost his legs in Afghanistan. He seems like a tough, old fuck but I bet he'd back down. Probably spit in the guys food though. The guy makes no apparent distinction as to how patrons became disabled.
This reminds me of the internet meme about the old lady who gets pulled over by a cop and he notices she has a gun. And then she reveals another gun and then another. And the cop, shocked, says to her: "Ma'am, what are you afraid of?" And the old lady replies, "Nothing!"
Except this old bastard seems to be afraid of everyone. He's one slip and fall or one car wreck away from being barred from his own dive. And hey- for all we know one dick away too.
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