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Dear Frank Schaeffer:
I think I’ll pass.
Twenty-five years ago this week, a newly elected Clinton administration displayed its reactionary nature as the President made it clear that he would dismantle ‘welfare as we know it.’ White House officials leaked Clinton’s intention to impose cuts in Social Security, the pension system for elderly retired workers, their survivors, and the disabled that were put in place in Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” during the Great Depression.
On January 30, the New York Times opined that “Clinton and Democratic Congressional leaders have concluded that retirees receiving Social Security benefits and Government pensions should pay a significant part of the price of deficit reduction … either by limiting cost-of-living increases in benefits or by increasing taxes on benefits.”
Many of those Clinton aimed to force off welfare were single mothers of small children. Forcing them out of their homes and into work was guised as bestowing greater “dignity” by stripping them of the miserly benefits provided under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Clinton’s threats against the poor were welcomed by the nation’s governors, Democratic and Republican alike, and cheered by the right-wing Heritage Foundation.
How drastic Clinton’s intentions were became clear when he appointed three governors to a welfare advisory council: Democrat James Florio of New Jersey, who had eliminated increased payments for mothers who give birth to additional children while on welfare; Republican John Engler of Michigan, who had tossed tens of thousands off of the welfare rolls by abolishing the state’s General Assistance program; and Republican Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, who had scrapped welfare altogether, replacing it with a punitive system of what was, in all but name, forced labor, under the title “Wisconsin Works.”
Needless to say, President Clinton’s rhetoric about ‘shared sacrifice’ and ‘hard choices’ didn’t extend to corporations, which, he told the governors, would be offered $31 billion in business tax credits and ‘job stimulus.’
Agreeing entirely that Trump’s fascism is utterly reprehensible, I must say you’re never going to enlist the great swathes who repudiate these ‘elections’ without taking ownership for the complete abandonment of the working class.
The interests of the top 10% and the next 90% are VAST. The systemic preclusion of those issues from civic discourse highlights that point perfectly.
Epiphany blessings!
I’ll second Nine’s question . Why exactly are you here ?
You don’t vote ( question is are you EVEN eligible to vote .. or perhaps more relevant … are you even a US citizen )
You offer no viable solutions .. preferring to dredge up tired and worn out failed communist manifesto rhetoric masquerading as liberation theology that no one … especially the WORKING CLASS you erroneously claim to represent wants to hear
You ask no relevant questions
Your so called facts and statistics are pathetically and consistently inaccurate verging on outright lies
The only thing you do seem to continually offer up with your blatant albeit barely pseudo intellectual comments and criticisms is division and descension to no positive or productive end … along with a plethora of insincere ecclesiastical calendar Platitudes & Attitudes blessings
So … other than your more than likely playing the Role of the Internet Troll
WHAT THE ____ IS YOUR PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE ?
Dear TJ Martin:
No, No — you’re confused here.
I alone have offered specific solutions on various questions. I have repeatedly challenged you to offer counter-proposals. Remember? Of course those are routinely met with speculation about my intelligence. Evidence of my lacking intelligence is seen in my inability to find any semantic and therefore any logical relationship between my intelligence and the given propositions we have discussed. When I went to school, that was called an irrelevant thesis. It was also called an argument without a premise. And it was called a circular argument. It had something to do with one’s having to assume the very thing needing proof.
I owe you an answer as to why I’m here no more than you owe me one as to why you are here. Both of us will draw our own conclusions on that. But I suggest that you see my presence here as a reminder of the lesson I presume both of us were taught as children, that actions have consequences. I’ll explain.
A class action suit just filed with the US District Court in Ann Arbor asks the federal court to compel the UAW to return hundreds of millions of dollars in union dues defrauded from 40,000 FCA workers, and to compensate them for losses.
The rationale is that from 2009 – 2015, FCA [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles] was bribing the UAW to bargain away plaintiffs’ rights and secure company-friendly contracts. It was during this period that scores of plants were closed, a 10-hour work day was imposed, and a process began by which thousands of older autoworkers earning ‘middle-class’ wages, wages and health benefits were placed with a low-paid and essentially disposable workforce of 2nd and 3rd tier workers with few or no rights. During that time, the UAW freed automakers from their obligations to provide medical coverage to 800,000+ retired autoworkers and their spouses – in exchange for gaining control over a multibillion-dollar retiree medical trust, VEBA.
As this assault was unfolding, where was the Democrat Party? Conducting an education campaign? Organizing workers? Blocking attacks on autoworkers? That’s where the Party OUGHT to have been. But no; after the 2008 crash, Wall Street Bankers appointed to the White House Auto Task Force oversaw ongoing operations against auto workers.
So you get consequences in the form of a class action lawsuit by UAW members against the UAW. Of course, history abroad and in the US shows that workers cannot expect justice from the courts. Now an additional consequence!
This evening an online forum will discuss establishing rank-and-file worker committees in auto-producing plants. Such committees can declare tainted contracts to be null and void, and draw up demands for new terms of employment. These must include abolition of the multi-tiered wage system, a restoration of the eight-hour-day, the recoup of all concessions imposed by the UAW, and the transformation of all part-time temps into full-time workers.
The Democrat Party refused to work in the interest of autoworkers; autoworkers are now working in their own interest – directly and independent of either capitalist party. Democrats ought to have carried on the worker struggle all along. But they didn’t. Behold the consequences of Democrat Party actions and inactions.
The continuing work of the Socialist Equality Party reaching workers in constituent countries confronts social democrats with a decision. They can make a hard leftward lurch, embrace socialism and stand with an increasingly class-conscious working class, or they can dig in the heels and reaffirm their alliance with the bourgeoisie in their respective countries.
The rise of the working class is the fall of the social democrats. With the rise of the working class, social democrats become increasingly irrelevant. Jan 29, you challenged me on Frank’s Jan 26 ‘Cultural Payback’ post to take the socialist line to US workers. You didn’t reply, but I answered with the suggestion that you approach UAW members and explain that even though corporate money greased Holiefield’s hands as he negotiated company-friendly contracts, those contracts none the less remain binding.
Fact is – our people ARE speaking. We’re talking to workers, the same people Democrats left behind long ago. And therein lies the answer to your question as to why I’m here. It’s about consequences. So you can think of my replies here as a harbinger of things to come. Depending on DP responses, there will be more or fewer like me in the future.
Why the ‘Epiphany blessings?’ I enjoy lectionary preaching around the church calendar, and it seems appropriate to exchange blessing for cursing.
Epiphany blessings!
” This evening an online forum will discuss establishing rank-and-file worker committees in auto-producing plants. Such committees can declare tainted contracts to be null and void, and draw up demands for new terms of employment. These must include abolition of the multi-tiered wage system, a restoration of the eight-hour-day, the recoup of all concessions imposed by the UAW, and the transformation of all part-time temps into full-time workers ”
FACT CHECK TIME
Yeah right gdd … get a freaking clue child … in light of rapidly decreasing automotive sales and profits across the globe … FCA ( FIAT Chrysler Automotive including Alfa Romeo -Maserati – Ferrari ) having been FSBO ( for sale by owner ) for over 18 moths with no potential buyer in sight … massively increasing debt being incurred by all automotive manufactures worldwide on a monthly basis … subprime auto loans bursting in mid air … 30% of Ford production moving to Mexico .. 45% of GM production moving to S.Korea , Viet Nam and China etc – et al – ad nauseam …
That little fantasy meeting you make mention of … that amazingly appears in none of the automotive business news sites … nor the UAW’s ..
.. would work out real well indeed .. if in fact it were real . In other words ..it’d be…
” Much Ado About Nothing ”
Much like yourself .
A little advice . In future … In light of the fact that all things automotive including the business etc side of things has been a major hobby of mine since the 60’s …. y’all might want to try using a different example when posting your blatant lies and utter bs in the attempt to justify your erroneous at best propaganda
Thanks for playing … welcome to the big leagues sparky
And may you be consumed by your own hypocrisies and lies
Dear TJ Martin:
Clue? You want someone to get a clue? Here’s a thought!
You state that …
Automotive sales and profits are decreasing rapidly across the globe.
Automotive companies can’t find buyers.
Manufactory debts are climbing fast.
Subprime auto loans are collapsing.
Production is going global.
You refuse a planned economy.
Yet you tell others to ‘get a clue!’
That must be some great junk you smoke, TJ!
A hundred fifty years ago, Marx crawled inside the Capitalist engine and described its inner workings to the world, including [among many other things] the tendency of the rate of profit to fall. He described the process of globalization including outsourcing work. And he said that this effort would fail. Far from changing anything, situating Capitalist social dynamics elsewhere recreates the same dynamics elsewhere! In the process, it vastly expands the size of the working class, which creating the very conditions necessary for socialism.
You seem to think you say things socialists can’t possibly have considered. We knew all this would happen all along.
Mexico, South Korea, Viet Nam, China – corporations will coerce their autoworkers and ours into vicious competition, OR those workers will UNITE and support each other in every action. This is the ONLY leverage the working class has.
Politics begins on the international scene when the workers of the world UNITE!
Epiphany blessings!
Lectionary preaching . Yeah right gdd .. in what denomination pray tell ? First Church of the Back Pages of Rolling Stone perhaps ?
Give it a rest little one … you’re a blatant fraud … and everyone including yourself knows it
Dear TJ Martin:
Grow up.
Plenty of traditions use the RCL. It isn’t just Anglicans and Lutherans, but some Presbyterians, Baptists and Pentecostals.
I understand that there is an element of artificiality in compressing Jesus’ life into an annual cycle; but it is a VAST improvement on the system often used in free style churches in which the pastor’s whim prevails. Like anything else, this system can be a good servant or a poor master depending on how it is wielded. But the absence of any systematic attempt to preach through the Bible has greatly eroded ecclesial life.
Moreover while not using the RCL, many Reformed/Presbyterian congregations regularly proffer teaching from one or another catechism — the Westminster larger or shorter, the Heidelberg, etc. While not technically a lectionary, this is a systematic attempt to teach Biblical truth organized around theological themes. Calvin’s Institutes essentially follow the Apostles’ Creed. If there was anything inherently wrong to using such systems, one would think that our reformed theologians would have wised up to it before this.
Now go back to church yourself, face whatever charges led to your being disciplined/excommunicated, and start living for Christ.
Epiphany blessings!
Sigh … the working class … lets take a peak at the reality beneath a good 70% of the the ” Culture of Complaint ” ( by Robert Hughes ) working class you claim to represent
At present there are ;
2.5 million jobs available and unfilled in manufacturing
400,000 jobs unfilled in the trades ( plumbers carpenters electricians automotive repair … and that number was before all the natural disasters nationwide )
All requiring education and training .. most offering free training and paid apprenticeships .. including HS programs across the US
All well paid ( $100k and above ) once training and apprenticeships are completed
All left vacant because the majority of that working class is unwilling to learn and adapt .. preferring to cry in their Budweisers , Jack Daniels and opioids rather than take positive measures to elevate themselves
A working class that used to have dignity and take pride in their jobs … took care of their families homes and possessions … now preferring to devolve into a state of stupor , laziness and stupidity … and a blatant ” Culture of Complaint ”
A working class for whom the majority want ” Money for Nothing ” .. so they too can live like their reality TV idols and gods
A working class that would rather find scapegoats for their self created problems rather than look within and be willing to change and adapt to a rapidly changing world
Now does the above indicate or insinuate that I do not believe there are outside sources exacerbating the problems ?
No !
But the fact is .. many of the working class problems are of their own making .
And the other fact is … they don’t want your solutions … fact is … as I’ve stated previously .. you’d come to grievous bodily harm should you ever be stupid enough to express your cut & paste communist manifesto masquerading as liberation theology rhetoric to them
And that last one little one .. you can be guaranteed of .
FYI … exclusion … not preclusion is the proper word … preclusion insinuating that something is being prevented .. ESL Level 4 Vocabulary 101
PS; Mea culpa … almost forgot to add
And may you be consumed by your own hypocrisies … and I do mean that sincerely … unlike your insincere platitudes and attitudes pretense of blessings
gdd – re; Your constant accusations of my being a narcissist as well as taking narcissistic pleasure from our encounters ;
1) The correct term … albeit still an erroneous accusation .. assuming your vocabulary was the equal of your pretense of pseudo intellectual capabilities should be … sadistic / sadist … not nihilist or its many variations
2) As far as taking pleasure … nothing could be further from the truth . The truth being .. like GB I find you to be an annoying little uninformed volitional little prat thoroughly dependent on s script and Cut & Paste incapable of intellectual discussion , conversation , argument or debate … barely capable of exercising the tactics of good propaganda .. and ill equipped to deal with the abstractness or complexities of life
So why do I take the time to repeatedly refute and crush your each and every comment and reply ? Because gdd … that is what an Apologist does when he/she sees blatant lies and propaganda being propagated on a site such as this by such an obvious disingenuous individual who constantly misrepresents who and what they are in the pursuit of an obvious and detrimental agenda
So welcome to Adult Land .. where regardless of your personal falsehoods real and genuine individuals do reside with multidimensional lives and education .. and are more than willing to take the monochromatic likes of you to task … regardless of the abject lack of challenge of doing so .
Cause honestly gdd … you bore me with your inept and inane comments and responses . And tha fax that you are so lame when it comes to exercising the tactics of propaganda … only serves to annoy me further .
My adhering to the age ole adage of … If you’re going to do something … even something as inherently evil as propaganda … at least have the decency integrity and personal pride …
.. to do it right …
Well, my dear gdd as Frank says this is war so I say why are you here?
Wars need soldiers and the path forward is clear…
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
Let’s start with Paul Ryan up in my mums hometown of Janesville Wisconsin….
Our rallying call?
All politics is local as Tip O’Neil once said!
N
Seriously Nine .. take the time to read this essay I posted the link for on the previous page ;
https://eand.co/why-were-underestimating-american-collapse-be04d9e55235
It is perhaps beyond any partisan politics , religious issues etc the best descprtion in short form I’ve read about the decline and collapse of the US and many of the major forces behind it .
Suffice it to say … its depressing … but its all too accurate as well .. especially the bit about Americans willing to stand by and do nothing while watching their neighbors die .
And the sad fact is … neither side has the answers .. but the realistic fact is .. the GOP are offering the worst solutions imaginable … encouraging the collapse rather than trying to stem it ( which is ironic in light of their aligning themselves with the Religious [never] Right ) what with their Toddler in Chief and their sycophant verging on quisling behavior
Suffice it to say as of yesterday the wife and I’s passports are fully updated with the options in place should it all go to hell in a hand basket . And lets not kid ourselves .. like Germany Spain and Italy in the 20’s 30’s … It can … in deference to Sinclair Lewis’s novel …. happen here
( ” It Can’t Happen Here ” ; Sinclair Lewis )
Dear Nine:
Mr. O’Neil was mistaken.
Political action is birthed internationally, it is continued nationally, and it is completed locally.
You repeat Mr. Schaeffer’s pronouncement that we are in a ‘war.’ But in which ‘war’ are we?
At the festival of reaction and political filth that was last night’s STOU address replete with paeans to the police and military, did Republicans alone offer ovations?
Democrats can pretend to oppose the tax cut, but why would they mobilize to stop it when their most important social base, Wall Street, supports it enthusiastically?
Democrats can pretend to fight for immigrant youth covered under DACA, but what does that mean if they abandon the effort after a 2-day government shutdown?
Trump’s first SOTU ceded nothing on immigration. Last week’s 12 year process to legalize DACA aged immigrants was tied to a raft of reactionary measures — his wall, a massive border patrol/immigration police buildup, draconian cuts in legal immigration, limiting family reunification measures to spouses and minor children. He appealed to anti-immigrant prejudices using the Salvadoran M-13 gang as a whipping post–when it was a creation not of El Salvador, but of the Los Angeles slums and US prison system. And leading Democrats joined in the applause–especially on praising ICE and other repressive forces.
Indeed the only matter on which congressional Democrats are prepared to fight intransigently is the so-called Russia probe.
Short of interjection loudly ‘SUCKS’ between the ‘A’ and ‘U’ in the liturgical chant, ‘USA USA,’ you would think that at least one or leading Democrat officials would have the wherewithal to point out that there are still those who remember the shouts, ‘DEUTSCHMARK! DEUTSCHMARK!’
Trump threatened Cuba. Trump threatened Venezuela. Trump threatened Iran. Trump threatened more than 100 countries that voted in the UN-GA to condemn recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of eretz Ysra’el. Trump cited North Korea as an excuse for yet further build up of the US nuclear arsenal.
Donald Trump has taken the measure of his Democrat Party ‘opposition’ and feels strengthened.
The media coverage of the ceremony attests to the utter exclusion of any genuine opposition to the political/social agenda of corporate America.
But the most telling truth about that nihilistic celebration of American nothingness is that the real State of the Union is revealed NOT by the endless torrent of lies conjured by Trump’s speechwriters; it is rather the persona of the president himself.
It is also instructive that the one individual on this forum with the integrity to call the US political system for the fraud that it is routinely denigrated for speaking more truth than American ears will suffer hearing.
Epiphany blessings!
…. and once again the opinions of a deluded immature at best psychotic pseudo intellectual make the screen whilst avoiding all the issues and questions at hand refusing to truly engage in any conversation with anyone … preferring instead to blather on with its constant stream of tired and failed communist manifesto rhetoric and propaganda masquerading as liberation theology containing ZERO substance .. even less critical thinking … and absolutely less than ZERO factual information , evidence or credibility
Which is to say gdd .. get a clue child … Nine and I lived thru the era you’re erroneously steeped within your reality distortion alt fact are making reference to … unlike yourself who no doubt was not even so much as a glimmer in your accursed parents eyes when the events you’re so falsely representing were happening
In conclusion … those who do not vote such as yourself … are not entitled to an opinion .
PS; As for ;
” It is also instructive that the one individual on this forum with the integrity to call the US political system for the fraud that it is routinely denigrated for speaking more truth than American ears will suffer hearing ”
If its GB you’re in any way referring to … the fact is your delusions go way beyond your ideology .. with conspiracy theory having infected itself well into the depths of your very being ….to the point of your no longer being able to distinguish FACT … from delusional conspiracy addled fiction
Dear TJ Martin:
You wrote: ‘…deluded immature … psychotic pseudo intellectual … avoiding all issues and questions at hand …’
I reply: Hey look — a narcissist is projecting intensely loathed weaknesses and seeks redemption by punishing them vicariously in others!
Epiphany blessings!
Nice try but once again before making erroneous and ludicrous diagnosis and accusations y’all might wanna try looking up the definition of narcissist … cause yours little one … is more than a bit inaccurate .
In as far as my ‘ so called ‘ weaknesses perceived within the depths of your addled little mind .
Verifiable examples please … Put Up Or Shut Up
And once again little one … your silence when it comes to challenges and questions from either myself , Nine or anyone else for that matter only serves to exacerbate your blatant falsehood , insincerity and guilt .
As well as to expose your real agenda for all to see .
BWTM – Sigh … good lord gdd … could you possibly infuse your comments with any more irrelevant arguments and disinformation than you did with this one ? Jeeze .. you appear more like a dishonest politician than most politicians do !
Suffice it to say child … anyone with a modicum of intelligence and discernment will not be distracted by your Maoist Propaganda 101 tactic of blathering on and on about ” Much Ado About Nothing ” in order to avoid the relevant discussion and facts .. because in reality you are incapable of carrying on a relevant discussion .. your only real ability being the propagation of your ideology and propaganda who’s sole agenda is to sow division and discord .. rather than contributing to the discussion at hand or offering any real and/or viable solutions
Dear TJ Martin:
I see you’re really embracing your ‘inner Republican’ of late.
Epiphay blessings!
Seriously ? Now the pseudo intellectual communist liberation theologian pretending to have an education ..
.. is resorting to irrelevant adolescent verging on locker room attempts at insult ?
Gee gdd … getting a bit desperate in your inability to convey the facts and engage in genuine debate argument and conversation ?
Sad .. truly sad .
Welcome to the big leagues sparky …
Dear TJ Martin:
To hear you speak, one would think you were the Rylands professor.
Epiphany blessings!
In conclusion … and as I’m sure Nine would agree ( though he might be a bit nicer about how he expresses it )
PUT UP OR SHUT UP !
And may you be consumed by your own hypocrisies and heresies
Dear TJ Martin:
Have any political solutions to offer on
–The opioid crisis?
–The homeless crisis?
–The education crisis?
–The health care crisis?
–Anything?
No?
That’s what I thought.
So deal with it.
Epiphany blessings!
” Have any political solutions to offer on
–The opioid crisis?
–The homeless crisis?
–The education crisis?
–The health care crisis?
–Anything? ”
Yes gdd … unlike yourself steeped within the abyss of pseudo intellectualism and tired worn out failed communist rhetoric masquerading as liberation theology offering nothing other than a constant wave of propaganda , irrelevant erroneous facts , lies and propaganda much if not most of which you barely comprehend yourself .. while not participating in any way shape or form in the political process you so openly criticize ..
… as a matter of fact I do . And unlike your bs .. my solutions are viable .
But seeing as how I made the very same initial challenge weeks ago … the ball is still in your court ..
so you first ( Logic & Debate 101 )
PUT UP OR SHUT UP ..
No response to my simple many time … and long reiterated challenge ? Got no answer ? Script letting you down ?
Or is it simply the case that you’ve hit the wall when it comes to your pretense of pseudo intellectual knowledge ?
Dear TJ Martin:
Oh? You have specific solutions to varied crises? First time I’ve noticed you writing that!
If you’ve finally ready to offer a meaningful and positive contribution, do be my guest! What major crisis will you address first, and what have you to say about it?
Epiphany blessings!
FYI gdd … Tiff O’Neil was anything but mistaken .
But then again … Your NOT voting , participating in the electoral process or politics beyond the blathering of your blatant propaganda behind the safety of your precious little screen … what would you know ?
Answer – Absolutely … nothing … which is also what your vapid and inane opinions and comments are worth …
Absolutely …Nothing
And to be kind rather than nice ( I’m always kind but hardly ever … nice ) .. I’d guess that pretty much sums up the entirety of your existence as well ..
Nothing !
In other words in case that statement exceeds the extreme limitations of your pseudo intellectual capabilities and capacities , You are the epitome of a nihilist .. and we all know what the only logical conclusion of nihilism is .. don’t we .
Dear TJ Martin:
First, proffer a solitary solution for any major crisis facing the US.
In the absence of real solutions, your elections have all the meaning of a beauty pageant.
We don’t need such elections.
We don’t need such parties.
We don’t need such ‘leadership.’
We don’t need such institutions or processes of state.
But go ahead — say something else! Or, have you depleted your reservoir of political expletives and maledictions?
Epiphany blessings!
Ahhhh .. and once again you ignore the fact that as stated above several weeks ago I placed before you the challenge to come up with one solitary example where the agendas you are presenting have ever had so much as a singular positive outcome .. never mind creating more problems that it claimed to be mitigating .
Just one !
PUT UP OR SHUT UP
As for ;
” But go ahead — say something else! Or, have you depleted your reservoir of political expletives and maledictions? ”
… child … I haven’t even begun to crush your blatant lies and propaganda … whereas you’ve yet to come up with one solitary verifiable fact or piece of evidence to back up any of your claims , criticisms . lies and propaganda .
And ahh .. sorry to be the bearer of bad news … but there’s nary a moment of magic or magical thinking within the entirety of the grand total of every comment or reply I’ve made … but hey
what ever delusions it takes to get you thru your meaningless vapid and inane little day
Do take notice .. one and all ;
Once again a challenge was reiterated by myself for the umpteenth time…. that being to show one example of communisms success .. and once again in the spirt of Mao’s Little Book of Propaganda …
… gdd has resorted to the propaganda technique of deflection .. rather than addressing the challenge or question at hand
… as is his/her consistent and constant Modus Operandi
Dear TJ Martin:
You wrote: ‘ come up with one solitary example where the agendas you are presenting have ever had so much as a singular positive outcome…’
I reply: First, tell me where they’ve been implemented. I realize that some have pointed to the former Stalinist regime and sundry East European countries. But were they socialist? They said they were. But which of them abolished wage slavery, commodity production, rent, interest, the market, surplus value, etc., etc.?
Retaining the basic components of Capitalism, those nations exemplified state-run Capitalism. Capitalism organized by the state and very substantially in the interest of the party privileged is in fact all the failure that the fascistic right claims it was, and largely for the reasons it claims.
Epiphany blessings!
Dear TJ Martin:
WRONG!
O’Neil WAS mistaken.
Capitalist politics begins locally.
Socialist politics begins internationally.
The worker HAS no country but the international working class.
Capitalism will ALWAYS restructure itself whenever it comes under attack in any given locality. The working class UNITES to UNDO that endeavor.
International
National
Local
Epiphany blessings!
Wrong … a plethora of lies … and nothing more than blatant Cut & Paste communist manifesto rhetoric and agenda that has yet to of proven itself thru out history to be anything other than more damaging than the ills it claims to cure
Dear TJ Martin:
You wrote: ‘a plethora of lies … and nothing more than blatant Cut & Paste communist manifesto rhetoric …’
Really? And you’re going to demonstrate that … how?
Epiphany blessings!
PS; As for ;
” Political action is birthed internationally, it is continued nationally, and it is completed locally ”
Suffice it to say no one with half a brain including your communist masquerading as liberation theologian idols … would ever so much as countenance such a ludicrous and erroneous statement … never mind agree with it
Where do you get your infuriation from gdd ? WhatsaMatta U in conjunction with social media and conspiracy theory addled websites perhaps ?
Where ever .. and what ever … like 30-40% of the rest of Americans … you truly are a card carrying member of the Collective Stupidity of American .. regardless of any education you may make claim to
Dear TJ Martin:
Suffice it to say no one with half a brain including your communist masquerading as liberation theologian idols … would ever so much as countenance such a ludicrous and erroneous statement … never mind agree with it
And you think that’s an erudite statement? You lack a disciplined mind.
Epiphany blessings!
So far I’ve yet to see even a moment of erudition coming from you . A lot of Cut & Paste communist manifesto masquerading as liberation theology rhetoric … a plethora of lies and propaganda … along with waves of irrelevant information in the attempt to distract
And ahh … byt the way child …. a truly disciplined mind is capable of communicating on many different levels .. from the educated to the profane .. according to the needs and demands of the specific situation at hand ( Apologetics 501 )
Dear TJ Martin:
You’ve been copy/pasting your own rhetoric for months and it seldom has any connection to anything. But you’re getting far too much narcissistic supply out of this.
So I’ll quit for now.
Epiphany blessings!
” You’ve been copy/pasting your own rhetoric for months and it seldom has any connection to anything. But you’re getting far too much narcissistic supply out of this.”
Once again little one .. y’all needs to look up the definition of the term narcissistic pleasure before making such erroneous and ludicrous accusations .
In as far as the attempt to deflect … cute .. in a childish sort of way .. but completely ineffective
As for your quitting for now ,
Might I out of kindness seriously suggest you do so permanently in light of the fact that you are destined to lose each and every encounter due to your blatant ineptitude and inability .
Well,
My dear gdd it started after Vietnam Nam when the people rose up to stop the war and mind most of them are Republicans now…he he..
How did that happen?
Where is the attack dog when you need him he he….
We shall discuss this rationally then you shall register to vote.
N
” mind most of them are Republicans now…he he.. ”
Errr … not quite my friend …. fact is the majority out of frustration and disappointment after multiple wars posing as police actions after Viet Nam … racism slowly regaining traction after decades of improvement etc .. became Apolitical . But what they have become … and what is a large part of our problem today .. is
Gospel of Ayn Rand anarcho-capitalists …. who no longer care about anything other than themselves
Did you listen to Trump last night?
It takes an idiot to raise a village
The village idiot is in charge of our military
Biggest idiots are evangelical
Time to pull the lever for the Democrats
Simple as that
Nine
Ahhh but Nine … did you happen to take notice of the not so subtle message that Wall Street sent Herr Drumpf yesterday just hours before his bloviating and lies ?
The single largest one day drop in the market ,,, in years .
Ahhh … schadenfreude … a guilty pleasure indeed … but then again … in this era .. a little well aimed does no harm what so ever
And I’ll second the motion ..
VOTE FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS .. e.g. VOTE DEMOCRAT ..
Cause to 2nd you once again … you’re either part of the solution … part of the damn problem .. or you’re just plain in the goram way ..
Funny aint it how the likes of a gdd .. can manage to be both part of the problem … and in the way ? Ahhh … the joys of the pseudo intellectual idiot .
Dear TJ Martin:
‘VOTE FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS .. e.g. VOTE DEMOCRAT .. ‘
As we know, evil justifies evil. I can’t think of a text, but if TJ says it, it must be all over the Bible.
LOL!
Epiphany blessings!
Epiphany blessings!
… and now gdd resorts to the same little girl behavior as GB did when his back was against the wall … e.g. .. LOL … seriously ?
No stupid … evil never justifies evil … but … when only two choices are available …
THE MATURE AND INTELLIGENT PERSON CHOSES THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS
Hmm lets see now … what apologetic philosophical and religious subject does that fall under in both undergrad and seminary /grad school ? Oh yeah …
Tragic Dilemma & the Tragic Reality We Live In … 101
FYI ; … consistently repeating platitudes and & attitudes insincere ecclesiastical calendar year blessings does not amount to a magic spell or incantation . Fact is .. it only proves the one using them to be a hypocritical little fool .
Dear TJ Martin:
No one exemplifies your rhetoric quite as you do…
Epiphany blessings!
From the queen of the bards ( Joni Mitchell )
” .. snakebite evangelists and marketeers .. a culture in decline .. Land of snap decisions / Land of short attention spans / Nothing is savored long enough … to really understand ”
” Dog Eat Dog ” 1985 … damn prescient if you ask me
Trump’s SotU address 2018
The statistics are in .. from both the [ real ] conservative , moderate , mainstream and liberal press . All in agreement ;
The lowest nationwide approval rating of any SotU address in twenty years
The lowest nationwide approval rating of ANY POTUS’s first year SotU address … ever !
Yet .. his base … the christofacists … and of course the Alt right Ministry of Cult and Disinformation … FoxNews … are cheering from the sidelines like the bunch of black/brown shirt sycophant quislings that they are
Most people are too exhausted to explore news other than sensational sound bites found in the mainstream new$ media. Being that the strength of a democracy lies with the integrity of its press we are screwed to the wall like never before or perhaps just like we’ve always been. The more I learn from alternative sources the more convinced I am that we’ve been lied to since long before I was born. One only needs to follow the money and the birth of the federal reserve is a good place to start.
Tara … not to say the mainstream press are 100% accurate and saints to be canonized … but the simple fact is … ALL the alternative sources are based on a model of click baiting who’s sole agenda is profit … and will say/post anything to keep those clicks …and therefore those advertising dollars coming . Not to mention despite what you may chose to believe … you really have no clue who is behind 99% of the alternative media … and other than the garnering of clicks … you have no idea what their agenda is either . And trust me … even Frank has an agenda.. not all of which is either honorable , productive or positive .
Suffice it to say I get NO news from the alternative media available ( and that includes this site ) unless I am 150% who’s behind it having thoroughly vetted it before hand .
e.g. READ …. rather than be entertained by social media .. and ,,, other than a place to vent … social media is bs .. period !
Finally .. Propaganda 101 .. direct from Mao’s Little Book of Propaganda * … the best way to propagate lies … is to exhaust the listener / reader with masses of irrelevant information
In other words .. limit your intake of news and information to that which is immediately relevant to yourself or your family .
In conclusion … is the US a screwed up mess ? Damn right it is . But the fact remains … at least at present … its still the best screwed up mess there is .
And remember … skepticism is a healthy attribute and survival instinct … whereas cynicism is detrimental to one’s overall mental health … leading to nihilism which usually ends up as schizophrenia .. at which point you pretty much become beyond help . Do Not Go There !!!!
* If you’re willing to take the time and effort to learn about how propaganda works from a critical and intellectual point of view … don’t sell yourself short ..and … read Jacques Ellul’s ” Propaganda ” which included Mao’s book at the end . Thus will you be able to circumvent much of the effects of propaganda … rather than succumbing to it … as you obviously are … absolutely no insult either implied nor intended
PS; Tara … pax in as far as previous areas of contention … and ..
.. if you want to see a rather elemental somewhat crude version of propaganda .. read both gdd’s comments and replies here .. all of which are riddled from top to bottom with crudely executed propaganda techniques including ;
1) Deflection – ( avoiding direct questions and challenges )
2) Distraction – ( posting reams of irrelevant information in order to distract from the subject at hand as well as distracting the reader from recognizing factual errors and lies ) etc
3) Intentional misinformation – ( which contains just enough truth in order to appear accurate to the casual uninformed or non-critical reader )
Ecco … basta … ciao
Wonder who convinced Trump to keep harping on the “lowest unemployment rate” of African Americans. What specific public policies of Trump contributed to this? LOL! Guess it didn’t hurt that President Obama left him a better economy than the Great Recession President Bush left behind. Unfortunately, while part-time, low wage jobs are better than no jobs, it does nothing to lift folks out of poverty and that’s the real disgrace.
Precisely . Not to mention the fact that our US Unemployment figures are solely based on those still eligible and receiving unemployment benefits … and not … on the actual number of people unemployed .
In addition to the fact that historically African American unemployment numbers have been consistently understated by the parties … for obvious reasons ( racism and bigotry )
joelyn… I’m not so sure that part-time low wage jobs are better than no jobs. At least not for the poor folks … that is. The reason I say this is because all that low wage jobs accomplishes is getting people off of welfare and Medicaid, which benefits the government while leaving the poor to pick up their own costs bereft of the dignity of a “living” wage. Which is hardly an incentive nor a solution.
Margarita, of course you are right. Part-time low wage jobs are for all practical purposes just a poverty treadmill, but given the current public policies, many folks have little choice. Qualifying for some of these social safety net programs are tied to folks working these low wage jobs.
That is why we must continue to fight a living wage. Somehow low wage earners of different races must learn to work together for their common good instead of fighting one another while the uncaring 1% laughs all the way to the bank. Psychologically, however, even a useless job can keep a person motivated and somewhat hopeful. At least that the experience some low wage workers shared with me. Cheers!
I meant …to continue to fight for a living wage. LOL!
I hear you Joelyn. My take is that everybody (not just the poor) must learn to work together for their common good instead of fighting one another while the uncaring 1% laughs all the way to the bank. This thing of hurling insults back and forth for anything and everything that doesn’t fit one’s cherished notions instead of listening to one another is only going to serve to make people become even more entrenched. Particularly when religion and the “bible” are a part of it.
Simply put, the fact remains that the reason we are in the situation that we are in, is that the majority of eligible voters didn’t vote for either candidate. Which, whether right or wrong, indicates that the majority were sick and tired of a broken two party system. As such, what is needed is a strong (preferably younger) Independent candidate. Until then, I personally fear that things will inevitable have to get much worse before people are willing to drop their pet affiliations and peeves, and start trying to find common ground by which to move forward.
As for the Democrats, if they really want to save their party, they are going to have to stand up to Drumph way more than they have. That is … IF … they want to sway the non-voters to their side. This whole thing that Schummer did of caving in after only two days of a government shutdown, decidedly did not send out the right message to the sideliners. Quite the contrary! The way I see things, is that the Democrats better grow a pair and start doing something about the mess we are in as opposed to talking the “good” talk. Because as we all know… Action speaks louder than words. Plus, talk is cheap. Especially when it’s not followed by action. Leaving all those who didn’t vote, saying: “Yada… yada… yada… We’ve heard all of this before. What else is new?”
But what do I know? I’m just an aging woman who is most likely not going to survive this sh*t anyways… So I’m just trying to make the best of what little freedom I’ve got left, enjoy my life as best I can, and to hell with everything else!
Margarita, you probably know more than you think and there’s nothing wrong with aging or being older. Why the majority of Americans don’t vote is a complex issue involving much more than dissatisfaction with our current two-party system. My husband, middle brother, and elderly father haven’t voted in years yet they complain about public policies that hurt them. Go figure.
I’ve had young people (I’m a grandma) tell me voting doesn’t change things. Yet they complain about the current system as well. Like you, I’m not sure what is it going to take to change things but I’m going down fighting for the future of my grandchildren and community. So I’ve become more involved local politics.
I agree folks spent (especially on the web) way too much time hurling childish insults at one another, but I’ve become adept at ignoring folks who can’t have a conversation with resorting to ad hominems. And like you, I’m tired of folks who want to exert their religious superstitions on public policies like marriage equality or reproductive rights. So hang in there homegirl; we need you in this fight. Cheers.
sorry, I meant more right than you think….