Hunter Biden’s Laptop

[DIY-HP-LED]

The democrats could have literally done nothing and allowed the workers their right to strike. But they chose to break the strike, denying them their rights.

You have a two-party system, a binary choice, what is your point? Do you think the republicans will treat labor better after spending decades trying to destroy unions? Who has "right to work" legislation, Red states or Blue?

Get big enough democratic majorities and the leftwing of the party will have a stronger voice and they will have more freedom of action. Republicans always scream SOCIALISM! about anything that will help working people or unions. The republicans work for the rich and con the base with culture wars that foxnews mostly makes up and amplifies. The republicans are completely dependent on culture wars, they have no solutions, but they do have plenty of problems, including being driven by a fanatical base that rejects reality.

So, are the democrats better for labor than the republicans? Don't try and say both sides are the same because I just proved that to be bullshit. Russia and Ukraine are not the same either and those who say both sides are the same are full of shit too and in America they are all republicans. Pick a side and get into a trench, liberal democracy is the only chance working people have, lose your vote or not have it count and you'll end up like a Russian sent to slaughter with fuck all but a head full of bullshit and yer pants full of shit. Right now, republicans are wearing shit on their faces and still have that stupid shit grin as they continue to eat it from their fingers.

 

[CANON_Grow]

The democrats could have literally done nothing and allowed the workers their right to strike. But they chose to break the strike, denying them their rights.

Give it a read and lets go from there:

OK then. Biden 2020.

What is there to debate? "We have unanimity." Joe Biden to a GOP manic cheers. Good point.

www.rollitup.org

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

If these workers are so essential then treating them fairly is also essential. Yet we don't. And when given a chance to make that right, the Democrats chose the rail bosses over the workers. Same as they always do and always will.

Do you work for the railways? I used to.

 

[pheknow]

So, are the democrats better for labor than the republicans? Don't try and say both sides are the same because I just proved that to be bullshit. Russia and Ukraine are not the same either and those who say both sides are the same are full of shit too and in America they are all republicans. Pick a side and get into a trench, liberal democracy is the only chance working people have, lose your vote or not have it count and you'll end up like a Russian sent to slaughter with fuck all but a head full of bullshit and yer pants full of shit. Right now, republicans are wearing shit on their faces and still have that stupid shit grin as they continue to eat it from their fingers.

When it comes to letting the big money rule the world, Democrats and Republican are indistinguishable. They absolutely do differ on social issues, but sadly both parties just use the debate over these social issues as cover while they do the dirty work of the billionaire class.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

When it comes to letting the big money rule the world, Democrats and Republican are indistinguishable. They absolutely do differ on social issues, but sadly both parties just use the debate over these social issues as cover while they do the dirty work of the billionaire class.

There used to be more truth to that back in the Clinton days when they turned their backs on unions and working people, but Joe was always pro labor. Only one party stands for liberal democracy and the rule of law, essential for any labor or social movement and that is the democrats. The republicans turned fascist and their backs on the constitution, rule of law and the very founding ethos of the nation. They have no policies and are totally dependent on made up culture wars promulgated mostly by fox, which is in a legal box made of their own lies. Win an election cycle and change the laws to level the playing field and to get rid of fox, if they haven't gone up in smoke first. Foxnews is the propaganda wing of the GOP and gave them billions in illegal free campaign contributions over the decades, this too has been revealed by the lawsuits against foxnews. Getting rid of foxnews will do a lot for America it will cut the GOP culture wars off at the knees and they have nothing else to offer but hate and fear.

 

[cannabineer]

When it comes to letting the big money rule the world, Democrats and Republican are indistinguishable. They absolutely do differ on social issues, but sadly both parties just use the debate over these social issues as cover while they do the dirty work of the billionaire class.

which brings us full circle. Tell us less about the perceived problem and more about the proposed solution (avoiding the trap of utopian thought).

specifically, if you please.

 

[Fogdog]

When it comes to letting the big money rule the world, Democrats and Republican are indistinguishable. They absolutely do differ on social issues, but sadly both parties just use the debate over these social issues as cover while they do the dirty work of the billionaire class.

Another "both sides bad" post. As Democrats are just as responsible for the Jan 6 attack on our democracy as Republicans are.

I look forward to your reply to @cannabineer's post. Please include how you would implement your polices in this democracy.

 

[pheknow]

Another "both sides bad" post. As Democrats are just as responsible for the Jan 6 attack on our democracy as Republicans are.

Both sides are bad, though. That doesn't mean one side isn't worse, but they're both completely captured by they billionaire class.

I look forward to your reply to @cannabineer's post. Please include how you would implement your polices in this democracy.

The number one thing I would do is implement instant runoff voting:

 

[cannabineer]

Both sides are bad, though. That doesn't mean one side isn't worse, but they're both completely captured by they billionaire class.




The number one thing I would do is implement instant runoff voting:

what kind of party (describe platform) would get your vote?
What would be your alternate choices?

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Both sides are bad, though. That doesn't mean one side isn't worse, but they're both completely captured by they billionaire class.




The number one thing I would do is implement instant runoff voting:

I'm sorry, rallying the proletariat to the hammer and sickle has been tried before and we are still living with the failure and fallout. This is a binary question and the difference between good and evil and one would have to be amoral or immoral not to see the difference. I think you just admitted that you don't know the difference between right and wrong, truth and lies. Or perhaps you have another agenda?

The democrats want to get rid of dark money and the republicans want to keep it, likewise with gerrymandering and they have proposed laws to limit it, likewise with tax cuts for the rich, repealing them is something the republicans would reject because they serve the rich and fool the base. Then there is the history of republican anti-labor laws and actions many of them extreme.

Anybody but a billionaire who votes for republicans is a fool and mere useful idiot who fucks themselves and others at the ballot box, even billionaires have to be more greedy than smart to vote for republicans. Bigots are not smart, and neither are racists, it's one of the reasons they are that way, lack of brains and a fear of being bested by brown people. They are the easiest people of all to suck in and to exploit their own character flaws against them, a close second is greed and with religion, they were the traditional "hooks" for a con artist.

 

[cannabineer]

Virtually all violence and crime would disappear if we created a world where people's basic needs were met.

We are a social species, our success and our neighbor's success are the same thing. Nobody will ever be truly happy in a world filled with miserable, desperate people.

Capitalism requires miserable, desperate people for a cheap and compliant work force. The less miserable and desperate we are, the more we demand for our labor.

oh well; it was fun while it lasted. This is the basic misread that capsizes socialism. Human nature (ambitious, acquisitive and predatory) will not magically reorient in a world where our basic needs are provided. Man will seek to exploit man, then secure the advantage obtained by force and fear.

We are the species of Alexander, Genghiz, Napoleon and Adolf. People whom we remember by their first names. People who epitomize that enough is never enough.

A realistic and healthy pluralistic society cannot be built on an ideological unicorn such as that premise. That is the unstable state that tends to collapse into fascist rule; I repeat the example of the Soviets.

Oh well. It’s why I said what I did about collectivization. Direct popular rule was unsustainable in the much smaller society of Pericles’s Athens. So a caretaker body must be designated as the warden of the means of prosperity. Nobody in six thousand years has found a stable way to keep such a body from accumulating sovereign power and decoupling from its duty.

Power corrupts.
Our political model lives in the shadow of that fact.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

oh well; it was fun while it lasted. This is the basic misread that capsizes socialism. Human nature (ambitious, acquisitive and predatory) will not magically reorient in a world where our basic needs are provided. Man will seek to exploit man, then secure the advantage obtained by force and fear.

We are the species of Alexander, Genghiz, Napoleon and Adolf. People whom we remember by their first names. People who epitomize that enough is never enough.

A realistic and healthy pluralistic society cannot be built on an ideological unicorn such as that premise. That is the unstable state that tends to collapse into fascist rule; I repeat the example of the Soviets.

Oh well. It’s why I said what I did about collectivization. Direct popular rule was unsustainable in the much smaller society of Pericles’s Athens. So a caretaker body must be designated as the warden of the means of prosperity. Nobody in six thousand years has found a stable way to keep such a body from accumulating sovereign power and decoupling from its duty.

Power corrupts.
Our political model lives in the shadow of that fact.

Generally, the better structured the liberal democracy is and the more accountable to actual majorities, the less corrupt it tends to be. Social division inside a country can go tribal. Many modern nations are artificial constructs, whether America, Canada or former colonies encompassing many diverse peoples and cutting through ethnic groups with national borders. Naturally assholes take advantage of this situation to accumulate power and money. Leaders can lead up or down and the trip down can happen fast, but the climb back up is always longer and harder.

 

[cannabineer]

Generally, the better structured the liberal democracy is and the more accountable to actual majorities, the less corrupt it tends to be. Social division inside a country can go tribal. Many modern nations are artificial constructs, whether America, Canada or former colonies encompassing many diverse peoples and cutting through ethnic groups with national borders. Naturally assholes take advantage of this situation to accumulate power and money. Leaders can lead up or down and the trip down can happen fast, but the climb back up is always longer and harder.

The tough part seems to be finding a model that lasts. The Roman Republic held up for over 400 years. However it was a stratified class society: a minority of patricians, the peasant plebs, and all that on the backs of slaves.

The other example (I speak from only sketchy knowledge) is the hybrid monarchy in Britain after the Magna Carta. Not a republic, but not an autocracy either, with a brief aberration around Cromwell.

A central dynamic appears to involve capital and industry. Too loose, and you have corporate fascism which has the West under threat. (It also powered the Marxist reaction.) Too tight (socialist model) and same catastrophe from a different direction.

China, for all its other problems, seems to follow a middle path. Enough capitalism to interest entrepreneurs, but a center strong enough to keep industrialists from unrestrained power.

Japan’s corporate feudal model worked amazingly well … until it didn’t. A Japanese middle-class worker faces job volatility now.

Add to this that technology changes, which changes the shape and rhythms of society, placing every current state under new stresses, and we are left to figure out what is the new equilibrium point. It’s the never-ending story.

 

[Fogdog]

Both sides are bad, though. That doesn't mean one side isn't worse, but they're both completely captured by they billionaire class.

The number one thing I would do is implement instant runoff voting:

Listened to the vid. I have no issues with ranked choice voting, we use it in my county to select local leaders. Though I wonder why you would bring it up because it does not solve the problem you assume is true (I don't agree) -- that billionaires have "captured" both parties and in so doing "captured" our government. It also doesn't address partisan gerrymandering.. Ranked choice voting also fails to advance our democracy because on ballots with a large number of candidates, candidates can win without receiving a large plurality of first choice votes. There is also an issue with ballots that aren't completely filled out. When that happens, the exhausted ballot is dropped within a few rounds of tabulation and the voter's voice is silenced. For local elections I'm OK with RCV but for statewide and national ones, your proposal is utopian and not practical. Again, it doesn't even address your main complaint.

Also, I disagree with your premise altogether. In national, statewide and congressional elections, people are voting for who they want to represent them in government. Look at the polling numbers. Most people approve of their representatives in Congress. It's "the other Congressman" that they disapprove of.

So, no, your utopian solution and false premise are not solutions to our troubled democracy. There are better solutions: campaign finance reforms, including banning corporate donations, repealing the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, eliminate the electoral college, eliminate partisan gerrymandering are examples. All of which are opposed by Republicans and endorsed by the "bad" Democrats.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

The tough part seems to be finding a model that lasts. The Roman Republic held up for over 400 years. However it was a stratified class society: a minority of patricians, the peasant plebs, and all that on slaves.

The other example (I speak from only sketchy knowledge) is the hybrid monarchy in Britain after the Magna Carta. Not a republic, but not an autocracy either, with a brief aberration around Cromwell.

A central dynamic appears to involve capital and industry. Too loose, and you have corporate fascism which has the West under threat. (It also powered the Marxist reaction.) Too tight (socialist model) and same catastrophe from a different direction.

China, for all its other problems, seems to follow a middle path. Enough capitalism to interest entrepreneurs, but a center strong enough to keep industrialists from unrestrained power.

Japan’s corporate feudal model worked amazingly well … until it didn’t. A Japanese middle-class worker faces job volatility now.

Add to this that technology changes, which changes the shape and rhythms of society, placing every current state under new stresses, and we are left to figure out what he new equilibrium point. It’s the never-ending story.

International organizations like the EU and others often offer a check on corruption, Ukraine's membership in the EU is but one example, they have to meet standards and they impose an external check on corruption in governments and corporate control. The EU appears to be more independent for corporate influence than most. I believe a big part of the Tory support for Brexit in the UK was driven by the banking sector wanting Russian money and EU regulations were making that difficult. Likewise, the UN and basic human rights put a check on some extreme governments along with international law and courts. It appears to be a way forward and another check on unlimited power inside a state against the majority of the population. The reason corruption persists in America is because of political division and grid lock making obvious solutions to problems difficult. The wealthy are the primary beneficiaries of this division and the complete corruption of one political party.

How accountable is MTG or a host of others from red states who have a lock on power no matter how fucking stupid and evil they are? No matter how dumb their policies are, when they mention any at all, no matter how treasonous they are too. We have seen Trump plow up the bottom of the gutter for years and his support grew from 2016 to 2020, even after fucking up covid and multiple fiascos that would have killed any other candidacy and did kill over a million Americans with the worst death toll on the planet per capita. Trump was driving a Cadillac, into the righthand ditch and wrecking it and compared to many poor countries America did poorly on covid.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

You should try talking to people who disagree with you more often, I learn something almost every time I do.

I'm 57 and have talked to a LOT of people who don't agree with me over the years...Mostly i learned that they're wrong, and i'm right...Not always, but more often than not. A LOT more often than not.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

I'm 57 and have talked to a LOT of people who don't agree with me over the years...Mostly i learned that they're wrong, and i'm right...Not always, but more often than not. A LOT more often than not.

You live in Trump country, so naturally there are a lot of idiots about...

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

Biden union-busting railroad workers is a PERFECT example of this.

https://www.aar.org/article/overview-of-freight-rail-employee-time-off-policies/

https://rrb.gov/Benefits

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/these-are-the-key-concessions-rail-workers-won-in-deal-to-prevent-strike/3158251/

tell me again how Biden fucked over the poor railroad workers...The average railroad worker already gets at least a week of paid vacation, excellent insurance, and by the end of 5 years will be making over 100K a year.
THAT SUCKS....

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

Nothing other than full on revolution, the US electoral system is set up so that we are forever mathematically doomed to only two (remarkably similar) options:

As long as we have capitalism and 'First Past the Post' representation, billionaires will control everything. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

you would have had to have been born at least 100 years ago to be the original bearer of that particular turd of "news"...
There are no rules against how ever many parties can make themselves competitive. maybe some people who want a career in politics and don't like either party should start trying to get someone like Bill Gates to support them as a third party...
The only problem with third parties is that no one votes for them because most of them don't have any viable ideas...
you can't lay that at billionaires doors.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

https://www.aar.org/article/overview-of-freight-rail-employee-time-off-policies/

https://rrb.gov/Benefits

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/these-are-the-key-concessions-rail-workers-won-in-deal-to-prevent-strike/3158251/

tell me again how Biden fucked over the poor railroad workers...The average railroad worker already gets at least a week of paid vacation, excellent insurance, and by the end of 5 years will be making over 100K a year.
THAT SUCKS....

Tucker told him so it must be true.