hate to break it to you,but the TPP has been a done deal for years now

[backwoodsbob]

This isn't a negotiation to *get us the best deal*,this is simply a deal to decide which rich motherfuckers get what part of the pie....that's it.Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.

We,the 99%,have no political power,we are too busy keeping the bills paid and trying to make sure we don't end up on the streets when we get old.This is a game we are going to lose.

Until we stand up and shut down the money,until we take to the streets and force change,not just here but in all the power centers worldwide,nothing will change.

Hate to break some hearts but that is reality

[Jackpine Radical]

1. The view kinda looks the same from this part of the backwoods, Bob.

And it has to go international. I should think that Canada is starting to get ripe under the lunatic excesses of Harper.

[AuntPatsy]

2. I wish I did not but cannot help agreeing with you...old World meet the new....l

[SamKnause]

3. Agree

[brush]

4. It started during the Bush era and we did not initiate it.

Other countries we behind it and we joined in the negotiations later.

[backwoodsbob]

5. like I said...this has been a foregone conclusion for years

The negotiation is simply a decision on who gets what.

[zeemike]

25. All they needed was a Democrat to blame it on.

And what better than a black man...they knew we would have to give him a pass on it

[G_j]

6. yep nt

[whathehell]

7. Hate to break it to you, but a claim like yours needs links..

Got any?

[backwoodsbob]

8. links to an opinion?really?

Let me see if my leprecaun or my unicorn can produce one

[whathehell]

9. Oh, now it's just an "opinion"..Hate to break it to you, but you worded it like stated fact.

and if you're "opinion" is as only as reality-based as a "unicorn" or a leprecaun" why

should anyone listen to you?

[99th_Monkey]

11. My Tooth Fairy agrees with BackWoodsBob. nt

[whathehell]

12. Well, then, that's quite an opinion cluster, isn't it?

[backwoodsbob]

13. yes it is

If I can get the gnomes on board I may have a movement

[99th_Monkey]

14. Small sample

but it will have to do in this pinch.

[zeemike]

27. It's called being assertive.

Weak and non assertive opinions are not listened to and not taken seriously.

No one wants to hear "I was thinking and I am probably wrong because everyone is smarter than me, that..."
To which you can answer "of course you are wrong you idiot go away"

[whathehell]

30. It seems closer to "bluffing" to me, but if you want to pass it off as "assertive"

it seems one would try NOT to compare one's opinions, as he did, to unicorns and leprechauns.

It might "weaken" that opinion in the eyes of others, if you get my drift.

[Doctor_J]

15. Here....

http://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/kapital-for-the-twenty-first-century

Hate to break it to you, but the president is not the benevolent populist you believe him to be. He's a politician, and a very conservative and corporate-friendly one at that.

[whathehell]

17. Hate to break it to YOU, sweetie, but I never believed he was a populist of any sort

and I'm.completely against the TPP...Get it now?

[jwirr]

10. Don't worry about the heart break - just reading the battle raging here on DU everyday does that.

Agree with you.

[treestar]

16. Are you going to lead

This revolutionary movement?

[backwoodsbob]

18. nope

As I have said...far more intelligent people than me need to be involved but it needs to happen.

We can't keep racing to the bottom...it's getting crowded down there

[Iggo]

19. No you don't.

[FairWinds]

20. So Mr. Backwoods . .

what are you actually DOING to make this happen?

What organizations do you belong to that are part of the movement?

If the answer to both of these queries is "nothing," then you post is really not very helpful.

Respectfully, Veterans For Peace

[backwoodsbob]

22. I can only do what I can locally

I'm obviously a nobody on the big scene.

I helped get two progressives elected to our county board and my big hurrah...I busted my ass to get my very anti establishment friend...Danny Willis,elected to the Tazewell Virginia town council.

I do what I can.

Calls to ask how I am personally going to lead the country out of the woods via V for Vendetta are disingenuous . I said it is going to take a movement far beyond me

[backwoodsbob]

23. ask Danny Willis what I do

I worked with this man and knew him to be a solid progressive.
One day a young smartass was on the line with him and kept pushing him and pushing him....he finally said toDanny * what are you gonna do about it nigger?*

I'm one of the ones who pulled Danny off him.

Three months later we got Danny elected to the town council.....no small feat in holy roller southern territory.

What have YOU done to help

[backwoodsbob]

24. if you doubt my word here are the election results

http://www.wjhl.com/story/20806724/southwest-virginia-election-results

The First AA ever elected to the Tazewell city council and was number one in votes.

I do what I can.

So let me ask you again...what have YOU done to help?

[backwoodsbob]

33. I notice three hours later...no answer

I do what I can locally...so what do you do? do any door knocking and phone banking or like I did....just keep on people until we pushed Danny to the number one slot on our town council?

I don't see a response.
I helped push two progressives onto our county board in an extremely conservative area.....you did what?

[FairWinds]

35. Hey Mr. Backwoods . .

that is a totally fine answer - I mistakenly took you for
one of those people who do not walk the walk while going
on an on about what everyone else should be doing.
There are lots of them out there.

Here is a bit of advice from an old lefty - take time to smell the roses and
do some recreation. It will help you avoid burn-out and do wonders for
your relationships.

And remember, in the long run, they can only win if we give up.
Keep on keepin' on.

And . . if you're really frustrated, you're doing something wrong.
Your job is to get centered, be at peace, take effective action, and
MAKE THE OTHER SIDE FRUSTRATED.

Veterans For Peace

[cantbeserious]

21. I'm Ready For Oligarchy - Are You? - Support Obama On TPP And Elect HRC To Continue The Charade

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

26. The only alternative to this deal is tariffs and investing in manufacturing here, which we dont have

the political will to do.

[Hoyt]

28. Kind of like a guy who wins all the money at a poker game and leaves early.

Face it, we've taken more than our fair share of the world's wealth and resources, but now folks here want to close off trade with the rest of the world for our own personal greed. That just doesn't seem right to me.

I think we need to figure out a way for world trade to work, for this reason and our own economy's well-being, including that of the poorest among us. That may take legislation beyond the TPP.

[backwoodsbob]

29. that's about it in a nutshell

sorry spot we are in

[Enthusiast]

32. Bob, it might be an exercise in futility but we are going to fight on.

I understand at this moment in history the corporations are All Powerful.

[Faryn Balyncd]

34. It's time to defeat it.