Had enough yet?

[MannyGoldstein]

Once again, we've been power-mooned by our own side, by Democrats. This time on TPA.

Hell, this week's hero is a Republican, the normally-loathsome Nikki Haley who called for removal of the States Rights (to Have Slaves) flag from her state capitol.

WTF?

Think we're @#$%ed? Our kids are even more @#$%ed. The other day, our son asked "Why should I go to college? Because of the TPP I won't have a job when I get out, anyway." I told him "Bull@#$%, we're going to fix this, and you're going to help."

We need a war to take back our party.

A war against "friendly" big money that seeks to destroy our lives.

A war.

Nothing less.

[neverforget]

1. I'm hoping Wyden gets a good challenger in the form of Congressman Defazio. I'd love to

vote for him. Now if someone credible would run against Congressman Kurt Schrader my Blue Dog No Labels Cat Food Commission loving Democrat, that would be great.

[merrily]

12. The DSCC will protect Wyden.

[neverforget]

17. Of course they will. There will be no challenger against Wyden.

It would be nice if there was though.

[merrily]

18. If there were a challenger, the DSCC would still protect Wyden.

Protecting incumbents is the official policy of the DSCC.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12776064

[bvar22]

87. The Workers in Oregon will protect Wyden too.

Many, many families in Oregon make their living from Timber Exports.
I don't see Oregon Voting Out Wyden when it means money in their pocket.

Life in America.

[merrily]

91. It's the voters job to protect Wyden, if they feel he has been good for them in whatever ways are

important to them. That's how representative government works.

It's not, however, the job of elected representatives to protect Wyden or anyone from voters. JMO

[floriduck]

95. Screw the DSCC!

Every time they send me a fund raising letter, I return the envelope with , "I send my money directly to my candidate, Bernie Sanders."

[sabrina 1]

41. I used to have so much respect for Wyden, he often was a lone voice in Congress against the Bush

administration, and it was HE who first began to sound the alarm bell against this Secret Trade Deal warning us that Congress was, unbelievably not allowed to see it. We responded by supporting him in his efforts to get the information out to the public.

I am the kind of person who has any problem admitting that even one of my favorit politicians, was not what I thought he was.

Fazio would be a great replacement for him. He needs to go. I don't know what happened to him, but we have more important things to think of right now.

[haikugal]

2. They aren't going to give up power without a fight.

We have to push back, hard!

[Maedhros]

3. Not at all!

If we elect Hillary we can look forward to a lot more of this!

[antigop]

5. HRC : "Outsourcing will continue..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702780.html

When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to New Delhi to meet with Indian business leaders in 2005, she offered a blunt assessment of the loss of American jobs across the Pacific. "There is no way to legislate against reality," she declared. "Outsourcing will continue. . . . We are not against all outsourcing; we are not in favor of putting up fences."

So which outsourcing IS she against? And who is "we"? The DLC/Third Way/Corporate Dems?

[Fuddnik]

9. One of her major donors in 2008 was Tata.

They bought out Nielsen, the tv ratings company. They took all kinds of local tax incentives and givebacks to "create more jobs" (where have we heard that before?). A major Hillary supporter in our county and State Democratic Party lost her job, when they laid off all the local employees, and brought H1B's in to replace them.

Fuck TPP and the Hillary they're riding in on.

[antigop]

27. Hillary and Tata

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/30/nation/na-buffalo30

But less noticed was how the event signaled that Clinton, who portrays herself as a fighter for American workers, had aligned herself with Indian American business leaders and Indian companies feared by the labor movement.

Now, as Clinton runs for president, that signal is echoing loudly.

Clinton is successfully wooing wealthy Indian Americans, many of them business leaders with close ties to their native country and an interest in protecting outsourcing laws and expanding access to worker visas. Her campaign has held three fundraisers in the Indian American community recently, one of which raised close to $3 million, its sponsor told an Indian news organization.

But in Buffalo, the fruits of the Tata deal have been hard to find. The company, which called the arrangement Clinton's "brainchild," says "about 10" employees work here. Tata says most of the new employees were hired from around Buffalo. It declines to say whether any of the new jobs are held by foreigners, who make up 90% of Tata's 10,000-employee workforce in the United States.

As for the research deal with the state university that Clinton announced, school administrators say that three attempts to win government grants with Tata for health-oriented research were unsuccessful and that no projects are imminent.

The Tata deal underscores Clinton's bind as she attempts to lead a Democratic Party that is turning away from the free-trade policies of her husband's administration in the 1990s and is becoming more skeptical of trade deals and temporary-worker visas.

[hifiguy]

59. How dare you bash HRC by bringing up things she has said

and provable facts. Waaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

Need I add

[antigop]

61. but, but, but...she's our CHAMPION!!! --- NOT! nt

[sabrina 1]

42. Sad, isn't it? That if Bernie had not decided to run, our choices would be two corporate funded

candidates, Bush/Clinton. No wonder she is silent on the issues. Hoping to slide by for the next year I guess. I notice her supoorters appear to be obsessed with POLLS these days, but rarely discuss issues.

[Volaris]

123. OK it's time to ask this question, because I haven't figured out the answer...

If we're allowing all these h1-b work visas (as I understand it, for tech related jobs), it's because there's no tech industry in the countries that are educating all these tech-capable graduates, right?
Well, if these nations have educated all these people, (and don't have their own advanced tech sectors)
Why don't those governments PUT THEIR OWN PEOPLE TO WORK BUILDING THE THING THAT THEY DONT ALREADY HAVE.
I'm probably not understanding the problem at all, but so far as I can figure that's the crux of it. If I'm incorrect in my assessment, please tell me I want to understand the nuance of this...

[antigop]

130. Please see this link...

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2013/04/03/176134694/Whos-Hiring-H1-B-Visa-Workers-Its-Not-Who-You-Might-Think

[delrem]

6. It isn't "the better of two evils". They are just the same.

The "moderate" Republican that *their* $2billion campaign will produce will be identical to the "moderate" Dem that *our* $2billion campaign will produce. Those campaign monies will just get sucked backed into the same machine that the real players own, producing a surplus.
The Bush and Clinton families are friends. Their associates don't see a difference. Why should we?

Expect to see a lot of very very VERY owned "pundits" writing editorials, moderating TV shows, over the next year. I don't trust a single one of them and I figure it'll be a real humdinger of a time I'll have, trying to find an honest voice in that deluge of $$$cash$$$.

[erronis]

70. +++: You've said it perfectly. The media and the candidates are part of the same money system.

The trick is to get the little people to send in donations to give to the candidates so the media conglomerations can broadcast meaningless drivel that everyone hates. There's so much cash exchanging hands that the IRS/FEC has no hope of tracing it (and that's why the republicans and DINOs have cut their funds.)

There will be no prosecutions for stealing votes or buying elections. This country has become a great example of what happens when you let greed take over government.

[appalachiablue]

124. FASCIST TRACK Buy-Partisan TPP benefits multinational corps, the CEO Parties & the Investor Class,

not We the People who elect the representatives of government. But TPP is great for the financial globalization, income and racial inequality, climate change and pollution that are destroying us and the earth.

[MissDeeds]

37. If "we" elect Hillary

it will be without me. No more corporate DINOS masquerading as Democrats. I will not be a participant in the undoing of Democratic principles and values.

[ladyVet]

99. I'm with you. Not holding my nose and voting because "X is better than a Republican!"

I've done it since 1983, and no more. It's Bernie, or no one. Unless the Green candidate is decent.

[rwsanders]

108. Same here, voted green for pres in 2012

[swilton]

114. +++

Same to the above - plan B....

[hifiguy]

58. A good campaign slogan would be

BOHICA. Short, to the point and brutally accurate.

[Maedhros]

64. This is mine:

[hifiguy]

65. LOL. Unless we push Bernie to the nomination, this will be our choice

[daleanime]

4. More then enough.....

Love how they're not even trying to sell people on the TPP, just indulging in arm twisting to fill in the blank check.

[appalachiablue]

7. Nikki Haley's speech was like a HS student council address. Nothing of any depth or sincerity was

said about the nine good, innocent people who lost their lives in church from a devious, cowardly white terrorist. Her agenda, like most of the pols with her was motivated by self interest to hush GOP associations and funding from racist, white nationalist groups, namely the CoCC, the Council of Conservative Citizens that was indicated in killer Dylan Roof's materials that are being examined by the FBI. Joan Walsh of Salon commented on the hollow performance, Tweety said she did it 'with charm'. Bunk-

Sourcewatch, The Council of Concerned Citizens
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Council_of_Conservative_Citizens

[PowerToThePeople]

8. They have been at war with us since Jan 20, 2009. n/t

[geek tragedy]

10. Lol. No one who thinks our country took a turn for the worse

when Obama replaced Bush deserves to be treated seriously.

L. O. L.

[PowerToThePeople]

14. I did not say it that

I am saying I what I got was nearly 100% opposite of what I voted for in '08. Was it worse than Bush? In a way it was, because I knew Bush was against me from the start. Betrayed by those you support is worse than attacked by enemies.

[zeemike]

19. Nailed it.

The enemy you know is not as bad as the enemy you don't know.
No one expects your friends to sell you out, but they have.

[geek tragedy]

20. Lol. Very funny. Thanks for proving my point.

Congratulations on lasting this long.

[840high]

36. I'm not laughing.

[rhett o rick]

120. The point is that Obama carried on many of Bush's policies. But you seem to be ok with

that. The conservative policies of Bush and Obama are literally killing our children in poverty, our vets begging in the streets, and our seniors that are going to lose more of their Medicare benefits thanks to McConnell and Obama.

[MannyGoldstein]

21. Geek Tragedy often reads what Geek Tragedy wants to read

(and complain about), not what's written. It's a chronic issue.

[geek tragedy]

25. Lol. Still bitter about having your bogus claim about Obama forcing children to go hungry

while sleeping in cars obliterated?

This one, in case you need reminding:

his working to enable bankers to afford a fourth home, at the small cost of more children sleeping, cold and hungry, in cars.

I can repeat the debunking if you like.

On the other hand, congrats on finding your soulmate here--the only DUer besides yourself who regrets Obama's defeating McCain and Moosilini.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x761367#761480

Those of us who support Bernie Sanders AND are glad Obama won in 2008 and in 2012 reject this nonsense.

[MannyGoldstein]

28. LOL.

Your language skills are... interesting.

[geek tragedy]

30. So, no, you're not willing to defend that claim.

File that under Obama's approval of Keystone and social security cuts.

As well as Obama's defeat in 2012.

Your track record of predictions is ... dull and predictable.

Signed

Still Glad Obama Kicked McCain's Ass Geek Tragedy.

[MannyGoldstein]

32. LOL!

Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Have a good night.

[geek tragedy]

34. Good night to you as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x761367#761480

[MannyGoldstein]

40. Was that your alert that went down 6-1?

If so, better luck next time.

[geek tragedy]

47. No. Sorry. nt

[A Simple Game]

71. I doubt you will ever understand but our regrets aren't that McCain and Palin lost,

it's that America lost. We regret that Candidate Obama was the best the Democratic party could offer. Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.

[geek tragedy]

72. I understand the purist arguments quite well. People who have never won elected office

nor had any position of responsibility in a campaign for a purple district/state race strutting and acting like they have all the answers as to how to solve everyone's problems and how to win elections. Because, well, they're better than everyone else and know better than ordinary Democrats, who they consider little more than dumb sheep.

Pompous finger-wagging like this:

Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.

is worth as much as we pay to read it.

[A Simple Game]

75. Yes it is worth as much as we pay to read it.

Priceless and a freedom many on DU don't understand how close we are to losing.

A price that almost got increased a short while ago, but net neutrality is nothing to worry about is it. Not to mention any of our other freedoms.

[geek tragedy]

76. It's unclear, are you complaining about Net Neutrality or are you saying

it is irrelevant?

Which reminds me--the hardcore Obamahaters here were eager to spread the rightwing conspiracy theory that the FCC rule on Net Neutrality was some kind of secret plot to betray the public using illegal secrecy, etc and were illegally changing the rule they proposed instead of just enacting it.

[PowerToThePeople]

33. It's a tragedy

[snooper2]

53. everything is HORRIBLE LOL

DU is really starting to crack me up...

I know of a cool place to go where dreams come true and freedom is abound! A socialist paradise!!!




SLAB CITY!











Look at the Happy!

[redstateblues]

93. Post of the day so far! Thanks

[Kalidurga]

128. The last free place on earth...

I am not sure you understand the concept though.

[hifiguy]

60. Boom.

But even before the inauguration, there were Summers, Geithner and HRC in top spots.

Anyone who didn't realize we had been had and hosed at that point was in epic denial or not paying any attention whatsoever.

[geek tragedy]

80. No, we just disagree with the crowd who thinks he's no better than Bush.

Anyone who didn't realize we had been had and hosed at that point was in epic denial or not paying any attention whatsoever

it's amazing that some people's egos just can't process the notion that the vast majority of people don't buy into their dysoptian fantasies.

No sane, rational person regrets Obama's victory over McCain in 2008. Well, I guess unless one considers the possibility that Republicans can be sane and rational . . .

There is a reason it's not very easy to tell Obamahaters on the left from Obamahaters on the right. I mean, they even agree on the 2008 election.

[hifiguy]

86. Fact: Summers and Geithner were two of the principal arsonists

of the Great Wall Street Fire/Meltdown. Putting arsonists in charge of the fire department while the country was burning down was flat-out fucking insanity and told everyone in no uncertain terms it was the banks, and not the people, who would be saved. Read Nomi Prins' "All the Presidents' Bankers." The facts are there and they are not subject to disagreement or contradiction.

In 2008 I was an early Obama supporter. The endorsements of Ted and Caroline Kennedy were enough to sway me from undecided-but-not-for-HRC. I voted for Obama with great enthusiasm and, yes, hope. Four years later the best reason I could come up with for voting for him again was that he was not Mitt Romney. I have been voting for Democrats for president since 1976 with only one exception - John Anderson in 1980. I knew Carter would win my state and lose the election so I felt free to vote my conscience.

[geek tragedy]

88. No, that is a claim and an opinion, not unlike those who write "Fact: Fannie and Freddie

and the CRA are to blame for the housing crisis."

It's very easy--and lazy--to blame the great shitpile of 2007-2010 on any one cause or person or group of people.

There was an asset bubble (both stocks and real state) created by Bush's deficit spending during full employment.

Financial deregulation did make it easier and incentivized risk taking that left the entire system holding the bag if bets didn't pay off. And that risk-taking was conducted by the greedy, the reckless, and the stupid.

The mortgage industry was in turn too greedy and sought to churn out high yield, high risk mortgage products under the assumption that the asset bubble would continue, that the music wouldn't stop.

Appraisal fraud, and mortgage fraud, took off because no one would get caught, because no one was looking, so long as housing prices continued to rise.

Investors helped drive the bubble because who wanted to invest in the company promising 3.5% annual yields on low risk investments when someone else was promising 6% yields on no risk investments.

Homeowners using their houses as a short-term piggy bank to buy cars and finance other consumption not only helped drive the financial crisis, but also helped drive the asset bubble, which then caused even more risk-taking, etc etc.

Geithner was head of the NY Fed. He wasn't a banker making bets, or taking risks, etc. He certainly was too concerned with protecting wall street institutions as secretary of the treasury, but he didn't cause the crisis. He could have done more to stop it and was not a great regulator, obviously, but it's hyperbole to call him one of the arsonists.

Deregulation would have happened with or without Larry Summers. He was wrong, but deregulation was a fait accompli after Citibank's acquisition of Travelers depended upon it.

[hifiguy]

90. You desperately, and I do mean DESPERATELY

need to read Prins' "It Takes A Pillage" and "All The Presidents' Bankers."

She knows this history and material from the inside out, forwards, backwards and upside down, and cites her sources.

Geithner was the one of the central people who facilitated opening the taps so that the banksters could soak up $13 trillion from TARP, the Treasury and the Fed.

Every single bum home loan could have been paid off for $1.3 trillion in 2008-09. The bankers needed those trillions to cover losses on the worthless shit they were selling, and actively betting against in the so-called market, and which they were telling their wealthiest customers to avoid.

That meltdown was caused by Wall Street and nobody but Wall Street. It was a fancy modern day Ponzi scheme dreamed up and implemented by the too-big-to-fail banks. Predatory lending, worthless securities, bribed ratings agencies, and that is just the start of the crookedness of the big banks.

Summers belongs in jail, Rubin as well.

hifiguy out.

[sabrina 1]

102. Well said. Summers and Rubin and Greenspan and Ayn Rand who was Greenspan's idol hovering

over them from the grave, were warned by a great and intelligent woman Brooksley Borne that what they were doing WOULD lead to a crash. Those three thugs DROVE her out of her job, they were verbally abusive to her, to her credit she refuses to answer too many questions about it.

That was the time when they could have stopped, but they were just too greedy

[hifiguy]

105. The history is out there and it is as plain as a pikestaff.

Prins, and others, could hardly have made it any more clear. But some would rather not know.

Like Carl Sagan, I'd rather KNOW than BELIEVE.

[sabrina 1]

106. Knowledge is power. The people are being informed of just how bad their government is and this

act of betrayal, is going to motivate millions of people to start doing something about it.

[hifiguy]

111. Bernie and O'Malley have just been handed a giant club.

I am sure they and their social media people know what to do with it.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

121. Like I have said before.

It is time for a real progressive populist movement, but the message needs to be clear and not overly complex and it needs to be repeated over and over to drive it home into the minds of the people.

Then Bernie will win

[nashville_brook]

118. [phone]

[GoneFishin]

107. Fights against insiders with duplicitous motives are way dirtier and divisive.

We are getting our asses kicked by Dem politicians paid with outsiders' money to undermine our efforts.

And I am not limiting my definition of "paid" to mean campaign contributions. Greed and human nature being what it is, combined with the current lack of interest in prosecuting white collar crime, I have no doubt that there is a lot of dirty money changing hands.

[sabrina 1]

44. where did you see that? What did happen was that no Wall St crook was held accountable. No war

criminal was even brought before Congress to answer questions about the treasonous lies they told to get us into a never ending war for profit and the murder of over a million innocent people.

Bush's failed NCLB was not overturned and replaced with an Education program, in fact it was enhance, public schools privatized, teachers betrayed. A cabinet filled with the people we threw out, Republicans and Corporate CEOs.

Iow, little changed. Gays in the military was held up for a year, causing many to lose their jobs and benefits to be used later as a 'bargaining chip' to continue the Bush tax cuts for two more very expensive years.

SS was put on the Deficit table, and wrongfully associated with the Deficit, cuts to SS were proposed through the deceptive Chained CPI called a moral disaster by Bernie Sanders and finally set aside ONLY because of the huge public outrage and opposition.

Mandated insurance, opposed by Candidate Obama became the law.

We got a few crumbs, which they allow in order to keep up the pretense of a two party system.

But that is no longer enough.

Today's betrayal was the point of no return, the final blow showing clearly how little the people ever mattered.

So now, we are in no doubt about the corrosive effects of Corporate Money on this nation's electoral system and THAT is going to be the major issue in this campaign.

Nothing can be accomplished until the poisonous money is removed from our system of government.

Today proved beyond a doubt that this must be the #1 issue of this campaign. No one who is receiving millions of dollars from Corporations can even be expected to represent the people. It simply won't happen.

[hifiguy]

62. Bueller? Bueller?

- crickets -

[sabrina 1]

63. Lol, love that movie!

[Enthusiast]

74. Good points, all.

[DirtyHippyBastard]

109. +1. nm

[Mnpaul]

110. You got crumbs?

I'm jealous

[Autumn]

52. I think it began with the bailout of the banks that crashed the economy

since then the corporations have won and the people have lost even with the ACA. It's been a little tiny bone with the meat carefully removed tossed to us while they and their sponsors dine on prime rib.

[hifiguy]

92. A very good analogy. nt

[HFRN]

117. and the bailout of the banks came from repeal of glass steagall act

which the WTO required we do

that's what happens when you turn over your sovereignty to trade organizations

thank goodness our current leaders learned from the past, and wouldn't do that again

oh wait - they just did

[merrily]

127. Exactly. Lobbied for hard by both Greenspan and the Clinton White House.

Crashed the economy of several nations. And "the fix" was the bailout, enacted by a strongly Democratic Congress, released half on Bush's say so and half on President Elect Obama's plus Bush's, and the Fed policies that are still in effect.

Suckas!

[geek tragedy]

11. Why is Nikki Haley the hero for adopting the position of virtually every Democrat

in Congress--including Bernie Sanders--as well. As Martin O'Malley, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?

[merrily]

22. Maybe because, as it is her state, she might actually get it taken down, despite the

demonstrated inclination of the state legislature to date. Just a guess.

[geek tragedy]

23. Still not seeing the heroism. More like bowing to the inevitable. nt

[MannyGoldstein]

29. Exactly.

And she's a Republican, so she runs the risk of pissing off her base.

Notice how Greek Tragedy just moved the goalpost?

[geek tragedy]

31. Wal-Mart is pulling the flag from its shelves.

Some courage.

[Juicy_Bellows]

13. Power-mooned. I love it. Nt.

[merrily]

39. Neat metaphor, but I don't love the visual.

I didn't even love acoustic mooning.

[Aerows]

77. I'm trying to imagine if I have ever

intentionally mooned anyone in my life. I don't think I have. Maybe I should correct that.

Though being of the ass-less brigade, it's doubtful too many would notice.



This will have to do.

I just mooned all of DU!

[merrily]

78. Being mooned by an emote is cute. Being mooned by most humans meh.

JMO

[Aerows]

79. I know

I was just being silly. I am desperate for some levity after that catastrophe in the making passed.

[merrily]

83. Perhaps as a function of what kind of month it has been, I am not sure

which catastrophe you mean. However, I love cute emotes. I had a semi-obsession with them a few years back. Copied and saved so many. Now, I usually content myself with the standard DU collection.

[Aerows]

85. Good point

Pick a catastrophe, pick any of them.

[McKim]

15. Wake Up, Oregon!

I just emailed our DINO Senator about my displeasure with his Fast Track vote. I am praying that Rep. de Fazio will primary him. We need a senator that truly represents U.S. Most people are struggling here and we need a real leader. Senator Wyden has distanced himself from regular folks
And his arrogant staff lets us know that he is no longer listening to us.

[merrily]

24. Please see one of my other posts on this thread as to primarying Democratic incumbent Senators.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026892166#post18

[aspirant]

46. DSCC is now the Koch Bros.

The people have the power, this is what the Bernie Revolution is all about

[merrily]

81. It doesn't smell a lot like democracy, does it?

When Bush said we were going to bring democracy to Iraq, my first thought was, "Gee, I sure hope America gets it back someday."

[Le Taz Hot]

16. Our local Progressive Democrats of America group and one of our local unions

went out and picketed Costa's office and are vowing to challenge him with a progressive. I hope they mean it this time.

We're stuck with Feinstien for another 4 years (gaaack!!). The Third Way has held that seat for far too long. They won't get another Feinstein in there I guarantee you. Thankfully, Boxer voted against it and when she leaves her replacement is Kamala Harris, another progressive.

[dreamnightwind]

26. I called Feinstein's office this morning

Had to take a shower afterwards. I've never met anyone that claims to like her, yet she is still there. Can't wait to work for electing someone better.

[2banon]

43. I sure hope Kamala is elected.

Saw a dismal poll number a couple of weeks ago, but I'm guessing it's early and it'll turn around when things start heating up. xing fingers big time.

[840high]

35. Fight in the voting booth. Get

rid of the traitors.

[MissDeeds]

38. Exactly

And that is just what they are. Traitors.

[joshcryer]

45. "this week's hero is a Republican ... Nikki Haley"

She responded to protests, she initially didn't have a problem with the flag. I don't understand why she gets any credit, much less called a hero, when she was ambivalent initially and was essentially forced to do it.

Had she said no the flag would've been torn down and burned.

FYI, the vast majority of the day 1 responses that were against racism came from Democrats and the left, not the right wing Republicans who spent several days waffling here or there. Romney was the first prominent Republican to come out against the Confederate flag.

But you wouldn't earn any points if you called Romney a hero.

[Avalux]

67. Her decision didn't come from a place of integrity; it came from wanting to be re-elected.

She made the right decision but I'm sure off camera and off mic, she was cursing the fact that she had to do it.

[joshcryer]

98. Yep, she's walking on eggshells.

She had no choice.

[hatrack]

125. She's term-limited. She can't run again until she sits one out. No courage required.

Rinse Penis probably promised her a sweet gig at the RNC or Heritage until four years have lapsed so that she'd provide cover the the denizens of the Clown Coach.

http://ballotpedia.org/Governor_of_South_Carolina

[MannyGoldstein]

69. You should write a letter to Ta-Nehisi Cotes

and explain that to him: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016125516

[joshcryer]

97. I don't see him calling her a hero.

She deserves credit, sure. So does Romney. Big deal.

It was only after protest that she did anything. Had she pulled a Walker the flag would have burned. It was common sense to listen to the people.

[MannyGoldstein]

100. Who wrote the following:

"I don't understand why she gets any credit"

[joshcryer]

101. Context: credit over protestors or Romney

Coates even conditions her credit with an acknowledgment of her past views.

Hilarious spin, though!

[MannyGoldstein]

103. Your statement is context-less.

Fess up. You'll feel better.

[joshcryer]

104. Fess up about not understanding?

I don't know how much credit Coates is intending, but at least he didn't call her a hero. He conditions his credit on a lot. I'd credit Romney over her, as I did in my original reply.

[raouldukelives]

48. I'm afraid I am getting worn out. Just, a sad day.

No blade ever feels colder than the one in your back.

[Igel]

49. A lot of kids are truly pessimistic, verging on nihilistic.

They're often the ones that need additional motivation because they're already facing some sort of difficulty: Discrimination, economic disadvantage, etc., etc.

"Why should I go to college? Because of the TPP I won't have a job when I get out, anyway."

That's an excuse for not trying. It says, "If my rewards aren't going to be equal to my effort, I should gauge my effort to my likely rewards." It's justification for doing what is easy and most likely more enjoyable in the short term.

A lot of these kids have been handed pre-made excuses for slacking off by their parents and society for years. My favorite is "there's no social mobility." Yeah, that kid in the bottom 10% has a small chance of getting into the top 5%. Nobody cares that he has a decent chance of winding up in the middle 20%. If you can't go from family income of $10k/year to $300k/year, what's the use of landing at $40k or $60k/year? I'm sure nobody here would find *that* an improvement. Kids learn these these somewhere.

Even now, college grads overall have a 2.7% unemployment rate and good workforce participation. For recent college grads, unemployment and underemployment rates are what they were in the early '90s, and that's counting "I'm an English major working as a fulltime bookkeeper" as "underemployment". Notice this: that's coming off a hellacious recession and *after* NAFTA and a raft of other free-trade agreements versus coming off of a relatively mild recession pre-NAFTA.

One difference is that mismatched-job "underemployment" is putting college grads in some fields in jobs that earn less than was the average in the early '90s. However, these grads mostly still have jobs (with the unemployment rate in the low teens, much lower than recent grads with no college), and the lag between underemployment and getting job using your degree is holding steady. In other words, most of those mismatched in 2010 are now much better matched.

In other words, the kids are learning their pessimism from somewhere, and it's not really the data doing the speaking.

So yesterday somebody posted that "50% of college graduates are unemployed or underemployed"--meaning not working full time. This, of course, was horribly counterfactual. But I've seen that statement floating around. People want to be pessimistic and, to be honest, it's hurting the kids who need the hurt the least.

[PowerToThePeople]

51. Give one reason to be optimistic?

I graduated in '01 and have not had anything good happen career wise, but my owed student loans have doubled since graduating.

I personally see no bright outlook.

[jeff47]

56. Hint: When "a lot" of a generation is telling you the same thing

it's time to stop lecturing and start listening.

Don't make the same mistake you made with my generation. Apparently I have to remind you we still exist, because your post is about Millennials.

[MannyGoldstein]

68. Partially true. But it's also true that the American Dream is dead for most Americans.

Suppose a kid wants to go into a technical field. Those jobs used to pay well, now they're being killed by offshoring and H1-B visas. Kids aren't so uneducated that they can't see what's happening.

They see relatives out of work for months or years, who eventually take jobs for far less than they made before, victims of "the global economy" or whatever the cool kids are calling it these days.

[MineralMan]

50. Just about, Manny. Just about.

[kelliekat44]

54. If we keep telling our kids they won't have a job when they graduate, they won't even look for one.

[Bobbie Jo]

55. Yeah

Personally, I had enough - going way back.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026864076

[hifiguy]

57. Sign me up, Manny.

[Avalux]

66. A broken clock is right at least twice a day...

and sometimes our friends show us a side we don't much like. Money and power are the GODs of this country - of this world - and never will you hear a politician admit it, or hear the money-grubbing religious zealots admit that their bloviations about Jesus and God are nothing but bullshit.

Nothing will change so long as choices are made (BY ANYONE) solely for power and monetary gain instead of human worth.

We need a war of consciousness or we face the inevitable extinction of the human race, by our own hand.

[Enthusiast]

73. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

I'm with you, Manny.

[markpkessinger]

82. Increasingly, and somewhat reluctantly, I am coming around to agreeing with Chris Hedges . . .

. . . that the only tool we have left in our arsenal is civil disobedience on a massive scale.

[merrily]

84. I hesitated to rec this because I don't like the war word, even as metaphor.

Yes, please, though, I'd like some significant changes.

[leftofcool]

89. I'm sorry for you, Manny

Our grand daughter, who is 13 and will be graduating at 16 (advanced classes and high IQ) says she "can't wait to get into college."

[MannyGoldstein]

96. Don't feel *too* sorry.

Our 15-year-old (who I referred to) has his dad's bad attitude, but also his mom's high IQ. Already took an online course at Stanford, not only passed but got 100% on all tests. And Harvard (nearby) has an inexpensive extension school where us locals can take courses that count towards a Harvard Degree. With any luck, he'll have finished college before he gets out of high school.

[Fuddnik]

94. The floggings will continue until morale improves.

[Katashi_itto]

112. Fuck the Dems. I will never vote for another DINO again.

Just as soon stay home.

[swilton]

113. Where do I sign up?

[L0oniX]

115. This whole thing is one big F U to the common US citizen from both parites.

The oligarchy are thumbing their noses at us. They own the government and it's political parties ...they just proved it.

[raindaddy]

119. Bottom line!!

They aren't really even trying to hide it anymore...

[BeanMusical]

116. ...

[vlakitti]

122. Thanks again, Manny

Right on as usual.

[jwirr]

126. How many of those who supported the TSA are running this year?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

129. Take it back sooner rather than later, b/c what Democrats may do to SS and Medicare...

is starting to keep me up at night. I know Republicans will screw us over... it's the Corporate Dems (Obama, Hillary, Warner, Kaine, et al.) that have me worried.