calimary
calimary's JournalYep. And even with higher taxes and the rich paying more of their share, Beverly Hills STILL looks
like Beverly Hills. I just drove through there the other day. Saw it for myself. The restaurants are still full. There are still people shopping at Saks and Neiman's and Chanel and Jimmy Choo and Buccellati. There's still traffic and bustling activity and a lot of Mercedes Benzes and Bentleys breezing by. They're not hurting because they've been called upon to do more of their civic duty and paying a little more in taxes. If they can afford it, they should chip in. Those same streets under their fancy tires, too, still need repaving from time to time, and the water mains underneath their fancy restaurants and the boutiques they prefer to browse still need refurbishment and repair. And if they can pay a little more, then so be it. I'd rather see their money going toward the greater public good (which INCLUDES AND DIRECTLY AFFECTS THEM, TOO, btw) than toward investments and strategies and funding efforts to further tilt the playing field.
Do you think we'd be better off under the koch/GOP? This Californian says ABSOLUTELY NO!
I'm proud of my state. We do indeed still have numerous problems. But some of them have actually been mitigated by the policies in place now. The ken lay heist was utterly CRIMINAL. And nobody did anything about it. Under republi-CON "leadership," NOTHING was done. It was allowed. It was schemed up and implemented so only a select lucky privileged few would benefit and the rest of us could go jump in the lake. DEMOCRATIC and LIBERAL leadership tends to reject that approach, because DEMOCRATIC and LIBERAL leadership tends to favor the many over that lucky privileged few (who, to my mind, don't need any government corner-cutting and under-the-table scheming to further line their already-lavishly-padded pockets). If you're rich, you don't need government so much to protect you because your wealth enables you to take care of, and look after, yourself and your own interests VERY nicely already, thank you very much. It's everybody else who needs the protection. If you're already rich, you don't need the help, because you can afford to help yourself. So seems to me that government shouldn't concern itself as much with you and your needs. If you're rich, especially the super-rich, seems to me you're plenty capable of doing that, yourself.
The GOP has that whole concept upside-down, inside-out, and bass-ackwards.
Left. Indeed! You could also say - "listen to your heart."
BECAUSE the human heart hangs to THE LEFT. Check any basic anatomy book. We humans are physically, biologically built to be liberals. We're WIRED to be liberals. The human species is designed by nature to be LIBERAL. We deny our own most basic nature when we defy the direction our very physicality leads us.
Totally get that. And it galls me!
The INSTANT they start opening their yaps about how "oh GOD we CAN'T regulate our precious GUNS..." THEY are "politicizing a tragedy." I remember that being the first comment out of ronald reagan's yap, as president-elect, when John Lennon got shot. Paraphrasing: "oh it's a tragedy but we still just can't do ANYTHING to regulate guns."
And btw - they better damn well not portray themselves as being "pro-life", either!!!! 'Cause they AREN'T!!!!!
I think as long as we're stretching the right to free speech, and the right to vote, and the right to assemble all out of whack, the "right" to bear arms should be revisited, too. THAT one needs a rewrite, if ANY of 'em do. I'd like to look at a wholesale revision of the Second Amendment. NO you do NOT have a "right" to any ol' damn shooting instrument you feel like having. NO you do NOT have a "right" to become a menace to peace loving neighbors and the rest of us minding our own business in stores, cafes, fast-food joints, churches, and bars. NO you do NOT have a "right" to be a public menace, using intimidation tactics to parade around with your open-carry massacre machines, just to prove you can. NO YOU DAMNED WELL DON'T!!!!
I posted about this awhile back - posing the question: HEY, what about MY rights? Don't I have rights, too? What about MY right to live in peace without being menaced or intimidated by a bunch of gun goons determined to shove their damn massacre machines in my face and blight my field of vision in public places? What about MY right not to be pestered or menaced and in fact have my personal physical safety put in jeopardy by a bunch of armed hot-heads with their self-appointed vigilante agendas in public? Next thing you know, they're going to demand their "right" to come armed into my house, because it seems these nutcases are hell-bound to push the boundaries of reason and consideration of others all the way to freakin' Neptune.
I think we need to assert OUR rights. OUR rights not to have this shoved in our faces all the time. OUR rights not to have to worry that there's some self-appointed Rambo wannabe out there itching to prove a point and just waiting to have that chip knocked off their shoulder. OUR rights to feel safe. OUR rights to be able to go out in public and NOT be menaced like this kind of selfish and dangerous aggression. OUR rights to go to a burger place or church with our kids, or maybe in the evening to go to some nightclub or venue, FREE from the knowledge that somebody in there is probably carrying and God forbid somebody else makes them mad...
It dovetails with the militarization of the police. IF YOU GIVE 'EM THESE TOYS, THEY'RE GONNA WANT TO PLAY WITH THEM. And I would bet that ANYBODY out there determined to prance around in public with their shotguns, automatic rifles, massacre machines and bullet belts, deep down, is just WISHING they might have a chance to prove how big and tough and "heroic" they are by getting into some sort of shoot-out at the OK Corral. Seriously. Why would anybody even want to have those damned things if they didn't imagine using them someday? There are way too many hotheads out there these days, just in general. It scares me to death thinking about the consequences of adding the easy access to all kinds of guns into that mix.
Sounds like the same thing that "joe the plumber" jerk was saying while
trying to con people into thinking he was fit to run for Congress recently. Your dead kid doesn't trump MY rights. Lovely, isn't it? 
Welcome to DU, czarjak!
Glad you're here! I think it might more accurately be - "republi-CON policies sound like shit" (because they ARE shit)!
I saw that dingbat kellyanne conway on - I think - "Hardball" today. MAN has she been coached as to what to say and how to say it! Constant toothy smile, even when challenged or disagreed with/disagreeing. She's a republi-CON pollster. She doesn't get it either. And frankly, I say GOOD!!!!
She blathered on about how that wasn't REALLY true and OUR polls show different things and women LIKE what the GOP stands for, when it's explained to them, and blah blah blah. Oh sure, girlfriend. Just like your polls show it's president romney, too.
But that's GOOD! Let them steep in their delusions! Let them keep thinking that what they're REEEEEEEALLY doing and what they REEEEEEEALLY stand for is GOOD! And everybody likes it! And why should we consider changing any of our policies? We don't need to! They just have to be explained better! They're still clinging to "our policies are just fine. We just haven't explained them effectively enough!" All it is to them - is the messaging. Not what their messaging is ABOUT. The packaging - how it's packaged. Not a moment's thought about WHAT they're packaging and trying to sell.
But let them live in their delusions. As America changes and evolves away from them, and they cling to their stupid, harmful, greedy, selfish, shortsighted, intolerant little policies, they'll be left behind in large numbers. The woman on with her, supposedly taking the opposing view, did point out the fact of the "browning of America" and how nothing the GOP is doing strives to appeal to that changing reality in this country. As long as they want to cling to their shitty ideas that only appeal mainly to old white men, the demographic change and evolution in this country is pretty much going to bury them.
They'll never do what they should, to gain ground with women: screw the messaging about the same old crappy misogynistic policies. Enough with the messaging about the policies. CHANGE THE FRICKIN' POLICIES!!!
Take a number.
I freakin' HATE the GOP. I swear, I just freakin' hate those people. I don't see how they get up in the morning and face themselves. Everything they seem bent on doing is utterly stupid, nonsensical, mean-spirited, selfish, and destructive. HOW ON EARTH do they get votes? HOW ON EARTH can ANYONE rationalize taking away the right to vote? Making it harder to vote? HOW ON EARTH are they okay with wanting to keep benefiting the rich at the expense of everyone else? HOW ON EARTH do they sleep at night, considering how much they want to hurt and neglect and ignore the needy in this country? Just HOW ON EARTH do they justify that - and more - and face themselves in the bathroom mirror every morning? And HOW ON EARTH do they DARE call themselves Christians?
I wish he'd simply LEAVE POLITICS!
And also, leave ophthalmology, too. He's certified himself. All we need is his word for it. He doesn't need no steeenking impartial certification! Yeah, suuuuuuuuuuure. I sure wouldn't trust him with my eye care!
No shit? The good guys won? DAYUM!!!
Power to the workers! AND to the customers who had the class and noble principles to support them!
That's FABULOUS news, graywarrior! And thanks for keeping us updated about it. Yours is the only regular coverage I've seen on this, anywhere. Don't have a Market Basket anywhere near me, but I'm thrilled to hear this! If there was one, I'd shop there starting tomorrow. And I would have enjoyed taking part in some of the protests, too. SO satisfying when efforts like this actually produce a great outcome! We've all seen FAR too much lately that seems to want to convince us that the bad guys are supposed to win all the time. Well, here's one case in which the GOOD GUYS prevailed! The way it SHOULD be!
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Gender: FemaleHome country: USA
Current location: Oregon
Member since: 2001
Number of posts: 81,220
