HughBeaumont
HughBeaumont's JournalON EDIT: I'm still furious that we were not allowed to post to DU on election night.
That still doesn't sit well with me at all.
We all needed to be with kindred spirits during an ushering in of one of modern American History's darkest days and likely it's most stunningly bad lapse of judgment.
Instead, we were confined to social media outlets loaded with either the MAGA Klan Cheerleading Squad or the "very reasonable persons" telling us that "this too shall pass" and "we've weathered greater storms than this" 
. Or worse yet, the odd smirking asswipes verbosely blaming "TEH IDENTITY POLITIKS LEFTITS" for Trump's victory.
It just seemed so . . . . coordinated. Why US?
A kind of "Lest We Forget" thing that doesn't seem to be touched on . . .
and one of the main reasons I'm never calling that orange-colored fuckface "My President" (hint, lurkers: he's not your president either, and you're kidding yourself if you think he is):
He was one of the most prominent members of the Obama Citizenship Denial, or "Birther", movement. There's a run-down of all his tweets on the subject at the Salon link for further reference.
Back in the day, I referred to these people as the "President Ni**er" Group. Shoe fits.
They never saw him as an elected official or a human being; they only saw him as a color they hated looking at and blamed all of their imaginary problems on.
Much like the historically revising idiots who participate in New Deal Denialism or calling Hitler a card-carrying Lefty, this is an example of going out of one's way to discredit an individual or a political movement with gregarious falsehoods and nutbar conspiracy theories.
The whole movement was and is un-American to the core. And now, it's most prominent speaker is President.
For now.
Funny thing is, "The United States of America" are just words to Conservatives.
With all their bluster and blather about "Rah Rah Rah Rah USA! Honor, dignity, respect for the law, courage, something you libs know nothing about, etc" . . . the reality is, they couldn't be less united if they were paid.
They yap about "loving their country" while hating 75% of the people in it.
They live in some supposed high school world where a pecking order is in place . . . with them on top, of course. The notion of "most and least deserving of the spoils" applies; the "least" reserved for people who aren't them.
They have no problems flaunting their "Protestant work ethic" on their sleeves while putting in place a hierarchy (public and private) run by mostly rich, white male third-basers. Oh, and they also do this while ripping the living hell out of an actual hard working Christian while making the man that sent this country on a treason-flecked rocket ride to hell into an untouchable legend.
These supposed lovers of the disciplined and brave military and police elected Donald Trump, a haphazard, undisciplined, labor stiffing, serial bankrupter of a sole proprietorship CROOK who continually had to get bailed out/coddled by the Saudis, China or Russian Oil-igarchs with mob ties.
THIS is DISCIPLINE? Your president is a fucking JOKE. An EMBARRASSMENT. A DISGRACE. A vote cast out of SPITE and HATE. A reflection on your corroded values and jaundiced view on your fellow citizens.
There isn't any notion of "United States". They're either on the "Politically Isolated and Heavily Armed Republic of Jack Shitkicker" or "The Fortified Basement War on Ideas of Archie AnCap".
"Union", "United States" and "America" . . . . are nothing but WORDS to them.
Oh, and by the way, conservatives NEVER get to Red-Bait ANYONE EVER again.
U.S. workers face higher risk of being replaced by robots. Here's why:
Still don't see any positives for our economy as long as the lords that oversee Re-Branded Feudalism are in charge of how the wealth is distributed.But PwC found major differences in the nature of the work done within these sectors that explains why more U.S. jobs are at risk.
Take financial services as an example. In the U.S., 61% of jobs in the sector are at a high risk of being replaced by robots. The same is true for only 32% of finance jobs in the U.K.
John Hawksworth, PwC's chief economist in the U.K., said that many workers in the U.S. financial sector are focused on domestic retail operations -- think bank tellers in small towns.
The U.K.'s finance sector, meanwhile, is much more focused on international finance and investment banking -- functions that require significantly higher levels of education and expertise.
Workers at risk in the U.S. "would be doing more routine tasks that are easier to automate than that of, say, an investment banker in London," Hawksworth said.
The "Greatest Generation" are in nursing homes.
The older "Baby Boomers" fall in a few financial categories; Retirement, but not a comfortable one, Near Retirement, but having to take care of their "Greatest" parents due to benefit cutting, or Unable to Retire due to their own ongoing medical expenses/kid's student loans/investments not panning out/general financial difficulties.
Generation X and the younger Boomers are in their earning years, but are now both wide targets for ageism-driven firing or automation (which, unlike the industrial revolution, takes labor OUT of the equation entirely). And good luck trying to get a job after 40. Or starting your own business when your competition is Amazon or WalMart and your potential customer base lacks discretionary income. Their spending is going to be halted at the slightest hint of corporate "rightsizing" or political tumult . . . say, for example, a cadre of labor-hating, tax-cuttin', social safety net-gutting billionaires taking over Washington D.C.
Millennials cannot buy big ticket items like homes, cars, appliances, etc. because they're already financing 1/2 to 3/4 of a mortgage for the crime of wanting to develop a skillset or an education beyond High School. IF they get hired in this shoddy job market, their pay is not even near what it needs to be in order to successfully pay their debts down and purchase products or services, let alone homes and cars.
For all of these groups, any social safety net that can assist them promises to SHRINK, not expand like it desperately needs to.
With each generation, how does retirement happen? How does the next generation get any sort of fiscal start?
Someone PLEASE tell me how this is a healthy and sound long-term plan for America's economy.
Cleveland PD: Black men seen as larger, more threatening than white men.
The Cleveland PD actually printed this article. This isn't just a dog whistle, it's a dog alphorn -Citing the shootings of Cleveland's Tamir Rice, Florida's Trayvon Martin, and Wisconsin's Dontre Hamilton, the study released Monday by the American Psychological Association found misperceptions of young black men's size may play a role in their being viewed as threats.
Cleveland police shot and killed Rice in November 2014 as he played with a toy gun outside Cudell Recreation Center. The head of Cleveland's police union later described Rice as "menacing" and "a 12-year-old in an adult body."
Authors of the study said that perception fits with their findings.
"Unarmed black men are disproportionately more likely to be shot and killed by police, and often these killings are accompanied by explanations that cite the physical size of the person shot," said a statement from the study's lead author, John Paul Wilson of Montclair State University in New Jersey. "Our research suggests that these descriptions may reflect stereotypes of black males that do not seem to comport with reality."
Two questions:
1. Is absolute black and white thinking politically advantageous over a fragmented "big tent"?
2. Are constant reminders/articles directed at people who are completely on your side that they're "not doing enough" and treating them as arms-length allies an effective strategy in unity?
One statement:
1. Psssssssssst . . . "Lockstep" is still winning elections.
Rust Belt Voters Made Trump President. Now they Want Jobs.
Stories that Make Me Want a Meat Thermometer Lobotomy Dept:She worked at a GM parts plant and then on the assembly line of Lesley Elizabeth, a company that makes cooking oils and spices. She figured manufacturing would be her life.
But those jobs paid minimum wage -- barely above $8 an hour in her state.
"I was only bringing home $960 a month," the soft-spoken mom, now 28 and the mother of three young boys, told CNNMoney. "Daycare alone was almost $400 to enroll my kids in."
About a year ago, she moved back in with her mother and went back to school to get her GED through a state program. Her family also receives Medicaid to cover health care. She hopes to retrain to be a nurse.
West and her mother are Trump supporters. They see him as an "action president." They especially like what he's doing on trade and immigration.
"I'm not racist at all, but I do believe in building a border [wall] to protect our country," West says, referring to Trump's promise to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. "We can't even take care of our own people right now."
Ballsacks. It's CRINGE-inducing to listen to these people. Let's elect a billionaire to solve problems created by millionaires and billionaires by employing solutions that dropped the middle/working/poor into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Great job, media. Keep the hate narratives flowing and cry "Not Guilty!" as we get divided further.
I fully expect Putingate 2016 . . . .
. . . to have as many Republicans in prison, resigned, investigated or leading less comfy lives as Iran-Contra, the S & L Crisis, the 2000 Election shenanigans, the WoT war crimes and the Great Recession did.
#IOKIYAR
In Once Thriving Jefferson County, Voters Look to Donald Trump For Economic Turnaround: Ohio Matters
. . . . . what do I DO with this?Greenberg's sentiment is a commonly held one in Jefferson County, which narrowly voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but backed Trump in November by a whopping 35 points. The area was once solidly Democratic, but has drifted Republican over the years as some say they came to no longer equate the Democratic Party with the interests of the working class. The political shift also coincided with the erosion of the steel industry in the Ohio Valley and the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs.
And before anyone chimes in with "Learn from it", learn WHAT???
That people are STILL getting away with blaming Democrats for Conservative capitalist businessmen failing them?
That I should try and "understand" people who have abandoned reason?
That cutting public education leads to faith-based decision making such as this?
Or perhaps understand why we're not touching the biggest neon elephant in the room . . . why everyone is so ashen-skin petrified of addressing the failures and distribution problems of Re-branded Feudalism in fear of undeserved venom.
"How . . . DARE you criticize Capitalism!!!! Everyone KNOWS it's either this or Totalitarian Warsaw Pact Police States and why do you HATE America, Reagan and Lady Liberty???"
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Member since: Fri Aug 13, 2004, 03:12 PMNumber of posts: 24,461
