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washparkhorn

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Posts posted by washparkhorn

  1. 5 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

    You're missing about 31%, though.

    They will go to whomever the nominee is. 

    The Biden chair is just waiting for someone to fill it. That chair will win SC, but lose IA and NH. 

    IA is the big barometer and key to the region that swung to Trump and gave him the win. NH shows the enthusiasm level for the progressive v. neoliberal wings. SC is a red state that has no bearing on the general for the Dems. 

  2. And it should be remembered the actual bomber confessed to the crime after eluding authorities for years.

    While the FBI and the media focused on the wrong person, the actual bomber planted at least three more bombs.

    The real bomber is in prison at Florence ADMAX USP and will be imprisoned for the rest of his life. 

     

  3. 2 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

    the issue here is adding a fictional element where an actual historical person (who is now dead) slept with sources for a story

    I saw her as more of a composite representation, but I understand the concern. The media was rabid to fry an innocent man was the point.

    The media was sued by Jewell and he came away with settlements. 

    Olivia Wilde was terrific in the role  - and her character is rehabilitated in the film. 

     

     

  4. Jan Blomqvist - The Space In-Between, 2017

    Lyrics:

    Spoiler
    Can't figure out how we got here,
    living on decay.
    The seven words left on paper
    will disconnect the day.
     
    and you want
    a new want
    and you want
    anything that's clear
     
    And it's all around us
    as ghosted machines.
    Would the real be just silent
    if there's a hole in the key?
    At the bar in the basement
    for an hour-glass of tea.
    Our love is a violent
    constant space in between.
     
    And the taste has got a texture,
    smoke has not a sound.
    The fabric that was fixed here
    inherent in the ground.
     
    And it's all around us
    as ghosted machines.
    Would the real be just silent
    if there's a hole in the key?
    At the bar in the basement
    for an hour-glass of tea.
    Our love is a violent
    space in between.
     
    And as much as I'd like to
    believe there's a truth
    about our illusion, well
    I've come to conclude:
    There's just nothing beyond it
    the mind can perceive
    except for the pictures
    in the space in between

     

     

    • Like 1
  5. On 12/23/2019 at 11:19 AM, NWBuck said:

    I'm glad she's got that on her Radar.

    And she frames the media problem correctly - it is an antitrust issue. Too little competition breeds a lack of diverse viewpoints - right, left and center. 

    • Like 1
  6. 7 hours ago, Fozzz said:

    That’s precisely what Warren did with her two-step approach and it blew up in her face. 

    Agree. The Sanders v. Warren battle has been a simmering rivalry. Warren moving every so slightly to the "delay M4A mode" made her a little suspect to progressives. That was too early for her. She is still criticized by the corporate Dems as too "liberal" - which is just silly. She is a center-right politician in Western Europe. The corporate Democrats are right wing in Europe. Trump is a populist in Europe (who has right and left populist candidates). 

    Elizabeth just needs to commit to concrete timelines for implementation of her effort to modernize the United States. 

    The progressive wing with Sanders and Warren have the majority. Warren needs to stay in that land  Warren and Sanders are not overattacking Biden. Maybe they want Biden to be the leading corporate Democrat candidate. Lump him in with the billionaires. They know will not win - that is hubris.

    Yang might be a good candidate who will work with the corporations to reform their civic responsibilities (i.e., pay for the negative externalities of their businesses and respect the trusted American market). It has been squeezed to death with debt and austerity. Trickle down is not working. The roots need to be watered to restore some dignity. The neglected areas span the nation - including urban decay. I think Yang has some interesting proposals about the future and bridging that divide. Yang deserves more airtime. He is being cast off as a Republican by the corporate Democrats, who, at the top,  tend to project their own weaknesses.

    The corporate lane has issues. Any battle with Trump by a corporate Democrat will be met with a "you are accusing me of something your party did as regular business."  The corrupt phase of the DNC is a liability. More of the same is not the correct path to beat Trump.

    His popularity came from really not sounding like politicians. That made him interesting. Interesting led to news coverage - with major news broadcasting his speeches live, and mass media repeating his message because it sold advertising. Rather than focusing on the core principles in his speeches, which his supporters heard, the media focused on the clickbait he seeds in all his speeches.

    The media is not going to cover more of the same from Democrats. The progressives sound different from the corporate Democrats because they have different policy priorities (people first) and  messages (sincerity, policy driven, optimistic). And they don't carry the baggage of the neoliberal phase in the US. I think most of the corporate lane (right Euro) will move to the center (progressive US/center Europe) when they learn progressives' priority is to lift people up, not to tear down. To corporate Democrats, that should be good news. They will be able to carry on usual, as the federal government prioritizes healing the goose that lays the golden egg for corporations. That should be interesting to the media but they are consumed with impeachment - a problem. 

    Elizabeth and Bernie need stay on the same message (the future). The progressive sorting out can stay on the sidelines for now. Yang needs more coverage at this stage. Biden is just keeping a seat warm, which might not ever be filled.

    And the media is covering impeachment. 

  7. 5 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

    Has it been pointed out that the next decade starts on Jan 1, 2021? 

    Wars have started over less. Sadly. 

    A kid born in 1990 was born in the nineties, not the eighties. 

    We have progressed to plain English and there will be casualties along the way.

     

    • Like 2
  8. On 12/24/2019 at 2:50 PM, Brisketexan said:

    Does this count as an assault on Christmas? Two assholes taking up SEVEN parking spaces right outside of church on Christmas Eve?

    967be80c34b2e1fbce1073b3271019dd.jpg

    I guess Trump made it safe for us to say “fuck you, I’m the only one who matters!” on Christmas again! Now THAT’S super-American.

    That photo is infuriating to my OCD. 

  9. 3 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

    Sixty three million Americans voted for someone infinitely worse.

    Great point. Are we talking about Hillary, Clinton or both? 
     

    the era of voting for the less worse candidate needs to end. 

  10. Thanksgiving - the trumpers and clinton hanger-ons were eager for Sanders' blood. "That Bernie Sanders is a soze-shuh-list. You like that soze-shuh-list, doen-chu?" with smirks all around. 

    "Why in fact I do. I am glad you are here - driving on public roads. That's socialism. And the Medicare Aunty loves so much- socialism. Public Schools - socialism. Fire and police? Socialism.

    Trump, in fact supports all of those socialist programs. And, Uncle Mayo, Hillary supports the same socialist programs as Trump.  Now, anyone want any pecan pie?"  Ended that hubris for the rest of the day.

    When a defense contractor's commercial for socialism appeared during football, the only sane one - a 14 year old Ariana Grande loving cousin - stared straight ahead and said "Ariana loves Bernie and so do I."  Smart kid. American politics.

    I will make them all Bernie Sanders voters by the end of Christmas Dinner. I know they are coming with some fantastical ideas of how they will stick me - like, "oh no, no, no - Medicare isn't socialism. I paid for it!" No - you didn't. You paid into a socialized medical insurance fund, but you are able to take out far more than you take in. The risk is socialized. That's socialism. 

    And before you insert foot into mouth - this is from the Mises Institute - a libertarian think tank that  understands well what is and is not socialism. Tangling with libertarians can be fun, if you understand the terminology and the economic system they desire, but they understand Medicare and SS are socialism and have the courage to say it:

    Quote

     

    Few Dare Call it Socialism: Social Security and Medicare" 

    Whatever one might say about liberals (i.e., leftists or progressives), one thing is certain: When it comes to socialism, they get it. They understand that welfare-state programs like Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs. That’s fine by them because they love socialism.

    . . .So, here you have a leftist making a very logical argument -  essentially saying, “Given that you conservatives love Medicare, which guarantees government health care for seniors, why not love it even more by expanding it to everyone?”

    It’s a good question! In other words, if you love socialism, why settle for just a little socialism? Why not go further and embrace more socialism?

    For a conservative to be skewered by a liberal in that way has got to be painful. What does the conservative say in response? All he can say is, “No, I’m a small-socialism conservative, not a big socialism conservative.” That’s got to be embarrassing.

    You see, the way conservatives have gotten around this problem for decades is by simply saying that Social Security and Medicare are part of America’s “free enterprise” system. The word “socialism” to describe these two programs has been absolutely verboten — stricken from the conservative vocabulary when it comes to Social Security and Medicare — because conservatives did not want to be perceived to be advocates of socialism. By not daring to use the world socialism to describe these two socialist programs, conservatives felt that they could just keep advocating “free enterprise” and socialism at the same time.

    In fact, that’s one of the big reasons why conservatives have harbored a deep resentment against us libertarians. Long ago, we called them out on their devotion to socialism and they have never forgiven us. In my article yesterday I described this conservative phenomenon as the “life of the lie,” a life that culminated in 2016 with the presidential election of conservative leader Donald Trump.

     

    https://mises.org/wire/few-dare-call-it-socialism-social-security-and-medicare

     

    • Like 1
  11. On 12/22/2019 at 8:51 AM, henrygandorf said:

    me neither.  do you think pete has a corrupt intent in 2019?

    Horrible optics, given the opponent in the general election:

    "Warren raised millions through small donors in her 2012 Senate race and set a precedent by rejecting a Super PAC, but she also held big-dollar fundraisers. In 2015 and 2016, despite a high-dollar event or two, Sanders showed that a national campaign could indeed be financed by small dollars. It became clear to Warren that it was not just possible in 2020, but likely a political imperative to do so:

    Running in the progressive lane while soliciting major donors would undercut her in the primary. She has since said that she will continue forgoing big donors if she makes it to the general election.

    Republicans will have far more resources than Democrats no matter how many wine caves they deign to appear in, but swearing off such fundraisers could have its own electoral advantage, undercutting Trump’s populist appeal by establishing one side as the party of regular people and the other as the party of the rich. You can’t sell that from a wine cave."

    https://theintercept.com/2019/12/23/wine-cave-buttigieg-warren/

  12. 13 hours ago, bernorange said:

    It is good to be too big to fail. 

    And the system absorbed it. We are post-Keynes. 

    So what causes the risky kind of inflation in a sovereign nation with the dominate currency? Maybe we aren't reinflating the right industries? Or funding other needs at the same time?

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