I said that the elite operate as a parasitic subsociety exploiting those below by helping each other. And you in turn rebutted me by saying that "Connections and networking are important".
All you did was "assume your conclusion." Circular logic!
Abstractly, I said A is bad. A being interactions of the elites to help each other, the major component of which is of course "Connections and networking."
You rebutted by saying A is good because some component of A is important (connections and networking). You assumed the thing that you wished to prove!
That is a Logical Fallacy (circular logic). If you want to do something worthwhile, you might want to learn some logic and rhetorical techniques first. How are you ever gonna see the man behind the curtain without those all important tools?:-)
Ah, yes. Personal attacks. Ad hominem fallacy, etc. Another tool of those who really have nothing else to use. Even though you know in your heart of hearts that I am right, you still fight back with whatever you have--which aint much!
Your reply is another perfect example of how society (which is controlled by the elites) socializes us to accept the rule of the Parasitic Sub-Society of The Elites. These little reminders are all around us--they tell us to OBEY, ACCEPT AUTHORITY, CONFORM, etc. I think it would be useful and productive for all of us to explore different perspectives. Please look at the human race and our society in particular from the perspective of a wildlife biologist, one who studies the interactions of a society of social animals. He/she studies the interactions of that animal society, making notes on what he/she see, etc. This biologist notes that the elite of this animal society work together; they even seek each other out. The members of this elite already have power, and they give each other more power through their interactions with each other.
Of course, in this animal society, one way they maintain their rule is being making those at the bottom of the pack antagonist to any who seek to expose this Parasitic Sub-Society of The Elites.
Many Slashdotters probably know that the reason IBM worked with Gates and no one else is because Gates's family was rich and well connected. Gates's mother was probably the one that got him in good with IBM. Gates's mother served on the board of the United Way with IBM's Chairman John Opel. What a coincidence!
This is just another example of how the elites at the top of the hieracrchy operate as some sort of parasitic sub-society, perched above us, exploiting the rest of us, feeding off of us.
You may think that my perspective is warped, paranoid, whatever. But I think it serves as a reality check and a balance to the omnipresent messages of confomuity that society and the media flood us with every day.
Ray Kurzweil has said that he plans not to die by taking advantage of this impending nanotech, but what if it takes longer to appear than he thinks? He has said that he has no real problem with the idea of cryonics. Will Ray Kurzweil sign a cryonics contract if he needs to?
Re:He is trying to move the Dem Party Leftwards
on
The Nader Factor
·
· Score: 0
You're a hoot!
Indeed, Chomsky does not have a solution. I think he has accomplished quite a bit already, however. THat would seem to be enough for one person.
And, yes, I now see the rich as dangerous and deterimental to our well being, something like a dangerous animal, such as a rattlesnake. We should act rationally and take measures to limit their power over us, and use them to provide for us. This America is a partnership, and just like any business partnership (e.g., a law firm), if one partner does a lot of business, he does not get to keep it all; most of it goes into the common fund.
polls show that over 90% of Canadians prefer their system to ours. They know what we have, and they prefer their system. So do I and so do most Americans who have bothered to research the problem.
Things do change. Government is in part just a machine. Machines can be improved. We need to use our advanced technology to make govt more transparent and more under populist control. The first automobile really sucked, as did the first airplane. But they improved.
you wrote: "I'm waiting for somebody to publish the private data (financial, medical, legal) of federal officials and their families on an open internet web server out of the Bahamas. Is this what it will take for the US to enact stringent privacy rules?"/i?"
Yes, that is true, because America is mainly run for and by those at the top of the hierarchy, just like some sort of animal social grouping. And it will continue to be run that way until elite heads roll. Same as it ever was.....
Stewart knows full well that American political reporting in the mass media is a rigged game, with no real attention paid to REAL ISSUES, such as why America is the only industrialized country to not have universal healthcare, and why countries in Europe that were ON THEIR ASSES after WW2 are now able to afford their citizens a standard of living that most Americans can dream of, such as 30 or more days off a year, and healthcare paid for by taxes (so that even the poorest person can walk in and get healthcare), and longterm welfare when needed for ALL citizens, not just mothers, and longterm unemployment lasting into years if needed.
These are the real issues that are never addressed on shows such as Crossfire. And does Stewart address these issues on Crossfire? Does he talk about how all Canadians have healthcare, but not all Americans? Does he talk about how America is run like some kind of captive consumer livestock ranch for the benefit of corporate investors? No.
He is a tease who takes advantage of the fact that many American know that something is quite wrong with the way the political media operates, but he does not deliver on the exposing of that media--he just teases us. Why? Well, just like all the other media talking heads, he is not on our side--he is rich!
Re:He is trying to move the Dem Party Leftwards
on
The Nader Factor
·
· Score: 1
you best learn the difference between Economically Liberal and Socially Liberal. Hollywood, the Democratic party establishment, the elite news media et al., is SOCIALLY liberal. But not economically liberal.
And Money Talks. Look at the funding of those institutions. $2 billion and counting.
Have I read the article?! I am preparing a video documentary on this subject. Trust me--I know a lot more about this than do you....
THere are just way too many naysayers here, and way too much money at stake here for there not to be a LOT of astroturfers here on this slashdot thread and on other forums on the Net.
I am no Broadcast Engineer, but I do know a little about this subject, having once worked as an Electronics Tech and having had an FCC General Radiotelephone license.
My take on this BPL situation is that it has a LOT of promise. Noise, interference, etc CAN be dealt with in the next couple of years by development of more sensitive and sophisticated recievers.
And most importantly, BPL may be our best hope of driving down prices for Broadband here in AMerica.
All other frequencies, bands, etc should be subordinated to the development of BPL, with the possible exception of some necessary military frequencies. This is just too important.
I really suspect that we are seeing some astroturfing going on here. If BPL does make it, then some HUGE corporations are going to lose megabucks, and that threat is probably driving this astroturfing campaign, if there is one....
He is trying to move the Dem Party Leftwards
on
The Nader Factor
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
He is trying to defeat Kerry, thus forcing the rich liberals to fund think tanks and foundations to build a Leftist Propaganda Machine to match the rightwing propaganda machine (google "tentacles of rage" for a good explication of the Rightwing propaganda machine). Once the LPM is underway, it can put out memes about leftist ideas to match the rightwing ideas that have dominated political discourse over the last 35 years or so. But if Kerry is elected, that LPM will be much slower to grow.
Just as necessity is the mother of invention, desperation is the mother of donations.
Most slashdotters and Libertarians seem to think that the main reason for the shut out is that the Dems and GOP don't want competition. But the reasons go deeper than. One big reason is that the main players/donors do not want certain ideas being put out there in the public airwaves.
The USA is really run like a livestock ranch, or a slave plantation, in ways. Or, like a business, if you will. One entire set of ideas that are NEVER exposed to the light of day are the whole set of ideas that form the backbone of European and Canadian and Australian governments--that income taxes and business taxes may be used for social safety net things like paying ANY citizen money for rent, food, medical care, etc. That idea is TABOO on the American airwaves. And if the Leftist candidates (Nader or Green Party (Cobb) get on the air, that idea will be directly and bluntly introduced. TABOO on the ranch/plantation!
Also, the Libertarian party has some ideas that are dangerous ideas, like legalization of marijuana, which is a non-addictive drug that makes people introspective and thoughtful. It often makes young people think that there may be more to life than competing in the rat race. VERY dangerous idea to those who reap huge profits from the machine that is America
Asskroft is setting himself up for a fat megabucks job once this Nazi regime gets kicked out of office by Kerry. And what precipitated this little MPAA/RIAA ass kissing episode of a news article? The massive butt whipping Kerry put on Bush laat night in the debate. As soon as that debate ended, Asskroft wrote up this little press release, humming to himself, no doubt, about the megamillions he would rake in while heading up the MPAA and the RIAA, etc.
People, when are we going to start treating our renegade employees like Asskroft as the criminals they are?
What we need is very strict laws controlling our governmental leaders and very harsh penalties for government managers who break these laws.
Again, our legal system is set up to control us proles, but we need an legal system to control the governmental leaders, managers, etc.
After we set up controls for them, then we can let them have access to this information. And they will act ethically if they know they could face life in prison or even the death penalty if they do things wrong.
First of all, you don't get it. There is no vast conspiracy of the powerful against the little man.
So? What makes you think there has to be? If I drop a $100 bill in front of 100 people in a row, I bet they almost all will reach down for it. Conspiracy, or self interest? The elite will use their power for their own best interests, and that should come as no surprise. But why on earth should we not control them with sanctions commensurate with the damage they can cause us, considering the power they wield? Why on earth do so many at the bottom of the hierarchy willing walk into the slaughterhouse?
It is true that the law can and has been abused by those in power to further agendas of their own (DMCA, Union labor laws in some areas), but that doesn't mean that these examples of corruption are indicative of the intent or the state of our laws in general.
One question we need to answer is whether the political Right and Left are diametrically opposed regarding authority. It seems to me that the Right is a "great respecter" of authority. In some regards, however, the Left sees authority as an oppressive force, in that it does not apply force to itself as it rightfully should. However, in order to implements Leftist policies, a strong state would seem necessary.
But I think the ultimate issue is whether the status quo must be maintained with respect to transparency of government and whether the institutional elite should be held to a higher standard.
Our legal system is really designed to control our populace, the ordinary people. So the laws are aimed to the people in general. But we really need a entire legal system aimed at controlling those at the top of the hierarchy, the elite. They are the ones who really cause a lot of the trouble in life. Not just those who run the universities, but those in charge of institutions everywhere, in government and in commerce. They are the ones causing so many problems.
Extraordinary power requires extraordinary controls. We need extra-strict laws and punishments aimed at those in charge of institutions.
I am talking about civil law, but criminal law here.
Or was it "THe Monster on Maple Street"? Anyway, yeah, the American corporate media has built this little delusionary, fantasy world for us, in which we sleep while the corporate neoliberal pirates strip us of our wealth. But don't ever wake the sleeping sheeple--they might get angry!
Yes, it is true. America does less science research per capita than do many of the European nations, especially the countries that Rightwingers love to call "socialist", i.e,. Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, etc. All these countries and some others in Europe publish more science papers (in peer reviewed journals) than does America (some of them publish TWICE as many papers per capita as does America). Gee, I guess that blows away that neoliberal/laisseiz faire argument about America capitalism being the "driving engine behind improving technology, quality of life" etc., and how all those welfare states in Europe are just parasites on America....yawn....
Also, America is even behind 3rd world countries like India & China in terms of science research papers when looked at on a per-capita-wealth basis (numbers of papers per unit of wealth per country). Note on the graph how much to the right America is when compared to, say, India. India publishes more peer-reviewed science papers more capita wealth than does America.
THis is all based on the study entitled "Scientific Impact of Nations" by King for 2004. You can get a link to the pdf version of the paper and see a graph of science papers per per-capita-wealth here.
Well, you learned something today, huh? Now go watch the debate Wednesday and listen to Bush and Kerry tell us about how America is the greatest nation on earth.....
When all you have is the demonization defense, you know you are intellectually bankrupt.
Of course, the neoliberals/neoconservatives would be the ones to know all about demonization--they are the ones that demonized socialism, leftism, keynesianism, the welfare state, liberals, labor unions, fair trade, etc etc....
Redistribution is NOT charity. It is paying what is rightfully DUE to the owners, i.e., the American people, via their agent, the government.
As an analogy, if you as a lawyer work in a law firm, and you happen to do very well in bringing in new business and/or do a lot of work in general, and generate a lot of income, the partners of the firm well very may give you a large bonus commensurate with your work. But they will NOT give you most of the income you generated. For example, you may generate $1 million in income for the firm. THey do not give you $1M or even most of it. They may give you a bonus of $100K perhaps, or something similar.
THe same situation exists in America, or at least it should: if a citizen earns $1M, he should get to keep 30% of it, perhaps. The rest should be due in taxes. That is the way it used to be! Rich people used to pay most of their income in taxes. See my sig for historical top tax rate charts.
That same situation still exists in most other western countries--rich people give up MOST of their income in taxes.
I would define "rich" as above 250K-500K or so, in earned and unearned income.
What is happening right now in the USA is THEFT. The rich people are stealing from the American partnership. I hope to see some of them and their collaborators in the government in jail for this theft.
No not really. There as been public access TV on cable systems for years.
Interesting insight into your logical processes: you seem to think that public access TV is as influential as all the other mass media networks, just because it exists at all. Go figger! It is mostly crap. The Web is mostly drek as well. If you give the average person the ability to publish what ever they want guess what you get mostly crap.
How about we tax some of these rich people and use that money to provide social services to people, like healthcare and housing and stipends to video and radio content providers? I bet if you could award $25K/year to 10K Americans who are interested in providing content to public access tv for free, and then provided the airwave space to run that content, you could build interest and viewership. And you would get content that would present viewpoints that favor the little guy over the celebrity, the solo proprietor over the corporation, the labor union over the CEO, the tariffs and trade barriers over the Race to the Bottom, the progressive taxation system over the REogressive taxation system, and the universal healthcare system over the predatory healthcare system.
As to the whole BIG MONEY/BIG MEDIA are running your life... I find it strange how many people think that they are so much smarter than everyone else that they have to protect the rest of the world from being fooled. Ever think that they might be just as informed as you but just dissagree.
No, that never occured to me. I have always known that I am the most intelligent creature ever to exist in the universe, and I will never be surpassed by any other entity, period.
(for you libertarians--the above was sarcasm....)
Umm....I WAS one of you, for years, for decades! I thought just you did! And I have always been quite the reader. Yet for almost 2 decades, I bought into the conservative/libertarian/neoliberal/corporatist mindset.
And I actually grew up in an era when many of the hardcore neoliberal ideas we see in favor today were actually found laughable by most Americans. It is much harder for younger people to see past the mass media smokescreen laid down over the last 30 years--you people grew up in it. It is your world that was created for you by the mass media.
BTW the Kerry Tax "CUT" for people that make under 200k is only a Tax cut if you have kids. It is an increase in the child tax credit and an education credit for College. Since my wife and I have no children it would be a tax increase for us even though we are making under the $200k. Trust no one. Question everything.
Well, I think taxes should be raised except for people making under 25K or so.
Slashdot Mirror
I said that the elite operate as a parasitic subsociety exploiting those below by helping each other. And you in turn rebutted me by saying that "Connections and networking are important".
:-)
All you did was "assume your conclusion." Circular logic!
Abstractly, I said A is bad. A being interactions of the elites to help each other, the major component of which is of course "Connections and networking."
You rebutted by saying A is good because some component of A is important (connections and networking). You assumed the thing that you wished to prove!
That is a Logical Fallacy (circular logic). If you want to do something worthwhile, you might want to learn some logic and rhetorical techniques first. How are you ever gonna see the man behind the curtain without those all important tools?
Ah, yes. Personal attacks. Ad hominem fallacy, etc. Another tool of those who really have nothing else to use. Even though you know in your heart of hearts that I am right, you still fight back with whatever you have--which aint much!
Your reply is another perfect example of how society (which is controlled by the elites) socializes us to accept the rule of the Parasitic Sub-Society of The Elites. These little reminders are all around us--they tell us to OBEY, ACCEPT AUTHORITY, CONFORM, etc. I think it would be useful and productive for all of us to explore different perspectives. Please look at the human race and our society in particular from the perspective of a wildlife biologist, one who studies the interactions of a society of social animals. He/she studies the interactions of that animal society, making notes on what he/she see, etc. This biologist notes that the elite of this animal society work together; they even seek each other out. The members of this elite already have power, and they give each other more power through their interactions with each other.
Of course, in this animal society, one way they maintain their rule is being making those at the bottom of the pack antagonist to any who seek to expose this Parasitic Sub-Society of The Elites.
Many Slashdotters probably know that the reason IBM worked with Gates and no one else is because Gates's family was rich and well connected. Gates's mother was probably the one that got him in good with IBM. Gates's mother served on the board of the United Way with IBM's Chairman John Opel. What a coincidence!
This is just another example of how the elites at the top of the hieracrchy operate as some sort of parasitic sub-society, perched above us, exploiting the rest of us, feeding off of us.
You may think that my perspective is warped, paranoid, whatever. But I think it serves as a reality check and a balance to the omnipresent messages of confomuity that society and the media flood us with every day.
Ray Kurzweil has said that he plans not to die by taking advantage of this impending nanotech, but what if it takes longer to appear than he thinks? He has said that he has no real problem with the idea of cryonics. Will Ray Kurzweil sign a cryonics contract if he needs to?
You're a hoot!
Indeed, Chomsky does not have a solution. I think he has accomplished quite a bit already, however. THat would seem to be enough for one person.
And, yes, I now see the rich as dangerous and deterimental to our well being, something like a dangerous animal, such as a rattlesnake. We should act rationally and take measures to limit their power over us, and use them to provide for us. This America is a partnership, and just like any business partnership (e.g., a law firm), if one partner does a lot of business, he does not get to keep it all; most of it goes into the common fund.
No, I will not debate you.
polls show that over 90% of Canadians prefer their system to ours. They know what we have, and they prefer their system. So do I and so do most Americans who have bothered to research the problem.
Things do change. Government is in part just a machine. Machines can be improved. We need to use our advanced technology to make govt more transparent and more under populist control. The first automobile really sucked, as did the first airplane. But they improved.
you wrote:
"I'm waiting for somebody to publish the private data (financial, medical, legal) of federal officials and their families on an open internet web server out of the Bahamas. Is this what it will take for the US to enact stringent privacy rules?"/i?"
Yes, that is true, because America is mainly run for and by those at the top of the hierarchy, just like some sort of animal social grouping. And it will continue to be run that way until elite heads roll. Same as it ever was.....
Stewart knows full well that American political reporting in the mass media is a rigged game, with no real attention paid to REAL ISSUES, such as why America is the only industrialized country to not have universal healthcare, and why countries in Europe that were ON THEIR ASSES after WW2 are now able to afford their citizens a standard of living that most Americans can dream of, such as 30 or more days off a year, and healthcare paid for by taxes (so that even the poorest person can walk in and get healthcare), and longterm welfare when needed for ALL citizens, not just mothers, and longterm unemployment lasting into years if needed.
These are the real issues that are never addressed on shows such as Crossfire. And does Stewart address these issues on Crossfire? Does he talk about how all Canadians have healthcare, but not all Americans? Does he talk about how America is run like some kind of captive consumer livestock ranch for the benefit of corporate investors? No.
He is a tease who takes advantage of the fact that many American know that something is quite wrong with the way the political media operates, but he does not deliver on the exposing of that media--he just teases us. Why? Well, just like all the other media talking heads, he is not on our side--he is rich!
you best learn the difference between Economically Liberal and Socially Liberal. Hollywood, the Democratic party establishment, the elite news media et al., is SOCIALLY liberal. But not economically liberal.
And Money Talks. Look at the funding of those institutions. $2 billion and counting.
Have I read the article?! I am preparing a video documentary on this subject. Trust me--I know a lot more about this than do you....
THere are just way too many naysayers here, and way too much money at stake here for there not to be a LOT of astroturfers here on this slashdot thread and on other forums on the Net.
I am no Broadcast Engineer, but I do know a little about this subject, having once worked as an Electronics Tech and having had an FCC General Radiotelephone license.
My take on this BPL situation is that it has a LOT of promise. Noise, interference, etc CAN be dealt with in the next couple of years by development of more sensitive and sophisticated recievers.
And most importantly, BPL may be our best hope of driving down prices for Broadband here in AMerica.
All other frequencies, bands, etc should be subordinated to the development of BPL, with the possible exception of some necessary military frequencies. This is just too important.
I really suspect that we are seeing some astroturfing going on here. If BPL does make it, then some HUGE corporations are going to lose megabucks, and that threat is probably driving this astroturfing campaign, if there is one....
He is trying to defeat Kerry, thus forcing the rich liberals to fund think tanks and foundations to build a Leftist Propaganda Machine to match the rightwing propaganda machine (google "tentacles of rage" for a good explication of the Rightwing propaganda machine).
Once the LPM is underway, it can put out memes about leftist ideas to match the rightwing ideas that have dominated political discourse over the last 35 years or so. But if Kerry is elected, that LPM will be much slower to grow.
Just as necessity is the mother of invention, desperation is the mother of donations.
I can hardly wait until we can spread American freedom all over the world.....
Most slashdotters and Libertarians seem to think that the main reason for the shut out is that the Dems and GOP don't want competition. But the reasons go deeper than. One big reason is that the main players/donors do not want certain ideas being put out there in the public airwaves.
The USA is really run like a livestock ranch, or a slave plantation, in ways. Or, like a business, if you will. One entire set of ideas that are NEVER exposed to the light of day are the whole set of ideas that form the backbone of European and Canadian and Australian governments--that income taxes and business taxes may be used for social safety net things like paying ANY citizen money for rent, food, medical care, etc. That idea is TABOO on the American airwaves. And if the Leftist candidates (Nader or Green Party (Cobb) get on the air, that idea will be directly and bluntly introduced. TABOO on the ranch/plantation!
Also, the Libertarian party has some ideas that are dangerous ideas, like legalization of marijuana, which is a non-addictive drug that makes people introspective and thoughtful. It often makes young people think that there may be more to life than competing in the rat race. VERY dangerous idea to those who reap huge profits from the machine that is America
Asskroft is setting himself up for a fat megabucks job once this Nazi regime gets kicked out of office by Kerry. And what precipitated this little MPAA/RIAA ass kissing episode of a news article? The massive butt whipping Kerry put on Bush laat night in the debate. As soon as that debate ended, Asskroft wrote up this little press release, humming to himself, no doubt, about the megamillions he would rake in while heading up the MPAA and the RIAA, etc.
People, when are we going to start treating our renegade employees like Asskroft as the criminals they are?
What we need is very strict laws controlling our governmental leaders and very harsh penalties for government managers who break these laws.
Again, our legal system is set up to control us proles, but we need an legal system to control the governmental leaders, managers, etc.
After we set up controls for them, then we can let them have access to this information. And they will act ethically if they know they could face life in prison or even the death penalty if they do things wrong.
you wrote:
Whatever you say comrade.
What does it gain you to invoke labels?
First of all, you don't get it. There is no vast conspiracy of the powerful against the little man.
So? What makes you think there has to be? If I drop a $100 bill in front of 100 people in a row, I bet they almost all will reach down for it. Conspiracy, or self interest? The elite will use their power for their own best interests, and that should come as no surprise. But why on earth should we not control them with sanctions commensurate with the damage they can cause us, considering the power they wield? Why on earth do so many at the bottom of the hierarchy willing walk into the slaughterhouse?
It is true that the law can and has been abused by those in power to further agendas of their own (DMCA, Union labor laws in some areas), but that doesn't mean that these examples of corruption are indicative of the intent or the state of our laws in general.
I disagree.
One question we need to answer is whether the political Right and Left are diametrically opposed regarding authority. It seems to me that the Right is a "great respecter" of authority. In some regards, however, the Left sees authority as an oppressive force, in that it does not apply force to itself as it rightfully should.
However, in order to implements Leftist policies, a strong state would seem necessary.
But I think the ultimate issue is whether the status quo must be maintained with respect to transparency of government and whether the institutional elite should be held to a higher standard.
Our legal system is really designed to control our populace, the ordinary people. So the laws are aimed to the people in general. But we really need a entire legal system aimed at controlling those at the top of the hierarchy, the elite. They are the ones who really cause a lot of the trouble in life. Not just those who run the universities, but those in charge of institutions everywhere, in government and in commerce. They are the ones causing so many problems.
Extraordinary power requires extraordinary controls. We need extra-strict laws and punishments aimed at those in charge of institutions.
I am talking about civil law, but criminal law here.
Or was it "THe Monster on Maple Street"? Anyway, yeah, the American corporate media has built this little delusionary, fantasy world for us, in which we sleep while the corporate neoliberal pirates strip us of our wealth. But don't ever wake the sleeping sheeple--they might get angry!
Yes, it is true. America does less science research per capita than do many of the European nations, especially the countries that Rightwingers love to call "socialist", i.e,. Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, etc. All these countries and some others in Europe publish more science papers (in peer reviewed journals) than does America (some of them publish TWICE as many papers per capita as does America). Gee, I guess that blows away that neoliberal/laisseiz faire argument about America capitalism being the "driving engine behind improving technology, quality of life" etc., and how all those welfare states in Europe are just parasites on America....yawn....
Also, America is even behind 3rd world countries like India & China in terms of science research papers when looked at on a per-capita-wealth basis (numbers of papers per unit of wealth per country). Note on the graph how much to the right America is when compared to, say, India. India publishes more peer-reviewed science papers more capita wealth than does America.
THis is all based on the study entitled "Scientific Impact of Nations" by King for 2004. You can get a link to the pdf version of the paper and see a graph of science papers per per-capita-wealth here.
Well, you learned something today, huh? Now go watch the debate Wednesday and listen to Bush and Kerry tell us about how America is the greatest nation on earth.....
When all you have is the demonization defense, you know you are intellectually bankrupt.
Of course, the neoliberals/neoconservatives would be the ones to know all about demonization--they are the ones that demonized socialism, leftism, keynesianism, the welfare state, liberals, labor unions, fair trade, etc etc....
Redistribution is NOT charity. It is paying what is rightfully DUE to the owners, i.e., the American people, via their agent, the government.
As an analogy, if you as a lawyer work in a law firm, and you happen to do very well in bringing in new business and/or do a lot of work in general, and generate a lot of income, the partners of the firm well very may give you a large bonus commensurate with your work. But they will NOT give you most of the income you generated. For example, you may generate $1 million in income for the firm. THey do not give you $1M or even most of it. They may give you a bonus of $100K perhaps, or something similar.
THe same situation exists in America, or at least it should: if a citizen earns $1M, he should get to keep 30% of it, perhaps. The rest should be due in taxes. That is the way it used to be! Rich people used to pay most of their income in taxes. See my sig for historical top tax rate charts.
That same situation still exists in most other western countries--rich people give up MOST of their income in taxes.
I would define "rich" as above 250K-500K or so, in earned and unearned income.
What is happening right now in the USA is THEFT. The rich people are stealing from the American partnership. I hope to see some of them and their collaborators in the government in jail for this theft.
you wrote:
No not really. There as been public access TV on cable systems for years.
Interesting insight into your logical processes: you seem to think that public access TV is as influential as all the other mass media networks, just because it exists at all. Go figger!
It is mostly crap. The Web is mostly drek as well.
If you give the average person the ability to publish what ever they want guess what you get mostly crap.
How about we tax some of these rich people and use that money to provide social services to people, like healthcare and housing and stipends to video and radio content providers? I bet if you could award $25K/year to 10K Americans who are interested in providing content to public access tv for free, and then provided the airwave space to run that content, you could build interest and viewership. And you would get content that would present viewpoints that favor the little guy over the celebrity, the solo proprietor over the corporation, the labor union over the CEO, the tariffs and trade barriers over the Race to the Bottom, the progressive taxation system over the REogressive taxation system, and the universal healthcare system over the predatory healthcare system.
As to the whole BIG MONEY/BIG MEDIA are running your life... I find it strange how many people think that they are so much smarter than everyone else that they have to protect the rest of the world from being fooled. Ever think that they might be just as informed as you but just dissagree.
No, that never occured to me. I have always known that I am the most intelligent creature ever to exist in the universe, and I will never be surpassed by any other entity, period.
(for you libertarians--the above was sarcasm....)
Umm....I WAS one of you, for years, for decades! I thought just you did! And I have always been quite the reader. Yet for almost 2 decades, I bought into the conservative/libertarian/neoliberal/corporatist mindset.
And I actually grew up in an era when many of the hardcore neoliberal ideas we see in favor today were actually found laughable by most Americans. It is much harder for younger people to see past the mass media smokescreen laid down over the last 30 years--you people grew up in it. It is your world that was created for you by the mass media.
BTW the Kerry Tax "CUT" for people that make under 200k is only a Tax cut if you have kids. It is an increase in the child tax credit and an education credit for College. Since my wife and I have no children it would be a tax increase for us even though we are making under the $200k. Trust no one. Question everything.
Well, I think taxes should be raised except for people making under 25K or so.