when a business is positioning itself to become a monopoly. Amazon doesn't make enough money to satisfy a normal shareholder. They're being allowed to bring in very little profit relative to their size with the understanding that once their competitors are out of business they can charge whatever they want.
from an anti-science administration is going to end exactly the way you think. And no, it's not inappropriate to call them anti-science. They're climate change deniers for Pete's sake. Trump called it a Chinese hoax. And don't get me started on their flagrant disregard for hard data in economics. That tax cut of theirs was the exact wrong thing to do. The Treasury is currently bumping interest rates and inflation to reign the effects of it in.
because I got tired of going to a store to find them and either not finding them or having to search for half an hour-45 minutes because stores like to hide such things so I'll go all over and maybe pick up 5 or 6 other things.
Brick & Mortar Stores did several things that have pushed me away. First, they used computers to figure out exactly what sells and only stock that. Meaning if I want something that folks don't buy every single day I've got to go online, and if I'm going online I might as well skip the trip. Second, they took the "milk at the back of the store" philosophy to crazy heights and put everything I buy routinely at the maximum distance from each other, making shopping an all around miserable experience. Oh, and they massively understaff their stores to save money on wages (while cutting pay and benefits) meaning everybody at any store I shop at is just as miserable as I am.
Is it any wonder I avoid shopping in stores as much as possible?
it's a small group of women running out of community colleges. It's blown out of proportion by right wing media out to make a boogie man (boogie woman?) to distract you from economic issues like wages declining as productivity raises.
Even in as much as there's anyone seriously advocating for diversity they're doing it purely for economic reasons, usually either to reach new audiences for media they're selling or trying to bring in more workers to their businesses to drive down wages (re: silicon valley).
everyone knew exactly how Hilary was corrupt. The emails didn't matter. Her corruption was right out in the open. We knew she gave Wallstreet speeches for money. We knew she sold access to the state department, we knew her foundation was sketchy and we knew she manipulated the DCC to stop Bernie. All the emails did was fill in a few blanks. The email servers we there not to hide corruption, there were to keep her opponents from knowing her strategies.
We know our public officials are corrupt because they're making no real effort to hide it. We need a litmus test for all politicians. If you take corporate & PAC money you don't get elected. You don't even make it past primary season. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can serve two masters.
What you're referring to seems to stem from an article Buzz Feed ran here complaining that people who pushed for more diversity in comics were being trolled, harassed and threatened. Because everyone in the media likes to boil stuff down to a controversy they called the phenomenon "comicsgate".
Pushes for diversity in comics have been going on since the mid-90s boom times. You can't pin the drop in sales on that because it's a nearly 25 year old movement in the industry. The goal isn't to be "SJW" it's to expand readership beyond young teen boys. Girls in particular are a desirable target demographic because, well, they read a lot more than boys (seriously, look it up, or ask yourself what the biggest hit books are and take a look at how they appeal to girls).
The industry's flagging not because of diversity, it's flagging because the entire US economy's in the crapper for everyone but the top 10% or so and those people are busy enjoying their wealth instead of reading comics (the occasional Sultan in Dubai aside). The nerd economy in particular is hurting because of outsourcing and in-sourcing (e.g. H1-Bs). Comic book publishers have lost their last remaining base. They lost the kids to video games and now they've lost the nerds to, well, supply side economics.
I think the killer is the nerd economy just keeps getting worse. I see more and more people here on work visas and less opportunity for nerds. A lot of the nerds I know still making OK money are working 60-80 hours a week to do it. You don't have time for comic collecting when you're pulling those kinds of hours.
is that it's owned lock, stock & barrel by the same mega-corporations that are buying off politicians.
I just read an article talking about "moderate" Democrats (e.g. the right wing) opposing Bernie Sanders and it made the point that single payer health care is popular but threw in the phrase "government run". Bernie and his ilk aren't talking about government run-healthcare. Nobody except a very tiny number of loons is (roughly the same as the number of Republicans talking about expelling black Americans and fewer than the number of Republicans in favor of child labor). Single Payer != Government Run, as anyone in Canada, the UK, Australia, Germany, France, the Netherlands or Sweden will tell you.
When I talk about a right wing media bias this is what I mean.
But given how openly corrupt the current admin is does it really matter? I mean, the head of the EPA was ousted for petty things like buying furniture with government funds, meanwhile the EPA is ignoring large scale pollution while working to roll back the endangered species act so that rich guys can go hunting (seriously, look it up). We've got a president who refuses to release tax returns and at least 20% of the population (and 42% of the voting pop) is perfectly OK with that as though they'd forgotten why we make presidential candidates with obvious conflicts of interest release those.
I just saying that knowing the particulars of corruption is pointless when you can see the effects of it right out in the open. If you want to see this crap stop start showing up to your primaries and demanding politicians who refuse corporate PAC money. Guys like these. Why anyone would vote for someone who openly accepts PAC money is beyond me.
because people stopped showing up. I stopped going to banks when I could take a picture of checks and have it deposit to my account. I don't miss waiting in line at banks. And no, the long waits weren't because they were closing branches. They understaffed like everybody else did post 2000 when companies realized they could just make us wait since there was little or no competition left for essential services.
Now, if you want to see the banks take a real hit do Post Office banking.
he's just trying to get a rise out of you. I'm your side (about as lefty as it gets) and don't waste time going after Trump's family unless they're part of the problem. Melania most definitely isn't. Hell, the word is she was crying when they won the presidency and it wasn't tears of joy. She didn't want any part of the current mess.
because I have a firm sense of cynicism and an above average critical thinking skills. At least I do now. Give it another 20 years of Age related cognitive decline and maybe I will need that protection.
And maybe it's a good idea to police the quality of information to a certain extent. Yeah, yeah, we're all afraid of censorship. But aren't Truth in Advertising laws also censorship? Are laws regulating the claims Homepathy can make censorship? When a Youtuber pushing a Counterstrike skin site has to admit he owns the site isn't that a form of censorship? I mean, you're controlling and regulating speech.
We regulate the quality of information all the time. Computers and the internet are making it so the laws need to adjust.
The guy playing Shazam himself I can kinda take or leave. I'd blame it on being hard to pull off the look but the guy playing Aquaman did it. That said, I'll probably stick to the animated movie that made not too long ago.
does not make your right. These are the same guys who got behind Trumps $1 trillion dollar give away to mega corps that's currently backfiring on workers (the Fed is going to raise interest and allow massive inflation to counter balance the over-reving to the economy that giving away $1 trillion to the top 1% did, meaning you're gonna pay more for everything you buy).
Look, you've been had. You're being manipulated (assuming you're not one of those Russian Trolls I keep reading about). Supply side economics, aka Trickle Down, doesn't work. The rich just keep the money and human civilization grinds to a halt as an increasingly small number of people take everything for themselves. Eventually they'll get around to taking what little you have....
As for the current issue, again, you're ignoring the two principle factors that until recently drove up wages and standards of living: productivity increases and worker solidarity. Wages are supposed to go UP when productivity goes up. This means workers are getting their share. That stopped happening in the 70s when the rich went after Unions (the cold war scare ending and allowing factories to be shipped overseas didn't help. FYI Marx predicted that but all anybody talks about him is that a few dictators borrowed his books for rhetoric).
Economist have finally been forced to start talking about why wages are declining and pointing out that it's because workers stopped unionizing (they put it in gentler terms, saying something about labor balance or some such). This trend will continue until we either descend into dystopia or start working together against the upper class again. You can either join guys like me in making a better world or hope you get to be one of the 1%ers bootlickers. But you're not one of them, and you never will be. Remember that.
he helped give us Trump after all and I'll be living with the damage done for the rest of my life (mostly to our healthcare system) but wasn't the woman in question tied to the American CIA?
The folks who supported him get discarded. Paul Manafort (the architected Trump's campaign) comes to mind. Trump's famous for not paying his contractors, so much so that every contractor in Vegas had an agreement that they'd withhold work from him until he paid the last guy he hired.
a. Unemployment is not a tax on workers, it's a tax on employers. You can argue that employers will pass the cost on, but that's not exactly true since employers still have to compete for workers meaning there are other factors at play in determining how low they can set wages. It's the same false argument that says wages should never go up since workers will pay more for goods. It ignores how the economy works and how progress increases productivity and all the other impacts on an employees ages.
And one more thing, unemployment is NOT intended for the Laid off. It's intended for those still working. Specifically, it's meant to prevent a downward spiral on wages when desperate workers enter the workforce following minor economic booms. The rules have been changed over the years as part of a larger trend to disenfranchise workers and lower wages so that it's harder and harder to get unemployment, resulting in lower wages for everyone (including you).
it's 480p videos of stuff like Secular Talk, Aronra and the Young Turks. Basically anything with a real, anti-corporate slant. Eventually these channels will get enough traction to be noticed and shut down. Already smaller channels who tried to push a pro-worker narrative and agenda found themselves de-monitized as "too contraversial". The 3 I just mentioned were already big enough to survive on Patreon donations but without those they'd all be doing day jobs.
there is such a thing as truth. Reality is just that, reality. There's several trustworthy sources. The BBC being a major one. There's still plenty of good journalism in France. And then there's tons of youtubers like Aronra and Secular Talk that promote truth or if nothing else consistent principles.
Now, if you're talking "mainstream" media (Fox News, CNN, MSNBC) yeah. They're owned lock stock and barrel by mega corps. The only thing you'll get out of them is a pro-corporate, anti-worker narrative that focuses on supply side economics and nothing but.
Slashdot Mirror
There, FIFY.
I needed a car charger for my phone and the ones in the back of the store were $10-$15 and the ones at the cash register were $6. Go figure.
when a business is positioning itself to become a monopoly. Amazon doesn't make enough money to satisfy a normal shareholder. They're being allowed to bring in very little profit relative to their size with the understanding that once their competitors are out of business they can charge whatever they want.
from an anti-science administration is going to end exactly the way you think. And no, it's not inappropriate to call them anti-science. They're climate change deniers for Pete's sake. Trump called it a Chinese hoax. And don't get me started on their flagrant disregard for hard data in economics. That tax cut of theirs was the exact wrong thing to do. The Treasury is currently bumping interest rates and inflation to reign the effects of it in.
The word your looking for is "gut".
because I got tired of going to a store to find them and either not finding them or having to search for half an hour-45 minutes because stores like to hide such things so I'll go all over and maybe pick up 5 or 6 other things.
Brick & Mortar Stores did several things that have pushed me away. First, they used computers to figure out exactly what sells and only stock that. Meaning if I want something that folks don't buy every single day I've got to go online, and if I'm going online I might as well skip the trip. Second, they took the "milk at the back of the store" philosophy to crazy heights and put everything I buy routinely at the maximum distance from each other, making shopping an all around miserable experience. Oh, and they massively understaff their stores to save money on wages (while cutting pay and benefits) meaning everybody at any store I shop at is just as miserable as I am.
Is it any wonder I avoid shopping in stores as much as possible?
it's a small group of women running out of community colleges. It's blown out of proportion by right wing media out to make a boogie man (boogie woman?) to distract you from economic issues like wages declining as productivity raises.
Even in as much as there's anyone seriously advocating for diversity they're doing it purely for economic reasons, usually either to reach new audiences for media they're selling or trying to bring in more workers to their businesses to drive down wages (re: silicon valley).
Always, always, always follow the money.
everyone knew exactly how Hilary was corrupt. The emails didn't matter. Her corruption was right out in the open. We knew she gave Wallstreet speeches for money. We knew she sold access to the state department, we knew her foundation was sketchy and we knew she manipulated the DCC to stop Bernie. All the emails did was fill in a few blanks. The email servers we there not to hide corruption, there were to keep her opponents from knowing her strategies.
We know our public officials are corrupt because they're making no real effort to hide it. We need a litmus test for all politicians. If you take corporate & PAC money you don't get elected. You don't even make it past primary season. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can serve two masters.
was successful. The comic is widely available.
What you're referring to seems to stem from an article Buzz Feed ran here complaining that people who pushed for more diversity in comics were being trolled, harassed and threatened. Because everyone in the media likes to boil stuff down to a controversy they called the phenomenon "comicsgate".
Pushes for diversity in comics have been going on since the mid-90s boom times. You can't pin the drop in sales on that because it's a nearly 25 year old movement in the industry. The goal isn't to be "SJW" it's to expand readership beyond young teen boys. Girls in particular are a desirable target demographic because, well, they read a lot more than boys (seriously, look it up, or ask yourself what the biggest hit books are and take a look at how they appeal to girls).
The industry's flagging not because of diversity, it's flagging because the entire US economy's in the crapper for everyone but the top 10% or so and those people are busy enjoying their wealth instead of reading comics (the occasional Sultan in Dubai aside). The nerd economy in particular is hurting because of outsourcing and in-sourcing (e.g. H1-Bs). Comic book publishers have lost their last remaining base. They lost the kids to video games and now they've lost the nerds to, well, supply side economics.
TL;DR, it's the economy stoopid (TM)
They're pushing a 100 page comic for distribution at Walmarts
I think the killer is the nerd economy just keeps getting worse. I see more and more people here on work visas and less opportunity for nerds. A lot of the nerds I know still making OK money are working 60-80 hours a week to do it. You don't have time for comic collecting when you're pulling those kinds of hours.
is that it's owned lock, stock & barrel by the same mega-corporations that are buying off politicians.
I just read an article talking about "moderate" Democrats (e.g. the right wing) opposing Bernie Sanders and it made the point that single payer health care is popular but threw in the phrase "government run". Bernie and his ilk aren't talking about government run-healthcare. Nobody except a very tiny number of loons is (roughly the same as the number of Republicans talking about expelling black Americans and fewer than the number of Republicans in favor of child labor). Single Payer != Government Run, as anyone in Canada, the UK, Australia, Germany, France, the Netherlands or Sweden will tell you.
When I talk about a right wing media bias this is what I mean.
But given how openly corrupt the current admin is does it really matter? I mean, the head of the EPA was ousted for petty things like buying furniture with government funds, meanwhile the EPA is ignoring large scale pollution while working to roll back the endangered species act so that rich guys can go hunting (seriously, look it up). We've got a president who refuses to release tax returns and at least 20% of the population (and 42% of the voting pop) is perfectly OK with that as though they'd forgotten why we make presidential candidates with obvious conflicts of interest release those.
I just saying that knowing the particulars of corruption is pointless when you can see the effects of it right out in the open. If you want to see this crap stop start showing up to your primaries and demanding politicians who refuse corporate PAC money. Guys like these. Why anyone would vote for someone who openly accepts PAC money is beyond me.
because people stopped showing up. I stopped going to banks when I could take a picture of checks and have it deposit to my account. I don't miss waiting in line at banks. And no, the long waits weren't because they were closing branches. They understaffed like everybody else did post 2000 when companies realized they could just make us wait since there was little or no competition left for essential services.
Now, if you want to see the banks take a real hit do Post Office banking.
CA is a technology hub. The idea is to stop startups in CA that would be doing sketchy stuff like this.
he's just trying to get a rise out of you. I'm your side (about as lefty as it gets) and don't waste time going after Trump's family unless they're part of the problem. Melania most definitely isn't. Hell, the word is she was crying when they won the presidency and it wasn't tears of joy. She didn't want any part of the current mess.
the only place you won't be able to run a company that runs high tech bots is the hub of virtually all hi tech startups in America, right?
because I have a firm sense of cynicism and an above average critical thinking skills. At least I do now. Give it another 20 years of Age related cognitive decline and maybe I will need that protection.
And maybe it's a good idea to police the quality of information to a certain extent. Yeah, yeah, we're all afraid of censorship. But aren't Truth in Advertising laws also censorship? Are laws regulating the claims Homepathy can make censorship? When a Youtuber pushing a Counterstrike skin site has to admit he owns the site isn't that a form of censorship? I mean, you're controlling and regulating speech.
We regulate the quality of information all the time. Computers and the internet are making it so the laws need to adjust.
This is another example of Uber exercising the kind of control over it's "contractors" that would normally be reserved for employees.
The guy playing Shazam himself I can kinda take or leave. I'd blame it on being hard to pull off the look but the guy playing Aquaman did it. That said, I'll probably stick to the animated movie that made not too long ago.
does not make your right. These are the same guys who got behind Trumps $1 trillion dollar give away to mega corps that's currently backfiring on workers (the Fed is going to raise interest and allow massive inflation to counter balance the over-reving to the economy that giving away $1 trillion to the top 1% did, meaning you're gonna pay more for everything you buy).
Look, you've been had. You're being manipulated (assuming you're not one of those Russian Trolls I keep reading about). Supply side economics, aka Trickle Down, doesn't work. The rich just keep the money and human civilization grinds to a halt as an increasingly small number of people take everything for themselves. Eventually they'll get around to taking what little you have....
As for the current issue, again, you're ignoring the two principle factors that until recently drove up wages and standards of living: productivity increases and worker solidarity. Wages are supposed to go UP when productivity goes up. This means workers are getting their share. That stopped happening in the 70s when the rich went after Unions (the cold war scare ending and allowing factories to be shipped overseas didn't help. FYI Marx predicted that but all anybody talks about him is that a few dictators borrowed his books for rhetoric).
Economist have finally been forced to start talking about why wages are declining and pointing out that it's because workers stopped unionizing (they put it in gentler terms, saying something about labor balance or some such). This trend will continue until we either descend into dystopia or start working together against the upper class again. You can either join guys like me in making a better world or hope you get to be one of the 1%ers bootlickers. But you're not one of them, and you never will be. Remember that.
he helped give us Trump after all and I'll be living with the damage done for the rest of my life (mostly to our healthcare system) but wasn't the woman in question tied to the American CIA?
The folks who supported him get discarded. Paul Manafort (the architected Trump's campaign) comes to mind. Trump's famous for not paying his contractors, so much so that every contractor in Vegas had an agreement that they'd withhold work from him until he paid the last guy he hired.
a. Unemployment is not a tax on workers, it's a tax on employers. You can argue that employers will pass the cost on, but that's not exactly true since employers still have to compete for workers meaning there are other factors at play in determining how low they can set wages. It's the same false argument that says wages should never go up since workers will pay more for goods. It ignores how the economy works and how progress increases productivity and all the other impacts on an employees ages.
And one more thing, unemployment is NOT intended for the Laid off. It's intended for those still working. Specifically, it's meant to prevent a downward spiral on wages when desperate workers enter the workforce following minor economic booms. The rules have been changed over the years as part of a larger trend to disenfranchise workers and lower wages so that it's harder and harder to get unemployment, resulting in lower wages for everyone (including you).
it's 480p videos of stuff like Secular Talk, Aronra and the Young Turks. Basically anything with a real, anti-corporate slant. Eventually these channels will get enough traction to be noticed and shut down. Already smaller channels who tried to push a pro-worker narrative and agenda found themselves de-monitized as "too contraversial". The 3 I just mentioned were already big enough to survive on Patreon donations but without those they'd all be doing day jobs.
there is such a thing as truth. Reality is just that, reality. There's several trustworthy sources. The BBC being a major one. There's still plenty of good journalism in France. And then there's tons of youtubers like Aronra and Secular Talk that promote truth or if nothing else consistent principles.
Now, if you're talking "mainstream" media (Fox News, CNN, MSNBC) yeah. They're owned lock stock and barrel by mega corps. The only thing you'll get out of them is a pro-corporate, anti-worker narrative that focuses on supply side economics and nothing but.