Is what Governor Walker in Wisconsin is doing an "assault on unions" as President Obama has said?
Aside from that, and this question is best directed at my American friends, does Obama interfere in local and state matters more than past Presidents? I always understood that state independence was important and for that reason most Presidents tended to shy away from commenting on state issues.
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Everyone in the West knows there's a financial crunch. We can waste time and energy playing a blame game but it won't solve anything. At some point, cutting back on spending (of whatever kind) will be the great challenge for modern economies.
A quote on demographics from Current History:
"Most nations are failing to come to grips with demographic challenges despite advance warning. Washington seems dysfunctional in the face of looming costs associated with baby boomer retirements. The problems of aging populations are even worse for Japan (which still discourages immigration), China (which retains its one-child policy), and Europe."
Aside from that, and this question is best directed at my American friends, does Obama interfere in local and state matters more than past Presidents? I always understood that state independence was important and for that reason most Presidents tended to shy away from commenting on state issues.
ReplyDelete1) No
2) I can't believe you are taking a comment as being some sort of tyrannical infringement upon a state's ability to govern itself.
3) Bush never stopped butting into state issues. He proposed and signed into law measures to prevent states from having legally recognized gay marriages, he opposed marijuana medicalization and aggressively enforced federal drug laws on legal California growers, he sided with automakers who opposed state mandates for cleaner cars... should I go on?
Obama hasn't done anything to infringe on any state's right to govern itself. Total tripe. There has never been a president who did so little in my lifetime, and I've never seen so many people complain about nothing before. What won't you bitch about when it comes to Obama? I don't even like the guy, and yet I find myself completely and utterly unbothered by him because he goes out of his way to be so fucking neutral (which is part of why I don't like him, because he has no back bone and won't stand up for what he claimed to believe in).
It blows my mind that people don't understand what is happening in Wisconsin. A tiny, miniscule part of the state budget is being trimmed for these teachers, but the real reason for the protests is that the governor is trying to take away the employee's right to collective bargaining. I cannot understand how conservatives have convinced themselves we should blame unions full of middle class workers as the cause of our financial dilemma (and therefore they should pay for it), not the billionaires who looted the nation (who are getting more tax breaks).
Are you really so clueless as to be unaware of these simple facts? I want to believe you don't have your head up yoru ass, but you make it tough sometimes.
Once again Bret, you can't go through a comment without being a presumptous asshole.
ReplyDeleteNever met someone so convinced of their opinions. I'm here to tell you, again, don't over rate yourself.
All I did, without any preconceptions, was ask a question. I'm not American, so I asked.
Next time, and I'm serious, if you can't answer with any civility (and I've asked this in the past) I will simply erase your comments.
From what I read, he's not looking to remove collective bargaining. If there's confusion in that then it should be cleared up.
Why do you think I'm trying to be civil with an uncivil person? Am I expected to rise above and be better than those I speak to?
ReplyDeleteI don't have that kind of patience. If you want to be a censor nazi, that's your choice. If you want to be a spineless, thin-skinned whiner who wants to bitch without anyone calling them out on their blatant bullshit with confidence, then I can stop save us both the time and not comment here.
But I also notice you didn't even address what I did say, and think that by stating a non-fact, you have negated the truth. The unions can negotiate on pay... and nothing else, which means pensions, healthcare and all those other things you Canucks enjoy universally will be taken away from people who actually worked specifically for those benefits.
And the bottom line: you are a myopic Obama hater who is willing to blow anything he does out of proportion. I heard he farted, are you going to connect it to tornadoes in the Midwest? Seriously... if you want civility, try demonstrating some. I'm sick of being the polite liberal.
Go fuck yourself you conservative piece of shit. Delete this if you want, but at least I know you read it and deleted it like a bitch.
You? The polite liberal?
ReplyDeleteO.
K.
I'm outta here.
Seriously, though, I don't think T.C. really understands what is going on on in Wisconsin. You are a Obama-hater. He is the POTUS and he can say whatever the F&?%K he wants! The middle-class has had enough of the Conservative bullshit being spewed by the likes of Limbaugh, Fox News, et al. The gig is up. They shill for the corporations. These so-called conservatives only care about their fat bank accounts. Give me a break. The issue in Wisconsin is that the Gov Walker made up a budget crisis and everyone knows it. What is happening in the street is only the beginning of the virage the American people are in the midst of. Obama will win a 2nd term in 2012 by a LANDSLIDE. It is one thing to be conservative, and another to assault the middle class. Again, T.C. you missed the larger picture while looking through your rose-coloured theoretically-sound conservative glasses. What is going on in the US is not Conservatism it is Corporatism.
ReplyDeletehttp://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/02/manufacturing-crisis
Oh gee, where to begin? First, Bret is obviously the asshole in this thread (isn't he in just about every thread?). If this were a game called "Spot the Asshole", he would make it too easy. He can behave himself when he wants to, he just doesn't seem able to a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe funniest line of his, though, is this: "I'm sick of being the polite liberal."
I have to ask, when did you get sick, Bret? You've been leaving comments full of vitriol for as long as I've been aware of your Internet existence.
On the "unions" in Wisconsin, I don't disagree entirely with "Maria". Yeah, it's not anything resembling true conservatism in general these days. It's crony capitalism and corporate welfare that is the true order of the day.
However, what Bret and "Maria" seem unable to comprehend, is that it is that very middle class they supposedly are championing that will soon get fed up with footing the bill for these public employee lifestyles. The money just ain't there anymore in the states.
What is sinking states like California, or Wisconsin, is spending, much of it in the form of huge salaries, pensions and benefits for larger and larger numbers of tax-eating parasites, i.e., public employees.
So, no, you shove it, Bret and Maria, right up there deep where the sun don't shine and the darkness blinds any knowledge of the truth.
If you want to be a censor nazi
Sorry, Bret, but it's not really censorship to have a comment policy against rude and insulting comments on a PRIVATE blog. Since this is T.C.'s blog, you play by his rules.
Nikk. Let it go. It's Chinatown.
ReplyDelete