The Occupy Wall Street movement has acquired a significant amount of attention over the past few weeks, but the most common criticism, perhaps improperly applied, has been that the movement lacks a cohesiveness. There are no prominent leaders or big names which come to mind when you think of OWS. The question then, is, should OWS have a leader or leaders?
At first glance, the obvious answer would be Yes. Creating a figurehead to lead the movement would silence the critics who have demanded clarity in the OWS movement. It would be an easy fix.
Or would it?
You see, just like any other movement which originates on the Left, no amount of positioning, messaging, or symbolism will appease the critics, especially those on the Right. Asking for leaders to rise up out of OWS is simply one more straw man argument in a long line of straw men. No matter what OWS does, the media critics and the Right Wing Machine will stop at nothing to delegitimize OWS. At least those of us on the Left gave credence to the Tea Party, even if we did criticize them. We accepted their complaint that the federal government was broken. We accepted that government spending was out of control. We just didn't agree on the solutions.
OWS has not been provided the same courtesy, nor will it.
Established leaders in the OWS movement will become nothing more than lightning rods, people faced with an onslaught of insults and dismissal, the likes of which have been illustrated in Right Wing responses to Elizabeth Warren, Rachel Maddow, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and yes, Barack Obama. Mention unions to a right winger and watch how fast they choose to ramble on and on about how evil they are. OWS will evoke the same response. The lazy/welfare/hippie stigma is applied to anything on the Left as a way to invigorate the Right Wing base. It's almost as common as their idea that tax cuts will fix everything. Conservatives only know how to think in those two terms. They won't deviate from the flock. It is better to keep OWS decentralized and broad based than to put someone in charge. As long as OWS remains broad, it will be symbolic of the American people, not "liberal" as used in the derogatory sense.
After all, the Right Wing pundits have to feed their dogs frothing at the mouth somehow, right?
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
How do you feel about the Koch brothers?
If there's one incongruent thought floating around out there in conservative voter's minds, it's that while politicians are all the same, governed by private interests and corrupt money, when it's a Republican politician receiving the boost, it's okay. Yes, it's an extension of the IOKIYAR problem. In order to remain consistent, one would have to be opposed to corporate influence on the political process.
So here's my question and I'm asking it only to conservative voters.
What is your opinion of the Koch brothers?
Are you proud of them? Do they just belong to your "stick it to liberals" club? Are you okay with their money influencing your candidate just because you want your candidate to stick it to any and every liberal out there?
Or do you find their influence to be equally deplorable? How do you feel knowing that your candidate is not chosen by voters, but bought?
Let me know. I'd be curious to see just how angry you are at government corruption. After all, the Tea Party is nothing more than a Koch brothers' production. This isn't about unions. This isn't about Democrats. This is about your personal ethical standards by which you choose to live by. This is about what it is you are willing to support and what you refuse to put up with as a voter in America.
So here's my question and I'm asking it only to conservative voters.
What is your opinion of the Koch brothers?
Are you proud of them? Do they just belong to your "stick it to liberals" club? Are you okay with their money influencing your candidate just because you want your candidate to stick it to any and every liberal out there?
Or do you find their influence to be equally deplorable? How do you feel knowing that your candidate is not chosen by voters, but bought?
Let me know. I'd be curious to see just how angry you are at government corruption. After all, the Tea Party is nothing more than a Koch brothers' production. This isn't about unions. This isn't about Democrats. This is about your personal ethical standards by which you choose to live by. This is about what it is you are willing to support and what you refuse to put up with as a voter in America.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Flood/Drought solution
We have thousands of miles of pipe funneling a valuable resource into a system that feeds our hunger. These pipes don't funnel precious water. No. These pipes were designed for oil. We have similar pipes running natural gas across our cities. Why is it, then, that we cannot do the same with water?
There likely isn't any money in it. That's the reason for everything, right?
We are looking at disastrous flooding in the Midwest right now, but at the same time, Texas is facing a severe drought. Either way you cut it, entire crops are being lost. Our food supply suffers at the hand of Mother Nature.
Why can't we manipulate Mother Nature a little?
While it would involve a major undertaking across state lines, millions of dollars, and a lot of faith, ever since I've lived in the Midwest, I thought the idea that we could run pipes from that region to the South and Southwest to fill reservoirs and water crops was within our capabilities.
We have an excess of water in one part of the country and a shortage of this valuable resource in others. In the past, before many of our major cities were even in existence, we accomplished this feat using long canals. This concept is not a new one, so why we haven't implemented something on this grand of a scale baffles me. I realize there are some restrictions related to diverting water, but a state could easily allow an exception for when certain bodies of water rise above flood stage, for example. Sounds pretty simple.
The problem is money. For those who argue the government should not fund this, state or federal, I'm all for some private company installing these systems. Oil is a private venture and the same concepts can be applied. All it would take is some leadership. There is money to be made in a crop shortage, so I suspect the supply and demand system prevents us from advancing this far, but when water is admittedly becoming a valuable natural resource, there is certainly money to be made in this idea.
Do it. Try it. Help farmers. Help large cities. Help America.
There likely isn't any money in it. That's the reason for everything, right?
We are looking at disastrous flooding in the Midwest right now, but at the same time, Texas is facing a severe drought. Either way you cut it, entire crops are being lost. Our food supply suffers at the hand of Mother Nature.
Why can't we manipulate Mother Nature a little?
While it would involve a major undertaking across state lines, millions of dollars, and a lot of faith, ever since I've lived in the Midwest, I thought the idea that we could run pipes from that region to the South and Southwest to fill reservoirs and water crops was within our capabilities.
We have an excess of water in one part of the country and a shortage of this valuable resource in others. In the past, before many of our major cities were even in existence, we accomplished this feat using long canals. This concept is not a new one, so why we haven't implemented something on this grand of a scale baffles me. I realize there are some restrictions related to diverting water, but a state could easily allow an exception for when certain bodies of water rise above flood stage, for example. Sounds pretty simple.
The problem is money. For those who argue the government should not fund this, state or federal, I'm all for some private company installing these systems. Oil is a private venture and the same concepts can be applied. All it would take is some leadership. There is money to be made in a crop shortage, so I suspect the supply and demand system prevents us from advancing this far, but when water is admittedly becoming a valuable natural resource, there is certainly money to be made in this idea.
Do it. Try it. Help farmers. Help large cities. Help America.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Have we already lost?
The recent turn of events over the last few years has shown me as a voter that corporations control not only the politicians in DC, but our politicians at the local level.
When chunks come out of an airplane in the sky...
When oil spills devastate our shores...
When food contamination poisons our loved ones...
When fast food restaurants skimp on meat and replace it with filler to save money...
We must admit our problem is not with government, but with aging infrastructure that is run by businesses who refuse to change. Regulation has had its head cut off. We don't have the teeth to bite back. Companies hang their hats on risk management. They hire people to assess cost versus benefit risks and those rare events where bad things happen get shoved to the bottom of the list as a result. They hedge their bets at the expense of us, the American citizen.
We don't really have a choice. We live at the whim of corporate budgets. The effects of our complacency are nothing short of detrimental.
I'm not asking if we've lost the 2012 election to the Republicans. I am asking if we've lost the class struggle altogether. Are we already knee deep in Fascism? Are the economic powerhouses in this country in control of everything?
Whether or not Barack Obama will be re-elected will not be determined by a "referendum" on his performance. It will be a testament to the corporate influence the major players behind the scenes have over our election process. As the 2012 campaigns begin to enter our minds in the weeks to come, the misinformation will flood in, the hate we experienced in 2008 will resurface, and we as citizens will be turned against each other. The power at the top will stand over us, look down, and laugh.
You may be disappointed in our political system. You may be disappointed with Barack Obama. What I won't do is stand here and tell you that voting for a Republican will make things any better. At the beginning of 2011, the Republicans set the stage for their 2012 campaign. They are at war with the Middle Class, from union workers to Social Security recipients to our teachers, police, and firemen. Jobs were not on their list of priorities. They chose party over country again and if you are Republican, you should be troubled by this move, not enthusiastic about it. While you may be at war with Liberals and secularism, you need to wake up and realize that you are being attacked by something else, corporate greed. The urgency with which we must launch our counter-attack has never been clearer, so while you may dislike the idea of a second term for Barack Obama, what you do not want is your current spread of Conservative candidates to take a swing at the presidency. In 2016, you can vote for either party again, but a Republican win would send a message to the corporate world that it is open season on the rest of us.
Your choice is between Barack Obama and a Republican powerhouse cramming their flavor of Big Government down our throats (the fast track to Fascism). Any Conservative who tells you they are out to shrink the size of government is lying. On social issues, they want to dictate what we do. On safety issues, they want to dictate what it is we cannot have. On income, they have no desire to help any of us get a job. The past two years have been about power. The Republican Party is now about control. There is no incentive for them to side with the people. They are in this to crush the Democratic Party into oblivion.
So if you are a Republican voter who believes in democracy and the electoral process, do you want to live in a country where you don't have any rivals? Do you really want to live where your beliefs go unopposed? Do you believe in the balance of power?
This is where I wonder if we as Liberals have already lost. Over the past few years, I have been tossing the following idea around in my brain. Is America really more conservative than liberal? Are Liberals simply outnumbered? Are we dead in the putrid water? Do we survive only at the whim of ignorance, bigoted, and the misinformed?
When you look at who is funding Republicans and Democrats in recent elections, you might get the sense that we as Liberals are almost powerless. The only groups throwing big money behind are candidates appear to be unions. The rest? The big bucks come from big companies and the most of the money goes to Republicans.
When Republicans began chipping away at unions in recent months, the message being sent is that they are not attacking unions. They are attacking the Democratic Party. After all, isn't that what a modern day Republican is? Isn't that what defines modern Conservatism? The one thing they all have in common on that side of the political fence is an overt hatred of anything Left of Center.
"Imagine a world without Liberals."
That is the current under-the-table slogan for the Republican Party.
So have we already lost? Is the America where two political parties exist simply gone? The current climate is full of voters who feel neither Democrats nor Republicans are any good. In fact, many voters feel there is no real difference at all. I urge you to look at the attacks taking place on the financial viability of Liberal politics and ask yourself if there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans through those glasses. I say there is.
A recent poll published by NBC News found that the majority of Republicans want their elected officials to stand firm at the risk of a government shut down. Democrats almost overwhelmingly when asked the same question sided with compromise. Independent voters overwhelmingly sided with compromise when asked about both Republicans and Democrats.
Who is the real threat here? Stalwarts or Hopefuls?
If you don't vote, but can...
If you won't vote, but could...
If you swing vote, and see...
Send a message in 2012 that the current incarnation of the Republican Party is not welcome in this climate. Bring us back into focus as a nation. Vote in protest against this machine, even if your politics align you to the Right, fiscally. I welcome Libertarians into my ranks, but I turn my nose at the Social Conservatives that are running us into the ground.
When, in the same NBC News poll, people were asked if this country is on the right track, most said No. Which track are they looking at? It depends on which train you're on. If you sit on the Left, you see a political system in disarray, torn apart by a Right Wing lunatic fringe. If you sit on the Right, you see Barack Obama, Democrats, and Liberalism as a plague.
When posed like that, we have all lost, and once again, I am ashamed to be an American.
When chunks come out of an airplane in the sky...
When oil spills devastate our shores...
When food contamination poisons our loved ones...
When fast food restaurants skimp on meat and replace it with filler to save money...
We must admit our problem is not with government, but with aging infrastructure that is run by businesses who refuse to change. Regulation has had its head cut off. We don't have the teeth to bite back. Companies hang their hats on risk management. They hire people to assess cost versus benefit risks and those rare events where bad things happen get shoved to the bottom of the list as a result. They hedge their bets at the expense of us, the American citizen.
We don't really have a choice. We live at the whim of corporate budgets. The effects of our complacency are nothing short of detrimental.
I'm not asking if we've lost the 2012 election to the Republicans. I am asking if we've lost the class struggle altogether. Are we already knee deep in Fascism? Are the economic powerhouses in this country in control of everything?
Whether or not Barack Obama will be re-elected will not be determined by a "referendum" on his performance. It will be a testament to the corporate influence the major players behind the scenes have over our election process. As the 2012 campaigns begin to enter our minds in the weeks to come, the misinformation will flood in, the hate we experienced in 2008 will resurface, and we as citizens will be turned against each other. The power at the top will stand over us, look down, and laugh.
You may be disappointed in our political system. You may be disappointed with Barack Obama. What I won't do is stand here and tell you that voting for a Republican will make things any better. At the beginning of 2011, the Republicans set the stage for their 2012 campaign. They are at war with the Middle Class, from union workers to Social Security recipients to our teachers, police, and firemen. Jobs were not on their list of priorities. They chose party over country again and if you are Republican, you should be troubled by this move, not enthusiastic about it. While you may be at war with Liberals and secularism, you need to wake up and realize that you are being attacked by something else, corporate greed. The urgency with which we must launch our counter-attack has never been clearer, so while you may dislike the idea of a second term for Barack Obama, what you do not want is your current spread of Conservative candidates to take a swing at the presidency. In 2016, you can vote for either party again, but a Republican win would send a message to the corporate world that it is open season on the rest of us.
Your choice is between Barack Obama and a Republican powerhouse cramming their flavor of Big Government down our throats (the fast track to Fascism). Any Conservative who tells you they are out to shrink the size of government is lying. On social issues, they want to dictate what we do. On safety issues, they want to dictate what it is we cannot have. On income, they have no desire to help any of us get a job. The past two years have been about power. The Republican Party is now about control. There is no incentive for them to side with the people. They are in this to crush the Democratic Party into oblivion.
So if you are a Republican voter who believes in democracy and the electoral process, do you want to live in a country where you don't have any rivals? Do you really want to live where your beliefs go unopposed? Do you believe in the balance of power?
This is where I wonder if we as Liberals have already lost. Over the past few years, I have been tossing the following idea around in my brain. Is America really more conservative than liberal? Are Liberals simply outnumbered? Are we dead in the putrid water? Do we survive only at the whim of ignorance, bigoted, and the misinformed?
When you look at who is funding Republicans and Democrats in recent elections, you might get the sense that we as Liberals are almost powerless. The only groups throwing big money behind are candidates appear to be unions. The rest? The big bucks come from big companies and the most of the money goes to Republicans.
When Republicans began chipping away at unions in recent months, the message being sent is that they are not attacking unions. They are attacking the Democratic Party. After all, isn't that what a modern day Republican is? Isn't that what defines modern Conservatism? The one thing they all have in common on that side of the political fence is an overt hatred of anything Left of Center.
"Imagine a world without Liberals."
That is the current under-the-table slogan for the Republican Party.
So have we already lost? Is the America where two political parties exist simply gone? The current climate is full of voters who feel neither Democrats nor Republicans are any good. In fact, many voters feel there is no real difference at all. I urge you to look at the attacks taking place on the financial viability of Liberal politics and ask yourself if there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans through those glasses. I say there is.
A recent poll published by NBC News found that the majority of Republicans want their elected officials to stand firm at the risk of a government shut down. Democrats almost overwhelmingly when asked the same question sided with compromise. Independent voters overwhelmingly sided with compromise when asked about both Republicans and Democrats.
Who is the real threat here? Stalwarts or Hopefuls?
If you don't vote, but can...
If you won't vote, but could...
If you swing vote, and see...
Send a message in 2012 that the current incarnation of the Republican Party is not welcome in this climate. Bring us back into focus as a nation. Vote in protest against this machine, even if your politics align you to the Right, fiscally. I welcome Libertarians into my ranks, but I turn my nose at the Social Conservatives that are running us into the ground.
When, in the same NBC News poll, people were asked if this country is on the right track, most said No. Which track are they looking at? It depends on which train you're on. If you sit on the Left, you see a political system in disarray, torn apart by a Right Wing lunatic fringe. If you sit on the Right, you see Barack Obama, Democrats, and Liberalism as a plague.
When posed like that, we have all lost, and once again, I am ashamed to be an American.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Conservative Tweets Late To The Party
With all of the hoopla going on in Wisconsin over union busting, my initial instinct was to observe what the dialogue offered in cyberspace. Twitter was a great place to check. When the protests peaked late last week, Twitter was alive with positive comments supporting everything. The tweets reflected public opinion in terms of percentage supporting vs opposing the actions by Gov. Walker.
Today, now that the Republicans in Wisconsin have made fiscal concerns less important than ideology, attacking unions and middle class America, the vibe on Twitter is noticeably different.
Conservatives dominate the trends. Go ahead. Look for #unions. Look at all the tweets. They may have arrived late to the discussion, but now that they are here, they are flooding the internet with hatred, misinformation, and talking points related to unions.
Even in news articles posted online, commenters were largely supportive leading up to last night. Today? The Conservatives are trolling the message boards like stink on shit. The term "Union Thug" didn't get thrown out there until today on a grand scale.
One has to wonder if this isn't an organized effort to flood Twitter with negative publicity. This happened with HCR. It happens with every political topic out there. The Conservative response comes in a wave on Twitter, usually waves of misinformation and just as much hatred as witnessed in public.
The opposition just seems to be far too orchestrated than a random series of opinions.
I find this to be a peculiar observation. If public polling favors the unions, it stands to reason that Twitter should reflect these opinions. The sudden shift in content disturbs me as an American who knows corporations run the Republican party. Abrupt changes in the dialogue like what I've just described should not go unnoticed. Of course, nobody in the media will catch onto this trend. That's why I'm posting it here. When you control the dialogue, you control public opinion. The overwhelming change in opinions on Twitter incorrectly portrays the sentiments of the American working class.
All is not as it seems.
Today, now that the Republicans in Wisconsin have made fiscal concerns less important than ideology, attacking unions and middle class America, the vibe on Twitter is noticeably different.
Conservatives dominate the trends. Go ahead. Look for #unions. Look at all the tweets. They may have arrived late to the discussion, but now that they are here, they are flooding the internet with hatred, misinformation, and talking points related to unions.
Even in news articles posted online, commenters were largely supportive leading up to last night. Today? The Conservatives are trolling the message boards like stink on shit. The term "Union Thug" didn't get thrown out there until today on a grand scale.
One has to wonder if this isn't an organized effort to flood Twitter with negative publicity. This happened with HCR. It happens with every political topic out there. The Conservative response comes in a wave on Twitter, usually waves of misinformation and just as much hatred as witnessed in public.
The opposition just seems to be far too orchestrated than a random series of opinions.
I find this to be a peculiar observation. If public polling favors the unions, it stands to reason that Twitter should reflect these opinions. The sudden shift in content disturbs me as an American who knows corporations run the Republican party. Abrupt changes in the dialogue like what I've just described should not go unnoticed. Of course, nobody in the media will catch onto this trend. That's why I'm posting it here. When you control the dialogue, you control public opinion. The overwhelming change in opinions on Twitter incorrectly portrays the sentiments of the American working class.
All is not as it seems.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Small Business Owners Could Save The US Economy
It seems to me that if small business owners across this country took the lead and hired at least one person per business, the effects would be far reaching and our economy would improve accordingly. What we have now is a situation where small businesses feel the pinch and refuse to take on any new workers because it constitutes a liability. They don't want to be put in the poor house either. I can sympathize with that, but I also denounce the premise that they are hurting as bad as they claim to be.
I see two ways out in terms of creating jobs. Consumer confidence can improve and people can start buying things, bolstering businesses, thereby producing an incentive for new job creation. The alternative would be to make the jobs happen first, allowing people out of work to then pay into the system, spreading money around a bit, creating more jobs by bolstering other small businesses. Crying about taxes isn't going to move us forward.
Let me explain.
Over the last few months, there is no doubt lavish expenditures have been made, whether it be that brand new boat, big screen television, or even a summer vacation. What I'm saying is, there is evidence SBOs spend money on themselves. I'm not saying they don't have the right to. I am saying that given the current situation, such expenditures are unwise and selfish. This is the way small business owners are these days. I recall having an argument with a friend over this very subject. When confronted with the notion that his family would spend money saved via tax cuts on themselves and not on a new employee or business investment, he remained silent. During World War II, when the proverbial fit hit the shan, we came together. Now we are in a crisis and people only think of themselves.
I am losing my sympathy for small business owners out there who continue to whine. Put off plans for expansion in other areas. Put off your dreams. The country is in a tough spot. The sooner people start hiring, the better. If you aren't planning on hiring at least one new employee during this economic downturn, I really have no need for you, nor does this country. You got into something you were not ready for, plain and simple. If you can't handle your business, stay out of business. It's a hard line to follow where I sit, but that's the way I feel. Before all of this, I did not trust big business because of corruption and greed. This economic recession has revealed to me a level of greed present among our citizens I had hoped would be muffled by screams of compassion and dedication to one another. Show me that you've hired someone. I'll be more than happy to tell my representatives in Congress to give you a tax break. Otherwise, I'll be giving you something for nothing and that isn't going to sit well with me right now.
If you're not hiring, you're in the way, I say. Quit thinking about yourself for a while. We need to dig our way out of a deep hole, but the shovels are in the hands of small business owners, not the government. Dig us out or dig us deeper. The decision is yours. Make some necessary cuts so that you can hire at least one more person. Just one person for every small business out there would send the unemployment rate into a tailspin. It's a hard decision to make, I know, but blaming the government for your woes will not make our economy budge. Words and whines do not equate to action. You'll get no sympathy from me anymore. The words "small business owner" leave me with a foul taste in my mouth now.
I see two ways out in terms of creating jobs. Consumer confidence can improve and people can start buying things, bolstering businesses, thereby producing an incentive for new job creation. The alternative would be to make the jobs happen first, allowing people out of work to then pay into the system, spreading money around a bit, creating more jobs by bolstering other small businesses. Crying about taxes isn't going to move us forward.
Let me explain.
Over the last few months, there is no doubt lavish expenditures have been made, whether it be that brand new boat, big screen television, or even a summer vacation. What I'm saying is, there is evidence SBOs spend money on themselves. I'm not saying they don't have the right to. I am saying that given the current situation, such expenditures are unwise and selfish. This is the way small business owners are these days. I recall having an argument with a friend over this very subject. When confronted with the notion that his family would spend money saved via tax cuts on themselves and not on a new employee or business investment, he remained silent. During World War II, when the proverbial fit hit the shan, we came together. Now we are in a crisis and people only think of themselves.
I am losing my sympathy for small business owners out there who continue to whine. Put off plans for expansion in other areas. Put off your dreams. The country is in a tough spot. The sooner people start hiring, the better. If you aren't planning on hiring at least one new employee during this economic downturn, I really have no need for you, nor does this country. You got into something you were not ready for, plain and simple. If you can't handle your business, stay out of business. It's a hard line to follow where I sit, but that's the way I feel. Before all of this, I did not trust big business because of corruption and greed. This economic recession has revealed to me a level of greed present among our citizens I had hoped would be muffled by screams of compassion and dedication to one another. Show me that you've hired someone. I'll be more than happy to tell my representatives in Congress to give you a tax break. Otherwise, I'll be giving you something for nothing and that isn't going to sit well with me right now.
If you're not hiring, you're in the way, I say. Quit thinking about yourself for a while. We need to dig our way out of a deep hole, but the shovels are in the hands of small business owners, not the government. Dig us out or dig us deeper. The decision is yours. Make some necessary cuts so that you can hire at least one more person. Just one person for every small business out there would send the unemployment rate into a tailspin. It's a hard decision to make, I know, but blaming the government for your woes will not make our economy budge. Words and whines do not equate to action. You'll get no sympathy from me anymore. The words "small business owner" leave me with a foul taste in my mouth now.
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