Bernie Sanders shows his true colors.

a reply to: beezzer

Yay! I've been to Paris doesn't mean I know terribly much about France though.

a reply to: Sremmos80

Judging by Obama's actions, I'd say no one know what anyone will actually 'do', when elected.

Of course the same applies for both parties, but, really, do you think it's likely that the Dems win back both houses??
Not impossible, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Frankly, I see the free university offer as an act of desperation. Hillary won't get much support from the independents and she still leads Sanders in the polls. Not an enviable position for Sanders, to say the least.

a reply to: Kali74

Actually we are in complete agreement! The lack of these things I mentioned probably allows the governmental system you encourage to exist without causing problems elsewhere. We, in the US, have a problem with needing to fight everyone's (bank's) wars so we can never find enough money to take care of our needy, our hungry, our disabled, our …

People keep watching the news and thinking that they are standing for something just, some national pride nonsense and forget that they did not do anything special to be born where they were and are therefore no better than anyone else by birth.

What they do after birth, is completely up to them.

a reply to: Kali74

I know that the architecture is nice and the culture is not very in Paris.

Elsewhere in France is actually quite pleasant.

…I will probably get censored about now for thread-drift by an errant offended mod...

a reply to: notmyrealname

Cutting the military is key then. 57% and rising of our budget is devoted to the military, plus some from the discretionary budget too that fund who knows what. The wars and operations we engage in make us miserable to boot. Cut the military budget, even if it's only enough to fund our veterans and the services they need... seems fair. The real key to our economic problems is reigning in the financial district and domestic corporations that enjoy all the perks of being American companies while not giving a dime to keep us running. Pay your domestic taxes or gtfo, employ Americans at living wages or gtfo. Simple.

a reply to: notmyrealname

The architecture is breathtaking and the people were pleasant. They love Americans, they hate our government.

a reply to: Kali74

Ten years and two wars ago I'd have agreed...

But with the Russian-Chinese alliance growing and their military might gaining traction, now would probably be a disastrous time to cut military.
Edit: Modern Warfare basically.


I'm sure most politicians are set for the next ten years...
A decade of Payless service would do the whole country (and mine) some good, show who's really in it for country and people, and who is in it for the loopholes, power & business networking.

originally posted by: beezzer

It'll only be "free" if we simply surrender all our assets and let government dictate what we should have, eat, where we should live.

I know quite a few people who did just that.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Our military is so far beyond every other that it is literally absurd to worry about an attack from another country on American soil. Then there's our nukes. Though the MAD treaties aren't in effect, essentially the world ends if China, Russia and the US go at it. We can only fight proxy and economic wars with each other. The US also outspends the next top 20 countries (militarily) combined. It would require essentially a World War against the US to even have a shot... and then there's our nukes.

a reply to: Kali74

In manpower you overwhelm any opponent...

In weaponry, missiles, and equipment numerically there is an advantage...
But the gulf in terms of efficiency is not so drastic.
Intelligence gathering is pretty much deadlocked...


Take into account two very recent wars and a fatigued military...
Cutting spending to those other integral parts could endanger the U.S.

Not to mention infowars...
Civil unrest at a tipping point also adds to the total aftermath.


Maybe a 10% cut could help...
Any more than that is playing with fire at this stage.

a reply to: Kali74
Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries are the size of one of our states. Denmark has about 1 million more people than our Commonwealth of Kentucky and a slightly larger land area. Programs that might work on a community or state level tend to become overloaded, bloated and corrupt when they are scaled up. Take note of the Education Dept. of the US as a good example. Prior to the creation of a national education department, education was handled on the state and local levels and our scores were in the top tiers amongst the industrialized nations. Since that department was created, the costs of education have skyrocketed while scores plummeted.
I'm not sure what their tax rates are today but back in the '90s they were paying 83% of their income into taxes according to the students I taught in international programs.
Also, not everyone who wishes to go to college is able to go. They must meet quite stringent requirements and must usually complete their military obligations before entering college. They also sometimes must wait up to two years for a "place" to come open in the universities. On the other hand, their high school diploma means a whole lot more than the pieces of paper passed out in the US today. Many of their professions depend more heavily on apprenticeship and on-the-job training than formal college degrees.

Comparing those small countries to ours is simply delusional. Perhaps we could reinstate the draft and the monarchy as well?

It's all about what we value and what our priorities are.

a reply to: diggindirt

There's no magic bullet to the problems we face that's why I like Bernie's multi-pronged strategy. It's not simply modeling after Scandinavia. It's overturning Citizens United, reinstalling Glass-Steagal, pushing for strictly public funding for campaigns, it's retooling our criminal justice system, scaling down from war and reengaging diplomacy. I'm getting tired forgive typos and lack of bullet points.

a reply to: nwtrucker

It would seem so if he hadn't held this stance on education for a long time.
If he just pulled this out of no where then sure, but he has been preaching this for some time now. This is nothing new.

a reply to: nwtrucker

all you need to know about bernie, is he voted yes for the last congressional pay raise.
he's no different than the rest of them.

So you're a trucker and you are criticizing free college tuition...

Please, foot in mouth.

Sounds better than that rude bully guy with a wig that you guys seem to love because he says crass things about women

a reply to: Kali74
I agree and I support many of his proposals.
However, dreaming about overturning CU is simply that. It's no different than the right wing desiring to overturn the gay marriage decision.
I'm all in favor of pulling our troops out of other countries. I'm tired of this country acting like a bully at the expense of the people to make money for the military-industrial complex.
But I don't believe that the reform can come from within the current, corrupt Federal system.

I don't understand why investing in your nations future is such a bad thing. Many successful nations recognise the importance of an educated citizenry

a reply to: woodwardjnr

Pulpits. Most of the brainwashing comes from the pulpit. Conservatives do not believe education is important. That is from the pulpits. If you are born poor, then something is wrong with you. That is from the conservative politicians. So, now we have our nazi ghettos, called Chicago, Detroit, St Louis. So, now that we have the poor all herded to wastelands, the next plan is to starve them by cutting food stamps, make the baby girls have babies by their rapists, and the most IMPORTANT action is to keep them uneducated. "Dont wont no pore folks movin next to me ya know", is the plan.

Some sarcasm, mostly truth.