Okay --- so WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

a reply to: Annee

Is that an actual state law, Annee?

I don't think we have any such laws on the books here. Some apartments have policies like that, but that's so they can get more rent. Might be some ordinances in the larger cities, too.

No offense, but having that law sounds pretty idiotic to me...

TheRedneck

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

I want to try something, here, Buzzy. Let's try picking one topic at a time... otherwise we're just hitting high points in the mad rush, and high points are typically talking points.

So we agree we need more, better paying jobs, right?

TheRedneck

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: Annee

Is that an actual state law, Annee?

Yes. It is. And my landlord is a stickler. Can not have 5 people in a 2 bedroom.

My neighbor from Egypt (love them, nothing against them - - the mom was a lawyer in Egypt) are in section 8 HUD housing with 3 kids 8, 6, 2, in a one bedroom apt. I am not sure how laws (if they are) apply differently here.

There is zero reason we can not add another person in our apt. I partitioned the living room to make a 3rd bedroom. The boyfriend would sleep with my daughter in one of the bedrooms. Space wise it makes no difference.

Laws made to curb immigration safe houses and drug flop houses are hurting regular families that need to consolidate to survive in this economy.

a reply to: Annee

That's the problem with knee-jerk legislation. It might have seemed a good idea at the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be a good idea in practice.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Yes. Living wage, benefits, family leave, OT pay. The corporations since 2008 have let go the people in our age group, with decades of life experience and wisdom, and hired (or 'interned') youths.

The student loan bubble is another enormous problem.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Well, I have an internship at my age, but that's neither here nor there... except it is part-time with no benefits.

But OK, we both want more jobs and better jobs, better being good pay, insurance, retirement, etc. We both agree. Now, how do we do that? Here are my initial thoughts:

I think more full time jobs should come first. Why? Because having a full time job will benefit people more initially than making the few jobs left pay more. Most people are paid by the hour, so the more hours, the more actual money they get. If we start by increasing minimum wage, it will only help the few people with full time jobs now, and those are in better shape than people without jobs.

I'm not abandoning the better jobs part, just saying that the more jobs part should have higher priority. Can you agree with that?

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

I have an internship at my age, but that's neither here nor there... except it is part-time with no benefits.

So then, yes, it is HERE AND there.

You want to be able to earn a living, but corporations are only paying "intern" wages (if any!) or PT and no benefits.

That is, in fact, the Here and Now problem with the jobs market and corporate profiteering at the expense of the drones who do the work.



anyway -----

I stopped by just to post a link to an excellent program that discusses The Sixties. Episode 1 was about television's role in society right around when we were born. We have lived with TV just like our kids have lived with computers, our whole lives.

I think it's a really important lesson for anyone following these next steps.....

Episode 2 (I'm now viewing) is about politics/the media/Russia/Cuba/West Berlin v East Berlin..........

EVERY MEMBER who is concerned about the politics now would do very well to watch at least the second episode.



People ---- we are right back where we were then.
Full circle for those of us who are Baby Boomers. It's terrifying. It's awful watching our youths being exposed to all of this; I was only a little girl (turned two in 1960) but vietnam and tv and rocknroll ---- those were our elder siblings aunts and uncles. The Millennials are now like the Youths were back then).....
anyway --- because I was just a little kid, I didn't know anything about most of this cold war stuff.
I remember bits and pieces of the goings on, but was only marginally aware of what was happening, let alone understanding WHY.

So now, I want to know more about WHY. I've been doing research about Russia, and History, and the Deep South, and other various forays into social structure, cultural divides, and global cohesion.

I hope you all will join me in this "next step" of freshening our knowledge about the country's history.
we need to understand what's happening.

PEOPLE! Remember. That video above???? I just talked about my own early childhood experience....Trump was one of those youths ---- equivalent to The Beatles.....but in Manhattan. NOT in VietNam. NOT in any way part of the counter-culture. He was obsessed with being part of the Golden Group in Manhattan.......

Yes - Trump is older than me....that era - the 60s -- WAS HIS YOUTH - just like NOW Millennials are experiencing real-world horror....and they are NOT HAPPY. They wanted Bernie. They want protection of natural areas and landmarks. They want to STOP FIGHTING WARS.




DO NOT FORGET THAT

I know we're supposed to be slowing down the pace here, but stuff just keeps happening. Steps are being taken. THAT is what we need to be watching. Not trying to solve....WATCHING and thinking.

International Elections Digest

There are SEVERAL "swing states" (in global terms) that are having elections this year.

ok folks --- only four days to go....
and many bizarre and unseemly "steps" have been taken.

What I'm seeing is the continuation of schoolyard mockery and utter immaturity on the part of a certain segment of ATS membership --- them being nearly all Trump fans on this site. It has come to my attention that it is nearly truly impossible to scan the boards without seeing someone using the phrases "butt-hurt" and "get over it" and "she lost" along with terms like "libtard" and "SJWs."

TO YOU PEOPLE WHO CALL US those names --- YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. You who keep on every bloody day....Every. Bloody. Day..........do please grow up. That is fifth-grade stuff! I would say "puerile" but I know you don't know what it means, and can't be bothered to look it up. It actually pisses you all off when educated, articulate people talk over your head. You get insecure and confused, rather than reaching for a dictionary or asking for a rephrase.

I can only conclude that people who type out "butthurt" every freaking day are semi-literate at best, and sorely lacking in the tools of adult discourse. No grown person with any resemblance of a good education would address detractors like that.

(here - in your parlance language: you're acting like big brats and think it's cute, or you're really that bad at reading or speaking English, or you think "butt-hurt" is a big cool word. You sound like a snotty seven year old wannabe gang banger punk.)

This fake news thing has gone off the rails. Is it that you all just can't do big words? Unable to follow long sentences? What is your best guess of how many words you know? Is it that you really have the barest idea of world history? Do you know anything about why Russia and the US are not 'pals'? Have you any remote grasp on world geopolitics? Could you point to Crimea on a globe? Or Russia? How about Turkey? What continent is India part of? Does it touch any oceans?

Have you ever been to a lecture for adults -- not like a mega-church with a pastor who speaks ebonics, but like, you know, a smart person talking about a serious thing? Like a long TED Talk?

Do you have ANY interest in learning anything at all except how to insult people who aren't like you?

This should probably go in rant but I started this thread the morning of the bad news --- when we still had time. That time has been filled with stupider and stupider and more destructive activity than I could even have imagined. The only thing you all seem to do is listen to this totally insane man say "tremendous and wonderful plan you're going to love the plan" but with nothing to show.

The people he's chosen to "hire" are not even agreeing with him during their second interview series!

Now --- again: THERE ARE TRUMP VOTERS on this site WHO ARE WILLING TO DISCUSS THESE THINGS. I guess. So far really only TheRedneck, to his great credit, has given this all some thought.

The rest of you?

I will start picturing as actually "C" students of about 13 years old. Snotty adolescents with big mouths who don't have a clue what's real and what isn't, weren't taught to read well or use a library or dictionary and have no interest in LEARNING.

It's sad to say, but please remember that no one respects a person who says "butt-hurt" on an hourly basis. Trump is one of those evil clowns that kids have nightmares about ----- he might be a friendly guy in small meetings, but he is totally out of his league right now.

And it shows.






If any ONE of you who thinks we are "butt-hurt" even READS this far, I will be amazed.
End of lecture.
There will be a test. And it won't be an easy one.

I just got an email from a family member about a meeting a group held to discuss "the next step". The person had set it up at a house, expecting 15 to 20 people. The meeting had to be moved to a church, when 250 people showed up!

Speaking of gatherings, I did not know that there were Sister Marches to the Washington DC Women's March. A look at their website took me to a map and list. There are sister Women's Marches in every state (I think there were 2 in Alabama), as well as all over the world. They literally are taking "the next step".

We need to be calling our Congress members' offices (local office is good, too) now with our concerns. Jobs, wages, retirement, health care, etc. The problem is one party having all the power and their desire to place radical changes, changes that take us back, not to the 50s, but further back to the Gilded Age of corporate power and rule in the economy and the govt.

 Why Millennials Aren’t Afraid of Socialism

It’s an old idea, but the people who will make it happen are young—and tired of the unequal world they’ve inherited.

This is a fantastic op-ed piece about how the Bernie Sanders people (of which I am one!) see all of this nonsense.

Have any of you noticed he's back on the talk-show circuit? Stepped out of the shadows (even while Hillary is unreachable).....

I wonder ---- just because I've learned from you all Conspiracy Theorists, and still have my suspicions.....
my main thesis would be a cliff's notes of Captains and The Kings by Taylor Caldwell, followed by a waaaait-a-minute TEDTalk about the Bible, and finally, support for "woo" and Ancient Aliens/UFOs.


Having said that -----

has anyone else thought maybe Bernie has now resurfaced AS PART OF A HUGE PLAN TO GET US TO ACCEPT HIS IDEAS?

Talk about divide and conquer....it is done. Fait accompli. Mission Wrap.

Machiavelli --- "The Prince". Make things so unbearable that the people riot, and then offer a "we could try this" gesture.....

I am really bewildered by all that's happening....

BUT........



BERNIE WAS MY GUY, and if he winds up being that "compromise" guy, in my opinion it will have turned out to be a perfect crisis. The perfect orchestrated, scripted, acted, Academy-Award worthy performance since Constantinople.

Wow.

Anyway --- these are very wildtimes. Have been for six years now.

John Oliver presents:

"I know words I have the best words."

free pdf of The Kid Who Ran for President 1996 young readers fiction book: a kid who runs for pres of his school and realizes how ridiculous the entire thing is.....




If anyone needs or wants more info, let me know.
Feels kinda useless to look stuff up all the time and no one pays any attention or says "wow, I was not aware of that."

But there it is.

Moon refers to his potential spouse as "The First Babe," for example. But from there, Moon realizes he can propose policies and that a certain group will support them no matter what. He proposes abolishing homework in his first campaign speech; the crowd went crazy chanting "No more homework!" Trump's speeches are not so different. Oliver explained it to Trump: "If you replace the words "no more homework" with "build that wall," that's basically every single one of your rallies."

Oliver called the book "a foolproof instruction manual" for Trump's dropping out. That's because Moon realizes that he could manipulate his supporters any which way he wants, but that he's also in over his head. Speaking to Trump he said, "Basically this is about you."

link

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Well, shoot. I tried to work on having an issue-based discussion... but I really have to respond here, Buzzy.

What I'm seeing is the continuation of schoolyard mockery and utter immaturity on the part of a certain segment of ATS membership

Yes, yes it is. I completely agree. I think it's totally unproductive.

But Trump supporters didn't start it. Obama and Hillary supporters did. Remember words like "racist" and "sexist" and "homophobe" and, of course, "deplorable"? Remember "the party of no"? How about "obstructionist"? I have watched Trump called every name known to mankind, right after those were aimed at Jeb Bush prior to Trump outpacing him. Even in this very thread, you yourself have aimed slurs at me, which I have to point out were not returned in kind.

It takes two to tango. May I suggest BOTH sides try stopping the name-calling and labels?

Have you ever been to a lecture for adults -- not like a mega-church with a pastor who speaks ebonics, but like, you know, a smart person talking about a serious thing? Like a long TED Talk?

I happen to love TED talks, and yes, I gave been to many seminars and obviously to many many lectures during my academic career. So have many other Trump supporters I personally know.

They deserve the benefit of the doubt, just as I have tried to give you the benefit of the doubt.

The people he's chosen to "hire" are not even agreeing with him during their second interview series!

I would think that would be a positive for Trump. He has not surrounded himself with "yes-men," but with people who will advise him in ways he may not have considered.

Had he surrounded himself with like-minded people, he would be lambasted for that. Left turn, lose; right turn, lose; stand still, lose; move forward, lose; move backward, lose. Might as well do what you want... no way to not lose.



I do appreciate that you gave me the benefit of the doubt, but there are many others who share my cautious optimism who should also be mentioned. Yes, there are Trump supporters who act like children, just as the news has plastered quite a few similar Hillary supporters across the screen lately. That does not mean even the majority on either side fit those stereotypes. Most Trump supporters simply want him to be given a fair chance, as Obama was given a fair chance. What we hear, however, is a constant barrage of excuses why he fits into one of a thousand labels, why even good things he has done (like not surrounding himself with "yes-men" or donating profits from business interactions with foreign dignitaries directly to the Treasury) are demonized as being a prelude to nastiness or "not enough," or baseless accusations without a shred of credible evidence.

I have proof that Trump lies! He stated once he was 6'-2", but his drivers license says he is 6'-1"! Oh, the horror! That is the kind of nonsensical things I see on the board... they mean less than nothing, but are touted as absolute proof of Trump's personal relationship with Lucifer himself.

A divide cannot be bridged by one side; that is conquest, and typically involves a lot of people getting hurt very badly. It must be bridged by both sides. That divide is widening, not by anything Trump has done (except existing?), but by the actions and words of supporters on both sides. Until both sides relent, neither can be expected to. That is human nature.

TheRedneck

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Bernie (and Warren etal) will work from Congress to oppose whatever Trump's administration is not a good deal for the American people and the country. They will hold Trump to campaign promises that Democrats can back, but they will not compromise on their values.

ex. Trump. “I will do everything within my power not to touch Social Security, to leave it the way it is… It’s my absolute intention to leave Social Security the way it is. Not increase the age and to leave it as is.”
Sanders etal will hold him to that promise.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear how weak Trump's stand on promises were. He talks a great game, but can he play?

It is not a conspiracy, it is just political-speak.... and Trump is also great at "sphincter speak". Put lawyer and politician parsing of words/language together with Americans having had the words "how" and "why" brainwashed out of them, and you get an idea of how we got to this place. For ex, infrastructure spending.... HOW IT WILL be accomplished is NOT what the American people think it will be.

We're in a new age where corporations, not people, are now fully in charge, where what will happen in Washington will be to the benefit of corporations not citizens. Bernie understands that, which is why he will support any campaign promise that was truly for the citizen and not the corporation. And if Trump wanted to put money into infrastructure, for ex, it must be done not with the corporation first in mind. Country first, not corporations!

Country first, not corporations! At one time it was said that "what was good for GM was good for America!" With multinationals and Koch ideology of no govt oversight and free flow of labor and capital across borders, it is no longer true that what is good for corporations is good for Americans.

a reply to: desert

Bernie (and Warren etal) will work from Congress to oppose whatever Trump's administration is not a good deal for the American people and the country. They will hold Trump to campaign promises that Democrats can back, but they will not compromise on their values.

Not only do I fully expect that, but I am counting on it.

That is actually my biggest concern. I don't want either party to have unchecked power. I want the Democrats to consider proposals proposed, and then vote in the interests of the American people. Like any administration, Trump's proposals will likely range from great ideas to terrible ideas, and everything in between. But many in the Democratic party are busy discrediting themselves in an attempt to change the will of the people (I watched a clip on YouTube this morning of a California Senator trying to interrupt the Electoral College review, against the Senate rules). Trump is President, period, starting in 4 days. That cannot be legally changed. But Trump did not get elected to Congress, and only Congress can make law. Congress can stop almost anything he does, but only if Congress has the support of the people.

People typically have problems supporting immature, reckless, illogical actions. Democrats should accept reality, calm themselves, and work at keeping balance. That will return them toward the reins of power. Childish temper tantrums will not.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

But Trump supporters didn't start it. Obama and Hillary supporters did.

........

erm.....

No. Not true. Try again.

Have you watched the vids about the 60s and read the articles from the Atlantic and watched the tv and internet documentaries provided?

Have you read The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright? And/or Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill?




Read it again, please.

READ TO THE PART where I said that TheRedneck was an exception to my statement.


PLEASE

Have you ever been to a lecture for adults -- not like a mega-church with a pastor who speaks ebonics, but like, you know, a smart person talking about a serious thing?

". . . mega-church with a pastor who speaks Ebonics" Racist much?

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Oh, I saw the exception you made for me, Buzzy. Thank you for that. And I even agree that many Trump supporters are going overboard.

I just see it from both sides, and I think many others do too.

Allegations of racism and homophobia have definitely increased in the last 8 years. I really don't see how anyone can argue against that. I know I was personally attacked as a racist because I disagreed with one of Obama's policies. I doubt I will ever forget that. I pride myself on my color-blindness, so false allegations like that hurt. Since that day, I have felt like I was a captive, forced to live under a government I was not allowed to speak against.

Think about that a moment. Imagine for a moment that you were unable to speak out against Trump for fear of reprisal. How would you feel? As it is, you can speak out, you do speak out, and no one is going to take anything from you for doing so. But how would you feel if you saw Cher publicly disgraced and her career ruined because she spoke out against a Trump policy? Then you saw Warren drummed out of Congress for the same reason. Then you saw Pelosi indicted for rule violations. Then you saw others lose property because they didn't agree with Trump. I bet you would be pretty nervous about expressing yourself.

If you can put yourself in that situation, welcome to my world... until Friday.

I'm not talking about how many books you can find or links you can post telling me I felt wrong. I'm talking about perception. No one is an authority on my perception except me. I can also tell you, I was not alone in feeling that way. I know many people who felt the same.

That's why I could never vote for Hillary. That's why I couldn't even get behind Bernie, although I agree with many of his ideals. I supported Trump for his economic policy and fresh approach, but I also opposed his opponent much more because I wanted to at least feel secure if I disagreed openly with my government. That was the start of the widening of the political divide. That was when the name-calling became unbearable: when it became somehow acceptable to strip others of their career, their achievements, and their property for not agreeing with their government.

I am not a Republican, Buzzy. But as of Friday I am an American.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: imwilliam

Have you ever been to a lecture for adults -- not like a mega-church with a pastor who speaks ebonics, but like, you know, a smart person talking about a serious thing?

". . . mega-church with a pastor who speaks Ebonics" Racist much?

what -- there aren't mega-church pastors who speak Ebonics?

E·bon·ics
ēˈbäniks/
noun
American black English regarded as a language in its own right rather than as a dialect of standard English.

The term "ebonics" was coined to describe the manner of speaking of a very specific group of people who happen to be black.


It's just a factual thing. So are mega-churches....and one of those pastors who spoke Ebonics just died.