Author Topic: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]  (Read 344501 times)

yugi

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #465 on: February 14, 2017, 05:41:52 AM »
^absolutely




Area 10

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #466 on: February 14, 2017, 05:53:23 AM »
Well, he's only been in power 3 weeks. He's made about as much progress along those 14 defining characteristics as he could possibly have done. And he's already got a core of supporters who would now follow him no matter what. If for instance it was reported, credibly, that he'd abused his own daughter I doubt that it would make any difference to his support nationwide. He'd just say it was a media or political conspiracy and his support would probably actually grow. It's actually an interesting game to play: just what would Trump have to do right now to lose the backing of his supporters? Sex offences? Nah. Lying? Nah. Financial dodginess? Nah? Nepotism? Nope. Being an ugly, rude, stupid, vain, inconsiderate, pervy old man? No. No experience in office? No. No military service? No problem. Being an international joke? A positive advantage it would seem. Gets himself into stupid unnecessary scrapes every 5 mins through diplomatic ineptitude? Bring it on. Fires off Executive Orders without checking that they are legal? Great.

But it looks like maybe your own security agencies are starting to fight back. How did the details of these telephone calls get leaked?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38965557

But it's certainly very entertaining. I find myself checking the news every morning to catch up on the latest of Trump's escapades. The ineptitude is hilarious: it's exactly what you'd expect if you put someone with no experience of office in the top job. I'm beginning to wonder if he's actually going to get anything done at all.

So, maybe him and his Grim Reaper puppet-master are mastermind fascists with a grand plan in mind. Or maybe they are just a bunch of inept berks. Right at this moment it would be hard to tell the difference: the evidence would support either view. This could be a film by Mel Brooks. Springtime for Hitler, anyone?
« Last Edit: February 14, 2017, 05:59:51 AM by Area 10 »

PonoBill

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #467 on: February 14, 2017, 07:55:02 AM »

Big districts work a little differently. This process takes months, and teachers only have an influence in stages 1 and maybe 7 in group interviews. To go through that process to gain influence for the union is just silly. One person doesn't make that much difference anyway! Union dues aren't that much either. They only add up to a few hundred dollars a year.

I'm not a huge fan of unions doing political organizing myself, but the level of spending unions do is small compared to corporations. Buying influence is kind of corrupt — I agree — but the whole system is corrupt in the same way. Corporations do it. Individual people do it. (Both these groups outspend unions by quite a bit.) If you don't like unions doing this, then you have to change the entire system, not just unions.

Bill, I don't know any management which is controlled by a teachers union. Principals and superintendents are deliberately not part of teachers unions. The system is set up that way. They have their own organizations. Their interests may be allied sometimes, especially on the state or national level, but be assured in schools there can be fierce conflict between teachers and management.


Management isn't school administrators. Local, state and national government is management. And the spending is to control management.

My swag at union dues is four million members (NEA and AFT) times $700 (ballpark average) = $2.8 Billion. And no, the teachers unions don't spend less than corporations on political influence--they even spend more than the NRA. The total is a swag, but the spending level I quoted earlier isn't.

"Yes, I'm corrupt but Johnny is more corrupt". That always worked with my Mom. Especially when it' wasn't true.

You might wonder why teachers have become devalued. I certainly do. I think the K-12 system has become dysfunctional, but I can't see how it's the fault of the teachers, who I generally see as working hard in a unrewarding and unsupportive environment. I disconnect the antics of the national union from individual teachers, but from what I see the general public does not. What too many of them see is their kids doing poorly. Most of the blame for that lies with the parents, but teachers have become easy targets because the way the union manipulates the political system makes them appear obstructive and self-serving.
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SeldomScene

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #468 on: February 14, 2017, 07:59:37 AM »
Regarding General Flynn, I am somewhat surprised that I haven't heard anyone on TV question how he could possibly not know that the FBI would be monitoring the phones of the Russian Ambassador.  After all, he was a General and did most his entire career in military intelligence, ending at the highest levels.  Did he really think his call to the embassy was between him and the Ambassador?  Surely he received training and briefings on communications security.  Any civilian who has ever read a spy novel or seen a spy movie should have known that the call would have been monitored.  But then again, there's Hillary Clinton and her communications security ...

And regarding who may have leaked the info, let's not forget that former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a Democratic partisan, was in the loop on this matter.  Any statement that Trumps intel folks are turning on him is speculation, without facts being known.  But it does make for good conjecture. 

SUP Leave

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #469 on: February 14, 2017, 08:41:03 AM »
Just real quickly on the teachers - I have a ton of respect for good teachers - hell even for mediocre teachers. It is a very hard job. As a matter of fact I spent a half day in my oldest daughter's kindergarten class 8 years ago, and was in awe of the job the teacher was doing. So much so that we have a yearly tradition of him leaving his car door unlocked on the last day of school so I can slip a bottle of Macallan 12 under the seat. I guess I will do that until he retires.

My opinion will remain that a powerful national union is not helping the school system (or even teachers get the recognition they need). It is a huge rent-seeking bureaucracy that (like most bureaucracies) once put in place, only serves to feed itself. A state teachers union may make more sense. Keep the protection and lobbying local. My opinion also remains that someone with a college degree and some enthusiasm is much more qualified to teach my kids than a tenured burn-out. Better talent for better results. Let professional certification be a way of getting a raise.

Of course everyone is leading back to the fact that it is the parents that really control a child's success and that leads back to Trump. The election was about the economy, it was about the economy, it was about the economy. Good parental units have good jobs. In America when we meet someone our most natural getting to know you question is: "what do you do?" The pride of having a decent job or a parent/spouse who has one is an important factor in a child's success. Improve the economy in some of these poor/urban areas, and better schools follow.




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PonoBill

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #470 on: February 14, 2017, 08:47:39 AM »
I've been wondering exactly the same things Seldom. Have you been monitoring my thoughts? Time to add the aluminum chapeau.

Seriously, WTF is going on with the media. Are they so distracted that they can't think?
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Weasels wake

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #471 on: February 14, 2017, 08:59:21 AM »
I've been wondering exactly the same things Seldom. Have you been monitoring my thoughts? Time to add the aluminum chapeau.

Seriously, WTF is going on with the media. Are they so distracted that they can't think?
Yes, they have become blind with rage at loosing (couldn't drag Hillary over the finish line), as well as loosing their "news" monopoly with the advent of FNC, but also loosing to alternative "news" sources thru social media.
They have become a shadow of their former selves, so they can no longer think straight.
The quotes are intentional due to the fact that it's become increasingly harder to tell what's news and what isn't.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2017, 09:02:09 AM by Weasels wake »
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SeldomScene

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #472 on: February 14, 2017, 09:49:13 AM »
I've been wondering exactly the same things Seldom. Have you been monitoring my thoughts? Time to add the aluminum chapeau.

Seriously, WTF is going on with the media. Are they so distracted that they can't think?

The guy should have been disqualified just based on the fact that he didn't know his call was monitored...

If you make a chain out of paper clips, clip one end to your belt loop, then run it down the inside of your pant lag to drag the ground, they can't hear your thoughts ....

tautologies

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #473 on: February 14, 2017, 09:57:53 AM »
Regarding General Flynn, I am somewhat surprised that I haven't heard anyone on TV question how he could possibly not know that the FBI would be monitoring the phones of the Russian Ambassador.  After all, he was a General and did most his entire career in military intelligence, ending at the highest levels.  Did he really think his call to the embassy was between him and the Ambassador?  Surely he received training and briefings on communications security.  Any civilian who has ever read a spy novel or seen a spy movie should have known that the call would have been monitored.  But then again, there's Hillary Clinton and her communications security ...

And regarding who may have leaked the info, let's not forget that former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, a Democratic partisan, was in the loop on this matter.  Any statement that Trumps intel folks are turning on him is speculation, without facts being known.  But it does make for good conjecture.

I think they overestimated their support. They probably knew, but thought they could lie about it. I think this is driven by Pence who is pissed off at being misled..(and is looking for the highest seat).
Kind of like what is happening in the WhiteHouse...a lot of staff dislike Trump and the way he does things...and therefore there will be leaks.

Turns out Trump was warned: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-warned-white-house-that-flynn-could-be-vulnerable-to-russian-blackmail-officials-say/2017/02/13/fc5dab88-f228-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.69d2e5005b9b

It seems like there is GOP opposition mounting: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/republicans-want-flynn-investigations/index.html
Clearly, this is sanctioned by the GOP leadership...but comes from the second ranking because they want to keep the peace in case it doesn't lead to an impeachment.



johnysmoke

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #474 on: February 14, 2017, 09:59:58 AM »
I've been wondering exactly the same things Seldom. Have you been monitoring my thoughts? Time to add the aluminum chapeau.

Seriously, WTF is going on with the media. Are they so distracted that they can't think?

The guy should have been disqualified just based on the fact that he didn't know his call was monitored...

If you make a chain out of paper clips, clip one end to your belt loop, then run it down the inside of your pant lag to drag the ground, they can't hear your thoughts ....
Maybe he did take some precautions but there were countermeasures rendering his useless.
Maybe he wanted to get caught. Maybe they're letting the line run out in hopes of getting a really big fish.
This whole thing is nuttier than squirrel shit.
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Area 10

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #475 on: February 14, 2017, 10:10:56 AM »
Returning for a moment to education, I found this interesting (from:https://rossieronline.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/):



Presumably, if you want your pupils to do as well as pupils in other countries, one starting point might be to ask what these other countries are doing differently. I doubt if the answer is anything to do with unions. As Ichabod says, it's probably more likely to do with how the country handles poverty, and the affect that has upon aspirations and compliance at school, and parental involvement in their kid's education. And this in turn probably influences teachers' working conditions and their status in society, creating a spiral of decline on all sides.


Bean

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #476 on: February 14, 2017, 11:30:43 AM »
If you break out the total US spending of $609B by state or region, you would likely find equally diverse results. 

tautologies

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #477 on: February 14, 2017, 11:50:52 AM »

Trumps new sociopath out there offering no evidence...
The whole world will soon see, as we take actions, that the powers of the president are substantial and will not be questioned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTt5SSLOuCQ&t=7m37s

(I know this is Seth Meyers, but the clip of Miller is in there).
« Last Edit: February 14, 2017, 11:54:32 AM by tautologies »

yugi

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #478 on: February 14, 2017, 12:14:59 PM »
.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2017, 12:22:38 PM by yugi »

pdxmike

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Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]
« Reply #479 on: February 14, 2017, 12:16:11 PM »
I wonder who'll be next to be out like Flynn?

 


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