Oakland Protests Raise Stakes for Occupy Movement
If only a small number of protesters fought with police, then the protest didn't turn violent. Do we say that the entire New York City police force "turned violent" when white shirted members of management attacked Occupy Wall Street protesters in September?
The significance of the event is that it is a general strike which hasn't been seen since the 1940s in the USA.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Protest in Oakland Turns Violent
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Our political leadership had better wake up and start paying attention to what American people want...a government that takes care of their needs, not just the needs of bankers and financiers.
A lot of people predicted that this movement would fizzle out quickly. It's still alive, it's growing, and it just shut down a major shipping port.
No wonder it's come to civil unrest. Look at what they are busying themselves with Washington - "The House on Tuesday passed a non-binding resolution reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the national motto". They're fiddling while Rome burns.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Protest in Oakland Turns Violent
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Shut down the 1% Are you kidding me? Do you think the 1% are out there unloading ships? Or trying to keep their deli open? Or hoping that some idiot doesn't break their windows, steal the televisions and burn the block down? Or standing in front of you with a riot shield, trying to do their job?
The only thing OWS is doing by shutting anything down is putting the 99% out of work.
You want change? Work for it, vote for it--and not just because your candidate has a nice poster, a great facebook page or good hair. Find out what the candidate really stands for, what kind of REAL experience they have, then hold their feet to the fire when they try to squirm out of their campaign promises.
But don't put your own people out of work.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Protest in Oakland Turns Violent
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I don't have a concrete stand on the specific issues of the OWS. But I am
tremendously impressed with the commitment of those involved in the protests.
Rather than sit on the couch/chair and complain, they are braving the elements,
the police and narrow minded insults for what they believe. Somehow I believe
that their efforts will benefit us that do nothing. Brings to mind the anti-war
and civil rights protests in which all of the world benefits from the efforts of
a few...
Read the article NPR/Occupy
Oakland Strike Turns 'Chaotic'
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This violence was regrettably inevitable and hopefully, for the movements sake, will not gain momentum and will be condemned by all concerned. Violence begets violence and the heavy handed arm of the law is what brought this about along with justified frustration with a society run amuck by self serving politicians, corporate malfeasance, and a corrupt banking system. Add to that the comfortably complacent and the willfully ignorant and you have a recipe for disaster.
Recently this country has witnessed, cultivated, and applauded significant change overseas. For the most part the change that we have collectively supported started with the use of peaceful protest. Almost exclusively government reaction to these efforts has been oppressive, a reaction that has found footing in this country as well. We hold ourselves to a higher standard, and yet, are we not woven from the same fabric as people throughout the world who seek beneficial change and then resort to extreme measures when despair and anger becomes so pervasive?
The OWS movement or one similar to it was inevitable and will not fade away before this country collectively gains clarity and focus on an end goal of economic and social equality for all. Not one of exclusion because of ones faith, gender, sexual identity, or race. One rooted in the principles of democracy and not socialism. One where true democracy can flourish in a way yet to be realized anywhere on this planet.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Occupy Oakland Violence: Peaceful Occupy Protests Degenerate Into Chaos
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The Oakland protests show the absurdity of their movement. They are distupting business from operating. They are trying to block the major economic force, the port, from operating. How will this create jobs. It is amazing that the longshoremen union leader supports the blocking of the port. I wonder if his members who mignt not be able to work agree.
The large sign that calls for the destruction of capitalism is a symbol of what this is all about. How Americans support the collapse of capitalism? If the media would show signs like this on the frount page maybe people would know that this movement is really about! As for jobs.
There are jobs out there for those willing to go to where they are. The protesters can travel to cause disruptions but can not go to North Dakota where the HP just reported there are many $100,000 and more jobs that can not be filled. HP also reported that Seimens has 3000 well paying manufacturing jobs that are open. Of course these jobs are a result of capitalism and must be evil.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Occupy Oakland Violence: Peaceful Occupy Protests Degenerate Into Chaos
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After reading the all of the quotes in all of the various articles and the
absolutely crazy comments that follow, I have to blame the education system. If
our schools taught more practical ideas like personal finance, basic economics
and actual history, we wouldn't have these idiots running around spouting
Marxist ideas (while calling them progressive ideas) and demanding hand outs.
Blaming a corporation for wanting to make a profit is STUPID. The goal
of every FOR PROFIT corporation is PROFIT. It's not their fault the liberals
made it difficult for them to make a profit in the U.S. Be mad at the
politicians who either don't care or understand the rule of unintended
consequences.
Blaming the current economic mess on corporation is the
same as blaming a lion for eating a gazelle. The lion eats the gazelle to
survive, corporations earn a profit to survive
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Oakland Protesters Shut Down Port
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Interesting you state: If our schools taught more practical ideas like personal
finance, basic economics and actual history, we wouldn't have these idiots
running around spouting Marxist ideas (while calling them progressive ideas) and
demanding hand outs." You do realize that everything you bring up IS taught in
school. History is taught from K-12. Of course it is age appropriate as a 1st
grader does not learn about personal finance but every 12th grader does in their
Economics/Government class. Students in 10the grade learn about all the "isms"
as in Marxism, Capitalism, various forms of government from dictatorships to
democratic republics as in the USA. Student's also learn that business is in
business to make a profit. They learn about corporations and how they haven't
always done business in an upstanding way. They learn about Teddy Roosevelt and
his Trust Busting.
I think you mis-understand why the protesters are
exercising their rights to free speech just as corproations have that right. It
is Not because they are opposed to capitalism or people having a lot of money.
They are opposed to the greed, graft, and gambling with American's lives,
liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Corporations have used power and influence to
eliminate our representative government. Our representatives no longer represent
constituents but corporate power. It's called graft. The protesters are hoping
to save our democratic republic just as Sam Adams or Patrick Henry fought for.
Corporations do earn a profit to survive but they didn't "earn" that money they
gambled with your tax dollars, failed, and then took bailout $$. That's not
earning it that is criminal.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Oakland Protesters Shut Down Port
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The protests at the Port of Oakland were peaceful and orderly. The Traveler's
Aid building is nowhere near there. The article seems to conflate the two. The
few idiot anarchists are trying to give the entire movement a bad name and, as
one previous commenter mentioned above, force a revolution by getting people
hurt or killed. The DO NOT represent the vast majority of very peaceful and
articulate protesters involved in the Occupy Movement. The anarchists - dressed
in black and hiding their faces like cowards - had rocks, M-80s and molotov
cocktails. Any Occupy protesters that went along with them must have been caught
up in the stupidity. However, on the streets all day long, thousands of peaceful
people marched on Oakland and effectively shut the city down. In a free society,
we must honor civil disobedience but we must NEVER condone destruction or
property, private or public WALL STREET JOURNAL/Peaceful Occupy protests degenerate into chaos
Shopping LIst: What $1 Trillion Bought for the Military in 10 Years
WHAT WE BOUGHT - Stimson Report
Samuelson argues that we could afford to spend 40-50% of the federal budget on defense in the 1950s and 60s, so why can't we now afford to keep spending colossal amounts now? He forgets that we were confronted by a Soviet Union that was maintaining a huge army in Eastern Europe and was building nuclear bombers and rockets hand over fist.
Or so we were told. Then we found out that the so-called gap in rocketry was non-existent. Later, when the Soviet Union imploded, we were able to talk to many decision makers and see documents that indicated they were always far behind us and we were spending hugely excessive amounts to counter relatively minimal threats. Now, we don't even have a Soviet Union as an excuse to maintain such a huge military.
The real reason for our massive "defense" expenditures was always to maintain a world-wide economic empire. We spend more now that every other country in the world combined. It is mostly about keeping the military-industrical complex fed and watered with tax money desperately needed to rebuild our own country. That's where our real national security lies, not in feeding the "defense" beast and periodically engaging in wars or choice like Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
Perhaps if we no longer had such a massive military, we wouldn't be so often tempted to thrust our young men in harm's way on some politician's whim, only to have them return dead, mangled, or psychologically damaged. Even if they make it back relatively unscathed, they find themselves unemployed and even homeless in the country they went off to serve.
Robert Samuelson you should be ashamed of yourself for making such arguments.
P.S. I served my country as a US Air Force officer during the Vietnam era, so don't try to blow me off as some kind of pacifist hippy
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Robert Samuelson - The dangerous debate over cutting military spending
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Samuelson is right: these cuts have already occurred. Reducing the size of our military below 1.4 million people seems like an unnecessary risk. After all, if we don't have over a million people in the Armed Forces, how will we ever protect ourselves against people like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein? Dangerous fellows, those, and there's no way that the alternative in Iraq could be worse...right?
To debunk his other argument: the day that China decides to start invading other nations, it's basically all over already, isn't it? Life as we know it begins to blink out. The world is at war, and it might go nuclear. That's the reality of the matter.
The job of our military is to provide a deterrent, not a cause. The danger of a gigantic military is the desire to use said military to justify its presence, and I feel that a meager million people might just be enough to serve as a deterrent for most nations. That would be a cut of 28% - good enough for me.
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Robert Samuelson - The dangerous debate over cutting military spending
Samuelson has revealed himself to be a rather doctrinaire Republican. Let's take his arguments, one by one:
Of course, how much we spend on defense is a political decision. Then again, how much we tax the wealthy and how much we spend on social programs are a political decision, too. Saying that we can't afford higher taxes or to meet our obligations on Social Security and Medicare are political decisions as well. Yet, Samuelson and his fellow Republicans seem to think it's okay to say we can't afford those and expect us to buy it while rejecting the same argument for defense.
How much do we spend on defense? Nearly as much as the rest of the world combined. While it's reasonable to say that a dollar of defense spending goes farther in China, it doesn't go that much farther, and it also ignores the force multipliers that he even acknowledges are built into the US military. Because of a different philosophy and training, one US soldier probably equals three of any Chinese soldier. Further, we do spend more than the next ten countries in rank combined, and most of that 10 are our allies. It's a perfectly rational argument to say we can afford to cut defense spending because we spend so much more than everybody else.
Third, the Department of Defense is by far the most bloated and inefficient federal agency. Why? Because no politician wants to be labeled "soft on defense", so nobody ever gives DoD the kind of fiscal scrutiny that other agencies get. President Obama is cutting $50B per year from the budget. We can afford to cut another $50B.
So, one should recognize that Samuelson is no unbiased economist. He's just another Republican flack pretending to be an economist.
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Robert Samuelson - The dangerous debate over cutting military spending
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To give you an idea of how out of control our defense, security forces and intel is .....our navy has 11 carrier attacke groups with approx. 20 support vessels in each group....all rest of world combined has four carrier attack groups- one each for russia, great britain, frnace and china ( bought russias second carrier and refurb'd it) and NOT ONE of these can hold a candle to the firepower of one of ours and none has 20 support vessels....
And as if that isn't bad enough- our navy presently has under construction THREE NEW AIRCRAFT CARRIERS and many support vessels ........
End these endless and sensleess wars and the killing and maiming of over 500,000 since 9/11 and helping to ruin our economy- STOP THE MILITARY MADNESS NOW!
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Robert Samuelson - The dangerous debate over cutting military spending
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To really understand this you need to recognize that many of today's military top brass leave the service to go into extremely highly paid "private sector" (though sucking at the govt teat) jobs at weapons manufacturers. They are essentially lobbying from within the military for their future employers.
General serving in military: "We need more tanks and modern weapons!" Two years later, that general is working for Raytheon or Northrop advising them on US military contracts for tanks and other weapons. Happens all... the... time...
Read the article MOTHER JONES/Report: Military Blew $1 Trillion on Weapons Since 9/11
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Once we end our military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will begin saving a lot of money. And I think our military does need to be downsized, but not for the reason that you believe.
We need to retire old military equipment and begin to invest in new. We need a smaller, yet more capable military. This requires investment. This does create jobs and new technologies which do have a spinoff effect. We can do better with less, but we can't afford Draconian cuts to the Defense Department.
You really don't understand the military buildup that is going on in countries like China, Russia, and India. The first and foremost job of the federal government is to provide for the common defense. Promote the general welfare is second.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/The wars are over -- now cut defense spending
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The issue isn't whether to cut defense spending, but how much and in what areas. There are thousands of civilian jobs that exist to support the military both in the government and in the private sector, Many towns also depend on the the wages and spending of the military employees to support their local businesses..What happens to these people if we cut military spending.
A long time ago, I went to a 3-way debate. The was one person each with the positions of cutting or increasing military spending and their arguments were primarily political. The third person was Larry Klein, who got a Nobel prize for his work in econometrics. When the discussion came to him, he explained that he had no political position either way, but that his models of the economy showed that each 1% cut results in a more than %1 cut in GDP. This is a far more complex situation than you make it out to be.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/The wars are over -- now cut defense spending
President Moves to Revamp Housing and Student Loan Regulations
Our daughter and her husband bought a suburban Chicago townhome with no money down during the peak of the bubble. Their P&I on a near 7% $200,000 loan is over $1,300 monthly and they are approximately $50,000 underwater on the current value of their home.
They have never missed a payment in 4 ½ years but continue to be turned down for a new lower interest mortgage that would save them nearly $5,000 yearly. Despite having a stellar credit rating, they are told they must cover the $50,000 lost equity as a down payment to qualify for refinancing.
Our daughter’s employer is laying off workers, and she fears for her job while our son in law’s company is doubling their health insurance costs next year. Their 1st child was born last year, and the added expense is further stressing their monthly budget.
Our kids do not want to walk away from the townhome. They are just looking to pay the same low interest rates so many others enjoy. They ask me why the Treasury loans billions to banks at essentially 0% interest while the banks tell honorable kids to go to hell. I don’t have an answer for them.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Jobs Plan Stalled, Obama to Try New Economic Drive
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All bills must originate in Congress. The President can offer his vision and ideas, but he can't change the way the country operates. If House Republicans wanted the economy to improve, they would be offering bills that have a chance of passage in the Senate, which would entail compromise. They have offered no such thing. The buck may stop with the President, but it's got to start with Congress. Their pathetic attempts to end regulations and offer other corporate handouts will do nothing to improve the employment picture and they know it.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Jobs Plan Stalled, Obama to Try New Economic Drive
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Just unbelievable. Let's suspend the normal underwriting process (again) and let people refi homes they probably can't afford and that are not worth what the owners WISH they were. Because it worked so well last time! And of course put the taxpayers on the hook for the ENTIRE amount because Fannie and Freddie run the well over 90% of the show now. A home is an investment, some pay off sooner than others and some don't at all. Under this logic the govenment (i.e. the people)should guarantee any investment that has lost value. This makes me so ill. We deserve the "leadership" we get I guess.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Jobs Plan Stalled, Obama to Try New Economic Drive
The Great Depression happened
They passed Glass-Steagall in 1933
They repealed it in 1999
Soon after, the next Great Depression happened.
Bankers cannot be trusted to gamble with our money. Let them make a profit on a business, not winnings off of a system.
Read the article DAILY BEAST/Obama "We can't wait for Congress."
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Why did the "jobs bill" fail? Well one reason is that this bill, like all of the Obama Admnistration legislation, has poison pills that forward an aggressive "social justice" agenda and would create a new "protected class" encouraging all kinds of destructive litigation.
PLEASE READ THE JOBS BILL as proposed. . In the middle of the details, hidden away, is a statement that essentially states that an employer who fails to hire an unemployed person BECAUSE s/he is unemployed can be sued for having done so.
This essentially turns all unemployed Americans into a "protected class" and paves the way for all kinds of litigation. As a former Trial Lawyer, I can tell you this may sound innocent, but is not and will have a chilling effect on all hiring. What employer would DARE decide to hire a new employee knowing that any and all unsuccessful applicants may sue you if you hire a person who is not unemployed? How would the employer ever be able to PROVE that the decision did not include employment status?
WORSE YET, another section of the law removed "sovereign immunity" for state that "discriminates" against unemployed people...This means that we will have multiple lawsuits against the states if they dare to hire an employed person.
I don't understand what it is about the Obama Administrations obsession with "social justice" but it is killing the job market. REALLY IT IS.
Read the article DAILY BEAST/Obama "We can't wait for Congress."
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So we should penalize those that are stuck in bad housing markets by making them pay above market rates? That makes no sense. All HARP does is allow responsible homeowners to refinance down to current market rates. It cost the tax payer nothing. It reduces risk in loan portfolios. It benefits both the lender and borrower. How is this bad in any way?
Read the article CNN/Troubled homeowners get a lifeline
The End of the Road in Zanesville
While I realize this was a unique situation and that the resources weren't there immediately for recovery of these animals, I am sickened that they did not make every effort to capture these animals alive. 25 innocent animals killed due to one ignorant human who felt the need to showcase them. There is a definite need for laws to be enacted with regards to private ownership of exotic animals so this never occurs again!
Read the article COLUMBUS DISPATCH/Sheriff: 56 exotic animals escaped from farm near Zanesville; 49 killed by authorities
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They are killing these animals for several reasons. Tranquillizing an animal involves quite a few people. Once person can shoot it but it takes a group to come in, secure it and place it in a cage. When you have 48 lose you have to neutralize the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. Putting a bullet in them insures that the animal isn’t going to get back up later and they can move on. If you lived in that area you would probably support this method other than them taking several weeks to tranquilize everything. Sure it’s unfortunate but it’s the Sheriff’s responsibility to protect the people.
Read the article COLUMBUS DISPATCH/Sheriff: 56 exotic animals escaped from farm near Zanesville; 49 killed by authorities
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This is so sad. Having moved back to the area only a few yrs ago to retire, I was vaguely aware of this "farm." However, being active in animal rescues/adoption for many yrs., I am not surprised to hear of the problems of an obvious animal hoarder & an apparently unstable one, too! The young man killed @ Akron last yr. was also the result of Ohio's horribly lax animal laws which have not only shocked me, but disgusted me to see a once progressive State falling behind in simple, common-sense laws. Maybe law enforcement could have been a bit restrained since experts from Columbus came in as soon as possible, & it's dark earlier with far less people outside, but if animals are being hit on I-70, then it has gotten serious. I am sick to think these magnificent animals were destroyed due to the ridiculous oversight in our elected officals. Personally, I don't think any exotics should be allowed anywhere w/o a Federal Permit. The destruction of endangered species-white tiger-& the safely of the public comes 1st. SHAME ON OHIO!
Read the article COLUMBUS DISPATCH/Sheriff: 56 exotic animals escaped from farm near Zanesville; 49 killed by authorities
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As much as my heart cries out for these animals, I understand why the killing had to happen. If the farm were just peaceful giraffes and camels, perhaps they could have corralled them. Or if it were only half a dozen that got out. But we're talking 50 dangerous, carnivorous, multi-hundred pound beasts. Ones whose first thoughts would be self-preservation. This isn't an area that should expect and be prepared for something like this to occur, making sure they had plenty of tranq guns and darts, not to mention marksmen on hand. The cages were fixed so that they would not now remain closed, so where you gonna put the beasts when you catch 'em? I believe that the sheriff called his best shot, given the situation. I'm sure he didn't want to do it, either.
Read the article COLUMBUS DISPATCH/Sheriff: 56 exotic animals escaped from farm near Zanesville; 49 killed by authorities
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To all the comments who said the police acted out of line and in a wreckless manner, are you saying that you would have let the animals run free for another few hours while you prepared to "humanely" restrain them? I'd like to see if that would still be your decision while your kids are running around playing catch in the backyard in the same town.
There's no way they could have alerted the entire population in time to safely say that there would be no risk of human life. Think of how many residents were probably walking around or working outdoors since there was still 1-2 hours of daylight left.
Yes, it's sad the animals are dead, but some of you really need to get off your high horse (no pun intended) and think of what's more important here--the safety of the town residents.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Police Kill Dozens of Animals Freed From Ohio Preserve
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You really can't fault the police for shooting these innocent animals. If they took the time to find tranquilizers and figure out how to shoot without killing, it might have been too late. Fault the owner of the preserve, fault the county for letting him run the place, fault the state for not having laws in place to prohibit the possession by a felon of these dangerous animals, fault the people who went to see this animal cruelty. But don't fault the police here. Their job was to protect the public, and under the circumstances it looks like they did a good job.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Police Kill Dozens of Animals Freed From Ohio Preserve
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The owner had been previously charged with animal cruelty, but was still allowed to have large numbers of animals on his property. Ohio (like many states) does not value animal welfare and did not have adequate legislation in place to prevent somebody like this offender from having animals. The State of Ohio should shoulder the blame in this situation.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Police Kill Dozens of Animals Freed From Ohio Preserve
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial: "A Stone of Hope"
It's a great day for The Civil Rights Movement , but more so , it's a better day for the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. . While the movement suffered a tremendous loss . his family suffered the ultimate loss . His speech at the Washington Memorial always sends shivers through me.
I hope our children and grandchildren can truly understand what a special human being he was . As a Orator he was inspirational , he could get into your head and your heart , as no one else could . A man like him , comes once in a life time and those of us who were fortunate enough to experience him when he was alive , are truly blessed
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication
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In my opinion, Dr. King made the establishments uncomfortable not the nation. His words, courage, and actions inspired all races to strive to be better. My parents, who grew up dirt poor in the midwest during the depression, always judged people by their words and actions and not the color of their skin.
My mother always used Dr. King and G. W. Carver as examples of African Americans who succeeded because of their character and intellect. Many white folks were apart of the civil rights movement. In 1965, after voting on the parish council to allow blacks into our newly built church, my father received a death threat. Having honorably served and fought with black soldiers by his side, he would have none of that and wasn't scared.
Good parents teaching good lessons is vital to a child learning how to be a good member of society.
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/THE ROOT/Martin Luther King Jr. made our nation uncomfortable
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I believe that Dr. King was such a credit to our great nation. He along with other brave men and women, courageously transformed our American society from a fake democracy into one in which all people can participate and achieve. The miraculous aspect of his great work is that he transformed an openly racist culture into one of tolerance almost overnight and led a spiritual transformation of our nation.
I once met Dr. King when I was a teenager. He led a protest/picket campaign against a supermarket chain, in a community where I lived that refused to hire black teenagers as "Bag boys" in its stores. I was one of those teenagers. I met him after a speech he presented at a local movie theater prior to the protest campaign. I got to talk to him one on one. I relive and retell this meeting and conversation in my book, "Talking Penny." I'll never forget the words he said to me.
Read the article WASHINGTON POST/THE ROOT/Martin Luther King Jr. made our nation uncomfortable
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As we pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King lets remember what this man stood
for which I am sure if he was to see the state of "Black" America today he would
literally be annoyed. Although we have made significant strides towards upward
mobility many are still "Shackled" to the things which keep us behind.
I
understand that racism still exist in this country as the election of a
African-American doesn't negate that fact but when do we accept responsibility
for failures in our community and stop thinking that any African-American person
speaks for an entire race of people?
President's Obama has shown that
despite "Whom" is in the White House it does not represent any sort of "Utopian"
ideas of his candidacy that he is looking out for any particular ethnicity. With
unemployment of African-Americans being double of Whites when we are only 13% of
this country's population it does not speak highly of any sort of
advancement!
Read the article NPR/King's Legacy Remembered At Memorial
Occupy Wall Street Fires Up a National Debate
Alabama Immigration Law Prompts Fear and Flight
Alabama Immigration Law Facts
Just wait until the residents in the larger cities can not get a gardener, the restaurants can not get dishwashers and busboys, and the ones that replace them can not do the work as well or as fast.
It already shows with the crops, many of those are migrant workers who follow the harvest. See how many businesses close like the small markets, electronics stores, and other places where the low wage workers shop. These people are willing to do work and do it well. So we shall see just how smart these right wing conservatives are.
Capitalism is built on the free movement of labor and capital. Alabama is trying to repeal the laws of economics and human behavior. Worse yet, states like California and New York will be losing more tax money to Alabama, which gets more in federal funds than it pays in.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/After Ruling, Hispanics Flee an Alabama Town
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I do not believe that children should be held accountable for their parents'
crime.
However, if you are here ILLEGALLY then you are committing a crime
and you must accept the consequences of the sentence when caught.
Children will always suffer for their parents crime of ANY nature. As
will the parents suffer from the crimes of their children.
We must
pro-actively and agressively find the ILLEGAL aliens and deport them. This has
nothing to do with humanity - this is a criminal offense.
The children
must go with the parents back to whatever country they are from.
EVERY
American citizen (especially law enforcement and public servants) have a DUTY to
report crimes in progress and that means turning in the ILLEGAL aliens AND the
children
Read the article USA TODAY/Ala. immigration law marked by Hispanic school absences
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Extremely sad. I grew up in Marshall county and I know for a fact that the descendents of the Scots-Irish immigrants- the original white settlers of this region-will not take those dangerous,low-paying and physically demanding jobs. These jobs will soon move out of state or out of the country.
There is a precedent to this immigration law and that is the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The similarities of both laws is striking but the effects are the same-white people taking the property of people of color and removing them from the state by whatever means necessary.
It disgusts me that my home state is so eager to reap the benefits of global capitalism but is not willing to allow the free flow of labor.
This law will have the same effect as apartheid did in South Africa and should be responded to in a similar manner, by total and unrelenting economic rejection. I urge all citizens and businesses to boycott Alabama and any other state that initiates such draconian legislation.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/After Ruling, Hispanics Flee an Alabama Town
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This is the sure fire way to rid our country of illegal aliens. Pass a law
banning any illegal alien from attending our schools K-College and illegal
aliens will self deport in record speed. Illegal aliens and their anchor babies
are poor students with a drop out rate of over 50% nationwide and over 70% in LA
County alone.
So why are we wasting our money, time, and resources on them in
the 1st place? They can't legally get a job after school anyways. The savings in
smaller classrooms, ESL teachers, and free school lunches will be in the
billions every year. Good work Alabama. California tried to ban education for
illegal aliens with Prop 187 with 60% of the votes but the lower courts blocked
it and the Dem Gov dropped the appeal before the SCOTUS could rule on it. Look
at California now.
Read the article USA TODAY/Ala. immigration law marked by Hispanic school absences
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It all comes down to whether we can allow our country to become over run by an
ever expanding underclass that will swamp our social systems to the point where
we cannot survive at all as a nation anymore. It isn't that we do not have
sympathy for illegals, who want a better life. However, the main issue is that
they must come to the country in a LEGAL fashion. That is all. Until they make
it through the immigration service legally, they have to return
home.
Read the article DAILY MAIL/Hispanic students quit Alabama schools over deportation fears after new law
forces teachers to check immigration status
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I am a legal immigrant who has been in the US legally (and paying federal, state and city taxes, and social security, Medicare and medical insurance) for the last 8 years. It will take at least another 5 years before I get my green card (permanent residency). During the wait period I will be on temporary work visa which my employer should renew (long and expensive process done by immigration attorney and employer) every 3 years.
While waiting for my green card if I lose my job I can’t just relocate to another state and be okay, instead I have to leave the US within 2 weeks, unless I find another employer immediately wanting to hire me. This is the law. I don’t own a house or have long term commitment here until I am closer to getting my green card.
The illegals bought house and started a life here, all in full awareness of the fact that they are illegal here; they are responsible for their own plight. While we go through such a long and tough process of legal immigration, why should the illegals get a free ride?
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/After Ruling, Hispanics Flee an Alabama Town
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First off to those of us against illegal immigration, the verdict was not a disappointment, but a blessing, and the provisions left in place are some of the better ones. With that said, we do not need immigration reform, we need immigration enforcement first.
We need to mandate e-verify and secure communities nationwide. And if caught by secure communities getting those people deported as soon as possible. What the left wants is to allow all the illegal immigrants here now to stay without first being able to prevent any further illegal immigrants from coming in. We need to make sure no illegal immigrant can find work in this country, which means mandating e-verify and heavily penalizing any business that hires them.
Once we see that this is working and illegal immigrants have stated to self deport, at that time the government can look to improve the wait time for legal immigrants and maybe up the quota if need be, but there will not be another amnesty.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Sweet Home Alabama?
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I have had only positive experiences with immigrant workers. Here is that story.
I hired a woman to help me with cleaning my house after the birth of my first child. This was in the 80's, before all the brouhaha about immigration status and temporary help. I called up a friend who I knew had a maid, asked her for advice on who to use. That is when I met the woman who I hired and became friends with for 25 years. I consider her extended family, as she does me.
She has more work ethic than anyone I have ever met. I asked her about her immigration here and it was at the very least a scary endeavor. She describe the coyote river crossing with frightening detail. She and her husband had left their child at home with her mother for safety, with plans to get her when they were established here.
She petitioned and was granted amnesty under Reagen's administration. She and her husband then were able to make the trip back to Mexico and get their child, they had 2 other children since moving here who were legal. They never went to an ER or doctor here is they could help it, they would wait until they were back in Mexico and pay cash for medical and dental care, where it is affordable. Their children excelled in school, one is a doctor now. They bought a house in Mexico for their mother and eventually for themselves to retire in.
I am happy to say that she studied and passed the citizenship exam last year. She said that America was her country now and she wanted to be American. She no longer has plans to live in Mexico, she is afraid of the violence there. Violence that is fueled by American's drug habits.
I find this Immigration Law very un-American. After all, ALL of us are immigrants here except for the Native Americans. I bet they wish they had some immigration laws back in the seventeenth century though.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/After Ruling, Hispanics Flee an Alabama Town
READ MORE TOP COMMENTS -- SEPTEMBER 2011
Basically you have a lot of unfocused (and obviously unemployed) people, bitching about their situation. It's NOT the fault of the banks, it's NOT the fault of the government, and it is NOT the fault of the rich... the fault lies squarely on their own shoulders. If you do not live beyond your means, then none of this economic crunch would really cause you any consternation.
Is it FAIR that the rich pay less on their income taxes? No.
Is it FAIR that someone can't even recoup their invested equity upon foreclosure? No
But let's face it, it wasn't the banks or the rich that ran up debt on your credit card, or caused you to be unable to pay a house payment on a loan you agreed to. It wasn't the rich who signed you up for your mobile phone plan, extended cable package, or car loan.
According to the government set poverty line, I am "poor", but I don't owe a single penny to anyone. Everything I have, I have paid for out of my own money. And the only thing that this economic crunch has caused me problems with, are the value of my stock investments... but nobody twisted my arm to buy those.
These people need to focus their energy on a specific issue, but do it in their spare time, after finding a job and getting their own lives in order.
Seeing these people sit around and b-tch about things, in a nation like the US, with all of the possibilities afforded to them... is like watching a child complain about the color of his Ferrari.
And what's worse? Now you have Al Sharpton joining the group. Listen, once Sharpton joins in on something, you know you have hit the bottom of the barrel.
Read the article CNN MONEY/Occupy Wall Street... mansions