CincyInDC Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 This sums up my feelings on Obama. ... Greetings, right-wingers! We live in the same country. You should know about lefties who don’t like the Democrats — hold on to your seats — because they’re too conservative. So, righties, you hate Obama because he’s a socialist. Or a liberal extremist. Because the Affordable Care Act goes too far. Because he was born in Kenya (and stole the presidency). Maybe (though you’re only allowed to say this among trusted friends) because he’s black. Fine. I’m not going to try to change your minds. Instead, I’m going to provide some perspective. To demonstrate that despite two centuries of puerile choose-one-outta-two electoral politics, America’s ideological landscape is broader and more diverse than you may be aware. ... read the whole thing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 This sums up my feelings on Obama. read the whole thing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 This sums up my feelings on Obama. read the whole thing here. X2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted August 13, 2013 Report Share Posted August 13, 2013 Great article! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBZ Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 Wow...I really have been away for a long time because these were NOT the kinds of conversations happening here when I left. I'm going to take some time to read and catch up, but I will be around in this part of the forum. For the record, I am a member of the social democratic party (New Democratic Party) in Canada and was a candidate in the last federal election. It is a 4-party system in our country right now, so there are a lot of variables in public policy. I ran openly as a self-described democratic socialist - which is a term that has also been stigmatized in Canadian politics. In my view, we can only take the language back when we embrace those kinds of words in the face of potential adversity. However, I should point out that the NDP typically uses social democrat or progressive when describing its policies. In the last federal election the NDP broke through and became the official opposition in Canada for the first time. Prior to that, it was a 3-party system that really only featured 2 potential governing parties with the NDP being seen as a "party of conscience". However, those days have passed for a couple of reasons...Many of them have come up in this thread, although they show up a little differently in Canadian politics. Regardless, the day is coming where we could see a social democratic government in Canada for the first time in 2015. Hopefully, I will get a chance to be part of that government. The mainstream view of politics and politicians is so cynical today (more than ever). The media is dangerously unhelpful...But being involved in my community and expressing my principles has been the best way to fight off my cynicism. I don't doubt my own character or resolve - and I'm sure many of you would feel the same way if you were in public life. That's all from now, but I will leave you with a clip from Tommy Douglas - who was the leader of the first democratic socialist provincial government in Canada, as well as the first leader of the NDP (1961). He is also recognized as the "father" of universal healthcare in Canada. http://youtu.be/IE5fOJfKRNk BZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 From former Sec of Labor, Robert Reich..... One of the most insidiously deceptive ideas is that the "free market" is natural and inevitable, existing outside and beyond government -- so whatever inequality or insecurity it generates is beyond our control. By this view, if some people aren't paid enough to live on, the market has determined they aren't worth enough. If others rake in billions, they must be worth it. If millions of Americans remain unemployed or their paychecks are shrinking or they work two or three part-time jobs with no idea what they'll earn next month or next week, that's too bad; it's just the outcome of the market. According to this logic, government shouldn't intrude on the free market -- through minimum wages, high taxes on top earners, public spending to get people back to work, regulations on business, or anything else -- because the "free market" knows best and government always messes things up. In reality, the "free market" is a bunch of rules about (1) what can be owned and traded (the genome? slaves? nuclear materials? babies? votes?); (2) on what terms (equal access to the internet? the right to organize unions? corporate monopolies? the length of patent protection? ); (3) under what conditions (poisonous drugs? unsafe foods? deceptive Ponzi schemes? uninsured derivatives?) (4) what's private and what's public (police? roads? clean air and clean water? healthcare? good schools? parks and playgrounds?); and (5) how to pay for what (taxes, user fees, individual pricing?). In other words, markets don't exist in a state of nature; they're human creations. Governments don't intrude on free markets; governments organize and maintain markets. Markets aren't "free" of rules; the rules define them. The rules can be designed to maximize efficiency (given the current distribution of resources), or growth (depending on what we're willing to sacrifice to obtain that growth), or fairness (depending on our ideas about a decent society). They can even be designed to entrench and enhance the wealth of a few at the top, and keep almost everyone else comparatively poor and economically insecure. If our democracy was working as it should, elected representatives, agency heads, and courts would be making the rules roughly according to what most of us want the rules to be. Instead, the rules are being made mainly by those with the power and resources to buy the politicians, regulatory heads, and even the courts (and the lawyers who appear before them). Not incidentally, these are the same people who want you and most others to believe in the fiction of an immutable "free market." Which is all to say: If we want to reduce the savage inequalities and insecurities that are now undermining our economy and democracy, we have the right to do so. But we must exert the power that is supposed to be ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vb9JMno7g7Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted October 7, 2013 Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vb9JMno7g7Y Amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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