US Government is Closed!

[tober]

New post below.

Too funny, lol. the days of American apartheid as you call are long behind us.

I think you are incorrect? Read the following.

Blacks in Prisons​

The US is number one, as we love to say, in incarceration of its citizens; we are only seconded by Russia. This means that the US has two million of its citizens in federal and state prisons and jails. And the gross unfairness of this system is that the vast majority of those in prisons are nonwhite citizens. That, of course, is no surprise; we all know how criminal nonwhites are in America.

Some interesting aspects of this study of prison statistics are these:
California, which has the sixth largest economy in the world, (including its Silicon Valley), and a population that is 52% nonwhite, and is supposedly on the cutting edge of racial and social tolerance, has a prison population that is 69% nonwhite. And, of course, with a Black population that is only 7%, it has a prison population that is 32% Black. And this large population of Black inmates has helped this enlightened state to be the sixth state in incarceration rates.

While California is enlightened, its prison growth rate places it 18 among the states in prison spending; most of those in prison are there for drug offenses—selling and using; California is rated number three among the states for incarcerating drug offenders and 45th among the states in spending on education. And among states that have a large racial disparity between those who are incarcerated and their numbers in society, California ranks 47th, so there are other states that are more vicious to their Black minority populations than California.

Texas for instance, the state of President Bush (and thanks in part to Bush), ranks number three in spending on prisons, while it is ranked 20th on education spending, and ranks 15th in incarcerating drug offenders. It ranks number one in putting citizens to death. Texas has a Black population of 11% but a Black prison population of 44%.
And in Florida, where the President’s brother is governor, even though the state ranks 49th in incarceration rates and 28th in prison spending, Florida has a Black population that equals 14%, yet a Black prison population that is 54%. Blacks in that state have a majority only in the prison population. Florida ranks 18th in spending on education….
Most of the states with a majority of Black prisoners are found in the south. However, Maryland, which isn’t generally viewed as a southern state, has the largest percentage of Black prisoners—77%. But Wisconsin, with a tiny Black population of 6%, has a Black prison population of 48%. And Mississippi, with the largest Black population of 36%, has a Black prison population of 75%....

Without a doubt, Blacks are no more criminal than anyone else in this society. Yet, for as long as this country has existed, Blacks have gone through this nation’s criminal justice system and have always been found wanting. Of course, poverty impacts on criminality, but there is more to the large proportion of Blacks in the criminal justice and prison systems of America than poverty. The system is untoward toward African Americans primarily and other ethnic minorities generally.
​

Things are marginally better now than they were in the early 1960's, but the biggest change is merely that overt racism such as Jim Crow laws are forbidden. White America is frightened of black America. Any black who brushes against the legal system can bet on being harshly dealt with. American law disarms all people convicted of a "felony" (an indictable offence in Canadian terms). Most felonies are written so that authorities can exercise a discretion whether to charge by misdemeanour (summary conviction in Canada) or felony. In many jurisdictions blacks are guaranteed to receive a felony prosecution so that they will be disarmed. Racism against blacks in America is culturally rooted in the slave trade, and removal of Jim Crow laws by itself will not eliminate racism. Amongst other things, the American black culture cannot help but feel hate and resentment towards their oppressors so the system has a cyclical life. American racism against blacks reflects poorly against blacks and whites, but fault lies on the white side because white culture maintains the control.

New post.

Its important to see what Obama -care 'really is ' You still have to 'purchase insurance' the difference is there is an 'insurance pool' that can't be 'denied coverage'
Its not Canada's Medicare or the NHS.

More's the pity. This is a classic display of the harmful effect of the obsessive US focus on the greenback. National health care is expensive. Adding personal profits for shareholders to the overall cost of insurance makes it unnecessarily more expensive. The mindless American obsession with money leaves out the reality that a person without health care can pass on disease as easily as anybody else.

America today is culturally similar to the British administration whose policies led to the American Revolution. The world looks rosy if you are among the American elite like Mitt Romney, whose statements established that he hated 48% of his fellow citizens even as he asked for their votes. Freedom for the common man that American Patriots of the 1770's fought and died for has disappeared.

And no one on the Dem side is wiling to see problems - issues - Any program of that size has a negative impact in areas not considered.

What negotiation is possible with tea partiers? Further, you have no way of knowing what negotiations have been tried and failed. After hearing "n!gger n!gger" for the last six years from the right what do you really expect? Should Obama be saying, "Yes, Massa?"

 

[hunboldt]

And no one on the Dem side is wiling to see problems - issues - Any program of that size has a negative impact in areas not considered.

True, but the program is not so 'radical' as the rightfright is making it out to be. Its basically health care a la Germany or Switzerland, so that Medicaid doesn't go bankrupt.

 

[tober]

True, but the program is not so 'radical' as the rightfright is making it out to be. Its basically health care a la Germany or Switzerland, so that Medicaid doesn't go bankrupt.

One way of measuring how reasonable US right wing positions are is to remember that many American right wingers rant outrageously that income tax is unforgivably "socialist" and illegal .

 

[Goober]

For those that think a US default would not impact them.
I lived thru the 80's recession. And it was not pretty.

Failure to raise U.S. debt limit would spark global recession: OECD - The Globe and Mail

The OECD is warning Washington’s squabbling politicians that failure to raise the government debt ceiling would plunge the developed world back into recession.

Today’s warning from the secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development came on Day 9 of the Washington showdown.

“The current political deadlock in the United States is needlessly putting at risk the stability and growth not only of the U.S. but also the world economy,” Angel Gurria said in a statement.

“This comes at a time when a fragile recovery in advanced economies was under way, and when a number of emerging economies were already facing new risks.”

The partial shutdown of the U.S. government is just one issue. Failure to raise the debt limit, and the potential for a default, is a far greater fear, one that is plaguing investors as the Oct. 17 deadline to do that draws nearer.

The Treasury Department warns the government will be tapped out by that date if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. Fears of a default have been rising as the drop-dead date approaches, though some observers believe the government has more leeway than it’s saying.

“We still see the probability of failing to raise the debt ceiling as low, but as the government shutdown drags on, the level of concern is ratcheting up,” said Mr. Gurria.

“If the debt ceiling is not raised – or, better still, abolished – our calculations suggest that the OECD region as a whole will be pushed back into recession next year, and emerging economies will experience a sharp slowdown.”

The OECD projects U.S. government consumption would contract immediately by the equivalent of at least four percentage points of gross domestic product, shaving that amount from economic growth next year.

A default, of course, would be even worse, he warned, and would hit other countries hard.

“Even if the likelihood of this is low, just the uncertainty about the government’s ability to avoid a default on part of its debt would result in disruptions in financial markets that would deepen the economic downturn, lowering tax revenues and forcing more cuts in public spending,” Mr. Gurria said.

He concluded his statement by saying that his group has “trust in the wisdom” of America’s political chiefs.

Others aren’t so sure.

 

[B00Mer]

What, it's still closed?? Crap, didn't even notice..

Great thing about the government being closed, they aren't passing any more stupid laws..

 

[Tonington]

Give me one incident where Obama "negotiated" anything.

Can you point to a section in the final bill now called Obamacare that introduces the public option? No? That's a pretty significant concession Obama gave up to get the reform bill passed, considering he ran on a public option in his Presidential election.

And no one on the Dem side is wiling to see problems - issues - Any program of that size has a negative impact in areas not considered.

I am willing to bet that any bill that attempts to reform anything will have problems and issues. That hardly seems like a valid reason to play roulette with the global economy, let alone a national economy.

 

[Goober]

Can you point to a section in the final bill now called Obamacare that introduces the public option? No? That's a pretty significant concession Obama gave up to get the reform bill passed, considering he ran on a public option in his Presidential election.



I am willing to bet that any bill that attempts to reform anything will have problems and issues. That hardly seems like a valid reason to play roulette with the global economy, let alone a national economy.

The Repubs brought up other issues aside from defunding it.
Obama does not like to negotiate.
He has shown that he is all for tax increases, but no cuts to budgets.

 

[Tonington]

He has shown that he is all for tax increases, but no cuts to budgets.

Oh come on Goober...The US budget has been cut successively since roughly 2010, including tax cuts. The sequester, the past continuing resolutions... I'll bet you if I show you three time series of government budgets, you wouldn't be able to tell which one belongs to Canada, which one to the US, and which one to the UK if I removed the labels. All three have shown the same pattern during and after the recession:

This nonsense taking place now isn't about the budget at all. Don't swallow that tripe. The House Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare with votes, and they couldn't do it. This is the only way they have come up with. And it will be too late once people have health insurance, and they aren't being denied coverage when they need it. Americans will never let it go then.

 

[Goober]

Oh come on Goober...The US budget has been cut successively since roughly 2010, including tax cuts. The sequester, the past continuing resolutions... I'll bet you if I show you three time series of government budgets, you wouldn't be able to tell which one belongs to Canada, which one to the US, and which one to the UK if I removed the labels. All three have shown the same pattern during and after the recession:

This nonsense taking place now isn't about the budget at all. Don't swallow that tripe. The House Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare with votes, and they couldn't do it. This is the only way they have come up with. And it will be too late once people have health insurance, and they aren't being denied coverage when they need it. Americans will never let it go then.

And more cuts are needed. Same as taxes, more are needed.
What are the deficit numbers for the next 10 years or so.

 

[tober]

Obama does not like to negotiate.

Nonsense. This is nothing but a partisan American response. Sad for somebody who claims to be Canadian. The GOP has never stopped calling n!gger n!gger since the day Obama was elected. Given the obstructive and destructive Republican behaviour he has never been given an opportunity to negotiate.

 

[pgs]

New post below.



I think you are incorrect? Read the following.

Blacks in Prisons
​

The US is number one, as we love to say, in incarceration of its citizens; we are only seconded by Russia. This means that the US has two million of its citizens in federal and state prisons and jails. And the gross unfairness of this system is that the vast majority of those in prisons are nonwhite citizens. That, of course, is no surprise; we all know how criminal nonwhites are in America.

Some interesting aspects of this study of prison statistics are these:
California, which has the sixth largest economy in the world, (including its Silicon Valley), and a population that is 52% nonwhite, and is supposedly on the cutting edge of racial and social tolerance, has a prison population that is 69% nonwhite. And, of course, with a Black population that is only 7%, it has a prison population that is 32% Black. And this large population of Black inmates has helped this enlightened state to be the sixth state in incarceration rates.

While California is enlightened, its prison growth rate places it 18 among the states in prison spending; most of those in prison are there for drug offenses—selling and using; California is rated number three among the states for incarcerating drug offenders and 45th among the states in spending on education. And among states that have a large racial disparity between those who are incarcerated and their numbers in society, California ranks 47th, so there are other states that are more vicious to their Black minority populations than California.

Texas for instance, the state of President Bush (and thanks in part to Bush), ranks number three in spending on prisons, while it is ranked 20th on education spending, and ranks 15th in incarcerating drug offenders. It ranks number one in putting citizens to death. Texas has a Black population of 11% but a Black prison population of 44%.
And in Florida, where the President’s brother is governor, even though the state ranks 49th in incarceration rates and 28th in prison spending, Florida has a Black population that equals 14%, yet a Black prison population that is 54%. Blacks in that state have a majority only in the prison population. Florida ranks 18th in spending on education….
Most of the states with a majority of Black prisoners are found in the south. However, Maryland, which isn’t generally viewed as a southern state, has the largest percentage of Black prisoners—77%. But Wisconsin, with a tiny Black population of 6%, has a Black prison population of 48%. And Mississippi, with the largest Black population of 36%, has a Black prison population of 75%....

Without a doubt, Blacks are no more criminal than anyone else in this society. Yet, for as long as this country has existed, Blacks have gone through this nation’s criminal justice system and have always been found wanting. Of course, poverty impacts on criminality, but there is more to the large proportion of Blacks in the criminal justice and prison systems of America than poverty. The system is untoward toward African Americans primarily and other ethnic minorities generally.
​

Things are marginally better now than they were in the early 1960's, but the biggest change is merely that overt racism such as Jim Crow laws are forbidden. White America is frightened of black America. Any black who brushes against the legal system can bet on being harshly dealt with. American law disarms all people convicted of a "felony" (an indictable offence in Canadian terms). Most felonies are written so that authorities can exercise a discretion whether to charge by misdemeanour (summary conviction in Canada) or felony. In many jurisdictions blacks are guaranteed to receive a felony prosecution so that they will be disarmed. Racism against blacks in America is culturally rooted in the slave trade, and removal of Jim Crow laws by itself will not eliminate racism. Amongst other things, the American black culture cannot help but feel hate and resentment towards their oppressors so the system has a cyclical life. American racism against blacks reflects poorly against blacks and whites, but fault lies on the white side because white culture maintains the control.

New post.

More's the pity. This is a classic display of the harmful effect of the obsessive US focus on the greenback. National health care is expensive. Adding personal profits for shareholders to the overall cost of insurance makes it unnecessarily more expensive. The mindless American obsession with money leaves out the reality that a person without health care can pass on disease as easily as anybody else.

America today is culturally similar to the British administration whose policies led to the American Revolution. The world looks rosy if you are among the American elite like Mitt Romney, whose statements established that he hated 48% of his fellow citizens even as he asked for their votes. Freedom for the common man that American Patriots of the 1770's fought and died for has disappeared.



What negotiation is possible with tea partiers? Further, you have no way of knowing what negotiations have been tried and failed. After hearing "n!gger n!gger" for the last six years from the right what do you really expect? Should Obama be saying, "Yes, Massa?"

Well that sounds like the aboriginal problem in Canadu they are also disporportionatly represented in Canadian prisons does that mean myself and the majority of my countrymen are racist? And for every black or non white incarcerated in an American prison I can find you 10 black or non white American citizen living in the lap of luxury.
P.S.
I can also do the same with Canadian natives.
But I must be racist because I am a mongrel Irish peasant whos family escaped servitude to come and scrape out a future in the promised land.
Why has that dream disappeared. What happened to our work ethic and pride?

 

[tober]

Here's the act, not that I expect you to understand it.

Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924

That's the best you can come up with, with your two (you say) US law degrees? I copied and read it and nothing within the Act per se is beyond the ability of a normal Canadian to understand. Two-bits got you a certificate of race in 1924 and the local registrar got to keep the two-bits. That was presumably the most important part, because nobody could get a marriage licence without a certificate and presumably the office of registrar was a juicy patronage plum. Nothing in the Act defined how the racial ancestry was proved. Presumably they were all so inbred they knew each other?

 

[gopher]

62% of Americans blame GOP for shutdown



62% of Americans blame GOP for shutdown - SaintPetersBlog












62% of Americans blame GOP for shutdown

By Peter Schorsch on October 9, 2013



0

A new AP-GfK poll finds that 62% of Americans mainly blamed Republicans for the government shutdown while 49% said Obama or the Democrats in Congress bear much responsibility.






Perhaps more interesting is this nugget: The poll found that the Tea Party is more than a gang of malcontents in the political landscape, as its supporters in Congress have been portrayed by Democrats. Rather, it’s a sizable — and divisive — force among Republicans. More than 4 in 10 Republicans identified with the tea party and were more apt than other Republicans to insist that their leaders hold firm in the standoff over reopening government and avoiding a default of the nation’s debt in coming weeks.








Time for a change in Congress - that's when the stagnation ends.

 

[tober]

…. But I must be racist because I am a mongrel Irish peasant whos family escaped servitude to come and scrape out a future in the promised land.
Why has that dream disappeared. What happened to our work ethic and pride?

The "dream" of a work ethic is an ideological tool, invented by the upper class who did nothing, to persuade the lower classes who did the work, to compete among themselves instead of insisting on political equality. Despite the fact that we think of ourselves as a classless society, we are not. We have gained a lot of political control. For the most part the “upper class” is now largely hiding compared to the middle ages. Does anybody think that the age-old “class war” no longer exists? That is what the upper class wants desperately for people to believe. For a while now the upper classes have been in the ascendency, starting in America where by some estimates the middle class has been reduced by over 40%. It took a long time for society to get where it was by about 1970, and it will take a while to get back. For now we are losing.

 

[pgs]

The "dream" of a work ethic is an ideological tool, invented by the upper class who did nothing, to persuade the lower classes who did the work, to compete among themselves instead of insisting on political equality. Despite the fact that we think of ourselves as a classless society, we are not. We have gained a lot of political control. For the most part the “upper class” is now largely hiding compared to the middle ages. Does anybody think that the age-old “class war” no longer exists? That is what the upper class wants desperately for people to believe. For a while now the upper classes have been in the ascendency, starting in America where by some estimates the middle class has been reduced by over 40%. It took a long time for society to get where it was by about 1970, and it will take a while to get back. For now we are losing.

Man money talks and bull sh-- walks and sorry all you have is bull sh-- Get a job and grow up.

 

[hunboldt]

Man money talks and bull sh-- walks and sorry all you have is bull sh-- Get a job and grow up.

site troll site troll............

 

[Walter]

I notice that BHO is at 37%; that's W territory and he didn't get there till year eight.

 

[pgs]

site troll site troll............

I may be a troll but I don't write pap like this.
the dream of a work ethic was invented by the upper class who didn't do anything yada yada.
He is in no way describing the Canada live in.
I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks so to speak,and know far to many self made people to believe this class b.s.
If you don't like your lot in life better it.

 

[hunboldt]

I may be a troll but I don't write pap like this.
the dream of a work ethic was invented by the upper class who didn't do anything yada yada.
He is in no way describing the Canada live in.
I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks so to speak,and know far to many self made people to believe this class b.s.
If you don't like your lot in life better it.

Tober was expressing an opinion without trolling anyone. I you want to turn the discussion into toxic waste, I can't stop you. However, it is possible to conduct forums without every discussion degrading into 'insult central".
If you don't like what the man writes, put him on ignore.

 

[pgs]

Tober was expressing an opinion without trolling anyone. I you want to turn the discussion into toxic waste, I can't stop you. However, it is possible to conduct forums without every discussion degrading into 'insult central".
If you don't like what the man writes, put him on ignore.

I am interested in what everyone has to say, and read every post . Ignore doesn't allow me to read the stupid pap that some posters like to spout.
But come on really work ethic was created by the upper classes.If that was the case we would still be living in caves.
One must call a spade a spade.Where is Spade anyway?