HorsesAss.Org

Open Thread 10/12

by — ,

– it’s wrong-headed to think that voting down a fee will somehow make driving affordable.

– Maybe now we can raise taxes on the richest members of society.

– You see a certain amount of commentary complaining that the young people involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests should put down their signs carping about student loans and big banks and go get a job. What the commentators don’t say is that no one is willing to hire them.

– The freeloaders who don’t pay federal income taxes.

– This sort of vigilante justice will probably become more common in the Internet age, so let’s at least try to get the right people.

– It was especially nice to see the handful of cartoonists pretending to care so very much about [Steve Jobs] , but just not enough to know he’d been a Buddhist for decades and in fact made several speeches about how it guided his life and career and how imagining he’d be in front of St. Peter

Comments

  2. 2

    Re: jobs and the youngsters

    I have two nephews that graduated from college since 2007, and 2009. Both have managed to work, but were underemployed. Both worked at Starbucks in their towns during school and after to some extent. My older nephew got a job in his field of museum studies but was the first one laid off in 2008. Since that time, he’s worked at a Harbor Freight and now is a teacher’s aid and volunteers at a Chicago museum to try to keep current.

    My younger nephew got his first job by talking to some of the customers in Starbucks. He’s unusually personable. That led to another job and finally a good full time job. His story is a success. My older nephew not so much. He doesn’t make enough money to pay back his student loans and rent, so he lives with his parents. The job as a teacher’s aid in a public school doesn’t offer him health care coverage. Some how the school district where he works is able to weasel out of it.

    Both were losing out in job prospects to people with more experience. That the right wing idiots think that unemployment is voluntary just goes to show what complete willful dumb asses they are.

  3. 3

    The job as a teacher’s aid in a public school doesn’t offer him health care coverage

    That happens in Washington State too. Some of the Teachers aids (we call them para-educators) are on Washington Basic Health.

    Everyone wants the benefits, no one wants to pay for them. So we get para-educators, but they get paid shit and we put people that are working full-time on basic health.

    One of my brothers has a couple of college degrees, the other one maintains storm sewers for a city. The one that maintains storm sewers is doing better than the one with the degrees. Cities have to have storm sewers. Bio-tech is optional.

  5. 5

    @4,

    There are certainly a lot of those banker types who ought to be doing time instead of collecting big year-end bonuses. Also, there should be some people from the rating agencies in prison for their part, and a lot of politicians should be losing their jobs, too, for trying (and succeeding) to get banks to loan to people who couldn’t afford to re-pay.

  6. 6

    # 2: What’s particularly depressing about this is that once college graduates do eventually enter the work force in their preferred career path, they seldom are able to get on the fast track. In fact, most of them find that they are consigned to the “B” or “C” level careers in their professions, for the rest of their careers.

    That’s because when the big companies start hiring again, they usually don’t reach out to the best among the graduating classes from the previous three years or so. Instead, they recruit at colleges from among the current senior class. Those graduates quickly pick up the two or three years of experience at a “big firms” which is valued by other big firms, and that experience is then transferable to other employers if the employee wants a quicker path to a promotion or raise.

    Meanwhile, the graduates from two or three years before, even if they had better grades and references from professors, will still be trying to get jobs with firms which pay considerably less, and their experience at those firms will be less transferable to new employers.

    It’s silly, I know, but that’s just how things are done. For some reason employers prefer an A- student who is about to graduate than an A+ student who’s been working at Starbucks or McDonalds for the past two years, trying to make ends meet.

  7. 7

    # 6: Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. But I’m looking at general trends here.

  8. 8

    What about this Iranian plot ro kill the Saudi ambassador and bomb the Israeli and Saudi embassies? I’m beginning to think that the FBI and the Homeland Security guys find these disaffected Islamic losers and manipulate them into some terrorist plot. That way, they FBI and Homeland Security people can ride in like the calvary at the last mainute and save the day. It makes ’em all look like they’re doing something.

    If we want to end Islamic terror, we should simple withdraw from the Middle East, deal at arm’s length with all Middle Eastern countries (including Israel) and stay the hell out of their affairs. Israel will survive or not based on its own abilities. We should be neutral in the religious war between Jews and Muslims.

  9. 9

    “We should be neutral in the religious war between Jews and Muslims.”

    In this case, it’s between the Shiites and the Sunnis.

    My wife asked me last night why the Iranians want to kill the Saudi ambassador. I said that the Iranians and the Saudis had been in a religious conflict with one another since – well, a millinium or so.

  12. 12

    @1 What’s even funnier is none of those politicians has a job. Politics, as we all know, is a hobby for the rich.

  14. 14

    http://slog.thestranger.com/sl.....sturbation

    Mark Driscoll on Masturbation

    Posted by David Schmader on Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    Excerpted from the bad pastor’s booklet Porn-Again Christian: A Frank Discussion on Pornography & Masturbation for God’s Men:

    First, masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman. If a man were to masturbate while engaged in other forms of sexual intimacy with his wife then he would not be doing so in a homosexual way. However, any man who does so without his wife in the room is bordering on homosexuality activity, particularly if he’s watching himself in a mirror and being turned on by his own male body.

    Every day, in every way, Mark Driscoll seems more and more like one of those devoted heterosexual husbands who begins the love-making process by holding a copy of Mandate over his wife’s face.

    Thank you, Slog tipper Frederick Woodruff.

    Holy Shit!!! (pun intended)

    First Ellen White…now Mark Driscoll…

    That puddypussy is in a world of shit!!! Damn.

    Who’s next…Hutcherson??? HUH?????

  15. 15

    First, masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman.

    Unless, of course, it’s a woman that’s masturbating.

    Where do these people come from?

  16. 16

    What kind of fool vets a degree in “museum studies” and expects to be employed? Another useless degree……

  17. 17

    15. Michael spews:

    Unless, of course, it’s a woman that’s masturbating.

    10/12/2011 at 12:53 pm

    Or unless it’s Driscoll in front of a mirror.

  18. 18

    First, masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman.

    Does looking at a picture of a nekked woman count?

    Or in ButtPutty’s case, a picture of a female goat, sheep or chicken?

  19. 19

    @16
    Doesn’t sound like a ticket to job to me either, but the best your side can offer is clowns like Driscoll and bankers that engage in outright theft.

    Unless you’re one of the nihilist types that come on here saying you’re not on either side and that they all suck and that the only thing we can do is sit around and wait for the economy to collapse anyway. In which case you have nothing offer either.

  20. 20

    http://thinkprogress.org/polit.....y-bribery/

    GOP Lobbyist Found Guilty Of Bribing Hill Staffers With Strip Club Party |

    James Hirni, a former Republican staffer-turned-lobbyist, went to jail briefly today for his role in an influence-peddling scheme in 2004. Prosecutors began looking into Hirni’s conduct because of his association with disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and had discovered that he broke federal lobbying laws with illegal gifts of Yankee tickets, travel, and a strip club party for congressional staffers. Hirni spent four and a half hours in jail, and will be sentenced to two years of probation with 100 hours of public service. According to the AP, Hirni had asked Judge Richard Roberts for no jail time because Hirni had admitted to his role in a larger influence-peddling scheme and had helped convict others. However, Roberts said he wanted to send a message about political bribery as an unacceptable way to do the taxpayer’s business.

    ‘Cause stripping is a “family value”.

  21. 21

    From 9:

    “In this case, it’s between the Shiites and the Sunnis.”

    Good point! Let’s stay out of ALL religious conflicts!

  22. 22

    @21

    Good point! Let’s stay out of ALL religious conflicts!

    Well, all the one’s outside our borders anyway. The anti-choice folks that ram cars into health clinics are engaged in a religious conflict.

  23. 23

    LOL… They’re repoing light poles in Detroit.

    DTE deal pulls out lights in Highland Park
    Areas in dark after 1,400 street lights removed to settle bill
    George Hunter/ The Detroit News
    Highland Park— Most of the city’s street lights have been repossessed because officials failed to pay a multimillion-dollar utility bill, giving rise to concerns about safety and crime in darkened neighborhoods.
    DTE Energy crews have removed about 1,400 light poles from Highland Park as part of a settlement that allowed the city to avoid paying $4 million in unpaid bills going back several years. DTE, which says the work will be completed by Oct. 31, has replaced 200 lights with newer models on street corners, but most neighborhoods remain in the dark.
    Highland Park, plagued by financial trouble, was able to reduce its monthly utility bill from $62,000 to $15,000, an amount officials say fits the city’s budget.
    But residents and business owners complain that the resulting darkness is like a welcome mat for criminals.
    “After they took the street light from in front of my business, someone climbed onto my roof and stole an air conditioning unit,” said Bobby Hargrove, owner of Hargrove Machinery Sales on Oakland Avenue, who also claims a police officer asked him for money to beef up his protection. “I feel like I’m being punished — I’ve always paid my bills on time, but they took the street light anyway.”
    Highland Park Mayor Hubert Yopp insists that crime has not increased since the lights were removed.
    “I had the police chief work up the crime stats, and found that most of our burglaries are taking place during the daylight hours,” Yopp said.
    But resident Robert Davis, secretary of the city’s school board, said three schools were broken into at night, right after the street lights were removed. “Thankfully, DTE agreed to put new lights in front of the schools, although they’re not all up yet,” he said.

    From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/201.....z1abbjl7UQ

  24. 24

    Guns Don’t Kill People Dep’t

    A madman shot 9 people in a hair salon, killing 6 and critically wounding 3, in Orange County, California, today.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44.....nd_courts/

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: We all know guns don’t kill people; it takes a madman to gun down 9 people. But Wisconsin GOP legislators believe anyone should be able to get a gun without a background check and carry it anywhere without a permit including into kindergartens, day care centers, and hair salones.

  25. 25

    @24
    Guns don’t kill people bullets do. Yet we put all sorts of regulations on the guns and only that you be 18 to buy the bullets. The least we could do is do background checks on ammo sales and ban ammo sales over the net.

  26. 26

    Looks like Meg Whitman’s HP is looking for the banks for inspiration – charging customers ongoing fees for services, whether they need them or not.

    In HP’s case, they want customers to sign up for $5.99 to $6.99 per month to receive ink cartritdges for their printers. Every time the printer ink gets low, it will send a notice through your computer directly to HP to send you some new ink.

    And just to make sure your ink is always low, the service teams up with Conde Nast to give you free magazine content – not through your computer screen, but sent directly to your printer, which will print whatever magazine articles (and ads) which they think you ought to receive. Using your electricity, your printer, your ink. Kind of like the spam we used to receive through fax machines.

    Initially the customer will be asked to sign up for the service. But insiders tell me that the sign-up process will be rather obnoxious – included within the printer drivers is a virus which causes pop-up screens insisting that you sign up for the service, which will occur not only on boot-up, but at pre-determined intervals therafter. You might be able to click “close” and ignore if for a week or so, but after a couple of years?

    Also, insiders say the next step is to make sign-up an automatic part of the setup-registration process, which it is difficult to opt-out of.

    HP Print Ink Scam

  27. 27

    @25 How about if we disarm the human race so rabbits will be safe? That means everybody has to turn in everything they’ve got — from pellet guns to ICBMs.

  28. 28

    @23 It’s probably just a matter of time before some disgruntled customer takes out the utility company with a tactical nuke. It seems anyone can get Pershings and Scuds these days.

  29. 29

    # 25: Japan, which has strict controls on handguns and weapons of all sorts, has control over the import of bullets, too. And since everybody tries to find ways around the laws, that includes anything which could be used as a propellant in a firearm, such as pressure cylinders, gas cartridges, etc.

  30. 30

    @26 It’s not a new idea. In 1883, the French invaded Madagascar to turn it into a colony, then imposed a tax on the native people to reimburse France for the costs of invading them.

  31. 31

    @29

    Japan’s strict gun control laws always cracked me up as for years Weatherby, Howa, and I think some Winchester rifles were made in Japan.

  33. 33

    Way to go Spokane!

    http://www.spokanecity.org/ser.....cleID=2587
    Spokane Named One of the Nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise and ING
    Competition recognizes community’s efforts to reduce high school dropout rates
    Release Date: 10/12/2011 9:30:00 AM
    MEDIA CONTACT: Ann Deasy (509) 625-6318

    Spokane achieved national recognition as one of America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING for its initiatives to help young people. The competition recognizes communities across the country that focus on reducing high school dropout rates and providing service and support to their youth.

    Spokane, a fifth-time winner of the 100 Best Communities for Young People competition, has made youth a priority with its numerous programs that support healthy development, protection and care of young children. The Spokane Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council started the Our Kids Our Business campaign, which has educated more than 1,000 professionals about the effects of complex trauma to children. Community service is also important here, where high school students regularly dedicate time to helping young children with the Inland Northwest Baby Program, an initiative led by a high school sophomore that holds routine drive for diapers and other baby supplies for low-income mothers. Spokane also supports early child development with programs such as the Inland Northwest Alliance for Early Learning, which helps prepare children for kindergarten.

  34. 34

    6 people dead in California because another heterosexual acts on their murderous instincts. Story #3 for the week. How about it Puffy you got any current ones you would like to share?

  36. 36

    A Great response to the 53% ad
    http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....via=blog_1

    I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something.

    Do you really want the bar set this high? Do you really want to live in a society where just getting by requires a person to hold down two jobs and work 60 to 70 hours a week? Is that your idea of the American Dream?

    Do you really want to spend the rest of your life working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week? Do you think you can? Because, let me tell you, kid, that’s not going to be as easy when you’re 50 as it was when you were 20.

    And, believe it or not, there are people out there even tougher than you. Why don’t we let them set the bar, instead of you? Are you ready to work 80 hours a week? 100 hours? Can you hold down four jobs? Can you do it when you’re 40? When you’re 50? When you’re 60? Can you do it with arthritis? Can you do it with one arm? Can you do it when you’re being treated for prostate cancer?

    And is this really your idea of what life should be like in the greatest country on Earth?

    And it goes on from there.

    What do you all think?

  37. 37

    I get that the conservatives believe that to be successful, one has to just work harder. But what if one cannot? What then?
    What do conservatives expect of those who cannot work harder, who cannot 100 hours a week at 4 jobs when they are 55. What then?

  39. 39

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: We all know guns don’t kill people; it takes a madman to gun down 9 people. But Wisconsin GOP legislators believe anyone should be able to get a gun without a background check and carry it anywhere without a permit including into kindergartens, day care centers, and hair salones.

    Moron. This happened in blue state California with their DUMMOCRAPT legislature.

    Whatamoron!

  40. 40

    Do you think Iran would have tried this under a GWBush administration? Nope! They perceive Barack ObamAA+ as weak!

    So does Putin and China!

  41. 41

    What do you all think?

    Who cares what headless lucy thinks. Same racism just another of your 63 names!

  42. 42

    @35

    why do you hate your mom? Is it because she did nothing while pops was diddling?

    anyways, you really should seek some help – honestly.

  44. 44

    @36
    What do you all think?

    I think most people see through you ruse, and remember what the Soviets and their client states were like.

    no thanks, you can keep your politburo and gulags. Perhaps Castro or the worlds greatest golfer would welcome you with open arms.

  45. 45

    @37

    I get that the conservatives believe that to be successful, one has to just work harder

    Correction: harder and smarter…thats what you guys never get.

  46. 46

    funny how nobody is mentioning that one of the head people in Occupy Seattle was also one of the lead fools at the WTO riots.

    what is this guy? a professional protester? does this idiot have a real job, or is this all he does? who is bankrolling him? thats the real question…

    smells a little fishy to me………….

  47. 47

    @41 – don’t let your guilt complex interfere with you emotions, you might end up raping or killing someone.

  50. 50

    I think most people see through you ruse, and remember what the Soviets and their client states were like.
    I saw them as a fascist state. They used the name “Communism” and “Socialism” but it functioned as a fascist dictator state. Just like calling someone a compassionate conservative or a christian, doesn’t mean they act like one.
    I want a democratic country with a strong middle class. I want the ability of social mobility for those who show drive and determination. This also means I want downward social mobility for those are incompetent and lazy. And I want a vibrant strong education system so the kids of the incompetent and lazy are not trapped by the sins of their parents.

    What do you stand for?

  52. 52

    @45 “smells a little fishy to me………….”

    Now let’s see, where does a guy have to stick his nose to get that “fishy” smell? Hmmm …

  53. 53

    @49 I really don’t think the commies were fascists. Rather, what we see is that weak-minded people who need an “ism” to do their thinking for them can’t run a society without club-swinging cops and concentration camps. Tyrants of all stripes are pretty much alike in that respect despite the differences in their ideologies. And this propensity gets tragically interesting when they turn on each other.

  54. 54

    RR @ # 30: Actually, the “indemnification & reparations” demands were pretty common in Europe in the late 1800’s. It’s really not that different from the old concept of the victorious army exercising it’s perogative of rape and pillage, or demands of tribute to be paid from a vassel state to it’s master. The newer claim of “indeminification and reparations” was just a process of making it a more official policy, backed by some sort of lega/moral justification (no matter how tenuous).

    In it’s modern variety, you saw it in a much grander form during the FrancoPrussian War (1870-1971), when the defeated French were forced to endure occupation of northern and north-western France (including paris) by the Prussians until they paid a huge “reparations” bill, which took a concerted effort and enourmous tax burden to pay. Unfortunately, this resurrected the idea that war could pay for itself, an idea which had been previously discredited during due to the extreme costs of war during the Napoleonic campaigns.

    But under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt, France had to give up Alsac-Lorraine, which became a rallying cry for renewed war with Germany during the years leading up to WWI. The Germans entered WWI expressly stating that they expected the French to pay for it in reparations afterwards. Of course, it went the other way, and it was the Germans who were imposed with a huge reparations bill (most of which was never paid), but it nonetheless became a cause of WWII as it aided Hitler’s rise to power.

    So when I heard former Secty of Defense Romney glibly state that the war in Iraq would be paid for by Iranian oil, I cringed. He obviously didn’t know modern history in Europe very well.

  55. 55

    Gee, it seems like newly minted Scott Brown is in trouble over plagerizing Sen. Elizabeth Dole on his web site.

    Sen. Brown’s web message lifted from ex-senator

    It wouldn’t be so bad, except that the part being plagerized talks about how Sen. Dole’s parents taught her values and hard work and going beyond limits which others might place on her. That’s not a generic policy statement, that’s a very personal statement.

    Of course, Brown is trying to dismiss it by blaming it as a low-level staffer’s mistake. That might be true, but as a sitting U.S. Senator Brown shouldn’t be hiding behind his staffers. He should just stand up, say that the buck stops here and he will take responsibility for anything that happens in his office, and promise to make it right. It’s okay for him to say it was unintentional, but don’t hide behind a low-paid staffer’s gaffe. He should have reviewed any content on the website before it went live, just like any press releases which are issued out of his office.

    Right now Elizabeth Warren is the front-runner in the campaign to unseat Brown. Polls comparing the two show it to be a neck-and-neck race. Of course, the Republicans have yet to open up with their negative attack ads on her, which are sure to be as false as they are nasty.

    I’m still betting on Warren winning this race. The Brown victory was a fluke, with tens of thousands of Democrats staying home, and others reacting to the less-than-impressive campaign of his opponant. My guess is that after seeing what is at stake, Massachusetts voters will go back to putting a Democrat into Ted Kennedy’s old seat.

  58. 58

    @56 My guess is your personal experience with this sort of thing is limited to your old lady’s twat (and maybe a few barflies, too).

  59. 59

    @54 “the idea that war could pay for itself”

    Gee, where did we hear this? From Dubya? Four thousand U.S. lives and a trillion taxpayer dollars later, we’re still waiting for Iraqi oil money to roll in. How many times does history have to re-teach the same lessons to dolts? Endlessly, it seems.

  60. 60

    http://www.nwprogressive.org/w.....l#comments

    Monday, October 10th, 2011

    Al Rosellini: 1910-2011

    Governor Albert D. Rosellini, who served as Washington State’s chief executive in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died today from complications of pneumonia, his family announced today. He was a hundred and one years old.

    Since leaving office at the end of 1964, Rosellini has been a friend and mentor to generations of Democratic leaders. His annual birthday parties, attended by Washington’s other living governors, became media events.

    And he himself remained active in politics; he appeared regularly at Democratic gatherings late into his life, such as the South King County Democratic Dinner held earlier this year by the 30th District Democrats.

    A great American, Washingtonian, Governor and Democrat.

    R.I.P.

  61. 61

    @53 I really don’t think the commies were fascists.
    Just like our trolls read the word “community” and it conjures up fever dreams of Gulags and total state control and the joys of McCarthyism, I had a misconception of the term Fascism.

    Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood.

    I will now use the term Authoritarian Oligarchy.

    Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, corporate, or military control.

    Sadly “No time for Authoritarian Oligarchies” does not roll off the tongue well.

  63. 63

    Crime Pays Dep’t

    Years ago, a kid in my high school got busted for selling fake IDs. (In those days, fake IDs were used to buy beer, not get terrorists into the country.) The judge, noting the perp made $1,000, fined him $500 “to show that crime doesn’t pay.” Huh? According to my calculations the perp profited $500 from the crime.

    Inside trader Raj Rajaratnam did much better than that today. Rajaratnam, who made something like $1.3 billion, got 11 years plus he was fined $10 million and ordered to forfeit $53.8 million. According to my Rabbit Calculator, that means he’ll get to keep $362,229.87 for every day he spends in jail (assuming he serves 85% of his sentence, which is the average time-served in federal prisons).

    For that kind of money, you can throw me into any jail in the country.

  64. 64

    Cain’s Shooting Star

    I predict Herman Cain’s meteoric candidacy will fall even faster than it rose, now that media analysts are telling the public his “999” tax plan will soak the poor, increase deficits, and transfer massive wealth from the working and middle classes to the already-rich.

  67. 67

    LMAO!!!

    Republican tool Joe Scarborough says Herman Cain has the shelf life of an al-Qaeda lieutenant:

    Scarborough noted to Chuck Todd that the Republican front-runner has changed every month. “Candidate X has about as much longevity as the number three in Al Qaeda,” he remarked, referring to the repeated capture of Al Qaeda’s third-highest leader.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....08944.html

    Why would he say such a thing?

    Oh it must be he has a show on MSNBC or he’s married to Mika Brzezinski (not!) or some such..

  68. 68

    That might be true, but as a sitting U.S. Senator Brown shouldn’t be hiding behind his staffers. He should just stand up, say that the buck stops here and he will take responsibility for anything that happens in his office, and promise to make it right.

    PuddyCommentary: So where is the same commentary on Eric Holder and Fast and Furious rhp6033? Oh MIA like always!

    See ya!

  69. 69

    From Blue John’s link…

    “A lot of the college graduates have chosen a curriculum and degree that does not give them the necessary science and math skills to be of immediate benefit to companies such as ours.”

    …

    Workers at the very low levels can earn as much as $30 an hour, with annual salaries for engineers ranging from $75,000 to $100,000. At Siemens, the average potential salary offered for its open positions is $89,000 a year.

    The Occupiers can’t get their free Caddy if they have to work for it! Also some of the comments prove the writers don’t get it. My company continues to hire but if your coding skillz suck then you are outta there!

  70. 70

    @68 Is this the latest line from GOP Bullshit
    Central? That college graduates making less than $30 an hour are voluntarily underemployed?

  71. 71

    Gorby (Hearts) Communism

    ” … [F]ormer Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev … ‘deeply regrets’ the demise of the USSR, blames the United States for not being more supportive of his efforts to reform the Communist system, … and worries that Vladimir Putin … is dragging Russia backward.”

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44.....e_monitor/

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: I won’t argue with what he says about Putin, but that’s beside the point I want to make here, which is that “Gorby” didn’t voluntarily disband the USSR and has a teddy-bear image in the West that he doesn’t deserve — he was a dictator like his predecessors.

    Among other things, upon taking power, before pulling Soviet forces out of Afghanistan, Gorbachev gave his military a free hand to try to win by any means, and that’s when the worst of the massacres, atrocities, and premeditated genocide against the Afghan civilian population occurred. Gorbachev is a mass murderer, and deserves to be treated like one.

    As for his opinion about what the U.S. should have done, he can shove his fucking opinion up his fucking ass. Even the gangster society that Russia is today is better for the Russian people and the world at large than the Soviet system ever was.

    Oh, and one more thing, the next time some asshat troll calls Roger Rabbit a “communist” show him this comment.

  76. 76

    @68 Is this the latest line from GOP Bullshit
    Central? That college graduates making less than $30 an hour are voluntarily underemployed?

    Dear Roger DOPEY Rabbit… Blue John is one of your stupid friends ya moron! He provided the link!

    Man you are senile and devoid of FACTS!

  77. 77

    I provided a link.
    At Siemens, Workers at the very low levels can earn as much as $30 an hour, with annual salaries for engineers ranging from $75,000 to $100,000.

    What I found interesting was the comments. Which was why I posted it. If I posted a link to an article about Ferdinand Magellan, the trolls here would post the only part of the story that said the earth was flat, and ignore the comments talking about the earth being round.

    This article is total BS. If Siemens says there is a skilled worker shortage, why did the company close several factories after off shoring those same jobs and putting those workers on unemployment. This article is just trying to justify the granting of more H1-B visas.

    thats BS. my brothers who has a masters in computer science works for a very large corporation in the IT department. They had 2 openings for call desk computer techs. Basically screen readers. They had thousands of applicants, many had PhD. There is no skilled shortage. There is only a want to pay a decent wage shortage. This is all to bump the H1 visa up to import cheap labor.

    Complete BS.
    I have looked at those Siemens jobs and for most of the job reqs there is no human alive that would qualify.
    A BIG problem I see is companies are delusional and greedy. Every job posting wants the mythical “perfect” human and all others are rejected out of hand.
    For some jobs there might be only a few dozen people on earth with the skills to walk into the job (and they already have high paying jobs), but Siemens and most companies are completely unwilling to invest in any people by hiring a reasonable OK human and investing a few hundred thousand in training them. The days of growing an employee are long gone.

    During WWII housewives where trained to do skilled manufactur¬ing jobs. The problem is not a lack of skilled workers, it’s a lack of skilled corporate leaders.

    BS!. I work in manufacturing and Cat is a customer. They have a dearth of young inexperienced Engineers fresh off the plane from Mumbai. Yet I know dozens of experience¬d Engineers that can’t find jobs.
    It’s not that there are not enough skilled workers. The problem is that there aren’t enough cheap skilled workers.

    You will never fill those position when:
    a) You are asking currently employed applicants to take a 25% pay cut, and
    b) You won’t even look at the unemployed

  78. 78

    Per RR:

    …his “999″ tax plan will soak the poor, increase deficits, and transfer massive wealth from the working and middle classes to the already-rich.

    I dunno – that seems like a recipe for success among the knuckledraggers.

  79. 79

    I can find no other logical, reasonable explanation for our present societal ills than that there is a small slice of empowered, greed-motivated, non-empthetic sociopaths who are determined to ensconce themselves as a feudal aristocracy, AND that there is a wide swath of people with no hope of ever entering said aristocracy, and who in fact are or will be the equivalent of serfs in such a system, who nonetheless support its establishment because of an unassailable belief that someone else belonging to a different tribe (religion, skin color, gender) will be screwed more by the system.

    God help us all.

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