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| The End Of A Republican Party |
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Posted by: Dan '82 - 07-18-2016, 08:42 PM - Forum: General Political Discussion
- Replies (48)
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http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-...can-party/
Quote:Legend has it that after leveling Carthage in the Third Punic War, Roman army generals ordered that the city’s fields be sown with salt so that they’d lie fallow for years, Roman generals not being particularly well known for their benevolence in victory.
Many Republicans think Donald Trump’s nomination is doing roughly the same thing to their party: destroying any chance for growth it once had and leaving the GOP to wither and die on Trump vineyard vines.
“My general sense, looking at this election, is that what we’re witnessing here is the end of something much more than the beginning of something,” Yuval Levin, editor of the conservative policy journal National Affairs, told me recently...
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-...can-party/
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| GOP Fails To Unify |
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Posted by: naf140230 - 07-18-2016, 07:07 PM - Forum: General Political Discussion
- Replies (23)
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From what is going on at the convention, it looks like the GOP has failed to unify around Trump. As this is just the beginning of the convention, we will see what happens as time goes on. It is not looking good for the GOP though.
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| GOP Platform to Call for Reinstatement of Glass-Steagall |
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Posted by: Dan '82 - 07-18-2016, 02:22 PM - Forum: General Political Discussion
- Replies (2)
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https://morningconsult.com/alert/gop-pla...-steagall/
Quote:The Republican Party will call for the reinstatement of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall law that separated investment and consumer banking functions, a top official for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign said Monday.
Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign chairman, told reporters in Cleveland that the GOP platform will “call for the reintroduction” of Glass-Steagall, which would “create barriers between what the big banks can do and try and avoid some of the crisis that led to 2008.”
“We believe that the Obama-Clinton years have passed legislation that has been favorable to big banks, which is why you see all of the Wall Street money going to her,” Manafort said, referring to presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “They know she’s their champion, and they’re supporting her fully. We are supporting small banks and Main Street.”
The draft Democratic platform calls for “an updated and modernized version of Glass-Steagall.” Reinstating the law was a key economic position of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Clinton’s longtime challenger for the Democratic nomination before he endorsed her for president. Former President Bill Clinton signed the repeal of Glass-Steagall elements contained in the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Manafort also said the GOP platform backs legislation that deals with “some of the mistakes made in imposing Dodd-Frank.” He did not explicitly refer to the Financial CHOICE Act, a proposal from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) that’s considered the conservative alternative to the 2010 Dodd-Frank law.
Language “about having better trade deals and the need to negotiate better trade deals” will also be part of the GOP’s platform, Manafort said. Trump has railed against the current model for trade policy, including the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, on the campaign trail.
https://morningconsult.com/alert/gop-pla...-steagall/
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| Just In Case This Hasn't Been Shared Here ... |
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Posted by: Anthony '58 - 07-18-2016, 09:35 AM - Forum: General Political Discussion
- Replies (5)
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... and Dan, if you want to create a new "Silent Generation" sub-forum on that board to move it to ...
http://aattp.org/editorial-why-i-hate-a-...hould-too/
EDITORIAL: Why I Hate a Whole Generation, and Why You Should Too
(DISCLAIMER: This is effectively a hate-driven, 3,000-word screed against the worst group of people in America; so, if that’s not what you’re prepared to read, then I advise you stop here. Obviously, not every single member of this contemptible coterie is as utterly evil or destructive as the rest, and not every evil monster in the world is a part of it — but you’ll consistently find the largest proportion of the most selfish, malevolent, destructive predators in America contained within its membership.)
It’s 1:25 a.m. on a Thursday morning, and I’ve got something I need to get off my chest. Over these many years, I’ve noticed a certain pattern emerging among a certain body of people — the worst clutch of human-like reptiles alive today. It’s a comparatively small faction, as such things go; but, as we know, a small number of sharks can do a lot of damage in a pretty big fish tank.
Over the last half of the 20th century and so far into the 21st, this segment of society has proven, per capita, the single most damaging, most vile, most fantastically hateful assemblage in living memory. Living in Florida all my life, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to see them in action; and now with no living relatives over 63, I’d like to think I’ve gained a certain degree of objectivity about them.
I speak, of course, about America’s Worst Generation — Generation Hate, Generation Greed — aka “The Silent Generation,” technically born about 1923 to 1943. (Now aged 71 to 91. I’m also willing to include some of the first Boomers born through the 40s and last five years of the G.I. (Greatest) Generation…so as young as 64, as old as 96.)
Before I get into all the reasons why I hate this fraternity of destructive, abhorrent, avaricious vermin SO much, a short list of some of its more notable members:
- David and Charles Koch
- Rupert Murdoch
- Ron Paul
- Mitch McConnell
- Dick Cheney
- Pat Robertson
- Antonin Scalia
- John Stossel
- John Boehner (late)
- Clarence Thomas (late)
- Mitt Romney (late)
- George Bush Sr. (early)
- George W. Bush (late)
Of course, many of our more notorious elected despoilers in congress have been Boomers; but they are, for the most part,
just the talking heads. They’re just following the shepherds. These shepherds, in particular The Koch Brothers, Rupert Murdoch, Ron Paul and Pat Robertson — this bevy of bestial bastards all but created the abomination we know today as “The Conservative Movement.” They are genesis. There’s almost nothing about conservatism, the Tea Party, or the modern proliferation of either that you can’t trace back to one or all of them.
America’s Worst Generation is a fairly small, but very tight club. It was they who grew up on the riches of the post-war era, and to whom the Pinko Paranioa, homophobia, hyper-capitalism, judgement and social betrayal of the McCarthian era was mother’s milk. Being a small group, they’re not highly represented…but their friends are in some subtly powerful positions. Evidence Scalia, Thomas and Boehner.
And, of course, having grown up in extremely prosperous times, they’re also absurdly rich. In the United States, the average age of America’s approximately 450 billionaires is 66 years old, compared to 62 years old for the world. By comparison, the average millionaire is in his 40s and 50s, and six-figure incomes generally go to those in their 30s and 40s. You can guess who’s left with five figures and lower.
Now, some might say that’s just because, of course, wise investment means you get more money as you get older. Of course. But, really; a ten-fold increase from Millennial to Generation X, a ten-fold increase from Generation X to Boomer, and a THOUSAND-fold increase from Boomer to Silent. Really? A THOUSAND?
Sign us up for that stock.
And speaking of stock: At least as of 2007, before The Crash, the Silent Generation had little to no more stock as a percentage of its assets than younger generations; early Silent Generation members had far less than Boomers. So, so much for the theory of heavy investing paying off.But, all of that is just background information. It’s just the WHO. So, they entered the world in the best of times, and got lucky because the previous generation did well. That’s not why I hate them. Having grown up in the 80s and 90s, I’m hardly one to criticize in that regard. So, no sour grapes there.
No, it’s everything they did AFTERWARD, it’s how they used that inborn privilege, that makes them the odious abominations they are today.
Before we continue, one important thing to remember about the Silents is that they came of age and power molded by several important factors:
- The Cold War
- The Comfort of a Defined Enemy
- McCarthyism
- Fear and Paranoia
- A Desire for Stability and Conformity
- Privilege and Opportunity
- An All-Consuming Desire to Conserve and Expand On What They Perceived the Previous Generation Fought For (Values, Goods and Institutions)
Here, in the shortest form possible, is my list of ways that this generation thoroughly screwed up the entire world, and about 15 percent of the reasons I hate everything about them.
They Voted for George Wallace in 1964 and 1968
Wallace is remembered primarily for his opinions on segregation his hatred of “pinko” communists, and he stands as more or less the definition of a “Southern Racist Douche.” Wallace was probably the last of the Dixiecrats, the most racist of whom switched to the Republican party after Johnson won the 1964 Democratic primaries (against Wallace) after signing the Civil Rights Act. Wallace received loads of support against Johnson by Southern Racists in 1964, but ultimately lost the Dem ticket to him. Wallace received a massive number of Southern votes when he ran as an independent in 1968, carrying several Southern States. (This was the whole “all the racists became Republican” thing that Ann Coulter claims never happened.)
Why put this on the Silents? Because they’re the ones who voted for Wallace. The average Wallace voter was a Southern white between 25 and 35 years old; which, if you do the math, I believe you’ll find puts them at birth years of about 1929 to 1943.
Funny coincidence, huh?
I’ve got a theory that most of Florida’s currently elderly Tea Party members are former Wallace voters from adjacent Southern states. They had to go somewhere, after all, and we know a huge number of Southerners decided to retire a bit downhill. One of these days I’ll conduct a phone poll to find out what happened to all those former Wallace voters — though I suspect it’ll be as easy as finding a Nazi in Berlin in 1945.
But those former Wallace voters had to go somewhere, and I’d bet my life they’re no great fans of Obama.
They Put Reagan in Office in 1980 and 1984
The biggest disparity in votes between Carter and Reagan in 1980 was in ages 30 to 59. This massive group (which made up more than half the voters in the country) voted a very steady 38-55 in Reagan’s favor. The 18 to 29 year old vote was split almost evenly, with a 1 percent edge to Carter. Without older voters siding with Reagan, he would very likely have lost the election to Carter. If the 30 to 44 group ALONE had gone even 2 points to Carter, he likely would have won, and America would have been spared the decade that created the corporate oligarch’s playground we call “Washington D.C.” today.
And who was this aggregation of hyper-capitalist cancer cells that put Ronald “Trickle-Down” Reagan in charge…twice? That would be birth years 1921 to 1950. The entire Silent Generation, and a few years on either side.
They’re Using Viagra to Stay Relevant (and prey on younger drug addicts for sex)
Again, personal theory. But bear with me here. I don’t think there’s any coincidence in the fact that Viagra hit the market in 1998, and by 2004 we had FreedomWorks, Americans for Prosperity, and the rebirth of a bunch of Libertarian insanity that had gone to an early extinction in the 1980s. I do hate to sound crass, but I can’t help but feel as though these old farts suddenly getting a second chance to get back into the biological relevancy game might have had something to do with that.
(Side Note, to certain men of the Silent Generation: We’ve noticed you’re using your money and Percocet prescriptions to prey on 20- or 30-something, drug-addicted dope girls. Yeah. We have actually noticed that. Just so you know, they’re only banging your wrinkled, old asses to take your pills and spend your money. You’re still as shriveled, manipulative and disgusting as you suspected you were. Even the women of your own generation hate you because you’ve made a habit of chasing tail 35 years your junior. And we all know how you’re doing it. Pig. Pathetic.)
They Introduced Religion, Abortion and Homosexuality as Divisive Political Footballs
I’ve written on this one before, but these issues are all about America’s favorite Demon-Sweatering televangelist, Pat Robertson. Robertson, you might remember, sought the Republican nomination for president in 1988. At first, he tried to lean on his military record, but when his claims as a war hero were called out as BS by Bush Sr., he switched tacks and decided to go with his Christian moral high ground instead.
It was Robertson, already a prominent evangelist and religious figure, who first brought the Unholy Trinity of religion, gay-bashing and abortion into the Republican political arena. He was a good Christian, and hated those AIDS-spreading homos and abortionists. If you don’t vote for Pat Robertson, you’re voting for Satan.
But his fellow Republican candidates answering that with “Uhhh…yeah. We’re totally against all that stuff, too.” In one fell swoop, Robertson (with some help from his pandering opponents, including fellow Silent Generation corporatist George Bush) created an artificial ideological divide that continues to rip America apart today.
In fact, it might be fair to say that it’s primarily these false ideological package deals that continue to keep us from working together. Republicans and Dems could agree on a reasonable tax plan, they could compromise on a healthcare system, and there’s no reason they could balance together to create a functioning, centrist government; but it’s this false “you’re either with us or against us” acid test divide which continues to split Left-leaning Christians from Right-leaning gay and pro-choice advocates.
Because of Robertson and Bush Sr., you’re now either a Christian, pro-life homophobe, or a communist.
Speaking of which…
They Reacted to the Threat of Communism by Adopting Fascism
I’ve long had a theory that Fascism and Socialism were philosophically counterbalancing forces. From my perspective, this might go back to the ideological split between Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche…but that’s a whole ‘nother essay. Point is, in our modern bicameral society, we always more or less react to one with the other. More to the point, people who have been screwed over by one or greatly fear one will tend to run to the other.
When they got burned by fascism, the Jews took up an interest in Socialism. When Ayn Rand got hurt by Socialism, she took up fascism. Japan was fascist, and they hated China. Germany and Italy were Fascist, and they hated the Soviet Union. America hated the Soviets, too, so it became fascist.
The fact that American fascism took the form of hyper-capitalism doesn’t make it any less what it is. Nor did it change the fact that hyper-capitalism became the next most American thing to apple pie and hating pinko queers.
Of course, the John Birch Society (worshipers of Ayn Rand’s), Fred Koch and his bastard kids David and Charles might have had something to do with that, too. After helping to literally build and power the Soviet empire, Koch Senior wanted to come back to the States in 1946, set up shop in Oklahoma and get some of those fat, American, Cold War military dollars. Of course, the McCarthy-era United States couldn’t exactly justify working with him.
Koch knew this, which is why in 1960 he wrote a book called “A Business Man Looks at Communism.” Koch’s manifesto did two things:
First, it served as his declaration that he really thought the soviets were evil all along, even though that didn’t stop him from spending 11 years helping build the Soviet Empire. And, it forever linked the concept of hyper-capitalism to All Things American.
Of course, America was happy to swing fascist, willing to adopt anything that Wasn’t Pinko Commie. What’s less socialist commie than getting rich?
Of course, there’s a great deal of irony in the fact that America’s soldiers had just emerged from a world war designed to end fascism, only to later see their putrid offspring embrace it. But, hey, we’d already beaten the Nazis. Fascism was dead. It was no longer a threat. No chance it could happen here…right? But conservatives then (meaning almost the entire generation, by definition) didn’t see the slide to “might makes right” any more than conservatives today do.
But, you know…it’s all for “The Children.”
They Hate Us for Being Smarter Than Them
Oh, make no mistake…they thought it was terribly cute when they realized their grandkids were better at programming their VCRs than they were. But, hey…who cares about a VCR…it’s not like VCR programming skills are going to help the little commie punks compete with us someday.
Except, they did. Because VCR programming became computer programming, and computer literacy and technology quickly became the hottest commodities in America. Kids now are born with an inherent understanding of complex systems that their forebears could never hope to match. And make no mistake, they hate us for being better at things that are important. We grew up adapted to a world that was as alien to them as 1950 would have been to a Civil War soldier.
Over the last 30 years, they’ve watched a generation of children grow up fluidly doing things whose natures they couldn’t even comprehend. They watched the Boomers, those dirty hippies, raise us to be smart. To believe we could do anything. Now we are, we do, and we’re coming up with solutions to problems that they gave up on 35 years ago. And they hate us for that.
HATE us.
They’re Greedy, Selfish, Self-Entitled Hypocrites Who Are Trying Desperately to Live Forever While Screwing Us All Out of Our Birthrights.
From the Silent Generation’s perspective, they’re the last generation that “gets it.” They’re the guardians of the Greatest Generation’s achievements and institutions, they’re the last bastion of proper centurions who know what it means to be American. They understand what REAL American values are, and you hippy kids are just driving this world to Communist Hell in a handbasket. They’re doing this for YOU, you ungrateful punks.
Except that that’s complete horseshit.
This generation grew up in the 50s, when everything was atomic powered, every knew we’d have flying cars by 1976, and everyone who had the means could live to 500 years old. They, poor bastards, had far more hope than they were due.
Unlike any generation prior, the Silents were the first who grew up with what they saw as a reasonable expectation that they would live to see more than 150 years on Earth. While it’s not exactly at the heart of their neurosis, we can’t forget that this generation has spent trillions of dollars on doing nothing but extending its own lifespan. I can’t verify this entirely, but I’d be willing to bet that there are quite a few Silent Generation types out there who feel as though 75 is too young to die.
(Unless you’re younger than them and don’t have health insurance…then, there’s no such thing as “too young,” unless you’re a fetus.)
Worse yet, because they see themselves as the guardians of all things pure and good in the world (as opposed to seeing themselves as the grotesque syndicate of greedy, ignorant, hateful bigots they are), they have absolutely NO intention of relinquishing power until it’s pried from their cold, dead hands. And with the amount of money this inhuman, gluttonous horde spend on living forever (and keeping their erections up while doing it), that could be a good while yet.
And they’re thoroughly selling us out to do it.
They Suffer from a Serious Case of “Reverse Mortgage Syndrome.”
Y
ou’ve heard of reverse mortgages. It’s where some old fart who’s been retired for 30 years lives 20 years longer than their money, so they cash in on the equity from from their home. They sign the note over to the bank in return for spending money, and the bank takes the house when they die. That leaves their kids with no money, no assets, and no inheritance when they go. They took it all with them.
That’s especially nauseating for a generation that inherited all of it’s advantages from the previous. But, much like Social Security, their perspective is always and will always be “Screw you amoral commie kids…we got ours. If we can’t live forever, you don’t get dick.
“No house, no car, no money. No functioning government, no clean water, no social programs, no functioning bridges, no industry, no jobs, no money, no economy. No hope, no small business, no opportunity, no open communications, no hope of doing anything but using the institutions we created. Sure, we got cheap college education, but you? You’re out of luck. We got ours, and we’re taking it with us. Wall Street regulation, or factories that haven’t been outsourced to Indonesia? Right. We made a killing selling that that stuff off to the highest bidders in the 80s. That’s how we got the nice house.
So screw you. We got ours. And we’re taking it with us.”
BONUS — They Threw Us in Prison for Pot, and Now They Want it For Themselves
When I come to power, I’m going to make a law. I’m going to legalize marijuana completely, Colorado-style. Unless you were born before 1944. If you were born before 1944, I will make possession of marijuana a super-felony, with a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence.
Why? BECAUSE YOU ASSHOLES MADE IT ILLEGAL IN THE FIRST PLACE!
So, NO, you selfish, self-entitled bastards; you don’t get to spend 80 years throwing your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in prison for pot, and then say “Well, I’m old now. I’m bored, I have money, and I want to get high.” Really? Because why?
Because you’re “in pain?” Well, your parents were in pain when they got old, and we didn’t see you doing a damn thing for them then. It was only when YOU got old that you decided pot should be legal for “medical use.” And everybody who doesn’t have a “medical excuse” (Read: anyone not on Medicare) can head off to Cell Block B for possession. So, you know what? F**k you.
No, seriously.
F**k YOU.
Frankly, I could go on another 2,800 words, getting ever more specific on every way in which Generation Hate has destroyed everything America could be. How it has seized and held power for itself, and made us slaves to its outdated ideologies. How it made every drug we liked illegal, and then sold us addictive dope in pill form. How every other generation has at least had the good grace to die with a little dignity, while this one is desperately holding on to its boner-enhanced rotting corpses like cyborg zombies fitted to life-support machines.
But…here’s the good news. Well, good for us.
If you believe the Strauss-Howe generational model, then generations will tend to do things in cycles. Specifically, the same four cycles every 80 years.
The first generation (the Hero generation) solves a great crisis, ushering in an era of prosperity. The next does its best to conserve the profits of that victory. The third lives off the fat of the previous conservation. The fourth doesn’t know how good they have it, so they become apathetic. This causes a new “crises,” and a new “hero” generation arises to fix it.
The last “Hero Generation” was the “G.I.” or “Greatest Generation.” The one that fought in WWII. And you, my fellow Millennials, are the next one. Maybe it was always fated to be that it would fall on your shoulders to resolve the crises of generations past. Maybe it was always your job. In that sense, then, perhaps it’s right that we feel a certain righteous anger, a certain sense of betrayal…maybe even a certain conceit in the certainty of our victory. It was that same certainty that carried us through our last bout with fascism.
You are the soldiers of America’s next great victory.
And you, Silent Generation…Generation Hate, Generation Greed, Tea Party Generation, Generation Viagra…after all this, we have a special message for YOU.
You were right to fear us.
We’re going to destroy everything you’ve built. We will tear down your every institution, and burn everything you called a “legacy.” We’re going to erase everything you ever held dear. The moment you slip from power, we’re going to re-write your history books, and make sure no generation ever forgets the monstrosity a “patriot” can become when he allows himself to be swallowed by greed, fear and hatred.
The only lesson we will take from you is how not to raise our own children.
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| Analysis of the Generations Isn’t an Exact Science |
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Posted by: Dan '82 - 07-18-2016, 09:19 AM - Forum: Generations
- Replies (6)
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Analysis of the Generations Isn’t an Exact Science
http://www.wsj.com/articles/analysis-of-...1468575000
Quote:![[Image: NA-CK822_NUMBER_9U_20160714180307.jpg]](https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-CK822_NUMBER_9U_20160714180307.jpg) ENLARGE
![[Image: HC-GS563_McGint_BV_20140627161507.jpg]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/HC-GS563_McGint_BV_20140627161507.jpg)
By
Jo Craven McGinty
July 15, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET
28 COMMENTS
Baby boomers. Generation X. Millennials.
These are the familiar sobriquets of recent generations, but what exactly defines the cohorts, and what, if anything, do their labels reveal?
A generation, in this sense, refers to people associated with a distinct era of history based on their years of birth. But the cutoffs are fuzzy, and critics charge that the descriptions are little more than insulting stereotypes: Boomers, we’re told, are ambitious workaholics. Gen Xers are disenfranchised cynics. Millennials are self-entitled narcissists.
Name-calling aside, the groupings are attractive to academics and others who want to measure social and cultural change.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/analysis-of-...1468575000
It's a WSJ article, avoid the paywall by cutting and pasting the name of the headline into google.
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