Another reason Jefferson was right

One of the evils of capitalism is that whenever we need their money it forces us to treat morons and assholes as if they were geniuses and saints doing us all a great big favor simply by existing.

A system that makes most of its citizens defer on a daily and sometimes hourly basis to hands-ful of morons and assholes is not a democracy.

This is why unions, universal health insurance, paid family leave, job tenure, and the ability to sue are all essential to a democracy.  So that the morons and assholes don't hold all the cards.

Another thing that's essential is fewer people who think they have a right to behave like morons and assholes just because they have money.

Just had to get that off my chest.  Nothing personal, boss.
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Set aside the date! The Drum Major Institute's Annual Benefit will be held Tuesday, May 20 in New York at Cipriani on 23rd Street right across from Madison Square Park..  This year's honorees include City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito,  a founding member of Women of El Barrio, political organizer Steve Phillips, president and founder of PowerPAC.org, and David Simon, creator and producer of HBO's acclaimed series The Wire.  Tom Watson has more details.

Comments

[Stefanie]

Well put. I dig this and agree. Amen, brother.

[Anita]

excellent point.

off topic, however, lance, and i apologize for that. and i ask only because i'm thinking you might have some "insider info" on this.

i've been stopping by the heretik's site on a regular basis and seems he's not been around for awhile, at least since February. is he not blogging any more?

[darms]

Wow, right on target! Pardon me if I use this as an excuse to vent as my 35 year career in electronics just ended (I'm 51) and honestly don't know what I'm gonna do next - bossman/aka big cheese, you were pissing & moaning about the economy for the last eight years, telling me how bad things were getting. I knew it, no surprises there, but for some stupid reason you never did a damn thing about it. Asshole, I was ready to bolt in 2000 but "No", you said, "Hang in there, we'll try not to lay you off". And you did keep me on for a long time even though you made all sorts of stupid decisions that cost enormous amounts of money... Then two weeks ago you went all Michael Dell on my ass, frogmarched me out the building, hatchet person w/bloodsucking RoL for severance/vacation, the workz. Bossman, I know something about you that you really don't want to be known, especially to your main squeeze. It's been our little secret all these years, how I got the reference to your job opening. Anybody wanna know more? Cuz I DGAF.

[darms]

Wow, right on target! Pardon me if I use this as an excuse to vent as my 35 year career in electronics just ended (I'm 51) and honestly don't know what I'm gonna do next - bossman/aka big cheese, you were pissing & moaning about the economy for the last eight years, telling me how bad things were getting. I knew it, no surprises there, but for some stupid reason you never did a damn thing about it. Asshole, I was ready to bolt in 2000 but "No", you said, "Hang in there, we'll try not to lay you off". And you did keep me on for a long time even though you made all sorts of stupid decisions that cost enormous amounts of money... Then two weeks ago you went all Michael Dell on my ass, frogmarched me out the building, hatchet person w/bloodsucking RoL for severance/vacation, the workz. Bossman, I know something about you that you really don't want to be known, especially to your main squeeze. It's been our little secret all these years, how I got the reference to your job opening. Anybody wanna know more? Cuz I DGAF.

[Batocchio]

Very succintly put. The last line gives a nice sting.

[Bluegrass Poet]

Amen. I've been away from here too long.

[CMike]

A few years ago I clicked myself into a forum that was called "The Molotov Cocktail Lounge." The proprietor, the Conceptual Guerilla, has since moved on to a site that offers more wares but is a little too complicated for me to navigate.

Anyway, Lance's post reminds me of an essay I read at the Lounge. I can't find a clean copy of it but it's worth wading through this one, dead links and all. Here's the lead in:
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Defeat the Right in Three Minutes

Have you got three minutes? Because that’s all you need to learn how to defeat the Republican Right. Just read through this handy guide and you’ll have everything you need to successfully debunk right-wing propaganda.

It’s really that simple. First, you have to beat their ideology, which really isn’t that difficult. At bottom, conservatives believe in a social hierarchy of “haves” and “have nots” that I call “corporate feudalism.” They have taken this corrosive social vision and dressed it up with a “respectable” sounding ideology. That ideology is pure hogwash, and you can prove it.

But you have to do more than defeat the ideology. You have to defeat the “drum beat.” You have to defeat the “propaganda machine,” that brainwashes people with their slogans and catch-phrases. You’ve heard those slogans. “Less government” “personal responsibility” and lots of flag waving. They are “shorthand” for an entire world view, and the right has been pounding their slogans out into the public domain for getting on forty years.

So you need a really good slogan – “counter-slogan” really, to “deprogram” the brainwashed. You need a “magic bullet” that quickly and efficiently destroys the effectiveness of their “drum beat.” You need your own “drum beat” that sums up the right’s position. Only your “drum beat” exposes the ugly reality of right-wing philosophy – the reality their slogans are meant to hide. Our slogan contains the governing concept that explains the entire right-wing agenda...
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[EP3]

I agree as well.

What really grinds my gears is these people that complain about the unions as being these evil monsters that make people lazy. These people say union members are lazy and that all unions do is take your wages. These people claim they work harder than union workers. They claim that the only reason the morons and a55holes are mean is because of the unions. If the unions would stay out of the mess, then employees and employers could settle their differences peacefully. I saw it myself in a non-union shop. These employees would suck up to the bosses with the thought that when a crisis arose, the boss would remember them and help them out. Or, the best one, that the boss was gonna notice their extra little bit of hard work and when layoffs came around, their job would be saved. But it didn't matter when layoffs came around.

Again, great post. I plan on bookmarking your page so I can check out more of it.