Thursday, November 7, 2019

So, Capitalism seems like a good system!




Boy, capitalism is just fantastic, isn't it?
What other system could bring people the "gig economy?" Where your car can be a taxi, your house can be a hotel and your employment can be for individual tasks with no security, no benefits, and no future!


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So, today I saw a sign advertising something called "Stache.com" with the tag line "let your garage pay for your car."

And I thought, no. It can't be. There's no way that late-stage capitalism in America can get even better! But, sure enough. . .


stache

Let your garage pay for your car.



Earn $1,000s per year by letting people store their stuff in your extra space (instead of a traditional storage unit).


So now that no one can find a decent job anymore, you want me to scrape up a few bucks by letting strangers store their stuff in my garage?


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What could possibly go wrong? There's certainly no chance that, say, a rogue chemistry teacher might decide to store some "precursors" next to my toolbench, right?


There's no way that anyone might decide to store the weapons that they're saving for the coming race war next to the half-empty paint cans, is there?


So how much money are we talking about here?







Wait, what?


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Would you clean out your
Bedroom
for
$
2,545
?




My bedroom?

You want me to let complete strangers store their shit in my BEDROOM? My boudoir? The room where my bed and TV is?
I'm just not supposed to have any dignity at all?


Earn money by hardly doing anything.



Hardly doing anything?
Do you have any idea how long it would take to clean out my bedroom?


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My wife went out of town for two days!

Is there no tiny segment of our lives that we're not supposed to monetize now? Can we just have anything nice to ourselves without it having to be a revenue stream? Is this the future we're bequeathing to the next generation? This is not a sustainable system. This must be what it was like to live in the last days of the Roman Empire. Except with fewer orgies. We can't get anything right.





Monday, November 4, 2019

The Kids Are All Right




So, anyone who has been paying attention the last few years knows that the young people of America, God bless 'em, are increasingly leftist.

for example, there was this Harris poll done last Spring:

Generation Z has a more positive view of the word "socialism" than previous generations, and — along with millennials — are more likely to embrace socialistic policies and principles than past generations, according to a new Harris Poll 




Data: The Harris Poll; Poll conducted Feb. 21–25 among 2,035 adults; Chart: Axios Visuals


Yes, that's Seventy-Three percent of young people who believe the government should provide universal health care, and Sixty-Seven percent wanting the government to provide tuition-free college.

Then there's this survey from January:

61% of Americans aged between 18 and 24 have a positive reaction to the word "socialism" — beating out "capitalism" at 58%









So, naturally you'd expect to see lots of articles about the political leanings of today's youth. Like, for instance, this one:


They'll be first-time voters in 2020 and they're all in for Trump

Sébastien DUVAL

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Seriously? What dempgraphic group are we talking about then? 18-year-pld trust-fund kids? 18-year-old inbred hillbillies?


Clay Danec and Olivia Myers, both 18 years old, are ready to vote for Donald Trump in next year's presidential election (AFP Photo/)

Clay Danec and Olivia Myers, both 18 years old, are ready to vote for Donald Trump in next year's presidential election



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No. They can't possibly be just referring to these two kids, right? Surely these two are representative of some larger group, right?


Columbus (AFP) - They like his straightforward speaking style, his policies on immigration and the economic boom achieved during his administration.

They are still teenagers, or just past 20.
In a year from now, they will vote in their first presidential election in key swing state Ohio -- and they're giving Donald Trump their support.

Clay Danec and Olivia Myers, both 18, have more or less known for a while whose name they would check off in the voting booth.


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First of all, you're just going to assume the premise that there has been an economic "boom" that was "achieved" by Trump?

And I can't thionk of any prominent political figure with a less straightforward speaking style!

This is a guy who says things like:

“Europe is — you know, look, I come from Europe [Trump is actually from Queens, New York]. We come — you come from Europe, okay, you’re of the European nations. European nations were set up in order to take advantage of the United States.”

and

It’s disgraceful. I’m gonna maybe – and I’m looking at it very seriously, we’re doing some other things as you probably noticed like some of the very important things that we’re doing now. But we’re looking at it very seriously because you can’t do that. You can’t have what’s happening – where police officers are getting sick just by walking the beat. I mean they’re getting actually very sick, where people are getting sick, where the people living there are living in hell too – although some of them have mental problems where they don’t even know they’re living that way. In fact, perhaps they like living that way. They can’t do that. 
You might want to point out that when they say that they like his "straightforward speaking style" thet are being completely fucking delusional.

Also, we're talking about two kids in Ohio. Let's not pretend this is some kind of a movement.


After attending an event in the state capital of Columbus organized by the conservative group Turning Point USA, the students, who attend a Christian high school, are even more convinced about their choice.

Myers -- sporting a Make America Great Again hat and hoodie -- says she was raised in a "conservative" family, but didn't want her upbringing to be the deciding factor.

"I've been kind of searching both on the left and right side and I've made the decision for myself that I'll be voting conservative in 2020," she told AFP.

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That didn't happen. No one sets out with an open mind to examine the ideas of the left right and center, peruse the policy prescriptions of various candidates and then comes to the conclusion that "my parents are right. The syphilitic racist orangutan with fascist leanings who grabs women by the p***y and openly lusts after his own daughter really is the best choice to lead our nation." The only way you land on MAGA is you believe the bullshit that's been fed to you by your right-wing parents, your right-wing Christian high school, and Turning Point USA. Or, you're just a huge enough racist to support any senile misogynistic clod who is willing to call immigrants "animals."


For Danec, who is wearing a Trump reelection campaign tee-shirt, the main issue is one of "values and moral beliefs."



See, now at this point, you might want to point out that Sanec clearly does not know the meaning of the word "values," nor of the word "moral" or he probably wouldn't be supporting a thrice-married serial adulterer who boasts of barging into the dressing rooms at Miss Teen USA, has been credibly accused of sexual assault by dozens of women and makes no secret of his desire to fuck his own daughter. And who has made oa career of lying, cheating, and stiffing everyone with whom he does business.


"I come from a family that worked really hard to get up the ladder," explains the baby-faced teen as the crowd exits an auditorium at Ohio State University.
"The fact that Trump supports families that can keep making good money, and not having to tax us and penalize us for being able to work hard and sustain our family, I think it is really important."

Now, as a journalist, you might want to research the Danec family to see how hard they really worked to get up the ladder, because there's a better than even chanvce that no one in this family has broken a sweat outside the gym foir a couplke of generations. Also, you could point out that no one has proposed penalizing anyone for "being able to work hard" or for "sustaini[ing] their family."


While it is, at least on paper, not formally linked to the Trump campaign, Turning Point -- which says it is active at more than 1,500 universities across the country -- is behind the president.
It has organized a barnstorming "Culture War Tour" this autumn in swing states from Florida to Nevada, to drum up support for the Republican incumbent among young voters.

You might also want to point out that this "movement" of conservative youth, far from being an organic response to real-world events and conditions, is being spearheaded by a Koch-brothers-funded astroturf group with an unlimited supply of money to travel to college campuses to propogandize the youth.

You also could maybe profile some young people who are involved in the re-election efforts of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Lucy McBath, Rashida Tlaib, or Ayanna Presley.
Maybe some of the young people trying to get Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren into the White House. Because there a re a lot - A LOT - of young people involved in these campaigns. Here in Georgia, we met a bunch of young kids volunteering for Stacey Abrams. And a bunch more working for Sanders' campaign,. Why not intervies some young, fresh-faced DSA members? They're not hard to find, just check Twitter. The youth, the future of the country, are overwhelmingly left of center, with a large percentage being actual leftists. And no matter how many articles you guys choose to trot out there about "conservative kids" or "Trumpler Youth," the future is coming. I just hope I live long enbough to see these kids take over.




Saturday, November 2, 2019

Headlines that are NOT from the Onion, I swear.






Trump voters feel betrayed and want a leader to take USA back from the rich and powerful




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Whaaaaat? The guy with the gold-plated toilet isn't the one to take the country back from the rich and powerful?
Whaaaaat????

I just got back from walking the picket lines in Michigan and Ohio. Several striking workers, all of them former Democrats, told me how they voted for Donald Trump in 2016 out of desperation. They believed Trump would deliver on his promise to keep jobs in America and negotiate good trade deals. Now, they feel betrayed.


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Whaaaaat? The guy who has made a career out of stiffing everyone he does business with? That guy didn't keep his promises? Whaaaaaat????
And the guy who has run every business he's touched into bankruptcy didn't negotiate good trade deals?

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Midwestern working-class voters are not alone. In fact, a Reuters/Ipsos national Election Day poll in 2016 found that 75% of voters were looking for a “strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful.” 

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And the television star with the alleged billion-dollar business empire who hob-nobs with the Clintons and Bushes turned out to not be that guy? He didn't help regular folks take the country back from the rich and powerful?

This guy?

Image result for trump with president bush Image result for trump with president clinton


Really? This guy wasn't the champion of the common man you expected him to be? Whaaaaaat???



Entertainment

‘Shut Up About Politics’ Singer John Rich Shows Up on Fox News to Talk About Politics


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So apparently, there's some "country" singer named John Rich. And I puit the word "country" in quotes because I swear to God, Mother Maybelle would turn over in her grave if she heard the shit that gets called "country" music these days. But anyway, apparently this little douchebag in a costume shop cowboy hat Image result for John Rich wrote a song called "Shut Up About Politics" which has brilliantly crafted lyrics like


You punch left, I punch right
We're caught up in the middle of a deep swamp fight
Some people lie, some people steal
And everybody's talking 'bout the great new deal


So, you know, ball's in your court, Willie Nelson!

I don't know what the "great New Deal" is that he thinks everyone's talkin 'bout. Is he referring to the GREEN New Deal? Or is he stuck in the 1930's?

And the current state of "country music" being what it is, it actually charted.

John Rich & Fox News' The Five Hit Hot 100 With "Shut Up About Politics"


The track also tops Country Digital Song Sales.



But anyway, if you're sick of hearing people talk about politics, obviously the place to go is FOX "news!"

Sitting down Friday with The Daily Briefing host Dana Perino—a Five host featured on the song—Rich was immediately asked to weigh in on former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s recent appearance on The Daily Show.


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The singer, however, focused instead on how scary he found Clinton’s physical appearance.
“That actually freaked me out a little bit,” he declared. “I’m kind of envious of her because if you think about all the money she saves every Halloween, she doesn’t have to get a costume.”

Image result for jon stewart gif haha


You know, Hillary Clinton is a public figure. She's absolutely fair game to criticize. You want to make fun of her policy positions? Have at it. You want to criticize her foreign policy record? Be my guest. You want to mock her for her stance on any issue? Feel free. But you're going after her looks like you're a fucking twelve-year-old? Here's an idea. Maybe you oughta shut up about politics if that's what you're bringing to the table.

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Business

How Trump came up with that '303,000' October jobs figure that baffled analysts

 Javier E. David Fri, Nov 1 1:05 PM EDT



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Ooh, I know! I know!

He made it up?
He just made it up out of thin air? Like he does all the time?
Like every time he comes up with some number that is supposed to make him look good, he's just making it up? And it's based on nothing and it's a fool's errand to try and figure out the "origin" of the number because there isn't one? Is that it?

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Than you, Ms Winfrey. Thank you.







Thursday, October 31, 2019

California is not on fire because of being "woke."


So, I've had to explain to a few geniuses on the Twitter that the California wildfires are actually not a result of California's "progressive" governence.

Surprisingly, it has not gone well.













But holy shit, even the cement-head randos on Twitter couldn't come up with as idiotic a take as Dave Rubin and Tucker Carlson.






So, they can't possibly blame PG&E. PG&E is a private, for-profit corporation and therefore does everything in the best and most efficient way or the invisible hand of the free market wouldn't tolerate them! But clearly the fires are due to PG&E's neglect of maintenance. So somehow - somehow - it must be the evil liberal government who forced PG&E to abandon the perfect principles of the free market and thus caused these fires!
So presumably, Rubin spent a lot of time pondering, wondering and doing every type of mental gymnastics and logical contortionism trying to find a way that California's Governor Newsom could be made to shoulder the blame. Then it hit him. Of course! It's so simple! It must be because of "wokeness!"

So, somehow, and this is a little tricky to follow, but somehow, California requiring public utilities to keep track of minority hiring (which I can't say for sure if they do or don't) somehow that caused PG&E to lose tracvk of the state of their infrastructure because a large multi-billion-dollar corporation is only capable of keeping track of one thing. Obviously. Then somehow, this affects the various fire departments who are battling these blazes. And somehow, because the fire departments care about hiring some black and/or LGBT firefighters, their ability to spray water at a fire is compromised.

Somehow, this also has to do with taxes going up but homelessness continuing to exist. It's all very complex,

And the crowning achievement, the cherry on the top of the jerk-off sundae, is the two dullards laughing about the "absurdity" of not wanting to "put too much pressure on the grid."

Also worth noticing is the way that Tucker nods soberly and quietly murmurs "yes, true" whenever Rubin says something particularly idiotic as if he were honored to be in the presence of such an insightful sage.

And bonus points for the utter preposterousness of white supremacist Tucker Carlson shouting "Who WOULD care?" if the firefighters sent to his home were black. "Who would care about something like that?" Well, you would, Tuck. None of the "woke" "liberal" Californian strawmen you like to pretend to beat up on would care, but you would.

Anywayyyy. . .

I haven't lived in California for a while. But I was there for the last round of "rolling blackouts," during the Enron Arthur Anderson debacle. And every county in the state of California had these blackouts except for one. Care to guess which one?

It was Los Angeles County.
Know why?
Because they have a municipal power company.
The county of Los Angleles - that is, the people of L.A. County - own the utility. And they were the only county to keep the lights on.
Maybe because municipal power companies don't do things like neglect maintenance in order to increase short-term profits. Because there are no profits to consider. PG&E did that, but a socialist/communist/pinko-liberal municipal power company doesn't. And maybe municipal power companies don't have to skimp on infrastructure repairs in order to pay out a few billion dollars to their shareholders. PG&E did that..

You know, it's almost as if the California fires are more the result of capitalist excesses than the desire to hire a few gay firefighters or something.


Speaking of which, here's a little thank you to some of my readers for putting up with my long boring rant.


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Saturday, October 26, 2019