YoungDemCA

YoungDemCA's Journal

August 29, 2015

Ann Coulter slammed "Speech Nazis" in hate-filled, racist, scapegoating screed against immigrants

Irony much?

You know who else whipped crowds into a frenzy over hatred of "the Other", especially "those foreigners" who looked, acted, and spoke a bit differently from the dominant white culture, who "threatened our way of life" and "our culture"?? The most infamous Austrian (turned-German leader) in history, that's who.

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

August 21, 2015

The Know-Nothing Party, the 1920s KKK, and elements of the Tea Party: historical parallels?

One thing that I enjoy searching for in American history are patterns or parallels between the past and the present. One particular area of interest to me is the infamous Know-Nothing Party or movement dating from roughly the middle part of the 19th century, and how it compares and contrasts to the 1920s variant of the Ku Klux Klan (which have membership in the millions at one point),a s well as certain elements of the contemporary Tea Party (e.g. the "Birther" movement).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan#Second_Klan:_1915.E2.80.931944

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories

One commonality I have noticed between all three groups is their blatant xenophobia (and racism, for that matter), and their exclusionary views of who is a "real American." From that, flows the conspiratorial thinking about those they consider "Other" or "foreign" or "not-American" who are "taking over the country."

However, that begs the question: Where does all that fear come from?

I think it comes from the reality of demographic, social, cultural, and economic change, and the historically dominant group's fears of becoming a less-powerful minority group in their own country. Historically, these nativist, racist, xenophobic movements have always reached their zenith at a time of rapid changes in the country - again, demographic, social, cultural, and economic change. The fear is that those changes will sooner or later, eventually translate to political changes that will adversely affect the dominant group. It's their fear that they will lose their traditional monopoly on power in "their" country.

These are just some of my thoughts. I'm curious to read what others here think!

August 20, 2015

+1. For all-too-many straight white dudes, personal responsibility is for other people

Specifically, "those other people", whether they be women, LGBTs, persons of color, or the poor.

Pull yourself up by yer bootstraps, they scold...when many if not most people can't even afford sandals and their feet are stuck in the mud and quicksand that the powerful and privileged have left in their wake (that's not meant to be taken literally, just to be clear).

August 15, 2015

Poll: 89% Of Americans Believe Obama Has Failed To Bring America Closer To Celestial Utopia...

...of Endless Pleasure.

WASHINGTON—According to a poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, nearly nine in 10 Americans believe that President Obama has failed to move the nation any closer to becoming an ethereal paradise of pure and everlasting pleasure. “Our findings indicate that only a small minority of citizens think the country is closer now to being a sublime bacchanal of boundless ecstasy than it was when the president took office six and a half years ago,” said researcher Katherine McGraw, adding that when asked if Obama had adequately positioned the United States to develop into a transcendent pleasure dome beyond anything ever imagined, only 8 percent responded “yes,” with 89 percent responding “no” and the remaining 3 percent saying they were unsure. “Despite the excitement for the future that many felt during the 2008 and 2012 elections, most Americans are now resigned to the fact that they are not making the expected progress toward living in a realm of dizzying, perpetual bliss in which, as celestial beings of pure joy, they bask in a profound contentment and heavenly delights they never knew possible, and that they are unlikely to do so during the remainder of the current presidential term.” McGraw noted that 48 percent of Americans responded affirmatively, however, when asked if Obama had brought the nation closer to a blackened wasteland of misery in which all are bled forever in eternal agony.

http://www.theonion.com/article/poll-89-americans-believe-obama-has-failed-bring-a-51061

August 12, 2015

LGBT ally Bennett pulls off upset in Georgia House race

Taylor Bennett, the 29-year-old political newcomer, pulled off a surprise win in House District 80 on Tuesday, besting former Brookhaven mayor J. Max Davis in a runoff. Bennett, a Democrat and former quarterback for Georgia Tech, beat the Republican 55 percent to 45 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

The win was even more surprising because the GOP establishment put major muscle behind Davis, with Governor Nathan Deal and Congressman Tom Price endorsing and campaigning for him. Two reasons? A Bennett win would mean control of the Fulton County delegation would flip to the Democrats and it would leave the GOP one representative short of its current supermajority in the House, as noted by Peach Pundit.

Bennett made his opposition to the so-called "religious freedom" bill the centerpiece of his campaign. Many believe the bill will lead to more LGBT discrimination. His opposition stems not just from his being an employment lawyer but from the fact that his mother and sister are gay.

http://thegavoice.com/lgbt-ally-bennett-pulls-off-upset-in-georgia-house-race/

August 10, 2015

Krugman: G.O.P. Candidates and Obama’s Failure to Fail

What did the men who would be president talk about during last week’s prime-time Republican debate? Well, there were 19 references to God, while the economy rated only 10 mentions. Republicans in Congress have voted dozens of times to repeal all or part of Obamacare, but the candidates only named President Obama’s signature policy nine times over the course of two hours. And energy, another erstwhile G.O.P. favorite, came up only four times.

Strange, isn’t it? The shared premise of everyone on the Republican side is that the Obama years have been a time of policy disaster on every front. Yet the candidates on that stage had almost nothing to say about any of the supposed disaster areas.

And there was a good reason they seemed so tongue-tied: Out there in the real world, none of the disasters their party predicted have actually come to pass. President Obama just keeps failing to fail. And that’s a big problem for the G.O.P. — even bigger than Donald Trump.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/opinion/paul-krugman-gop-candidates-and-obamas-failure-to-fail.html

August 7, 2015

President Obama on the Voting Rights Act (video)

For those interested in hearing what our President has to say about this incredibly important issue.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?327465-2/president-obama-remarks-voting-rights-act

August 6, 2015

"Where do bad folks go when they die, they don't go to heaven where the angels fly..."

They go to the lake of fire and fry
See 'em again til' the Fourth of July!

Original song by the Meat Puppets.

August 5, 2015

Poor whites live in richer neighborhoods than middle-class blacks and Latinos (WaPo)

Poor whites tend to live in more affluent neighborhoods than do middle- class blacks and Latinos, a situation that leaves those minorities more likely to contend with weaker schools, higher crime and greater social problems, according to a new study.

The new research by scholars at the Stanford Graduate School of Education found that the gap separating black and Hispanic neighborhoods from white ones persists up and down the income ladder. A black household with an annual income of $50,000 lives on average in a neighborhood where the median income is under $43,000. But whites with the same income live in neighborhoods where the median income is almost $53,000—about 25 percent higher.

Meanwhile, white families with an annual income of just $13,000 on average live in neighborhoods where the median income is $45,000—slightly higher than the precincts occupied by middle-class blacks and just below that of middle-class Hispanics. The same dynamic holds for households that making $100,000 annually.

snip:

"It's relatively well known that black families on average live in poorer neighborhoods, but a lot of people presume that's simply because black families are poorer," said Sean Reardon, one of the study's authors. "But if that were all there was to it, you would find poor whites living in the same kinds of neighborhoods as poor blacks."

The disparities matter when it comes to raising children and building wealth, researchers emphasized. Other studies have found that growing up in very poor neighborhoods exposes children to bad influences and puts them at greater risk of not going to college, earning less in their careers, and being single parents.

"When you look at the evidence of how important neighborhoods are, you really worry about the long-term consequences of these patterns of racial and economic segregation," Reardon said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/24/poor-whites-live-in-richer-neighborhoods-than-middle-class-blacks-and-latinos/

August 5, 2015

Dick Cheney to keynote Republican Party of Florida event

Presumably, to lend some support to his good friend and fellow PNAC signer Jeb Bush. After all, Cheney figured majorly in both Bush administrations - particularly the latter one, which as we all know, was SUCH a smashing success!!!

Maybe the third time's the charm...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Republican Party of Florida announced Tuesday it will host former vice president Dick Cheney at its first Sunshine Summit, a three-day event it also hopes will draw GOP presidential candidates.

“The Sunshine Summit is a unique opportunity and event where presidential candidates will share their vision for the nation with the more than 2,500 expected activists and grassroots leaders,” said RPOF chairman Blaise Ingoglia in a statement.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/dick-cheney-keynote-republican-party-florida-summit-120995.html

Thanks Jeb, for helping steal the election for your brother and your PNAC pal!

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Gender: Male
Hometown: CA
Home country: USA
Member since: Wed Jan 18, 2012, 11:29 PM
Number of posts: 5,714

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