I know this would not set well with a lot of folks, but I’m beginning to wonder if it might end up being the least-offensive option out of this mess we’re in.
” … The argument for choosing a non-candidate is simple: After a bitter primary and war at the convention, the GOP would need a clean slate headed into the fall. …
… The trick would be finding a non-candidate who’s vaguely acceptable to both sides in order to maximize turnout against Hillary this fall, and I don’t think that person exists. “[T]he Republican Party consists of interest groups that so broadly dislike each other that they share little common ground,” wrote Joel Kotkin a few days ago, and he’s right. Who’s the magical figure that’s going to appeal to establishmentarians, conservatives, and nationalists well enough to make all three groups vote Republican in November? I can’t think of anyone. So what might happen, as Podhoretz says, is the delegates will opt for someone like (Paul) Ryan who’s broadly acceptable to traditional Republican voters and personally likable enough that he’d attract some swing voters — and then they’ll just hope for the best. … ”
_________________________________
Yeah, not a great “solution.” A November defeat still seems more likely than not for the GOP, no matter who’s nominated.
But sheesh, this GOP race with all the mud-slinging has turned into something I can barely stand to watch much longer. I’m losing interest in any of the candidates I see now, I frankly just feel like sitting the whole thing out most of the time. 😦
And Piers Morgan, of all people nails it when it comes to the president’s bizarre behavior during times of crisis. Doing “the wave” and yukking it up with a dictator followed by a downright creepy tango photo op while the world burns? Really?
I don’t get it.
The “optics” and message it sends are beyond comprehension. Does he not at least have some advisors with some common sense?
Why does he not seem to have a clue how to behave when major atrocities happen around the world? …
… What I suspect the terrorists are really thinking is that if the U.S. president is so relaxed about them blowing up Brussels that he can go to watch baseball immediately afterwards, then they have nothing to worry about and can continue, with impunity, committing massacres on people also ‘going about their normal lives’.
I am reminded of Obama’s reaction when ISIS beheaded American journalist James Foley.
He made a quick speech saying how dreadful it all was, then, just seven minutes later, he was filmed teeing off on the golf course and laughing with some mates.
That was a disgrace, and so is this.
____________________________________
And some strange wolf behavior apparently — I love wolves but I’m wondering if our “hands off” on predator control these days may have some unintended consequences?
“A pack of wolves killed 19 elk in western Wyoming, according to state wildlife officials describing the slaughter as an extremely rare “surplus kill.”
John Lund of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said it is not unusual for wolves to kill one or two elk a night in that part of the state but to have 19 killed in one night is rare.
“It’s rare at this magnitude,” Lund told FoxNews.com. “We’ve documented it before but have not documented it to that extreme.”
A surplus killing is when an animal kills more of its prey than it can eat and abandons what’s left, KGW-TV reported. …
He said there is nothing the state can do about the wolves. The animals are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
“We can’t take any action proactively,” Lund told FoxNews. “It’s frustrating for state wildlife management.”
_____________________________
That’s one of the big problems, of course. But the party is deeply divided and, as of now, it looks like “the people” want Trump (but barely). There has been no single candidate who’s been able to unify all the various factions, unfortunately.
And the candidates who remain are getting so damaged (and behaving so badly), that it may bode poorly for the ability to lead even if one of them is elected in the fall.
Sad since this really is the Republicans’ race to lose this year.
Tychicus, The people have proven themselves to be idiots. The entire South, except for Texas, voted for the disgusting lunatic. Meanwhile the Democrats have been alternating between the socialist and the sexual predator’s accomplice. I prefer Cruz, but Ryan or Walker would definitely be preferable to drinking the Kool-Aid with Donald (Jim Jones) Trump.
“You guys started out with 17 candidates and somehow wound up with Mussolini and Joe McCarthy,” Maher sniped. But he didn’t linger there—he continued on to the genuinely agonizing choice facing some Republicans, the type that just want their taxes cut and for the EPA to allow coal power plants to pump CO2 into the atmosphere in peace. These brave Americans must make a choice, after all, so they ask Maher for advice: “They say, ‘Sure, Trump and Cruz are both despicable ass-clowns. But which one is less awful?'”
Maher, inevitably, had an opinion. “Trump is like Ebola: He’ll kill you right away. Cruz is more like the Zika virus: We won’t see the damage until future generations. … Ted Cruz will be our worst president. But Donald Trump could well be our last.”
____________________________________
Republicans are in a position with Trump voters like parents with a foolish 18 year old who wants to do something really stupid. Do you let him do what he wants, fall flat on his face and hurt the entire family? Or do you stop him and then increase the chances he will continue to do other dumb things in the future?
Democrats have the Superdelegates to keep their voters from doing something stupid (like McGovern). We definitely need our own Superdelegates. I think we need about 700, drawn entirely from Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. Any state that gives Trump over 50% of its vote should be declared to be mentally incompetent and banned from conducting a primary for 12 years.
There are simply some folks who will be very unhappy with the way this goes, whatever happens (which will impact the general election in terms of a divided party, of course).
What’s frustrating is to listen to the Democrat gloating. 😦 A FB friend the other day posted his prediction — that Trump will get the nomination and be defeated (taking with him all the ‘tea party’ types) and a new liberal president will appoint super-liberal Supreme Court justices (way more liberal than Obama’s current nominee) and that liberalism will basically rule the country for the foreseeable future. Conservatism will be vanquished at long last.
Then there’s the guy at the dog park who’s convinced all the candidates, on both sides, are secret members of the Illuminate — and therein lies our real problem … That and the Rockefeller family which secretly continues to wreak havoc on the common man.
The Mahar “Sophie’s Choice” bit is funny. Youtube has the full bit up already just google New Rule Better Ted than Dead. He does pretend to drink a bottle of bleach after “endorsing” Cruz. In reality, Mahar has endorsed Sanders, who did extremely well last night.
The McGoven factor does loom large over the Democratic elites imagination (hence the super delegates), however, I think Sanders appeal is greater than McGovern. Sanders has a greater appeal among working class whites than McGovern ever did — his supporters are more than an overzealous cadre of college kids. For one thing the strong blue collar union vote no longer exists, in the late 60s early70s the public sector union bosses did sit in the smokey rooms with Humphrey etc but no longer. Without the union bosses to encourage the workers to stay within the system, many workers view Sanders and radical change as a far better alternative than Hilary or any Republican. This type of “group brokerage” no longer exists in the white working class and while older blacks may still be content to vote in blocks and listen to activists in hierarchical organizations this may not be true for blacks under 30. The very destruction of worker interest groups (i.e. unions) by the right has left the working class without a rudder and more inclined to follow a Sanders (or a Trump)
And in the realm of practical political considerations so far the polls indicate Sanders will beat any Republican whereas Clinton will struggle against all of them. The Democratic party if its not careful will face the same problem the Republicans now face — a splintered party. As Sanders slowly catches up to Clinton — the super delegates needs to assess their choices. The Republicans may have thrown away their chance to presidency but the Democrats may not be too far behind. Ironically, the one thing that may unite the Democrats is the Republican refusal to consider Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court. Give Obama his choice and the Sanders crowd may stay home or vote Green whereas Republican obstruction will encourage the left to hold back to their distaste and vote for Clinton.
“At least 50 people have been killed and many others injured in an explosion at a park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.
It happened in the early evening when the park was crowded with families.
Police told the BBC it appeared to be a suicide bomb. No group has said it was behind the blast.
There is speculation that Christian families out for the Easter weekend may have been the target, says the BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil, in Lahore.
All the major hospitals in the area have been put on an emergency footing, local media report.
The explosion appears to have been at the main gate to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in an area where cars are usually left – and a short distance from the children’s swings.
Most of the dead and injured are women and children, a senior local police officer told Reuters news agency.”
Suicide bombings are happening daily it seems since Brussels. 😦 😦
It would be hard (likely impossible) for sanders to get the nomination. And I think head-to-head poll match ups at this point are just too early to mean much. A lot of people aren’t paying much attention (the guy at the dog park talking about the illuminati didn’t even know Cruz’s name and had only the vaguest knowledge of who actually was running; scary, but I suspect there are many others out there like him at this stage in the campaign).
Once the conventions are over and we move into late summer, then the polls should tell us something. How a new president can possibly lead this country in the state it’s in right now, I have no idea. Guaranteed failure, very possibly.
It’s strange for me to feel so disconnected to this election right now, like I’m looking in from the outside. Maybe that’ll change, but right now I feel like I literally have no horse in this race (although I do believe that yet another 4 years under another liberal administration could be disastrous, especially with the conservative opposition in such disarray).
The petition was started by online activists to embarrass the Republicans and their position on gun control (the stadium in Cleveland was declared a “gun free zone”). They were somewhat surprised and amused to discover that advocates of open carry etc., actually took it seriously and started to sign the petition. Armed Trump supporters and a Republican elite desperate to stop him — yes, what could go wrong? To which the advocates of gun control point out; if you think its a bad idea, then you agree with us that gun control is needed.
I’m sure the Republicans will throw everything but the kitchen sink at Sanders but his character, maybe not impeccable, is probably far better than Clinton or any Republican candidate. Besides, do the Republicans really want to insult an Jewish ex-carpenter who says we should take care of our fellow man (to paraphrase a popular pro-Bernie meme)?
Sure, why not utilize the 2nd amendment. Trump supporters, BLM, occupy etc all armed to the fullest extent possible. What could possibly go wrong?
Once BLM exercises their 2nd amendment rights, I’m sure many on the right will have second thoughts on gun control. Ronald Reagan and the NRA had no problem with gun control when the Black Panthers were packing and open carrying.
The unions were destroyed by the right because they were too successful. Yet the present labour activist movement is beginning to resemble the 20s and 30s radicals more than the sedate 60s union bosses. The right should’ve been careful what they wished for.
HRW, If anyone other than Trump is the Republican nominee, they will point out that Sanders is a socialist and that socialism is a really bad idea. If Trump is the nominee he will call Sanders “low energy” and a “liar” and say that his wife is homely.
Unions and Union labor destroyed themselves. In the early 1980s absenteeism at some US car plants reached 20%. You were told you didn’t want a car made on Friday. Ever since then my wife has refused to drive a car made in a U.S. union plant.
I have clients who are Union workers at Lockheed. The stories of their sloth will curl your hair. Of course, ithat is the worst of all worlds: union workers and the government as the “customer”.
Not sure where you get your stats. A quick google search gave me 1985 absentee rate at 4-6%, with the manufacturing sector at the low end of the percent. Interestingly in an era of low private sector unionization especially in the manufacturing sector, the absenteeism rate is now at its highest point since 1999, even then its only 2-4%. Family and personal health issues are the number one reasons. And as baby boomers age out of the workforce, this will continue to increase. Unions have very little to do with absenteeism rather its personal/family health including stress which are the underlying reasons. If anything, unions help regulate the absenteeism and reduce stress. My own union discourages the “use’m or lose’m” approach to sick days. And as unions steward, I’ve reprimanded my colleagues who have that attitude.
When I was young, I was always told never buy a Monday car. And stories of sloth at the local GM plant were legendary. But this is all anecdotal. In recent years, that same plant, the most militant GM plant workers in North America, was consistently the most productive workers in the GM workforce.
HRW, I am old. The absenteeism figures (at certain Big 3 plants) were in either Time, Newsweek or US News during 1980. I remember because that was the year we bought our first Honda.
Unions in the US got out of whack right after WWII when the U.S. had such a tremendous competitive advantage over the rest of the industrialized world. They never really adjusted to a global market.
The quality of our blue collar workers has also greatly deteriorated. However, the work ethic is still much better in Texas than in the North. We have a lot of migrants from the North and they often comment than when a Texan loses his job, he gets another one or starts his own business. In Michigan, the unemployed are more likely to fake disability or stay on welfare or both. The support for Trump in the rest of the South makes me think there are also a bunch of lazy white blue collar people in the rest of Dixie.
The way that unionism was related to absenteeism when the U.S. car companies were in a freefall was that the unions made it hard for the company to fire workers who failed to show up for work. A reprimand from a union steward doesn’t have quite the same impact as the fear of a pink slip. I think a Lockheed Union worker is fired about as often as Trump loses one of his cult followers. There are no consequences for sloth just as Trump says he could shoot someone and not lose any supporters.
I said “was” rather than “is” in the first paragraph because there are very few Union workers involved in free enterprise in the US. Most work for government or make “products” or “services” that are purchased by government. Unions simply made it impossible for companies that sold goods or services to consumers to stay competitive.
“When the U.S. Department of State released a statement condemning the Pakistani Taliban faction’s Easter bombing in a Lahore park, it noticeably omitted the fact that Easter-celebrating Christians were specifically targeted.
The bombing’s death toll climbed to 60 people, with 300 others that were reported as wounded. The explosion, which appeared to be a suicide bombing, struck an area that was crowded with Christians who were celebrating Easter. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban has since claimed full responsibility for the bombing, which it claimed was specifically targeting Christians who were celebrating the Easter holiday weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But when the Department of State released its statement addressing the bombing, it failed to mention that key component.”
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…. it’s a secret. Oh, and Islam has nothing to do with the attacks, right Barry? 🙄
“A Federal district court has ordered the Internal Revenue Service to hand over data and information concerning the several conservative and tea party nonprofit organizations the nation’s tax collecting agency targeted for unfair scrutiny.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Court instructed the IRS Tuesday to provide the court with a list of all the organizations that the agency mistreated because of its political bias so those affected can file a class-action lawsuit and seek damages from the IRS.
Although a federal district court had already ordered the IRS to disclose the list, the agency contended that it could not release the information because of a general rule that states “returns and return information shall be confidential.”
The IRS filed a petition for a writ of mandamus from the appellate court so that it would not have to disclose that information. The 6th Circuit Court, however, did not buy the agency’s defense and found its behavior deplorable.
“Among the most serious allegations a federal court can address are that an executive agency has targeted citizens for mistreatment based on their political views,” the court’s opinion reads. “No citizen — Republican or Democrat, socialist or libertarian — should be targeted or even have to fear being targeted on those grounds.””
ricky,
Union or no union, its almost impossible to fired without just cause in Ontario. Unions only provide better legal protection but don’t make just cause any more difficult. You’d be surprised how effective a reprimand from a union steward is. When an employee knows his union won’t back him up, he straightens out.
Unions in the US are not of whack. In fact due to the docile nature of the US workforce, unions in the US have far less clout than their European, Canadian or Australian counterparts. Most American teachers put up with far more from their employers then we would. We would and have walked any time our province tried US style reforms and its for that reason our education system consistently ranks in the top 5-10 in the world (We’re usually behind Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Finland). Part of the strength of the German economy is the clout of their unions. With better checks and balances, unions and corporations work together (not always amicable of course) to ensure a productive and healthy workplace.
Wandering Views 
I know this would not set well with a lot of folks, but I’m beginning to wonder if it might end up being the least-offensive option out of this mess we’re in.
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/03/24/scott-walker-if-we-go-to-a-brokered-convention-odds-are-the-nominee-will-be-someone-whos-not-currently-running/
________________________________
” … The argument for choosing a non-candidate is simple: After a bitter primary and war at the convention, the GOP would need a clean slate headed into the fall. …
… The trick would be finding a non-candidate who’s vaguely acceptable to both sides in order to maximize turnout against Hillary this fall, and I don’t think that person exists. “[T]he Republican Party consists of interest groups that so broadly dislike each other that they share little common ground,” wrote Joel Kotkin a few days ago, and he’s right. Who’s the magical figure that’s going to appeal to establishmentarians, conservatives, and nationalists well enough to make all three groups vote Republican in November? I can’t think of anyone. So what might happen, as Podhoretz says, is the delegates will opt for someone like (Paul) Ryan who’s broadly acceptable to traditional Republican voters and personally likable enough that he’d attract some swing voters — and then they’ll just hope for the best. … ”
_________________________________
Yeah, not a great “solution.” A November defeat still seems more likely than not for the GOP, no matter who’s nominated.
But sheesh, this GOP race with all the mud-slinging has turned into something I can barely stand to watch much longer. I’m losing interest in any of the candidates I see now, I frankly just feel like sitting the whole thing out most of the time. 😦
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And Piers Morgan, of all people nails it when it comes to the president’s bizarre behavior during times of crisis. Doing “the wave” and yukking it up with a dictator followed by a downright creepy tango photo op while the world burns? Really?
I don’t get it.
The “optics” and message it sends are beyond comprehension. Does he not at least have some advisors with some common sense?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3508029/PIERS-MORGAN-Twinkle-toes-Obama-demon-tango-comes-reading-public-mood-s-tone-deaf.html
____________________________________
What the hell is wrong with Barack Obama?
Why does he not seem to have a clue how to behave when major atrocities happen around the world? …
… What I suspect the terrorists are really thinking is that if the U.S. president is so relaxed about them blowing up Brussels that he can go to watch baseball immediately afterwards, then they have nothing to worry about and can continue, with impunity, committing massacres on people also ‘going about their normal lives’.
I am reminded of Obama’s reaction when ISIS beheaded American journalist James Foley.
He made a quick speech saying how dreadful it all was, then, just seven minutes later, he was filmed teeing off on the golf course and laughing with some mates.
That was a disgrace, and so is this.
____________________________________
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And some strange wolf behavior apparently — I love wolves but I’m wondering if our “hands off” on predator control these days may have some unintended consequences?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/25/wolf-pack-kills-19-wyoming-elk-in-one-night.html?intcmp=hpbt4
___________________________
“A pack of wolves killed 19 elk in western Wyoming, according to state wildlife officials describing the slaughter as an extremely rare “surplus kill.”
John Lund of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said it is not unusual for wolves to kill one or two elk a night in that part of the state but to have 19 killed in one night is rare.
“It’s rare at this magnitude,” Lund told FoxNews.com. “We’ve documented it before but have not documented it to that extreme.”
A surplus killing is when an animal kills more of its prey than it can eat and abandons what’s left, KGW-TV reported. …
He said there is nothing the state can do about the wolves. The animals are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
“We can’t take any action proactively,” Lund told FoxNews. “It’s frustrating for state wildlife management.”
_____________________________
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The whole world has turned upside down……
Bill Maher has endorsed Ted Cruz. 😯
Bill’s one of the few leftists who actually gets the threat of Islam, so he did it while wearing a “Better Ted than Dead” hat. 🙂
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donna j: Such a ‘solution’ takes away the voice (and the votes) of the people.
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That’s one of the big problems, of course. But the party is deeply divided and, as of now, it looks like “the people” want Trump (but barely). There has been no single candidate who’s been able to unify all the various factions, unfortunately.
And the candidates who remain are getting so damaged (and behaving so badly), that it may bode poorly for the ability to lead even if one of them is elected in the fall.
Sad since this really is the Republicans’ race to lose this year.
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No one seems to be able to be that transcendent unifying figure that’s so needed right now. So I’m afraid Hillary my just win by default. 😦
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And what’s the deal with the wives? More smoke and mirrors?
Ridiculous.
It’s all ridiculous.
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Tychicus, The people have proven themselves to be idiots. The entire South, except for Texas, voted for the disgusting lunatic. Meanwhile the Democrats have been alternating between the socialist and the sexual predator’s accomplice. I prefer Cruz, but Ryan or Walker would definitely be preferable to drinking the Kool-Aid with Donald (Jim Jones) Trump.
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The problem is, there now appears to be no “good” way through and out of this convention.
All of the various scenarios imagined and being floated are problematic for going into what will be a tough general election cycle.
The wives spat and now the alleged sex scandal? Just the latest rungs downward in this whole spiraling GOP election. 😦 😦
Just when you think it can’t get any worse … it does!
Shaking my head.
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And that Bill Maher “endorsement” appears to be highly eye-roll tongue-in-cheek. Faint praise, in other words.
From Esquire:
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/videos/a43342/bill-maher-ted-cruz/
_________________________________
“You guys started out with 17 candidates and somehow wound up with Mussolini and Joe McCarthy,” Maher sniped. But he didn’t linger there—he continued on to the genuinely agonizing choice facing some Republicans, the type that just want their taxes cut and for the EPA to allow coal power plants to pump CO2 into the atmosphere in peace. These brave Americans must make a choice, after all, so they ask Maher for advice: “They say, ‘Sure, Trump and Cruz are both despicable ass-clowns. But which one is less awful?'”
Maher, inevitably, had an opinion. “Trump is like Ebola: He’ll kill you right away. Cruz is more like the Zika virus: We won’t see the damage until future generations. … Ted Cruz will be our worst president. But Donald Trump could well be our last.”
____________________________________
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Republicans are in a position with Trump voters like parents with a foolish 18 year old who wants to do something really stupid. Do you let him do what he wants, fall flat on his face and hurt the entire family? Or do you stop him and then increase the chances he will continue to do other dumb things in the future?
Democrats have the Superdelegates to keep their voters from doing something stupid (like McGovern). We definitely need our own Superdelegates. I think we need about 700, drawn entirely from Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. Any state that gives Trump over 50% of its vote should be declared to be mentally incompetent and banned from conducting a primary for 12 years.
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Hey, no dissing McGovern 🙂
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An interesting article that compares 2016 to 1912:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/433248/gop-open-convention-may-stop-donald-trump
Losing a party is worse than losing one General election.
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Good article, ricky.
There are simply some folks who will be very unhappy with the way this goes, whatever happens (which will impact the general election in terms of a divided party, of course).
What’s frustrating is to listen to the Democrat gloating. 😦 A FB friend the other day posted his prediction — that Trump will get the nomination and be defeated (taking with him all the ‘tea party’ types) and a new liberal president will appoint super-liberal Supreme Court justices (way more liberal than Obama’s current nominee) and that liberalism will basically rule the country for the foreseeable future. Conservatism will be vanquished at long last.
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Then there’s the guy at the dog park who’s convinced all the candidates, on both sides, are secret members of the Illuminate — and therein lies our real problem … That and the Rockefeller family which secretly continues to wreak havoc on the common man.
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The Mahar “Sophie’s Choice” bit is funny. Youtube has the full bit up already just google New Rule Better Ted than Dead. He does pretend to drink a bottle of bleach after “endorsing” Cruz. In reality, Mahar has endorsed Sanders, who did extremely well last night.
The McGoven factor does loom large over the Democratic elites imagination (hence the super delegates), however, I think Sanders appeal is greater than McGovern. Sanders has a greater appeal among working class whites than McGovern ever did — his supporters are more than an overzealous cadre of college kids. For one thing the strong blue collar union vote no longer exists, in the late 60s early70s the public sector union bosses did sit in the smokey rooms with Humphrey etc but no longer. Without the union bosses to encourage the workers to stay within the system, many workers view Sanders and radical change as a far better alternative than Hilary or any Republican. This type of “group brokerage” no longer exists in the white working class and while older blacks may still be content to vote in blocks and listen to activists in hierarchical organizations this may not be true for blacks under 30. The very destruction of worker interest groups (i.e. unions) by the right has left the working class without a rudder and more inclined to follow a Sanders (or a Trump)
And in the realm of practical political considerations so far the polls indicate Sanders will beat any Republican whereas Clinton will struggle against all of them. The Democratic party if its not careful will face the same problem the Republicans now face — a splintered party. As Sanders slowly catches up to Clinton — the super delegates needs to assess their choices. The Republicans may have thrown away their chance to presidency but the Democrats may not be too far behind. Ironically, the one thing that may unite the Democrats is the Republican refusal to consider Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court. Give Obama his choice and the Sanders crowd may stay home or vote Green whereas Republican obstruction will encourage the left to hold back to their distaste and vote for Clinton.
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oops that should be private sector unions bosses (i.e. UAW/USW) not public sector union bosses.
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Sad. 😦
http://linkis.com/www.bbc.com/news/Bfn39
“At least 50 people have been killed and many others injured in an explosion at a park in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials say.
It happened in the early evening when the park was crowded with families.
Police told the BBC it appeared to be a suicide bomb. No group has said it was behind the blast.
There is speculation that Christian families out for the Easter weekend may have been the target, says the BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil, in Lahore.
All the major hospitals in the area have been put on an emergency footing, local media report.
The explosion appears to have been at the main gate to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in an area where cars are usually left – and a short distance from the children’s swings.
Most of the dead and injured are women and children, a senior local police officer told Reuters news agency.”
——————————
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/pakistanafghanistan/375890/suicide-bombers-kills-at-least-38-in-pakistani-park
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Suicide bombings are happening daily it seems since Brussels. 😦 😦
It would be hard (likely impossible) for sanders to get the nomination. And I think head-to-head poll match ups at this point are just too early to mean much. A lot of people aren’t paying much attention (the guy at the dog park talking about the illuminati didn’t even know Cruz’s name and had only the vaguest knowledge of who actually was running; scary, but I suspect there are many others out there like him at this stage in the campaign).
Once the conventions are over and we move into late summer, then the polls should tell us something. How a new president can possibly lead this country in the state it’s in right now, I have no idea. Guaranteed failure, very possibly.
It’s strange for me to feel so disconnected to this election right now, like I’m looking in from the outside. Maybe that’ll change, but right now I feel like I literally have no horse in this race (although I do believe that yet another 4 years under another liberal administration could be disastrous, especially with the conservative opposition in such disarray).
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Meanwhile, there’s this headline on CNN:
___________________
“More than 20,000 sign petition to allow guns at Republican National Convention”
____________________
What could go wrong?
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The petition was started by online activists to embarrass the Republicans and their position on gun control (the stadium in Cleveland was declared a “gun free zone”). They were somewhat surprised and amused to discover that advocates of open carry etc., actually took it seriously and started to sign the petition. Armed Trump supporters and a Republican elite desperate to stop him — yes, what could go wrong? To which the advocates of gun control point out; if you think its a bad idea, then you agree with us that gun control is needed.
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I’m sure the Republicans will throw everything but the kitchen sink at Sanders but his character, maybe not impeccable, is probably far better than Clinton or any Republican candidate. Besides, do the Republicans really want to insult an Jewish ex-carpenter who says we should take care of our fellow man (to paraphrase a popular pro-Bernie meme)?
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It’s up to 35,000 now…
But seriously, why should someone be embarrassed to utilize their 2nd Amend. rights?
And with all the BLM, Occupy, and like leftist idiots who will be protesting, it’s probably not a bad idea. Might make ’em think twice.
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The unions destroyed themselves by embracing everything and anything. They even embrace things that destroy their own jobs.
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Sure, why not utilize the 2nd amendment. Trump supporters, BLM, occupy etc all armed to the fullest extent possible. What could possibly go wrong?
Once BLM exercises their 2nd amendment rights, I’m sure many on the right will have second thoughts on gun control. Ronald Reagan and the NRA had no problem with gun control when the Black Panthers were packing and open carrying.
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The unions were destroyed by the right because they were too successful. Yet the present labour activist movement is beginning to resemble the 20s and 30s radicals more than the sedate 60s union bosses. The right should’ve been careful what they wished for.
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HRW, If anyone other than Trump is the Republican nominee, they will point out that Sanders is a socialist and that socialism is a really bad idea. If Trump is the nominee he will call Sanders “low energy” and a “liar” and say that his wife is homely.
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Unions and Union labor destroyed themselves. In the early 1980s absenteeism at some US car plants reached 20%. You were told you didn’t want a car made on Friday. Ever since then my wife has refused to drive a car made in a U.S. union plant.
I have clients who are Union workers at Lockheed. The stories of their sloth will curl your hair. Of course, ithat is the worst of all worlds: union workers and the government as the “customer”.
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Not sure where you get your stats. A quick google search gave me 1985 absentee rate at 4-6%, with the manufacturing sector at the low end of the percent. Interestingly in an era of low private sector unionization especially in the manufacturing sector, the absenteeism rate is now at its highest point since 1999, even then its only 2-4%. Family and personal health issues are the number one reasons. And as baby boomers age out of the workforce, this will continue to increase. Unions have very little to do with absenteeism rather its personal/family health including stress which are the underlying reasons. If anything, unions help regulate the absenteeism and reduce stress. My own union discourages the “use’m or lose’m” approach to sick days. And as unions steward, I’ve reprimanded my colleagues who have that attitude.
When I was young, I was always told never buy a Monday car. And stories of sloth at the local GM plant were legendary. But this is all anecdotal. In recent years, that same plant, the most militant GM plant workers in North America, was consistently the most productive workers in the GM workforce.
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HRW, I am old. The absenteeism figures (at certain Big 3 plants) were in either Time, Newsweek or US News during 1980. I remember because that was the year we bought our first Honda.
Unions in the US got out of whack right after WWII when the U.S. had such a tremendous competitive advantage over the rest of the industrialized world. They never really adjusted to a global market.
The quality of our blue collar workers has also greatly deteriorated. However, the work ethic is still much better in Texas than in the North. We have a lot of migrants from the North and they often comment than when a Texan loses his job, he gets another one or starts his own business. In Michigan, the unemployed are more likely to fake disability or stay on welfare or both. The support for Trump in the rest of the South makes me think there are also a bunch of lazy white blue collar people in the rest of Dixie.
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The way that unionism was related to absenteeism when the U.S. car companies were in a freefall was that the unions made it hard for the company to fire workers who failed to show up for work. A reprimand from a union steward doesn’t have quite the same impact as the fear of a pink slip. I think a Lockheed Union worker is fired about as often as Trump loses one of his cult followers. There are no consequences for sloth just as Trump says he could shoot someone and not lose any supporters.
I said “was” rather than “is” in the first paragraph because there are very few Union workers involved in free enterprise in the US. Most work for government or make “products” or “services” that are purchased by government. Unions simply made it impossible for companies that sold goods or services to consumers to stay competitive.
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Anybody shocked?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/03/27/one-detail-was-noticeably-missing-from-state-department-statement-on-pakistan-taliban-attack/
“When the U.S. Department of State released a statement condemning the Pakistani Taliban faction’s Easter bombing in a Lahore park, it noticeably omitted the fact that Easter-celebrating Christians were specifically targeted.
The bombing’s death toll climbed to 60 people, with 300 others that were reported as wounded. The explosion, which appeared to be a suicide bombing, struck an area that was crowded with Christians who were celebrating Easter. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban has since claimed full responsibility for the bombing, which it claimed was specifically targeting Christians who were celebrating the Easter holiday weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But when the Department of State released its statement addressing the bombing, it failed to mention that key component.”
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…. it’s a secret. Oh, and Islam has nothing to do with the attacks, right Barry? 🙄
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Good.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/irs-turn-over-list-targeted-tea-party-groups-allow-class-action-lawsuit-appeals-court-rules-160104/
“A Federal district court has ordered the Internal Revenue Service to hand over data and information concerning the several conservative and tea party nonprofit organizations the nation’s tax collecting agency targeted for unfair scrutiny.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Court instructed the IRS Tuesday to provide the court with a list of all the organizations that the agency mistreated because of its political bias so those affected can file a class-action lawsuit and seek damages from the IRS.
Although a federal district court had already ordered the IRS to disclose the list, the agency contended that it could not release the information because of a general rule that states “returns and return information shall be confidential.”
The IRS filed a petition for a writ of mandamus from the appellate court so that it would not have to disclose that information. The 6th Circuit Court, however, did not buy the agency’s defense and found its behavior deplorable.
“Among the most serious allegations a federal court can address are that an executive agency has targeted citizens for mistreatment based on their political views,” the court’s opinion reads. “No citizen — Republican or Democrat, socialist or libertarian — should be targeted or even have to fear being targeted on those grounds.””
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We carefully stayed clear of politics at the Easter dinner today — host cousin and I are conservative; other cousin and visiting aunt, liberal. 🙂
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ricky,
Union or no union, its almost impossible to fired without just cause in Ontario. Unions only provide better legal protection but don’t make just cause any more difficult. You’d be surprised how effective a reprimand from a union steward is. When an employee knows his union won’t back him up, he straightens out.
Unions in the US are not of whack. In fact due to the docile nature of the US workforce, unions in the US have far less clout than their European, Canadian or Australian counterparts. Most American teachers put up with far more from their employers then we would. We would and have walked any time our province tried US style reforms and its for that reason our education system consistently ranks in the top 5-10 in the world (We’re usually behind Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Finland). Part of the strength of the German economy is the clout of their unions. With better checks and balances, unions and corporations work together (not always amicable of course) to ensure a productive and healthy workplace.
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