LA Auto Show Protest sponsored by LA Bus Riders and Code Pink.

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I see that in the last photo (of the cardboard bus) these people have written "Fight Privatization" and "Expand Welfare Rights".

I think that pretty well sends their message: They want Socialism. They despise the idea of private property and they despise the capitalist system that makes it possible.

They also believe that there is such a thing as "Welfare Rights". Well, there isn't. Welfare is not part of the Constitution. Its no more a right than the 'right' to drive.

In short, they believe in a variety of "rights" that don't exist, like the "right" to welfare and the "right" to a job. They want to be almost entirely dependent on The State for their survival. They want everything... food, job, housing, money.... given to them by The State. But they never put anything on those protest signs about the fact that in order to have such a society they are more than willing to strip everyone else of what they have.

Take a good look at these people and ask yourself who they will be voting for in the Fall.

Maybe they're sick of being fucking fleeced by assholes like you. Ever stop to think about that? Yeah, the redistribution of wealth isn't just a good idea, it's gonna happen, and you can stand there holding your dick or you can run, but either way, the privileged class is in deep shit because the disparity has gotten way too severe. Asking for a handout ... you know who's GETTING the handout and that's the goddamn corporations whose dick you apparently suck on for YOUR welfare. I have had it with your pompous ignorance, Bush Admirer. It is time for you to understand that a nation (the USA) that extracts 40% of the world's resources, yet constitutes just 5% of its population, and gets all this shit through ORGANIZED VIOLENCE, is approaching what MLK referred to as "spiritual death." You can learn from this, or suffer the consequences of your continued ignorance. At least I can say that I tried to help you wake up. The rest is up to you. And if I insulted you in this diatribe, good. You deserve it. And if you think it's cheap of me to resort to personal attacks, then think on these three little words: go fuck yourself.

"Yeah, the redistribution of wealth isn't just a good idea, it's gonna happen, and you can stand there holding your dick or you can run, but either way, the privileged class is in deep shit because the disparity has gotten way too severe. "

Uh, don't hold your breath

I see the tax bite BEFORE I get to take it home, just like you, dummy. If the middle class weren't carrying the bulk of the tax burden, why not give them a tax break? Won't cost ya, right? Bullshit. You know who carries the bulk of the burden, and it ain't your rich pals. They have things called the Cayman Islands, and the benefit of Amazing Tax Cuts. So this is the world's smallest violin, playing just for them.

When the angry hordes come for your head, Bush Admirer, you still won't get it, will you? You'll still honestly believe that THEY owe YOU, and not the other way around. If you refuse to be educated, I can't help you. I'm trying, but your innate sense of white man entitlement keeps getting in the way.

Have fun in Hell.

Shadow, that you think anyone owes you or the nameless sycophants you seem to speak for anything is testament to your idiocy.

You got nothin' comin'. Fuck off and earn.

True; many rich bastards are scumbags with huge tax shelters. So what. Millions of poor people are lazy, unaccountable leeches. Let them cancel each other out.

You still have nothing coming.

I'm not looking for a handout, so you can drop the benefactor routine. I'm trying to explain to you that inequality on the scale we're experiencing now has a tendency, if you examine history, to piss people off and eventually lead them to violent action against the minority that is lording it over them. Shall I cite for you the litany of historical examples of this? Should I even bother? You'll ignore it whether I'm right or I'm wrong, because you've already made up your mind. So why don't YOU fuck off. Ha ha! Oh, and also, suck my dick.

Top that childishness, you prurient ghoul!

If you're interested in arguing with me, you may as well give up now because I'm not interested in arguing with you. Mostly I just want to continually point out that you're wrong and, if possible, make you extremely angry. So keep trying if you want to get sucked into my trap.

Really, now.

Then why are you so concerned with taking what others have earned, and you have not?

Your "revolution" (snicker!) ain't NEVER gonna happen, Skippy. News flash for you: The National Guard has tanks, guns, and jets. And the good people serving their country in the Guard don't like people like you.

You, however, have nothing except a bad attitude, a desire to steal from others, and a total unwillingness to take responsibility for your situation.

The difference between you and me? I feel I owe something to my country. I'm repaying it with my military service.

You feel the country owes something to you.

You're going to be terribly disappointed.

nonanarchist

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... seriously. I have a full time job and I take care of myself just fine, thank you. However, as a member of the US military, you are carrying out the orders of those who would like to steal from other nations, and other peoples, by force. So stop trying to tell me I'm evil when all you are is a strongman for Corporate America.

oh, and Fuck You.

Wanna write me back? Think you'll change my mind, or make feel bad? You won't. But go ahead and try. I'm just here to piss you off.

There now lil' cowboy, what's got you so upset?

First of all, I think it's fair to say that if anyone's pissing anyone off it's US pissing you fools off. You're the ones who have collectively tried all manner of implementations to try and stifle our views.

But, no matter, we continue to express them because they are the truth and you fools are afraid of them.

Then you get so worked up that you actually make the embarrassingly inane comment that our military is emplyed to steal from other nations. Do you have ANY idea how completely ridiculous and desperate you sound, not to mention simply stupid?

You don't do you?

Oh well. Take a breather. I suspect you have alot more nonsense you need to spew.

I think this is mostly about you needing to have the last word. We're stifling you? That's ridiculous. Right wingers have more mass communications at their disposal now than they ever have, so your attempt to play the victim is laughable. We're not gonna agree on anything apparently, so I'm done with this. If you want to have the last word, go ahead, but all you'll prove is your own insecurity.

While you two sit back and argue, the real truth remains the same. Alternate energy sources are a winner for everyone. All the right wing rich guys have a great new way to get rich and all the leftwingers can feel accomplished by enjoying their cleaner air and water. Why doesn't America jump on the bandwagon before someone else does? Because we waste all our time calling each other names, that's why.

"So stop trying to tell me I'm evil when all you are is a strongman for Corporate America."

What alternate reality are you living in, anyway? Oh, yeah...LeftyLand. I'll let you in on a little secret, Shadow: I have sworn to protect and defend the Constitution with my life, if necessary. Do you understand the implications? It means that I may passionately disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

You're welcome.

"oh, and Fuck You."

If you have to resort to that, you're out of anything rational to say.

"I'm just here to piss you off."

You're not doing a very good job. Not at all.

nonanarchist

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--> "If the middle class weren't carrying the bulk of the tax burden, why not give them a tax break?"

The bogus line "Tax Cuts for the Rich" is a creation of the world's most powerful propoganda machine since Chairman Mao, the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

The Bush tax cuts went to those who paid the taxes in proportion to the amount paid. The rich paid more taxes so they got more back.

The Democrats want to redistribute income and wealth using the phrase 'tax cuts' as a cover for their evil schemes. They're not into giving people their own money back. They want to take from those who don't vote for them (Republicans) and give to those who can deliver votes to them (Organized labor, minority activists, etc.) so they'll regain power. It's all bullshit.

So if our system is so pathetic, ineffectual, miserly and unfair why is it that our country is the preferred destination for immigrants from all over the world? Oh, and by the way, the a verage level of education of immigrants (legal and illegal) coming from our nearest neighbor is 7 years and the skill level is very, very low. Funny how they get organized so quickly to DEMAND once they get here.

Ok im going to try to provide a specific and analytic answer to the questions posed throught this "discussion." Unlike Shadow and some other previous posters, i am willing to continue a rational discussion outside of this board, so please email me if u wish to enter into a dialouge.

1) The vast majority of wealth in america is owned and controlled by a vastly disproportionate number of citizens. To say that anyone who makes billions of dollars a year has earned it is absurd.

lets say that worker A works 40 hours a week at $10 an hour. thats more than min. wage, and an average work week. They make 400$ a week, and if they get 4 weeks off a year, they make [400 x 48] $19,200 a year.

Worker B is the average CEO of a major corporation who received $10.83 million last year according to the New York Times. lets assume for the sake of argument that the CEO works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year(365x24=8760 hours a year). a real full time worker. their hourly pay is [$10,830,000/8760 hours] $1,236.3 an hour.

of course CEO's dont work anywhere NEAR 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, this is a VERY generous equation
The ratio of CEO B to worker A hourly wages is 1,236/10= 123.6/1

Anyone who thinks that one persons work is really worth well over 100 times as much as another is insane. The CEO's wealth is not earned, as Bush Admirer and others seem to think. It comes from somewhere, and as the CEO isn't physically making anything, its not from his own labour. Worker A and her peers provide the manual labour and grunt work that allows the CEO to live an absurdly luxurious life by selling their products.

The CEO is living off of the workers, the workers are not living off of the state [susposedly funded by the CEO's taxes]



Now on to topic #2
THE US MILITARY STEALING FROM OVERSEAS
We're going to take a short trip to Latin America.

in 1954 the CIA staged a coup in Guatemala to prevent president Arevalo from allowing Bananna workers to unionize, instituting a govt. VERY friendly with the United Fruit Company.

http://www.smog.net/curiosities/sabotage/ This is a pamphlet published by the CIA for distrubition to citizens in Nicaragua to incite them to fight against the socialist revolutionary govt. The tatics outlined are damaging to all the people of Nicaragua, the environment, economy, etc. They include destroying oil depots, ruining communal farm lands and releasing communal cattle, and destroying telephone lines- among other randomly destructive means towards chaos.

2002 a military coup supported by the US attempts to remove the OVERWHELMINGLY democratically elected president Chavez of Venezuela. He attempted to spread the wealth from the countrys oil exports to the vast majority of the people, at the slight expense of US corperate interests. Evidence leads to the assumption that snipers trained at the School Of The Americas in Georgia were responsible for hundreds of deaths by firing on a peaceful, pro-chavez, march at the start of the coup. US State dpt press release "We think Pres. Chavez may not have the best interests of the US at heart". Massive protests resulted in the return of Chavez and the failure of the coup- much to the disgrace of the US. This is clearly outlined in the documentary "The Revolution Will Not Be Televized" which i strongly reccomend.

im going to bed now, but there are MANY more examples of us corperate interest backed by the military oversees, especially in south/latin america. once again, PLEASE email me if you're interested in continuing the discussion!!!

Big SUVs increase demand, and with either the same or smaller supply, that increases my gas prices. If cars were taxed by weight (like europe), then the SUV's could offset the extra costs the impose on the rest of us.

When ever I get depressed about the Bush America I feel exhilirated again to see that the most creative passionate and intelligent protests against the misbegotten Blair-Bush War in Iraq is coming from another America and I recover my great love and respect for the USA!

what i think BA and other right wingers who routinely post here do not understand statistics. yes, it is *possible* to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, go to college, get a real job, blah blah blah....as i have done from a working class background, but for every me, there are ten men or women in the neighborhood who cannot be computer technologists or schoolteachers or brain surgeons or whatever. these people are either not smart enough, or lack the resolve to get into college, so they take jobs in warehouses or UPS or as custodians (if they are lucky), or at wal-mart and the local laundromat if they are not so lucky. it is not possible for every single one of these people to go to itt tech "in their spare time" to get that associate's degree in marketing that may or may not get them a job. the basic idea behind a social welfare system is that if you cannot, despite striving to the best of your (sometimes meager!) ability, earn enough money to feed, clothe and house yourself and your family, society or the state owes it to you, as a manner of common decency and charity, to pick up the slack. now, you may or may not be on welfare forever. some of the working class "slackers" that have been referred to here would gladly take a dole check for the rest of their lives and never lift a finger. but there are plenty of others who would use the extra income to help plan their budget for going to itt tech, or bryman college, or that underwater welding school we all see ads on tv for, or wherever, to train for a real job. wouldn't you rather give that proportion of welfare recipients the chance to improve their lives than condemn them to a life of servile labor at wal-mart or sam's club? that's all we're asking for!