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I had the supreme misfortune to watch a portion of Morning Joe on Friday – enough to witness him railing about the “greed” of the teachers unions in Wisconsin because (according to him) they were not paying the same percentage of their gross pay for healthcare as those in the private sector. This was his continuing, repetitious talking point. Put aside the fact that he was pretending that the the terms of the contract were the issue, not the fact that the Governor was usurping and destroying their right to even discussthe benefits part of their contract under their collective bargaining rights. I was struck by the point he kept trying to make which could be summarized as – “Look at them! They have it better than most serfs! Aren’t you mad that they don’t pay as much for healthcare as you do?”.
This is like someone saying to one group of peasants who each has one lump of coal, “Hey! Those peasants over there have 2 lumps of coal each. Why do you let them have two lumps when you have only 1? ” while hoping we all forget the fact that the person raising the issue has a rail-car full of coal and that he is paid by the people who not only own the coal company but the mountain the coal is in as well.
Joe Scarborough is a well-paid media tool trying to mobilize popular anger at unionized teachers based on trumping up class warfare between the members of the same class If Joe Scarborough wants to make the case that we should all pay the same percentage of our income for healthcare, I could bend my head around that principle if he would only include himself and members of his own income class. I wonder how much he would be paying? I wonder if other media and political and private sector a#holes on the union bust bus would also go along with this new found principle of “share the pain”. How about the Governor of Wisconsin?
Is there any hope of Americans wising up to these tactics and demanding more than the inadequate 2 lumps we apparently are so envious of? How about: Living wages? Single Payer Health? Retirement with Dignity?
Or will we continue to allow ourselves to be manipulated by those who constantly scheme to make the lowest common denominator go even lower at the behest of the truly insatiably greedy who literally WANT IT ALL?
Ich Bein Ein Cheesehead.
Oh, and screw you Joe Scarborough.
17 Comments
I was struck by the point he kept trying to make which could be summarized as – “Look at them! They have it better than most serfs! Aren’t you mad that they don’t pay as much for healthcare as you do?”.
This is like someone saying to one group of peasants who each has one lump of coal, “Hey! Those peasants over there have 2 lumps of coal each. Why do you let them have two lumps when you have only 1?
Classic GOP divide and conquer appeal to jealousy I’m surprised joe did not claim the Union Members were all Black then he could have had a GOP twofer.
Instead of trying to drag us all to the bottom we should be saying how can we all get to the top.
Joe lets assume that you were completely innocent when that woman died in your congressional office don’t you think you would still be a Congressman if that woman had full medical care like they have in France and whatever she died from was diagnosed and treated before she went to your office?
This theory of course assumes that you are innocent I do not have proof that you are or are not guilty but you do seem the most likely suspect.
If the Governor did not give tax breaks to business the budget would not need cuts.
We tried tax breaks for business to create jobs Joe for the 8 Bush years the result was no jobs.
The Protesters need to say if the Governor takes back the tax cut I can keep my benefits. They need to say 8 years of Bush tax cuts no jobs but now the Governor thinks tax cuts will magically create jobs?
“Look at them! They have it better than most serfs! Aren’t you mad that they don’t pay as much for healthcare as you do?”.
It’s depressing how well this kind of propaganda works, and has worked, for generations.
The media indoctrination works all too well.
Think about all the people who get furious at the “welfare queen” supposedly scamming the system for a few thousand yet seem oblivious to the govt contractor scamming the govt for billions.
Or those that hate illegal immigrants for “stealing” all the jobs, yet give corporations a pass for hiring them in the first place and for exploiting all workers in general. Chances are they will also think that it is a “free-market” right for corporations to receive tax subsidies to send jobs overseas.
Teachers and all government employees get accept less pay in exchange for job security and benefits plus Union Safety enforcement guess what no Unions no heck even with Unions coal mines are a reason why we need safety rules.
I saw this on Friday too (Why do we even watch the show anymore? Just when I think it can’t possibly get worse — it gets worse.).
I tried to send an e-mail to Morning Joe to object to his comments, but couldn’t get the MSNBC auto e-mail to work properly. Thanks for reminding me, I’ll try again.
And Ich bin ein Cheesehead to you too!
What’s with this “we” stuff? :^O
I gave up on MSNBC long ago. I quit watching after one too many shows where the host gave Obama a pass for things that drove them to hysterics when Georgie did them.
At that time, MSNBC was a confused network with a Repub apologist side and a Dem apologist side. Unfortunately, they omitted the non-apologist side. I’ve heard that Cenk and Ratigan may be exceptions now, but since I gave up the cable tier containing MSNBC, I can’t speak from experience.
This is like someone saying to one group of peasants who each has one lump of coal, “Hey! Those peasants over there have 2 lumps of coal each. Why do you let them have two lumps when you have only 1? ” while hoping we all forget the fact that the person raising the issue has a rail-car full of coal and that he is paid by the people who not only own the coal company but the mountain the coal is in as well
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so very well said…applause
Government Tries to Keep Secret What Many Consider a Fraud
…Feb 19, 2011 … A Pentagon study in January found that it had paid $285 billion in three years to more than 120 contractors accused of fraud or wrongdoing. …
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/us/politics/20data.html
285 Billion
oy the Bannksters need to step up their thievery
From Mother Jones’ Twitter account:
It’ weird. It must appeal to Joe the Plumber types who bizarrely care more about protecting income and limiting taxes for a class they aspire to, but care nothing about improving the lives of the class which they actually occupy – the working, average and lower income group, which is the vast majority of the population.
It’s variation on the Dog in the Manger mentality, only directed at other dogs.
Watching is a form of masochism.
What keeps me tuning in sporadically before heading out is the occasional interesting guest. The show is at its best when Scarborough is not on it,finally giving other people a chance to discuss without his constant bloviation and reminiscence over his mercifully short tenure as a Congressman.
Suggested “Union” film festival:
“The Molly Maguires” “Matewan”, “Norma Rae”
Most of the Wisconsin protesters are white. And they have been seen on TV. Kind of hard to say they’re black, even for Scarborough. I’m sure the firefighters’ bagpipes really pissed him off.
I have given up on most of the media..MSNBC/CNN reflects the Dems…and Fox reflects the GOP…think about this: Joe is not right wing enough to be on Fox! He is a GOPer so I know he is anti union…what is disappointing is the rest of his panel agrees with him! most of the Dems and the media are not with us on any issue so the best we can for now is the push back…but longer term is to look for another way..Democratic Socialism maybe? The Germans are doing well and they have a strong private sector too! As well most of the Scandivians (sp) IMO we to look else for a better model and blend it into what makes this country great
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