Wrote this here, but discussion was essentially dead by that time, so I’ll add it to this discussion:

I don’t think it was an accident Medea Benjamin was allowed in. I think they knew full well the limit of her actions and how, overall, allowing her to do what is expected would be another way to create the illusion we live in a free country and this president believes in that and is a cool, down to earth guy. Even Medea’s comments afterward reflect her believing that same BS.

“”I must say, I do really appreciate that I live in a country where if you interrupt the president you don’t get beaten and tortured and thrown inside a prison for a year,” she added.”

Depends on your political beliefs and where the protest is made. A soft liberal who in the end backs Democrats every election, yeah, go for it. A true leftist, well, don’t be surprised if you are arrested and your home raided. Of course, also be careful about being critical of the US or this president if you live where the drones roam the skies.

I don’t think it was an accident Medea Benjamin was allowed in. I think they knew full well the limit of her actions and how, overall, allowing her to do what is expected would be another way to create the illusion we live in a free country and this president believes in that and is a cool, down to earth guy. Even Medea’s comments afterward reflect her believing that same BS.

“”I must say, I do really appreciate that I live in a country where if you interrupt the president you don’t get beaten and tortured and thrown inside a prison for a year,” she added.”

Depends on your political beliefs and where the protest is made. A soft liberal who in the end backs Democrats every election, yeah, go for it. A true leftist, well, don’t be surprised if you are arrested and your home raided. Of course, also be careful about being critical of the US or this president if you live where the drones roam the skies.

Hey guys, Krugman approves, after disapproving, and Republican nutjobs aren’t happy with it, so it must be a sweet deal. Win!

I’ll repeat, the US is f’d. We’re going to have to go through this crap again in 2 months, in which more concessions will be made. There won’t be enough money coming in from these tax changes, so it’s more likely something or several things are going to get cut. #Pissed

Krugman camp = “This seems like a bad deal/idea, but hey, what do I know? Maybe it isn’t that bad if you look at it in this very specific way. Forget what I said before–Obama is all right because the other guys are worse. Ho hum.”

Krugman is a joke when it comes to politics. He always falls behind the president in the end.

The US is f’d. If you have the opportunity to move abroad to a country on the rise or that is at worst stagnant but still among the top in the world (northern European countries), go for it. The US has no alternative in the election system and anything outside of that people do to try to make things better brings on the overwhelming force of the state. Just like in the USSR, China, North Korea, people will go along with the way things are rather than risk their future to rebel against a foe who is hell bent on crushing any resistance with all the power it can. In addition to a dysfunctional government that can only agree on helping the wealthy, we have an economy that truly isn’t showing any signs of real recovery (a bunch of new low paying part time jobs doesn’t help), an unemployment rate that makes it easier for companies to exploit workers, unaffordable, but necessary, college, fast rising rental prices across the US, cities dominated by the same few mega-chains, the worst health coverage system among developed countries (and in 2014, even those who can’t afford health coverage now will be forced to pay for it…keep in mind how much profits these companies make and will make, as well as the pharmaceutical companies who get away with their high prices). Happy New Year!

Manhattan is no longer the creative, edgy, exciting city it once was. It’s a giant playground/shopping mall for tourists, the wealthy (as professionals, old money folks, and children of the wealthy), and their servants. Brooklyn maybe still has some of the edge and creativity, it’s just being priced out of there as well.

Germany was struggling before the Euro and got all kinds of outside assistance to redevelop. They want to pretend like they’ve been a self-sufficient leading economy in Europe for decades, which is bullshit. They benefit from the Euro, as stated above, because their exports would be far less competitive if they were on their own currency. So long as enough of EU suffers, the Euro also stays down, and their exports become cheaper, which is good for their economy. Yes, it’s short-sighted (too much economic hardship in the EU affects the global economy which reduces demand for their exports, even if they are cheaper than they would be if other EU countries were doing fine), but it’s been working for them up until recently.

I don’t see Romney winning. That really means nothing. You’re a fool if you get excited Obama wins again. You’d be right to feel a bit more worried if Romney wins, though there’s a small chance Republicans would do something unexpected to spur job growth since they know enough Democrats will go along, making their party look good. There’s also a good chance they’ll make things worse, lose the next election, and blame the even worse state of the economy on the Democrat who gains power after them. Back and forth as we spin downward into the pits of hell.

They have those in Europe and look at how they’re doing. The problem is deeper than the way people elect their governments. I suspect a rise in hard socialism, which is needed, if this continues for much longer. Americans are surprisingly patient and optimistic, thinking this is just a brief, awful moment and things will soon get much better again. I don’t know if that naive optimism will last for much longer.

I have a 4 year degree, work in a factory, making just over minimum wage, and so many coworkers have degrees as well. I studied hard, graduated near the top of my class, for nothing. Oh well. If I didn’t have this degree, I may be jobless. It’s the same in retail, so many people I know with basic retail sales job have degrees and were jobless for months. Degrees in America usually means debt, so not only are our skills not being used, are we being paid near minimum wage wages, but we have a massive debt on our shoulders to pay off (therefore we are actually earning less). A master’s degree is the new bachelor’s, just don’t expect to find work in the field you studied nor wages that match what you may need to borrow over the course of 6+ years needed to earn that.

I’m not too thrilled (he’s considered rather tame and to the right within that party), but mildly happy. Will be an interesting week/month/year.

The unions as Baby Boomers knew them are nearly dead and no longer represent a large portion of the American working and middle class. The Baby Boomer unions were just there and protected workers. Of course it helped the economic policies in place during that time also helped keep income disparity lower.

So we’re in a position similar to where we were in the early 20th century. If we want the money that is rightfully ours for our work, we have to organize and peacefully fight for it in all ways possible, with the existing union leaders support or not. If we want jobs, we need to demand them, whether a union exists for them already or not.