The coal layoffs are a direct result of Obama policies and economics.
A coal miner who did an AMA on reddit today staunchly disagrees with you and gave many good industry related reasons that this is not the case, many having to do with natural gas, fracking, etc.
The coal layoffs are a direct result of Obama policies and economics.
I admit, that's entirely possible. Then again, coal mining these days is a step removed from what horse buggy manufacturing must've been like in the early 1920's or so.
@JasonThis is a cease and desist notice. You did not get my permission to post that.
I just need to get my facts straight before I start Facebook arguing, which probably wont happen anyways since I'm too lazy and it's almost the weekend.
Yes, and Big Tobacco layoffs were a direct result of Clinton policies and economics.
But we're not talking about policies and economics here; we're talking about a couple of days after the Democrat wins we throw a hissy fit and take revenge. Obama's been in power for four years. Obamacare has been prepped for some time, won't kick in for a while, and would have been largely the same under Romney's proposal.
The interesting thing is that if these people do lay people off or take other drastic measures out of hissyfits and revenge as opposed to actual economic reasons, they may lose more than they gain by not providing health insurance. If you lay off so many people that you are no longer able to service your customers, you'll probably lose far more money than you would've lost paying for their health insurance.
Obama policies regarding coal have made it a more expensive option for electricity generation. Natural gas has also become cheaper. Moving forward existing coal plants will either close or switch over to natural gas. It is a mixture of policy and economics both are in play and both effect the other.
After looking at Papa John's prices $0.14 per pizza is doable . It's not like they follow $X.99 price points.
After looking at Papa John's prices $0.14 per pizza is doable . It's not like they follow $X.99 price points.
Hell, he could probably raise the cost by $0.25 per pizza, keep the extra profit to himself, and none of his customers would probably mind. He could even spin it by saying, "by making sure all of our employees have health care, we guarantee that you don't have to worry about any of them sneezing bird flu germs on your pizzas."
The Black President is a White Russian with the vodka replaced by dark, dark rum.
The Second Term is the whiskey sidecar that follows a very disappointing Kona Fire Rock/ Goose Island Pale Ale.
Oh, and coal can't compete with natural gas here in America because natural gas can't easily be exported across the world, so the domestic price is more competitive. Any butt hurtery coming from the coal companies stems from the ineffectiveness of their lobbying and not some liberal spite for American industries.
I'm taking a great deal of pleasure in the melodramatic suffering and gnashing of teeth going on in the Republican Neoconservative media and blogosphere. The fact that there are a non-zero number of mind-bogglingly stupid people calling for armed revolution is both disturbing and hilarious, since none of them have the balls to actually try it.
Alternatively, watching people cry that this is the death of the country and claiming that they are moving to other countries that are all more liberal and have higher taxes than we do is also hilarious.
I started looking at some of the "conservative" blog sites and... Damn... There IS a lot of racism on these sites. While I still do not believe that the Republican party itself is racist (more classist than racist, if you got the money they don't care what race/gender you are) the amount and type of venom directed at Obama is unbelievable!
I still see references to Kenya and Islam when referring to the President. There was an article about how the real racists are the black voters that gave a small bit of lip service to the fact that black voters traditionally vote Democratic anyways. The only 'racism' that *might* be there would be blacks who have never voted before and only registered to vote because they had a black person to vote for. Otherwise blacks typically go Democratic when they vote so...
What the hell happened? Some of the stuff I'm reading is the kind of thing you might here whispered in a back room but certainly not spoken out loud where the whole world can hear!
It's the stuff that I and many others have been screaming about and pointing out for years. Honestly, it boggles my mind how some people STILL don't see anything wrong with that kind of behavior, even insisting that it is patriotic.
The levels of flagrant misogyny and racism were stupid high the first time Obama was running. It was shocking then, and it's some how expected and almost acceptable now. The right wring has gone so far right that it can't even see the coastline of Moderate anymore.
Some of this stuff has been around since back then but in 2008 there was an attempt to frame things in a non-racial way. The writers went out of their way to take their racist ideas and veil them in legal or constitutional terms. Now the racism is front and center.
Back then it was dog whistles, now it's straight up racist.
Honestly, the thin attempts to legitimize the bigotry was the most infuriating to me. I felt like I was shouting 'Does anybody see what I see?' with minimal response.
Steve, welcome to the internet! Where have you been. That was mostly the point of this thread (those stupid political E-mail threads). I'm glad that you finally noticed though. My favorite statements aren't the racist ones it's the ones pretty much blaming women, loose women to be exact on their troubles... :-p Nothing like good old fashion Sexism especially after they did such a good jump downplaying the issue of rape...
The only 'racism' that *might* be there would be blacks who have never voted before and only registered to vote because they had a black person to vote for. Otherwise blacks typically go Democratic when they vote so...
It's important to also consider that prejudices against white people have less effect than prejudices against minorities, because of institutionalized power dynamics. Consider that for the history of America, white people have always voted for the "white guy", as there have been no other options. It is an amazing opportunity to finally have a person of color as a viable candidate, yet people unceasingly attack his legitimacy, how American or Christian he is. Romney's joke about no one asking to see his birth certificate fell flat for that reason -- why would anyone doubt a white (appearance, accent,etc.) candidate's citizenship? Another thing that really struck me this election was this idea that minorities and the poor have less right to vote. This was particularly apparent in the attempts to suppress nearly nonexistent voter fraud at the risk of widespread disenfranchisement. Even as an asian-american in an NE state, I have to be aware and cautious of this. While waiting in line to vote this year, a man behind me was verbally discussing my appearance, clothing, and whether I "should be there". It is for this reason that I carry my passport.
I was talking to Rym about how a lot of Republicans seem to be flabbergasted by the existence of minorities at the polls. They keep saying variations of "this is not your father's America." I think it's not that there are necessarily more minorities than there were in the past, it is that they are not disenfranchised to the extent that they used to be. The white dudes in the media seem upset that their unfair advantage is crumbling before their eyes, because minorities are becoming more involved in the governmental process. Also, people who voted for Obama, especially the first time, because he was black, are not so much racist as searching for a symbolic victory. To pretend that everyone should be absolutely colorblind when we still see blatant racism all around us in America is silly. For a historically disenfranchised and abused minority class to have a chance to prove their equality, to have a symbol of progress and success that they never had before, I don't think it is quite the same as the white people who vote white to keep the status quo.
I wrote this in a different forum when discussing the stupid "Put the White back in the White House" slogan, and someone asked "Is that worse than black people voting for Obama because he's black?"
I would assume that the reason some black people support Obama is one of "identification", of supporting a candidate because that candidate appears to be from the same ethnic, national or economic background. While this is a very superficial reason to support a candidate, it is at least understandable as human nature, as we often use these factors as a short-hand to identify common values and beliefs. Towards candidates of a different background or non-minority status it suggest possibly apathy, but definitely not ill will, or instant opposition or distrust.
The "Put the White back in the White House" slogan on the other hand is pure racism. It suggests that any and all failures in policy by the Obama administration can be traced back to Obama's ethnicity, and that they could be remedied by replacing him with a white person. It suggests that any given non-white person is either undeserving or incapable of being president, or being untrustworthy in that position, and thus inferior to any given white person.
Supporting something or someone because of ethnic identification is by far better than opposing someone or something because of racism. Even if we accept the argument that both views are bad because they put race ahead of policy during a political choice, the "Put the White back into the White House" position is one of extremism, in which nobody who isn't white qualifies for the office. It is therefore by definition "worse".
Also, people who voted for Obama, especially the first time, because he was black, are not so much racist as searching for a symbolic victory.
Have people made statements that they 'only' voted for President Obama in either of his presidential elections because he is Black? I seriously doubt there were that many. While his racial/ethnic background may have been a factor in his favor, I genuinely question if it was the sole factor for hardly any of his supporters.
Comments
I just need to get my facts straight before I start Facebook arguing, which probably wont happen anyways since I'm too lazy and it's almost the weekend.
But we're not talking about policies and economics here; we're talking about a couple of days after the Democrat wins we throw a hissy fit and take revenge. Obama's been in power for four years. Obamacare has been prepped for some time, won't kick in for a while, and would have been largely the same under Romney's proposal.
After looking at Papa John's prices $0.14 per pizza is doable . It's not like they follow $X.99 price points.
Because it is Friday and I want tipsy.
Also, I can't think of an Obama mixed drink.
"Bartender, I'll need two white russian's and a black president"
Other idea's include "Barak Bomber" "The Encumbent" and "the 2nd Term"
The Second Term is the whiskey sidecar that follows a very disappointing Kona Fire Rock/ Goose Island Pale Ale.
Oh, and coal can't compete with natural gas here in America because natural gas can't easily be exported across the world, so the domestic price is more competitive. Any butt hurtery coming from the coal companies stems from the ineffectiveness of their lobbying and not some liberal spite for American industries.
Alternatively, watching people cry that this is the death of the country and claiming that they are moving to other countries that are all more liberal and have higher taxes than we do is also hilarious.
I haven't really bothered to search for it myself, but hopefully other people will pick out the best bits and pieces for me.
I still see references to Kenya and Islam when referring to the President. There was an article about how the real racists are the black voters that gave a small bit of lip service to the fact that black voters traditionally vote Democratic anyways. The only 'racism' that *might* be there would be blacks who have never voted before and only registered to vote because they had a black person to vote for. Otherwise blacks typically go Democratic when they vote so...
What the hell happened? Some of the stuff I'm reading is the kind of thing you might here whispered in a back room but certainly not spoken out loud where the whole world can hear!
The levels of flagrant misogyny and racism were stupid high the first time Obama was running. It was shocking then, and it's some how expected and almost acceptable now. The right wring has gone so far right that it can't even see the coastline of Moderate anymore.
Back then it was dog whistles, now it's straight up racist.
Another thing that really struck me this election was this idea that minorities and the poor have less right to vote. This was particularly apparent in the attempts to suppress nearly nonexistent voter fraud at the risk of widespread disenfranchisement. Even as an asian-american in an NE state, I have to be aware and cautious of this. While waiting in line to vote this year, a man behind me was verbally discussing my appearance, clothing, and whether I "should be there". It is for this reason that I carry my passport.
Some good reading: The myth of reverse racism
Also, people who voted for Obama, especially the first time, because he was black, are not so much racist as searching for a symbolic victory. To pretend that everyone should be absolutely colorblind when we still see blatant racism all around us in America is silly. For a historically disenfranchised and abused minority class to have a chance to prove their equality, to have a symbol of progress and success that they never had before, I don't think it is quite the same as the white people who vote white to keep the status quo.