This and That

Robert Reich

Democracies wouldn't be democracies without some disagreement, but the bitter and divisive partisanship we see today in Congress and elsewhere has occurred only twice before in American history. The first, most obviously, was the Civil War. The second, less obviously, was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries -- years when William Jennings Bryan ran for president on a populist ticket that pitted western farmers against eastern bankers, and when, subsequently, Eugene Debs ran for president as a socialist and garnered almost a million votes. That second period, not incidentally, was marked by wide inequality of income and wealth -- by some measures, as wide as we're experiencing today.

Why does fierce partisanship correlate so directly with inequality? I suspect it's because, in such times, large numbers of people who can't get ahead no matter how hard they try become so frustrated and angry they want to blame someone or some group for their plight, and are therefore attracted to anyone who offers easy villains and scapegoats. The underlying problem has little or nothing to do with villainy, however; it's with a system that hasn't adapted itself to changing economic conditions. The angry partisanship subsides only when the system is reformed to create widely-shared opportunity and prosperity: The last time around, through progressive and New Deal era reforms like a graduated income tax, the breakup of monopolies, 40-hour workweek, Social Security, unemployment insurance, the right to join a union, and minimum wage.

But that raises a chicken-and-egg problem: how to reform the system when the nation is so bitterly divided that no reform can be enacted?

 

 

God Bless the President of the United States shared Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off's photo.

This is what happens when the fascist Koch brothers fund the GOP Governors, the state legislators and all the political power right down to the school boards. They own the GOP, the police are influenced by these people, and THIS is the result.
THEY MUST BE STOPPED!!!! STAY AWAKE!!!!

 

 

March Against Monsanto

The March Against Monsanto continues 10/12/13

 

 

Stop Telling Lies About Liberals And We'll Stop Telling The Truth About You shared OlaBetiku's photo.

(chs)

You know I remember a time, not all that long ago, when such thoughts were U N T H I N K A B L E. Unthinkable. Further from anyone's mind than could ever be. What the hell has happened in this country?

 

KNOWLEDGE = FREEDOM

 

 

 

 

US Uncut

While we're subjecting families on Medicaid and food stamps to austerity, several states are spending more on prisons than they are on colleges. Gotta keep spending our precious tax dollars to lock up all those nonviolent drug offenders.

http://huff.to/1dAT14p

Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off added a new photo.

Bill Moyers

The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights group is seeking action from the Department of Justice and is targeting the NRA and ALEC-championed "stand your ground" laws.

As Feds Review Martin Case, NAACP Seeks DOJ Action and Targets State ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws

July 15, 2013

 

 

 

Ayn Rand collected Social Security

Just a reminder.
Found this over at www.bartcop.com
Shared at Ayn Rand collected Social Security

 

Occupy Democrats

Have you ever seen a bigger opportunist? Maybe Dick Cheney.

Thanks to The Blue Street Journal

Shared by www.occupydemocrats.com

 

 

Too Informed To Vote Republican

Image from Sailing Heart-Ships
mmc

 

 

Occupy Democrats

Because food stamps are "wasteful spending."

Read the full story HERE: http://occupydemocrats.com/house-republicans-target-food-stamps/

Stop Telling Lies About Liberals And We'll Stop Telling The Truth About You shared FreeDumb Nation's photo.

(chs)

Anybody reading this who can't name their Senators? Really?

 

How many can you name?
Dear Baby Boomers, Thank You For Throwing Away My Generation

Carl Younger shared Democracy for America's photo.

 

Sign the petition to tell Harry Reid that we need filibuster reform now! http://bit.ly/15Hwhz9