dagblog - Comments for "Bloomberg, Syria and the Wisdom Of People"

The people know what they

NCD — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 17:37:06 +0000

In reply to Bloomberg, Syria and the Wisdom Of People

The people know what they know, will learn what they will learn and they will drawn conclusions. It does little good to ignore this and no good at all to dismiss them as dupes, sheep, or hopelessly ignorant.

Who is 'ignoring this'? Exploiting them can be the principle scheme of a very profitable corporate business plan.

Great post Michael, you have

Peter — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:40:54 +0000

In reply to Bloomberg, Syria and the Wisdom Of People

Great post Michael, you have opened the door, however slightly, on the failings of a system that relies on a Capitalist Ruling Class and an electoral system completely corrupted by Big Money. The Liberal Technocrats that direct our system barely recognize the people under them as human and laugh at the idea of them ruling themselves or even having much to with anything important besides lining up to fight their wars or vote for the pre-selected minders. Any time someone attempts to expose this degenerate system the straw-men march to the fore to obscure the forest and deflect the discussion. The evolution and gun control examples above are excellent examples even though they actually show how small well funded groups have outsized influence in our so called democracy. No one should support policy dictated by polls, this is another straw-man, but if we could develop some form of direct democracy we could actually vote on critical issues like going to war or not going to war.

Mostly, I think people were

Michael Maiello — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:30:33 +0000

In reply to Well yes Mike, that is all

Mostly, I think people were afraid to change horses in the midst of the Financial Crisis. It's ironic -- Giuliani offered to stay on for more time after 9/11, a "favor" that Bloomberg rightly declined, but Bloomberg used the economic crisis to do the exact same thing and for a whole other term. Again, these are the inconsistencies that don't bother Bloomberg. He is all about results.

It's Fronk-un-steen. Man, I'd

Michael Maiello — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:26:34 +0000

In reply to I am sorry but I cannot

It's Fronk-un-steen.

Man, I'd like to go for a roll in the hay...

Fair enough. Similar problems

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:25:42 +0000

In reply to I am sorry but I cannot

Fair enough. Similar problems are also facing the Middle East today.

To fair to LF, he certainly supported the Bill of Rights and other Constitutional protections against the tyranny of the majority. It was the outsized influence of powerful interests--mainly corporate interests--that disturbed him. He also believed that education would eventually cure the ignorance of the masses.

Thanks, NCD. I haven't read

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:09:15 +0000

In reply to Have you read Island of Vice,

Thanks, NCD. I haven't read it, but I'm familiar with the history. The story of his path to the White House is fascinating.

One of the interesting disagreements between TR and other progressives was his focus on "bad guys." In the NYPD, he tried to clean up the department by getting rid of the crooked cops. In the WH, he prosecuted the "bad" trusts, e.g. Standard Oil, but approved monopolies that he considered "good" trusts, e.g. U.S. Steel.

The other progressive politicians and muckraking journalists thought his approach was misguided. They argued that the real problem was not immoral individuals but a rotten system that encouraged corruption. TR eventually came over to this way of thinking but not until his presidency was over.

I am sorry but I cannot

artappraiser — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 05:06:42 +0000

In reply to I don't know if we can take a

I am sorry but I cannot resist doing a Godwin's Law here!

From Wikipedia "German presidential election, 1932" (the path to a nightmare voted in by "the masses" and what they did to prevent it from happening again) :

The 1932 election was the second of only two presidential elections of the Weimar period. When the modern office of German Federal President was established in 1949, following the restoration of democracy in West Germany, it was decided that the president would be chosen indirectly by means of a Federal Convention consisting of parliamentarians and state delegates. To date, therefore, the 1932 election was the last occasion on which a direct presidential election has occurred in Germany.

Other lovely things like Jim Crow were the result of "majority rules," too.

Another much less serious example to lighten up this comment a bit. I watched parts of "Bride of Frankenstein" the other night. What I learned was that those townspeople, though clearly unedujumcated about most things, seemed to know how to form a pretty wild mob in short order when they wanted to see some action on community standards. They were also highly prejudiced against the latest progressive science experiments going on nearby. Furthermore, local law enforcement worked in cahoots with and manipulated their mobs.

Have you read Island of Vice,

NCD — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 02:32:05 +0000

In reply to Well, we're operating from a

Have you read Island of Vice, Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, TR's years as Police Commissioner in NYC?

The political and legal corruption in those days was huge, the GOP made TR Vice President to get rid of him, or so they thought.

I wrote more than I should

Bruce Levine — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 23:09:57 +0000

In reply to NOT A RED SOX FAN! Glad you

I wrote more than I should have TMC, but it's all public record. I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you stood with me, publicly and in private, last week. I do not forget a friend.

NOT A RED SOX FAN! Glad you

tmccarthy0 — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 22:51:59 +0000

In reply to OK, so I can't stand not

NOT A RED SOX FAN!

Glad you stopped by! I am sure many people didn't vote for him, but sheesh, he should have been penalized by voters for breaking the term limit rules, but they didn't, it's weird.

I hope those nurses get their raise Bruce, fight, fight, fight. Eight years without a raise, geez how many nurses quit working there because of that one sad fact.