Politcal Ramblings

[Aslan]

I saw an interesting statistic that shows the average weekly income by race.

You see that white is much higher than black or Hispanic (which are close). But there's a couple things in that data that people easily miss or gloss over:

1) ASIAN income FAR exceeds White. If you look at the data...(check CNBC)...Asians make far more as a race than whites. So if discrimination in the job market is so prevalent...how are Asians able to not only be equals in the workplace...but outperform their white peers?

2) Hispanics are slowly over-taking blacks.

And while I feel it's "politically incorrect" to say this...I have a theory as to why.

1) Asians are very racist. They are probably the most racist group (generalizing of course) of people I've known. And they admit that. They shop amongst their own communities....they hire their own ethnicity...and they tend do live in the same areas amongst themselves. Asians will pay more for things to buy them from other Asians. They have a different 'culture' in that way.

2) Asian children aren't usually given the same 'choices' as most children. It's not whether they will do good in school and go to college....it's will they get straight As and what college will they go to.

3) Asian children start working at an earlier age. While other races are out playing baseball in a vacant lot...they are bagging groceries in their uncle's grocery store or home doing chores. Again, different culture.

As to why Hispanics are over-taking blacks...this is where I really think (and hotpocket probably will agree on this) there's just far too much "woe is me" in the black community. I drive by home depot...30-50 immigrants hoping to get picked up to make less than minimum wage to paint or do odd jobs, etc... No black people. And what I've seen from living in black communities is this feeling that, "Well, the cards are stacked against me....so no sense in trying to get a job or go to college...because the World is racist." And unfortunately, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And that's why I don't like all this recent "race stuff" because the real issue, as Bernie Sanders tried to articulate, is that there needs to be economic changes that give more people a pathway to a good life. Not JUST...for blacks...or Hispanics...or whites...but for everyone. As long as a black kid looks out his bedroom window and sees that his best chance at getting a new car is to deal drugs....because there's like an 8% chance he'll be the next Obama or Ben Carson...then the kid is going to get discouraged...head down the wrong path...and once down that path...it's very hard to get back on the right path.

And people like Al Sharpton and Spike Lee....I think they make things worse, not better. They try to drive a wedge between races...and convince minorities that there's really no point in trying to make their lives better....because the system is rigged against them. And while that may be true in certain situations...it's not a universal truth. If anything, it's more often NOT the case. Had I been born black...I'd have had more access to college scholarships...I'd have been given at least some slight benefit in getting hired by companies trying to increase diversity, etc..

And it's just a bad road to go down to tell police departments they MUST hire 75% black cops (regardless of qualifications) because the community is black. Or that the Oscars must be given to blacks...or a certain % of movies with black actors must get nominated. Because the message that sends to non-blacks is that racism is perfectly okay...so long as it's racism AGAINST them and not BY them.

Some of our best recent movie award winners (Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jamie Foxx, Will Smith) were black. Spike Lee is one of the most acclaimed directors in Hollywood/New York. Samuel Jackson and Morgan Freeman are actors that most white people I know think are amazing and why whenever they need a "trusted voice" for some commercial narration...those guys get the gig. I mean, Oprah Winfrey was the most popular talk show host since Ed Sullivan.

I mean, sure, if they cast a movie like Malcolm X or Selma and decide to use white actors to play black historic figures...that would obviously make people go, "what?" But it works the other way as well. The revenant was a semi-true story about a white person in a white country. The movie about the financial collapse is white actors playing white historic figures. The biggest movie of the year was Star Wars and one of the biggest new character roles was played by a black man.

And would I WANT...if I were a black actor...to be nominated for an Oscar and beat out other white actors for that award when everyone in the audience is thinking, "Well...he only won because Spike Lee and Will Smith protested." Heck No!! It cheapens the award when you do that kind of nonsense. I don't care...I don't watch the stupid award shows...they bore the living poo out of me and they never nominate movies anyone actually likes. All that nonsense does is make me think, "Well...if I'm trying to decide what movie to see in the future...unless it looks REALLY good...I think I'll pass on Spike Lee and Will Smith movies." And that's SO IRONIC...that the entire effort to minimize racism...only makes people more racist. I never cared about that stuff before...a lot of times I wouldn't even know Spike Lee directed a movie until the credits. But, reverse racism breeds racism.

[Aslan]

But...back to politics...

I found last night's debate interesting...

On the one hand...it kinda showed that Donald Trump is all bluster and no substance.

On the other hand...it didn't change anything. Ben Carson is still half asleep. John Kasich is still goofy. Ted Cruz still can't get anything he stands for to be popular with most Americans. And Marco Rubio is still the candidate that isn't conservative enough for Ted Cruz followers but too conservative for everyone else.

But...most entertaining debate ever!! Rubio and Cruz exposed Donald: "The Emperor with no Clothes". And Donald continued to just berate everyone and anyone that disagrees with him...including insulting both the Hispanic telemundo network and the ultra-conservative Hugh Hewitt.

Absolute TV Gold!!!

[Hot_pocket]

As some would put it Asian Americans are seen as the "model minorities". They stay quite and work hard with no complaints. As far as racism, i wouldn't know. Iv'e played golf with many Asians and have a few Asian friends an haven't experience it much, but i do believe they can be just as racist as the next group. But you do have to wonder where they got the image that a certain skin tone is not to be trusted or hated more than any other, since that's how most racist decide how they will treat someone. As you stated, its because of the "cultural" difference mixed with availability of good schools that have helped them excelled overtime. It took them years to catch up and i'm not sure if they have fully caught up yet based on this link, Couldn't find the cnbc article. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-am...wealth-n314341
Poor teaching and lack of availability of decent schools is what helped maintain that "woe is me" mindset in the black an Hispanic communities. The justice system even seemed to be against black and hispanics because they ,still till this day, have the highest incarceration rate in the U.S. I do however acknowledge the lack of motivation to make it out the hood by most blacks and hispanics. They love to talk about it and not be about it, is how we say it. They have no ambition unless it's instilled at a young age, as my parents did with me. My father grew up in the projects and my mother in a single parent home. They taught me value and showed me places other than NY, which motivated me to excel. Without the knowledge of anything other than living hood rich and new sneaker releases, I agree some will not eve make it out. The inequality I speak of however is that of which affirmative action was created for. For those who were motivated to get to the top through education and hard work, but couldn't get there because a friend of the ceo's child is looking for a job to start their career,and they choose them over someone who is already experienced. Just because Asians hire inside their own community doesn't make it right, it's just the Asian community didn't hold those high position jobs and correct me if i'm wrong they still don't. Plus there is a-lot of illegal activity that went on inside the Asian community that contributed to their success, ironically sounds like politicians haha. The term "keep it in the family" best describes a majority of businesses in the past which helped maintain the income inequality gap. African Americans have had a rough time recovering for years but as i said systematically, it seems the odds were stacked against them and the numbers, not to say proves, but definitely creates the feeling and ideas that most have.

As for the oscars.....they can complain, but quietly. I sure as hell don't care you didn't get nominated for that million dollar movie role. Them being mad about not receiving nominations for rewards while telling other African Americans don't let certain things define you, is pretty backwards. Don't let the lack of nominations define you because you still are a millionaire at the end of the day and will continue to be nominated at other award shows.

[Aslan]

Poor teaching and lack of availability of decent schools is what helped maintain that "woe is me" mindset in the black an Hispanic communities.

One of my pet peeves about the "Right" (politically speaking) is their pushing of school choice and vouchers. As a parent, I love school choice. But as a fellow American...all school choice does is take the kids who have parents that care about their education...and consolidate them. That leaves behind those students who don't have parents that care and/or have parents that cannot bear the burden of driving their kids to school outside the neighborhood. And at the same time...each student that leaves siphons money away from the 'bad' school. So you end up with a type of accidental segregation.

And vouchers are nothing more than tax cuts for the rich. The average private school costs $11,000/year and the average voucher is $2500. Rich people can afford to make up the difference...many of them already are paying the $11,000. But poor folks cannot afford the lab fees and activity fees...much less the tuition difference.

When I grew up, there was no school of choice. You went to school where you lived. And if your school sucked...parents had a vested interest in making it better. Now, when a school sucks, parents pull their kids out of that school and move them somewhere else. It sounds fair...except to the kids that can't get out as easily.

The justice system even seemed to be against black and hispanics because they ,still till this day, have the highest incarceration rate in the U.S. I do however acknowledge the lack of motivation to make it out the hood by most blacks and hispanics. They love to talk about it and not be about it, is how we say it.

I realize there is a problem with certain races being sentenced differently...but at the end of the day...if you don't commit a crime...you don't have to worry about it. This isn't 1959 where a black kid can be arrested for talking to a white woman or using the wrong bathroom. I challenge President Obama or anyone else...go to a prison...walk down a random cell block...and see if you can find a guy that is 'innocent'. It's a 1 in 10 million shot.

What we need...is hope. We need a system where black and latino kids from bad neighborhoods feel like if they do keep their noses clean...there's a carrot on the end of that stick. Because, if people feel their only way 'out' is to be an athelete or become the next Scarface...That's the problem.

The inequality I speak of however is that of which affirmative action was created for. For those who were motivated to get to the top through education and hard work, but couldn't get there because a friend of the ceo's child is looking for a job to start their career,and they choose them over someone who is already experienced.

You and I are in agreement on this. I've seen too much racism first hand...and too much "entitlement" mentality to truly endorse ending affirmative action. A guy I work with hates that...because he works off the premise that everyone has the same 'shot'. And they don't. His kids grew up in a big house, went to private school, never missed a meal, and had parents afford to pay their way through college. That is SO entirely different than a kid, who is just as motivated, who starts out in the ghetto living with his single mom who is strung out on meth. Imagine a swimmer wearing ankle weights...I'm not saying that they can't make it across the pool...but it sure is harder than it is for the other swimmers.

Just because Asians hire inside their own community doesn't make it right, it's just the Asian community didn't hold those high position jobs and correct me if i'm wrong they still don't. Plus there is a-lot of illegal activity that went on inside the Asian community that contributed to their success, ironically sounds like politicians haha.

That's absolutely true. There are many, many 'massage parlors'...most owned by Asians...employing Asians. I used to work for a Chinese guy that used almost entirely Asian workers...all illegal that he paid to come over and work for next to nothing. Now, this isn't an "Asian" thing...it happens with all cultures...but when you're in that community...the people seem to not only 'accept' it...but they don't really see anything wrong with it. To them, laws are just hurdles they have to find a way to get around.

I'm very torn this elections season. I like Bernie...but I don't like how he's pandered to African Americans. I don't like Hillary and her racial stances nor do I like that she seems to think Obama has had a great 8 years (I think he had a good 3) and is going to just continue is policies.

All my choices on the Republican side have dropped out. The moderate, sensible Lindsay Graham. The reformist/pragmatist Rand Paul. I liked Chris Christie early on...but he spent so much time moving to the right...who knows what he stands for anymore. And that leaves Donald. I despise many things about Donald. He seems to know virtually nothing about any issue. If asked for specifics he's as lost as a goldfish in cat litter. He says stuff that Presidents shouldn't say. And worse than all of that...he insulted John McCain...a true American hero who spent more time in a POW camp than he could have...because he didn't think it was fair that he get to leave (because his father was a high ranking Naval officer) and his fellow comrades did not.

If Bernie drops out...it's gonna be yet another election cycle where I have to hold my nose and vote for either Hillary or Donald....trying to find the best of two bad options.

[Hot_pocket]

As we all know Obama didn't have a good 8 years because of congress. The fact that a republican was able to outright say, their job was to make him a 1 term president should have been a violation of the peoples rights. We have officials who don't and won't work with each other to help US because they don't like tom, dick or harry, which is ridiculous. He would have had better terms if we didn't just stop at electing him, but as they are stressing now, vote for the congressional leaders also. While all democrats won't agree with every policy the chance of them willing to work to compromise increases tenfold.

[Aslan]

Well, HP...the good/bad (depending on where each person stands) news is:

The Republican party is about to collapse.

In my opinion, the Republican party has been hijacked by the extreme right wing: Rush, Levin, Hewitt, Prager, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, etc... They've convinced 10-20% of their party that 90% of the country is ultra-conservative. And that's just not the case. So each election cycle, the Republican candidate fails and they claim it's because he's "not conservative enough" or "not a true conservative". When in fact...they are losing BECAUSE they are TOO conservative for the general electorate. Fox News thought they could pull the rest of the country over to the conservative side...and all they've done is push moderates out of the party.

So now you have a "silent majority" that is upset and voting for a very unlikeable moderate conservative...almost to 'spite' the right wing extremists.

And on the left...you're also seeds of this. The Democratic party has went from nominating a moderate Democrat (Bill Clinton) to having a very left-leaning Hillary against a Democratic Socialist. And BLM (blacklivesmatter) is serving as the wedge...that could seriously damage the party going forward. Reverse racism "plays well" during Democratic primaries and on ultra-liberal talks shows...but most people in this country are white...most Democrats are white...and like me, white people are kinda getting tired of defending ourselves as "not being racist" every time something happens in the black community. You (HP) may say that "I shouldn't feel that way"...but every time I turn on CNN or MSNBC there's a BLM operative explaining police brutality as if this is 1957...as if cops are just driving around gunning down innocent black kids on their way home from Sunday school. Yet in each scenario...that narrative ranges from completely false (M. Brown) to "not really accurate" (Garner, Trayvon, most others) to "sort of true, but not really". And if people raise their hand...and say, "excuse me sir, but didn't <insert victim>:
A) Have a criminal record?
B) Was armed?
C) Was resisting arrest?
D) Was high on narcotics?
E) Was a threat to the community?
F) Died due to negligence more so than being targeted due to race?

...all these questions paint me as a "racist". And even though I'm not...and most white Democrats (or Republicans) are not...the general white population is going to get tired of having to say "I'm not a racist, but..." It's going to cause a divide in the party...especially when these "prison reforms" start to lead to increased crime and murder rates...which is what we had BEFORE Bill Clinton signed into law 3 strike polices, etc... The Deomocratic party is trying to disarm law obiding people...telling them that they don't need guns to protect themselves because that is what the police are for...and then going to a rally and talking about letting felons out of jail and reducing the police presence because white police officers are making black people nervous and causing them to commit crimes.

Most people in this country are moderates...even though neither party likes moderates. And it's one thing to ask moderates to hold their nose and vote for the "best of two evils"...it's an entirely different thing to ask moderates to just accept an extreme right wing or extreme left wing candidate when that candidate is in favor of things that will harm them or could very well harm them.

There was a KKK rally in Anaheim recently...and the 3 members were attacked immediately upon exiting their vehicle. All I've heard from the media is how terrible the KKK is...which they are....which is probably why there were only 3 of them and nobody actually came to support them.

BUT...they have a right, a constitutional right...to peacefully protest....just like BLM does. You don't waive that right when most people think you're 'bad'. And to violently attack people...to set that precedent...I don't think it the precedent BLM should endorse...because only 13% of the country is black...and if being in the minority and spreading hateful rhetoric is suddenly deemed punishable by vigilante violence...BLM is going to have some problematic protests. And I predicted this...I predict that BLM will either disappear into the sunset like "Occupy Wall Street"...OR...we will see violent clashes between opposition groups.

Am I saying BLM = KKK in terms of hate groups. Absolutely not. The KKK is a domestic terrorist group with ties to white supremecists that are really nothing more than violent gangs of thugs. But if you look at the message of BLM...and how much hatred there is towards whites in this country...I'd be a little worried. MLK protested injustice peacefully. Malcolm X, Faraquan, the Black Panthers...those groups took another path...which is why we have an MLK national holiday...and those others are viewed negatively. BLM has been described more in line with the Black Panther mentality...that's a problem. To sum it up...it's one thing for a minority group to upset racists...it's another thing for a minority group to upset everyone that doesn't buy into their rhetoric.

It's too bad it costs so much to run for President...because a true moderate...who isn't as awful as Trump...this would be their election to win.

[fordman1]

Why does MLK get a holiday and Washington and Lincoln have to share one?
Why doesn't FDR have a holiday? He did so much for this country (all of the country).
Why doesn't Apple have to put back doors into all their phones?
What is everyone hiding?

[Aslan]

2016 Political Myths

Hillary Clinton
- She can't run because she is going to be indichted.
Actually, very little of what she is accused of doing was not done by previous Secretarys of State.

- She is the odds on favorite to win.
Actually, most Americans don't like her and don't trust her. She's leading because her party wants her to win and nobody stepped up to challenge the "Clinton Machine"...but she's the weakest candidate (in either party) since Al Gore.

- She is winning because she aligns herself with a popular Obama.
Obama was popular in the first term...but once re-elected has done things most Americans are not happy with...which is why he waited until after the re-election. Racial discrimination, Criminal Justice reform, Immigration Amnesty, Gun control, hostage trades, military failures, etc...

Bernie Sanders:
- He can't win.
The fact that he raises more money in a month, from small donors, than any other candidate would indicate otherwise.

- He's a Socialist.
He's a Democratic Socialist. And more accurately, a Democratic Communist. True Socialism is not actually a political ideology...because true Socialism doesn't require a government. It's a form of passive anarchy...which is why it never actually works. All it takes is one person in the commune to be the least bit greedy and Socialism collapses. The communist analogy is closer...because Bernie believes (like many EU countries) that the government redistributes wealth according to a progressive system...that's more of a communist mentality. Since our Constitution protects private parties...and it's nearly impossible to alter the Constitution...Bernie's system would be a hybrid of Democracy and Communism.

- He can't win because Clinton has the superdelegates.
The super delegates are not locked in. 8 years ago they also were behind Clinton...until Obama started winning...then they switched to Obama. If Bernie wins, the super delegates would have an almost impossible time to over-turn the will of the primary voters.

- Bernie can't win unless he gets the black vote
The black vote (or Hispanic vote for that matter) is only important in the primaries. In the general election, the black and Hispanic votes are usually more of a detriment than an advantage. The bottom line is, if the choice is between Obama/Clinton versus Bernie in the primaries...the black/Hispanic vote matters...if it's between Bernie and Cruz/Rubio/Trump...the minorities will vote Democrat and always have. Actually, Bernie being Jewish is more important in the general election with Florida being a Jewish swing state.

Other Liberal Myths:
- Most people want more gun control, less prisons, open borders, and criminal justice reform.
Those play well in the primaries but are liabilities in a general election. People want mental health (as they relate to guns) issues dealt with but not to have more gun rules for law abiding citizens. People want less crime, not less prisons. As Trump is showing, people are tired of illegal immigration being ignored and marginalized...especially by the left that refuses to even use the term "illegal". And people want a 'fair' legal system...but not a legal system that reverses the trend in reduced crime rates throughout the nation.

Ted Cruz:
- He's a "true conservative".
Actually, he's a 'fringe' conservative that represents roughly 12-21% of Republicans which is why he's loved my right wing radio and Fox News...but not very loved by most of his colleagues in Congress.

- He's a great politician.
If politicians are measured by how little they accomplish; he's the best politician in the history of the World. If politicians are measured by how well they can work with others in their party and across the aisle...he's the worst politician in the history of the World.

Donald Trump:
- He's a liberal.
By Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck's standard, everyone except Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are liberals...including John Boehner and Mitch McConnel who have two of the most conservative voting records in Congress.

- He can't win in the general election.
He would fare better than Ted Cruz in a general election. Maybe not as well as Rubio or Kasich. And, as stated above, he's facing the weakest Democratic candidate since Al Gore.

- He'll destroy the country.
Jimmy Carter was not a great President. George W. Bush was one of the worst Presidents in history. Neither destroyed the country. Almost...but our Constitution has checks and balances for a reason.

- People are voting for him because they are mad that conservative candidates aren't conservative enough.
Absolutely incorrect. It's the opposite...people are mad that their party...which 30 years ago had far more appeal to most Americans than the Democratic party did...is now being run by Tea Party fanatics who would rather shut down the government than concede an inch of ground to Democrats. They're tired of both parties ignoring immigration laws. They're tired of having the most powerful military in the World yet are unable to defeat a group of rebels in a desert. There IS anger...but it's not the anger right wing media is saying it is....which is leading to more anger.

[Tony]

Interesting events of recent with more and more of the GOP turning on their front running candidate Trump.

So if they decide not to support him, who do they run and does that doom them in the general election.

We should also address the fact that if the constitution was being followed both Cruz and Rubio do not meet the requirements to be president.
Remember the "Natural Born Citizen" clause, the writers did not include a definition, probably because they didn't think it was needed. The common law they had been living under and were accustomed to, English law , did have a specific definition, it said the person must be born in England or a territory of England to two citizens in order to be considered a natural born citizen.

Of course our court system could easily revise the understanding of this statement to whatever is handy at the time as they have done so many times before. That of course is their prerogative they feel as the ruling class is to adapt the law to whatever is handy a the time.
If they followed the intent of the constitution Cruz having been born in Canada to one American parent and Rubio born in the USA but to both non-citizens would not be eligible.

Of course if one of them should get elected we should assume the Clinton corruption machine will do everything possible to get them declared ineligible.

What a freaking mess, our political process much like our health care system are horribly broken and will need considerable help to return the country to the type of political system envisioned by the founders of the country.

If you've never been involved in local, state of federal government you might not have seen the level of corruption we are currently facing, it's horrendous.

[fordman1]

Didn't that weak Al Gore actually WIN! The constitution needs an overhaul. it was written before we had missiles, jets, a-bombs and 50 states. Every thing in it is outdated.