Is The GOP Race Over?

Finnforest wrote: Good idea.  (Not for kids that young obviously, but for middle and HS age.  Nice work by the propaganda artist choosing a 5 year old for the photo).  But yeah, teens can use some convenient after-school jobs in a safe environment, and school districts could save some much needed resources.  Teens would already be at the high school, meaning less travel than if they worked at the mall, meaning energy savings/less carbon output for all the "green" conscious.  I would have liked this option as opposed to fast food work back in my HS days.  There would still be an adult janitorial presence, well paid positions, for work the kids can't handle.  But certainly kids could use this experience on a volunteer basis to their advantage and to the districts.  Other cultures around the world have kids do more in this regard to keep their schools clean, and in some of these places they also happened to be kicking our ass academically, so it isn't like it has to be detrimental for teens to participate in after school jobs.  But of course, when ideas come forth that threaten unions, they must be attacked whether they have some valid points or not.  Can't rock those boats.  Slarti, this is the best you could come up with over the holiday?....must be a slow day in the leftie hate blogs.

MYTH #1: The congressional Super Committee failed because both sides refuse to compromise.

MYTH #2: Nobody knows what Occupy Wall Street is about.


 
MYTH #3: Occupiers should stop protesting and just get a job.

MYTH #4: Occupy Wall Street is intent on provoking violence, especially against banks and the police.
 
MYTH #5: The biggest crisis facing our country is out of control government spending.
 

Too bad we can't get the Democrats to list the facts.
The GOP has their own propaganda network - we don't.

Sure, CNN is only slamming us half the time,
but those FOX b*****ds hammer us 24/7/365-infinity.


The Left just has no will to win.

REALITY: The Super Committee failed because Republicans’ number one, non-negotiable priority is to protect millionaires and billionaires from paying even one more penny in taxes.1 Democrats repeatedly offered deep spending cuts (far deeper than most progressives would like) in exchange for raising taxes on the wealthy and closing corporate loopholes, only to be refused again and again.2 So even though the vast majority of Americans say they want to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits, and raise taxes on the rich and corporations,3 that won’t happen until Republicans put aside their extremist stance.

MYTH #2: Nobody knows what Occupy Wall Street is about.

REALITY: Occupy Wall Street may not have a formal list of demands, but anyone who’s been paying attention understands the core problems that occupiers are protesting–that corporations have far too much power in our political system, that Wall Street banks crashed our economy but were never held accountable, and that the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans–156 million people–combined.4

MYTH #3: Occupiers should stop protesting and just get a job.

REALITY: As anybody who’s looked for a job in the last few years knows, there just aren’t jobs out there. That’s a big part of why occupiers are protesting. In September, there were four times as many unemployed people as job openings.5 And for those who are lucky enough to find a job, median wages today are lower than they were a decade ago.6

MYTH #4: Occupy Wall Street is intent on provoking violence, especially against banks and the police.

REALITY: Occupations across the country have committed themselves to nonviolent protest, in the greatest traditions of protest movements. Some of their protests have been met with acts of police violence–tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets7–but in many cases, protesters have reminded police that the police are part of the 99%, too.8 And in the few cases when people have shown up at occupations and committed acts of vandalism, other protesters have even repaired their acts of vandalism.9

MYTH #5: The biggest crisis facing our country is out of control government spending.

REALITY: The two biggest drivers of our deficit–by far–are the economic crash and the Bush tax cuts.10 We have millions of people out of work, corporations hoarding cash, and factories sitting idle. If we put all those people back to work–rebuilding infrastructure, educating our children, and researching new technologies–it’ll shrink the deficit and make our economy stronger for the long haul. And we can easily afford it if we make sure the rich–who are taking home a larger percentage of income than any time since 191711–pay their fair share.

Sources:

1. “No, ‘both sides’ aren’t equally to blame for supercommittee failure,” The Washington Post, November 21, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/no-both-sides-arent-equally-to-blame-for-supercommittee-failure/2011/11/21/gIQAj31ehN_blog.html

2. “Wonkbook: In supercommittee, Dems moved right and Republicans moved righter,” The Washington Post, November 22, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/wonkbook-which-party-gave-more-ground-in-the-supercommittee/2011/11/22/gIQAVugkkN_blog.html?wprss=ezra-klein

3. “CNN Poll: What The Super Committee Produced Is…Exactly What We Don’t Want,” Talking Points Memo, November 21, 2011

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/cnn-poll-what-the-super-committee-produced-isexactly-what-we-dont-want.php

“Medicare, Social Security & The Deficit,” National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, September 2011

http://www.ncpssm.org/pdf/poll.pdf

4. “Michael Moore says 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined,” Politifact Wisconsin, March 10, 2011

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/mar/10/michael-moore/michael-moore-says-400-americans-have-more-wealth-/

5. “Fact: 4 job seekers per opening in U.S.,” CNN, September 12, 2011

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/12/fact-4-job-seekers-per-opening-in-u-s/

6. “Median household income,” Wikipedia, Accessed November 22, 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income#Median_household_income_and_the_US_economy

7. “Occupy movement: police reaction in pictures,” The Guardian, November 21, 2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/nov/22/occupy-movement-police-brutality-pictures

8. “Occupy Demonstrators Mark Two Months of Protests,” NPR, November 17, 2011

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/17/142462305/occupy-demonstrators-mark-two-months-of-protests

9. “Occupy Oakland protesters assist in cleanup efforts,” News 10 ABC, November 3, 2011

http://www.news10.net/news/article/161383/2/Occupy-Oakland-protesters-assist-in-cleanup-efforts-

10. “Economic Downturn and Bush Policies Continue to Drive Large Projected Deficits,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 10, 2011

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3490

11. “Income Inequality Is At An All-Time High: STUDY,” The Huffington Post, September 14, 2009