Another day, another psychopath

I've never been a fan of electing successful businessmen to political office--frankly, it's always seemed to me to be like hiring an auto mechanic to be the head of neurosurgery.  Yes, he's good with his hands, but car repair and brain surgery are not one and the same.

Recent studies showing a link between psychopathy and corporate CEOs make me even less supportive.

Seems today there was an interesting development in the court proceeding brought forth by Detroit city pensioners against the desires of Rick Snyder and his bumbling band of toadies to put the city of Detroit into bankruptcy and thus freely take away their pensions.  Andy Dillon, the state treasurer, while believing that the course of bankruptcy was the correct one, felt that Snyder and his bumbling band had not sufficiently made the case that they had tried to bargain in good faith with the pensioners and, in fact, that the bankruptcy move looked "premeditated."  Dillon also noted that the deal that emergency manager Kevyn Orr offered to the retirees was so bad that no lawyer could possibly have accepted it.

Who would ever have believed?  A fucking republican former CEO governor trying an end run to fuck over retirees so that the maggots of Wall Street can benefit.

I've always thought the bankruptcy move was a precursor to destroying Detroit and its largely African-American population, thus giving republicans a better chance at winning non-gerrymandered elections (republicans have been stomped in Presidential elections since 1992, and Sens. Levin and Stabenow have been each re-elected by crushing majorities since the early 2000s)--I guess making elderly people who devoted their careers to the city starve is just icing on the cake.

Peace,
emaycee

Scenes from an American trainwreck, Coda

And the beat goes on:

• Republicans across the country, from state legislatures to the U.S. Congress, are happy to help turn the rest of America into Detroit--they won't fund public education, they won't fund improvements in our infrastructure, and they won't lift a finger to combat our epidemic of gun violence.
• The republican party's assaults on ordinary Americans have gone beyond the pale--cutting funding for SNAP benefits in an historic economic downturn, spending $50 million trying to repeal Obamacare 40 different times, refusing to pass sensible immigration reforms, restricting voting rights with no basis in facts, restricting a woman's right to choose, and obstructing judicial and cabinet nominations in unprecedented numbers.  They do not have the best interests of anybody other than the 20% of Americans who make up their base, i.e., the Antoinettes.
• Looking for a job?  Don't read this piece--republican attacks on the working men and women of our country have resulted in record corporate profits while wages are falling, the middle class is getting smaller, McJobs are becoming the standard, unemployment is twice what we read, the cost of college is at historic highs, and income inequality is rivaling that of the Roman Empire.  Thanks, Donnie Downer!

And in the end, from the double standards on CEO performance to the Wal-Martization of our workforce, from the Senate's catering to the wealthy to the sequester's effects literally putting our lives at risk, from the republicans' war on ordinary Americans to the futility of our job market, it's all about fairness.

Whether it is economic justice, equality before our laws, or equal access to healthcare, any time a majority of a republic's citizens do not feel they are being treated fairly that republic--and especially a democratic republic--is in serious trouble.

It is my sincerest hope that the trend lines showing America's young people leaning to the left in massive numbers will be enough to eventually offset the inequality that the Reagan Devolution has brought us over the last thirty some odd years.

If not, it's going to make the French Revolution look quaint--the French, after all, were never promised an equal chance for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Peace,
emaycee

Gettin' fucked over by the rich

"Everybody know the poor are always being fucked over by the rich.  Always have, always will."--King, Platoon

From The Daily Kos, on Detroit's bankruptcy woes:

"Wade P. Johnston got his bachelor’s degree in finance in 2012 from Michigan State University and is part of the team the consultants, Conway MacKenzie, have working to turn around city operations. The Birmingham firm billed the city $288,671 for the work of 11 staffers over two weeks in July, including more than $26,000 for Johnston alone.

The records give a rare look at the costs being picked up by the city and state, a breakdown city council members and other critics have argued has been hidden amid Detroit’s historic bankruptcy. Conway MacKenzie’s hourly rates range from $495 for the group’s senior managing director to $275 for Johnston, who started with the company in June as a senior associate, according to records. [...]

Conway’s rates are not the most expensive. The city’s bankruptcy firm Jones Day has charged up to $1,000 an hour, according to a July story in the Am Law Daily website."


Amazing, isn't it, how Rick Snyder and his team of financial boobs can find the money to pay the above figures, but you know, for those pensioners, well $32,000 a year is a just a king's ransom.

Interesting, too, how those republicans in our state legislature just go on and on about government spending and how overblown it is, but make no mention of the state paying some jackass a year out of college $13,000 a week ( but, oh, how overpaid those autoworkers are who make $60,000 a year).

They're not even trying to hide it anymore--the republican party is the party of the moneyed elite and frankly, as far as the other 90% of us are concerned, well hell, if we can't afford bread, we can just eat cake.

Peace,
emaycee

Horseshit town, USA

Any notion that the bankruptcy filing for the city of Detroit was anything more than an assault on unions and another in a long line of republican attempts to make the poor suffer even more at the expense of the rich was put to rest this week when it was announced that the city of Detroit, the completely broke, can't turn on the street lights city of Detroit, has plans to build a new half-billion dollar stadium for the Detroit Red Wings.

I know Detroit is Hockeytown, USA, but to use an example idiot republicans are wont to use, if my family was filing for bankruptcy, season tickets for the upcoming Red Wings season wouldn't and shouldn't be a priority, and getting emergency manager Kevyn Orr to approve this utter boondoggle isn't either.

The bankruptcy of Detroit is just another attempt by republicans further Michigan's descent into the state of shitholes like Alabama or Mississippi.  Democrats need to fight them every step of the way or begin prepping our citizens to say, "Y'all want moldy fries with that?"

Peace,
emaycee

Hallelujah, I love her so

The bankruptcy of the city of Detroit took another turn today as Justice Rosemarie Aquilina ruled the bankruptcy unconstitutional under Michigan law.  It leaves everything up in the air, as some are not sure Justice Aquilina has the standing to rule on the case, and also because Gov. Gutless, Rick Snyder, may refuse to comply with the ruling. 

After my rant from yesterday, I should note that there are those on the progressive side who believe a bankruptcy filing may be better than an unfettered and undemocratic emergency manager calling the shots, as the judge does not have the power to removed elected officials or tear up union contracts.

Time will tell, but as more details are released (Snyder has actually been preparing for the bankruptcy for some time, Snyder is doing is usual whining about unions, Snyder is promising his actions will be better for creating jobs, Kevyn Orr's former law firm is handling the bankruptcy for the city, Andy Dillon, the State Treasurer, who is a LieberDem is leading the charge) the doubts I voiced yesterday about Snyder's character (he's a fucking liar, typical dishonest businessman who'd cut his mother's heart out to make another nickel) and actions have only grown stronger.

One of my favorite Michigan politicians, Gretchen Whitmer(State Senate Minority Leader), today sent out an e-mail that said that all Michiganders should stick together and that we were all Detroiters, now.  No, Sen. Whitmer, all Michiganders are not Detroiters, now--only we Liberals are, because we're the only ones who give a damn about the people who actually live there.

Ally with the whining Governor Gutless and his cronies at your own risk.

Peace,
emaycee

Chapter 666

The city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy today, which was the plan of Michigan's gutless governor, Rick Snyder,and his republican cronies from the start.   All the black haters who are blaming Democrats because they've been in charge of the city can save your breath.  This is republican racism at its finest--hire an Uncle Tom (Kevyn Orr) to make it look like they were letting one of their own look after the city (talk about black on black crime--fortunately, I believe there is a certain circle of hell for people like Mr. Orr),make plans that will all but guarantee the city will go into bankruptcy, and then lie (Mr. Snyder did an end around on the pension fund lawyers) to complete the republican playbook of screwing the working man at the expense of the big banks.

Make no mistake--Detroit has a huge black population, strongly favors Democrats, and this is republicans way of destroying Detroit's influence on state elections.  This is not about saving the city of Detroit--it's about destroying it.  And if they can fuck over black Americans and Labor Unions in the process, all the better.

It's moral bankruptcy from a party that will soon cease to have any relevance, and the sooner the better.

On the bright side, it's made our rallying cry for the 2014 Governor's election one that will resonate with voters of all stripes (other than idiot republicans):  "Anybody--and we do mean anybody--but Snyder!"

Peace,
emaycee

Detroit Crock City

Any impression that Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder is anything more than a weak corporate hack have been completely put to rest with the actions of Kevyn Orr, the Emergency Manager he appointed to oversee the city of Detroit's fiscal mess.  Seems Orr, after threatening to sell off the Detroit Institute of the Arts artworks (the last thing that needs to be done is give people one less reason to go to Detroit--sports teams and gambling are about the only reason most folks go to the city as is), is threatening to take the city into bankruptcy.

And why would he do that?  Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that it will allow him to do an end around on the city's public unions, who otherwise would have to approve the cuts to their pensions (which were promised and earned), and at the same time, pay back the financial firms that stand to lose billions because, basically, they made a bad bet on the city turning itself around, now would it?

How much longer do these people think we're going to watch our government fork over our money to banks and financial firms while they take even more of ours away before all hell breaks loose?

Detroit, with its proud history of standing up for the working rights of America's poor and middle class, would be a fine place to start unleashing the hounds of hell.

Peace,
emaycee