"Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo,

flying across in front of a beautiful sunset?  And he's carrying a

beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful

painting with his feet.  And also, you're drunk."~ Jack Handy 

Some of the worst things in my life never happened.
   — Mark Twain

romeotuma wrote:
I'll leave the relevance of my post to the Chomsky quote as an exercise to the reader.

Yes, Reagan broke the ATC union. That doesn't change anything about his background.

I might read Chomsky's rant about the Magna Carta...if he weren't a little late in his outrage. It's an important historical document but only three of its 37 original articles are still legally in force in the UK. It hasn't had any legal relevance in the US since the revolution—kind of like complaining about violations of the Code of Hammurabi.

 Lazy8 wrote: 

Your comments don't have anything to do with the Chomsky quote... Chomsky is describing the current presidential election; you are talking about Ronald Reagan... and what you said about Reagan was wrong— he had a college degree, and on Aug. 3, 1981, more than 12,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike and Reagan fired them and broke the union... that 1981 Strike Leaves Legacy for American Workers...  I'll post more facts about Reagan's anti-union history in the appropriate forum...

and I guess you don't have a clue what Chomsky has recently said about current liberty violations of the very Magna Carta— you just want to blindly dismiss his credibility by using the debate fallacy called Argumentum Ad-hominem... (This is a common logical fallacy. Argumentum ad hominem basically means that the argument becomes directed towards the individual as opposed towards the crucial issues being discussed...)

romeotuma wrote:
You're correct, he did graduate from that elite institution, a feat almost a third of all Americans achieve*. In all other respects Reagan fits the description: his family was poor and he was president of the Screen Actors Guild (that's an actual union—you can look it up!).

Reagan's presidency isn't exactly ancient history; the fact that Harry Truman was probably the last American president who never graduated from college isn't something to be ashamed of, it's a reflection of the wealth of our society. College isn't an unattainable goal here even for poor people. In Lula da Silva's Brazil it still mostly is. Unlike Dr. Chomsky I see that as progress on our part (and a lack of progress on Brazil's) rather than a sign of deep class repression, but hey—he's the intellectual.

As for Chomsky's crocodile tears over the US constitution...I'd have a little more time for that if he hadn't spent so much of his political career supporting totalitarian regimes and structures.

*Among younger people the rate is more like 40%—way ahead of Brazil's 10%. Well over half of us have some college, even if we didn't get a bachelor's degree.

 Lazy8 wrote: 

Huh?  The 40th president of the USA was educated at Eureka College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Sociology...  the 40th president was a union buster—  just ask any air-traffic controller...

and anyway, Chomsky is speaking in the present tense—  he is not describing American history in the past...  he is talking about what is happening RIGHT NOW...  I suggest you peruse the recent articles I have posted in the Chomsky forum, where Chomsky describes how not only the U.S. Constitution is under assault, but also the very Magna Carta...

romeotuma wrote:
Peasant background, union organizer, never went to school...who does that sound like?

I acknowledge that Noam Chomsky seems to have forgotten the 40th president of the United States.

...or the ten earlier presidents with similar backgrounds, but hey. He can't be expected to know details like that, he's an intellectual.

 romeotuma wrote: 

"Keep pissing me off with all your negativity and I'll show you how far my size 11 shoe will fit up your A$$!"

Me 

 Proclivities wrote: 

Or "May you live in interesting times."

 Proclivities wrote: 
So true, thanks.

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”
— Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Please please please no more moist dreams of confidence fairies from such Disneylanders!!!

"Everything that helps to increase the confidence of households, firms and investors in the sustainability of public finances is good for the consolidation of growth and job creation. I firmly believe that in the current circumstances confidence-inspiring policies will foster and not hamper economic recovery, because confidence is the key factor today."

—Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, interviewed in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, June 2010

 

 

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 
There was a time in my youth a statement like that would have motivated me to actually come up with ft.lb./sec. estimates for both.  I guess there really are some good things about being an olde phart. 

It only took 50 million years to raise the entire bulk of the Himalayas so one hour should be plenty of time for you to lift your sorry arse off the sofa.

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
— Truman Capote

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

—HST

Here’s the rundown of members of Congress seeking to break Norquist’s hold on them:

“I’m not saying I’m even committed now to a tax increase, but I think anybody who doesn’t indicate their willingness to look at revenues — expiration of tax loopholes, tax credits, increase in contribution to Social Security, which is a tax, and otherwise — would be disingenuous and irresponsible.“ -Rep. Tim Johnson (R-IL)

“Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN) said signing it was a mistake. ‘I have learned, never sign a damn pledge.’”

“Grover Norquist has no credibility, so I don’t respond to him. He doesn’t deserve being responded to.” Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

“Have we really reached the point where one person’s demand for ideological purity is paralyzing Congress to the point that even a discussion of tax reform is viewed as breaking a no-tax pledge?” -Rep. Frank Wolff (R-VA)

“I informed the organization I don’t consider (the earlier pledge) binding. I don’t care to be associated with it. It’s too constraining.” -Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)

“Grover, you’re stupid, forget it, we’re going to vote the right way.” -Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

“Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) noted Thursday that he signed the pledge just once, when he first ran for Congress in 1998. Since then, he’s declined…. ‘The only pledge I take anymore is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. That’s the pledge every member takes when he gets sworn in and that’s the pledge you ougtta be concerned about.’”

“Grover Norquist is not in my district. I represent the state of Wyoming and its people.” -Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)

“I’m no longer signing any pledges to anybody. I’m not going to sign it next year.” -Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI)

“My driver’s license expires, the milk in my refrigerator expires, the only thing that doesn’t expire is Grover Norquist’s pledge – and that’s nuts.” -Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH)

“I’m married to Camille Andrews, not Grover Norquist. I promised her to be faithful until death do us part, and I mean it. I did not promise him to oppose tax increases until death do us part.” -Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ)

“We shouldn’t be bound by something that could be interpreted different ways if what we’re trying to accomplish is broad-based tax reform.” -Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

 Beaker wrote: 
I'm happy with my "perversions" as they are. Good day, Sir!