DarkStar Spouts Off

I've Been Letting This Marinade All Day

I've been letting this marinade all day and I still don't know what to think about it.

For decades, Democrats have suffered continuous and increasingly severe losses among white voters. But preparations by Democratic operatives for the 2012 election make it clear for the first time that the party will explicitly abandon the white working class.

All pretense of trying to win a majority of the white working class has been effectively jettisoned in favor of cementing a center-left coalition made up, on the one hand, of voters who have gotten ahead on the basis of educational attainment — professors, artists, designers, editors, human resources managers, lawyers, librarians, social workers, teachers and therapists — and a second, substantial constituency of lower-income voters who are disproportionately African-American and Hispanic.

...

The 2012 approach treats white voters without college degrees as an unattainable cohort. The Democratic goal with these voters is to keep Republican winning margins to manageable levels, in the 12 to 15 percent range, as opposed to the 30-point margin of 2010 — a level at which even solid wins among minorities and other constituencies are not enough to produce Democratic victories.

How in the world do you consider the working class white vote no longer attainable when, in the last election, you tried, at least, not to get below a floor portion of the vote? You go from a goal to just saying, "ignore white voters"?

The last time I checked, those who don't have a college degree are the majority of the population.

*BLINK*

I think this says more than what is quoted in this article. I think this says the Obama administration hasn't done squat for that demographic so they are just saying, "Forget them because we screwed them, anyway."

The poor, as a group, vote in much lower levels than other demographics and I can't see how the group they are going for is going to get them the vote.

I don't get it.

 

ESPN Sucks

If I owned or ran a business that advertised on ESPN, because they
didn't report on the sexual allegations story out of Syracuse, I'd
remove my ads from the channel for life. ESPN claimed they needed
"corroboration." But when you have the wife of the person being
accused ACKNOWLEDGING the sexual abuse, what more corroboration do you
need?

Which Is More Important?

Two stories, actually, three but the third is a different post, have
me DEEPLY troubled.

The first, not because of order of importance, is this story about an
over weight boy being removed from his home and placed in foster care
for the "safety" of the kid. http://bit.ly/vrTck9


Authorities in Ohio, last week, determined that an overweight
(unnamed) 8-year-old boy was too fat, so they took him away from his
parents in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Officials told the parents that
they were not controlling his weight well enough.

The boy was reportedly over 200 pounds, well into the severely obese
category, according to Cleveland Plain Dealer. That extra weight puts
people at risk for diabetes, hypertension and other weight-related
disorders, doctors say.

The state’s Department of Children and Family Services insisted that
the third grader was being neglected, and that his mother was not
following doctors’ orders to control his weight.

The family’s lawyer disagrees, claiming that the state is overstepped
its role in taking the boy, and that his health risk factors do not
pose an imminent threat.


For an 8 year old boy, 200 pounds is in a dangerous zone. And from
what I hear on the radio, now, the government worked with the mother
for a year to do something about the boy's weight. My general concern
is, what is considered to be "too fat" and, given how government
starts at something "reasonable" and then quickly goes into the
unreasonable area, doesn't this set a dangerous precedent?

Suppose a child doesn't have access to the Internet at home? Will the
government then take kids from their parents because someone deems the
Internet to be "essential" to "healthy living"?

The second is something that is at least as frightening. Senate bill,
S. 1253, the National Defense Authorization Act, drafted by Sens. Carl
Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., that would allow the arrest,
detainment, and lack of a trial, for a U.S. citizen, on U.S. soil, if
they are suspected of having "a relationship" with a
terrorist organization.

A U.S. citizen, being stripped of trial rights? And, as equally
important, the military being given authority to perform military
actions on U.S. soil without emergency action by Congress and the
President?

Hello?

I Agree With Ron Paul

I agree with Ron Paul. You don't give up liberty for security. Anyone
who believes differently, in my opinion, is a fascist. And since most
public conservatives seem to have no problem with police abuse when it
comes to "inner cities," ...

Super Committee Sham

The debt super committee is a sham. Based on the make up of the
committee, it was predestined to "fail," which means automatic cuts.
Of course, if it had come up with a "solution", lawsuits would have
been filed saying the outcome of the committee is unconstitutional,
which I think would succeed. The American public is being played for
chumps by the Democrats and Republicans. Meanwhile, our government
experiment continues to be destroyed by the parasites that make laws
that benefit their benefactors.

Keeping It Plain on Occupy Wall Street #OWS

Plain and simple, they messed up by having "occupations" instead of one day protests, not that I am a fan of them. But when you get a group of people, "camping out," and the objective appears to make a noise and be noticed, there is going to be trouble when the people stay too long.

Were you upset at the amount of student loans you have? Well, blame yourself and/or your parents. You determined it was worthwhile to go into the debt you did for an education. If you want to get mad, get mad at Washington, because in the last bill to "fix" credit issues, congress made it so when a bankruptcy occurs, education loan debt can't be discharged.

And if you are upset at Wall Street, make sure you are also upset at politicians in D.C. because they worked hand in hand in their unholy alliance.

And, finally, you learned a good lesson this week. Early on, the Democrat politicians seemed to support you. But you overstayed your welcome, and now, the Democrats in power in the cities you camped out, are using the government to "suppress" you. The same government from which you are seeking REDRESS, is the same government willing to "SUPPRESS."

Hard Question

How many of the boys allegedly molested by Sandusky, had active
fathers in their lives?

Baltimore Criminal Politics

I think what I'm going to relate is a crime. Really, it's just "normal
politics" but I can't see this as nothing less than a crime.

The City of Baltimore is spending millions of dollars to settle police
brutality cases: http://bsun.md/vGIM5U


At a time when City Hall is girding for another round of budget
battles, spending on lawsuits filed against the Police Department is
coming under increased scrutiny.

The city's budget office revealed at an investigative hearing Tuesday
that it has spent $10.4 million over the past three years — an average
of about $3.5 million annually — defending the Baltimore Police
Department against lawsuits.

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke called for the hearing over what she
called an "especially troubling" trend of the Police Department paying
out millions over brutality claims while other parts of the budget,
such as recreation centers, suffer cuts.

"Not only do they siphon off scarce funds that could have been used to
address other pressing problems in Baltimore, but each judgment also
can represent an instance where citizens were avoidably harmed by the
actions of officers whose job it is to protect them," Clarke stated in
a resolution that called for the hearing.


This is a city that is in a dire situation, financially. Black people
complained about the "broken windows" policing policy put into place
by then Martin O'Malley. "Everyone else" started complaining about the
policy after a young white couple was harassed by police after an
Orioles baseball game. That is when the non-Black media and
commentators started speaking out. Meanwhile, the Black media in the
city had been complaining FOR YEARS about the out of control police
department.

Now the financial details of these abuses are coming out and the city
has decided to hold out for a long as they can to get lower
settlements. That's a tactic that I think is wrong, especially when
police are clearly in violation of the law and regulations they work
under, but so be it. But with that savings, is the city paying
out lead paint settlements JUDGEMENTS
in which the court ruled in favor of victims?

No.

Instead, they are paying millions to beautify city owned parking lots.

I'm going to state this again: Chances are good that, one day, the
people abused by police officers are going to be sitting on a jury.
When they then vote for the innocence of an individual because they
view police in a skeptical manner, it will be the police and city
government who are to blame, not the jury members.

I Object

I object to having stores open on Thanksgiving and Christmas. These
holidays are firmly established as strong family holidays. Let the
workers be with their family.

http://cbsloc.al/szgMPO

As more retailers try to turn Thanksgiving Thursday into Black Friday
— some employees are fighting back.

More than 80,000 people signed an online petition on change.org
asking retail giant Target to reverse its decision to open its doors
on Thanksgiving Day — and allow workers to spend the holiday with
family and friends.

There are hundreds of comments on the petition supporting retail
workers’ rights to Thanksgiving Day off, including this one from
Caroline Hemenway: “This is absurd! Corporations are treating their
workforce like serfs and fomenting a toxic consumer culture. Pure,
unadulterated greed.”


From my point of view, let the workers spend time with their families.
You will still make your sale, regardless. If anything, beef up your
websites.

Penn State, The Only Thing To Do

Penn State needs to cancel the season and release the players so they
can go to other schools. They then need to suspend the program until
investigations are over and then start from scratch.

Congress: Straight Up Gangstah

I'm not really a fan of the web site, but read this and remember when congress-critters defend the 1%, they are defending themselves. (Not that I have anything against the 1%). Also, read about how Congress is exempt from insider trading.
http://lewrockwell.com/rep2/to-get-rich-get-elected.html

#1 The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress increased by 25 percent between 2008 and 2010.

#2 The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress is now slightly over 2 billion dollars. That is "billion" with a "b".

...

#5 The net worth of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi increased by 62 percent from 2009 to 2010. In 2009 it was reported that she had a net worth of 21.7 million dollars, and in 2010 it was reported that she had a net worth of 35.2 million dollars.

#6 The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, saw his wealth grow by 29 percent from 2009 to 2010. He is now worth approximately 9.8 million dollars.

...

#9 Insider trading is perfectly legal for members of the U.S. Congress – and they refuse to pass a law that would change that.

...

Well, there are lots of ways they are raking in the cash, but one especially alarming thing that goes on is that members of Congress often make investments in companies that will go up significantly if legislation that is being considered by Congress "goes the right way".

This is called a "conflict of interest", but it happens constantly in Congress and nobody seems to get into any trouble for it.

Straight. Up. Gangstah.

Good Job 10 - 13%

I don't live in Baltimore City but I have family who does live there and I have a few friends who live there. So, I keep a track of what is happening in that city and it really is sad and maddening.

On Tuesday, Nov 8, 2011, there was a city election. Only 10 - 13% of the people eligible to vote turned out. On that day, those who turned out, overwhelmingly selected for mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who has been the interim mayor since Shelia Dixon resigned in disgrace. On Thursday, Nov 10, 2011, interim-mayor-elect Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, announced she would propose a raise the city bottle tax. This same tax, when enacted, was listed as the reason the Pepsi Bottling Company, closed the Baltimore bottling facility.

(Behind a financial firewall)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ci-school-bottle-tax-20111110,0,2920358.story

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake plans to propose Monday a plan to boost yearly funding for public school construction by $23 million, in part by increasing the city's new bottle tax to 5 cents,
according to administration sources.

The plan would raise to $40 million Baltimore's annual contribution to school renovation and construction, enabling the city to sell bonds to help pay for the estimated $2.8 billion in improvements needed for the aging school buildings.

All proposed tax increases are claimed to be necessary for school construction, yet it doesn't happen.

You get what you voted for, and didn't vote for, Baltimore.

Heavy D

Back when Janet Jackson was white hot, I attended one of her concerts
at the old Capital Centre. The place was sold out and people were
anticipating a great performance by Miss Jackson.

The lights went down and on screen appears a video. When a big, light
skinned, Black man, dressed in a yellow zoot suit came on screen, the
packed arena went bananas. Heavy D came on the screen for his part in
the "Alright" video.

I think something that represents the feel good and fun type of hip
hop that Heavy D represents can be summed up with this. A Tribe Called
Quest was on a rap with Heavy D. Either Phife or Q-Tip had a line that
said his mother was excited that they would be on a rap with Heavy D
because she liked Heavy D.

RIP.

Great Football Weekend!

What A GREAT football weekend!!!!
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute came back in the last seconds and beat
Baltimore City College! Both are high schools, despite the name, and
one is my high school. Guess which one?

And the Baltimore Ravens came back in the last minute and some odd
minutes and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Teams #weballhard in full operation!

Don't Fall For the BoA Okie Doke

Don't fall for the Bank of America okie doke.

Yes, they backtracked on the $5 debit card fee, but I bet they raised their fees on checking and/or savings accounts.