[worry]

"Small government" -- like states' rights -- is a euphemism. There's no such thing as 'small government' in a country as large and powerful as the United States. There's diffuse diversified power (which is the desire of the American left, broadly speaking) vs concentrated power/oligarchy (the right). All small government means is dismantling the social safety net, prioritizing capital over labor at all costs, privatizing as much as possible while eliminating regulation and oversight, and punishing the ever-expanding roster of losers under such a regime. It certainly doesn't mean less intrusion, violence, or oppression from the powers that be.

[Gorefest]

Yeah, small government in a nutshell is political code for "Let us look after the taxes, security, infrastructure and international relations, and other than that we'll leave you all to fend for yourselves. Feel empowered!"

It is very similar to the UK conservative idea of the 'Big Society', where instead of organising and managing things on a national level (healthcare, transport, education, etc), the national government turns off the funding tap to local councils, forces through crippling cuts and then tells the local communities and councils they are free to prioritise their spend and raise their own money as they deem prudent to make ends meet.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 09 December 2016 - 11:31 AM

[amphibian]

The "states' rights" movement stems from before the American Civil War - in which the Southern states wanted to exercise their "right" to keep slaves. It derives from that and it's a hidden/not hidden codeword for racist and exclusionist policies being put into effect to keep rich people rich. Which is oddly supported by poorer whites and always has been.

[amphibian]

 Apt, on 09 December 2016 - 09:47 AM, said:

Like I mentioned above I don't know a lot about Linda McMahon but I have been doing a lot of studying on American Pro Wrestling the past year, and from what I've read and heard, I don't think this criticism is fair.

You could argue that the WWF bought out and ate up a lot of small business but this was an act of necessity that many have argued saved Wrestling in America. It took wrestling from being a small time business like travelling circuses that made most of its money on trying to find big venues and selling merchandise. It was a time when everybody was under paid and a lot of people got hustled.

The McMahons took Vince Seniors North Eastern territory and made it into a national territory. Anybody who speaks of Vince McMahons choices, despite the consequences, agree that his vision and his determination was unparalleled. In terms of business, this was a small business man who made his business big business. Vince McMahon is one of the most fascinating people I have ever heard about. He's a larger than life cartoon character of a business man. Alternatively I've seldom heard much about Linda McMahon's involvement but that also makes sense if she's mainly handling the upper operation of the business.

You are missing something very important in your analysis - context and awareness of television (specifically the rise of PPV and the deregulation of the tv stations and networks in the 1980s).

Pro wrestling was regional before the 1980s because TV was mostly regional prior to the 1980s. One entity could only own 7 stations and the big three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) would rarely, if ever, touch pro wrestling with a 10 foot pole. There were fourth networks like DuMont (and Fox, which was built upon the ruins of DuMont in either the late 1970s or early 1980s) that aired taped matches in what they called "national" television, but wasn't really national like today. As a result, local stars who could pull in bigger gates were prioritized as wrestlers from the 1800s on to the 1970s. They were also screwed royally by an endless series of promoters and the fact that Vince and Linda McMahon treat the wrestlers better than those promoters still doesn't make the treatment actually good. There's a famous quote by Malcolm X about a knife nine inches into a person's back and later being pulled out three not being actual progress.

The 1980s are an interesting time because that's when Trump's real estate moves of the 1970s began to pay off and Vince and Linda's moves in the 1970s started to cohere into an actually successful and larger business. The consolidation of TV stations into larger and larger groups, the advertising networks of Ted Turner, the deregulation of cable networks by Reagan's administration, and many more things combined to make a perfect storm for real estate and for tv people to reap huge gobs of money in easier fashion than basically anyone else in human history. This was the big money grab in the United States and for those who were ok to well positioned due to family money (Trump and the McMahons), they grabbed as much as they could. And that changed us as a country for the worse.

So PPV/closed circuit was actually a dud business other than boxing fights. Most PPV/closed circuit companies went out of business until the 1970s and 1980s. Vince McMahon was actually one of the driving forces behind Ali vs Inoki, which was a huge deal for PPV in 1976.

PPV also became the mechanism by which live pro wrestling was able to bootstrap itself to national prominence and the bigger money levels - and the McMahons took advantage of this (not in a perfect way, but good enough to get there). The McMahons also proceeded to fuck up multiple times regarding business practices and to succeed several times too. They accurately predicted that more people would want the mic skills and the dopey story lines over actual in-ring wrestling action, while WCW (owned by Ted Turner and run by a collection of idiots and nearly-there people) couldn't get better storylines to complement their better in-ring action. The wiki article on the 1980s pro wrestling boom is actually kinda good. Check that out.

My point is that the McMahons could only have succeeded when they did. Their embracing of the PPV business model way, way faster than their competitors and their over the top storylines of the 1980s and 1990s clinched control. Small businesses don't operate like they did in the 1980s and 1990s anymore. The McMahons nearly crashed and burned their company in the digital age. They correctly navigated the big money grab of the 1980s and the Reaganite commercial interests boosting. They're rich now because of that. It's also shaped how they view the world because they believe that other people can do what they do and as easily (which... they can't because that perfect storm has long passed and those at the top are even better at squeezing out everyone else now).

Linda is a skilled person in terms of finding other revenue sources to double dip from and to screw the talent out of their money, but she's not someone who will help small businesses get bigger or even be created in today's world. What's more striking about the way the McMahons came up is that it's similar to Trump and the McMahons have long had a good relationship with him (donating 7 million to his campaign in the past year). That's what Trump is after more than anything else - similar people. Not skilled people at actually doing the job, just similar people, and rewarding his donors.

Quote

WWF and WCW made wrestling a legitimate big thing and money followed with it. Yeah, wrestler's weren't paid like NBA super stars but they were well paid. People wen't from being paid 10-20-50 dollars a night to 500 or more depending upon their ability to draw houses.

The WWE of today is a pampered existence to what it used to be. Yeah they travel a lot now, even globally, but they typically only wrestle 4 times a week, instead of once a day and twice on a sunday.

From what I hear, the Wellness policy they implemented is actually being enforced, with wrestlers being suspended and fined for testing positive on drugs or PEDs. Yeah, there's clearly still some talent that are allowed to stay on juice but most of the roster now look nothing like the bodybuilders of the 90s. Things like concussions and injuries are taken much more seriously and you hear about wrestlers being given time off for over a year to heal.

All that aside, I wonder what the qualifications for sitting on a board for Small business has to be? If you are a small business man do you have time to get into politics? Do you have the perspective and experience to help others? In Denmark I'd have recommended a Union leader to such a post but Unions don't seem terribly popular in America. I'd love to sit in on a cabinet meeting between some die hard union leaders and the Walmart family.

Please refer to the Malcom X quote about the knife regarding treatment and payment of the wrestlers.

The breaking and dismantling of the unions from the 1960s onwards has been a bad thing for the country. It's given the fat cats at the top too much power and greatly increased the ability of shareholders to buy and then rip apart companies, spinning off divisions, and sending jobs out all over the world for exploitative purposes rather than actual supply chain and production reasons.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 09 December 2016 - 09:16 PM

[worry]

Speaking of showbiz:



Anyway, it's looking like Russia really did pick the president (slightly tongue in cheek): http://www.nytimes.c...ction-hack.html

Russia Hacked Republican Committee but Kept Data, U.S. Concludes
Not that it's gonna change anything. And not that Dem campaign incompetence didn't do half the work. And not that the U.S. hasn't done this to other countries plenty. But it's still pretty scary.

[Malankazooie]

Been sitting on this one for awile.

So all these crybabies always threaten to move to Canada if the presidential election doesn't go their way (something that has been threatened for as long as I have been eligible to vote). Bill Burr debunks the fantasy that things will be better on "the other side of the invisible line".

[Aptorian]

I've got no rebuttal to Amphibian's arguments. They seem spot on.

I'll add that I just saw this new Vice article on WWE's recent developments. It's a good read:

https://sports.vice....business-empire

[Malankazooie]

 Apt, on 10 December 2016 - 08:12 AM, said:

I've got no rebuttal to Amphibian's arguments. They seem spot on.

I'll add that I just saw this new Vice article on WWE's recent developments. It's a good read:

https://sports.vice....business-empire

link is broken.

[EmperorMagus]

 Malankazooie, on 10 December 2016 - 09:17 AM, said:

 Apt, on 10 December 2016 - 08:12 AM, said:

I've got no rebuttal to Amphibian's arguments. They seem spot on.

I'll add that I just saw this new Vice article on WWE's recent developments. It's a good read:

https://sports.vice....business-empire

link is broken.

It's working fine for me.

[Aptorian]

Yup, works fine on my end as well. Is Vice blocked where ever you are accessing the internet?

[amphibian]

A friend of mine brought up a very good point: the deregulation frenzy of the 80s led to huge corporate interests redlining almost everything and then a busted economy about five or six years later.

What Trump is putting into place as his administration is another team of deregulators and redliners. They are positioned to extract everything they can while the redlining works. We're fucked with a time bomb after a possible strong first term economy wise for Trump.

For thpse who don't know what redlining is I'm this context, think of pushing a car motor as fast as you can go for as long as it will go. What happens when something goes wrong? Kaboom, right? Imagine that transferred to the US economy and the effect it will have on the already marginal.

[HoosierDaddy]

Eh, a cabinet of billionaires, generals, and anti-science.

This is literally the military-industrial complex. Waiting for the Boeing CEO to get FAA position.

Bodes well to me.

[MTS]

 HoosierDaddy, on 10 December 2016 - 07:54 PM, said:

Eh, a cabinet of billionaires, generals, and anti-science.

This is literally the military-industrial complex. Waiting for the Boeing CEO to get FAA position.

Bodes well to me.

Don't forget an oil baron with ties to Russia as possible Sec. of State. What could possibly go wrong?

What do people think of the potential handing of an intelligence report on Russia’s role in hacking to the 538 members of the electoral college before inauguration? I can't see how it would make a difference, though it would be interesting to see. 37+ electors would have to change their vote to Clinton, and from a quick bit of research, only 21 states do not require electors to be faithful to their state's result, and 29 others have light punishments for those who do not vote with their party. If Trump does dip below 270 votes (very unlikely), and neither does Clinton get 270 due to absentions etc., the Republican House gets to vote on either Trump, Clinton or Johnson for President. So...nothing changes.

This post has been edited by MTS: 11 December 2016 - 11:05 AM

[worry]

It looks like Trump really did bring Mitt Romney in just to watch him grovel. He's not getting the SoS job and he's still prostrate. https://www.facebook...153988122401121
All these guys are spineless. He's worth a quarter of a billion dollars and he's still bootlicking for a title, for just that little bit more.

[worry]

Also Rick Perry is Energy Secretary. https://twitter.com/...514031631925248
Non-Americans may remember him as that wacky guy who famously forgot the Department of Energy among the list of three Departments he would want to eliminate, during a live presidential debate in 2012. Americans know him as the guy for whom that wasn't a gaff because he's literally that dumb all the time, and also for executing juveniles and the mentally handicapped with joy and abandon. Think George W. Bush with a mean streak. Also he's on the board of the parent company responsible for the DAPL pipeline, if you needed that extra dash of salt in the wound.

[EmperorMagus]

I'm going to go a bit off topic and post this video of Malcolm X here:

https://youtu.be/AWB6qjnQvqQ?t=3m12s

I recently discovered that someone like Malcolm X existed, and while I don't necessarily agree with most of his beliefs (secession wouldn't have turned out much better for the blacks, nation of Islam was a cult, etc.), I find him a truly inspiring person. He is one of the best public speakers I have ever heard and I find this speech especially relevant to the current US political climate (from around 3:10 forward).

I wish there someone with as much conviction and capability as him on the world stage of politics today.

[MTS]

Rex Tillerson gets the job at State: http://www.abc.net.a...reports/8116686

A veritable basket of deplorables decorating this Cabinet!

Confirmation might be a little tricky for Tillerson though, considering the amount of Republican hawks in the Senate who have no desire to normalise relations with Russia (like McCain).

[amphibian]

 EmperorMagus, on 13 December 2016 - 04:27 AM, said:

I'm going to go a bit off topic and post this video of Malcolm X here:

https://youtu.be/AWB6qjnQvqQ?t=3m12s

I recently discovered that someone like Malcolm X existed, and while I don't necessarily agree with most of his beliefs (secession wouldn't have turned out much better for the blacks, nation of Islam was a cult, etc.), I find him a truly inspiring person. He is one of the best public speakers I have ever heard and I find this speech especially relevant to the current US political climate (from around 3:10 forward).

I wish there someone with as much conviction and capability as him on the world stage of politics today.

Malcolm was a truly compelling and fascinating person. If you can, read his autobiography (written by Alex Haley) and then read his biography by Manning Marable. The autobiography is a revelation and one hell of a story - but when you read the biography afterwards, you realize what Malcolm and Haley made up to "better fit the story". Malcolm still is a compelling and key figure after the biography and for me, finding out the truth (which Malcolm and Haley's families/friends did not want out there) made me understand and like Malcolm more, rather than less. He was a person, frequently lost for direction yet always charging hard after something.

I know you're in school and that's a considerable chunk of time I'm asking you to devote to this, but I swear that it is worth it.

[HoosierDaddy]

Random thought: The person in charge of monitoring after-Midnight White House tweets becomes a much more lucrative and more prestigious position than in the past.

[MTS]

 HoosierDaddy, on 13 December 2016 - 10:59 PM, said:

Random thought: The person in charge of monitoring after-Midnight White House tweets becomes a much more lucrative and more prestigious position than in the past.

That might have to be the other 'red button' that follows Trump around wherever he goes. As soon as he gets his phone out: 'Red Two, abort Tweet! I repeat, ABORT TWEET!'