Ummm.... WHAT happened in police custody to the black guy in Baltimore????

[Kulindahr]

Black on black abuse is not racist or racism.

It can be, if it is motivated by a belief that blacks are inferior. That's an aspect looked at in the book I just read about the militarization of police.

 

[Benvolio]

When you expand the definition of a word broadly enough it loses meaning and relevancy.

 

[thewiz]

One of the underlying problems of Baltimore, just like many other major cities, has been the disappearance of manufacturing in this country. Contrary to what Ben would like to sprinkle in his fairy dust mix, the problem did not happen with Obama; it has been happening since the 1980's with the "Walmartization" of this country. Americans demand lower and lower prices; Walmart complied by forcing suppliers to deliver those prices in any manner possible. The result was that many of the suppliers moved production overseas and out of this country, taking advantage of ever lower wages and regulations in developing countries. I've personally seen the devastation that was left on the Mexican side of the US border when companies left those areas for China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc. They had originally been encouraged to move out of the US and just across the border where they could dump chemicals without regulation, discharge sewage with no concern for the environment, and pay pennies per hour to workers who hoped to achieve the American dream.

When the wages became lower elsewhere, the companies simply moved on and left the mess. Juarez has dozens of abandoned factories with rotting barrels full of who-knows-what. The water is not safe to drink and drains run green with ooze.

American cities were built on the backs of immigrant labor and the dreams of many to purchase homes, send kids to school, and have the "white picket fence." As factories closed, those dreams disappeared along with the jobs. Many of the people left behind lacked the education to do something else -- although the politicians certainly like to talk about how they could just become heart surgeons or some other magnificent asset to society. Without jobs, many of the young took to the streets and crack, meth, cocaine, and a host of other cheap drugs became a lure which promised (and often delivered) on the "American dream." Police were not immune to the temptations; one only has to look at the various sweeps by the FBI and investigative agencies over the past decades to see dozens caught up in the corruption.

I have heard few candidates (Republican or Democrat) articulate a broad vision for urban redevelopment. Yes, there have been spurts and sputters but there has not been a sustained and focused effort to transition the residents from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. Our tax system is still based upon a manufacturing base and not the high service levels (hence no tax on hedge fund investors, Cayman Island accounts, etc). Obama tried to tie the pieces into the stimulus bills (much to the chagrin of the Republicans). But Baltimore is but a microcosm of most of our cities with few exceptions. Add in the housing collapse (which most have not recovered from) and it is a recipe for frustration, desperation, and anger.

We should be rebuilding our infrastructure (especially with the lowest interest rates in history) which would employ many of these people. We would also be positioning ourselves for the future -- something most other countries have underway and which the Republicans have fully opposed in Congress (even to the point of not approving a transportation bill in more than 8 years). These are dollars that have been collected on our gas and oil; they are not "new taxes" although the likes of Grover Norquist would like you to think so.

The officers charged will face preliminary hearings followed by trials. It will likely be 3-6 months before everything shakes out. There was video of an unreported stop and a pretty good picture has been developed showing culpability. But everyone should remember the officers are innocent until proven guilty; not the other way around.

 

[Kulindahr]

US 101 in Oregon has been in serious need of updating for a quarter century. EVERY single attempt to get the issue tackled in anything but little spots by towns has been blocked by Republicans.

Crumbling roads and bridges were NOT part of the Reagan vision for America. One has to ask just when the GOP put them in the picture.

 

[Benvolio]

It is no coincidence that the politicians beating the drum for "infrastructure" spending are democrats whose largest contributors are the labor conspiracies. The labor bosses see this as a chance to gouge the taxpayers for exorbitant wages and therefore, higher union dues, bigger and bigger salaries for the union bosses and big contributions back to the democrats.
And, yes, the biggest reason for the disappearance of manufacturing jobs has the been the victory of the unions over the manufacturers, and union support for every punitive legislative scheme against employers the democrats have dreamed up.

 

[Benvolio]

It goes without saying that any democrat bill for infrastructure would contain a provision requiring contractors and engineers to employ minorities, including amnestied illegals to, i.e. democrats, to "the maximum extent possible".

 

[thewiz]

It goes without saying that any democrat bill for infrastructure would contain a provision requiring contractors and engineers to employ minorities, including amnestied illegals to, i.e. democrats, to "the maximum extent possible".

I would call BS. You might want to take time to Google (it's this crazy new device found on computers) prevailing wage laws and the Davis-Bacon Act. Without a major change (approved by Congress) none of your crazy theory is possible. Contractors are required to pay a prevailing wage -- one that is based upon the wages being paid in a given area using statistics and studies (something also foreign to most Republican shrills). While I didn't always like having to pay construction workers more than they might get at a non-union shop, I also realized that those people took that money and spent it in our local economy -- buying vehicles, houses, groceries, and other items that they might otherwise have not afforded.

The owners did not get fat, as you suggest, but rather had to provide a sealed bid which included the projected wage costs. Most of the employees were non-union -- a fact also lost in your deluded fantasy. Most of the employees were married, had kids, and lived in nearby communities. Because they were making more, they also provided excellent service. They carried in groceries for the older woman who might be displaced while her driveway and sewer were replaced; they had no problem talking with residents and giving updates on work progress. The neighbors, in turn, loved the convenience of always being able to get information from either us (at the city) or by the person working in the front yard.

And it is not only Democrats "beating the drum" for infrastructure. Perhaps you should spend a day in the sewer or water systems in this country so you'd at least get a look at something but the inside of your rectum. The infrastructure in this country was built, in large part, at the turn of the last century. It had a lifespan of 50 years. We have not only gone beyond that lifespan but every day the newspaper is filled with photos and stories of road collapses, "sinkholes" (which they are not -- they are collapsed utilities), exploding gas mains, etc. The interstate highway system -- built during the Eisenhower presidency -- also had a life of 25-40 years. The system was largely completed in the 50's and 60's so we are well over its replacement period. Now imagine all the bridges and other items under that highway that also had lifespans of similar time periods; even Republican businessmen, the Chamber of Commerce and a majority of citizens (and not simple majority) are clamoring for better roads, bridges, and utilities.

Put down your Grover Norquist talking points bulletin and go out and talk to folks in Michigan which is voting today on a REPUBLICAN governor's proposal to raise taxes by $2 billion to fix the crumbling roads which are among the worst in the country. They are the worst because they were also the first built -- to serve the auto companies and manufacturers in Detroit. I served as the vice chairman of the state's Asset Management program which doesn't lob rumors, innuendo and talking points generated by fools at RNC. It used a comprehensive evaluation system, GIS, GPS, and recommended best practices to not only slow the rate of degeneration of roads with extended life, but provided data to determine when fixes were no longer financially viable. This year, the rating system showed the greatest degradation in the state's road system in the history of the Council because "time is up" and the fixes are no longer working with two back-to-back freezing cold winters. Oh, and the proposal also was pitched by a Republican House and Republican Senate.

And unions are not why manufacturing jobs disappeared; it was the decision making by those at the top driven by profit, their own bonuses and perks, and the forgetting of the value of employees to not only companies but communities. Why did McDonalds and Walmart suddenly want to increase wages, etc? It wasn't Christmas; but they recognized if their employees had no money, they likely had no customers. What is now going on in Baltimore is truly a microcosm of the outcome one could expect from an advanced level of greed and financial pillage of home lending.

 

[Benvolio]

Infrastructure is Constitutionally a State function. Nothing in the Constitution authorizes the Federal government to meddle.
Nice to hear MI is solving its problems, as do the other states, but it is no business of the Fed government.
How many auto companies did Detroit have when the unions were flexing their muscle in the 50s? How many now?

 

[thewiz]

Actually there are more auto companies in Michigan now than during the "heydays" you mention.

And interstate commerce--a federal issue--is why the feds are involved. States can have all the roads in the world but if they don't take products to and from markets, they are worthless. And the reason for the interstate highway system started under Eisenhower, was for national security. Can't keep those immigrants out if you can't get there in the first place.

 

[Kulindahr]

Actually there are more auto companies in Michigan now than during the "heydays" you mention.

And interstate commerce--a federal issue--is why the feds are involved. States can have all the roads in the world but if they don't take products to and from markets, they are worthless. And the reason for the interstate highway system started under Eisenhower, was for national security. Can't keep those immigrants out if you can't get there in the first place.

Under the original meaning of the commerce clause, which was that the federal government should make sure that commerce between the states flowed smoothly and efficiently, a good case can be made for the federal government to maintain a quality highway system across the nation, provided it covers all fifty states -- no skipping any. But yes, the interstate system was authorized with the understanding that it was a matter of providing for the common defense, after Eisenhower ordered a military convoy to cross the country and concluded that given the speed at which it proceeded, we could not reasonably defend against an invader with regular forces.