Progressive Ideology

[MDlaxfan76]

I explained quite clearly that I thought I could have an impact from within the power structure.

I ask this as a sincere question, not as an attack: Is it possible that you say this as a rationalization? There are tangible benefits to being a member of a club of this ilk and, maybe, these benefits were a, so to speak, bribe to convince you to be a member. Along the same lines, there was a similar club near me where I was raised as a boy and... I wouldn't want to be associated with the name of this Country Club. Everyone knew their policies and, at least for me, their policies were the first thing I would think of when i heard the Country club's name and... I wouldn't want to be associated with this? Do you feel the same about this club? Third and final question, with so many people within the club that don't share your values, why hang out with them? Did seeing them disgust you? Again, none of these questions are meant as an attack. More a curiosity.

No, I don't take it as an attack. Thanks for making that clear, though.

Sure, there's undoubtedly an element of rationalization in that I was certainly interested in the positive aspects of membership, just as I was interested in joining a fraternity in college, not just any but one that had numerous athletes and campus leaders. It's a beautiful club, tremendous service, the squash facilities best in the state, and the membership definitely a who's who in the region (absent some notable exclusions!).

But yes, quite a few stuffed shirts. Less so the athletes.

I knew that the world in which such clubs had existed and thrived goes way back, in the MD Club's case since 1857. But my experience in this 'blue blood' world was sort of half in, half not...with my dad being Catholic and let's say 'aspiring' while my mother had some deep roots from New Orleans high society, but not serious old money. I was 'in' through family and education, but I knew I was not old money like some of the bluest of the blue blood set. So, I had a bit of my dad's edge, though less than him...but I also expected, from my educational experience, which had been far more diverse than my parent's generation's experience much less theirs, that such clubs were very likely to need to change...and I expected that change to be much swifter and easier to accomplish than it proved to be.

So, one could say I was overly optimistic. But I did help drive change by speaking up at every opportunity (meetings, around the lunch table, sauna, etc) and ultimately by proposing for membership my buddy, who played football and lax at Gilman with me, then lax at Harvard, then went to Harvard Law and Stanford Business School. Perfect SAT's...happens to be African American. You gonna turn this guy down? If they had, I'd have quit. Same for when Damian Davis, football and lax star at Gilman, then Princeton joined, went to work for Eddie Brown at Brown Capital (Wall Street Week)...gonna turn him down? Nope. Quite a few similar have joined, but difficult to get those with aspirations at larger companies, firms, etc, given the legacy aspects that over hung the club...and of course it has become less relevant as a result.

But before that happened, we were there for a crab feast in the main dining hall; table mates were three other couples, each a guy from Dartmouth where my wife and I went and their wives. All black staff at the time except the club manager, all white membership. Dixie Land band strikes up "Dixie" and half the membership stood up and put their hands over their hearts and sang along...we were horrified, didn't know what to do. Midway, I got up and went to the staff watching and said I was sorry, stood with them...30 years later at her retirement party, the lead staff person at the time came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me how much that had meant to her and other staff members to know there were members who didn't agree with it.

The following year we got in our first black member, then my buddy right on his heels. Was it enough? Probably not. But broke through.

Women were a tougher sell. Frustrating. Small steps, but couldn't seem to overcome guys simply not getting it that the club had a significant role in glass ceiling social and economic construct...they just didn't see it, their stay at home or less ambitious wives didn't care (and that was great with them)...those with wives that did, generally quit...my wife cared, but wasn't pissed off as much as amused by it, the anachronism of it. And she knew that the squash gave me a great outlet for my competitive athletic needs, heck of a lot better than if I'd spent hours and hours on a golf course or was constantly going on hunting or fishing trips with my buddies. She knew where I stood.

Squash fit my talents well (ex lax goalie) and I won multiple tournaments, state level etc and had a ton of fun on the doubles court. It was only when my hips began to give way that I slowed that down.

But over the years, I would definitely say that the caliber of guys who joined was impacted by the exclusionary aspects of the club and I pretty much only frequented the athletic side, other than the occasional family dinners there, the Annual Christmas Party, etc...My wife, my buddy I'd brought in mentioned above, and I had a consulting firm together for awhile and we purposely used the club to host business meetings (no business supposedly allowed, but if you closed the doors to the "Duck Room" etc) you could do so. Impressive with out of town clients.

But I really was not using the club actively and wasn't involved enough to have a voice, so resigning after my dad passed became something I reconsidered. I had held on in his latter years, because I often joined him for lunch at the big table next to the locker rooms after a workout or game. He loved to talk with the younger guys and I enjoyed that time together.

As I said, my son and a couple of his buddies are members now, though all are out of town...whether they'll sustain that membership (cheap for young out of town members) will be interesting. It will also be interesting to see whether adding women makes it substantially easier to attract good members. Or if it's too late.

[Matnum PI]

Sure, there's undoubtedly an element of rationalization in that... Or if it's too late.

I had a discussion amongst HS friends several months back where a couple friends spoke about white privilege and admitted to benefitting (enormously) from this privilege and, in a moment of candor, admitted to wanting the same for their children. And more friends agreed to wanting the same for their children. though, even if they didn't, i think this reality is plainly obvious. and, to this day, this bothers me. it's like being a slave owner (though obviously different) and saying, Yes, I know this is wrong but this is what i was raised with and... I want the same for my kids. though maybe unfair to say, isn't there a similarity to what I'm describing and these elite country clubs? Heck, these elite prep schools. There's a world within america (which is well represented within the lacrosse world) which is only open to the few and... White privilege doesn't begin to describe it. and, yes, i understand that these clubs, these schools, etc. will accept a smattering of blacks, will offer scholarships to less privileged, and breath a sigh of relief but... Really, what's being accomplished? As a boy, I had a distaste for these clubs and some confusion about the schools. As an adult, I have pretty negative feelings about both. Do you have a similar experience? Or not so much?

[Peter Brown]

Sure, there's undoubtedly an element of rationalization in that... Or if it's too late.

I had a discussion amongst HS friends several months back where a couple friends spoke about white privilege and admitted to benefitting (enormously) from this privilege and, in a moment of candor, admitted to wanting the same for their children. And more friends agreed to wanting the same for their children. though, even if they didn't, i think this reality is plainly obvious. and, to this day, this bothers me. it's like being a slave owner (though obviously different) and saying, Yes, I know this is wrong but this is what i was raised with and... I want the same for my kids. though maybe unfair to say, isn't there a similarity to what I'm describing and these elite country clubs? Heck, these elite prep schools. There's a world within america (which is well represented within the lacrosse world) which is only open to the few and... White privilege doesn't begin to describe it. and, yes, i understand that these clubs, these schools, etc. will accept a smattering of blacks, will offer scholarships to less privileged, and breath a sigh of relief but... Really, what's being accomplished? As a boy, I had a distaste for these clubs and some confusion about the schools. As an adult, I have pretty negative feelings about both. Do you have a similar experience? Or not so much?

Uhhhhh, what?!

You have friends who publicly say ‘I want white privilege to help my kids’, or is it *somewhat* WAY MORE likely you have friends who simply want the best for their kids? And, if all they want is the best for their children, is that really a bad thing? Cause that’s what it sounds like.

I have a hard time believing any human would state that they want white privilege to assist their kids. Who would say that?!? Really?

[Peter Brown]

I explained quite clearly that I thought I could have an impact from within the power structure.

I ask this as a sincere question, not as an attack: Is it possible that you say this as a rationalization? There are tangible benefits to being a member of a club of this ilk and, maybe, these benefits were a, so to speak, bribe to convince you to be a member. Along the same lines, there was a similar club near me where I was raised as a boy and... I wouldn't want to be associated with the name of this Country Club. Everyone knew their policies and, at least for me, their policies were the first thing I would think of when i heard the Country club's name and... I wouldn't want to be associated with this? Do you feel the same about this club? Third and final question, with so many people within the club that don't share your values, why hang out with them? Did seeing them disgust you? Again, none of these questions are meant as an attack. More a curiosity.

No, I don't take it as an attack. Thanks for making that clear, though.

Sure, there's undoubtedly an element of rationalization in that I was certainly interested in the positive aspects of membership, just as I was interested in joining a fraternity in college, not just any but one that had numerous athletes and campus leaders. It's a beautiful club, tremendous service, the squash facilities best in the state, and the membership definitely a who's who in the region (absent some notable exclusions!).

But yes, quite a few stuffed shirts. Less so the athletes.

I knew that the world in which such clubs had existed and thrived goes way back, in the MD Club's case since 1857. But my experience in this 'blue blood' world was sort of half in, half not...with my dad being Catholic and let's say 'aspiring' while my mother had some deep roots from New Orleans high society, but not serious old money. I was 'in' through family and education, but I knew I was not old money like some of the bluest of the blue blood set. So, I had a bit of my dad's edge, though less than him...but I also expected, from my educational experience, which had been far more diverse than my parent's generation's experience much less theirs, that such clubs were very likely to need to change...and I expected that change to be much swifter and easier to accomplish than it proved to be.

So, one could say I was overly optimistic. But I did help drive change by speaking up at every opportunity (meetings, around the lunch table, sauna, etc) and ultimately by proposing for membership my buddy, who played football and lax at Gilman with me, then lax at Harvard, then went to Harvard Law and Stanford Business School. Perfect SAT's...happens to be African American. You gonna turn this guy down? If they had, I'd have quit. Same for when Damian Davis, football and lax star at Gilman, then Princeton joined, went to work for Eddie Brown at Brown Capital (Wall Street Week)...gonna turn him down? Nope. Quite a few similar have joined, but difficult to get those with aspirations at larger companies, firms, etc, given the legacy aspects that over hung the club...and of course it has become less relevant as a result.

But before that happened, we were there for a crab feast in the main dining hall; table mates were three other couples, each a guy from Dartmouth where my wife and I went and their wives. All black staff at the time except the club manager, all white membership. Dixie Land band strikes up "Dixie" and half the membership stood up and put their hands over their hearts and sang along...we were horrified, didn't know what to do. Midway, I got up and went to the staff watching and said I was sorry, stood with them...30 years later at her retirement party, the lead staff person at the time came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me how much that had meant to her and other staff members to know there were members who didn't agree with it.

The following year we got in our first black member, then my buddy right on his heels. Was it enough? Probably not. But broke through.

Women were a tougher sell. Frustrating. Small steps, but couldn't seem to overcome guys simply not getting it that the club had a significant role in glass ceiling social and economic construct...they just didn't see it, their stay at home or less ambitious wives didn't care (and that was great with them)...those with wives that did, generally quit...my wife cared, but wasn't ticked off as much as amused by it, the anachronism of it. And she knew that the squash gave me a great outlet for my competitive athletic needs, heck of a lot better than if I'd spent hours and hours on a golf course or was constantly going on hunting or fishing trips with my buddies. She knew where I stood.

Squash fit my talents well (ex lax goalie) and I won multiple tournaments, state level etc and had a ton of fun on the doubles court. It was only when my hips began to give way that I slowed that down.

But over the years, I would definitely say that the caliber of guys who joined was impacted by the exclusionary aspects of the club and I pretty much only frequented the athletic side, other than the occasional family dinners there, the Annual Christmas Party, etc...My wife, my buddy I'd brought in mentioned above, and I had a consulting firm together for awhile and we purposely used the club to host business meetings (no business supposedly allowed, but if you closed the doors to the "Duck Room" etc) you could do so. Impressive with out of town clients.

But I really was not using the club actively and wasn't involved enough to have a voice, so resigning after my dad passed became something I reconsidered. I had held on in his latter years, because I often joined him for lunch at the big table next to the locker rooms after a workout or game. He loved to talk with the younger guys and I enjoyed that time together.

As I said, my son and a couple of his buddies are members now, though all are out of town...whether they'll sustain that membership (cheap for young out of town members) will be interesting. It will also be interesting to see whether adding women makes it substantially easier to attract good members. Or if it's too late.

Not sure you know this, but your club, which no one forced you to join, supported the Confederates in the Civil War. You need to do some public apologies here.

Christ, Ellie Kemper was canceled for much less than this.

[MDlaxfan76]

Sure, there's undoubtedly an element of rationalization in that... Or if it's too late.

I had a discussion amongst HS friends several months back where a couple friends spoke about white privilege and admitted to benefitting (enormously) from this privilege and, in a moment of candor, admitted to wanting the same for their children. And more friends agreed to wanting the same for their children. though, even if they didn't, i think this reality is plainly obvious. and, to this day, this bothers me. it's like being a slave owner (though obviously different) and saying, Yes, I know this is wrong but this is what i was raised with and... I want the same for my kids. though maybe unfair to say, isn't there a similarity to what I'm describing and these elite country clubs? Heck, these elite prep schools. There's a world within america (which is well represented within the lacrosse world) which is only open to the few and... White privilege doesn't begin to describe it. and, yes, i understand that these clubs, these schools, etc. will accept a smattering of blacks, will offer scholarships to less privileged, and breath a sigh of relief but... Really, what's being accomplished? As a boy, I had a distaste for these clubs and some confusion about the schools. As an adult, I have pretty negative feelings about both. Do you have a similar experience? Or not so much?

Very, very complicated. Or very simple...

Your friends who recognize that they had privileges and admit they want the best education set for their kids too are honest about it. Lots of us undoubtedly feel that way, though I think most of us wouldn't want those advantages to be due to race per se. (Petey's pals excepted)

I do think that it helps that schools now make it possible for kids to attend who have terrific potential yet no financial resources. BTW, largely due to the generosity of their alumni. Often over half of students are on financial aid. Not just a smattering.

That's true of my high school, which continues to be the top academic school in its region for boys and for my college which does an even more generous job, even higher percentage of students receiving aid, no loans all grants...yet it would be quite fair to say that there are some full pay students who take up some slots at the high school for which there are likely better qualified poor students out there. Yes, socio-economic privilege. And yes, that privilege has a significant racial legacy component...that said, I wouldn't expect any parent to purposely choose a lesser opportunity for their kid just because they feel a mite guilty about the advantages provided because they can afford it. Donate so a poor kid can attend free is usually the answer to assuage any such guilt. And some folks are very, very generous.

And sure, the 'elite' country club and the 'elite' in-town clubs do provide social and economic ladder opportunities that are 'unfair'. No doubt. The issue is not that they're a great place to meet, play, and socialize, it's who they exclude and why. Happily, I think these 'advantages' are increasingly less important in our society construct...yet they remain a reality.

But if you live near a club, they have a nice pool, golf course, tennis, paddle and a great kids teaching program, camp etc...and you have the means to afford, very tough to say, nah, we're gonna skip that opportunity...on the other hand, if your good friend who happens to be a different race or religion can't come to dinner, much less join...well that's another matter...what are we actually teaching our kids, after all? When it's that stark, it actually gets 'simple'...but usually it's not that stark.

I recall when a handful of us were invited to a debutante party at one such country club that my parents had recently joined late in my high school years. The girl had asked who else we would recommend, beyond the boys listed in the local "Blue Book"...she consciously wanted to break some barriers down...and I gave her a list of my buddies who were from backgrounds not normally included. All but one were white, but a couple were from other parts of town (euphemism). These guys were from lower middle class families, played ball, studied, and were great guys...as I think of them, they went on to Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn, Hopkins, Duke etc.. One such friend's mom (the guy who went on to Harvard etc) called my mother to ask whether they knew her son was black...my mom assured her that they must know...the girl did, I don't think I've ever asked whether her parents knew though knowing her mom, the answer is very, very likely yes and she was entirely supportive...he was the first black 'guest' at the club...1976. That family happened to have the clout to pull it off, having been among the founders over 100 years before, founders of multiple hospitals as well...it was big deal at the time, but ultimately just one of a series of moves to break down such barriers.

I think the question of 'access' is two-fold. 1) barriers need to be broken down so that people have the opportunity to have access to whatever premiere experiences exist based upon their character and potential not their ethnicity or gender; 2) the opportunities elsewhere are greatly improved such that the differential is minimal and whatever advantages may exist for the few, they are not insurmountable differences.

I think there's been some solid work over the past decades on #1, #2 continues to be a serious problem, IMO.

[MDlaxfan76]

I explained quite clearly that I thought I could have an impact from within the power structure.

I ask this as a sincere question, not as an attack: Is it possible that you say this as a rationalization? There are tangible benefits to being a member of a club of this ilk and, maybe, these benefits were a, so to speak, bribe to convince you to be a member. Along the same lines, there was a similar club near me where I was raised as a boy and... I wouldn't want to be associated with the name of this Country Club. Everyone knew their policies and, at least for me, their policies were the first thing I would think of when i heard the Country club's name and... I wouldn't want to be associated with this? Do you feel the same about this club? Third and final question, with so many people within the club that don't share your values, why hang out with them? Did seeing them disgust you? Again, none of these questions are meant as an attack. More a curiosity.

No, I don't take it as an attack. Thanks for making that clear, though.

Sure, there's undoubtedly an element of rationalization in that I was certainly interested in the positive aspects of membership, just as I was interested in joining a fraternity in college, not just any but one that had numerous athletes and campus leaders. It's a beautiful club, tremendous service, the squash facilities best in the state, and the membership definitely a who's who in the region (absent some notable exclusions!).

But yes, quite a few stuffed shirts. Less so the athletes.

I knew that the world in which such clubs had existed and thrived goes way back, in the MD Club's case since 1857. But my experience in this 'blue blood' world was sort of half in, half not...with my dad being Catholic and let's say 'aspiring' while my mother had some deep roots from New Orleans high society, but not serious old money. I was 'in' through family and education, but I knew I was not old money like some of the bluest of the blue blood set. So, I had a bit of my dad's edge, though less than him...but I also expected, from my educational experience, which had been far more diverse than my parent's generation's experience much less theirs, that such clubs were very likely to need to change...and I expected that change to be much swifter and easier to accomplish than it proved to be.

So, one could say I was overly optimistic. But I did help drive change by speaking up at every opportunity (meetings, around the lunch table, sauna, etc) and ultimately by proposing for membership my buddy, who played football and lax at Gilman with me, then lax at Harvard, then went to Harvard Law and Stanford Business School. Perfect SAT's...happens to be African American. You gonna turn this guy down? If they had, I'd have quit. Same for when Damian Davis, football and lax star at Gilman, then Princeton joined, went to work for Eddie Brown at Brown Capital (Wall Street Week)...gonna turn him down? Nope. Quite a few similar have joined, but difficult to get those with aspirations at larger companies, firms, etc, given the legacy aspects that over hung the club...and of course it has become less relevant as a result.

But before that happened, we were there for a crab feast in the main dining hall; table mates were three other couples, each a guy from Dartmouth where my wife and I went and their wives. All black staff at the time except the club manager, all white membership. Dixie Land band strikes up "Dixie" and half the membership stood up and put their hands over their hearts and sang along...we were horrified, didn't know what to do. Midway, I got up and went to the staff watching and said I was sorry, stood with them...30 years later at her retirement party, the lead staff person at the time came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me how much that had meant to her and other staff members to know there were members who didn't agree with it.

The following year we got in our first black member, then my buddy right on his heels. Was it enough? Probably not. But broke through.

Women were a tougher sell. Frustrating. Small steps, but couldn't seem to overcome guys simply not getting it that the club had a significant role in glass ceiling social and economic construct...they just didn't see it, their stay at home or less ambitious wives didn't care (and that was great with them)...those with wives that did, generally quit...my wife cared, but wasn't ticked off as much as amused by it, the anachronism of it. And she knew that the squash gave me a great outlet for my competitive athletic needs, heck of a lot better than if I'd spent hours and hours on a golf course or was constantly going on hunting or fishing trips with my buddies. She knew where I stood.

Squash fit my talents well (ex lax goalie) and I won multiple tournaments, state level etc and had a ton of fun on the doubles court. It was only when my hips began to give way that I slowed that down.

But over the years, I would definitely say that the caliber of guys who joined was impacted by the exclusionary aspects of the club and I pretty much only frequented the athletic side, other than the occasional family dinners there, the Annual Christmas Party, etc...My wife, my buddy I'd brought in mentioned above, and I had a consulting firm together for awhile and we purposely used the club to host business meetings (no business supposedly allowed, but if you closed the doors to the "Duck Room" etc) you could do so. Impressive with out of town clients.

But I really was not using the club actively and wasn't involved enough to have a voice, so resigning after my dad passed became something I reconsidered. I had held on in his latter years, because I often joined him for lunch at the big table next to the locker rooms after a workout or game. He loved to talk with the younger guys and I enjoyed that time together.

As I said, my son and a couple of his buddies are members now, though all are out of town...whether they'll sustain that membership (cheap for young out of town members) will be interesting. It will also be interesting to see whether adding women makes it substantially easier to attract good members. Or if it's too late.

Not sure you know this, but your club, which no one forced you to join, supported the Confederates in the Civil War. You need to do some public apologies here.

Christ, Ellie Kemper was canceled for much less than this.

Love getting history lessons from you Petey.

Of course I know the history, though it certainly wasn't something I knew back when I was first joining. And I've written about it on these threads more than once. Baltimore was the primary port connecting the south and the midwest with the north, shipping and railroad connections. And the financial services sector financed those cotton, rice and tobacco crops and earlier the slave ships of the south. Very much southern sympathizing.

Hey, I also have relatives who were muckety mucks in the first Klan days out of New Orleans. Have a sword of one such grand wizard sort...

And I believe some of my family were slave holders on the southern part of the Eastern Shore, tobacco if I'm not mistaken.

On the other hand, my uncle Carl Carmer, wrote "Stars Fell on Alabama"...

History is complicated, much as your knuckle dragger DeSantis wants to 'cancel' education, truth tends to out eventually.

Go ahead and cancel me, Petey.

[Peter Brown]

I don’t cancel people regardless of their views.

I do point out the insidious nature of the left. Don’t take it from me though; read this incredibly well written article about the toxic nature of America’s left. TDS blinds you to some real problems of the left. If America doesn’t reject the left, we are on for a world of hurt.

Read.

https://adammayer.substack.com/p/the-to ... ssive-left

[MDlaxfan76]

I don’t cancel people regardless of their views.

I do point out the insidious nature of the left. Don’t take it from me though; read this incredibly well written article about the toxic nature of America’s left. TDS blinds you to some real problems of the left. If America doesn’t reject the left, we are on for a world of hurt.

Read.

https://adammayer.substack.com/p/the-to ... ssive-left

uh huh...but you vote for those who actively do so.

Just from the right.

I say a pox on all extremists. left, right, you are all potential authoritarians.
Right now I'm much more concerned about the a-holes from the right.

[Peter Brown]

Jfc, the insanity of the left shows zero abatement. Check this article out below. It is almost comically unreal.

Now Democrats want to charge marchers in a Pride event a $50 ‘reparations fee’ just to attend, because apparently America is awful or something,Ike that, , even though as we all know from these grifts, the money always goes to those in power.

Honestly, in the hierarchy of woke grievance, what is the penultimate grievance? I seriously want to know. Is it a black trans one-legged communist? That’s ultimately who Fanlax Democrats must align with, assuming this party keeps veering into lunacy orbit.

I can’t for the life of me understand how any half-sentient American affiliates with this clown car of a philosophy. I haven’t even mentioned the now out and out anti-Semitism now necessary to be a Democrat, or advocating men playing girls sports.

This article is simply about the inanity of the Party’s woke grievance trajectory and where it’s all headed nationally. If you think it’s not going to happen in your neck of the woods (this is from Seattle), you’re not following hat’s bee going on. insane.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ttend.html

[Peter Brown]

The single best thing Americans can do to counter the left-wing attack on America — against its freedoms, its schools, its families, its children, its governmental institutions, its sports, its news and entertainment media, its medical establishment, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department and the military — is to take their children out of America’s schools.

Other than in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), the vast majority of America’s elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities teach your child or grandchild almost nothing important; prematurely sexualize them, thereby robbing them of their innocence; and harm them intellectually and morally. They rarely teach them, for example, art or music because they are too busy teaching them race-centered hatred of whites, of America and of America’s values.

Home school your kids or get them to a private school which isn’t woke. The alternative is your kid will echo the left’s refrain that America is awful. They’ll hate the country they’re raised in. Like the left.

[cradleandshoot]

https://www.the-sun.com/news/3132240/se ... parations/

I thought this article was so absurd in its nature it had to be from "the onion" Who the eff invents idiotic terminology such as "cis heteronormative community" ? You have to reach pretty far up your arse to pull that gem out. No pun intended... I wonder if any "white allies and their accomplices" will pony up the 50 bucks?

[Peter Brown]

https://www.the-sun.com/news/3132240/se ... parations/

I thought this article was so absurd in its nature it had to be from "the onion" Who the eff invents idiotic terminology such as "cis heteronormative community" ? You have to reach pretty far up your arse to pull that gem out. No pun intended...

The trick to understanding leftists is no one is ever woke enough. They’ll cancel everyone before it’s all over. No different than communism.

In this article, the left is trying to hierarchy grievance. Who has the deeper grievance.

It’s a pathology.

[NattyBohChamps04]

They’ll cancel everyone before it’s all over.

One can only hope. Funny thought though, coming from the party who started, institutionalized and perfected cancel culture.

[cradleandshoot]

They’ll cancel everyone before it’s all over.

One can only hope. Funny thought though, coming from the party who started, institutionalized and perfected cancel culture.

If cancel culture means canceling that picture you posted of the dumpster in tennis shorts in another thread then I am a big fan of cancel culture.

[Peter Brown]

The stupidity and naïveté of the Democratic Party amuses me for the most part, but now that combination puts you and your kids lives at risk every day they have power.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/23/biden-to- ... wlessness/

Every crime statistic in America is blowing through the roof, including those statistics unrelated to guns, but Democrats want to pin it all on guns.

Just recall that as Democrats defund police departments putting you at more risk, not less, they simultaneously want to make it harder for you to defend yourself as police response time increases, leaving you defenseless.

Makes you wonder.

[dislaxxic]

The Gas Tax is Obsolete. Here’s a Better Idea.

Right now, many who benefit from our transportation system do not pay for its upkeep or improvement. For instance, anyone who has packages delivered to their front door or uses ride-sharing services or shops at a retailer that gets goods delivered by truck are beneficiaries of the national highway system even if they never get behind the wheel of a car.

What would a “beneficiary pays” system look like? Implement a federal surcharge on all commercial activity occurring on U.S. streets and highways of approximately 8 percent and direct the proceeds to the existing Highway Fund. A commercial surcharge would assess the cost of our national transportation system on all who benefit from it. It more directly aligns the cost of maintenance and improvement with the benefit. Instead of taxing individuals, it would be more similar to the system we have now, in that the costs would be built into the end prices consumers pay. And it would be more equitable than the existing gas tax, which hits poorer and rural drivers harder because they buy less fuel-efficient cars and drive longer distances.

To be clear, the surcharge should be applied to the value of the commercial activity itself, not the value of what’s being transported. For example, whether it costs $1 to transport a ton of rocks one mile or $1 to transport a ton of gold one mile, the surcharge should be the same — eight cents. After all, the roads don’t know if you’re shipping rocks or gold, but the wear and tear would be the same.

..

[Peter Brown]

The Gas Tax is Obsolete. Here’s a Better Idea.

Right now, many who benefit from our transportation system do not pay for its upkeep or improvement. For instance, anyone who has packages delivered to their front door or uses ride-sharing services or shops at a retailer that gets goods delivered by truck are beneficiaries of the national highway system even if they never get behind the wheel of a car.

What would a “beneficiary pays” system look like? Implement a federal surcharge on all commercial activity occurring on U.S. streets and highways of approximately 8 percent and direct the proceeds to the existing Highway Fund. A commercial surcharge would assess the cost of our national transportation system on all who benefit from it. It more directly aligns the cost of maintenance and improvement with the benefit. Instead of taxing individuals, it would be more similar to the system we have now, in that the costs would be built into the end prices consumers pay. And it would be more equitable than the existing gas tax, which hits poorer and rural drivers harder because they buy less fuel-efficient cars and drive longer distances.

To be clear, the surcharge should be applied to the value of the commercial activity itself, not the value of what’s being transported. For example, whether it costs $1 to transport a ton of rocks one mile or $1 to transport a ton of gold one mile, the surcharge should be the same — eight cents. After all, the roads don’t know if you’re shipping rocks or gold, but the wear and tear would be the same.

..

Democrats would tax a child’s innocent smile if they could figure out how to get it done. Taxing is the only thing Democrats actually care about.

[PizzaSnake]

The Gas Tax is Obsolete. Here’s a Better Idea.

Right now, many who benefit from our transportation system do not pay for its upkeep or improvement. For instance, anyone who has packages delivered to their front door or uses ride-sharing services or shops at a retailer that gets goods delivered by truck are beneficiaries of the national highway system even if they never get behind the wheel of a car.

What would a “beneficiary pays” system look like? Implement a federal surcharge on all commercial activity occurring on U.S. streets and highways of approximately 8 percent and direct the proceeds to the existing Highway Fund. A commercial surcharge would assess the cost of our national transportation system on all who benefit from it. It more directly aligns the cost of maintenance and improvement with the benefit. Instead of taxing individuals, it would be more similar to the system we have now, in that the costs would be built into the end prices consumers pay. And it would be more equitable than the existing gas tax, which hits poorer and rural drivers harder because they buy less fuel-efficient cars and drive longer distances.

To be clear, the surcharge should be applied to the value of the commercial activity itself, not the value of what’s being transported. For example, whether it costs $1 to transport a ton of rocks one mile or $1 to transport a ton of gold one mile, the surcharge should be the same — eight cents. After all, the roads don’t know if you’re shipping rocks or gold, but the wear and tear would be the same.

..

Troy ton or avoirdupois?

[youthathletics]

The Gas Tax is Obsolete. Here’s a Better Idea.

Right now, many who benefit from our transportation system do not pay for its upkeep or improvement. For instance, anyone who has packages delivered to their front door or uses ride-sharing services or shops at a retailer that gets goods delivered by truck are beneficiaries of the national highway system even if they never get behind the wheel of a car.

What would a “beneficiary pays” system look like? Implement a federal surcharge on all commercial activity occurring on U.S. streets and highways of approximately 8 percent and direct the proceeds to the existing Highway Fund. A commercial surcharge would assess the cost of our national transportation system on all who benefit from it. It more directly aligns the cost of maintenance and improvement with the benefit. Instead of taxing individuals, it would be more similar to the system we have now, in that the costs would be built into the end prices consumers pay. And it would be more equitable than the existing gas tax, which hits poorer and rural drivers harder because they buy less fuel-efficient cars and drive longer distances.

To be clear, the surcharge should be applied to the value of the commercial activity itself, not the value of what’s being transported. For example, whether it costs $1 to transport a ton of rocks one mile or $1 to transport a ton of gold one mile, the surcharge should be the same — eight cents. After all, the roads don’t know if you’re shipping rocks or gold, but the wear and tear would be the same.

..

This one might just bring afan out of retirement from the water cooler. He'd be all over this with his ' flat rate consumption tax".

[Peter Brown]

How any non-Marxist identifies as a Democrat bewilders me.

Now the Teddy Roosevelt statue outside New York’s museum is coming down.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing ... elt-statue

Can you begin to think how absolutely futile it is to please the hard left when now Teddy Roosevelt gets canceled.

It won’t end here as we all know. The eventual goal is to erect statues of Marx and Lenin, even though the usual suspects will justify this statue removal by saying it’s ‘ackshually about the placement of the Indian and black man’. They’ll bend over backward to justify the insanity of their team. They always do, as their party lurches into absolute anti American Marxism.

And when they wake up, if they do, they’ll be as anti American as the left of their party already is.