Good for them! All this bullshit about "you only get paid when the doors shut", while ignoring the time wasted during flight delays and the time worked before and after the flight is just that - bullshit. Plus they act like the "perks" should offset the low pay, completely ignoring how the pay never kept pace with the economy and the "perks" are continually eroded.
Could the democrats put someone under the age of 60 in place?
Trump is fucking awful. Republicans in general are awful and will set back that country another 20 years.
But Jesus, is an 80+ old guy the best the democrats have? He’s qualified, intelligent and experienced. But he’s also in an age bracket that’s easy to hang shit on, which is exactly what the Republicans need.
Could the democrats put someone under the age of 60 in place?
Can you wait 4 years while we narrowly avoid literal fascism? Jesus fucking Christ… We have the incumbent advantage, it would be foolish to give that up considering the clear and present danger that the alternative presents.
Biden wins a second term, and the Dems will have 4 years to choose a younger candidate to run next time.That is when we need to fight to make sure we don’t end up with another 80 year old, or with someone like Kamala Harris as our next choice.
Yes, but Biden, he is a liability. I don’t believe any of those idiot stories about dementia or anything, but he is old. Campaigns are really demanding even for non geriatrics. If he slips too much and he will slip a lot, because that is what he was known for even in his best years, this could mean Trump. Having Trump again would be a disaster.
And what kind of optics do you think there’d be if the Democratic party pulled their incumbent candidate, and then what? Run Kamala Harris? No, not her?
So they pull both the incumbent candidate, and his (not super old) running mate? And replace them with whom?
You might not personally think that those actions are signs on weakness and/or disunity within the party, but people largely do. People have entire careers surrounding shaping those optics. This is important shit.
Maybe if there was already a young Democrat/progressive that the party and base has been coalescing around to be Biden’s successor. Right now, we have nobody.
The train has passed for that of course. Unless something happens to Biden in which case … they will have to do exactly that: find someone. What are the optics that the whole party has no one else, but a really old man anyway?
Before Biden announced it would be possible to get someone else.
8 years of Biden then 8 years of someone like Kamala Harris? This is the future were hoping for? Pardon me but that sounds horrifying.
I mean it is probably the long term plan of the dnc, along with another fascist bugaboo they ratfuck into the general election.
Here’s how i think it will go, based on the last few elections: If Trump is no longer a threat they’ll elevate desantis or someone similar and they’ll again ask us to “fight fascism” and “fight for democracy” by swallowing any desire to vote 3rd party and side with them, the “lesser of 2 evils”, once more.
If they succeed, they sit on their hands and continue their disastrous platform of “standing by the door and aggressively hand wringing” at the fascists while they march through.
This is the only thing they will ever do while they are one of only 2 (fully corrupted) political parties.
It’s a lot easier and more effective to be popular with deception and favors than by responsibility and moral fiber.
Therefore the only politicians who are able to succeed to the point that they get to the national level are those who have learned how the game works and play it with a combination of deceit and favors.
I’m not saying democracy is bad…in fact, of the various systems it competes with, it’s one of the best…but that doesn’t mean it’s flawless, and this is one of its many flaws.
Why are democratic countries that aren’t the USA manage to generate a wide set of qualified candidates which aren’t close to death (both Trump, Biden, Clinton, Sanders, Reagan, Bush)?
First, my comment made no mention of age, only compromised morals.
To answer your question, though, I feel it’s a combination of population size, demographics, scale of representation, and the nature of the way the respective systems have evolved (both naturally and intentionally)
Population: The US has lots and lots of people spread out over a wide area. Lots of people mean that there’s lots of qualified people, and it follows that the older you get, the more time you’ve spent in this arena, therefore the more experience and connections you have.
Demographics: Simply put, Baby Boomers. There’s more of them than there are of anyone else, and they tend to elect their own.
Scale of Representation: US elected officials at the national level represent a huge number of constituents. This means that getting elected is more about appealing to a broad spectrum of voters, to the point that it’s often more about just being objectionable to the fewest voters. This is Joe Biden’s greatest strength: nobody really really likes the guy, but he’s someone that (among his base) not too many people actually dislike, or at least not enough to withhold their vote. It’s boring but effective within the situation, like trap hockey. Representation of such a wide and diverse group of people means that politicians won’t champion any agenda that might put off voters. A vote is a vote regardless of whether it’s lukewarm or zealous, and a thousand “meh” votes are drastically more valuable than a hundred fanatical votes.
The Nature of the Beast: like it or not, America has a two party, first past the post, winner take all system. This means that the game is very closed-ended, full of binary/Boolean strategy: A or B, vote or don’t vote, win the state completely or don’t win it at all. This ties in with the previous point and makes a campaign and election even more about being as inoffensive as possible.
So for a winner take all, nationwide race like president, the way the Xs and Os work out is that your party’s best odds come with someone who’s got lots of connections, is widely recognized, and whom the fewest people in your base will dislike enough to not vote for them. In the vast majority of cases, that means an old candidate who’s had decades of experience and network building, who has no controversial positions, odd personality quirks, etc., and who is just a hair more likeable to moderates than whomever the other party puts out there.
The only time in recent history this hasn’t been the case was 2016, in which Trump pulled more votes out of his base and the far right than anyone gave him credit for…and maybe 2000, although a decent argument could be made there that Clinton’s stigma hobbled Gore’s campaign just enough. With SCOTUS help.
Thus, you get usually old (experienced, well known), usually male, usually white, usually straight, usually at least vaguely religious, usually rather boring candidates.
Where young women are encouraged to seek out positive role models for their own good, young men are frequently encouraged to seek out positive role models so that they treat women better.
Ultimately, I believe this is a direct result of the capitalist capture of feminist aesthetics into the sort of shallow “pop-feminism” that rose to prominence over the past couple of decades. For young men who’ve only ever seen this hyper-sanitized business driven take on feminism (one that notably does not make room for them), it’s easy for them to see it as an extension of the broader trends that leave them disenfranchised.
This is why manosphere influencers are able to amass such a large following seemingly overnight, and why they seem to have such success in accelerating this trend. A lot of young men simply do not have any experience with the broader feminist tradition.
I feel like often when even good ideas reach mainstream, they become corrupted by people who only understand and therefore care about the form rather than the underlying concepts.
You are legitimately curious to know if they are a billionaire tycoon?
If you have a question for a self-proclaimed republican then ask it. Don’t pretend to inquire with them for an opportunity to insult them. That’s not respectful.
I say this as a Democrat that used to be a republican. You think our side is all sunshine and rainbows? Neither side is perfect it really is the option of the least bad candidate and that is the issue. The two party system is a failure but it’s what we have.
Yes in my opinion the democrats are better than the Republicans but that doesn’t mean they are without fault. Everyone has an agenda and can make mistakes we are human after all.
Hmm, i think that the Democrat voters are as well. I knew exactly what i would get with Biden, hated him the most during the primaries, and yet, voted for him knowing he didn’t have my best interests at heart.
And this election i am expected to do that twice? Against that same convict? who tried and will try again to seize power forever?
Yeah, constantly having to fight off fascism is fucking exhausting.
It’s by design. Once the people become apathetic enough, or get “outrage fatigue”, that’s when fascism can slink in and wrap its filthy little tendrils around our political discourse.
I have thought about your comment for a little bit and would like to respond candidly.
I am just a regular person who has a differing belief about what constitutes a well-functioning government. There are possibly more views that we agree upon than disagree.
At this exact moment,(because everyone’s beliefs are constantly changing with new ideas and information), the views I expect we differ on are: capitalism has been more socially beneficial than destructive, we should have a smaller more efficient government, and we should prevent erosion of the constitutional right to bear firearms.
The views I expect that we agree on are: capitalism has not been properly regulated with regards to the environment (global warming was certainly caused by us), the ability to have an abortion should be codified in law, we should prevent the erosion of constitutional rights like free speech, privacy, and the ability to freely travel, while socialized healthcare will be very expensive and increase everyone’s tax burden, it will also be well worth the cost.
I am a republican because I believe that my political viewpoints align with those of republicans. But I am not blind to the charlatans that have disgraced not only the republican party but also the broader American institution. I take comfort in the fact that I did not vote for Trump in either instance, choosing instead to vote for Biden when that time came.
As for why I voluntarily “describe” myself as a republican because I genuinely believe that people discussing opposing views contributes to incrementally uncovering truth (which is often in the middle) and also serves to stave off the seemingly natural pull of humans to develop tribalism described by the phrase ‘us vs them.’
While I tend to agree with your sentiment, I would really prefer people followed Washington’s advice. No parties. He believed that partisan politics would be the downfall of the US, and given the last 239 years of evidence, I would have to agree.
Despite the fact that it’s a statistical likelihood that voting R is voting against your class, T is still far and away the most popular pick for R leadership.
I was always going to vote for Biden, or at least against Trump, but I have to say between the NLRB CEMEX decision and finding out that the train workers did get some paid time off with the Biden admins help, I'm more enthusiastic than I was 6 months ago.
Ultimately, despite constant obstructionism they (Biden admin) are making more progress than they get credit for.
Republicans lie about the things they do and get attention for it because of how they get the message out.
Democrats need to do a better job of promoting the things they do accomplish. Don't need to lie, just do a better job of getting the press to write stories about the positive things they do. They need to call Republicans who have racist policies racist instead of dancing around it. A few are doing it, but are ignored because they aren't party leadership.
Biden needs to call Trump a racist and a fascist on national TV. Get the public motivated! Taking the higher ground doesn't get people motivated, it just means more of the status quo.
“There are instances where flight attendants are sitting anywhere from two to four hours, what becomes a mechanical rolling delay, where that full time is not accounted for and paid for. So, it’s not just the boarding, but it’s anytime that we are required to be on duty at work in uniform, that we are advocating for pay,” she said.
The union provided annual pay estimates for Alaska Airlines flight attendants, with average base pay ranging from $24,000 to $27,000 a year, which they note is not nearly enough to keep up with the high cost of living, especially in expensive cities where Alaska Airlines bases are located, including San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles.
This should be criminal.
Alaska Airlines is headquartered in Seattle. $24,000 is enough to last you a few months in Seattle.
“I believe that we owe Chile, and not just Chile but many aspects of that region, an apology,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Guardian in an interview at her campaign headquarters in the Bronx. “I don’t think that apology indicates weakness; I think it indicates a desire to meet our hemispheric partners with respect.
“It’s very hard for us to move forward when there is this huge elephant in the room and a lack of trust due to that elephant in the room. The first step around that is acknowledgement and saying we want to approach this region in the spirit of mutual respect, and I think that’s new and it’s historic.”
Yes, it’s hard to build relationships with victims when we do not address our wrong-doings. She’s so right.
And in what became known as Operation Condor, eight US-backed military dictatorships – Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador – jointly plotted the cross-border kidnap, torture and murder of hundreds of their political opponents.
Imagine, this is the policy we thought was right back then. Crazy.
In Chile, the group visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which remembers the victims of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Ocasio-Cortez has introduced legislation to declassify documents that could shed light on the CIA’s involvement in the coup.
Good on AOC - this is how the healing begins. We’re long overdue on this. I’m so grateful for her and the many other like-minded politicians that are acknowledging past wrongs.
I’m so grateful for her and the many other like-minded politicians that are acknowledging past wrongs.
Acknowledging some wrongs that the US did during the cold war against the USSR while at the same time backing wrongs the US is doing currently to wage a new cold war against China/Russia, classic Democrat behavior, really couldn’t expect anything less from her.
And in what became known as Operation Condor, eight US-backed military dictatorships – Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador – jointly plotted the cross-border kidnap, torture and murder of hundreds of their political opponents.
Imagine, this is the policy we thought was right back then. Crazy.
back then?? AMERICA IS STILL DOING THESE THINGS picard
But they bring so much value for that $601. Like figuring out how many people to fire to maximize revenue for shareholders. Come on, doesn’t that deserve a $15 million salary?!
It’s ironic, they’re the one position that I think at most companies provides no value at all. They think they’ll be the ruling class in an apocalypse, but they don’t realize that they have no marketable skills whatsoever.
Yes and no. They can’t do what everyone else can do and not many can do what they do. You only see the darker side of thing and yes most are incredibly evil in many ways.
However, someone has to organize. Someone has to delegate. Someone has to decide. Do they deserve that much money? No. Does the position need to exist? In many ways it seems so.
Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that they don’t have a unique skillset. You’re right that someone does need to delegate, organize, and decide, but the ability to do so isn’t special at all. You could probably put any given technical worker in that position and they’d do just fine too.
Experience of course is what really shines here, but the problem is the same as politics. They may have more experience, but the decisions they’re making aren’t for everyone’s best interest. They’re biased towards the newer, richer friends.
This experience vs corruption duality is tough. It’s also there when you have the government making policy. The experts you want to consult on how X is made and what regulations there need to be are those who are experiences in making X – but those same groups also want money and clout, and will try to get that into the regulations. I’m not sure what a good solution is.
Can’t help but notice no mention of law enforcement anywhere in this article, I wonder what the local sheriff is doing? Though I’m sure we all have our suspicions.
I agree, but I try to be pragmatic. Everyone is looking for the twitter killer that will destroy it in a blaze of glory, but I am fine with it slowly bleeding users and value as Threads and Mastodon (and Bluesky?) get better and gains more users.
But is Meta/Facebook gaining any better? Remember, this was the company that gladly shared information with Cambridge Analytica to affect the 2016 US elections. And they’re collecting an absolutely monstrous amount of data from each Thread user.
As a Latino I don’t give a fuck about the USA paying for its crimes, to my eyes that’s a crazy dream. I just wish they stop being bully two-face assholes already. The world needs the best USA right now.
And please, I’m talking about representatives of the USA state that most of the time represent corporations, not the actual people.
The US has always been a bunch of companies pretending to be a country. Literally, the founding companies were the Plymouth Company and the London Company (both later known as the Virginia Company) and since the very beginning the US has been a story of hostile corporate acquisition of land and resources and people. It can’t stop being a bully two-face asshole, it’s in the company charter!
Well, this makes a lot of sense, but the US people might want to try to change it. Certainly, the rest of the world is terrified of the US government since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I do not think so. The USA is an important part of our world, whether we like it or not. It’s been around for centuries now, and has a well-deserved place as a leading nation. However, they need to address so many problems within their borders before they start meddling everywhere.
The rules based world order™ is a global imperialist system of monopolistic capital extraction and exploitation of the periphery. The US is the head of that hegemonic order. It provides no value to the rest of the world. It exists to extract value from the rest of the world.
The US position in the world is no more earned than a person who buys a slave deserves the title “master”
I believe that a balanced --more fair for everyone-- status can be achieved and the USA is instrumental for that to happen in current times. I’ll believe the same about the next “head of the hegemonic order” if the USA collapses.
Believe what exactly? It’s only logical that a more balanced status between nations is possible. History backs that claim. Of course it can go both ways. Honestly don’t know a lot of people in the ruling class to presume what they’re all doing or thinking. I know organized regular people can change things through politics, through culture.
theguardian.com
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