Blogcritics Comments on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Comment by bliffle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 14:45:51 EST

I've seen those conditions, too, and they've become more common in CA in recent years. And they seem to be more permanent, also. I think mostly because conditions in Mexico have gotten worse over the past many years. Everyone of these people that I have met would rather go home, and in fact many of them DO go home to recharge themselves and to remember what they are struggling for, their families and communities. It's amazing that a person would have the courage and will to go back to their village and once again face the danger and difficulty of sneaking back across the border. They DO contribute directly to their communities, too, as well as their families. There is a government Matching Funds program in Mexico where someone who contributes money to a community civic project will be matched by both the Feds and the District gov, so their money is multiplied by 3, There a few hundred $million raised each year this way.

Comment by moonraven on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 14:09:00 EST

Yes, Nalle they DO deserve to inherit the US. And then we Native Americans will deal with them--or brothers--in our own way.

Comment by Baritone on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 12:49:14 EST

Dave, I wouldn't make too much of a deal of Mexicans sharing living space. I've been in a # of homes - 1 to 2 bedroom units housing anywhere from 8 to 15 people, perhaps more. It may be different in the southwestern tier states owing to the closer juxtaposition of them to Mexico, but here most of the situations I noted above weren't "extended families" so much as groups of people, mostly men, who are here simply to work. Here in Indy, we do have a thriving Hispanic community. Many have in fact pulled themselves up, just as many of the southeast asian immigrants did in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. But many, probably the majority, live, if not in abject poverty, are living precariously hand to mouth. Of course a number of them are illegals which adds to their plight. Personally, I think it's great that this country is truly becoming a "melting pot." It is a step toward an ecumenism of cultures, races and religions which eventually, if fully realized would minimize bigotry and hatred based on these factors. While we're still talking about imperfect human beings who are nothing if not adept at finding things to agrue about, such blending would be a definitive step forward. B-tone

Comment by troll on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 06:56:34 EST

...y ellos

Comment by Dave Nalle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 02:27:51 EST

Yes, if we don't discuss McD's then we'd have to discuss brian's anti-semitism. My point on the McD's wages is that franchise or not, there are very few places in the country where you can actually hire anyone for less than $7 an hour. In Austin you can't get fast food workers for less than $8 an hour and then you have to take illegals who speak no English. Your bilingual supervisor to go with them is going to cost a lot more. As for deductions, don't forget that when you're earning $7/hr you aren't paying taxes. You're below the cutoff for income tax so all they're paying is SS and Medicare, so it's not as big a bite. And let me tell you, it's worth looking at how illegals deal with low wages. At $8 an hour they make enough to send a quarter to half their income home to Mexico. They do this by sharing living space, carpooling, living in extended families - in short by economizing the way that EVERYONE in America did 100 years ago - using skills we seem to have forgotten in the pampered luxury of the modern era. It's a good thing we have immigrants, because they're the only people who still knows what it means to work hard and live on a budget. They deserve to inherit America. Dave

Comment by Dr Dreadful on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:19:21 EST

Back to Mickey D's: In fairness, we should remember that a lot of McDonald's restaurants are run as franchises, and those companies may very well pay their workers minimum wage even though that might not be the McDonald's Corporation's policy. Still, $6.50 an hour, $7.00 an hour: big whoop. It's still peanuts, especially once your deductions have been taken out.

Comment by brian on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:15:56 EST

What ever do you mean by fascism? here's a definition: 'The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.[18][19][20]' Corporatism 'and the fanatical Jew-hatred among Muslims, etc.' I wonder if AIPAC and the mass murder of arabs in the middle east by israeli jews is responsible for this? You mention Horowitz, a muslim hating jew, yet dont take umbrage with his fanaticism... Better luck with your next screed...

Comment by Dr Dreadful on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:12:59 EST

That can happen when we hit on something more interesting to talk about, handy. Remember how we tend to hijack Selwyn Duke's more xenophobic articles to talk about sports or other topics? (I notice Selwyn hasn't posted anything for a while, by the way...!)

Comment by handyguy on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 14:35:28 EST

This thread certainly has wound itself a long way from "Islamofascism," eh?

Comment by bliffle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 14:27:04 EST

presuming All things being equal, like no inflation. But they never do stay equal, and inflation can kill you. I remember guys 40 years ago making plans to minimize spending, saving up 100k and retiring on the interest. Just the same. And those guys talked exactly the same as the neocons on BC. It won't work.

Comment by Dave Nalle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 00:29:44 EST

Clavos. With $3 mil in the bank and earning 10% interest a year, I can finance my $1 mil yacht on a 5 year note and still have $100K to live on per year. That seems reasonable. I wonder if the SS would be enough to cover the mooring fees. Dave

Comment by Martin Lav on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 17:40:36 EST

I wonder what my point was now.....

Comment by Clavos on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 17:38:40 EST

Well, ya might have to tighten the ol' belt a little in your lifestyle, but with $3M plus SS, ya might (just might, mind you) be able to pay the rent and put some beans on the table. Forget buyin' a yacht, tho (or, at least not one costing more than $200K or so).

Comment by Lumpy on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 16:11:24 EST

Ooh ooh. Can I answer? Off the top of my head about $3 million.

Comment by Martin Lav on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 14:42:29 EST

Hmmm.....I must of mis-understood you before then. So, $15k maximum with an annual growth of let's say 10%, gets you how much in retirement after 30 years?

Comment by Dave Nalle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 14:16:08 EST

You sure there's not a maximum pretax deduction of $15,000 per year per employee for a 401k? No, I know for a fact that there's a maximum limit per employee per year. My wife exceeded it last year and I had to explain to her to stop putting so damned much money in her 401K and open an IRA. Dave

Comment by Dave Nalle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 14:14:06 EST

You know nothing of my "reality." You know nothing of where I live and work. Well, you assumed all sorts of things about where I live and how I live so I thought I ought to return the favor. I do sometimes wonder if these bizarre differences in experiences with what life in America is like may be regional. I've really only lived in four parts of the country for extended periods of time, and although they all have plenty of poverty, they do all share the characteristic that most of the poor are hard working and seem to have hope, despite the fact that they are demographically and economically very different regions. I have to admit that I have not lived in appalachia or the rust belt where America may look very different. Where I can I do research to try to shore up my knowledge and verify if things are different elsewhere from my experience. My understanding of the rust belt is that things there are notably worse than in the rest of the country, but that most of the problems people have there could quickly be solved by just moving the hell out as many have done. Appalachia appears to be a self-contained economic and cultural bubble and what goes on there has little relationship to anything in the rest of the world. Oh, and thanks for the two bit psychology. Again, you demonstrate your lack of any grasp of human behaviour and motivations. You believe you capture the essence of humanity in facts and figures which you love to lay out without any notion that such figures can be and often are skewed to reflect the bias or agenda of the entity producing them. If it's in black and white, it must be true. As I noted above, my understanding of human nature comes from studying and interracting with a very wide variety of people. The facts and figures come in to explain the observations and try to understand why things are the way they are. People are ultimately responsible for their particular situations, but poor decisions by many people are often the result of poor education, long standing depravation and the lack of a level playing field. Sure, I don't disagree. But there are enough examples of people overcoming the worst situations to suggest that it can be done. And although the playing field is not and can likely never be completely levelled, there really are not groups of people who are systematically and overwhelmingly oppressed in the US. The one real key factor is, of course, education. And as our education system gets worse and worse inequities in the availability of opportunity become worse. That's one of the reasons why I've written so much on education reform. I knew you would challenge my $6.50 an hour figure, so I inquired at a nearby Mickey Ds as to their usual starting wage. Two of the people working while I was in the store said that they had, in fact, started at $6.50 an hour, both within the last 3 months. As near as I could tell, the average wage at this store was around $7.75 per hour. Keep in mind that franchise operations are not bound by the same strictures as company owned stores. When I previously called McDonalds stores around the country for research on an article I couldn't find any starting that low, but I couldn't call every store. The BLS also couldn't find any areas of the country where fastfood workers started below $7 per hour in their last survey, but as I understand it their methodology doesn't consider someone a worker until they've been there for at least 3 months, so fast promotion would make them miss some starting wages, and McDonalds promotes VERY quickly. Out of curiosity, what area do you live in. Maybe in the future I can use it as a worst-case scenario for study. None of the 4 or 5 people I quizzed had yet been offered enrollment in a 401K plan. Really? Enrollment in McDonalds 401K plan is mandatory. People are automatically enrolled when they are hired unless they specifically opt out. Maybe that's not true of franchise stores. Two of them didn't even know what a 401K is. Which doesn't exactly surprise me. I think that given the largely temporary and entry level jobs at McD's 401Ks are the least of their concerns. Your assumption that all of the 54% of 401K enrollees earn more than twice the minimum wage is just that - an assumption. Well sure, but I bet it's a pretty damned accurate assumption. Dave

Comment by REMF on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 12:55:13 EST

"Yet the way you describe the world around you doesn't match reality." - Dave Nalle Always nice to be lectured on world reality by a guy who lives in a fortified compound...

Comment by Martin Lav on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 12:19:35 EST

Dave, You sure there's not a maximum pretax deduction of $15,000 per year per employee for a 401k? Not a MATCH, but a wage deferral.

Comment by Baritone on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 10:21:55 EST

Dave, You know nothing of my "reality." You know nothing of where I live and work. Oh, and thanks for the two bit psychology. Again, you demonstrate your lack of any grasp of human behaviour and motivations. You believe you capture the essence of humanity in facts and figures which you love to lay out without any notion that such figures can be and often are skewed to reflect the bias or agenda of the entity producing them. If it's in black and white, it must be true. People are ultimately responsible for their particular situations, but poor decisions by many people are often the result of poor education, long standing depravation and the lack of a level playing field. I knew you would challenge my $6.50 an hour figure, so I inquired at a nearby Mickey Ds as to their usual starting wage. Two of the people working while I was in the store said that they had, in fact, started at $6.50 an hour, both within the last 3 months. As near as I could tell, the average wage at this store was around $7.75 per hour. Keep in mind that franchise operations are not bound by the same strictures as company owned stores. None of the 4 or 5 people I quizzed had yet been offered enrollment in a 401K plan. Two of them didn't even know what a 401K is. Your assumption that all of the 54% of 401K enrollees earn more than twice the minimum wage is just that - an assumption.

Comment by Dave Nalle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 04:11:39 EST

No, I believe you, Dr. D. I've seen the figures on McDonalds wages. Nationwide the lowest wage any of their workers are paid is $7.00 an hour and that's in the poorest areas of the country. Here in Austin they start considerably higher than that. Still not exactly raking in the cash, but pretty good for an entry level job which you'll probably leave after a few months. Dave

Comment by Dr Dreadful on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 01:56:11 EST

Please find me a McDonalds employee who earnes $6.50 an hour. I have plenty of clients who work for McDonald's at $7.50 an hour, which is above your figure but is the minimum wage here in California. Confidentiality forbids me from naming names, however: you'll have to take my word for it.

Comment by Dave Nalle on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 01:47:18 EST

No, I am not at all "out of touch." I know of what I speak. Yet the way you describe the world around you doesn't match reality. You roll out all the same old saws about leftist guilt. It's not guilt. It's more aptly described as social conscience. Call it what you like, but when it's based on your personal feelings rather than objective reality, it really does go beyond just 'conscience' to being more of a complex. But when you make absurd statements like "...most people who are poor or relatively low earning are that way by choice..." I realize how little you understand about humanity - how little you grasp about being profoundly poor and in effect detached from the main stream of society. You clearly have no idea and didn't understand what I was saying at all. Regardless of whether they are aware of it or whether you're willing to admit it, must people are poor as a result of choices which they made. Everyone has opportunities offered to them. If they recognize them and choose to take advantage of them they can better themselves. The opportunities may be fewer if you come from a background of extreme poverty, but they are still there. Such a belief is little different than that of religious fundamentalists who claim that homosexuality is "a choice." The sad thing is that you apparently believe it. That is the means by which you block or eradicate any sense of guilt, as you put it, or social conscience or responsibility as I do, and justify your own greed, your own unabashed quest for wealth. You really, really don't get it at all. I have made conscious decisions in my life NOT to pursue wealth at the expense of other things and to opt for a certain type of lifestyle instead of following a course which was laid out for me which could have led to greater wealth. Doesn't mean I'm poor, but I can see the choices I've made which didn't optimize my earning potential. To suggest that I'm driven by greed is about the most laughable thing I've ever heard. I spend more time doing charity work than I do working to earn a living. A lot of very poor people do in fact work hard, if they can find a job. It is your cynical assumption by your own statement that such people "choose" to be poor consciously because they are inherent slackers. I never said they were slackers. They just make poor decisions. Your mistake is in assuming that being poor must mean that they are there because of unseen forces outside of themselves. That's usually not the case. For anyone to be energized or forward thinking, there must be at least an element of hope. Many poor people in this country and even more profoundly elsewhere in the world live without hope. So let's GIVE them hope! Sounds like a fantastic plan to me. It's what I want to work towards. Help them make better choices and see where opportunity lies and move on to better lives. That's an excellent thing to try to accomplish. A note about 401K investors: What a crock. It's true that 401K plans are available, even from companies like Mickey Ds and other such. Eligibility requirements vary and are based upon the actual wage or salary an individual makes. The contribution for a part time employee making, say $6.50 an hour is laughably small. These people having 401Ks may serve to bloat the statistics, but does not an investor make. Please find me a McDonalds employee who earnes $6.50 an hour. Again you show how out of touch with the real world you are. And 401K programs don't limit how much you can put in of your own money. They just limit how much an employer is going to match, if it's a matching program. Also, if you assume that the 54% of the population who are invested in the market are those who earn higher incomes, that group wouldn't even include most McDonalds employees. We'd be talking about people earning about double that wage as a starting point. It always irks me when people use McDonalds employees or something equivalent as their example of the 'poor', when the truth is that the overwhelming majority of McDonalds employees and employees in similar occupations are short-term hires like students and people working second jobs, and most of them move on to other better jobs within a matter of months. The average fast food worker leaves his job after 12 weeks. That's how long it takes to find something better paying. Those who DO stick around usually do so because they get on the management track very quickly so they have an incentive to stay longer at higher pay. Dave

Comment by Baritone on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 01:14:38 EST

Dave, No, I am not at all "out of touch." I know of what I speak. You roll out all the same old saws about leftist guilt. It's not guilt. It's more aptly described as social conscience. But when you make absurd statements like "...most people who are poor or relatively low earning are that way by choice..." I realize how little you understand about humanity - how little you grasp about being profoundly poor and in effect detached from the main stream of society. Such a belief is little different than that of religious fundamentalists who claim that homosexuality is "a choice." The sad thing is that you apparently believe it. That is the means by which you block or eradicate any sense of guilt, as you put it, or social conscience or responsibility as I do, and justify your own greed, your own unabashed quest for wealth. A lot of very poor people do in fact work hard, if they can find a job. It is your cynical assumption by your own statement that such people "choose" to be poor consciously because they are inherent slackers. For anyone to be energized or forward thinking, there must be at least an element of hope. Many poor people in this country and even more profoundly elsewhere in the world live without hope. But your Pollyannaish view is that by golly they should just "pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start all over again. Cause we got high hopes. High hopes. High apple pie in the sky hopes." Or not. A note about 401K investors: What a crock. It's true that 401K plans are available, even from companies like Mickey Ds and other such. Eligibility requirements vary and are based upon the actual wage or salary an individual makes. The contribution for a part time employee making, say $6.50 an hour is laughably small. These people having 401Ks may serve to bloat the statistics, but does not an investor make. There is one interesting feature to Islamic law that doesn't allow for income to be made from interest. I know they have found many ways around this law, but the spirit of it was originally based in the notion that one is not to profit from the labor of others with no actual input to those efforts other than plopping money on the table. B-tone

Comment by handyguy on If Not Islamofascism, Then What?

Mon, 5 Nov 2007 17:15:19 EST

"Shariaism" = too hard to spell and pronounce. "Islamist" says what needs to be said, preceded by "radical" and/or "violent" where appropriate.