The Friday saloon

• So the first round of Phoenix City Council elections attracted 21 percent of registered voters compared with less than 16 percent four years ago. Turnout was lowest in central Phoenix's District 4 — shocking considering the stakes there. Only 15 percent turned out this year to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest city. What does this say about the state of democracy in America? It's not as if there aren't important issues to be decided (even if the Phoenix candidates mostly didn't talk about them. Maybe it's just me, but aside from the Sky Train, the city seems to be treading water.

• Low turnout in Phoenix gives disproportionate power to a small minority. But the Firefighters union lost big; along with firefighters unions from around the state, it spent some $400,000 to defeat Sal DiCiccio in District 6. Sal is very close to being a Kook and is also, of course, in real estate. No disrespect, but does he bring anything constructive to Council? Just being against everything in the name of "the taxpayer" is not an answer. His showing is a sign that at least a big part of his district could be spun off to Tempe and Scottsdale (but keep the pretty parts of Arcadia).

• The rush to United States involvement in the war in Syria seems to have slowed a bit. But only a bit. Tell me what I'm missing in saying this is such a mistake. It's a sectarian civil war involving age-old enmities; once again, we're ignorant of the country, issues and potential consequences; again, thinking of striking a Muslim country; Syria's patron, Russia, holds some 10,000 nuclear warheads; a "limited" action will either be ineffective or not limited; desposing Assad might bring a worse — from the standpoint of our national interests — regime, and we're not the world police.Wonkblog offers a guide to the basics.

Now the Saloon is yours...

Comments

[cal Lash]

DiCiccio's win insures that the money boys in this state will continue to create potholes. They will build a useless freeway across Indian land and some other properties that should improve Sal'S financial portfolio. U know like why the north bound lanes on the 7th Street bridge are crooked.
Syria, Can the Neo Cons, the CIA and the NSA force Obama to fire the missiles. It's obvious the American public will not support this action and obviously the British public is on the right side of the page. But in the end it's still about oil, gas and money.

[cal Lash]

And for Petro and all you Adbuster fans
http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/2013/sepoct/occupying-anarchy.html?paging=off
An excerpt:
But if they genuinely want to build up an explanatory political theory for their experience in their short-lived camps, they might read a little in the Christian anarchists. Or in St. Augustine, for that matter—a man who knew a little about the cost of anarchy, as the Vandals closed around the city of Hippo and the great Roman political order began to collapse.
aghast at the failure of God to bring an end to the mess,

[cal Lash]

And for Headless and AZREBEL.
http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/marshall_08_13.php
have a good and safe weekend

[Rogue Columnist]

But that overpass was built 30 years before BOB. Tell me more

[Skip]

I don't want to talk about the Phoenix elections...I am totally disgusted with the very low voter turnout...especially in my District...District 4.
Mail- in available, two days of "open polls" AND the actual voting day...brings out a horrible 13 -15% turnout!

I want to voice my opinion, my total disgust, with whomever was in charge of the MLK 50th Anniversary Program in DC.

MLK was a great American who fought hard for bringing races, people together. A man for ALL people!

Whomever was in charge, and the DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP,
Should be ashamed of their total snub and disrespect to the Republican and Independant Party.

Senator T. Scott, (Republican, so they certainly wouldn't invite him to speak?) the ONLY Black Senator in the US Senate!

They invited the past DEMOCRATIC Presidents only...No Republican Presidents..

Well, I should just say, NO REPUBLICANS at all, from Government or private industry to speak

MLK is turning over in his grave at the total disrespect the DEMOCRATS showed on the day to commemorate the works and efforts of this great American.

A total snub of " working together" in our Country.

( I also responded in this like manner on facebook, when an article on the snub of Sen Scott was shown...my comments are no longer on that facebook article!! MEDIA CONTROL?? .....I'm just sayin

[Petro]

From the #Occupy article (thanks, cal):

...But what does seem apparent, even in an incomplete browsing of the topic, is that people in the Occupy movement are on a desperate hunt for an ideology. Or, at least (since many anarchists claim to reject the whole idea of ideologies), for some kind of satisfying philosophical account of themselves...

But what does seem apparent, even in an incomplete browsing of the article, is that the author of this article is on yet another desperate hunt to pigeonhole "the movement." Or, at least (since many authors claim to reject the whole idea of subjectivity), for some kind of satisfying philosophical justification for the prism of his prejudices.

[PJD]

Its truly sad when less than a quarter of the Phoenix populous voting qualifies as a "record turnout", for gods sake you don't even have to go to the polls to vote these days. How much easier does it need to be?

The DiCiccio victory nets us of four more years of divisive rhetoric that is in addition to the baseline bullshit that was already present in Phoenix politics. Unfortunate since it was a golden opportunity to have someone on the council who could have been a pragmatic, mending force and really given the city a chance at progress at such a crucial time.

At least now we can keep on with our hobby of hating on those thug cops and firefighters along with the rest of the evil city employees. Yay! thats productive.

[headless]

Lash__

From Weave me the Sunshine:

“Well I've seen the steel and the concrete crumble
Shine on me again
The proud and the mighty all are stumbled
Shine on me again

Weave, weave, weave me the sunshine
Out of the falling rain, out of the falling
Weave me the hope of a new tomorrow
And fill my cup again.”

Peter Yarrow

[AzReb R. Perez]

All you contrarians on this blog. You know who you are. Almost all of you!!

You must go to Petro's site Deconstructing the Manifest, link is on the right, under Rogue links.

His current post is about your kind.

Kindly give it a read.

[cal Lash]

Gezz AzReb this is you and I.
A contrarian is a person who takes up a contrary position, especially a position that is opposed to that of the majority, regardless of how unpopular it may be.
I am 73 and not changing.
PS, I think you are wrong.
PS, I recommend the new book Zealot for U REB. And then The Case for Christ.
Those should up your intake of substance.

[cal Lash]

Emil, it appears that Ertharin Cousin, Head of the World Food Programme is a supporter of Drip Irrigation.

[cal Lash]

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/31/the_conservative_crackup_how_the_republican_party_lost_its_mind/

An excerpt:

The Republican Party, particularly in the House, has turned into the legislative equivalent of North Korea — a political outlier so extreme it has lost the ability to achieve its objectives through normal political means. Its only recourse is to threats (increasingly believable) that it will blow up the system rather than countenance this-or-that lapse from conservative dogma.

[cal Lash]

From the Front page
"Five years later, Obama has been captured by the national security establishment || Mother Jones"
Wrong
The CIA, NSA, DOD and the likes owned him the day he took office

[cal Lash]

Looks like u all went to the high country. No place for old men.

[cal Lash]

Putin has siezed the Bully Puplit.
And he wears Levis!

[AzReb R. Perez]

Happy Labor Day !

All levels of government are corrupt.

All unions are corrupt.

What's a poor worker to do??

[Rogue Columnist]

My Labor Day column in the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2021715434_biztaltoncol01xml.html

[AzReb R. Perez]

Reading the comments in your Seattle blog always highlight the rabid opinions of both factions. It is obvious they will never be brought to a middle ground. Which is sad, because it is on middle ground where the solutions are in residence.

I had a thought today. If the American populace is broken into four parts, it is easier to view the recent collapse and resulting reshuffle of the populace during the "recovery".

The top fourth, the previously upper middle class, seem to be back on track and however wrong, still relate to the elite one percenters. Why, because they still envision that they could one day join the elite club. (They never will, but they THINK it's possible)

The next fourth, the previous lower middle class, lacking college degrees and losing high paying blue collar jobs, lost the most in the reshuffle. Why? Because their ladders of opportunity are gone. Never to return. However, it may take a generation for them to realize they no longer have anything in common with the top fourth, so they still support what ever is good for the elite. They still feel a bond with their old moneyed friends and haven't bonded with their new poor relations.

The two bottom fourths of the populace saw the collapse and recovery as something happening to those other people. The ones with jobs and stuff. The bottom two fourths, didn't have regular jobs or stuff going in to the collapse. They don't have jobs or stuff coming out of the collapse. Business as usual. No education. No skills. They will stay afloat with assistance from government, families, friends or as groups living a communal existence.

I don't have any solutions. I used to believe that 80% hard work and 20% luck would move you up the ladder. After a lifetime of being in the workforce, I now know it is 80% luck and 20% hard work.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[cal Lash]

Well Butch. What u think about banks and trains. Sundance.

[AzReb R. Perez]

I like trains.

[Petro]

Bottom two-fourths, aka the salt of the Earth.

[eclecticdog]

Occupy could have become Progressives (level playing field, anti-corporations, etc.) but the Kooktards (Trademark!) have bamboozled the media into thinking they are the same as libtards.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/every-top-republican-invited-to-mlk-anniversary-event-said-no/

If Kooks want to get the black vote (or the latin vote back), they need to step up, acknowledge their abandonment of all minorities, and make the appropriate amends (no more voter restrictions, no more race baiting or code, etc.)

[cal Lash]

Eclecticdog u been smoking?