The Political Discussion Thread

[Gatefan1976]

I doubt that even Thermochem (a high-octane drain opener that's pretty much near 100% pure sulfuric acid) would dissolve the blockages present in the WH's plumbing waste lines

I doubt it would work on your brain.
We can debate left Vs Right till the cows come home, but that is not happening anymore.
We can even debate republican Vs Democrat standings on issues, but that too is not happening anymore.

What you embrace now is the dying breath of a demagogue leading you straight to hell.
I hope it was worth it for you, it what currency would you like your 30 silvers?

[Annoyed]

In all seriousness... how old is that building? It probably still has its original plumbing.

Anywho...

Roughly 70 years. And I'm quite familiar with it. I grew up in it. And I can say with certainty that it's not a problem with the plumbing. It was installed about 30 years ago, when we switched from septic tank to sewers.

More recently, I installed the toilet that is in there, replacing the old style full-flusher that was in there. I couldn't buy the old style, they aren't allowed to sell them anymore. Needless to say, I checked for drain pipe issues during that job. There are none.

[Annoyed]

I doubt it would work on your brain.
We can debate left Vs Right till the cows come home, but that is not happening anymore.
We can even debate republican Vs Democrat standings on issues, but that too is not happening anymore.

What you embrace now is the dying breath of a demagogue leading you straight to hell.
I hope it was worth it for you, it what currency would you like your 30 silvers?

Gambling chips for Trump's casinos?

Tell me, what are you going to say about this "dying demagogue" this time next year, after he has won re-election? And will likely have the House back in Republican control too?

You don't accept it, but this never ending series of shameful attempts by the Democrats to "fix" their screw up in 2016 is going to bite them in the arse, big time.

[Annoyed]

You folks have heard me rant against public employee unions for some time now (private employer unions aren't a problem, if the unions screw the place up, I can always go elsewhere.)

We have a shining example of why in the local news these days.

The nearest major city to me is Rochester, NY.
Like most, it has a school district.

First, a history lesson.

Back in the 1980's, the teacher's union, led by it's president, Adam Urbanski, pushed for 40% across the board raises for all teachers in the district. I *think* support staff was included as well. The theory was that if you want to have good results from the schools, you have to have quality teaching staff, and to get that, you had to pay a pretty penny.

The school board went along with this plan, and raises were given out, making that city's teachers among the highest paid in the nation.

How did that work out? For the next 30+ years, this district stood out. As one of the absolute worse performing schools in the entire country. Typical graduation rates in the 40% range; only recently did they crack 50%. And they feel that is something to brag about.

Understandably, over that time, there have been many, many inquiries into why. And the answer is always the same: You need to give us more money..Like a broken record. What, the results are going to be different than what happened in the 1980's?

Now, going to the current stinkfishpot.
A few months ago, the district announced that they had discovered that they had actually spent 30-50 million more than was in the actual budget for this year. And it might be worse than that.
Several investigations were started, and we are starting to see the results of that.

First, it seems that the overspending occured in the following areas: (This is still preliminary, they aren't anywhere near the bottom of this cesspool yet.)
Employee benefits
Teacher substitutes
Tuition (Charter)
Retirement benefits
Contract Transportation

The biggest factor by far is employee/teacher benefits.

Translation: They couldn't get authorization for what the unions wanted, so the distrct spent it anyway, "black budget" style.
As of now, there are multiple investigations ongoing, from the state comptroller to the federal Securities & Exchange commission. As of now, the known shortages are about 65 million. Moody's has lowered the city's credit rating as a result.

States and cities can't print money like the feds can. They have to balance their budget.

So, right off the bat, their first reaction is to whine to the state, "give us more money". But that's not likely to happen; several (even Democrat) representatives are against that.. "you screwed up your books, you fix it. In addition, the state itself has a nearly 7 billion dollar hole in its budget.

To its credit, the city management smelled something wrong here way earlier in the year, and tried to execute a city takeover of the schools, tossing the school board out of the picture. The board, supported by the unions took this to state court, where it was blocked.

So, the district will have to resort to layoffs and such. needless to say, the teachers aren't happy about that.
They've been carrying on in the media, even to the point of taking their classes out into the streets during class time to whine for the TV cameras.

Now, it seems to me that if the overspending occurred in employee compensation, that's where it ought to be made up.
And some individual teachers have been quoted in the media saying that they realize that, and would be willing to give back to prevent the layoffs.

Guess who doesn't like that? The teachers's unions, led by that same greedy bastage who got the 40% raise in the 1980's!
He's still there!

It's not the individual teachers. But that union has to be broken and broken hard if they have any hope of fixing that hellhole of a school district.

If anyone wants to look into this, it's well documented in that city's media.

One of the local TV stations has a decent overview posted here; https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/...budget-crisis/

Almost any other local media outlet has coverage of this too.

This is what happens when the unions and the Democrats have unrestricted control for a long time. And you folks wonder why I'm so staunch a right winger.

[EDIT]
And, of course, minority teachers should be exempt from layoffs....

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/ro...rican-teachers

One of the Rochester school board members believes teachers of color should be spared city budget layoffs.

Commissioner Judith Davis says 40 of the 155 teachers cut in a deficit reduction plan are African-American. She said the finding impacts the district's effort to add more teachers to help address under-representation.

Were they exempt from the overspending they benefited from too?

[SoulReaver]

Perhaps you are just full of Sh*t?

Trump violates the law of conservation of sh**

no matter how much sh** he spews out he's still full of it

[Annoyed]

Trump violates the law of conservation of sh**

no matter how much sh** he spews out he's still full of it

There is no law of conservation of shiznit. Further, none is needed. Like stupidity & hydrogen, there is a practically unlimited supply of it.

[Annoyed]

I doubt that even Thermochem (a high-octane drain opener that's pretty much near 100% pure sulfuric acid) would dissolve the blockages present in the WH's plumbing waste lines

That is some powerful stuff. I first encountered it back on the 70's, brand name "Liquid Fire" using it to get a few more months out of old copper radiators in cars. I've continued to use it in home plumbing from time to time, it does wonders.

[SoulReaver]

There is no law of conservation of shiznit.

of matter/energy then

Further, none is needed. Like stupidity & hydrogen, there is a practically unlimited supply of it.

and your King has a quasi monopoly of it

[Gatefan1976]

Gambling chips for Trump's casinos?

You mean when he started grifting?
(or at least provable counts of it)

Tell me, what are you going to say about this "dying demagogue" this time next year, after he has won re-election?

That you are stupid, like I do now?
You have committed treason against your constitution?
You care more about yourself than the law?
But hey, you want a criminal cartel running your country, as long as you get something, it's ok.

And will likely have the House back in Republican control too?

You are delusional.

You don't accept it, but this never ending series of shameful attempts by the Democrats to "fix" their screw up in 2016 is going to bite them in the arse, big time.

That's not even a republican talking point, it's a trump lie.
He may keep the presidency, but this time round, it's republicans who are up for the most votes in the senate.
Again, this is not left or right, or even Democratic vs Republican.
It's about trump being a criminal.
Keep sucking his arse.

[Annoyed]

Again, this is not left or right, or even Democratic vs Republican.
It's about trump being a criminal.
Keep sucking his arse.

Under our system, he is not a criminal unless he is convicted. The media, the Democrats can jawbone till their arse falls off, but it means NOTHING.

We shall see if the Senate sees anything to convict him. Until they do, he's not a criminal. Get it?

[Gatefan1976]

Under our system, he is not a criminal unless he is convicted. The media, the Democrats can jawbone till their arse falls off, but it means NOTHING.

We shall see if the Senate sees anything to convict him. Until they do, he's not a criminal. Get it?

No, I see them protecting there own seats and allowing trump to remain.
They are complicit.
Get it?
That's even your talking point.
"impeachment is dumb because the senate will vote against it, because, they are republican lead"
Has nothing to do with the law or fact, just party over country.
How does that orange arse taste?

[Annoyed]

No, I see them protecting there own seats and allowing trump to remain.
They are complicit.
Get it?
That's even your talking point.
"impeachment is dumb because the senate will vote against it, because, they are republican lead"
Has nothing to do with the law or fact, just party over country.
How does that orange arse taste?

And the Republicans aren't going to convict because they aren't part of the partisan Democrat feeding frenzy.

Trump has enough enemies in his own party that would defect if there was actually something there besides an overwhelming desire to undo 2016.

[jelgate]

False. The Republicans won't convict because they don't want to lose power. Laws are just an inconvenience

[Gatefan1976]

And the Republicans aren't going to convict because they aren't part of the partisan Democrat feeding frenzy.

Trump has enough enemies in his own party that would defect if there was actually something there besides an overwhelming desire to undo 2016.

Do you even Realise what it would take to undo everything trump has done?
He's ramming the courts full of conservative judges, and unless they PERSONALLY do something wrong, they are safe.
The House and the Senate cannot touch them, no matter what trump has done.

You are using an excuse, and a poor one at that.
Will of the 63 million who voted for him?
How about the 69 million who voted for someone else?

You have no argument that cannot be destroyed by a simple google search.

[Gatefan1976]

And the Republicans aren't going to convict because they aren't part of the partisan Democrat feeding frenzy.

Trump has enough enemies in his own party that would defect if there was actually something there besides an overwhelming desire to undo 2016.

In other words, protecting their own arse.
Thanks again for proving my point.