Reparations?

While we are all fascinated by the hopeful destruction of the Deep State, some of the 2020 Prez hopefuls have announced support for Reparations. Just a couple of ?s

1. Do families of Abolitionists have to pay?

2. Do families of the Union Soldiers have to pay?

Over 360,000 died in service to the North, 110,000+ in battle and 250,000+ of other causes, primarily disease. The South lost over 260,000 men, 95,000+ in battle and 165,000+ to other causes, primarily disease. Some recent estimates claim the totals were actually higher.

3. All those emigres that came after 1870, do they have to pay?

4. Or is it all about intersectional pandering?

While we await answers from these "leading" candidates, also ponder that if the above ?s are all a pass by the Candidates, this means it is targeted at the Confederate States of the South , right? They really want to piss off the South?

You need to know, I moved to TX 6 years ago. They still refer to the Civil War as the War Of Northern Aggression.

Just sayin'

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dance you monster's picture

No.
No.
No.
Kinda yes and kinda no. Yes, the candidates want to look good to POC, but no, reparations are a reasonable idea even without that pandering.

If reparations were to take the form of a cash payout (and not everyone favors that form), no one would pay it but the government, which can invent money at will. Remember those checks we got from Dubya? No one paid for those, either. If you invent too much money, then things get a little dicey on the bond market, but no one outside the U.S. would insist we go into default from trying to rectify an inequity 300+ years in the making. Now, within the U.S. there are plenty of people who'd want to take advantage of people's lack of financial sophistication to claim this would mean we have to kill Medicaid or Social Security, but those are disingenuous and fallacious arguments of the sort that outright thieves and grandma killers "fiscal conservatives" like to make.

And that none of this is evident to most of the people in Texas is not surprising.

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EdMass's picture

@dance you monster

Remember those checks we got from Dubya?

Linkies?

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

@EdMass
to show how committed Shrub’s administration was to shrinking the federal government. Then he spent the rest of his two terms running up the federal debt to pay for his wars of choice.

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EdMass's picture

@FutureNow @FutureNow

I might have spent that at HomeDepot one weekend. But that was so long ago...

/s

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

@EdMass
as the seiko ad used to go, "she's gone, but i've still got my randall ..."

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Pricknick's picture

reparations for the native americans I'll pay attention.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

EdMass's picture

@Pricknick

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

snoopydawg's picture

@Pricknick

and on reservations that looks like the armpit of America because of how much poverty there is there. When was the last time congress increased federal spending for them instead of cutting it?

I like Bernie's idea on this. Lift everyone out of poverty wages and systems that create life time poverty? Rescind the tax cuts!

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

than address problems of the present.

While we await answers from these "leading" candidates, also ponder that if the above ?s are all a pass by the Candidates, this means it is targeted at the Confederate States of the South , right? They really want to piss off the South?

Anything to distract the candidates from talking about healthcare, no?

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

EdMass's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

making the candidates

distract(ing) from talking about healthcare

Y'a know. We should find some way to talk. I don't think we really disagree, but it looks like it on a blog.

Peace.

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@EdMass

You're not the one asking Bernie about this.

Drinks

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Where in the hell in Texas are you?
I grew up in "Central" Texas. I left about 35 years ago.
I never heard the term "war of northern aggression" by anyone there growing up. Ever.
Maybe that is a newer thing or maybe it is an old southern thing that has only made it to Texas lately. I don't know.
And, I was a country kid surrounded by rednecks and shitkickers.

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Deja's picture

@peachcreek
Never heard it uttered, ever in person.

Now, I have heard the saying, "A Yankee is someone from up North. A damn Yankee is someone from up North who comes down here and stays."

Also saw a bumper sticker that said, "Welcome to Texas! Now go home."

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travelerxxx's picture

@Deja

Reminds me of a story my wife tells me about when she and her ex first moved to Houston in the mid 1980's. During the first week, they went to the local mall. When they returned to their car, there was a handwritten note placed underneath a windshield wiper. It read, "Welcome to Texas. Thanks for visiting. Now go home."

They still had New York state tags on their car.

I don't think that bothered them as much as, a few weeks later, they witnessed a KKK rally at the old blimp base in north Harris county. That was very close to where they were living.

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Deja's picture

@travelerxxx
Born and raised here. In my 50 yrs, I've never met one who admitted that they were. Lots of creepy white Masons, though. One was my ex father in law, who said there are n-word orders of the creepy fraternity. I guess they're segregated.

I know where you're talking about, but it would have blown my mind to have seen that.

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travelerxxx's picture

@Deja

Never met an admitted Klansman/person

I have, but that was in Kansas, not Texas. But, yeah, my wife still talks about seeing that rally. I'm pretty sure the Masons run Texas.

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janis b's picture

@travelerxxx

was of klansmen fully dressed walking along an exceptionally beautiful landscape in Wilton CT at dusk, very near my otherwise peaceful home. From what I understood at the time it was a response to a black family who moved into the very white neighbourhood. Awful.

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EdMass's picture

@peachcreek

First, Houston.

With all due respect. Are you female or male? Y'a see the Rednecks usually only feel unencumbered talking to other adult males in my experience when this topic comes up. Rednecks, y'a know with all the guns and the "Come and Take It" flags...So, no one said anything to a child over 35 years ago? Texans do have good social manners.

It's really very common and been going on since 1863.

A Rebel popular hero...

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

Deja's picture

@EdMass
Was wearing a Longhorns hoodie a couple weeks ago and a man in a cowboy hat came out of the convenience store I was entering. He glared at me and said, "You're my enemy because I'm an Aggie, but I'll get the door for you." He was being sarcastic, I think, but I've actually heard loud, drunken arguments about UT vs A&M. So freaking stupid. Neither place is worth a shit if your degree from either can't land you a livable wage.

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@EdMass @EdMass I'm male and didn't leave until well into adulthood. More'n likely, folks just knew my family's politics and also knew they would get called out on spouting such shit. To be clear, I was referring only to that phrase. I heard plenty of racist, homophobic and jingoistic shit from Texans. I was also disappointed to find that when I moved that I still hear such shit no matter the state I'm in with about the same frequency.

Edited typos...

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cybrestrike's picture

And I'll be horribly blunt--it is not a winning issue at the moment. Reparations polls pretty low and is still a niche issue.

If activists acting in good faith keep pushing for it, it might actually happen...eventually. Or not. I don't know. But from what I've seen so far, the good faith actors with this issue are few and far between.

Reparations has been used as a wedge issue in a cynical attempt by some people to mess with the primary. See recent revelations from certain people within #ADOS on Twitter for details.

Disclaimer: I am not ADOS.

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mimi's picture

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