American Communism

[Funder]

The United Socialist People’s Republic of The City of Sacramento has just announced that they are REQUIRING every rental unit to be inspected on an annual basis.  Who do you suppose is paying for all of this?  Well the RICH landlords, of course.  We already pay to the County of Sacramento (annual fees attached to the utility bills) for a program which investigates tenant complaints and may require landlords to fix building code violations.  Well, the government just couldn’t extort enough money through that program.  The moochers and the looters would have to collect money from the complaints of tenants, and for that to occur, tenants would have to care.  Obviously, that is not the case.  Now ALL rental units will be inspected every year.  ALL landlords will receive an annual bill to cover the cost, AND of course fines can be levied for violations of building code ordinances.  How’s that for a conflict of interest built right into their communist, socialist, mooching, lazy arrogant system?  I wonder how long until we see the day when China and Russia seemed less communist than the United States?

[propertymanager]

Steve,

It's about to get a LOT worse.  The socialists are probably going to come to power in November and will work very hard to socialize business in this country.  Socialized medicine and controlling the profits of key industries (oil, pharma, etc) are goals they have already expressed.

Cities, and counties are already targeting those evil RICH LANDLORDS via many mechanisms, such as landlord registration, inspection fees, nuisance fees, etc.  We all know that business people and entrepreneurs are EVIL and must be punished by stealing all of their profit (for the greater good, of course).

Mike

[furnishedowner]

Steve and Mike,

After the ever-increasing Fascism under the current administration I, for one, would welcome almost any change even though you think it is Socialism or Communism.

FurnishedOwner

[stevie-o]

Steve and Mike,

After the ever-increasing Fascism under the current administration I, for one, would welcome almost any change even though you think it is Socialism or Communism.

FurnishedOwner

Fascism - noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism. 
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism. 
3. (initial capital letter) a fascist movement, esp. the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43. 


Not quite man. Words have meanings.

[furnishedowner]

Have you been to Europe lately? It's a new experience being considered "an ugly American" because of our country's policies.

I equate Fascism with having a Gulag: Guatanamo. Where prisoners are allowed to rot for years without hearings, attorneys, humane enough treatment, trials or repatriation.

Where the Geneva Convention is viewed as "quaint" and out-dated.

Where the government authorizes water-boarding, a form of torture. Would you want your relative questioned by pseudo-drowning?

Where our government lied to us and put us into a protracted war with the wrong country, not even the country of the people that attacked us.

Where the government spies on its own people and sugar-coats it as "The Patriot Act."

I love my country and was always proud of the American values and ethics until this administration, the worst in our history. Time to get the thugs out.

[Funder]

Regarding the globally unpopular, protracted war with the wrong Country:
John McCain does not support waterboarding or Guantanamo Bay. McCain was a prisoner of war, and as both a prisoner of war and a leader in civil service, I have to believe that he cannot condone or support activities which he knows are wrong.
George W. Bush is not on the list of candidates, so whatever resentment you have toward him is irrelevant in this race.
This war presents, in many ways, a sharp divergence from wars past. In WWII, we fought German and Japanese imperialism. In the mid 20th century, we engaged in a cold war with the Soviet republic. We are now engaged in a war of ideas. Instead of engaging in war with nations or ethnicities, we are now declaring war on ideals like terrorism, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. Saddam Hussein extorted over $21 billion from the oil for food program and sent it directly to Hamas, whose operations are primarily violent, including suicide bombings against civilian targets. Indeed, the Hamas charter contains the objective of “death for the cause of Allah is the most sublime belief.” Saddam Hussein also had given more than $35 million in cash to suicide bombers.
History is filled with examples of religion and war. We unfortunately are left with the option of waiting for Islamic fundamentalists to bring their war to us, or fight this war abroad. If we decide to bring the troops home, that does not mean that Islam’s war is over.
The United Nations Security Council forbid Hussein from having ballistic missiles, with a range greater than 150 kilometers. In this war, the CIA did find plans and designs for long range ballistic missiles with ranges from 400 to 1000 kilometers, and for a 1000 kilometer range cruise missile. Saddam Hussein was also actively negotiating the proliferation of their missile program with Russia and North Korea. This was only on of dozens of violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
I have personally met people who served in the United States military who were directly involved in the discovery of sarin gas buried in the northern Iraqi desert. It is well known that mustard and sarin gas have been used in car bombs and roadside attacks during the present conflict, and has been insinuated by some that the “Gulf War Syndrome” amounts to nothing more than the medical consequence of nerve gas exposure.
The troops have my deepest gratitude and support. If there were no bad people, there would be no good warriors.

[Funder]

Socialism is a very dangerous precedent.  If we are to correct our trade imbalances, if we are to set our economy in the right direction, if we are to remain a financially prosperous country, our citizens need to work, and produce value.
We need to farm, build, weld, sew, mine, manufacture, imagine, create.  We cannot afford to let our hands fall idle.  Condescending arrogance and dreaming up mandates does not bring any value to the negotiation table, but try to tell that to a condescending, arrogant person.
If some of our citizens are poor because they are lazy, then others must be ambitious enough to compensate for the deficit, and if laws are written, they must reward the ambitious and punish the lazy.   The mere desire to have material wealth is not enough, all the rules in all of the liberal minds will not permit us to evade the work at hand while enjoying the fruits of that work.  If our country is poor because of debt, we will rise thanks to our industry or fall because of our vanity.  Pride is only earned through achievement.
This country may avert disaster and despair through the simple act of caring about whether we contribute anything.   Riches are for the careful, and power is for the bold.
Incompetence dishonesty and conflicts of interest will do more damage to this country than a trillion terrorists ever could.
If we are to live prosperous lives, we must choose to think and act.

[rookieNYC]

furnishedowner,
2 of my close child hood friends died on 9/11...Both FDNY,both family people and fathers..I could care less about waterboarding or any other kind of torture that will prevent another 9/11..It's people like you that need to wake up..I still remember clearly the way BBC and Al Jazeera showed how foreigners were dancing in the streets with joy after we were hit...If you didn't live in NYC or the 5 boroughs you have zero clue how it changes you..There were funerals for *YEARS*...I can go on and on but I could care less about what we look like abroad..I travel in and out of Europe,Central America,South America and I could care less..

[stevie-o]

furnishedowner,
2 of my close child hood friends died on 9/11...Both FDNY,both family people and fathers..I could care less about waterboarding or any other kind of torture that will prevent another 9/11..It's people like you that need to wake up..I still remember clearly the way BBC and Al Jazeera showed how foreigners were dancing in the streets with joy after we were hit...If you didn't live in NYC or the 5 boroughs you have zero clue how it changes you..There were funerals for *YEARS*...I can go on and on but I could care less about what we look like abroad..I travel in and out of Europe,Central America,South America and I could care less..

Dang right.

[Tien]

bah I'll just stay out of this.

[furnishedowner]

Funder,
Like you, I also like John McCain. Had he been president the last 8 years we might still be living in a country that acts honorably.

Instead we got Mr. Bush. I don't need to point out his obvious deficiencies. He was bought and paid for because he could easily be manipulated and handled. The people around him pushed their policies on us. That's how we got pre-emptive strikes and our young guys in harm's way.

Who armed Saddam? Who sold him weapons & helicopters to use on his own people and neighbors. The U.S. Us. We exported those weapons in the name of "good business". Shame on us. It was already known then that he was a butcher.

[furnishedowner]

rookieNYC,
You wrote that torture, or any means  is warranted because anti-American rabble were shown on TV dancing in the streets after 9-11.
Rabble has always danced in the streets, in every country they do it whenever there is even a soccer or football riot. The rabble are not the people.

Nothing justifies torture.

After 9-11 I remember instead the huge international outpouring of grief, caring and good-will from other nations. Our government squandered that opportunity to set up an international coalition against terrorism.

Instead we had Iraqi prisoners subjected to sexual perversion and cruelty in their own country by American occupation forces. We should have had a blazing mad president who went on camera in front of the horrified world and fired the generals and Rumsfeld because it happened on their watch. How many suicide bombers were created by Abu Ghraib?

Saddam Hussein should have been handed over to the World Court in the Hague and tried for his crimes against humanity. Instead, once again, our government wanted control and bungled another opportunity to increase our stature in the world.

It is not "Our country, right or wrong".  If our country is wrong, we need to speak out. How's this new slogan, "Democracy, love it or leave it."

Otherwise I am with you guys on working hard, freedom to have a business and all that. I have lived under Socialism (Denmark) and it is a straight-jacket for entrepreneurs, very comfortable but no thanks.
Let's be glad we still have the freedom to disagree.

[kdhastedt]

...and this is all REI-related....how?

Only the premise set up in the first post in the thread is relevant.  Even the guests are complaining.


Keith
Moderator

[REIforNewbies]

I'm a bit surprised it has taken them so long.  There are many, many cities that require annual inspections (plus drop-ins and drive-bys) of rental properties.

Chris

[propertymanager]

...and this is all REI-related....how?

Keith,

A discussion of Bush, torture, and the war is not REI related.  However, I can think of nothing that will affect my business more than the socialists coming to power; raising taxes (one of their promises); and taking from those of us that are productive to give to those that are too lazy to work!

Mike