Displaying 271 To 300 Of 2,133 Comments Of Thee I Sing : a response to What IS leadership and what kind of leader do WE want? Adonai…I like the bumper stickers. Short, sweet and to the point! You want to help the DNC out a little…they seem to have some trouble in the marketing department! 🙂 » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 19, 2011 @ 5:51 pm TAKE ACTION – How To Help Those In Japan Thank you for the information Kalima. THAT was my first thought upon coming onto this thread…HOW to ACTUALLY get the needed supplies to THOSE who need them? I’m thinking that the logistics is the hard part, not necessarily the compiling of the supplies or the willingness to donate money/supplies, etc. Please let us know what WE here can do when the time is appropriate. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 4:39 pm @Cher…better late than never! I was very busy today, and only had while my baked ziti was cooking to stop over this afternoon and didn’t realize there were any problems today. As usual, great roundup. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 9:47 pm Well OF course TP (Teaparty) think a government shut down would be a good thing…they are NUTS. Certifiably NUTS and I think they are anarchists for the most part. On Boehner…what can I say, he’s a boob. I would expect nothing less than hypocrisy from him. As to the GOP’s stance on Consumer protection…again not exactly new news. THEY don’t care about the little PEOPLE of this nation…they only care about the elite and corporations. I really liked (if that’s the right word for such a disturbing subject) the piece on Class warfare. In my opinion it was spot on and should be required reading. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 3:31 pm Well Boomer…at this point I’m willing to try just about anything! Maybe the baseball would work….we don’t have to hit them hard! 🙂 » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 3:45 pm Boomer…sadly I DO realize that…but my goodness can’t we hit them on the head or something and knock some SENSE into them?? (sigh) » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 11:57 am I swear the GOP isn’t even TRYING to hide their contempt for the average people in this nation. I REALLY, REALLY don’t understand how they get ANY votes. {sigh} » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 10:58 am Oh…good point Jkk! 🙂 » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 7:14 pm I just LOVE sarcasm! It makes the telling of these facts and stories, so much more interesting! Excellent job 2CCP of telling the issue with just the right amount of sarcasm and wit! Sadly, due to the situation you so aptly described, most people no nothing about Tesla as his mentor Edison MADE sure most people didn’t know of him and HIS ideas…because Edison was a power hungry egomaniac. Tesla, was basically just a nerdy engineer and didn’t seem to be as big into gaining attention and POWER like his boss, was..so it’s no surprise that Edison pretty much ended up being the one who become rich and well known and Tesla is regulated to the back pages of the History books. Which like many POWER hungry egomaniacs, money and thus PROFIT are the means to their POWER and ability to gain MORE power. POWER is such an aphrodisiac. I would be willing to go out on a limb, and suggest that AFTER a certain point, it’s not really about MONEY anymore…not really. Money and MAJOR amounts of money are simply a means to extreme amounts of POWER.Thus, the accumulation of POWER that that money generates that IS REALLY, REALLY what these people are after. As such it is rather ironic that industries that generate POWER often attract those who are POWER hungry as a means for them to MAKE obscene amounts of money and THUS amass MORE power. THEY get the best of both…they make RIDICULOUS sums of money, which makes them very influential and thus very powerful AND they control the sources of POWER, which makes them RIDICULOUS sums of money and GIVES them EVEN MORE power. The mad scientists in most comic books, usually do the same thing…they look for power sources to control and take them over in their quest to dominate the world. It’s actually a pretty old story. Growing up in Buffalo,NY…WHICH for those who aren’t aware is less than 20 minutes from Niagara Falls (THE falls were actually a BIG player in the electricity biz…sadly THEY don’t get the press they deserve, or enough credit for the power they generate) and being the city where electricity was first introduced as a means to power industry, information about Tesla is rather easy to come by in these parts. MOST of us, as students at one time or another, have had to write at LEAST one paper on Tesla, Edison and Electricity at some point in their school career. AS well as going on field trips to the MANY museums dedicated to this subject or tour the power plant while in grade school or High school. Niagara County also has the dubious distinction of being home to many superfund sites! YEAH…aren’t we lucky! (SIGH) and have some knowledge of the toxins that such GREAT power leaves behind. Niagara Falls, in case some of you don’t know is home to Love Canal. Yes, the great state of New York and the elite power brokers and robber barons (also called industrialists) of the early 20th century decided it would be great fun, to destroy a natural wonder of the world,and it’s surrounding areas and make it a hub for ALL sorts of great industries. Those great industries, decided to use the surrounding countryside and the GREAT lakes, as a waste dump for their wastes! It was so CONVENIENT that there was so MUCH empty land and waterways, just lying around! WOULDN’T want to actually DISPOSE of the waste properly, now would they? THAT just might cost them to use some of those profits! So instead they decided to just ruin the EARTH…since they didn’t live THERE…I guess it didn’t matter much to them. Although, they seemed to forget that the GREAT LAKES are a fresh water source and as such MAY actually be a beneficial asset. Silly, madmen seemed to have forgotten that PEOPLE…ALL people, even RICH and powerful PEOPLE, need fresh water TO live. AND water is one of those things THEY CAN’T manufacture! They also seemed to have FORGOTTEN or maybe they didn’t know…that WATER flows and moves into OTHER water sources. AS I said, they are like the mad power hungry scientists in the comic books…BUT without the knowledge of SCIENCE. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 6:43 pm How do you Build a Million Dollar Mousetrap that Steals Cheese Alas, Smedley, IT does appear we ran out of room on this discussion! I’m thinning out fast! 🙂 » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 4:21 pm PW, you do make a good point about conditioning and how people perceive others. A friend of mine asked me once, how I managed to move up the ladder as I had, and I told her…”typecasting”. The way people look, act, dress and present themselves is very often MORE important than what they actually KNOW. IF a person actually KNOWS quite a bit and CAN present themselves appropriately for that position, that person has a huge advantage. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 4:11 pm Hi PW…no doubt. It seems we are pandering to the worst of human beings and the worst of human traits rather than our better ones. {sigh} » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 4:05 pm I tend to think that as a WHOLE, humans beings kinda suck. I get a tad bit annoyed with some of the traits of our species. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 4:04 pm While in principle and on a very basic level, I agree people are the same REGARDLESS of culture, color or what have you….As in we all need food to eat, water to drink, air to breath, and WE all need to expel waste from our bodies,etc. ON the basic,primal level, ALL people ARE the same. HOWEVER, beyond the basic level there are GREAT differences in how people THINK and react based on age,sex, culture, experience, ability, intellect, perspective, personality, etc. THESE differences are why it is illogical to paint all people with a broad brush or assume that ALL people think the same or will react to the same stimuli in the same way. In sales, not to be confused with marketing, a sales person takes into account the customer’s personality type, and asks questions to determine HOW to sell to that individual. A good salesperson does NOT use the same technique across the board with ALL perspective customers. IF they did they would lose a lot of sales. Marketing on the other hand ATTEMPTS to determine the TARGET audience and demographic and THEN design an advertising campaign TO appeal to THE target demographic. Marketing and mass marketing, does not ATTEMPT to reach everyone or to appeal to everyone, as it is REALIZED that there are differences in psychology of the various DIFFERENT demographic groups. Demographic groups ARE ALWAYS taken into account in ALL advertising campaigns. THUS no one is EVER trying to appeal to EVERYONE all the time. Now in politics, the same concepts apply. It’s a numbers game. Any particular political group REALIZES they are NEVER going to appeal to ALL the people ALL the time. THUS, they try to appeal to their target demographic or in political speak, their base. AFTER they have won the support of that particular group THEN they can broaden their appeal to gain support from another group and THUS gain a larger share of the votes. In politics, ALL they need to WIN over is a majority of those who VOTE. SO if only 40% of eligible voters vote, and their base accounts for 15% of that 40%, they ONLY need to get the support of another 6% to WIN an election and thus WIN the power to achieve their agenda. THAT is what is meant as well, by political reality. A person who TRULY believes in the ideals of the conservative agenda, WILL not change their ingrained beliefs and ideas easily OR without a fight. On the same token, a person WHO truly believes in Liberal ideals isn’t going to just cow tow to one who holds an opposing viewpoint without a fight. AND if the two sides WILL not budge, you have a stalemate. NOW add in another 98 people ALL who hold closely to their own BELIEFS and ideals and it is DIFFICULT to gain consensus or even compromise. THIS, too is a political reality and NOT just a political reality, but a human reality. Whether it be in business, relationships, families, or in governance, no individual will ALWAYS be able to get their own way ALL the time or even some of the time. AND when in groups, no one group will ALWAYS get their way ALL the time. Regardless of whether one person believes they are right or have right on their side, there are always OTHERS who believe differently and who think THEY are right and have right on THEIR side. Again, these are ‘Realities of life’ and are also political realities. THERE are always people who are NOT going to like decisions made by their leadership. THERE will ALWAYS be opposing sides and those who think and believe that those in power are doing the wrong thing. IT is impossible to EVER get 100% consensus. It is hard to get even a 50% consensus within a group of people. I read a study once, about a year ago, in an organizational behavior course I took, that in groups over 8, it is very difficult to get REAL consensus. Very often in groups over 8 people, group think will tend to take over and people will chose sides and align with the strongest leaders of opinions and ideas that present themselves in the group. SOME individuals CAN make a difference…because they have the ability to KNOW how to influence others. OTHERS are followers and will simply go along with the group or the strongest in the group. HOWEVER groups will often break off and segregate into various competing factions. Getting the various factions to get along, let alone agree, even AFTER commonalities are found, can be VERY difficult because it doesn’t take much to make that ONE thing they don’t have common ties to, to be the breaking point that keeps them apart. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 11:56 pm I don’t find this annoying in the least. I actually love the conversation and the debating of specific concepts. I live for this type of stuff! I do agree it is hard to determine who is the appropriate ‘expert’ and many of the ways we as a society make those determinations are fraught with errors and assumptions. As you mentioned, there are those who can effectively ‘buy’ a credential based on legacy admission to an ‘exclusive school’ or who are able to gain access to certain careers through effective networks of those in positions of power or influence. Sadly, his situation makes it hard to determine who can be trusted and who’s opinion has merit. IF we really did have a meritocracy rather than a convoluted plutocracy, it would be easier to ascertain who REALLY was a good source! Governing is more complex today and in recent times, than it was in times past. WHILE it is interesting and can be very helpful to study the past, putting the past history of human development and thus the development of nations and civilizations, as well as governance, in to proper context when comparing issues from the past, and how they may or may not relate to today is important. Today we have the benefit of hindsight AND access to way more information than they had at different times in history. Humans are forever discovering things and creating new ideas, most of the time the ideas are from ideas discovered or created BEFORE but NEW ideas and concepts have been ADDED, thus creating new outcomes or new consequences to the new outcomes. For example, let’s look at medical science and the strides researchers have made over the years. Many diseases that once were incurable are now curable. HOWEVER, new side effects and other issues have come up with those discoveries. OR technology, that too is rife with new potential externalities or consequences, once unleashed. While the abilities it provides to man can be great, so can the consequences and new situations they create. My point is, that politics and governance can have consequences and unintended outcomes, too. If a person with limited ability to understand long term and short term consequences or who can’t see potential dangers in their policy initiatives, they can pose serious dangers for society as a whole. Human beings come in many shapes, sizes, abilities and perspectives. WE are all different, even though we may share certain commonalities, we still all process information differently and may have different talents or abilities. Human beings are not that homogenized, no matter how we try and pretend we are or try and create policies that treat us as such. Since human beings and human behavior are rather complex and have many different components; emotion, experience, upbringing, motivational factors, thought processes, genetic factors, biases, etc, etc, etc. Governing of the masses IS complex. Especially when you add the other complex concepts that a federal government in today’s day and age is faced with…Economics, Foreign relations, War and Peace, business concepts, tax policies, social issues, religion, wealth disparity, cultural differences, geographic issues, scientific research and it’s effects on the planet and people, medical concepts, etc, etc. etc. Once an idea or a concept is taken out of the box, it can’t be put back in. IT’s out there and thus it creates new issues that need to be addressed and considered. WE have a very diverse culture in the United States today, people have various levels of education, various cultural identities, various experience levels, as well as other differences that relate to their region and geography, and class. It’s not as easy as it looks. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 10:26 pm On the one hand, I agree with your premise that the messages CAN and should be made simpler. I think I mentioned that the other day. The left doesn’t do a good job of selling their ideas and more often than not, makes the message TOO complex. SO where messaging and marketing is concerned, thhe messages or the ideas behind the message SHOULD be simplified for the masses and the voters. I think less is more and the KISS principle SHOULD be employed. However, I disagree that politics isn’t a complicated business, with many different components and nuances. I think the actual BUSINESS of politics and governing is very complex and DOES require complex thought and the ability to see the ‘BIG PICTURE’ as well as the understanding how various ideas intertwine and effect other components. Sometimes, what appears to be a common sense concept or solution, isn’t really that simple. SOME counter intuitive concepts actually WORK, while the intuitive idea doesn’t. What many may BELIEVE to be a good idea based on intuitive or gut instinct, is NOT necessarily backed up by REAL data and analysis of how PEOPLE really behave or respond to stimuli…as a result so called ‘common sense’ solutions aren’t always reliable or appropriate. THE really wise person knows when to question their gut. Sadly, most people can’t understand ALL the complexities and don’t have either the appropriate acumen or education TO understand all the various components, involved. Hence why experts are needed in those various components and the advice of experts SHOULD be heeded. For example, policy regarding foreign countries or scientific concepts such as global warming should NOT be left to laymen who have no formal or practical experience in those areas. Experts ARE needed to formulate effective policies in those disciplines. I would suggest the same with policies and regulations that govern the food supply or building codes or even educational necessities, as well as medical issues. Laymen should NOT be giving advice on such issues. There is always a consequence for any action OR inaction. In politics and with governing, one must REALLY consider ALL variables and the reaction of different people to different concepts. I think that is what many mean, by the term ‘political reality’, at least I know that IS what I mean when I use that term. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 7:20 pm What IS leadership and what kind of leader do WE want? Hi Big AL!!!! Missed you! Great points! Thanks for adding! » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 17, 2011 @ 3:49 pm OH Buddy…that was very funny, thanks for sharing. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 11:38 am I really like it! » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 10:43 am I co-sign that sentiment! » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 10:41 am Choicelady…good point about W…he was LAZY and thus wasn’t really into being a ‘dictator’. THE one who scared ME the most was the heartless DICK, who would have taken over had anything happened to W. I swear, I am not one for praying…but I DID pray everyday for W’s safety. The consequences of something having happened to W, were simply TOO great to contemplate! » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 10:40 am @Truth…seeing that poster almost make me throw up a little. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 16, 2011 @ 10:31 am KQ…you bring up an excellent point…it wasn’t the system we have today, when it was first unveiled. IT has evolved, as does much or most of our legislation. Side note, some of FDR’s ideas put forth in the beginning of the New Deal, didn’t make it past the SCOTUS of the time…who were VERY conservative. FDR’s New Deal, met with many defeats from the SCOTUS in the early years of his presidency. As luck and time would have it, FDR was able to replace those VERY conservative members with those more to his liking and by the end of his presidency had succeeded in replacing ALL of them, with judges of HIS liking. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 8:30 pm Thanks Smedley! I was hoping to start a dialogue on leadership and what it means to different people, when I posted this. I think that we, especially those on the left, need to define what WE want in our leaders and what we are REALLY looking for from them. DO we just want the liberal version of “W”?? Or do we want a leader who actually extols the values that the left espouses? I think we need to question what WE want and come to some consensus, both for the short term and the long term before we can HONESTLY get the leader we want and GET him/her elected. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 6:56 pm KT…no doubt, they are a very naive lot! I’m sometimes so baffled by their silly arguments, that all I can do is laugh. Otherwise I would simply go postal! 🙂 » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 6:53 pm One of the things I believe made Roosevelt such an effective leader, was that HE wasn’t a strict ideologue and was more interested in results. I also think his background and ‘insider’ knowledge of the elite (as HE WAS one of them) helped him KNOW how to handle THEM. The elite of the time, DID consider him a traitor to his ‘kind’ and were not his greatest fans. I think that is one of the things that hurts Obama, he is NOT of their class, and as such even though he is a self made man and has attained the same educational credentials that THEY have…he is not one of ‘them’ and is not able to play the game the way FDR was able to do. » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 6:52 pm @Cher, Thanks. I really wanted to open up a discussion as to what do PEOPLE and especially the left want from our leaders. I think there are so many different perspectives and concepts that many believe equates to a good leader, that is causing some added friction, to an already contentious situation. IF we don’t all WANT the same kind of leadership or if WE all have different definitions of what a good leader means….and WE don’t discuss are different ideas…how can we EVER hope to seek consensus and thus find the leaders we want? » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 6:49 pm @Kilgore….Excellent point! A normal, rational person would think that the skills one hones as a Community organizer would be necessary for a political leader! Sadly, they don’t seem to understand that! » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 2:57 pm I really enjoyed reading your comment, For America…It was really well thought out! » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 10:26 am @cher….I too have a lot to do today…but I just wanted to compliment you on another great column. I SO look forward to your daily briefing! 🙂 » Posted By Abbyrose86 On March 15, 2011 @ 11:25 amComments Posted By Abbyrose86
This is especially true in MACRO Economic theories (which often DO not follow the same rules and goals as micro theories do) and in human behavioral concepts.
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