How much does he charge per seat?

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Friday September 23, 2016 · 10:03 AM PDT

2016/09/23 · 10:03

It goes beyond what most people would consider completely rational, but Mr. Trump, in running for President, may in fact be collecting more money from donations, third parties and the government itself than he is “spending” of his own funds while “running”. The amount of free media coverage he has already garnered insures his brand and name will be known for generations to come. Now with many weeks and miles and miles of trips to take, we find he has charged the Secret Service $1.6 million for his own protection.

I am sure someone knows, but how many Agents are in Mr. Trump’s detail? Five? Ten? If as many as ten that is $160,000 in tickets. I fly a lot, to me that is about 200 round trips.

Blue FaceBook / Red Facebook Have a look!

Copp

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Wednesday May 18, 2016 · 6:33 AM PDT

2016/05/18 · 06:33

The Wall Street Journal has a “Red View / Blue View” stream of Facebook articles they have posted for us to look at. The actual page is here and the article showing the methodology is below the feed as well as here (not sure if everyone can get around the pay wall)

It is quite educational following some of the Red side’s rants, about 25% of the “headlines” are either outright lies, made up stuff or rants that purport to have opinions shown as fact. While the feed changes with time, one Red view article even said, “You won’t see this on Facebook” even as Facebook was displaying it.

It really is too bad that each “side’s” view is reinforced with such feeds though. Everyone needs to have exposure to what the opposing viewpoints are present in the public discourse—even if some seem absolutely crazy.

They Never Stop!

Copp

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Friday October 19, 2012 · 10:34 AM PDT

2012/10/19 · 10:34

From today's Wall Street Journal:

Private-equity firms are adding debt to the companies they own in order to fund payouts to themselves, a controversial practice now reaching a record pace.
Leonard Green & Partners LP, Bain Capital LLC and Carlyle Group LP CG -1.98% are among the firms using the tactic, which rose in popularity before the financial crisis.

In these deals, known as "dividend recapitalizations," private-equity-owned companies raise cash by issuing debt. The proceeds are distributed in the form of dividends to buyout groups.

I wonder why, after all the bad publicity surrounding debt loading, asset stripping and off-shoring, private-equity firms are actually "accelerating" the process of adding debt to the companies they buy in order to fund mammoth payouts to themselves, a controversial practice now reaching a "record pace".

Short speculation after the shredded pumpkin below.

Copp

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Monday August 22, 2011 · 12:38 PM PDT

2011/08/22 · 12:38

A recent Letter to the Editor in the St. Pete Times, along with a recent diary here has finally allowed me to understand some of the Tea Party member's wrath, the REAL class warfare going on in society and how unbelievably ignorant of reality many in the American middle class are today. As Warren Buffet pointed out in 2006:

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

We're all being pitted against others who either have less and want ours or who have more and are trying to keep theirs. At some point we need to decide how much is really enough for any one human being to actually need for a year's income ($5M $10M? $100M?) and tax the hell out of the amount they bring in above that. Perhaps those in this hypothetical 80+% bracket should be recognized as "heroes of the oppressed" or something like that, for the great contribution they'll be making to society. Those whose talents run to "creating wealth" in our culture, can be harnessed for society at large this way, just as a doctor's brains and hand's are or akin to the way in which a scientist's discoveries further our lives.

I mean really, the reason the marginal tax rate was so damn high a few generations back was that our grandparent's elders remembered the Robber Barons of the Gilded Age. We, sadly, have forgotten that excess materialism can be BAD, as it screws the rest of us, that concentrating financial & societal power like that is even WORSE and allowing the instantaneous PR & mass communication of today spread their class war seed is downright FRIGHTENING.

Copp

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Monday July 25, 2011 · 12:51 PM PDT

2011/07/25 · 12:51

Just an irony of all ironies today in the front page and second page of the Wall Street Journal. Here they are, telling everyone about the right-wing extremist nut who hated what Europe was becoming and who hated the Socialist country of Norway because he viewed (presumably) capitalism of COURSE far superior. Then too, there are numerous mentions of how multiculturalism was another beef this guy had. ("manifestation of multiculturalism gone wrong" or a "deranged attempt to declare war on the forces of multiculturalism and pluralism that have taken hold in Norway and much of Europe." OMG--they're in trouble now!)

They also made sure we knew the youth were there as part of the Labor Party's activities. Imagine that, they're indoctrinating the youth--as Glenn Beck has hinted today, just like "Hitler's Youth".

But then someone at Murdoch's prime jewel paper made a BIG boo-boo. They included a chart, showing this "peaceful" socialistic country with a per capita earnings rate very close to TWICE the U.S.'s ($96,000 vs. $48,000 here) and an unemployment rate of 3.4%. I am sure someone over there is getting their hide tanned about now.

So, get a copy and take it over to all your tea-bagger friends for comments.

Busting Up Unions

Copp

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Monday January 24, 2011 · 8:18 AM PST

2011/01/24 · 08:18

There is a new idea being pushed by "conservatives". If I've read it once, I've read it ten times in the past week: Allow states to go bankrupt so they can use the courts to "bust" the public sector unions by taking away the benefits that have been bargained for collectively over the years by those evil police, firefighters, garbage workers, inspectors, water treatment plant workers, maintenance workers, etc. They obviously did it by cheating, because past politicians in charge (read: Democrats) were servile to state workers and the only way they managed to stay in office was by trading votes for benefits. Yeah, they have sure nailed that message into everyone's consciousness. Nothing like a little intra-class warfare, as they pit private sector workers, most who already HAVE lost benefits, against those who do still have them.

But, wait-a-minute....

Poll

31 votes Show Results

The time for action will be

31 votes Vote Now!

The time for action will be

Never, I like my life too much to risk anything

2 votes

50 years

2 votes

25 Years

1 vote

This decade

4 votes

Very, very soon

8 votes

Let's Rumble!

14 votes

We need some notice Around Here.....

Copp

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Friday January 07, 2011 · 8:54 AM PST

2011/01/07 · 08:54

Kevin Tully had a diary entry Thursday, January 6, which basically was a "call to arms" for everyone on the Left to rise up and get their point across. I don't necessarily agree with all his points, but it did get me thinking. He derived his points primarily from an article by Chris Hedges "Ralph Nader: ‘The Left Has Nowhere to Go’ which cites a NEED for someone to come out and ORGANIZE, to call some attention to ourselves for a change.

You know what? It is much much easier to get a bunch of right wingers out to protest "death panels" than it is to get leftist support on the street by ordinary people for things like one-payer health care or card check rights. In one case there is something they WANT, in the other its something they want too STOP before (or even AFTER) it happens.

Maybe there is something here.....

Copp

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Thursday September 23, 2010 · 8:47 AM PDT

2010/09/23 · 08:47

She told the President, "I'm exhausted at defending you" and wanted to know "Is this my new reality?".

Well, I think most of the country is exhausted. Those of us still working are running around like exhausted little gerbils inside our little exercise wheels, running twice as hard as we used to, mostly to make up for all the people who AREN'T working with us anymore. Meanwhile, those above us tell us a) how lucky were are to even have a job and how b) we have to make even more profits for them because they might have to pay more taxes next year.

The top 400 richest Americans have acombined 8% more in net worth in 2009 than they did in 2008, the rest of us have flat or declining incomes. I had someone comment the the other day that just having a job is like getting a raise these days. My, how the exhausted American worker's expectations have fallen in the past several years!

This is NOT the change we all voted for. Ms. Velma Hart said it, I say it and I think there is an awful lot of those in the Tea Party movement who are saying it.....they just aren't articulating it very well.

Poll

18 votes Show Results

I feel like I need to:

18 votes Vote Now!

I feel like I need to:

Roll over and go back to sleep

8 votes

Find some earplugs

1 vote

Yawn

0 votes

Get out of bed

0 votes

Get fired up

3 votes

Viva Le Revolution!

6 votes

Give It Back, NOW

Copp

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Friday May 21, 2010 · 1:17 PM PDT

2010/05/21 · 13:17

Seemingly we all, every man, woman and child among us, want to get "it" back. We Need it back. It needs to come back to us--and soon. It left us or seemingly melted away last summer in town halls, but its been slowly disappearing for well over a decade. Know what we're missing? All of us who pine for the place we thought we knew, but now realize is NOT there anymore, at least not intact anymore. Jump down, for its a simple thing, really. I just don't have any idea HOW to get it back.

Copp

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Tuesday December 01, 2009 · 1:42 PM PST

2009/12/01 · 13:42

What do auto repairs, a hospital stay, building a house, hiring a plumber or getting a solid college education all have in common?

Well, for one, they are all relatively expensive pursuits in our wonderful country, as opposed to things we think of as relatively "cheap" for what you get: like $3.99 shirts at Walmart, the GPS for your car (Louis and Clark, eat your hearts out!), 8 gig flash drives for $4, a juicy steak, solar lights for around your driveway or using the Internet.

One of the reasons the American middle class feels they are falling further and further behind is not so much the feeling they get after walking out of their weekly visit to Walmart for manufactured items & staples, as the feeling they get when confronted with a car repair, their college tuition/book bill or when they need someone to come and fix something at their home. We won't even talk about a hospital stay. Those items are quickly becoming luxuries for most Americans.

Copp

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Tuesday October 06, 2009 · 8:23 AM PDT

2009/10/06 · 08:23

Ahh....life in a 12x60. Ever done it? No shame in it, of course. I'm sorta a snob, I spent most of my teen years, after my parents divorced, in a 24x60. A comparative mansion. In Tampa, rent has come down to $180 a week and up, from about $220 a week last year for such an abode, add in extra electric for the lack of insulation and its "home sweet trailer". Seems the Recession has hit the slumlords too: no maintenance man at the park anymore.

Meet my wife's daughter, a married mom who has 3 kids under 7. If she worked, at minimum wage she might be able to pay for daycare + car + insurance. Her husband is jobless 7 weeks, due to a bout with the flu.

They have 3 kids: 11 months, 2 years, 6 years. We make sure the kids want for no material necessities, diapers & formula are expensive. Thank God KidCare Medicaid is free. But it gets much, much better.

Poll

105 votes Show Results

Should we

105 votes Vote Now!

Should we

Take care of our own or

15 votes

Keep spreading the help around to others who need it too?

28 votes

No pain, no gain

5 votes

Quit being so damn bourgeoisie and give them another hand

27 votes

Its a sink-or-swim world Bush left us

30 votes

Tampa Town Hall Observances & Misconceptions

Copp

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Tuesday August 11, 2009 · 5:51 AM PDT

2009/08/11 · 05:51

Its funny, I usually don't go to town hall meetings, if only because I am pretty busy most days. I think in my whole life I've attended three or four "town hall" meetings and listened to a pol. I knew Tampa's meeting last Thursday was starting at 6:00 PM and that we had best show up early. I had never been the the Tampa Children's Center before, so around 3:30 I got online and googled "Castor town hall tampa" and was immediately directed to three or four right wing blogs telling me of the importance of attending this town hall, one even gave the street address and a map. This was my first indication there might be a problem.

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How much does he charge per seat?

Blue FaceBook / Red Facebook Have a look!

They Never Stop!

The Way It Is.

Wall Street Journal's Mistake

Busting Up Unions

We need some notice Around Here.....

We're All Exhausted!

Give It Back, NOW

The Cost of Living

Living in America's 2009 Urban Appalachia

Tampa Town Hall Observances & Misconceptions