The Obama Presidency

[Yoshi]

It's unquestionably true, both on a macro and micro level.

Micro - granny doesn't get her SS check, calls her Congressman, gets sorted out in an hour. This never happens, though, because the SSA is accountable to voters and is very, very good at getting checks out.

Macro - Look at the tea party idiots and what they did in 2010. I mean, I donate money to political orgs I believe in. It's a battle of ideas that we hash out in elections. It's a great thing.

I was coming at it from a different point of view. At a federal level, there has been a power grab going on regardless of which party is in the White House or in control of Congress. The Tea Party gained a lot of momentum trying to stop this, but I don't see that they have had much success. I'm sure specific examples of bills they have blocked can be found, but as a general inertia, the direction hasn't changed. Look at all the scandals in Washington right now. They are universally about the federal government overstepping its bounds.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

I've zero knowledge of the law, but wouldn't it be easier to target the largest offender, establish a precedent, and then go after everyone else?

[Diff-chan]

I was coming at it from a different point of view. At a federal level, there has been a power grab going on regardless of which party is in the White House or in control of Congress. The Tea Party gained a lot of momentum trying to stop this, but I don't see that they have had much success. I'm sure specific examples of bills they have blocked can be found, but as a general inertia, the direction hasn't changed. Look at all the scandals in Washington right now. They are universally about the federal government overstepping its bounds.

The Tea Party's goal was to elect Republicans and blunt the President's agenda in 2010, mission accomplished.

The Occupy movement directly went after the moneyed interests and got laughed at and beat in the head with nightsticks. Did you support them? I don't think so.

The idea that the rich and powerful are using their influence to enrich and protect themselves is as old as civilization. You should read some Marx.

[Josh]

Introducing buttplant, expert in old white rural people.

I'm pretty sure he actually is.

[Josh]

Yea, Wal-Mart has never used their market influence to censor anything.

They straight up refuse to sell certain bands/labels/genres. I think they still won't sell anything with a parental advisory sticker? I don't know, that last part might have changed. The Nirvana "Waif Me" nonsense comes to mind.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Yes, old white rural people will miss the nine aisles of toys.
Buttcheeks would have a point, if it WERE still 1920. But there's this thing called the innernet. You're soaking in it right now.
And who the fuck buys CDs from stores anymore?

Podunk, MS may not see a resurgence of stores like Kiddie City and Child World. But stores carrying necessary household items and hardware stores certainly would come in and fill the void. You know, the places that sponsor pony league and actually help the community. You might not be able to get a hammer for $3, but maybe the $10 hammer that Old Chuck Mason sells at his shop won't break the third time you use it since his margins are smaller and he doesn't have time to stock cheap shit that just gets returned.

[Josh]

And who the fuck buys CDs from stores anymore?

The aforementioned White People that don't know about the Internet, or their only option is dial up.

[Diff-chan]

They straight up refuse to sell certain bands/labels/genres. I think they still won't sell anything with a parental advisory sticker? I don't know, that last part might have changed. The Nirvana "Waif Me" nonsense comes to mind.

As dave points out, this Official Corporate Policy as practiced by a Big Company with a lot of market share can have far larger effects than a million ad-hoc decisions from a million different mom & pops. It's one of the downsides to large corporations and consolidated private power.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

The aforementioned White People that don't know about the Internet, or their only option is dial up.

I'm pretty sure they're still using VHS and cassette anyway.

[Fe 26]

Holy shit Ironplant. You do realize Walmart doesn't even stock CDs with parental advisory stickers on them? In addition to not selling things like Maxim, FHM, etc. because it's 'racy'. I'm far less worried about a single mom and pop not carrying a CD than a store so big that not carrying it severely affects sales numbers.

question: You do realize that Walmart not existing will have the same impact on sales numbers as them existing and not selling it, right? The outcome is the same in that situation.