Changing thread titles

Education and the right to grow old comfortably are "middle-class entitlements"? I thought they were social goods and human rights. Must be my bourgeois affectation.

Catchfire, I don't know about Canada but it's spending on the middle class that is killing the US financially (and, no, military spending is actually microscopic compared to middle class entitlements).

By 2015, our federal debt will triple to $20 trillion (that's about $180,000 for every individual taxpayer). That debt relates to military, welfare, education, transportation, and other ongoing federal expenditures.

While large, those numbers are positively dwarfed by the $109 trillion in unfunded liabilities for middle class entitlements (principally Social Security and Medicare). That represents an additional obligation of $1 million per taxpayer, or an additional $350,000 for every single man, woman, and child in America.

There's a difference between spending and debt (and unfunded liabilities).  The amount of the unfunded obligations for Social Security and Medicare (for the middle class) is simply massive.  The current federal budget for one year (to run the entire federal government) is about $3 trillion.  As I noted above, those unfunded liabilities currently sit at $109 trillion.  It's a mind-boggling number.

Now, I'm going to suffer a bit financially from the profligate promises that have been made (I don't expect to get a single penny of Social Security) but I'll be okay.  The people who are going to be destroyed financially are the next and successive generations.  I wouldn't want to be an 18-year old today looking at my financial future.  It's very, very grim.

You see, Maggie Thatcher was right: "The trouble with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."

I'm fine with whatever the editor / management decides on this matter.  Long live the mods!! 

Is this an example of a male dominated thread replete with anger, accusations, allegations and acrimony? 

That's the spirit!!!

This has been bothering me for a few weeks, since before I posted the announcement and started this thread.

I feel I need to make a few things clear about what my position is on this issue and to also clarify some of the internal mechanisms on the rabble staff team and the rabble editorial team.

There is a rabble editorial team which is composed of anyone involved with producing, linking, and monitoring editorial material on rabble. Both Catchfire and I, as well as other rabble staff, are members of the editorial team. Alex Samur is the managing editor and Kim Elliot is the publisher. They are the managers, if you will, and Kim is the "buck stops here" person.

The recent decision was made by the managers, who are members of the editorial team but obviously have more of a decision-making role, and it's their prerogative.

As for the use of the word "pig" to describe the police, as well as profanity in general, if aimed at a public person (or institution) who represents the mainstream oppressive point of view, I would hope that my politics about that are clear. In case they aren't, I support the use of the word "pigs" to refer to the police, and I shared why in this thread, post #86.

My personal use of profanity and name-calling public people and oppressive institutions is prolific and requires no further examples.

For the record, I vehemently disagree with the policy of changing babble thread titles to match rabble's editorial stance, while leaving the text inside the thread unchanged. I have many issues with this, including that it's inconsistent, a position that has been outlined well by other babblers. My preference is to leave babble thread titles unchanged, except for cases of libel/slander, lack of clarity, commercial spam, etc. In other words, the status quo.

That may not be what happens, however.

So, next steps.

There will be a meeting next week to discuss this and other editorial matters. It is very likely that the decision as I stated in the OP will hold, that is, that it will be my and Catchfire's jobs to change thread titles to remove profanity, "pigs" when referring to the police, and other editorial tweaking from babble thread titles.

I've talked to Alex and Kim about one of them making a public statement to babblers at that time.

I want to thank everyone who's expressed an opinion about this. I've appreciated hearing the arguments, logic and positions that have been discussed. Your arguments have helped me honed what mine are as well.

Bumpidy bump!

Has the meeting happened yet?

Will we find out why dehumanizing language is acceptable in threads, but not in thread titles?

thanks

Dehumanizing language is not acceptable in threads. Calling a cop a "pig" is no more dehumanizing than calling Stephen Harper a "dinosaur" or Michael Ignatieff a "weasel" or people who turn protesters in to the police "rats" or members of the rabble editorial board "sheep". 

Hi everyone, many of the editors are on vacation this month, which has caused a delay in the meeting which is definitely scheduled. Maysie and I weren't aware of the vacations when she announced the meeting this week. But it is happening.

Keep in mind that it is difficult to get all of rabble's itinerant staff together during our regularly scheduled meetings, let alone an improvised one in the middle of summer. Maysie and I take your concerns seriously. And we will do our best to communicate what happens.

ETA. cross-posted with Maysie.

E, Catchfire and I have been upfront about our communication and the challenges of meeting with the editorial staff. We're doing our best.

And Alex and Kim are not "suits". Sheesh.

But, but, you're leaving for 2 weeks come friday. Oh however will you be able to meet with the editorial staff and still fall within the "next week or two" from your post 28 July post #79...?

Personally I trust this issue will be discussed and I also trust that the moderators will let us know the results of the discussion when it does happen.  I trust they are doing the best they can.

Though I would like to believe that anyone who works for rabble thinks that babble is the centre of their universe I realize that they have other priorities both at work and at home with their families over the summer.

I have my own opinion on using pig or police but am willing to be patient to see what their's is to show rabble and babble staff (paid or unpaid) my appreciation for the great job they do and the great site they keep going. 

Excelent article about the militarization of the police. Far better that the offensive piece of crap about the Black Block published by Canadian Dimension. Reading that one would believe that a few anarchist adventurists were the whole story, the police just innocent victims of circumstance.

It would be more of an "oink" than a "hoot"...but still, it WOULD be a good thing.