Council bans new fast-food outlets in South L.A.

[CARLHAYDEN]

Who will benefit the most from this law?  Anyone?

The current fast food operators in the area who are guaranteed no new competition!

[CARLHAYDEN]

Who will benefit the most from this law?  Anyone?

The current fast food operators in the area who are guaranteed no new competition!

You are a pretty perceptive guy sir. Bingo.

Thanks.

[CARLHAYDEN]

God Damned conservatives always using the power of govt to screw over the poor!  We should all learn a lesson here and vote Democratic, they'd never do something like that.

Nah.. conservatives just use the power of corporations... to which the poor are completely powerless.  At least here they can show up to the city council meetings and bitch.

Yeah, we've done this before.  Corporations are so much more horrible than govts, you'd show me examples, but it's just so obvious right?

I haven't heard about many governments purposefully dumping toxic waste near aquifers like say, Metalclad. Or putting plastic into puppy chow. Or any of the other crap you hear about in the news (or not). The truth is both big business and government are potentially oppressive, and they have a tendency to collude together. That's why there need to be simple, clearly defined and impartial rules on both.

I'm no ecofreak, but, for many years,  the biggest polluters of the aquafer were municipalities that dumpted untreated waste.

Indeed, just a decade ago some really arrogant and ignorant bureaucrats screwed up my city's water system, which created tens of millions of dollars of damages.

[CARLHAYDEN]

I hate government abuses just as much as I hate corporate abuses. My problem is that you tend to neglect the latter while continually emphasising the former.

..and I hate corporate abuses as much as I hate government abuses.  My problem is that you tend to neglect the latter while continually emphasising the former.

Not really. I have always condemned both, something you should know given our conflicts over Israel. Equally, I have been vociferous in my criticism of US policy in Guantanamo Bay, the human rights abuses of the Chinese government and many many more. I am also a paid up member of Amnesty International.

John,

In all honesty, you may think you are consistent, in criticizing the United States and other countries, but you're not!

Let me just cite a handful of countries with truly brutal regimes, which garner far less criticixm from you (both by volume and intensity) than your attacks on the United States: 

North Korea
Venezuela
Cuba
Zimbawbwe
Byelorussia

It seems to me that when leftish governments engage in mass murder, you consider it a minor thing, but when basically free nations don't treat terrorists very nicely, then you become severly critical.