The City Council on Wednesday considers a request to begin looking at possible regulations over online services that let people rent apartments, such as Airbnb - and even Craigslist.
Councilor Sal LaMattina (North End, East Boston, Charlestown) says Boston needs to look at the burgeoning services before Boston's residential neighborhoods are harmed. In his request for a hearing, LaMattina writes:
Typical short-term lodging establishments - such as hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, hostels, resorts, or inns - are regulated and taxed in a different manner than other commercial entities, including special fire safety requirements, state and city hotel room occupancy taxes, local convention center taxes affixed to hotel room rental, strict occupancy limits, among other various requirements. ...
These types of rentals have raised concerns and created problems in Boston and elsewhere when the spaces are used for loud or late-night gatherings and when the rentals lead to unauthorized access into condominium or apartment complexes, violations of City trash, parking and noise policies, or turn neighborhoods zoned for residential living into impromptu hotel districts.
The council's regular meeting begins at noon in its fifth-floor chambers in City Hall.
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 LaMattina's request for a loding hearing | 135.78 KB |
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Comments
well...
By cinnamngrl
Mon, 08/18/2014 - 8:05pm
air bnb seems pretty awesome but it shouldn't forced on the other residents of a building. especially owners. I see a whole new standard condo docs in the future...
Condo docs
By ScottR
Mon, 08/18/2014 - 8:45pm
Every condo association I've ever lived in has had a clause like "You may only rent out your whole unit and may not do so for a term less than 12 months," so maybe it's common language. Certainly it can interfere with qualifying for FHA loans if others in your building are doing it. I used to have to sign mortgage docs as a trustee, and almost everyone single one of them was super concerned that the property was not hotel-like in any way.
But from what I understand this hasn't stopped people from listing their apartment (or rooms in their apartment) on airbnb here or in other cities. I wonder if trustees are afraid to enforce this or are just not really aware of the problem.
On the other hand, I definitely understand the appeal of the service...
Happens in my large condo building, too
By anon
Mon, 08/18/2014 - 10:14pm
Condo rules prohibit it, but the person renting out their unit like a (noisy, disruptive) weekly hotel room is friends with a trustee.
How this happens: Most of the current trustees are a strange mix of incompetent, calculating, and of deteriorating mental health. But a sufficient voting bloc of the resident owners are nice old ladies who can't imagine that anyone could do a bad job at something, much less be conniving.
Many of the other owners are not engaged, because they have yearly renters, and the remaining resident owners don't want to get involved in the obvious crazy. Then the nice old ladies and the uninvolved don't understand why the condo has these surprise large expenses from facilities failures and the occasional lawsuit.
Sound familiar? Bad officials gain office by appealing to blocs of the uninformed voters, sensible people don't get engaged, bad officials proceed to mess things up badly, while handing out favors to their friends.
It's your basic Masshole microcosm.
By Chris Rich
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 5:05am
Almost in a terrarium form for humans called a condo.
You have Ditzes, aka the 'nice old ladies"
You have the Disgruntled, such as yourself.
And boy do you have Grifters,as in the weasel trustee.
These patterns replicate at the micro and macro level.
Hey
By ElizaLeila
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:10am
That's not fair. It's a microcosm for just about anywhere, Massachusetts is not alone in this.
Get off your anti Mass hate box and go outside and relish in this amazing summer we're experiencing. The weather's gorgeous, not humid, great breeze and a nice mid-70's temp.
Jeebus. At least go take a walk on your lunch break, there is loads that is good out there, just open your eyes..
Condo trustees
By anon
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 2:58pm
Perhaps the worst trustees in a large condo are those who are secretly planning to sell their unit.
You must live in my building,
By anon
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:12am
You must live in my building, 156 Porter St.
In the bylaws of a condo purchased in 2013
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 08/18/2014 - 11:50pm
I went over the bylaws and checked for this before my aunt moved in. It is clearly stated in the bylaws (written in 2011) that no more than 2 of the 10 units can be rented. Those rented units must be approved as rentals, and the leases cannot be less than a year. Limit two years.
It is also clearly stated that units may not be used for nightly rental or guest lodging purposes.
One person didn't bother to check this, and was freaked out when the other owners figured out that she was renting her unit through Air B&B while she was traveling abroad with her boyfriend's band (randoms coming and going in the compound tipped them off). She made some lame comment about "I approve everyone who gets access blah blah millennial excuse blah" and then was angry and pouty when told that she could no longer book any more people and had to stop after August 1st (they could have made her stop immediately, but people were being nice about not upsetting the plans of the renters). Never mind that it was, in this case, explicitly forbidden in the bylaws that she signed when she bought her unit.
And, yes, there were problems with the common laundry facility and renters being rude about removing laundry to do theirs in a hurry, doing laundry after quiet hours, etc. That, and the intercom/combination lock on the courtyard kept breaking because it was being overused (the owners have keys).
I'm happy all of you shut her down.
By Boston_res
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:30am
What would have happened to her if she actually didn't stop?
Fines and other sanctions
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:38am
Also, the bylaws allow for cease and desist orders, if things got to the lawyer up stage.
It can get tricky
By merlinmurph
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 8:12am
Like swirls says, you fine them. If they don't pay, you just keep fining them. If they simply refuse to pay, your only recourse is lawyers (expensive) or wait until the place is sold. When sold, the association has a lien and can collect funds when the transfer is made. It can get nasty when someone cannot pay or simply stops paying their condo fee.
Related. my large condo had
By Hyde_Parker
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 3:44pm
Related. my large condo had an elderly unit owner who decided she didn't want to pay her condo fee anymore. She hadn't lived in the unit for years, and though subletting is allowed, she kept the unit vacant. She was clearly in the wrong, we lawyered up, but you can't squeeze blood from a stone. She wouldn't pay, and the only asset she had was the apartment. It was a very unpleasant situation. We eventually got to the point where we were doing our best to force a sale. I think this woman had dementia, and it took a while for her family to realize what was going on with the apartment. Her son finally stepped in. Once he got involved, the process went smoothly and he quickly put the apartment on the market.
But meanwhile, the unpaid fees added up, and she eventually owed the condo association something like $25,000 in fees, plus our attorney's fees. The money came out of the sale proceeds. Luckily, the couple who bought the apartment have been excellent owners so far.
Some condo associations (like mine) have escalating fees
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:41am
Warning, then $100, then $200, then $400, etc. We've never yet had a violation go past the $200 step. But this is an interesting wrinkle.
"I approve everyone who gets
By Carty
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 8:31am
awesome.
What is a millennial excuse
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 9:45am
What is a millennial excuse exactly?
"I should be able to do this
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 9:50am
"I should be able to do this because I really really want to."
Haha. You people are so
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:02am
Haha. You people are so pathetic. Bikes, parking and now millennials, all you people do is bitch and complain.
Yes, we don't just accept the status quo, and we're not going to just roll over and let the older generations who ran the country into the ground, and are continually stuck in the way things used run, tell us how to live. We're not the ones who fucked up the economy but we have to deal with it and figure out a way to support your asses later in life after you completely wipe out social security.
I've said it here before, adapt of get the hell out of the way. Now get off my lawn pops.
Thank you for proving my
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:08am
Thank you for proving my point.
Your point was older
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:18am
Your point was older generations have effectively destroyed America and now we're getting to deal with it? You sure didn't express that very well.
Maybe a millennial can explain to me why millennials cheat
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:50am
at pub trivia. Every millennial team in my local looks up answers on their smartphones, then high-fives and cheers when the Google answer they submitted as their own is announced as the correct one.
This is baffling to me. If everyone cheats, the game becomes a multi-way tie for first at Googling, not at trivia, which is about knowing stuff that was pretty useless to begin with, but is now completely useless in an era where everyone has Google and IMDb and Wikipedia in their pocket, except in pub trivia settings.
I suspect the answer is, "We really want that crappy $25 prize and have no concept of honor or fair play", but maybe a millennial can explain otherwise.
Seriously?
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:56am
This is the issue you bring to the table?
Why did the baby boomers give huge tax breaks to corporations who outsourced all the American jobs?
I suspect the answer is, "We really needed another yacht, so who cares about the rest of our fellow citizens and the future of the country." But maybe a boomer or Gen Xer can explain otherwise.
So I guess Zetag can't or won't help me on this question, which
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:16am
further illustrates a stereotypical trait of millennials, I'm afraid: that they tend to duck tough, unflattering questions about themselves. Maybe another, more self-reflective millennial can answer that pub trivia one.
(Incidentially, zetag, I'm a late boomer / early Xer who is just as pissed as you at the fiscal irresponsibility of the Republican greedbags that my generation voted in again and again to sink us into our current mess. I mostly voted for the other guys at every level; don't blame me.)
tend to ignore tough or unflattering questions about themselves
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:18am
You consider a trivia cheating accusation a tough or unflattering question? You live in an interesting world.
I hardly ever play trivia, and when I do I don't use my phone, it eliminates the point. I could just sit at home and read wikipedia if I wanted to learn useless information.
How about you stop stereotyping all millennials for being lazy, cheating, contract violating douchebags, as someone else so eloquently put it, and we can stop assuming every baby boomer and gen xer destroyed the economy. Same as all yuppies aren't assholes, all Israelis aren't bombing Palestine, and everyone upset in Missouri isn't a looter. Sound like a plan?
Still ducking the question, I see, all while
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:35am
yelling about stereotyping entire generations after stereotyping entire generations yourself. (Stuff like: "Why did the baby boomers give huge tax breaks to corporations who outsourced all the American jobs? I suspect the answer is, 'We really needed another yacht, so who cares about the rest of our fellow citizens and the future of the country.'")
And I thought millennials were all about irony.
Clearly, cheating at pub trivia in itself is a trivial issue, and my sample size is too small to be statistically significant. It's just illustrative of a larger stereotype about millennials, specifically, laziness and ethical hollowness justified by overweening self-entitlement. The same moral rectitude that allowed them to blithely pirate music, videos and software their entire lives apparently extends to cheating at a game in such as way as to obviate its entire point.
I can see why you wouldn't want to acknowledge whether there's any truth in that stereotype, nor pause for a second to consider how it came to be.
What was the question?
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:41am
You asked a question about trivia, I answered it.
No. You still ducked it.
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:55am
I asked for a millennial's explanation of why entire teams of millennials at my local would cheat at pub trivia on their smartphones, week in and week out, and then cheer and congratulate themselves for getting the right answers.
You replied, "I myself wouldn't cheat at pub trivia", and acknowledged that it is indeed staggering that people could so entirely miss the point of a game. That's an answer, but not to the question I asked.
How am I supposed to know?
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:57am
I can't answer for anyone other than myself. Why do people cheat on their score cards at golf? That's been going on for as long as its been a sport. Why did Rosie Ruiz cheat at the marathon?
You're taking something that has always been around and trying to make it seem like this is something millennials have brought into the world. You're delusional.
Thanks for continuing to duck the question
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:01pm
There's nothing more droll and ironic to behold than the naked lack of self-awareness of a whiny, petulant millennial accusing his elders of his own worst faults.
Sure thing.
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:05pm
Troll.
This raises another question:
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:13pm
Why don't millennials seem to understand what a troll is? The way millennials use it, apparently it means, "I've got absolutely no retort, so I'm going to question your motives in challenging my arguments." That ain't what a troll is, ridiculous young person.
I answered your question, you
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:13pm
I answered your question, you didn't like the answer. Some millennials cheat at trivia, some boomers cheat at golf. Six of one, half dozen of the other. If you'd like to sit down and have a generational debate sometime I'd be more than happy to.
Here's some help
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:12pm
When you want to resort to ad hominem because your rhetorical quiver is empty, try "Idiot" instead of "Troll". It's more intellectually honest, and demonstrates that you grasp the simple Internet concept of trolling.
Name calling!
By Brian Riccio
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:34pm
It crosses all advertising person definitions of Americans!
Where the golf analogy falls down
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:17pm
I'm not a golfer, but the way you cheat at golf -- dropping your ball for a better lie, deliberately miscounting your score for the hole, etc. -- is effectively point-shaving. The quality of your game will still be obvious (one can't hide a crap short game); you can't turn yourself into a pro-level player just by cheating. And if caught, you'll carry a mark of shame forever among your peers and friends as a cheat.
Rosie Ruiz got caught, and was so widely ridiculed and ostracized for it that her name is now synonymous with the ignominy of blatant cheating, at least to Marathon fans of a certain age.
By contrast, Googling for answers in pub trivia is like picking your ball off the tee, running down the course with it, and dropping it in the hole for an ace every time: it's an overwhelming advantage over non-cheaters (one notorious group of millennial cheats at my local gets a near-perfect score every time they show up -- they're not even subtle about their cheating), and it entirely subverts the essence of the game. Further, if a millennial gets caught cheating, the predictable answer will not be embarrassment, but, "Relax, dude: it's just a game." It's the imperviousness to shame, and the obliviousness to the sporting essence of the game (however trivial), that is the millennial's unique brand of generational cheating douchery.
And one more thing about golf
By Stevil
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:17pm
Golfers don't cheat. If you cheat at golf, you are not a golfer. Period. Google Cameron Tringale if you have any questions.
No true scotsman....
By MattyC
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 4:18pm
Particularly meaningful with the golf analogy... etc etc.
#FirstWorldProblems
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:20pm
#FirstWorldProblems
juvenile
By gotdatwmd
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:30pm
juvenile
MC, you're way out of line.
By Bob Leponge
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:27pm
Try asking an African-American acquaintance, "Why do you people do X.
But it's OK for Zetag to say
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:34pm
But it's OK for Zetag to say "You people are so pathetic"?
I disagree about trading in this particular stereotype
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:37pm
Stereotyping of minorities is often used as a way to continue their oppression. When millennials become an oppressed minority, instead of another in an endless line of younger generations whose faults we elders can mock and shake our heads at, I'll apologize for pointing out that -- as evidenced by the only people who appear to be cheating at my local's trivia night -- many of them are lazy, unduly self-entitled brats with dubious ethics and poor sportsmanship.
I've already said, "Look, that's obviously a stereotype, not a golden truth, but I wonder if any millennial has the guts to acknowledge the stereotype and consider how it came to be." That's hardly in the same neighborhood as racial stereotyping.
Completely Disagree
By ilusi
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 2:43pm
Zetag is doing a horrendous job at proving his or her point and throwing around some bs assumptions about elders in the process, but I'm going to call out the statement about how many young people are "lazy, unduly self-untitled brats with dubious ethics and poor sportsmanship" as disgustingly ageist. Swirly's comment about "millennial excuse[s]" was completely unnecessary as well. I'm not sure how many young people you work with or have as friends, but the ones I interact with are conscientious and have a good work ethic (though, yes, I do run across a "bad egg" once in a while). I acknowledge my own bias as a 29 year old (I believe that makes me a Millennial myself) as well as the ageist crap my female friends who are over 50 encounter every day, but I've seen and experienced how these negative stereotypes of Millennials play out in the industry that I work in (my first career was in the healthcare sector and to be honest, age didn't seem to be as big of an issue there). To use a concrete example, we were searching for someone to fill a management position, and my coworkers were laughing at and being skeptical about a candidate's abilities, NOT because of her experience level, but because they looked at the candidate's graduation date and came to the conclusion she had to be "young enough to be our daughter." That's just one incident that illustrates how these assumptions can have a very real impact on young people, and I could certainly list more. So anyway, I'd appreciate it if everyone in this stupid thread could take it down a notch.
To get back to the original topic, I like AirBnB and it came in handy a few years ago my husband and I were significantly less wealthy and needed a room to stay in Boston for the weekend while apartment hunting- but folks shouldn't go against their rental agreements. At one point in time, we considered offering our spare room to folks on AirBnB, but immediately abandoned the decision when we realized it was against the terms of our lease. Plus, I really do not like the thought of residential areas turning into short term housing- housing is hard enough to find in this city and if there's one thing I do NOT like about the neighborhood (Brighton) I live in, it's the transient nature of the residents. I think it's worth having some dialogue on the topic.
Ageism suggests
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 3:06pm
prejudice based solely on age. In fact, the admitted stereotype I'm examining has much more to do with the time and manner in which this particular younger generation was raised. It's not just a function of their youth, but a specific set of attitudes and behaviors that is unique to their generation, not common across 20-somethings of every era.
To give a concrete example, my pub trivia generally has 50-80 participants, about 70% of them are millennials, and almost all of the millennial teams appear to blatantly cheat. As I said, not statistically significant, but an interesting small slice.
If...
By Kaz
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 3:07pm
If a team of millennials are cheating, that's their fault.
If 70% of the teams at your pub are cheating, that's the DJ's fault for not enforcing his rules by glancing up from his iTunes more often.
It's Will LaTulippe, isn't it?
Oh, zing!
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 3:20pm
Oh, zing!
Actually, if 70% of the millennials are cheating,
By MC Slim JB
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 3:48pm
it's their fault, period. Whether or not the host enforces the no-smartphones rule, cheating is cheating.
I could stand up and say, "You kids are pathetic", but even if they could be shamed, which I doubt, they'd just find another pub to cheat in. We play, the kids cheat, and my pals and I manage to win regularly anyway, despite playing a clean game: so be it. It's also good business for my publican on a slow night; I don't want to ruin that for him.
But seeing the little shits cheat and then slap themselves on the back, week in and week out, is an extraordinary thing.
Counterpoint
By ilusi
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 5:25pm
I'm going to argue that it's still a harmful stereotype, no matter what you call it. Not your assertion that "Millennials cheat at bar trivia," (I haven't played bar trivia in 7 years and my team hated people who cheated.. I assumed others who cheated were doing it because they were asshats, not because they were young), but the thing about most Millennials being entitled brats, for the reasons I listed in my other post.
Boo-fucking-hoo! The obvious
By MikeA
Wed, 08/20/2014 - 2:45pm
Boo-fucking-hoo! The obvious answer to why those people cheat is that they want to win and are willing to cheat to do so. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. But, please, just stop trying to prove your point about how awful that generation is (I am not one) by complaining about cheating during a fucking bar trivia game. That just makes you look like a real dick. And a sore loser.
I like AirBnB and it came in
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 3:24pm
Well, that's the proverbial rub, isn't it? How many renters or condo owners do you think there are who have agreements that allow them to rent or sublet their residence on a per-night basis? How many cities and towns are there that don't have regulations against using private residences as ad hoc hotels?
AirBNB's entire business model is based on ignoring the rules (because that's how things work now, MAN!) and assuming that they can get away with it based on the volume of violators. And, unfortunately, it seems to be working, to the tune of ten billion dollars and counting.
I hear ya..
By ilusi
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 4:47pm
"How many renters or condo owners do you think there are who have agreements that allow them to rent or sublet their residence on a per-night basis?"
Ha, yes, well, I honestly didn't know the answer to that question as someone with very little rental experience as a tenant or landlord, and as someone who was living in middle-of-nowhere, Bible Belt, USA (chance of earning dollars by renting residence on a per-night basis: zero) until I moved into my current residence in Boston. Or should I say.. AS A NAIVE MILLENNIAL. ;) But now that you mention it, yeah, I can't see it being kosher for the vast majority of renters. Point taken.
Here You Go
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:36am
[img]http://www.wholesaletrophies.com.au/files/imagecac...
Thanks!
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:42am
We're not going anywhere or changing our ways anytime soon, so get used to it! hahaha
Way to contribute to the
By gotdatwmd
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:52am
Way to contribute to the mantra of your generation: "No f you, dad!!!!!!"
Kind of like the hippies in
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:59am
Kind of like the hippies in the 60's? This isn't a new thing. All older generations will look down on the younger ones. Your parents did the same thing to you, they just didn't have a platform like this to spread their ignorant, short sighted beliefs.
We're not going anywhere
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:55am
So you'll be living in your mom's basement for the foreseeable future?
Burn.
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:59am
You got us good with that one. hahaha
I thought millenials were
By gotdatwmd
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 11:08am
I thought millenials were supposed to be gungho about globalization?
Yeah, "Fuck you I won't do
By pierce
Wed, 08/20/2014 - 1:06pm
Yeah, "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me!!!!"
Oh wait, that was written by a crusty old Gen-Xer... um, "party in the USA"? "Music is my boyfriend?" [insert skrillex noise here]
No but seriously that is a wide brush you paint with, if we are to each be held accountable for the worst of our respective generations you have a lot to explain in the way of school shootings. I'll take a Ponzi scheme over an elementary school massacre anyday of the week.
Millenials/gimmiedats are
By gotdatwmd
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:59am
Millenials/gimmiedats are trained on having easy access to anything. Why bother retaining knowledge or learning when it's at your fingertips instantly?
There are apps/websites where students pay to have college essays and homework written for them now. The justification: "college is too expensive and I can't be bothered to invest my previous time into everything." I think that's a sign of the times.
You obviously don't know....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:11am
... that us older folk started pre-paying increased SS taxes way back in the Reagan administration in order to cover our still-many-decades-away retirements -- but that Pres. Bush and his buddies pissed all that money away in huge tax cuts for the rich and then by charging two wars on our national credit card.
And how exactly is that the
By zetag
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:14am
And how exactly is that the millennials fault? Most of us couldn't even vote for George Bush the first time around, or even the second time around for that matter.
You're right - we shoulda just ignored 9/11
By Stevil
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:24pm
Wasted all that money rooting out terrorist camps in Afghanistan and rebuilding the economy after what 9/11 did to the nascent post dot-com crash recovery.
Your low budget alternative to finding Bin Laden and his henchmen and digging us out of an economy that was cratering?
(Iraq you may have a case - although about those WMD's - did the inspectors happen to look in Syria where a giant cache of chemical weapons has mysteriously appeared near the factory of one of Mr. Hussein's international pals? You know, the ones the Syrians ended up using on their own people? Hmmmmm, coincidence?)
The fiscal problem....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:35pm
... was doing nothing to _fund_ the wars -- while leaving the tax cuts (intended, in large part, to wipe out the "excess" SS reserves) in place.
As to meaningful and useful WMDs in Iraq. No, just no.
Invading Iraq was a war crime -- and it caused immeasurable harm. Afghanistan, on the other hand, was botched -- due to Cheney and company's desperation to get into Iraq as quickly as possible.
Might actually agree with you in parts
By Stevil
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:59pm
Tax cuts probably helped for a while - I think many forget how bad the economy was - but should have been lifted - 2004 earliest and 2006 latest.
WMD's - actually probably agree with you - but there is some interesting circumstantial evidence that what was found in Syria may have once been in Iraq (the yellowcake thing was a fraud but apparently pulled the wool over a lot of people's eyes - Dems and Reps).
Don't know about war crime - but in hindsight appears to have been poorly planned, poorly executed and poorly ended (gotta put that last one on Barry - admittedly dealt a bad hand). My one reservation is we didn't know one way or another what this guy had - wouldn't let the inspectors in - and he had a funny track record of starting wars with his neighbors and lobbing missiles into Israel. We'll never know - but that war may have ended up saving a lot of lives. And can't even imagine where we'd be if one of his crazy kids ever got his handle on the steering wheel.
Wars with neighbors....
By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 2:51pm
... that (1- Iran) we either funded, supported and armed (along wih our Saudi best buddies) or (2 - Kuwait) accidentally greenlighted through mis-communication (we thought we okayed some limited "self help" regarding blatantly illegal oil rustling, but our up-till-then-BFF Saddam misinterpreted this -- and our other good buddy the Saudi king inisted that we roll things back).
Saddam was a bad, bad man. But the US has neither the capacity, nor the right, to topple every bad government (which we dislike) -- and our track record when we intervene is uniformly rotten.
Oh -- not an Obama fan at all -- but we had to get out of Iraq because our once-upon-a-time new BFF Maliki wouldn't agree to let us stay (unless we gave Iraqi courts jurisdiction over misdeeds by our troops in Iraq -- something Obma couldn't possibly agree to).
Hey! I resent being lumped in with the Boomers!
By issacg
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:10pm
As a youngish GenXer, I don't want to be lumped in with those damned Boomers who have run the country into the ground for their own benefit! And I sure as hell won't be lumped into that category by a whippersnapping Millennial! At least you have time to recover and make an alternative plan!
You damned Geezers and whippersnappers can both get the hell off our lawns (wait, we don't have them - we're all still "starter condos", now with children!)!!!
Wherever will they live after college?
By Stevil
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 1:25pm
Maybe the new luxury condos should be built with basements?
Excellent summary of our Gen
By Bob Murphy
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 8:42pm
Excellent summary of our Gen X generation and how screwed we are!
As an older GenXer I agree
By Josev
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 10:31pm
As an older GenXer I agree about not wanting to be lumped in with the boomers. If anything we should be criticized for being so passive and putting up with their (boomers) BS. Or maybe we were simply naive. All I know is that I, and many of my college schoolmate/friends, "paid our dues" working under boomers but received little to nothing for the hard work, unpaid overtime, etc. I don't blame millennials for for not wanting a traditional career.
Millenials
By anon
Tue, 08/19/2014 - 12:31pm
Millenials are justified in not trusting the status quo.
There are arguable generalizations that one can make about the entitlement, arrogance, smugness, and general annoyance of Millenials. But those qualities are far from universal among Millenials, and far from unique to Millenials.
While Millenials are subverting the dominant paradigm, they should remember that we're all in this together, and that there were generations in between Boomers (the original Millenials) and themselves. You know, generations that did the hard work to develop the Internet and the electronic gadget products that Millenials claim as their own. Don't be getting too big for your britches just yet, or something an old person would say.
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