Another Angle

Tags

EBOLA, Media, unions

I think it’s the Boomers fault.

If like me, you grew up under the specter of the ATOM BOMB and “duck and cover” exercises in school, you can see that we are at fault.

Since us Boomers all feel that we grew up pretty much okay, except for the one quarter of us who are certifiably insane right wing ranters who think denial of the obvious will some how insulate them from extinction at the hands of an angry god, we figure that we best instill a large chunk of panic in the national diet so that upcoming generations will grow strong like us.

This explains, I think, why media grand viziers seem determined to make each and every “event” one in which we should all be checkin’ our survival rations and “bug out” plans.

It should be, therefore, clear why  ALL the media is in a panic about EBOLA. The fear of God requires it ya see, for only after learning to hold one’s bladder and sphincter in the face of impending death can we come out the other side as well-rounded happy and content people that most of us Boomers actually are.

Of course on the far-far-right in a galaxy too stupid to find it’s way in orbit, the media has all sorts of unusual if not predictable explanations. WorldnetDaily which is peopled by a class of subhumans intractable in their level of stupid, it’s all a deliberate plot by the dark guy Barack Hussain to rid the planet (Amerika that is) of white people. Secretly of course all black people have been issued hazmat suits. (The fist bump signals, “I got mine, you got yours?)

Every Republican running for office is pondering whether we should close the beaches or just nuke the hell out of the continent of Africa and make the world safe for white people. The media, meanwhile is busy asking questions like, ” are we prepared, should people fly, should they poop, and WHO THE HELL IS IN CHARGE?” Which is all quite funny since the Surgeon General would be the obvious person to be in charge but we don’t have one, because the NRA doesn’t like the choice, and the CDC functions with a slashed budget, again because the NRA is afraid that somebody might suggest that gun deaths are a national epidemic and where the hell are guns sales going then?

There is a story, but of course, not one that anybody bothers with, because gosh and darn it, one might have to think a bit, and actually go out in the FIELD and ask questions rather than simple vomit (yikes, where’s the HAZMAT suit?) out trite talking points?

A few days ago, just after the nurse was confirmed as a patient, a bunch of nurses representing some nurses association started talking. And at first it seemed weird and rather silly. Ya see, at first the only question was “how could this nurse contract EBOLA? After all, we had been assured that all them medical folks knew the “protocols” and so it must be this damn African thing was a lot more dangerous than we had been led to believe (enter cries of “it’s Obama’s fault”).

My first reaction was that this was just a bunch of nurses arguing that they were not to blame (the CDC insisting that for a caregiver to come down with the virus meant that there had been a break in established protocols). I kind of laughed it off.

But it was more than that. It turns out the National Nurses Union was giving the country information that was not forthcoming from the people in charge. Certainly nobody at Texas Health Presbyterian was making these admissions. The information the NNU was providing came directly (so they claim) from nursing personnel at THP, information that they were afraid to share openly out of fear.

Why you ask?

Because like most of the South, and increasingly almost everywhere, Texas is a right-to-work state, and the massive THP is not unionized. Nurses there had a story and they were afraid for their jobs to relate it. The NNU received their reports and relayed the information anonymously to protect them from retaliation from the corporate heads.

The reality is that the first patient with Ebola was left in a common area (with other patients and medical personnel) for “hours” after being brought in by ambulance before he was transferred to secure isolation. Senior nursing supervisors complained of this to no avail apparently. Further, nurses were not given proper hazmat suits but used fairly flimsy “contagious disease” coverings that left parts of their bodies exposed. Protocals were “not in place” and the required equipment was not there. Higher ups in the administration of the hospital apparently would not ask for help.

What does this all mean?

It’s hard to say, but surely it should be looked at. The fact is that it is hard to believe that in a unionized business, workers would be afraid to speak out against dangerous conditions. Unions are there for that reason, to protect them against being fired. Further, unions themselves put their foot down and insist on corrections or threaten a strike. It is entirely possible that the the secondary infections could have been avoided.  Of course it may not have been either, and we make no blanket assertion because it is an unknowable.

However, we do know that unions are in place for just these sorts of things–to give workers the ability and protection needed to speak out about issues that often they know much better than suits far removed from the scene do.

It continues to be appalling that our apparently poorly educated folks never learned how much their good life today was due to the unions that are quickly becoming a quaint history notation. Many of these people grew up in union homes and should know this without more. Yet, they have so readily been misdirected to blaming unions for their present financial woes whatever they might be. Surely unions are not perfect, but without them, the worker is left to the devices we see in play at DHP–proper actions being taken too late to be effective.

Just something to think about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can We Talk on the D/L?

Tags

boycotts, corporate overreach, unions, workers rights

I consider myself about as decent as the next person. No more no less. Some, usually those of the Rightish persuasion suggest that I’m a bleeding-heart, commie sympathizing, swine of a Jesus hater, but hey, I consider myself just as human as the next woman.

The mind is endlessly fascinating and what motivates us will for some time to come dance between nature and nurture and bad drugs I suspect. We all wish (except for the truly a-social among us) to be thought reasonably well of, and we all succeed at least to enough people that we aren’t pariahs.

That being said, I’m fully aware that what I am about to discuss amounts in some minor or major respect a plea for permission to do what I wish to do, rather than the elegant highly flowered philosophical discourse that I am dribbling forth from my fingertips. (Wasn’t it ever so much more grand to say tip of my pen or even quill? Alas we all type now.)

I speak of the issue of boycotting companies. Not just any companies mind you, but all those whose policies for one reason or fifty offend our individual sensibilities. I speak of Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby and Exxon-Mobile, and McDonald’s, and Papa Johns, and Pfizer, and General Mills and Monsanto and well, you can fill in five hundred more at your leisure.

We (collectively or singly) have our “issues” with some or all or and entirely different list of corporate monsters whom we claim our vision or version of human/American/women’s/children’s/animals/status/ethnicity rights. And most, perhaps all are laudable no doubt to those who hold them. I know, since I hold many. Anyone whose eager fingertips tremble in anticipation as they seek out my latest verbage knows I rail regularly about any number of corporate entities for their failures/limited visions/or omissions.

So. What the hell am I talking about?

What are our moral responsibilities in making known our opinions of the practices of businesses we disagree with? What should we be doing?

In other words, is boycotting the answer.

I for a long time avoided Wal-Mart for instance. That was easy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the local Hi-VEE offered up proper food at comparable prices. Not so here in Las Cruces. The local Albertson’s is a great store, but it’s wildly over priced on most everything. I mean seriously so. Such that I can save nearly $300 a month by doing the bulk of my shopping at Wal-Mart. I leave Albertson’s to do what it does best–provide me with the premium foods that Wal-Mart neglects in its one-size fits most everyone most of the time philosophy, or “tough, take it or leave it”.

I’m moreover well aware of the gimmicks Wal-Mart’s uses to get me to buy more of X which ends up costing me similar to what I would pay for the amount I really want. (Whatever you do Wal-Mart, I’m not buying twelve pre-packaged habaneros when I only need one!) Still, as I said, I’m saving a fair piece of change.

Say that I can afford this, which I can, but should I?

What of those who have not the financial luxury to do this? Are they to suffer their need to shop Wal-Mart in shame at betraying the cause?

Can I use the $300 more effectively in actually funding other things that matter in the world? Are my bigger checks to the local mission and to animal welfare, or to help a local family with expenses a better use of the money than wasting it on over-priced cabbage?

Is there some hierarchy of complaint that should guide me? Surely apartheid practices in South Africa was a serious motivation. Surely the use of chemical warfare on one’s own population should deter us singularly and collectively from contributing to the GNP of any country engaging in such things.

But lets take it down a notch.

Let’s speak of living wages and the attempt to impose personal religious beliefs on employees. Let’s speak of creating products that may turn out in decades to come to be hazardous to health. Let us talk of entire industries devoted to death–whether it be innocent animals or humans in large or small quantity. Let us speak of dangers to our planet, which impact the survival of generations long after we have turned to dust.

Is there some hierarchy where boycotting is essential for some, but convenience and finances may dictate a different choice for others?

I fully support the efforts of Wal-Mart employees to unionize. But does my boycott help that? Or is it, in the end, the responsibility of employees to get their act together? Wal-Mart will never give them permission, and like other industries in other times, will be as tough as it can be in order to stop their efforts. But in the end it is only the employees who can do this, the same way I made my decision some years ago and voted as I saw fit, and knew there would be consequences for that decision. Or does my boycott encourage and bolster their efforts? Do I change corporate minds?

We know that boycotting can work in some instances. Some companies have seen their fortunes fall for challenging the ACA, by threatening to up prices and lay-off workers. Hint: you don’t lay off workers if you have customers, and it helps to have a product worth buying. Did the boycotts cause the reversal or was it the lousy pizza?

The Right of course is spared these deeply troubling mental ponderings. They conveniently find all answers in a book and are thereby let off the hook–“hey, I don’t have a problem with gays, God does!” I rather suspect that our spiritual growth is directly tied to how willing we are to wrestle with these “no easy answer” questions.

So, I’m asking you.

What do you think?

Just what’s floating through my head these days.

So You Want Right to Work Huh?

Tags

Humor, Michigan, Right-to-work state, satire, unions

The mantra of the GOP.

Remember when the good guy was about to die and he grabbed the bad guy at the last second, and the both fell into the bottomless chasm?

You don’t?

Well my point is that while that’s a good thing in that case, it’s usually the design of the petulant self-observed shit who decides that life is not worth living because of X, so he’s gonna take out as many others as possible when he goes.

I fervently request that he just go alone. You know the type. Suicidal nut kills family and then self. Just kill self please. Seriously if you must end life, just end your own.

Well the GOP seems engaged in that kind of thing these days. In the waning days of lame duckers everywhere, there seems a concerted effort on the part of departing or reduced number GOP’ers to pass all types of shitty legislation in some last gasp of “so F**K you!”

Everyone is no doubt aware that the Governor of Michigan rushed through “right to work” legislation and signed it immediately because frankly they didn’t think they could get away with it in the new-elected yet not seated legislature. I think they also added some appropriation to it which apparently makes it not subject to a referendum. Ya see, Republicans know they act against the wishes of the majority, so they try to insulate their nefarious acts so they are not easily undone.

Similarly Ricky, “I suck as a candidate” Perry just pushed through some Fetal Pain legislation as another of the ongoing ways of trying to trump Roe v. Wade, and make abortions unavailable to women. I should say he has it on his agenda for the last gasp meeting of the state legislature in January.

And plenty of the Congressional GOP caucus is still stubbornly digging in their heels that they will not vote for ANY tax increase, no no not ever.

You see, we are long past representing “the people” in this country. We are now into representing “some portion of the people, especially if they are paying me to do it” in this country.

Now call me jaded by of course who was most prominent in the Michigan right-to-work legislation? Oh Freedom Works? Yes, them. And who is them? Why the Koch brothers who write legislation that is favorable to their massive holdings and of course flood the bank accounts of those people who are willing to push their agenda in their various states. Having taking a drubbing in the national elections, the Koch’s are busy getting’ ‘er done in plenty of states.

Explain to me why anybody would want to work in a right-to-work state? Why would employers push it? Think! Because they don’t want to pay wages that are fair and they don’t want to pay for benefits and they don’t care about shop safety unless it seriously impinges on their ability to make a buck.

The GOP claims that Michigan has lost jobs because companies won’t come to Michigan because it’s unionized. They take their business to RTW states. Duh. Why? Because they can and it’s CHEAPER and it allows them to make more MONEY for THEMSELVES.

Now some say, well a job is a job. Well yes that’s like saying a cardboard box is a house because people live in them.

Shall we succumb to the lowest common denominator?

Now the uniformed say, well heck it’s not fair to MAKE me pay union dues if I don’t agree with union political policies. True enough, but my friend, you still want to take advantage of the contract that they negotiate on behalf of both union members and YOU. You take the benefit package too. Now if you want to forego that, perhaps we can talk.

Because of you take the benefits without paying for them, then you are a FREELOADER, a MOOCHER, a GIFTED ONE,  a TAKER, you know, all the things you say are so awful in our country. You would be one of THEM, and nothing is worse to you than being one of THEM is there?

Before there were unions, there were slave wages, company towns where every dime you made went right back to the company in rent and food. Before unions there were unsafe working conditions, long hours, child labor. Before unions there was no such thing as benefits. You paid your own insurance for health care and dental care, and guess what? You couldn’t afford them so you didn’t have them. Before unions you lived a mere subsistence life and there was little or no likelihood that your kids would do any better.

Do unions have problems? Sure they do, just like any organization. There are abuses and fraud and there is theft. There was probably a time when unions had too much power and companies just caved on demands and passed the costs on to the consumer. But that is not the case today.

There are benevolent employers. The stories of how they run their companies and how they treat their employees is legendary. They don’t just do all that is required. When the going gets awful, they go without themselves trying to hold the line and not lay off anyone. They provide day care by choice. They provide health clubs inside the company, walking trails and meditation rooms. They invest in how to provide the best environment for their workers and they get the best out of them. The loyalty and productivity are also legendary.

But they are the exception. A goodly number of CEO’s are sociopathic individuals. They don’t care about your needs or concerns because they can’t feel anything much at all. They cannot empathize. They are little Mitt Romneys. Business is mostly a game and games have winners and losers and they want to be winners and that is defined by MONEY. So they acquire, and they post profits, at any cost. Any cost THEY THING THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH.

They have always done this. They will continue to do this until we have bred into our business teaching a model that reflects the benevolent employer.

Until they do, unions are the only thing that stands between the worker and the Goliath corporation which will suck her dry and cast her aside when she is no longer physically able to do the job at the same efficiency level. Then, as they say, “she’s your mother, you take care of her. It’s not the government’s business to become her caretaker.” Except you have nothing much yourself. Oops, I guess you forgot. You’re a worker too.

And retire? No, they will carry you out and throw you in a box. And your family will figure out some way.

Don’t think that will happen?

Read your history.

It did.

And you want to return us to the same state of affairs where that happened.

Think!

Wake up dude. You are being taken for a ride by those who have no interest in your success, only in your compliance with their agenda.

You aren’t going to take me with you. I promise you that.

 

I’m Arabically Dsylexic He Cried

Tags

GOP, Jim DeMint, Mitch McConnell, science, stupid people, unions, What's up? time

We start with the faux reality that time is and ever was and not a function of space. After all, it is called the SPACE-TIME continuum is it not? This is the reality that the Contrarian lives within, where time has always existed. This somehow makes him comfortable rather than the TRUTH which is that time has no meaning unless it has something to relate to like MATTER and SPACE!

Okay, calm yourself. That is hardly the story here.

You see, it is the Contrarian’s JOB to get up in the morning, turn on my coffee and wake me gently at 5:45 a.m. so that I can have a few sips of coffee with Morning Joe before I am hauled into the desert for romping with Diego. Simple enough, right?

So, this morning, I turn over in my usual, half-dream state and just start to settle into my favorite left-leg over right leg and head snuggled into the pillow supported by my right arm which is at a 85° angle to my shoulder. Too much information? Oh, well okay.

So, just as I am settling, as I said, I hear, “babe, it’s 5:45!”

After cursing my birth, the universe, and time itself I start to roll to a sitting position, whereupon I am assaulted with the slobbery kisses of aforementioned dog, who whines quite clearly, “let’s not be late, I have bushes to pee on!”

I thereafter engage in all the processes of which you are no doubt not interested, until I have reached the point of making the bed, whereupon said Contrarian shuffles into the bedroom and whispers, “I was a little off,  about an hour,” and scurries away ducking and dodging to avoid being hit in the head with whatever might be at hand.

I curse. I fume. I cry.

I look at the clock for the first time, having until now been confident that a 62-year-old-man can be entrusted to so simple a task. Yes, it is now, 4:50 a.m.

So I endured an hour of the dog, “is it time yet?”

I got more than a few sips of coffee.

I got to see more of Morning Joe than I’ve seen in months.

As I prepared to take the walk, I wandered into his office.

“You owe me big time you know,” I assured him.

“But it’s not my fault. I’m Arabically dyslexic! I had all the numbers right, just in the wrong order.”

“The numbers are 5:45, and you woke me at 4:40 to be exact, how is that the same numbers?” I queried.

“Well, dyslexia is like that you know, it’s a most mysterious syndrome. I can’t be held responsible for such a troublesome malady.” He actually smiled at this, figuring that once again, he’d managed to come up with an air-tight excuse for his mistake.

“Find me flash cards online! I’m starting Diego’s number recognition training as soon as possible,” I sighed.

The halo GOD, if you please!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

Or, at least meanwhile.

Las Cruces, while incredibly sane and rational as cities go, has its supply of idiots, managing to exist within its environs. Take this little ditty from the local Sun-News. A man called police to report a crime. The crime? The prostitute he had hired stiffed (oh please) him out of ten minutes. Police calmly sympathized and got his location. They sent a car. Imagine his surprise when the cuffs went on him.

Meanwhile, government forces sprayed the crowd that had accumulated at the capital. Cairo? Damascus? Um, no. Try Lansing, Michigan.

It seems the GOP, unable as usual to read the tea leaves, handwriting on the wall, or any other metaphor for JUST PLAIN FRACKING STUPID, are trying to pass right to work legislation in a state that is pretty much noted for its unions. So when people came out to protest this action, the Governor ordered, first the capital closed, and then when that didn’t disperse the crowds of protestors, he had them sprayed. Yeah, the GOP has nothing left in the tank but stupid.

Meanwhile, somebody did a study and decided where the best place to be born is. Hint: it ain’t the US of A. In fact, the US is not even in the top 10. It used to be. But no more. I’m sure the far-right will blame that on the black guy in the White House. But of course we know better.

By the by, if you think all search engines are the same? No they are not. I did a search on the above story because I heard it on the news. Ask.com provided me with NO good links. Google gave me three immediately. I have no clue about Bing? Do you have a favorite search engine? Why? Grades will be given so show your work.

If you ask me, the best place to be born right this minute is Washington state. The legalization of pot went into effect at midnight or something, and well, the whole state looked pretty darn happy to me. Just sayin’.

See, I’m a big mouth. I gotta waste your time with my chatter. I think you NEED my opinion. Squatlo Rant just gives you the cartoons and lets your think for yourself. Go and enjoy yourself. I’ll stay here and keep talking.

Jim DeMint is leaving the Senate. Hurrah, Goodbye, Don’t let the door hit you in the rear. Another Tea NUT gone. Slight uptick in the IQ of the Senate. I didn’t know it was possible for the Heritage Foundation to sink to a lower low, but it has.

Speaking of people who can’t count–Mitch “The Turtle” McConnell pops to the fore. Seems the dope called for an up or down vote on the president having the authority to raise the debt ceiling on his own. Except that when he finished counting, he didn’t have the votes to win. So when Harry Reid called for the vote, Mitchy Mucho Muttonhead filibustered his own motion. And they say animals are stupid. I bet a few species could give old Mitch a run for his money.

Okay, I’ll shut up.

Until tomorrow.

When my mouth runneth over once more.

Related articles

• DeMint tells Rush how to fix GOP (politico.com)
• DeMint to Leave U.S. Senate to Head Heritage Foundation (bloomberg.com)
• The Paradox of Infinite Time (blogtruth.wordpress.com)

It’s Monday and it’s Stoopid

Tags

GOP, John Kasich, John McCain, Libya, Michele Bachmann, minimum wage, Mitt Romney, New Hampshire, Ohio, teabaggers, unions

I fear for there will never be a day again on planet earth that is not weighed down with the collective sluggishness of the stupid element.

I still wonder at the insanity of the GOP. With the polling decidedly against them, they continue on blithely with their agenda. Case in point was John Kasich, governor of Ohio and designated spokesperson to “respond” to the President’s weekly speech.

Kasich, the second most disliked GOP governor, only silly Scott in Florida fares worse, rattled off the usual GOP talking points of “lower taxes on corporations (oops, I meant job creators) and relief from regulations” and then took to slamming the unions once more as “job killers”.

Now Kasich, faced with a landslide of anger at his attempt to Wisconsinite unions in his state, chose to do that. I mean with full knowledge that he is gonna lose in his own state on that very issue. Did the GOP hold a gun to his head? Or is he just that stoopid?

Kasich, by the way, tried to get the progressives to come in to “discuss” the union issue now that it is quite clear it will be overturned by the people. Of course the progressives smiled and said no thanks. No stoopid there.

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Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s GOP controlled legislature continues to waste its people’s time. In a worthless move, it eliminated the minimum wage in the state, saying that it was wasted on the teens who weren’t “worth” minimum wage, and besides, minimum wages are “job killers.” Yes, I agree, every corporation would love to employ people for a dollar a day if they could. And, more to the point, NH’s minimum wage is the same as the federal one, and that now simply takes over. So nothing changes morons, except you have pointed out again that you care only for the rich and their “victimization at the hands of the poor.” Stoopid here.

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Did ya hear? Mitty (I’ve been running for years”) Romney  is tearing down his 3,000 square foot beach house in La Jolla, California to make way for a new and improved $12 million dollar one that comes in with a sweet 11,000 square feet of bliss. Not in yet is whether he will insist on non-union labor. I guess he can argue that he’s just being a good job creator. Somehow I suspect this will not sit much better than Johnny “mean old man” McCain’s inability to remember exactly how many homes he owned, or should I say his trophy wife owned. Way up on the stoopid scale Mitty.

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Ricky, (aww shucks I could do the job) Perry must think we are stoopid. He wrote a book called Fed Up in which he argues that nearly all of the social programs of the last 70 or so years are actually unconstitutional. Although the book is only nine months old, his staff is already trying to claim that it reflected his views then but not now. Except that when Perry was confronted by a voter in Iowa about entitlement programs, he snapped, “read my book!” No it’s Ricky who is stoopid.

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Two relics of evolutionary failure, Johnny (I hate the world for not electing me President) McCain, and his obnoxious bunk buddy Lindsay (I dream of Johnny with the light blond hair) Graham, has the audacity to praise Europe and the Middle East for their actions against the Qaddafi regime. This while they “regret the delay caused by the insufficient air power offered by the US. Is there ANYTHING ON EARTH THAT YOU JACKASSES WOULD APPLAUD THIS PRESIDENT FOR? It would be a pleasure to strap both of you to a nice little rocket and send you both to Qaddafi with a ribbon tied to your genitals gentlemen. ( the full statement can be viewed here.) You’re both stoopid, and one of you knows it.

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Michele (aww I just hate your guts Perry) Bachmann, is excusing her multiple gaffes by a “busy schedule”. I suppose that is an answer, though what in the world does she think the President’s schedule might be like? I would put it down to that she’s just stoopid.  Bachmann is reported to have offered to show her panties if the media would stop covering Ricky Perry so much. (remember stretching the incredulity muscle!)

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 I do believe I could make this stuff up and you wouldn’t know the difference. It’s just that stoopid out there.

He’s a Bungler!

Tags

African Americans, class warfare, corporate America, decision making, economy, GOP, John Kasich, Michele Bachmann, Michelle Obama, Ohio, political theory, poverty, psychology, racism, Rick Perry, taxes, teabaggers, unions

H/T to LOL GOD

Or what a difference a week makes. 

It was only a few days ago that I was sure the Ricky Perry was so capturing the goofballs known collectively as the TeaNutz® that he was a shoo-in to grab the GOP ball from boring old “I wanna be president” Mitt.

But, bungler that he apparently is, Ricky “No Lucy for you” is gummin’ up the works from the git-go. A series of duh moments has alerted even the know-nothin’ TeaNutz® leadership that they may have a real clunker here.

So, I’m not at all sure that Ricky will capture the brass ring, and that leaves us, ya know, the boring but ever willing to change his mind on ANYTHING, Mitty.

 And I was so hoping for more fun. Course it’s now about even money that the Neo-cons will travel five hundred miles on their knees to grovel at the throne of Chris (burp) Christie. Will Chrissy be like Caesar? No, NO, NO, oh if you insist!

Do stay tuned.

Meanwhile Newt is hot to trot in that bed of GOP voters, HA Why HE. Yeah, the grifter keeps getting a small cadre of really really really extra stupid wingnuts to give him money so he can live the high life.

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I don’t know if you saw The Daily Show the other night. Jon went on a super rant about the pundits on False Noise who continue, in true Randianesque form to whine that 51% of the people in the US don’t pay any taxes at all. They have dubbed this “class warfare” and now are arguing that the poor should “give some skin” before they ask the rich folk to ante up a dime.

What is simply stomach wrenching about this ugly claim of theirs is that they use Randian terms such as calling the poor “parasites”, “leeches”,  “takers” and frankly worse. The rich are portrayed as the true “makers” and “creators”. This is such unbridled hatred of a “class” that it’s a wonder they don’t choke on their own words.

Of course a HUGE portion of those who don’t pay any taxes, are those who, when the few tax deductions they are entitled to take are subtracted from their income,  have zero owing. Somehow this is their fault. “Stupid poor people who don’t make enough money!!”

And do you notice that calling the rich “creators” is a lot like calling them GOD? And that might be a suggestion that they are to be “trusted” as any Creator would be? Do ya think that is all just coincidence?

And of course let’s not forget that the poor pay most all of their income out in essential services, like utilities, rent, and food, all of which are taxed.

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When do you make decisions? Well, making a good decision depends on timing in part. So I would suggest that you follow the link and read all about how to make ’em good and stop screwing up! It’s a lengthy article from the NYTimes Magazine.

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There are two Michelle’s in Washington. One is in the White House, the other is on the campaign trail in the hopes of making it her home. Are they treated differently by the press? It would appear so. Read Sophia A. Nelson’s great article in The Grio.

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Professor Alexander Keyssar puts the GOP narrative into a historical perspective. Interestingly, I had used the same term to the Contrarian–they want a return to the Gilded Age of America where business had unfettered freedom to do as they wished. And that wish included, if you recall, child labor, unsafe working conditions, virtual slave wages, and long hours and no unions. Say Robber Barons. And of course, dismantle all social programs such as social security, medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, education grants. . .well go on and on. This is the world they envision.

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I’d suggest you pop over and read Chauncey de Vega’s really good post on racism in America. He distinguishes two kinds: a white racial frame, and symbolic racism. These distinctions are terribly important and de Vega really explains what the phrase “take back America” means to the Teabagger mentality.

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If you thought the Wisconsin recall votes were not all that important, think again. Similar crap was pushed through in Ohio by the now beleaguered Governor John Kasich, and now guess what? The governor is trying really hard to placate the left in his state.

Kasich had pushed through a “kill the unions” bill through his Rethuglian-controlled legislature. But 1.3 million Ohioans have voted to put that very bill back on the ballot where they can put in their two cents. Under a weird little law, Ohioans had ninety days to get a bit over 231,000 signatures, and got, ummm 1.3 MILLION.

Kasich is trying to get the progressives to come on in and discuss the “issue.” 🙂

Related articles

• The Daily Show Takes On Fox, Again – Update (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Andrew Sullivan on Rick Perry (via Seniors for a Democratic Society) (allianceforanidiotfreeamerica.wordpress.com)

I Admit It, I’m Furrocentrist

Tags

Florida, Herman Cain, Humor, Maine, Osama Bin Ladin, Paul LaPage, Rick Scott, unions, voting rights

Yep, mea culpa. I confess, admit, and shamefully declare it. I have known it for some time, but it slammed me directly in the face last night.

We were watching a documentary called “Oceans” and enjoying all the beauty. I watched as green turtles swam through aqua-gorgeous waters off sandy beaches and dolphins racing all the waves in numbers that took one’s breath away.

I watched whales circle, bubble, and then raise large open maws to capture untold thousands of krill in one orgasmic feast. I saw birds diving for sardines and along shores picking off baby turtles racing for the safety of the ocean.

And then I saw orcas chasing baby seals to the shore and tossing them up in the air in fierce attacks. I heard the cries of disoriented and doomed little balls of frolicky fun, and I turned away.

“Tell me when it’s over,” I moaned.

And I realized that I could watch all manner of fish eat fish, or animals eat fish, or birds eat fish. I could watch anything gobble up reptiles, all manner of scaly things. I could watch chimps munch bugs of any description and never flinch. I never blinked as a bird slithered a worm down its gullet.

But, a furry thing be grabbed? A gazelle by a lion? A rabbit by a wolf? Oh no, no no no. My heart nearly breaks with the inhumanity of it all.

I am in a word, furrocentric.

I guess it’s wrong to be one. But in truth, I don’t intend to be treated for this malady. I will live with it. Thank you.

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You all remember good old Governor LaPage doncha? The one from Maine? The one who took out a mural in the state’s Department of Labor building depicting Maine workers? Imagine, a mural about workers in a LABOR building? It was because businessmen complained he claimed. Well, but of course, who shines their shoes? Mr. GOPer LaPage of to be sure.

LaPage is most noted for his brash, offend everyone (except business and the teabaggers). He has, while in office managed to be against all the things the right wingers are against, and for all the things they are for, meaning nobody likes him except big business and people who have no clue about much past what day of the week it is, and whether you want catsup with those fries.

Most recently the lovely LaPage has signaled his intentions to sign into law a GOP-passed bill that will end Maine’s same-day voter registration law. Yeah, and the reason for this is his firm belief that “Democrats steal elections,” so it’s fair to make it harder for people to vote. And of course, there is not one documented case cited for voter fraud. Never is. It’s all about a stinkin’ minority trying desperately to win elections against the will of the people, so they can continue to screw those same people.

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Political Irony has your late-night humor for the week. After you get through the interminable Weiner jokes, there are some others that are pretty darn good. Take a look.

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As you may have guessed, I’m thoroughly opposed to old step-‘n-fetch-it Herman Cain. I doesn’t surprise me that he was offered the opportunity as a youth to transfer to an all-white school to begin the integration process. He was offered the opportunity, and he wants his white audiences today to know he turned it down. My favorite blog and hopefully yours, We are respectable negroes has their take, or should I say the very very erudite Chauncey de Vega, has his.

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Can you hear me now? Or better still, “I just love the smell of falling Governors in the morning.” I think Walker in Wisconsin and Scott in Florida are racing to see who can be the most hated Governor. It’s unsure who might win, but I sure encourage them both to keep on doing what they are doing. Recall has a fine sound to my ears.

Scott, who just can’t stop trying to be a good GOPer, is pushing a “union dues deduction bill” through that would detour union dues to state agencies to avoid their use in “political” affairs. Yes, and the police in Florida are fuming and calling for a “leaving the party” event. Attacks on public employees is being met head on as it is in Wisconsin and elsewhere. People are indeed waking up.

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Just when you were positively sure that the planet could not support one single more STOOOOOPID person, well, another one comes along. His name is Bill Warren, and he plans on diving somewhere off the coast of India and swimming around to find the remains of Osama Bin Ladin. Ain’t that just ducky? Perhaps Mr. Warren will run into a nice big fat shark who will invite him to dinner and to see the bin Ladin remains up close and real personal–like inside his tummy. Talk about get a life!

Oh, and he said this, he really did. He’s going to look for the body “to see if it’s really dead.” If you find him alive down there, be sure to let us know. THAT would be news.

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What’s on the stove? Ribs, roasted parmesan potatoes and coleslaw.