Mix 'n Match

WOW are there a ton of things going on right now! lets get started!!

Tired of inaction on global warming? wondering whats happening? The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)--the world's leading authority on global warming--released a report on the effects of a warming climate on wildlife and the environment. The findings were shocking to say the least, you can read more about the report and sign this petition which will be sent along with the report from the IPCC to your Representative.
On the topic of global warming here is another letter which will be sent to your senators asking them to co-sponsor the Sanders-Boxer bill that will act on global warming immediately, here it is.

As you know the big drug companies have a hand in creating legislation and stripping protections for public safety from being enforced here is a letter asking your senator to vote for public safety over big drug lobbyists.

In a previous action post there was a letter asking the president to sign the stem cell research bill, here is another letter asking president Bush to NOT veto the stem cell research bill.

Want to restore Habeas Corpus? Here are two letters you can send to your legislators; here is Act for change’s and here is the ACLU’s.

Do you think it is long past due for Karl Rove to leave the white house? So does John Edwards, sign his petition for the firing of Karl Rove here.

Sick of hearing right-wingers using 9/11 for political purposes? Well Rudy Giuliani did it again recently; you can send his campaign HQ a petition asking him to stop here.

Michigan’s own John Conyers has introduced a single payer universal health care bill into the house show your support here.

Workers Memorial Day

A big thanks to djtyg for reminding me about Workers Memorial Day April 28th. I am a proud UAW member and have been for nearly 10 years, this year president Ron Gettelfinger sent out this letter about Workers Memorial Day. Why April 28th? The OSHA workplace guidelines went into effect on this date. Workers across the country will hold vigils and remember those who simply went to work as they did so many days prior but did not return home that night. The AFL-CIO blog has a very complete post here.

This year Workers Memorial Day is especially significant to me because of the loss of someone whom I had met. Santiago Rafael Cruz was a labor organizer, he was only 29 years old and he was Duct taped to his office chair, tortured and beaten to death for trying to organize farm workers in Mexico, here is the story. Trying to do what he believed was the right thing Santiago was struck down in the prime of his life and taken away from his family too young. At the LWLI conference this year FLOC president Baldemar Velásquez told the students that in what can only be described as an absurd event Santiago was nearly deported to the United States for organizing Mexican workers, unable to deport him the people who were being forced to treat the farmers fairly dealt with it in their own way. What can you do? Here is FLOC’s action page.

As the right wing looks to break unions and weaken workers rights across the country we need to show solidarity no matter the consequences, as Mother Jones once said “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”

Local bloggers make it big!

Congratulations to our friends Julielyn Gibbons and Marcy Wheeler who did a fantastic job on the Off the Record show this week. Off the Record in case you don’t know is a Lansing based political show. Julielyn Gibbons (Liberal Lucy) kicked ass!! She told Tim Skubick how the local political correspondents were lacking and then DOMINATED the rest of the conversation!! I was not only excited to see two of the best Michigan has to offer in terms of bloggers but two of the best spokespeople for activists in our area!! Julielyn and Marcy you both did GREAT!!
The show was not only interesting but you put Skubick in his place!! The two guys from the right wing just could not hang with either one of you!! I wish Skubick would start a blog so we could have some discourse with him.

The Craziest Thing Happened in Washington

In what can only be described as one of the most bizarre articles I have ever read, Inside U.S. Trade reported on a comments made by United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Susan Schwab regarding the current trade environment before members of the Presidents Export Council and comments made by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) before the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. These comments can only be referred to as “Denial and Dementia”.

The first set of comments (denial) has Schwab telling her audience that she thinks that trade accords with Colombia, Peru, South Korea and Panama could “eke” by without support from Democrats. The state of denial exhibited by Ambassador Schwab is awe inspiring. This is the person we have in charge of our economic future. I can see her sitting in the corner whispering to herself (stay the course..stay the course..if I keep saying it, eventually people will believe it!) To make matters even more bizarre, Schwab goes on to predict that Democrats will grant a temporary fast track to Bush for like 18 months.

So to recap her comments- Republicans, who are in the minority, will be able to pass a host of unpopular trade agreements without the support of the majority party, the Democrats. If your jaw wasn’t already on the floor, it should also be noted that about 25 Republicans usually vote against these agreements as well. Fuzzy math anybody? Additionally, Democrats who are in a huge fight with Bush over Iraq troop withdrawal are going to reward him with their trust by giving him fast track for the rest of his term. On another note, scientists discovered a planet that could sustain human life! Perhaps that is where the Ambassador was during the 2006 elections.

Now for dementia. First, this isn’t making fun of people with dementia or insinuating that Congressman McDermott has dementia. An excerpt of Mr. McDermott’s comments as reported in Inside U.S. Trade are as follow:

It is time that US policymakers accept the fact that workers put out of their jobs by reasons not of their own making are unlikely to find similar work at comparable wages, Mr. McDermott stated. The United States is no longer the "favorite" nation of the world - but US policymakers refuse to accept that fact, Mr. McDermott added. In a meeting with officials from several Gulf Cooperation Council states yesterday, the member said they suggested that the United States - and its citizens - should be more adaptive to others' ways of doing things. Mr. McDermott was blunter. He said Washington still maintains a "my-way or no-way" attitude toward the world - exacerbating continued US frustration with groups critical of the US strong-handed trade policies such as the Southern Africa Development Community and the Group-of-20 nations led by Brazil.

I’m not sure what is more shocking. Is it the fact that nations that appear on the 2006 edition of the Human Trafficking list are insinuating that the United States should support “their way of doing things” when their way includes turning a blind eye to human trafficking or that Congressman McDermott was in basic agreement with this statement. Turning a blind eye toward such callous disregard for human life and accepting this way does fall under the definition of dementia which includes the severe loss of intellectual capacity.

We must also keep in mind that just as most Americans don't subscribe to the way in which Congressman McDermott views the worlds economic picture this isn't the people of these nations speaking, it's their version of George Bush, National Association of Manufacturers, PHARMA (drug companies) and believers in Clinton economics who see nothing wrong with placing profits above the well being of the people who make it possible to make those profits and buy the products they produce.

What a Wonderful weekend!

This weekend I had the privilege of working with the Labor Studies Center out of the University of Michigan. I spent the weekend with many union brothers and sisters at the Latino Workers Leadership Institute (LWLI) one of the many conferences that the Labor Studies Center holds each and every year. The conferences may have titles like “Black Men In Union” and “Michigan Summer School for Women Workers” but these conferences are for ANYONE and EVERYONE! All ages, races and sexes are welcome at any of these events and you are made to feel at home the second you walk into the conference center. Throughout the year we all get worn down and start to lose our spark, this conference is how I get my energy to be an activist back! Meeting new union brothers and sisters every year and building an even bigger network is one of the many perks of the event. The workshops are designed to teach specific qualities to union members empowering them to use these skills at their respective local unions and communities. With students and teachers coming from as far as California and Connecticut the LWLI was a big success again this year.

Anyone interested in any of the conferences should contact the Labor Studies Center here. This year the Michigan Summer School for Women Workers will be held here in Lansing at the Kellogg center here is the info on this conference, which will be held July 26-29th. Children are not only invited but there are workshops for them as well at ALL of the multi-day conferences. Please check out the conferences and give them a call if you are interested!

GM WORKERS these conferences ARE COVERED by TAP!! There are also limited scholarships available as well.

The intent of the "gauntlet has been thrown".

Wow Tom Sullivan actually read my post! I regret that he used my words to prop up his ridiculous point; however I am encouraged that he actually bothered to look at some of the things being said.

The intent of “The gauntlet has been thrown” was indeed to react to the “initial response to Ms. Coulter's appearance was positive and fairly evenly balanced” AS REPORTED BY A SPONSOR OF THE EVENT!! I thought that if more people were made aware of this then the true gauge of the public sentiment would be received by Cleary University.


Mr. Sullivan states that “allegations were made of rampant local outrage”, from what I saw on my blog and many, many, many others there was a wide range of comments on this subject. There were MANY comments from a national site for Liberal Lucy’s post on Dailykos. My point? Well if you add up all those many comments on local and national websites it seems that there was a “local outrage”. To dismiss the blogosphere as if we are not part of the community is a mistake. Because we used an unfamiliar method (to Mr. Sullivan) to inform others that may or may not agree with us about the issue does not discount the fact that many bloggers (citizens) wrote posts and were upset about Cleary University hosting a Hate Monger in Livingston County. I wonder if Sullivan would have been as dismissive of letters to the editor? Would the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus have published letters that point out their sponsorship of the event? I wonder if Sullivan was equally dismissive of the people that were “pleased” with Cleary University’s selections. Did Mr. Sullivan question the legitimacy of their “pleasure” or the manner in which they voiced it?

This statement is just a joke "enrich the community by hosting speakers who can share a broad spectrum of business, social, political, intellectual, and cultural experiences." what is enriching about anything Ann Coulter says? Are these three speakers really a broad spectrum? Perhaps it is not the speakers that should be the focus; perhaps the incredibly narrow range of this “diverse group” is the issue. If this group truly represents "varied", "broad" and "diverse" in the minds of the powers that be at Cleary University then perhaps that is the real problem Mr. Sullivan.

Governor Engler-Still Trying to Destroy Michigan

In case some of you didn't know what became of the Penguin after he left Michigan in the lurch and economic ruin hence inherited by Governor Granholm, he was hired as the head of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). NAM is the largest association of huge multinational manufacturers and has a major presence in Washington D.C. (no pun intended)

Recently, Engler and NAM released a letter in opposition to including meaningful labor protections in our trade agreements, including the Korea FTA. Congressman Charlie Rangel who is Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee which controls trade policy in the House of Representatives was not happy and took NAM to task in a press release. NAM had sent out a press release filled with lies and myths and Charlie was having none of it. Way to go Charlie!

Among other things NAM has spoken out against is one of Labors main pieces of legislation- The Employee Free Choice Act. They even put this slick little packet of myths and half-truths together for their members.

Who supports NAM and who does NAM support? Mike Rogers. Mike Rogers has a 100% voting record with NAM. When you look at the corporations that contribute heavily to Mike Rogers, you see why health care costs are out of control as major health care providers dole out tens of thousands of dollars to him and shadow PACS to give even more to Rogers. Drug prices burning a whole in your pocket? Roger is in the pocket of most major drug companies. Did a small business go belly up in your town? You may be interested in the thousands given to Rogers by Wal Mart. The list is long and dirty and can be viewed here

So, this is what we're up against- a well funded congressman who puts the interests of corporate profits over people. Mike Rogers can be beat and the people of Michigan's 8th district could actually have real representation in Congress to address the real problems facing families. We just have to fund a good candidate early, work with the campaign doing volunteer work frequently and question Mike Rogers at every turn and this blog is a great way to do just that.

On the Mindless Menace of Violence

I saw the movie "Bobby" the other day and although the movie was more of a "time period piece" than a bio it was still a fair movie. More importantly it reminded me of one of my favorite speeches of all time. With the recent events at Virginia Tech it's message is just as timely today as it was then. Robert F. Kennedy City Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio April 5, 1968

Mr Chairmen,Ladies And Gentlemen
This is a time of shame and sorrow. It is not a day for politics. I have saved this one opportunity, my only event of today, to speak briefly to you about the mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives.
It is not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed. No one - no matter where he lives or what he does - can be certain who will suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed. And yet it goes on and on and on in this country of ours.
Why? What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by an assassin's bullet.
No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of reason.
Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.
"Among free men," said Abraham Lincoln, "there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and those who take such appeal are sure to lost their cause and pay the costs."
Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper reports of civilian slaughter in far-off lands. We glorify killing on movie and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of all shades of sanity to acquire whatever weapons and ammunition they desire.
Too often we honor swagger and bluster and wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. Some Americans who preach non-violence abroad fail to practice it here at home. Some who accuse others of inciting riots have by their own conduct invited them.
Some look for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear: violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleansing of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.
For there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. This is the slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter.
This is the breaking of a man's spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all.
I have not come here to propose a set of specific remedies nor is there a single set. For a broad and adequate outline we know what must be done. When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered.
We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this, there are no final answers.
Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is not what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of humane purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.
We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of others. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge.
Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanquish it with a program, nor with a resolution.
But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.
Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen once again.

The Old Ball Coach

I will preface this post with a disclaimer that I am a sports GEEK. In a move that some would say “it’s about time” to; the coach of the University of South Carolina football team, Steve Spurrier, said it’s time to take the confederate flag down. In this story Coach Spurrier said and did something that most of his peers wouldn’t dream of doing; spoke the truth. Coming from a northerner these comments would likely be dismissed as agitation from an interloper, but being a son of the south (Spurrier is from Tennessee) hopefully the message won’t be brushed aside. It is hard to imagine that many still want to see the flag of the confederacy flown above the state capitol in South Carolina. The south has many rich traditions and points of pride that can be cherished as a lasting legacy I don’t believe they should tarnish the admirable traits with holding on to the last strains of a pro-slavery government and it’s flag.

Michigan's Senators come through again!

Sen. Debbie Stabenow watching your back, again! This news item is refreshing. Sen. Stabenow has asked the EPA some very valid questions on her constituents’ behalf. Another reason I think Sen. Stabenow does a great job is her stance on trade, here is a statement she made recently regarding the Korean Free Trade Agreement. It was a busy couple of weeks for Debbie; She also co-sponsored S. 5 the stem cell research bill that recently passed the Senate. While giving a speech in favor of stem cell research the Sen. Spoke about our friend Liberal Lucy (Julielyn Gibbons) here is her speech. Liberal Lucy wrote about her fight for stem cell research here. The battle for stem cell research is not over! Our clueless leader Dubyah has promised to veto this legislation so the struggle continues! A recent N.Y. Times op-ed sums it up very well. Sen. Levin has a letter that will be delivered to the president urging that he sign the legislation into law; you can add your name to the letter here.

We in Michigan are a lucky bunch to have two Senators that fight for us the way Senators Levin and Stabenow do! I am sure most of you know that Sen. Levin was named one of the best Senators in the country by Time; here is the article. I was happy to see that Carl Levin pulled in HUGE campaign contributions in the first quarter; I hope this will prevent much of a fight for his seat. That would not only put a great Senator back where he belongs but it would free up some cash for other important races in Michigan like; taking down Mike Rogers, Tim Walberg, and Joe Knollenberg.

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown!!

The chance to take money out of Ann Coulters pocket is here! This story says it all! How can we call ourselves activists? alls we can muster is 33 stinkin' phone calls?!?! The phone number for the Livingston Economic Club is (734)929-9107, lets get those phone call's rolling in! As the article mentions the committee will meet Thursday April 19th to decide what action should be taken if any. Want to E-mail lec@cleary.edu. Why not do both?

Kurt Vonnegut R.I.P

I am very sad to say that Kurt Vonnegut has passed away at the age of 84. Vonnegut was one of my favorite writers of all time and was one of the reasons I became interested in politics. The moment I finished the first Vonnegut book I ever read I immediately went and got more of his works. My personal favorite was Cats cradle but all of his books that I read, I enjoyed. Vonnegut’s life was an incredible journey and his books were often full of strange observations that perhaps only he could have delivered. The AP has a nice piece on his life and death here. If you have never read any of Vonnegut’s books please do yourself a favor and sit down with one soon. Here is a list of his works

Nolan Finley to workers; F@*! You!!

Not satisfied with the recent rebuking of the Amway guy and a nationwide spanking of their willingness to put money and profits ahead of the people the ME-publicans are starting to beat the drum in this state for what would be disastrous to the economy and to the workers of this state. I saw an op-ed in a small Michigan newspaper pushing for “right to work” and now Nolan Finley is the latest to serve up a hot dish of F%@* YOU to labor! In his recent op-ed for the Detroit News Finley calls for the push for Michigan to become a “right to work” state; named in the same ridiculous manner as the “clean air initiative” or the “Michigan civil rights initiative” it offers neither work nor rights!

The legislation has been pushed by the extreme right wing for years and has never made it out of committee. Like many of the flawed ideas that come from the right this has corporate interests and profit margins at heart. Finley rattles off all manner of statistics trying to validate his argument without listing where any of this info came from. I will give you some info and the links where the info is from:

Out of the states ranked 30 – 50 having the LOWEST per capita personal income 16 of them are right to work states. (2006) In 2005 these same states had a banner year!! only 13 of the lowest were "right to work"! 14 in 2004, and 15 of the lowest per capita personal income states for the years 2003-2000 were right to work states. All of this info is located here.

I understand that the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis would probably qualify as a leftist organizations to Finley but to most of the public these are divisions of government that if anything lean towards shining the light towards whatever will make business look good.

I looked into some of Finley's other rantings and found that his streak of anti-worker and anti-union garbage has a long history:

Finley bashes unions in this piece. He shamefully slurps Mike Bishop here. I don't even need to say anything for this op-ed titled "Everyone wins when profits come first". I really could go on for a long time listing his idiotic ramblings but I won't.

I am just sick of seeing these types of people pushing bad ideology from their ivory tower. Please inform as many people as possible about this topic! here are a couple more resources; the AFL-CIO has some good info here, the Michigan AFL-CIO also has some info here, a very complete but complicated analysis is done by the Economic Policy Institute here.

Who will be America's next "Brownie"?

Just in case you recently forgot why you think this is the worst president ever he throws a reminder our way!

As the congress left for recess Bush appointed several people to avoid what would have surely been a long shot at getting through the senate confirmation process. Rewarding one of his biggest supporters Bush appointed Sam Fox (the top individual donor to Republican party in 2000) ambassador to Belgium, Fox is most well known for having founded Swift Boat Veterans for Truth with a $50,000 donation to the swift boaters. He also gave generously to help fund the Scooter Libby defense fund. WOW, what a great guy!

I already told you about Susan Dudley here, and here is more still. She got the nod from dubyah anyway and will head an agency that will have the ability to delay regulations regarding the environment, public health, safety, civil rights, privacy and consumers. It really is similar to having Tom Delay in charge of the House Ethics committee or Mark Foley in charge of the House caucus on missing and exploited children; I guess I should expect this from a ME-publican! Please send this letter to congress asking them to demand oversight.

To me the most disturbing is the appointment of Andrew Biggs as the Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Biggs has long been a mouthpiece for right wing propaganda; here he rights a pro-privatization piece for the right wing extremists the “Mackinac Center”.

Obviously this is a tip of Bush’ hand as to what he has in mind before he leaves office, deregulate industry even further, privatize social security and appoint even more “Brownies” into positions which they have no business being.

ACTION! ACTION! ACTION!

There are a lot of issues to take action on so lets get to them!

Is stem cell research important to you? Send this letter to your elected officials asking them to support funding the research.

Is trade more your bag? President Bush is fighting to keep his Fast Track authority so he can push through more flawed trade deals. You can urge congress to tell Bush that working people don’t want to “stay the course” on bad trade deals! Here is the letter from Public Citizen.

For all of us tree huggers, here are several letters to send out. Here is a letter asking the CEO’s of seven major banks to stop funding new coal-fired power plants and start using cleaner, more environmentally friendly power. The League of Conservation Voters has set up a letter to congress telling them to co-sponsor the Safe Climate Act, send it out! The National Parks Conservation Association has this letter telling congress about the problems coal burning power plants are causing our National parks.

Do you want to be on the board of directors of True Majority? Sign up here!

I hope you sent each of these very important letters out and thanks for helping!

Roll Call

In the last Roll Call post I gave some love to Rep. George Miller from California, he is still doing great things for working people and we must remember who is fighting for us! Today I will feature Rep. Betty Sutton from Ohio.

Rep. Sutton has only been in the House for 3 months but she has already done more than many of our local Rep.’s in Michigan have in several years. Rep. Sutton caught my eye when she recently spoke out against current trade policy. On March 5, 2007 from the floor of the house she spoke out on the current trade policies:

It is crystal clear, not just from the discussion tonight but from what we see
when we go home to our districts and we look across America, that our trade
policies are not benefiting America's workers and America's businesses as they
should. And there is a lot of angst and anger out there. People are really
concerned. The trade policies don't work for the average folks, but they also
don't work, and I have to emphasize this, for American businesses as they
should.

She continued her speech with this:

We can't stand idly by and watch our jobs go overseas and our families suffer at
home and our trade deficits soar.

I urge you to read her full speech here. You can also view more on the trade deal here.

Rep. Sutton has also championed our beloved Great Lakes! Calling our Great Lakes “one of the world’s greatest treasures” Rep. Sutton pushed for funding for several projects that protect the Great Lakes. You can read about it here.

In her first term as Rep. Betty Sutton has already been spotted by the Democratic leadership as having a bright future and been named to the House Rules Committee as well as the House Budget Committee. It’s great to see someone come on the scene with such energy and I am excited to see what the future holds for Rep. Sutton. Contact Rep. Sutton’s offices here.

Brother can you spare a dime?

It’s hard not to notice the assault on the middle class in this country but what I am worried about is where the assault is coming from. I am used to seeing ME-publicans fight for the rights of big business and corporate welfare but it’s alarming to me to witness the torch being carried by middle and low income people. Paying taxes is something that was easy to convince people to hate and the ME-publicans will use phrases like “tax burden” and “tax relief” to demonize taxes with great affect. I must admit that it surprises me to see many people including some lefties now doing the same things with pensions, health care, and wages. I have been seen the right use the terms “health care burden” and “legacy cost” to describe offering health benefits and pensions. What I have noticed lately is that many are buying into this frame and using it to be apologists for big business going into bankruptcy and absolving themselves from their responsibilities. Since when did the working folks in this country become the defenders of corporate greed? I have long wondered why people would take up the cause for something that is against their best interests but to become the warriors of class struggle and fight for the wrong side is baffling to me. I have noticed this with the state budget issues as well. I have heard such ridiculous statements as “we need to cut the pay/benefits of teachers anyway, they are way overcompensated”, what the hell is that? The same type of foolishness has targeted state workers, cops, and our legislators both state and federal.

I recall a conversation I had with a janitor at the county commission on aging; this gentleman was in his late forties and had worked there for some time, upon reading in the newspaper about some MSU employees going on strike he proclaimed “they need to get back to work! They make too much money as it is!”. I didn’t know how to respond but after a moment I asked him “is the issue that they make too much money or that you don’t make enough?” Working people shouldn’t be the recipient of our venom, the people who are pitting us against each other should. I have noticed that the same people who will target other working people will rarely, if ever, mention the $141,000 a DAY pension of the former Exxon CEO and the rest of his ilk. What standard are we settling for? Do we want our best teachers, cops, legislators to go where the wages are better? Are we willing to sell out the standard of our public schools to save a couple of bucks in taxes? Why are we trying to lower the wages of legislators? I think that this would have a reverse effect that would bring in people who are already rich, not needing the salary to live on, to look after their best interests (e.g. Dick Devos). I think that we really need to start questioning people who use these frames; how much is it worth to have good, qualified teachers in the state, don’t you think that we should all be able to work towards retirement at some point, are you more worried about our citizens well being or some irresponsible corporate citizen. I have found that often these types of people have no valid responses to even the slightest push back. Merely to ask for further clarification often trips them up. I bet these people are simply parroting some talking head and haven’t really thought about what or whose agenda they are promoting. I am sure the Billionaire CEO's and the fortunate sons and daughters are laughing as we do their dirty work for them.

Talking about pensions and health care as if they are bad things is crazy to me, it seems to me we should be fighting for these things rather than trying to knock each other down. As a union man the old saying “a fair days work for a fair days pay” comes to mind, I hope we will try to raise the standard of living for all Americans and quit trying to undercut each other.

Why Charles Rangel is better than us

Charles Rangel (D-NY) was on Meet the Press this past Sunday and offered up this tasty nugget. Actaully, it's not tasty at all- it's down-right insulting and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.


MR. RUSSERT: Would you be in favor of a mandatory national service?

REP. RANGEL: Yes! That’s my bill. It’s just that included in that, of course, is a lottery as it relates to the military. But I’m telling you that a mandatory national service first would give us an opportunity to give these kids an education. Why we don’t do it at a time where education is a part of our national security I don’t know. Another thing is patriotism. When you serve and you put that flag on your shoulder, whatever the emblem is, it makes you a better American.

Here's the link for the entire show.

The World according to Charles Rangel isn't much different than the world according to Rumsfeld and Bush. They both thought that they were better Americans (obviously not because they served in the Armed Forces because they both dodged the draft) just like Charles Rangel does I guess. I have never stepped foot on a military base nor do I care to ever do so. This doesn't make me, or anyone else who has never joined the Armed forces a bad person or a not-quite-as-good American. Many people on this blog haven't served time in the military either and I am confident when I say that they have a better grasp of the ideals of democracy than Charles Rangel ever will. Any person who is content bargaining with a Bush Administration that hasn't lived up to one of it's promises (see No Child Left Behind) isn't the best person to take advice from on any subject.

He does make a good point with some of the other things he says in this interview and I encourage you to read it. Does this make me a Rangel flip flopper or less of an American? No Former Senator John Edwards is right when he speaks of two Americas. Edwards uses this term to describe the two classes in America and that's the truth. Unfortunately, Mr. Rangel doesn't understand that all Americans are the same; we say it in the pledge with liberty and justice for all, the Constitution says all men are created equal and our brothers and sisters in the labor movement hold this principle dear. Maybe the rest of the world should listen to good labor unionists rather than some elected leaders out there who think their cheese doesn't stink. Perhaps Mr. Rangel could learn something from the labor movement. If you think so, he can be contacted here.

Bizarro Patriotism

The story of the Walter Reed Hospital scandal has been well documented. What I have found to be most disturbing are the calls of anti-American, treason, and you don’t support our troops coming from the ME-publicans while an obvious pattern has developed.

The Walter Reed scandal is scary in many ways, not only has the Bush administration shown yet another way it didn’t prepare for the war it also has shown where their priorities lye. In their zeal to privatize another important service they willingly overlooked the obvious possibility of maltreatment of our injured veterans. When looking at all the details of the story I can’t help but be disgusted with how easily this administration turned over the well being of our wounded veterans to a private company that had little to no accountability.

Another story in the chain of putting politics before the troops is the story of the Pat Tillman friendly fire death. The military floated a very different story than what actually took place and the ME-publicans used it as a battle cry creating the story and image that they wanted and could get some mileage from. The mother of Pat Tillman tells a VERY different story! Her interview is very insightful and disturbing at the same time, here it is.

A story that has been lingering on the fringes but has yet to get much attention is the funneling of U.S. govt. funds to groups with ties to Al-Queda. Seymour Hersh wrote a great article about it recently in the New Yorker, here. This reeks of the P.R. at any cost direction that this administration has turned to recently.

One would assume that with all this bad press the administration would be looking to not stir the pot. Not so fast! The president has promised to veto the funding for the troops if the legislation contains leftist ridden agenda’s such as; insuring the troops are properly trained and equipped, and asking that the troops be allowed to have the down time in between being deployed that they are required to have.

The old comic book character Bizarro used to say the opposite of what he meant and do the opposite of what he said. This administration has used the battle cry of patriotism, and support our troops rallying millions of well intentioned citizens to their side now the sleazy truth is being revealed. Bizarro Bush will say whatever he needs to say to cover his ass, too bad so many Americans soldiers had to pay the cost for the administrations incompetence.