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Cross posted at BlueNC and at warren_wilson
It is not everyday that Warren Wilson gets positive treatment in the Asheville Citizens-Times. At times it seems as if there is a real vendetta against the school, a story that can be told some other time.
But I thought that I would post this story, particuarly after I mentioned Yunus and Grameen in the my last post.
Incidently, I am part of the group that is helping to host the event, which will include a feed to the live presentation of the award (so I've been told).
See you there.
CM
Current Mood:  stressed Current Music: None |
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Cross posted at BlueNC
I saw this over at Govexec.com.
So, it seems that Kerry is going to reinvigorate the Small Business Admin. All I can say is great. We all know that small businesses are good for not only the national economy but also the local ones as well. I hope that Kerry will use his role to also look into what we can do to protect small, local business from the big mega-stores and mega-corporations too. With the founder of the Grameen Bank set to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in less than a week now, it should be on the front of all our minds what we can do to help the small person.
Reminds me of what Dad told me when I was small when I asked about the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. He told me that Republicans were for big business and the rich people and that the Democrats were for everyone else. Made sense to me then and makes sense to me now. Current Mood: stressed Current Music: None |
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This is a cross post from Street Prophets. I thought about not cross posting this, but I kinda want to get people's here take on it. Please comment on this. I won't take offenct if you disagree, as long as it is polite.
I shouldn't open my mouth here, as it will more than likely get me in trouble, but I am going to anyway, mainly because I am tired of these wishy-washy arguments, on both sides. In case you have no idea what I am talking about, I have done it again. Started something as a comment and then realized that it deserved its own diary. So here is the original post by pastordan, and what follows below the fold is my reply. I know that it will not be popular, but then neither were the Abolitionists, or the Suffragettes, or the Freedom riders, so here it is.
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The Blogosphere has been blowing up all day about this new Newsweek poll that came out today.
Admittedly, the majority of the write-ups have focused on the Evangelical slant that the poll definitely shows. There are some heartening things in the results, like the fact that while the Republican slide seems to have stalled, on issues like "values" the results are not that much different than two weeks ago in the immediate aftermath of the Foley thing.
The erosion of support is coming on the heels of the Institute for Southern Studies report that support for the war is low all over the country, including the South. In fact, the numbers in the South are not that different than the rest of the country. (There are several post and blog entries over there that cover this. Try here, here, here, and here.)
As the Newsweek article, and myself I might add, state: it is too early for a celebration yet. This is the time that we might begin to think about picking up the keys to possibly head to the store to maybe buy a bottle of (cheap?) champagne. Or in the case of myself, Irish Whisky...but I digress.
I have to be honest with you; the coming Democratic majority does not really surprise me in the least. For 12 years, or longer, depending on how you count, Republicans have held the position of the "Populist" party. They have successfully done this by maintaining a stance of social populism. However, banning abortions does not put food on the table, and while the richest of the rich have done fairly well in the last 12 years, life for the majority of Americans has gotten harder and harder.
Witness that the minimum wage here in NC is still $5.15 (it is going up at the beginning of the year) while here in Buncombe County the living wage is around $15/hour. You know that housing bubble that got a lot of people rich? It also is making it harder for lower income people to find housing. It also has driven up appraised values for the homes which drive up property taxes. This net just keeps getting more and more complex while at the same time tightening more and more around the working class in this country.
When you consider all of this, a break was bound to happen at some point. Unfortunately, I have little faith that the Democratic Party, at least nationally, can maintain this broad based populist support for a long time. That is a job that is going to need to be picked up by the local and state parties the people that actually know and are trusted by people in these rural communities.
There is much talk about how to turn the South "blue" or to regain the "solid" Democratic South. To be honest, I care little for the party. It is the people that I am concerned about. At this particular time (and at most points in the past) the party you could count on to stand up for the people was the Dems: the party of Jefferson, Jackson, and FDR. But if tomorrow a Green party candidate comes along that I think will help take care of the people here, I will vote for her. If she is a Republican I would have to think about it, mainly because I wouldn't trust that she was sincere.
This is a theme that I am going to be coming back to over and over again: Progressive Populism can win in the South if presented to the people in the right way by the right people.
I am going to leave you with this:
I am one of those annoying people that have a song as my ring-tone on my cell phone. Currently it is "Song of the South" by Alabama, the song that could become the anthem of a new Southern Progressive Populist movement. The chorus has this line in it:
Daddy was a veteran, a Southern Democrat, You ought to get a rich man to vote like that
Sing it loud!!
Solidarity!
Carter McNeese
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| » GOTV, Field Work, Polls, and the Election Haze: How to look at it |
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Cross-posted from kos and BlueNC
We need to talk about the atmosphere that is hanging around to many blogs these days. We seem to be dealing with a mixture of hope, fear, desperation and at least in some cases dread. This seems to be all swirling around at once and I know that all those emotions are YOU HAswirling around in me as well. I don't see this as either a good thing or a bad thing, but wee need to recognize it for what it is and also that to some degree it is the result of 24 hour new cycle. Here are the facts as I see them. It is simply a bad year to be a Republican no matter where you are. However, if you are an incumbent Republican you still have the natural advantage that comes with being the incumbent, or maybe not. The way that I see it, turn out at midterms is always dismal. Common sense tells me that people don't come out to vote for a status quo that they are less than enthusiastic about and I think that this is particularly the case this year. Large segments of the Republican base are disillusioned and unenthusiastic about the current agenda of the party that they think represents them. So if you are a Republican strategist the question is how do you fight this? The answer is quite simple, you get on national television and lament about how many seats you are going to loose and how well the Democrats are going to be. Combine this strategy with your superior ground campaign and GOTV infrastructure, and you have the needed ingredients to beat the current situation. This is the bad thing for the Dems. If they get to cocky and don't run a good campaign in the next 17 days, we could see everything that we have worked toward slip away. We need to get our "pundits" up on the TV saying: "this is not a sure thing. The republicans have a natural advantage right now and we have to fight like crazy to beat it." We can not let our base get complacent about the election. Something that my coaches, youth leaders, scout masters, and parents taught me when I was a kid was that if you really want something YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT. The Dems are not entitled to win this campaign; we have to work for it. And on November 8 we need to talk about what grass-roots based GOTV infrastructure we need on the ground in every county in the country to make sure that we are facing this in '08. A note of example: I went out and canvassed today with Working Families Win today, talking to voters about economic issues that are facing the county, district, state, and nation and doing voter education on these issues and the candidates stand on them. What did I see when I was out? Taylor lit everywhere, but no Shuler. Now I don't know, maybe they are going to cover the area later, but it seems to me that since we have exactly TWO more Saturdays until the election that Shuler canvassers should have been crawling all over the working class neighborhoods where I was, particularly in this district (NC-11) this cycle. So what is the upshot of this? Get out there. Make calls, knock on doors, drop lit, talk to your neighbors and most importantly vote early so you can participate in GOTV efforts on Nov 7. You know the drill and it needs to be full bore until the election. (And before you say anything, I know that I am not perfect and that I could have done more) But start thinking about Nov 8 as well. Start thinking about what you can do to organize your precinct, you neighborhood, your union hall, where ever, so that in '08 we can have the best damn grass-roots based GOTV effort the party has seen in years. Build social capital with people so you have credibility with the people on your street to talk to them about the election, the issues etc. Not only will it be good for us politically, but you might meet some new friends too. Stay the course, keep the faith. Solidarity! CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 11:48 pm
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| » Does any one know |
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How to include the little Technorati window into a livejournal page?
edit: also does anyone (Jason?) know how I can syndicate my friends page into Thunderbird?
Thanks.
CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 08:15 pm
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| » The New "Religious" Left |
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Cross posted from Street Prophets
Yesterday I posted about Edwards's use of religion at a rally here in Asheville. I also think that we remember this gem from the Ford campaign in Tenn. Well today I was poking around on You Tube and found this response to the Ford one and it got me thinking I really don't like the use of religion for politics. OK, OK, I know that I am about to be pulled forward and bullwhipped for this (after all I am at the "Faith and Politics" blog) but bear with me. I am not talking about speaking and acting on your actions, I am talking about pointing out that you area Christian over and over or filming an ad in your childhood church. That is why the new found "religion" of many of the Democrats running this cycle is fake (yep I said it). Now I am not saying that Sen. Edwards is not a Christian, or that Mr. Ford didn't learn a lot of good lessons in that church, but the religion that they are flaunting is not the religion that I read about. Last time I checked, Jesus suggested (commanded?) that we go into a room and pray, or quietly slip our money into the plate with out making a show if it. I was going to say something here about using the Lord's name in vain, but when I went to look it up the actual wording is simply too good to pass up:
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who uses his name. --Exodus 20:7 NRSV Now of course here I am putting all people that misuse God into the same boat, whether they are Democrat of Republican. I think that it is dangerous to anyone that does it, not just for the eternal condemnation of God (if that is your thing), but it is also bad politically, as the Kuo book has demonstrated. Also, coming from the mouth of Dems, it comes across as supper fake, even to me. I guess we just aren't conditioned to Dems saying things like that yet. So if we are not to use God the way that Republicans have for years (man how I despise Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell) and the way that Dems are doing now (at least some), then how should we integrate our religious life and our political life? I would make the argument that we should simply life our faith and our values. I think that that is what both God's Politics and Left Hand of God were all about: how to live our faith, morals, and values in a way that is authentic, honest, and up front. The upshot of this is if people see what we are really about and People of Faith on the Left, then they will swing our way, not because of our religion, but because they see the sincerity and authenticity of our actions, plus the fact that the majority of people share our values anyway, at least according to some polls. So Sen. Edwards and Mr. Ford don't tell me what a good Christian you are, show it to me. Leave me and the voters with so little doubt that the light that will be shining from you will draw all to it (wait I am not sure if I like the fact that I just compared myself to a moth flying toward the flame...). CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 06:38 pm
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| » You seen this? |
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This seems like a pretty good way to use NAFTA.
Now this is what I am talking about...trans-national Solidarity. If the Corporations can move across borders at will...so should Workers' Solidarity....
CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 12:11 am
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| » Shuler, Edwards, and the promise of a "Better America" |
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So I just posted this over at DailyKos. Please go and rec it up!!! Lets get the word out about what is going on here in the South.
“America is better than this!”
That was John Edwards refrain today at a rally for Heath Shuler that he attended in Asheville, NC (NC-11).
While Shuler was supposed to be the main player today (after all he is the one running for office right?), John Edwards stole the show. It was quickly obvious to this veteran from NH primary season that what we were hearing was a very early form of a stump speech from Edwards. But before I get there, let’s talk about what Shuler had to say first.
The essence of Shuler speech was changing the course. He spoke of bringing high paying jobs back into the district (we have been hard hit by the textile mills leaving the area for points south). This was spoken in conjunction with renewable energy and energy independence. One of Shuler lines that got the greatest response was: “We must change the course in Iraq because it’s not acceptable.” Keep in mind that this is from a Dem running in a “conservative” Southern district. I guess he got the memo that the war just wasn’t playing well. To be fair, he did not say what the course change would consist of, but it hardly seemed to matter to the crowd. The fact that both Shuler and Edwards have young children was brought up several times in the “Let’s do it for them” kind of way, particularly in relation to Healthcare. After a very brief introduction, Edwards came up and stole the show.
Edwards was supposedly talking about “what is at stake” and therefore why people should vote for Shuler. Surprisingly, for Edwards, he seemed to focus on the image of America overseas. This from the man who seemed to run in 2004 by not talking about International Relations almost at all. Everyone remember “One America?” But today was all about the need for American leadership in the world. However, Edwards was not tying this just to the way that we handle situations overseas, but also, how things are handled here. One of his truly great lines (IMHO) was “Power alone does not make you a leader; you actually have to have the moral authority to lead.” He pointed out that “it is not just us. It is not just Western North Carolina, it is not just North Carolina, and it is not just America. The World suffers as a result.” In dealing with the need for US leadership in the world Edwards focused on Africa and the poverty, genocide, and AIDS crisis there. While poverty is still big for Edwards, it is not just American poverty anymore, but world wide poverty as well. Edwards then made the BIG claim that “the future of the world is at steak in this election. It is. This one and the next one.”
Then Edwards moved into domestic policy. He pointed out that we need to lead by example. He pointed to Abu Ghrab and Gitmo. He pointed to Healthcare, single mothers worrying about healthcare for their children. “If they wake up with a sick 4 year old at three o’clock in the morning, this is what they know: They are going to have to go to the emergency room and beg for Healthcare. We are better than that. America is better than that and you know it.” The entirerty of the Edwards domestic policy were things that you would expect from him, but it is know through the lens that we have to clean up our act to gain the moral authority to lead in the world. He also suggested putting all the politicians that vote against a minimum wage increase on minimum wage for a year. After listing a litany of “Bush and gang” domestic policy travesties, come this “How dare these people claim the moral high ground. They give money to Exxon at the same time they are taking away money for healthcare for poor children. It is immoral. We need morality.”
I am going to end with Edwards’s own words:
I have been all over this country in the last few years, and I am not sure about some things, but there is one thing that I am absolutely sure of: There is a huge hunger in America. A hunger to be inspired again. People want to be inspired. They want to be engaged. They want to feel good about their country. They want to think that they still live in an America where everything is possible. They want to live in an America where the son of a mill worker, remember (crowd laughter), can go on to do great things for their country. They want to live in an America where everyone has a chance to do great things. They want to live in an America where we are once again the envy and model to the rest of the world. They want to live in a country they are proud of. Well I am here to tell you that it is not too much to say that not only the future of America, but the future of the world is at stake, and what I would say to every single one of you in this audience, in the next two plus weeks…when you are asked to do the hard, hard work…just remember every minute you are doing it what is at stake. Because when I talk about what our responsibility is I am not talking about me, I’m talking about us. Because we can not wait for some one else to do this. We can’t. There is too much at stake and the time is now and literally the world is depending on you and me.
All in all I was pretty impressed. What really stood out to me at the time was how he framed in the language of values and morality. I am not sure that it came across here, but it was definitely there. After the rally today there is little doubt in my mind that Edwards is very seriously thinking about running again. If he does I will have to think hard about supporting him. Up to know I was keeping myself completely open as to whom I would support, and more than likely work for, in the 08 cycle. What I heard from Edwards today was what I have been asking for in a lot of ways: a leader to stand up and say that the future of the world is really at stake here. Also, I think that Edwards gets it with the fact that people want to be inspired again. That has been my experience in the last few days here on campus as we have really been pushing the envelope with ideas as to what direction the school needs to be moving in. If Edwards can effectively tap into that energy that is out there, and if he will run as what I believe he actually is, a true progressive, I will have no problem trudging through NH up to my butt in snow for him. Jeez, I think I need to find my snow boots…..
Oct. 2nd, 2006 @ 08:04 pm
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| » Turning Red Blue: All over the South |
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So I got this bug up my butt today about the fact that Dems in the South are not very well supported, and how there needs to be a major rebuilding of the party down here. So I started over at ActBlue and came up with this. I decided that I am not going to take it any more. I am going to make myself have an active role in rebuilding the South for the Dems.
This means several things. First, the main focus of this from now on is going to be on creating this "Southern Strategy." That means that the look might be changing at some point. It also means that until I get this thing up and off the ground, I am going to be doing a lot of cross-posting between here and Daily Kos and BlueNC. Over the next few week I will be focusing almost entirely on the races here in the South, posting on those, particularly the ones that I am the most familiar with. I will also be shamelessly pushing my ActBlue Page in the effort to try and get these people money. After the election (in 49 days!) I will be focusing on how to develop a strategy for a real, substantive take over of the South, consolidating both the ideas of other and my own, in addition to focusing on the issues that have the greatest impact here in the South.
So for those who did not follow my two links to my new Act Blue page, here it is again. What I have done here is simple. I have picked (or will pick) US Congressional candidates from every Southern state that is running against a Republican incumbent. To do this, I scrolled through the ActBlue directory and looked at the sites of multiple people for each state (with the exception of FL and NC, where I let my personal prejudice for the districts in question sway me). I gave minorities and woman the upper hand, although, unfortunately there do not seem to be many running this cycle here in the South. I then clicked on the websites, took a look around, and if I felt comfortable with my choices, I picked them. What gave me comfort was often Labor endorsements, stances on Healthcare, the War in Iraq, and trade issues. The candidates were not picked on chance to win, how much money they already had, etc. It was a simplistic formula that I hope that in two years can be improved, but the basic point is to get Dems elected to Congress, and eventually to make sure that those that go are true Progressive Democrats.
So let me personally ask you to go here and donate some money to these candidates. Pick one or two that you like and give them some money, or better yet give a little to all of them. Please pass this info on to you friends, neighbors, and families. Let your faith community know about it. Pass it around your political circles. Let me know.
'till later y'all
CM
Sep. 19th, 2006 @ 11:44 pm
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| » Short post today |
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So I have spent the day working on a post for the Daily Kos about Taylor and not only his DAV voting record that I talked about yesterday, but also about some Mountain Top Removal (MTR) lobbying efforts that happened in DC last week and how it was met by Taylor & Co. I will give you a hint, it was not all that productive. Here is the Daily Kos post.
I also spent the day trying to figure out how I want to do this whole blog thing. I like having my own space here to write whatever I want, as much as I want. I would eventually like to my own "independent" blog that deals with all the issues (politics, issues, environment, spirituality) that I want too. It seems to me that the best way to drive up traffic is to post on well established communities, have my own personal blog listed, and try and increase traffic that way. I am not sure though. But what I have decided is that I am only going to participate (actively) in three groups out side of the LJ community. These would be Daily Kos, Street Prophets (which is a spin off of Daily Kos), and BlueNC (which is dedicated to just NC issues). Of course, some of the other big ones, like My DD etc, I will monitor so that I can list and respond to things that are said there.
As I stated in my Daily Kos posting from today, MTR is one of the big issues that I am going to focus on I think. I am beginning to see more and more that it is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
'till later y'all
CM
Sep. 18th, 2006 @ 11:04 pm
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| » Daily (haha) update |
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So it has been almost 10 months since I updated, but that is ok.
In that time I moved to North Carolina and changed schools in the process. I am now at Warren Wilson College (the link is on the left). At some point I am sure that I will fill you in as to all that I am doing here at school.
Today was an interesting day. We met with the WNC chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives for the first time. That movement has a lot of potential in it, not only here locally, but also nationally. Again, the links for both the local group and the national group are to the side.
I found something interesting today on Daily Kos. It was a link to DAV voting records for both the Senate and Congress. The compiled list is here for the Senate and here for the House. I went to the DAV main site to get the raw data, and you can do that here.
There is of course when you look down the list the very obvious trend of Dems supporting the DAV backed measures and the Repugs not. Now I am not sure about the DAVs overarching politics, but I am going to guess that it is not all that liberal. I find it interesting that the party that "supports" the troops is also the party that consistently under funds the VA. Their excuse for it is that "It is not effective" but I know from volunteering at the VA here a little bit that one reason that it is not effective is that it is consistently under funded.
A break down of some of the people that I get to vote for is here:
Charles Taylor (R, NC-11): 13%
Now the Senators, I do have to admit, are a little better:
Elizabeth Dole (R-NC): 50%
Richard Burr (R-NC): 44%
As I go down the list the only 100% that I see are Dems. Now I will admit that I might have missed one, but I did double check. Most interestingly, the vast majority of Repugs were not only substantially behind the Dems in the votes, but were down in Taylor's range. As for Taylor, an NRA member would not vote for someone with a 13% voting record on gun issues, so why would a Vet vote for someone with that on Vet issues. This is something that I think we should bang them over the head with. Here is cold hard fact, a real voting record that can not be disputed, and not just empty rhetoric that "We stand with the Troops." So not only do they send them to war on bad intel and "Go to war with the Army we have, not the Army we want" but also don't even support them when they get back from the war zone and are disabled. You can be sure that I am writing the local paper tomorrow, as well as the local VFP chapter, and I am sending the links to Shuler's campaign. Hell I might even send it to all the media outlets. Like I said, bang them on the head with this one.
Another thing on the war effort (the effort to end it that is): Progressive Dems still have a petition up to support HR4232, which is Jim McGovern's bill to effect an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. 60% of the American people are polling as being opposed to the war in some form. This is the time to get out and really make a push on this issue. I know that Colin had the "Pottery Barn Rule" of "you break, you buy" but I am thinking that it is about time to cut out on the check. The longer we stay in Iraq, we are not only loosing American service personal to the bombs and shells and bullets, but we are increasingly weakening the American position in the World. We are loosing not only Soft Power, but also Hard Power at such a rate that would have been unfathomable 50 years ago. When even our allies (the ones that we don't pay for) hate us, you know that we have entered a scary time of de-stability in the world scene as regard American Power.
Sep. 18th, 2006 @ 01:46 am
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| » (No Subject) |
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I am not sure how many of you have heard about the ongoing fight against outsourcing that is taking place in Ireland. The basic scenario is that Irish Ferries has decided that they are going to fire all their Irish workers and hire “low cost” workers from newly entered EU countries (which, btw, has been a major argument against the EU all along). Essentially, they are outsourcing all the jobs, including the ones where people actually have to work on Irish soil. This is not unlike what NW is planning on doing here in this country. I can assure you that if this is successful in Europe, it will happen here a lot faster.
Here is the call to action:
SIPTU, one the main, large Irish unions (they have developed a mainly Industrial model a la the IWW), has called for Friday to be a nationwide day of protest and worker Solidarity. I think that a show of international Solidarity would be a great thing; especially we are gearing up here for some really big Industrial battles, not only with NW but GM too.
So, please, on Friday, wear something Red (the international color of Labor), and something Green (for the obvious Irish reasons). If you are in a union, please pass this on. If you are not in a union, pass this on. Even if you do nothing other than wear red and green, or even just talk to someone about the international issues surrounding outsourcing. Anyone who does anything, please send me a picture and I will forward it on to Ireland.
Let’s take the first step in establishing real Trans-Atlantic worker solidarity!!
PROTEST ON FRIDAY 9 DEC!!
NO TO OUTSOURCING
BAD FOR THE WORKER
BAD FOR AMERICA
BAD FOR IRELAND
BAD FOR THE WORLD
In Solidarity,
CM
Dec. 6th, 2005 @ 12:20 am
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| » I had a wreck |
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Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I had a wreck this week and that puts a damper on everything as I get all of that worked out.
I am OK, if you must know. And so is everyone else in the other car, although there were several kids in the car that were not wearing seat belts.
Basically, I hit the brakes, the stupids things locked up, and I slid right into some Asian plastic car and smacked it like it was a piñata at a birthday party. Actually I always hated piñatas. I thought that they encouraged violence against animals...also I never hit one...ever....stupid fat kid....
Anyway, here are some pictures.
Dec. 4th, 2005 @ 01:13 am
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| » Today was a good day |
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So it seems, at least according to this, that there might still be some justice in the world.
I try not to be absolutely delighted that he is a Conservative Republican, but it is hard not to let that add a little to my joy. No matter what party he is, he is a crook that stole from the American people and the American Worker, and no matter who he is and what party, crooks deserve all that come to them. But like I said the fact that he is a Conservative Republican gives me a little extra warm and fuzzy.
I had an interesting conversation with a girl from my ethics class today. After class I took her to Wendy's, mainly because she is with out a car and has no way to get around. Not to mention she is one of the few people that I have ever met that is polite enough to let rant, and at least appears interested.
Anyway, as per the usual, we got started talking about politics. I know from the past that she calls herself a "moderate" if only because she doesn't know what else to call her self. But one thing lead to another and we ended up talking essentially about the nationalization of things like health care and other things that have no business to be privatized in the first place. I mean of all things not to be privatized, it seems to me that Health Care should be one of those. I am not saying that Doctors and Nurses and Aids don't deserve fair and just compensation, but the profit margins for the corporations involved in the industry can and should be cut out. Right now you have insurance companies, hospitals, clinics, big pharma, etc all get a cut when you go to see the doctor. Then, when he/she shoves you out the door with poor care because of the regulations of your hmo, you sue the doctor instead of the bastard hmo that screwed you in the first place. I don't think that I know a soul in the health care field currently or that was connected with health care that thinks that the system works.
The arguments that you always here from opponents when you speak of any Nationalization of any industry, whether it is health care, pensions, or oil/energy sector (which I am a big fan of), is that it will "hurt" the economy. Well the first question is whose economy? For far too long we have been slaves to the "Dow Jones" and the bastards on Wall Street. We are told that the economy is great, while factories close, workers are laid off, and The People generally suffer. There is something twisted here, and RFK knew it, but that my god what a tangent this has become.
The point is that there is no good proof that the economy would suffer. In fact Europe can be pointed to as an example of the potential for the success of a more Socialized society. Here you have countries that are significantly smaller than the US and still able to compete on an International stage. And Argentina would be a classic example of where me might be headed if we eat the bitter pill that Bush and Co. want to force feed us. In the early 80's it had a relatively strong economy for the region, but its leadership listened to Reagan and his "supply-side" wonks and by 2000 the economy collapsed. It is now only being built back through the blood, sweat and tears of its workers, who are forming collectives to help solve some of their hardships, and it seems to be working. And we all wondered why there was so much "trouble" when Gee Dub came to town, and why there are so many opposed to US lead economic policy. They tried it once and got fried.
And in a way this leads us all the way back to "Duke." In all truth he was not all that unique. He got was so blatant that it was inevitable that he get caught, but I truly believe the majority of the bums up there are crooks as well. But how are we supposed to be represented when they are taking graft and kickbacks (let use the words that are accurate here)? Bill First would never let a vote come to the table on health care because he and his family would loose money. Same with a myriad of other things. We like to complain about the "social" debate and "social issues, " bu the truth is that is all they have left to talk about and debate in an honest way...even writing that word makes me laugh...Yeah no one cared about Terri, but the truth is what else were they going to vote on? There was nothing left them by their corporate backers.
Until all of the guilty ones stand before a judge of the People and declare themselves Crooks and Liars and we throw the bums out...we will be in for a bumpy ride.
Nov. 28th, 2005 @ 11:55 pm
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| » Happy Turkey Day |
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I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that the holiday was everything that you expected, and nothing you didn't want.
I went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was better than the first two for sure, and I think better than the last one too. It has been a while since I read the book, so I am unable to make that comparison. It was, as the reviews claimed, a lot darker than the previous movies, but the books began to get darker at this point. This now means that the movies are over half made. Over the hump. I think that the last book and movie will come out almost simultaneously. I just see that as the best marketing thing to do. I might be wrong though.
This reminds me, though, that I saw _Walk the Line_ last weekend. It was EXCELLENT!! I think that both Rivers and Witherspoon did a fabulous job acting in the roles of two people that are very well known to the American people. Rivers got more into the role, I feel, as the film progressed. I might be wrong, but I wonder if the movie was shot sequentially?
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving, and please stay home tomorrow...I don't want any of you killed by a deranged retail worker....
CM
Nov. 24th, 2005 @ 09:23 pm
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| » Christmas (shopping) is here.... |
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So the mad dash for the retail goods is upon us. After tomorrow, the "official" Christmas shopping season will be here. I get to spend the first weekend of the season working 14 hours a day. Aren’t I special?
But this brings me to several things. I know that there are those of you out there that have been lucky enough to never have worked retail. You can have no idea how horrid it is. I don’t mean to complain, and I am sure you are not “one of them,” but there are certain customers that absolutely drive me crazy. They are rude, think that the world revolves around them and generally treat not only me but my co-workers as if we were dog shit off the bottom of their shoe. Let me give you some examples:
“Uh, what is the price of this?” “The price is marked on all our products…here.” (Two minutes later) “And what was the price of this.”
(While I am waiting on another customer) “Can you please work here and show me where (x, y, z) is.”
“Why did you get rid of (x, y, z).” “I am not sure ma’am, but they got rid of it about two years ago.” “Well you need to do something about it.”
“I got this stuff in here one time, and it tasted good.”
“Where is your gravy starter?” “We don’t have gravy starter ma’am.” “You’re lying, where is your boss.”
“What is the price of this?” “It is ____.” “Well that is too much, how much will you give it to me for.”
“I know that y’all aren’t very smart, but…” (Actual quote. For the record I am rated as “gifted”, whatever that is supposed to mean)
“Oh you go to college. Why don’t you get a real job?”
“You are out of Coffee/Salsa/Chips/etc.” (I work in a specialty food shop where we sample lots of our products everyday. This one is best when we have a really long line at the register.)
“You don’t have cherries/truffles/pretzels/etc. out. I want some.”
These are just a few of the wonderful things that are fairly regular. The best two today were these.
The phone rings 15 min. to close. We are closed tomorrow for Turkey Day. “Yes are you open tomorrow?” “No ma’am.” “Why not?” “Well it is Thanksgiving.” “So, you should still be open.” “Well the whole mall is closed.” “Well what time are you open till tonight?” “We close in 15 min. ma’am.” “Why?” “Well we close early before every holiday.” “This is most inconvenient.” *Hangs up in my face w/expletive.
The phone rings shortly after that. “Is [the manager] there?” “No ma’am, she didn’t work today. I can put the person in charge on.” “Well I am f*cking pissed off.” “Excuse me?” “Well I ordered a g*ddamn ham from you and it is not here!!” “I am sorry ma’am; let me give you the number for the cat…” “I don’t want you abdicating your responsibility, I want my f*cking ham!” “Well ma’am, I don’t know anything about it, but…” “Bullsh*t!! You are just a lazy piece of sh*t.” (I am NOT making this up. I swear) “I am sorry ma’am…” “Yeah you said that. I want a solution.” “Well ma’am if I could give you the number to the catalog…” “Well if you are not going to be helpful I guess I won’t shop in your sh*tty store anymore.” “Ma’am I am try….” *hangs up in my face, again*
You know I could not make this stuff up. I have been cursed, yelled at, pushed, shoved, spit on, and kicked. Now I know that there are a lot of really bad clerks out there, but I don’t think that I am one of them, and neither are my co-workers. So please, I am sorry that the holidays suck for you, I know you don’t want to be there, and I am sorry that you hate your family…But please, go take it out on someone else.
Nov. 24th, 2005 @ 12:50 am
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| » Nixon Redux.... |
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"This solution (Nixon resigning) would get a lot of people off the hook -- especially Nixon, who has nothing to gain from hanging on for another two years in the White House. His effectiveness as a president was a wasted hope from the very beginning -- but it has taken five years, two elections, and one mind-bending scandal to make the cheap bastard understand it."
-- Hunter S. Thompson; July 4, 1974
As I read _The Great Shark Hunt_, in particular the political bits, it strikes me that this was written 30 years ago, yet you substitute names and it could have been written yesterday. Growing up in the house that I did, I never liked Nixon, but I don't think that I truly understood the anger and hatred that people had toward him until this group of Neanderthals...wait that is not fair to Neanderthals...cretins came to office/power.
30 years ago Thompson was making the same point, about some of the same people! Not only did we elect Nixon twice, but Reagan twice, Bush I once, and who knows if Bush II ever actually was elected, but at one point he was popular and thought well of. But 30 years later we are fighting a war that can not be won, have a president up to his eye-balls in problems that he does not understand, are fighting an ever intense battle to get certain rights, like trial by jury or speedy trial, recognized by these people whose one aim is to consolidate power and merge the state with the corporations...we have a word for that...actually two...Fascism and Feudalism. For far too long the concept of fascism has been tied directly to racism and ethnic cleansing, but that was not fascism, just Hitler's own little rosy face to it. Fascism is truly the merger of the state and cooperate interest and power.
Now I know what our dear friends on the Right are going to do...they are going to say that "That's not fair...you can't compare Bush to Hitler" and I am not...more like Peron or someone like that (although Peron might have been smarter). But let’s also look at the facts:
Bush and Co. now use the FBI, thanks to the "PATRIOT Act" (was that ever a misnomer), as a secret police force to gain all kinds of info about you with out you knowing it.
Bush and Co. have locked up people into prison camps and are not prosecuting them.
Bush and Co. started the Dept of Homeland Security (sounds eerily like Fatherland to me).
Bush and Co. have secret prison all over Eastern Europe
Bush and Co. use fear to make people give up their rights.
Bush and Co. used a tragic event to consolidate power.
I could on but I am not going to....
I guess the point here was this: These deranged little monkeys are sucking us all into a deep hole again....like they did 30 years ago....But where have all the flowers gone....
Nov. 23rd, 2005 @ 01:04 am
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| » I miss Hunter |
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I miss Hunter S Thompson.
I miss him a lot. Everyday I wonder what he would think of the massive implosion that is currently going on within the Bush admin. I think that he would love it, but in his usual style would tell the American people “it took you damn long enough!!” I mean here is a man that really hated Nixon, right? I mean he hated him so much that when Nixon died, he still pointed out what a raging asshole the man was, what a waste, and what a horrible thing it was that the country elected him, twice. I mean he really hated Nixon. They only good thing that I am aware that he ever said about Nixon was that Nixon liked to watch football. But even then the good Doctor got in his jab, pointing out that Nixon was a HUGE jinx, and had NO IDEA what he was talking about.
So Hunter REALLY hated Nixon. And during the election last year he said that if Nixon was running against Bush, he would vote for Nixon, a man that he hated not only on a public level, but and a deeply personal level as well. And would rather vote for Nixon than Gee Dubya. That is saying a lot.
Then in February he shot himself. I sometimes wonder if after the 2004 election and Bush’s resumption of his little throne, if maybe, just maybe, the Fear and Loathing got to be a little too much….
"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun -- for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax -- This won't hurt."
(Thompson’s last written words)
I miss you, Hunter. But you would be having a blast right now….Hail to the Thief…he is finally getting his due.
Nov. 16th, 2005 @ 08:35 am
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