Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wisconsin governor’s candid comments reveal desire to bust unions

Oh that Scott Walker! What a guy…why just the other day he thought he was talking to one of his biggest backers, David Koch (yea, that Koch, as in the notorious Koch Brothers):

Bragging about how he won’t budge from his position Walker assured Koch he would “…talk, not negotiate.”

If you heard I was going to talk to them that’s the only reason why,” he went on to tell his pal David.

And what was Koch’s reply to that?Bring a baseball bat. That’s what I’d do.”

Isn’t this conversation just delicious? You haven’t heard anything yet. Go here to see why Gov. Scott Walker is being accused of wanting to break unions. Warning! It’s not pretty, but it sure is revealing. One more thing: he wasn’t really talking with David Koch, he was talking with Daily Beast editor, Ian Murphy! BUSTED!

McKinnleyville Girl Missing: contact family with any information

missing-girlYolanda “Yolie” Quiroga (photo) (Breaking News thanks to Redheaded Blackbelt)

Congressman’s erratic behavior causes staff members to resign

Image: Rep. David Wu dressed in a Tiger outfit

Oregon Congressman David Wu has showed erratic behavior before, but his constituents keep re-electing him (seven times now). After last year’s re-election Wu’s staff members have been “moving on” to ,shall we say, saner pastures!  

I don’t see the big deal about wearing a Tiger costume and sending the photo to staff, but taking non-prescription pain-killers is a problem. He’s sought mental health help, but doesn’t believe he needs to check into an in-house program. He told ABC News that he’s “in a good place now” despite his staff defections.

Excerpt: 

Seven of his staff members have left since he won re-election in November: his chief of staff, spokeswoman, three field representatives in Oregon, and two others in Washington, D.C. In addition, he lost his campaign pollster and campaign fundraiser. His campaign treasurer resigned last week, and Wu named himself treasurer.”

FULL STORY

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

'Lucky man': 39 wives, 94 kids not enough for Indian sect leader

Image: Largest family in India

That would mean this guy has 39 mother-in-laws!

The article doesn’t say if he takes Viagra or something to keep pace.

Despite being 66 years-old, this guy is going like the Energizer Bunny on steroids!

The more, the merrier is certainly true for Ziona Chana, a man in India's remote northeast who has 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren — and wouldn't mind having more.

They all live in a four-story building with 100 rooms in a mountainous village in Mizoram state.

Full Story

I’ve had a variety of bloggers featured–maybe it’s time for an NRA blogger?

imagesCAB1XX5DWell…I’m waiting folks

My youngest son belongs to the NRA. How about you Eli?

I’d like to hear why a person should be able to buy two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles every month or so? To what purpose?

Do you know what a straw man is? It’s someone who buys the guns and sells them to others...like to the Mexican cartels! You can pick up some spare change that way I suppose, if you don’t give a damn that your supporting murderers.

But the NRA says “that’s okay…just don’t take our guns away. We don’t want any more rules, we’re happy fools!”

Another Guest Opinion: Government pensions, an obesity epidemic

Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen makes his argument that state and federal governments are so indebted to their workers in pension and other obligations that they have little money for anything else. A Union member himself, Cohen offers sympathy but not his total support for the Wisconsin state employees demonstrating against Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to do away with collective bargaining.

 Read why here.

Cartoon source

Say no – hear no – see no….Reality!

Cartoon-tom

Editorial cartoon by Tom Toles / Washington Post

Guest Opinion: The Party of NO (compromise) shudders at the thought of ‘working together’

Before my Conservative readers launch an all-out attack on me, please note this is NOT my opinion that I’m sharing with you. It’s a guest opinion. It doesn’t make me a Liberal, or any other party affiliation, for sharing it.

I treat Liberals the same way I treat all politicians; with suspicion. Visit my archives in case you don’t believe me. ALL POLITICIANS and ideologies are fair game (see Page Header). With that in mind, I’d like to hear comments from ALL sides. Let’s stay on issue and see what happens:

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg:

The Party of No (Compromise): In his "60 Minutes" interview right before becoming House speaker, John Boehner drew plenty of eyebrows, even from questioner Lesley Stahl, when he wouldn't say the C-word: compromise.

Said Stahl: “But governing means compromising.” Boehner: “It means working together.” Stahl: “It also means compromising.” Boehner: “It means finding common ground… When you say the word ‘compromise’…a lot of Americans look up and go, ‘Uh-oh, they're gonna sell me out.’ And so finding common ground, I think, makes more sense.” Later, Stahl asked, “Why won't you say you're afraid of the word?” Boehner: “I reject the word.” And Boehner isn’t the only Republican leader rejecting it. In the standoff in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) is refusing to negotiate with Democrats and labor (Go here). And in Indiana, a Republican senator known for compromising -- Indiana’s Dick Lugar -- could very well lose his GOP primary next year (Go here).

The C-word has become a four-letter word to the party bases, more so on the GOP side these days. And there is a difference between "common ground" and "compromising," the two words are NOT interchangeable, especially in the eye of the GOP primary voter these days.”

Negotations break down: four American hostages killed by Somali pirates

Image: The sailboat Quest

Does anyone else feel like I do about getting the international community together to solve this pirate problem once and for all?

Thus far all efforts have been useless because there was no united goal to stop the situation. Just reactions like paying ransoms which have encouraged the pirates to keep up their deadly attacks.

Why hasn’t someone captured one of these so-called “mother ships?” If we know what the bastards are doing then why has the world been so helpless thus far?

It’s hard to believe some ignorant modern day pirates are holding the world hostage. It doesn’t make sense. America might get a little more involved because of this incident – the murder of four of our own – but without a definite game plan to stop the pirates all efforts will come up short.

“Four Americans captured by Somali pirates while sailing in the Indian Ocean have been shot and killed, NBC News reported today.” Story here.

Pirates captured 1,181 sailors aboard 53 ships in 2010, according to a report from the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau. Eight of the captives were killed, the report says.

Monday, February 21, 2011

As It Stands ‘Scum of the Month Runner-Up - ‘Blago’ - is looking like a strong candidate for 2011 ‘Scum of The Year’

I know it’s still too early to get real excited about “Blogo’s” chances of being awarded Scum-of- The-Year, but following his defense in court sure is making a good argument for it:
Blagojevich Defense Wants Wiretaps Tossed Due to Gaps

Blagojevich Trying to Keep Recordings Out of Court

Defense: Lift seal on Blagojevich evidence

 

image source

As It Stands: The real American Dream -- jobs for everyone

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 02/20/2011 01:30:18 AM PST

When I graduated from high school in 1968, I knew I had several options. One, I could easily find an unskilled production job that offered a living wage, go to college, or go into the military and risk a tour of duty in Vietnam.

The options for students today are narrower. When they graduate, the prospects of finding unskilled production work at a living wage is bleak at best. As for going to college, it usually means getting student loans and facing years of paying them back. To make matters worse, when students do graduate from college these days, there's no guarantee jobs will be offered to them.

They have to compete in the toughest job market in decades. Almost 2 million college graduates are unemployed. A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers predicts companies will hire 22 percent fewer graduating seniors than last year. Joining the military is still an option, but it may mean multiple tours in Afghanistan. The same goes for the National Guard, who at least weren't sent to Vietnam back in the day.

Let's set aside the challenge of jobs for college graduates and those who choose the military, and take a closer look at what high school graduates face in today's job market.

The manufacturing sector has made productivity gains, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That should be good news, right? Not so fast. Good news for whom? More manufacturing jobs for humans disappear every year. When we hear about levels of output per hour worked rising by 2.6 percent in the last three months of 2010, it sounds positive.

Upon closer examination, these gains in productivity are thanks to robots. Once upon a time, a human laborer turned out so many widgets an hour, and everyone made a profit. A worker could count on working the same job until retirement because American manufacturing led the entire world.

That's changed. There are fewer human workers and more robots. Humans are trained to watch over the robots and to repair them, but that is skilled work and requires training.

The experts talk about productivity rising in America and how specialization is the key to manufacturing success, but that has translated into a jobless future for unskilled production workers. In an interview last month, Tom Runiewicz, an economist at IHS Global Insight who keeps track of the manufacturing sector, warned that the unskilled production worker will soon be obsolete.

The sad truth is most economists expect the jobless rate to remain stubbornly high for a long time to come -- especially among lower-skilled workers. The prospects aren't pretty. Although the unemployment rate has improved in the past couple of months, it remains at 9 percent, well above historic norms, with 14 million Americans looking for work.

Those figures don't tell the whole story. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says more than 8 million people who are working part-time would rather work full-time.

Another 1 million people are classified as “discouraged workers,” which means they would like to work but don't think there's a job out there for them.

And there you have it folks. Capitalism marches on. So what will happen to those people? They are more than just unfortunate statistics. Those men and women whose lives were devalued when their skills were automated? Family dreams shattered? Where do they fit into this 21st Century reality? It's sad to think I once took it for granted that there would always be jobs for someone willing to work. To see the harsh reality of no work facing millions of hard-working Americans concerns me.

The mainstream media tells us things are looking up on Wall Street and Americans are becoming more productive. Yet I look around at the swelling ranks of the unemployed, the long lines at community Food Banks, and I wonder how long this can go on?

As It Stands, I think when people knew there was a job for them if they were willing to work hard was the real American Dream.

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...