thebeerdr—Yes. Its the “wake up to OUR reality”! syndrome. No. I wont. I mean, I cant.

“You are naive or worse! You will get a “worse person” elected! You will endanger the entire US Empire! You will discourage the troops, and, as in McCarthyism, “lose the war for the allies”, as Carlin used to say…thanks

re: KDelphi

Reading your intelligent comments concerning NATO, especially Chomsky noting that Israel is actually just a military post of the United States, reminds me that so many routines get repeated often enough they become sacred rituals. For example, network television presented their new programs in autumn, the “fall lineup” as it were, why? to coincide with the roll out of the new automobiles. This practice continued even after that corporate synergy evaporated.
The same can be said of this idiotic NATO. A still walking relic of the “iron curtain isn’t soundproof” era, where Nikita Khrushchev was portrayed as the boogie man who was going to bury us with his shoes.
At first, the prolonging of this vicious stupidity seems laughable, until you consider, as you pointed out, that this becomes a handy mechanism to enable imperialist wars. In fact, if I am at least half-way human, I should be concerned about not only my fellow citizens being used for these hegemonic purposes, but anyone else in the world being used as a proxy.

thebeerdr—Think of the money we could save, pulling our bases out of NATO! That dosent mean we cant be “allies”. But NATO is increasingly viewed as a “blue-eyed Empire machine”! The push to expand NATO, possibly due to the EU’s use of birth control (gasp!) and lower birth rates, is, as Chomsky says, for the recruitment of more soldiers to fight Imperialist wars. Thats’ not really an “ally” is it? Its more like an intl draft…Noam Chomsky on why NATO should “disband immediately”

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/noam-chomsky-why-bother-celebrating-nato-at-all/

VIA

http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-04-02/_How_should_NATO_develop_Immediately_disband._.html

. How do you see NATO developing in the future?

A. If the question was ‘How ought NATO to develop?’ the answer is ‘immediate disbandment’. In reality there is little sign of change. You may have noticed that despite the financial crisis there is no serious attempt to limit US military spending since Obama became President. They may cancel some expensive high tech projects like purchase of the F22 fighter. You don’t need those sorts of planes for the sort of wars we have now. Before Bush left office 30 billion dollars was voted to support Israel over ten years. Today Israel is just a military outpost of the United States. The plan is to increase the number of ground troops. That’s what you need for the sort of wars they plan. Look, during the Gaza invasion the United States planned to deliver thousands of tons of ammunition to Israel in German ships via Greece. The Greeks stopped it, so they have to find some other way to send it, but the Pentagon said it was for pre-positioning for future conflicts.”

Chomsky on “why is there a NATO?”

“Well, that question did arise. Mikhail Gorbachev offered at that time to the United States, which runs NATO, that he would permit a unified Germany to join NATO, a hostile military alliance aimed at the Soviet Union. Now, that’s a remarkable concession. If you look back at the history of the twentieth century, Germany alone had practically destroyed Russia several times. And now he was offering to let a reunited militarized Germany join a hostile military alliance, backed by the most awesome military power in history.

Well, there was a quid pro quo. George Bush, the first, was then president; James Baker, Secretary of State. And they agreed, in their words, that NATO would not expand one inch to the east, which would at least give Russia some breathing room. Now, Gorbachev also proposed a nuclear weapons-free zone from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, which would have again given some protection and, in fact, security for peace. Well, that was just rejected. I don’t even think it was answered. Well, that’s where things stood in 1989, ’90.

Then Bill Clinton was elected. One of his first acts was to break the promise and expand NATO to the east, which, of course, is a threat to Russian security. Now, the pretext given, for example, by his—Strobe Talbott, who was the Under Secretary of State for Eastern Europe, is that that was necessary to bring the former satellites into the European Union. But that can’t be. There are states inside the European Union that are not part of NATO: Austria, you know, Finland, Sweden. So that’s irrelevant. But it was a threat, and Russia, of course, reacted to the hostile threat. It increased tension.”

AND ON AND ON IT GOES…the “present” and “future” are at the link. It goes on as to how this is connected to the Gaza “situation” (acceptance of the “roadmap” and “two-state” “solution”, expected by Palestine only, etc. and how a pipline, around Iran, via Afghanistan, would cut Russia out of the pic…can you say deja vu all over again? lol)

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/noam-chomsky-why-bother-celebrating-nato-at-all/

re: KDelphi

Have you ever noticed that when people advocate peace and justice, those in charge will claim they naive or worse. But look at the world that the experts have created. The real questions seldom get asked. Someone will inquire, what is the role of NATO today? When the real question might be: why does NATO exist at all?
But war mongering always justifies itself. Listen to President Obama’s puny arguments for extending the so-called war on terror in Afghanistan and those tribal regions of Pakistan where nobody is charge. Nonsensical and lame, nevertheless he utters the shit because the status quo in charge of the stink house demands that he says it to be true. Somebody should say: hey Barry, you can’t be that dumb. On the anniversary eve of Martin Luther King Jr’s murder, go back and read that speech he gave in Memphis, less than twenty four hours before the tumultuous event…

thebeerdr—Yes…the “possible” of the 70s seems to have been “laissez-fared” into the “probable”,(as in, “well, its better than…fill in the blank”) until we’re six feet under. I would prefer not to go that way…

skwid—The influence of Union in the US is miniscule , compared to more advanced countries, like the EU, Austrailia, Japan, etc!

“The United States is unique among the countries studied in that union density has fallen continuously since the mid-1950’s. .. Sweden and Denmark had the highest levels and were also the only countries in which union density rose consistently until at least the mid-1980’s. Unions in both Scandinavian countries have been highly successful in recruiting women and members of the growing service sector.”

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_n12_v114/ai_11811871/

This is considered the number one reason that Scandanavia has a much higher general standard of living than populations in the uS, excluding the upper 5% income levels..

vancemack:
‘Anarcissie…great idea! Unionize the computer industry and see how many MORE jobs you can send to India and Pakistan!

Never mind the fact that the great majority of computer technicians in this country are flat out incompetent. Lets demand MORE benefits and wages for those incompetent people. Heck yeah!’

I can’t really answer your gibes because sarcasm is a very blunt instrument.  Perhaps you could reframe them as an actual set of positive, non-ironical assertions accompanied by evidence and logic.  I know this isn’t much fun, but I think it is the only way we will get beyond gibing and other schoolyard stuff.

re: KDelphi

How many can remember when Vice President Al Gore went on the Larry King Show to “debate” H.Ross Perot’s objections to the North American Free Trade Agreement? That little media puppet show revealed, and quite openly, where the interests of the “new” Democratic party were. As I recall, Perot’s main concerns were concerning the abuse of Mexican labor, which Big Al grew exasperated with, calling into question Perot’s motives, since Ross Jr. was involved with a shipping airport portal deal.
Does anybody remember that cheap slimy shot from the later recipient of the Nobel prize? Gore was certainly robbed in the 2000 election, but that certainly does not make him a saint. The party hack Democrats always gloss over the fact that their people share responsibility for the misery inflicted on so many. President Obama’s campaign objections to NAFTA are so much rhetorical window dressing, after all Big Barry is a big friend of Free Trade (he himself has said it). Protectionism is to be avoided at whatever the cost.

wildflower

“RE KDelphi

Believe the EFCA vote count shows that ALL Republicans are pro-corporate rule and against working men and woman, and SOME Democrats are pro-corporate rule and against working men and woman.  Is this not so, KDelphi?”

No. It think that BOTH parties are pro-corporate rule. They ever will be until we have campaign finance reform. Why should I have to settle for either one??

If the Democrats are so pro-Labor, why in hell did Clinton push so hard for NAFTA? Why do we have the lowest rate of Unionization of the “free” (lol) world? Why do we have the greatest disparity in income of the same world? Dont say GOP—-the Dems vote with them most of the time. They voted for the bailout. (that was corporate). The Blue Dogs are trying to cut MORE social programs out. They voted FOR the Patriot Act. I could go on and on. The Congresssional Black Caucus has a good budget, but…

I already said that I believe that the GOP suck , and that the Dems suck slightly less. Is that the best we can do?? Gawd, I hope not. Pres. Obama is better than Bush. The Dems are better than the neoc-son. Even the neo-liberals are better than the GOP. Feel better? Cause i dont. If you like the “
new Dems”, you are in a tremendous amount of company. Congratulatioans on going with the flow.

Justina—good for you. Have a nice life. Wish I could afford to move that far. If the fricking duopoly hadnt let Wall St get away with literal murder, maybe I wouldnt be stuck in the uS.

Xntrk,

I was pretty sure that you weren’t ignorant of the IWW, just wanted to add them to the list.

And oh man did they have some great songs, real catchy little numbers.  There’s an older (79, i think) documentary that talks to some members who were still alive.  It’s heartening to hear them, unmellowed by age and unrepentant.

Nothing would create a bigger force against war, inequality, and despotism than unionizing the US.  It would incrase the power of the population to oppose the American power regime by fighting for a class struggle unionism against the Dem toadies who now lead labor.

But Obama is backing away from fighting for the legislative program he campaigned on in getting elected.  As corporation lobbiyists pummel Dem legislators, Obama remains silent and inert.  He is letting this legislation die.

Obama is continuing wars, torturre and bailout swindles.  But the simgle greatest betrayal of the people who elected him is his capitulation to the corporations on the union issue.

Thanks for the history, Xntrk.  You are absolutely right.  The working class created the wealth of this country, and the unions were the only way the workers got to share, even a bit, in that wealth. To restore our economy, we need to rebuild and strengthen our unions.

To increase unionization, we need, at a minimum, the EFCA.

As a former union organizer in Detroit, I know how very important the card check provision is to successful unionization.  The long drawn-out NLRB election procedure gives the employers to much time to propagandize and illegally threaten workers, threatening to close down businesses if they vote for the union, firing the strong union advocates under assorted pretexts, and the like.

I am currently living in Venezuela where, thanks to the Hugo Chávez government, there is a constitutional right to join a union and all of the many new protective labor laws carry a presumption in favor of the worker. 

By law, all Venezuelan workers must be given at least a two week paid vacation, which increases with seniority, as well as a month’s wages as a Christmas bonus every year.

Everyone here has a constitutional right to free medical care and education to the doctoral level.  Here there is low cost food at government markets and restaurants, and even low interest loans to buy houses and apartments.

Hugo Chávez is implementing programs which substantially improve the quality of life for all Venezuelan citizens.  These are the same programs that Americans so desperately need right now.  Unionization can help us to get them.

Anarcissie…great idea! Unionize the computer industry and see how many MORE jobs you can send to India and Pakistan!

Never mind the fact that the great majority of computer technicians in this country are flat out incompetent. Lets demand MORE benefits and wages for those incompetent people. Heck yeah!

Xntrk:
’... To bad we don’t have a few leaders like him today - there hasn’t been one since Caesar Chavez.’

From time to time during my career (careen?) in the computer systems industry, I used to try a little low-key union organizing.  My previous personal working-class experience of unions was pretty neutral: on the one hand, they didn’t do much; on the other, they didn’t bother me much either.  However, up in the cubicles, if I even mentioned the idea, a substantial number of my fellow-workers, brothers and sisters of Dilbert, dumped all over it.  The dumpage was not merely ideological; they had specific complaints derived from the personal experience of their friends, neighbors and relatives.

This caused me to come to believe that the large labor organizations ought to be doing some market research, to find out what the problems were and see if the unions couldn’t be reconfigured to deal with them.  Maybe they do, but I’ve never observed any.  Instead, there is ideology and technical fixes like EFCA, which I don’t think are going to be the solution.

Unions today are NOT the unions of yesterday. Unions today reward and protect incompetent workers and have done a great job of pricing the US worker right out of the economy. Until the workers and their union representatives start to gain a little long term perspective they will preside over the kingdom of nothing.

Go ahead! Unionize! Increase demands. meanwhile, the US autos want to shut down MORE factories and send more manufacturing jobs overseas.

I really dont care if you want to admit it or not but the facts are what they are. The US manufacturing base is gone, and until all parties involved (workers, unions, owners and oh yes…lets not forget you and me…the average shareholder AND the average consumer) commit to sacrifice to bring BACK our industrial base, we face long term economic pain.

Minnasota is Screwing US. This BS election debackle in MN is not Just a State matter, it is a national issue. It could only be considered a State problem if it were a State seat, It’s Not its a national seat. The US House and Senate Represent US all!
By dragging their feet and not finally making a call on who won- ever piece of national legislation is being effected. The Stim would have far less concessions- useless Tax cuts- if We had our full 59. We would have only needed the Two more moderate Females to help US over the top. But no Both MN and IL were dicking around with their state party politics. In fact Although I admire Teddy’s commitment- we need someone who can attend ALL votes, perhaps it is time for Teddy to step down and do his magic from the sidelines- that is depending on the Mass. appointment guidelines and potential.
Damn it MN you are becoming the new Florida! Between this Election fiasco and the Crazy psychotic bitch calling for an overthrow,claiming she is a ‘correspondant behind Enemies lines’ and telling citizens to become ‘Armed and Dangerous’- what the hell possessed you to Re- elect her?...You have got some serious problems up there- not Just the Flooding (sincerest best wishes on that resolution).
Your election problem and it appears your US Representative Problem are national problems.Take some control here- Get the reins back on your Judical system and put a bit in the mouth of Bachmann.

re: CJ
CJ’s comments are so spot on. The thing about pipe dreams,as Hickey pointed out, they set you up. In The Iceman Cometh, Harry of Harry’s bar was never going to take that walk around his neighborhood ward, no matter how much he told himself he would! Pipe dreams, whether they are: “yes we can” or “change we can believe in” set you up for even greater disappointment.
The same idea can be found in John Cassavetes’ “Minnie and Moskowitz” where Minnie, played by Gena Rowlands, tells her friend Florence, that movies are no good, because “they set you up” with ideas that actually do not exist… which also, by the way, explains the great demand for escape movies now, reality, as they say on the street, is a real mofo.

RE:  “Those who perform labor essential to social existence don’t have time or energy left . . .  They get home from working endless hours barely alive enough to plop in front of the TV. . .”

But the right wing extremists do not appear to be tired so every worker in America needs to find a way to keep on pushing for a better future:

“ . . . more than 8,000 right-wing political leaders, media personalities, and activists gathered in Washington D.C. for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  Watching GOP officials and other speakers made it clear that the movement sees its future not in cooperating with the Obama administration but declaring war on it.

Mike Huckabee warned that the U.S. was becoming the Union of American Socialist Republics, while Sen. James DeMint claimed that Americans were ready to take to the streets to stop America’s slide into socialism. CPAC made it clear that right-wing media, religious and political organizations are seeking renewed energy as a “resistance movement” – and are mobilizing their supporters by denigrating the Democratic Party and the Obama administration as enemies of American values. . . .

Republican Party leaders are being successfully egged on by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich to do what they can to try to make the Obama administration a failure. The fruits of this right-wing campaign and its embrace by national Republican leaders can be seen in the near-total party-line opposition to the economic stimulus bill and opposition to new Obama budget proposals.

And the strategy of repeatedly referring to President Obama’s economic plans as a “socialist” plot is echoed throughout the right wing media machine. The strategy is gaining some success with the recently reported decline in support for Obama among Republicans even as his overall public support remains high.”

http://site.pfaw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=rww_in_focus_right_retools_as_resistance_movement

Xntrk - from the first comment,

And all of those built on the Wobblies from the early 20th Century…the first union to win an 8 hour day.  And they accepted anyone who worked…male, female, black, white, Chinese.

The question for a bumper sticker might well be: “What Would a Wobbly do?”

Paracelsus,

I think that you’re wrong about Obama being another Carter.  At least Carter had the integrity to level with the American people on some issues.  Obama is looking like a sad reprise of Bill Clinton.

He’ll be left standing in the “center” of his own imagination and trying to convince everyone that “pragmatism” means what’s best for Barack Obama’s political ambitions.

News can hardly be surprising. (I once wrote Jane Harmon—so-called Blue Dog—as to why war on Iraq? I got back two pages of the most convoluted nonsense I’ve ever received by email or by snail-mail, or by any other means, except for a few Randy cons I’ve had misfortune to encounter in their dubious personage. Claim to personhood.)

Quite right, KDelphi, re Blue Dogs that eat all other dogs.

But it’s a lot worse. Labor despises labor, holds itself in contempt. For being laborers, and not, say, Brittney Spears. The entertainment-gossip programs are the most highly rated in all of television medium. Nader once proposed the idea of a Labor Channel. All who heard the idea had a good laugh. Not even labor would watch it, since labor isn’t sexy. While thousands of union members forced to join a union—if truckers, for instance—bitch and moan of union dues.

Not entirely without reason when union leadership carries on like Democratic members of Congress, and currently, President as well. Not to mention long-time pro-business-ownership judiciary.

So deep in the American psyche lays contempt for labor (most especially of the manual, so-called “blue-collar” kind), there’s not likely any kind of talk-therapy adequate to overcoming such contempt. How often do we hear of how so-and-so is JUST a secretary? Or JUST some cabbie? Or JUST a janitor? Stated in a tone intended to indicate that these jobs (on which the world relies for its very every-day existence) are held down by persons lacking in “ambition.” Not adequately “go-getter” to the point of ne’er-do-well.

This truly shitty, mean attitude toward labor is a socio-cultural phenomenon in the case of a nation that dreams of one day realizing so-called, “American Dream.”

What constitutes that dream? Well, making out well enough to never again have to do a day’s work. So that one can sit back on one’s deadbeat ass collecting rent, dividends and/or profits directly from businesses owned. These supposedly to be realized by dint of “hard work,” very much that performed over decades by G.W. Bush, and daddy too. Okay, two days’ effort at Ivy League library to do research for a term paper due at the end of quarter or semester. So two days’ effort, unless one can get someone else to write the thing.

Labor is not valued in the least, since labor is what only the too-stupid, too-lacking-in-ambition do.

There IS lots of cheap talk of great esteem for those who labor, but all that is just so much ideological talk, lest the American Dream be exposed for the con-job it is. When it comes to shelling out bucks for greatly esteemed labor, that’s a whole other thing that is seldom spoken or written of. 

Never mind that secretaries ACTUALLY operate businesses and that garbage collectors—as opposed to lawyers, for instance—ACTUALLY perform labor essential to society’s well-being. Big-media big-mouths talk of “we” or “us,” as though each member of audience too makes only a minimum of $250 large per annum.

Those who perform labor essential to social existence don’t have time or energy left to study up on what would be in their collective interest. They get home from working endless hours barely alive enough to plop in front of the TV from which emanates the constant message that when they aren’t funny (sit-coms), they’re worthless. (Indeed, Amy, mass media is worse than any bomb ever was or could be. More like a viral plague that settles on and then in the frontal lobes.) Love of nation is encouraged/demanded in place (as cover) of regard for ACTUALLY worthy effort.

Congress is itself a closed shop. One that repealed Glass-Steagal awhile back. Now it’s once again defeated labor, which anyway was already defeated by instruction in a pipe-dream that goes by the name, “American Dream.” “The Iceman,” Eugene (as you turn in your grave), having long ago “Cometh” and gone.

So we are playing with an extremely broken system, country, economy, government and just everything. The only thing working is the flow of the taxpayer’s money to those that created this disaster. And this really must have both parties pleased as punch with this bickering, just as each party puts up the facade of one party causing the other to bicker. So to appease everybody, congress and probably the president will decide to keep both chrysler and gm and keep a ‘dead end’ on life support when it has no vital signs, in other words, let’s cut some more off our noses to perpetuate what the corporate crooks, financial thieves and congressional traitors want to do, get more bailout and stimulus money to dump into a blackhole.
I have been out of a job for over a year now and with no real prospects of getting another one that would pay me enough to pay my bills. I would rather the remaining bailout/stimulus money just be doled out to the people instead of the corporate creeps. All this is, is those traitors keeping the money flowing as fast and heavy as the Missouri River into their pockets.

The whole thing should be about fixing the broken systems and start paying the Federal Reserve the interest on the debt we have incurred by allowing our electorate to flimflam us into thinking that ‘propping’ up those failing corporations will fix it all. Doesn’t matter that our grandchildren’s grandchildren will still be paying for it because we have decided that to change and fix things by physically going in the institutions and physically dragging them out and into court and prosecuting them is far too hard to do. And its a good thing we will all be dead by the time our grandchildren realize what a crummy deal we passed on to them because they would really want to kick our ass for our greed and stupidity to allow this to happen. Hmmm, I bet the tent makers are making out like bandits right now.

RE KDelphi

Believe the EFCA vote count shows that ALL Republicans are pro-corporate rule and against working men and woman, and SOME Democrats are pro-corporate rule and against working men and woman.  Is this not so, KDelphi?

wildflower—yes, we know that the Dems would never do anything for rich corporatae CEOS. Theyre all about the “working man”.

RE Marie Cocco: You would be hard-pressed to know that American workers suffered a cruel defeat last week . . . A Specter vote for the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, organized labor’s top legislative goal, was needed to break the expected filibuster by his fellow Republicans.”

Yes, Marie Cocco, only CEOs and business executives gain from the Republican domestic protectionism policies, and many are doing incredibly well:

“Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) CEO Irene Rosenfeld’s compensation package rose about 50 percent to $17 million last year, due in large part to increased stock, stock options and annual incentive awards.

Rosenfeld’s salary was about $1.5 million in 2008, up from $1.4 million the prior year, the largest North American food company said in its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. . .

Kraft’s total shareholder return exceeded the company’s peer group and other benchmarks, though the company noted that 2008 was a “difficult year for Kraft Foods shareholders. . .

The company said its organic revenue—a measure that excludes the impact of currency fluctuations—acquisitions and divestitures, rose 6.6 percent, exceeding its goal of 4.2 percent.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN3139689120090331

wildfower—YOU get a grip! I expect GOP to oppose such a bill! That goes without saying! But, it only takes a couple of BlueDogs to down the entire bill!

WE KNOW THE GOP IS BAD, ok?? NO shit! We need to get over George W. Bush, so we can start expecting something different from Dems. Otherwise, what is the point??

Another Blue Dog Dem Confirms He’ll Vote Against Employee Free Choice
“We already have Blue Dog Dem Dan Boren confirming on the record that he’ll vote against the Employee Free Choice Act.

And now we have a second. Mississippi Dem Rep. Travis Childers’ office just confirmed to me that he will vote against the measure, which is designed to make it easier for unions to organize and is far and away labor’s top priority.

Childers — also a Blue Dog — explained his thinking in a statement to his local paper:

“I plan to vote against the current card check bill. In these uncertain times, I’m very concerned that a wide range of small business leaders believe this will hurt job creation and economic development efforts in our region. There may be parts of the country where this measure will not have the same impact it will have here in north Mississippi, but my job is to put the 1st Congressional District first.”

Childers’ office confirms that he stands by the statement.

The rub here is that Childers, unlike Boren, didn’t vote against the measure in the last Congress, because he wasn’t in Congress at the time. Childers, in theory, was gettable for the pro-Employee Free Choice forces. So the optics of this one aren’t great for the pro-EFCA camp.

The labor side — SEIU in particular — has launched a tough campaign against Boren designed to make him pay a political price for his opposition. No response from the labor side yet on Childers, though.”

It would only take these two to change the vote. Just as it would have taken only Specter to vote for it. We should put pressure on the Dems. Putting pressure on the GOP is useless! It may be soothing to blame everything on them, but, in most of the messes we have ourselese in, its just not so! I know that there is not a socialist party here, but, what should I do, just give up and back Dems?? No thanks! I have a right to hope for better! You should too!

Unless you like living in a corporate state.

Re: KDelphi

Get a grip on reality, Kdelphi. The facts are as follows: the majority of Republicans are opposing this labor bill and a majority of Democrats are refusing to concede defeat, which ultimately means “labor” will be a factor in upcoming election bids, especially in Spector’s 2010 reelection bid.

“. . .If Specter had backed the bill, he would have generated opposition from conservatives and business. But now that he opposes it, he faces a stiff blowback from labor.

“He’s going to have a hard time winning the general election without labor’s support,” said Vincent Panvini, a lobbyist with the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.

While foes of the measure saw Specter’s action as dooming the bill, Panvini and Senate Democratic supporters refused to concede defeat.

“Perhaps another Republican will back it. It’s never over until it’s over,” Panvini said in a telephone interview.”

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) By Thomas Ferraro
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2437156520090324?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=10112

This is totally indefensible. BOTH parties are to blame. It doesnt matter which one is MORE to blame. They both support the corporate state.

We are being totally scammed, peeps. The answer is an Anti Capitaliast Party:
http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1636

Towards an anti-capitalist pole
Jan Malewski

“For several years the organisations of the European Anti-Capitalist Left (EACL) have built links and met regularly to debate, gain familiarity and try to act together on a continental scale. On May 31 and June 1 2008, such a meeting in Paris allowed a step forward to be made: around a hundred representatives of 37 organisations from fifteen European countries debated over two days the capitalist offensive and how to pass to the necessary counter-offensive, the evolution of social democracy and the Communist Parties, the dynamic of the class struggle. “

Thesse are among the protestors you see in London and at the Caterpillar plant in France. Such courage is needed among USAns. Too bad that we cant even get people to admit we ned more than the duopoly. The middle class will further falter at this, and, the so-called democracy, that never existed, has no chance of being realized in the future with this two party system..

If you dont care, vote Dem/Blue Dog again. OTHERS will get what YOU deserve.

re: By voice of truth, March 31 at 1:05 pm:

Look, VOT, you said that this bill would “shift the ability to intimidate from management to unions”. That means that you recognize that there is an “ability to intimidate” and that it’s currently in the hands of management.

And with respect to your claim that you have not revealed your belief or opinion on either side, I can only say that you are laughably delusional if you imagine that your ideological position is at all mysterious.

But hey, the world needs people who are good at deluding themselves. Otherwise, what would happen to the toupée industry?

RE Cyrena: “So explain to us how Obama has ‘obscured’ his position.”

Meant to say, I believe some of truthdig posters are using Obama as a whipping boy to “deflect” from the activities of all of these Republicans and Blue Dogs who are trying to protect the financial and business interest of Wall Street royalty, like the share holders in companies like Wal-Mart who believe it is their divine right to make extravagant profits at any cost.

RE Cyrena: “So explain to us how Obama has ‘obscured’ his position.”

Believe these truthdig posters need a whipping boy, Cyrena. Goodness knows, they some way to reflect attention from all those Republicans and Blue Dogs who are trying to protect the financial interest of our beloved Wall Street and business royalty. As every American knows, it is the divine right of businesses and corporations like Wal-Mart to make extravagant profits at any cost.

“But Obama, who endorsed the free choice act as a candidate, began obscuring his position almost as soon as he took office.”

~*~

Well Miss Marie,

How exactly did Obama begin ‘obscuring’ his position?

Wanna give us an example? Last I heard, (from Obama’s mouth to the world about 3 weeks ago) was that he was very much in favor of this.

Why must there always be these specious remarks from you in all of your reports Miss Marie? Try to remember if you can Miss Marie…Hillary LOST the nomination and lying on Obama isn’t gonna change that.

So explain to us how Obama has ‘obscured’ his position on this issue. He couldn’t have ‘obscured’ it very well if he’s announced to the world that he’s in favor of it.

Do you hear voices telling you something different?

Here’s a joke:

  “...By a politician? Shocker. I still prefer these disappointments to the endless buffet that would have been McCain/Palin. I do not just accept them however.

But you will continue to be disappointed when your only course of action is posting comments about how blind everyone is. 

Put those mirrors back up.”

  Here is the way the swindle works, speaking of blindness:
  When my team player deceives, well he is a politician, we must expect that, and besides the other team is worse.
    That is rationalizing everytime Obama betrays, chalking it up to all politicians, and rationalizing the other team is worse—even when their policies are fundamentally the same.
  Sad that for what you would condemn the other team for, you would grant your own self-identified team cover. And that is the way they play you, sucker.
  Sometimes I wonder if it might be better if McCain won—then we call all be real about the issues instead of buying into political gamesmanship.

I have not given my belief or opinion to either side of this.  Please do not make assumptions, you what those lead to.

RE Marie Cocco: “American workers do not need friends whose subservience to the politics of self-preservation makes them indistinguishable from enemies.”

Yes, it’s called Republican domestic protectionism at work, Marie. The goal is to ensure profits and full exploitation of American workers on behalf of the business and financial sector.  After all, Wal-Mart’s stock was downgraded, for goodness sake, and the Republicans knew what his meant:

“The more impressive strike came, however, earlier this morning, when Citibank downgraded Wal-Mart’s stock from a “buy” to a “hold” on fears that passage of EFCA could force the company to unionize which would in turn decrease shareholder profits as more of the company’s worth was distributed to employees.”

[Ezra Klein] http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=03&year=2009&base_name=the_employee_free_choice_wars

re: By voice of truth, March 31 at 11:59 am :

Well at least you admit that the way things are now, management has the power to intimidate workers.  And you obviously think this state of affairs is just fine.

Anyone who thinks that the “Free Choice” Act was anything about free choice is a fool.  All this was projected to do was to shift the ability to intimidate from management to unions.  If you believe that intimidation by management was wrong, why would you accept the same by unions?

The Left - Hypocrisy in it’s greatest form

I remember saying, “You are going to be so disappointed” in regard to Obama. I remember one Obamanoid on this forum who was a dedicated harpie to the cause. I would get defamed by her after every post where I pointed out the flaws of Obama. Now there is bumper sticker put out by Liberty Stickers with that same warning, “You are going to be so disappointed.” The AFL-CIO is the latest to feel the scorpion sting of Obama. You will get your nominal increases in food stamps, unemployment, and healthcare, but you will have no industry to provide good jobs. This a repeat of Carter, but with better window dressing.

Marie

“Labor” finally gets what it deserves for being retchingly subservient and timid. Have they learned anything? I doubt it

Obama is obviously more afraid to displease the bankers and the other arrogant capitalist pigs than he is to displease us.

What we need to do is make him more afraid to displease us than he is to displease them.

Maybe we can also make the arrogant capitalist pigs more afraid to displease us.

Let’s see, how can we do that?

Any suggestions? Are there any historical precedents?

With corporate shills like Specter and Obama you expect something different?
Ahh Marie, me thinks you awoke a little late..

“But Obama, who endorsed the free choice act as a candidate, began obscuring his position almost as soon as he took office.”

  But, but, but give him a chance!

That is what you hear with every mounting betrayal.
The sooner folks take their blinders of denial off—out of inability, unwillingness to confront their growing disappointment—the better it will be for the country.
  Face it now!

As Marie Cocco said: “these same so-called leaders join the frenzy over an irresponsible greed corporate culture—and then act decisively to keep it in place.” How heart breaking and true. The Obama true believers refuse to see what their guy is actually a front for, and when you examine Joe Biden it is even worse.

How the hell is it that the Republicans can fillibuster and make it work and the Damn Democrats cannot?

sorry, you were warned: manchurian candidate