कमेंटरी: वहत लबोर वांट्स फ्रॉम थे नेक्स्ट President

"Commentary"-What Labor Wants From The Next President

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

SUZANNE PRATT: With the presidential election just 20 days away, we continue our special series of election commentaries, looking at the candidates' economic choices. Tonight, John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO weights in on what labor wants from the next president.

JOHN SWEENEY, PRESIDENT, AFL-CIO: There couldn't be more at stake for working families in this year's election. Today's financial crisis is rocking Wall Street and Main Street. The stock market's tumble has wiped out $2 trillion in Americans' retirement savings. More than 760,000 Americans have lost their jobs this year. But this crisis didn't develop overnight. In fact, the roots are decades deep, reflecting an elitism that was built into our economic rules. These rules favor corporate profits and Wall Street over working people. Over the last several decades, America's workers set records for productivity, yet wages have stayed low. In part this is because big business has brutalized workers who have tried to win better wages and benefits by forming unions. And without strong unions, there is no real counterweight to corporate greed. America's workers can't afford another day of the Bush economic policies. And there's no question that this is the most important election in our lifetimes. Our very future and our children's futures are at stake. That's why I believe Americans will make history this November and turn our nation around

TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK

Now here's a REAL country song, not what Gnashville seems to think is country music and values. This is what the common folks have on their minds.

You see, it's not just George Bush, it's the whole right wing ideology on economics and jobs that has gotten us into this mess. Villifying "liberals" against "conservatives" and having them follow the party line right on down the line with more us against them politics has been a pretty easy job for Limbaugh, Hannity and Billo the Clown with their massive media machine behind them, saturating the airwaves with their message 24/7.

Don't think McCain is McSame as Bush? Just dig on what he had to say about free trade just last night on the final debate: "Free trade with Colombia is a no brainer." This is ridiculous. Now we've got a transfer of wealth going on but it's not the top being taken from to give to the bottom, but the bottom getting hosed by bandits at places like AIG.

Don't you think it's time to take our country back before the Repugnacons can give it away to more communist intrests overseas?



TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK

COUNTRY MUSIC'S GOT MAMAS AND DADDYS
WE GOT BAR ROOMS AND OLD HEARTBREAK SONGS
BUT I 'M HERE TODAY TO STAND UP AND SAY
HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY HOME SWEET HOME
WHAT'S LEFT, WHAT'S RIGHT AND WHAT'S WRONG... AND

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU TOOK OUR JOBS AND SENT ‘EM OVERSEAS
NOW WE OWE BILLIONS TO THE RED CHINESE
YOU BLEW THE BUDGET AND YOU BOTCHED IRAQ
SO I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK

WE HAD A BUNDLE IN THE TREASURY DRAWER
MORE THAN THERE HAD EVER BEEN BEFORE
BUT EVERY DAY WE'RE DROWNIN' DEEPER IN DEBT
MAYBE FOUR YEARS SHOULD BE ALL YOU GET
THEN YOU GAVE TAX BREAKS TO THE MILLIONAIRES
AND TRIED TO MAKE THE WORKIN’ MAN PAY
BUT YOU CAN’T TAX A MAN WHEN HIS JOBS NOT THERE
NOW LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE TODAY…HEY

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU GOT TOO MANY FANCY FRIENDS FOR ME
THE SAUDIS TREAT YOU LIKE YOU'RE ROYALTY
YOU BLEW THE BUDGET AND YOU BOTCHED IRAQ
NOW I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK

NOW I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WERE HOT
'CAUSE BIN LADEN NEVER DID GET CAUGHT
SO YOU SAID WE HAD SADDAM TO BLAME
TRIED TO TELL US IT WAS ALL THE SAME
BUT NOW THE YEARS ROLL BY AND OUR KIDS KEEP DYIN'
YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A PLAN TO BRING 'EM HOME
AND THOSE W.M.D. YOU PROMISED ON T.V.
HEY ADMIT IT, YOU FIGURED IT WRONG... SO I'M TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK

NOW YOU DON’T KNOW MY NAME, BUT YOU KNOW WHO I AM
I'M YOUR EVERYDAY WORK HARD, PLAY HARD
RAISE KIDS AND PRAY HARD COMMON MAN....
AND LORD KNOWS I LOVE THIS LAND...THAT'S WHY

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU SAY "UNITE" BUT YOU DIVIDE US MORE
CUSSIN' EACH OTHER ON THE SENATE FLOOR
AIN'T WE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOVE ALL THAT ?
HEY I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
I GOT MY FAMILY AND MY CHURCH AND FLAG...
NOW I'M TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK



Brought to you by
Honky Tonkers for Truth
http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/04/10/ale04066.html

A Case of Welfare Fraud?

Consider this, if you get food stamps and use them for purchasing alcohol, tobacco, drugs or any other non approved food items there is a good chance that you will be found out and when you are you WILL be charged with the crime known as WELFARE FRAUD.

Do we allow these Welfare Executives at AIG to keep up this bad behavior? This is the second instance of these bums living off our dime, a dime that is getting harder to come by, and squandering the money on frivolous things like horseback riding and getting their toenails cut at a high dollar salon while the rest of us can scarcely afford the milk and eggs it takes to bake a cake. Let'em eat cake? INDEED!

Apparantly these Welfare Executives have some kind of problem. Our lack of correction for this behavior will only make us enablers to it and they will never be cured of their dependency on government assistance. Get these bums off the public dole and treat them like you would a single mother who did something like this.

AIG executives spent thousands during hunting trip

By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS – 22 hours ago

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A handful of top executives from American International Group Inc. spent thousands of dollars during a recent English hunting trip, even as the New York-based insurer asked for an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.

The news comes as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday told the insurance giant to do away with golden parachutes for executives, golf outings and parties while taking government money to stay afloat.

Cuomo said he has the power under state business law to review and possibly rescind any inappropriate AIG spending as long as the Federal Reserve is propping up the huge insurer with almost $123 billion in loans announced since Sept. 16.

"This was an annual event for customers of the AIG property casualty insurance companies in the U.K. and Europe, and planned months before the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's loan to AIG," company spokesman Peter Tulupman said Wednesday morning.

In a prepared statement later in the day, the company said, "We will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure that these activities cease immediately. AIG's priority is to continue focusing on actions necessary to repay the Federal Reserve loan and emerge as a vital, ongoing business."

AIG officials declined to say which AIG executives attended the trip, which reports have said racked up an $86,000 tab. News of the hunting trip surfaced just days after AIG received an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve, on top of a previous $85 billion emergency loan granted last month.

The company said last week it would stop "all non-essential conferences, meetings and activities that do not clearly maximize value and service given the current conditions."

Last month, and just days after the U.S. government stepped in to save AIG with a $85 billion taxpayer-funded loan, the company picked up a $440,000 tab for a week-long retreat at a posh California resort for top-performing insurance agents.

Lawmakers investigating AIG's meltdown said they were enraged that executives of AIG's main U.S. life insurance subsidiary spent a lavish amount on the retreat, complete with spa treatments, banquets and golf outings. Last week, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called the event "despicable."

At that time, AIG issued a statement saying that the "business event" was planned months before the Sept. 16 bailout and that it was held for top-producing independent life insurance agents, not AIG employees. Of the 100 attendees, only 10 worked for the AIG unit hosting the event, it said.

The insurer said Chief Executive Edward Liddy sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson "clarifying the circumstances" of the event. In the letter, Liddy assured Paulson that AIG is "reevaluating the costs of all aspects of our operations in light of the new circumstances in which we are all operating."

The insurer then said it canceled a future California retreat that was to be held later this month.

Regarding the recent hunting trip, "We regret that this event was not canceled," Tulupman said Wednesday.

Shares of AIG fell 37 cents, or 13.2 percent, to $2.43 in trading Wednesday.

Video: Motorcycle Man

We're (finally) putting out another great song with Sailcat, a followup to the 1972 hit "Motorcycle Mama" with "Motorcycle Man"

We've put together a video to go along with the demo to see how it floats. A tribute to the American Biker, complete with the art of longtime EASYRIDERS magazine artist DAVID MANN, Hope ya'll enjoy:


and widout furdder ado, here's Sailcat in 1972, right after cartoons ended on Saturday morning, remember?? :-D

Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers...

Hey Ya'll,

I came across this article at Angela Moland Barnes blog
and thought it was a nice read about the Shoals music scene.

Now Muscle Shoals has got the swampers…

And they’ve been known to pick a song or two

Lord they get me off so much

They pick me up when I’m feeling blue

Now how about you?

(Chorus)

Sweet Home Alabama

Where the skies are so blue

Sweet Home Alabama

Lord, I’m coming home to you

If you are from Alabama, you know this Lynyrd Skynyrd song by heart and if the time is right (we do have manners), you sing it to the top of your lungs. You know what I am talking about … don’t pretend. If you happen to be from the Muscle Shoals area (like myself), you may be particularly interested in the slice of the song listed above. The Swampers, also known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, were a group of studio musicians who worked at Muscle Shoals Sound. Lynyrd Skynyrd is from Jacksonville, Florida and wrote this song as a tribute to the studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where they recorded their demo album in 1971. Sweet Home Alabama became their first hit song from their second album.

The song also mentions Neil Young - “I hope Neil Young will remember a southern man don’t need him around anyhow”. Neil Young had written Southern Man and Alabama, which may have made people think that all Southern people were racist and stuck in the past. Lynyrd Skynyrd responded with Sweet Home Alabama which highlighted all things good about Alabama. This was a lighthearted feud between the bands and Neil Young performed the song at a memorial when three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed in a plane crash in 1977.

mss.jpg

Muscle Shoals Sound

Muscle Shoals and the Shoals area is one of the most unaffected “music capitals” in the world. The music that is recorded there is distinctive because of the mixture of soul, gospel, country and rock. The city is situated between Nashville (known for country) and Memphis (known for blues). In the 1960’s, during the Civil Rights Movement, the Shoals was full of creativity and black and white artists worked side-by-side. A lot of people praise the area for its innovative thought, but it was nothing new for North Alabama, where you could find black and white musicians working together since the 1930s regardless of racial tension in other Southern regions.

There are thousands of songs that were recorded in Muscle Shoals. Some people say that the song I’ll Take You There by The Staple Singers is the perfect example of the Muscle Shoals Sound. Pretty impressive!

Here are a few artist that you may recognize that recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama:

Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Boz Scaggs, Carlos Santana, Cher, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Helen Reddy, Jason Isbell (Drive-by Truckers), Jimmy Buffet, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, Melissa Etheridge, Otis Redding, Paul Simon, Percy Sledge, Rod Stewart, Simon and Garfunkel, The Allman Brothers Band, The Osmonds, The Rolling Stones, Travis Wammack, Widespread Panic, Faith Hill, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, etc., etc……

Muscle Shoals Rythm Section To Be Inducted to Hall of Fame

I'd like to give a shout out to my good friend Pete "Guitar" Carr and a hearty Congratulations on being inducted into the Musician's Hall of Fame along with the rest of the "Swampers" this month.

Check out Pete's website at www.playthatguitar.com and check out his videos page by clicking on the tab marked videos. My favorite is the Mary McGregor session with the swampers and Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul and Mary narrating and Executive Producer on the session. It really shows a kind of a birds eye view into what goes into making a hit recording. A good bit of repitition getting it right, but truthfully these guys were so professional at recording hit records that they make it look a lot easier than it usually is...lol...just listen to any of my cruddy recordings and realize that it took me at least 3 tries to get the vocal as right as it ended up haha.

( (( BMI is a proud sponsor of the 2008 Musician's Hall of Fame &
Museum Award Show )) )

Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum 2008 Induction

Booker T. and the MGs, The Memphis Horns, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm
Section, The Crickets, Al Kooper, and Billy Sherrill

WHAT: Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum Induction. Seven renowned
musicians and musical groups will be honored at the 2008 Musicians
Hall of Fame & Museum Awards Show on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at the
Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

WHO: 2008 inductees are Booker T. and the MGs (Booker T. Jones,
Steve Cropper, Al Jackson and Donald "Duck" Dunn), The Memphis Horns
(Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love), The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
(Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins, David Hood, and Barry Beckett), The
Crickets (Jerry Allison (J.I.), Joe B. Mauldin, and Sonny Curtis), Al
Kooper and Billy Sherrill.

Special guests include Percy Sledge (When A Man Loves A Woman); Eddie
Floyd (Knock On Wood); Phil Everly; George Jones, Barbara Mandell,
and many more to be announced.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 28, 2008; 7:30 pm

WHERE: Schermerhorn Symphony Center; Nashville, Tennessee

Inductees are nominated nationally by the Musicians Union which has a
membership of over 90,000. Last year's inductees included some of
the most esteemed and influential musicians in recording history:
The Nashville A-Team, The Blue Moon Boys, The Funk Brothers, The
Memphis Boys, The Tennessee Two, and The Wrecking Crew. They were
joined in their performances by recording artists Garth Brooks,
Brenda Lee, George Jones, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Peter Frampton, B.J.
Thomas, Rodney Crowell, Roger McGuinn, and many others.

For more information on the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum and to
see highlights from last year's show, please go to:
http://www.musicianshalloffame.com/.

To purchase tickets contact the Schermerhorn box office at
615.687.6400 or to purchase tickets online, click here

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and Friends - Jimmy Johnson
(guitar), Roger Hawkins (drums), David Hood (bass), and Barry Beckett
(keyboards) along with friends Spooner Oldham, Clayton Ivey, Randy
McCormick, Will McFarlane and Pete Carr. Formed in 1967, the Muscle
Shoals Rhythm Section is considered one of the finest studio rhythm
sections in the world, playing sessions in New York, Nashville, and
Muscle Shoals. They became world renown as the musicians, and or
producers, on such classics as "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "Mustang
Sally" by Wilson Pickett, "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon, "I'll Take You
There" by The Staple Singers, "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger,
and many others. They have played on over 500 LPs, garnering over 75
gold and platinum LPs.

Booker T. and the MGs - Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper
(guitar), Al Jackson (drums) and Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass). Best
remembered historically as the studio band for Stax-Volt Records
during the 60s, Booker T. and the MGs created the "Memphis Sound"
behind the hit recordings by Carla Thomas ("Gee Whiz"), Rufus Thomas
("Walkin' the Dog"), Otis Redding ("Dock of the Bay"), Sam and Dave,
among others. The reputation as a band in their own right was
established in 1962 with their instrumental hit "Green Onions." On
their own Booker T. and the MGs had rhythm and blues hits with "Hip
Hug-Her," "Groovin'," "Soul Limbo," and "Time Is Tight."

The Memphis Horns - Wayne Jackson (trumpet) and Andrew Love (tenor
saxophone). Famous for their many appearances on Stax Records, they
have been called "arguably the greatest soul horn section ever." The
Memphis Horns appeared on nearly every recording for Stax — with
Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Sam and Dave and others — as
well as on other releases, including The Doobie Brothers' What Were
Once Vices Are Now Habits, U2's Rattle and Hum as well as a few solo
records.



The Crickets - Jerry Allison (J.I.) (drums), Joe B. Mauldin (bass),
Sonny Curtis (guitar/lead vocal) Founded in 1957, the Crickets have
influenced virtually every major rock performer in the United States
and abroad – from Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan to the Rolling
Stones and the Beatles (whose name was even Crickets-inspired)

. Their
hits have included some of rock's historical classics, "That'll Be
The day," Peggy Sue," "Oh Boy," "Not Fade Away," "Maybe Baby," "It's
So Easy," "I Fought The Law" and "More Than I Can Say."

Al Kooper - Best known for his striking organ riff on "Like a Rolling
Stone" and his performances with Bob Dylan in concert in the 60s.
Kooper was a member of the Blues Project, and formed Blood, Sweat &
Tears, culminating in the release of their first album, Child Is
Father to the Man. He has played on hundreds of records, including
performances with The Rolling Stones, George Harrison, B.B. King, The
Who, Jimi Hendrix and innumerable others. He has released
approximately 11 albums since 1968 including the best-selling "Super
Session" album featuring Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In
addition, he produced the first three albums of the band Lynyrd
Skynyrd, including the single, "Sweet Home Alabama" and the
iconic "Free Bird".

Billy Sherrill (Producer Award) – Record producer and arranger who
has been regarded as the defining influence of the countrypolitan
sound, Sherrill is famous for his association with a number of
country artists including Tammy Wynette, Charlie Rich, Elvis
Costello, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Cash,
Barbara Mandrell, David Allan Coe, Ray Conniff, Joe Stampley, Charlie
Walker, Ray Charles and many others.

Duane Eddy - Grammy Award winning guitarist, member of the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, and the Number One Rock and Roll Instrumentalist
of All Time. Beginning with his first release, in 1958, his
distinctively low, twangy riffs would be featured on an unprecedented
string of thirty four chart singles, fifteen of which made the Top
Forty, with sales of over 100 million worldwide. Best known for such
hits as "Rebel Rouser", "Forty Miles of Bad Road", "Peter
Gunn", "Because They're Young", "Cannonball", "The Lonely
One", "Shazam" and "Some Kind-a Earthquake".

###

Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI) is an American performing right
organization that represents more than 375,000 songwriters, composers
and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million
works. BMI's latest financial results, $901 million for its 2008
fiscal year, are the highest performing right collections for any
copyright organization in the world. BMI has represented the most
popular and beloved music from around the world for over 65 years.
The U.S. corporation collects license fees from businesses that use
music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators
and copyright owners it represents.

Best o' the Web: Palin As President

Just go there, point and click on various things in the room. Cute

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

GOP to Steal the Election?

We're hearing a lot about the trumped-up charges against ACORN these days—but very little about the massive voter suppression campaign being orchestrated by the Republicans. The GOP is trying to purge thousands of Democratic voters off the rolls in states like Ohio, Florida, and Colorado.¹

John McCain and Sarah Palin are falsely accusing a community organizing group—ACORN—of voting fraud to distract the media from their own party's wrongdoing.² Worst of all: It's working.

The truth is, McCain is vilifying ACORN to justify voter suppression—making it harder for Obama supporters to vote.

The GOP's voter suppression campaign could steal this election. But we can stop them with a rapid-response fund to support legal actions, run newspaper ads to get the media talking about GOP voter suppression, and prosecute anyone who tries to steal this election.

Can you chip in $25 to kick off our No Stolen Elections fund?

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/suppression.html?id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=3

The simple act of raising funds to protect this election will send a warning to right-wing operatives who think they can get away with voter suppression.

For over twenty-five years, Republicans have promoted the myth of voting fraud to argue for restrictive voting laws—but Bush's own Justice Department found virtually no organized voting fraud.³ Now McCain is attacking ACORN in order to justify a frenzy of lawsuits making it harder for Obama supporters to vote.

Here's what he's not telling you:

• The only fraud committed was against ACORN itself. ACORN hired 13,000 workers to register a remarkable 1.3 million new voters. And a few of them turned in registration forms with inaccurate and even made-up names to get credit for work they didn't do. ACORN fired them and turned them over to the authorities.⁴

• ACORN reported the fraudulent registration forms. In most states, ACORN is required by law to submit all forms collected whether they appear to be bogus or not—that way election officials, not partisan groups, can make the call. ACORN flags cards that may not be legitimate. And in many places, the charges of fraud only came up because ACORN was the one who flagged the cards!⁵

• This won't have any impact on the election. No one is allowed to vote unless they are properly registered. And there is no evidence of false registrations actually leading to organized voting fraud.⁶
  

We can't let false charges of voting fraud distract us from the very real voter suppression campaign that is already well under way.

Republicans are looking for typos on voter registration forms, threatening to challenge homeowners facing foreclosure, and falsely warning that voters with outstanding traffic tickets may be arrested if they go to the polls.⁷

Help protect this election from Republican voter suppression. Click here to contribute $25 to our No Stolen Elections fund:

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/suppression.html?id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Noah, Laura, Ilyse, Daniel and the rest of the team

P.S. You can learn more about the false charges against ACORN by clicking here:

http://acorn.org/quickfacts

P.P.S. Republicans aren't just smearing ACORN—they're smearing Barack Obama, too, by sending around untrue emails about him.

Have your friends or family ever forwarded you an email with false attacks on Obama? If so, be sure they know the truth. Forward the email to The Center for Political Accuracy, and they'll reply with the true facts for you to respond with:

info@politicalaccuracy.org

Sources:
1. "States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal," New York Times, October 8, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html

"Check-off box delays thousands of voter registrations," Denver Post, October 14, 2008
http://www.denverpost.com/previous2/home/ci_10713377

2. "ACORN defends efforts amid voter-fraud allegations," Associated Press, October 14, 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_el_pr/voter_fraud

3. "In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud," New York Times, April 12, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/washington/12fraud.html

"The Truth About Fraud," Brennan Center for Justice
http://www.truthaboutfraud.org/

4. "The Truth About ACORN's Voter Registration Drives," ACORN
http://acorn.org/quickfacts

"Group Answers Charges of Voter Registration Fraud," New York Times, October 14, 2008
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/acorn/

5. "Voter Group Admits Mistakes, Defends Work," ABC News, October 14, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31241&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=5

"Is there ACORN fraud in Florida?," Orlando Sentinel, October 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31239&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=6

6. "'Fraud' vs. 'Suppression'," Politico, October 14, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31240&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=7

7. "After A Surge in Registration, A Surge in Suppression," Brennan Center for Justice, October 7, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31236&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=8

"Democrats fear GOP will turn away foreclosed voters; GOP won't rule out using residency change to challenge a ballot," Indianapolis Star, October 3, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31237&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=9

"Vote-scam fliers target black neighborhoods," Philadelphia Daily News, October 2, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31041&id=14429-10222665-_jCOLPx&t=10

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 4.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

It's the Jobs too, stoopido

I know, I know, it's the economy stupid. But what is causing the economy to go down the tubes?

People are in mass not paying their bills, for whatever reason the pundits like to put out there it was all going swimmingly when regular folks could make the minimum monthly payments.

However we've seen our wages stagnate and recess back to early 70's pay scales for both blue collar and now white collar jobs. Downsizing wasn't really a downsize for the company. Sure they downsized the American workforce that was employed at these companies, but remember right after the big downsize bust came outsourcing. They got rid of good paying jobs here in the U.S. and hired even more people over seas at less of a cost to the company, making board members and CEOs of these companies very rich, but their target customer base lost their buying power over the years.

Now we're seeing what happens when you don't give a man a leg to stand on. Republican pundits can rail against "protectionism" like it's a bad thing and when the issue of trade agreements finally gets tackled one day the right wing media machine will be in full swing doing their best to convince well meaning American workers that these deals are good for the country and good for them.

When we look at it though, who's it good for? It's good for the CEO, it's good for the Board of Directors, it's good for shareholders, but only for a short time really. In the long run the consumer is going to have to be able to afford to buy the products that these companies sell.

For awhile they are going to have to come off the public dole of corporate welfare for sending jobs overseas and I'm sure they'll lobby for more welfare to bring jobs back (they don't want to see THEIR pay scaled back at the top after all), but we're going to have to force these jobs and wages issues.

It's all about the jobs and what we get paid for doing them. I like being self employed, however even at my teeny-tiny small business I've been seeing a trend since mid '05 when gas prices went over $2.50 per gallon and now with the drop in the markets, failing banks, etc, not even my customers are able to afford to do things they want to, just what they have to.

It's the jobs folks, we need more of them, we need them stable, we need decent pay and so called "protectionism" is really about the only idea for fixing the problem that makes sense, at least the only one I've heard. Big business, or big American business simply will NOT go for trade agreements like the ones that were passed by the European Union where companies can't just exploit workers in poorer countries and countries with environmental regulations more lax than their own.

Say you're a German CEO and you want to open a factory in Co. Cork Ireland so you won't have to pay the people as much as you would in say Berlin then you have to make some kind of investment in the infastructure of that community. You can't just set up shop like you're based there and basically pull a train and exploit every aspect of the poorer less developed country where you put up your facility and you have to offer a liveable wage based on the scale where your company is located, not just exploit low or non-existant minimum wage laws.

That would be a good thing, it did major wonders for Ireland through the 90's until they went into recession last week. But don't count on American big business to be interested in investing anything in the infastructure of any community overseas that they are in. They aren't interested in doing it for their own back yards here in the states. They just want another yacht to ski behind, another vacation home to go hang out in when they get bored hanging out at home, another ivory backscrather to hang next to the barkolounger on the veranda, etc.

It's time to get aggressive with companies that send most of their work overseas when they aren't just trying to supply local markets overseas. When a company in New York sends work to COMMUNIST China or Vietnam just to send what was made by those men and women over there for .25 cents an hour back to the U.S. for sale then that's just wrong. That's not free trade, that's shady. Those jobs should be here in America, with Americans, or at least some smart illegal aliens, haha.

I'm not trying to engage in "class warfare" here, that's just a buzzphrase used by ditto heads to try to quash any intelligent discussion about the reality of our American job situation. It's time to get real about our work, our pay, our financial security and our dignity.

Be a hero. It's your turn now.

What If?

Yeah yeah right wingers, I know, you can excuse your thoughts on this by saying I'm race baiting here, but you've got to look deep at this stuff. I didn't realize it in myself until I could be honest with myself about it. Just think.

Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin: what if things were switched around?... think about it.

Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit?

Ponder the following:

WHAT IF:

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class of nearly 900?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

What if Obama had problems reading from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing five planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality,do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.