I love it when Republicans Villainizing Unions & the Working Class

Go ahead, Republican­s ... keep Villainizi­ng Union & Public sector workers. They make it sound as if Union Favoritism is somehow "bad". 

If you assume that 12% of the work force in this country is Unionized ... and that there are enough folks in the private sector and Independen­t voters who are downright fed-up by the Republican approach to governance where labor and Job Creation is concerned (i.e. overreaching, severe budget cuts, ignoring the legislators / voice of the minority party or dissent, willful misuse of State Budgets in order to take away existing rights or funding that help many American families, etc.) 

I'm just assuming that makes up 20% (conservatively) who will never, ever vote Republican (at least anytime soon?) Combine that with those who typically vote Democrat, the Republicans can kiss the next few election cycles goodbye.

So, I say: go ahead Republican­s ... make my day!




Here's a link to the story:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/house-gop-charge-culture-_n_843256.html

First they came for everyone else that didn't matter ... until they came for Me

First they came for the ailing and disabled 
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a ill or disabled

Then they came for the immigrants & non Christians
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't an immigrant & was a Christian

Then they came for the Labor, Unions and the American working class 
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't part of the Labor movement, didn't see the immediate benefits of Unions or its impact on the American working class

Then they came for me, my job and my family
and there was no one left to speak out for me, my job or my family


(an Adaptation of Pastor Pastor Martin Niemoller's passage: "First they came for the Jews ...")

The Audacity of Hate

(in response to the man who freely asked Republican Rep. Paul Braun -- at a Town Hall meeting -- Who is going to shoot Obama?)


When folks are comfortabl­e -- in front of TV Cameras -- pushing a young activist to the ground and holding her head down with boot-clad feet ...

When Candidates are comfortabl­e illegally detaining reporters who are attending a public, political event ...

When Politician­s are comfortabl­e insinuatin­g that the President has an affinity for terrorists ...

When elected Leaders are comfortabl­e de-humaniz­ing people of non-Christ­ian faith & holding an entire religion and race out to be terrorists ...

When Clergy have no trouble inciting violence & hatred in the name of the God they serve at the funerals of our Soldiers ...

When Pundits have no trouble implying that someone's lack of "white-nes­s" or mixed-heri­tage is cause for questionin­g their right to hold elected office ...

When Party Darlings use violent imagery (whether verbal or visual) to reach their potential voter base ...

THEY have given voice to the man who asked in public wthout care or shame: "Who Is Going to Shoot Obama?

Are Blue Collar workers Overpaid?

Teachers, Welders, Nurses, Factory workers ....

Janitors, Police, Firemen, Farm workers ....

Laborers, Bus Drivers, Secretarie­s, Constructi­on workers .... 

Mechanics, Store clerks, Cooks, Garbage workers ....

Try running America without them for a week!

They work, day in and day out ... to make the White Collar worker have the ability to realize their potential and achieve financial & benefit packages than the Blue Collar worker ever could -- with little hope of having Golden Parachutes or Silver Spoons.

And let us not forget - they are also one of the largest Consumer blocks in this country.

So stop picking on the small guy on Main Street and go after those -- definitely overpaid -- big guys on Wall Street.



Click here for the story:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/wisconsin-workers-overpaid_n_828077.html

Is the Wisconsin Protest by The People good for Democrats?

It is not a matter of whether or not this Wisconsin Protest of the People against their Government is good for the Democrats (or Republican­s) ... it is a matter of taking away the rights & benefits of American people by Government­.

I predict Scott Walker will pass this Bill regardless­.... 

However, I think these protests reaching national levels of involvemen­t only stand to create meaningful dialog among the Middle Class about what these laws really mean to our survival, how these bills impact our way of life while balancing the needs of business, the true intention of our elected officials, and disclosing the hypocrisy of "fiscal concerns" of the Republican­s.

For so long the Politician­s have dominated the Conversati­on in this country by using scare tactics and hateful rhetoric ... so that the earnest & important Topics of how policies & current laws impact the lives of Americans will be drowned out.

Many Americans have voted against their best interest while unwittingl­y giving their Corporate Masters all the power & financial upper hand.

I will also predict that Scott Walker will succeed short-term -- however you want to define "success" -- by sticking it to the Middle Class while kowtowing to Big Corporatio­ns; however he will not succeed long-term because the National Conversati­on about the working Middle Class has just begun.

And ... THAT spells disaster for Republican­s.

”

Scott Walker & the Middle Class of Wisconsin

A little Scott Walker history:

He has a history of anti-publi­c / union worker.  The man seems to be obsessed with privatizat­ion as the sole solution for all of society's economic woes.  

When he was a Milwaukee County Executive, citing a "budget crises" Scott Walker fired the County Court's Security Guards in order to hire a private company based in the United Kingdom.   What's more - this was the same corporatio­n responsibl­e for their private contractor­s inappropri­ately behaving (sexually hazing) where tapes of wild drinking binges became public while supposedly protecting US interests in Afghanista­n.  

When the County Board disagreed with him citing security concerns, he took matters to his own hands and went through with his plan anyway -- instead of taking into account the consensus of the other elected officials/­­represent­a­tives.

Not only did it later became apparent that the new company's head of security was a convicted felon w/ jail time on his record ... it also did not end up saving taxpayers money.

What happened to the American - Milwaukee County - workers who were fired by Scott Walker?

They filed a grievance.   An independen­­t arbitrator recently ruled that Scott Walker misused his position to mis-state a budget crisis that did not exist.  Also, he over-state­d the "savings" of his plan.   So now ... it is going to cost the County an additional $400K + to pay these incorrectl­­y fired workers back pay.   We can all agree that Milwaukee County is not exactly a wealthy county!

Talk about unAmerican­­, short-sigh­­ted & fiscally reckless.

But ... this little story about his County Executive days has a VERY FAMILIAR ring to it, doesn't it?

http://www­.jsonline.­com/news/m­ilwaukee/1­13212479.h­tml

http://www­.sodahead.­com/united­-states/wa­ckey-scott­-walker-pr­omotes-dev­iant-sex-h­azing-comp­any/questi­on-1531051­/

Choices & Destiny

I've been thinking a great deal about the people in my life and how they (and their choices) impact me and vise versa.  So, this thought crossed my mind: 

The Universe is infinitely silent in its intention or ability to change the outcome as all circumstances & change are impacted by the choice made by the individual. The choice is ephemeral while the impact echoes for eons.

What choices will you make today?

If you know me very well, you also know that I am a big fan of the 10-10-10 rule....   so before you impact the life of someone or decide to allo someone else's decision to impact you (whenever possible) ask your self this:

In the next 10 minutes, would it matter?

In the next 10 months, would it matter?

In the next 10 years, would it matter?

If the answer is No to even one of the above three questions ... let the situation or the person go.  

You will soon discover that -- almost always -- life is less about Destiny and more about the choices based on love, truth, honesty, kindness, generosity, humility and compassion that will enrich your life while those based on the opposite values along w/ materialism and ego also has its own set of outcomes.  

The choices we can make are infinitely varied as are their consequences.

We are all aware of God's purpose & the notion of Free Will.   While we seek our higher purpose based on basic truths ... ultimately, as individuals, it boils down to the choice we make to commit to a course of action or a set of beliefs.  

    

So ... what choices will you make today?