Working Life

Here’s a riddle: what large entity has the theoretical access to deploy a few trillion dollars, quickly, if given the chance? If you answered the Chinese or US governments, thank you for playing and please try again another time. The answer: labor unions.

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The NRA’s blood money buys a lot of politicians and, which, then, leads directly to the murder of innocent people. Less paid-attention to is the NRA’s war against the judiciary, which Linda Greenhouse sheds some light on.

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I don’t claim to have a deep knowledge of current Egyptian politics. So, I start out by saying I’m cautious about falling in love quickly. But, heck, Hamdeen Sabahi has a big mark in his favor: he does not like the so-called “free market”.

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I’m not a big fan of organized religion — a topic for another day perhaps — and I’m not even from the flock of the New Testament (as on old friend, activist and Rev Dyson, used to whisper in faux sotto voce when introducing me, “he’s from the other testament”). But, forgiving is a human quality. And, when you have the power to really forgive, you would think people would jump at it. Some politicians do, some don’t.

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It is always a curious phenomena to watch people pretend as if facts don’t matter. Ideology trumps reality. The debt crisis is a great example.

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False equivalency rages through the political rhetoric, fanned by the transcribers of press releases (formerly known as “journalists”). No one seems able to call bullshit on what is transparently nonsense. To wit.

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I wanted to write something thought provoking about some other topic but I can only think of one thing right now: Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A. vice president, is the lowest form of human excrement there is, the bottom of the pond. That is all.

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The attack against Michigan unions – by right-wing political and business forces, resulting in the rollback of significant labor rights – was swift and vicious. But, consider this: in the hand-wringing over the defeat, there are long-term, silver lined lessons for unions globally.

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It’s a tad better but still I remain unimpressed by the UBS felony conviction. Because the big fish are still not in jail.

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I wish this phony debate about the debt and deficit “crisis” would be over because, truthfully, I’m running out of clever new ways to call this bi-partisan exercise the stupidity it truly is. So, sigh, here we go again — but I can leave it to others to call it by its true name.

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