Working Life

Well, a tip of the hat to some people in labor for reaching down and remembering they have a few cojones left–or maybe it was reaching deep into their pockets and remembering that they have the money, and there are a lot of people (read: politicians) who will do just about anything to get a check. Like vote against fast-track and the Trans Pacific Partnership.

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Sometimes, it’s hard to connect the dots between things that happened twenty years ago–because we don’t teach real history in schools and Crazy Birds is more popular than reading a book. So, people who are correctly suspicious/opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership don’t necessarily get the connection to the phrase “fast track” and don’t remember NAFTA which passed, thanks to Bill Clinton, back in 1993 (it came into force January 1994). So, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch lends a hand today with a really great piece of analysis.

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Time flies when you’ve been screwed. I’m going to write some more about this but, for the time being, let’s not forget that it’s been 20 years since NAFTA was passed…and it was bad shit then and bad shit now.

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War is peace. Lies are truth. And, now, Melissa Bean is like Elizabeth Warren. That is the instant thought I had when reading about the rumors that the White House might consider appointing Melissa Bean to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau if she ends up on the short end of the vote count in […]

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   Look, I am not happy when wacky Republicans win. But, I am not feeling particularly sorry that Melissa Bean may lose her seat in Illinois: Vote counting is temporarily on hold for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District where Republican Joe Walsh has a razor-thin lead over Democratic Congresswoman Melissa Bean. The race has been too […]

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   Today brings news of more greed wafting across the country, as well as a tiny step towards sweeping out the stalls soiled by corrupt politicians. The bad, though typical news, finds yet another payday for Wall Street banks and lawyers who will reap almost a billion dollars for cleaning up the mess of AIG: […]

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   On some things, I would rather be proven wrong. I would rather be told, "you see, these trade deals did their job when they passed and promised  to protect labor rights in other countries where union organizers and leaders have been regularly killed and threatened…life has so improved for labor". Then, I would admit […]

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   Change has to begin with the transformation of the economy: a rejection of the marketing phrase of the "free market". The president has made some very strong proposals in this area. A large group of Members of Congress is now pushing him to declare a new era in trade.   I just received the […]

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   I’ll be on a plane early this morning so I’ll try to catch up later on more topical news. But, let me celebrate here for a moment. "Dollar Bill" Jefferson bit the dust: Representative William J. Jefferson was defeated by a little-known Republican lawyer here Saturday in a late-running Congressional election, underscoring the sharp […]

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    I don’t normally have particular interest in corruption charges against members of Congress–not that they shouldn’t go to jail, and, better yet, be tarred and feathered–it’s just that there is only so much time in the day, But, I’ve always made an exception for William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson, and we’ve been following his travails […]

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