Unions win a battle with Verizon

Recently, 45,000 unionized electrical workers went on strike against Verizon. The two main points of contention were healthcare costs and pay fairness for the same work. On the first issue, Verizon wanted to force the workers to pay hundreds more per month for the healthcare package (shifting the burden from mostly Verizon to mostly worker). The second issue was that linemen in the landline-side of the business would be forced to take an even higher hike than the cellphone-side of the business. The union argued 'equal pay for equal work' (both sets of linemen do about the same thing, just one unit happens to be more profitable now). Here's an overview article that explains more.

I takes some real balls to go on strike when unemployment is ~10%, but it looks like the union came out on top.

Here's one incident that caught my attention throughout the whole flap: Verizon accused the strikers of conducting acts of sabotage. They even offered a $50,000 reward for proof. Now, charges of sabotage are not uncommon and it's not unheard of for the occasional striker to go off the reservation, but so far, I can't find one time Verizon paid out on their reward and I think I know why.

The striking workers were electrical workers. Guys that deal with high voltage and sensitive electronics. There was also an enormous number that walked out all at once. You can't just take any dopehead off the street and send them to work. They'll electrocute themselves, take down your network, and then you'll need a new network (and a new worker). It looks, though, like that's exactly what Verizon did: Verizon uses inexperienced worker to fill in. Note that the NRC used to explicitly ban any manufacturer of nuclear powerplant equipment from providing equipment to plants built by "scab" workers.

What's really interesting is there's lots of videos out there of the replacement workers screwing things up (with IBEW guys snickering in the background):

Verizon (replacement) workers blow transformer while striker hassles them

One more related note: Has anyone found Obama's comfortable shoes?

Given some recent events, maybe these guys are just helping him out by going on their own search for his comfy shoes.

White House Gives Up on the Gulf Coast

So, P.E. makes a remark about Janet Woodka. Harry Shearer has been all over the story.

In summary, Obama appointed a well-qualified person to a position that he never really got behind. I'm sure she's had some sort of an accomplishment, but I can't name any and the Obama administration quickly forgot she even existed. They eventually remembered enough to kill the office off nice and quiet like.

So, how is Obama doing on the "Litmus Test?"

Last week on Bill Moyers' Journal, Princeton professor, Melissa Harris-Lacewell offered the following statement in regard to expectations for the nascent Obama Administration.

...I have a couple things I think are the most important. I think the recovery of New Orleans continues to be the central democratic litmus test of our time, that what does and does not happen in the context of recovery for the Gulf Coast tells us whether or not we value community, what we're going to do about environmental injustice, whether or not we're going to provide affordable, quality housing, and whether or not we truly believe that we are a racial democracy, one in which people of all races get to contribute.

As Jeffery puts it, Clinton II is looking more and more like a mediocre president. I'll end with a quote from Churchill:

The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.*

_________________________
*(Context for original quote was in relation to the U-Boat campaign)

Notes on the Nobel Committee

So, Obama has won the Nobel prize. Here are a couple of reactions I'd like to highlight:

I tried to get Oprah an Olympics and all they gave me was this lously meaningless medal. Warmongering, pro-torture, U.S. President inexplicably awarded a prize for "Peace"

It's the last thing he really needs.

It's a joke.

I'll point out that there's a big divide between the hard science-based Nobels and the awarding of the "soft" category (economics, politics) awards. Albert Einstein never won a Nobel prize for relativity. The science panel wasn't sure the theory was valid, so they awarded it to Einstein for his work on the photoelectric effect.

The "soft" awards tend to go for "trendy" subjects. Probably the worst overall call was giving the guys behind Long Term Capital Management a Nobel Prize in economics (they almost took down the entire global marketplace not long after). As many on the right have pointed out, giving the award to the likes of Yassir Arafat didn't exactly help out the award's prestige. To their credit, there was a brief time that it looked like the Oslo Accords could be the equivalent to the Camp David Accords. Not long after that, though, Arafat was back to blowing up school buses.

Many on the left screamed when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize. "Irony is dead," was the quote. Christopher Hitchens has demolished anything that was left of his legacy (other than horrible, pointless bloodshed).

We'll see how this award turns out in a few years.

UPDATE- More to ponder:

Why Obama's Nobel Prize is Good for America. By Bill O'Reilly.

Why the Nobel Peace Prize Should Go to Nuclear Weapons

Cleaning up the Post-Mardi Gras Mess Part 1 of 2

Poop Scooper
Originally uploaded by Noladishu

Yesterday, there was much fun to be had, but today is the day we clean up, get our ashes, and straighten things up. And boy do we have some big messes to clean up.

The bulldozers have been mobilized to clean up the Quarter.

Yesterday was President Obama's speech to Congress about the Global Financial Crisis. All in all, the reviews seem to be positive. I've only skimmed it so far.

You also can't mention Obama's speech without going over Governor Jindal's speech. This speech pretty much marked the end of Governor Jindal's term as Governor of Louisiana and the beginning of his primary campaign for the Republican nomination in 2012. Forget about him putting the interests of the state before the interests of his political future. Just out of curiosity, did Governor Jindal have his usual mile-a-minute speaking speed? Here's one parody of Jindal already up.

While I confess I haven't finished either speech, I've been reading a lot leading up to the speeches.

At first, Jindal wanted to turn down an extra $25/month for the unemployed (paid for 100% with federal money) claiming it was "welfare." Keep in mind, Louisiana's unemployment system is one of the most bare-bones in the country. The payments tend to be half as large as, say New York's, because Louisiana always wanted to have the lowest possible tax burden for businesses.

If low tax burdens spawned businesses, it would be Louisiana, not California, that has the world's 10th largest economy. Imagine were we'd be on this list if it weren't for all the oil in our backyard. But, don't tell that to Jindal. He adores Bush's economic record and thinks that tax cuts to the wealthy are the best stimulus possible for the economy. Look at what the Bush tax cuts did!

Democrats are seizing on Jindal's hypocrisy of only objecting to a small portion of the stimulus (and only objecting to those portions that would most please the Base). They're calling Louisiana, not unjustifiably, a "Poverty Stricken State" that can't afford to give the ambitious Governor the luxury of turning down millions of dollars. It's also ironic he's objecting to the arts money when our biggest cultural event (Mardi Gras, with it's Billion dollar+ economic impact) is going on.

If Congress got serious about forcing the governors to "take it or leave it," things would get very interesting.


UPDATE- Oyster rounds up the brutal critiques of the Governor's speech last night. One of the headlines was "Jindal's Speech: Panned, Seared." Ouch.

UPDATE 2- Oh no, Kenneth the Page responds:

Change Can Happen...

A couple of little vignettes:

The person in the story at the end of this post talking about how he's warming to Obama for being the first president in a generation to really give a shit about organized labor.

On my walk to Deanie's for lunch, a black limo driver and a white construction worker having an honest debate about Israel & Palestine. Both were calm, were reasonably in the ballpark with their facts, and were respectful of the other's positions, even if they disagreed.

There are some more I could write, but I don't want to embarrass particular people. People can change. All I'll say is I think the national IQ went up yesterday by a couple of points.

Dawn on a New Day in America

"La victoire d'Obama porte un nouveau rêve américain" Linking to Le Monde because I can.

McCain's concession speech. It didn't feel like it really happened until I heard this speech. McCain's first thing was to call out the racists in his own party and tell the crown to show some class and respect. If he lost any respect during this long slog, he gained it all back there.

Obama's victory "YES WE CAN" speech. This one will be in every history textbook in America one day.

And Mr. Gloomy Pants back to normal.

The Onion's headline.

Election Returns

Congratulations to our new D.A., Leon Cannizzaro. I wish you the best of luck building our District Attorney office into one of the best in the country.

Nationally, it is Barack Obama in a landslide with Independents, Women, Minorities, and the 18-24 demographic (including yours truly). 21% of voters came from that last group. Young people finally showed up and voted. Congratulations.

Oui on peut!

Anyone know where I can get the album?

Alfred E. Smith Mememorial Dinner Speeches

Here's McCain's speech:

The first few seconds got cut off. If you're interested in the rest, try here.
Obama's Speech:

Kvetching for Obama

A couple of great Daily Show clips:


And Sarah Silverman explains why you need to get your Jewish grandmother in Florida to vote for Obama:

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Email by Congress-critter about the economic crisis

Here's an email allegedly sent by an anonymous congressman about the subprime mess. I doubt a congressman wrote it, but a legislative aid, I'd believe. Judge for yourself:

Paulsen and congressional Republicans, or the few that will actually vote for this (most will be unwilling to take responsibility for the consequences of their policies), have said that there can't be any "add ons," or addition provisions. Fuck that. I don't really want to trigger a world wide depression (that's not hyperbole, that's a distinct possibility), but I'm not voting for a blank check for $700 billion for those mother fuckers.

Nancy said she wanted to include the second "stimulus" package that the Bush Administration and congressional Republicans have blocked. I don't want to trade a $700 billion dollar giveaway to the most unsympathetic human beings on the planet for a few fucking bridges. I want reforms of the industry, and I want it to be as punitive as possible.

Henry Waxman has suggested corporate government reforms, including CEO compensation, as the price for this. Some members have publicly suggested allowing modification of mortgages in bankruptcy, and the House Judiciary Committee staff is also very interested in that. That's a real possibility.

We may strip out all the gives to industry in the predatory mortgage lending bill that the House passed last November, which hasn't budged in the Senate, and include that in the bill. There are other ideas on the table but they are going to be tough to work out before next week.

I also find myself drawn to provisions that would serve no useful purpose except to insult the industry, like requiring the CEOs, CFOs and the chair of the board of any entity that sells mortgage related securities to the Treasury Department to certify that they have completed an approved course in credit counseling. That is now required of consumers filing bankruptcy to make sure they feel properly humiliated for being head over heels in debt, although most lost control of their finances because of a serious illness in the family. That would just be petty and childish, and completely in character for me.

I'm open to other ideas, and I am looking for volunteers who want to hold the sons of bitches so I can beat the crap out of them.

I wonder why he's so hesitant about the bill. Could it have something to do with this?

Cunning Realist comes out hard against the bailout. In terms of legal prosecution, nothing should be off the table right now. No private or public sector official, elected or appointed, should be immune. Impoverishment via legal fees? Yes, please.

It looks like Obama and some key Dems are rejecting the bailout proposal. Very interesting to see how this develops. There's still plenty we don't know about the crisis that hasn't been made public, but if Obama comes out explicitly against this proposal, I have a hard time believing it will pass.

UPDATE- Made a few changes after I first posted this. Also, does this mean Goldman and Morgan Stanley are kaput? We shall see.

Racism and Obama

Salon Article on Racism and Obama.

Here are the articles' most important points, in my opinion:

* Most people are familiar with 2 kinds of blacks: the type they see locally going to church and the type they see on the evening news carrying a stereo out the window. Obama doesn't fit into either of these categories. He's an urban, middle-class, cosmopolitan black, which just doesn't compute to some.

* Despite being bitter political rivals, so many people's thoughts of Obama are colored by Jesse Jackson.

* The assassination angle shouldn't be discounted. I'm not entirely sure why, but it's important and will pops up in lots of conversations about Obama.

* Even people that fancy themselves as progressive might not vote that way. I wonder what would happen if you polled everyone walking into Whole Foods on their voting choice and then tracked those people's actual votes once the curtain closed and they were all alone in the voting booth.

The reason I'm writing about this is a couple of incidents at work. I work in a very conservative office and normally it doesn't bug me. I end up eating venison sausage fairly often.

In recent conversations, some have discussed the assassination of Obama more frequently. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why.

But what really disturbed me was a conversation with a lifelong Democrat who was a union leader earlier in life. He told me he's voting for Nader, but I was curious why not Obama. He's said Obama's policies are probably going to be along the lines of Clinton's, he loved Bill Clinton, and he knows the Republicans are out to screw over everyone but upper crust stockholders. He's never voted for a Republican because of how he saw the unions treated in South Louisiana. He also believes that the only reason Palin was selected was because she was a pretty face and will distract people from McCain's policies and how McCain is now beholden to hard-right wing of the GOP.

Yesterday, he told me, "I'm not voting for a nigger. I know how that sounds, but I don't care anymore." Coming from someone else, I could have just brushed it off, but given his background and my respect for the man, it was like a punch to the gut. I asked him a little more, just so I could learn why and it revolved around the failings of earlier black leaders (Jesse Jackson, of course being mentioned prominently) and how blacks control the politics of most urban areas.

Here's someone who knows the political scene, but just can't bring himself to vote Obama because of the candidate's skin color.

I think Dr. King's hopes might have to wait a few more years.

Is this a joke?

While everyone down here is freaking out over Gustav, there's some national news to report. I know it's shocking, but there's a place where everyone isn't talking about their evacuation plans.

First off, Cheney travels to Georgia on "Diplomatic Mission." Cheney and diplomacy? HA! I love Cryptagon's reaction: "Organ Harvesting?"

Then, there's Obama's Speech:

I'm listening to it for the first time as I write this post. UPDATE- OOPS. Wrong speech.

The next day, some good journalism ferreted out McCain's VP before she was announced. Someone tracked planes coming and going from Alaska, noticing a particular Gulfstream IV owned by a McCain donor and interviewed the ground crew and got the scoop before anyone else. Good job.

McCain Officially Announces Palin as his Veep. A friend of mine asked me, "is this a joke?" My response was, "Yes, it is a joke." Wow, what a slap in the face to Jindal. Less experienced nobody chosen over the "Golden Boy" of the GOP. "But John, I'm BROWN! If you want, I'll even put on a dress!" More from Greg at Suspect Device.

The worst kept secret in politics right now is McCain really wanted to pick Lieberman, but the Republican apparatchiks, especially Karl Rove, vetoed that idea. I think all the momentum McCain had (which was greatly exaggerated to begin with) is now gone and with Obama, especially after Hillary and Bill's speeches presented a united front with Obama.

Getting back to New Orleans, I'm not freaking out about Gustav (at least not yet). Last night had a wonderful dinner at Lillete. I tried escargot for the first time (I now know I love snails) and the hanger steak was a carnivore's delight. There's only one hanger steak per cow, so it's extremely rare to find and Lillete's was fantastic.

The Difference...

Asked what the gravest threat to the economy is:

McCain:
"Radical Islamic extremism."

Obama:
"Our energy policy ... demand is clearly outstripping supply."

One gets it. The other doesn't even try.

"Dumbass thing I got forwarded at work" of the day

Have you ever heard that a dog "knows" when an earthquake is about to hit?

Have you ever heard that a dog can "sense" when a tornado is stirring up, even 20 miles away?

Do you remember hearing that before the December tsunami struck Southeast Asia, dogs started running frantically away from the seashore, at breakneck speed?

Do you know that dogs can detect cancer and other serious illnesses and danger of fire?

Somehow they always know when they can 'go for a ride' before you even ask and how do those dogs and cats get home from hundreds of miles away?

I'm a firm believer that animals - and especially dogs - have keen insights into the Truth.

And you can't tell me that dogs can't sense a potentially terrible disaster well in advance

Simply said, a dog just KNOWS when something isn't right...when impending doom is upon us..they'll always try to warn us.... !!



I don't like to let these things slide, so here is my response:

We've got a war in Iraq that's costing $4,000 a second...

We're paying for it by borrowing money from the Chinese that we'll have to pay back later (with interest)...

Gas prices are $4 a gallon, on their way to $8 a gallon by next summer without any semblance of an energy policy in place...

Our infrastructure, from bridges in Minnesota to levees in New Orleans and Iowa, is falling apart...

And you're going to make your voting decision based off an emailed photo of a dog peeing...

Both candidates have spent their lives in public service. Read their speeches. Find out their positions on the issues. Vote for the best man for the job.

Got an apology and a few congrats from others on the Reply All list. Just trying the kill the next "Obama is a gay atheist muslim terrorist" email before it gets started...

Obama's Nomination Speech in Minnesota

Finally got around to watching Obama's nomination speech.

I skipped the first quarter or so. Just a bunch of Thank you's. Don't skip too far ahead, though, because the part on Iraq is spot on. Liked the references to the Republican convention in Minnesota. Then it gets a little dull and ends on an exclamation point.

UPDATE- Oh, and I would post McCain's 'green jello' speech for comparison, but somebody keeps taking the videos down from You-Tube.

How to Undo Propaganda

Scene 1:

A few weeks ago, one draftsman was griping to another draftsman about how he just read in his email Obama is a Muslim and was sworn in on the Koran. Young engineer overhears, pokes head over cubicle and doesn't say anything but gives a scowl that would intimidate Darth Vader.

Scene 2:

Young engineer gets subscription to Time months ago on a whim. Paid for whole year and is too lazy to cancel subscription, so issues pile up. Engineer gathers a stack of magazines a few inches thick and takes them to work and leaves them in the break room in order to clean up apartment.

Scene 3:

Draftsman from Scene 1 is sitting in draftsman reading Time's cover story "Raising Obama." Young engineer notices and thinks, Mission Accomplished.

Odds and Ends - 21 March 2008

Protesters shot like dogs. This has the potential to be China's Abu Ghraib. Just imagine once those memory cards start getting smuggled out of Tibet... On the bright side, China's in the midst of their own Sexual Revolution.

Federal Reserve was looking out for little guy with Bear Sterns deal. Most of the commentary of the Bear Sterns deal is negative, but here's an articulate contrarian view. Even if you don't agree, the article is good food for thought.

Why the Dollar is so cheap. "When George Bush was inaugurated, the euro was trading at 94 cents and gold cost $266 an ounce. Now they are trading at $1.52 and $985 an ounce. That is a plain vote of no confidence in the Bush­Bernanke economic model."

How desperate are some people for gas money? Wait until $6 a gallon...

Iraq War coverage disappearing. With China/Tibet/Olympics, Iraq, Presidential Race '08, and Oil/Economy/Recession there should be no reason to spend any time on Britney Spears...

Huckabee defends Obama on Fox News. Pretty classy of Huckabee. He's a real likeable guy and it's not fake. I don't think he'd make a good president, but he's a genuinely good person. Oh yeah, here's Obama's 2002 speech opposing war with Iraq. Amazing that this was delivered in 2002!

Spring Lease Sale for Gulf of Mexico Oil Drilling. I'll bet not 1/3 of these blocks get drilled within the next 3 years. There's a serious shortage of drilling rigs right now and an even more serious shortage of drillers. MMS should consider postponing their lease sales until things get smoothed out.

History's Greatest Replies. Churchill kicked some serious ass. He has a few entries.

Lord Black goes to the slammer. LOTS of gloating by the writer.

AIPAC on trial. There's a joke in the military that if the US ever went to war with Israel, Congress would pass funding for Israel before it did for the US military.

Did humans and chimps interbreed? Hey buddy, your great-(x30)-grandmother fucked a monkey!

And one last link:
Ugly the Cat. Uplifting story. End on a happy note.

Hillary's gotta go...

NOTE- Some of this might be a little premature, but fuck it; I'm going ball to the wall...

Obama, McCain sweep. Obama's won 8 in a row. Hill didn't pull in more than 36% in any race (as of my writing).

That's it folks. We've got the Fall lineup here. Anything more is just belaboring the point.

Here are some of my thoughts:
* Huckabee did a commendable job towards the end. He's a genuinely likeable guy. Even Matt Taibbi was initially disarmed by him (not an easy task). Had he just raised a little more money, he could have defeated all the Washington insider candidates, no mean feat. He could still wind up causing major headaches for McCain if he stays in, but he'll probably accept the Veep slot and be content.

* McCain is deader than a deer in the headlights of an 18-wheeler when he faces Obama in the general election. He lost every election amongst the conservative base.+ He was dragged across the finish line by the moderate/liberal Republicans and Independents, NONE of whom will support him against Obama. McCain's biggest asset (media hard on for McCain) is totally neutralized by Obama and his biggest weaknesses (Iraq and his age) are exposed. It's going to be an ass-whupping of Reaganesque levels. He's going to be lucky to carry his home state.

* Hillary. Poor girl. I've never really liked her, but now that she's facing the firing squad, I feel sorry for her. Here's my take on her: she wanted to be a real reformer (as evidenced by Hillarycare). She was beaten down in brutal fashion for 10 years. She wanted to change things from the inside. She finally thought, 'hey, let me make a few compromises, sneak into office, and then I can change things from the inside.' She started giving lobbyists handjobs and before she knew it, she was taking on all of K-Street. And now, in the ultimate tragedy for her, she has to watch a younger candidate who made a point of not compromising on their principles (Iraq vote) and not accepting K-Street money (for the presidential campaign) come out of nowhere and grab the nomination by acclamation. It was her turn, but everyone turned on her and now she sees what she could have been reflected in Obama. That's why I feel so sorry for her.

* Obama's biggest threat, once Hillary is finally dragged off stage in tears, won't be McCain. It'll be the total mess left by Bush. Who wants to inherit a bankrupt, fucked up, militarily weakened, resource depleted ex-hegemon facing the reality of a multi-polar world? According to the Cunning Realist, Bush may have laid the perfect trap for the next president. "How many people cursed Nixon and Burns in '79?" How many will curse Bush in 4 years? His best hope, honestly, is the mess blows up in Bush's face in a way that cannot be denied before Bush leaves office.


+ I work in a fairly conservative office, so I think I know why he's had so many problems with the base. It comes down to 2 factors: the McCain/Bush/Kennedy Immigration Bill and his actions reaching across the aisle during the 2000-2006 domination of the levers of power. Republicans have respect for winners and competitive spirit. Republicans could have fallen in line with Rudy, had he just won. From 2000-2006, Republicans were talking about building a "permanent majority" in both houses, the judiciary, and the executive branch. The Dems were on Terri Shivo levels of life support. Total domination of the government. McCain's problem was when the Dems were on the verge of being crushed once and for all, he hesitated crushing their windpipe and instead tried being civil and statesman-like. By some twisted logic, he didn't 'want to win.' I wouldn't be too surprised if one "narrative" that emerges in the years ahead blames McCain for the collapse of the Republican party...

Whack-A-Journalist

The current season of The Wire is all about the press' abdication of reposibility to society. Well, here are a couple examples that have been a pebble in my shoe:

Journalists are drooling morons when it comes to science stories. I'll bet there aren't 2 writers and NO editor on any newspaper staff in the country that can explain ANY of the 3 following terms: the Scientific Method, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, a Gaussian distribution.

Here are some journalists showing some balls. Oops. Sorry. 60 Minutes chickened out at the last minute.

This one I hesitate to even mention, because even bad journalists aren't this bad. Don't betray your heritage by voting for Barak "Muslim Fundamentalist" Obama Someone actually published this bullshit. They later retracted it, but the damage was done. I have a suggestion for Obama: finance the rest of your campaign with winnings from libel lawsuits. There are dumb people with so much money lying around it's a fire hazard. Do them a favor and take some of it off their hands.

Bad Journalist!

You write poop, you deserve a mouthful of it!