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Written by Michael Z Williamson

Created: 03 June 2011

http://www.alternet.org/rights/151108/why_the_democratic_party_has_abandoned_the_middle_class_in_favor_of_the_rich/?page=entire

Snark: For people who don't care about money, the "left" sure spends a lot of time worrying about money--other people's money, and how to get their hands on it.

If rich people own most of the businesses, generate most of the GDP and pay most of the taxes, it's hardly a surprise that the politicians respond to them.

The unions shot themselves in the head repeatedly in the 70s, insisting that the US should just practice isolationism and pay semi-skilled workers a "living wage" that in some areas is more than that earned by degreed professionals--doctors, engineers. A decade later, Japan owned the steel, auto and electronic industries because they had the work ethic without the greed.

This is not to say we should emulate Japan. But that was the threat at the time, and the unions failed to even acknowledge it, much less respond.

I worked at FedEx during the UPS strike, when the Teamsters spent 6 months trying very hard to convince FedEx employees to unionize. They offered a deal that was actually LESS beneficial than FedEx already delivered. Then they made their power grab on the freight industry, only to harm UPS's market share and employees, while empowering FedEx and several small, now large, trucking firms, who responded to the crisis.

A decade later, I found out the key bargaining point was control of pension funds, which is possibly a good idea. However, that's not what they presented, not what they fought, and not what they accomplished.

The unions have failed at least as much as the parties.

In the meantime, American Idle is sure raking in the bucks from the morons, isn't it? How many of those viewers can name a single Senator or Justice?

~~~

And this is on top of the numerous naive elements of the "Story."

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Written by Michael Z Williamson

Created: 01 June 2011

From: Haris Moore <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 12:33 AM
Subject: MY ORDER
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


hello am haris moore by name and and My son  Birthday is coming up on the 20th of june so I will  like  to place an order  for,100 chicken and salad  so can i get the total price and i am making the full payment of the order now with my credit card now and it will be picked up by a private carrier agent on that date by 5 pm and i will like  you to calculate the total cost now plus the tax

I  am hearing impaired a deaf and the best way for me to contact u is by my e mail address and via text msg and i will like u to give me ur cell phone number now so that i am going to  send u a text on ur cell phone now and make sure uu be with it now okay
thanks
haris moore

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Written by Michael Z Williamson

Created: 22 May 2011

This is a decent enough song, with a better than average video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXpdmKELE1k&feature=topvideos_music

So in the comments, we find:

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Written by Michael Z Williamson

Created: 21 May 2011

Extracted from some comments I sent elsewhere, on the subject of dealing with disasters by gettting a boat and using it as a bug out vehicle:

~~~

My inlaws had a 46' Dolphin Catamaran for a while.  This is, in current dollars, a near million dollar, state of the art boat, with sails, diesel engines, GPS, auto-pilot, radios, staterooms, the works.

I've got moderate experience in several types of boats, from pocket fishing types to speed boats and small sport sailboats.

They were constantly having to replace "canvas" (usually nylon, fiberglass or kevlar on boats these days), lines, electronics and do engine work.  Nearly every letter from aboard was about the latest round of maintenance, the need for safety lines while at sea (including a man overboard incident), rough weather, mechanical failures at sea, keeping watch during such problems.

Pontoons are a catamaran, and almost proof against swamping, unless shot full of holes, though that is fairly easy to do.  As I've noted previously, there's no cover nor concealment on open water.

Small boats carry almost nothing.

Large boats carry a lot less than many people think.

Unless one has a classic 18th Century wooden pinnace, with crew, including carpenters, maintenance is expensive, time consuming, and takes tools or a port.  On second thought, it does even then.

Life on a boat is not some happy-go-carefree existence of drifting along watching the lesser castes starve.  It requires, if anything, more work than a landed lifestyle.  If it was so cheap and easy, more people would do it.

If one has a definite bug out destination in mind, a boat would certainly be ONE means to consider.  It is not, however, the solution to any other problem.  It is a hole in the water that one must pour money into to maintain, even when not in use. That money can better be spent on beans, bullets and band aids, a chunk of land, tools, etc.

Like the "get a light plane and pilot's license" threads on this forum a few years ago, there's much more involved than a casual glance suggests, and I believe even experienced boat owners are underestimating what's involved. 

I'd like to see comment on this subject from experienced Naval boat and ship handlers.  I suspect they'll be a lot less sanguine than many readers.