Corporate promises and other empty words

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time (all two of you), you know how strongly I feel about labor issues and that my own personal experience with my family's four-year labor strike played a big role in shaping that belief.

The fact is, organized labor is a a crucial, necessary check against the power of business. And conversely, business interests provide a necessary check against the power of organized labor. These two entities should always been in tension, though that need not be confrontational nor detrimental to either one. When they're in balance, finding common ground and making fair sacrifices on both sides, everyone benefits.

But that hasn't been the trajectory of the last 20 to 30 years. Organized labor's power has been steadily eroded (and to be fair, they haven't always done themselves favors in their long-range thinking) while business -- especially big business -- has steadily amassed greater and greater power to the point that not even governments can control them much anymore. They've overpowered not just labor, but pretty much all other checks on their power, as well. There's lots to be read on this subject in the blogosphere, especially lately -- I recommend Daily Revolution's latest series of posts, which you can sample here and here -- and there are of course books and documentaries on this topic, as well.

But back to labor.

There was a time when organized labor wasn't treated like an enemy to be conquered and eradicated. When businesses viewed them as another interest that needed to be negotiated with as they would negotiate with vendors, suppliers, clients, and governments. Going back to the time that my family was on strike, I vividly remember when Lee Iacocca, CEO of Chrysler, approached the workers with a request that they accept lowered wages and benefits while he attempted to save the company. His plea was couched in the terms that they were all in the boat together, that everyone's sacrifice would be for the greater good, that just as they benefitted when the company was doing well, they needed to sacrifice when it wasn't. If they would put their faith in him, he would get them through this difficult time and when they became the successful company he knew they could be, they would share in the windfall, returning to their regular wages and benefits. The union voted to go along with him and accept wage and benefit cuts. Pride in their company swelled, for they felt invested in something, that they were a team truly working together.

When the company began posting profits, he paid the shareholders and the lowered wages the union accepted to save the company became their regular wages. For this, Lee Iacocca became a legend of the corporate world and is credited with single-handedly saving Chrysler from bankruptcy. To this day, my family refuses to buy a Chrysler.

All this reminiscing was prompted by an email I received today from Working America, the AFL-CIO website/mailing list. It seems Lee Iacocca's betrayal of the workers has become de rigeur in the corporate world today:

Goodyear forced nearly 16,000 workers to strike on Oct. 5, by making it clear the company would not negotiate a fair and equitable contract with the USW members. These workers are sacrificing their livelihoods on behalf of all U.S. workers--including Goodyear's customers--to keep good jobs in America and preserve promised benefits.

USW members and retirees made great sacrifices in 2003 to keep Goodyear out of bankruptcy. Now the company's stock is worth nearly five times as much as it was in early 2003 and top executives have awarded themselves millions of dollars in bonuses--but Goodyear still wants more.

It is unreasonable and unjust to expect USW members to accept additional plant closures and more wage and benefit cuts while other stakeholders reap in the rewards of the company's turnaround. And it is unacceptable that Goodyear intends to walk away from its commitments to workers and retirees.

This strike is a fight for all of America's workers.

Follow the link, read the details, sign the petition. Corporate America needs to learn they have a responsibility to more than just the bottom line and their shareholders. They are responsible to their workers, their governments, their communities, their environment, and their consumers, as well. And these workers -- who're trying to make ends meet and get an honest days' wage for an honest days' work -- these people are trying to hold Corporate America responsible.

They're fighting for your rights.

Everything you need to know about Iraq*

I wish we had more time to celebrate the Democratic victory, but unfortunately, the bomb we've made of Iraq continues to tick...

tick...

tick...

tick...

*complete with pictures, so even Junior can understand.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...Rahm!

In between building full-scale suspension bridges out of popsicle sticks and single-handedly finding the cures for cancer, Parkinson's, and that nasty foot fungus that makes your toenails yellow and thick, Rahm Emmanuel won everything.

I guess the rest of us can get back to our everyday lives, now that Rahm's on the case.

Winning: it tastes like VICTORY!

I have dreamed about this day for so long, I'd gotten used to it being a dream. I'm as shocked as I am elated. I hoped against all hope that we'd win. I even hoped against all hope that we'd win big. I'm the biggest foolish optimist you will ever meet -- I'm the one who still thinks a team can pull it all out in the last three seconds of the game, the one who thinks an election can still be won long after it's been called, and yes, I'm the one who honestly believed -- and believed very, very hard -- that Kerry was going to pull it out even after the news turned bad two years ago.

But part of being a foolish optimist is that you get disappointed in a big way. Often. So you learn to hedge your bets in your internal dialogue, to try to dial down your expectations, to make deals with yourself to mitigate disaster, to shield yourself from the blow. The end result of all of that, of course, is that when you actually do win big...well, it's almost as overwhelming as when you lose big.

I'll take this any day.

We won big, you guys. Several races still not called at this point -- including, Gary Trauner's race in WY! -- but even so, consider this:

• National Sweep. Democrats take the national majority in the House, Senate, Governors, and State Legislatures. The only thing Republicans have left--Bush--still sports a sub-40% approval rating.
  
  
• We won bigger than they ever did. Democrats look set to take the House, and with a larger majority than Republicans ever had during their 1994-2006 "revolution." We also won more Senate campaigns in a single cycle, 23-24, than either party has won since at least 1980.
  
  
• Republicans shut out: No House, Senate, or Governor pickups for Republicans. That breaks every record for futility. No one can ever do worse than they did this year.

That's right, kids. Progessivism is ascendant and the voters kicked the Rethugs to the curb. Don't let the door hit you in the ass, you criminal hypocritical bastards.

And already, we're seeing the first effects with the resignation of Rumsfeld. I keep thinking of that smug, smarmy little smirk of the Chimp in Chief two years ago, when he informed us he had a mandate and he intended to use it. Translation: fuck you, half of America. So I take great delight in saying, "Right back atchya, big guy."

Lots of work ahead of us. We're going to have some big battles ahead, and it's not going to be pretty. There'll be some frustrations, some losses, some moments of despair. But I think we've finally stopped our unchecked hurtling into the dark abyss. Time to start digging our way out.

As for the Democrats (Rahm Emmanuel) tripping over themselves (Rahm Emmanuel) to claim credit (Rahm Emmanuel) for these stunning victories (Rahm Emmanuel), many of which they (Rahm Emmanuel) actively tried to subvert (Rahm Emmanuel), I have this to say:

This is a party of the people, and this victory belongs to us. Not you. We have very long memories. We took down the Republican Party at the height of their power. We can take you down, too. Do not fuck with us.

Ice skate manufacturers' stock is about to skyrocket*

As much as I love my adopted state of Oregon, I still hold a warm place in my heart for my home state of Wyoming. I'm proud to be from there, and I still follow Wyoming events with interest.

So you can imagine the glee that's filled me as I've followed the Cubin/Trauner race. We've been donating like mad for months, now, and a disproportionate amount of our donations have gone Tester, Grant, and more specifically, to Trauner. Not just because I would REJOICE to see a Democrat from Wyoming in the House, but because everything I read about Gary Trauner makes me like him more and more. I think he'd be a great representative for the people of Wyoming. But don't take my word for it. Listen to what someone who's actually walked at his side has to say:

Trauner Poised for an Upset

I mean seriously, what's not to love about a candidate who says this when confronted with the fact that he's a New York transplant?

"I can't help where I was born, but I got here as quick as I could."

Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming are set to cement my fervent belief that the future of the Democratic Party lies in the West. Whether Trauner wins or loses -- and he has a very real chance to win it -- he will have demonstrated that Wyoming and the other so-called red states in the West share many ideals of the Democratic Party and that with some effort and some really terrific candidates, there's no reason they couldn't be as blue in the future as they've been red in the past.

*A Republican friend of mine once opined that it would be a cold day in hell before Wyoming elected a Democrat to Congress. I hear it's supposed to be pretty cold this coming Tuesday.

You asked, "What can I do?"*

So I had one of those moments the other day. You know the one...when the people who're supposed to have your back run fleeing from their own goddamn shadows and leave you to face the enemy alone and unprotected. It's been six years of this evil and I don't believe there's anyone who can face it without these crises of despair sometimes. I know I haven't, and if you're a regular reader of this irregularly-updated blog, you know I've experienced more than my share.

My country has legalized barbarism.
My country shredded one of the most beautiful documents humanity ever created.
My country is a shameful and evil place right now.

But there's still a war to fight, both literally and figuratively, and ain't no one else fightin' it 'cept us. You and me. That's all there is. And even though I want to just give it up and call it lost sometimes, I can't afford that luxury for long. Neither can you. Too many people need us to keep fighting.

So read about why we can't afford to grieve the torture loss too long (which is not to say that battle's over, not by a long shot, because I and millions -- yes, millions -- like me are not going to let that evilness stand). There's still a war to fight and ain't no one else fightin' it 'cept us. You and me. That's all there is.

And then when you've read that, either:

1. Donate some money TODAY (end of the fundraising quarter) to any grassroots or netroots candidate even if you’ve already donated…donate some more. Spread it around among as many as you want, or dump it all in one lump sum to the one that inspires you the most, or that has the least chance of winning but is still fighting like hell anyway, or who’s running against the worst of the worst Republicans. Like, say Gary Trauner, who’s actually making the terrifically horrible Barbara Cubin sweat her race for the sole Wyoming House seat and in my dream of dreams, might even possibly pull off a win in a state that hasn’t seen a Democratic representative, like, ever. And he’s ONLY ONE of literally hundreds of excellent candidates to pick from…Jon Tester in Montana is doing the same thing in Wyoming, looking to get rid of the odious Conrad Burns, and Larry Grant in Idaho is, too, and they’re just a small sampling of the places where the reddest of red states are IN PLAY because Democrats like you and me, people with jobs and families and not enough time already, are fighting the fuck back and trying to save this country.
2. Call or email a progressive organization and volunteer AT LEAST an hour of your time. There are literally dozens to pick from…ones that’re focusing on a single issue, like stopping the TABOR or parental notification initiatives in Oregon, ones that support fantastic local candidates that’re trying to get rid of people like Karen Minnis, ones that provide general support to Democrats and progressives, like Grassroots Democrats and the Bus Project and hello, the Democratic fucking Party. You may have to make calls, or do voter canvassing, or make signs, or enter numbers in a database, or run errands, or any number of equally unglamorous things that don’t seem like they’re Saving The World…but they are.
   

If you can, do both of these things. And keep up on your blog reading, and make those phone calls of outrage both to the Senators and Representatives that have a “D” after their name and also to the ones that don’t, because they ALL work for you, they’re YOUR employees, and when they’re fucking up, they should know that their bosses are fucking outraged and they’d better be in fear for their jobs because this shit ain’t gonna float anymore, by god. Write letters and call radio talk shows and post comments online.

And just one more reminder before I stop metaphorically browbeating you with all this nagging… Eight months ago, I wrote the following words, words that you told me you loved and that moved you and that you agree with:

“…you fight every day, not because of what you hope to achieve, but because it's the right thing to do. You'll never be guaranteed a win, no matter how righteous your cause; fighting the good fight doesn't mean you get a happy ending. But you fight for what's right anyway, because it's what's right. And if you're very, very lucky, others will stand to fight alongside you. This is how great changes happen.”

It’s time to fight for what you believe in, people. Please.

* Dedicated to a friend, who's more passionate and dedicated than she realizes.

Something to ponder

Daily Revolutions, a site I came to a few months ago via a rescued diary on DailyKos, is now one of my absolute daily must-reads. Amidst the blogs of information and outrage and hope and humor on my blogroll -- all likewise indispensible -- I save this one for last when I work my way through my daily reading because it provides a much-needed salve to the daily wounds of my soul.

I've made no secret of how worn down I've been by this Administration and its seemingly endless supply of horrors. That's really the reason I started this blog* in the first place, as a small online corner to rant and scream and gnash and wail about the horror, my god the horror. But outrage and fury and desperation and bitterness are neither nurturing nor sustaining, and at some point, we all need something to replenish the emptiness and refresh our well-being.

Today, as with every day, Daily Revolution fulfills that role, by both challenging my philosophy and providing inspiration for facing forward with courage and peace. An excerpt:

Treasure everything you have, and be prepared to lose it all. Accept all that comes to you and be ready to give it back. But ownership is a distortion of nature: in the real universe, no one owns, and nothing is owned. You can have all you need; but you cannot own a single thing.

Live this principle; understand it in every cell of your being, and you will never want for anything.

*Coming up on my three year anniversary. Huh.

"Who the hell is JonBenet Ramsey?"

Title taken from one of the best commentaries on this entire fucking travesty of a media I've seen in awhile.

As usual, I've got a lot to say but not the time to say it. But the great thing about blogging is that there's usually someone who's already said it, and said it better:

• georgia10 tells us about some people who aren't John Mark Karr. If ever a thing needed to be said...
• And there's this diary, which I've had bookmarked for almost a month now, that just so perfectly captures how I feel, and have felt for so many years now that I've forgotten what it was like before. Before I screamed as Americans were left to die in a city that was drowning. Before I faced a future of losing my rights as a citizen and a woman. Before I learned how broken our voting system is. Before I saw the picture of a young Iraqi girl, covered in the blood of her family. Before I read about everything, every front, every issue I ever cared about, under a brutal and sustained assault by the most evil agenda imaginable. Before I watched two shining towers of gleaming steel and glass crumble to the ground and before my country lost its collective fucking mind.

Kung Fu Monkey puts things in perspective

How can you not want to read a post that says this?

FDR: Oh, I'm sorry, was wiping out our entire Pacific fleet supposed to intimidate us? We have nothing to fear but fear itself, and right now we're coming to kick your ass with brand new destroyers riveted by waitresses. How's that going to feel?

CHURCHILL: Yeah, you keep bombing us. We'll be in the pub, flipping you off. I'm slapping Rolls-Royce engines into untested flying coffins to knock you out of the skies, and then I'm sending angry Welshmen to burn your country from the Rhine to the Polish border.

US. NOW: BE AFRAID!! Oh God, the Brown Bad people could strike any moment! They could strike ... NOW!! AHHHH. Okay, how about .. NOW!! AAGAGAHAHAHHAG! Quick, do whatever we tell you, and believe whatever we tell you, or YOU WILL BE KILLED BY BROWN PEOPLE!! PUT DOWN THAT SIPPY CUP!!

So about that hurricane...

A little less than a year ago, I began the blog post that would eventually kick my ass. It's the Katrina post, the real-time post I was writing in a separate place on my computer while that horrible week -- all those horrible weeks -- happened and just...happened. It was a garbled mix of links and lists and lists of links and gut reactions and pictures and visceral horror on a page. It was garbled and impossible to follow, a stream of consciousness that made no sense to anyone but me.

That's writing. It's editing that turns it into something readable, but sometime during all of that, I lost my heart? nerve? energy? strength? courage? and I just couldn't finish it. I thought eventually I'd come back to it, edit it -- all 11 pages of it -- down into something readable, but I don't think that's going to happen. I kept it just in case, but I don't think it's going to happen. It kicked my ass.

So read this instead. Please.

It's been nearly a year since a great American city and an entire region of a once-great country drowned. It didn't die, not exactly, but perhaps it's just going slowly, slowly, suffering the painfully awful spiral of a terminal illness. I hope that it's not dying. I really, truly hope that. But either way, what happened during Katrina will forever remain one of the darkest, most horrible and shameful events in the history of this country.

Read this please. Please.

They are not coming.