audioregurgitation
ericthek
lyzurgyk
Money's the Question, Not the Answer
Sex: A Great Question, A Better Answer
I Read These Blogs
The Divided States Of bu$hmeriKa 2
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
Independent Bloggers' Alliance
Last Left Turn Before Hooterville
Making Conservatives Cringe since 1977
The Online Magazine Formerly Known As Rob's Blog
out of my mind in mechanicsburg
Seriously, Comcast - you have to give the users the option of how they want to use the spamfilter. Comcast shouldn't haphazardly block legitimate email - and Comcast is doing just that.
In all honesty, I think use of spamfilters by ISPs should be an issue looked at by the Congress, except I'm afraid of what this Congress might end up doing to these non-truck tubes.
Time to be really honest.
What does the federal holiday, "Labor Day", really mean to you?
I'm tagging the following bloggers to post their feelings about it on their sites. And I'll post mine tomorrow.
42, 100 monkeys typing., 750 Volts, A Big Fat Slob, A Grand Illusion, above average jane, After School Snack, Agitprop, The All Spin Zone, alphabitch, The Alternate Brain, AMERICAblog, America's Hometown, An Old Soul, Ang's Weird Ideas, The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat, Annie's Annals, Audacity, Aunt Elinor Fights Crime, AverageBusinessman, Ayn Clouter's Blog, BARBARIAN Blog, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Barnestormin, Blah3, Blankbaby, Blanton's and Ashton's, blogenlust, BlondeSense, Body and Soul, Bootstrap Analysis, Brian's Political Donnybrook, Byzantium's Shores, Can't Keep Quiet, Capitol Ideas, The Chronic Curmudgeon, Coffee House Studio, Collective Sigh, The Command T.O.C., Comments from Left Field, Confined Space, Content, Creek Running North, Crushed by Inertia, cuddlefish, The CultureGhost, Cup O' Joe, Cutting to the Chase, The Cynic, Daddy Democrat, Daily Kos, The DAOU Report, Dialogic, Dohiyi Mir, Edicts of Nancy, Effect Measure, Eschaton, expostulation, Fact-esque, fatcat politics, Fester's Place, firedoglake, Fixer and Gordon, Folkbum, Froth Slosh B'Gosh, The Funny Farm, Geeky Mom, GnostiNews, Gort42, Granny Insanity, Halushki, The Heretik, I See Invisible People, I'm Just Waiting for the Robot Invasion, Iddybud, iFlipFlop, ISOU, It's My Country Too, It's Recess-Time Somewhere, I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake, Jesus' General, Just A Bump in the Beltway, Keystone Politics, King of Zembla, Lab Kat, The Lady Speaks, Last Left Turn Before Hooterville, The Left Coaster, LJ's Blogorific, Loaded Mouth, Macswain, MadKane, Majikthise, Making Light, Mamie: Inside/Out, Masson's Blog, memeorandum, Middle Earth Journal, Mister Anchovy, A Mockingbird's Medley, The Moderate Voice, MoxieGrrrl, Neverending Rainbow, NewsHog, next direction, The Next Hurrah, Night Bird's Fountain, NoGodBlog.com, No More Apples, No More Mister Nice Blog, Norbizness, Norwegianity, Obsidian Wings, Ole Blue the Heretic, OnBackground, On the Left Tip, The Online Magazine Formerly Known As Rob's Blog, The Opinion Mill, Pam's House Blend, Pandagon, Paperwight's Fair Shot, PCNBlog, Pen-Elayne, philly, Philly Future, Photon Theory, Pinko Feminist Hellcat, Poverty Barn, Preemptive Karma, The Price of Liberty is Vigilance, Progressive Blog Digest, Progressive Society Blog, Proof Through the Night, Radical Hapa, Random Thoughts, [--raw muses & codfish II--], The Reaction, Red State Diaries, RichardBellikoff.com, Roger Ailes, Rook's Rants, Rowhouse Logic, Rox Populi, The Rude Pundit, ScaramoucheBlog, Seeing the Forest, Shakespeare's Sister, The Sideshow, Simianbrain, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Smorgasblog, Something Requisitely Witty and Urbane, Speedkill, State of Grace, State of the Day, Suburban Guerrilla, sumo merriment, Swerve Left, T. Rex's Guide to Life, The Tally Ho, The Tattered Coat, TBogg, Thoughts of an Average Woman, Toad in the Hole, TommyWonk, Uncle Horn Head, Upon Further Review, Upper Left, Very Simple, Wampum, What Do I Know?, Why Are We Back In Iraq?, Why Now?, Windy City Lefty, Women's Autonomy and Sexual Sovereignty Movements, Worlds, The Yellow Doggerel Democrat, Young Philly Politics
1906 ITU National Strike Produced Eight-Hour Day
A century ago, the International Typographical Union set the stage for the eight-hour day in American workplaces with a $4 million campaign.
In 1906, the ITU struck most major U.S. cities to demand an eight-hour work day. The union had lost a fight for a nine-hour day a few years earlier. But this time, the union spent over $4 million to support its striking locals. Not only did the ITU win an eight-hour work day, but the ITU strike paved the way for similar gains by the five other printing unions.
A great advance for a better life by the working class for $4 million, even when inflation adjusted, considering that America has now had 100 years of the eight-hour work day.
Check out some of Lynn Swann's gubernatorial campaign advertising purchases on Google:
Rick Santorum
Bob Casey
Ed Rendell
Franco Harris
Terry Bradshaw
I wonder how many other former Steelers are now part of Swann's political advertising campaign?
From Ted Watts, author of The First Labor Day Parade.
The first parade was not held on a Monday, but on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. The parade was repeated annually without interruption, but not always on a Monday, until several states and then the Congress in 1894, settled on the first Monday in September.Those first parades were really protest rallies for the adoption of the 8-hour day, rather than the, often tame civic events they have involved into. Participants had to give up a day's pay in order to march. The New York City Central Labor Union (CLU) even levied a fine on non-participants!
And what should parades on next year's Labor Day rally for?
Is Comcast really blanket blocking all email determined as "spam" in Brightmail and not providing them as a junk folder so that each user can make the determination of spam?
Are they really being that clumsy towards legitimate forwarding mailservers?
If you use Comcast, do you know what legitimate email you're not getting?
and found a big hole in my backyard.
How much did the John Mark Karr excess cost?
How much did the John Mark Karr excess make?
Thankfully there are drag racers, at least they have an idea what this upcoming holiday is about.
Top Fuel driver David Baca won't let the pomp and circumstance surrounding this weekend's prestigious 52nd annual Mac Tool U.S. Nationals overshadow the real meaning of this extended holiday weekend and he's using his 8,000-horsepower Mach 1 Air Services dragster to prove his point.
Throughout the extended race weekend, which leads into Monday's eliminations on Labor Day, Baca and his team will salute the American worker with a large decal on each side of his red, white, and blue racecar. It's his way of paying homage to the men and women that have made the United States of America the best country on Earth.
"In drag racing, we think about Labor Day and we think about Indy and the U.S. Nationals," said Baca, who was the No. 1 qualifier here in 2003. "We're programmed that way and that's cool. But I don't want people to lose sight of the fact this is Labor Day weekend. It's not just an extra day off, or even Indy weekend, it's the way we thank the American worker for all they have done to make this country great.
I am amazed. AMAZED. And appalled, by how little coverage of Labor Day is given by labor unions. A great PR opportunity, and what do they do online? Not very much. I guess I should be happy that they don't crap all over the holiday and demean the meaning of it even further, but really, that's just pathetic.
At least the New York City Central Labor Council has a countdown to the annual parade. That's more than most.
Following along the Labor Day theme...
This looked promising - the AFL-CIO has a "Labor Day" movie page. And there's some clips there, but they could go much further.
Every year around Christmas there are blog posts and emails and radio broadcasts and television shows dedicated to the "best Christmas movies/shows ever made". When you participate in the discussion, naturally the debate comes along to discussing why the movie or show is best - and although there may be production quality components to the debate, a bigger part is the lessons that are taught within the program.
There really aren't many "Labor Day" movies - I can't even think of one. But there are plenty of movies about labor, and improving the worklife. I think it would be useful for the celebration of Labor Day to have a national discussion of the great movies about working and labor and the work environment, although not necessarily about unions. It's an easy way to remind people what the point of next Monday was or ought to be.
Since the AFL-CIO whiffed on this, I'll do my part. What are the top ten most hope-inspiring labor or work environment movies ever made?
Labor Day is a national legal holiday that is over 100 years old. It grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working class by the Knights of Labor in 1882 in New York. In 1884, the Knights held a large parade in New York City celebrating the working class. The parade was held on the first Monday in September. The Knights passed a resolution to hold all future parades on the same day, designated by them as Labor Day.
Over the years, it has evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festival.
Of all the unuseful things that unions have done over the years, the loss of defining Labor Day may be the single most grating example. Instead of a holiday in which the working class celebrates itself and their improved lot over the years annually - and as a focal point in which future improvements can be hoped for - we treat it as a celebratory point of the "end of summer". That REALLY helps the working class in their struggle for a better life.
I'll be checking next week to see what unions are doing publicly to promote Labor Day. Not to promote their particular union, but to promote the working person and to instill pride in the working class for being the class that actually gets the work done in this country. Or, as the line in "It's A Wonderful Life" goes, the majority of living and loving and dying in this country. Workers - and I mean every level of work, with no differentiation between white and blue collar jobs - should enjoy a celebration of the benefit they provide the economy of this nation. And there should be a reflection about the better life we all have as workers, and a personal commitment to improvements in the future. It is time we quit trading it in for a salute to the end of summer which is more an honor of the school calendar than anything else. And to that end, unions should be trying to uplift the holiday for the sake of ALL workers. We'll see what happens.
That's a goal of ours this weekend at Berkeley Springs State Park, in West Virginia.
Our youngest had his last day of preschool yesterday. Next week he starts kindergarten - it'll be at the same place that he has been going for several years, but now we're into public instruction.
I've been driving to the same place - The Children's Garden in Shiremanstown, for 9 years most every weekday mornings, and before our son finishes kindergarten, it'll be ten years. It is hard to believe that I've been doing the same route for so long. Nine years: four different cars we've driven, four different carseats, countless numbers of toys in the backseat, probably over a hundred field trips with our kids through The Children's Garden over the years.
It's been a great nine years with The Children's Garden, and both kids are smart and happy and have enjoyed both their teachers and their classmates. One of the things I have enjoyed the most about it so far is the interaction between everyone. At our daughter's public school, she catches the bus to and from school, and our interaction with the kids in her class and her teachers is fairly limited. But at the preschool, we're there everyday the kids are, dropping off and picking up, talking with the other kids in the class, the parents of other kids, the teachers, the administrators. Most of the kids that are in our son's kindergarten class have been in the preschool program with him for years, and they know us, and we know them. The Children's Garden has been a special environment for our kids - and for us as parents - and I ought to try to capture and catalog the next year in my mind, because after this year, that's the only place I'll be able to experience them.
This deserves to be reprinted around the nation's newspapers:
Our Reckless Employee
George Bush says we don"t understand the nature of the world, but he doesn"t comprehend the nature of the presidency.by James Heflin - August 24, 2006
It must be hard to be president and maintain a sense of life beyond security perimeters and G-men with earpieces. But there's more than that behind a naive statement George W. Bush uttered last week. After federal judge Anna Diggs Taylor issued a ruling that laid waste Attorney General Gonzalez' novel defense of Bush's extra-constitutional eavesdropping habit--that, in effect, the judge had no right to judge George, the argument also currently employed by Saddam Hussein--Bush claimed that "those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live." It's hard to swallow that line from a man who is himself so very distant from the world in which the rest of us live. And that's the crux of the Bush problem: Bush, ensconced in his privileged life, has lost sight, or perhaps never even had sight of his actual, constitutionally decreed job decription.
In the Bush era, a lot of words have been drained of their once useful meanings. "Hypocrisy," for instance, is but the fading shadow of its former glory. Last week, when Bush and his pals trotted out to show the cameras lots of chiselled resolve in the face of a terrorist plot across the ocean, the word was begging to be hauled out. The Boston Globe reported that many types of liquid explosive-detecting technology have already been produced, and some have proven to work well. But "the TSA has not outfitted airports with the devices, in part, because officials have to prioritize where they spend limited dollars." George Bush projected his resolve from a safe distance--he already has scanning technology at the White House.
But of all the terms left without meaning, there is one which most strongly deserves revival. It sounds positively quaint in the age of Bush propaganda. George Bush, whether he knows it or not, is a "public servant." He is subservient to you. To me. And most of all, to the Constitution. His oath of office, after all, calls for him to protect that venerable document, that enshrining of all the rights that he and his see as mere impediments to their "unitary executive" and wartime powers theory.
A majority of the nation seems to have repeatedly been hoodwinked into a very different view of Bush's job. The term "public servant" has disappeared from public discourse, and perception managers like Karl Rove would just as soon usher it quietly into the graveyard where its cousins "liberal democracy" and "greater good" now wander, diaphanous specters.
The word deserves revival, if only to give a name to what Bush has defied in order that we might better explain it to those who would prefer a protective, strict father figure as leader. We don't elect bosses--we elect employees. Just because you get the corner office doesn't mean you own the building.
If you accept, as the Constitution sets out, that Bush is merely the head of one of three equal centers of power among public servants, it becomes all too clear just how far Bush is from any notion of public servitude. Jesus reversed his disciples' expectations by washing their feet. That, as Bush should know if he is the devotee of the Bible his conservative Christian base believes him to be, is the Biblical view of power through servitude.
It's time to inject a few choice words back into what remains of our public discourse, poisoned though it has been by a relentless and amoral onslaught of perception management over reality-based substance. Our reckless employee thinks we don't understand that he should be in charge of the whole shop.
The most frightening aspect of Bush's words is that he really seems to believe that his constitutional duties could include ignoring what the Constitution says. If he ignores our founding document, what is "America" but a nostalgic campaign buzzword?
Bush, faced with the presidential role of servitude, has not acted as the law requires him to do, let alone as his favorite philosopher Jesus might. Bush has instead let his own feet be washed, set the rest of the water aside for a few friends, and charged us for the towel.
An overdue thanks to these blogs for blogrolling us...
The Online Magazine Formerly Known As Rob's Blog
Thank you!
Big Brass Alliance seems to be in the high weeds. Viagra, Dildos, and the such are being posted about by blog spammers. I've removed my link to it - but still 483 blogs link to it. That means the links FROM Big Brass Alliance have a value in the search engines. Perhaps it should be used to just link to the blogs who participated and leave it at that?
You know the drill - in comments, list the artist and the album name for each or any shown album. You can click on the photo to see a larger view.
Ryanair's web site is a bit quirky, what with the picture of Churchill in an advertisement for flights saying "Let's Beat Terrorism". Then there's the Irish airline's New Airport Security Procedures...
Passenger count declines at HIA
The number of passengers flying in and out of Harrisburg International Airport has decreased about 13 percent since this time last year, according to the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, which owns HIA.
At the authority's meeting this morning in Carlisle, board member David McIntosh said the number of airplane seats available for sale has also decreased this year -- by 17 percent -- because of bankruptcy-related cutbacks.
Dear HIA and Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority,
I would like nothing better than to fly out of Harrisburg International Airport on the two to four flights we do a year. The new airport is quite nice and convenient.
Unfortunately, it is also too expensive to fly out of at this time. Every flight we check is a couple hundred dollars more, roundtrip, than a similar flight out of Philadelphia. I hate the extra drive time hours on every flight we take, but when we're buying four tickets, it just doesn't make sense to pay the premium just to fly out of Harrisburg.
Figure out a solution to this, and you'll gain the passengers back. Fail to figure it out, and you're destined to remain in this situation.
I'm assuming this newspaper is named after the obsolete political party. Does anyone know of any other newspaper in the country called the Whig?
At least for those going to school. So in honor of that...
What's your favorite memory of the Summer of 2006?
Atrios states a primer for reporters covering Lieberman:
If you are writing about Joe Lieberman's activities in the US Senate it is fair to refer to label him as Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT).
However, if you are writing about his election campaign you should label him according to the party he has formed and joined, the Connecticut for Lieberman party. So, (CFL-CT) it is.
XPN wants to know your top ten favorites. For me, it changes upon the day, but still...
Newspapers could do a lot worse than asking the barbers in their area to consider blogging about local items in exchange for advertising in their newspaper. For anyone that doesn't go to a popular barber, it's amazing how much local news/opinion and most importantly, deals and tips, are discussed there. Barbers are insiders to a subset of the local community, and seem like a great source of content for blogging.
I have to say, this "blog" sounds like pure lobbying.
Last year for the Ceasefire campaign, top pollsters Geoffrey Garin (D) and Bill McInturff (R) conducted identical, partisan polls to determine Americans’ top health care priorities [view QuickTime video clip]. Two of the most important reforms respondents identified included 1) providing better preventive health care to all Americans (73%) and 2) helping control the amount of out of pocket health care costs (70%).
Congress can start to address these issues by supporting computerization of medical records and interoperability between software platforms. One Ceasefire event in 2005 with Senator Hillary Clinton (D) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) addressed these issues [view QuickTime video clip], referencing the Institute of Medicine’s claim that 98,000 lives are lost every year because of “preventable medical errors.” Senator Clinton suggested many of these deaths are the result of inefficiencies in a system in need of an upgrade, and former Speaker Gingrich agreed.
I'm not going to argue that better efficiencies can't improve the two issues listed above, but... it seems to me that a lot of cost is a supply and demand issue, and that a lot of preventive health care options are educational issues. Wouldn't those two areas be more effective ways to focus a supposed bipartisan effort to improve healthcare in this country? Or does bipartisan just mean big corporate money in federal contracts?
I don't live in an ocean beach community, so I've never considered the fact that local government entities on the coast have to come up with "Shark Plans". And this story was about one that was actually put into effect.
For whatever reason, I find that kinda interesting.
I have an idea of how we get out of Iraq.
We leave, and everyone that wants to come with us, can come along. We'll pay.
I mean, President Bush and the Republicans are so set on providing freedom and democracy and free enterprise for the Iraqis. So why are we trying to recreate the wheel? They keep telling us we're the most free and democratic nation on the earth. So why not give the Iraqis that want it the real thing?
Would it really be that expensive to create temporary housing in Texas and Alaska and Wyoming and Utah and any other state with great expanses, states that so generously support the idea through elective result that we're dedicated to give a way of life to people of another nation? More expensive than what we're doing? Would it cost more lives?
Imagine - all the money we'd be spending for providing this way of life to Iraqis would stay right here, in America. Soldiers could come home. We give Iraqis the choice - a vote with their feet - in what they want to do. We'll support them the first year.
So what's wrong with this idea? Why aren't we investigating it? Has there been a cost/benefit analysis? Wouldn't we be accomplishing our stated goal of bringing democracy and freedom to those who want it?
Okay, at least one of these is considered a classic. Show off your knowledge of artists and album names in comments.
As before, you can see a larger version of the photo by clicking on it.
He loves to cuss, gets a jolly when a mountain biker wipes out trying to keep up with him, and now we're learning that the first frat boy loves flatulence jokes. A top insider let that slip when explaining why President Bush is paranoid around women, always worried about his behavior. But he's still a funny, earthy guy who, for example, can't get enough of fart jokes. He's also known to cut a few for laughs, especially when greeting new young aides, but forget about getting people to gas about that.
File under SBD - Story's bit disgusting.
Term limits are the boogeyman waiting around the corner for Louisiana's long-serving lawmakers. Legislators complain about them, wish to reverse them and are looking to remain in politics despite them. But they can't get rid of them.
As Louisiana gets its first taste of state-level term limits in 2007, a new report on their impact around the country seems only to bolster state legislators' disdain for them.
The study says term limits haven't fulfilled the promise that the composition of state House and Senate chambers would dramatically change, offering more women, minorities or younger people a chance to serve. And the traditional cast of characters has not been swept out of politics because they simply switch political jobs.
So, Louisiana will do as they do in California and many other places, some Senators will run for the House and some House members will run for the Senate. Still, it opens up some House seats that normally might not have opened up. Many of those that don't run for - or don't win - a different seat, will become lobbyists. So many of the faces remain the same, although there is some change.
Term limits are a good example of a simple solution in search of a problem. What term limits does is force people in geographic areas into different house-specific representation after a period of time. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't widen the playing field for elective office and it doesn't guarantee a change in the appearance of the kinds of people elected. And it doesn't do anything to open up the elective process, which requires change that devalues the power of money in an elective campaign. Term limits don't do anything to money.
One of the things missing from all the recent stories about this "study" about term limits are options to make policy to deliver the changes that the study says term limits fail to do. And I do believe that this study's authors need to be in the forefront of every article:
The study was done by the Joint Project on Term Limits — a collaborative of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council on State Governments, the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and a group of political science professionals.
Who's on the committees of NCSL? State legislators. Who comprises the leadership of CSG? Governors and state legislators. What about that Board of Directors of SLLF? State legislators again. They all seem to have membership with a career interest against term limits. So the story is that groups of state legislators have released a study that term limits for state legislators isn't that great? Wow, that's really news!
I just wanted to perk up the traffic a bit at some of the blogs listed as "microbes" at The Truth Laid Bear. There's interesting stuff there!
Eye Prefer Paris: Yes, I Cannes
Java Zen:Thinking Out Loud: In-Flight Internet Abandoned
The Fishing Bobber: Fishing Without Water
Where Even Minds Go Blank: What You Don’t Know
A Very Friday Blog: There are no pictures of Maria Sharapova in this posting
Enjoy!
I'm a Reds fan, but I think this will happen only if the National League is so weak that a 19 and 19 finish will hold up. I wish the Reds were better than that, but I just don't see them being able to do much better than that from here on out. Somebody's going to get hot and take it away from the Reds, I just know it. I think there are two key matchups left to determine the wildcard for the NL. One is Cincinnati versus San Diego - they haven't played each other yet and have several games remaining. The same holds true for Philadelphia versus Houston, and even though Houston keeps losing, they have too much talent to not make one more stab at the playoffs. I think one of those 4 teams ends up taking the wildcard, and if I had to bet, I'd guess San Diego.
I fell asleep on the couch during Jon Stewart tonight. When I awoke, a very very special piece of Satan's programming was on my television. I watched for nearly a half hour, not believing the turdeous crapalocity before me. I thought it could get no worse than Artie Lange, comedy's version of a heavily leaking sewage pipe in mid-August in the only restaurant for miles near Death Valley, but I was wrong.
Damn it, I am not seeing any critical thought in news reports about the comments Lieberman made about Rumsfeld.
I'll say it again. Lieberman is getting away with a parsing here. He says Rumsfeld should quit. He does NOT say that Rumsfeld should be fired. There is a difference - one is not an accounting and judgement of specific failures, and one is. Lieberman refuses to ask for judgement. I think it’s because he doesn’t want to split his Republican support in November.
It seems to me there needs to be some sort of online meeting place for projects involving political blogs, which for shorthand I'll call blogjects. It isn't so much a place to discuss possible blogjects, but a place to look for people and resources to participate and for volunteers to find out about them.
For example, earlier this year I embarked on a blogject to convince the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) that they needed to incorporate a blog into their programming. I needed volunteers, mostly to post content about programming and activities by PCN, and I tried several things. I posted about it to DailyKos as a diary, I posted to PhillyFuture as an article, and I emailed several Pennsylvania bloggers that follow Pennsylvania government and politics. A few bloggers agreed to participate, but without the efforts of one (Bill Bostic) there would not have had enough content to make this blogject actually work.
If there had been programming or other technical expertise needed that was beyond my abilities, it probably wouldn't have worked either.
Anyone know of such a place? This seems like the kind of programming/hubbing idea that would interest Kos, but I think this kind of site should be more like Craigslist and less like any particular political blog. Isn't this a natural step in the evolution of grassroots blogging that's time has come?
Think about how World War II ended.
That's right - the bomb.
I think that's the point of the "World War III" talk - to get the American public behind the possibility of the United States using larger and larger weapons of mass destruction.
OSHA proposes $143,000 in fines for Russellville plant
Associated Press RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. - The federal government has proposed $143,000 in fines for Gold Kist for allegedly exposing workers to serious and repeated safety hazards at its Russellville poultry processing plant, labor officials said Wednesday.
"When employers shirk their responsibility to keep workplaces free of hazards, the results can be tragic for workers and their families," said Roberto Sanchez, the Birmingham-area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Gold Kist was cited for 21 serious violations totaling $90,000 in fines for unsafe floor conditions, inadequate personal protective equipment and insufficient machine guarding. The company also received two repeat citations, with a fine of $50,000, for not keeping conveyor belt work areas free from fall hazards and other unsafe conditions. OSHA issued one other citation, with a fine of $3,000, for not complying with required record-keeping procedures.
The company plans to contest some of the citations and proposed fines within the next 15 days.
"We have one of the best records in the poultry industry," Wayne Lord, vice president of corporate relations, said. "Our company has won numerous awards for our safety programs. Safety is a top priority."
Great P.R. ain't the same as following the law, Mr. Lord.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, attacked by fellow Democrats as being too close to the White House on the Iraq War, on Sunday called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign but said the United States cannot "walk away" from the Iraqis.
Now that is weak. It's okay for Rumsfeld to "walk away" from the Iraqis but not the rest of us. If Lieberman wants Rumsfeld out, then don't suggest he quit. Call for his firing. What's Lieberman afraid of - Republican ire? Exactly - and we all know why.
Okay, they're not all obscure, but it's still a good musical album quiz. Can you name the bands and albums for all nine shown below? You can open a bigger Flickr view of the photo by clicking on it. Post what you can in comments...
I have been downright ashamed of the national news media many times over the past ten to fifteen years. Part of that shame is a flaw in construction: citizens hold the news media as a standard of some sort for valuable and truthful information, but we force that process into a for-profit design that often limits, and sometimes dissolves, any useful standard at all.
At this very moment our country is suffering from a grotesque abuse of the citizens' perceived standard. I'm not talking about Iraq or Bush or elections.
I'm talking about the JonBenet Ramsey case, and the arrest of John Karr.
I'm not denying that it's a news story, it clearly is. But if one prioritizes the importance and value of a story based on the amount of time and space devoted to a story, the news networks and news publications are defining the JonBenet Ramsey case as the most important and valuable story to Americans the past week.
It may be the most titillating. It may be the most shocking. It is neither the most important or valuable story, and the corporate construction of the news industry prevents that determination to the benefit of Americans. There's not enough competition in news to provide an alternative. We see this happen over and over and over again. It isn't going to change unless the competitive construction of the national news industry is changed.
One way to change this is to promote strategies for competition - true competition - in the marketplace. This probably means government policy. How does America promote more ownership in the news industry in America of more news outlets? What government structured policies benefit the already empowered news corporations to the deficit of smaller news delivery entities? How do we make the news process more competitive within individual markets?
This is something that a national Democrat should be asking, and asking regularly. Sadly, it can't be a Democrat at this point that is considering running for President, because no candidate at this point can afford to alienate an entire media power construct within the purpose of altering it. But there are national Democrats that can carry the questions loudly that are not candidates for that office. It is time for them to ask loudly and nationally:
Is the national news media spending too much time and resources on the JonBenet Ramsey case? And if so, why?
We had no rain in Camp Hill for 21 days until Saturday afternoon. What we received was relatively brief - it may have rained for a half an hour or so - but everything has been so parched that you could practically hear nature let out a big sigh of relief as it came down.
Last night we received a bit more. Still... apparently this has not yet been a drought.
But I have been saving money on lawnmower gas.
From the St. Petersburg Times:
Jose Alvarez Jeronimo had been in Florida about six months, working construction jobs without legal status, his brother said. He loved Latin music and was religious.
The 16-year-old Jeronimo died Thursday evening after being struck by lightning while working on the roof of a house under construction in Wesley Chapel.
According to state and federal law, he never should have been up there.
Florida Statutes say employers who hire underage workers can be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in prison and up to $2,500 in fines.
"Generally, minors are not supposed to be involved in roofing operations because there's a perception that it's dangerous," said Karen Buesing, a Tampa labor and employment attorney.
She added: "If you're standing on top of a roof and lightning strikes, it doesn't matter what your age is."
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office ruled Jeronimo's death accidental and has referred the issues of his age and immigration status to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
A Tampa OSHA official did not return calls for comment Friday.
Juan Jeronimo, 21, arrived at the scene and identified his brother. Up to then authorities thought Jose Jeronimo was 18, the sheriff's report said.
Juan Jeronimo said he doesn't think his brother lied about his age to his bosses.
Messages left with RAC Construction Framing owner Raudel Carrizal, who employed Jeronimo, and Tripp Trademark Homes, which is building the house, were not returned Friday evening.
I didn't realize that there were so many re-installations of The Ten Commandments for so many causes. There's The Ten Commandments of cell phone etiquette; The Ten Commandments for C Programmers; The Ten Commandments of Keyword Selection; The Ten Commandments of Access; The Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction; The Ten Commandments for Managing a Young Growing Business; The Ten Commandments of Family Law Economics; The Ten Commandments of Car Care; and so on and so on. Only God Knows (and maybe Google!) how many of them there really are.
All this has to be a hurdle for The Ten Commandments Project, with the stated goal of getting 10 million children within 10 years to memorize the 10 Commandments. Of course, I'm not sure why memorization is the goal, since I think the idea was that God wanted people to live by them - not just know them. I've memorized Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, but I don't intend to spend my life being as mimsy as the borogoves.
I have decided that each day I'll post a labor violation news snippet in honor of Labor Day. Labor Day will be here in a few weeks, and sadly, most Americans see it as the end of summer rather than a holiday to celebrate efforts to improve their lot in the workforce.
A coal sampling and analysis company in Belle has agreed to pay 55-thousand-dollars in back wages and damages to settle allegations that it violated federal labor law.
The US Department of Labor announced the agreement with Mineral Labs today.
Mineral Labs and company President Paul Lyon agreed to pay the money to 95 workers. The agreement settles a civil complaint filed in federal court in Charleston by the Department of Labor.
The agency says employees were routinely docked 30 minutes per day for lunch periods -- even though their work duties frequently prevented them from taking an uninterrupted lunch.
Mineral Labs also allegedly failed to maintain adequate wage and hour records.
No wonder the Republican Congress is so weak as an institution.
With President Bush's poll numbers stuck in the cellar and Republicans in danger of losing control of Congress, the White House is turning to one of its most popular figures for help.
Laura Bush is back on the campaign trail.
The first lady traveled to Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia on Wednesday and headlined fund-raisers for three Republican candidates, including Kentucky Congressman Geoff Davis and Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine.
...
"She comes in bringing the star power of the White House, but she is not expected to answer policy questions or have to defend the decisions made by the administration," Walter said. "In that sense, she is able to come in less as a policy figure and more as a personality.
"It's like getting the benefit of a White House visit without the political baggage."
Thought I'd prod the visiting browsers for memories or thoughts about this relatively obscure 70s/80s band...
Do you remember Starcastle?
Wow, Dick Cheney must be breaking mirrors with his scowl today after seeing this review of his buddy George:
If I were a conspiracy theorist I would be starting to conclude that you were some sort of Iranian Candidate, an agent of Tehran, brilliantly executing a covert strategy to enhance the prestige and power of the ayatollahs.
That's not a blog. That's a conservative in the London Times.
And runs on an "Orderly Exit Strategy from Iraq" platform, they had better have a plan formulated about dealing with this kind of press push.
America's muddled viewpoint on terrorism regulation is evident in the logic of the Executive Editor of the Topeka Capital-Journal, saying that the new carry-on rules are good...
"For years, airlines and luggage companies alike have touted the convenience of carry-on suitcases. The advantage was obvious -- no long waits at baggage claims, no possibility of lost luggage, no hassle, period.
Now, it's a major hassle carrying on anything. Thanks to last week's terrorist scare -- a plan to simultaneously blow up planes flying from London to the United States -- already-tight airport security has been racheted up even more.
And that's OK. Good, even. And necessary. A little added inconvenience is a small price to pay to ensure travelers arrive safely and on time. (Based on our experience last week, passengers flying on United will have to settle for safe)."
He argues that plane safety requires that carry-ons become such a hassle that you don't want to bring them - and later on, explains that he's going to take the train to Chicago. One of the main reasons? He can have carryon.
So it appears to me he'd rather have convenience than safety - otherwise, why take the clearly less secure route? Here is a fairly prominent citizen of our country saying that he'd rather pay for convenience than safety - in both terms of money and time - in his long distance transportation. It's not like terrorists haven't bombed trains.
America's marketplace is in the process of "voting" on degrees of convenience and safety on the terrorism issue. The new Carry On rules seem to be a dividing point - and if they continue, will fester as such - on which side America's consumers want to stay. We can't keep bouncing from one side to another depending on whether there is an alarm or not. At some point, we'll have to decide whether inconvenience or risk applied across the board is acceptable.
From the Christian Science Monitor
In the week since British police conducted a major counterterrorism operation against an alleged plot to blow up airline flights between Britain and the US, a series of false alarms has shown how tense people have become about the threat of a terrorist attack in America. While all of the events were originally described, or considered, possible terrorist activities, none of them has been shown to have any connection with terrorism.
There's a lot of sudden tension the past few months as far as government and the media is concerned. And I wonder about that - is it because there's the expectation, with the five year anniversary of 9/11 coming up, and all the continuing violence in the world, that something is going to happen here? Or is it because the government knows a little about something, enough to know something is brewing in the near future but not enough to stop it? I wonder about the British reaction to the airline terrorist plot, and whether it was more a message to the terrorists that they're aware of plots and want to put the seed of doubt in their minds as to whether they know about it, rather than a message to citizens that they've got things under control. I don't know. But all the false alarms, and all the media and government hollering about alarms, makes me wonder.
Perhaps Todd Platts and other local Republicans are concerned about Bush somehow hurting them. (Courtesy of York Daily Record)
(Talk about low expectations: check out the response when Bush starts up a Harley)
Sometime in our country's future, there's going to be an unintentional literary contest of sorts, as writers develop novels that incorporate this time period within a commentary of our societal fabric, of what this time is going to be called, in particular the years directly after 9/11. Our country has other time periods in which novels can be classified, such as The Great Depression or Reconstruction, and I suspect that we're living in a time that is going to be the work of some of the great authors of the future.
I hope to live long enough to see what this time is generalized into as a term. At this point, I personally see it as "The Great Pall" or "The Malignant Redirection", but it will be up to those who can sweep our time into a greater narrative to define this time. I do hope that it is not simplified as just "The Bush Years", because, for one thing, it's really been more of the anti-Bush Years as far as most of the world seems to be going, and for a second, I think our nation needs to learn a lot more about itself from this time than how it interprets one President.
Like I said, we all went to a corn maze last Sunday. Maize Quest is fun and a good side trip to rural agricultural Pennsylvania.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, in Iowa today to help raise money for Republicans and give thanks to volunteers who assisted after Hurricane Katrina last year, said he's not running for president in 2008.
I'm not sure Barbour believes this, but I really doubt there are more than a couple of hundred people in the country that think Barbour is viable for a national campaign. He's so obviously not a legitimate candidate for President. Lobbying as a background would be very tough in a national campaign.
I don't know what that advertisement is really about at the right, but I can't think of anyone that would want a John McCain ringtone unless they are some kind of incredibly dweebish "conservative maverick" political wannabee. What the hell does it sound like? Is it the sound of McCain politely laughing while having his ass handed to him by Jon Stewart? It's just an appallingly stupid marketing approach.
I've been thinking a bit about Tony Snow, the current White House Press Secretary, and I've got to say, I think the guy has made a horrible career move.
Bush has two years left, and it's going to be a rough two years for him. If the White House thinks it sucks to be hammered by some Democrats, some of the national media and most of national and world opinion, they're in for a bit of a surprise when their own folks start hammering them next. A crappy November election result for the GOP, and a "Bush is the loser killing the Republican Party" meme will start. Republicans will argue with non-Republicans, but they are not going to argue with Republican voters. Bush will be blamed for all Republican woes. That blame will leach into his most publicly visible hench... staff, including Snow.
Sure, it might sting a bit to Tony Snow's ears when he hears how Bush screwed up America's future, but he can tell himself that's partisan. But to hear that Snow was part of the screwing of the Republican Party - well, that's gonna put a hurt on the job options.
What will the future hold for employment of Bush's press flacks? Will people remember Ari Fleischer as the press face of the loser Bush Administration? Doubtful, he's been gone too long. And too quiet since. Scott McClellan wasn't likely to burble up into an opportunity for something relatively visible in national politics again anyway - I'd be moderately surprised to see his name in the national news again for anything future career related other than criminal prosecutions of members of the Administration. But Snow had a career on Fox News, and he's young enough to try to get another national broadcasting gig. But will he be wanted? He jumped onto a sinking boat, the opposite of what Fleischer or McClellan did. Liberals won't expect much truth from him anyways, and conservatives may be willing to write off everyone related to the final GWB years as bad history best forgotten. That's going to make for a rather invisible Tony Snow after 2008.
It wouldn't surprise me if Snow sees this coming, and tries to bail on the White House after the November elections after a small grace period, say in March or April 2007. Still, what call is there for a flack that can't even see how badly his own career path will be damaged by his choices, even amongst Republicans?
