From the AP Newswire:
"Police said more than 1,760 people have been arrested in a week of convention-related protests, a record for a U.S. political convention."
I heard this gem on Democracy Now from a delegate from Wausau, Wisconsin: "There was a time when he [Michael Moore] would have been tried for treason."
I cannot even listen to the news on my way to work anymore because it makes me want to drive into oncoming traffic.
My friends in NYC tell me Manhattan is exploding with protest. More than a quarter million people, including my dear A who is carrying a sign: "My bush would make a better president."
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Monday, August 09, 2004
Bush's latest
Did everyone see this one from last week? Thanks to Ed and Carole for forwarding it to me.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our countryand our people, and neither do we."-George W. Bush
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20040805/D84963381.html
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our countryand our people, and neither do we."-George W. Bush
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20040805/D84963381.html
As if we needed more reasons to hate Walmart
This is from the August 3 LA Times
Study Cites Social Costs of Wal-Mart
By Abigail Goldman, Times Staff Writer
Inadequate wages and benefits force workers at Wal-Mart stores in California to seek $86 million a year in state aid, according to a report released Monday by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
Moreover, if other retailers cut their wages and benefits to the levels offered by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the cost to California's public-assistance programs would rise by $410 million annually, the study said.
In their report, Berkeley researchers Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs contend that more than other retail workers, Wal-Mart employees rely on a variety of public-aid programs, including food stamps, Medicare and subsidized housing.
"In effect, Wal-Mart is shifting part of its labor costs onto the public," the researchers wrote. "Wal-Mart's long-term impact on compensation in the retail industry has the potential to place a significant strain on the state's already heavily burdened social safety net."
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, maintains that it pays competitive wages and relieves public assistance burdens by giving jobs to many people who otherwise would not be employed.
"It's unfortunate that these UC Berkeley researchers would release a study whose findings are questionable," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin said. The company employs more than 60,000 people in California.
The public debate about whether Wal-Mart benefits or hurts local communities has grown considerably louder over the last few years, particularly in California, where some communities have opposed the company's expansion plans.
The company's wage and benefit structure was also cited as a reason behind last year's strike and lockout of unionized grocery workers in Southern California; the largest supermarket chains said they needed to revamp costs to compete with the retail giant.
Dube and Jacobs' study took into account statewide data on wages paid by large retailers, the numbers of workers throughout the retail industry who use state assistance programs and information gleaned from lawsuits about Wal-Mart's pay and benefits.
Dube, of Berkeley's Institute of Industrial Relations, and Jacobs, of the school's Center for Labor Research and Education, said they did not contact Wal-Mart in preparing their report.
The report found that Wal-Mart's wages on average were 31% below those of the broader group of large retailers — $9.70 an hour versus $14.01 an hour.
And with less earning power, Wal-Mart workers rely more heavily on state resources, Dube and Jacobs found, costing the state $32 million in health-related expenses and $54 million in other assistance.
The study contends that the average non-management Wal-Mart employee receives $1,952 in public assistance compared with $1,401 for workers at large retailers in general.
"The disproportionate use by Wal-Mart workers of the various healthcare and social safety net programs, and the cost that that brings to the state, is an important consideration for policymakers," Jacobs said in an interview.
Dube and Jacobs noted that other studies have reported similar findings.
In Georgia, a state survey of the state's children's health insurance program found that Wal-Mart employees' families disproportionately relied on the program, accounting for more than 10,000 of the 166,000 children enrolled.
In Congress, a report by Democratic staffers on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce looked at employee eligibility for assistance programs and found that a typical 200-employee Wal-Mart store could cost federal taxpayers $420,750 a year, or more than $2,000 per employee.
Wal-Mart has disputed those findings.
Study Cites Social Costs of Wal-Mart
By Abigail Goldman, Times Staff Writer
Inadequate wages and benefits force workers at Wal-Mart stores in California to seek $86 million a year in state aid, according to a report released Monday by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
Moreover, if other retailers cut their wages and benefits to the levels offered by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the cost to California's public-assistance programs would rise by $410 million annually, the study said.
In their report, Berkeley researchers Arindrajit Dube and Ken Jacobs contend that more than other retail workers, Wal-Mart employees rely on a variety of public-aid programs, including food stamps, Medicare and subsidized housing.
"In effect, Wal-Mart is shifting part of its labor costs onto the public," the researchers wrote. "Wal-Mart's long-term impact on compensation in the retail industry has the potential to place a significant strain on the state's already heavily burdened social safety net."
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, maintains that it pays competitive wages and relieves public assistance burdens by giving jobs to many people who otherwise would not be employed.
"It's unfortunate that these UC Berkeley researchers would release a study whose findings are questionable," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin said. The company employs more than 60,000 people in California.
The public debate about whether Wal-Mart benefits or hurts local communities has grown considerably louder over the last few years, particularly in California, where some communities have opposed the company's expansion plans.
The company's wage and benefit structure was also cited as a reason behind last year's strike and lockout of unionized grocery workers in Southern California; the largest supermarket chains said they needed to revamp costs to compete with the retail giant.
Dube and Jacobs' study took into account statewide data on wages paid by large retailers, the numbers of workers throughout the retail industry who use state assistance programs and information gleaned from lawsuits about Wal-Mart's pay and benefits.
Dube, of Berkeley's Institute of Industrial Relations, and Jacobs, of the school's Center for Labor Research and Education, said they did not contact Wal-Mart in preparing their report.
The report found that Wal-Mart's wages on average were 31% below those of the broader group of large retailers — $9.70 an hour versus $14.01 an hour.
And with less earning power, Wal-Mart workers rely more heavily on state resources, Dube and Jacobs found, costing the state $32 million in health-related expenses and $54 million in other assistance.
The study contends that the average non-management Wal-Mart employee receives $1,952 in public assistance compared with $1,401 for workers at large retailers in general.
"The disproportionate use by Wal-Mart workers of the various healthcare and social safety net programs, and the cost that that brings to the state, is an important consideration for policymakers," Jacobs said in an interview.
Dube and Jacobs noted that other studies have reported similar findings.
In Georgia, a state survey of the state's children's health insurance program found that Wal-Mart employees' families disproportionately relied on the program, accounting for more than 10,000 of the 166,000 children enrolled.
In Congress, a report by Democratic staffers on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce looked at employee eligibility for assistance programs and found that a typical 200-employee Wal-Mart store could cost federal taxpayers $420,750 a year, or more than $2,000 per employee.
Wal-Mart has disputed those findings.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
the music of politics
So I was thinking tonight, while watching Kerry's acceptance speech, about how many of our country's problems we could have avoided if we had a requirement that our Commander in Chief be able to correctly pronounce the word "nuclear." Say what you like about Kerry, but at least he would never ask a question like "Is our children learning?"
That said, I am feeling something akin to battered spouse syndrome in this election:
And did anyone notice the music playing when Kerry took the stage? That's right, Springsteen's "No Surrender." I suppose the idea was to emphasize the verse: "There's a war outside still raging. You say it ain't ours anymore to win." But of course, the refrain repeats over and over again "Well we made a promise we swore we'd always remember. No retreat, baby, no surrender. Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend. No retreat, baby, no surrender." So which is it—we can't win the war or we'll never retreat or surrender? What a perfect rallying cry for the candidate who wants to be understood, at once, as a decorated veteren and an antiwar protester.
Here's our political quiz for the day: What other presidential candidate used a Springsteen song in his election bid? Think "Born in the USA"...that's right Ronald Reagan. I admit I was having a sort of PTSD moment last night with the Springsteen in the background and all of that flag waving in the foreground. But at least Kerry (or his handlers) seems to have understood what the song is about, as opposed to Reagan whose inability to comprehend basic rock lyrics should have been a giant red flag. The man thought "Born in the USA" was an unproblematically patriotic song and the Beach Boys shouldn't play on the mall because they "attracted the wrong element."
You know, it's hard to believe it was twelve years ago already when I stood outside for three hours in Madison, Wisconsin waiting to see Bill Clinton on his campaign trail (when he finally arrived he actually admitted he was three hours late because he stopped for burgers in Milwaukee). The music playing when Clinton took the stage was Jesus Jones' "Right Here, Right Now," on the face of it a good anthem for regime change:
The song, however, is really about the fall of the Berlin Wall, not necessarily the event Clinton would want to evoke.
How about a candidate that plays Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" or Leonard Cohen's "Democracy":
Maybe then I could muster less ambivalent enthusiasm.
All of that said, I was going to write that I would vote for a trained seal if it was running opposite Bush, but then I realized, the seal would not, in fact, need to be trained to get my vote.
That said, I am feeling something akin to battered spouse syndrome in this election:
"I know I said I'd give you health care before, baby, but this time I really mean it. I'll never lie to you again baby. I love you. I do. Don't give up on me. This time I really will respect you and your rights."
And did anyone notice the music playing when Kerry took the stage? That's right, Springsteen's "No Surrender." I suppose the idea was to emphasize the verse: "There's a war outside still raging. You say it ain't ours anymore to win." But of course, the refrain repeats over and over again "Well we made a promise we swore we'd always remember. No retreat, baby, no surrender. Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend. No retreat, baby, no surrender." So which is it—we can't win the war or we'll never retreat or surrender? What a perfect rallying cry for the candidate who wants to be understood, at once, as a decorated veteren and an antiwar protester.
Here's our political quiz for the day: What other presidential candidate used a Springsteen song in his election bid? Think "Born in the USA"...that's right Ronald Reagan. I admit I was having a sort of PTSD moment last night with the Springsteen in the background and all of that flag waving in the foreground. But at least Kerry (or his handlers) seems to have understood what the song is about, as opposed to Reagan whose inability to comprehend basic rock lyrics should have been a giant red flag. The man thought "Born in the USA" was an unproblematically patriotic song and the Beach Boys shouldn't play on the mall because they "attracted the wrong element."
You know, it's hard to believe it was twelve years ago already when I stood outside for three hours in Madison, Wisconsin waiting to see Bill Clinton on his campaign trail (when he finally arrived he actually admitted he was three hours late because he stopped for burgers in Milwaukee). The music playing when Clinton took the stage was Jesus Jones' "Right Here, Right Now," on the face of it a good anthem for regime change:
Right here, right now
there is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
watching the world wake up from history
The song, however, is really about the fall of the Berlin Wall, not necessarily the event Clinton would want to evoke.
How about a candidate that plays Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" or Leonard Cohen's "Democracy":
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Maybe then I could muster less ambivalent enthusiasm.
All of that said, I was going to write that I would vote for a trained seal if it was running opposite Bush, but then I realized, the seal would not, in fact, need to be trained to get my vote.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Meghan Daum
I guess her two books were pretty big, but I stumbled across her website, and I wanted to share it. Check out her take on L.A.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
National Brotherhood Week
Okay, I know my blog is increasingly characterized by a "what the hell is wrong with people" tone, and for that I apologize, but seriously--what the hell is wrong with people? What's with the Republican hysterically homophobic approach to political commentary these days? Is it a byproduct of a party that has drifted so far from anything resembling the truth or even the pretense of acting in its constituents' best interests that the only strategy left is grade school name calling? "Never mind the economy, you're a homo?" "Never mind the occupation of Iraq, we just need to make sure those queers don't legalize their relationships?" Good lord. Let's all join together for a rousing take off on the old Tom Lehrer song. Altogether now: "Everybody hates the queers."
Monday, July 19, 2004
the grammar of LA
So watching the news last night and the progression of our latest fires, it occurred to me that before I lived in LA I never called trees and brush (that is, vegetation) "fuel."
There is a particular grammar to LA. On the east coast or in the midwest, "smog" and "valet" are not verbs—as in "Are you going to valet your car?" or "I need to get my car smogged."
Before I moved here, one of my friends summed up the east coast/west coast cultural differences by saying that on the east coast they say "man" and on the west coast they say "dude." Since I have been here, I have developed a theory that American English is in the process of becoming a tonal language like Chinese. Two California teenagers can hold a 20 minute conversation in which the word "dude" stands in for about 50 other words depending on inflection and facial expression. "So he was like duuuude. And I was like DUDE!"
All of which, to me, is positively charming compared to the latest from our Governor. "Girlie men"?! For god's sake. And the best that Nuñez can offer is "Certainly my mom and my sister aren't happy"?
On an unrelated note (except in that we are talking about grotesque politicians), check out this piece on Bush. It's not new (from May) but is very well written—and by a conservative no less. I particularly like this bit:
"The cynical game these shape-shifters have been playing in the Middle East is too Byzantine to unravel in 1,000 pages of text. But the hypocrisy of the White House is palpable, and beggars belief. If there's one American who actually believes that Operation Iraqi Freedom was about democracy for the poor Iraqis, then you, my friend, are too dangerously stupid to be allowed near a voting booth."
There is a particular grammar to LA. On the east coast or in the midwest, "smog" and "valet" are not verbs—as in "Are you going to valet your car?" or "I need to get my car smogged."
Before I moved here, one of my friends summed up the east coast/west coast cultural differences by saying that on the east coast they say "man" and on the west coast they say "dude." Since I have been here, I have developed a theory that American English is in the process of becoming a tonal language like Chinese. Two California teenagers can hold a 20 minute conversation in which the word "dude" stands in for about 50 other words depending on inflection and facial expression. "So he was like duuuude. And I was like DUDE!"
All of which, to me, is positively charming compared to the latest from our Governor. "Girlie men"?! For god's sake. And the best that Nuñez can offer is "Certainly my mom and my sister aren't happy"?
On an unrelated note (except in that we are talking about grotesque politicians), check out this piece on Bush. It's not new (from May) but is very well written—and by a conservative no less. I particularly like this bit:
"The cynical game these shape-shifters have been playing in the Middle East is too Byzantine to unravel in 1,000 pages of text. But the hypocrisy of the White House is palpable, and beggars belief. If there's one American who actually believes that Operation Iraqi Freedom was about democracy for the poor Iraqis, then you, my friend, are too dangerously stupid to be allowed near a voting booth."
Friday, July 09, 2004
Ten Oxherding Pictures
I am overdue for a meatier post, I know, but in the meantime, here is some zen verse. How can you not love this line: "This heaven is so vast no message can stain it."
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
half mast
So I guess the deal is that the flags will be flown at half mast for 30 days to honor the Bonzo's bedtime. The misty eyed remembrances of my fellow Americans inspire something of a ptsd reaction in this citizen who lived through Reagan's presidency. I started college in 1984 and spent most of the 80s surrounded by aspiring Gordon Gekkos feeling like a leftist space alien dropped into some hostile territory. Ronnie's smiling countenance always struck me as more than a little similar to a "funny uncle," and his abject stupidity (anyone remember "trees cause pollution") was a source of great shame (though that was before W, who makes Reagan look like quite the whiz kid).
In any case, I offer the Voice's scathing piece as an antidote to our collective amnesia for the rest of you who have not yet been turned into pod people. The letters in response are pretty good reading as well.
More soon...
In any case, I offer the Voice's scathing piece as an antidote to our collective amnesia for the rest of you who have not yet been turned into pod people. The letters in response are pretty good reading as well.
More soon...
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Virtual shotgun
So I have a friend in "the other Washington" (as we DC natives tend to think of it) who has been driving cab at night, and talking to him while he squires Puyallup's finest to and from taverns and casinos is like listening to reality TV with no picture. Conversations tend to be punctuated by statements like "Oh, the police are here. Can I call you back?" or "Hmm...I'm outside Mugs and Jugs, but I don't see my fare."
Can I just say much I do not miss getting loaded. Oy.
Today is Sunday and I am immensely grateful that it is a three-day weekend. In the true spirit of a person who relishes extremes I have gone from someone with no life whatsoever outside of school and waged work to a graduate who has booked every nanosecond of her life for the next three weeks. Thursday I go to Washington (where they invented coffee) to return Sunday. Monday my sister and her husband come here. They leave Wednesday. The next day I fly to Milwaukee (where they invented beer and motorcycles). Friday we fly to the Woods and Waters convention in the four-seater (a seat for me, one for Mark, one for Mindy, and one for Mindy's shoes). The week I return I speak in a meeting in Monrovia, have a dinner date with KD, and am going to a codger-rock punk show in Griffith Park (TSOL, the Dickies, DI, etc.). Yada yada yada...you get the picture. Middle ground? Oh, yeah, that's the spot you pass when moving from one extreme to the other. I am already anticipating the call to my sponsor on about June 20th to discuss my propensity to overbook myself.
As an aside, in explaining who Bob Mould is to a coworker this week, I ran across his blog. Something about the orange template must appeal to post-punk folks with a fondness for the nation's capitol.
Okay, that's all for now.
Can I just say much I do not miss getting loaded. Oy.
Today is Sunday and I am immensely grateful that it is a three-day weekend. In the true spirit of a person who relishes extremes I have gone from someone with no life whatsoever outside of school and waged work to a graduate who has booked every nanosecond of her life for the next three weeks. Thursday I go to Washington (where they invented coffee) to return Sunday. Monday my sister and her husband come here. They leave Wednesday. The next day I fly to Milwaukee (where they invented beer and motorcycles). Friday we fly to the Woods and Waters convention in the four-seater (a seat for me, one for Mark, one for Mindy, and one for Mindy's shoes). The week I return I speak in a meeting in Monrovia, have a dinner date with KD, and am going to a codger-rock punk show in Griffith Park (TSOL, the Dickies, DI, etc.). Yada yada yada...you get the picture. Middle ground? Oh, yeah, that's the spot you pass when moving from one extreme to the other. I am already anticipating the call to my sponsor on about June 20th to discuss my propensity to overbook myself.
As an aside, in explaining who Bob Mould is to a coworker this week, I ran across his blog. Something about the orange template must appeal to post-punk folks with a fondness for the nation's capitol.
Okay, that's all for now.
Friday, May 28, 2004
Reasons to move to Albuquerque
My best and oldest friend is moving to Albuquerque driven by the unending rain in Pittsburgh, a city second only to Seattle for rainy days per year. So this weekend she is going to a camp out and called to say, "We're hoping for rain because it might keep the locusts away." Yeah. There's a metaphor for you.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Art Supplies of Mass Destruction
Be careful all you artists out there. This Counterpunch article lets you know what could happen if you need to call 911.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Not getting any younger
So we helped Bob pack yesterday afternoon/night, and now I sound like a bowl of rice krispies this morning. Every joint in my body is snap, crackling, and popping. I apparently slept the complete sleep of the dead--face down and immobile. Both of my arms fell asleep and when I woke up it was like someone had tied two heavy logs to my shoulders. It's hard to navigate the coffee when your arms are flopping around like over-sized sausages.
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