UNIONS KEEP TRYING TO FORCE UNIONIZATION IN THE WORKPLACE!

To: The Detroit News
Re: “Making union organizing easier will fuel economic growth”, Sept. 5.


Writers in your “Labor Voices” column keep trying to convince us about the benefits of the Employees Free Choice Act for workers and for our general economy but they do not stress the fact that the main recipients of the Act’s benefits will be the unions themselves.

The Employees Free Choice Act actually takes away the secret ballot elections that employees now use to chose or deny union representation in their workplace. The secret ballot elections would be replaced by so called “card checks” where union organizers can confront employees directly and intimidate them into signing union cards.

Yes, union organizing would be made much easier but workers would have to give up their freedom to choose or deny unionization through a secret ballot election. I don’t see how anyone but the unions benefits from this legislation.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND HOCKEY MOMS!

Last night I watched ABC News where the anchor, Charlie Gibson interviewed John McCain about his selection for VP.

He asked McCain point blank, with all the problems internationally that this country is facing, is Sarah Palin, with absolutely no experience in foreign affairs, capable of leading this country through the maize of those critical foreign situations.

McCain said absolutely, energy is an important factor in foreign affairs and she is great with energy issues plus Russia is next to Alaska?

What about national security experience which she has none of, energy, she knows about energy.

You can listen to this interview for yourself on abcnews.com.

I am sorry but naming Palin to be the next VP or even President is so stupid it is insulting. McCain could not even answer a direct question about her foreign affairs experience or even knowledge. He could have said she could learn from me, he went on about what a wonderful person she is and what a loving family she has.

I am not willing to sacrifice my safety, my kid’s safety, my grandkid’s safety or the safety of this country by allowing a hockey mom to make those critical decisions that impact all our safety; that is plain stupid.

On an even scarier note, some evangelicals and other religious people I know actually see her good character as all they need to know about to vote her into office – lord help us all!

THE SARAH PALIN FACTOR?

Listening to the buzz at work about McCain’s choice for VP, Sarah Palin, I heard some women say that they were “offended” by the choice. I asked why and they said that he appointed a good looking woman with absolutely no experience to be a president of the United States; they, as women, felt insulted.

Does that mean they would be OK if he picked an ugly woman with a lot of experience, i.e. capable of running the country? I don’t think they saw “looks” as an issue; it was all about the capability.

The revelation that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant and that she and the boy that got her pregnant will be marrying and attending the Republican convention together called for some pause…

Palin says she supports her daughter and is happy to become a grandparent – she has a five month old herself. I don’t know how to take all this but I am thinking that the Republicans don’t have many choices here; they might as well spin the teenage sex and pregnancy in a positive manner?

Teenage sex and pregnancy was never a “positive” in our society but it is a “reality” and smart parents take precautions besides just counseling “abstinence” which is just plain stupid but nonetheless, the Republican position.

I think the Republicans are applauding her decision not to get an abortion, which most teenagers consider since a baby will definitely change their life for good and not in a good way. Giving the kid up for adoption is another option but marrying the sex partner is usually not a good idea and maybe even a stupid idea given the immaturity of the parents and their inability to support themselves and their child since they are “children” themselves.

I can see why McCain picked Palin as VP but I am not sure it will resonate well with “most” voters.

Yes, she is a “hockey mom” with five kids but who takes care of them? She is a hunter and fisherwoman that got fined for fishing without a license. She is a Christian conservative against “choice” and against “gay marriage” that has a daughter pregnant out of wedlock. I don’t know; something is not quite right here!

So she may be an attractive VP candidate to some people for her “common” ways; blue-collar Republican? But she has a “real” possibility of becoming president when the old man croaks of a heart attack due to too much stress on the job – then what?

FOREIGN POLICY SMARTS GO TO THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET

I was surprised to read an article in the Wall Street Journal by Dan Senor entitled “Biden Wanted to Break Up Iraq” as if that was a bad idea.

I have been promoting a division of Iraq into Sunni, Shia and Kurd areas for a long time now. A weak federal government would be entrusted with splitting oil revenues on a per capita basis between the three (3) autonomous regions so there would not be any fighting over who has the oil.

Dan Senor thinks the current Iraq plan is working even though there has been no progress on a unified Iraq government. In fact, battle lines are being drawn as we start pulling out.

The current Shiite government is INSISTING we pull out In Toto (no small force left behind just in case); no they want ALL Americans out.

The fact that Joe Biden formally presented the partition of Iraq plan before Congress makes me feel that the Democrats will have the better foreign policy because they have the foreign policy smarts, ala Biden. McCain, by stubbornly supporting Bush’s absolutely disastrous Iraq policy, gives me no confidence in his foreign policy talents which are backed up by Sarah Palin’s good looks and not much more.

I am starting to like the fact that Joe Biden will be a strong force in our foreign policy because it will be a major issue in the years to come.

Score one for the Democratic ticket!

WHO IS SARAH PALIN?

I finished writing about Sarah Palin this morning and lookee-here, I am writing about her again – so soon?

It appears that Sarah’s 17 year old daughter is pregnant. The VP nominee who is all for abstinence up to marriage, none of that sex education nonsense for her, has discovered that telling your kids to abstain just does not always work and you have to talk about the realities of life with them and if they will be sexually active tell them about birth control – stupid!

The McCain campaign immediately released a statement saying that the Palins are “proud” of their daughter? She will keep the baby (no abortion here) and she will wed the teenage father (is this a shotgun wedding?) – How nice.

Hey I know that shit happens in the best of families but I especially relish it when it happens to holier than thou, I have values and you don’t, I preach abstinence families.

McCain is sending an army of investigators to Alaska to see if there is anything else we should know about Sarah Palin and her family. It appears that McCain made a quick decision without proper “vetting” and that may cost him.

Sarah Palin called herself a “simple hockey mom” and simple she is and that apparently qualifies her for the vice presidency of the United States and possibly the presidency of the most powerful country on earth.

Rumors are also flying around that say “Trig” Sarah’s youngest child is really her daughter Bristol’s child. The reason for the rumors is that Sarah already had four (4) children, the oldest 19 and that she did not look pregnant at all before Trig was born; probably just vicious rumors but interesting none the less.

The republicans are already trying to turn this into a “positive” by stressing the family’s commitment and support for Bristol with her sudden entrance into adulthood – we shall see….

UNION RACISM AND THE DEMOCRATS?

Staying on politics, I saw an interesting speech on YOU TUBE given by Richard Trumka, the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, to the Steelworkers Union.

It was a powerful speech and he is a good speaker but the subject matter concerned the “fact” that many union members will not vote for a black (African-American). Trumka’s speech lambasted those unionists that still are racists, even though closet racists.

He said that the Democratic Party is the labor party not the Republicans so if you value your job, you will be color blind in this election.

The Democrats have always been pro-labor and this election is not exception. Obama promised to stop NAFTA, eliminate secret worker elections for or against unionization and just allow union thugs to coerce workers into signing up for union representation, bail-out the auto companies with our tax dollars and get the FBI to quit monitoring the Teamsters Union for mob connections.

Here is a party willing to keep the dying union movement breathing and the rank and file cannot and many will not vote for a man with dark skin WHAT A BLOODY IRONY!!!

Union members want to keep the union movement alive because where else can you get big money and benefits with no education under your belt. BUT with no education under your belt, you also tend to think and act a little; shall we say conservatively or non-progressively?

The union leadership can preach brotherhood all they want to but racism is hard to eliminate (on both sides) when it has been ingrained from childhood.

I think of Obama as white since he was raised by a white mother and her white parents; the African father played no role in Obama’s upbringing except to give him dark skin. African-American leaders did not look at Obama as one of their own; remember “not black enough”? Obama is not from the hood, doesn’t speak like he is from the hood and has no “hood” experiences just Catholic schools and Harvard – how black is that?

In our society if you have dark skin you are “black” no matter how little genetic blackness is in your DNA (Tiger Woods is in the same boat).

Obama wants “Change” but there are some things that just will not change and white union racism will die when the unions finally die.

McCain wise or stupid on VP pick!

Well, ole’ Johnny has thrown us a curve ball.

I will admit Sarah Palin is a cutie-pie and that alone will sway some voters in the Republican direction but what else does she bring to the ticket and more importantly, what does McCain think she will bring to the ticket.

It was kind of embarrassing listening to McCain introduce his running mate. He talked about her husband winning some snowmobile race in Alaska, her being a soccer mom and having five kids, etc……….

If McCain dies in office, he is old and his father and grandfather both died of heart attacks, we will have a soccer mom standing up to the Russians, North Korea, Iran, etc…….. Does that make you happy? I think not!

McCain labeled her as a Republican “maverick” just like he is. Well, McCain was a maverick in 2000 when he stood up to Bush and his machine, stood up to the religious zealots and stood up to the anti-choice kook heads but in 2008, he is no maverick. He kissed Bush’s ass for eight years, has now found religion and is a fierce anti-choicer; you ain’t no maverick no mo….

Palin may be a somewhat of a maverick judging by her short record in public office. She took on her own party over corruption and won but what else? She joined the City Council of a town with 8,000 people and then ran for mayor. She ran for governor of a state that has fewer people than Detroit – like I said, she is a cutie-pie.

She is a prolific child producer with the last one with Down’s syndrome which she refused to abort calling it a miracle from god. To bring a child into this world knowing that it will have a miserable, painful life is not doing that child a favor but the religious nuts and anti-choicers will brand her a saint.

She hunts and fishes; an outdoors kind of woman the NRA loves and is a Dick Chaney kind of girl.

It all boils down to the media spin machine and how gullible is the American voter. The media will portray her as a fresh, young, not from Washington person as opposed to Joe Biden who has spent his life in Congress. On the other hand, Biden has 30 years experience in world politics and is known to most world leaders while Palin has two years as governor of a state with less than 1 million in population.

We will know more about Sarah Palin in the coming weeks and if McCain made a wise choice or made a mistake but for me McCain countered his own claim of experience to Obama’s lack of experience by choosing a potential U.S. president with absolutely no experience. She would make a very pretty president though….prettiest in our history I would say…

Gay challenged Holy Scripture - right on!

Friday, August 29, 2008

To: The Canton Observer
Re: “Twisted Scripture?” August 28.

I found your article “Twisted Scripture?” , August 28, about a man suing a Bible publisher for printing Bibles with translations that discriminate against gays, quite interesting and thought provoking.

I have no idea as to the legality of Bradley Fowler’s case against Bible publisher Zondervan but I do know that Mr. Fowler has a very legitimate reason for complaining.

We have no original copies of the books of the Bible. What we do have are copies of copies and translations of translations. Many translators had ideas about what they thought the Bible should say and injected their personal views into their translations.

At the time the books of the Bible were written, homosexuality as a sexual preference did not exist. Sex between males, especially adult males and boys, occurred and was considered part of the Greek and later Roman culture.

Since homosexuality as we know it, did not exist at the time the Bible books were written, using terms like homosexuality in translating the Bible are obviously a product of the translators bias and not what the words of the Bible were trying to convey.

Mr. Bradley, apparently a devout Christian, has every right to challenge the translators and even to accuse them of injecting deliberate homophobic bias where none existed.

Who is Joe Biden?

What about this Joe Biden guy as a running-mate?

Actually, both me and my wife were kind of hoping Obama would pick Hillary at the last moment because that would be “monumental” but we knew deep down that he could not because she is not vice-president material and would not sit still for the boring VP job.

Biden is not exiting but he brings a few things to the ticket. He is older (65) so he can add a voice of experience and wisdom. He is white or non-any-minority (European). He has proven international experience where Obama has none. He is a Catholic which may or may not be a plus since that will not influence other Catholics, may turn off Baptist and other evangelicals (anti-papal) and raise the abortion issue (may be excommunicated by the Vatican?) or at least denounced by the more radical American higher clergy.

Biden is known to talk too much and stick his foot in his mouth often. Can he be trained (can’t teach an old dog new tricks?). He is a good attack dog but is he a smart attack dog?

I think the reason this ticket does not excite me right away is that it is strange. Usually you have an older candidate for president and a younger candidate for VP where the VP is in a kind of OJT – training for the office of president and not visa versa. This may be a problem for some people especially if McCain picks a younger man for VP which he basically has too since there is no one older than McCain; the McCain ticket will feel more natural, more normal.

The best weapon Biden will have against McCain is tying McCain to Bush; in fact making McCain appear to be another Bush and repeating the slogan “four more years of Bush…”.

We will see if Biden was a wise choice or not…

What is your vote strategy?

Recently, in a discussion about how we intend to vote, my good friend Bob announced that he intends to vote against all incumbents. This is a basic “throw the bums out” strategy, where, because our government has failed to properly govern, a new cadre of politicos needs to be given a chance to govern properly.

I cannot disagree with that strategy…

My own representative, Thaddeus McCotter (R) was a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq War and answered my myriad letters to him with some understanding and sympathy for my concerns but with non wavering support for the integrity of what President Bush was doing.

Recently, Representative McCotter (R-MI) sent out a myriad of emails and communications, bashing President Bush on a variety of issues. Do you think he sees the writing on the wall? Would you vote for such an obvious hypocrite that changes positions with the prevailing wind? Not me and hopefully many more in his district. I don’t even know who his Democratic challenger is but I know McCotter needs to pay for his actions.

Our two (2) Michigan Senators are both Democrats (Levin & Stabenow) and have some seniority, especially Levin who has been in the Senate forever but to vote for Republicans in these Senate races may be unwise at this time in our history.

Republicans need to be reminded that Bush belonged to their party and they did nothing to control his obviously damaging to the country and world, behavior. They have to pay a price for their lack of caring and concern for the welfare of their country and the people that populate their country. For their totally selfish and inexcusable behavior, they need to be voted out of office.

You may tell me that they were just loyal to their party but Chuck Hagel was and is a Republican, a Republican that repudiated the actions of his President, early on and forcefully and that is what the rest of the Republicans needed to do. The fact that they did not means they are not fit to govern or represent constituents.

I cannot speak about all Republicans, just the ones that represent me and the ones I know about but I hope all voters will take the time to check how their Congressmen and women behaved during the Bush administration and if they contributed to the mess we are in or tried to keep us from sinking deeper into the mess we are in.

We need to let politicians know that we are keeping tabs and will reward or punish with our votes. Unfortunately, most voters get their info from political commercials and talk shows and so whoever has the best and most effective media consultant – wins!

RUSSIA AND GEORGIA - What's Up?

Well I might as well get into this Georgia / Abkhazia & South Ossetia conflict in more detail since Russia recognized the break-away republics as legitimate and sovereign this morning.
Yesterday, President Bush warned Russia NOT to recognize the two republics saying it would be “unacceptable” to the United States.

What do it all mean?

The history of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia is very fluid with borders and peoples changing locations and allegiances many times. I think for our discussion we should know that Georgia has existed as a separate entity for some time in history but we know it as a country within the Soviet Union until the break-up of the union and the independence of Georgia in the early 1990s.

Georgia’s borders were ruled legitimate and recognized as such by the world (including Russia) upon Georgia’s declaration of independence.

The other thing to realize here is that the areas of Georgia known as Abkhazia and South Ossetia are populated mostly by non-Georgians (different culture, language, etc.). We may compare this situation to that of Kosovo which was a part of Serbia (Yugoslavia) but populated by non-Serbs (Albanians) that the United States recognized as independent from Serbia even though the Serbs did not want to let go of the area.

South Ossetia (in Georgia) shares the same culture and language with people in North Ossetia (in Russia). It would seem logical that the two Ossetias should be one, especially if that is what both parts want. It is not the same as the Communist North Vietnam invading the capitalist South Vietnam.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Georgian forces have had battles with both regions, actually small wars, and that the autonomous regions fought fiercely to keep their independence and have tried to thwart any Georgians from moving into their territory by attacking their villages.

In 2008, Georgia attacked South Ossetia and the Russians intervened; plain and simple and will not let the Georgians attack again. Russia has now declared these territories as independent of Georgia and under Russian protection – that’s all folks!

South Ossetia is pretty poor and barren but Abkhazia borders the Black Sea and has a huge amount of Russian investment in luxury villas, resorts, etc. It also has a valuable port on the Black Sea. Georgia still has a Black Sea presence but not as big – look at map.

So I can’t really get all upset over what Russia did since we have lost all credibility with our unprovoked invasion of Iraq – who are we to talk? BUT I do have some consternation about Russia’s threats of invasion or retaliation against former Soviet states that now choose to side with the West. Here is where we need to make some diplomatic or military moves.

Even if Georgia gives up those disputed territories, we should arm the Georgian army with defensive weapons so they can repel, at least, initially, any Russian incursion into their legitimate and sovereign territory. Give them tank busters and truck busters and some good artillery that can take out a line of Russian tanks. The Afghanistan rag-tag soldiers beat the Russians once and drove them from their country, I am certain the Georgians can do the same.

GAY MARRIAGE ISSUE SOLVED!

Another point raised by the Rev. Warren in his questioning of Obama and McCain about religious matters was the GAY MARRIAGE issue.

I just happened to read a great article in the USA TODAY paper entitled “Gay marriage: A way out”, Oliver Thomas, August 4, 2008. All we need to do is change the way we marry; a little.

My new European in-laws showed me how marriage takes place in Europe. All couples go to the County Clerk’s Office or European equivalent and sign a civil union agreement that is a binding agreement recognized by the government. They then can go and have a wedding, if they want. They can have a celebration or a church ceremony but their union is made official only by the government.

In this country, a couple buys a license from the clerk’s office and then gets married by whomever the state allows to marry people, be it a judge, ship captain, priest, minister, etc. The official signs their marriage certificate to make it legal. Here is where the problem lies.

Evangelicals have a problem with the “marriage” of gays. They hold that marriage, as performed by a religious official can only be between a man and a woman. They hold that the Bible somehow condemns homosexuality, calls it a sin, and therefore they cannot abide by it or even allow it. I have argued against that in previous blogs but let us say here that it is their belief and we will go along with it – “marriage” is only between a man and a woman.

IF all couples, gay and straight, are legally joined in civil unions ONLY by the government and can get “married” ONLY by a church, priest or minister of their choosing; the problem is solved.

In this way, we can have legal unions between men and women or gays, with all the legal benefits that such unions bestow without any theological issues. The government stays out of religion as it is constitutionally mandated to, the religious people keep their beliefs and principals and gays get what they want; a legally recognized union of two people.

Now all we need is to get some legislation to make this happen. I know that people would appreciate this easy way out of a dilemma that cannot be solved any other way.

THE OLD RUSSIA IS BACK; Poland acts!

Talks between Poland and the U.S. about installing interceptor missiles on Polish soil have gone on for a number of years with Poland not at all eager to install those missiles.

When Russia invaded Georgia, a deal was reached almost immediately allowing the U.S. to install those interceptor missiles BUT also providing Poland PATRIOT MISSILE BATTERIES along with a small U.S. military presence in Poland. Whoa! This is huge in the whole Russia vs. the world, scheme of things.

At the outset, the missiles in Poland were to be for possible Iranian attacks against the U.S., Europe, Israel, etc. The placement of the missiles in Poland had nothing to do with Russia even though the Russians looked at it that way.

Russia was even asked to join NATO; it refused and warned other former Soviet countries not to join NATO. The original purpose of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was to counter any possible SOVIET aggression in Europe. Since the downfall of the Soviet Union, NATO has been a policeman in Europe (Serbia, Kosovo) as well as elsewhere (Afghanistan).

By invading Georgia, Russia has once again placed itself at odds with the West (NATO) and has caused a mad scramble by countries that fear Russian invasion to join NATO.

Poland is already a member of NATO but when I talked to some of my friends in Poland, they were skeptical about their safety. They reminded me that on the eve of WWII, they also had a mutual defense treaty with France and Britain and look what good that did them; they were invaded by Germany on the west and Russia on the east.

Even after WWII, they were sold to the Soviets by Roosevelt and Churchill for 50 years of Soviet oppression; why should they trust the U.S. and the West to act any differently this time?

It is important to note that the placement of Patriot Missiles on Polish soil by the Americans IS absolutely and specifically an anti-Russian move since the Patriots are short range interceptor missiles designed to protect against missiles fired at Poland, not to intercept missiles fired from Iran at the U.S.

Russia immediately warned Poland that they are now potential targets of a nuclear attack. Well, poor Poland has been in this position before and has been throughout its long history.

Putin is asserting Russia’s new power but he may have hurt himself and Russia in the process. NATO did not want to allow Georgia to join, just yet, as deference to Russia but now that we know the old Russia is back, it is time to form up sides again and admit everybody and anybody that wants the protection NATO can give them. Arms build-up anyone? Here we go again…