Day: May 17, 2008

More On The FLDS

This is a list compiled by Carolyn Jessop.

•Members believe polygamy is a requirement for salvation.
•Sex is power in the FLDS.
•Sex is scheduled among wives.
•A woman without children has no power or status.
•Women are supposed to be in complete harmony with her husband.
•Wives can discipline another woman’s child.
•Wives are extremely competitive with one another.
•Women in the FLDS give birth in the local clinic.
•Women are expected to be perfectly silent during childbirth.
•Other wives are expected to be present during other wives’ childbirths.
•July 24, Pioneer Day, is the FLDS’s biggest Mormon holiday.
•The Harvest Festival is the FLDS version of a county fair.
•Birthdays are rarely celebrated.
•Working wives hand over their entire salary to their husbands.
•Many members receive government benefits.
•Members believe the second death happens in the afterlife when a spirit is killed off for the rest of eternity.
•In the FLDS, refusing to have siex with one’s husband is considered to be adultery.
•It is a sin for a woman to talk about abuse, if she is being abused, it is because she is not in harmony with her husband.
•Members are taught to fear the outside world.
•Men are not allowed to interfere in another man’s family.
•Childhood immunizations are not allowed.
•Water is considered to be the devils’s doman.

I realize that one’s religion is a private thing and should be none of anyone’s business, but with all the news about the sect in Texas, I thought I would let my readers know what some of their beliefs are, besides polygamy, that is.

American Axel Strike Could End

The UAW and American Axle have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract, said people familiar with the the negotiations and a company spokeswoman.

The end of the strike should bring a little relief to workers who have been struggling to survive on $200 a week in strike pay, compared to paychecks that were three and four times that before the strike.

But the 3,650 workers who struck American Axle face sacrifices in the future. The deal is likely to include steep wage cuts, making it hard for some workers to feel like they’ve gained anything in the strike, which would be 12 weeks old Tuesday.

Earlier in the talks, there was discussion about dropping production wages from about $28 an hour to $18 an hour, and lower wages for jobs that aren’t directly involved in axle or skilled-trades work.

Wages are anticipated to be lower still at American Axle’s driveshaft and axle factory in Three Rivers, a plant that had been fighting to stay open.
The deal has been expected to close forging plants in Detroit and Tonawanda, N.Y., near Buffalo. Nearly a week ago, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union was fighting the closure of a third plant, in Cheektowaga, N.Y.

The sticking points in this strike have included just how low wages would go, particularly for workers who don’t make axles, what kind, if any, of lay-off pay workers would receive and whether buyouts and buy-downs would be paid at one time, or over two or three years.

Keep an eye on the real deal.  Did the UAW give away too much?  How did the workers benefit?  Questions, there is always question at the end of every negotiation.

Commemorate The Unionization Of Starbucks

On May 17, join the IWW Starbucks Workers Union and allies around the
world to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the union’s founding in a Day of Action.

2008 is the 40th anniversary of the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., felled by a sniper’s bullet as he stood in solidarity with
sanitation workers striking for the right to form a labor union.

As a rabidly anti-union, poverty wage employer, Starbucks represents
the unbridled greed and exploitation that King opposed. Indeed, the Starbucks Corporation demeans Dr. King’s legacy by treating his federal holiday like a second-class occasion as it fails to pay the premium it pays on several other holidays on Dr. King’s day. If
Starbucks is really interested in “embracing diversity”, it can start by
respecting Dr. King’s holiday.

Since it’s founding on May 17, 2004, the Industrial Workers of the World
campaign at Starbucks has spread around the country with new workers
joining the campaign every week. Support has poured in from around the
world and important gains in wages and working conditions have been won
through direct action, grassroots pressure, media advocacy, and legal
filings.

A recent Labor Board trial exposed the underbelly of Starbucks’ massive
anti-union operation as replete with illegal spying, discrimination,
terminations, and much more. Yet, Starbucks’ relentless union busting,
carried out in association with corporate law firm Akin Gump and public
relations firm Edelman, continues on with impunity.

Take action in your community on May 17th to ensure Starbucks stops
disrespecting Dr. King’s holiday and stops demeaning his selfless final
act of solidarity with workers seeking to vindicate the right to form a
labor union.

NOTE:  Some religious types are up in arms about the new Starbucks logo, they say it looks like a hooker with her legs spread waiting for a customer.  …….thinking….. just look at the logo…if there is a hooker that is that flexible, please email me with her address……..LOL

McCain Threatens Oregon Union Members

John McCain paid a visit to Portland, Ore., this week. As usual, AFL-CIO union members came out to try to speak to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee about important issues—and, as usual, they were turned away.

In fact, McCain campaign aides were so unhappy to be confronted that they threatened these union members with arrest if they approached the room in which McCain was holding an event.

Tom Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, says McCain has shown he’s not willing to listen to working families:

Sen. McCain had an unprecedented opportunity today to show that he is as concerned about working folks as he is about his wealthy friends. Instead, he reaffirmed that he doesn’t share the priorities of working folks and he is not the candidate to turn around America.

Farm Bill Veto–We Can Only Hope

I wrote about this recently and after looking over the bill itself, I would like to explain why I say that the Farm Bill needs to be voted by the President.  I know…..few believe that I would actually be on the side of Bush on anything, but The Farm Bill veto has more support.

A few things about the bill that makes a veto imperative.

  • The bill provides no real relief for US counties with the highest rates of poverty, since subsidies mainly benefit the wealthy owners of corporate farms.
  • The bill grants subsidies for crops like corn, wheat, cotton, rice and soybeans — US imports dumped into poorer countries, hurting subsistence farmers in these countries and hindering farmers in other countries from competing in international markets. When prices for food plummet as a result, local farms fail and are replaced by giant agribusinesses, and poverty increases.
  • The bill does not support cultivation of fruits and vegetables, and instead promotes an economy that encourages cheap calories and drives up the price of nutritious foods, aggravating obesity and other health problems.
  • The bill encourages production of sugar and corn to be used for ethanol, which Greens call an inefficient replacement for fossil fuels; the rise in ethanol-based energy has converted land that could be used for food production into a source of fuel. This conversion has caused economic and food supply crises in several African countries, as agricultural land now benefits the high energy-consumption demands of the US and other western nations.
  • The richest 5% of US farm owners would win more than half of the bill’s federal subsidies. Black farmers complain that they would be excluded from the subsidies program.

Chris Matthews Eviscerates Right-Wing Host Kevin James Over Obama "Appeasement" Claims – Politics on The Huffington Post

Chris Matthews Eviscerates Right-Wing Host Kevin James Over Obama “Appeasement” Claims – Politics on The Huffington Post

There are times that I find Matthews a bit irritating, but I give props where props are due…he destroyed the right winger on Hardball. My hat goes off to Matthews and he deserves an award for that piece. He has my vote.

Political Quote Of The Week

With the general election approaching and with this candidate and that adjusting their positions and principles to fit what they think the voter wants to hear, I have chosen a quote from Thomas Paine.

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

The pursuit of principles is no longer the aim of a politician. These people sole concern is to be elected and then to be re-elected.