Well…running late today and thought I’d get this out while I wait for the coffee to brew….a fun day yesterday, well…at least part of it…met up with K for a couple for HH and it was good to see her…started cocktail night off a little too early, though, and I feel a little slow today. Just got back from getting the papers and it is already pretty nice outside so I think I may get the bike out today…yay! Haven’t looked at the weather, though, and this might be as warm as it gets and if it is, I’ll just veg and watch the Big Ten playoffs….not much to do today….going out to OT to meet up with M for the Wings game later…I’ll be back later for a couple…
Monthly Archives: March 2011
More repub shenanigans…
Well….it has been a revealing week both here in Michigan and in Wisconsin where the true colors of these thugs have come to light…in Wisconsin, where the repubs have been screaming about the dire fiscal effects that continuing to bargain with the unions has for the state, have used a lying, cheating, manuever to get the union busting bill passed. The only way that they could do it was to separate the two portions of the bill, taking the budget portion of the bill and making it separate….but the only way they could do that was to state that the union bashing part had no fiscal effect on the budget. So, Gov Walker, when were you lying? Were you lying when you said the state would go broke without killing the unions or when you said the union busting bill would have no effect on the finances of the state. These liars will do or say anything to push their far-right agenda no matter what the people of Wisconsin want…I hope you and your thugs like being elected for one term…that’s all you are going to get.
The same kind of lying and manipulating is going on here in Michigan by the repubs that control the government here. To ensure that there will be no voice of the people on the giveaways to business and tax increases on everyone else, the repubs have used a shenanigan that placed a 100 dollar appropriation in the bill which, by Michigan law, takes away the right for the voters of Michigan to vote on the direction of our state and rein in these liars. We are seeing the “nerd” that ran on transparency in government and decried the supposed back room deals that they tried to pin on gov Granholm do even worse; a concerted effort to attack working people and retirees using barely ethical political tactics. What are you afraid of gov Snyder? That once the people see you as just another thief that lied to the electorate to shield your true objective, like Wisconsin, that you will be gone after one term? You should be ashamed…geez….
March 11th
Well… stayed in last night since G had work stuff and that wasn’t bad…trying to save cash but it is so boring doing that I’m going out of my head….oh, well…I guess I’ll survive it. Another gloomy day yesterday but it is supposed to be partly sunny today so it may help raise my mood if I’m lucky….do have to do the grocery run this morning and have to make sure I maximize the money spent to meals…but I am going to get some corned beef to make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patty’s day and maybe the makings for cocktails tonight. Not much else to do today…have a couple of movies in the box since Netflix screwed up my queue and that might be a thing for today while I wait for more snow to melt…..I am getting pretty depressed about the whole job situation but maybe trying to forget about it for a day may help…..I will get some topics out later today…..
Another way to discriminate…
Well…the look for work has gotten more depressing over the past couple of days with my discovery of a new wrinkle in many of the job listings I’ve been seeing. The new way that these folks have discovered to eliminate we experienced workers is by putting qualifiers for MAXIMUM experience in the job postings…yep, that’s right, saw a bunch today that I am qualified for, but they all listed a maximum of 5 years experience….so now they have discovered a new code and method to wink and nod and make sure they can exclude anyone that is not in their 20′s or early thirties. So, I guess now those of use with long job and life experience have no value anymore….geez….
Here come the musings….
Well….was almost worked up into an outrage by ole Nolan in the News this morning but he really has nothing new to say except…nope, nothing new to say, just more of his same old schtick…greedy unions, put upon corporations, and shared sacrifice that is shared by everyone but the rich and those same corporations….I wonder how much he gets paid by those folks to keep spouting that nonsense? It must be really easy to write a column when you are given the talking points every morning…..and no, no one gives me talking points, although, I am repetitive at times and that’s why I’m not going to counterpunch today but just talk about a few things I see going on that need comment. I find it funny that rep King from New York would be holding hearings on Islamic radicalism in the congress right now…especially since he was a huge supporter of terrorist groups that funneled money and guns to the Irish Republican Army that was responsible for thousands of innocent people dying in northern Ireland. I guess it’s okay to support terrorism if it is a group you agree with but not if it is a group you can score political points demonizing. Typical repub thug….
Then, we had Michael Barone from the same right wing rag going after unions again (that’s right, it’s Thursday, attack unions day) and making the assertion that private sector companies that don’t have unions have been successful and their unionized counterparts have failed. Well, yeah, Mike, of course a business that can discard workers, offshore jobs, treat their workers like crap, and buy favorable legislation are going to thrive in your desired business climate….but the contention that unionized companies don’t thrive by sharing with their workers discounts the profits by all of the automobile companies over the last year. I can’t wait until the News gets into financial trouble and the first people to go are their older, more highly compensated columnists…and there won’t be a damn thing ole Mike and his ilk will be able to do about it….
Okay, there was some counterpunching here….but you know how it works here…I never know what I’m going to write until I get doing it….and that’s the fun….I hope for you and me….
March 10th
Well…a slow day yesterday with not a lot to do so I didn’t do a lot….had some really weird dreams last night that involved a Fiat 124 convert that I use to have and kittens again…it ended with the car being ruined by a friend that I used to work with…that’s about all I remember and I don’t know if I want to remember more. Just strange nights of sleeping lately and I know part of it is the sore tooth I’ve been fighting lately….it’s better today but I can still feel it….raining again this morning and it gives me hope that the trails will be melted off before the weekend…or we’ll get a huge snowstorm…you never know what you’re going to get in Michigan in March….I do have some things to do today…yay! C is coming into town for a bit and then out with G later if the plans hold up…..have been feeling kind of crappy lately and I think part of it is the gloomy days we’ve had here…hard to smile when there is no sun…I will have topics for later on since it is really the only thing I have to do right now…other than clean…I should get the last month’s papers out for recycling and clean the kitchen today…..should being the operative word….more later…
Number 750…..
Well…this one is kind of a milestone for me and this post…it marks number 750 and I don’t know if I should use it for musings on the past almost year of writing this thing or to go off on gov Snyder again…I am going to have to comment on him and the recent revelations of the detail of his budget, and I do want to comment on what I think the endgame is. So, I’m a little confused right now, but not in a musing mood so I guess I’ll take on Mr. Snyder…again.
If you’ve read anything of the politics here in Michigan, there is a battle going on with the makeup of the next budget with the repubs wanting to give unnecessary tax cuts to business paid for by increases in taxes on everyone else. This, in itself, is enough to show that the repubs don’t give a damn about you and me, but I think there is even a more insidious plan contained in this legislation; one that is being worked this minute in the guise of deficit reduction but whose ultimate aim is to destroy organized labor. I talked briefly about this last week, but the epiphany didn’t come until I was reading about the reductions in revenue sharing to cities and townships that is also included in this bill, and I made the connection to the new bill that would allow to governor to appoint “overseers” to take over municipalities that are in financial distress. Included in this legislation is the ability of the overseers to void union contracts and unilaterally prevent the union members from having any voice. Now…does anyone else see the conflict of interest here with having the governor controlling whether the municipalities end up in financial distress and then being able to force the undemocratic goals of the repub party on everyone? I have had enough of the repubs crying socialism whenever the dems want to do something that will help the middle class only to watch them do so much worse in governing by unelected and incompetent, faith based fiat. Geez…..
March 9th
Well…a fun day yesterday…kinda…I did win at pool but I feel crappy again today and I think it’s from the lack of exercise…I do work out every day but no aerobic and I think it’s taking a toll on my health….maybe the trails will get clear with the rain today and I can get the bike out later in the week…I think I really need to do that for my mental health….not much to do today…I think I’ll lay low and just get resumes out…after coffee….well…I’m even wavering on the coffee right now…didn’t sleep well and I am exhausted….there is one last thing…the next one will be number 750….more later…I did have some dreams last night but I can’t share them…too confusing right now…if I make sense of them, I’ll fill you in later…
Why do the repubs always have to rig the system?
Well…I know I’ve talked about the way that the repubs in Wisconsin and other midwestern states are trying to rig the system by taking away union’s rights to collectively bargain, but there is an even more egregious attempt at rigging taking place in states that have large college populations. In those states, the newly elected repub governors are changing voting rules that will effectively take away the right to vote from any college student that does not own property in that state, or whose parents don’t own property in that state. All of this is being done under the fake old problems that the repubs love to use when they lose elections: voter fraud. You and I both know the real reason behind these moves is to limit the voting of a population that normally does not vote for repub candidates, and it has been tried in many other guises to try to limit the voting of minorities who also don’t normally vote for repubs. Should we expect anything different from a party whose members have used a rigged system in education, economics, and politics to get everything they have?
When are we going to wake up and see these thugs for what they are, the most undemocratic party that has ever infested our political landscape and who will stop at nothing to cling to the last vestiges of power and privilege they now hold. Geez….
March 8th
Well…an uneventful day yesterday that was somewhat of a bore but I didn’t spend any money so that was a plus….it is getting tiring not having a lot to do but I guess I’ll just have to get used to it. Feel a little crappy today and I’ve got a tooth that hurts like crazy so that might be part of it…have to do the salt water thing again this morning since it helped make it better…have to keep from grinding the teeth but it’s harder than it seems. Not much to do today….I think I’ll keep it low key until I go out to Cascade to shoot pool…my energy level is quite low and I think I’ll shift into conservation mode for the rest of the morning…I will have topics for later since I have one that I should have gotten out yesterday but I just got sidetracked in the afternoon….more later..