Friday, May 27, 2011

honeywell lockout boss on "entitlements" fox



too bad this advice comes from a unionbusting boss whom hired scabs. Lad, pay your fair share of taxes and shut up. Maybe being a friend of Obama makes one above the law and beyond shame

Battle Hymn of the Tea Public - Capitol Steps



most excellent and will be timely for next election

why we should support warren Elizabeth Warren Makes Timmy Geithner Squirm Over AIG and Goldman Sachs ...



one wonders what has changed? Warren is being targeted

Chairman McHenry Calls Elizabeth Warren a Liar at Subcommittee Hearing



gop is at it again.

GRITtv: Locked-Out Steelworkers Bring Fight to Honeywell



sad there is not more coverage of the lockout by major media. such is the state of media covering labor items

Luckie Atkinson, locked out from Honeywell for over 300 days



one of the top items of AFL conference in Springfield, Il yesterday. Some tough leglislation promoted on the safety issue before the Illinois leglislature.

Soar 11-3 supports the workers as well as the eastside Soar folks

OBAMA ON Joplin: Deepest Condolences for Missouri and the Midwest

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Paul Krugman: Waiting for the confidence fairy

Paul Krugman: Waiting for the confidence fairy

click link

Yes, Paul; wisdom does not rule the world. Of course both economics and politics are irrational and defy rational thinking.

If you doubt this, open the St. Louis Post or Ny Times and read

Sunday, May 22, 2011

If By "Best" You Mean 37th In The World! Then... Yeah... U.S. Has The "B...

2011 MEP Conference - SmartPaint-Trays CEO

MEP exhibitors

YMCA BOOKFAIR 2011 St. Louis, Missouri

33rd Annual YMCA Bookfair
August 19 - August 24, 2011
Kennedy Recreation Center
6050 Wells Road, St. Louis, MO, 63128
Near Meramec Bottom Road & I-55,

-----------
33rd Annual Bookfair Schedule
First Selection Night
Friday, August 19
4:00 pm - 10:00pm
$10 admission
Tickets on sale at the Kennedy Recreation Complex at 8:00 am
Gates open at 6:30 am

Free Admission
Saturday, August 20 - Wednesday, August 24
9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Half Price Day
Tuesday, August 23
9:00 am - 9:00 pm

$10 a Box Day
Wednesday, August 24
9:00 am -9:00 pm





--------

one of the best deals in area. I have attended at least 18 times in the last 20 years and always found good deal

CEO compensation up 800 percent

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Connie Entrekin: We Can Make a Difference

Charlie Averill: We Can Make a Difference: "by Connie Entrekin, President, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Recent events have demonstrated that an informed..."

click link

Charlie Averill: Medicare at Risk---Jim Centner

Charlie Averill: Medicare at Risk: "By Jim Centner, Director, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) The new Republican budget reflects upside-down prior..."

CLICK LINK

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Paul Krugman: America held hostage

Paul Krugman: America held hostage

click link

Krugman does excellent job

Northwest Voices | Social Security, Medicare finances look worse | Seattle Times Newspaper

Northwest Voices | Social Security, Medicare finances look worse | Seattle Times Newspaper

click link.

while folks going one way or another on the debate: Soar 11-3 strongly feels that cuts in Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security is not the answer. Lord help politicos whom have "everything" on the table, they forget their jobs and the future of their respective parties are also on the table

Teabaggers and fools, if you wish to move back to caves; do so and leave the rest of us alone

Speculation is driving latest hike in oil prices

Speculation is driving latest hike in oil prices

click link

I have an idea--folks found guilty of sticking it to the public: RICO inditements and seize all assets. Good enough for the drug dealers, good enough for Wall Street. Alas, moral standards of our prisons would most likely go down with the influx of Wall Street folks

NEWT on Meet the Press

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Saturday, May 14, 2011

FCT Safety, Codes and Standards: Hydrogen-Fueled Vehicle Safety Systems Animation

FCT Safety, Codes and Standards: Hydrogen-Fueled Vehicle Safety Systems Animation

click link for info and short anime

topic of Soar group. Not quite sold on Hydrogen fuel tech

Cool Roofs something to think about in ST. Louis



some folks might wish to think about this in St. Louis. One wonders if reverse is true in winter. I have found no info on that subject.

energy note: Motorweek: E85 Flexfuel Conversion



topic of energy comes up at meetings. here is a short vid on topic

Note: there is no free lunch on anything we talk about. always beware

Friday, May 13, 2011

GOP suicide bombers - The Hill's Pundits Blog

GOP suicide bombers - The Hill's Pundits Blog

click link

gop doing excellent job of self destruction. keep up good work

Thursday, May 12, 2011

more gop madness-Hobbesian Choice-: Romney: As first act, out with ObamaCare - USATODAY.com

Romney: As first act, out with ObamaCare - USATODAY.com
click link

note: this mania of undoing medical care for the people is madness pure and simple. I really hate being put in a position to defend Obama health plan (I am supporter of single payer), really hate it.

this "many choices" is bull droppings. many have a choice to buy medicine or buy food. others have a choiced to die or go bankrupt. Indeed, many choices.

ever try to read the "medicare" choice books and try to guess what one is the best one for your family? many choices and those choices are not clear and keep in mind, insurance company can change plan at a whim; you cannot.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

more of U of Missouri flap UMSL clears instructor in furor over video clips

UMSL clears instructor in furor over video clips

click link

anyone who believes tea party is done is sadly mistaken I believe. I believe they just warming up.

even more of University of Missouri flap ;Introduction to Labor Studies’ – My First-Hand Account

‘Introduction to Labor Studies’ – My First-Hand Account

click link

more of the University of Missouri flap.

"My name is Philip Christofanelli. I was a student in the University of Missouri’s “Introduction to Labor Studies” course. The class was taught simultaneously by Professor Don Giljum of University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL) and Professor Judy Ancel of University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) through the use of a live video feed that linked the two classrooms. The class met every other Saturday for seven hours, including breaks. All of the classes were recorded and put on the class website.

I have attended many political science classes, taught by some of the best political scientists in the country, at Washington University. Labeling complex pieces of legislation as “anti-worker attacks,” and using political cartoons as lecture notes, is not political science; it is partisan politics and pure propaganda. Credible political scientists are supposed to be able to tell the difference; these professors did not and perhaps could not.

Prof. Ancel presented students with a distorted view of economic history. In one lecture, for example, she told students: “I would argue that fascism absolutely means capitalism, that’s part of the definition [of fascism].” The professors both took a keen interest in the (ultimately unsuccessful) efforts of public sector unions to block Walker’s labor reforms. At one point, Prof. Giljum showed students a live feed of rallies around the state capitol in Madison, WI–and, ironically, broadcast Andrew Breitbart’s Tea Party speech directly into the classroom, followed by that of “Joe the Plumber,” whom Ancel mocked. She described the the protests against Walker’s bill as “a wonderful, welcome thing to see.”

As if indoctrinating students were not enough, the professors dedicated considerable class time to activities that can only be described as training students in tactics to fight the right-to-work legislation that is currently pending in the Missouri state legislature. An entire day,was devoted to organizing students against right-to-work legislation. Our training included a lecture on tactics from Jerry Tucker, who Prof. Giljum introduced as the “point person for the UAW’s 1978 Anti-Right to Work campaign.” Much like Tony Pecinovsky, Tucker had nothing of academic value to offer the class. His insights were meant to help us shape a successful campaign against right-to-work in Missouri today. He spent several hours discussing political tactics and strategies, and speculating as to what would be the most appropriate strategies for labor unions and their allies to deploy.

His speech was followed by a lesson by Prof. Ancel on how conservatives have “framed” the right-to-work issue, and a class activity where we were told to “re-frame” right-to-work from the perspective of the working class. She even provided a slide suggesting talking points to use in “state battles” against right-to-work in Missouri and elsewhere. She explicitly told students to describe right-to-work legislation as “payback for CEOs giving money to politicians, OK. So the Republicans and their deep-pockets backers are rewarding the corporations for having put them in office.”

---------
note: I have taken some "labor" classes at Univerity of Missouri and Washington University--history/sociology. U of Mo tame compared to Wash U and that this guy is "shocked", shows me he did not pay attention at WU.

If this guy is shocked, I suggest some WU sociology classes on the subject

Post Dispatch: Paul Krugman: Moving from disaster

Paul Krugman: Moving from disaster

click link

from article:

:Paul Krugman: Moving from disaster
Paul Krugman | Posted: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 12:00 am

The past three years have been a disaster for most Western economies. The United States has mass long-term unemployment for the first time since the 1930s. Meanwhile, Europe's single currency is coming apart at the seams. How did it all go so wrong?

Well, what I've been hearing with growing frequency from members of the policy elite — self-appointed wise men, officials, and pundits in good standing — is the claim that it's mostly the public's fault. The idea is that we got into this mess because voters wanted something for nothing, and weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate's foolishness.

So this seems like a good time to point out that this blame-the-public view isn't just self-serving, it's dead wrong.

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. The policies that got us into this mess weren't responses to public demand. They were, with few exceptions, policies championed by small groups of influential people — in many cases, the same people now lecturing the rest of us on the need to get serious. And by trying to shift the blame to the general populace, elites are ducking some much-needed reflection on their own catastrophic mistakes.

Let me focus mainly on what happened in the United States, then say a few words about Europe.

These days, Americans are lectured about the need to reduce the budget deficit. That focus represents distorted priorities, since our immediate concern should be job creation. But suppose we restrict ourselves to talking about the deficit, and ask: What happened to the budget surplus the federal government had in 2000?

The answer is, three main things. First, there were the Bush tax cuts, which added roughly $2 trillion to the national debt over the last decade. Second, there were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which added an additional $1.1 trillion or so. And third was the great recession, which led both to a collapse in revenue and to a sharp rise in spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs.

So who was responsible for these budget busters? It wasn't the man in the street.

President George W. Bush cut taxes in the service of his party's ideology, not in response to a groundswell of popular demand — and the bulk of the cuts went to a small, affluent minority.

Similarly, Bush chose to invade Iraq because that was something he and his advisers wanted to do, not because Americans were clamoring for war against a regime that had nothing to do with 9/11. In fact, it took a highly deceptive sales campaign to get Americans to support the invasion, and even so, voters were never as solidly behind the war as America's political and pundit elite.

Finally, the great recession was brought on by a runaway financial sector, empowered by reckless deregulation. And who was responsible for that deregulation? Powerful people in Washington with close ties to the financial industry, that's who. Let me give a particular shout-out to Alan Greenspan, who played a crucial role both in financial deregulation and in the passage of the Bush tax cuts — and who is now, of course, among those hectoring us about the deficit."

more

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Ed Martin Announces Run for Congress in New 2nd Disctrict



Looks like Ed headed for another whipping in the polls. Carnahan got him last time and going to Akin's district is potentially a poor move

Monday, May 9, 2011

more university of missouri flap: Attack on Missouri labor studies threatens academic freedom » peoplesworld

Attack on Missouri labor studies threatens academic freedom » peoplesworld

click link

note: Peoples' World is communist

from article:

"The University of Missouri St. Louis may garner the reputation as a hostile place to work and learn.

Such is the fallout from the character assassination of two labor studies instructors, Judy Ancel and Don Giljum, by video con artist Andrew Breitbart.

Breitbart, who conducted previous similar hit jobs on others, including civil rights activist and U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod, released highly edited videos of the instructors supposedly advocating violent tactics.

Their actual classroom discussions, a survey of the undoctored tapes showed, were the exact opposite.

The Breitbart videos have been debunked by many sources and have been taken down by YouTube.

But the damage from the hit job remains.

A firestorm occurred at the two universities involved, but the reactions were markedly different."

The Decline of Unions: Is Labor Law to Blame?



most interesting lecture for those following labor law. In the last half of 20th century, workers rights were indeed undermined by courts, congress and state houses. 21st: more of the same.

Look at the varied proposals from the hillbilly Missouri state houses or those of the teabagger politicans.

Superman no match for power of Corporate America



more on the Metropolis, Il lockout.

Honeywell - Experience Matters



amen

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Missouri instructors say they were threatened after posting of misleading video - KansasCity.com

Missouri instructors say they were threatened after posting of misleading video - KansasCity.com

CLICK LINK---
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reporting of this flap has not been very good in St. Louis media

of course, Post is becoming antiunion rag. many television stations not doing a good job

----------
from article:


A University of Missouri-Kansas City labor studies professor says she’s been bombarded by “ugly e-mails and scary telephone calls” since a political website posted what school officials say was a doctored video suggesting she supports union violence.

In response, UMKC has posted uniformed police — and others in civilian clothes — in and around Judy Ancel’s classroom, said university spokesman John Austin.

A second instructor shown in the video, Don Giljum, said he has received two death threats since Monday, when the video appeared on Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government site.

Giljum has since resigned as adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/29/2837304/missouri-instructors-say-they.html#ixzz1LooM3c5M

andy stern hard at work again



who needs enemies when we have friends like this. stern is one of the major reasons we do not have a public option or universal healthcare.

Stern was also member of cat food committee

enjoy your 30 pieces of silver

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mother Jones Speaks



I believe she was 100 at the time

Casey Jones - Pete Seeger



SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VERSION

Bucky Halker: "Casey Jones, the Union Scab"



ONE OF THE UNION SONGS EVER

Union Town by Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman



NOT TOO BAD

Academic freedom at heart of UMSL flap

Academic freedom at heart of UMSL flap

CLICK LINK ABOVE

actually saw some of this before:
Vietnam War era where attempts to slime folks. works then, works now

My understanding, technique was quite effective during the "house unAmerican activities days" and during red scare era.

Spending Caps: The Republican Plan with Lipstick

Show Me Progress:: Thirty coins

Show Me Progress:: Thirty coins

click link

from article:

"Not every turncoat Democrat in the Missouri House has an office on the third floor of the Capitol with the Republican leadership, but if a Democrat does have an office there, she might as well tattoo "traitor" on her forearm. Admittedly, you already knew what to think of Jamilah Nasheed and Penny Hubbard for their vote Wednesday to hand the redistricting goodies to Republicans. Traitors both. Thanks to them, Democrats are consigned to having only two of eight Congressional seats--hardly representative of the way Missourians vote.

Friday, May 6, 2011

USW Blog » Blog Archive » Why Does Sen. McCaskill Want to Bankrupt Our Children?

USW Blog » Blog Archive » Why Does Sen. McCaskill Want to Bankrupt Our Children?

click link.

Claire, everything is on the table; including your job. attack medicare or social security and watch your base divide very quickly

from article:

"By Dean Baker
Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research

That is what people should be asking Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill along with her fellow senators who are advocated strict caps on government spending. The idea being pushed by Senator McCaskill, together with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker and several other prominent senators, would limit federal spending to 20.6 percent of GDP. It would require difficult-to-obtain super-majorities to exceed this cap. Spending would be cut across a variety of programs if the cap is not reached.

This proposal is hugely deserving of ridicule for a variety of reasons. First, it operates from a blatantly wrong premise — that government spending has grown out of control.

Those familiar with arithmetic know that government spending had increased by little as a share of GDP prior to the downturn caused by the collapse of the housing bubble. In 2007, the last year before the onset of the recession, spending as a share of GDP was 19.6 percent. That is 1.1 percentage points less than the 20.7 percent share 30 years earlier in 1977. So the idea that there is a long-term trend of out-of-control spending is simply not true, or what they call outside of Washington, a “lie.”

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Crush non union extended cut



u of mo 3rd vid

Adam Sharp at the 2010 St Louis Tax Day Tea Party



keep in mind, Adam makes his rounds with his video camera.

might wish to watch mouth. ask University of Missouri professors if that is not a true statement.

I personally have seen Adam at a variety of events on both sides of river

Colbert--bin Laden pinata at St. Louis arch

Sunday, May 1, 2011

labor history introduction from Cornell



some folks might find this introduction lecture of value