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Thread: Political news, yo.

  1. #11
    real good read. i'd like for the author to expound upon his comments re: AQ in iraq. he seems to overstate our effect, imo, as im pretty sure AQ wasnt exactly embraced in iraq before the war, either. but im talking about by the gov, and not the people, so maybe im off here.

  2. #12
    Big Swami's Avatar
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    b-diddy:

    good point - all it seems like to me is that the gun battles and IEDs that are happening all over Iraq are still happening, they're just losing their al-Qaeda flavor. Which is a good thing, but when you get right down to it, it's good in mostly an academic sense. It probably does not matter to the people of Iraq whether they are being shot at and kidnapped by al-Qaeda or by Al Green.

  3. #13
    NOT TO BE FUCKED WITH Uncle Mxy's Avatar
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    http://www.wwj.com/pages/858174.php?...ntentId=839982

    Mark Gaffney: 'Right to Work' Movement a Distraction, Will Not Solve Michigan's Problems

    The right-to-work argument that was spelled out by the Mackinac Center in the Monday Daily Dash last week was nothing more than a distraction launched by out of state, right-wing extremists who want to do nothing more in Michigan than advance their political agendas.

    When you take a look at the facts about right-to-work instead of the “Mackinac Myths” you’ll find that by no means is it the magic economic elixir that will cure Michigan of all that ails it as some would want us to believe. It’s just more Washington, D.C., Tom DeLay spin and is the recipe to turn Michigan more like Mississippi than economic turn around.
    Fact: in July, the state that suffered the most job loss was not Michigan, but North Carolina – a Right to Work state. For that same time period, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the states with the biggest month-to-month increases in jobs were Texas, Maryland , New York and South Carolina . Neither New York nor Maryland have RTW laws, so they do not suffer from what the Mackinac Center called “the significant high cost of labor.”

    The fact of the matter is that those states that have RTW laws do have a consistently lower quality of life than non-RTW states. RTW states have lower median household incomes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by about $5,900. But the cuts go deeper than just income; according to the U.S. Census, RTW states consistently have a higher poverty rate, a higher rate of population without healthcare, and even a higher infant mortality rate! According to the National Education Association, RTW state even spends over $2,000 less on each pupil. From pocketbooks to classrooms, the negative effects of RTW laws are felt.

    The Mackinac Center also would lead us to believe that unions can use membership dues to advance political causes by contributing to candidates, when in reality, unions have not been able to donate to candidates using “compulsory dues” money since 1994. Yet another distraction.

    So who’s responsible for the so-called right-to-work movement? There’s not a lot of support for it amongst Michigan business leadership, the vice president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce was recently quoted as saying that he was concerned that “Michigan may be turned into a playground for some out of state interests with a national agenda.” He fears they may parachute into Michigan and then get out of town and not have to live to with consequences. Even L. Brooks Pattterson, who the Mackinac Center listed as a supporter has publicly said that he “wouldn’t champion any effort to get RTW on the (statewide) ballot.”
    It’s the Washington based National Right to Work Committee, supported by such right-wing extremists as Grover Norquist, Tom Delay, the late Jerry Falwell, Wal-Mart and union busting attorneys, that is trying to impose their will on Michigan.

    So as you think about this issue, be sure to look past the weapons of mass distraction of the far right-wing and examine the facts: RTW would bring lower wages and quality of life without really giving Michigan any real advantage as we fight for jobs in the current global economic climate.
    As University of Central Oklahoma economics professor Mickey Hepner recently said: “We’re competing against Mexico and China and Honduras and India for labor, and frankly, no matter how far labor costs go down (in the USA), it’s still going to be cheaper to produce things over there than here in Oklahoma. Right-to-work is not going to stop that globalization process.”

  4. #14
    The Gay Blade Zip Goshboots's Avatar
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    It's a fact: right to work states are the world capitals of the $8.00 an hour job. Right to work lowers wages, or keeps them flat. It does bring in more jobs that are shit to begin with, pay little and offer no benefits. The right wing nutbags have been demonizing unions for years now. They have no decency. They have, at long last, no sense of decency left.
    Winning breeds confidence. Losing breeds reality.

  5. #15
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    I don't like the idea of Michigan being a "right-to-work" state, and I don't see any need to pass a law like this now that the average chief executive makes about 364 times as much as the average worker. The corporate bottom line has had a free ride for a few years now, I think it's time for some help to come along for the working people and balance things out.

  6. #16
    What do you think of Michigan's "Prevailing Wage Law", which requires all state construction projects to pay workers a rate equal to labor union wages? At a time when our State faces a $1 billion budget deficit and is considering increasing income taxes to balance the budget, is this a cost we can continue to afford?

  7. #17
    So how much am I paying that person to stand there holding the slow/stop sign that turns?
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  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by giffman
    What do you think of Michigan's "Prevailing Wage Law", which requires all state construction projects to pay workers a rate equal to labor union wages? At a time when our State faces a $1 billion budget deficit and is considering increasing income taxes to balance the budget, is this a cost we can continue to afford?
    Actually I like the prevailing wage laws...and let me explain why.

    Don't get me started on state construction projects - they are a racket. You know it and I know it. We all know why our roads and bridges fall apart every other year - they were built that way, so there will always be another fat government construction contract to be handed out to the county commissioner's brother-in-law every other year. That's what's making us broke - the fact that there are thousands of crooked contractors running around, cutting corners, trying to find ways of screwing the government (that is, you and I) out of tax money; not the fact that Hector and Gonzalo happen to make 4 extra dollars an hour. Don't punish the workers for something that's basically the result of a corrupt relationship between politicians and businessmen. Fix the corruption problem, and then we can start paying good wages to construction workers who will build the kinds of outstanding freeways they have in Illinois, the kind built with composite materials that last for at least 5 years.

    There are only 2 places in the country where the infrastructure is worse than it is here - Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. It's because their shit is 250 years old. We don't really have any excuse.

  9. #19
    A person who tells lies. Tahoe's Avatar
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    Iranian Prez Ahmadinejad requests visit to Ground Zero when he speaks at the UN...next month?

  10. #20
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    Oooh, sorry Mahmoud, your application has been denied on the grounds that you're a total nutsack. Try again next year!

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