PR Watch has a report up on the growing gaps between CEO pay and worker pay: http://www.prwatch.org/NODE/12060
This is just wrong. They’re closing factories and moving them overseas because, as they claim, American workers want too much –safe work conditions and a living wage…
…while CEO’s are making astounding salaries…
I have no words.
Protests at her funeral here.
On the Mirror site, someone commented that they should put her in a black bag and put her out with the rest of the trash. Okay, that’s a little harsh. But spending 10 million is too, too much, especially for someone who promoted austerity.
Funny how people who advocate austerity measures never include themselves as recipients.
The comments here are priceless on Margaret Thatcher’s passing. Gah, I used to think so well of this woman in my repub daze. Arrgh.
And even if I had the money, I would not have seen Meryl Streep’s version of her. I was afraid that the worst would not come out, and from the comments on the movie, my guess was accurate. Trying to make her into someone to admire? Wow, Streep has gone so far away from Silkwood.
The comments on feminists praising Thatcher as being a woman that “made it” is spot on. One doesn’t have to look any farther than Hillary Clinton to see that.
I mean, really, Clinton makes a big deal about being asked about her clothes, and there are feminists who applaud that thinking she’s being assertive. Pfft. Men are asked about the suits they wear. I wouldn’t know what an Armani suit was if not for that. And a man could not walk into a courtroom, to use the above example, in jeans and flannel shirt and expect to be given the same consideration from a judge that he would if he were wearing a suit. Men notice other men’s suits, but they’re not as obvious about it. It may come out as “hey, nice suit” and left at that.
Should a person be judged by appearance? Absolutely not.
In my personal observation, we are becoming worse about judging folks by the outside instead of the inside. Our cultural programming, from watching shows like Survivor, among other things, buys into the notion that others are superior. Some see clothes as an indicator of superiority. I remember that it wasn’t so much so before we moved away from an agricultural (family farm) culture. I remember when Levi’s became the preferred jean and you were “uncool” if you didn’t have those jeans. Uncool = lesser person. This also coincides with “poor person”, btw….
Somehow our culture became twisted along the way and “rich people” became associated with “good people”. Being poor, one comes to assess folks not on their bank accounts, but on their actions. What do they do with their funds? Do they help others or spend their time degrading others and, like the Kochs, do their best to make sure that they have it all?
Anyway, Margaret Thatcher and Ronnie Reagan were the architects of what we’re dealing with today–the culture of greed. “I’ve got mine, screw you.” or “I’ve got mine, and I want yours, too.”
Common Dreams has this up on NASA scientist James Hansen leaving the agency to work actively against climate change.
What’s really depressing about this article is that Hansen has been telling Congress since 1988 that climate change was real and a growing problem.
1988….twenty-five freaking years ago….and we’re still dragging our feet? It is so depressing at all that has happened since then and how much better off we would be now if action had been taken at that time!
As Susie Madrak says, just when you think WalMart can’t get any lower…they provide you with even more reasons to loathe them….
As a side note, here is a list of the companies paying the least in taxes. (hat tip to huffington post)
Note that Verizon is on the list–Verizon in recent years was sending their sales folks out on the street (door to door) to sell their product. They paid them nothing. Not one cent. Meanwhile, the poor sap employee used their gas/vehicle to get to the assigned area….only getting a paycheck if they signed someone up–low pay that maybe, just maybe covered their gas expenses…or not.
Here’s another post on companies that pay employees the least. Note Walmart on here, too. Shock. Surprise. /snark
More here on employees not being paid. More here.
And here.
And this on Walmart doing what it does best–using the law for its own purposes to avoid paying health insurance: forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/09/walmart-bails-on-obamacare-sticks-taxpayers-with-employee-healthcare-costs/
Same here: gawker.com/5950331/olive-garden-red-lobster-scale-back-employee-work-hours-to-avoid-paying-for-health-insurance
(A note here–when I did my search, page after page came up with links for business owners and helping them with legal questions of not paying their employees. I’m thinking WTH?)
And given the golden parachute….um, yeah, paying one or a handful of people millions of dollars as they leave a company…paying someone for not working versus not paying folks who do work…makes no sense at all….
(hat tip to common dreams)
Paul Krugman has a few thoughts on Cyprus: Leave the euro now.
The only issue with Krugman’s column is that he should get a little more detailed and put it into context. Most folks are not literate in the financial world (which I think they bank on (pun intended)), so a little “lesson” on the history of economics and why we continually bail out banks and financial institutions and anyone else they deemed “worthy”…just as long as they don’t give those sleazy poor people food stamps!!
Well, the good feelings towards Christie for his actions during the storm crises is evaporating rapidly…with the news of him continuing to destroy public education for private profiteers.
Looking at the comments, Amitola mentions how the town has gone the way of most in the U.S.–jobs dry up, people move or the ones that stay are scraping by–not able to support a robust economy. And the schools follow–poverty is the number one reason for school’s poor performance. It’s hard to concentrate on school work when you’re hungry, dirty, and your folks are stressed out because you’re *this close* to being out on the street. (or worse, you’re already out on the street, living in a shelter, with noise all night long and no privacy and no life).
Another poignant comment is by John Randolph: the 1% bring the city to its knees and then profit off of the carcass.
Disaster capitalism, folks….(speaking of unions, they announced on the news the other day that Indiana has now lost more union members than gained, thanks to “Right to Work” law. Also, they are airing commercials promoting a tax break…yes, a tax break in this economy…for Hoosiers—Gov. Mike Pence, an APEC toadie, first spouted this hairbrained idea right after election. Legislature said no. Now *cough* Americans for Prosperity are taking it to the airwaves trying to get people to call their representatives.)
Unfortunately, charter school takeover is not just here in the U.S., but now in Haiti. (insert a few choice expletives here). Note that Bill Gates has his filthy little fingers in this, too. Like I said before, he is not the philanthropist he tries to imitate.
See previous posts here. And here. And here.
And here.
Bhutan is the first country to go entirely organic. Good for them! Note that they see this as not only a practical idea, but they incorporate their spirituality in their reverence for nature. It’s not easy, as the article states, because it’s hard to reorient oneself to farming without chemicals. Chemicals are just too, too easy. It takes creative thinking and hard work to do the right thing.
<sigh> I wish the so-called progressive America did the same. (Remember when the United States used to lead the world?)
No, we’re not the leaders anymore….
…we’d much rather do stupid stuff like genetically engineer a life form and then persecute farmers into bankruptcy for using that technology unknowingly.
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In other environmental news, Canadian Prime Minister Harper is being urged to walk away from yet another trade agreement.
From the article:
The Australian government decided in 2011 it would stop including these rights and investor-state dispute settlement in its trade and investment agreements. Many countries, including South Africa and India, are rethinking their investment treaties because of the way corporations and law firms have abused them to undermine democracy and public policies globally. Several Latin American countries are cancelling their investment treaties for the same reason.
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Again, I ask, “remember when the U.S. used to lead the world….?” Why are other countries doing the right thing while America lists like a battered ship in the sea?
PR Watch.org has this up on the gerrymandering in Wisconsin.
From the article:
In early February of 2012, GOP legislators released multiple documents, but continued to keep around 84 emails confidential. The three judges — two of them appointed by Republican presidents — again criticized the Republican legislators for “an all but shameful attempt” to keep documents secret, writing: “Without a doubt, the Legislature made a conscious choice to involve private lawyers in what gives every appearance of an attempt — albeit poorly disguised — to cloak the private machinations of Wisconsin’s Republican legislators in the shroud of attorney-client privilege.”
And…incredibly:
According to the documents that were released, Republican legislators signed a pledge of secrecy during the redistricting process and were told to ignore what GOP leaders said publicly about the new election maps.
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What is this, high school or college where you make secret pledges? Seriously?? Does this mean they get double secret probation?
Note that some emails obtained by Center for Media and Democracy were not released to the lawyers challenging the maps. Just incredible!
I think this is why Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the tea partiers are so baffled that they lost the election….how could they lose when they’ve worked so hard against the democratic process??
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More on ALEC sponsors here.
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And, lastly, ALEC and the electoral college here. They just can’t figure out enough ways to demolish the democratic process….
I was watching TV in our community room, when I see a motion out of the corner of my eye. I look to see a border collie mix running and jumping in the snow, grabbing at an object and throwing it up in the air with his teeth. The owner is shoveling snow and throwing the play toy to the dog’s delight. As the owner walks along, pushing the shovel, the dog puts the toy next to her, but she’s busy and keeps moving. The dog looks for a second at her, and then picks up the toy and places it even closer to her than before.
I love seeing the simple delight in dogs when they’re at play. They’re just playing…freely enjoying the moment without thinking about the next moment….
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So, yeah, we have the normal winter weather that’s to be expected in Indiana….
…and I notice that a flock of birds are perched in the tree outside my apartment. I do a double take when it looks like….no, it can’t be…yes, it is…a robin! NO!!! They are not supposed to be here for another month!
Nope, there’s no climate change…
As a side note~ back in the day when Indiana was deciding what it’s state bird was going to be, the robin was up for it, but they decided against it because the robin flew away for the winter. They wanted a bird that stayed here all winter and the beautiful cardinal won out.
If the climate change isn’t arrested, the robin will once again be back in the running for the state bird because it will be so warm that it will just stay here all winter…
…well, that’s if there are any robins or birds once we get done poisoning them in their (and our) environment…
<sigh>
Eagle 
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