I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange
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Wonder if anyone else got to watch the special "Meet the Press" David Gregory showed b4 the regular Sunday Meet the Press progrm. It was the Meet the Press from 1963, interview with Martin Luther King, 3 days b4 the speech, March. “Meet the Press Special Edition: Remembering The Dream” It was amazing, I still have chills from watching it. Probably online.
The kind of questioning they received then, would today be considered harrassment - I was stunned, and their quiet, but angry, DIGNIFIED reponses, awesome - still amazes me they could be so contained under that kind of questioning.
50 years ago tomorrow.
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Suuny -- Back in those days, the TV interviewers were largely print journalists who had to dig for the real story and were accustomed to asking pointed questions and insisting on answers, and then digging around to find the other side of the story, using at least 2 or more reliable sources. Today, the interviewers are mainly TV personalities, or else former journalists who've sold their souls to the world of commercial television. They don't do their homework, so that when politicians spout their well-rehearsed lies, the interviewers just accept these lies as fact. But if they do dare say "I don't think what you're saying is accurate" then the politicians will boycott the program and the ratings will drop.
Sad, isn't it
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Starbucks Won’t Use Obamacare as Excuse to Cut or Lower Benefits for Its Workers
August 27, 2013 By Allen CliftonIn an announcement more companies should be making, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz publicly stated during a phone interview, “Other companies have announced that they won’t provide coverage for spouses; others are lobbying for the cut-off to be at 40 hours. But Starbucks will continue maintaining benefits for partners and won’t use the new law as excuse to cut benefits or lower benefits for its workers.”
The keyword in his comment that I like the most is “excuse,” because that’s exactly what these companies have used the Affordable Care Act as — an excuse.
An excuse to cut wages and benefits for their workers. Because trust me, the executives of these companies that are screwing over their employees sure as heck aren’t taking a cut in pay or a reduction in benefits. In fact, I’m willing to bet they’ll make even more next year.
And while companies like Walmart, UPS and McDonald’s use the new health care law as an excuse to cut expenses to generate more revenue, companies like Starbucks will continue to provide better pay and benefits to their employees and will most assuredly still bring in massive profits.
Then there are the inevitable millions of Americans, mostly conservatives, that will see these cuts in benefits and hours as a sign that “Obamacare” is going to ruin business. Which I always find to be pathetically amusing.
By all means, let’s blame the health care law which seeks to give access to health care for every American; not the greedy corporations making unheard of profits with CEO’s that have 8 figure salaries and ridiculous bonus packages.
It’s just funny to me how most Republicans seem incapable of ever just saying, “Man, enough is enough! That’s just greed, pure and simple.”
Conservatives often quickly rush to judgement towards anyone who might rely on government assistance, many who work for companies like Walmart, UPS and McDonalds, yet never blame the companies for cutting their hours or not paying them enough to survive. If someone has a full-time job, and is barely cracking the poverty line (if they’re even above it), don’t blame them for needing help from the government. Blame the company they’re working for and the greedy nature in which they run their business.
And while these businesses like Jimmy John’s claim they cannot “survive” the Affordable Care Act without screwing over their employees, it seems that companies like Starbucks have found a way.
That, or maybe these other CEO’s are just completely full of crap.
Perhaps these companies like Walmart, UPS and McDonald’s might need to hire new CEO’s — because it seems the ones they currently have can’t seem to figure out how to run a profitable business and act ethically towards their workers.
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It is astonishing how little some of the companies (and municipalities!) who should know better are cutting hours of their employees to under 30/week to avoid "the expense" of providing them insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Let's look at just the plain laws of "worker physics." You have a certain amount of work to be done that takes a certain number of hours to do. You hire a certain number of employees to do it. Well ... you still have the work that must be done and it takes a certain amount of time (number of hours) to do it. You still have to hire employees to do it. So -- you think it is cheaper to cut hours of existing employees (thus demoralizing and angering them), hire new ones (who must be trained and for whom you must pay payroll taxes, workers comp, administer their payroll including collecting taxes and remitting them to the taxing entities) and not pay for health insurance? REALLY? A new employee will cost less than paying for health insurance for existing ones? AND you will have demoralized, disincentivized, angry existing employees who won't really be going out of their way to pick up the slack. Yeah ... Good Management 101 it is not.
Not to mention the economy is improving (in spite of regressive fever dreams that it is tanking). It isn't improving fast enough to suit everyone, but we were recently in a rather depressed area in a state in the south and they had built TWO new hotels since the last time we were there. They were full. The economy is indeed improving -- not evenly everywhere, but it is improving. And as it improves and other businesses are hiring, do you think that employers who offer health insurance will get better quality applicants? I certainly do.
I'm refilling my Starbucks card today, and I'm going to make an effort to go there more often. I want my consumer dollars to work not only for me but for the workers as well.
L
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I am worried, as many are, about the situation in Syria. One good thing is that amid the echoes of the situation in Iraq under GWB, this time the Presdent is taking his time to work with the UN and have a plan in place rather than rush in, guns ablazing.
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Yay to the Northwest. Starbucks and Costco are both good employers with happy employees who have both benefits and a living wage. Not to mention the fact that they treat their customers well. (I freely admit that I'm an addict to both - and also was stupid enough to never invest in stock in either....)
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Doggies' turn!
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c4c = thank iou for the brilliant explanation of what's happened to journalism - I still can hear Calvin Trillin call the pundits "the Sabbath gasbags" -hadn't thought of what you said when I watched the segment, but in hindsight you are 100% correct - they WERE all real journalists - and "digging" for information, it was their communa ASSUMPTION that there would be violence that I couldn't abide. Made me SQUIRM and wanna hit the tv - but that was with the knowledge of what was created on the Mall, and the interview was 3 days b4.
McDonalds - what a catastrophe they are. And have invaded almost every country in the world.
Ditto concern for what's happening in SO MANY countries in the middle east, and so few options.
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Hi Friends,
Wanted to let you all know I received a card from Athena's sister Cynthia today. It was a beautiful note thanking all of us for the love and caring we shared with Pamela. It meant a lot to her family to know she had all of us in her corner.
hugs,
Bren
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Thanks, Bren. I still haven't written mine to her Did you use the address from RL? I start to write, and cry. Not effecctive, I know, miss Pamela so much....
Reading this on CNN. Makes me wish I drank coffee, but I don't:
"It's not about the law. It's about responsibility we have to the people who do work and who represent us," Schultz told CNN on Tuesday.The coffee chain is unique in its policy: Even part-time workers are eligible for insurance. In 2010, benefits cost the company $300 million, more than it paid for coffee.
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I knew a guy back in the 70's who shot himself in the leg. He lost his leg and almost his life.
Sunny - Starbucks also sells tea..... just sayin'
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Blue - that's hysterical, and while there's a lot I don't believe - I believe that one. Too funny...
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At least some of those idiots with guns in their pants have taken themselves out of the gene pool.
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Made me think of the urban legend about the wife who caught her husband cheating and got out the crazy glue while he was sleeping.......think about it
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What C4C said! Today, corporations & politicians own tv news. There really isn't much investigative journalism going on, well, atleast compared to the past.
I remember once sitting on a plane going from Brisbane to Sydney and I was noting to my seat mate, a business man, how different the service industry seemed in Australia...as if I had some 6th sense that these people were happy and liked their jobs and they weren't the last jobs on earth people would take. He said "that's because our minimum wage is a living wage here in Australia." (Note: this was 15 years ago, do not sure if the situation is the same, now.)
I've replied to a few messages above from E and Blue, but having the same problem of being kicked out after sending, so sorry guys, but thank you for your responses about the horse and the exposition.
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Bren -thanks for the info on Athena. Still miss her.
Syria - after Iraq, I'm just worried. Some of the same bad actors from Project for a New American Century are writing letters urging our involvement. We know their motivation is the greed of war. I don't put anything past them as far as trying to get us into another war. Seems like they thrive on endless war to fill their greedy souls and pocketbooks. Personally, as a country, we are war weary. We need to spend our resources on people, not corporations.
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What Kam said!
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This has got to be the wildly biased - and flat-out over-the-top silliest - opinion poll ever conducted. It belongs in every textbook as a classic example of question rigging.
I've not generally been a big fan of Jennifer Rubin, to put it mildly, but as the GOP crazy train has lunged further and further off the tracks her columns have started to criticize some of the most egregious aspects of Republican extremism.
Case in point: this poll from the Heritage Foundation on Obamacare that she flatly labels "junk". I mean, wow, just get a load of these "thumb on the scales" questions:
Q6. - AS YOU MIGHT KNOW, MAJOR PARTS OF THE OBAMA HEALTH CARE LAW WILL SOON BE IMPLEMENTED, INCLUDING THE MANDATE THAT REQUIRES EVERY INDIVIDUAL TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE OR PAY A FINE, AND THE GOVERNMENT SPONSORED HEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGES THAT ARE AFFECTING PRIVATE SECTOR HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS AND ACCESS TO DOCTORS. DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR CONGRESS TO TEMPORARILY HALT FUNDING FOR THE HEALTH CARE LAW BEFORE THESE PROVISIONS TAKE EFFECT, TO MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD?
Total
67.8 YES
25.3 NO
6.9 DK/REFUSEDQ7. - IF THERE WAS AN EFFORT IN CONGRESS TO TEMPORARILY HALT FUNDING FOR THE HEALTH CARE LAW, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU THINK PRESIDENT OBAMA IS MORE LIKELY TO DO REGARDING HIS SIGNATURE ACHIEVEMENT IN OFFICE?
1. PRESIDENT OBAMA IS MORE LIKELY TO COMPROMISE AND AGREE TO SOME
CHANGES OR DELAYS IN THE HEALTH CARE LAW. OR2. PRESIDENT OBAMA IS MORE LIKELY TO INSIST THAT THE HEALTH CARE LAW
GO FORWARD, EVEN IF THAT MEANS FORCING A BUDGET SHOWDOWN AND
TEMPORARILY SHUTTING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT.26.8 COMPROMISE
63.2 INSIST/GO FORWARD
10.0 DK/REFUSEDQ8. - IN ORDER TO GET PRESIDENT OBAMA TO AGREE TO AT LEAST HAVE A "TIME OUT" ON IMPLEMENTING THE HEALTH CARE LAW AND ITS FULL EFFECTS, WOULD YOU
APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF A TEMPORARY SLOWDOWN IN NON-ESSENTIAL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, WHICH STILL LEFT ALL ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES RUNNING?59.8 APPROVE
28.3 Strongly Approve
31.5 Somewhat Approve
28.6 DISAPPROVE
10.3 Somewhat Disapprove
18.3 Strongly Disapprove
11.6 DK/REFUSEDOK, now with these unbelievably loaded questions, you would think the deck was sufficiently stacked. But nope. As Rubin notes:
The poll asserts that it measures "swing districts [but] Charley Cook ranks congressional districts with its Partisan Voting Index (PVI), the higher the number the greater the lean toward that party. A perfectly balanced district would be at zero.
Every single one of the districts [in the Heritage poll] with a GOP congressman has a GOP PVI of at least +6. The average PVI of these districts is over +10 Republican. The districts currently with a Democratic representative are even more right-leaning, with PVI ratings between +9 and +16 GOP (an average of + 12.75 GOP). Overall, President Obama lost these seats by an average of 18 points.
The only real question here is why the Heritage Foundation bothered to actually conduct a poll rather than just making up the numbers as well as the questions. It certainly would not have made the results any less meaningful.
Posted by James Vega on August 25, 2013 6:20 AM
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I'm definitely not happy with the idea of a Syrian adventure, but surely something as to be done to address the ongoing atrocities against innocents. My DH thinks we should institute a no-fly zone. However, it seems to me that the more we meddle with the Middle East the worse things get there.
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Political Strategy Notes
Democrat McAuliffe is up 6 over Cucinelli in race for VA Governor, according to Quinnipiac University poll, report Laura Vozzella and Scott Clement at WaPo. "Among likely voters surveyed by Quinnipiac, Democrats outnumber Republicans 39 percent to 32 percent -- the identical split found in Virginia exit polls in the 2012 presidential election."
At Wonkblog Sarah Kliff has an ironic revelation: "A new poll finds that young Republicans are more likely to have health coverage through their parents' policy than young Democrats, an option widely expanded under the Affordable Care Act...The poll comes from the Commonwealth Foundation, which has spent two years tracking how adults between the ages of 19 and 25 are reacting to the Affordable Care Act. Beginning in 2010, the health care law allowed young adults up to age 26 to stay covered under their parents' health plans...The Commonwealth Foundation estimates that of the 15 million young adults that have insurance coverage through a parent, 7.8 million would not have qualified without this policy."
GOP lunacy hits overdrive, as Michael Tomasky reports in his Daily Beast post, "Republicans Move to the Center? Nope, They're Crazier Than Ever."
Republicans have launched a total war on student voting in North Carolina, Ari Berman reports at The Nation. Here's a good video clip on the topic, via berman, from The Rachel Maddow Show, which also spotlights an 80-year-old progressive warrior, who is fighting Republican disenfranchisement of strudents and minorities in NC:
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Republicans have done eveything they can to rig elections in NC, but they still may not be able to take away Kay Hagan's Senate Seat, as Sean Sullivan explains at The Fix. Imnagine what shape they would be in without the gerrymandering and voter suppression.
WaPo columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. has a moving meditation on the 50th anniversary of MLK's dream, which will be commemorated world-wide next week. As Dionne concludes, "We honor him best by sharing not only his hope but also his impatience and his resolve."
At The Guardian, Vad Badham has an interesting and amusing post on Australia's experience with compulsory voting, and why it might be a good thing for the U.S.
From Casey A. Klofstad's "Talking About Politics Boosts Civic Participation", via the Scholars Strategy Network and Demos: "My basic research finding is quite striking: students who were assigned to dorms in 2003 where they were exposed to political discussion by their randomly assigned roommate became more likely to join civic-minded student organizations such as student government, partisan political organizations, and community volunteer organizations. This effect lasted throughout their four years of college. More recently, I surveyed these same individuals during the 2012 election, and my newly collected data reveal that study participants who were exposed to political discussion as first-year college students are still more likely to be active civically nearly ten years later."
Kevin Mahnken's New Republic post, "Two GOP Operatives Reveal How to Turn Texas Blue" notes : "Local exigencies--finding those 250 county chairs and grooming the next Democratic railroad commissioner--are key in any state, but national trends (the Hispanic or Latino population grew by 43 percent over the last decade) and the sputtering of immigration reform are seen as potentially game-changing phenomena in Texas. Weaver [John Weaver of the McCain campaigns] advised Democrats to focus not merely to focus on Latinos, but also the newly minted Texans who relocate to the state for jobs and low cost of living. "People who are moving here from the West Coast, or the upper Midwest, or the East Coast, for economic reasons, they aren't typical Southern Republicans either," he said. "Those people are more moderate on social issues, and they see a [Republican] party that's out of step with their values. Whether it's a tsunami or not--for Republicans, you can still drown in it if you don't fix it."
New GOP scam: highlight diversity, even though they don't have the numbers to back it up. Or as Nicole Greenstein puts it in her Time Swampland post "The Party of Old White Guys Changes Its Look."
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These polls are called push polls. The purpose is to instill false information through the questions themselves. The answers are irrelevant. Poorly informed people assume that the questions represent facts about the topic. The polls are sly propaganda.
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Two weird things this week, and it's only Tuesday:
1. I broke my ankle yesterday, stepping down from the horse trailer.
2. I ordered animal supplies from Drs Foster & Smith, and along with my order received two used books - "Windmills and Wind Motors" and "Angels and Demons in Art." I called the company and they're as baffled as I am.
What's going on???
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Gremlins?
So sorry about the ankle. That sucks. -
Obamacare! Benghazi! The IRS is sending you propaganda! The NSA is listening to your conversations through tiny devices implanted in the books.
Whatever happened, I am sure it is President Obama's fault. ;-)
Sorry to hear about the ankle, E. Do you have a cast or a boot?
L
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