Goverment Employees = Second Class Citizens

So, that idiot in Wisconsin wants to strip state employees' rights to representation?

I can see the handwriting on the wall on this one.

Basically, the union has already agreed to concessions. But the governor is out to bust the union. All the rest of his posturing is just that, posturing. He's blatantly admitted that his goal is to get the union out.

So, government employees don't have a right to representation?

Wait a minute. So he's saying that if you have a government job, you aren't as good as the next citizen?

I see this as yet another Republican jerk attempting to force the worker bees into a second-class citizen status. When workers are not represented, and not ALLOWED to have representation, then we're taking a huge step backwards. Unions came into being because of the way workers were treated and mistreated.

Without the union, employees could be fired for no reason at all.

Now, before you start commenting, let me set the record straight. Government employees CAN be fired. Oh yes they can! It takes a little longer, but it is done every day and in these tough economic times, trust me, they're getting fired on a regular basis. The difference is that (usually) the employee did something stupid like: didn't follow rules and regulations, broke confidentiality, or just didn't show up for work. Like durrrr, anybody can be fired for these reasons.

And when budget is tight, positions are eliminated. The seniority list is posted and if you're at the bottom, guess what? You get laid off!

Having a government job is not a job for life.

Oh, yeah, and those pension figures that they throw around, those aren't relevant to the worker bees. Most pensions, even in California, average $25,000 a year and many agencies don't pay a nickel toward the medical insurance.

Now the fat cats who are way overpaid already (since when does it make it OK to pay a County's CAO more than the President of the United States?!?), those are the pensions spouted by the anti-employee, anti-union idiots.

So, while the union may be busted in Wisconsin, we don't know yet, don't think that this can happen everywhere. The general public is against this BS. They can read the handwriting on the wall. Once the government employees are forbidden to have unions, forbidden to have representation, forbidden to negotiate, then regular private industry will follow.

And then maybe the underlying agenda will appear -- letting the politicians' fat sticky fingers plunder the pension funds.

Oh, yeah, trust me. This is more than just union busting. This is yet another ploy to steal pensions.

Can you say ENRON?

Yep. Don't be surprised if the governor's next step is to make up some rule, regulation, law, that the government is allowed take the pensions of the worker bees and drop it into the General Fund. And once it's in the General Fund, trust me, it's gone.

"Thieves in the temple."

Just wait and see just how ugly it's going to be.

President Obama Represents Hope

While die-hard Republicans are dismayed at the election of a Democrat, I am obviously thrilled at our choice.

I think President Obama's two terms in office will be a bright spot in American history. Yes, two terms. He is going to pull the economy out of the toilet. He is going to get some resolution to our overseas issues, like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. He is going to be more flexible and is already perceived as a man to work with, not against, in international politics. And in politics, how you are perceived by others is half the battle.

Yes, the Repubs are having fits, but they have only their party to blame. Even my Dad, a die-hard Republican, told me that he has to hold his nose to vote for the lesser of two evils. That is a telling statement. "The lesser of two evils."

The Republican Party has lost touch with its own membership.

I truly believe that most people are moderates with a few wild swings one way or the other. The Party has catered a little too long to the right wing wack jobs that fill the airwaves with dramatic statements, misrepresentations, and flat out lies.

Yes, they have a right to their opinions, but while they've been shouting BS to the winds, the massive silent majority in America spoke with their votes.

President Obama represents hope.

Hope for enough of a change to make a difference.

Now, I'm not deluded enough to think people want big changes. No, no, they absolutely don't.

What people want is to live decent lives, have a good job, a roof over their heads, food to eat, a nice vehicle to drive, an education for their kids. Americans like their toys, yes, but mainly they want to be secure in their lives.

People want to go to work, come home, watch TV, maybe play a sport, enjoy their families. They want to be able to tailgate now and then at the stadium. They want to eat out now and then. They want to be able to go to the doctor when they're sick, so they get better.

They don't want to be sweating over the checkbook trying to figure out how to pay the increasing mortgage (because the broker lied to them about the advantages of that low-rate adjustable mortgage -- believe me, don't blame the victims of fraud!!).

People don't want massive changes in the American system. They just want to live their day-to-day lives and be able to retire someday.

The mortgage meltdown was only one more symptom of the failures of the American economic system. I'd take it back to the Enron debacle. That was the beginning of the meltdown. We just didn't know how big the lies were and how far entrenched into our economic system they'd become.

President Obama isn't going to be able to perform miracles. But he is going to take charge and start working on behalf of the PEOPLE of America. Unlike all too many politicians, he hasn't forgotten where he came from -- middle class working people.

President Obama represents new hope in America.