Displaying 661 To 690 Of 3,348 Comments Just received this email…
Over the last two years at Think Progress, we’ve made the Koch brothers and their far-right agenda famous. Now we’ve got their attention. A senior Koch executive recently complained to the National Review that Think Progress is leading an “orchestrated campaign” against Koch and vowed to fight back against us. The Kochs are fighting us with a $42 billion war chest. We are fighting back with the facts. We’ve set a goal of raising $10,000 in the next five days so we can intensify our work. Can you pitch in $5 right now? http://www.americanprogressaction.org/donate/koch Before most of the general public knew who they were, we were exposing the Kochs as the architects of the Tea Party movement in early 2009. We revealed their culpability for severe air pollution and, most recently, catalogued their union-busting efforts in Wisconsin. Your donation will allow us to do even more: scouring public records, attending Koch-funded events, and holding the media accountable. With your help, we’ll keep the heat on. Please shoot me an email if you have any questions. Best, Faiz Shakir » Posted By boomer1949 On March 1, 2011 @ 8:26 am Connecting the dots… Slave Labor – Koch Links to Greenberg Traurig, Palin and the theft of our jobs! With the tanking economy of late, many municipal, county and state authorities are looking for ways to reduce their budgets. At the top of the list of ways to save money is the replacement of civil service workers and contractors that traditionally maintain public buildings, facilities and grounds. While corporations try and hide their use of prison labor from their customers and consumers in general, politicians are trumpeting their reliance upon cheap slave labor provided by prisoners to reduce taxpayer funded jobs. Today we have a situation where the new “slavery” is in fact the “old slavery” under a new name and with a diverse ethnic makeup. Before and during our civil war, slavery was the major cause of the secession of the Confederate states from the Union. Southern states wanted to continue to use humans as chattel and slave to work their fields, small industries and for other cheap labor. It is funded and supported by many within the Tea (“Traitors Enslaving Americans” thanks to the wife for this definition) Party and their funders. » Posted By boomer1949 On March 1, 2011 @ 7:30 am Everyone at Faux News for certain and Rush Limpballs; order makes no difference. » Posted By boomer1949 On March 1, 2011 @ 5:42 am Found this over at dailykos over the weekend. I sent it to my daughter the Kindergarten teacher. She has been in the classroom for 9 years; she replied: Very well written… I Don’t Want to be a Teacher Any More http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/26/950079/-I-Dont-Want-to-be-a-Teacher-Any-More This is what happens when the patients are running the asylum, and it is very sad » Posted By boomer1949 On March 1, 2011 @ 5:08 am What a fucking joke! Kasich: ‘I’m not anti-union’ Saying he is at war with joblessness, not unions, Gov. John Kasich denied yesterday that there is any coordinated effort by Republican governors to stifle the power of public-employee unions. Kasich told The Dispatch the attempt by him and Republicans controlling the Ohio legislature to revamp collective bargaining is necessary to help elected officials get control of spending and to align public-employee compensation with the resources available. “I’m not anti-union,” Kasich said. “I think unions are an important part of the American fabric, but what we’re doing here is basically to start sticking up for taxpayers and private-sector workers who have made enormous sacrifices over the last decade.” Kasich said that the collective-bargaining overhaul “is one piece of an overall reform agenda” to be largely revealed in his two-year state budget on March 15. The budget is designed “to stabilize the state so that we can have economic growth, job creation and entrepreneurship,” he said. As the governor worked on his budget yesterday on the 30th floor of the Riffe Center, hundreds of protesters gathered across the street outside the Statehouse to continue the almost-daily rallies against Senate Bill 5, which would significantly curtail collective-bargaining rights for more than 350,000 state and local public workers. Kasich is among Republican governors in Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey, Michigan and other states spearheading efforts to restrict collective bargaining. Labor and Democratic leaders have assailed the moves as part of a national effort by Republicans to weaken unions. While he occasionally talks with his GOP counterparts, Kasich said “there is no coordinated effort here” to kill public-employee unions, which provide political and financial support overwhelmingly to Democrats. Kasich said he frequently talks with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and called him last week after Walker was duped by a blogger into believing he was talking by phone with billionaire David H. Koch, who, along with his brother, Charles, are benefactors to GOP campaigns and causes. “I just called him and said, ‘Hey Scott, don’t let it get you down, just do what you want to do,'” Kasich said, adding that he has never talked to either of the Koch brothers about collective-bargaining reform. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 27, 2011 @ 5:24 pm Me!! Statistics is difficult to begin with, but Statistics with a Chinese instructor, is doubly hard. I had to work twice as hard; understanding the concepts and understanding the instructor. Abby, I left every class with a major migraine. Drove me nuts, and you are not alone. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 27, 2011 @ 4:54 pm Good Evening Planet friends, It is 7:45 EST, a couple of hours before Prime Time. Tonight is the be all and end all for those in the film industry; those who have acted, written, directed, costumed, and all of the technical aspects of film making; each category of which I am familiar, but lacking in formal definition. You see, I am not considered red carpet material. I am a regular person, putting in my 40 hours a week, doing the best I can, with no fanfare, tabloids, or rehab. What I and the majority in this country do, (day in and day out) is a craft. We are the nuts and bolts of this country. We have never ridden in a limo, we have never walked a red carpet, and we have never dressed beyond what we can afford. Personally, I would not want anyone to think I am more than who I am. The glitz, glitter, and publicity are often more than is warranted or deserved; it is not always about publicity, headlines, or notoriety. The most dedicated are often the most overlooked. ***The King’s Speech and Colin Firth*** I will be happy. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 27, 2011 @ 4:42 pm Clady, Cher, AdlLib, and all those who took the time and made the effort to go to Palm Springs 1/30/11. If not for your diligence and dedication, I doubt this would even be in the news. Uncloaking the Kochs was just the beginning. However, none of us could have imagined Walker would be dumb enough to hand himself to the Left on a silver platter. Ooops…the Koch bros. didn’t do their homework, now did they? I love it! 2-3 weeks ago, no one in this country new anything about the Kochs, other than their “faux philanthropy.” Hmmm? Let’s pretend we really care, but shh, don’t tell anyone we could give a shit! » Posted By boomer1949 On February 26, 2011 @ 1:07 pm BDM, I read the entire piece and then sent this to him: Dear Dr. Krugman: Thank you for writing this piece. The Koch brothers hide behind their philanthropy, and it’s enough to make one ill. It’s also how they’ve been able to fly under the radar. If one looks deeper into their family background, it’s a tale that has been covered up far too long. I”m proud to state I’ve been on the bandwagon to out them. What they’ve been getting away with is appalling. It’s about time they received their comeuppance. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 25, 2011 @ 7:00 am Sorry, I haven’t seen anything with a name. Surely someone will dig around and come up with his identity. And, I agree with your description. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 25, 2011 @ 6:58 am I’m not going to take all the credit for this, but I certainly hope my comments to Morning Edition several days ago did make a difference: In Wis. Union Battle, Focus On Billionaire Twins As conservatives battle with public-employee unions in Wisconsin and other states, the conflict has drawn increasing public attention to a pair of low-profile billionaires, David and Charles Koch, who give millions of dollars to groups working to drive civil service unions out of government and ultimately out of politics. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s budget bill would make civil servants pay more for pensions and benefits, and it would cripple their unions as a force in collective bargaining and politics. The measure has prompted protests at the state Capitol and teachers to walk off the job. Walker says the plan is necessary and wants the unions to get in line. “The teachers here in the city of Madison walked off the job, which is really ultimately a strike and an illegal action,” he said. Other GOP governors have joined the fight. “The most powerful special interests in America today are the government unions,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told member station WAMU’s Diane Rehm Show this week. The governors have allies in this fight: conservative groups that organize the grassroots develop the arguments and even draft the legislation. The Koch brothers give millions to such groups, including the Americans for Prosperity, which has a Stand With Walker website and TV ad. Listen: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/25/134040226/in-wis-union-battle-focus-on-billionaire-twins » Posted By boomer1949 On February 25, 2011 @ 5:24 am Meet the Press has announced it’s lineup for Sunday. Richard Trumka, President/AFL-CIO will be there. Sunday’s Roundtable: Barbour, Cleaver, O’Donnell, Trumka, Strassel Also Sunday: As Congress fights over spending, the deadline before the government shuts down is fast approaching. Can both sides come to an agreement? And as states deal with budget troubles of their own, will the protests in Wisconsin spread to other states? What will the outcome there mean for the labor movement and workers’ rights? What will it all mean in the race for the White House in 2012? Joining us: Former head of the RNC, Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS); chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO); host of MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” Lawrence O’Donnell; president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka; and editorial board member and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Kim Strassel. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ » Posted By boomer1949 On February 25, 2011 @ 3:45 am Catholic Bishops Back Wis. Union Protesters The U.S. Catholic bishops on Thursday (Feb. 24) threw their moral weight behind the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin, saying the rights of workers do not abate in difficult economic times. “The debates over worker representation and collective bargaining are not simply matters of ideology or power,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee on domestic justice, “but involve principles of justice, participation and how workers can have a voice in the workplace and economy.” http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/02/catholic-bishops-back-wis-unio.php » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 6:54 pm And…Meet the Press heard something… Also Sunday: As Congress fights over spending, the deadline before the government shuts down is fast approaching. Can both sides come to an agreement? And as states deal with budget troubles of their own, will the protests in Wisconsin spread to other states? What will the outcome there mean for the labor movement and workers’ rights? What will it all mean in the race for the White House in 2012? Joining us: Former head of the RNC, Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS); chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO); host of MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” Lawrence O’Donnell; » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 6:39 pm KT, Carlin told the truth, but softened it with humor, he didn’t play politics, and didn’t really care who he offended. It was their problem. Maher, on the other hand. is a narcissist, plays both sides against the middle, and really should find a place to land. Used to like him, but he is way too full of himself to be believable. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 6:14 pm Cool, I’m going to read. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 5:38 pm Well. I’ll be damned… Examining Fundamental Disagreements Over Public Employees’ Rights The standoff in Wisconsin between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a combination of state workers and Democratic state lawmakers over cutting the rights of public employee unions raises one of those fundamental questions about our system of government that is seldom addressed. Should public-sector workers be able to bargain collectively with state governments over pay, benefits and working conditions? With taxpayers serving as the ultimate “boss” of these government workers, do they need the same protection that private-sector unions offer their members? Conservatives, including the newly elected Governor Walker and Wisconsin’s Republican state legislators, backed by like-minded thinkers around the country, argue they don’t. In their view, collective bargaining has enabled the creation of costly wage and benefit packages that were too generous to begin with, and are now at the core of a mountain of expensive obligations most states can no longer afford. On the other hand, the unions that represent teachers, firefighters, police, sanitation workers and other government employees say their members need the additional leverage a union provides since they work at jobs crucial to their community, but possibly without the muscle to make sure they are treated fairly and with dignity. Making Sen$e: Paying For Public Pensions Making Sense Our story takes place in tiny, tired Rhode Island. The nation’s very smallest state has made $5 billion worth of pension promises it can’t possibly pay for and is shouldering the largest unfunded public pension liability per capita of any state in the country. It may prove a bellwether for larger states like Illinois, New Jersey, and California, each of which has an unfunded liability in the tens of billions of dollars. How’s your own state handling the problem? We’ve drawn up a map based on data from a 2010 Pew Center on the States report. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/02/paying-for-public-pensions.html » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 4:52 pm No, but unions can call a strike/boycott against the networks and advertisers at the drop of a hat. And, I bet it would do some damage too. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 12:42 pm Idiots, they’re all a bunch of sniveling, scared, wimpy idiots! I swear! » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 11:42 am Okay all, it’s time to make some noise Word on the street is NONE of the Sunday Talking Heads want to talk to representatives from the other side of the issue in WI. I find that appalling. Infact, Face the Nation has booked an interview with the Gov. of NJ. To make it easier, here is The FAIR Media Contact List. Guess it’s time to jerk some chains. Have at it and pass along to others you know would be interested. ABC News CBS News CNBC CNN Fox News Channel MSNBC/NBC PBS National Radio Programs » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 11:25 am This is a common phrase in the Ozarks where I live, years ago, folks around here would let their hogs run free, and gather them in the fall. They hogs would forage on mast and survive as best they could. It is said “even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while” to express the thought that even the most incompentent can get lucky on occasion. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_first_said_even_a_blind_pig_finds_an_acorn » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 10:22 am More from Madison… Robert Ervin: Walker’s body and soul owned by Koch brothers Dear Editor: Mother Jones reports that most of Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign funding came from the ultraconservative Koch brothers. David and Charles Koch own a coal company subsidiary with facilities in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Ashland and Sheboygan; six timber plants throughout the state; and a large network of pipelines in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin public workers union agreed to the cuts in pension and welfare benefits sought by Walker in his budget repair bill. The governor’s response was total rejection. He wants the end of the collective bargaining rights of the public unions. Walker’s mind, body and soul are owned by the Koch brothers. He is incapable of an independent thought outside of what his puppet masters want him to think, or else he would be asking himself what is going to happen to the state economy and the housing market without a middle class. http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/mailbag/article_46d51845-b15c-5b71-9cc2-895041a941e6.html » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 9:01 am I enjoyed watching him squirm — which he did quite well. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 8:40 am This is an excellent piece. Walker Won’t Back Down … Unless the Pressure Stays On I’m one of those people Walker hates. Now retired, I used to work for Milwaukee County as a Registered Nurse. As County Executive, he was my boss. Large and in charge he took and took and took in every union contract. Public employees were always his favorite scapegoat and he never missed an opportunity to disparage us as overpaid, lazy, and with millionaire level benefits. It was always his way or the highway. He was also a hostage-taker. He always unnecessarily threatened massive numbers of jobs unless unions bent to his will. We’ve seen this before, but it’s on steroids now because he has massive majorities in the State Legislature that can pass any bill he wants. This is likely why he thought he could pull off such extremist legislation. I’m sure he was shocked at the protests. While he has now admitted that stripping collective bargaining from public employees has been long discussed, his actions speak of typical Republican trickery. Putting the bill out late Friday with a quickie hearing scheduled the following Tuesday and a vote shortly after is not what is done with major legislation that has huge statewide implications. His goal was to shove this through before anyone notice. So, he lies, distorts, and lies some more. He repeats the same tired talking points about this being cost saving although he rejected an offer giving him all the cost savings he wanted. He tries to garner support by appearances on RW media. Rinse and repeat. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/23/948922/-Walker-Wont-Back-Down–Unless-the-Pressure-Stays-On » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 7:22 am Who would have thought…Faux News actually presenting FACTS! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuuUV94bOW0 Sorry even with the “v” it wouldn’t work. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 6:06 am
» Posted By boomer1949 On February 24, 2011 @ 5:05 am Hey Caru, Almost, but you need to copy the HTML. Then you should be good to go. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 23, 2011 @ 5:14 pm Aw come on, give me a break. I did find, in the last 10 minutes, that the Koch Foundations funds NOVA. http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2010/09/the_mailbag_32.html » Posted By boomer1949 On February 23, 2011 @ 4:44 pm We’re now @ 47 minutes and not a word. ***EDIT*** The entire Newshour not a blip on the radar. Disgusting. » Posted By boomer1949 On February 23, 2011 @ 4:42 pm With all due respect to the families of these poor kids, if the judge was Republican, I’m not surprised. 👿 » Posted By boomer1949 On February 23, 2011 @ 4:34 pmComments Posted By boomer1949
Faiz
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Sadly, I feel the same way from time to time now…
I’ve always been a teacher. Even before I received my teaching credentials 34 years ago, I was the one who Mr. Wells asked to help Kim Hull learn how to do his story problems. I always knew I’d become a real teacher some day because Kim told me I was the first one who ever explained it to him in a way he could actually understand.
Now, I wasn’t ever one of “those who can’t, who teach,” and I always knew it. My high-school guidance counselors had advised me not to go into education because I would be “wasting my brain.” They suggested that due to my 98th percentile math scores, I should go into engineering. But I was undaunted, because I knew that in reality I already was a teacher. I just needed to go to school to get a piece of paper to make it official so I could get paid for it. I was very clearly told that I wasn’t making the best financial choice that I could, but that didn’t matter in the least—I was out to change the world—one student at a time.
I finished college in three years, and began teaching third grade in 1976 at the age of 21, and I’ve never looked back. I found what all who become teachers know, that being a teacher is so much more than a job. It’s always been my passion, my mission, even my identity.
Being a great teacher came naturally to me. Now that doesn’t mean it’s ever been an easy job. I’ve always found it exhausting, challenging, frustrating, and very rewarding—in other words, a perfect job for somebody who needs their brain to be challenged in ways they could never imagine. I went from being able to focus on only one or two things at a time, to being able to easily manage twenty or thirty on-going projects or ideas. Over the years I’ve improved my creativity, flexibility, problem solving skills, and sense of humor.
I’ve taught grades three through six, and felt very lucky that I never felt I was in a rut. I knew people who got burned out, but it honestly never happened to me. I knew I was very blessed to find the perfect occupation. I’ve changed how I do things in my classroom many times, incorporating new ideas, trying new things, always learning, always changing, and loving every minute of it. I’ve always been told in every way that I’m a great teacher, but I honestly didn’t need to be told, because I could feel it. That is, until recently.
No GOP effort to weaken unions, governor says
president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka; and editorial board member and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Kim Strassel.
Editor’s Note: As the fire over collective bargaining and public worker benefits burns across the country, on Thursday’s broadcast we’re looking at perhaps the issue behind it all: public pensions and how to pay for them.
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