February 28, 2012

Falling into the Cracks on Memory Lane

[link:http://liberaltalkingpoints.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/falling-into-the-cracks-on-memory-lane/|Sometimes when I look at the push by conservatives to pass restrictions controls and private invasions over rights to choose and contraception, I think the GOP would be happy taking us back to some Victorian 1800s form of culture or maybe back to the pilgrim days when the ladies got scarlet letters and witch trials. Our country has taken years to evolve, but we have evolved as a society and culture. It never fails to surprise me how much our GOP counterparts yearn for days of yore when the ladies wore long gowns and men nearly creamed at the sight of a mere bare ankle.
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Speaking of the pilgrims, they left their country, bloody old britain, to escape the power of a religion that wielded the power of the State in their personal lives, religion and society. The State enforced an adherence to a particular belief system that was in disagreement with the beliefs of the puritans. This was the conflict that birthed the concept of separation of church and state in our own constitution. Funny how ‘freedom of religion’ is now being used by the GOP to allow a church to wield the power of the State.

Are the evangelical conservatives really that backwards? I guess it's time to dust off the frocks and chastity belts.

February 15, 2012

Liberal Maxim 14: Equality

Liberals believe in equal opportunity.

[link:http://liberaltalkingpoints.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/liberal-maxim-14-equality/|We would not have fair employment and fair housing laws without liberals in government pushing for rules that discourage discrimination based on race, religion, gender. Some of the big impact in governance through liberal philosophy have been the rules that protect opportunity and the right to vote.

It is one of the finest qualities in liberal philosophy. Conservatives try to turn this positive into a negative by complaining about political correctness, impositions to the existing (stratified) social order. They even claim we are trying to guarantee equal outcomes beyond the concepts of equal opportunity. We need to remember that freedom and political power for all were enshrined in laws by liberals to protect from discrimination based on race, religion and gender.

Soon we may add orientation the that list. It was impossible for the slavers of the 19th century to see the wisdom of the abolitionists. Men in power could not hold back the tide of a generation of women pushing for suffrage. Each of the turns of the struggles for greater equality among the people has only marked the beginning of larger shifts toward freedom within our culture. There have been long drawn conflicts over how to approach the matters of equality but liberals have always been on the side of equality and freedom for all the People.]

February 8, 2012

Elmer Fudd vs Coyote

[link:http://liberaltalkingpoints.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/elmer-fudd-vs-coyote/|
I don’t envy conservatives who have to choose between Newt and Mitt. I was posting on another blog tonight and hit on the notion that choosing between them is like having to choose between Warner Brothers antagonists Elmer Fudd and Coyote.
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February 6, 2012

Hail the Union of Laborers

[link:http://liberaltalkingpoints.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/hail-the-union-of-laborers/|
Conservatives love cheap labor. They are not concerned if a laborer working a 40-60 hour work week earns enough to live and avoid debt. Henry Ford was a conservative in his day but even he understood that his business would flourish if his employees could afford to purchase the products they produced. Conservatives today love to talk about the problems caused by illegal immigration but ultimately do not want to make any changes. They might even talk about jobs being outsourced to foreign nations, but you'll never see them move on this issue in law. They are numb to the raw deal of capital spasms in the economy. They keep the labor market in a constant churn with unemployment dragging down wages. Though they would never say it, high unemployment is not that big of a deal to the conservatives.
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Why do conservatives hate unions, and almost for the very same reasons, why are unions good for the middle and lower class? They have pushed up wages for everyone. They democratically represent the views and interests of the employees. They protect employees from inhumane demands placed by management. Conservatives want people to be desperate for a job so they will accept lesser working conditions, lower pay, few perks like medical coverage. Unions help workers by giving them a voice in the workplace that forces employers to remunerate for the cost of labor.

Unions have traditionally been supportive of the democratic party and this is another reason they are targeted by conservatives. It is politically and financially convenient. When you sit back and look at the legislation being pushed by the various GOP controlled states this year, it is hard not to conclude that the GOP has initiated an undeclared war on unions. Arizona is the latest battleground. “Right to work” laws seem to neither protect rights nor the ability to work yet we must have more legal backsliding to the early 1900s for these conservative states.

You also hear a lot of braying over corrupt union officials and seeds of mistrust sown on this brave lot that takes on the sorry job of dealing with the mgmt. I like to say at this point, you have no further to look than the k street lobby, super pacs, our elected leaders constant fundraising, barely paying attention to the American people. That’s the real corruption that no one is fighting. In the meantime, I appreciate personally if there is a group that speaks for the interests of employees. There is no choice but to have unions.