Just shut the bitch down

[Horse with no Name]

I am hoping these truckers shut this fucking country down because congress sure as Hell isn't going to.
As long as everyone is willing to suck it up and pay these high fuel, food, and utility prices...there will be no changes and the corporatocracy will continue to turn the heat up on all of us.
I fully support truckers shutting down their rigs in the middle of the fucking street. It's going to be a long, hot summer and something has gotta give.

[redqueen]

1. Isn't that interfering with commerce, and therefore terrorism? (nt)

[eleny]

6. High prices interfere with commerce

[redqueen]

15. I think it's more the "profit" side they're concerned with. (nt)

[Yes We Did]

30. As a former truck driver...

I have to disagree with you. Diesel is over $4.00 right now. At that price, you are asking many of these drivers to work for barely over minimum wage.

They work long hours for their money and it's a very stressful and dangerous job.

Think about it. These guys drive coast to coast hauling between obscene amounts of goods. They drive 10+ hours a day, every day, and many of them have to pay for their own fuel.

How long could you keep that up? How long WOULD you keep it up. Everything in this country is shipped on a truck. They deserve to be paid well; not jerked around.

Yes, it would really suck if they went on strike, but it might also force our government to do something. And in the end, it would benefit us all.

[redqueen]

32. Oh no... I was talking about those

that might try to call such acts "terrorism"... it is THEY who I'm fairly certain are not so much concerned with the consumer or even middle-man (is that sexist?) side... and only care about "commerce" with respect to their profits.

Am I off base or did you think I was referring to the drivers? Heavens, no. I'm all for the working class. :)

[Obamanaut]

33. So, you and the OP condone holding the country hostage? That

does seem sorta like a form of terrorism.

[redqueen]

35. Uh no... that is the right to strike.

Only the most soulless of capitalist pigs would dare try to call it "terrorism".

[Anexio]

48. Nothing wrong with having a strike but....

I can't condone or approve blocking the streets.

As soon as I see protesters blocking the doors to a building or blocking a street they are immediately discredited to me.

If I have to be forced, against my will, to listen to their message I wonder how important it is.

[redqueen]

50. OK.

Welcome to DU.

[hatrack]

75. Yes, it's MUCH more effective to write to your Congressional delegation, right?

Right?

[The Doctor.]

81. Right, but just stopping wtheir rigs nationwide will freeze the country in it's tracks.

It would be a bitter pill... no fresh food, no gas, blackouts... they hold commerce in their hands and if they want to shut the country down, they can. After that, the pressure to make serious and immediate changes will be overwhelming.

[Breeze54]

58. Absolutely!! Shut it down!!!

Wake people up!! :grr:

[HughMoran]

66. I'm for it too

This is how we get things done in a country full of fat lazy ass holes.

[orleans]

70. and what's your suggestion? calling your republicon rep and

complaining?

[Bandit]

74. The country has been held hostage for almost eight years now

The truckers are about the only ones that can release us..

[eleny]

45. no difference

if people don't buy, no one makes money. doh!

[redqueen]

46. You know, I've often wondered

why more companies don't use that same logic when deciding to keep wages pretty much flat for years on end.

It really makes no sense...

[Horse with no Name]

7. Terrorism as defined by who? n/t

[redqueen]

11. I dunno... homeland security?

I guess maybe that's just something used against the animal rights movement people... dunno really.

:shrug:

[rucky]

23. right to strike

is already in jeopardy. I'd hate to see that precedent set.

[redqueen]

27. No kidding.

We've done so much backsliding the last 28 years...

[roguevalley]

53. I hope they do. Aloha isn't flying to Hawaii and 85% of the transport

of stuff to Hawaii is over. Fuck Bush, the insidious wanker.

[spanone]

55. that would be sweet, bu$h* charging all the truckers with being 'enemy combatants'

the poo would fling

[JuniperLea]

2. It worked in France!

We can no longer fear our government... we are supposed to BE the government!

[gateley]

10. What happened in France?

And -- you're SO RIGHT about fearing the government. They are supposed to fear us!

[Texas Hill Country]

24. france is famous for its strikes... and they are quite effective.

[gateley]

38. What's our fucking problem then??

We've let this country slip out of our grasp.

EDIT: Thanks!! :hi:

[Lorien]

69. Television. n/t

[LanternWaste]

76. ...and I-Pods and Console Gaming Systems

and DVD's, and MySpace, and The Gap, and an while host of pacific consumer goods.

(which seems to have replaced religion entirely as the opiate of the masses....)

[NightWatcher]

3. that would get an instant reaction from the populus

trucks stop= plastic doesnt get to walmart
trucks stop= food doesnt get to grocery stores

[Exilednight]

22. One problem...............

American greed. Someone will be greedy enough and deliver anything for the right price.

[FlyingSquirrel]

40. Uh huh. That doesn't work.

A lot of the truckers own their own rigs. What are you gonna do, force them to sell them to someone? This is why the truckers are doing what they're doing, because they don't just work for someone who can replace them behind the wheel with another warm body. (And by the way, it takes a long time to train a new trucker) They're the ones who own their rigs, they're the ones who are paying for their fuel.

Someone wants to get someone else to deliver the goods, fine. But where are they gonna come up with the new trucks and the new drivers in a short time? And what exactly is that "right price" gonna be? People go into the business for the money, partly. If you were gonna have someone else deliver the goods for "the right price", why not just give some subsidies to the CURRENT truck drivers to allow them to continue doing what they know how to do and have the equipment to do?

I don't get what you're saying, I guess.

[Exilednight]

43. It's fairly simple...................

Companies like Wal-Mart, Certified Grocers (an umbrella company that owns grocery stores under many different names), Aldi Foods, Home Depot, none of which are unionized, even and many other companies own their own trucking lines. The price of gas doesn't affect the income of these drivers.

Second, an independent driver will not stop working. They still have a mortgage to pay, their truck probably isn't paid off, and all the other bills. Missing even a day or two of work in good times can put them out of business and bankrupt.

Would you be willing to sacrifice the roof over your family's head just to prove a point, and in the mean time the goods are still getting to stores by non-unionized workers making about 60k a year without the same risk.

[FlyingSquirrel]

44. If I was working for minimum wage driving a truck

once I figured in the elevated price of gas, I'd look for other CDL work like driving a bus (which, as a matter of fact, I'm doing right now for over $20 per hour). There's other work out there for truckers. Sell the truck and find other work, all of a sudden you've got a shortage of qualified truck drivers out there.

[Exilednight]

47. There's been a shortage of qualifed truckers for well over 15 years. Nothings going to change n/t

[Lugnut]

67. Bingo!

Got milk? Not without a truck.

Until consumer products that rely on trucks to deliver them become scarce or gone nobody who matters will pay attention.

[DJ13]

4. Are you sure this should have been posted in GD:P?

Seems like a waste of one of your posts.

(Good post by the way!)

[skooooo]

5. So what happened Monday in the capitol?

I haven't heard much about any repercussions from it. Do you have any additional information?

[gateley]

14. From what I read yesterday,

they parked (in RFK stadium??) and then met to protest.

I would have liked to have seen them circle the WH, turn off the engines, take the keys and disappear into the surrounding neighborhoods.

[Horse with no Name]

18. I understand that May 1 or thereabouts

they are going to do it again.

[AZ Criminal JD]

25. And they would have lost their trucks. That would have been real smart.

Besides cheering them on, would you be paying them for their trucks?

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. How do you figure that?

Why would they lose their trucks?

[AZ Criminal JD]

52. You can't park trucks illegally at the White House.

They would be towed, impounded and their owners would end paying up the ass to get them back after the fees and fines.

[nichomachus]

28. I'm pretty sure of two things

1. You can't do that any more because the fascists are prepared for this sort of thing.

2. It's considered terrorism under the Patriot Act

The fascists have known for a while that the end result of destroying the middle class and the economy would be civil unrest. They are well prepared. Make no mistake about it.

[gateley]

8. I'm with you and our trucker brothers and sisters --

Takes a lot of guts to do, and they may have opened the door for more groups of us to take a stand.

[CountAllVotes]

12. my grandfather thanks you & so do I

:patriot: - that is who we are, the true patriots of America! My grandfather was one of the first teamsters in America in 1917. It walked the walk and fought the fight.

GO TEAMSTERS!!!

:dem:

[gateley]

34. You give grandpa a hug from me -

and tell him how much we appreciate all that he's done for labor in our country!! :pals:

:patriot:


PS: You could probably skip the part that Dave Beck was my next door neighbor :7

[CountAllVotes]

41. we'll all give him a cyberhug

:grouphug:

Honestly, I do not remember him. He died when I was just a year old, him not being so old himself.

However, I came from a very pro-UNION YES household.

Without strong unions, we see what happens to America.

People like my grandfather fought for all of us.

It is our responsibility to do the same! :D

[gateley]

42. You're obviously very proud of him --

and sorry you didn't get a chance to know him. Clearly he had an impact on your family in a GOOD way!

[CountAllVotes]

9. you are absolutely right

and a hard rain as yet begun to fall! :scared:

:dem:

[ej510]

13. We have to do something to get those prices down.

[Obamanaut]

39. Isn't it true that the current prices are less than or equal to the

prices that a lot of Europe, Australia, and Japan have been paying for years? Will a trucker uprising change global fuel prices?

[catnhatnh]

49. Yes and No....

are the exact answers....but your first question is an apple and oranges deal...the taxes in their higher costs provide a social safety net.As to your second question you ignore that it COULD aid in changing gas prices here-if a strike led to cutting subsidies from oil companies or introducing windfall profit taxes or even just preventing wild speculation in the commodities market (and the house is considering a bill to do just that) then prices here could drop...
The part that sometimes bothers me is when someone points to european gas prices to ask "What's the big deal?"...never recognizing the vast differences in transportation needs between countries with advanced public transport and boundries just a few hundred miles apart and the US where several states rival the entire european common market in size...Then add in the GM push to destroy our trolley systems and the demise of railroads...

[kenny blankenship]

16. this is a General Discussion topic isn't it?

[Horse with no Name]

17. I did mention congress n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. OK.

What's Congress got to do with the primaries?

[Horse with no Name]

20. If you think that this isn't a primary issue

then take it up with the candidates.
They should be talking about the economy and gas prices non-stop.

[Dammit Ann]

21. glory, glory...

hallelujah!!!!!

[gaspee]

26. This morning

Diesel was 4.41 a gallon when I paid 3.55 for regular unleaded.

$4.41!

[Art_from_Ark]

68. That's more expensive than in Japan

where diesel is selling in most places for roughly $4/gallon

[jimshoes]

31. We could all drive the bare minimum on the highways as

a way to protest and it would not be illegal. And it would save gas. And it would piss people off like crazy. Either you take a stand or you will be trampled on. But at least it's a peaceful protest.

[redqueen]

36. I like that idea.

I'm doing one better... and not even taking the freeway... and driving the speed limit. :)

[Horse with no Name]

56. I was driving under the speed limit today (60 in a 70)

trying to conserve gas...and that prompted a DPS to turn around on a dime and follow me for a few miles. My guess is that gave him long enough time to run my plates.:eyes:

[lonestarnot]

60. Well watch out for the road ragers that are in a hurry to get to that minimum wage job, or interview

ing for their third job. :)

[dailykoff]

37. You got that right!

:rofl:

[brentspeak]

51. The truckers are shutting their rigs down in the wrong place

Don't block roads and highways; that just hurts everyday people who would ordinarily be on their side.

Instead, block the driveways and gated communities entrances of the big whigs who head up the oil companies, as well as those big-time traders who are speculating the cost of fuel to astronomical heights.

[lonestarnot]

54. Now you're talk'n!

:applause:

[earth mom]

57. Just think if Pelosi had put Impeachment ON the table.

We have been TOTALLY screwed over and meanwhile Congress doesn't do a goddamn thing!

And people think Clinton or Obama-both members of a DO NOTHING Congress-are gonna save us and this country?! :rofl:


To that I say: GO TRUCKERS GO! :applause:

[lonestarnot]

59. Funny how you left out McWar. Ha ha ha. Very funny indeed.

:eyes:

[earth mom]

61. Why mention McCain? Are people supporting McCain on DU?

FYI: in case you didn't notice ALL THREE candidates are the same.

So here, right back atcha: :eyes:

[SammyWinstonJack]

72. !!!

:thumbsup:

[lonestarnot]

78. Yeah you middle of the roaders.

[Tashca]

62. The only ones

The only truckers that need to shut down are the fuel haulers......I guarantee the rest will follow shortly there after.....

[natrat]

63. we should all"shut the bitch down" because of the tax laws and huge debt they have run up

[mopinko]

64. what have we got to loose? ya gotta wonder.

good on 'em. truckers used to make a good living. union jobs used to be good jobs. now days? not so much.
lately i have pondered the stories that union guys that i worked with told me about 'back in the day'. strikes used to be the life and death struggles that they are. scabs were made sorry. contractors, too. these days strikes are mostly polite affairs. folks walking quietly in circles as though that changed anything. nobody is afraid to cross a picket line. and no boss is afraid to ask you to.
i dunno. sometimes i just think that maybe ya gotta at least put it out there. ok, i am rambling. but jesus. somethings just gotta give.

go truckers.

[Truth2Tell]

65. Don't you mean

the Beeeeyaaaatch? K&R :hi:

[lostnfound]

71. Reagan with the air control, Thatcher with the miners, Bush with the truckers

He'd haul them to jail and bring in Mexican truckers to drive the rigs.
The doormat population would go along.

[SammyWinstonJack]

73. He's probably salivating at the prospect of being able to do just that.

[AngryOldDem]

77. Sadly, that may be what it takes.

Commerce just grinding to a slow, painful halt. We've all seen in the past how much of an effect even a regional slowdown or strike can have. And really, what's the answer? Getting the National Guard to move products? Call them back from overseas duty to serve here? What a fucked-up concept.

[2Design]

79. they will just let the mexican truckers in - remember reagan just fired the air traffic controllers

only raises seem to be for congress and wh

[Lugnut]

80. Here's an eye-opening article.

According to this report it's not just independents who are suffering from rising fuel prices.

http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/article.asp?aid=65917

"In the first quarter of 2008, the trucking industry experienced the highest same-quarter levels of firms going bankrupt since 2001.

Bankruptcy shut down 925 firms nationwide in the past quarter, according to a report by Tennessee-based Avondale Partners, an investment banking firm with interests including health care, communications, financial services and trucking.

Avondale blamed the spike in trucking failures on companies' inability to collect fuel surcharges that keep up with the rising cost of diesel. Add to that the expense of renewing licenses and insurance, and trucking firms already teetering on the brink were forced into bankruptcy, according to the report."

[pleah]

82. Shut it down!

I suggested, about a week ago, that if everyone stayed home just one day, it would grind this country to a halt. Good for the truckers. Now if the sheeple will just follow their lead.