Political Movers and Shakers in 2007

Haven't had much to say lately... still enjoying the Dem's sweep, though I'm nervous about their long-term prospects. Here's hoping that they make some moves in 2007 and (knock on wood) avoid shooting themselves in the foot (something they're always good at).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3037980/site/newsweek/

Time To Up The Minimum Wage

The minimum wage has been a ridiculously low $5.15 since 1997. Coincidentally, this was the same wage I was paid during my first job in the early 90's. At that time mininum wage was approximately $4.75.

While 22 states are pragmatic enough to realize that you can't live on minimum wage. This was too low in 1997 and is even worse now when you consider that fuel costs have basically doubled during that time. Even if you don't own a car or use public transporation, this cost gets passed on to everyone in the form of higher prices on just about everything.

As you are aware, the Bush Administration and many of the "pro-business" (aka anti-worker) Republicans have fought this hike and it wouldn't shock me if Bush used his SECOND veto on such a measure. If that isn't reason enough to kick some GOP ass this fall (and in 2008), I don't know what is.

So, a number of leading economists have stated that a phased minimum wage hike to $7.25 is not only necessary, but would actually be GOOD for our economy. I'm all for it. If this means that I have to pay an extra $0.25 for a Whopper, then so be it. Those people may not be bright, but most are hard working and trying to get by. I know, because I used to be one of them. In an ideal world, the rich exeutives and board members would eat the difference, but that's wishful thinking.

You wonder why unions exist? (another group that the "pro-business" GOP hates) Overwork your employees and pay them an unfair wage and you WILL create the conditions for unionization. Wal-Mart is the most anti-union company on the planet and it's no surprise why. If these companies would learn the lesson that Henry Ford learned, they would be in far better shape: pay people a fair wage, treat them right, and everyone wins.

The reason I'm posting this is because the following paragraph from the article really raised my blood pressure:

Critics of a minimum wage hike have contended a higher minimum wage lead employers to cut jobs or move them offshore. They also say that many minimum wage earners are teenagers working after-school jobs.

This is FLAT OUT the most preposterous thing I have ever read. Name 5 jobs which are typically minimum wage. Here are the first 5 I can think of: fast food worker, cashier, janitor, customer service (sad, but true), school lunch lady. Those are just a few. Now, HOW ON EARTH ARE YOU GOING OUT OUTSOURCE THOSE JOBS? PLEASE... TELL ME?

Maybe these fear mongers are saying that other higher paying jobs will be outsourced. If so, I'd like to know which jobs and, more importantly, why they aren't outsourced already. Do you see where I'm going with this rant?

Raise the minimum wage. It's time.

Letter From Iraq

Just stumbled across an article on time.com (the last bastion of true reporting, in my humble opinion). What seperates this article from all others is that it isn't the writing of any-old-journalist, rather, an officer who has multiple tours of duty in Iraq.

The letter is a frank, to-the-point account of a soldier's life in Iraq. From "Coolest Insurgent Act" to "Worst Smell", I finished the article with a far better understanding of what it's like on-the-ground.

A few choice quotes (before I link to the article/letter itself):

Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and "battlefield" tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no effect on their preconceived notions of what's going on in Iraq. Their trips allow them to say that they've been to Fallujah, which gives them an unfortunate degree of credibility in perpetuating their fantasies about the insurgency here.
...
Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.
...
Best Chuck Norris Moment — 13 May. Bad Guys arrived at the government center in a small town to kidnap the mayor, since they have a problem with any form of government that does not include regular beheadings and women wearing burqahs. There were seven of them. As they brought the mayor out to put him in a pick-up truck to take him off to be beheaded (on video, as usual), one of the Bad Guys put down his machine gun so that he could tie the mayor's hands. The mayor took the opportunity to pick up the machine gun and drill five of the Bad Guys. The other two ran away. One of the dead Bad Guys was on our top twenty wanted list. Like they say, you can't fight City Hall.

READ THE FULL TEXT HERE

Jesus Camp and Why I'm Glad To Be A Democrat

I know I have neglected this blog for far too long. Fact of the matter is that I have been far too busy to blog, which means that I haven't had the time to be angry. That's not to say certain things haven't ticked me off lately, just not enough that I needed to vent.

After watching the trailer for a documentary called Jesus Camp, I remembered why I'm Glad To Call Myself A Democrat.

The trailer speaks volumes about what's wrong with today's Republican party and why Evangelicals are as dangerous to this country as Islamic radicals. Millions of children are being raised, brainwashed, and trained to be American Jihadis. While they may not be trained in the use of weapons and hand-to-hand combat, they are being trained to hate and ignore facts (like evolution and global warming... oh yeah, Jesus will save us... not). Oh, and they are taught to worship a standee of George W. Bush. If that's not demented, I don't know what is.

After watching the trailer, I wanted to vomit. I'm not kidding. Children are chanting that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for Jesus. Hmmm... what group that that remind me of? You guessed it, the Islamic Facists that kill innocent men, women, children, and soldiers throughout the world.

These are the people who believe in the rapture and that the end is near. The problem is that they are the ones that will make it happen because they believe in the Second Coming. That nuclear war and total destruction will bring about the return of Christ. Funny thing is that the Muslims believe in something similar. So, are we going to see a Jesus vs Mohammed cage match? Doubtful. Logic would indicate that we'd have millions dead and millions more aimlessly roaming the earth suffering...

More clips from the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co1_9lR9EpM

Official site: http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/

Vomit, indeed.

Return of the Commies

Screw this "Peaceful Rise" nonsense... the Chinese are doing what they do best: getting their hands on our technology and reverse engineering it for their own gain.

Why else would they have an agent buy a nuclear capable cruise missle with a 2300 mile range and an F-16 engine?

The Chinese and the Russians are quietly ganging up on us, supporting every rogue anti-US regime (including Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, to name a few).

Wake up America!

Shades of 1984: Fed's want convicted hacker's DNA

You read right.. our wonderful REPUBLICAN government enacted a law 2 years ago requiring persons convicted of ANY crime to submit DNA to a federal database BY BLOOD ONLY.

The hacker went so far as to provide hair and fingernail clippings, but the feds wouldn't budge. Saliva is sufficient for a paternity test, as it is over 99% accurate. Apparently that's not good enough for Uncle Sam.

What's crazy is that this kid was a computer hacker who never did any real damage. His crimes wouldn't leave any genetic evidence, making the point of this escapade all the more insane. Shouldn't we limit this sort of thing to violent criminals... at least the ones who commit rape or multiple violent offenses?

Every since Clinton was president, it's been fashionable to bash Democrats (i'm talking to YOU, Rush, O'Reilly, Hannity, Boortz, and the other bloodsuckers out there). One of the things that always cracked me up is that they claim that Democrats are all about "Big Government" and will turn the country into some "Big Brother" police state.

I hate to break it to you conservative assholes, but the Bush Administration and GOP government have made amazing strides these last 6 years... that is, taking major chunks from Orwell's 1984 and making it reality.

It's no wonder Democrats have held a steady double-digit lead in recent opinion polls. (Here are a few reasons why)

BTW: John Conyers Rocks (psst... he's a major reason the GOP is afraid of losing power in 2006/2008)

Study Says Fox News Helped Bush Win The Presidency in 2000

A recent study by UC Berkeley and Stockholm University indicates that Fox News was able to influence it's audience and alter voting behavior, tipping the scales enough so Bush won the presidency in 2000. Of course, the right-wing trolls will be quick to claim that the study was conducted by "liberal" college professors and holds no weight.

Anyone with a double-digit I.Q. knows that Fox News is a GOP mouthpiece, that they echo Republican Party talking points, and frequently repeat phrases and statements made by White House officials. Heck, they even admitted that they are biased! (FoxNews.com says otherwise)

One of their top "news men" is Sean Hannity who, to the best of my knowledge, has no journalistic credentials whatsoever. The guy was a friggin construction worker who got his start blabbing on local radio. (In case you couldn't tell, I don't think very highly of the guy)

We Report, You Decide? More like: We Distort, You Comply.