The revolution having been achieved, this blog will no longer be necessary.
Fortunately, I have found a new passion...organizing grievances.
You can join me in this endeavor at organizinggrievances.blogspot.com where I will be writing largely the same stuff, maybe with a little less of my random posts about whatever Simpsons episode I am watching.
The fantastic news is that I am writing with a whole crew of people who are passionate about politics, pop culture, unions, academia and making this world better. We are writing more frequently, so the OG will be a place you can visit and know something new and interesting will be up. We hope this way we can draw more people into the discussion (people like you!). Then the ads will start, we'll become wealthy, and the blog will become increasingly "centrist," until, at long last, we'll all be agreeing that only a maverick like McCain can solve our problems.
For reasons very personal, this song is always associated with death for me. Well, of course, it means death for everyone, because, you know, that's what the song is about, but...well, just freakin' watch it and remember the good times.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Vote and a Haircut
Cross-posted at Organizing Grievances
I voted today. Hooray!
Living on the left, my votes are not too hard to guess, especially since I have been sporting an Obama for President shirt since 2006.
The real race in Oregon is for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley. I'll go ahead and issue the standard caveat that both men are fine candidates and I am sure both will give Smith a run for his money in November, but there is no doubt that I hope to jeebus that Novick can pull out the victory. Novick is a dedicated Dem activist with a fiery streak and a willingness to talk out of turn every now and again. Merkley is the choice of the DSCC and has been seen as the "safe" choice, with a proven legislative record and all that.
Early on, Novick was the only Dem willing to run for the nomination. As a series of high-profile Dem politicians declined to run, there was an increasingly frantic search for a "name" candidate who would run. In the meantime, I saw Novick speak at our union convention and I was hooked (ha ha!). He not only said all the right things, he didn't say the wrong things. He didn't call for an expanded manufacturing base. He didn't call for tax cuts for the "middle class." And, most importantly, he didn't call for Democrats to put aside "distractions" and focus on issues important to "working families."
But Novick used his head start exceptionally well. Rather than trying to mitigate all of his positions that put him at the margins of mainstream politics, he seemed to embrace them. Nothing exemplified this as well as his use of his hook. Novick was born without a left hand and uses a hook. He embraced this fact early by making his main campaign slogan, "A Fighter with a Strong Left Hook." He garnered national attention with his (first?) campaign ad.
His "Beer with Steve" campaign, wherein he toured the state and held fund raisers at bars, was also brilliant in that it seemed to challenge the idea that he was some crazy-eyed liberal fire-breather who would be a disaster for the party. Instead, he put himself forward as the kind of guy who might sit in a bar and say all the things you agree with. A regular Joe. (Contrast this with Hillary "Shot-and-a-beer" Clinton.) Voters seemed to respond, as money rolled into the Novick campaign and little was heard from Merkley. Although, to be fair, he was working behind the scenes to rack up those endorsements. Early polls put Novick far ahead and we began to ask ourselves if it was possible that Novick could win this thing.
Merkley has run the classic front-runners race, despite lagging in the polls. He's got his endorsements. He has tried to make Novick out to be a far-left looney. He has attacked Novick for "attacking" his fellow Democrats (wrap your head around that one). He argues that Smith is really afraid of him, not Novick. He puts out ads like this:
While the Merkley camp is touting his comeback in the polls and his momentum, they cannot escape the fact that polls have the race a dead heat, with a significant number of undecided voters.
This is the race I'll be watching election returns for. To paraphrase Pattyjoe, I want to believe that the Democratic party can nominate someone like Novick. If we can pull this off, there's no telling who we could elect or what we could do. For christsake, it might even mean that we could stop settling for the lesser of two evils and actually be excited about who we vote for and what we can do.
And now I am off to get my hairs cut.
I voted today. Hooray!
Living on the left, my votes are not too hard to guess, especially since I have been sporting an Obama for President shirt since 2006.
The real race in Oregon is for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley. I'll go ahead and issue the standard caveat that both men are fine candidates and I am sure both will give Smith a run for his money in November, but there is no doubt that I hope to jeebus that Novick can pull out the victory. Novick is a dedicated Dem activist with a fiery streak and a willingness to talk out of turn every now and again. Merkley is the choice of the DSCC and has been seen as the "safe" choice, with a proven legislative record and all that.
Early on, Novick was the only Dem willing to run for the nomination. As a series of high-profile Dem politicians declined to run, there was an increasingly frantic search for a "name" candidate who would run. In the meantime, I saw Novick speak at our union convention and I was hooked (ha ha!). He not only said all the right things, he didn't say the wrong things. He didn't call for an expanded manufacturing base. He didn't call for tax cuts for the "middle class." And, most importantly, he didn't call for Democrats to put aside "distractions" and focus on issues important to "working families."
For those of you not in the modern labor movement, "issues important to working families" is code for focusing only on "pocketbook" issues and leaving behind such distractions as civil rights for gays, African Americans, or women, gun control, the War (unless it is discussed specifically as a drain on the budget), and all other social issues.That Novick didn't say any of these things was a huge plus for me and, of course, meant he was unelectable and the scramble to find a real candidate was on. In the end, the Speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff Merkley, was willing to be the sensible alternative and I think it was expected that he would crush Novick, especially after picking up the endorsements of the sitting Governor and Big Labor. We on the left were sort of resigned to backing the lefty candidate in the primary and then switching over to the less dynamic candidate in the general. That Merkley would do everything in his power to distance himself from the left in order to attract the all important Portland-suburb-moderate-woman vote was as disheartening as it was inevitable.
But Novick used his head start exceptionally well. Rather than trying to mitigate all of his positions that put him at the margins of mainstream politics, he seemed to embrace them. Nothing exemplified this as well as his use of his hook. Novick was born without a left hand and uses a hook. He embraced this fact early by making his main campaign slogan, "A Fighter with a Strong Left Hook." He garnered national attention with his (first?) campaign ad.
His "Beer with Steve" campaign, wherein he toured the state and held fund raisers at bars, was also brilliant in that it seemed to challenge the idea that he was some crazy-eyed liberal fire-breather who would be a disaster for the party. Instead, he put himself forward as the kind of guy who might sit in a bar and say all the things you agree with. A regular Joe. (Contrast this with Hillary "Shot-and-a-beer" Clinton.) Voters seemed to respond, as money rolled into the Novick campaign and little was heard from Merkley. Although, to be fair, he was working behind the scenes to rack up those endorsements. Early polls put Novick far ahead and we began to ask ourselves if it was possible that Novick could win this thing.
Merkley has run the classic front-runners race, despite lagging in the polls. He's got his endorsements. He has tried to make Novick out to be a far-left looney. He has attacked Novick for "attacking" his fellow Democrats (wrap your head around that one). He argues that Smith is really afraid of him, not Novick. He puts out ads like this:
While the Merkley camp is touting his comeback in the polls and his momentum, they cannot escape the fact that polls have the race a dead heat, with a significant number of undecided voters.
This is the race I'll be watching election returns for. To paraphrase Pattyjoe, I want to believe that the Democratic party can nominate someone like Novick. If we can pull this off, there's no telling who we could elect or what we could do. For christsake, it might even mean that we could stop settling for the lesser of two evils and actually be excited about who we vote for and what we can do.
And now I am off to get my hairs cut.
Vote and a Haircut
Cross-posted at Organizing Grievances
I voted today. Hooray!
Living on the left, my votes are not too hard to guess, especially since I have been sporting an Obama for President shirt since 2006.
The real race in Oregon is for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley. I'll go ahead and issue the standard caveat that both men are fine candidates and I am sure both will give Smith a run for his money in November, but there is no doubt that I hope to jeebus that Novick can pull out the victory. Novick is a dedicated Dem activist with a fiery streak and a willingness to talk out of turn every now and again. Merkley is the choice of the DSCC and has been seen as the "safe" choice, with a proven legislative record and all that.
Early on, Novick was the only Dem willing to run for the nomination. As a series of high-profile Dem politicians declined to run, there was an increasingly frantic search for a "name" candidate who would run. In the meantime, I saw Novick speak at our union convention and I was hooked (ha ha!). He not only said all the right things, he didn't say the wrong things. He didn't call for an expanded manufacturing base. He didn't call for tax cuts for the "middle class." And, most importantly, he didn't call for Democrats to put aside "distractions" and focus on issues important to "working families."
But Novick used his head start exceptionally well. Rather than trying to mitigate all of his positions that put him at the margins of mainstream politics, he seemed to embrace them. Nothing exemplified this as well as his use of his hook. Novick was born without a left hand and uses a hook. He embraced this fact early by making his main campaign slogan, "A Fighter with a Strong Left Hook." He garnered national attention with his (first?) campaign ad.
His "Beer with Steve" campaign, wherein he toured the state and held fund raisers at bars, was also brilliant in that it seemed to challenge the idea that he was some crazy-eyed liberal fire-breather who would be a disaster for the party. Instead, he put himself forward as the kind of guy who might sit in a bar and say all the things you agree with. A regular Joe. (Contrast this with Hillary "Shot-and-a-beer" Clinton.) Voters seemed to respond, as money rolled into the Novick campaign and little was heard from Merkley. Although, to be fair, he was working behind the scenes to rack up those endorsements. Early polls put Novick far ahead and we began to ask ourselves if it was possible that Novick could win this thing.
Merkley has run the classic front-runners race, despite lagging in the polls. He's got his endorsements. He has tried to make Novick out to be a far-left looney. He has attacked Novick for "attacking" his fellow Democrats (wrap your head around that one). He argues that Smith is really afraid of him, not Novick. He puts out ads like this:
While the Merkley camp is touting his comeback in the polls and his momentum, they cannot escape the fact that polls have the race a dead heat, with a significant number of undecided voters.
This is the race I'll be watching election returns for. To paraphrase Pattyjoe, I want to believe that the Democratic party can nominate someone like Novick. If we can pull this off, there's no telling who we could elect or what we could do. For christsake, it might even mean that we could stop settling for the lesser of two evils and actually be excited about who we vote for and what we can do.
And now I am off to get my hairs cut.
I voted today. Hooray!
Living on the left, my votes are not too hard to guess, especially since I have been sporting an Obama for President shirt since 2006.
The real race in Oregon is for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate between Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley. I'll go ahead and issue the standard caveat that both men are fine candidates and I am sure both will give Smith a run for his money in November, but there is no doubt that I hope to jeebus that Novick can pull out the victory. Novick is a dedicated Dem activist with a fiery streak and a willingness to talk out of turn every now and again. Merkley is the choice of the DSCC and has been seen as the "safe" choice, with a proven legislative record and all that.
Early on, Novick was the only Dem willing to run for the nomination. As a series of high-profile Dem politicians declined to run, there was an increasingly frantic search for a "name" candidate who would run. In the meantime, I saw Novick speak at our union convention and I was hooked (ha ha!). He not only said all the right things, he didn't say the wrong things. He didn't call for an expanded manufacturing base. He didn't call for tax cuts for the "middle class." And, most importantly, he didn't call for Democrats to put aside "distractions" and focus on issues important to "working families."
For those of you not in the modern labor movement, "issues important to working families" is code for focusing only on "pocketbook" issues and leaving behind such distractions as civil rights for gays, African Americans, or women, gun control, the War (unless it is discussed specifically as a drain on the budget), and all other social issues.That Novick didn't say any of these things was a huge plus for me and, of course, meant he was unelectable and the scramble to find a real candidate was on. In the end, the Speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff Merkley, was willing to be the sensible alternative and I think it was expected that he would crush Novick, especially after picking up the endorsements of the sitting Governor and Big Labor. We on the left were sort of resigned to backing the lefty candidate in the primary and then switching over to the less dynamic candidate in the general. That Merkley would do everything in his power to distance himself from the left in order to attract the all important Portland-suburb-moderate-woman vote was as disheartening as it was inevitable.
But Novick used his head start exceptionally well. Rather than trying to mitigate all of his positions that put him at the margins of mainstream politics, he seemed to embrace them. Nothing exemplified this as well as his use of his hook. Novick was born without a left hand and uses a hook. He embraced this fact early by making his main campaign slogan, "A Fighter with a Strong Left Hook." He garnered national attention with his (first?) campaign ad.
His "Beer with Steve" campaign, wherein he toured the state and held fund raisers at bars, was also brilliant in that it seemed to challenge the idea that he was some crazy-eyed liberal fire-breather who would be a disaster for the party. Instead, he put himself forward as the kind of guy who might sit in a bar and say all the things you agree with. A regular Joe. (Contrast this with Hillary "Shot-and-a-beer" Clinton.) Voters seemed to respond, as money rolled into the Novick campaign and little was heard from Merkley. Although, to be fair, he was working behind the scenes to rack up those endorsements. Early polls put Novick far ahead and we began to ask ourselves if it was possible that Novick could win this thing.
Merkley has run the classic front-runners race, despite lagging in the polls. He's got his endorsements. He has tried to make Novick out to be a far-left looney. He has attacked Novick for "attacking" his fellow Democrats (wrap your head around that one). He argues that Smith is really afraid of him, not Novick. He puts out ads like this:
While the Merkley camp is touting his comeback in the polls and his momentum, they cannot escape the fact that polls have the race a dead heat, with a significant number of undecided voters.
This is the race I'll be watching election returns for. To paraphrase Pattyjoe, I want to believe that the Democratic party can nominate someone like Novick. If we can pull this off, there's no telling who we could elect or what we could do. For christsake, it might even mean that we could stop settling for the lesser of two evils and actually be excited about who we vote for and what we can do.
And now I am off to get my hairs cut.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Shopping at Kohls
I was sorely tempted to buy one of these this weekend, but passed it up in the end.
Did Not See That Coming
Again, I don't write about these things too often, but finding out that Britney Spears and Mel Gibson are vacationing together makes my head hurt enough to have to share with you.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Calling EZ
EZ,
Could you e-mail me when you get a chance? I have a question to ask you and would like to ask off-blog.
XOXOXOXO,
Dave3544
Could you e-mail me when you get a chance? I have a question to ask you and would like to ask off-blog.
XOXOXOXO,
Dave3544
I'll Tell You What It's Good For
I think we're going to have to face it on this one, Bush is right. Appeasement has never worked. Ever. I refer you to the chapter on WWII in your history texts for proof. The result of talking with tyrants? Poland gets invaded. Every freakin' time. Name me one war that talking has prevented. Do it. I'll wait, I've got the time. That's what I thought, you can't.
We have a solution to these problems. It is called war. Works every time. I'm constantly amazed that people seem so eager to ignore this simple and obvious solution.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge Obama supporter, but one day we'll have to admit that the left is wrong on this one. A slavish devotion to "peace" only results in less killing.
We have a solution to these problems. It is called war. Works every time. I'm constantly amazed that people seem so eager to ignore this simple and obvious solution.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge Obama supporter, but one day we'll have to admit that the left is wrong on this one. A slavish devotion to "peace" only results in less killing.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Another Whole Month?
Of The Love Guru commercials? 'Cause it looks like it sucks. And I am a fan of Austin Powers and hockey.
EW Letter(s) of the Week
Two hot letters this week. One goes up for the impassioned misunderstanding of the Democratic political system and an impassioned endorsement of John Grisham(!). The other letter makes the cut because I am still in love with the notion that a newspaper should reject ads because they advertize products made by corporations(!). Yes, the Weekly should only accept ads from local brewers. Come on, EW, stop turning down ad revenue from the locals!
EUGENE NOT EXEMPT
"Where are the Eugene feminists?" a woman asked at the Hillary Clinton booth at the Saturday Market. "What do they mean that only older women and uneducated people are for Hillary?" another female Ph.D. asked. People have found the Hillary booth a welcome place to state the obvious: The male/female double standards have never been more evident, even in green Eugene. Why?
For one thing, MoveOn.org got it wrong several months ago but ran with it anyway. They decided to make a preemptive strike to promote only one candidate instead of letting the democratic process unfold in this primary election. Then, the Democratic National Committee also decided that the old-fashioned process (to let all citizens vote and count all the votes) should be replaced by emulating the Rovian way of disenfranchising voters and votes by repetitive bully talk.
MoveOn.org, the DNC and the Obama camp have tried everything short of hog-tying Clinton to stop her from running for president. But she won all the big states with big electoral numbers anyway. Besides that, she has Wesley Clark and Joe Wilson at her side! Those two men are exactly whom you would trust in a national emergency. Also, two very wise writers, Maya Angelou and John Grisham, are campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
Not everyone has accepted the double standards, the voting debacle, the cool corporate-like logo or commercial hitchhiking on the coattails of JFK. Bobby Kennedy's activist kids stand with Clinton. Half of all of us are with Hillary for President.
Deb Huntley, Eugene
and
CORPORATE BREW
During my life in Eugene, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Weekly. I am excited about your passion to support our local community and your attempt to rise above most modern media censorship and partial truths. That is, until this week's edition.
Your full page color Budweiser ad has me appalled and confused, as does your additional color Bud Light ad following just a few pages afterward. "Buy corporate beer!" you say, and "Support China's rice exports!" I am disappointed in your ability to remain an independent newspaper going against the demand for sell-out media.
Thanks, EW, for selling out what your supporters stand for most: Eugene and its people. Down with Bud!
Suggestions for improvement: Support local breweries who support local economies — there are many to choose from. Highlight the organic brewing movement — help from the media is just what it needs. Tell the public about home brewing — many people in Eugene participate.
Tobias Schock, Eugene
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Manny
It is almost impossible to believe that there are "baseball people" out there who hate Manny, but I love him. Can't say his antics help Boston or hurt Boston, but he certainly makes life more fun, no?
Here he is catching a ball at the wall, high-fiving a fan, and throwing out the runner.
Here he is catching a ball at the wall, high-fiving a fan, and throwing out the runner.
It All Circles Around to Vietnam
I was listening to the Oregon Public Broadcasting program "Think Out Loud" the other day and they had on two McCain representatives who are veterans to talk about McCain's military experience and his current war policies. Unfortunately, neither was a very solid speaker, jumping from talking point to talking point, including dissing on Obama for refusing to say the pledge of allegiance (sigh).
The bit I caught involved talking about how McCain's Vietnam experience have prepared him to take over the War in Iraq.
There was the interesting assertion that those who have seen combat from ground level have some innate sense of war that allows them to make more correct decisions about war later on. This comment, unfortunately, went unchallenged, but I'd love to hear the rationale.
Then there was the assertion that men who have seen combat are more likely to know the horror of war and be more reticent to get involved in war. The host asked how this assertion squared with McCain's pledge to increase troop levels in Iraq verses Obama and Clinton's intentions to begin withdrawal of troops. The responder started rambling about how Iraq and Vietnam are two completely different wars, incomparable in his mind, because, you see Johnson was trying to appeal to the hawks and the doves at the same time, so he was...at this point the host cut him off and repeated her question about the apparent contradiction. The guest responded with, and I am not making this up, that the way he saw it was that all the talk of withdrawal would embolden the terrorists, just like it did the North Vietnamese.
At that point, I switched the channel.
But I expect we're going to hear a lot more about how John knows war! meaning both that he is the most likely to win the war and the most likely to withdraw the troops as soon as possible.
The bit I caught involved talking about how McCain's Vietnam experience have prepared him to take over the War in Iraq.
There was the interesting assertion that those who have seen combat from ground level have some innate sense of war that allows them to make more correct decisions about war later on. This comment, unfortunately, went unchallenged, but I'd love to hear the rationale.
Then there was the assertion that men who have seen combat are more likely to know the horror of war and be more reticent to get involved in war. The host asked how this assertion squared with McCain's pledge to increase troop levels in Iraq verses Obama and Clinton's intentions to begin withdrawal of troops. The responder started rambling about how Iraq and Vietnam are two completely different wars, incomparable in his mind, because, you see Johnson was trying to appeal to the hawks and the doves at the same time, so he was...at this point the host cut him off and repeated her question about the apparent contradiction. The guest responded with, and I am not making this up, that the way he saw it was that all the talk of withdrawal would embolden the terrorists, just like it did the North Vietnamese.
At that point, I switched the channel.
But I expect we're going to hear a lot more about how John knows war! meaning both that he is the most likely to win the war and the most likely to withdraw the troops as soon as possible.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Bell Curve Weather
Projected high temperatures for Eugene in the next week:
Today 64 * Tuesday 68 * Wednesday 73 * Thursday 85 * Friday 90 * Saturday 82 * Sunday 66 * Monday 62.
Today 64 * Tuesday 68 * Wednesday 73 * Thursday 85 * Friday 90 * Saturday 82 * Sunday 66 * Monday 62.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Didn't See That Coming
During a break in the Flyers-Penguins match up on Sunday night, Mellon Arena played Fugazi's "Waiting Room." Hockey and Fugazi, two great tastes that go great together.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
And for Godssake, If You Must Lay in a Hammock, Rest Your Beer on Your Head or Your Genitals
I just found out that having a broken arm is a perfectly legitimate excuse for not doing yard work.
I wish I had known this before.
I wish I had known this before.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Song Line Meme (Easy Version)
I will take pride in the easiness of this list. No obscure indie rock for me, thank you. Straight up fluff.
From Napster, instead of the pod.
This is following from feminist, ph.d's welcome introduction of this meme. The rules:
Update (with hints!): Let's wrap this bad boy up! With the possible exception of #22, you've heard of all of these artists. You've probably heard most of these songs. Possibly even made sweet, sweet love while listening to them. Five of the remaining songs contain the title of the song in the first two lines. Where the hell is Pattyjoe when you need him. Oh yes, actually doing important work.
1. I am skin and bone, I am pointy nose
2. I've been really tryin', baby/Tryin' to hold back this feelin' for so long (Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye)
3. I got a letter from the government the other day
4. Just because we've gone away/Here's a message from me and Ray (Descendents, Descendents)
5. I love love you darling/Come and go with me Actually it was the Beach Boys version
6. Jesus take me to a higher place
7. I'm going to hell, who's coming with me?/Somebody, please help him, I think my dad's gone crazy! (My Dad's Gone Crazy, Eminem)
8. Working all week, nine to five for my money/So when the weekend comes I go get live with the honey (Wild Thing, Tone Loc)
9. Everybodys talking about the girl who went and killed the delivery man/But she looks so kind and gentle, it just doesn't stand to reason (Anesthesia, Bad Religion)
10. When the going gets tough and the stomach acids flow/The cold wind of conformity is nipping at your nose
11. Shake your money maker like somebody about to pay ya/I see you on my radar, don't you act like you're a faker (Money Maker, Ludacris)
12. The weather outside is frightful (okay, but which singer?) Vegas, baby! (Wayne Newton)
13. Going down to Rosie's/Gonna talk to Fanny May (Don't Start Me Talkin', New York Dolls)
14. You can do it, put your back into it/I can do it, put your ass into it (You Can Do It, Ice Cube)
15. Back, caught you looking for the same thing
16. Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone
17. Rock me, give me that kick now/Rock me, show me that trick now (Rock Me, ABBA)
18. Starry, starry night, paint your pallet blue and gray
19. I'm on my time with everyone
20. One baby to another says I'm lucky to have met you
21. I was talking with a friend of mine/Said a woman had hurt his pride
22. Gather together, be brothers and sisters/We're independent, we're independent (Forward March, Derrick Morgan)
23. I've spent a lifetime looking for you/Single bars and good time lovers, never true (Looking for Love, Waylon Jennings)
24. In a little while from now/If I'm not feeling any less sour (Alone Again, Naturally, Gilbert O'Sullivan)
25. All of me, why not take all of me? (NOFX) I have many versions of this song - it's one of my all-time favs - in the Napster.
From Napster, instead of the pod.
This is following from feminist, ph.d's welcome introduction of this meme. The rules:
Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right.
Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.
So here goes, in no particular order - or as the kids might say, "Randomly..."Update (with hints!): Let's wrap this bad boy up! With the possible exception of #22, you've heard of all of these artists. You've probably heard most of these songs. Possibly even made sweet, sweet love while listening to them. Five of the remaining songs contain the title of the song in the first two lines. Where the hell is Pattyjoe when you need him. Oh yes, actually doing important work.
2. I've been really tryin', baby/Tryin' to hold back this feelin' for so long (Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye)
4. Just because we've gone away/Here's a message from me and Ray (Descendents, Descendents)
7. I'm going to hell, who's coming with me?/Somebody, please help him, I think my dad's gone crazy! (My Dad's Gone Crazy, Eminem)
8. Working all week, nine to five for my money/So when the weekend comes I go get live with the honey (Wild Thing, Tone Loc)
9. Everybodys talking about the girl who went and killed the delivery man/But she looks so kind and gentle, it just doesn't stand to reason (Anesthesia, Bad Religion)
11. Shake your money maker like somebody about to pay ya/I see you on my radar, don't you act like you're a faker (Money Maker, Ludacris)
13. Going down to Rosie's/Gonna talk to Fanny May (Don't Start Me Talkin', New York Dolls)
14. You can do it, put your back into it/I can do it, put your ass into it (You Can Do It, Ice Cube)
17. Rock me, give me that kick now/Rock me, show me that trick now (Rock Me, ABBA)
22. Gather together, be brothers and sisters/We're independent, we're independent (Forward March, Derrick Morgan)
23. I've spent a lifetime looking for you/Single bars and good time lovers, never true (Looking for Love, Waylon Jennings)
24. In a little while from now/If I'm not feeling any less sour (Alone Again, Naturally, Gilbert O'Sullivan)
Organizing 201
Is "charting and mapping" a strategy or a tactic?
I'm going with this:
1. Goal = Higher membership
2. Strategy = Organizing
3. Tactic = Charting and mapping.
Happy to hear alternative ideas.
I'm going with this:
1. Goal = Higher membership
2. Strategy = Organizing
3. Tactic = Charting and mapping.
Happy to hear alternative ideas.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Organizing 101
When a fair-share member comes in the office and thanks you for all the work you did on the contract, ask them to become a full member.
It works!
It works!
Dig That Shirt Out of the Drawer, I'm Back on Board, Baby!
Ah yes, rural America. The heartland. Repository of American values. God's county, if you will. Clean, honest, hard-working, in rhythm with the seasons, earth wisdom, common sense. Hillary county!
Hillary is coming to Oregon! And she's brining her message that rural America equals good America! Our people! Salt-of-the-Earth types. You know, Republicans!
There was a story on KLCC this morning (I can't find a link) about how some Hillary people from upper New York are campaigning in southern and eastern Oregon for Hillary. They are talking rural voter to rural voter. From what I heard, there has been way too much focus on the cities over the last few years and not enough focus on how people in rural America are suffering. Hillary will change all that.
For those of you who don't know your Oregon geography, southern and eastern Oregon is Republican country, save for the towns of Ashland, (sort of) Medford, and Bend. Hardcore Republican country. My dad, a 57 year-old mill worker in Klamath Falls, keeps his political opinions to himself around the plant because he would find himself very unwelcome around his compatriots should they become known.
From what I learned today, southern and eastern Oregon is Hillary country!
After talking with Hillary's people, who assured us that rural America is the real America, the reporter did the classic local cafe visit to see what the local Democrats had to say about Hillary. Of course, the reporter had to admit that she was unable to find a Democrat in a cafe in Jacksonville, but she was able to find a couple of independents and Republicans who were planning to vote for Obama.
Any, any lingering doubt I had about Obama went out the window. I cannot support a Democratic candidate who increasingly is saying that the Republicans are right about everything. It is one thing to try to paint your opponent as out-of-touch with the party. It is another entirely to buy into the notion that cities are the source of evil. There is way too much bullshit wrapped up in these arguments. Clinton knows exactly how bogus they are, but she's attempting to use them any way to win the nomination. "Whatever it takes!" is not the slogan I want my candidate to run under. That she and her people are pushing Michigan and Florida again is proof that "Whatever it takes" is their unofficial campaign slogan.
While I'm here, I'd also like to address the notion that it is really Obama that is running as "Republican-lite." What I see in Obama is talk about moving past difference, reaching across the aisle, there are no red states, no blue states, and, yes, it is possible to read this as an attempt to run down the middle, but I don't think that's it. I think he's trying, mostly successfully as far as I can tell, to redefine the terms of the debate. No longer will it be Republican values equal American values. Obama is trying to to say that Democratic values equal American values. He says things like this:
Hillary is running on the notion that a gas tax holiday is a good idea, that rural values are true American values, that good country folk are the true heart of the Democratic party. Obama is talking about changing America from the bottom up.
I agree with all of the text below and I desperately want a president will work in this spirit. Obama says he will, Hillary says she will do whatever it takes to get the nomination.
Hillary is coming to Oregon! And she's brining her message that rural America equals good America! Our people! Salt-of-the-Earth types. You know, Republicans!
There was a story on KLCC this morning (I can't find a link) about how some Hillary people from upper New York are campaigning in southern and eastern Oregon for Hillary. They are talking rural voter to rural voter. From what I heard, there has been way too much focus on the cities over the last few years and not enough focus on how people in rural America are suffering. Hillary will change all that.
For those of you who don't know your Oregon geography, southern and eastern Oregon is Republican country, save for the towns of Ashland, (sort of) Medford, and Bend. Hardcore Republican country. My dad, a 57 year-old mill worker in Klamath Falls, keeps his political opinions to himself around the plant because he would find himself very unwelcome around his compatriots should they become known.
From what I learned today, southern and eastern Oregon is Hillary country!
After talking with Hillary's people, who assured us that rural America is the real America, the reporter did the classic local cafe visit to see what the local Democrats had to say about Hillary. Of course, the reporter had to admit that she was unable to find a Democrat in a cafe in Jacksonville, but she was able to find a couple of independents and Republicans who were planning to vote for Obama.
Any, any lingering doubt I had about Obama went out the window. I cannot support a Democratic candidate who increasingly is saying that the Republicans are right about everything. It is one thing to try to paint your opponent as out-of-touch with the party. It is another entirely to buy into the notion that cities are the source of evil. There is way too much bullshit wrapped up in these arguments. Clinton knows exactly how bogus they are, but she's attempting to use them any way to win the nomination. "Whatever it takes!" is not the slogan I want my candidate to run under. That she and her people are pushing Michigan and Florida again is proof that "Whatever it takes" is their unofficial campaign slogan.
While I'm here, I'd also like to address the notion that it is really Obama that is running as "Republican-lite." What I see in Obama is talk about moving past difference, reaching across the aisle, there are no red states, no blue states, and, yes, it is possible to read this as an attempt to run down the middle, but I don't think that's it. I think he's trying, mostly successfully as far as I can tell, to redefine the terms of the debate. No longer will it be Republican values equal American values. Obama is trying to to say that Democratic values equal American values. He says things like this:
Security and opportunity, compassion and prosperity aren't liberal values. They are not conservative values. They are American values, and that is what we are fighting for in this election.And I think most people would say "yes, those are American values, I agree." And those are his values. And my values. How we get there? I think that Obama is much more likely to come up with ideas that are much closer to my political views than Hillary would, if Hillary would make that a priority. I cannot for the life of me shake the notion that Hillary would spend four years fighting with Rush Limbaugh and the vast right-wing conspiracy. That might not be her fault, but it's still not what I want for the next four years.
Hillary is running on the notion that a gas tax holiday is a good idea, that rural values are true American values, that good country folk are the true heart of the Democratic party. Obama is talking about changing America from the bottom up.
I agree with all of the text below and I desperately want a president will work in this spirit. Obama says he will, Hillary says she will do whatever it takes to get the nomination.
It's the idea that, while there are few guarantees in life, you should be able to count on a job that pays the bills, health care for when you need it, a pension when you retire, an education for your children that will allow them to fulfill their God-given potential, that's the America we believe in. That's the America that we know.
This is the country that gave my grandfather a chance to go to college on the G.I. Bill when he came home from World War II, a country that gave him and my grandmother the chance to buy their first home with a loan from the FHA.
This is the country that made it possible for my mother, a single parent who had to go on food stamps at one point, to send my sister and me to the best schools in the country on scholarships.
This is the country that allowed my father-in-law, a shift worker, a city worker at a water filtration plant in Chicago, to provide for his wife and two children on a single salary.
Now, this is a man who was diagnosed at the age of 30 with multiple sclerosis, who relied on a walker to get himself to work, and yet every day he went, and he labored, and he sent my wife and her brother to one of the best colleges in the nation.
And when he talked about his job, he expressed that it was important not just because it gave him a paycheck, but because it described his dignity, his self-worth, his self-respect. It was an America that didn't just reward wealth, but it rewarded work and the workers who created it.
That's the America I love. That's the America you love. That's the America that we are fighting for in this election.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Re-Elect Change!
For those of you not from Oregon, Senator Gordon Smith is a two-term incumbent facing re-election this year. He is considered vulnerable, especially to a 2006-like overwhelming tide of Democratic support.
Smith would like to portray himself as a moderate, but has marched pretty much lock-step with the President on everything. There was a brief time in 2007, post-election, that he came out against the war, but then kept right on voting for funding.
When I first saw this campaign commercial it was late on Friday night and I have been drinking whiskey, organizing grievances, and wearing myself out playing tennis on the Wii, so I thought maybe I had misunderstood/hallucinated the entire thing.
Nope, the two-term Bush-supporting Republican is running as an agent of "change."
Smith would like to portray himself as a moderate, but has marched pretty much lock-step with the President on everything. There was a brief time in 2007, post-election, that he came out against the war, but then kept right on voting for funding.
When I first saw this campaign commercial it was late on Friday night and I have been drinking whiskey, organizing grievances, and wearing myself out playing tennis on the Wii, so I thought maybe I had misunderstood/hallucinated the entire thing.
Nope, the two-term Bush-supporting Republican is running as an agent of "change."
Good Times, Good Times
Finished the contract on Friday evening. Overall, it went pretty well. From when the UO was claiming that they were completely out of money and we'd have to accept the offers they had already put on the table, we got them to put another $470K per year on the table. We didn't eliminate fees, but we took another chunk out of them. You can check the particulars here.
For my part, I got here in 1999 and started being involved with the union in 2000. As part of various teams of kick-ass people, I've helped to do this in my time here:
Bought a Wii last week. Been Wiiing it up.
Won a trivia contest at a local bar on Friday night with a fine team. Drank too many Jack and Cokes. Played Wii when I got home.
Talked with the new field rep from AFT-OR earlier. She's stoked on our contract. Gave me a little bit of the Piano Man treatment and encouraged me to look at a Nat Rep job.
I turn 36 years-old tomorrow. My life is awesome. I love my wife dearly and I am reasonably sure she loves me. We have this super awesome daughter who I don't appreciate enough, but will start. I quit smoking four years ago, I lost 30 pounds this year.
Sweet Jesus, how did I get here and how can I make sure I never leave?
For my part, I got here in 1999 and started being involved with the union in 2000. As part of various teams of kick-ass people, I've helped to do this in my time here:
- The minimum wage has gone up 30%
- The health care plan has gone from costing $1.5M to $5M+ and GTFs have not seen a cost increase since 2000. In fact, the cost to add children will go down by $100 next fall.
- The deductible has gone from $200 to $100 per year. We've added a bunch of benefits, including the much-needed adult circumcision.
- Fees have gone from being uncapped at $267.50 to being capped at $150. We just got the matriculation fee waived for GTFs as well.
- We just secured vacation for our research GTFs who have professors who sometimes forget that there are things called holidays.
- We'll be making a presentation to the Department Heads at the annual Provost's Retreat.
- Non-discrimination language for transgendered GTFs.
- Much, much more I am forgetting.
- Oh yeah, membership has gone from 54% to 77%.
Bought a Wii last week. Been Wiiing it up.
Won a trivia contest at a local bar on Friday night with a fine team. Drank too many Jack and Cokes. Played Wii when I got home.
Talked with the new field rep from AFT-OR earlier. She's stoked on our contract. Gave me a little bit of the Piano Man treatment and encouraged me to look at a Nat Rep job.
I turn 36 years-old tomorrow. My life is awesome. I love my wife dearly and I am reasonably sure she loves me. We have this super awesome daughter who I don't appreciate enough, but will start. I quit smoking four years ago, I lost 30 pounds this year.
Sweet Jesus, how did I get here and how can I make sure I never leave?
Friday, May 2, 2008
Do Yourself a Favor
Check out Poison's cover of JT's Sexyback. Not sure it works exactly, but it's rougher sound goes better with the lyrics than JTs hip-hop club vibe.
As to whether or not Bret Michaels is actually brining sexy back, well, I'll let you decide that.
As to whether or not Bret Michaels is actually brining sexy back, well, I'll let you decide that.
Oh Yeah, That's It
Whenever I forget why I am not a huge fan of the Clintons, all I need to do is spend 5 minutes listening to Bill Clinton to remember why.
NPR did a story this morning on his campaigning for Hillary in rural America (or the "country," as he and the reporter called it). Now, we all know that rural folks are Hillary's folks, as everything about Hillary is pure country. This is apparently the entire focus of the Clinton campaign. So in the piece, Bill is speaking to some crowd and says,
Nothing in the above statement is true. The experts all had Hillary winning until about January/February this year, which was just three months ago. Until then, Hillary had been the front runner for at least a year.
I don't recall the party elite (DLC, DNC) rushing to embrace the first-term Senator for Illinois. I mean, I recall that it was thought to be nice that Obama was running to get some experience under his belt, but that he was really running for 2016. Are the party elite embracing Obama now? Seems to me that if Hillary's sole chance of winning is convincing the party elite to vote for her at convention and they are already against her, then maybe it is time for her to step aside.
If I am not mistaken (too busy to look it up), the vast majority of Obama donations come from small donors. This is his huge advantage, because they can still give. Whereas, Hillary is out of money and running out of donors, as most of her contributions come from the wealthiest members of the Democratic party.
The most troubling thing about Clinton's lying is that it always seems to be for self-interested reasons. The "I need to lie to these rubes if my wife has any chance" kind of lying. Not saying it's worse than the Bush lying, but I really wish we weren't reduced to making the argument that the other guy's lies are worse than our guy's lies.
NPR did a story this morning on his campaigning for Hillary in rural America (or the "country," as he and the reporter called it). Now, we all know that rural folks are Hillary's folks, as everything about Hillary is pure country. This is apparently the entire focus of the Clinton campaign. So in the piece, Bill is speaking to some crowd and says,
If it had been up to the experts and the party elites and the wealthiest Americans who are Democrats, she'd be toast.And then I remember what I didn't like about Bill -- the non-stop lying.
Nothing in the above statement is true. The experts all had Hillary winning until about January/February this year, which was just three months ago. Until then, Hillary had been the front runner for at least a year.
I don't recall the party elite (DLC, DNC) rushing to embrace the first-term Senator for Illinois. I mean, I recall that it was thought to be nice that Obama was running to get some experience under his belt, but that he was really running for 2016. Are the party elite embracing Obama now? Seems to me that if Hillary's sole chance of winning is convincing the party elite to vote for her at convention and they are already against her, then maybe it is time for her to step aside.
If I am not mistaken (too busy to look it up), the vast majority of Obama donations come from small donors. This is his huge advantage, because they can still give. Whereas, Hillary is out of money and running out of donors, as most of her contributions come from the wealthiest members of the Democratic party.
The most troubling thing about Clinton's lying is that it always seems to be for self-interested reasons. The "I need to lie to these rubes if my wife has any chance" kind of lying. Not saying it's worse than the Bush lying, but I really wish we weren't reduced to making the argument that the other guy's lies are worse than our guy's lies.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Happy May Day
As May Day is all about putting aside competition to march in solidarity with your brothers and sisters, I thought I'd share a story with you that captures that spirit.
From Brian Meehan at the OregonianGary Frederick thought he had seen everything in 40 years at Central Washington University. He'd coached baseball and women's basketball for 11 years, been an assistant on the football team for 17 and athletic director for 18.
Last weekend, he learned he was wrong.
In the top of the second inning as his Wildcats played host to Western Oregon University in Ellensburg, Wash., something happened that spoke to the beauty of athletics. It came in the form of a home run that no one in attendance will forget.
"Never in my life had I seen anything like it," said Frederick, 70, in his 14th season as softball coach.
"It was just unbelievable."
Central entered Saturday's doubleheader one game behind Western Oregon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference race. At stake was a bid to the NCAA's Division II playoffs. Western won the first game 8-1, extending its winning streak to 10 games. Central desperately needed the second game to keep its postseason hopes alive.
Western Oregon's 5-foot-2-inch right fielder came up to bat with two runners on base in the second inning. Sara Tucholsky's game was off to a rough start. A group of about eight guys sitting behind the right field fence had been heckling her.
"They were giving me a pretty hard time," said Tucholsky, a Forest Grove High School graduate. "They were just being boys, trying to get in my head."
At the plate, Tucholsky concentrated on ignoring the wise guys. She took strike one. And then the senior did something she had never done before -- even in batting practice. The career .153 hitter smashed the next pitch over the center field fence for an apparent three-run home run.
The exuberant former high school point guard sprinted to first. As she reached the bag, she looked up to watch the ball clear the fence and missed first base. Six feet past the bag, she stopped abruptly to return and touch it. But something gave in her right knee; she collapsed on the base path.
"I was in a lot of pain," she told The Oregonian on Tuesday. "Our first-base coach was telling me I had to crawl back to first base. 'I can't touch you,' she said, 'or you'll be out. I can't help you.' "
Tucholsky, to the horror of teammates and spectators, crawled through the dirt and the pain back to first.
Western coach Pam Knox rushed onto the field and talked to the umpires near the pitcher's mound. The umpires said Knox could place a substitute runner at first. Tucholsky would be credited with a single and two RBIs, but her home run would be erased.
"The umpires said a player cannot be assisted by their team around the bases," Knox said. "But it is her only home run in four years. She is going to kill me if we sub and take it away. But at same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do. . . .
"That is when Mallory stepped in."
Mallory Holtman is the greatest softball player in Central Washington history. Normally when the conference's all-time home run leader steps up to the plate, Pam Knox and other conference coaches grimace.
But on senior day, the first baseman volunteered a simple, selfless solution to her opponents' dilemma: What if the Central Washington players carried Tucholsky around the bases?
The umpires said nothing in the rule book precluded help from the opposition. Holtman asked her teammate junior shortstop and honors program student Liz Wallace of Florence, Mont., to lend a hand. The teammates walked over and picked up Tucholsky and resumed the home-run walk, pausing at each base to allow Tucholsky to touch the bag with her uninjured leg.
"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people.' "
Holtman got her answer when they arrived at home plate. She looked up and saw the entire Western Oregon team in tears.
"My whole team was crying," Tucholsky said. "Everybody in the stands was crying. My coach was crying. It touched a lot of people."
Even the hecklers in right field quieted for a half-inning before resuming their tirade at the outfielder who replaced Tucholsky.
Western Oregon won the game 4-2 and extinguished Central Washington's playoff hopes.
Afterward, Central coach Frederick said he received a clarification from the umpiring supervisor, who said NCAA rules allow a substitute to run for a player who is injured after a home run. The clarification, however, could not diminish he glory of Holtman's and Wallace's gesture. Holtman downplayed her role, which her coach said is typical of the White Salmon, Wash. native.
"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain and she deserved a home run. . . .
"This is a huge experience I will take away. We are not going to remember if we won or lost, we are going to remember this kind of stuff that shows the character of our team. It is the best group of girls I've played with. I came up with the idea, but any girl on the team would have done it."
Tucholsky went to the doctor Tuesday. Her knee was still swollen; her trainer suspects she tore her anterior cruciate ligament. She will be in the dugout this weekend when Western Oregon attempts to cement an NCAA berth with games against Seattle and Western Washington.
Tucholsky will graduate this spring as a business major with a minor in health. She plans to continue her studies at Portland State and pursue a career in the health field. But she will never forget the generosity of her opponents in her final collegiate game.
"Those girls did something awesome to help me get my first home run," she said. "It makes you look at athletes in a different way. It is not always all about winning but rather helping someone in a situation like that."
Holtman knows something of knee injuries. On May 8, she is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees, which have pained her all season. On June 7, she will graduate with a degree in business. She intends to study sports administration in graduate school at Central Washington.
Holtman believes sports has made her a better person.
She wants to give back.
Mallory Holtman plans to do that by becoming a coach.
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