I Read the News Today, Oh Boy

As always, I started the paper off with the letters to the editor. What do my fellow citizens have on their minds that they have to share with others? Oh, hey, look a letter that seems to imply that graduate students teaching classes at the UO necessarily means a poor educational experience:

The UO can’t compete

In the Nov. 25 Register Guard, Anne Williams does a fine job of reporting the facts. One item she missed, however, relates to University of Oregon professor John Nicols’ “concerns” about the quality of education in the program. At the UO, these classes are typically taught by graduate students, not professors, and in halls with 200 to 300 students, not the 30 to 40 in a typical College Now class.

As such, these classes are a profit center for UO, which calls into question the UO’s “objectivity” in evaluating the quality of education. College Now fills a need for students who want high-quality instruction, smaller class sizes and lower cost. The UO can’t compete with those benefits.

Who wrote this letter? Hey, it's our good friend and fellow AFT unionist Bob Baldwin! Thanks a lot Bob.

Two things for Bob, real quick.

One, we prefer to be called "graduate employees" because, and why would you have cause to know this, we actually have to fight the federal government and various state governments just to have the right to have unions, so the word "employee" is quite important to us.

Two, go fuck yourself. It's great that you're proud of Lane Community College and its programs, but do you really need to take a swipe at your union brothers and sisters while doing your bragging? You don't see us writing letters about how much public employees cost and how lazy they are, now do you?

After the letters it's on to the front pages. The R-G just recently started running "corrections" on page two and I love them. Today's paper featured three corrections to a story the R-G ran yesterday about how economists are split over whether Measures 66 & 67 are really "job-killing taxes" which just happens to be what the business-backed people are calling their campaign.

Guess what the three things the story got wrong all had in common. Guess:

A story on the cover of Friday’s newspaper about economists’ views on two upcoming tax measures contained several errors:

The Eugene economics firm ECONorthwest has not taken a position on measures 66 and 67, but its managing director, Randall Pozdena, has. The story incorrectly stated that ECONorthwest contends the tax measures are job killers.

A letter supporting passage of measures 66 and 67 has been signed by 36 Oregon economists. The story incorrectly stated that 16 economists signed the letter.

By 2013, the corporate income tax rate under Measure 67 would be restored to the current level for businesses whose taxable income falls below $10 million a year. The story incorrectly stated that the tax rate would be restored to the current level for businesses whose in-state sales fall below $10 million a year.

If you guessed all three errors hurt the "Yes for Oregon!" side, you win.

Lastly, the Business section. A story about how tariffs on Chinese tires are going to hurt the little guy where it hurts the most. No, not there, in the pocketbook. The article is a beaut, from "President Obama recently slapped a 35 percent tariff on tires after a U.S. union claimed that an influx of Chinese imports has cost more than 5,000 U.S. tire workers their jobs since 2004." to "Matt Edmonds, vice president of the online retailer Tire Rack, says the tariff punishes buyers who want cheaper tires. 'It’s going to impact those who really can afford it the least.'"

My favorite part of the article is where even good American tire companies are going to be forced to raise the price of their tires, partly because these "American" tire companies get some of their tires from China, but, as the tire companies are saying themselves, raw material costs are going up. In fact, even though Goodyear has said its cost increases are from raw materials, article author Dee-Ann Durbin goes ahead and doubts that and asserts that the increase could be to off-set the tariffs.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will raise the price on all consumer replacement tires sold in North America by 6 percent starting Tuesday. The manufacturer, based in Akron, Ohio, cited raw material costs. Goodyear imports about 2 percent of its tires from China, so the increase also could offset tariffs.

And, no, not one person or organization who supports this crazy, (Chinese) job-killing tariff is quoted or cited in the story. Why would they be? They're crazy.

New Leadership, Please

You know what just about the most "un-American" thing I can think of is? A Congressional leader calling his or her political opponents "un-American" for protesting government actions. Let's call them ugly, loud-mouth, ignorant SOBs, but let's leave un-American out of it.

For fuck's sake. This is what our political opponents do. They brand dissent as un-patriotic. To them Code Pink is just shy of an official terrorist organization. What do they do? They stand up at meetings, shout down the speaker, and make their voices heard. We admire them. We admire anyone who has the courage to stand up to the powers that be and makes their voice heard.

And these townhall protesters are no different than we are. Well, I guess I'd like to believe that they're wrong, whereas my lefty groups are right, but how can for one hot minute anyone who reads this blog think that these people have invalid views or don't deserve to be heard just because they were organized into going to an event by Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh. I am a union organizer, I am astroturf by definition. Sure, members may walk into my office to tell me about some issue they have and I can use my skills to organize them, but this never happens over politics. Nope, I'm out there trying to get three to five people to show up for some half-assed rally. Let's just take (and leave) EFCA as an example.

Lastly, I will not abide by my leadership pretending like a townhall meeting means something. That they are some genuine exchange of views between a Congressperson and the citizens. That Peter Defazio has yet to make up his mind about this crazy health care bill and that the fine citizens of Drain, Oregon are going to provide some magical insight that really opens his eyes. It's bullshit and we all know it. Townhalls, at best, provide a politician political cover or anecdotes, otherwise they are pretty useless. Somehow the thought that organized hicks might be standing up and making a mockery of these dog and pony shows does not rock me to my American core. They always were political theater, the last thing we should be upset about is that they'll be good political theater. Heaven knows, if it weren't for the chance that I might be engaged is some actual heated political yelling, I doubt that I'd be driving down to the Grove tomorrow at 8 am to hear Defazio spout hackneyed talking points for a bill he probably doesn't genuinely support - which, in my book, is pretty un-American.

(More) Proof That God Hates Me

Yesterday, my beloved Liverpool Reds (see previous two posts) took on the hated Chelsea Blues in a second-leg match in the Champion's League. Due to a scoring system that seems overly-difficult to explain to the uninitiated, but is really quite simple, Liverpool had to win by three goals to advance in the playoffs, or by two goals if they scored three or more. See, simple.

Anyway, I have been swamped at work (thus the light posting), so there was no way I was going to be able to take a couple hours off to watch the match. Plus, Liverpool has little chance of success, so why bother, right? So I am working way and it gets to be a about 12:15, so the match was half-hour in, so I thought I'd check it on the interwebs. I dial up the soccernet and low-and-behold, the Reds had put two in and were one goal away from doing the next-to. Still, work to be done and all that (Law-Boy has been fudging his job up and creating work for me and everyone else), so I decide that I can squeeze in the second half while I eat.

While I was at Taylors waiting for my chicken Autzen sandwich with a salad-blue-cheese, Chelsea scores. No big deal, if the 'pool scores once more to make it 3-1, then we have extra time. While eating my sandwich, Chelsea scores again. Liverpool is basically dead here. They would need to score twice more and they have not looked like scoring in the second half. So I missed Liverpool scoring twice to keep the dream alive, but I got to see Chelsea score twice to kil the dream back off.

Meanwhile a gentleman of the alcoholic persuasion has entered the bar and taken a seat next to me. He smells. And not good. Fine. He slurs his way through asking the bartender for a cab, which the bartender starts to call for, until he becomes pissy that the bartender is rushing it, as he would like to have a beer first. And maybe a glass of Tanquery. And another beer. I'm still sitting there out of the petty hope that if Liverpool can score, at least the Chelsea fans in the bar will have to sweat out the last ten minutes of the match.

Chelsea scores.

With the score 2-3 with 15 minutes left, I suddenly realize that I should be at work. Liverpool would need to score three times to advance. So, I missed Liverpool's goals, but got to listen to the Chelsea fans (who really are garbage) go on three times. Joy.

Back a my desk, I am working away until about 10 minutes later when I get a twit from Wobs saying "See you in the semis" (he roots for Barca, they advanced easily) and I am wonder why he would see me in the semis. My interest in the semis would be greatly lessened by Liverpool's non-participation. On a lark, I check the score. Liverpool has managed to score twice in the ten minutes I was not watching and have taken a 4-3 lead, needing one goal to advance with about 5 minutes to play.

I call Wobs -- holy F.

While I am watching the ESPN gamecast, which consists of a text scroll of some commentator and little dots flashing on the screen when a shot is taken, it seems Liverpool is pouring it on. I am telling Wobs the same story I am telling you now and

Lampard scores for Chelsea in the 89th. 4-4. It is over.

So, I missed all four Liverpool goals, but caught all four Chelsea goals.

At this point, I feel I should apologize to all Liverpool fans around the world. If we have a chance of overtaking United for the Prem title, I promise not to watch.