Sunday, July 31, 2005

Quote for the Day, 7/31/2005   "Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago:  to tame the savageness of man, and make gentle the life of this world."   -Robert Kennedy   This comes from my second favorite speech.  I know, having favorite speeches strongly suggests I'm a geek, but there it is. 10:51:30 PM    comment []

The Break-Up of Big Labor:  A Growth Opportunity   I celebrate the break of major unions inside the AFL-CIO.  The AFL-CIO has been ineffective.  Simply put, while their members are working as hard as ever, their unions are not working very hard for them.  Many think this division is some sort of victory for the Republican party.  I suspect it will prove to be a disaster for them in the long run.  Labor's leadership is whiter and older and more male than the union membership.  I think the new competitive pressures will start to change that.  The Teamsters and the SIEU (Service Industry Employees' Union) are two large, relatively rich, powerful unions, and they are now free to act independently to grow.  And I think by being separate unions with separate priorities, they will compete and try different things and be a laboratory for adaptation and improvement, and the AFL-CIO and the other two will all come to learn from one another.  If it fails, labor was becoming increasingly irrelevant on the national scene anyway.  But I suspect this break represents the last best hope for renewed growth in the labor movement. 1:57:48 PM    comment []

An Iraqi War Vet in Congress?   The Cincinnati Post, which has consistently endorsed the Republican Congressmen in the Ohio 2nd Congressional District, this time has endorsed Democrat Paul Hackett for the seat vacated by US trade representative Rob Portman.  Hackett, who served as a major in the Marines in Iraq last year, is a moderate Democrat, who is fiscally conservative and libertarian in temperament, which makes him a better fit for his fairly Republican suburban district than his Republican opponent, Jean Schmidt, who favors the President's massive spending and massive tax cuts, along with his war-on-civil-liberties policies.  There is no one in Congress who has experience in this Iraq war. For Hackett to win would still be a big upset, but the turnout is expected to be low, and he has run an excellent race:  an upset is possible.  And Schmidt has loaned her campaign money in an effort to buy the seat which she will surely expect lobbyists to return to her pocket should she win.  This sort of behavior should not be rewarded.  And Congress badly needs a voice of experience in their midst when they discuss Iraq. Root for Hackett to win in Tuesday’s election. 11:51:41 AM    comment []

Belated Saturday Playlist #1   Sorry I didn't get around to posting this playlist yesterday, but life is full of these little disappointments.   1.  The Pixies-Debaser  The Pixies were probably the most influential band of the 90s.  They disbanded, though, and left the bands they'd influenced to sell the millions and millions of records.  Life isn't fair, sometimes.  They recently reformed to...well, to make lots of money. 2.  Varsity Drag-Skinny Ties  Ben Deily was the other singer-songwriter in the early days of the Lemonheads.  I always liked his songs as much as Evan Dando's.  Varsity Drag is a later band of Ben's. 3.  Elefant-Misfit  When I first heard this song, it sounded like I'd heard it before, and it wasn't just because it had the keyboards and a British singer, and I used to listen to New Wave.  No, it's because it sounded like a hit. 4.  The Fever-Ladyfingers  Another band that has not heard that the 80s are over.  But while they may think that the 80s are still here, they're enthusiastic about it.  From their e.p., Pink on Pink, which was stronger than their first full length album. 5.  Palomar-Knockout  I love girl harmonies, and this band has three female vocalists, so they're down with that.  They are more impressive live, but this is still a good song. 6.  Dinosaur Jr.-Freak Scene  J Mascis' old (and now re-formed) band has been one of the greatest bands of the last twenty years, and his cracked voice has been an inspiration to singers without great pipes everywhere. 7.  Polara-Green Shoes (alternative mix)  Minneapolis's best Britpop band Polara has a brand new e.p., and this is a variant version of the title song. 8.  The Dismemberment Plan-The Things that Matter  It's amazing how many words a man can sing in just a few seconds.  This song isn't even remarkable in that category.  I'm just saying... 9.  Dressy Bessy-Side 2  A feel good song from these pop punk stalwarts. 10.  Milloy-Spiders  I know nothing about this band but this song, and I must have missed the part about the spiders, but it's a lot of fun. 7:30:07 AM    comment []