See the full story here.

Wal-Mart is saying that the Democrats will lead to Unions, and that Unions will hurt its workers. When it comes to hurting their workers, Wal-Mart should know.

“The Wall Street Journal cited about a dozen unidentified Wal-Mart employees who had attended such meetings in seven states as saying they were told that employees at unionized shops would have to pay big union dues while not receiving any benefits in return.”

If employees would get nothing, why is Wal-Mart so afraid? Hmm.

Joking aside, Unions might be the one thing that could save us from ourselves. Unions are the necessary and natural outcome of a capitalist society that would otherwise consume its own customers. We’ve learned that once Unions do their job, however, they stick around too long and end up being a self-perpetuating pain in the ass. Still, if there’s one thing this country needs right now, it’s Unions. 

And Wal-Mart is against them. Therefore, since I like Unions, and Wal-Mart doesn’t like Unions … wait for it … I don’t like Wal-Mart either. So here’s a word to everyone that works for Wal-Mart: if you know what’s good for you, ignore the bullshit and vote Democratic so you can Unionize and make your life a little better.

Nay-sayers: “UNIONS??? God forbid my toilet paper cozy costs go up 10%! Jesus wants me to get my kettle korn at ridiculously low prices and anyone stopping that must be an agent of Satan! I’m going to get my my motorized wheelchair right now and get down to Wal-Mart and buy a year’s supply of them yummy hot dogs–a’fore you know it the blue-shirted employees will be wearing fancy shoes but I won’t be able to buy 18 hot dogs for $4! I’ll have to only buy 15! I’m-a gonna STARVE!”

I’ve been involved with internet privacy for some time. My other infrequently updated blog is BooYahoo!, which is actively speaking out against Yahoo! for its despicable privacy policies in China, which has resulted in the imprisonment of innocent activists.

All along, I’ve tried to remain a proponent of Google, because it has at least tried to abide by its own slogan of “Don’t Be Evil.” Note that the slogan isn’t “Don’t DO Evil,” as this allows them to invoke an old philosophical argument between doing and being … but that’s another topic. Regardless, Google has done slightly less evil than it’s competitors. The problem I have with Google today is its enormous potential to do evil. Namely, they could look up every search term I’ve ever used and provide it to the government. Given the government’s current propensity for warrantless wiretapping, e-mail snooping, and the like, it’s no stretch for them to ask Google for their search term database. In fact, they did ask for it in 2006 under the auspices of the increasingly mis-named “US Patriot Act,” but Google refused  (Has anyone heard the outcome of that standoff? It’s mysteriously not in the news.)

The fact that Google catalogs these search terms–and especially that they are cataloged by IP Address–is like waving a truffle in front of a chocoholic. It’s simply irresistible.

Case in point. I’m a writer. I write fiction. I have had to do research using terms like “nuclear blast radius” and “suitcase bomb” etc. If the government got their hands on Google’s search term database, they might have already put my name on the Terrorist Watch List. Not good. 

Enter “Cuil,” (pronounced “cool”) stage left. I’ve already played with it, and frankly, it looks good–and possibly will be better than Google after its engines have some time to rev up. It has a privacy policy that is FAR better than Google’s. It claims to have 3-times more web pages cataloged than Google. Google will be anonymizing it’s database in the next 12-18 months. After that time, I may go back to my beloved Google.  

Until then … I’m a Cuil man.

Bubbagut and Todd both feel that “everything is fine” and that we are not in dire circumstances. I’ve been asked to back up my assertions with facts.

Fair enough. Even though I’ve been pushing the rock up that hill for the past five years on this blog, I will try once again to convince Conservatives why there is a problem. Sorry if I seem a little burned out in my descriptions.  

1. Separation of Classes

The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Unfortunately the previous sentence has become such a truism that it has become trite. But while you dismiss that sentence as hackneyed, please grasp that this is putting the US on a course toward violent revolution. I’m not trying to be an alarmist here, but when Marx wrote his treatise on Dialectic Materialism, he showed the reasons why historically … <blah blah blah, I’m quoting Marx. You’ve stopped listening now.>

1. The Loss of our Representational Government
   That’s right. We lost it. It’s gone. And no matter what you say I doubt anything will make me believe we still have it. Most Americans have been lulled by lies, and have grown to expect lies to such a degree that you don’t recognize that your representational government has become a self-perpetuating money-maker for Corporations. George Orwell taught us this in <blah blah blah … You don’t like what I’m saying. I lost you.>
   
2. The Impotence of our Constitution
   That’s right. It’s impotent. George W. Bush cut the nuts right off it, and Congress let him. He has broken so many laws without recrimination that the message to future heads of state is clear: The Constitution ain’t no big thang! Do as ya please! (Note to investors: go long on penitentiaries.)
   
3. No balance of Power.
   The Congressional Branch of Government used to oppose the Executive Branch. Since both branches have willingly grafted themselves onto another tree (Corporations), they no longer oppose each other. They only pretend to. The flagrant corruption we see today (which we’re numb to) is just a symptom of this.
   
4. Failing Currency
   Most of our SNAFUs overseas have been to protect our flagging dollar. Oil is actually secondary (I’m learning). Our problems mostly stem from our currency. We’re entering an inflationary economy for the first time in 35 years. I won’t blame the Bush Administration for this, because most of the actions that have eviscerated the dollar were done by previous administrations. But Bush has not addressed them. According to him, the economy is growing. Jah.
   
5. Energy Crisis
   Jimmy Carter brought this to our attention in 1973 when there was still time to take appropriate action. Reagan didn’t. Clinton didn’t. Bush didn’t. They took a bad situation and made it horrible. Is there time to rescue ourselves? Where is the fucking LEADERSHIP that we need to steer this country away from a non-renewable, dwindling resource? It’s not happening. We don’t have any. We have an energy crisis now, and there’s no better way to kill an economy.
   
6. We’re the richest, but not the best.
   Todd actually “Challenged” me to show how other countries are better.

Challenge taken:

EDUCATION

“The national results in international comparisons have often been far below the average of developed countries. In OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment 2003, 15 year olds ranked 24th of 38 in mathematics, 19th of 38 in science, 12th of 38 in reading, and 26th of 38 in problem solving.[52] In the 2006 assessment, the U.S. ranked 35th out of 57 in mathematics and 29th out of 57 in science. Reading scores could not be reported due to printing errors in the instructions of the U.S. test booklets. U.S. scores were far behind those of most other developed nations.[53] In addition, many business leaders have expressed concerns that the quality of education given in the US system is generally below acceptable standards, and should be adapted in order to conform to the needs of an evolving world. Bill Gates has famously stated that the American high school is ‘obsolete’.”[54] from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States>

HEALTHCARE
Who is better? Germany! They pay 1/3 the cost per capita for health Care. Doctors are not as rich, but I am not a Doctor so I don’t care. Most doctors in Germany don’t care either.  Also, 47 million Americans (about 15.8% of the total population) had no health insurance coverage at some point during 2006. For these people, any of the following countries would be a better place to live:  Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal,[4] Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[ from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_the_United_States>

CRIME
It’s hard to compare crimes internationally, because they are defined differently. Murder is pretty easy to define however. If you don’t want to get murdered, move to almost any other industrialized nation. Murder happens more in the US than in any other industrialized nation. We are similar to “lesser developed Eastern European countries” when it comes to murder. There’s something to be proud of! So Todd should amend his statement to “Show me a country <like Croatia> that is better.”  from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States>

I’m out of time or I would cover more topics, but there’s three. You really should stop saying that the US is the best place in the world to live. It’s not! We love it the most though! Because we grew up here! I love it the most too, so on that we agree. But because I love it is why I’m so angry.

Because we ARE the richest. We can AFFORD to be the best in all these areas but we SUCK. Because our corrupt government enables inequity and oppression.

After reaching the apex of success, Google is descending into hubris. They are now competing with Wikipedia by using an expert-article-based competitor called Knol.

It’s amazing that such a forward-thinking organization is completely disregarding the concepts of the information age, and opting to compete with Wikipedia using an archaic form. It’s as if Chevrolet had tried to compete with the Model-T by building a better horse-driven carriage.

The Top-down method of expertise is yesterday’s paradigm. Google above all should know this.

Classic fail.

 Forty years can change a nation, and we’ve changed a great deal from who we were in 1968.

In 1968, young people were out protesting the war in Vietnam, actively criticizing the government, burning their draft cards and their bras. Students  took over Columbia University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rudd), and protest was the theme of the day.

Today things are better on two fronts: racism and sexism. Although these problems still exist, many advances have been made. But … by every other definition, today things are worse.  Although Blacks and women may be faring better when compared to white people, we are all faring worse. Our economy has been plundered, our rights have been violated, we’ve been imprisoned, tortured, spied on, lied to, mocked, and vilified.

Where in the world are the protesters?  Where are the megaphones? This question has astounded me over recent months, and the more I think about it, the more I can see the powerful reasons why.  

1. We’re medicated.
   This is possibly the biggest reason. People used to get angry and depressed about what was going on in the world. Today we take prozac and the problems don’t seem so bad anymore. In the 60’s there was no such solution, so people took an active stance to change the issues that vexed them.
   
2. We’re amused.
   Kids in the 60s were bored. They did not text, they did not cell phone, they did not have computer games, or game boys, or play stations. TV was insipid (still is), and so their only forms of entertainment were drugs, sex, rock and roll, and protesting.
   
3. We’re ill-informed.
   In the 60s, the news actually reported news. Now it reports on cute, shiny, round, rabbit droppings.
   
4. We’re not critical thinkers anymore.
   As today, in the 60s, there were … yes … stupid people. But most college graduates knew how to think critically. If you told them, “Everything black is sweet. Salt is black. Therefore, salt is sweet.” They would know that this was a logical statement, but they might chuckle about its two faulty premises. A college student today would probably guess and say “that’s not logical.” That’s because they define truth based on their experience, and not on critical reasoning. The media has ensured that their experience is fluffy and fresh.
   
5. We’re numb.
   American kids today–that age group who we generally rely upon to protest–have grown up being lied to, and they have come to expect it. There are no truly great men in government in their memory. I can look back and see a few, but they are vague in my memory, like the outline of Catalina on a smoggy day.  Why protest when you have no vision of something better?
    

It’s an interesting predicament we’ve got going here. A government bent on oppressing us–which used to fear the angry generation of youth–has come to realize it has nothing to fear. This is wrong, of course, because we are still America, and the seed of revolution is still within us.

Maybe we will put the zoloft away and actually feel what is going on. Maybe we’re one Mel Gibson movie away from the next Boston Tea Party. Or maybe the government will take one step too far, and wake us up.

… the ultimate reason why it is so stupid to torture people.

The evidence gets banned in court.

So the bad guys get to go free.

Another brilliant policy brought to you by BushCo.

This screenshot from my Google News feed says it all:

I listened to George Bush’s speech this morning and once again he invoked the “if I had a magic wand that would lower the cost of oil, I would use it.”

So … the guy whose been watching too many “Harry Potter” movies says the economy is still sound. The expert says there are a host of woes.

There are now over one million people on the terrorism watch list. It contains such names as Ted Kennedy (yes, the senator) and Nelson Mandela. Apparently, one way to be sure and catch all the bad guys is to just catch everyone!

God, I hope I’m on it. Everyone who is anyone is on the list.

(Link is here: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gTWB6jfThurHemV1Z2uaVtNdOoeQ).

As we know, a person’s flaws can sometimes be what saves them. America has flaws, and one of them is that we are a very litigious people. We’ll sue you for anything, as long as it means the lawyers win. It’s horrible, but it’s part of the system that guarantees pain for transgressors. 

This flaw could have been what saved us when the White House decided to bypass the FISA initiative and start spying on us willy nilly. Some 40-odd lawsuits against Verizon and AT&T and the like were brewing, and were going to dole out some severe financial spankings. The Telcos, after all, were as culpable as the White House.  If President Bush himself were to knock on my door and tell me to shoot my neighbor, I would be guilty of murder no matter who told me to do it. Unless, of course, Prez Bush offered me immunity. 

And this is what he’s been pushing for.  He chose to ignore the law, he cajoled the Telcos into abetting his crimes, and now he has exercised his power in wiping the slate clean. 

(In a related note, Karl Rove decided he didn’t need to respond to a congressional subpoena. The theme is clear: BushCo is above the law.)

But all of this has been as predictable as the ending of a bad Summer Blockbuster. Bush is the bad guy. We know it. He knows it. No big news. “Yawn” as some might say. But just like a bad Hollywood formula, about two-thirds of the way through any pitched script you will find out …  that your friend is really your enemy.  [dun dun dunnnnn.]

The Democrats today voted to grant the Telcos immunity, cementing their footprints into the foundation of corruption that our government is now built upon.

Chief among them: Barak Obama.

Got Hope? Not anymore.

If it’s going to happen, it will happen soon.

I hope that I’m misunderstanding the ambitions of the current administration. But if my understanding is accurate, then we have a month or two, tops, before more American shit hits the global fan.

Maybe, the last 7.5 years of mismanagement, dismantling, power-grabbing, lying, and corruption have just programmed me to expect something that isn’t there. Maybe the President sees the obvious folly … to extend the violence further—either at home or abroad. Maybe he knows this. Maybe he can see that we’re tired of his ambitions. Maybe he sees that his vision has failed, and maybe he accepts this, and is willing to live out the last six months of his Presidency with quiet decorum.