I’ve started getting feeds (RSS, Atom, XML, etc.) from several different news sources, including NYTimes Online, Chicago Sun-Times Online, National Public Radio (NPR), and Reuters. (I also get Le Monde, Газета.ру, & Известия.ру, but they’re in French and Russian, respectively, and get read only when I can manage to switch mental languages.) Why these different sources? Because they have different points of view on stories. Sometimes it’s only an AP story that’s been syndicated in an American paper, but the differences that can come out between AP and Reuters, as well as from ITAR-TASS (Russian version of the other two) and others, when they report on the same story. There are even some stories that are reported first by foreign news agencies that American news agencies would prefer to avoid. Here are two stories from Reuters that are particularly of interest.
Wal-Mart mobilized against Democrats: report, Reporting by Purwa Naveen Raman in Bangalore; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Reuters, Fri Aug 1, 2008 7:23am EDT
Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win, by Ann Zimmerman and Kris Maher, The Wall Street Journal Interactive, August 1, 2008; page A1.
Apparently, Wal-Mart is worried that having so many Democrats in government will pave a way for their employees to organize and unionize. I have mixed feelings about unions, and I can see their point, but I have a strong issue with this concept. First of all, nearly half (22) of the states are Right to Work (source), including all of the Southeast, except KY, but they’re not necessarily Southern. Now, the Right to Work laws vary from state to state, for those that have them. I have worked for a company that (IS RUMORED TO HAVE) fired anyone who spoke about unionizing or organizing. I refuse to say which company, because it was a RUMOR. The thing is that it isn’t that hard for people to organize and unionize now, if they can manage to discuss it without their bosses booting them. In fact, in the Great State of Tennessee a boss can fire you without giving you a reason, and be completely within his rights.
My take on unions: The good sides: they fight for workers’ rights to such things as health care insurances, fair and living wages, and reasonable working conditions. This last has been especially important for teachers among other workers. The bad sides: When workers are encouraged to strike, there is often no compensation provided, and strikes are not timed to expire. When striking, members are often compelled to picket, which impedes foot traffic and annoys those who have no control over either side. The big question, though, is: How are they feeding their families?
Anyway, that isn’t the full point of this article. The point is that a corporation, one of the largest in the US, is attempting to dictate its employees’ politics. If that isn’t illegal, it should be. Big Business and politicians don’t mix. Well, they do, but it’s not good for the rest of us. But, here’s the interesting bit from the Reuters source:
The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who have run the meetings didn’t tell those attending how to vote in the November elections, but made it clear that voting for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, would be tantamount to inviting unions in, the Journals said.
Uh huh… That’s part one of the politics, now for part two of the politics and control:
Please note before you continue that a rant follows the article. Please understand, if you read it, that I love my country and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am not attempting to incite anything other than critical thought about what’s happening now. I am not a threat to anyone, nor am I intending to be threatening. The following rant is very critical about the government and one part of it in particular. It is my belief that, as a citizen of the United States, I have the right to an opinion and to hope for change. The rant speaks of a fear and a point of view, and includes a hope that this fear will not be realized.
U.S. agents can seize travelers’ laptops: report, Reporting by Paul Eckert, editing by Alan Elsner, Reuters, Fri Aug 1, 2008 8:13am EDT
Read that article and tell me you aren’t disturbed. Really. The first disturbing thing is that the policies intoned there were disclosed July 16, but were in place long before. It’s amazing what powers the federal government decides it has in the name of anti-terrorism. Folks, I’m going to repeat what people have been saying for years: the terrorists have won, whoever they may be. The point of terrorism is to scare people out of their wits, and they have well accomplished that. To that end, the government has been in fear for the people and for itself and proceeds to abuse its power. You’ll note that the article (if you’ve bothered to read it) actually says that the policy fairly well ignores the Bill of Rights. Here are the first two paragraphs, for those who don’t click on links:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods the Washington Post reported on Friday.
Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies.
The DHS scares me. When it was created, there were comparisons drawn between George Bush and Adolf Hitler. I think those comparisons were drawn in error. Bush doesn’t scare me half as much as Hitler would. However, I can see the directions things are taking. I studied Russian history at university. As part of that, I had to learn something about the Communist government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and, to a lesser extent, that of the People’s Republic of China. (Linguistic note important for the upcoming statements: a soviet is a sort of council, so the word in the old country’s name could be translated as conciliar.) There is nothing “People’s” in China, it’s the Party’s Republic. There was a one-party soviet in the USSR. In both, things could be confiscated without warning, without any reason given, and without hesitation. Rights were removed at the whims of the government and the ruling Party.
Now, let me clear some things up that you might be assuming. I am NOT saying the government is evil. I am NOT saying the government is Communist or Socialist (on the contrary). I an NOT saying that Bush is the same or similar to Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, Stalin, Mao Zedung, Hussein, Khomeini, Kadafi, Castro, or any other despot, dictator, or otherwise highly empowered government leader. What I am saying: the actions taken by the government, especially in the way the Department of Homeland Security is operating, are taking it in a direction favored by Communo-Socialist dictatorships. The things that the DHS has been given power to do, the burocracy that our government has developed, and the way the other high-powered agencies are acting all put the government closer to the things we, as a nation, hated and feared before the turn of the century.
On the plus side, I thank God we don’t have an agency, bureau, department, or other entity with a name similar to the Comittee for State Security. (This is rendered from the Russian Komitet’ Gosudarstvenoy Bezopasnosti, KGB.) I thank God we can still vote for our leaders, and we have a pool to choose from.
In other news, and you have read Russian to get it, but GM’s been in the news lately trying to foist off Hummer to Indian, Russian, or Chinese companies. ITAR-TASS reported through Gazeta.ru that GAZ (ГАЗ), a Russian automobile manufacturer, is one of those companies. This might mean we won’t see new Hummer branded vehicles.
And on that note, I hate politics. I wish I would stay out of it and keep my mouth shut, but this is just proof that I can’t.
Cheers,
RW
P.S. Last political statement, and this is something that’s been echoed for a quite some time. If we’re not careful, we might be able to sell off the “Declaration of Independence”, “The Constitution of the United States of America”, and the Bill of Right to New Zealand in response to their toilet paper shortage… We’re not using them anymore…
P.P.S. I’m not talking about this anymore. No more politics. Comment if you like, but I’m not posting responses. I’m done.
