October 26, 2007 by crazyopinions.

We’ll tell you what all the fuss is about. There aren’t very many truly iconic brands and related characters. One of these, indisputably, is the Maytag Repairman. Almost Mickey Mouse, and since he is a business trademark, he doesn’t even need special copyright extensions from the US Congress to live forever like Mickey does.

So, when Maytag closes their flagship factory in Iowa, the US media cries “Maytag’s Gone!”. The truth is somewhat less dramatic. Just as their automobile making brethren, Maytag is a victim of buyout [Whirlpool owns them] and looming foreign competition [very, very late to the party, LG from Korea is just one example].

Truly tragic, but if you really do care, then exclusively buy more expensive American Made products. ‘Nuff said!

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A Brief History of Maytag Corp.
Oct. 25, 2007, 3:18PM
© 2007 The Associated Press

— A history of Maytag Corp.

1893 _ Maytag founded in Newton as a farm implement manufacturer.

1907 _ Fred Maytag introduces the Maytag wooden tub washing machine.

1911 _ Maytag introduces its first electric washing machine.

1924 _ One of every five American washers bought is a Maytag.

1941-45 _ Maytag suspends appliance manufacturing to make aircraft parts for the war effort.

1946 _ Maytag begins making ranges and refrigerators.

1948 _ Maytag introduces automatic washers.

1953 _ Maytag makes its first automatic dryers.

1966 _ Maytag introduces its first portable dishwashers.

1967 _ The Maytag Lonely Repairman makes his debut.

1982 _ Acquisition of Jenn-Air, which makes ovens and cooktops.

1983 _ Maytag stops making wringer washers.

1986 _ Acquisition of Magic Chef, maker of commercial microwave ovens, including subsidiary Dixie-Narco, which makes vending machines.

1989 _ Acquisition of Hoover Co., which makes vacuum cleaners.

1997 _ Acquisition of Vermont-based Blodgett Corp., commercial ovens and frying equipment.

1999 _ Maytag acquires the Jade-Dynasty brands of commercial cooking, refrigeration and laundry equipment.

2001 _ Maytag sells Blodgett and acquires Iowa-based Amana Refrigeration, maker of freezers, refrigerators, ovens and microwave ovens.

2004 _ Maytag operates 12 manufacturing plants in the United states; Maytag’s appliance division opens its first manufacturing plant outside the United States in Reynosa, Mexico, where it already has sub-assembly operations. Maytag completes the closing of its refrigerator factory in Galesburg, Ill., a plant, which at one time provided 1,600 of the region’s highest-paying jobs.

2005 _ Maytag profits fall and the company launches a restructuring plan that cuts 1,100 salaried workers.

_ April: Analysts question the viability of Maytag Corp. as the appliance maker’s stock opened at its lowest level in more than a decade. Maytag stock plunges 7.7 percent to close at $10.05.

_ May: Maytag agrees to be bought for $1.13 billion by a group of investors led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC, a deal that prompts a bidding battle for the company.

_ June: Chinese appliance manufacturer Haier America offers $1.28 billion, but withdraws when Whirlpool offers $1.37 billion. Whirlpool increases its offer three times to $1.79 billion. Including assumption of debt, the deal is valued at $2.7 billion. Maytag accepts and Ripplewood pulls out of the bidding.

2006:

_ March: Antitrust regulators approve sale of Maytag to Whirlpool.

_ May: Whirlpool announces plans to close the Maytag corporate headquarters and the Newton factory that made washers and dryers.

_ September: Whirlpool has announced plans to “revitalize” the Maytag brand with a barrage of new Maytag products. Company officials also said they plan to keep Maytag’s lonely repairman calling him “one of the best-known advertising icons.”

_ December: Iowa Telecom and Des Moines Area Community College announce plans to take over several former Maytag buildings while others would be demolished.

2007:

_ Oct. 25: The last day of production of Maytag washers and dryers at the Newton factory.

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October 25, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Here they go again. Cut off your nose to spite your face. You cannot “cure” homosexuality any more than homophobia, or racism, or bigotry. You also cannot “pray” these away. The best you can hope for is to harness the impulses of your DNA pattern so they are not destructive.

Which means that fighting, pouting, marching and in general raising a fuss over it is largely an exercise in self-gratification.

Now if they channel all that energy into something useful, perhaps we’ll have room temperature fusion by next year.

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Gay Rights Group Criticizes Obama
New York Times
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
October 25, 2007

The nation’s largest gay rights organization criticized Senator Barack Obama of Illinois yesterday for scheduling a gospel concert on Sunday with a singer who has made controversial statements about homosexuality.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the gay rights organization, urged Mr. Obama in a phone call yesterday to cancel the appearance of the singer, Donnie McClurkin, who is to sing Sunday night in a gospel concert in Columbia, S.C.

Critics say that Mr. McClurkin counsels that homosexuality is a curse that can be cured through prayer, although in an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Mr. McClurkin said that his words had been misconstrued and that he had not crusaded against gay men and lesbians.

Mr. Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate, has not canceled Mr. McClurkin’s appearance but has scheduled an openly gay minister, the Rev. Andy Sidden, to speak on the concert program. But that did not appear to tamp down criticism from some gay activists or increasingly hostile bloggers.

The controversy reflects the competing interests of two important constituencies of the Democratic Party, with gay activists complaining that Mr. Obama is seeking the support of black evangelicals at their expense. The gospel tour, which begins Friday with other singers, is part of a broader effort by the Obama campaign to win over black evangelicals.

Mr. Obama is in a fierce struggle in South Carolina with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for the support of black voters, who make up half the electorate in the Democratic primary. The state’s primary, scheduled for mid-January, could be crucial, coming after New Hampshire and Iowa and before several big states vote on Feb. 5.

Mr. Solmonese said in a statement that he appreciated the campaign’s invitation to Mr. Sidden, but added: “There is no gospel in Donnie McClurkin’s message for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. That’s a message that certainly doesn’t belong on any presidential candidate’s stage.”

Obama aides said the candidate stood by a statement he made Monday: “I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.” Mr. Obama added that he wanted to encourage tolerance rather than division.

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October 24, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Here we go again. The Japanese have a lunar orbiter in place. The newly launched Chinese will have theirs in place November 5th. India will launch theirs next April. The US? A year from now.

As the US war in Iraq wastes billions in Earth-bound futility, it is ironic that the Sputnik anniversary is ushering in a new era of spaceflight from everyone except the US. Maybe we shouldn’t be too harsh? The Mars Rovers are still functional years past their due date, and the US leads the “Mars Race” because, well, there is nobody else out there.

Pull in the focus, and the Mars glow isn’t so rosy. The Shuttle is still battling functional issues, and the US budget for a manned Mars expedition is fighting mind share issues. When’s the last time we heard about THAT Dubya idea?

At this rate, maybe the US should buy tickets to Mars on the Chinese spacecraft? After all, the US has taught them everything they need to know, that they didn’t “acquire” some other way.

Perhaps NASA needs to place a help wanted ad before November 2008: “Visionary Desired”.

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October 23, 2007 by crazyopinions.

We have sympathy for anyone whose house burns down. The same applies to flood, hurricane and tornado victims. Earthquakes too. Any “natural disaster”.

That said, this sympathy runs short when the risk of such disasters is ignored by the residents of the areas affected. When you build or live in a risky area, accept responsibility for the eventual outcome.

This holds no sway with the US media. Wailing and gnashing of teeth is standard. Tearful interviews abound. We wouldn’t go quite as far as satirical commentator Glenn Beck, who implies that the rich residents of Malibu do not deserve any sympathy at all. A mansion is a home, after all. If you contrast the efforts to save the mountain retreats of the rich, with the efforts to save the urban lowlands of New Orleans, the issue comes into focus.

It seems some disaster relief is more effective than others.

There were some insurance companies who were seen wetting down the mansions of their clients [not the owners, of course]. We believe that is who should save the mansions. The US taxpayer should not pay to have a flight drop of fire retardant on any single California hillside McMansion. California taxpayer? Sure.

Strange, how the fire in the media looks as if it rages all across the state, everywhere you look. The real time fire maps tell a different story. Cozy hillsides in cozy canyons filled with the rich and famous. No fires in the urban jungle.

Those, they set themselves. Remember Watts, 1965.

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October 22, 2007 by crazyopinions.

The contrasts are striking on many levels. Secular Muslims and devout practicing Muslims. Abu Dhabi and Baghdad. Cooperation and Division. Opulence and Squalor.

This would merely be an interesting observation, an exercise in Arab anthropology, if not for the amount of waste. Both in lives and treasure, on all sides.

It really doesn’t matter which Arab country you consider. Take it as a given that any governing system in the Middle East will be, at best, mildly oppressive and unequal. Then ponder that the key desired outcomes are water, food and opportunity. Opportunity takes many forms, but in this region of the globe, we’ll assume it to mean the ability to live in relative peace. Oppressed, but alive.

Does it really matter if the oppression is religious or secular? Hardly. Unless you believe that only the religiously oppressed get an afterlife, and that the secularly oppressed are getting what they deserve.

Hey, isn’t that the core of God-based religions?

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October 19, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Two days ago, we called it right with Option #2 on the list. She landed in Karachi, which we got wrong. Mushy, however, warned his old rival that her health was in danger [duh!]. Option #3 is now well on its way, and Option #4 is probably not gonna happen with only 200,000 coming out to see her.

The media in some areas are exonerating Mushy and blaming terrorists. Bhutto says terrorists aren’t good enough to pull of this good of an attack, and it must be rogue elements of Pakistan’s intelligence services. Well, if anyone should know Pakistan’s political landscape, it’s her.

On a side note, check out the vehicle she was riding in, the armored rolling billboard! Does she have the marketing spin machine in high gear, or what? We are impressed! In fact, what better way to get your billboard shown in the world media, than to have the advertisement itself attacked?

Would Bhutto attack herself just for the attention?

Nah! Nobody in their right mind would…

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London Times Online [UK] 10-19-07

Benazir Bhutto described today how she had received a warning just half an hour before last night’s devastating attack on her homecoming procession that a suicide bomber would target the truck in which she was travelling.

More than 130 people were killed in two blasts that rocked Ms Bhutto’s motorcade as it edged through hundreds of thousands of well-wishers in Karachi who had stayed up late into the night to welcome her back to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile.

In an interview with a French magazine only a few hours after the bombing, the former premier said that many of them were young policemen sent in to block the path of a suicide bomber after last night’s warning was received by police and passed on to her entourage by the intelligence services.

But she nevertheless accused high-ranking members of Pakistan’s intelligence services of being behind the attack, arguing that Islamic militants could not mount such a sophisticated attack “from a mountain cave”.

Ms Bhutto, 54, has pledged to carry on with her political comeback and contest parliamentary elections in January at the head of her Pakistan People’s Party, saying that her attackers “did not manage to decapitate the democracy movement”.

Police said today that they had found the severed head of the bomber, a man of around 20 who had been carrying some 20kg of explosives, and were trying to identify him. The Interior Ministry said that the first blast had been caused by a hand grenade - although some of Ms Bhutto’s supporters insisted that there had been a car bomb.

Ms Bhutto, uninjured, was whisked away to Bilawal House, her family residence in the port city, as her supporters fled in panic after the midnight attack.

There was no claim of responsibility. Police were investigating whether the bomb had links to tribal regions bordering Afghanistan which have become hotbeds of support for al-Qaeda and the Taleban. Militants linked to al-Qaeda, angered by Ms Bhutto’s pledge to hunt down Osama bin Laden, had threatened to assassinate her only a few days ago.

In an interview with Paris Match in her Karachi residence, Ms Bhutto said: “The Talebs and the Islamists extremists cannot act alone. They can’t commit their suicide attacks from a mountain cave. They need logistics, food, weapons and someone to supervise them.”

She told the magazine that she knew “exactly” who wanted to kill her – former officials from the regime of the late General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, who overthrew her father 30 years ago and oversaw the trial which ended in his execution.

“We should purge these elements still present in our secret services,” she said. “Many of them took retirement but have been re-hired. Today they have a lot of power and I represent a danger to them: if I bring back democracy to the country, they will lose their influence.”

Ms Bhutto rejected a suggestion that she might be held responsible for the attacks, given warnings from the government of General Pervez Musharraf that she would be a target for suicide bombers.

A relative of Ms Bhutto said that the former Prime Minister was “visibly shaken” when she arrived at her family compound in Karachi. Another friend said Ms Bhutto “came down and met everyone, and was very upset about those who had been killed”.

She later called for the head of the Intelligence Bureau, the civilian intelligence agency, to be dismissed.

Many of the dead and injured were policemen, part of the 20,000-strong force sent to guard Ms Bhutto’s ten-mile procession route. She had asked for extra protection, including the specially-designed and reinforced vehicle, but had refused to change her plans despite the obvious danger and threats from extremists. “It was an act of terrorism targeting Benazir Bhutto and aimed at sabotaging the democratic process,” said Aftab Sherpao, the Interior Minister.

General Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister, condemned the attack. Political analysts speculated that General Musharraf, the military leader who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and who has resisted standing down as head of the Army, might be tempted to call a state of emergency.

The White House, which has backed Ms Bhutto’s power-sharing deal, was outraged. “Extremists will not be allowed to stop Pakistanis from selecting their representatives through an open and democratic process,” said Gordon Johndroe, President Bush’s foreign affairs spokesman.

Schools and colleges in Karachi have been ordered to remain closed and the city’s six-lane highways were all but deserted today and businesses shut. Ms Bhutto’s plans to make her first big public speech early today at the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, were scrapped.

The blasts came after a day of huge emotion. Standing wet-eyed on the steps of the aircraft that had brought her back to Pakistan after eight years of exile, dressed in the vivid green of the national flag, Ms Bhutto had pressed her fingers to her eyes and then raised her hands to the sky, as the crowd roared: “You will be the next leader of our country.”

In the first three hours of her journey from the airport, the bus crawled just three hundred yards as people climbed electricity poles and shop awnings. Buses had brought many supporters from her native Sindh province, but also from the Punjab, the North West Frontier province and the tribal areas beyond government control.

In today’s interview, she said: “Just before the attacks happened, I was very happy. The procession was one enormous party, the atmosphere was joyful, people were dancing in the street, it was magnificent. For me, that was the real Pakistan.

“Those who exploded the bombs wanted to kill off the enthusiasm of the crowds who welcomed me yesterday afternoon. But, fortunately for Pakistan, they did not manage to decapitate the democracy movement.”

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October 18, 2007 by crazyopinions.

US White House Press Conference, 10-17-07, 10:45 EDT

“Question: But you definitively believe Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon?”

“GEORGE W. BUSH: I think so long — until they suspend and/or make it clear that they — that their statements aren’t real, yeah, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon. And I know it’s in the world’s interest to prevent them from doing so. I believe that the Iranian — if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be a dangerous threat to world peace.

But this — we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I’ve told people that if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously.”

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Next, consider this from the Kirkby Times in the UK [www.kirkbytimes.co.uk] [edited for brevity]:

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“Welcome to World War Three

America has been openly hell bent on waging a World War ever since the Sept 11th Attacks…. The Bush Family has extensive financial interests in Arms and Oil. Bush’s Family were involved in funding the Nazi Party’s rise to power, and sadly, the USA acted too little too late in stopping the funding of Arms which prepared Hitler for World War Two. The Bush Family has a closet full of skeletons which the Mass Media chooses to ignore. The Bush family and Bin Laden family go back almost half a century and together are two of the biggest shareholders in the Carlyle group, the biggest defence contractor in the World with ties to influential political figures. America has announced in advance the Countries it says are on the ‘axis of evil’. North Korea has responded by reactivating nuclear plants and the situation there remains extremely dangerous. China and the USSR will not be sitting on the sidelines as the US begins to push beyond Iraq. All of these Countries are led by people who have no intention of allowing true democracy to prevail…..Sept 11th was the beginning of World War Three…..

They Must Be Stopped

Kirkby Times can offer little reassurance in these troubled times. Most people are just going to carry on with the usual routine, were reduced to seeing our futures in the hands of others, but that is a dangerous complacent and defeatist attitude for anyone, no matter what political persuasion. We’re becoming apathetic as to changing our own communities and neighbourhoods, too few people among us put our heads above the trenches to speak of Freedom or Liberty. Many of us oppose the War coming, but even a million voices mean nothing if they are not raised in unison. The coming times will test our mettle in ways we would not wish. Like it or not, World War Three is beginning and this War, unlike the previous Two, will not end in a few years, and will not be restricted to designated battle zones……

Standing up to Tyranny

Many may dismiss this article as sensationalist, but the Truth is there for those of you who want to look at it for yourselves. We can no longer trust our politicians to be honest. We never really could. The illusion of democracy is to make the people believe they have a choice. The choice, for most of us, is to put an X on a ballot box every 4 years or so. We don’t get a choice as to whether we want this War, and no matter what Government we vote for, the Arms Dealers and Oil interests…..

“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.” *Albert Einstein

Thanks to Alex Jones, a USA syndicated Talk Show host, for his video ‘9 11: The Road to Tyranny’ which raises many of the points raised here in this article…”

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The larger sense we get from Dubya Bush, is that it’s all about Israel, now. It has been a cornerstone of US foreign policy in the Middle East since WW2. After all, money talks, even more than oil, and American politics is saturated with Israeli money [and oil]. I’m sure the majority of US citizens/voters will gladly start WW3 to ensure the survival of God’s Chosen People.

Whatever happened to the WOT [War On Terror]? Bush is either a total loose cannon, or merely a megalomaniac. Or both?

Repeat After Us: “DUCK AND COVER!”

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October 17, 2007 by crazyopinions.

So Benazir Bhutto will get off the plane in Islamabad, and:

1) be hustled back onto the plane by government goons [deja vu?]
2) be allowed to get into a vehicle which will blow up a few miles away
3) rejoin her Pakistan Peoples Party, become Prime Minister, and effectively rule Pakistan jointly with Musharraf
4) be trampled by millions of adoring fans and be given an elaborate state funeral

The best part of contemporary Asian politics, is the utterly unpredictable nature of the outcomes. Not to mention the colorful characters on the world stage!

Where else but Pakistan, can former political party leaders be accused of massive corruption, yet lounge around in exile in Dubai wearing a regulation Muslim Mini Skirt?

It makes us wonder if Osama himself will meet her at the airport with his stunner shades on? [see our September 11th, 2007 blog post] Tune in tomorrow!

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October 16, 2007 by crazyopinions.

It seems the Canadian Dollar parity has ruffled a few spooks for Halloween! The US Treasury is going to broker a scam, er, deal which forms a shell company, er, fund to absorb bad debt [e.g., mortgages] using contributions from the three biggest banks. They’ll just issue Junk Bonds, er, promissory notes or CD’s [”Commercial Paper”] to finance the “absorbing”.

Well, we wish them luck stalling the inevitable!

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WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday reiterated that he believed a strong dollar was in America’s interests, in remarks aimed at his colleagues in the Group of Seven who will meet here on Friday.

“In terms of the upcoming G7 … the strong dollar is in our nation’s interest. I have said repeatedly that, and currency values should be determined in competitive markets, based on underlying economic fundamentals,” he said in response to a question after a speech at Georgetown University law school.

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Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to shore up asset-backed commercial paper is drawing criticism from free-market advocates, who say it risks shielding banks from the consequences of poor decisions.

Paulson’s team brokered negotiations between the country’s biggest banks that led to the creation yesterday of a fund to help revive the asset-backed commercial paper market. Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to establish the fund after a month of talks with Treasury aides.

“It is disappointing,” said William Niskanen, chairman of the Cato Institute in Washington and a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. “It does go against the Bush administration’s preferences. Like all bailouts, it creates a moral hazard problem. I’m unhappy with situations like these.”

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October 15, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Well, maybe it isn’t that bad. Only 31 years since the last time it happened, in the middle of the US energy crunch, just before inflation took off and interest rates took a huge climb…

On second thought, doesn’t history have a long memory? Watch the foreign ownership of US bonds and debt. Recession will either be the trigger, or be triggered by a change in this market, and the result could be worse than the 1980’s.

Feeling lucky, punk? Do ya?

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October 12, 2007 by crazyopinions.

We’re sure much hay will be made in the conservative media about Al Gore and his new Nobel Peace Prize. Suffice it to say that you would have to look hard to find a conservative politician, living or dead, who gave up politics for idealism in a class way.Widely panned during his presidency, Carter has ignored critics and followed his convictions across the globe since 1980. Whatever you think about his convictions, going toe-to-toe with a third world Sudanese security lackey in Darfur, shows more spine than any currently alive politician or CEO. He recently turned 83! Nobel Peace Prize, 2002.

Widely panned during his vice-presidency and beyond, Gore has done the same, albeit in a different vein. His refusal to be “drafted” to run in 2008, if it holds, will be the beginning of his evolution as a senior statesman.

The actions of most sitting US Presidents tend to rub the world in the wrong way, mostly to the detriment of the US. Some even do both, and hurt the world image and the country itself. Something happens, perhaps, after leaving office, to cause them to gain perspective. Cynics may say this is just “legacy building” for the history books.

If so, gimme more ‘o that!

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October 11, 2007 by crazyopinions.

The landscape is littered with indie pop bands, and most have the same pedigree wherever they were hatched. The UK band Radiohead is no exception. After working the depressed teenager schtick as far as it would go, they woke up one day, realized themselves as “old”, and began to mix it up. I’ll give them credit for actually having a very, very deep thought, one which may have escaped most bands [with anything to lose, anyway]: What Is Music Really Worth?

Don’t get us wrong, this concept can be carried over to psuedo variations on the same [remember Priceline.com in the glory days?] “name your price” hogwash, but just stop for a minute and really ponder the ramifications. On one level, this is just music “shareware”, and we have all seen the future of that. On another level, it questions the very foundations of the consumer society the world evolved into [and continues to].

Go, go Radiohead! Give it all away and let your worth be determined by the consumer masses. We salute the experiment, and wish you success. The world is watching.

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October 10, 2007 by crazyopinions.

First GM, and now Chrysler. The UAW is flexing its muscles again. A billion hungry Asians get by on less than a dollar a day. They are all poised to eat the lunch of US workers, as they have been doing steadily for the last 40 years. Don’t rats desert a sinking ship? Not these, they prefer to chew holes in the hull!

What are they trying to prove? The downtrodden worker is not inside of a US auto plant! They inhabit retail stores and call centers, if they are employed at all. Unions are a faded reminder of the former industrial power of the USA. If they don’t reinvent their purpose to help, it will only get worse.

Here is a good example of their logic and reasoning, which has it all backwards:

Center For Labor Renewal: Reinventing the Wheel:The Future of the UAW

By: Elly Leary

The latest news from the Big Three (Chrysler, Ford, and GM) automakers is bad. As of Valentine’s Day [2007] the permanent force reduction now exceeds 100,000. Most of the jobs eliminated are hourly workers, UAW and CAW union members in fact (the majority of the job losses will take place in the US). UAW President Gettelfinger told the New York Times (2/15/07) that the news was “devastating . . . for thousands of workers, their families and their communities.” Buzz Hargrove of the CAW was quoted as “We’re saying to people, ‘You’d better take what you can,’.” These comments capture the long descent of the UAW, and more lately the CAW, from organizations inspiring collective action and rank-and-file planning, to organizations in retreat, recommending individual solutions and mouthing toothless platitudes.

For those unfamiliar with UAW history, starting in early 1980s, the UAW signed on to a contractual program of labor-management cooperation, called “jointness.” Union leaders hoped this would save Big Three workers from the aggressive downsizing resulting from the “Japanese invasion.” Some of the social democratic UAW leaders even hoped this would morph into something like the German workplace co-determination (where it was codified into law). Twenty-five years later, it is clear that neither hope was realized. Today’s UAW members are producing more cars than they did in 1979 with less than half the number of people. By 1987 the national contracts of the Big Three had language which placed the priority of “securing the company’s market position” above the “job security of its employees.” The cornerstone of the UAW — equal pay for equal work — has given way to a workplace where there is no uniform pay and benefits (the “tier” system in manufacturing lingo). If workers do have a say in the workplace, it is likely to be about how to distribute the work of cut employees, never about how to keep or add workers.

Reversing these trends and changing course will not be easy given the entrenchment of the jointness ideology. The elements of renewal are not the stuff of rocket science, however, and are no doubt commonsense solutions for many of us both inside and outside unions.

1. Cooperation plans built on competitiveness only benefit the employer — they must be rejected. Time has proven they only result in fewer workers with more work. The very notion of competition between workers and working-class organization should never be mentioned in the same sentence; they are antithetical. Competition has easily bled over into worker against worker, too often with racist and xenophobic overtones. Some things never change — An Injury to One Is An Injury to All.
2. Continue to oppose privatization and schemes that destroy public space and activity for the public good. In the UAW case, this means standing up to and not with the auto companies on fuel consumption, public transportation, and urban sprawl.
3. Organizing new workers, especially in the auto industry, will take a long-term commitment to the community as well as to the workers in any particular workplace. Such a commitment might start with building a union/community hall and opening the doors to community groups and advocates who promote and defend the working class and their needs: tenants and “city” rights; immigration; programs to combat racism, sexism, and homophobia; teen centers, day care, elder care; unemployment — you get the drift. Only then will there be sufficient “goodwill” to overcome years of anti-union indoctrination. This approach will be even more crucial as the auto industry continues to relocate to the US south and southwest.
4. Building organizations whose internal culture develops and appreciates grassroots leadership; helps members become the best people they can be, not just foot soldiers dedicated to the organization; works to eliminate the injuries of capitalism and understands the connectedness between issues of race, gender, and class; and gives members the tools to strategically plan and carry out their plans.
5. Internationalism not paternalism (or worse, colonialism) with our sisters and brothers in other countries. We have something to learn from others struggles. Coordinated bargaining, strategizing, campaigns, and actions are a must in the neo-liberal global economy. When Brazilian and South African workers want to conduct activities at their workplace to help us in the US (as they offered the UAW), they must be embraced and return support actions developed. Even though the UAW was “officially” on the record against apartheid, they never promoted or encouraged workplace activities on this issue.
6. The UAW or any other union- or working-class-based organization must be fully committed to expanding rights, not limiting them. As the old saying goes, if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. Despite pleas from many sources to only stick with economic issues, we need organizations that work hard on the tough issues like gay marriage. The UAW, for example, has a fairly stellar record on passing resolutions at conventions on these issues but rarely does the tough job of educating members and working vigorously with the community about them. Some of these issues need not be button pushers. Take universal health care. It is beyond belief that the UAW hasn’t thrown its entire apparatus behind the Conyers bill. Health care and pension costs are a significant factor in the Big Three woes.
7. Do some serious thinking about issues of re-industrialization.

Unfortunately, it may be too optimistic to think that this latest news will jumpstart a long overdue self-reflection and program of correction. Without such a step, the UAW membership will continue to slide, its ability to defend workers narrowed, and its prospects for growth dimmed. This should give pause to those in or being organized by SEIU, whose President Andy Stern has continued to trumpet a version of this ideology of partnership with an employers who show little or no interest in the wellbeing of workers.

1 Although there are increasing similarities between the CAW and UAW, the CAW and Canadian union internal culture and history, as well as Canadian labor law, necessitates a separate piece. C’mon sisters and brothers in Canada, use your experience to weigh in on these vital questions.

2 In the UAW there is a master agreement which covers wages, broad union rights, benefits, and the outlines of a seniority system. Local agreements fill in the blanks and discuss specific local conditions (like hours of work, holidays above and beyond those in the master contract, numbers and types of different jobs).

3 The similarities between these ideas and those contained in the Center for Labor Renewal’s Call are not accidental. Join us today.

—
Elly Leary, a former autoworker whose plant closed, retired from UAW 2324 at Boston University, where she was vice-president and chief negotiator.
—

Well? Think the general public will agree to lower their standard of living, their expectations, and help the unions at the grassroots level? Not anymore.

The Opinionator(tm) has been a member of at least two different unions. Suffice it to say, none of those jobs were worth keeping.

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October 9, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Not just for the military anymore, now hired security forces can kill anyone who may be a perceived threat first, and ask questions later. The military has done this in Iraq since day one, with hardly a mention. You can shoot them dead at any time, just don’t make them wear undergarments on their heads or crawl naked like a dog. Blackwater? Big deal!

To understand this in proper context, you must think like the planners of war: “If you didn’t have such a screwed up country in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to come half way around the planet to clean up your mess, kick your butt, and try and teach you how to be civilized.” Damn savages! Think Britain in India and the French in the Middle East. History repeats. Look it up.

Crazy Opinions suggestion to 24 Hour News: Change the Channel

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October 8, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Not just for college campuses anymore, now irate off duty law enforcement goes on a rampage at a party and kills many. Jealousy, envy, greed. Add a gun. Presto! Problems solved. Gotta love that NRA! Let’s give a nation full of IQ 80 monkeys on antidepressants firearms to defend themselves, and we’re sure all our crime problems will be over.

There may be a minor bloodbath as all the emotionally retarded act out their frustrations, but we’ll get over it.

Crazy Opinions Suggestion: Get A Flak Jacket!

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October 3, 2007 by crazyopinions.

One of the reasons developed countries never believe that third world countries want nuclear power [that reactor must be for weapons!], is simple: no advanced civilized society should want to mortgage their future for a quick energy fix in the present. At least, none advanced enough to build a nuclear reactor. Now, if you buy one instead of build it, then you just might be a squalid backwater of tin shacks with a grudge.

Which brings us to the Russians, who will soon be sealing up the Chernobyl reactor site [again; the first concrete cap is coming apart] that melted down 21 years ago. They will add a steel enclosure which should last 100 years, enough time for them to dismantle the contaminated reactor core inside. Right. Any volunteers? Who’s first?

Think advanced coutries are any better? Crazy Opinions is 100 miles from a reactor that had to shut down because of a corroded reactor cover. Almost developed a hole, which would have begun a second Chernobyl. Caught the problem just in the nick of time, too.

Sleep tight, world! Pay no attention to nuclear waste half-lives, you wouldn’t understand it anyhow.

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October 2, 2007 by crazyopinions.

If the kids stop eating the house [paint], and stop eating the toys [paint], perhaps they’ll be safe? Not a chance. The lead hysteria has moved to the grass roots level; now you can take your kids and toys for free lead screenings and lead blood tests. Hysterical parents are then tearing up their houses and belongings when their kids test positive for lead, suspecting everything from Mexican candy wrappers to coffee mugs and salsa bowls.

Crazy Opinions Official Reality Check: Ever hear of “background radiation”, the level of rads in the environment around us? Guess what? There is also “background lead” contamination. Lead is everywhere, in the air, in the soil, in the water. Some is natural, but the bulk of this lead is the result of 150 years of industrial progress, man-made and introduced into the environment in countless ways. Doubt us? Have your favorite news outlet investigate, and have them test just one thing: the soil anywhere within the right-of-way of a road or highway. They will soon forget the lead, when they discover the miriad of heavy metals and other toxins we breathe and touch every day.

Sleep tight, all is well!

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October 1, 2007 by crazyopinions.

The concept is ridiculous, really. Let’s say that a captive market with a voracious appetite for your product exists. The demand always exceeds supply. Your main worry is the exhaustion of the supply.

In this scenario, competition is an illusion. There are more customers than existing supplies of the product sold by all the sellers. As one would expect, the price has been on an unchecked upward trend for many decades. Let us not be fooled by lengthy inflation plateaus, or economists who talk in terms of inflation over time. The simple fact is, more of us are using it faster than ever before, paying more for it than ever before, and there is less of it available than ever before.

Is it oil? Sort of. What it really is: man-made energy from finite and limited availability fuels. No others will be feasable, until these run out or become just as expensive as the alternatives [solar, wind]. Fusion? Not in our lifetimes.

Which brings us back to the original question: why advertise? Why do we see:

Marathon Oil using Richard Petty to claim their customers care about the new STP additives in their fuel [when they don’t know 20% isn’t even gasoline at all]?
If the Chevron station next door is 2 cents a gallon less, they’ll switch in a heartbeat!

Chevron, with a truly amazing ad, using far reaching philosophical and environmental statements to convince viewers that the company consists not of a corporate behemoth, just 58,000 average fuel guzzling people just like us, who take their enviromental stewardship seriously. Oh, and they drill for oil in a very efficient and respectful manner. That’s what we want, a respectful oil company. But, if the Shell station next door is 2 cents less a gallon, we’ll switch in a heartbeat!

Shell, the truly forward thinking oil company, touts their new RealEnergy program in a series of upscale magazine ads. Energy and fuel from straw, they say. Investing in the future, they claim. They say nothing about the surface of the Earth not being able to grow enough vegetable based fuel sources to replace current demands, much less increasing needs.

Are they after loyal repeat energy customers? The only nonrepeat customer is a dead one.

No, they are only shoring up their images now, while they still have one to save for the history books. Well, Marathon may be after more fickle pickup truck drivers, but the others don’t want to end up like big evil Standard Oil 100 years ago. Because when the oil runs out, nobody will blame the politicians.

The torch-wielding crowds will head for the gas stations/quick marts and refineries.

Crazy Opinions Prediction: it will happen in this century. You saw it here first.

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