Laid Off and Left Out

“You don't hear much from the American worker anymore. Like battered soldiers at the end of a lost war, ordinary workers seem resigned to their diminished status.
The grim terms imposed on them include wage stagnation, the widespread confiscation of benefits (including pensions they once believed were guaranteed), and a permanent state of employment insecurity.
For an unnecessarily large number of Americans, the workplace has become a hub of anxiety and fear, an essential but capricious environment in which you might be shown the door at any moment.
In his new book, "The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences," Louis Uchitelle tells us that since 1984, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started monitoring "worker displacement," at least 30 million full-time workers have been "permanently separated from their jobs and their paychecks against their wishes."

– – Bob Herbert, New York Times


With retirement musings looming large in my thoughts lately, concerns about being laid off or left out don't really represent a threat to my workplace life and times, but oh how future generations must worry! The revolution that started with Reagan and later continued with Gingrich would not have been possible without the blind, stupid loyalty of the "lunch box Joes" of this world. Yep, Joe bought all that crap dressed up in the super charged rhetoric of patriotism.

Ya, they appealed to all his biases and prejudices, convinced him that the gays were about to transform his loving wife into a wild eyed lesbo who was about to kick his ass out of his marriage in favor of the woman next door; turn his son into a "broke back mountain" wanna be; and, convinced him that all those "wet backs" comin' outta Mexico were steeling his job on the assembly line at GM.

In the mean time, Joe didn't seem to notice that protective labor laws were being dismantled, that jobs by the thousands were being shipped overseas and that he couldn't afford the finest medical care in the world. Nope, Joe decided it was better to die untended by the health care establishment than to translate the medical care programs into pinko, commie, socialize medical systems like those enjoyed by all the Western European economies.

Yep, that's Joe for ya. Those damned Europeans may live longer, and their kids don't die during infancy nearly as often as Joe's kids do, but what the hell, you just can’t have it all. .. and Joe's FREE! Never mind those nasty little details like the rendition program. . .people just seem to disappear, grabbed right off the streets in Any Town, USA and salted away in some far away prison where they can be tortured and beaten into submission or to death.

Details! Joe's a freedom lovin' sob, and you'd better believe it; his anthem is clear: America, Love it or get the hell out!

Ever on the watch for ya,
Davy Crockett

Monica, Where Are Ya When We Need Ya? Or, Let's Get Bush a Hooker!

As my previous postings here clearly indicate, I’ve spent a fair amount of time trying to get a fix on our president, and I think it would be fair to say that I’ve ranked him with the lowest of he low for job performance. Indeed, President Harding’s incompetence seemed like a pretty good measuring stick; so, I did see them as competitors for the bottom slot with Bush finally edging Harding for the spot at the very bottom. It didn’t occur to me at the time that Harding’s moral turpitude might just have been a positive, an advantage that kept him from getting into more trouble than was actually the case. That is, time spent fooling around with wild women, strong whiskey and poker with derelict friends didn’t leave him with much time for trying to rule the world, or to send out the army to force a democratic lesson upon some unsuspecting foe.

Well, history does teach a lesson or two; and, ever now and again, I’m perceptive enough to pick up on 'em. I’ve decided, after considerable thought, that we'd all be better off if George W. could get up close and personal with a hooker. .. you know connect with a buxom babe someplace in the White House. . .one of those little used storage rooms off in the back reaches someplace. . .kinda like old Bill did with Monica.

It's entirely possible that, just like President Harding during an earlier period, Bill's preoccupation with that chubby little sex crazed kid might just have saved us from more wars of the type we now endure. Yup, Monica just might be a candidate for a medal of freedom or something along those lines. Who could have guessed what real service she was actually performing for Bill and ultimately the nation. We’re lucky!

I think if we generated enough money, we might even be able to find some greedy street lady to occupy Cheney. . . Now I'll admit, that's a tough one. Could we, in fact, find a street walkin' lady with the right combination of greed and lust to take on such a nasty job; she'd have to be one tough bitch. . .kinda like Lynn?

Now all this might sound preposterous, but think about it. . .these right-wing kooks seem to go for poker, kinky sex and the like. . .remember the Jimmys (Reverends Baker and Swaggert) Oh, and there have been others. It’s gotten so damn bad with the political preachers on the right, that as Mark Twain once said, “If Christ were here today, the last thing he’d be is a Christian.” I guess that was kinda the idea behind John Denver and George Burns movie, Oh God!

Hey, I think even Rummy could be tempted. Maybe we could talk Maureen Down into doing a service for the nation. . .she seems to like him. Think of the money and lives we could save.

Now damn, don't ya go worrin' about the cost of the cute babes with the big perky boobs . .I think we could probably slip a marker or two into one of those multi-billion dollar defense bills, or maybe we could even cancel one of those Alaskan bridges to nowhere. . . with a little creativity there's lots a possibilities.

Ever thinkin’ about how to make it better for ya,

Davy Crockett