Subject: Re: Big news on student loans
The first question is, Why are we forcing our children to go into hock in
order to gain a degree for a nonexistent job?
Question: How many Corporate First Class Citizens children run up debts in
order to attend Harvard, etc.?
Let's make certain that we understand the process. First you go out and rob
the working
families, then you send your children to the best schools with the money you
skimmed off the backs of the poor, then you complain about the working class
demanding relief.
Well, maybe it's time we Working Class folks got our money the same way as
the Corporate First Class Citizens. We'll take their homes and sell them,
we'll take their factories and move them back home, we'll take their jobs
and give them to our children, and we'll make them pay for all of the
benefits they now enjoy at our expense.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Ketler" <gketler@austin.rr.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 9:20 AM
Subject: Re: Big news on student loans
I don't understand why the interest rate on student loans is so high. It
seems just like another money grab.
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 9:48 AM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: Big news on student loans
Good news? We call holding the line on student loan interest as good news?
We treat our children like we treat Third World Nations, forcing them deep
into debt in order to receive what they need to barely survive.
Shame on us!
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "R. E. Driscoll Sr" <llocsirdsr@att.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 7:36 PM
Subject: Fwd: Big news on student loans
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Big news on student loans
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 14:01:39 -0500
From: Cecilia Muñoz, The White House <info@messages.whitehouse.gov>
Reply-To: info@messages.whitehouse.gov
To: llocsirdsr@att.net
Big news on student loans
The White House, Washington
Hi, everyone --
We've got some good news to share! Senators from both parties have come
up with a plan to reduce the interest rates on student loans. Once it
becomes law, rates on every single new college loan will come down
before the start of the school year.
Because of this agreement, 11 million borrowers will save money, and we
need help to make sure that everyone gets the details. The graphic below
breaks down all the facts, and gives parents, undergrads, and grad
students the information they need to know what they can expect in the
years ahead.
*Check it out, then share it to help spread the message.
<http://links.whitehouse.gov/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTMwNzIzLjIxNDAyNjkxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDEzMDcyMy4yMTQwMjY5MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2ODgxMDYwJmVtYWlsaWQ9bGxvY3NpcmRzckBhdHQubmV0JnVzZXJpZD1sbG9jc2lyZHNyQGF0dC5uZXQmZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&100&&&http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/big-news-student-loans?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=email224-text1&utm_campaign=studentloans>*
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*http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/big-news-student-loans
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Thanks!
Cecilia
Cecilia Muñoz
Director, Domestic Policy Council
The White House
*@Cecilia44
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Friday, July 26, 2013
there is dignity in All labor
In saying that there is dignity in all labor, we do not place value on one
job or another. We respect *All labor. The bank president, in respecting
all other's labor, pays a decent living wage to those he/she...not that I
know of any she bank presidents, but he/she pays out of respect for the job
well done, not for the particular type of work.
And the bank board pays the bank president out of respect for a job well
done.
Rather than try to talk about which labor is more critical to our well
being, we simply come to understand that All labor is of value, or it will
become obsolete. The jobs and services that are important to my current
situation are very different than those for you who live in cities. I do
not ride the public transit, since it does not run out here. But I see the
value and I respect the drivers who provide that service to others.
Once a month the Ferrier comes around and trims the horses hooves and puts
on new shoes. I have great respect for this man's talent and skill. You
most likely don't need such services, and yet you certainly can respect such
labor.
I have another thought, but I'll send it later.
But just think about how the Ruling Class treats labor...and that includes
you and me.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alice Dampman Humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 6:18 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Well, they've certainly done something very different…and let me hasten to
say I am no friend of bank presidents, but the trash collector, who I admit,
day to day performs an extremely valuable and necessary service that
deserves to be at the very least well-paid and very well-respected, did not
process your mortgage…
If we're going to say that all labor has value and dignity, then can we
really pick and choose?
And, believe you me, I've got some problems applying that dignity thing
evenly across the board, too…so I'm not getting preachy…but is this not
what we strive toward, respect and dignity for all, not only those who agree
with us? Again, I admit, it's really hard, and I can't do it either…I could
list all kinds of people for whom I have no respect, who I feel don't
deserve my respect, who by their actions merit my contempt (and get it),
so...
On Jul 24, 2013, at 9:59 PM, Gary Ketler <gketler@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> All I can say is that trash collectors have done more for me than a bank
> president has.
>
> From: R. E. Driscoll Sr
> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:57 PM
> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>
> Are we now seeing basic raw bias or are we seeing one line ad lib
> comments?
> On 7/24/2013 8:50 PM, Roger Loran Bailey wrote:
>> By all means. Now if that bank president would make himself useful by
>> hauling a little trash then he might be worth something.
>> On 7/24/2013 9:46 PM, Gary Ketler wrote:
>>> The trash collector is more important than the bank president is, as far
>>> as I'm concerned.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey
>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:44 PM
>>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>>
>>> I would ask, who is to say that the bank president is worth less than
>>> the guy hauling trash? Well, I, for one, would.
>>> On 7/24/2013 11:16 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
>>>> Chuck,
>>>> Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up
>>>> even
>>>> if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out
>>>> once
>>>> the ball gets rolling.
>>>> As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat
>>>> my
>>>> dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the
>>>> fellow
>>>> hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
>>>> president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
>>>>
>>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: mailto:ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
>>>> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
>>>> mailto:blind-democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>> petition
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done
>>>> those
>>>> people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance
>>>> are
>>>> forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so
>>>> their
>>>> purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net
>>>> and
>>>> exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
>>>> thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting
>>>> raises in
>>>> the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly
>>>> rate or
>>>> what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to
>>>> stay
>>>> competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people
>>>> working
>>>> in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of
>>>> aedvanced
>>>> training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
>>>> Chuck
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Miriam Vieni
>>>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
>>>> Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>> petition
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
>>>> To: Miriam Vieni
>>>> Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
>>>>
>>>> To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in.
>>>> Can you
>>>> share this petition with all your friends?
>>>>
>>>> Click here to share it on Facebook:
>>>>
>>>> Share on Facebook
>>>>
>>>> Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> -Roger Hickey
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
>>>> paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are
>>>> adults
>>>> with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
>>>>
>>>> If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it
>>>> would be
>>>> $10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation,
>>>> this
>>>> bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
>>>> hard-working Americans.
>>>>
>>>> The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its
>>>> value
>>>> since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its
>>>> pay
>>>> 13 times.
>>>>
>>>> The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
>>>> According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
>>>> $10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create
>>>> 140,000 new
>>>> jobs over three years.
>>>>
>>>> On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers,
>>>> online
>>>> activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day
>>>> of
>>>> Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
>>>> employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of
>>>> America's
>>>> lowest-paid workers.
>>>>
>>>> You can find details about events in your area here:
>>>> http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-america
>>>>
>>>> That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
>>>> Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
>>>>
>>>> "Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum
>>>> wage to
>>>> $10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in
>>>> more
>>>> than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
>>>>
>>>> Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by=1126864
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the
>>>> Minimum
>>>> Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action
>>>> does
>>>> not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on
>>>> MoveOn's
>>>> public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
>>>> petition, click here to unsubscribe.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
job or another. We respect *All labor. The bank president, in respecting
all other's labor, pays a decent living wage to those he/she...not that I
know of any she bank presidents, but he/she pays out of respect for the job
well done, not for the particular type of work.
And the bank board pays the bank president out of respect for a job well
done.
Rather than try to talk about which labor is more critical to our well
being, we simply come to understand that All labor is of value, or it will
become obsolete. The jobs and services that are important to my current
situation are very different than those for you who live in cities. I do
not ride the public transit, since it does not run out here. But I see the
value and I respect the drivers who provide that service to others.
Once a month the Ferrier comes around and trims the horses hooves and puts
on new shoes. I have great respect for this man's talent and skill. You
most likely don't need such services, and yet you certainly can respect such
labor.
I have another thought, but I'll send it later.
But just think about how the Ruling Class treats labor...and that includes
you and me.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alice Dampman Humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 6:18 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Well, they've certainly done something very different…and let me hasten to
say I am no friend of bank presidents, but the trash collector, who I admit,
day to day performs an extremely valuable and necessary service that
deserves to be at the very least well-paid and very well-respected, did not
process your mortgage…
If we're going to say that all labor has value and dignity, then can we
really pick and choose?
And, believe you me, I've got some problems applying that dignity thing
evenly across the board, too…so I'm not getting preachy…but is this not
what we strive toward, respect and dignity for all, not only those who agree
with us? Again, I admit, it's really hard, and I can't do it either…I could
list all kinds of people for whom I have no respect, who I feel don't
deserve my respect, who by their actions merit my contempt (and get it),
so...
On Jul 24, 2013, at 9:59 PM, Gary Ketler <gketler@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> All I can say is that trash collectors have done more for me than a bank
> president has.
>
> From: R. E. Driscoll Sr
> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:57 PM
> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>
> Are we now seeing basic raw bias or are we seeing one line ad lib
> comments?
> On 7/24/2013 8:50 PM, Roger Loran Bailey wrote:
>> By all means. Now if that bank president would make himself useful by
>> hauling a little trash then he might be worth something.
>> On 7/24/2013 9:46 PM, Gary Ketler wrote:
>>> The trash collector is more important than the bank president is, as far
>>> as I'm concerned.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey
>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:44 PM
>>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>>
>>> I would ask, who is to say that the bank president is worth less than
>>> the guy hauling trash? Well, I, for one, would.
>>> On 7/24/2013 11:16 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
>>>> Chuck,
>>>> Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up
>>>> even
>>>> if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out
>>>> once
>>>> the ball gets rolling.
>>>> As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat
>>>> my
>>>> dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the
>>>> fellow
>>>> hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
>>>> president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
>>>>
>>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: mailto:ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
>>>> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
>>>> mailto:blind-democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>> petition
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done
>>>> those
>>>> people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance
>>>> are
>>>> forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so
>>>> their
>>>> purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net
>>>> and
>>>> exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
>>>> thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting
>>>> raises in
>>>> the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly
>>>> rate or
>>>> what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to
>>>> stay
>>>> competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people
>>>> working
>>>> in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of
>>>> aedvanced
>>>> training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
>>>> Chuck
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: Miriam Vieni
>>>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
>>>> Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>> petition
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
>>>> To: Miriam Vieni
>>>> Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
>>>>
>>>> To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in.
>>>> Can you
>>>> share this petition with all your friends?
>>>>
>>>> Click here to share it on Facebook:
>>>>
>>>> Share on Facebook
>>>>
>>>> Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> -Roger Hickey
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
>>>> paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are
>>>> adults
>>>> with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
>>>>
>>>> If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it
>>>> would be
>>>> $10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation,
>>>> this
>>>> bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
>>>> hard-working Americans.
>>>>
>>>> The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its
>>>> value
>>>> since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its
>>>> pay
>>>> 13 times.
>>>>
>>>> The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
>>>> According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
>>>> $10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create
>>>> 140,000 new
>>>> jobs over three years.
>>>>
>>>> On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers,
>>>> online
>>>> activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day
>>>> of
>>>> Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
>>>> employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of
>>>> America's
>>>> lowest-paid workers.
>>>>
>>>> You can find details about events in your area here:
>>>> http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-america
>>>>
>>>> That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
>>>> Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
>>>>
>>>> "Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum
>>>> wage to
>>>> $10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in
>>>> more
>>>> than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
>>>>
>>>> Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by=1126864
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the
>>>> Minimum
>>>> Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action
>>>> does
>>>> not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on
>>>> MoveOn's
>>>> public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
>>>> petition, click here to unsubscribe.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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When is a Tip a Tip, and when is it a wage subsidy?
When is a Tip a Tip and when is it a wage subsidy?
If we would stop calling it a Tip, and use the proper name, we might resent
it even more.
That 20% "tip" is actually a wage subsidy, paid by you and me.
It's how service providers get away with paying their employees sub minimum
wages while assuring them a slightly better standard of living. You become
a minor partner in supporting that employee.
I always ask my employees, when I'm dining out, "Are you a member of a
union?" Far too often the answer is, "No!"
I suggest that if all wait persons organized, they could demand dignified
wages for their labor, and would not have to depend on their customers to
subsidize the Boss.
Usually they back away and look around for someone else to take care of.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alice Dampman Humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
To: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>; "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
<blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 6:54 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
I also tip the proper amounts, because I know the reasons for it. I don't
like them, but that's another story.
However, I must say that I quite strongly resent being held hostage to the
now 20% "minimum" tip, whether the service is good, bad, or indifferent…and,
of course, I do try to tip more, a little more anyway, if the service was
particularly nice. But I still resent the obligatory nature of the amount of
the tip these days, and adding 25 or 30 percent to a bill is getting pretty
pricey....
grumble, grumble…
Alice
On Jul 25, 2013, at 4:47 AM, ckrugman@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> I agree and I make sure I tip generously when warranted.C
> huck
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
> To: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>; "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
> <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:16 AM
> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>
>
>> Chuck,
>> Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up
>> even
>> if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out once
>> the ball gets rolling.
>> As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat my
>> dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the
>> fellow
>> hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
>> president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
>>
>> Carl Jarvis
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>>
>> The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done
>> those
>> people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance
>> are
>> forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so
>> their
>> purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net and
>> exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
>> thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting raises
>> in
>> the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly rate
>> or
>> what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to stay
>> competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people
>> working
>> in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of aedvanced
>> training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
>> Chuck
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Miriam Vieni
>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
>> Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
>> To: Miriam Vieni
>> Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
>>
>> To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in. Can
>> you
>> share this petition with all your friends?
>>
>> Click here to share it on Facebook:
>>
>> Share on Facebook
>>
>> Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> -Roger Hickey
>>
>>
>> Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Hi,
>>
>> Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
>> paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are adults
>> with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
>>
>> If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it would be
>> $10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation, this
>> bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
>> hard-working Americans.
>>
>> The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its value
>> since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its
>> pay
>> 13 times.
>>
>> The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
>> According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
>> $10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create 140,000
>> new
>> jobs over three years.
>>
>> On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers,
>> online
>> activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day of
>> Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
>> employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of
>> America's
>> lowest-paid workers.
>>
>> You can find details about events in your area here:
>> http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-america
>>
>> That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
>> Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
>>
>> "Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum wage to
>> $10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in
>> more
>> than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
>>
>> Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
>>
>> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by=1126864
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the Minimum
>> Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action
>> does
>> not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on
>> MoveOn's
>> public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
>> petition, click here to unsubscribe.
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>
> _______________________________________________
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> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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If we would stop calling it a Tip, and use the proper name, we might resent
it even more.
That 20% "tip" is actually a wage subsidy, paid by you and me.
It's how service providers get away with paying their employees sub minimum
wages while assuring them a slightly better standard of living. You become
a minor partner in supporting that employee.
I always ask my employees, when I'm dining out, "Are you a member of a
union?" Far too often the answer is, "No!"
I suggest that if all wait persons organized, they could demand dignified
wages for their labor, and would not have to depend on their customers to
subsidize the Boss.
Usually they back away and look around for someone else to take care of.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alice Dampman Humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
To: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>; "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
<blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 6:54 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
I also tip the proper amounts, because I know the reasons for it. I don't
like them, but that's another story.
However, I must say that I quite strongly resent being held hostage to the
now 20% "minimum" tip, whether the service is good, bad, or indifferent…and,
of course, I do try to tip more, a little more anyway, if the service was
particularly nice. But I still resent the obligatory nature of the amount of
the tip these days, and adding 25 or 30 percent to a bill is getting pretty
pricey....
grumble, grumble…
Alice
On Jul 25, 2013, at 4:47 AM, ckrugman@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> I agree and I make sure I tip generously when warranted.C
> huck
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
> To: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>; "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
> <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:16 AM
> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>
>
>> Chuck,
>> Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up
>> even
>> if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out once
>> the ball gets rolling.
>> As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat my
>> dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the
>> fellow
>> hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
>> president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
>>
>> Carl Jarvis
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>>
>> The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done
>> those
>> people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance
>> are
>> forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so
>> their
>> purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net and
>> exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
>> thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting raises
>> in
>> the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly rate
>> or
>> what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to stay
>> competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people
>> working
>> in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of aedvanced
>> training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
>> Chuck
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Miriam Vieni
>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
>> Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
>> To: Miriam Vieni
>> Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
>>
>> To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in. Can
>> you
>> share this petition with all your friends?
>>
>> Click here to share it on Facebook:
>>
>> Share on Facebook
>>
>> Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> -Roger Hickey
>>
>>
>> Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Hi,
>>
>> Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
>> paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are adults
>> with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
>>
>> If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it would be
>> $10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation, this
>> bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
>> hard-working Americans.
>>
>> The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its value
>> since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its
>> pay
>> 13 times.
>>
>> The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
>> According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
>> $10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create 140,000
>> new
>> jobs over three years.
>>
>> On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers,
>> online
>> activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day of
>> Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
>> employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of
>> America's
>> lowest-paid workers.
>>
>> You can find details about events in your area here:
>> http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-america
>>
>> That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
>> Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
>>
>> "Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum wage to
>> $10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in
>> more
>> than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
>>
>> Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
>>
>> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by=1126864
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the Minimum
>> Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action
>> does
>> not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on
>> MoveOn's
>> public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
>> petition, click here to unsubscribe.
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Ruling Class has no respect for labor
Subject: Ruling Class has no respect for labor
The Good Book tells us, "By their deeds you shall know them".
But somewhere along the way we've been schmoozed into thinking that words
are the same thing. Just promise, "Yes we can!" and it's as good as if it
has been done.
Maybe some of us just like being flattered and drooled on. We get our
little pat on the head and sent on our way to do the bidding of "The Man".
But if we could get into the private clubs and behind the closed door
meetings, we'd hear the contempt and the sneers laid upon us.
The Ruling Class, the Corporate Empire, does not think in terms of "Dignity
in all labor".
That is because they view us as a natural resource, which they have a right
to use to their advantage.
And so, it is the Ruling Class who determine the value of each job.
Naturally those who serve them best will receive highest ratings.
We have been conned into thinking that because the Ruling Class tells us
that this person or that one are very important, then it must be so. Of
course many of us work hard to try to join those numbers in order to be
respected and live the good life.
But it's all smoke and mirrors.
A friend said, "But how do you explain the millions that are heaped upon
professional athletes? They don't seem to be important to the well being of
the Ruling Class."
I told my friend that the athletes are workers, just the same as we all are,
and that they deserve respect for what they do to entertain and amaze us.
But the Ruling Class is using them to their advantage. Besides marketing
sports, in order to reap huge profits, they are using these sports "heroes"
to distract us and to help keep us in line.
Sports provides a great service to the Ruling Class. Far more important
than merely taking out the trash.
We've been tricked into believing that some of us have very specials skills
or talents and that makes them worth more than the labor provided by the
trash man. But if we placed equal value on all labor, the fellow flying
down the field with the football tucked under his arm would be no more
valuable than the guy slinging ice-cream bars up into the crowd.
Maybe I'm over the top, at least a little, but my point is that we are not
in control of determining our own labor's value. We need to take that job
away from the Ruling Class and determine what we think our labor is worth.
Carl Jarvis
***
"We do not inherit the land from
our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
The Good Book tells us, "By their deeds you shall know them".
But somewhere along the way we've been schmoozed into thinking that words
are the same thing. Just promise, "Yes we can!" and it's as good as if it
has been done.
Maybe some of us just like being flattered and drooled on. We get our
little pat on the head and sent on our way to do the bidding of "The Man".
But if we could get into the private clubs and behind the closed door
meetings, we'd hear the contempt and the sneers laid upon us.
The Ruling Class, the Corporate Empire, does not think in terms of "Dignity
in all labor".
That is because they view us as a natural resource, which they have a right
to use to their advantage.
And so, it is the Ruling Class who determine the value of each job.
Naturally those who serve them best will receive highest ratings.
We have been conned into thinking that because the Ruling Class tells us
that this person or that one are very important, then it must be so. Of
course many of us work hard to try to join those numbers in order to be
respected and live the good life.
But it's all smoke and mirrors.
A friend said, "But how do you explain the millions that are heaped upon
professional athletes? They don't seem to be important to the well being of
the Ruling Class."
I told my friend that the athletes are workers, just the same as we all are,
and that they deserve respect for what they do to entertain and amaze us.
But the Ruling Class is using them to their advantage. Besides marketing
sports, in order to reap huge profits, they are using these sports "heroes"
to distract us and to help keep us in line.
Sports provides a great service to the Ruling Class. Far more important
than merely taking out the trash.
We've been tricked into believing that some of us have very specials skills
or talents and that makes them worth more than the labor provided by the
trash man. But if we placed equal value on all labor, the fellow flying
down the field with the football tucked under his arm would be no more
valuable than the guy slinging ice-cream bars up into the crowd.
Maybe I'm over the top, at least a little, but my point is that we are not
in control of determining our own labor's value. We need to take that job
away from the Ruling Class and determine what we think our labor is worth.
Carl Jarvis
***
"We do not inherit the land from
our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
rambling thoughts on respect and dignity
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Good point Roger.
In saying that there is dignity in all labor, I did not include torture or
murder or drone attacks or military actions. I can respect the labor
performed by the local police officers, but be strongly opposed to their
violent attacks on peaceful protesters.
Under our current system, I can respect the bank president's labor in
running an efficient bank, but work to have him tossed in jail for rigging
home loans or for illegal foreclosures. I can also object to his being paid
400 times what his employees are paid.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Loran Bailey" <rogerbailey81@aol.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Here's hoping that banking does become obsolete. To equate banking with
garbage collecting is like the slave who has just been whipped saying,
"I really respect that slavemaster, He put in a lot of work beating me.
I am in so much pain that I know he put in a lot of work. I have to
respect a man who works that hard."
On 7/25/2013 10:23 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
> In saying that there is dignity in all labor, we do not place value on one
> job or another. We respect *All labor. The bank president, in respecting
> all other's labor, pays a decent living wage to those he/she...not that I
> know of any she bank presidents, but he/she pays out of respect for the
> job
> well done, not for the particular type of work.
> And the bank board pays the bank president out of respect for a job well
> done.
> Rather than try to talk about which labor is more critical to our well
> being, we simply come to understand that All labor is of value, or it will
> become obsolete. The jobs and services that are important to my current
> situation are very different than those for you who live in cities. I do
> not ride the public transit, since it does not run out here. But I see
> the
> value and I respect the drivers who provide that service to others.
> Once a month the Ferrier comes around and trims the horses hooves and puts
> on new shoes. I have great respect for this man's talent and skill. You
> most likely don't need such services, and yet you certainly can respect
> such
> labor.
> I have another thought, but I'll send it later.
> But just think about how the Ruling Class treats labor...and that includes
> you and me.
>
> Carl Jarvis
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Alice Dampman Humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 6:18 AM
> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>
>
> Well, they've certainly done something very different...and let me hasten
> to
> say I am no friend of bank presidents, but the trash collector, who I
> admit,
> day to day performs an extremely valuable and necessary service that
> deserves to be at the very least well-paid and very well-respected, did
> not
> process your mortgage...
> If we're going to say that all labor has value and dignity, then can we
> really pick and choose?
> And, believe you me, I've got some problems applying that dignity thing
> evenly across the board, too...so I'm not getting preachy...but is this
> not
> what we strive toward, respect and dignity for all, not only those who
> agree
> with us? Again, I admit, it's really hard, and I can't do it either...I
> could
> list all kinds of people for whom I have no respect, who I feel don't
> deserve my respect, who by their actions merit my contempt (and get it),
> so...
> On Jul 24, 2013, at 9:59 PM, Gary Ketler <gketler@austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> All I can say is that trash collectors have done more for me than a bank
>> president has.
>>
>> From: R. E. Driscoll Sr
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:57 PM
>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>> Are we now seeing basic raw bias or are we seeing one line ad lib
>> comments?
>> On 7/24/2013 8:50 PM, Roger Loran Bailey wrote:
>>> By all means. Now if that bank president would make himself useful by
>>> hauling a little trash then he might be worth something.
>>> On 7/24/2013 9:46 PM, Gary Ketler wrote:
>>>> The trash collector is more important than the bank president is, as
>>>> far
>>>> as I'm concerned.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:44 PM
>>>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>> petition
>>>>
>>>> I would ask, who is to say that the bank president is worth less than
>>>> the guy hauling trash? Well, I, for one, would.
>>>> On 7/24/2013 11:16 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
>>>>> Chuck,
>>>>> Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up
>>>>> even
>>>>> if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out
>>>>> once
>>>>> the ball gets rolling.
>>>>> As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat
>>>>> my
>>>>> dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the
>>>>> fellow
>>>>> hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
>>>>> president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
>>>>>
>>>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: mailto:ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
>>>>> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
>>>>> mailto:blind-democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>>> petition
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done
>>>>> those
>>>>> people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public
>>>>> assistance
>>>>> are
>>>>> forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so
>>>>> their
>>>>> purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net
>>>>> and
>>>>> exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
>>>>> thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting
>>>>> raises in
>>>>> the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly
>>>>> rate or
>>>>> what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to
>>>>> stay
>>>>> competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people
>>>>> working
>>>>> in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of
>>>>> aedvanced
>>>>> training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
>>>>> Chuck
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: Miriam Vieni
>>>>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
>>>>> Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>>> petition
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
>>>>> To: Miriam Vieni
>>>>> Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>>> petition
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
>>>>>
>>>>> To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in.
>>>>> Can you
>>>>> share this petition with all your friends?
>>>>>
>>>>> Click here to share it on Facebook:
>>>>>
>>>>> Share on Facebook
>>>>>
>>>>> Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>> -Roger Hickey
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>> Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost
>>>>> the
>>>>> paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are
>>>>> adults
>>>>> with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
>>>>>
>>>>> If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it
>>>>> would be
>>>>> $10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation,
>>>>> this
>>>>> bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
>>>>> hard-working Americans.
>>>>>
>>>>> The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its
>>>>> value
>>>>> since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its
>>>>> pay
>>>>> 13 times.
>>>>>
>>>>> The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
>>>>> According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage
>>>>> to
>>>>> $10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create
>>>>> 140,000 new
>>>>> jobs over three years.
>>>>>
>>>>> On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates,
>>>>> workers,
>>>>> online
>>>>> activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day
>>>>> of
>>>>> Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
>>>>> employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of
>>>>> America's
>>>>> lowest-paid workers.
>>>>>
>>>>> You can find details about events in your area here:
>>>>> http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-america
>>>>>
>>>>> That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
>>>>> Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
>>>>>
>>>>> "Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum
>>>>> wage to
>>>>> $10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in
>>>>> more
>>>>> than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of
>>>>> living."
>>>>>
>>>>> Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by=1126864
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the
>>>>> Minimum
>>>>> Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action
>>>>> does
>>>>> not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on
>>>>> MoveOn's
>>>>> public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about
>>>>> this
>>>>> petition, click here to unsubscribe.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
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>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>> _______________________________________________
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>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
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> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>
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From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Good point Roger.
In saying that there is dignity in all labor, I did not include torture or
murder or drone attacks or military actions. I can respect the labor
performed by the local police officers, but be strongly opposed to their
violent attacks on peaceful protesters.
Under our current system, I can respect the bank president's labor in
running an efficient bank, but work to have him tossed in jail for rigging
home loans or for illegal foreclosures. I can also object to his being paid
400 times what his employees are paid.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Loran Bailey" <rogerbailey81@aol.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Here's hoping that banking does become obsolete. To equate banking with
garbage collecting is like the slave who has just been whipped saying,
"I really respect that slavemaster, He put in a lot of work beating me.
I am in so much pain that I know he put in a lot of work. I have to
respect a man who works that hard."
On 7/25/2013 10:23 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
> In saying that there is dignity in all labor, we do not place value on one
> job or another. We respect *All labor. The bank president, in respecting
> all other's labor, pays a decent living wage to those he/she...not that I
> know of any she bank presidents, but he/she pays out of respect for the
> job
> well done, not for the particular type of work.
> And the bank board pays the bank president out of respect for a job well
> done.
> Rather than try to talk about which labor is more critical to our well
> being, we simply come to understand that All labor is of value, or it will
> become obsolete. The jobs and services that are important to my current
> situation are very different than those for you who live in cities. I do
> not ride the public transit, since it does not run out here. But I see
> the
> value and I respect the drivers who provide that service to others.
> Once a month the Ferrier comes around and trims the horses hooves and puts
> on new shoes. I have great respect for this man's talent and skill. You
> most likely don't need such services, and yet you certainly can respect
> such
> labor.
> I have another thought, but I'll send it later.
> But just think about how the Ruling Class treats labor...and that includes
> you and me.
>
> Carl Jarvis
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Alice Dampman Humel" <alicedh@verizon.net>
> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 6:18 AM
> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>
>
> Well, they've certainly done something very different...and let me hasten
> to
> say I am no friend of bank presidents, but the trash collector, who I
> admit,
> day to day performs an extremely valuable and necessary service that
> deserves to be at the very least well-paid and very well-respected, did
> not
> process your mortgage...
> If we're going to say that all labor has value and dignity, then can we
> really pick and choose?
> And, believe you me, I've got some problems applying that dignity thing
> evenly across the board, too...so I'm not getting preachy...but is this
> not
> what we strive toward, respect and dignity for all, not only those who
> agree
> with us? Again, I admit, it's really hard, and I can't do it either...I
> could
> list all kinds of people for whom I have no respect, who I feel don't
> deserve my respect, who by their actions merit my contempt (and get it),
> so...
> On Jul 24, 2013, at 9:59 PM, Gary Ketler <gketler@austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> All I can say is that trash collectors have done more for me than a bank
>> president has.
>>
>> From: R. E. Driscoll Sr
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:57 PM
>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
>>
>> Are we now seeing basic raw bias or are we seeing one line ad lib
>> comments?
>> On 7/24/2013 8:50 PM, Roger Loran Bailey wrote:
>>> By all means. Now if that bank president would make himself useful by
>>> hauling a little trash then he might be worth something.
>>> On 7/24/2013 9:46 PM, Gary Ketler wrote:
>>>> The trash collector is more important than the bank president is, as
>>>> far
>>>> as I'm concerned.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 8:44 PM
>>>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>> petition
>>>>
>>>> I would ask, who is to say that the bank president is worth less than
>>>> the guy hauling trash? Well, I, for one, would.
>>>> On 7/24/2013 11:16 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
>>>>> Chuck,
>>>>> Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up
>>>>> even
>>>>> if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out
>>>>> once
>>>>> the ball gets rolling.
>>>>> As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat
>>>>> my
>>>>> dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the
>>>>> fellow
>>>>> hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
>>>>> president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
>>>>>
>>>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: mailto:ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
>>>>> To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List"
>>>>> mailto:blind-democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>>> petition
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done
>>>>> those
>>>>> people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public
>>>>> assistance
>>>>> are
>>>>> forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so
>>>>> their
>>>>> purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net
>>>>> and
>>>>> exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
>>>>> thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting
>>>>> raises in
>>>>> the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly
>>>>> rate or
>>>>> what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to
>>>>> stay
>>>>> competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people
>>>>> working
>>>>> in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of
>>>>> aedvanced
>>>>> training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
>>>>> Chuck
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: Miriam Vieni
>>>>> To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
>>>>> Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>>> petition
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
>>>>> To: Miriam Vieni
>>>>> Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage"
>>>>> petition
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
>>>>>
>>>>> To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in.
>>>>> Can you
>>>>> share this petition with all your friends?
>>>>>
>>>>> Click here to share it on Facebook:
>>>>>
>>>>> Share on Facebook
>>>>>
>>>>> Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>> -Roger Hickey
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>> Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost
>>>>> the
>>>>> paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are
>>>>> adults
>>>>> with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
>>>>>
>>>>> If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it
>>>>> would be
>>>>> $10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation,
>>>>> this
>>>>> bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
>>>>> hard-working Americans.
>>>>>
>>>>> The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its
>>>>> value
>>>>> since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its
>>>>> pay
>>>>> 13 times.
>>>>>
>>>>> The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
>>>>> According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage
>>>>> to
>>>>> $10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create
>>>>> 140,000 new
>>>>> jobs over three years.
>>>>>
>>>>> On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates,
>>>>> workers,
>>>>> online
>>>>> activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day
>>>>> of
>>>>> Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
>>>>> employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of
>>>>> America's
>>>>> lowest-paid workers.
>>>>>
>>>>> You can find details about events in your area here:
>>>>> http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-america
>>>>>
>>>>> That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
>>>>> Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
>>>>>
>>>>> "Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum
>>>>> wage to
>>>>> $10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in
>>>>> more
>>>>> than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of
>>>>> living."
>>>>>
>>>>> Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by=1126864
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the
>>>>> Minimum
>>>>> Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action
>>>>> does
>>>>> not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on
>>>>> MoveOn's
>>>>> public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about
>>>>> this
>>>>> petition, click here to unsubscribe.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Blind-Democracy mailing list
>>> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
>>> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
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>
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>
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thoughts on demise of labor unions
From my own experiences and also from my shaky memory, Labor Unions brought
about their own demise, as much as did the Corporate Bosses. Labor Unions
began to take on the appearance of the very corporations they found
oppressive. The Union leaders began making decisions without the knowledge
or approval of the rank and file members.
While the Corporate Bosses cried out that Unions were riddled with
Communists, the actual truth was that the Unions were filling up with
Capitalist lookalikes, eager to carve out their own little empires.
It became difficult to tell if you were in the offices of the Union
President, or the President of Shell Oil.
Keeping the members in line was not difficult in the early days. Strike for
higher wages and better benefits and working conditions. As long as the pay
hikes came in, most members were contented to turn over the hard work to a
handful of paid union officials. Meetings were controlled and basically
dull. Members felt they had nothing meaningful to contribute.
The Unions, like their Corporate buddies, jockeyed for dominance, cutting
the legs off one another whenever they could. The Teamsters tried to unseat
the Aero Machinists at Boeing, back in the late 40's. The Teamsters were at
it again in California, attempting to take over the United Farm Workers.
But then, the Teamsters had been built by Dave Beck, a self serving man who
knew how to write Sweetheart Contracts. He left his job as a truck driver
and moved into the posh Teamster suites, hobnobbing with the rich and
famous.
And the rank and file members couldn't see that they had been sold out, that
they were now being used by both Labor and Management.
And what the Labor Movement could have done world-wide came crashing down
when Unions behaved just like the Corporate World when it came to their
dealings with Third World Nations.
Have we learned from our experiences of turning our responsibilities over to
a few greedy leaders? I guess not.
Can we learn? Sure, but in whose lifetime?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "ted chittenden" <tchittenden@cox.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 12:56 PM
Subject: RE: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Miriam:
While it is true that there have always been criticisms of the union
movement (some of which I share, by the way), the unions themselves really
had the most power in this country between World War II (and its aftermath)
and 1980 and the election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. President.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides if not more.
---- Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
Well, I think that things are a bit more subtle than the picture you paint.
Politicians say what they think people want to hear. There are a lot of
working class people who consider themselves to be middle class. The
definitions of what is working class and what is middle class are a bit
foggy to begin with and people's definitions of themselves are subjective.
As for unions, the business class always despised them. And by the mid 70's,
anti-union propaganda had been very effective. I remember a saleswoman in a
department store telling me that she was so happy that there was no union
representation in that store. I also know people who saw all unions and
union activity as a negative force because some unions were tainted by crime
and illegality.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of ted chittenden
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 2:06 PM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: RE: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Miriam:
The reason that politicians are more interested in the middle class than in
the working class is that members of the middle class have more money and
are willing to spend more of it on politicians than their working class
counterparts.
With regard to how life was with respect for the unions, keep in mind that
that was only a brief phenomenon that occurred only during the middle of the
20th century. During most of U.S. history, union movements and their
supporters were abhorred and looked down upon.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides if not more.
---- Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
It's interesting that part of the American dream is that everyone is
supposed to work hard and get an education so that he or she can move up in
socioeconomic status, make more money than his or her parents, live better
lives, which means have more material comforts. The implication of this is
that the people who haul the garbage or clean our office buildings or pick
our fruit and vegetables, are worth less. The idea is that their children
are supposed to work hard so they won't have to do such menial work. We do
not honor hard work. We borrow money at rates of interest that are too high
in order to go to college and graduate school so that we won't have to be a
child care worker or a home health aide. And it used to be that the
individual who earned a PhD and taught at a university was respected. But
academia has changed. People work hard and also borrow lots of money in
order to become physicians. But now-a-days, physicians are ruled by the
market place and health insurance companies. Things have become confused.
But it was unions which insisted on respect, good wages, and good benefits
for working people. Workers who didn't have that protection were never
respected by this society. And those who did, have been resented. Now all
workers are looked down on. No one wants to be considered part of the
working class. That's why politicians talk only about the middle class.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 11:17 AM
To: ckrugman@sbcglobal.net; Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Chuck,
Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up even
if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out once
the ball gets rolling.
As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat my
dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the fellow
hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done those
people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance are
forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so their
purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net and
exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting raises in
the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly rate or
what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to stay
competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people working
in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of aedvanced
training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: Miriam Vieni
To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
To: Miriam Vieni
Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in. Can you
share this petition with all your friends?
Click here to share it on Facebook:
Share on Facebook
Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
Thanks!
-Roger Hickey
Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Hi,
Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are adults
with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it would be
$10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation, this
bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
hard-working Americans.
The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its value
since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its pay
13 times.
The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
$10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create 140,000 new
jobs over three years.
On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers, online
activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day of
Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of America's
lowest-paid workers.
You can find details about events in your area here:
http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-ameri
ca
That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
"Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum wage to
$10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in more
than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by
=1126864
Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the Minimum
Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action does
not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on MoveOn's
public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
petition, click here to unsubscribe.
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about their own demise, as much as did the Corporate Bosses. Labor Unions
began to take on the appearance of the very corporations they found
oppressive. The Union leaders began making decisions without the knowledge
or approval of the rank and file members.
While the Corporate Bosses cried out that Unions were riddled with
Communists, the actual truth was that the Unions were filling up with
Capitalist lookalikes, eager to carve out their own little empires.
It became difficult to tell if you were in the offices of the Union
President, or the President of Shell Oil.
Keeping the members in line was not difficult in the early days. Strike for
higher wages and better benefits and working conditions. As long as the pay
hikes came in, most members were contented to turn over the hard work to a
handful of paid union officials. Meetings were controlled and basically
dull. Members felt they had nothing meaningful to contribute.
The Unions, like their Corporate buddies, jockeyed for dominance, cutting
the legs off one another whenever they could. The Teamsters tried to unseat
the Aero Machinists at Boeing, back in the late 40's. The Teamsters were at
it again in California, attempting to take over the United Farm Workers.
But then, the Teamsters had been built by Dave Beck, a self serving man who
knew how to write Sweetheart Contracts. He left his job as a truck driver
and moved into the posh Teamster suites, hobnobbing with the rich and
famous.
And the rank and file members couldn't see that they had been sold out, that
they were now being used by both Labor and Management.
And what the Labor Movement could have done world-wide came crashing down
when Unions behaved just like the Corporate World when it came to their
dealings with Third World Nations.
Have we learned from our experiences of turning our responsibilities over to
a few greedy leaders? I guess not.
Can we learn? Sure, but in whose lifetime?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "ted chittenden" <tchittenden@cox.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 12:56 PM
Subject: RE: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Miriam:
While it is true that there have always been criticisms of the union
movement (some of which I share, by the way), the unions themselves really
had the most power in this country between World War II (and its aftermath)
and 1980 and the election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. President.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides if not more.
---- Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
Well, I think that things are a bit more subtle than the picture you paint.
Politicians say what they think people want to hear. There are a lot of
working class people who consider themselves to be middle class. The
definitions of what is working class and what is middle class are a bit
foggy to begin with and people's definitions of themselves are subjective.
As for unions, the business class always despised them. And by the mid 70's,
anti-union propaganda had been very effective. I remember a saleswoman in a
department store telling me that she was so happy that there was no union
representation in that store. I also know people who saw all unions and
union activity as a negative force because some unions were tainted by crime
and illegality.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of ted chittenden
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 2:06 PM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: RE: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Miriam:
The reason that politicians are more interested in the middle class than in
the working class is that members of the middle class have more money and
are willing to spend more of it on politicians than their working class
counterparts.
With regard to how life was with respect for the unions, keep in mind that
that was only a brief phenomenon that occurred only during the middle of the
20th century. During most of U.S. history, union movements and their
supporters were abhorred and looked down upon.
--
Ted Chittenden
Every story has at least two sides if not more.
---- Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
It's interesting that part of the American dream is that everyone is
supposed to work hard and get an education so that he or she can move up in
socioeconomic status, make more money than his or her parents, live better
lives, which means have more material comforts. The implication of this is
that the people who haul the garbage or clean our office buildings or pick
our fruit and vegetables, are worth less. The idea is that their children
are supposed to work hard so they won't have to do such menial work. We do
not honor hard work. We borrow money at rates of interest that are too high
in order to go to college and graduate school so that we won't have to be a
child care worker or a home health aide. And it used to be that the
individual who earned a PhD and taught at a university was respected. But
academia has changed. People work hard and also borrow lots of money in
order to become physicians. But now-a-days, physicians are ruled by the
market place and health insurance companies. Things have become confused.
But it was unions which insisted on respect, good wages, and good benefits
for working people. Workers who didn't have that protection were never
respected by this society. And those who did, have been resented. Now all
workers are looked down on. No one wants to be considered part of the
working class. That's why politicians talk only about the middle class.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 11:17 AM
To: ckrugman@sbcglobal.net; Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Chuck,
Good points. I'm also working on a tight contract that will not go up even
if the wage minimum is raised. But these things sort themselves out once
the ball gets rolling.
As for wondering about unskilled workers making more than me, I repeat my
dad's words, "There is dignity in all labor." Who is to say that the fellow
hauling trash is more or less valuable to the community than the bank
president? In the eye of the Corporate Empire, we are all the same.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: <ckrugman@sbcglobal.net>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
The only problem with raising the minimum wage is that when it is done those
people who are on fixed incomes such people on SSI or public assistance are
forgotten about as their benefit levels are not raised accordingly so their
purchasing power is eroded and they fall deeper below the safety net and
exprerience greater challenges to survival. Unless the needs of
thispopulation are considered I am very cautious about supporting raises in
the minimum. Additionally, as a self employed professional my hourly rate or
what I bid on to complete projects does not get raised if I want to stay
competitive. Now the final question is whether or not I want people working
in an unskilled job making more than I do per hour with lots of aedvanced
training? Now that I've sounded like a Republican elitist snob!
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: Miriam Vieni
To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 1:13 PM
Subject: FW: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
From: Roger Hickey [mailto:petitions@moveon.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 2:27 PM
To: Miriam Vieni
Subject: Thank you for signing the "Raise the Minimum Wage" petition
Thank you for signing my petition, Raise the Minimum Wage.
To really make a difference, we need a lot more people to join in. Can you
share this petition with all your friends?
Click here to share it on Facebook:
Share on Facebook
Then, forward the email below to everyone you know.
Thanks!
-Roger Hickey
Here's a sample message to send to your friends:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Hi,
Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost the
paychecks of over 30 million workers in the U.S. The majority are adults
with full-time jobs, and nearly half have some college education.
If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since 1968, it would be
$10.60 today, not $7.25. By indexing the minimum wage to inflation, this
bill prevents the annual erosion of the buying power of millions of
hard-working Americans.
The tipped minimum wage ($2.13 an hour) has lost 40 percent of its value
since 1991. Over the past 22 years, Congress has voted to increase its pay
13 times.
The benefits of the increase will reverberate across the economy.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the minimum wage to
$10.10 will generate $30 billion in economic activity and create 140,000 new
jobs over three years.
On July 24th, a national coalition of community advocates, workers, online
activists, faith and business leade rs are joining for a National Day of
Action to Raise Up America, calling on elected officials and low-wage
employers to take immediate action to raise wages for millions of America's
lowest-paid workers.
You can find details about events in your area here:
http://blog.ourfuture.org/july-24th-national-day-of-action-to-raise-up-ameri
ca
That's why I signed a petition to The United States House of
Representatives and The United States Senate, which says:
"Pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which raises the minimum wage to
$10.10 an hour and provides the first increase to tipped employees in more
than 20 years. It also indexes the minimum wage to the cost of living."
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/raise-the-minimum-wage-18?source=s.fwd&r_by
=1126864
Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
You're receiving this message because you signed the Raise the Minimum
Wage petition on the MoveOn.org petition website. MoveOn Civic Action does
not endorse the contents of this email or the petitions posted on MoveOn's
public petition website. If you don't want to receive e-mail about this
petition, click here to unsubscribe.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Monday, July 22, 2013
Indiana's Anti-Howard Zinn Witch-hunt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
To: <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 9:28 AM
Subject: Indiana's Anti-Howard Zinn Witch-hunt
Indiana's Anti-Howard Zinn Witch-hunt
By Bill Bigelow
July 19, 2013 "Information Clearing House - Howard Zinn, author of A
People's
History of the United States, one of the country's most widely read history
books, died on January 27, 2010. Shortly after, then-Governor of Indiana
Mitch Daniels got on his computer and fired off an email to the state's top
education officials: "This terrible anti-American academic has finally
passed away."
But Gov. Daniels, now president of Purdue University, was not content merely
to celebrate Howard Zinn's passing. He demanded that Zinn's work be hunted
down in Indiana schools and suppressed: "The obits and commentaries
mentioned his book 'A People's History of the United States' is the
'textbook of choice in high schools and colleges around the country.' It is
a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates
American history on every page. Can someone assure me that is not in use
anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young
people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?"
We know about Gov. Daniels' email tantrum thanks to the Associated Press,
which obtained the emails through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Scott Jenkins, Daniels' education advisor, wrote back quickly to tell the
governor that A People's History of the United States was used in a class
for prospective teachers on social movements at Indiana University.
Daniels fired back: "This crap should not be accepted for any credit by the
state. No student will be better taught because someone sat through this
session. Which board has jurisdiction over what counts and what doesn't?"
After more back and forth, Daniels approved a statewide "cleanup" of what
earns credit for professional development: "Go for it. Disqualify propaganda
and highlight (if there is any) the more useful offerings."
Daniels recently defended his attack on Zinn's work, telling the Associated
Press, "We must not falsely teach American history in our schools." In a
letter posted on his Purdue University webpage, Daniels claimed that, "the
question I asked on one day in 2010 had nothing to do with higher education
at all." Daniels should go back and read his own emails.
There are so many disturbing aspects to this story, it's hard to know where
to begin.
The first, of course, is Daniels' gleeful, mean-spirited reporting of Zinn's
death. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with Howard Zinn's career
knows that his great passions were racial equality and peace. Finding cause
for joy in the death of someone whose life was animated by confidence in
people's fundamental decency is shameful.
As someone who spent almost 30 years as a high school history teacher, I'm
amused by the impoverished pedagogical vision embedded in Daniels' emails
and subsequent defense. Daniels wants Zinn's A People's History of the
United States banned from the curriculum, so that the book is not
"force-fed" to students. Governor Daniels evidently assumes that the only
way one can teach history is to cram it down students' throats. To see some
alternative ways to engage students, Daniels might have a look at our
lessons at the Zinn Education Project, which use Zinn's People's History of
the United States in role plays, in critical reading activities, to generate
imaginative writing, and to search for the "silences" in students' own
textbooks.
Take for example the last textbook I was assigned as a teacher at a public
high school in Portland, Oregon, American Odyssey, published by
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. In the book's one thousand pages, it includes exactly
two paragraphs on the U.S. war with Mexico-the war that led to Mexico
"ceding," in the polite language of school curricula, about half its country
to the United States. American Odyssey does not quote a single Mexican, a
single soldier, a single abolitionist, a single opponent of the war. Well,
in fact, the textbook doesn't quote anyone. As one of my students pointed
out when we read the book's dull passages in class, "It doesn't even view it
as a war. It's a situation."
This scant treatment of such an important event in U.S. and Mexican history
is one reason why teachers search out alternatives like A People's History
of the United States, which includes a full chapter on the conflict,
focusing especially on President Polk's hollow justifications for war, the
anti-war resistance, and the human impact of the war. Unlike the gray prose
of textbooks like American Odyssey, Zinn's chapter on the U.S. war with
Mexico-"We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God"-is filled with quotes from
soldiers and poets, surgeons and abolitionists, generals and journalists,
clergymen and presidents. Every passage reminds young people that war is
much more than a "situation."
"We must not falsely teach American history in our schools," said Daniels to
the Associated Press, implying that the true history is to be found in the
officially adopted textbooks. As the Zinn Education Project reveals
regularly in its If We Knew Our History column, the version of U.S. history
taught in the textbooks produced by giant corporations is anything but
"true." The corporate textbooks hide the breadth of U.S. military and
economic interventions throughout the world; they ignore the roots of
today's
environmental crises; they refuse to explore the origins of the vast wealth
inequality in the United States; and the textbooks neglect the role of
social movements throughout U.S. history, instead focusing on famous
individuals; thus, they fail to nurture an activist sensibility-a
recognition that if we want the world to be better, then it's up to us to
make it better.
This is a point Howard Zinn emphasized when he spoke to teachers at the 2008
National Council for the Social Studies conference in Houston-some of them
from Indiana!-not much more than a year before he died. Zinn said: "We've
never had our injustices rectified from the top, from the president or
Congress, or the Supreme Court, no matter what we learned in junior high
school about how we have three branches of government, and we have checks
and balances, and what a lovely system. No. The changes, important changes
that we've had in history, have not come from those three branches of
government. They have reacted to social movements."
Governor Daniels' advisers evidently found no evidence that Zinn's A
People's
History of the United States was in use in K-12 schools in Indiana. I guess
they didn't look hard enough. There are more than 300 Indiana teachers
registered at the Zinn Education Project to access people's history
curriculum materials to "teach outside the textbook." And these are only the
teachers who have formally registered at the site; many more share people's
history-inspired lessons.
And at the Zinn Education Project we've heard all week long from Indiana
teachers, professors, and parents who have committed themselves to work
against censorship in K-12 schools. Their defiance is reminiscent of
Indiana's
Green Feather Movement that challenged the McCarthy-era attempt to ban Robin
Hood from the elementary school curriculum in 1954. What began as the
anonymous posting of green feathers on bulletin boards by a few students at
Indiana University spread to campuses across the country. As Howard Zinn
wrote at the end of his autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving
Train, "If we remember those times and places-and there are so many-where
people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at
least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different
direction."
Bill Bigelow taught high school social studies in Portland, Ore. for almost
30 years. He is the curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools and the
co-director of the Zinn Education Project. This project offers free
materials to teach people's history and an "If We Knew Our History" article
series. Bigelow is author or co-editor of numerous books, including A
People's
History for the Classroom and The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border
and Mexican Immigration, and a contributor to Teaching About the War
begin 666 feedicon12.png
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,`````$E%3D2N0F""
`
end
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82@gmail.com>
To: <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 9:28 AM
Subject: Indiana's Anti-Howard Zinn Witch-hunt
Indiana's Anti-Howard Zinn Witch-hunt
By Bill Bigelow
July 19, 2013 "Information Clearing House - Howard Zinn, author of A
People's
History of the United States, one of the country's most widely read history
books, died on January 27, 2010. Shortly after, then-Governor of Indiana
Mitch Daniels got on his computer and fired off an email to the state's top
education officials: "This terrible anti-American academic has finally
passed away."
But Gov. Daniels, now president of Purdue University, was not content merely
to celebrate Howard Zinn's passing. He demanded that Zinn's work be hunted
down in Indiana schools and suppressed: "The obits and commentaries
mentioned his book 'A People's History of the United States' is the
'textbook of choice in high schools and colleges around the country.' It is
a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates
American history on every page. Can someone assure me that is not in use
anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young
people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?"
We know about Gov. Daniels' email tantrum thanks to the Associated Press,
which obtained the emails through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Scott Jenkins, Daniels' education advisor, wrote back quickly to tell the
governor that A People's History of the United States was used in a class
for prospective teachers on social movements at Indiana University.
Daniels fired back: "This crap should not be accepted for any credit by the
state. No student will be better taught because someone sat through this
session. Which board has jurisdiction over what counts and what doesn't?"
After more back and forth, Daniels approved a statewide "cleanup" of what
earns credit for professional development: "Go for it. Disqualify propaganda
and highlight (if there is any) the more useful offerings."
Daniels recently defended his attack on Zinn's work, telling the Associated
Press, "We must not falsely teach American history in our schools." In a
letter posted on his Purdue University webpage, Daniels claimed that, "the
question I asked on one day in 2010 had nothing to do with higher education
at all." Daniels should go back and read his own emails.
There are so many disturbing aspects to this story, it's hard to know where
to begin.
The first, of course, is Daniels' gleeful, mean-spirited reporting of Zinn's
death. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with Howard Zinn's career
knows that his great passions were racial equality and peace. Finding cause
for joy in the death of someone whose life was animated by confidence in
people's fundamental decency is shameful.
As someone who spent almost 30 years as a high school history teacher, I'm
amused by the impoverished pedagogical vision embedded in Daniels' emails
and subsequent defense. Daniels wants Zinn's A People's History of the
United States banned from the curriculum, so that the book is not
"force-fed" to students. Governor Daniels evidently assumes that the only
way one can teach history is to cram it down students' throats. To see some
alternative ways to engage students, Daniels might have a look at our
lessons at the Zinn Education Project, which use Zinn's People's History of
the United States in role plays, in critical reading activities, to generate
imaginative writing, and to search for the "silences" in students' own
textbooks.
Take for example the last textbook I was assigned as a teacher at a public
high school in Portland, Oregon, American Odyssey, published by
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. In the book's one thousand pages, it includes exactly
two paragraphs on the U.S. war with Mexico-the war that led to Mexico
"ceding," in the polite language of school curricula, about half its country
to the United States. American Odyssey does not quote a single Mexican, a
single soldier, a single abolitionist, a single opponent of the war. Well,
in fact, the textbook doesn't quote anyone. As one of my students pointed
out when we read the book's dull passages in class, "It doesn't even view it
as a war. It's a situation."
This scant treatment of such an important event in U.S. and Mexican history
is one reason why teachers search out alternatives like A People's History
of the United States, which includes a full chapter on the conflict,
focusing especially on President Polk's hollow justifications for war, the
anti-war resistance, and the human impact of the war. Unlike the gray prose
of textbooks like American Odyssey, Zinn's chapter on the U.S. war with
Mexico-"We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God"-is filled with quotes from
soldiers and poets, surgeons and abolitionists, generals and journalists,
clergymen and presidents. Every passage reminds young people that war is
much more than a "situation."
"We must not falsely teach American history in our schools," said Daniels to
the Associated Press, implying that the true history is to be found in the
officially adopted textbooks. As the Zinn Education Project reveals
regularly in its If We Knew Our History column, the version of U.S. history
taught in the textbooks produced by giant corporations is anything but
"true." The corporate textbooks hide the breadth of U.S. military and
economic interventions throughout the world; they ignore the roots of
today's
environmental crises; they refuse to explore the origins of the vast wealth
inequality in the United States; and the textbooks neglect the role of
social movements throughout U.S. history, instead focusing on famous
individuals; thus, they fail to nurture an activist sensibility-a
recognition that if we want the world to be better, then it's up to us to
make it better.
This is a point Howard Zinn emphasized when he spoke to teachers at the 2008
National Council for the Social Studies conference in Houston-some of them
from Indiana!-not much more than a year before he died. Zinn said: "We've
never had our injustices rectified from the top, from the president or
Congress, or the Supreme Court, no matter what we learned in junior high
school about how we have three branches of government, and we have checks
and balances, and what a lovely system. No. The changes, important changes
that we've had in history, have not come from those three branches of
government. They have reacted to social movements."
Governor Daniels' advisers evidently found no evidence that Zinn's A
People's
History of the United States was in use in K-12 schools in Indiana. I guess
they didn't look hard enough. There are more than 300 Indiana teachers
registered at the Zinn Education Project to access people's history
curriculum materials to "teach outside the textbook." And these are only the
teachers who have formally registered at the site; many more share people's
history-inspired lessons.
And at the Zinn Education Project we've heard all week long from Indiana
teachers, professors, and parents who have committed themselves to work
against censorship in K-12 schools. Their defiance is reminiscent of
Indiana's
Green Feather Movement that challenged the McCarthy-era attempt to ban Robin
Hood from the elementary school curriculum in 1954. What began as the
anonymous posting of green feathers on bulletin boards by a few students at
Indiana University spread to campuses across the country. As Howard Zinn
wrote at the end of his autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving
Train, "If we remember those times and places-and there are so many-where
people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at
least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different
direction."
Bill Bigelow taught high school social studies in Portland, Ore. for almost
30 years. He is the curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools and the
co-director of the Zinn Education Project. This project offers free
materials to teach people's history and an "If We Knew Our History" article
series. Bigelow is author or co-editor of numerous books, including A
People's
History for the Classroom and The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border
and Mexican Immigration, and a contributor to Teaching About the War
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