Sunday, May 29, 2011

99ers, HR 589 & the Unemployment Wars: U-Cubed Picks Bumper Sticker Winner!


As usual, Congress adjourns yet again and Americans’ suffering continues unabated by Washington, DC. However there is news to report: 99ers, HR 589 & the Unemployment Wars - PLUS, U-Cubed Picks their Bumper Sticker Slogan Winner!

The 99ers (unemployment exhaustees of any weekly duration) have really taken the brunt of both the recession and the two faced politics of Obama and Congress at large. Clearly actions speak louder than words and Congressional action to help hurting 99ers stopped in October/November of 2009. Words are useless and do not pay the rent or put food in the mouths of hungry Americans - put in that position by greedy, heartless politicians in the first lace.

Case in point: The winning slogan for the U-Cubed “Tell it Like it is” Bumper Sticker Campaign. Recently it was announced that the winning slogan: "BANKS GOT BAILED. WE GOT NAILED." was submitted by JD Galvin and will be printed as bumper stickers and distributed to all U-Cubed members for free! Stay tuned for details and Congratulations to JD!

Recently, on the Paladinette UnemployedZealot Facebook page, I noted that Trolls do not bother me one bit. They are a fact of life in the blogosphere and are as insignificant and bothersome to me as gnats near a kitty litter box. (Fair analogy I’d say) But to those who find my occasional harshly worded or blatant statements in poor taste, I invited to “de-friend” me on Facebook. My ‘In your Face’ style and blunt, raw humor is not for everyone - BUT I am a 99er and this is WAR! There is no room in this fight for cowards or faint hearted, wishy-washy people pleaser types who are afraid to upset the apple cart. This is our survival and when you are hungry, homeless (or soon will be) and without help - you will eventually stand up or die off - it is really that simple. I apologize if my words offend at times, but it is clear to me that Washington is not listening to the pleasantries previously exchanged between them and the unemployed for the past few years. It is what they count on to keep the unemployed masses under control - like dangling HR 589 in front of us so we are too afraid to rock the boat until it passes.

NEWS FLASH: HR 589 will NEVER PASS unless or until you abandon your fear, refuse to be controlled or silenced and stand up publicly and vocally send Washington the clear message that YOU DEMAND better NOW!

America has gone to war for all the wrong reasons for decades and I for one feel that the very survival of Americans is worth fighting for - which is why I never give up.

Look and see what your government is lying to you about: New jobless claims came in at 424,000 last week. This fact was barely reported in the mainstream media. When they have 240,000 new jobs created over a month to report, it is in your face all day long. This is why even the most gullible among us now sees the propaganda machine for exactly what it is. All anyone need do is the math. @ 424,000 jobs lost weekly - that is an annual job loss rate of over 22 MILLION or about 1.8 million per month. Factor in the less than stellar 240,000 jobs gained last month (April) and you have a jobs deficit of 1.6 million per month - But the economy is getting better right? Where? People are hurting worse than ever in this country, but Obama and the rest of the Washington cronies are only fixated upon helping those hurting overseas and the 2012 election already!

So WHY isn’t every ambulatory unemployed American taking to the streets of their towns in angry protest? Do you actually believe that fairy tale this administration is shoveling about the economy steadily improving - if so YOU’LL BELIEVE ANYTHING and I’d like to sell you some triangle swamp land in Florida that should triple in value in by the end of the summer.....I mean if you are that stupid then you deserve to be fooled.
I do not have a master’s degree or even a college degree at all - still I consider myself a fairly intelligent woman - and it occurs to me that the deficit Washington needs to focus upon is the huge jobs deficit I just mentioned, as if it were resolved - that would fix the other deficit they are always whining about! But they do not really want to fix that one either as they are profiting GREATLY from our suffering.

A JPMorgan research report concludes that the current corporate profit recovery is more dependent on falling unit-labor costs than during any previous expansion. Which is why the rich LOVE high unemployment. People get desperate and will work for much less to feed their families.

The American model of high productivity and low pay has friends in high places. Former Obama adviser and General Motors (GM) car czar Steven Rattner argues that America's unemployment crisis is a sign of strength: Just listen to what this idiot said:

“Perversely, the nagging high jobless rate reflects two of the most promising attributes of the American economy: its flexibility and its productivity. Eliminating jobs - with all the wrenching human costs - raises productivity and, thereby, competitiveness.

That kind of efficiency is perhaps our most precious economic asset. However tempting it may be, we need to resist tinkering with the labor market. Policy proposals aimed too directly at raising employment may well collaterally end up dragging on productivity.”

WHAT AN IDIOT!

The unemployment crisis has been a godsend for America's superrich, who own the vast majority of financial assets - stocks, bonds, currency and commodities. Out-of-work Americans deserve more than unemployment checks - they deserve dividends. The rich would never have recovered without them.

We all really just want jobs so we can support ourselves. We only need this HR 589 14 weeks of retro UI for 99ers (all exhaustees) to help us survive and once again afford to continue the necessities required for an effective job search: gas, resume printing, a hair cut, laundry soap, food and the internet.

MOST of all WE NEED CONGRESS and OBAMA to get off their under worked backsides and create an immediate, effective massive JOBS program to help America’s hurting jobless millions NOW!
Not bloody likely when you consider the caliber of jerks running the show in Congress. This just about says it all:

HUFFPO HILL - Congressional Republicans argued all last year that unemployment benefits didn't deserve the "emergency" designation that would exempt them from "pay as you go" rules against deficit spending. An ongoing jobs crisis, they said, was not the same as an act-of-god emergency, like a tornado or a flood.

Turns out, tornadoes and floods aren't like tornadoes and floods, either.

GOP leaders are signaling they will push to come up with offsets to pay for any such emergency package, which could cost billions of dollars and has been proposed in response to a week of tornadoes and floods that have decimated areas of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. The federal government typically foots the bill when it comes to responding to natural disasters, but Republicans in charge of the House say they plan to keep their message of fiscal discipline in line with their actions.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: "We can find things we don't need to spend on to pay for it."

You simply cannot reason with idiots! Sort of makes you wish a giant tornado would find it’s way to Congress - doesn’t it? If Republicans in charge of the House want to keep their message of fiscal discipline in line with their actions, it would behoove them to STOP collecting $millions in Vanity Farm Subsidies given to members of Congress every year, most getting $3 million or more for as little as a 2 acre patch of land that is nothing more than a glorified garden. Then again, Congress controls the purse strings and so the politicians will continue to raid the tax payer coffers for their own personal gain until Main Street America says ENOUGH and finally STOPS THEM!

TWEET THESE:

#99ers: Mail EXLAX 2 Congress. GET THEM MOVING on HR 589!
http://exm.nr/j4Q98N

#99ers: EX-LAX ATTACK - Print on card stock and mail to Washington http://t.co/RQPrEpK

#99ers: Post cards you can print and send to congress for the Ex-LAX attack: http://t.co/8Ra7oy8

[Please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]



YouTube, Stop Use Of The N-Word - An Update



My video and blog request for YouTube to stop the use of the N-word has started a conversation that's growing. While this blogger is not interested in debate - the N-word is bed and is not wanted on my channel - there is thoughtful conversation about this issue, both on YouTube and around the Internet.

To be clear the N-word (or nigger) is defined in this way according to Dictionary.com:


term nigger is now probably the most offensive word in English. Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since at least the Revolutionary War. Definitions 1a, 1b, and 2 represent meanings that are deeply disparaging and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense. Definition 1a, however, is sometimes used among African-Americans in a neutral or familiar way. Definition 3 is not normally considered disparaging—as in “The Irish are the niggers of Europe” from Roddy Doyle's The Commitments —but the other uses are considered contemptuous and hostile.


The problem for some is that because the word "is sometimes used among African-Americans in a neutral or familiar way," they think that makes the term OK to use. It does not make it OK at all.

In my entire life, I've never had one friend or relative, use the term toward me. And on the rare occasion that it happens, I quickly speak up and express my displeasure.

Indeed, the real problem is that those who aren't black and hear blacks use the term should speak up and say it's not correct to use. That would go a long way toward placing the word in the trash bin of history, where it belongs.

But I digress.

All I'm asking for is for YouTube to install a filter to I can block out the N-word from my channel. Someone observed that the video seemed to ask for a site-wide ban, but I'm not interested in controlling what other YouTubers present. I just want to be able to have some control over what's presented on my channel.

YouTube Comments Are Thoughful

This video has produced some of the most thoughtful comments I've ever read and far against my expectations. I thought I would be bombarded with trolls using the term, but, while there have been some who thought they would play around and use it, or some derivation, they have been in the minority.

This comment, by DiaryIsLocked on YouTube is my favorite thus far:


I agree. Though I believe I need to inform people of this fact. Race is a made up term to categorize people. Mainly developed in patriarchal western societies, which sadly is where a lot of racist slanders thrive. Race is not a biological term nor is it a scientific term. Also using the "freedom of speech" debate is useless in this. Yes, you do have the right to voice your opinions WITHOUT infringing on another person's rights or freedoms. That's the catch twenty-two right there.


YouTube Is Not A Public Forum

And that comment brings up this point: YouTube is not a public forum, it's a private channel. In a true public forum, you can go out in the town square and say what you want. But even then, free speech is limited by defamation laws against hate speech. And that's the point here.

All too often the N-word has been use to defame, in this case, me. What YouTube currently has is a system where I have to moderate every comment, thus gumming up my email box with requests. I have 1,468 videos and just around a hundred thousand comments. I'm not interested in taking a whole comment down, if I can encourage the person not to use hate speech, and be more thoughtful, rather than hateful, in the selection of words to express their ideas.

I really don't think that's too much to ask.

Pressing The YouTube Issue

This is a matter I will continue to seek new ways to press YouTube on. I should be able to filter out the N-word. Indeed, if someone wants to take out the F-word, or the R-word, they should be able to do that too.

Stay tuned.