http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/category_rss/corps_workers Best defense is an offense?  How's that working out for us?  You want offensive?  How about a non-union TSA? Or 22 government agencies "supervised" by the Department of Homeland Security.  Stripping 180,000 federal employees of their union rights while creating the best example of bloated, ineffective and incompetent government ever conceived, Democrat or Republican .  As for incompetence, can you say, Katrina?  The senate voted 90 to 9 to approve the creation of the DHS.    MC "All this activity is already straining the Coast Guard budget. Most of the 19 cutters that were sent to Haiti eventually needed help themselves — thanks in large part to their age, 12 of them suffered severe problems at sea, and three required emergency dry-dock repairs. That’s not surprising, since the average “high endurance” cutter is 41 years old, compared to 14 years for the average Navy ship." NY Times  February 27, 2010 Op-Ed ContributorsPutting the Coast Guard Out to Sea By LAWRENCE J. KORB and SEAN E. DUGGAN Washington DESPITE the pressing need to cut government spending, under President Obama’s spending proposal all the nation’s military services are set to see their budgets increase — all, that is, except the Coast Guard, the nation’s chronically overburdened maritime force, responsible for everything from global search and rescue to port security. Under the president’s proposal, the Coast Guard’s budget will decline by 3 percent, to $10.1 billion, smaller than many medium-sized agencies under the other services. It’s a puzzling decision, considering the increasingly critical role the Coast Guard plays in protecting the national security interests of the United States — and considering that many much less vital military programs have been spared. Beyond combating drug smuggling and international piracy, the 41,000-member Coast Guard is our nation’s first line of defense against nuclear terrorism. If someone wanted to detonate a nuclear bomb in this country, would hebe more likely to launch it on a missile with a return address, or would he try to smuggle it in a container through one of our ports? The latter, obviously — and the Coast Guard’s Port Security Units would play a pivotal role in stopping him. Continued at the NY Times: NY Times http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZpS http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZpS/commentary#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:03:31 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZpS Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZpS/ Amendment 54 is dead . May it rest in peace, forever undisturbed. I think it is worth recalling what Amendment 54 was all about. While i don't often rely upon the mainstream media to explain issues related to work life and democratic process, i think their perception of this bill gives a good overview. There was one newspaper that approved of Amendment 54, the Aspen Times . Their entire editorial comment in support consisted of, Vote yes on Amendment 54.  http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20081008/DAILYCOMMENT/810079961&parentprofile=search Newspapers opposing Amendment 54 included the Rocky Mountain News , Denver Post , The Mountain Mail (Salida), P ueblo Chieftain , Longmont Times-Call , Grand Junction Sentinel , Loveland Reporter-Herald , Boulder Weekly , Cortez Journal , The Durango Telegraph , Yellow Scene Magazine , and the Steamboat Pilot & Today . Some of their comments, and a brief roundup of other labor issues after the fold. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZpx http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZpx/commentary#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:33:47 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZpx Richard Myers http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/d7a21bd1f5de483e15_fkshmvxwd.jpg Richard Myers 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZpx/ Who knew?  Can you say the Vietnamization of Afghanistan?  How did that work out?  Without Western influence, Vietnam leads to world in exports of rice, cashews, black pepper, rubber, coffee, etc..  Wikipedia  Vietnam has a 4.3 % unemployment rate, the US has a rate of 10.6%.   Does anyone know how difficult it is to kill your own countrymen?  OK, trick question.  Where are the Taliban getting their weapons?  Ammunition?  We were for them before we were against them.  Why are the designations for the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and terrorists,  interchangeable?  Regarding the natural gas line (Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, TAP ) Since the US-led offensive that ousted the Taliban from power,’ reported Forbes in 2005, "the project has been revived and drawn strong US support " as it would allow the Central Asian republics to export energy to Western markets "without relying on Russian routes" or Russian profits .....Then-US Ambassador to Turkmenistan Ann Jacobsen noted that: "We are seriously looking at the project, and it is quite possible that American companies will join it." .........."Due to increasing instability, the project has essentially stalled; construction of the Turkmen part was supposed to start in 2006, but the overall feasibility is questionable since the southern part of the Afghan section runs through territory which continues to be under de facto Taliban control.  Can you say "Big Oil?" Send in the Marines, they were born  to die.  Wikipedia Total contributions from oil and gas since 1990 to our beloved and trusted leaders.  Do you suppose some of the military that have lost arms, eyes, brains, legs, etc..  if made aware of who and what they were fighting for will be less than outraged?  Freedom's on the move, meanwhile in this country, poverty is stuck in the ditch.                                            Democrats         Republicans     Dems. Rep .Total10$246,758,579   $60,416,434     $184,958,071 24%    75% MC Petraeus: Marjah 'tough but just the start' The head of US Central Command has said the current offensive around the southern Afghan town of Marjah is the initial operation of a long campaign. Gen David Petraeus told NBC that the offensive was part of a revised strategy for combating insurgents that would probably last "12 to 18 months". He said Taliban resistance to Operation Moshtarak, which is in its second week, had been "formidable" but "disjointed". Nato commanders have said it may take another month to fully secure Marjah. Afghan police have already been deployed in areas recaptured from the Taliban, as part of a plan to put the area under the control of the local authorities. So far, 12 Nato personnel have been killed in the offensive, which involves 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops and is the biggest operation against insurgents in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion. Another three personnel were reported dead on Sunday in unrelated incidents in eastern and southern Afghanistan. Their nationalities were not given. 'Initial salvo' Gen Petraeus said the US public should expect further losses, much like there were following the so-called troop surge in Iraq.   “ We have spent the last year getting the inputs right in Afghanistan... Now we are starting to see the first of the output ”  Gen David Petraeus.  (That's some very impressive general speak, hero) Continued: BBC News http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZpB http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZpB/commentary#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:44:32 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZpB Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZpB/ Did you know that it's legal for predatory lenders to charge as much as 521% interest on payday loans?  That's not a typo. Out of state payday lenders have flocked to Colorado in the last decade because the once right-wing Colorado legislature passed a loophole in 2000 that exempted these predatory lenders from having to charge reasonable interest rates. You've seen them--they cluster along main streets and in low-income neighborhoods, preying on hard-working Coloradans and taking more than $80 MILLION in interest and fees out of our economy every year! In these times, banks, credit card companies, and these payday loan sharks are making record profits on the backs of Colorado consumers. If we organize, we can take on the payday loan shark industry. We don't have to wait on Washington DC to do anything-the power is right here in Colorado's legislature. They broke it in 2000, and they can fix it today. We want our state legislature to act.  So my question to you is do you agree?  http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZJ9 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZJ9/commentary#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:45:00 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZJ9 Michael Ditto http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/f660dc8ce688a8bfdc_5fmmv2i99.jpg Michael Ditto 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZJ9/ If anything pisses me off about that charlatan and wannabee Democrat/Green governor Bill Ritter is that he has not seen the virtue of slowing traffic in the metro area, a mere 20% savings at 55 mph vs.65, not to mention the real balls it would take to enforce it. He is obviously worried about those whiney, pissy pants, me generation socker moms and dads who vote Republican, love Jesus and especially white people, flipped their houses and donated the proceeds to their stock brokers. Raise your glass of Pinot Noir to the one eyed king in the country of the blind. MC NY Times February 17, 2010 Slow Trip Across Sea Aids Profit and Environment By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL It took more than a month for the container ship Ebba Maersk to steam from Germany to Guangdong, China, where it unloaded cargo on a recent Friday — a week longer than it did two years ago. But for the owner, the Danish shipping giant Maersk, that counts as progress. In a global culture dominated by speed, from overnight package delivery to bullet trains to fast-cash withdrawals, the company has seized on a sales pitch that may startle some hard-driving corporate customers: Slow is better. By halving its top cruising speed over the last two years, Maersk cut fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, greatly reducing costs. But the company also achieved an equal cut in the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases. Continued at the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/business/energy-environment/17speed.html?hp http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJP http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJP/commentary#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:11:07 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJP Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZJP/ Thanks to Mary F. for this one, Leonard Pitts has a new fan.  MC Posted on Sun, Feb. 14, 2010 Dear Sarah: Say it is so, run for president By LEONARD PITTS lpitts@MiamiHerald.com Dear Sarah Palin: I hear you're pondering a run for the White House in 2012. Last week, you told Fox news it would be ``absurd'' to rule it out. I'm writing to ask that you rule it in. I very badly want you to run for -- and win -- the Republican nomination for the presidency. I know you're waiting for the punch line. Maybe you figure I think you'd be a weak candidate who would pave the way for President Obama's easy re-election. That's not it. No, I want you to run because I believe a Palin candidacy would force upon this country a desperately needed moment of truth. It would require us to finally decide what kind of America we want to be. Continued: Miami Herald http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJ7 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJ7/commentary#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:44:52 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJ7 Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZJ7/ Not only are conservatives somewhat immoral about most things, they are Weak, Incompetent, Malingering, Pussies ( WIMP's )  Think Dick Cheney. MC "Conservatives may be more responsive to health reform, he suggested, if it is framed as a national security argument. For example, American companies complain about the difficulty of competing with foreign companies that don’t have to pay for employee medical coverage. In that sense, our existing health care system leaves us vulnerable." "That foreign threat might make conservatives sweat so much that maybe, just maybe, they’d consider revisiting the issue."  hahahahahaha NY TimesFebruary 14, 2010Op-Ed ColumnistOur Politics May Be All in Our Head By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF We all know that liberals and conservatives are far apart on health care. But in the way their brains work? Even in automatic reflexes, like blinking? Or the way their glands secrete moisture? That’s the suggestion of some recent research . It hints that the roots of political judgments may lie partly in fundamental personality types and even in the hard-wiring of our brains. Researchers have found, for example, that some humans are particularly alert to threats, particularly primed to feel vulnerable and perceive danger. Those people are more likely to be conservatives. One experiment used electrodes to measure the startle blink reflex, the way we flinch and blink when startled by a possible danger. A flash of noise was unexpectedly broadcast into the research subjects’ earphones, and the response was measured. Continued at the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/opinion/14kristof.html   http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJ8 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJ8/commentary#comments Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:11:53 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJ8 Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZJ8/ "It was primarily a symbolic gesture. Way back in 1979, in the midst of an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House. They were used to heat water for some White House staffers. “A generation from now,” said Mr. Carter, “this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken , or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people, harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil .” Ronald Reagan had the panels taken down............" Think the opposite of the Preamble of the Constitution and you have in a nut shell what modern day Republicans stand for.  Nanny state, indeed, someone has to watch these red state welfare queens.   Run, Sarah, Run.   MC "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union , establish Justice , insure domestic Tranquility , provide for the common defence,   promote the general Welfare , and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity , do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Democrats     Republicans                     ( Coal Mining Lobby last 20 years ) $4,659,133   $17,817,662     21% 79%   Democrats       Republicans                     (Electric Utilities Last 20 Years) $54,524,071  $83,199,434  39% 60% Democrats      Republicans                      (Gas and Oil Last 20 Years) $60,303,284   $184,561,353     24% 75% Source, OpenSecrets.Org New York Times February 13, 2010O p-Ed ColumnistWatching China Run By BOB HERBERT New York Times http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJd http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJd/commentary#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:31:31 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJd Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZJd/ As for Thune, Franken made the extremely rookie mistake of pointing out when one of his colleagues was making stuff up as he went along . ”We are entitled to our own opinions. We’re not entitled to our own facts,” said the irrational polemic. This kind of stuff is called a “double standard.” When a Republican displays this level of enthusiasm for their ideologies, it’s called moxie, or “being a maverick.” When John McCain screams “Fuck you!” at Sen. Cornyn (a breach of protocol far beyond anything Franken is being accused of,) the media laughs, shakes their heads, and says, “Well, that’s just McCain being McCain.” Republicans are manly men, and manly men sometimes get hot under the collar during moments of spirited debate. Democrats, on the other hands, are not permitted that level of passion. Or perhaps, it’s so unusual to witness a fiery display from Democrats that the event truly shocks the media, and they reflexively label it “an unruly outburst.” Afterall, these are Democrats, for God’s sake. What else could it possibly be? Grayson is another good example of this. Back in September, the Congressman landed in hot water for saying the Republican health care plan is “don’t get sick,” and if you do get sick, “die quickly.” When demands for an apology disseminated from the Village, Grayson teabagged (the old-fashion definition) his opponents and responded, “I would like to apologize. I would like to apologize to the dead.”  Fun facts: Grayson also called Cheney a “ vampire ” and Fox News the “ enemy of America .” Unsurprisingly, no one (the Republicans and the media included) seems to know what to do with Grayson. He doesn’t speak the poll-tested “looking forward, not backward” lingo of the president. He talks like a liberal. Franken talks like a liberal. What’s worse, they seem proud to be liberals – an alien concept to Democrats, who built their careers acting like Republicans, and mainstream media, which is largely owned by the corporations that enjoy Democrats acting like Republicans. It behooves most Democrats, Republicans, and media to portray politicians like Franken and Grayson as hysterical, fringe lunatics lest this liberalism thing spread like the plague it is. Continued True Slant http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJD http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJD/commentary#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:02:57 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZJD Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZJD/ For the $663 Billion we are spending this year on defense, we could build 2,652- 64 MW solar concentrators and produce a total of 169 GigaWatts of electricity. For $663 Billion you could install 82 million roof top photovoltaic panels @ $8000 each. There are 129 million housing units in the US. For $663 Billion you could erect 236,785 wind turbines with a capacity of 473 giga watts. For $663 Billion could pay a four year college tuition @ $16,000 for 41 million students. For $663 Billion you could build 1,326 Veterans Administration hospitals @ $500 million each. That works out to 26 new, state of the art hospitals per state. For $663 Billion you could build 2,882 L.A. Class high schools at $230 Million each. That works out to 57 per state. For Colorado that is almost one per county. For $663 Billion -16,575 miles of high speed rail line at $40 million per mile. About 331 miles per state. For $663 Billion 13,260 miles of light rail at $50 Million per mile. For the 50 largest cities in the US, that is 265 miles for each city. For $663 Billion -29 million Toyota Prius automobiles, 10 percent of registered autos in the US saving 37 million gallons per day of the 378 million gallons per day the US consumes. That works out to 13.8 Billion gallons a year or 776 million barrels of oil producing 18 gallons of gasoline per barrel. That represent 128 days of OPEC imports at 5.95 million barrels per day. That is $30 Billion is almost 5% of the $667 Billion annual trade deficit or another 1.3 million hybrids built right here in the US. For $663 Billion -442,000 miles of water pipe. For $663 Billion -66,300 waste water treatment plants capable of sustaining 45,000 people at $10 Million each. Total capacity 2.983 Billion people. For $663 Billion -3.07 Million housing units at the median price of $215,000 each For $663 Billion increasing the entire annual State Department budget, $13.2 Billion, 50 times. The mission of the State Department is peace keeping. For $663 Billion- 245,555 miles of new interstate highway at $2.7 million per mile. For $663 Billion - 221,000 miles of new rail road track at $3 million per mile For $663 Billion you could feed 363 million impoverished people for a year at $5 per day. There are 963 million malnourished people in the world. For $663 Billion you could build 1.326 million hybrid buses at $500,000 each. That works out to 26,520 buses per state. For $663 Billion you can purchase over 66 million top of the line, street legal golf carts at $10,000 each. 1.326 million for each of America's top 50 cities or all 50 states. For $663 Billion -2,833 Minneapolis I-35 Bridges at $234 Million each. 56 new bridges for every state in the union. For $663 Billion- 697 Sears Towers at $950 million each. That is 13 for every state in the union. For $663 Billion- 110 million water wells 500 feet deep at $12 a foot ($6000 each). Enough to supply a well for every nine people in Africa. Total population one billion people. The annual profit for Lockheed Martin in 2009, $32.665 Billion. Lockheed employs 140,000 people and represents 5% of the defense budget. Assuming that 140,000 employees represent 5% of the civilian defense labor force, that total would be 2.8 million and would represent almost 2% of the total US labor force. The total US labor force is 154 million. All things considered Ford Motor Company has twice the employees as Lockheed, three times the sales and a negative profit. I suspect Ford represents a capitalist enterprise and Lockheed is a government supported, monopolistic enterprise. Last, even though the list could be endless, $663 Billion a year is $2,195 annually for every man, woman and child in the US. For a family of four that amounts to an extra $731 a month. Enough to raise the standard of living substantially. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZh7 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZh7/commentary#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:12:10 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZh7 Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZh7/ Great op/ed by Frank Rich. MC "Last year the president pointedly studied J.F.K.’s decision-making process on Vietnam while seeking the way forward in Afghanistan. In the end, he didn’t emulate his predecessor and escalated the war. We’ll see how that turns out.   Meanwhile, Obama might look at another pivotal moment in the Kennedy presidency — and this time heed the example . The incident unfolded in April 1962 — some 15 months into the new president’s term — when J.F.K. was infuriated by the U.S. Steel chairman’s decision to break a White House-brokered labor-management contract agreement and raise the price of steel (but not wages). Kennedy was no radical. He hailed from the American elite — like Obama, a product of Harvard, but, unlike Obama, the patrician scion of a wealthy family. And yet he, like that other Harvard patrician, F.D.R., had no hang-ups about battling his own class. Kennedy didn’t settle for the generic populist rhetoric of Obama’s latest threats to “fight” unspecified bankers some indeterminate day. He instead took the strong action of dressing down U.S. Steel by name. As Richard Reeves writes in his book “President Kennedy,” reporters were left “literally gasping.” The young president called out big steel for threatening “economic recovery and stability” while Americans risked their lives in Southeast Asia. J.F.K. threatened to sic his brother’s Justice Department on corporate records and then held firm as his opponents likened his flex of muscle to the power grabs of Hitler and Mussolini. (Sound familiar?) U.S. Steel capitulated in two days. The Times soon reported on its front page that Kennedy was at “a high point in popular support.”" NY Times January 24, 2010 Op-Ed Columnist After the Massachusetts Massacre By FRANK RICH It was not a referendum on Barack Obama, who in every poll remains one of the most popular politicians in America. It was not a rejection of universal health care, which Massachusetts mandated (with Scott Brown’s State Senate vote) in 2006. It was not a harbinger of a resurgent G.O.P., whose numbers remain in the toilet. Brown had the good sense not to identify himself as a Republican in either his campaign advertising or his victory speech. Continued at the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/opinion/24Rich.html http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhT/commentary#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:58:41 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhT Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhT/ A country of hamburger flippers, bean counters, speculators, leveraged buy outs and 254 million passenger cars, representing $7.62 Trillion at a $30 K average per car, half of the yearly Gross Domestic Product of the US in 2008. Enough to build 1,169 rail transit systems the size of Denver's RTD at $6.5 Billion. MC Upper Mismanagement Why can't Americans make things? Two words: business school. Noam Scheiber December 18, 2009 | 12:00 am One of the themes that came up while I was  profiling   [1] White House manufacturing czar Ron Bloom earlier this fall was managerial talent. A lot of people talk about reviving the domestic manufacturing sector, which has shed almost one-third of its manpower over the last eight years. But some of the people I spoke to asked a slightly different question: Even if you could reclaim a chunk of those blue-collar jobs, would you have the managers you need to supervise them? It’s not obvious that you would. Since 1965, the percentage of graduates of highly-ranked business schools who go into consulting and financial services has doubled, from about one-third to about two-thirds. And while some of these consultants and financiers end up in the manufacturing sector, in some respects that’s the problem. Harvard business professor Rakesh Khurana, with whom I discussed these questions at length, observes that most of GM’s top executives in recent decades hailed from a finance rather than an operations background. (Outgoing GM CEO Fritz Henderson and his failed predecessor, Rick Wagoner, both worked their way up from the company’s vaunted Treasurer’s office.) But these executives were frequently numb to the sorts of innovations that enable high-quality production at low cost. As Khurana quips, “That’s how you end up with GM rather than Toyota.” Continued: The New Republic   http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhH http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhH/commentary#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:11:09 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhH Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhH/ Workers facing lockout now locked in; workers still negotiating are empowered by Richard Myers Concession bargaining means corporations demanding that unionized workers give up benefits, rights, or wages they've won in previous agreements. Colorado's grocery chains have engaged in concession bargaining for several contracts in a row. On December 14th, Colorado grocery workers voted on a “last, best, and final” contract offer from King Soopers and Safeway that gave little that was new, and demanded some very significant concessions. The corporations both hoped and propagandized that this offer was to mark the end of their negotiations. But just as the corporations' earlier “final” offers weren't really final, some older workers clearly understood that corporate spin doesn't necessarily dictate the end of the process. Other workers may learn this lesson through experience. In spite of strong and pervasive recommendations to the contrary by Colorado's UFCW Local 7, workers at King Soopers (division of Kroger) and their sibling subsidiary, City Market, accepted the latest offer. By doing so, these workers have locked themselves in to a new three tier wage system, absorbed very significant pension cuts and have given up a variety of pension fund-related benefits. These include death benefits; supplemental benefits; early retirement; and, controversially, disability benefits. According to the new contract's provisions, most workers in the stores (who have not seen a raise in a number of years) will get no raise from this new contract. Indeed, entry level new hires (called courtesy clerks) will start at absolute minimum wage, and (absent a promotion) will never see a wage increase, no matter how long they hold their position with the company. The corporations have used the savings from lowered wage rates and decreased benefits in previous contracts to remodel stores, and to build new stores . Safeway workers rejected a nearly identical contract offer by a substantial margin. A newly remodeled King Soopers store at 120th and Colorado Boulevard. Each remodeled King Soopers store is estimated to cost six to eight million dollars. Many workers are resentful that the company's profits go to purchase bricks, rather than to reward the workers who make the profits possible. After a challenging and eventful eight months of negotiations, some observers have conjectured that, concerned with competitive advantage, Safeway's position will harden, and Safeway workers will now be forced to accept similar terms. But in my view Safeway (which took the lead in the past eight months of negotiations) has demonstrated excessive greed and stubbornness throughout. And now Safeway management seems to be alarmed about the next round of negotiations, where an opposite result is at least as likely if Safeway workers are allowed to exercise a newly-realized strength. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZhr http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZhr/commentary#comments Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:06:57 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZhr Richard Myers http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/d7a21bd1f5de483e15_fkshmvxwd.jpg Richard Myers 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhr/ I have been biting my tongue about a lot of things, namely the allegiance of the House and the Senate, not to mention the lack of leadership, moral courage and indeed "hope" from the White House.  Thank you Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Howard Dean for saying what needs to be said regarding the cowardice and greed of the hideous men and women that occupy  the halls of Congress.  Serving their self-interests above all things without thought to the preamble of the Constitution  or the sacred duty of serving a government of the people, by the people and for the people.  MCThere are not enough morally brave men in stock. We are out of moral-courage material.  Mark Twain An apt description of the villains among us: Some men worship rank, some worship heroes, some worship power, some worship God, & over these ideals they dispute & cannot unite--but they all worship money. - Mark Twain's Notebook Olbermann: Ruined Senate bill unsupportable Conservatives have destroyed this version of health care reformSPECIAL COMMENTBy Keith OlbermannAnchor, 'Countdown'updated 7:16 p.m. MT, Wed., Dec . 16, 2009 Finally, as promised, a Special Comment on the latest version of H-R 35-90, the Senate Health Care Reform bill. To again quote Churchill after Munich, as I did six nights ago on this program: "I will begin by saying the most unpopular and most unwelcome thing: that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat, without a war." Last night on this program Howard Dean said that with the appeasement of Mr. Lieberman of Connecticut by the abandonment of the Medicare Buy-in, he could no longer support H-R 35-90. Dr. Dean's argument is informed, cogent, heart breaking, and unanswerable.    Seeking the least common denominator, Sen. Reid has found it, especially the "least" part. This is not health, this is not care, this is certainly not reform. I bless the Sherrod Browns and Ron Wydens and Jay Rockefellers and Sheldon Whitehouses and Anthony Weiners and all the others who have fought for real reform and I bleed for the pain inflicted upon them and their hopes. They have done their jobs and served their nation. Continued: URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34455168/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/ http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhc http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhc/commentary#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:49:48 EST http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZhc Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZhc/ In my job working for grocery workers, i sometimes hear that unions are a thing of the past. "We now have laws to take care of things like safety, and child labor," i am told. An ABC News investigation reveals today that our child labor laws in particular haven't been so effective:  ...an ABC News investigation found children, including one as young as five-years-old, working in its fields. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/young-children-working-blueberry-fields-walmart-severs-ties/story?id=8951044 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZRd http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZRd/commentary#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:18:00 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/richardmyers/CZRd Richard Myers http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/d7a21bd1f5de483e15_fkshmvxwd.jpg Richard Myers 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZRd/ It is possible that the workers at King Soopers and Safeway may be forced to strike, or worse--they could get locked out soon. They have been negotiating hard for a new contract since this spring, but the highly profitable grocery corporations don't want to put enough money in the pension fund to cover the pensions the workers were promised. If there is a strike, we want you to be ready to shop somewhere else to avoid crossing a picket line. We've made this nifty map that you can use to shop responsibly . Check it out. And if there are locally-owned stores in your area that don't show on the map, use the link on the map page to submit those locations and we'll add them. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/ShopResponsibly http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnN http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnN/commentary#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:47:11 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnN Michael Ditto http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/f660dc8ce688a8bfdc_5fmmv2i99.jpg Michael Ditto 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnN/ From the Bob Herbert op/ed, "Igniting the Growth of Jobs" NY Times '40,000 teachers lost their jobs in the last year.  16 to 29 year olds, worst unemployment ever since national records have been kept.   One in four black men in Illinois between the ages of 20 and 24 has a job.' One of the regents of the University of Colorado, Michael Carrigan, told me that Colorado had a return on investment of 40 to 1 for each dollar invested in higher ed. The only figures I could find for Colorado was a 15.07 percent return.  New Jersey leads the nation with 42.32 percent, followed by Massachusetts 39.16, New York 37.82, California 36.53 percent.  All in all a substantial return on investment.  The lowest in the nation, predictably, was Mississippi at 6.49 percent.  Most surprisingly, Indiana is second from the bottom at 7.22 percent Higher Ed Return on Investment for States Most significantly, Herbert says this: ""The past," as William Faulkner told us, "is not dead. It’s not even past ." The lessons of the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s are right in front of us, ready to be studied, analyzed, updated and applied to the present-day needs of the country." I hate to say this, but we are a country of nepotism, in our unions, our military, in corporations, in government.  Because of this "inbreeding" and counterproductive behavior, we must import the brightest minds/strongest work ethics from around the world to carry our water and be used as if indentured servants.  It is all a vast pyramid scheme where the unqualified extinguish the flames of the most gifted and reap the rewards off the backs of the timid.  Their only qualification?  Being members of the lucky sperm club.  Here's something the "conservative revision" Bible will surely leave out, "As you have done to the least of these......."  The least very much includes the youthful poor, who have no say in the conditions they find themselves in and obviously don't have the attention of those that have the most.  While we argue about war, healthcare, social justice, gay rights, Obama's Nobel Prize, etc., no one considers our most precious asset nor what should be our greatest legacy to them, "Liberty and Justice for all .."  This is what is great about the idea of America, eloquently pronounced in the Preamble of the Constitution, not just to ourselves but to our Posterity,  the word was capitalized unlike the word "ourselves": http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnG http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnG/commentary#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:30:58 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnG Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnG/ Senator Michael Bennet was one of 30 signatories on a letter to the Senate leadership demanding that the HELP Committee's optional public insurance plan be included in the final bill. The next day, Senator Bennet, Senator Udall (not ours, but his cousin from New Mexico), and others joined Senator Brown on the floor to press for the public option in person. http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnS http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnS/commentary#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:19:14 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelditto/CZnS Michael Ditto http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/f660dc8ce688a8bfdc_5fmmv2i99.jpg Michael Ditto 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnS/ If one were consider the US financial industry as a threat to the welfare of the nation and an entity without constraint or regulation, being in effect outside the law of the US with many foreign investors in collusion might legally be considered "foreign" and a quasi government, fully capable of seriously injuring the host nation. One might also assume that given the conservative/capitalistic propensity that the 14th Ammendment gives corporations citizenship status, a conclusion might be drawn that the US government (of, by and for the people) has been overthrown and seriously injured without a shot being fired. As far as attracting "good people" and your belief that members of Congress work long hours, them making more money in the private sector, reasonable compensation, I find all to be extremely laughable. Assuming that most members of congress are lawyers and also taking into consideration their incompetence as law makers, I would be hard pressed to hire one of them: In May 2006, the median annual earnings of all wage-and-salaried lawyers were $102,470. The middle half of the occupation earned between $69,910 and $145,600. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of lawyers in May 2006 were: Management of companies and enterprises $128,610 Federal Government 119,240 Legal services 108,100 Local government 78,810 State government 75,840 "Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as: "...[a]...citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]." "Outside legal spheres, the word "traitor" may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, team, religion, social class, or other group to which they may belong. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which they are a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group leaders making the charge." http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnC http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnC/commentary#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:51:01 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnC Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 1 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnC/ My advice to Pelosi and Reid, present and promote solutions to our problems, divest their corporate collusion, ignore Republican obstruction, even if it means changing the rules of the filibuster and severely punish, by any means necessary, Democrats that don't play well with other members of their party. This is a battle between the people and the political parties/corporatocracy. The only way this battle can be won by the people? Continued exposure of elected officials and their complicity in the defilement of democracy, which is treasonous by definition, regardless of party affiliation. Many party officials disapprove of self examination or critical observations regarding ethics, leadership or devotion to the principles of democracy (free and equal representation of people). Primaries are heretical and grassroots activism is discouraged. Within limits, never ask for permission because authority is invariably hard wired to say no and that just compounds frustration and discourages activism. Public financing of federal and state elections is a step in the right direction, but even if it were instituted, we would still have a problem with lobbyists writing laws. Lawmakers encourage this practice, either because they are understaffed or lazy. We already know they only read the summary and not the fine print. Bills violate the most important rule of all, Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) and they are purposely kept indecipherable for a reason, to conceal cronyism and pork. You think members of Congress work hard for the money? "By the time the gavel comes down on the 109th Congress on Friday, members will have "worked" a total of 103 days. That's seven days fewer than the infamous "Do-Nothing Congress" of 1948." (Last figures I can find) Rank and file congressional pay is three and half times the median income of the United States. Three times the median income of an electronics engineer, four times the median income of K-12 teachers, almost eight times the median income of a preschool teacher and last but not least, $56,000 more than median income of a GP Doctor. That would leave the 109th Congress 262 days to travel, campaign, extort money, etc., instead of writing laws, answering emails, letters and faxes and generally doing the work of the people. U.S. Congressional salaries and benefits have been the source of taxpayer unhappiness and myths over the years. Here are some facts for your consideration. Rank-and-File Members: The current salary (2009) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year Congress: Leadership Members' Salary (2009) Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members. Senate Leadership Majority Party Leader - $193,400 Minority Party Leader - $193,400 House Leadership Speaker of the House - $223,500 Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400 Add to all of this, up to 80% of their pay when they retire. $139,200 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnB http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnB/commentary#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:57:11 EDT http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/post/michaelcollins/CZnB Mike Collins http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/profile_picture/bcdcfd97be4d93f8d2_izvrmv8p8.jpg Mike Collins 0 http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/page/community/comment_rss/CZnB/