As a woman, who worked a non-traditional, male-dominated trade - for my whole adult career - I applaud this message ❤️. I retired out of the IUOE (Operating Engineers Union. Born & raised in a Union family (my dad was a Pipe Fitter. Thank you Dr. Richardson. ❤️
Republicans have attempted to take our flag, the bible, Christmas and patriotism, just to mention a few, as their own personal possessions. If any single holiday could be adopted by Democrats as their own, it would be Labor Day. “For generations, Labor Day activities organized by unions were seen primarily as Democratic affairs. Working-class voters were the heart of the coalition Franklin Roosevelt rode to four presidential victories (1932-1944). FDR rewarded them with the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, enshrining in law the right to collective bargaining and giving labor unions a new level of recognition and clout.” A recent poll showed public approval of labor unions as an institution at 67%. Free and fair voting has also become 100% owned by the Democrats as the other side, those in the minority have decided authoritarianism is imperative for their survival. Voting is a joke in authoritarian regimes.
Not only is it a sacred and patriotic duty to vote, but it is also your opportunity to ‘put your money where your mouth is’. Nothing you will do in life is more indicative of who you are than how you vote. Vote for the world you want to live in, or you could end up living in the world you didn’t vote for. The recognition of and affirmation of your character are revealed every time you vote for a candidate that shares your ideals. This should be the case, but how can anyone associate their ideals with a candidate that has so many flaws that it takes a contortionist to justify them all.
Trumps attributes include being a convicted rapist, a con man, a convicted financial fraud and cheater, a serial liar, a want to be dictator, a thief, a traitor, an insurrectionist, a man who pays off porn stars to shut up about his sex exploits. He suffers from a severe case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Delusions of Grandeur, and age-related cognitive decline. He is best at stoking hatred, promoting greed and praising ignorance. He cheats on taxes. He molests women. He mocks disabilities. He degrades the military. He caters to nazis. He is a grifter. He is a traitor. He is a cruel, hate filled fascist. He is a criminal magnet. He continues to destroy human lives.
The list is incomplete but so overwhelming it leaves you speechless that so many of our fellow citizens could tolerate so many flaws in one human being, much less the Commander in Chief. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are exact opposites of trump and no more associate with his list of ‘attributes’ than do most of our fellow Americans. We collectively are a force for good and a force to counter who trump is and what he represents. Our hope and joy are contagious and our fight for freedom makes us a triple threat.
Yes, character is essential for that job, the job of running the most complicated country in the world, made complex by our innerconnections as a democracy, and much more so by our connections with the rest of the world. The obvious fact we have all lived through is that Trump does not understand how government actually works other than in his favor where he can manipulate it for his own profit, the power of it being the great attraction. And power must be tempered by character as well as knowledge, knowledge he does not possess which should be obvious to anyone who completed high school civics and social studies, if indeed they were paying attention. This next few weeks and following that could be an amazing civics lesson for the whole country, not to mention the world. The cult of personality simply does not qualify someone to understand and guide such a complicated business as all the parts and components, the departments including the State Department, where you have to have a good grasp of their essential nature and impact, even though you're not directly running them, where you just don't bark out orders that come out of a relatively empty head, and besides that he's lazy. It takes a lot of study and experience and he so plainly does not have it. Am I speaking to the choir here I hope? But maybe the choir has to sing a little louder…
Exactly so. Federal law, at 5 U.S.C. § 3110 clearly states that no "relative" may be appointed to a seat in the federal government: nor a "civilian agency". The appointments of Ivanka and Jared were clearly against the law and no one in government stepped up to object to it. We know what that produced: Ivanka hawking her merchandise on the White House website to Jared's personal gains from Saudi officials. This is what becomes of all of us when criminals like the Trump organization seeps creepily into the nation's leadership cadre.
I kept waiting for somebody to say “enough” but on they charged. The bull in the China shop raged on, left a horrible path of destruction, and wants to finish us off. Or maybe he just wants to turn us over to Vlad, only slightly mangled.
I wonder whether that statute covers "personal advisors" to the president. Just another loophole for the Trumps to exploit. Did those advisor position also preclude them from having to pass a national security check?
I do remember a statement printed them not being able to pass ( or even ‘ given’) security checks …correct? But…THEY GET AWAY WITH IT, again and again, and again…………
I think you are singing to the choir Robin,, but we need every voice to hear each and every evil celebrated by MAGA and Christian Nationalist and refute them.
We can also sing the songs “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” -“we’re on the move” by McFadden and Whitehead and “We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest”-until
It’s done by Sweet Honey in the Rock.
The lyrics and melodies to both of these songs don’t allow for “negative vibes” and inspire us to keep moving forward. Search for them on YouTube and enjoy as the beat goes on.
If I recall correctly, Trump spent some of each day playing golf rather than attending to the Affairs of State. It has been such a radical change that I would appreciate confirmation.
High school civics is a good start, but I'd argue that we can and must immunize children against the authoritarian impulse before granting them an elementary school graduation certificate. All that has to happen is that the teacher must verify that every individual child is treating every other child the way the individual would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot. That's the easy part. The hard part is teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Yes Robin: You are speaking to the choir here; Never forget that. Opposition research is conducted here ongoing. Our good doctor has made a target of herself. Recently, for whatever reason, "Wired" magazine online, recently 'outed' HCR as a significant 2024 election 'influencer.' It should be noted that "Wired" is a Conde Nast publication. See > https://www.wired.com/story/visual-guide-to-influencers-shaping-2024-election/
"The recognition of and affirmation of your character are revealed every time you vote for a candidate that shares your ideals. This should be the case, but how can anyone associate their ideals with a candidate that has so many flaws that it takes a contortionist to justify them all. "
Not even-euclidean geometries can rationalize the tangled web of MAGA. Anything attempting justification becomes so twisted in such spaces that it can no more than reflect and extend the shameless tangle of lies.
How, we wonder, can anyone vote for such a deeply flawed individual? Two professors at the Univ. of Kansas also wondered, researched it and published it in the peer-reviewed journal, Critical Sociology, in Feb. 2018, entitled "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election and Why?" Google it. Their conclusion: racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny. To that I think that we can add white Protestant nationalism, garnering more support from the white evangelicals, you know, the Chinos.
But also because he spoke to people in ways they could relate to. All lies, mind you, but people still related. His communication skills have deteriorated, but now many are entrenched.
Reading "Dirt Road Revival" and recommend it to all on how to communicate to the (rural) disenfranchised.
Richard, All those words to express hatred of the most vulnerable…. Are there words to express hatred of the most powerful? The richest? I could use some of those words right now.
Thanks for that reiteration of the obvious. It needs to be blasted from every outlet. I, too, am gobsmacked that any truly believe that he is competent and capable. He just hates the same people that Rupert says they must hate. The motives are selfish and geared to power of the greedy. A triple threat we are, and gaining ground
"The list is incomplete but so overwhelming it leaves you speechless that so many of our fellow citizens could tolerate so many flaws in one human being."
Thank you Hoyt. Many books have been written about Trump's character flaws but until the votes are counted we must keep fighting to defeat EVERY Republican running for office.
Enough to get effective majorities will suit me. Republicans have a huge hold on the American electorate, with a well established political infrastructure.
Exactly. That’s the playbook synapse , followed methodically. Remember ..’we won’t make that mistake again’? Each election process teaches them what wasn’t done , or could be done better. This is , as we all know, been happening since before …the ark was built? Humor 101
I gave up trying to understand it, because the principle -or lack thereof-stood constant. I don’t watch ‘them’ , Fox, and now the long litany of the corporate media , heard enough -the repetition is just someone else’s name ..or new ‘nickname ‘ oh, and the lies. I wrote the list starting with the first impeachment.. 147 of them. Some have been highlighted (getting doubled down on to coin the phrase😏) as ‘worser’ was noted (now expected ) .
Reiterating ..the playbook has been followed and as is pointed to frequently , already being used in states like Fla.,Tx, school boards ,SC, legislators …firmly entrenched.
And to make the point…perfectly clear, this 2024 election is OUR LAST CHANCE. “..you won’t have to vote again”..
even to the point of making ‘woke’ a ‘bad’ word …
It’s 🗣️WTFU or forever hold your peace …as another thing of the past .
I don't know the truth of all that, but for sure Dem majorities are absolutely necessary for meaningful change. Despite how enthusiastic this group is, political allegiance is tribal, pretty much. I endlessly shake my head how Trump's Stop the Steal has been so effective and so lasting.
The resurgence in pro-union sentiment is definitely a sign of greater awareness of wealth inequality, and it seems the current administration has made notable outreach. Just remember though that unionization in the past couple generations has slid to an all time low, from about 40% half a century ago to about 10% now. I don't think there needs to be anything resembling "all out war" but a large union presence might well serve as a needed counter to the dominance of corporations over the labour force at large.
My Capitalist Conservative friends back around 2016 were telling me what a success it was after they got rid of their excessively liberal policies. As I looked at it, Sweden had the highest per capita number of billionaires, the second highest percentage of Union members (behind only Iceland), and the happiest people.
To me a large part of that happiness was the more cooperative, non-confrontational attitudes of unions and employers
Wonderful. You articulate what is my heart and mind as well.
Reading Dr Richardson’s letter this morning made me think about many personal memories. People I have known, worked with and respected and those who like trump would do anything to get ahead. It always perplexed me as to why many of senior execs I knew were so anti union. They were terrified of them and spoke derisively about them because the unions threatened their control and supreme authority. They were characterized as corrupted and easily made the tools of demagogues seeking greater power over the people who actually led the way toward greater prosperity….. mostly for themselves, first. I perceived unions as something archaic to be avoided since they only wanted power and money for themselves and cared little for those they represented. It is true that the mafia infiltrated many of the unions decades ago and still maintains influence and perverse involvement that results in higher costs for everyone. The ideal situation is no unions…. I heard said. By the 1970s when I entered the workforce Jimmy Hoffa and his Teamsters were in league with Nixon and his ilk and proudly calling for Viet Nam war protesters to “ Love, or Leave” our country. The construction workers physically attacked Viet Nam war protesters when they marched on Wall St to underscore corporate complicity in that awful and unjust war.
Little did i know about the work of FDR and Frances Perkins or the brave people who were part of the first Labor Day. That is because we live the life we know and mine was not to be a union member. My only experience with unions wasn’t a positive one; i was charged $25 to join the supermarkets clerks union when i was a checker in a local grocery store diving High School. The manager had seen to it that i worked a 10 hour shift one Saturday because they were busy. My paycheck was about $6 for that day of work. I felt cheated and exploited so i didn’t care about the job and soon quit.
The idea that we should be able to keep the money we earn is a very compelling one. Unions seemed to create a false sense of security for the members and cost them money, too! And so the deemphasis of the labor movement continued and is still seen by many as a relic of a time when people didn’t have the rule of law to help them with their employment grievances or inequities. Unions can be helpful when they’re honestly operated and led but i don’t think most are that way. In our current era unions that are honestly led and operated should be better understood. Perhaps the UAW under Sean Fain is…. I don’t know. The Teamsters seem to still identify with their natural enemy the Republicans…. I thought their leader was coddling trump, of all people! This of course echoes their undying support for Nixon…. and the Mafia.
The American labor movement needs to change its ways and then the perception of their reason for being.
Interesting story, KD. My sister has worked retail grocery all her life; started at a mom and pop convenience store, worked for Fred Meyer (way before Kroeger bought them; Freddy's was a regional chain) 40 years ago at the seafood counter, a year-round Farmer's Market and another regional chain, Ray's Food Place. None of these were union jobs. She finally had enough at Rays when they refused to give her the hours needed to qualify for benefits (I think she averaged 34 hours a week), and applied for work at her local Food 4 Less (a chain, apparently, but this market is independent, run as part of a locally owned and operated grocery chain consisting of 5 grocery stores in 3 communities). They are a union shop, and when she was hired, she was ready to start as an apprentice checker. The store manager hired her as a journeyman, and told her "you're no apprentice. You know more about front-end grocery than anybody here."
KD-we should also remember how racism has been used to divide labor. Many unions didn’t accept Black members and capitalists used Black people as scabs and strike breakers causing worker conflicts.
Black members of today’s Teamsters declared their support for Harris-Walz because the larger organization wasn’t doing so. An official from this union spoke at the RNC Convention to support Trump-Vance.
Yeah…trump and his henchmen care none at all about union members ….except that they may share negative perceptions about our country and our increasingly pluralistic society. Years ago I attended a very lavish reception for senior members of a union our company dealt with. It was a very lavish ….over the top….affair that didn’t jibe with anything the union should have represented. It made an impression. I felt as though these people cared not a whit about how they spent their member’s hard earned dues. I think it is still that way in most unions.
Unions are more likely to have monopoly power as better explained by Marty Manley's comment at https://www.quora.com/How-widespread-is-corruption-in-labor-unions which has enabled some to become perhaps more corrupt than many business monopolies. I believe a retail clerks union local my sister-in-law worked for in New Jersey was an example, as her pay after union dues was less than minimum wage.
The president of Teamsters reported that he does not support Trump nor Harris. He only spoke at the RNC because they asked him to. He requested to speak at the DNC and they declined. He knows his union is a 50/50 split of R’s and Dems. Harris campaign said they will have a sit-down round table discussion with Teamsters when it can bc arranged. This is per Fave the Nation.
I agree with everything you have said. However, although it seems that one side is wrong while the other is good, corruption once gave unions a bad name. Organized crime managed workers' dues and investments. Workers had decreasing influence over their domain. It reminds me of a refrain from "Pretty Boy Floyd." Some will rob you with a six-gun, some with a fountain pen.
A very interesting essay, KD, I don't have a short answer to your examples, but when unions called more of the shots a half century ago, they obtained definite economic benefits for their workers, and likely spillover. That all gradually changed with globalization, where "cheap labour" in Asian / offshore businesses could undermine union based sectors, let alone just wipe out swaths of the manufacturing sector, all at the behest of those running governments, plainly not exactly "labour aligned". A school of economists (the Chicago school?) pushed for this. But the price was a hollowing out of the American middle class, of which I'm sure we all heard much of a generation ago.
Hoyt, an excellent post. I see a lot of people scratching their heads that some support this festering cancer given that he does not have one redeeming characteristic. My father was a dyed in the wool R who hated unions and FDR. He had started listening to Rush, so I fear he would be a MAGA if he were still here. Needless to say, we did not agree about politics. He once told me, a history major, that history does not matter. But it does and what we see today has a long history in this country.
Hi Michele, thanks. My parents were republican as well. my mom worked for two different gop congressmen back in the seventies and eighties, but when my partner and i went to Clintons inauguration in 92, mom agreed to record it for me and got
our passes through jesse helms office, lol.. So parents', cant do with them cant do without them, of course when they are gone as are my parents you have to understand that my mother and fathers republican party is not the republican party of today.
As far as I am concerned, the R party of today is the party of death. I was disturbed that my dad listened to Rush and had to explain to him why I didn't....not a friendly conversation I'm afraid. I do wonder what he would do with death star. I once voted for a few Rs here in Oregon, but that was a while ago...people like Mark Hatfield. My next neighbor, who served as a R on the county commission, is now an independent although I think he votes mostly for Ds. He is totally fed up with today's Rs.
He was one of the Republicans I most respected back when I was one (I left the party during his last full year in the senate). I appreciate his choice of a teaching career after 30 years in the Senate (1967 - 1997).
By golly Mr Bangs, you seem to have lifted that descriptive paragraph about Trump right out of my book. I desire to anoint you my chief spokesman. But will I need to pay you union wages? Probably.
Saw a bumper sticker today that said “Just another republican working hard so you don’t have to.” 😑 Their self-righteousness and lack of any grasp on reality are unbelievable.
If workers are paid more and taxes less the Whole economy will prosper. The greed of the employer has actually held their prosperity in check. Pay workers more, a progressive tax, tax capital gains for those who make over 400,000 a year at the same level as ordinary income, eliminate the Oil Depletion allowance, have Congress deal with the same health care expenses and services as ordinary art Americans and our Economy will prosper beyond expectations. Do what is right and all will be better off.
If workers are paid more and taxes less the Whole economy will prosper. The greed of the employer has actually held their prosperity in check. Pay workers more, a progressive tax, tax capital gains for those who make over 400,000 a year at the same level as ordinary income, eliminate the Oil Depletion allowance, have Congress deal with the same health care expenses and services as ordinary art Americans and our Economy will prosper beyond expectations. Do what is right and all will be better off.
Your list of Trump’s attributes sounds fantastical, but is true and well documented. As you say, it leaves us speechless that so many Americans willingly overlook his flaws. It simply staggers the imagination, but as yet no convincing rational explanation has emerged. I like the contrast you have drawn with Harris-Walz and I agree that the emotions they inspire might carry us on to victory, but don’t you think there’s a rational argument against Trump that might open everyone’s eyes? I’m not convinced by “He’s a con-man” or “It’s a cult” or the idea that Americans are uniquely gullible.
Mainly wanted to thank you for your post and I didn’t intend to ramble on like this. I don’t recommend that anyone respond to my rambling…BUT… if someone does and is able to offer any explanation, I’ll be grateful.
Hi Allan, really enjoyed your post, wonderful rambling imho. I have read so many articles on the question you pose that it appears to be a multitude of reasons. I would have to find the data to confirm my hypothesis that the lack of education and/or denial of facts coupled with ignorance that breeds all forms of discrimination is the bond that holds these folks together. When i think about family and friends that vote for trump they are grouped into categories of greed, fear and hatred of the other, and ignorance.
Hoyt, In addition to agreeing with everything you say, I wish to add two important clarifications.
First, nothing an individual does in life is more indicative of who they are than whether they adhere to or violate the "treat others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot" principle. I vote for candidates who have committed to engage in political practice (serving the whole at the short-term expense of its parts) in lieu of committing political malpractice (benefitting "us" in the short term at the expense of the whole), as I expect others would want me to do.
Second, the complete lack of competence and character within the leadership group now in control of the Republican party will not leave us speechless, but we do need to invest a bit of time, energy, and attention. See all of the above and below.
But they aren't personal possessions, they're stage props. Remember, after he'd noticed the bible was upside down and turned it round, a voice asked if it was his Bible. ("No, but it's a bible"). The flag-hugging act on stage. Flag, patriotism, Bible, Christmas - just PROPS, meaningless, but they have to look like the real thing. Melania's comment about Christmas, when she'd gone through the ritual welcoming of the lorry full of fir trees.
As a life-long educator, I wish more of us would understand that we are an integral part of the world of labor. I am also part of a generations-long line of union members, beginning with my grandfather who started out life in the U.S. as a garment worker. My parents were both in educators' unions (my mother was a rep in Al Shanker's UFT and AFT), and I was one of two contingent faculty members on the Massachusetts Community College Council Board of Directors, a local of the Massachusetts Teachers' Association and the National Education Association.
Thank you Betsy. We owe so much to the unions - 8 hour work day, 5 day work week, pensions, paid time off, etc. Each benefit gained was a hard fought battle usually by thousands of people and opposed by oligarchs and business owners.
Nickie, yes, being raised in a union family makes a difference in one's outlook. I did and know that it was the union that enabled our family to do better than survive. My dad was a supermarket clerk for 35 years, Retail Clerks union and my mother a school district secretary for 26 years in the non-professional branch of the PSEA (I can't remember the exact name of that union). Solidarity forever!
Nickie, I salute you as both a Union member and as a woman in a non-trad, male dominated profession (I was a cop). Our Union did as much for us in working conditions/wages as they did in preventing management shenanigans, and really kept us strong when management would try bifurcation (separating corrections and police assignments) or other "streamlining" efforts designed to create a caste system (per se) within the ranks.
"I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the working-men . . . are called to endure in this crisis [i.e., the Great Civil War of 1861-65] . . . [T]he attempt to overthrow this government, which was built upon the foundation of human rights, and to substitute for it one which should rest exclusively on the basis of human slavery, was likely to obtain the favor of Europe . . . . Under the circumstances, I cannot but regard your decisive utterances [in favor of the Union] upon the question as an instance of sublime Christian heroism . . . ."
Prof Richardson, I don’t know how you can produce such well written history essays, with links to now, complete with citations night after night. But I am so grateful that you can! Thank you.
There is "kakocracy", a synonym. Both words come from the Greek "kakos", meaning "bad".
I like Ally House's "KakaPubliCan'ts", having, since the days of George W. Bush been impressed by how he and the GOP had taken America's famed CAN DO spirit and changed it into... CAN'T DO... WON'T DO...
Nah!
There's any amount of CANT where that came from...
Well said, Meredith. My sentiments exactly. I grew up in a staunchly Republican family. Through maturity, education, and observation I became staunchly independent but haven’t voted Republican since Bob Dole ran for president. It is common for those in power to take advantage of those without. Corporations are not an exception to that practice. That shouldn’t be difficult to see. Robert Reich has a great column out today.
Every time I read one of her well crafted histories, I think of Paul Simon. "When I think of all the crap I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all." Heather Cox Richardson, the cure for high school history!
Education, to me, is never completed, most keep learning well beyond their formal schooling. Learning how to learn is more important to me than just stopping at lessons from the past.
Perhaps I should include refining what we think we learned, identifying that which was wrong or unhelpful, and striving to constantly improve and adapt to new conditions.
Gary & Jim, I think you are RIGHT ON with your observations about learning being a life-long process, if we let it be, if we seek it! One of my favorite theorists about this is Erik Erikson with his theory of the 8 stages of life. It provides a wonderful precis of what individuals generally must struggle with at each stage, making it clear that learning does not end with the completion of some formal part of education. https://www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html
John, here in my little far northern, low population, CA county we are lucky to have the most northern CA college (recently changed from Humboldt State Univ to Cal Poly Humboldt) and it offers, thru their Extended Ed Dept, the national Osher Lifelong Learning Inst (OLLI) where those over 50 can take, for a modest fee, a range of courses, usually of short duration & no tests or traditional “homework”. It really is for the joy of learning, with a wide range subjects/areas of interest.
Thanks John. My favorite Psychology course was child development. I took the class in the mid-1970's so I'm guessing we would have covered Erickson 8 stages of life. His Wikipedia page says that he coined the term "identity crisis."
I can truly attest to that Jim. The older I get the more I realize how much I don’t know…I fall asleep reading often, naps have become normal and cherished. Lists much shorter. Curiosity doubled. Blessings outweigh the troubles I’ve seen 🫶
The power of music MUST NOT BE LOST! Even including the music of history. Everyone should have a favorite classical composer with all favorite contemporary ones. Mind-stretching is body-stretching.
As the mother of two HS English teachers, let's not pile on the teachers!!
Neither teaches in urban areas which can pay six figures. Each of them have been teaching over a decade and make right about $50K/yr. If you calculated their hourly wage by tallying up all the hours they spend class prep, grading, calling/emailing/meeting parents, attending meetings (one was a union president for 6 years!) and attending seminars to maintain their certificates, these days they could easily make as much or MORE working as a lower manager at Walmart---and leave the job at the end of the day. (The story of teachers working a 7 hour day for 9 month of the year is a fallacy.) Yes, they COULD make more teaching in a bigger, wealthier school district, but don't rural and poor children deserve dedicated teachers as well?
I have always felt we all are teachers. Every person especially a child coming into my arena gets something new offered, something they show interest in and e pans their worlds. Love seeing eyes go pop grasping some principle , like catching on to a new toy,let their minds find treasures every day Lord, and to be the teacher is a personal thrill.
Cure for inadequate high school history, perhaps. I was fortunate in being convinced most of my teachers taught us to think for ourselves beyond what could be taught as the base of what this country was founded upon.
It didn't hurt that my first 4 grades were in Hawaii with a great mix of kids from that melting pot. In later life, I worked with an inspiring Japanese-American who went through the same schools as Obama did in his early life, though a couple decades earlier.
Sounds like the more things change . . . My father was one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Railroad Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen established in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1940. Better wages and working conditions, as well as my mother’s working life once I, the youngest child entered school, made it possible to own their own home and send all four of their children to college. Union wages and benefits were the bedrock of the emerging middle class. Born just before and in the midst of the first pandemic, they lived through the Great Depression as children and the second World War as young adults. No generation worked harder or believed more in the American Dream. I have fond childhood memories of union Christmas parties and picnics. Then the same forces worked to chip away at workers’ rights and “Right to Work” laws crippled union bargaining power. It is good to see them rising again to meet the recurring challenge in this generation. “Carry it on, carry it on.”
As an engineering student in the 80s, I did not take nearly enough history...so glad I have this opportunity for a small annual tuition for these lessons. Thanks Dr. HCR!
Thank you, Dr. Richardson for telling this never ending story of the conflicts that exist, and have existed for a very long time, between those who work for a living and those who are either born into it - or have acquired their fortune on the backs of those who labor for them. For 29 years I was a member of a union, and for 20 of those years I was on the Board of Directors. So, yes I am a strong advocate of Unions.
Are all unions perfect? No. Some have made grave mistakes at the expense of those they represent. But, overall, unions are the only way to balance the greed of the oligarchs with the needs of the people. We had that starting in1935 until 1981.
There was resentment among the wealthy that they had to share some of their immense fortunes with the people who merely worked for a living. But even they didn't do too badly from 1945 to 1981.
Then, starting in 1981 with reagan, we again entered the downhill slide where through breaking up the unions and increasing taxes on the middle class at the same time greatly reducing both taxes and regulations on the wealth; we once again see an out of whack economy where as the song said :"the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" [Ain't we got fun]
The only lasting answer I can see is individualized education for every capable child in America being educated to the best of that child's ability and universal civics for all children in grades 4 through 12. Then they shouldn't be caught by the rhetoric of demagogues like reagan and the trumpster.
Strangely enough, the only benefit I see to Communism (which obviously doesn’t work) was that for once, it forced capital not to take labor for granted, but it also left out many people who were intended to be kept “down and out.” Education increasingly started teaching to standardized testing, and as a result, students don’t know much of what they should know about our history and how American government should work and how It doesn’t work.
Right now, the billionaires have every possible incentive to buy the government from us, and we the people have to remind them it doesn’t. The majority on SCOTUS has been weakening the power of ordinary people and doing their best to legalize political corruption on a scale we last saw during the Gilded Age.
Good comment Kathy. But there is no benefit to communism since that theory of governing has not existed, except in the very small hippy communes. Those countries that called themselves were nothing more than authoritarian dictatorships. They called each other 'comrade' but their society was and is a two class system of obscenely wealthy cabal around the dictator and the rest are workers. The 'honors' the workers receive is in name only, they still work for a pittance, live in fear for their lives and their families.
We. in America, go through these cycles where the "ruling" class hordes all the wealth to the detriment of the majority with short lived periods of prosperity for the vast majority.
What we desperately need is REAL education for every child capable of learning and is trained to think. With a real education to the best of each child's ability - not dumbing down. Perhaps we wouldn't come under the spell of "riches" if only we try hard enough
An Indian economist and I had an extended conversation during a ride to LAX about corruption. Her view was that any form of government could succeed if it was free from corruption (none are totally free from it), and that most communist governments, like almost any single single party government were the most prone to crushing levels of corruption (to me, that kept their countries so far from what they could achieve in a free, socially responsible society).
Jim, I think she was wise. We currently HAVE a most effective system in our two parties which was set up to balance the value of capitalistic drive & innovation against the needs of workers, individual people, if only we WILL USE IT as such. We need to not be afraid of the word "socialism" because that is what we seek, more socialistic balancing of that equation. As we have seen, it doesn't work very well when one group, usually the capitalists gain too much power through the influence of its staggering amount of money over both our legislatures and now, thanks to Citizens United, our judiciary.
Corruption seems to grow in most environments not well tended.
Oligarchs are the easiest examples, but it does often go down through Unions that become too insular and exclusive.
My mother was a cautious union supporter, I think from knowing Walter Reuther's last pilot, my classmate's father retired Lt Col George Evans, and learning about Reuther's support for Martin Luther King Jr. particularly for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
"...On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Martin Luther King wrote a letter to union president Walter Reuther, congratulating him and observing: “More than anyone else in America, you stand out as the shining symbol of democratic trade unionism” (King, 17 May 1961). King had a stalwart ally in Reuther, who gave critical backing to the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was a supporter of King’s civil rights tactics..."
"Individualized education for every capable child in America."
This has been our families dream Faye. Our community is fortunate to have a school which believes the same thing. With only around 125 students in K-8 and an amazing staff of 28 teachers and aides, they are doing an excellent job. Most of the people in our town support the school and their methods and the recommended school budget sails through without much question or discussion every year.
Fay, thanks for reminding us of another of the many harms inflicted on workers by Reagan. I remember the air traffic controllers strike, which Reagan broke by firing every one of the strikers. That action announced government-sanctioned open season on unions.
My 2 grandchildren went "back-to-school' in the 2nd week of August & other kids are going go back to school on 9/4/24 & 9/11/24 as teachers in our country go about creating a "safe & welcoming environment' for kids to learn & thrive.
J.D. Vance picked a weird week to recycle his old & wrong attack on RANDI WEINGARTEN, head of the American Federation of Teachers saying "it really disturbs me" that Randi Weinagarten "doesn't have kids".
Putting aside the fact that some mothers & fathers cannot have kids biologically, JEN PSAKI interviewed Randi yesterday & reported here on Earth 1 that Randi is the stepmother of 2 children.
The head of the Teacher's Union is not a "cat-lady".
We have to come up with a more accurate descriptor than Vance is a "mysoginist'. What's next a "Lebensborn" Program?
Here's hoping Tim Walz will help shine a spotlight on our overworked, underappreciated and underpaid teachers. Of course J., D. Vance is evidence that anyone can graduate from illustrious schools and still be an ingrate. I'd like to sentence him to a year of gender and race studies with lunchroom duty every day.
Super link Gary, thank you. I could certainly hear GWEN WALZ' "Teacher's Voice":
"Tim & I were teachers who struggled with infertility ... we do not take kindly to folks like JD Vance telling us when or how to start a family". 💥
I will have to check Gwen's resume to see if she was ever a trial attorney cuz' she certainly knows how to talk to the jury ... er ... the citizens that will vote on 11/5/24.
Progwoman, I don’t think JD is educable. You have to have an open mind and an open heart to learn. He has neither.
I’m seeing both subtle and blatant efforts to indoctrinate women into pregnancy. There are now pregnant-women fashion shows that feature “the bump.” Denigration of childless women. Efforts to stop both abortion and birth control. Breathy moms doing political rebuttals in a pink kitchen. Reminds me of The Stepford Wives!
I’m one of those women who chose not to have children (though I’m allergic to cats…). Luckily I’m way beyond any possible pregnancy propaganda!
I think "misogynist" is an accurate descriptor for JD Vance, Trump, and their fellow Christo-fascist MAGA Republican reactionaries, and it is only one of others that include racist, elitist, classist, wealth-hoarder power-monger hypocritical bullies. Shrinking them, voting them out, and winning court cases against them will nip in the bud their white supremacist programs.
Ellie, I think that what you've articulated here is EXACTLY what appeals to the MAGAt voters: racism, misogyny, homophobia (and I include all of the other alphabet letters of the queer communities in this bizarre hatred of "other") and Christian dominance. This is what I see in my former work cohort of retired cops and their wives when it comes right down to rationalizing how they can vote for a convicted felon who stole classified documents and stored them in his golf house potty; they WANT, with all their hearts, to get rid of us.
Yep, homophobic, antisemitic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic, too. Foreign born wives are by exception and would be exempted from anti-immigrant programs.
It is really amazing that while Walz is more popular than Vance, it is not by that much as we who read this column would think! On the other hand, today brought exciting news that the latest authoritative poll had Kamala ahead by 6 percent! A very significant lead while voter registration drives in the “Blue Wall” battleground states plus NC,GA,AZ,NV, Fl, (and even TX) have begun at a rapid pace registering women, Blacks, Latinos, College and HS students aged 18-29 and South Asians in impressive numbers! We are confident that this will be the most successful voter registration effort in political history. Please do your part in accelerating this exciting progress. And please go to www.TurnUp.com to contribute generously to these brilliant Harvard students who are very successfully engaged in this effort in 23 “truly competitive” Congressional Districts and Senate elections based exclusively on protecting abortion, gun safety and climate change! It is tax deductible as a charitable contribution because it is a bipartisan effort based on these issues! Thank you! Really important!
Mr. Vance is absolutely shameless. If I were his mother, he's the same age as my younger son, I would have a serious heart to heart with him about the awful things he's saying about women. Gracious what a mouth that young man has. Maybe a little wash out with soap might help.
He rather hinted at it in “Hillbilly Elegy,” in which I detected no small amount of smugness. People of Appalachian ancestry moved to Northern cities, and Cincinnati, Dayton, Middletown and Hamilton have a number of people of Appalachian origin, but Vance seemed to rather demean them. Some writers wrote a book to debunk Vance’s book. Like many others, the children and grandchildren of the original migrants from Appalachia found themselves hurting financially when the industries left Northern cities.
Years ago, I bought and read his book. I have said this many times since Trump picked him---the book was appalling in how he refers to the hill people. Anyone who disagreed with me, I said, get the book and read it and then get back to me.
I always thought that Trump couldn't go lower, and he couldn't surprise me--but I must say that his retweeting the comment about Hilary, Harris and "bj" was really, truly appalling and disgusting.
Vance is doing his best to alienate women from himself. His overt misogyny fits in well with Trump’s misogyny, and his insistence on women’s primary job being to procreate as well as his offensive remark about “childless cat ladies” (I’m one, but not miserable,j fits well with this attitude. I wonder if Usha Vance doesn’t cringe at some of her husband’s dumb and offensive remarks.
About the Lebensborn program, I made a similar comment on Xitter. We think alike!
It takes a village JD. My parents bought their house in 1956 based on the school district they wanted us kids to attend. I am so glad they did. They struggled to pay their $60 a month house payment but they valued our education. We all thanked them many times throughout our lives for their sacrifices.
Counselor, I had to look up "Lebensborn Program". I think that you use of that is 100% accurate that it articulates the desire of the MAGAts to a T. It is also something that happened in fact, not in the horror of fiction written in "The Handmaid's Tale".
It's been awhile, but I think they reference the Lebensborn Program in "The Man in the High Castle."
Thomas is the son of an SS officer and realizes that he is gay. In the eyes of the 3rd Reich, LGBTQ+ people are "worthless eaters" who must be eliminated.
Spoiler alert. Thomas turns himself in to be exterminated.
"Inheritance is welfare for the rich." Warren Buffett.
So many trustifarians have no use for contributing to society in any way.
My daughter dated a guy whose uncle left him a few million when he died. He immediately quit his job and chose to live the life of Riley. He asked my daughter to marry him on their 2nd date. Fortunately, she declined.
Justa Hat Rack perhaps, Bryan? It’s so sad the any person of could be influence is so shallow. The gifts of teaching, mentoring , setting a pace for vast amounts of people, inspiring an invention from bringing a curiousity to a new mind, a gifted person discovering themself. Miracles happen🫶
Corporations have more power over real people, especially in elections. Corporations can’t vote, but they can donate unlimited money to PACs, and how do we know how much they have given? And to who?
Labor history is given short shrift in American schools. Knowing labor history might be the most useful part of our history to know. Most of us are workers for major portions of our lives. Knowing labor history could enable us to understand and have more control over the ideas, structures, and systems that play such major roles in our lives every day.
Absolutely. My history classes in high school glossed over (at best) any significant happening after the Civil War in the U.S. and Bastille Day in France. I learned more where to find the Tigris and Euphrates on a map than their relevance to how that region developed. (HS class 1993)
It wasn't until I took a contemporary American history course ~2011 (it was an elective for my one and only associates degree) that I learned of the labor struggles in the U.S. since its inception. That was a fantastic class, and I'm sad that it was a 6 week accelerated summer course - I could have learned so much more. (Sad side note, one student in this class didn't seem to want to learn about workers' rights, she had an outburst on class wondering 'where was Lincoln, Washington, etc., that this wasn't history'. I don't know if she finished the class that summer.)
Often Americans don’t about major events in our labor history, like the Haymarket Riots, the murders of miners and families at various times, Coxey’s Army, the Bonus March and the Battles of Detroit, to name only a few. Republicans don’t want them to know these things, just as they don’t want students to know about the cruelty of slavery, Jim Crow, the Southern myths about the “noble cause,” discrimination against Latino Americans, Asians,Japanese-American internment in World War II. They seem to envision it as therapy for themselves, but if we don’t know about the wrongs of the past, we’ll repeat them. Chris Rufo is doing in incredible amount of damage with his crusade against honest teaching of our history.
In 6th grade, and once more in 12th grade, I had two of the best history teachers ever!!!
We drew maps, we memorized the capitals, we learned somethings of value about the people and the governments under which the people lived. I majored in history in college due to the influence of these teachers. I also had an amazing art history teacher in college!!!! Through the teaching of art history, I learned so much about the need to worship by people from many cultures all over the world represented within their art.
History includes everything about life, seen and unseen.....and continues......
Dr. Heather, thank you for this historical perspective on how this country came to celebrate Labor Day. Hope you are taking some time for rest during this 3 day weekend!
As a woman, who worked a non-traditional, male-dominated trade - for my whole adult career - I applaud this message ❤️. I retired out of the IUOE (Operating Engineers Union. Born & raised in a Union family (my dad was a Pipe Fitter. Thank you Dr. Richardson. ❤️
Republicans have attempted to take our flag, the bible, Christmas and patriotism, just to mention a few, as their own personal possessions. If any single holiday could be adopted by Democrats as their own, it would be Labor Day. “For generations, Labor Day activities organized by unions were seen primarily as Democratic affairs. Working-class voters were the heart of the coalition Franklin Roosevelt rode to four presidential victories (1932-1944). FDR rewarded them with the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, enshrining in law the right to collective bargaining and giving labor unions a new level of recognition and clout.” A recent poll showed public approval of labor unions as an institution at 67%. Free and fair voting has also become 100% owned by the Democrats as the other side, those in the minority have decided authoritarianism is imperative for their survival. Voting is a joke in authoritarian regimes.
Not only is it a sacred and patriotic duty to vote, but it is also your opportunity to ‘put your money where your mouth is’. Nothing you will do in life is more indicative of who you are than how you vote. Vote for the world you want to live in, or you could end up living in the world you didn’t vote for. The recognition of and affirmation of your character are revealed every time you vote for a candidate that shares your ideals. This should be the case, but how can anyone associate their ideals with a candidate that has so many flaws that it takes a contortionist to justify them all.
Trumps attributes include being a convicted rapist, a con man, a convicted financial fraud and cheater, a serial liar, a want to be dictator, a thief, a traitor, an insurrectionist, a man who pays off porn stars to shut up about his sex exploits. He suffers from a severe case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Delusions of Grandeur, and age-related cognitive decline. He is best at stoking hatred, promoting greed and praising ignorance. He cheats on taxes. He molests women. He mocks disabilities. He degrades the military. He caters to nazis. He is a grifter. He is a traitor. He is a cruel, hate filled fascist. He is a criminal magnet. He continues to destroy human lives.
The list is incomplete but so overwhelming it leaves you speechless that so many of our fellow citizens could tolerate so many flaws in one human being, much less the Commander in Chief. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are exact opposites of trump and no more associate with his list of ‘attributes’ than do most of our fellow Americans. We collectively are a force for good and a force to counter who trump is and what he represents. Our hope and joy are contagious and our fight for freedom makes us a triple threat.
Yes, character is essential for that job, the job of running the most complicated country in the world, made complex by our innerconnections as a democracy, and much more so by our connections with the rest of the world. The obvious fact we have all lived through is that Trump does not understand how government actually works other than in his favor where he can manipulate it for his own profit, the power of it being the great attraction. And power must be tempered by character as well as knowledge, knowledge he does not possess which should be obvious to anyone who completed high school civics and social studies, if indeed they were paying attention. This next few weeks and following that could be an amazing civics lesson for the whole country, not to mention the world. The cult of personality simply does not qualify someone to understand and guide such a complicated business as all the parts and components, the departments including the State Department, where you have to have a good grasp of their essential nature and impact, even though you're not directly running them, where you just don't bark out orders that come out of a relatively empty head, and besides that he's lazy. It takes a lot of study and experience and he so plainly does not have it. Am I speaking to the choir here I hope? But maybe the choir has to sing a little louder…
How did we allow his family into office with him?
Bullied and nobody stood up. Bullies run amok if nobody says no. Ye hear that SC.
Exactly so. Federal law, at 5 U.S.C. § 3110 clearly states that no "relative" may be appointed to a seat in the federal government: nor a "civilian agency". The appointments of Ivanka and Jared were clearly against the law and no one in government stepped up to object to it. We know what that produced: Ivanka hawking her merchandise on the White House website to Jared's personal gains from Saudi officials. This is what becomes of all of us when criminals like the Trump organization seeps creepily into the nation's leadership cadre.
The true crime family is the tRump family, not the Biden family.
Where were the Dems we elected into office who should have been watching and fighting back?
Both Sen and House were Republican during 115th Congress.
Ooops- no one was in charge- Mitch McConnell was running the show.
I kept waiting for somebody to say “enough” but on they charged. The bull in the China shop raged on, left a horrible path of destruction, and wants to finish us off. Or maybe he just wants to turn us over to Vlad, only slightly mangled.
And where was the DOJ in all of that? Politicized by thump.
Merrick Garland COULD have prosecuted after the fact but, as he did with most other crimes, ignored the these.
I wonder whether that statute covers "personal advisors" to the president. Just another loophole for the Trumps to exploit. Did those advisor position also preclude them from having to pass a national security check?
I do remember a statement printed them not being able to pass ( or even ‘ given’) security checks …correct? But…THEY GET AWAY WITH IT, again and again, and again…………
Really !!
How.... in the name of providence did the once respectable gop allow that to occur ?
The election WAS stolen, by you know whom.
And remember to stagger breathe so the choir stays strong when one or two members need to pause for breath.
I hope this choir has room for a bass accompaniment. I don't sing well, but lay down a mean bass line on the tuba!
I’m a lady who sings baritone!
lol...
And so history repeats itself...
I think you are singing to the choir Robin,, but we need every voice to hear each and every evil celebrated by MAGA and Christian Nationalist and refute them.
Sing what song, Robin?
Something from "Les Miserables"? Or from what the Molly McGuires sang? Bob Seger's "Feel Like a Number"? "For What It's Worth"?
My vote is for"Sooner or Later", by Eliza Gilkyson, but the old Pete Seeger & Woody Guthrie favorites still hold up.
We can also sing the songs “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” -“we’re on the move” by McFadden and Whitehead and “We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest”-until
It’s done by Sweet Honey in the Rock.
The lyrics and melodies to both of these songs don’t allow for “negative vibes” and inspire us to keep moving forward. Search for them on YouTube and enjoy as the beat goes on.
My vote is for "This land is your land..."
From California to the New York Island. Sea to shining sea.
Which Side are You On Boys
If I recall correctly, Trump spent some of each day playing golf rather than attending to the Affairs of State. It has been such a radical change that I would appreciate confirmation.
"sing a little louder"... Tim has made use of that lately, I believe.
The choir needs to be knocking on doors and registering voters in swing states while they sing.
Choir member here.
High school civics is a good start, but I'd argue that we can and must immunize children against the authoritarian impulse before granting them an elementary school graduation certificate. All that has to happen is that the teacher must verify that every individual child is treating every other child the way the individual would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot. That's the easy part. The hard part is teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Yes Robin: You are speaking to the choir here; Never forget that. Opposition research is conducted here ongoing. Our good doctor has made a target of herself. Recently, for whatever reason, "Wired" magazine online, recently 'outed' HCR as a significant 2024 election 'influencer.' It should be noted that "Wired" is a Conde Nast publication. See > https://www.wired.com/story/visual-guide-to-influencers-shaping-2024-election/
"The recognition of and affirmation of your character are revealed every time you vote for a candidate that shares your ideals. This should be the case, but how can anyone associate their ideals with a candidate that has so many flaws that it takes a contortionist to justify them all. "
Not even-euclidean geometries can rationalize the tangled web of MAGA. Anything attempting justification becomes so twisted in such spaces that it can no more than reflect and extend the shameless tangle of lies.
How, we wonder, can anyone vote for such a deeply flawed individual? Two professors at the Univ. of Kansas also wondered, researched it and published it in the peer-reviewed journal, Critical Sociology, in Feb. 2018, entitled "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election and Why?" Google it. Their conclusion: racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny. To that I think that we can add white Protestant nationalism, garnering more support from the white evangelicals, you know, the Chinos.
I keep sayin' in their guts, they know he's nuts.
MAGAT grandmas for Kamela. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crMe-O10j9g
Republican voters against Trump. https://rvat.org/
Evangelicals for Harris. https://www.evangelicalsforharris.com/
Daniel, every single day there seems to be another group formed to boost Kamala and Tim. Are we finally coming together in a unity of purpose?
We can do it by ourselves --- if we register more. https://newrepublic.com/article/185354/bad-news-trump-surprise-data-shows-pro-kamala-surge-new-voters
That said, I'm concerned about Pa.
Can't rely on Republicans. We also need the down ballot.
more of that, the better and merrier!
Afraid so.... as a lowly Canadian in a small province just east of Maine, I repeatedly shake my head at Trump's and MAGA's appeal.
But also because he spoke to people in ways they could relate to. All lies, mind you, but people still related. His communication skills have deteriorated, but now many are entrenched.
Reading "Dirt Road Revival" and recommend it to all on how to communicate to the (rural) disenfranchised.
Have you read "Elmer Gantry"?
Not (higher case) Presbyterian voters, thank you. Evangelical protestants, please. We aren’t all part of a broad brush.
Richard, All those words to express hatred of the most vulnerable…. Are there words to express hatred of the most powerful? The richest? I could use some of those words right now.
Richard, they got it right. What a disgrace.
Richard, exactly....the MAGAs are just like death star.
Euclidean geometries… 😂 I just love that….
Thanks for that reiteration of the obvious. It needs to be blasted from every outlet. I, too, am gobsmacked that any truly believe that he is competent and capable. He just hates the same people that Rupert says they must hate. The motives are selfish and geared to power of the greedy. A triple threat we are, and gaining ground
Is not the sleight of hand …the magicians forte..smoke screens and mirrors …
Richard Rodgers wrote it all in "South Pacific": "You've got to be carefully taught."
Yep, got those lyrics somewhere in my photos.
"The list is incomplete but so overwhelming it leaves you speechless that so many of our fellow citizens could tolerate so many flaws in one human being."
Thank you Hoyt. Many books have been written about Trump's character flaws but until the votes are counted we must keep fighting to defeat EVERY Republican running for office.
Enough to get effective majorities will suit me. Republicans have a huge hold on the American electorate, with a well established political infrastructure.
Exactly. That’s the playbook synapse , followed methodically. Remember ..’we won’t make that mistake again’? Each election process teaches them what wasn’t done , or could be done better. This is , as we all know, been happening since before …the ark was built? Humor 101
I gave up trying to understand it, because the principle -or lack thereof-stood constant. I don’t watch ‘them’ , Fox, and now the long litany of the corporate media , heard enough -the repetition is just someone else’s name ..or new ‘nickname ‘ oh, and the lies. I wrote the list starting with the first impeachment.. 147 of them. Some have been highlighted (getting doubled down on to coin the phrase😏) as ‘worser’ was noted (now expected ) .
Reiterating ..the playbook has been followed and as is pointed to frequently , already being used in states like Fla.,Tx, school boards ,SC, legislators …firmly entrenched.
And to make the point…perfectly clear, this 2024 election is OUR LAST CHANCE. “..you won’t have to vote again”..
even to the point of making ‘woke’ a ‘bad’ word …
It’s 🗣️WTFU or forever hold your peace …as another thing of the past .
💙💙VOTE BLUE END THE COUP💙💙
I don't know the truth of all that, but for sure Dem majorities are absolutely necessary for meaningful change. Despite how enthusiastic this group is, political allegiance is tribal, pretty much. I endlessly shake my head how Trump's Stop the Steal has been so effective and so lasting.
It is fascinating , so many succumb to cult figures, personalities, and sense of community..hmmm🤔
The resurgence in pro-union sentiment is definitely a sign of greater awareness of wealth inequality, and it seems the current administration has made notable outreach. Just remember though that unionization in the past couple generations has slid to an all time low, from about 40% half a century ago to about 10% now. I don't think there needs to be anything resembling "all out war" but a large union presence might well serve as a needed counter to the dominance of corporations over the labour force at large.
Totally agree Frank, labor seems to be on as sound a footing as i can remember in my life. A force for good over corporate dominance.
Out of 36 countries in the OECD, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_comparisons_of_trade_unions
The US was in 31st place out of 36 with 10.1%,
less than half the average of 24.4%
Sweden had 68%
My Capitalist Conservative friends back around 2016 were telling me what a success it was after they got rid of their excessively liberal policies. As I looked at it, Sweden had the highest per capita number of billionaires, the second highest percentage of Union members (behind only Iceland), and the happiest people.
To me a large part of that happiness was the more cooperative, non-confrontational attitudes of unions and employers
Wonderful. You articulate what is my heart and mind as well.
Reading Dr Richardson’s letter this morning made me think about many personal memories. People I have known, worked with and respected and those who like trump would do anything to get ahead. It always perplexed me as to why many of senior execs I knew were so anti union. They were terrified of them and spoke derisively about them because the unions threatened their control and supreme authority. They were characterized as corrupted and easily made the tools of demagogues seeking greater power over the people who actually led the way toward greater prosperity….. mostly for themselves, first. I perceived unions as something archaic to be avoided since they only wanted power and money for themselves and cared little for those they represented. It is true that the mafia infiltrated many of the unions decades ago and still maintains influence and perverse involvement that results in higher costs for everyone. The ideal situation is no unions…. I heard said. By the 1970s when I entered the workforce Jimmy Hoffa and his Teamsters were in league with Nixon and his ilk and proudly calling for Viet Nam war protesters to “ Love, or Leave” our country. The construction workers physically attacked Viet Nam war protesters when they marched on Wall St to underscore corporate complicity in that awful and unjust war.
Little did i know about the work of FDR and Frances Perkins or the brave people who were part of the first Labor Day. That is because we live the life we know and mine was not to be a union member. My only experience with unions wasn’t a positive one; i was charged $25 to join the supermarkets clerks union when i was a checker in a local grocery store diving High School. The manager had seen to it that i worked a 10 hour shift one Saturday because they were busy. My paycheck was about $6 for that day of work. I felt cheated and exploited so i didn’t care about the job and soon quit.
The idea that we should be able to keep the money we earn is a very compelling one. Unions seemed to create a false sense of security for the members and cost them money, too! And so the deemphasis of the labor movement continued and is still seen by many as a relic of a time when people didn’t have the rule of law to help them with their employment grievances or inequities. Unions can be helpful when they’re honestly operated and led but i don’t think most are that way. In our current era unions that are honestly led and operated should be better understood. Perhaps the UAW under Sean Fain is…. I don’t know. The Teamsters seem to still identify with their natural enemy the Republicans…. I thought their leader was coddling trump, of all people! This of course echoes their undying support for Nixon…. and the Mafia.
The American labor movement needs to change its ways and then the perception of their reason for being.
Interesting story, KD. My sister has worked retail grocery all her life; started at a mom and pop convenience store, worked for Fred Meyer (way before Kroeger bought them; Freddy's was a regional chain) 40 years ago at the seafood counter, a year-round Farmer's Market and another regional chain, Ray's Food Place. None of these were union jobs. She finally had enough at Rays when they refused to give her the hours needed to qualify for benefits (I think she averaged 34 hours a week), and applied for work at her local Food 4 Less (a chain, apparently, but this market is independent, run as part of a locally owned and operated grocery chain consisting of 5 grocery stores in 3 communities). They are a union shop, and when she was hired, she was ready to start as an apprentice checker. The store manager hired her as a journeyman, and told her "you're no apprentice. You know more about front-end grocery than anybody here."
KD-we should also remember how racism has been used to divide labor. Many unions didn’t accept Black members and capitalists used Black people as scabs and strike breakers causing worker conflicts.
Black members of today’s Teamsters declared their support for Harris-Walz because the larger organization wasn’t doing so. An official from this union spoke at the RNC Convention to support Trump-Vance.
Yeah…trump and his henchmen care none at all about union members ….except that they may share negative perceptions about our country and our increasingly pluralistic society. Years ago I attended a very lavish reception for senior members of a union our company dealt with. It was a very lavish ….over the top….affair that didn’t jibe with anything the union should have represented. It made an impression. I felt as though these people cared not a whit about how they spent their member’s hard earned dues. I think it is still that way in most unions.
Unions are more likely to have monopoly power as better explained by Marty Manley's comment at https://www.quora.com/How-widespread-is-corruption-in-labor-unions which has enabled some to become perhaps more corrupt than many business monopolies. I believe a retail clerks union local my sister-in-law worked for in New Jersey was an example, as her pay after union dues was less than minimum wage.
The president of Teamsters reported that he does not support Trump nor Harris. He only spoke at the RNC because they asked him to. He requested to speak at the DNC and they declined. He knows his union is a 50/50 split of R’s and Dems. Harris campaign said they will have a sit-down round table discussion with Teamsters when it can bc arranged. This is per Fave the Nation.
I agree with everything you have said. However, although it seems that one side is wrong while the other is good, corruption once gave unions a bad name. Organized crime managed workers' dues and investments. Workers had decreasing influence over their domain. It reminds me of a refrain from "Pretty Boy Floyd." Some will rob you with a six-gun, some with a fountain pen.
A very interesting essay, KD, I don't have a short answer to your examples, but when unions called more of the shots a half century ago, they obtained definite economic benefits for their workers, and likely spillover. That all gradually changed with globalization, where "cheap labour" in Asian / offshore businesses could undermine union based sectors, let alone just wipe out swaths of the manufacturing sector, all at the behest of those running governments, plainly not exactly "labour aligned". A school of economists (the Chicago school?) pushed for this. But the price was a hollowing out of the American middle class, of which I'm sure we all heard much of a generation ago.
Wonderful sentiments KD, also so much information i did not already have. Thank you.
Hoyt, an excellent post. I see a lot of people scratching their heads that some support this festering cancer given that he does not have one redeeming characteristic. My father was a dyed in the wool R who hated unions and FDR. He had started listening to Rush, so I fear he would be a MAGA if he were still here. Needless to say, we did not agree about politics. He once told me, a history major, that history does not matter. But it does and what we see today has a long history in this country.
Hi Michele, thanks. My parents were republican as well. my mom worked for two different gop congressmen back in the seventies and eighties, but when my partner and i went to Clintons inauguration in 92, mom agreed to record it for me and got
our passes through jesse helms office, lol.. So parents', cant do with them cant do without them, of course when they are gone as are my parents you have to understand that my mother and fathers republican party is not the republican party of today.
As far as I am concerned, the R party of today is the party of death. I was disturbed that my dad listened to Rush and had to explain to him why I didn't....not a friendly conversation I'm afraid. I do wonder what he would do with death star. I once voted for a few Rs here in Oregon, but that was a while ago...people like Mark Hatfield. My next neighbor, who served as a R on the county commission, is now an independent although I think he votes mostly for Ds. He is totally fed up with today's Rs.
He was one of the Republicans I most respected back when I was one (I left the party during his last full year in the senate). I appreciate his choice of a teaching career after 30 years in the Senate (1967 - 1997).
By golly Mr Bangs, you seem to have lifted that descriptive paragraph about Trump right out of my book. I desire to anoint you my chief spokesman. But will I need to pay you union wages? Probably.
😊👍💯
Saw a bumper sticker today that said “Just another republican working hard so you don’t have to.” 😑 Their self-righteousness and lack of any grasp on reality are unbelievable.
As the big orange dumpster would say "SAD, VERY VERY SAD"
You nailed it Brendan. How can they be so naive to think that was intelligent?
If workers are paid more and taxes less the Whole economy will prosper. The greed of the employer has actually held their prosperity in check. Pay workers more, a progressive tax, tax capital gains for those who make over 400,000 a year at the same level as ordinary income, eliminate the Oil Depletion allowance, have Congress deal with the same health care expenses and services as ordinary art Americans and our Economy will prosper beyond expectations. Do what is right and all will be better off.
If workers are paid more and taxes less the Whole economy will prosper. The greed of the employer has actually held their prosperity in check. Pay workers more, a progressive tax, tax capital gains for those who make over 400,000 a year at the same level as ordinary income, eliminate the Oil Depletion allowance, have Congress deal with the same health care expenses and services as ordinary art Americans and our Economy will prosper beyond expectations. Do what is right and all will be better off.
Your list of Trump’s attributes sounds fantastical, but is true and well documented. As you say, it leaves us speechless that so many Americans willingly overlook his flaws. It simply staggers the imagination, but as yet no convincing rational explanation has emerged. I like the contrast you have drawn with Harris-Walz and I agree that the emotions they inspire might carry us on to victory, but don’t you think there’s a rational argument against Trump that might open everyone’s eyes? I’m not convinced by “He’s a con-man” or “It’s a cult” or the idea that Americans are uniquely gullible.
Mainly wanted to thank you for your post and I didn’t intend to ramble on like this. I don’t recommend that anyone respond to my rambling…BUT… if someone does and is able to offer any explanation, I’ll be grateful.
Hi Allan, really enjoyed your post, wonderful rambling imho. I have read so many articles on the question you pose that it appears to be a multitude of reasons. I would have to find the data to confirm my hypothesis that the lack of education and/or denial of facts coupled with ignorance that breeds all forms of discrimination is the bond that holds these folks together. When i think about family and friends that vote for trump they are grouped into categories of greed, fear and hatred of the other, and ignorance.
Hoyt, I’m sure you’re right; “…a multitude of reasons.” Thanks for your reply!
Hoyt, In addition to agreeing with everything you say, I wish to add two important clarifications.
First, nothing an individual does in life is more indicative of who they are than whether they adhere to or violate the "treat others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot" principle. I vote for candidates who have committed to engage in political practice (serving the whole at the short-term expense of its parts) in lieu of committing political malpractice (benefitting "us" in the short term at the expense of the whole), as I expect others would want me to do.
Second, the complete lack of competence and character within the leadership group now in control of the Republican party will not leave us speechless, but we do need to invest a bit of time, energy, and attention. See all of the above and below.
Hoyt Bangs, that was marvelous.
Thank you George.
I may have mentioned this before but the are lawn signs which say I vote for felons.
Next will be something along the line of 'I HATE AMERICA!' they really don't care what they say or do!
But they aren't personal possessions, they're stage props. Remember, after he'd noticed the bible was upside down and turned it round, a voice asked if it was his Bible. ("No, but it's a bible"). The flag-hugging act on stage. Flag, patriotism, Bible, Christmas - just PROPS, meaningless, but they have to look like the real thing. Melania's comment about Christmas, when she'd gone through the ritual welcoming of the lorry full of fir trees.
Forgot to add this is an original melania quote.
This is the topper for all trumps devoted 'Christians" 'Who Gives a F*ck about Christmas Stuff'?
As a life-long educator, I wish more of us would understand that we are an integral part of the world of labor. I am also part of a generations-long line of union members, beginning with my grandfather who started out life in the U.S. as a garment worker. My parents were both in educators' unions (my mother was a rep in Al Shanker's UFT and AFT), and I was one of two contingent faculty members on the Massachusetts Community College Council Board of Directors, a local of the Massachusetts Teachers' Association and the National Education Association.
Thank you Betsy. We owe so much to the unions - 8 hour work day, 5 day work week, pensions, paid time off, etc. Each benefit gained was a hard fought battle usually by thousands of people and opposed by oligarchs and business owners.
Great medical coverage through MPI (Motion Picuture Industry- Union).
Nickie, yes, being raised in a union family makes a difference in one's outlook. I did and know that it was the union that enabled our family to do better than survive. My dad was a supermarket clerk for 35 years, Retail Clerks union and my mother a school district secretary for 26 years in the non-professional branch of the PSEA (I can't remember the exact name of that union). Solidarity forever!
Nickie, I salute you as both a Union member and as a woman in a non-trad, male dominated profession (I was a cop). Our Union did as much for us in working conditions/wages as they did in preventing management shenanigans, and really kept us strong when management would try bifurcation (separating corrections and police assignments) or other "streamlining" efforts designed to create a caste system (per se) within the ranks.
Thank you for your dignity, Nickie; enjoy this day properly dedicated to the Nickies who built the republic. Written elsewhere.
====
President Lincoln's letter to the workers of Manchester, U.K., dated 19jan1863.
https://acws.co.uk/archives-misc-lincoln_letter
"I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the working-men . . . are called to endure in this crisis [i.e., the Great Civil War of 1861-65] . . . [T]he attempt to overthrow this government, which was built upon the foundation of human rights, and to substitute for it one which should rest exclusively on the basis of human slavery, was likely to obtain the favor of Europe . . . . Under the circumstances, I cannot but regard your decisive utterances [in favor of the Union] upon the question as an instance of sublime Christian heroism . . . ."
Please please please let it be pitchfork time.
Prof Richardson, I don’t know how you can produce such well written history essays, with links to now, complete with citations night after night. But I am so grateful that you can! Thank you.
And I learned a new word * mobocracy *
Then there's kakistocracy for government by the worst, a good description of the MAGAmobocracy.
"Republicans" have clearly abandoned faith in a republic. "Kakistocrats" is more fitting and more of truth in advertising.
JL, how about KakaPubliCan'ts? My junior high brain has spoken.
🤣
Yes, and the current Trump party is afraid of the mobocracy they helped create.
Peter, when I see that word I think kakatocracy. Is that a synonym?
There is "kakocracy", a synonym. Both words come from the Greek "kakos", meaning "bad".
I like Ally House's "KakaPubliCan'ts", having, since the days of George W. Bush been impressed by how he and the GOP had taken America's famed CAN DO spirit and changed it into... CAN'T DO... WON'T DO...
Nah!
There's any amount of CANT where that came from...
💩!!! hahahaha…
I liked that too 🫶
YES!!! I am so glad also! Thank you Heather!
Well said, Meredith. My sentiments exactly. I grew up in a staunchly Republican family. Through maturity, education, and observation I became staunchly independent but haven’t voted Republican since Bob Dole ran for president. It is common for those in power to take advantage of those without. Corporations are not an exception to that practice. That shouldn’t be difficult to see. Robert Reich has a great column out today.
That expresses exactly how I feel and am certain that most of the Profs readers feel the same.
Every time I read one of her well crafted histories, I think of Paul Simon. "When I think of all the crap I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all." Heather Cox Richardson, the cure for high school history!
"And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none,
I can read the writing on the wall"
Education, to me, is never completed, most keep learning well beyond their formal schooling. Learning how to learn is more important to me than just stopping at lessons from the past.
Perhaps I should include refining what we think we learned, identifying that which was wrong or unhelpful, and striving to constantly improve and adapt to new conditions.
And Jim, learning for life is one of the mantras of Maria Montessori. My wife and I learned so much from our daughter's Montessori education.
My high school composition teacher had us debate/discuss "to learn is to change."
Not much disagreement in our class.
Gary & Jim, I think you are RIGHT ON with your observations about learning being a life-long process, if we let it be, if we seek it! One of my favorite theorists about this is Erik Erikson with his theory of the 8 stages of life. It provides a wonderful precis of what individuals generally must struggle with at each stage, making it clear that learning does not end with the completion of some formal part of education. https://www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html
John, here in my little far northern, low population, CA county we are lucky to have the most northern CA college (recently changed from Humboldt State Univ to Cal Poly Humboldt) and it offers, thru their Extended Ed Dept, the national Osher Lifelong Learning Inst (OLLI) where those over 50 can take, for a modest fee, a range of courses, usually of short duration & no tests or traditional “homework”. It really is for the joy of learning, with a wide range subjects/areas of interest.
Thanks John. My favorite Psychology course was child development. I took the class in the mid-1970's so I'm guessing we would have covered Erickson 8 stages of life. His Wikipedia page says that he coined the term "identity crisis."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson
Good comment JohnM! I appreciate being reminded of Erik Erickson!
Amen, Jim. When I first saw “lifelong learning” I was shocked. Thought that was what everybody did. No longer.
Viriginia. We are blessed to have your 89+ years of wisdom on HCR's newsletter.
I have learned much from you. Thank you.
I can truly attest to that Jim. The older I get the more I realize how much I don’t know…I fall asleep reading often, naps have become normal and cherished. Lists much shorter. Curiosity doubled. Blessings outweigh the troubles I’ve seen 🫶
Which brings us full circle to the power of music...in 1882, no music - no parade. Shout out to our friend Ally, parade marcher!
Morning, Lynell!!
Music is a must!
<curtsies, delicately balancing her sousaphone>
Hope you're having a great day, Ally!
The power of music MUST NOT BE LOST! Even including the music of history. Everyone should have a favorite classical composer with all favorite contemporary ones. Mind-stretching is body-stretching.
As the mother of two HS English teachers, let's not pile on the teachers!!
Neither teaches in urban areas which can pay six figures. Each of them have been teaching over a decade and make right about $50K/yr. If you calculated their hourly wage by tallying up all the hours they spend class prep, grading, calling/emailing/meeting parents, attending meetings (one was a union president for 6 years!) and attending seminars to maintain their certificates, these days they could easily make as much or MORE working as a lower manager at Walmart---and leave the job at the end of the day. (The story of teachers working a 7 hour day for 9 month of the year is a fallacy.) Yes, they COULD make more teaching in a bigger, wealthier school district, but don't rural and poor children deserve dedicated teachers as well?
I have always felt we all are teachers. Every person especially a child coming into my arena gets something new offered, something they show interest in and e pans their worlds. Love seeing eyes go pop grasping some principle , like catching on to a new toy,let their minds find treasures every day Lord, and to be the teacher is a personal thrill.
Cure for inadequate high school history, perhaps. I was fortunate in being convinced most of my teachers taught us to think for ourselves beyond what could be taught as the base of what this country was founded upon.
It didn't hurt that my first 4 grades were in Hawaii with a great mix of kids from that melting pot. In later life, I worked with an inspiring Japanese-American who went through the same schools as Obama did in his early life, though a couple decades earlier.
And Pink Floyd: "Teacher -- leave them kids alone":
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=hey+teacher+leave+those+kids+alone&mid=2357C67A8C4B61B76B4A2357C67A8C4B61B76B4A&FORM=VIRE
Thank you so much for your historical perspectives and your talent as a rational and thoughtful fount of information. ❤️
Sounds like the more things change . . . My father was one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Railroad Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen established in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1940. Better wages and working conditions, as well as my mother’s working life once I, the youngest child entered school, made it possible to own their own home and send all four of their children to college. Union wages and benefits were the bedrock of the emerging middle class. Born just before and in the midst of the first pandemic, they lived through the Great Depression as children and the second World War as young adults. No generation worked harder or believed more in the American Dream. I have fond childhood memories of union Christmas parties and picnics. Then the same forces worked to chip away at workers’ rights and “Right to Work” laws crippled union bargaining power. It is good to see them rising again to meet the recurring challenge in this generation. “Carry it on, carry it on.”
My thoughts too. The more things change…
I'm old enough to remember actual Labor Day parades.
Thanks Professor ⭐
And how Dem campaigns for president every four years began with Labor Day rallies in Grand Circus Park, Detroit.
Me, too 😢
Me, 3.
I wish we’d rediscover what Labor Day is supposed to be about.
As an engineering student in the 80s, I did not take nearly enough history...so glad I have this opportunity for a small annual tuition for these lessons. Thanks Dr. HCR!
Thank you, Dr. Richardson for telling this never ending story of the conflicts that exist, and have existed for a very long time, between those who work for a living and those who are either born into it - or have acquired their fortune on the backs of those who labor for them. For 29 years I was a member of a union, and for 20 of those years I was on the Board of Directors. So, yes I am a strong advocate of Unions.
Are all unions perfect? No. Some have made grave mistakes at the expense of those they represent. But, overall, unions are the only way to balance the greed of the oligarchs with the needs of the people. We had that starting in1935 until 1981.
There was resentment among the wealthy that they had to share some of their immense fortunes with the people who merely worked for a living. But even they didn't do too badly from 1945 to 1981.
Then, starting in 1981 with reagan, we again entered the downhill slide where through breaking up the unions and increasing taxes on the middle class at the same time greatly reducing both taxes and regulations on the wealth; we once again see an out of whack economy where as the song said :"the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" [Ain't we got fun]
The only lasting answer I can see is individualized education for every capable child in America being educated to the best of that child's ability and universal civics for all children in grades 4 through 12. Then they shouldn't be caught by the rhetoric of demagogues like reagan and the trumpster.
Strangely enough, the only benefit I see to Communism (which obviously doesn’t work) was that for once, it forced capital not to take labor for granted, but it also left out many people who were intended to be kept “down and out.” Education increasingly started teaching to standardized testing, and as a result, students don’t know much of what they should know about our history and how American government should work and how It doesn’t work.
Right now, the billionaires have every possible incentive to buy the government from us, and we the people have to remind them it doesn’t. The majority on SCOTUS has been weakening the power of ordinary people and doing their best to legalize political corruption on a scale we last saw during the Gilded Age.
Good comment Kathy. But there is no benefit to communism since that theory of governing has not existed, except in the very small hippy communes. Those countries that called themselves were nothing more than authoritarian dictatorships. They called each other 'comrade' but their society was and is a two class system of obscenely wealthy cabal around the dictator and the rest are workers. The 'honors' the workers receive is in name only, they still work for a pittance, live in fear for their lives and their families.
We. in America, go through these cycles where the "ruling" class hordes all the wealth to the detriment of the majority with short lived periods of prosperity for the vast majority.
What we desperately need is REAL education for every child capable of learning and is trained to think. With a real education to the best of each child's ability - not dumbing down. Perhaps we wouldn't come under the spell of "riches" if only we try hard enough
An Indian economist and I had an extended conversation during a ride to LAX about corruption. Her view was that any form of government could succeed if it was free from corruption (none are totally free from it), and that most communist governments, like almost any single single party government were the most prone to crushing levels of corruption (to me, that kept their countries so far from what they could achieve in a free, socially responsible society).
Jim, I think she was wise. We currently HAVE a most effective system in our two parties which was set up to balance the value of capitalistic drive & innovation against the needs of workers, individual people, if only we WILL USE IT as such. We need to not be afraid of the word "socialism" because that is what we seek, more socialistic balancing of that equation. As we have seen, it doesn't work very well when one group, usually the capitalists gain too much power through the influence of its staggering amount of money over both our legislatures and now, thanks to Citizens United, our judiciary.
Jim? Do you think corruption is a cycle that repeats itself depending on how much power the Oligarchs have?
Corruption seems to grow in most environments not well tended.
Oligarchs are the easiest examples, but it does often go down through Unions that become too insular and exclusive.
My mother was a cautious union supporter, I think from knowing Walter Reuther's last pilot, my classmate's father retired Lt Col George Evans, and learning about Reuther's support for Martin Luther King Jr. particularly for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Today's find on that is at https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/reuther-walter-philip
"...On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Martin Luther King wrote a letter to union president Walter Reuther, congratulating him and observing: “More than anyone else in America, you stand out as the shining symbol of democratic trade unionism” (King, 17 May 1961). King had a stalwart ally in Reuther, who gave critical backing to the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was a supporter of King’s civil rights tactics..."
"Individualized education for every capable child in America."
This has been our families dream Faye. Our community is fortunate to have a school which believes the same thing. With only around 125 students in K-8 and an amazing staff of 28 teachers and aides, they are doing an excellent job. Most of the people in our town support the school and their methods and the recommended school budget sails through without much question or discussion every year.
Fay, thanks for reminding us of another of the many harms inflicted on workers by Reagan. I remember the air traffic controllers strike, which Reagan broke by firing every one of the strikers. That action announced government-sanctioned open season on unions.
Thanks so much - explains really well how the "military-industrial complex" developed and why it is so much basis for the US economy.
My 2 grandchildren went "back-to-school' in the 2nd week of August & other kids are going go back to school on 9/4/24 & 9/11/24 as teachers in our country go about creating a "safe & welcoming environment' for kids to learn & thrive.
J.D. Vance picked a weird week to recycle his old & wrong attack on RANDI WEINGARTEN, head of the American Federation of Teachers saying "it really disturbs me" that Randi Weinagarten "doesn't have kids".
Putting aside the fact that some mothers & fathers cannot have kids biologically, JEN PSAKI interviewed Randi yesterday & reported here on Earth 1 that Randi is the stepmother of 2 children.
The head of the Teacher's Union is not a "cat-lady".
We have to come up with a more accurate descriptor than Vance is a "mysoginist'. What's next a "Lebensborn" Program?
Here's hoping Tim Walz will help shine a spotlight on our overworked, underappreciated and underpaid teachers. Of course J., D. Vance is evidence that anyone can graduate from illustrious schools and still be an ingrate. I'd like to sentence him to a year of gender and race studies with lunchroom duty every day.
So are Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley.
And Ted Cruz and Elise Stefanik and, of course, Jared Kushner.
Here is Gwen Walz taking down JD in Virginia I think it was.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/gwen-walz-uses-her-teacher-214925560.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFoiBb0CR1Az1QUWodWm6bqspommm5d4pELQhtx69kDEEiVHq8qUI-SBOPhSr72k0d0zHM0TBNIkcvp4HxgwhhIcHcWnd66QIDREX1oM7c5YBqoLttm7T-xSPiKS94Q2KO8k-orHU3WOR9t7jVf3UNdk_7aeOC29FAHssZ9BS1WP
Super link Gary, thank you. I could certainly hear GWEN WALZ' "Teacher's Voice":
"Tim & I were teachers who struggled with infertility ... we do not take kindly to folks like JD Vance telling us when or how to start a family". 💥
I will have to check Gwen's resume to see if she was ever a trial attorney cuz' she certainly knows how to talk to the jury ... er ... the citizens that will vote on 11/5/24.
lunchroom duty in a metropolitan school district, not a suburban one.
Lunchroom duty should be enough…
Progwoman, I don’t think JD is educable. You have to have an open mind and an open heart to learn. He has neither.
I’m seeing both subtle and blatant efforts to indoctrinate women into pregnancy. There are now pregnant-women fashion shows that feature “the bump.” Denigration of childless women. Efforts to stop both abortion and birth control. Breathy moms doing political rebuttals in a pink kitchen. Reminds me of The Stepford Wives!
I’m one of those women who chose not to have children (though I’m allergic to cats…). Luckily I’m way beyond any possible pregnancy propaganda!
virtual hugs sent to you progwoman!
I just commented above to not blame teachers for lack of education.
I think "misogynist" is an accurate descriptor for JD Vance, Trump, and their fellow Christo-fascist MAGA Republican reactionaries, and it is only one of others that include racist, elitist, classist, wealth-hoarder power-monger hypocritical bullies. Shrinking them, voting them out, and winning court cases against them will nip in the bud their white supremacist programs.
When misogyny, or racism, or ... becomes so prevalent and so blatant, the words themselves come to seem inadequate.
Ellie, I think that what you've articulated here is EXACTLY what appeals to the MAGAt voters: racism, misogyny, homophobia (and I include all of the other alphabet letters of the queer communities in this bizarre hatred of "other") and Christian dominance. This is what I see in my former work cohort of retired cops and their wives when it comes right down to rationalizing how they can vote for a convicted felon who stole classified documents and stored them in his golf house potty; they WANT, with all their hearts, to get rid of us.
Yep, homophobic, antisemitic, Islamophobic, and xenophobic, too. Foreign born wives are by exception and would be exempted from anti-immigrant programs.
🎯
It is really amazing that while Walz is more popular than Vance, it is not by that much as we who read this column would think! On the other hand, today brought exciting news that the latest authoritative poll had Kamala ahead by 6 percent! A very significant lead while voter registration drives in the “Blue Wall” battleground states plus NC,GA,AZ,NV, Fl, (and even TX) have begun at a rapid pace registering women, Blacks, Latinos, College and HS students aged 18-29 and South Asians in impressive numbers! We are confident that this will be the most successful voter registration effort in political history. Please do your part in accelerating this exciting progress. And please go to www.TurnUp.com to contribute generously to these brilliant Harvard students who are very successfully engaged in this effort in 23 “truly competitive” Congressional Districts and Senate elections based exclusively on protecting abortion, gun safety and climate change! It is tax deductible as a charitable contribution because it is a bipartisan effort based on these issues! Thank you! Really important!
Spot on Ira. Saturday polling data shows support for Kamala & Tim skyrocketing with several cohorts quite notably -- Latinas. Very encouraging.
Mr. Vance is absolutely shameless. If I were his mother, he's the same age as my younger son, I would have a serious heart to heart with him about the awful things he's saying about women. Gracious what a mouth that young man has. Maybe a little wash out with soap might help.
He rather hinted at it in “Hillbilly Elegy,” in which I detected no small amount of smugness. People of Appalachian ancestry moved to Northern cities, and Cincinnati, Dayton, Middletown and Hamilton have a number of people of Appalachian origin, but Vance seemed to rather demean them. Some writers wrote a book to debunk Vance’s book. Like many others, the children and grandchildren of the original migrants from Appalachia found themselves hurting financially when the industries left Northern cities.
Years ago, I bought and read his book. I have said this many times since Trump picked him---the book was appalling in how he refers to the hill people. Anyone who disagreed with me, I said, get the book and read it and then get back to me.
Still waiting.
Maybe bleach, chump likes bleach.
I always thought that Trump couldn't go lower, and he couldn't surprise me--but I must say that his retweeting the comment about Hilary, Harris and "bj" was really, truly appalling and disgusting.
This cat lady and mother says that misogynist is the nicest name that he can be called without getting banned.
Vance is doing his best to alienate women from himself. His overt misogyny fits in well with Trump’s misogyny, and his insistence on women’s primary job being to procreate as well as his offensive remark about “childless cat ladies” (I’m one, but not miserable,j fits well with this attitude. I wonder if Usha Vance doesn’t cringe at some of her husband’s dumb and offensive remarks.
About the Lebensborn program, I made a similar comment on Xitter. We think alike!
It takes a village JD. My parents bought their house in 1956 based on the school district they wanted us kids to attend. I am so glad they did. They struggled to pay their $60 a month house payment but they valued our education. We all thanked them many times throughout our lives for their sacrifices.
Counselor, I had to look up "Lebensborn Program". I think that you use of that is 100% accurate that it articulates the desire of the MAGAts to a T. It is also something that happened in fact, not in the horror of fiction written in "The Handmaid's Tale".
For fellow unawares like me: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/lebensborn-program
It's been awhile, but I think they reference the Lebensborn Program in "The Man in the High Castle."
Thomas is the son of an SS officer and realizes that he is gay. In the eyes of the 3rd Reich, LGBTQ+ people are "worthless eaters" who must be eliminated.
Spoiler alert. Thomas turns himself in to be exterminated.
And what about all those good Catholic kids, back in the day, who were taught by nuns?
They're different, in service of their God... (and in the interest of not insulting my Catholic friends here, I'll stop.)
Anyone want DeVos and her yachts back? Another tRumpster Maggot.
"Inheritance is welfare for the rich." Warren Buffett.
So many trustifarians have no use for contributing to society in any way.
My daughter dated a guy whose uncle left him a few million when he died. He immediately quit his job and chose to live the life of Riley. He asked my daughter to marry him on their 2nd date. Fortunately, she declined.
Justa Hat Rack perhaps, Bryan? It’s so sad the any person of could be influence is so shallow. The gifts of teaching, mentoring , setting a pace for vast amounts of people, inspiring an invention from bringing a curiousity to a new mind, a gifted person discovering themself. Miracles happen🫶
Thank you for your labor professor!
“Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters.”
And today corporations are people. And masters over real people. Hmmm.
No business construct should hold more power or rights than flesh and blood human beings, but they do.
Corporations have more power over real people, especially in elections. Corporations can’t vote, but they can donate unlimited money to PACs, and how do we know how much they have given? And to who?
100%
Exactly so, Ted.
Labor history is given short shrift in American schools. Knowing labor history might be the most useful part of our history to know. Most of us are workers for major portions of our lives. Knowing labor history could enable us to understand and have more control over the ideas, structures, and systems that play such major roles in our lives every day.
Absolutely. My history classes in high school glossed over (at best) any significant happening after the Civil War in the U.S. and Bastille Day in France. I learned more where to find the Tigris and Euphrates on a map than their relevance to how that region developed. (HS class 1993)
It wasn't until I took a contemporary American history course ~2011 (it was an elective for my one and only associates degree) that I learned of the labor struggles in the U.S. since its inception. That was a fantastic class, and I'm sad that it was a 6 week accelerated summer course - I could have learned so much more. (Sad side note, one student in this class didn't seem to want to learn about workers' rights, she had an outburst on class wondering 'where was Lincoln, Washington, etc., that this wasn't history'. I don't know if she finished the class that summer.)
Often Americans don’t about major events in our labor history, like the Haymarket Riots, the murders of miners and families at various times, Coxey’s Army, the Bonus March and the Battles of Detroit, to name only a few. Republicans don’t want them to know these things, just as they don’t want students to know about the cruelty of slavery, Jim Crow, the Southern myths about the “noble cause,” discrimination against Latino Americans, Asians,Japanese-American internment in World War II. They seem to envision it as therapy for themselves, but if we don’t know about the wrongs of the past, we’ll repeat them. Chris Rufo is doing in incredible amount of damage with his crusade against honest teaching of our history.
Cathy Merrigan,
In 6th grade, and once more in 12th grade, I had two of the best history teachers ever!!!
We drew maps, we memorized the capitals, we learned somethings of value about the people and the governments under which the people lived. I majored in history in college due to the influence of these teachers. I also had an amazing art history teacher in college!!!! Through the teaching of art history, I learned so much about the need to worship by people from many cultures all over the world represented within their art.
History includes everything about life, seen and unseen.....and continues......
Fortunately, my high school spent a few weeks on labor unions and the labor movement. We even went en masse to see "Joe Hill."
Joan Baez's musical tribute to Joe Hill brings tears to my eyes everytime I hear it.
Thanks for this bit of "necessary to know" history! Have a rejuvenating Labor Day! Time (always) to support The Union and Unions!
Thank you Heather!! Appreciate your daily reporting!!
Dr. Heather, thank you for this historical perspective on how this country came to celebrate Labor Day. Hope you are taking some time for rest during this 3 day weekend!