The Osama I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader
I Can't Afford Wholefood
I always wondered why the WholeFoods Market chose Regency as the location for their one store in Omaha. Apparently, most of their stores are in affluent neighborhoods. They aren't targeting the long-haired barristas at your local coffee shop who tries to sell artwork to put himself through college but cares about the rainforest, too. No, those people don't have the disposable income to make a reliable customer base, good intentions or not. No, they are a multi-million dollar corporation targeting soccer moms and aging yuppies with a LOT of disposable income that are more than happy to waste it on products that stroke their ego.
"How can you say that my Chevroford Earth Destroyer 3000 4-Ton SUV is destroying the environment? The EPA recently upgraded it from 3 to 4 miles per gallon. I bought an organically grown cantaloupe from Guatemala, you asshole! I CARE about our environment. You WALKED to the corner market and bought tomatoes from NEBRASKA? SO WHAT?! You didn't buy them from the WHOLEFOODS MARKET!"
This article made me feel okay not to like WholeFoods. They always SEEMED a little to slick and well-packaged, but I couldn't put my finger on it until I read it. You want a reason to shop locally? How about a local grocer that actually tries to put back into the community?
The Right of Collective Bargaining
You know how you sit and daydream about things from the past? I was daydreaming today about a movement a couple of years ago by some employees here who began talk of unionizing. Now, I think certain sectors of my industry SHOULD be unionized. Front desk employees and housekeepers, for example, are routinely shit on by the public and are a couple of the lowest paid, hardest working employees in the travel industry. I don't necessarily feel that my particular corner of the travel industry needs to be unionized (although, I still disagree with reducing our raise percentages after 9/11), but I tell myself and everyone over and over that I am a firm believer in peoples' civil liberties. Among those liberties is the right of collective bargaining. No, it's not in the "Bill of Rights," but our government thought enough of it to enact the National Labor Relations Act, which gives employees certain rights when it comes to collective bargaining. All the managers were directed to tell their employees in team meetings what a bad idea unionizing would be. I can't remember exactly what was said, but there was also something about not talking about it on company time or company property, etc., which sounds dangerously close to "management coercion" to prevent unions. I'll be a lot more attentive if this issue arises in the future. I'm still reading the Act to familiarize myself with it and see if some of the boundaries were crossed in the past by management. Like I said, I'm not in any hurry to unionize my field, but I want my coworkers to be able to legally discuss it without fearing their jobs.
As if There Weren't Enough Reasons to Hate Wal-Mart
I stopped shopping at Wal-Mart quite a while ago. There are just too many reasons not to shop there any more. Don't get me wrong, I live paycheck-to-paycheck just like most Americans. However, I also recognize that shopping at Wal-Mart does not present me with enough savings to justify the low employee wages, union-busting, discrimination, child labor, and economic genocide that Wal-Mart creates for a community. Their cashiers can't afford to shop there, either.
Cronyism rears it's ugly head again
Now, Bush's cronies that fail to protect the public ("You're doing a heckuva job, Davy") can't even be bothered to testify before a Senate subcommittee. When will the Senate grow some balls and start "checking and balancing" the Executive branch? This is more and more seeming like the Roman Senate that ended up endlessly debating minor articles, while the emperor grew in power and ended up just bypassing them entirely.
Talk May Lead to Action
Thank god more than 50% of Americans polled now favor impeaching Bush for illegal wiretapping. Osama bin Laden pays attention to our public opinion polls. Hopefully our elected leaders are paying attention, too.
United States Secret Service Uniformed Division
I didn't know this. Apparently, the Patriot Act calls for the creation of a national, uniformed police force. Granted, their jurisdiction would be limited, but it's easier to take small steps and then expand them later. Isn't the abbreviation for the "Secret Service" the SS?
We all do dumb things...
but reading about dumb things other people do is especially fun. This is CNN Money's 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.
I Can't Afford Wholefood
I always wondered why the WholeFoods Market chose Regency as the location for their one store in Omaha. Apparently, most of their stores are in affluent neighborhoods. They aren't targeting the long-haired barristas at your local coffee shop who tries to sell artwork to put himself through college but cares about the rainforest, too. No, those people don't have the disposable income to make a reliable customer base, good intentions or not. No, they are a multi-million dollar corporation targeting soccer moms and aging yuppies with a LOT of disposable income that are more than happy to waste it on products that stroke their ego.
"How can you say that my Chevroford Earth Destroyer 3000 4-Ton SUV is destroying the environment? The EPA recently upgraded it from 3 to 4 miles per gallon. I bought an organically grown cantaloupe from Guatemala, you asshole! I CARE about our environment. You WALKED to the corner market and bought tomatoes from NEBRASKA? SO WHAT?! You didn't buy them from the WHOLEFOODS MARKET!"
This article made me feel okay not to like WholeFoods. They always SEEMED a little to slick and well-packaged, but I couldn't put my finger on it until I read it. You want a reason to shop locally? How about a local grocer that actually tries to put back into the community?
The Right of Collective Bargaining
You know how you sit and daydream about things from the past? I was daydreaming today about a movement a couple of years ago by some employees here who began talk of unionizing. Now, I think certain sectors of my industry SHOULD be unionized. Front desk employees and housekeepers, for example, are routinely shit on by the public and are a couple of the lowest paid, hardest working employees in the travel industry. I don't necessarily feel that my particular corner of the travel industry needs to be unionized (although, I still disagree with reducing our raise percentages after 9/11), but I tell myself and everyone over and over that I am a firm believer in peoples' civil liberties. Among those liberties is the right of collective bargaining. No, it's not in the "Bill of Rights," but our government thought enough of it to enact the National Labor Relations Act, which gives employees certain rights when it comes to collective bargaining. All the managers were directed to tell their employees in team meetings what a bad idea unionizing would be. I can't remember exactly what was said, but there was also something about not talking about it on company time or company property, etc., which sounds dangerously close to "management coercion" to prevent unions. I'll be a lot more attentive if this issue arises in the future. I'm still reading the Act to familiarize myself with it and see if some of the boundaries were crossed in the past by management. Like I said, I'm not in any hurry to unionize my field, but I want my coworkers to be able to legally discuss it without fearing their jobs.
As if There Weren't Enough Reasons to Hate Wal-Mart
I stopped shopping at Wal-Mart quite a while ago. There are just too many reasons not to shop there any more. Don't get me wrong, I live paycheck-to-paycheck just like most Americans. However, I also recognize that shopping at Wal-Mart does not present me with enough savings to justify the low employee wages, union-busting, discrimination, child labor, and economic genocide that Wal-Mart creates for a community. Their cashiers can't afford to shop there, either.
Cronyism rears it's ugly head again
Now, Bush's cronies that fail to protect the public ("You're doing a heckuva job, Davy") can't even be bothered to testify before a Senate subcommittee. When will the Senate grow some balls and start "checking and balancing" the Executive branch? This is more and more seeming like the Roman Senate that ended up endlessly debating minor articles, while the emperor grew in power and ended up just bypassing them entirely.
Talk May Lead to Action
Thank god more than 50% of Americans polled now favor impeaching Bush for illegal wiretapping. Osama bin Laden pays attention to our public opinion polls. Hopefully our elected leaders are paying attention, too.
United States Secret Service Uniformed Division
I didn't know this. Apparently, the Patriot Act calls for the creation of a national, uniformed police force. Granted, their jurisdiction would be limited, but it's easier to take small steps and then expand them later. Isn't the abbreviation for the "Secret Service" the SS?
We all do dumb things...
but reading about dumb things other people do is especially fun. This is CNN Money's 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.
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