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"M"'s avatar

Did someone say something about a shooting in North Carolina that appeared in the press and disappeared because it was shoved out of the news cycle by the shooting in Michigan?

"Targeted attack on a dockside restaurant in North Carolina. Three dead. Suspect a former Marine sniper in Iraq and Haiti who tried to sue the US govt for “genocide against straight men by the LGBQT community.”"

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/28/us/southport-yacht-basin-north-carolina-shooting-hnk

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"M"'s avatar

"CEO pay is up 1,094% since 1978, while worker pay is up just 26%.

Why do we always hear "we can't afford to pay our workers more" but never "we can't afford to pay our CEO more"?"

https://bsky.app/profile/rbreich.bsky.social/post/3lzw4usfcw72i

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Michael's avatar

Excellent essay! Thanks for your research. The ILWU have always been heroes of the labor movement precisely because Harry Bridges gave them an uncompromising attitude, that has become tradition.

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Zyxomma's avatar

For listeners of A Jet Age Sound: We're back in our regular time slot, ten p.m. to midnight eastern. You can hear us at wioxradio.org by clicking the button that says "listen live," and if you have sound problems, reload the page. We'll be on the movie thread when we get back.

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Virgin Monk Boy's avatar

The shippers locking out longshoremen in 2002 was like Wall Street bros thinking they could out-drink sailors. Spoiler: the guys with forklifts, callouses, and union cards mopped the floor with them. Bush stepped in, sure, but only because Christmas toys and military tanks were stacking up like Jenga blocks.

And the ending? Workers got six-figure paychecks and bigger pensions, while management got a lesson in “don’t mess with people who can shut down the entire Pacific Rim.”

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easelox is on timeout's avatar

they some badass mother fuckers

respect

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Saviour of Bread's avatar

Ok sheeple, the final of the Lady Chase the Egg was today and the favourites won. I’m normally ABE but they put on a great competition, crowds were huge and it was an excellent demonstration of rugby and inclusion. Chapeau.

https://youtu.be/VzSxPyIatsk?feature=shared

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Parakeetist's avatar

"Not available in (my) country"

Crimony. Drat. :(

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Stephanie Hobbs's avatar

And after he shuts down the government and lays of 10,000 people, they'll love him even more.

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"M"'s avatar

Really REALLY wish people would stop talking about this like it's a fait accompli

Danielle & Jared talk about building a structure where a foundational assumption is

"I have responsibility to make this stop"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miqwVoTbJfo&t=1s

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Prometheus59650's avatar

"I'm going to say something that's going to make this table and this audience very upset, but I want to tell the unvarnished truth," Griffin said. "I think if the election were re-held today, Donald Trump would win by the same if not a bigger margin."

The studio audience audibly groaned over the assessment, with Behar even jumping in to ask, "How do you say that, though?"

Griffin explained her stance that "this country is so deeply polarized," while acknowledging that "if you hated him before, you hate him even more now," and that "there are definitely people who are having some buyer's remorse" over electing him.

"But there's a poll today that shows on the top issues people voted on, they still trust Republicans more," she said, without naming the survey. "We are literally a 48-48 country, and then this little percentage in the middle that goes either way."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/view-audience-groans-over-alyssa-160825960.html

***

I'd like to say she's wrong.

But I don't think she is.

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Alternative Dog's avatar

People are remarkably ignorant. Most Americans believe crime is worse today than it was four years ago. That is categorically false. They believe their economic woes are due to poor people living large at the taxpayer's expense which is, of course, complete nonsense. As long as they continue to digest the propaganda force fed to them by corporate media, they will continue to vote against their own interests.

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Zap's avatar

It’s been that way for as long as I remember and I’m old.

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Pauly2coffees's avatar

I think that a third of the country is completely nuts and a third is completely apathetic about it. There is no easy explanation for how a country would elect someone who led an insurrection four years earlier.

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Alternative Dog's avatar

Regarding labor unions and TFG, remember that Archie Bunker was a union member.

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WannabeWonk's avatar

There was the Hard Hat Riot of 1970 where construction workers and office workers attacked students protesting the Vietnam War. Some things just don't change.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_Riot

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Marty Smit's avatar

“office workers attacked students”

So, it’s not all union workers.

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WannabeWonk's avatar

That matters a hell of a lot

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Marty Smit's avatar

Oft cited by economists and labor studies done by universities.

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aktlib101's avatar

"Justice Thomas signals during speech the court is open to tossing aside prior rulings"

https://www.rawstory.com/clarence-thomas-2674047605/

"In a rare public appearance, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas hinted that the nation’s highest court may very well be considering tearing up legal precedents that have been in effect for decades, and some nearly a century old.

"At some point we need to think about what we're doing with stare decisis," Thomas said, according to a Saturday report from ABC News. "And it's not some sort of talismanic deal where you can just say 'stare decisis' and not think, turn off the brain, right?"

Good. If the next Democratic president doesn't remove the 6 rightwing assholes on the SC and deports them to El Salvador (because, you know, there are no precedents to be followed) he/she won't be doing the job properly.

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WannabeWonk's avatar

Utilize presidential immunity to the fullest!

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Parker Leo Blinsky's avatar

The relationship between the DNC and unions over the past 50 years has been a microcosm of why the Democrats have lost ground to groups that used to traditionally support them in overwhelming numbers.

Whenever Republicans have the chance, they are absolutely relentless and not only take a flamethrower to organized labor and workers rights, and then they use a steamroller to pulverize the ashes.

Meanwhile, the Democrats, not wanting to be seen as a bunch of radical socialist and/or upset their big money business donors who actually benefit from anti union policies, carry out at best a few half measures that have few tangible benefits and does very little to undo the destruction caused by the GOP. All the while saying “We don’t really do much to help you, but we’re still better than the Republicans. Vote for us!”

Just another way Democrats sabotaged themselves with their arrogance that their core supporters would always vote for them regardless of their repeated failure to deliver big victories.

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Michael's avatar

Agree with you Parker. I sat at a table once with some other SEIU reps. Across the table was a Democrat congresswoman. I asked her why wasn't her party getting behind our union's strike since labor had so long been allies of the Democrats? She just glared at us and then went into talking about intelligent tactics.

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Hollysdower's avatar

AGREED, organized labor's response to Trump has been pathetic!

Is there any way to start a union, not based on employment, just one every American could join and pay like $5 a month in dues. Our demands would be socialized healthcare, free education, $20/hr minimum wage, all the good things. I just can't figure out how such a union could strike.

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WannabeWonk's avatar

The Wobblies are still around. From their website:

"Who can join the IWW?

As long as you are a worker — not an employer — you can join the IWW. Members of other unions (except officers), students, retirees, the unemployed, the self-employed, those in informal professions, and those unable to work may also join. To us, you are all workers."

https://www.iww.org/membership/

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Michael's avatar

One Big Union my friend. Then General Strike!

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Pexas Teat's avatar

Sectoral unions are a similar idea. Narrower than what you are proposing, but not employer-based.

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ManchuCandidate's avatar

Taxpayers Union

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Hollysdower's avatar

Why aren't they doing anything about Trump, then?

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ManchuCandidate's avatar

A lot of them are MAGAts

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Hollysdower's avatar

Why are they even IN a union, then?

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blueicebank's avatar

OT. Now doing my nicely seasoned fries. It's a four batch job for the iron skillet. Sharing with two gals. Me and girlfriend get the remoulade dipping sauce. The other gal don't want any of that French fancy sauce, anyway.

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Prometheus59650's avatar

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XfR3PeCTi-M

Get a load of this guy...

Yeah...Motherfucker? I haven't seen a Food Stamp book in 40 years.

Try again.

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Hollysdower's avatar

I'm on EBT (food stamps). We get cards now that you swipe at the checkouts. The last time I had physical stamps was in the late 90s

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Hollysdower's avatar

And also? Like that fucker would know a Gucci bag if he saw one

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Pauly2coffees's avatar

Don’t you need one to carry your lobster and steak in?

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Hollysdower's avatar

LOL

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blueicebank's avatar

Anyone old enough to remember when gas stations gave out those green stamps? Not sure we ever accumulated enough to cash in for anything we liked.

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Prometheus59650's avatar

Yeah, my mom got them from the gas station and one of the supermarkets around where I grew up.

There were three of them in my small town of 20K.

Before BigBoxzilla destroyed them.

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Snarfyguy's avatar

I remember pasting the stamps into a book with my mom when I was little.

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EyeQueue's avatar

I do! I LOVED that. When I filled up a bunch of books my Mom and Dad took me to the S&H Greenstamps store to pick out my reward. I can't remember now what it is. It was some kitchen gadget (and my mom probably doesn't remember, either).

I was like 6. XD XD XD

And memory works in strange ways. I can still picture that fucking Green Stamps store like a picture, but can't remember what I traded my stamps for. :(

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Pauly2coffees's avatar

I remember all of my relatives doing this. I think you got them at the A&P store.

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EyeQueue's avatar

Yeah, I can't remember which grocery store it was at. :(

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Pauly2coffees's avatar

My late mother was on food stamps back in the early 1970s after my father abandoned her with five young children to raise. All I can remember about it is her having endless battles with nosy social workers about how she was doing it and running out of food at the end of the month.

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Prometheus59650's avatar

Yeah....especially back then, the workers seemed to genuinely believe that you were actually given enough to live on.

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Pauly2coffees's avatar

I think they deliberately made her miserable so that she would get off of them as soon as possible, which is what she did.

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Prometheus59650's avatar

That, too.

No shortage of workers who are in it for the "trying to catch you in fraud, ha-ha," and general shaming.

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ManchuCandidate's avatar

Cool story, brah.

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onedollarjuana's avatar

What are they burning for fuel?I thought diesel was pretty non- explosive by itself, and bunker fuel is not explosive at all. Right?

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Saviour of Bread's avatar

Diesel plus fertiliser = explosive.

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Monsieur Grumpe's avatar

tRump has shit on unions his whole life.

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Zap's avatar

He shits on everyone who isn’t T.rump.

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Pauly2coffees's avatar

Workers in general.

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