Future of the Labor Movement - Andy Stern

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/magazine/30STERN.html

Times magazine article, featured on the cover, so pretty much everyone will be commenting on it. I'm wondering why a union leader is a "boss" while a corporate leader is an officer or executive.

BrooklynDodger knows that Stern dissolved his health and safety department. So, it will be a while before Andy Stern gets the Dodger's vote.

Discourse - Words the Dodger must Search for on the Internet

BrooklynDodger observes that scientific and medical discourse is conducted with vocabulary the rest of the community is not supposed to understand. For doctors, being able to converse in front of a patient without the patient knowing what they are talking about is a side benefit of the vocabulary.

The Dodger has been trying to lace his technical discussions with vocabulary from philosophy or literary criticism, in addition to the more usual profanities. Others may wish to help the Dodger collect more than the paltry list below; frequently the Dodger has to use google even to get the spelling, much less a definition.

Deracinated (14,000 google hits)
Semiotics (625,000)
Hermeneutics (525,000 google hits, once google corrected the Dodger's spelling)

The Dodger left out Deconstruction (966,000 hits) because the Dodger thinks it's too complicated to understand.

Another Thing We Haven't Gotten Over

FCC Dismisses 36 Indecency Complaints as Not 'Patently Offensive'
By Frank AhrensWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, January 25, 2005; Page E01

"In related news yesterday, Fox said it would rename a sports-talk show that
appears on its cable channel, FSN, when it airs during Fox's network Super
Bowl
broadcast on Feb. 6. The nighttime show, called "Best Damn Sports Show
Period"
will be called "Best Darn Super Bowl Road Show Period."

"We
decided to adjust the title for Super Bowl Sunday simply because
what's
appropriate for cable television isn't necessarily appropriate for
broadcast
television," said Fox Sports spokesman Lou D'Ermilio."

Meanwhile, have you seen the Levitra commercials they are broadcasting? They are hot.

Triangulation or Strangulation

BrooklynDodger was in a meeting today where serious liberals were lamenting the impact of gay marriage (freedom of choice) and abortion (reproductive rights) on the election, more or less wishing those issues had gone away and the Democrats had won a southern state or two.

To which we could add affirmative action, gun control, school prayer.

So I thought, if we changed our position on all those issues, we could be Republicans and then we would have won the election and felt much better.

Someone else said, we didn't have to win in the South, we only had to win Ohio. And at some point, there's a reason some people live in NY and California and Illinois, and don't move to Texas (outside of Austin).

When liberals say people [actually, Reagan Democrats] vote that social issue stuff instead of their economic interest, actually, they don't perceive their economic interest that way.

First, there's a bunch of economic stuff like right to victim protection through product liability and malpractice litigation, worker's compensation, environmental protection that shifts jobs, minimum wage, and well funded public schools, where there's an association between conservative social positions and pro-business postures.

And all kinds of social insurance and public services depend on taxes being collected. And anti-tax has won completely.

The Dodger thinks our problem is not the social conservative agenda overcoming economic interest, but that we have lost the argument on economic interest.

Diet Sweeteners

The other day, BrooklynDodger started thinking about which artificial sweetener to use. The Dodger remains convinced that saccharine is carcinogenic. Aspartame (Nutrasweet, the blue stuff) is a dipeptide, meaning it is hydrolized to two amino acids, and so might be neuroactive and cause something like chinese restaurant syndrome [an effect of glutamic acid, another essential amino acid, the product of MSG]. The natural foods people are concerned about aspartame and formaldehyde, but symptoms are more likely coffee house syndrome from the amino acids.

So, what about sucralose [Splenda, the yellow stuff]? Sucralose is made by reacting sugar with chlorine in some unspecified way. BrooklynDodger is not chlorinophobic, as some in the environmental community, but still there is a concern of a new compound.

The Dodger imagined a conversation with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Dodger: Is sucralose OK in coffee?

CSPI: Why do you need sweetener in your coffee?

Dodger: Coffee without sweetener is too bitter.

CSPI: Why drink coffee?

Dodger: Picks me up in the morning.

CSPI: Why don't you go to sleep earlier?

Imagine the Dodger's surprise when the Dodger checked the CSPI website and found that sucralose was ok?

Maybe sucralose is so polar that even though chlorinated it has a short residence time.

Nixon or Vixen: Linguistic Deracination

Maybe it's American slang which causes this linguistic deracination. Wonkette was denounced as a "vixen" according to an article she posted to her website. I thought I knew what that meant, but I looked it up:

Main Entry: vix·en Pronunciation: 'vik-s&nFunction: nounEtymology: (assumed) Middle English (southern dialect) vixen, alteration of Middle English fixen, from Old English fyxe, feminine of fox

1 : a shrewish ill-tempered woman
2 : a female fox

So, basically vixen applied to a woman used to be pejorative. But, given that "fox" is now basically a good thing for a female person to be, or at least foxy, vixen is now ambiguous about whether it's a compliment or a rank.

At Catholic University, the Right to Life ends at Birth

For once a free speech controversy that's not at Columbia, and one in which the minority opinion raises a point.

Gingrich Speech at CU Opposed
Event Would Violate School Policy, Some Students Contend
By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff WriterSaturday, January 22, 2005; Page B02

"Newt Gingrich's scheduled speech at Catholic University next week is prompting criticism from students who contend that the appearance would violate the school's policy barring speakers who have espoused positions contrary to Vatican teachings.

"Frank Lankey Jr., 20, political director for the College Democrats, said that Gingrich's support for the death penalty and his extramarital affair in the 1990s contradict church teachings and should prohibit him from appearing.

"Last fall, organizers of an Italian film festival considered inviting actor-director Stanley Tucci to their event, but Catholic University officials objected because of his support for abortion rights organizations.

***
"Victor Nakas, the university's spokesman, denied that Gingrich's appearance violates the speaker policy, though he declined to explain the substance of the regulations. In remarks yesterday, Nakas said that Gingrich's support for the death penalty does not put him in conflict with church teachings because "there's no absolute prohibition. There's nothing that says that capital punishment is necessarily forbidden." As for Gingrich's personal relationships. Nakas said: "He's not a public advocate for adultery. That's the distinction."

***

"Last year, the university prohibited students from opening a local chapter of the NAACP because of the organization's support for abortion rights. After student protests, the university's president, the Rev. David M. O'Connell, reversed the decision. "

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

BrooklynDodger especially likes the distinction between committing a sin – apparently OK – and advocating that others commit the sin – apparently not OK, even if you don’t actually commit the sin. This is not unlike the middle Democrat position, of being personally opposed to abortion [usually from guy Democrats, who would at most be bystanders], but not wanting to make it illegal. The Dodger is sure there is a theological explanation for this, and hopes to see it posted.

Pistons Knocking in the Back Court

Both the Orlando and Milwaukee losses [on the road] featured the Pistons being lit up by the opposing 2 guards: Steve Francis and Mike James. The Milwaukee game would have been very different had James been playing for the Pistons, as he did last year. It was more painful because they shut down Redd [although, maybe what they were doing to shut down Redd was helping James?]

It appeared to me that Brown's solution to no credible second unit 3 is to go to a three guard set when Tayshaun sits down. But Hamilton really looks small next to a legitimate 3. McDyess certainly makes the 4-5 rotation work.

The recent games also featured a new version of Teyshaun Prince. If Prince were to play at this level during the playoffs [who really cares that much about the regular season, except for entertainment on a weekday night], and the Pistons were to cure the second unit guard problem, we could have confidence.

Wrestling with Prayers

BrooklynDodger wonders whether God would root for Lincoln High School if the wrestlers didn't pray? If they are not praying to win, but just to wrestle to the best of their ability [which is the way around the absurdity of God intervening in the match] would that give them an edge over godless Ann Arbor? Assuming that the coach believes that God answers the wrestlers' prayers, wouldn't he be justified in benching the non bencher?

The worst of it is the poll result at Click On Detroit:


A public high school coach was ordered to stop leading his team in prayer, but the school district says the prayers were voluntary. Should he be allowed to lead his team in prayer?
Choice
Votes
Percentage of 1000 Votes
Yes. As long as the prayers are not mandatory.
921
92%
No. A team prayer should not be organized in a public school.
79
8%


http://www.freep.com/news/metro/aclu20e_20050120.htm

Ypsilanti coach ordered to stop prayers
ACLU threatens his district with lawsuit
January 20, 2005
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKIFREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER


A coach won't be leading his Ypsilanti team in prayer anymore.
The Lincoln High School wrestling coach was ordered to cut the prayers Wednesday after the school district received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union advising the district to stop the prayers or face a lawsuit.
The wrestling coach was leading a prayer after practices or before meets. Participation wasn't mandatory, but the whole team participated. The coach, Daren Schaller, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Maybe the Conspiracy Theorists Are Right About the Election

So the media have released a report that the exit polls did show Kerry winning. BrooklynDodger, not having seen the report, still wonders whether the change in results was a time of day phenomenon, with white, married people voting later than others. The Times account suggests that exit pollers approached younger people rather than older, to skew the results, but the statistical model should have taken care of this.

The alternative explanation is that the exit polls - asking people how they thought they voted - are a more accurate depiction of how they wanted to vote than the votes. This was certainly the case in Florida in 2000, where even in the absense of the butterfly ballot, Kerry won the election [and the Presidency.] Next comes the question of mechanism, especially in Ohio. Was it machines and computer fraud, or did the Democrats simply vote wrong more than Republicans?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/politics/20exit.html?oref=login

Social Security Deform and Private Accounts

Why does the press call the Bush proposed changes "reform." There's no argument these proposals are change, but reform carries the implication of change in a postive direction. Restructuring is maybe the best neutral word. But deform is the most accurate word.

The argument for private accounts is that investments would bring greater return than buying US Treasury bonds. That greater return could also be achieved by investing the trust fund in a diversified portfolio [which would carry greater risks] rather than just Treasury Bonds.

That strategy, just like private accounts, would reduce demand and thus raise the interest rate for treasury bonds. This in turn would raise returns for risk averse investors who buy Treasuries, and also increase the budget deficit by raising cost of debt service.

BrooklynDodger notes that increasing the deficit is a consistent Bush strategy for crippling public services.

Election Demographics

Information technology marched forward when the NY Times published a profile of the vote in an excel spreadsheet:

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20041107_px_ELECTORATE.xls [take that, Corel users]

Bottom line, white protestants for Bush, 67-32. Over $200,000 family income, 63-35 for Bush.

Among other observations, the majority of those with graduate degrees voted Kerry, those with only bachelor's voted for Bush. This may be a reflection of teachers, nurses and social workers, who mostly have graduate degrees.

Nevertheless, the majority of white women voted for Bush. The majority of married people of both genders and all races combined voted for Bush, and the margin between men and women among the married was pretty narrow.

You can make a theory that people who have more personal resources vote for Bush, people more dependent on social insurance voted Kerry. The anomaly is those with graduate training.

Wild Carded - Shooting the Moon

BrooklynDodger wants to know the methods and observations to be used to distinguish "excessive" celebration from celebration during a football game. If it was worth a fine, why not a penalty?

Actually, BrooklynDodger found Randy Moss' and other Vikings hairdo's for the game to be a nice homage to Ben Wallace: fear the 'fro.

From the Detroit News: What did you think about Randy Moss' mooning gesture after he scored a touchdown Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Choice Votes Percentage of 3179 Votes

It was obscene. 483 15%

It was tasteless. 1840 58%

It was actually kind of funny. 744 23%

Other 112 4%

What's Wrong with the Pistons?

Most commentary on the Piston's non-champion style start, including the comments by the players, focus on subjects like motivation, working together, and learning. Maybe a little is said about missing Ben Wallace for a bunch of games. Little is focused on the main source of the problem.

Comparing last year's to this year's personnel, we see a huge change in the second unit. The forecourt subs used to be Williamson and Okur. Okur was really the small forward, and Williamson the power forward posting up. They are gone. Mcdyess plays more like the 4. He's all around better than Williamson. They miss Okur's defense. There really isn't anyone in the second unit 3 slot, and the rotation is down one one. Campbell is the backup 5, but they don't use him often. Similarly, Mike James is gone from the backup 2. Delfino is now hurt, and face it, his defense was really a project; James was very strong on defense and could also shoot the 3-ball.

So instead of making up ground with the second unit as in 2004, the 2005 Pistons lose ground. And the weakness is especially on defense. That's why they are giving up 100's regularly, rather than pitching 80 point games

Wild Carded - Ye of Little Faith Miss the Comeback

So, Saturday night BrooklynDodger had the Jets game on, muted, and we had people for dinner. The political discussion at the table got monopolized by a discussion of judicial nominees and whether to filibuster all or some, and whether it was a mass issue or not.

So BrooklynDodger drifted back and forth to the TV; actually, I thought, you don’t miss much from either, just like flipping from a movie to the game and back. Then, I saw Drew Brees nearly sacked, the fourth down pass fall harmlessly to the ground, and the Jets win. Coming back later, I see the Chargers with 1st and goal because of a roughing penalty for something that looked about like what happens in the NBA over a contested rebound. And tie the game going into overtime. Discussion went on, and I saw the Chargers driving to what was surely a chip shot field goal, so I turned it off with the Jets surely lost.

Next day, listening to Packers-Vikings, I hear the field goal was missed and the Jets won. Speaking of Packers, despite beating BrooklynDodger's Giants twice in the playoffs in the old NFL, they never made it to the top of my hated list like the Cowboys [my favorite team in football remains whoever is playing the Cowboys, more satisfying than either a Giants, Jets or Lions win.] [Even the Redskins]. But watching the Packers and Vikings, the question comes why none of my teams have a receiver who can get open, while these guys have bunches of them.

Indecent Football

The Detroit News asked for comment on whether the Janet Jackson incident at last year's superbowl had changed viewers plans for their children in this year's game. What a crock. Then, I saw the Levitra commercial during the Eagles-Vikings playoff. If anyone questioned the bogosity of the FCC, that commerical should do it. About the most explicit discussion of a partner's sexual "performance" from an actor who gave a pretty clear projection that she enjoyed it. Do you think a kid might ask daddy about what she meant by "erectile disfunction?"