Reagan on Unions

We've noted this before, but Ronald Reagan supported collective bargaining and he supported unions. Let's look at the tape:

Ronald Reagan on Unions and Collective Bargaining

Samuel Gompers believed with all his heart that if a worker was properly and fairly paid for his work, he could provide for himself without having to hold out this hand to a caseworker for government-provided benefits. He was a champion of collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining in the years since has played a major role in America’s economic miracle. Unions represent some of the freest institutions in this land. There are few finer examples of participatory democracy to be found anywhere. Too often, discussion about the labor movement concentrates on disputes, corruption, and strikes. But while these things are headlines, there are thousands of good agreements reached and put into practice every year without a hitch.

Part of successful collective bargaining is honest, straightforward exchanges. A number of Presidents have observed that of all the meetings in the Oval Office, the most direct, productive, and useful have been with the leaders of organized labor. Straight talk has always been a feature of these exchanges, and that’s a tradition I want to continue here today. You and I may not always agree, as President Konyha said, on everything, but we should always remember how much we have in common.

I can guarantee you today that this administration will not fight inflation by attacking the sacred right of American workers to negotiate their wages. We propose to control government, not people. Now, today I want to express again my belief in our American system of collective bargaining and pledge that there will always be an open door to you in this administration.

[…]

Some people would have forgotten — except your president very graciously reminded you — that I am the first man to attain this high office who was formerly president of an AF of L - CIO union.

~ Ronald Reagan, 3 September 1981. Remarks in Chicago, Illinois, at the Annual Convention and Centennial Observance of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.

It' important to note that Reagan gave this speech less than a month after firing striking air traffic controllers.

Walker claims he's acting as Reagan would, but the fact of the matter is that Walker does not fundamentally understand how unions fit into Reagan's worldview. Re-read the second to last paragraph quoted above:

I can guarantee you today that this administration will not fight inflation by attacking the sacred right of American workers to negotiate their wages. We propose to control government, not people. 

Scott Walker is proposing to do just the opposite: he's using the levers of government to deny people the right organize for their own economic well-being.

In many of Reagan's other writings, in particular those supporting the Solidarity movement in Poland, the Gipper lays out that unions are a check against government power and abuse. He was incredibly eloquent about reserving a place at the table for unions and that's one of the reasons why there were so many Reagan Democrats, many from union households that supported him. Read the whole speech here.

Peter King has His Moments

Well played:

In the summer of 1989, a small-college tight end from Baker (Kansas) University came home to Pittsburgh to begin a coaching career. He found his way onto the staff at the University of Pittsburgh as an unpaid grad assistant. To support himself, he worked the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift in the toll booth at Exit 5 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (the Allegheny Valley exit), 25 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. His dad, a firefighter, police officer and bar owner near a dying steel mill, raised him to be tough, respectful, hard-working and -- a Steeler fan. Which he was, loving the Steelers as a teenager when they won their four Super Bowls in the '70s.

The toll-taker, Mike McCarthy, will try to break the hearts of everyone back home.

?????

This may be the single most incredible paragraph you will read all year:

As Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported in an excellent 2009 story on Glock, the company's success might also be due to some questionable business practices. The company has come under fire, in a manner of speaking, for making secret political contributions. It has also been accused of dodging taxes and regulations through shell corporations. (Because the company is based in Europe and is privately held, it does not need to disclose nearly as much sales or legal information as a public U.S. company.) Corporate intrigue and violence are part of the picture, too. Gaston Glock's former business associate, a man occasionally known as "Panama Charly," is currently incarcerated in Luxembourg, convicted of taking out a hit on his boss in 1999. (The hitman was a former professional wrestler and, bizarrely, the attempt came not with a handgun but with a large rubber mallet to the head. Glock survived.)

Panama Charly? ... Hitman? ... Former professional wrestler? ... A large rubber mallet?

Go to the link and read the story. It's as good as advertised.

Of Course It Is!

Did you know that Florida's official state song is called -- I shit you not -- "Old Folks at Home"?

Blogging the Civil War

Merry Christmas, nerds!

The American Interest is blogging the Civil War by linking to daily "updates" from the archives of newspapers as they were published 150 years ago. For example: on the morning of December 29th, 2010 AI will feature several articles and op-eds that were published on December 29th, 1860 and so forth.

Very cool stuff. Very cool project.

Your Daily Awesomeness

Bravo.

Han Solo was Supposed to Die?

So says Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back producer/second unit director Gary Kurtz:

“We had an outline [For Return of the Jedi] and George changed everything in it,” Kurtz said. “Instead of bittersweet and poignant he wanted a euphoric ending with everybody happy. The original idea was that they would recover [the kidnapped] Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George then decided he didn’t want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason.”

It's actually a really informative story about the movies' "forgotten man."

[via FD]

Listicles for the Ages

Behold, history's stupidest list.

Who "Won" the World Cup?

Germany.

Soccer and Germany really aren't two things people associate with each other, but Germany has arguably the most storied World Cup of any country in the world, including Brazil (Brazil has won two more Cups than Germany, but the Mannschaft has been to two more semifinals). This year the Germans yet again finished in the top three, but they did so with a young, stylish and incredibly diverse team. Here's Tunku Varadarajan:

I love this German team, which is sinuous and brilliant and fluid and youthful. Deutschland uber alles has morphed into Deutchland-including-alles: Özil is from Turkey, Klose and Podolski are from Poland, Cacau (they call him Hans, of course) from Brazil, Boateng is half-Ghanaian. But fear not, they still have men in their midst called Bastian Schweinsteiger, a central casting Teuton name that would, in previous years, have provoked titters and sniggers, but now passes unnoticed by fans who care only about his bustling, cerebral, muscular brand of German football-engineering. What’s more—and what is most refreshing in this Man’s Game played by so many cheating wusses—the Germans don’t dive or whine or cup their hands before their faces in aggressive supplication each time referee calls a foul on them. They are clean, unclouded spirits, with a simple, refreshing narrative of playing and scoring, of winning without adornment, but with an abundance of style.

They were a blast to watch this tournament, scoring four goals three times in what seemed like an otherwise low-scoring World Cup, and causing more than a few people to ask themselves if there was a German word for joie de vivre was (Freude zu leben, perhaps? It's not a sentiment typically associated with the German people). It looked like a fast break Benetton ad.

The team was nothing short of an international phenomenon.

The sideshow to this year's World Cup was to showcase South Africa's move beyond it's apartheid past, which was the perfect backdrop for a ethnically diverse squad to represent a country ounce dominated by the Aryan ideal. Israelis were enthusiastically and unapologetically sheering for this team. That's no small thing.

Even Paul the Octopus seemed to have a hand in helping the country shed the ghosts of its past. Obviously the story of a prognosticating cephalopod is endearing in and of itself, but its particularly poignant considering that cartoon octopuses (like this one) were used as antisemitic signafiers prior to WWII.

Obviously, not all is as it seems, but the German squad did an amazing job of representing an ideal in a way that perhaps only sports can and will likely be a crowd favorite in 2014. That's something that even soccer-haters can appreciate.

Here's an incredibly catchy ode to Paul the Octopus:


More Winners:

• The United States:

Landon Donavan's goal will justly be celebrated for years to come. Just watch some of these reactions and tell me with a straight face there isn't a market for big time international soccer in America. The game against Ghana drew almost 20 million TV viewers (much more than the LOST finale, for example). There was talk on ESPN about the goal doing wonders for the US bid to host the 2018 and/or 2022 World Cup.

• Japan:

Man, was this team fun to watch. I don't think there was a team at the World Cup that seemed to be having more fun than Japan and it was infectious.

• South American Countries Not Named Brazil or Argentina:

Paraguay and Chile both advanced to the knockout round, while Uruguay recaptured its glory of yore.

• South Africa:

There was a lot riding on the World Cup in South Africa and, at first, it did not look like the country was going to pull it off. There were ticket distribution issues, security guard strikes and the vuvuzelas -- but the organizers were persistent, worked out the kinks and pushed through the problems to host a memorable event.

Epic Losers:

• France:

What a meltdown! I mean, that was nothing short of legendary dysfunction of the variety of which only the French are capable. I guess if you're going to crash and burn you might as well do it with elan and panache ...

• England:

There's little doubt that poor Robert Green will be blamed for England's showing until the end of time, but his teammates never really did much to demonstrate that they were any better than Green's now infamous error.

• Nike:

Cursed!

The End of Comity in the Senate?

Here's an interesting chart over at NPR.com:

CURRENT SENATE SENIORITY

1. Daniel Inouye (D-Haw.) — Jan. 9, 1963

2. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) — Jan. 3, 1975

3. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) — Jan. 4, 1977

4. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) — Jan. 4, 1977

5. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) — Dec. 15, 1978

6. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) — Dec. 27, 1978

7. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) — Jan. 15, 1979

8. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) — Jan. 5, 1981

9. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) — Jan. 5, 1981

10. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) — Jan. 5, 1981

Here's what it was just prior to the 2008 election:

1. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) — Jan. 7, 1959

2. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) — Nov. 7, 1962

3. Inouye

4. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) — Dec. 24, 1968

5. Joe Biden (D-Del.) — Jan. 3, 1973

6. Leahy

7. Lugar

8. Hatch

9. Baucus

10. John Warner (R-Va.) — Jan. 2, 1979

Anything jump out at you?

Daniel Inouye is the last of the pre-Watergate members of the Senate. This crew of legislators have been historically more cordial, collegial and often bipartisan than the gang that followed it. They were old school. Since Dodd and Specter are on their way out, the next two Senators with the most seniority are Bingaman and John Kerry.

In short order the Senate is going to be populated with elder statesmen who came of professional age in a very partisan atmosphere. This was the gang that came of age during the Robert Bork, Clearance Thomas and Iran-Contra hearings, the Culture Wars and Impeachment trials of the '90s. It'll be interesting to see if age inspires them to take up the "wise man" mantle, the kind of legislators who put the institution before party and politics.

My expectations are low.

Are English Soccer Fans the New Boston Red Sox Fans?

What Gideon Rachman says sure sounds familiar:

One of the masochistic pleasures of watching England, however, is the sheer familiarity of the narrative. We build the team up, we convince ourselves that this time we’ve got a real chance, the team get off to a decent start and then it all falls apart. It’s like having a recurring nightmare. And I think the players are as spooked as the fans - you can see their self-belief collapsing, as soon as things start to go wrong.

That sounds Anglo for "Wait until next year..."

[via AS]

The Wealth of American Presidents

Adjusted for inflation.

Classic Ads of the Damned: Robert Lorge, "Cowboys"

A few days ago we noted the instant classic Dale Peterson for Alabama Agriculture Commissioner campaign ad. The spot is being justly praised as an homage to testosterone, but it also reminded us of how this very kind of campaign ad can go terribly, terribly wrong.

So without further ado, I give you a TV spot that supposedly aired in Wisconsin in 2006 (I sure as hell didn't see it on TV). This, ladies and gentlemen, is nothing short of amazing:



You're welcome.

There just waaaaayy too much to talk about with this ad. From the flamingly gay bartender, who actually delivers the line "He's busy doing nothing at all!" (then he's really not all that busy, is he?), to the horrifyingly awful John Wayne impersonation, to the insinuation that there's a United States Senator taking a dump behind a featured door, to the candidate himself seated high atop a horse at the very end.

Now, when most campaign ads are bad, they're merely awful. But this, my friends, is campaign advertising so poor that it accomplishes something I didn't think was possible: it's a political ad that actually achieves camp status.

Just try and watch it only once, I dare you. It's impossible. John Waters himself couldn't do better. Bravo to whomever had the audacity to put this ad together: your filmic bravery truly knows no bounds!

Ads of the Damned: Spots from the Hinterlands

Joe Sestak, "The Switch"

This is the early favorite for best ad of the campaign cycle:

Absolutely brutal. This is basically a digital uppercut that lands square in the jaw. Very effective use of repetition that appears to led credence to suspicions.

Final Grade: A

Young Boozer, "Fiscal Conservative"

Self-deprecating, but not silly, this spot does a good job of capitalizing on a memorable name.

Final Grade: B+

True Republican PAC

The weather vane imagery is great, perhaps not as degrading as John Kerry windsurfing, but still a very effective metaphor -- but all this talk about evolution and the Bible ... is that really a good idea?

Final Grade: Incomplete

Trey Grayson, "Cheering for the Big Blue"

This one a few months old, and apparently didn't help Grayson all that much, but -- and this is to our infinite shame -- we kinda dig this ad, but purely on prurient level.

Final Grade: Incomplete

Was Bush Poisoned in Office?

This is jaw-droppingly astonishing -- from Laura Bush's upcoming memoir:

Her assertion that the U.S. presidential party attending the 2007 G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, might have been poisoned is also eyebrow-raising.

I arrived and began my events, but by the afternoon of [June] seventh, I could barely stand up. Over the next day nearly a dozen members of our delegation were stricken, even George, who started to feel sick during an early morning staff briefing. … [O]ne of our military aides had difficulty walking and a White House staffer lost all hearing in one ear. Exceedingly alarmed, the Secret Service went on full alert, combing the resort for potential poisons. ... The overriding fear was that terrorists had gotten control of a dangerous substance and planted it at the resort. ... [O]ur military aide's gait has never returned to normal, nor has our senior staffer regained full hearing in that ear. The most concrete conclusion any doctors could reach was that we contracted a virus.

I'm dumbfounded.

God = Quo Erat Demonstratum, Bitches

This is simply wonderful. From -- and just try to twist your mind around this -- the Fox News Science section:

A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers say wooden remains they have discovered on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey are the remains of Noah’s Ark.

Notice the discovery was made by evangelicals and not archaeologists or scientists. I wonder from what exalted institution these intrepid explorers hail?

Yeung Wing-Cheung, from the Noah’s Ark Ministries International research team that made the discovery, said: “It’s not 100 percent that it is Noah’s Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it.”

The Noah's Ark Ministries International? Who needs independent verification when you've got the experts on the case!

MORE: Here's a better way of putting it:

Yesterday, when we first saw the Drudge headline that a group claimed to have found Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat, we were skeptical. Not because we don't believe in the biblical story, but because the Evangelical Christian group that says they found it is called "Noah's Ark Ministries International" and, unlike normal archaeology groups, has a vested interest in trying to prove the biblical story of the flood. It would be a little bit like if a Scientology group called, "No Really, Xenu Really Existed" was the one, not a geology group, to find evidence of the hydrogen bombs in Earth's volcanoes that blew up all the thetans.

Still Waiting on Ron Johnson...

The NW has a piece on Ron Johnson this morning. He has his tea party talking points down, but the the most amusing part of the article is here:

Casper also said Johnson, if he runs and is elected, would give Northeast Wisconsin a presence in the Senate for the first time in decades.

"I can't remember the last time we had a senator from the Fox Valley," he said.

I can remember ... It was this guy:


MORE: Here's a rather timely piece from James Wolcott.

"The Republican Party's pell-mell flight from intellectual seriousness is the most worrying problem American party politics faces."

Read.

"Radicalism" and the Aging Left

This is amusing:

"The campus is no longer aboil and the history department is no longer the lure for leftists that it once was. And yet a distinctively Madison radicalism persists." [Progressive Magazine editor Matthew Rothchild] mentions the city's food co-ops, A Room of One's Own, WORT radio, a visible gay and lesbian community, and myriad activist groups, saying that, in a sense, "radicalism has spread wide its roots in the hospitable soil that Madison has always had to offer."

There's really nothing radical about organic food co-ops, feminist book stores and teh Gays anymore in any urban area. What Rothchild calls "radical" is merely considered a "niche market" to folks on Madison Avenue.

There's a popular consensus in Madison that the radicalism of the 1960s -- the kind that Rothchild wants to insist still exists -- died after the Sterling Hall Bombings of 1970. Most folks who can remember that event seem to recall fewer public demonstrations and a student body gradually more interested in sports and other distractions. That's a good thing: the times changes, so did the city and everyone's better for it.