Communism, fascism and democracy ...

Communism and fascism seem to me to have the same ultimate result: making sure workers are completely under the control of management. It seems to make little difference whether management is the government, the party or private industry. Effective slavery is the result.

The US has always had it's proponents for the complete control of workers. But with the T-Bags it's coming to the fore with draconian, or Dicksonian, ferver.

NY Tea Party Platform: Relocate Welfare Recipients to Prison Dorms

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ADDED:
The parallels between the T-Bags increasing attacks on all things muslim is too close to Hitler's sadistically incremental attacks on Jews in Germany for comfort.

The "mosque" debate is not a "distraction"

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ADDED II:
emptywheel writes:

Treasury’s attitude about HAMP is not just evidence they’ve lost all track of who they work for and where the benefits of the economy are supposed to be delivered, but it also suggests that these Treasury folks have lost the most basic notion of capitalism, that if businessmen never pay for bad decisions, they’ll continue to make bad decisions.

I beg to differ. Treasury, as does Obama himself, believe they work for the banksters and other powerful industries.

Elected officials still have to play the election game but money and the corporate controlled media are able to effect sufficient numbers of election campaigns. And when they fail, there's always the Supreme Court who can choose to appoint an embarrassment like Bush to reside in the WH.

Obama, it appears, gave acceptable assurances to the banksters (and others) before he was elected. To get the votes Obama aimed his promises at the fair minded, the liberals, the progressives, the unions, those interested in a responsive and fair government, those who were against these unending wars.

What did Obama do once he was elected? He appointed people who failed to recognize, or actually contributed to, the financial problems of the country. He continued most of Bush's disastrous war and torture policies. He took care to insult most of those who voted for him. His actions and policies appear taken in response to the desires the Robber Barons and the actions of the Crazies.

Oh, the hypocrisy ...

Tearing Up The Contracts

Obama good ...

Nathan Newman points out an Obama Good:

"We have not had a President that so forthrightly identified the health of the nation with the health of the labor movement in many decades."

Now if we could get him to also internalize the critical nature of national health care to the health, both figuratively and literally, of the nation.

Like AARP members ...

... a Midwest Union Local has an enemy in their midst.

AARP has Bill Novelli. Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) has William "Bill" E. Dugan.

Novelli is a know Republican and as his tenure at AARP goes on his Repug credentials are solidifying.

Dugan tells us he's just being smart (is that Bush-smart?) in helping anti-union politicians get elected.

Why Would a Midwest Union Local Support Two Generally Anti-Union Republicans in Governors' Races? -- Part I

And why would this local keep this guy in office for 20 years?

Arizona lost jobs ...

Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Ameriqest Mortgage and now Wells Fargo all cut jobs in Arizona due to the housing mess.

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East Bay Business Times: Wells Fargo to cut 191 jobs in Arizona

Tucson Citizen's Robert Robb misrepresents another issue ...

Robert Robb at the Tucson Citizen equates 'depressed construction wages' with 'liberal' immigration policy.

Liberal policy would be concerned that all workers are able unionize should they choose to and negotiate for fair wages.

It is the business sector that benefits and encourages illegal immigrants.

Instead of raiding businesses for the non-documented our policies and laws should ensure that ALL employees are paid at least the minimum wage, that ALL employees can unionize, that ALL employees have rights and are protected from abuse by employers.

Construction is not the only area of depressed wages. The business community has made much progress in eliminating unions, which I assume Robert Robb knows. It is the business community that benefits from the current immigration mess. Not liberals nor 'liberal' policy.
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Tucson Citizen: Migrants depressing construction wages by Robert Robb

What it took to raid a small Arizona drywall company for illegal immigrants ...

Mark Kimble at the Tucson Citizen presents some figures related to last weeks ICE invasion of a small Arizona business for hiring non-documented individuals.

• 16 month investigation involving multiple organizations
• 200 law enforcement officers serving 11 federal search warrants in 37 locations
• 8 arrests of the companies managers and such
• 10 illegal immigrants arrested

As I have said before, this is not the way to handle this problem. First we need reasonable and fair laws and policies. Draconian enforcement does not improve the situation.

What really amazes me is, given the deterioration of the US employment picture in general, people are still coming to this country illegally to get jobs. That says more about the areas they came from than about the U.S. We cannot solve this problem by ourselves nor by enforcement alone (unless we want to turn the US into one big police state; which I, for one, do not).
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Tucson Citizen: Illegal immigrant roundup a fantasy by Mark Kimble

Employer arrests, but not at WALMART ...

Employer arrests, but not at WALMART ...

Managers and employees of a Sierra Vista, Arizona company, Seven Sun Drywall, were arrested by ICE yesterday. They are reported to have "conspired with fraudulent-document makers to hire and protect dozens of illegal immigrants."

Some of the information in the Arizona Daily Star article implies that managers were warned in December of 2005, through an audit, about hiring illegal entrants.

If the information in this article is correct it appears that this company, like WalMart, knowingly allowed illegal entrants to work for them.

But managers of a small Arizona drywall company are arrested. The illegal entrants will most likely be incarcerated and fed poorly and humiliated until they are shipped out of the country.

This country has put itself in a bind has it not?

When authorities look the other way and allow an underground population of undocumented non-citizens then hysterics rant that 'these people' are using our tax money; that they are on the dole; and that, horror of horrors they actually might get medical care in an emergency.

On the other hand when the laws become so draconian that even 'these people' stay away as happened in Colorado, crops don't get picked and our society looks back to the good ol' days of chain gangs (a fine old southern tradition).

Our lawmakers have allowed non-action, prejudice, fear and stupidity to rule on the immigration front. The United States and a lot of unfortunate people are now paying the price.

Steve Camarota, "director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based organization that seeks to halt illegal immigration" is quoted as follows:

"The administration is trying to show it's serious about enforcement to get its amnesty or legalization," Camarota said.

The culture of acceptance for illegal workers won't change until the agency systematically goes after employers who are hiring illegal immigrants, whether it be five or 500, he said.

"The little fish are in the sea in which the big fish swim," Camarota said. "It's the general contempt for the rule of law, the widespread acceptance of illegal immigration at the small employers that allows the spectacular cases to happen."

Imagine that, a 'general contempt for the rule of law' in this country. No, no, say it ain't so. Not a contempt for the rule of law like outing an undercover FBI agent? Not a contempt for the rule of law like firing a prosecutor who was investigating a Republican, Arizona's own Rick Renzi?

Oh, I get it. The rule of law is for immigrants and small drywall firms and the majority of us.

But those laws don't apply to Bush or his brain. They don't apply to Cheney. They don't apply to WalMart. And though they do still apply on occasion to such as Libby and Renzi, there are ways, aren't there, to get around them if these hanger-ons make themselves useful enough. Fire a prosecutor here, a pardon there ...

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The quotes in this article from: 7 held in crackdown by Brady McCombs, Arizona Daily Star.

For another perspective, than the administrations as voiced through the Star, read

It's time to call it what it is: a policy of mass deportation at Migra Matters.

Arizona shame ...

These four Arizona Republican Congressional Representatives from Arizona voted against the Employee Free Choice Act:

• Jeff Flake (06)
• John Shadegg (03)
• Rick Renzi (01)
• Trent Franks (02)

Democrats Gabrielle Giffords (08), Raul Grijalva (07), Harry Mitchel (05) and Ed Pastor (04) all voter to ensure that Americans have the right to representation in the work place.

To thank or criticize your representative go here.

Another step toward a police state ...

This is really disturbing. A bill that is reported to be 'moving along' in the Arizona legislative process would

"make it a crime for people to stand on street corners and sidewalks while offering to work, or to remain on private property while looking for work."

Get that. Remain on private property while looking for work? What does that mean?

The legislation is another attempt to go after immigrants but with this law the police will have one more tool in their arsenal of laws to harass the homeless, the unemployed, the poor. Who knows who else will get clobbered by such a draconian measure.

I suppose the next step will be to put everyone in prison so they can be used as slave labor. My that would be even cheaper for business (but not the our once great country) than immigrant labor.

Link: Bill Targeting 'day laborers' moves along

Blog for Arizona has a post about the southern-style prison gang proposal in Colorado: Prisoner in the Pumpkin Patch