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Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:54:08
KNWA: News organization doesn't seem to haven't gotten the news on Fayetteville's mayoral race
The other night KNWA (Channel 24) ran a piece on how “all four” mayoral candidates use either MySpace or Facebook to reach out to Fayetteville voters.
All four???
If you are guessing that Adam Fire Cat didn’t make the cut as far as KNWA was concerned, you’d be right. Just how hard would it be for these folks to pick up a newspaper, now and then?
When you couple that with the anchor on KFSM mangling Lioneld Jordan’s first name a few weeks ago, maybe this time around we shouldn’t complain too much if television news just does their usual stalwart job of covering:
SPORTS
car wrecks
SPORTS
sex scandals
SPORTS
******
The Leslee Wright Game
Not to leave KHOG out of the mix this morning - I have a new game I play at my house, which provides me hours of fun, and gives Tracy some amusement, as well. We watch a different local news program every night at 5pm (we choose that hour because there are is no sports segment), and on the nights we watch Channel 29, I like to play a little game.
I try to gauge just when Leslee Wright is about to come out with one of her inane giggles, and I giggle along with her. This amuses my wife, and confuses my dogs.
One must feel pity for Wright on the nights that Craig Cannon is not in the studio - the nights when she must pretend to be a professional journalist, and not a junior high student on laughing gas.
*****
Good idea, Nancy Allen
What a great suggestion by Fayetteville alderman Nancy Allen, who has proposed an A-frame signage (also known as sandwich boards) option for local businesses. Who could possibly object?
Well, the “Let’s turn Fayetteville into Disney Land” crowd,” maybe. But folks who have their feet firmly planted on planet earth should see this as a breath of fresh air.
****
CSI Deathwatch
William Petersen leaving CSI? Yes, indeed, after episode 10 in the coming season. Any bets on how long the show will last after that?
***
On the Air - Kabin Thomas
Running the 2006 interview with Kabin Thomas, the UA music instructor who was canned for his colorful language in the classroom. Now that John “Must Destroy the Arts” White is out of the picture, maybe the UA will have a turnaround when it comes to art.
This is an instructive interview for those who think that all was well during White’s tenure.
Show times:
Monday - 7pm
Tuesday - noon
Saturday - 6pm
As always, C.A.T. is on Channel 18 on the COX line-up in Fayetteville, though you can get a copy of the show by contacting the station.
***
Ah, Travis McGee - I miss you still
Good books and their characters are like old friends; it’s good sometimes just to spend some time with a character you haven’t been with in a long time. Recently I reread the last of the Travis McGee mystery novels, “The Lonely Silver Rain,” which was written in 1985. Author John D. MacDonald still delivers, two decades after his death.
I especially recommend the Travis McGee novels for those who used to enjoy Robert B. parker’s Spenser novels - before they became pale imitations of each other.
Film buffs take note: There have been two films derived from the McGee series. “Darker Than Amber” stars Rod Taylor, and a TV movie, “Travis McGee” - based on ‘The Dreadful Lemon Sky” - starred Sam Elliot.
**
Quote of the Day - Cancel my subscription, sir!
There is a certain kind of guy who basically has no real control over his life. The only time he can express himself is to cancel a magazine subscription. You see, he doesn't have to go face-to-face with anybody to do that and it sort of compensates for the rest of his gutless life.
All I can say is good riddance to any subscriber who dumps a magazine because he disagrees with one article. Disagree if you must, but don't tuck your tail between your legs and run away. - Ross Murray, Letters column, In These Times, October 2, 2000
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 10:59:21
The Guns of Heaven
Some years ago I went to one of those events Northwest Arkansas likes to hold on a regular basis - a Gun and Knife Show. For those who have not gone, or who turn their noses up at such things, it’s an interesting experience. What’s really fascinating for me is looking over the material on our old friends in the Militia of Washington County - especially the following line:
The militia tells us that it will not be disarmed under any circumstances, and that any "conspiracy" will be met by force.
Whoa!
That sort of fell apart when Wayne Fincher had his legal problems, and was sent to prison. Actually, you can’t even find mention of the handbook anymore on the Militia’s website - http://www.arkansasmilitia.com. - nor can you find a list of members, as it once featured.
Go figure.
This is an excerpt from “Ozark Mosaic” - a book no household should be without!
The Guns of Heaven
Recently it was my pleasure to attend a gun show at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Though I have not had a gun in my home since the early l980s, when I almost shot a man, I still enjoy target shooting, and appreciate well-crafted weapons. This was the first time in my life l had attended such an exhibition, however, and it was somewhat on the surrealistic side.
As a society, we have differing views of gun owners, and most of them are based in reality. There is, for example, the average owner, concerned about the rising crime rate, and the dangers becoming more apparent in daily life, who owns a gun for protection. The majority of these men and women are responsible individuals, and so are not the ones we read about in the newspapers.
Then there are the serious collectors, those for whom gun owning is a rather expensive hobby. l have seen some of these collections, and they can be impressive, though sometimes disquieting. And then, of course, there are those who are actively preparing for the breakdown of society, and the coming of a "dog-eat-dog" world.
At the gun show, I saw all three types represented. Most seemed to be like myself and the friend who accompanied me, merely curious. As a culture, of course, we have a fascination with weapons of all kinds, and our popular culture depicts wild-eyed, sweat drenched men and women, designer clothes askew, clutching those hot, hard, metal rods, seeking the next recipient of their molten load.
But some obviously lived on the fringes of rationality, only visiting civilization for victuals and ammunition. As one dealer admitted to me, he was "making money off people's paranoia." And paranoia seemed to be the order of the day, as booth after booth offered handguns with laser sights, swords, bayonets, and your basic back yard army set.
Books and pamphlets warned of the encroaching "New World Order," a scheme cooked up by Satan, the United Nations, and those gremlins from the Kremlin. And, of course, the ever growing power of the federal government in people's lives. (It may be interesting to remember that, prior to Bill Clinton's presidency, most liberals encouraged people not to trust the government. Since then, of course, they can't seem to understand why people would entertain such thoughts.)
Want to know how to make a bomb? Check out the next gun show coming to your town. Want a recipe book, so that your meals don't get boring out there in the hills while you're making those raids on United Nations troops holding American cities hostage? Want to buy tapes from Mark Koernke, mad guru of the short-waves, warning of the infamous New World Order?
Have we got a show for you!
An interesting pamphlet called "The American Christian" reveals to us that the "true Christian image" is not the traditional angel, wearing a peace symbol (?) and surrounded by goofy word balloons uttering that dangerous phrase, "love," but rather a stalwart fellow pushing a plow with one hand and clutching a flintlock rifle with the other.
lt also features the "Anti-Thought-Control Dictionary," which tells us that the word love has been corrupted to mean, "Sexual attraction toward (and/or sexual engagement with) another person, regardless of sex, race or age."
This issue of race was of serious concern to some of those who had tables in the hall. I was able to buy a bumper sticker that proclaimed, "Work - it's the white thing to do." Hey, goes without saying. Further down the aisle, I saw a plump fellow with a scraggly beard, wearing a t-shirt announcing, "Property of KKK athletic department." If they were all built like him, the only Olympic event they'd qualify for would be the 50 yard buffet dash.
I saw a young black man ushering two small children before him down an aisle, and I felt ashamed.
The high point of the day (after handling a handgun affixed with a laser sight - that infamous red dot you see in the movies doesn't always appear, by the way) was my encounter with the gentlemen from the Militia of Washington County, who were represented by men who seemed very nice. For the princely sum of three dollars, I bought their handbook, which details their aims and motives.
The militia claims the duty to "restore" the Constitution, which has been stolen by socialist enemies within the government who threaten the churches with unjust laws (a reference to the Reverend Jay Cole's troubles some years ago?), unlawfully aborted children, and legalized perversion of all sorts. Environmental protection is also one of the evils the government has
put upon us.
The militia tells us that it will not be disarmed under any circumstances, and that any "conspiracy" will be met by force. In bold print is the following:
Warning!
10. The Militia shall consider any attempt by members of City, State, or federal government to disarm the people to be a Provocation, an act of Rebellion, Insurrection, Treason and War against the Free People of the United States of America . . .
Three to five thousand rounds of ammunition should be considered minimum for any .household concerned with civil unrest or the possibility of a foreign government taking over our shores. A letter from the Militia to law enforcement officers of Washington County proclaims that the "patriots" in the militia will begin reclaiming and enforcing Constitutional rights by "Armed Force of the Militia" if necessary. Like many throughout history, the Militia seems intent on obeying (and enforcing) only those laws that they approve of, and to hell with the rest.
Not to be confused with those brutish thugs who would inflict their own brand of law upon their fellow Americans, those in the Militia also have a soft, sensitive side. Wayne Fincher, author of this weighty tome, also writes poetry, though not about anything as unmanly as loving your neighbor, or trees, or those confusing forks in the road. No, the Walt Whitman of the Militia of Washington County, in his poem entitled "Tyrants Beware" (and literary critics too, I suspect) wrote the following verse:
And from our schools, all knowledge of our God and Savior must go,
replaced by a socialist, New World Order, ruled by the thugs of NATO.
Referring to those damned English, no doubt.
Of course, it is always possible that these men and women, intent as they are on exposing the gay socialist environmentalists who have taken over our country, are simply a couple cans short of a six-pack.
Not quite in the militia category are those one issue voters who are also concerned about gun laws. Though law-abiding, many seem consumed by their passion, and totally uninformed about anything else. These are the people who really think that the wealthy republicans elected to office last November are somehow part of a populist reformation.
Leaving the exhibit hail, I passed a table where a man was selling swords. Most were copies of swords that had helped make history. One in particular caught my eye, and as I hefted it, I asked what it was modeled on.
"It's a Klingon sword from Star Trek III," the dealer told me proudly. I began looking around for the much vaunted Klingon Bible, but it was not to be seen.
It kind of makes you long for the day when Fayetteville has its own exhibition hall, doesn't it? We can have militia members and KKK athletes roaming our streets in broad daylight, hawking their enlightened ideas and making a buck in the process.
Ozark Gazette - June 26, 1995
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 09:06:17
A whole world of meanings in street names?
I’ve been looking at police reports lately, and wondering about street names. As in - do more upscale areas get fancier names - Lover’s Lane, Coody Estates (that one doesn’t exist - yet), and streets where the more unsightly among us live have names like Arrowhead Lane, Nickel Street, or Always One Paycheck Away From Homelessness Street?
How do streets get their names, anyway? Why do some names cry out, “Urban-Royalty lives here,” and others reek of poverty?
******
Suicide Spreads as One Solution to the Debt Crisis - A grim sign of the times
This was on the Alternet site this morning. Probably won’t get a whole lot of play on the nightly news.
Suicide Spreads as One Solution to the Debt Crisis
By Barbara Ehrenreich, Barbaraehrenreich.com. Posted July 29, 2008.
A few days before Congress passed its Housing Bill, Carlene Balderrama of Taunton MA found her own solution to the housing crisis. Just a little over two hours in advance of the time her mortgage company, PHH Mortgage Corporation -- may its name live in infamy -- was to auction off her home, Balderrama killed herself with her husband's rifle.
This is not the kind of response to hard times that James Grant had in mind when he wrote his July 19 Wall Street Journal essay entitled "Why No Outrage?" "One might infer from the lack of popular anger," the famed Wall Street contrarian wrote, "that the credit crisis was God's fault rather than the doing of the bankers and the rating agencies and the government's snoozing watchdogs." For contrast, he cites the spirited response to the depression of the 1890s, when lawyer/agitator Mary Lease stirred crowds with the message that "We want the accursed foreclosure system wiped out .... We will stand by our homes and stay by our firesides by force if necessary"
Grant could have found even more bracing examples of resistance in the 1930s, when farmers and tenants used mob power -- and sometimes firearms -- to fight foreclosures and evictions. For more on that, I consulted Frances Fox Piven, co-author of the classic text Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail, who told me that in the early 30s, a number of cities were so shaken by the resistance that they declared moratoriums on further evictions. A 1931 riot by Chicago tenants who had fallen behind on their rent, for example, had left three dead and three police officers injured.
To read more:
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/93077/
*****
Quote of the Day
I look upon the whole world as my fatherland, and every war has to me the horror of a family feud. - Helen Keller
Monday, July 28, 2008 - 20:29:32
Let's talk about class, baby . . .
There is an intriguing program on C.A.T. - Intellectual Property - which takes a hard look at some of the more nonsensical remarks that public officials make that seem to go right over the heads of the audience and members of the press, alike.
This week’s segment - “Let’s Talk about Class, Baby . . .” - deals with class issues in Fayetteville. For example, when Brother Dan brags - as he is wont to do - about the trailers being moved from south Fayetteville, and the lovely new developments that have been put in their place, he never actually does mention anything about the ultimate fate of the people who actually lived there before those pretty places were built.
More to the point - as the program points out - hardly anyone else has asked where the people have gone, either. If we’re going to feel any pride over these new developments, we need to feel some real shame that as a community we never even thought to ask:
“Where have all the people gone?”
IP will be shown again on Wednesday (12:30pm) and Saturday at 3pm.
******
Quote of the Day
The soldiers fight, and the kings are heroes. - Barbara Mechels
Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 15:33:31
Candidates and C.A.T. Huh? You mean, like, it's for everybody?
There’s just something about election season in Fayetteville, which makes the blood run a little faster, conversations a little more heated, and anticipating reading the morning paper all that much more exciting.
There’s also something a little frustrating about it, especially when you consider that so many local candidates have a great resource at their disposal and have absolutely no idea how to use it. I’m writing - of course! about Fayetteville’s Community Acceess Television, our public access station.
True, for over 25 years, public access in Fayetteville has served as our only true regional arts, entertainment, public affairs and religious channel, but it’s also proven - to those canny enough to use it - as an invaluable resource for candidates and those seeking political/social change in Northwest Arkansas.
What? You may ask? How can public access help me? I’m just running for alderman/mayor/JP.
The truth is, raucous reader, that in the 21st Century, almost every move a candidate makes should have the TV element in mind - especially in a media savvy town like Fayetteville.
Gonna have a press conference? Have it taped and shown on C.A.T.
Giving a presentation - to anybody, anywhere? Have it taped and shown on C.A.T.
Someone on your campaign should always be thinking ahead, with regard to public access - which at times has a pretty large audience. Oh, there those who call around to C.A.T. producers and say, “We’re having in event in 24 (or sometimes 12) hours. Could you tape it for us?” When they are unsuccessful, they tend to give up altogether.
There are any number of talk shows on C.A.T. that a candidate could appear on. Thee are the famous “Short Takes,” in which a candidate and their supporters can come on every week till the election and talk up the candidate and the issues.
You could even arrange to have a program made about the candidate. The folks at C.A.T. can tell you more about your options on that score.
Why don’t we have an incinerator stinking up Fayetteville?
Why did voters switch to the mayor/council form of government in 1992, from the City Manager form?
How was the Planning Commission shamed into allowing the Government Channel into showing their meetings on TV?
Public access played a key role in all those issue; actually, it was pretty much the only factor involved with the Planning Commission affair.
Never underestimate the reach that public access has.
******
Quote of the Day
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." --Mark Twain
*****
Licensed to Kill
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, I had a number of friends who avidly read Soldier of Fortune magazine, and fantasized about running off to join a mercenary army. The mercenary craze was quite the rage in the early 80s; There was even a cheesy series of adventure novels called, oddly enough, “The Mercenary.”
Mostly, I made jokes at their expense. Little did I know that come the 21st Century, they might very well have their chance. Of course, today we call them “private contractors” - that way we don’t have to consider the implications of hiring others to do our fighting for us.
The use of such hired guns first came into prominence after the United States invaded Afghanistan, but the war in Iraq has offered even greater opportunities for those who offer “security”work. Such work might include providing bodyguard or escort services, or any of a myriad of tasks.
Robert Young Pelton has performed an admirable job of bringing the world of such private contractors to light in “Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror.” The only problem I have with this informative work is that Pelton sometimes seems to see things from the contractors’ side a little too often.
That’s a minor point, though. We may not find a better work detailing the day-to-day operations of private security firms than this book. Pelton gives the reader an excellent look at the training process, and the daily lives of private contractors in Iraq. One thing you have to acknowledge - these people are serious about their jobs, and their training is top-notch.
Along the way, though, some troubling questions come to mind. Given the born-again nature of the owner of Blackwater - one of the leading security firms - and his adherence to the right-wing agenda of George Bush - make one wonder just what he might draw the line at.
And then there is the age-old problem with mercenaries: despite the protestations of their owners that they would always fight on America’s side, they can’t speak for what might happen in the future, under different owners.
And as our own military faces a recruiting crisis, the option of using private contractors in foreign wars may well seem more cost-effective.
And for those who don’t see this as a potential problem, just consider this September, 2005 posting on truthout.org:
“New Orleans - Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force.”
Along with these “deputized” contractors, private citizens were also hiring Blackwater (and other firms) to guard private homes after Katrina - including Israeli mercenaries from the firm of ISI.
So you have to ask yourself, what price loyalty?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 10:03:22
Dan Coody - the latest victim of Founder's Syndrome?
Is it the money, as some whisper? Not so, cries the Fighting Mayor! It’s the love of the job! Plus, of course, I’m the only one who can actually do the job - really, honestly, folks.
Okay, sure. Whatever, Dan.
Is it within the realm of possibility that poor Dan is suffering from a political version of Founder’s Syndrome? Though it is usually used in conjunction with non-profit boards, it is also becoming common for the term to be used in political circles.
In a nutshell, Founder’s Syndrome - not an official psychiatric diagnosis - is when people become too involved with an organization or cause for just way too long. They lack the ability to hand the reins over to new blood.
They will often use a variation on the old, “Why switch riders in mid-stream?” argument.
I’ve seen it before, both on boards on directors I have served on, and in local political figures. Dan Coody is a pretty classic example. For more on Founder’s Syndrome:
http://www.ccfbest.org/management/survivingfounder.htm
Here is a quote from the website:
Wherever it occurs, Founder's Syndrome can be very destructive –– both for the organization and for the community it serves. It must be dealt with quickly and decisively . . .
The question at the heart of the "syndrome" is whether the "founder(s)" are more committed to what's best for the organization and its service to the community, or to doing "it" their way. Too often, ego gets in the way of making that judgment -- the classic example of the malady. That's why a well-structured board (with term limits) gets to decide if it's time for the founding CEO to be replaced, and why those term limits also solve the problem of board-member-founders.
******
Somebody has to be stopped
I was in the health food section of Harp’s yesterday, checking out cereal boxes, when I was brought up short by one selection in particular. A raisin-filled treat (I love cereals with raisins in ‘em!) when I checked out the ingredients.
Lentils.
Someone has put lentils in cereal. That’s just insane.
*****
Quote of the Day - Yes, I used it last week, but it’s too good not to use it again
"And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast . . . and if you cut them down . . . do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil the benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!" - Sir Thomas Moore - from "A Man for All Seasons." written by Robert Bolt
Sunday, July 20, 2008 - 10:37:25
Hiding in Plain Sight
It has long been a mystery to me why some of the most exciting news in the newspaper seems almost hidden away in the Business section - a part of the paper that many working class people never think of looking at. There are all sorts of treasures hidden there. Indeed, there were clues to our current economic state virtually hidden in those pages for months before they made the “regular” headlines.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Working Class should pay attention to Business pages
Written by Richard S. Drake
This may seem a stereotypical scene, but it may remind you of your own workplace. In many of the places I have toiled over the years, whenever a daily paper was brought in, the sports pages were usually grabbed first, followed by great debate over the sporting events of the previous day or night.
Then, the straight news coverage was taken up, followed usually by the comics. Rarely, if ever, did anyone pick up the Business pages. We were hourly workers, after all; what was there to interest any of us?
We weren't bankers, or stockbrokers; Business pages may as well have been written in Sanskrit, for all the attention we paid to them.
Though I have long had an interest in politics (particularly regarding labor issues), I was also late in realizing that the Business pages held anything of relevance for me.
This changed in the late 1980s, when I worked for Mexican Original, a tortilla plant in Northwest Arkansas owned by Tyson Foods. Before Tyson had taken over our operation, our Christmas bonuses had always been fairly generous. After Tyson took over in the mid-1980s, they were still fairly generous.
But in this one particular year, our portion was less than spectacular.
Christmas bonuses are a sort of moral contract between workers and management. Hourly employees work as hard as they can throughout the year, even when sick (few companies are enlightened enough to give hourly workers paid sick days), and in return, the company shares some of its profits at years's end.
But this year, our "moral contract" was honored by the gift of two (count ‘‘em, folks!) Cornish hens. Let's see, that came to about three or four sandwiches, if I recall correctly.
It wouldn't have been so bad, but one evening in the break room, one employee discovered that company CEO Don Tyson received a record bonus that year. That's a whole lot of Cornish hens.
The news article in question wasn't in the regular news pages, as I recall, but in the Business pages. It wasn't quite an epiphany, but rather like a small bit of daylight coming through the cracks of a mine.
I didn't suddenly start grabbing the Business pages and devouring them. Probably months went by before I looked at them again. But gradually, they became a part of my daily reading routine.
A lot of older readers may recall that in the past, many newspapers regularly carried labor news. Truth be told, inquisitive readers, many newspapers had writers who actually covered labor issues on a regular basis. To say that this is a thing of the past is an understatement, to put it mildly.
Still, if you look hard enough, and you know where to find it, there is still plenty of news that affects what is sometimes amusingly referred to as the "working class."
Now, it's true that for most of what is sneeringly referred to as the mainstream media, working class issues get short shrift. Check out your local television station come Labor Day: what you are most likely to find are items on how people are spending their day off.
Just imagine if they gave Labor Day the same attention they give Christmas or Memorial Day. Or, conversely, imagine if the only coverage they gave Memorial Day was a report on how people were spending their day off. Just imagine the outraged calls to the television stations.
A look at the Business pages in the recent past may give one pause; maybe it's time to at least give the Business pages a quick glance over breakfast, or during coffee break at work. Except where mentioned, most of these news items come from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Trucking fatalities put state atop list - March 13., 2007. Yes, Wyoming and Arkansas have retained their rankings as the deadliest states in the U.S. for commercial truck accidents. And not just accidents - accidents with fatalities. Safety groups say that the government should limit the number of hours truckers spend behind the wheel each day.
Yeah, that'll happen.
Cochran Firm sues Tyson over workers' back pay - April 17. The law firm founded by Johnny Cochran has filed five suits in federal court in recent months. The cases deal with unpaid back pay for the time it takes to take off and put on protective clothing, and passing through security on breaks.
As someone who spent several years working in poultry plants, this case is especially interesting. The average person probably has no concept of the fact that a fifteen minute break is probably nowhere near that, in reality.
EPA wants gassy farms to escape law - March 28. Our good friends at the EPA would like to exempt livestock and poultry farmers from those pesky laws which require public disclosure of gaseous emissions from animal manure. It's that damned Superfund law which is causing all this trouble.
Not to worry, though. Our very own pseudo-Democrats from Arkansas, Blanche lambert Lincoln and Mark Pryor, have both supported a bill that would effectively change the status of animal manure, thus making it exempt from the Superfund law.
In fact, it was our very own Blanche "How many liberals can I fool today?" Lambert Lincoln who introduced the measure in Congress in March.
Some have different reasons for reading the Business pages. Catherine Donnelly, a writer based in Northwest Arkansas, has this to say about the subject. "If I am in the market for a new job, I like to peruse the business section to see what new businesses are cropping up.
"Also, just from a human interest standpoint, I like to try out new businesses. Since our family hates the Wal-Martian shopping mentality, we try to patronize new businesses and spread the word. It's important for start-ups that we notice them early and keep supporting them so that they can stay in business. Otherwise, we can complain all we want about the big
box companies swallowing up the mom and pop companies. If we don't actually make a point of shopping there, isn't it us that is putting them out of business?"
Hertz Chief: More job cuts on the way - March 14. In an ever increasing effort to increase profits, Hertz will lay off employees, in addition to the 1,550 workers it has already announced it will let go.
Music sales plunge as buyers tune out CDs - March 25.
Ex-Reagan aide faces fraud charge - March 27. David Stockman, former budget director for Ronald Reagan , has been charged with "overseeing" fraud at a company he ran before the company filed for bankruptcy.
Justice delayed is still sweet.
Ad accuses Wal-Mart of stifling port security - March 23. A union-funded group (WakeupWalmart.com) sponsored a TV commercial, which charged that the Bully of Bentonville is blocking efforts to make U.S. ports more secure. Is Wally World one of the forces behind blocking the use of scanning equipment at our ports?
Wal-Mart says no.
Joe Alexander, a Fayetteville political activist, has this to say about keeping up with Business news, "The reason why working class people should pay attention to the Business section of the paper- as well as other sources of news about what's going on in the ‘‘big picture' of local, national and world events- is that nobody who cares about their own future or the future of their children can afford any more to be ignoring the news and just going on about their own personal life as if they have no responsibility to know about or do anything about anything beyond their own immediate personal life."
Alexander feels that the governments of the world have been supplanted by a small elite whose agenda may be anything but humanistic.
While pointing out that reading the Business pages is one way to keep track of what is happening, Alexander warns that, " . . . to some small degree though it tends to be all the propaganda of the super-rich elite; there are now many websites and talk radio shows, especially those of the Genesis and Republic networks that provide very good ‘‘alternative' news that responsible people would do well to pay attention to."
Sundays and Mondays tend to be "fluff" days when it comes to Business reporting. My experience is that it is mainly business trends and technological advances. I used to read the bankruptcy filings every week with some fascination - till I filed for bankruptcy myself.
After that, it was a while before I even looked at that page again.
Labor costs increase as factory orders fall - March 7.
While we are on the subject of "labor costs," does anyone else get a little riled when people talk about "worker productivity" rising or falling? People work hard, and if "productivity" is falling, it probably ain't the workers' fault.
Why not refer to it as "Management productivity falling"? I could go for that, and I suspect that a few million hourly workers would, as well.
Aliens' impact focus of study: They contribute more than they take, researchers find - April 5. Best not let the Minutemen hear about this one.
Sirius to provide TV signal to Chrysler - March 30. Ah, satellite signals beamed directly to your vehicle. Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Networks can soon be watched in your family room on wheels. That's just sort of heart-warming.
Couch Potato, meet Car Potato
Dan Vega, a Fayetteville writer and co-host of "One Whirled View," shown on Fayetteville's Community Access Television, often uses information he has gleaned from the Business pages on the show.
"I read the business pages in order to understand what seems to be the dominant force now ruling planet Earth and humanity. The business model of constant unlimited growth does not exist in the natural world. Nothing lives and grows forever. Cancer tries to."
Vega warns that one must keep a close eye on what is happening, claiming that in a quest for "immortality," Business often adopts extreme measures to keep itself in power.
"This is when exploitation of the planet's resources, including humans, becomes necessary. Wars for resources, free-trade pacts (which aren't about free-trade) and the domination of governments by corporations are all symptoms of business trying to perpetuate itself forever."
Vega also says, "Fascism is partly defined as the bonding of government with business. The current atmosphere in American government where business controls so many policy decisions based on the infusion of huge amounts of money should serve as a warning to us all as to where we are headed."
Car-Mart posts $50,000 loss - March 8. Repos and poor accounts have dealt a severe blow to the vehicle retailer. The firm, which specializes in selling cars to individuals with very poor or nonexistent credit histories, says that it wants to attract a "better customer."
Take that, poor people!
Mortgage woes could spread: Wal-Mart, Home Depot among retailers likely to feel effects - April 1, Morning News.
Some folks have stopped paying utility bills just to be able to pay their mortgages. Some are eating less. This will have a ripple effect on far more than just the housing and building supply industry.
If there truly are patterns to life, a lot of them can be seen in the Business pages. The few labor articles one is likely to read about will be there, written for the most part by reporters who have little or no understanding of labor issues.
But on any given day, there may be more environmental news, more health care news, or just plain interesting news than can be found in the straight news section of the paper. Often, reading the Business pages can put the "straight" news into a better context.
So go ahead, try it. Look over the Business section tomorrow, or the next day. You may not find something every day to pique your interest, but most days I suspect you will.
And if you are a member of the "working class" - whatever that means anymore - you owe it to yourself to keep on top of the Business news. To hurl a cliche in your direction, knowledge truly is power. And information is power. So grab that Business section every so often, arm yourself with information about what is happening around you, and to you.
Otherwise, my friend, ultimately you're just more mulch for the Machine.
Richard S. Drake is the author of a novel, "Freedom Run," and a recent history of Fayetteville, "Ozark Mosaic: Adventures in Arkansas Alternative Journalism, 1990-2002."
Arkansas Free Press - May, 2007
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