After the snowstorm, before the blizzard
They started early this morning, trying to clear a path before the blizzard hit. And they've been at it all day. Might as well, guys: get your overtime while you can.
Tomorrow, photos of the blizzard itself. So far this one doesn't have a name: we can't call it the blizzard of '03 because we've already had a couple this year.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @4:48 PM
|
6.12.03  |
It's not over yet!
We've still got one chance to save overtime pay!
If all you want for Christmas is a pay cut, then you're in luck: if you lose the right to overtime pay, you'll have to work more hours at no extra pay. If that's NOT what you want, then get on the phone now.
The labor movement's campaign to collect more than 100,000 signatures in four days on a petition urging the Bush administration to withdraw its proposed overtime-pay take-away has been successful: not only have the signatures been gathered, but the House of Representatives, which (along with the Senate) already voted to protect overtime earlier this year (even though that amendment didn't make it to the final bill), will vote again on Monday -- its final session of the year -- on the appropriations bill to which both Houses of Congress attached the overtime protection amendment. Because of the ruckus we've raised, supporters of the measure will make one last effort to put it back into the bill.
Now it's up to us.
Call your Congressional representative by Monday morning at the latest. And tell that representative something along these lines:
"Please vote against the omnibus funding bill if it doesn't include overtime pay protections. No worker should lose the right to overtime pay. This is one of the issues I will use to judge your commitment to working people."
And thank that representative for working overtime to save overtime pay.
(Speaking of the labor movement, regular readers may notice that the Amazon.com links on this page have been temporarily discontinued, in solidarity with striking workers at Borders Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The workers have been trying to form a union since 1996. The labor movement is supporting the workers with a boycott of Borders, Waldenbooks, and Amazon.com.)
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @4:22 PM
|
5.12.03 |
Have yourself a Louisiana little Christmas
By Janet Dagley Dagley, card-carrying member, ACLU
Second grade class, Lafayette, Louisiana. The TEACHER raises her hand and cues the CHILDREN to sing:
CHILDREN:
Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Don we now our gay apparel--
TEACHER: All right, class! That's enough. You've all got detention after school every day this week for using that word. Disgraceful! Now it's time for Billy's solo...
BILLY: Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the yuletide gay --
TEACHER: Didn't I tell you not to use that word? Now I'm going to have to call your mother and tell her you said it, except I can't say that word over the phone! Now go wash your mouth out with soap! And for the rest of you, that's the end of music class! Now it's time for history. Who can tell me the name of the airplane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan?
Many of the CHILDREN raise their hands. TEACHER calls on a girl with long blonde curly hair who is not only raising her hand but nearly jumping out of her seat.
TEACHER: Heather?
HEATHER: It was the Enola Gay.
TEACHER: DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO USE THAT WORD???!!! I'm calling your parents! All your parents!
HEATHER raises her hand again.
HEATHER: And I'm calling the American Civil Liberties Union.
TEACHER: Did you just say "CIVIL" and "UNION" in the same SENTENCE??!!!
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @6:04 PM
|
4.12.03 |
Cyber-obituaries
Mp3.com
1997-2003
One of the Internet's pioneer music sites, Mp3.com, died last night at midnight, and along with it, more than 1.3 million tracks by more than 250,000 independent artists. Those archives were destroyed by Mp3.com's new owner, Cnet, which had just acquired it from Vivendi Universal, despite last-minute pleas from company founder Michael Robertson and offers from other sites to take over hosting of the archive.
Blogshares.com
2002-2003
Blogshares, the fantasy blog share market, died yesterday when its founder, Seyed Razavi, decided its current technical difficulties were terminal. It was fun while it lasted, and it got bloggers to check out each other's blogs, which means the experiment accomplished what it set out to do.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @6:45 PM
|
3.12.03 |
Joining the crowd...
...and what a crowd it is! I'm happy to report that The Dagley Dagley Daily has just been inducted into the Union of Tennessee Volunteer Bloggers and Big Orange Expeditionary Forces, a.k.a. the Rocky Top Brigade. Thankee, thankee verr verr much to buddy don for nominating me and to RTB founder South Knox Bubba for agreeing that this blog belongs in the Brigade.
As you can see over there in the left-hand column, we're already flying the RTB flag; links to all the sites in the Brigade blogroll will be added soon.
Right under the flag is our just-revived survey question. Please tell us (and Santa) what's on your list this year. You have until Dec. 9.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @5:15 PM
|
2.12.03 |
Save overtime pay!
This week, the workers of the U.S. labor movement are speaking with one loud voice, and I'm adding my voice to the choir. Our goal: to prevent the Bush administration's proposed changes to labor regulations that would mean no more overtime pay for millions of American workers.
Regular readers of this blog may recall that earlier this year, both the Senate and the House approved an amendment that would have blocked those changes. But last-minute backroom maneuvering left the amendment to die when Congress adjourned for the holidays. So please join us in making a ruckus to commemorate Overtime Pay National Week of Action.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @6:12 PM
|
1.12.03 |
Shop-Rites (and wrongs)
Today we finally made it over to the new Shop-Rite supermarket , which had been trying for two weeks to lure us over to the Mile Square City's west side. Their primary method of getting our attention was stuffing our mailbox full of colorful circulars featuring a bunch of coupons with the word "FREE" in large bold type and "with purchase of 2" in tiny type below it. We didn't bother with any of those coupons as they were for things we didn't want anyway, so we saved even more by not buying them. We did get, among other things, a box of Raisin Bran big enough to use as a guest room in an emergency, once we finish eating all that cereal that is, and that might take a few years.
Along with the Shop-Rite ads, we've also started getting similar greetings from other stores, including one called Pathmark, which sends us 16 color pages worth of bargain announcements every week, but has yet to tell us its address, or even what city it's in.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @4:36 PM
|
30.11.03 |
|
