Black Friday For The Retail Industry

Black Friday, for some reason, is the name for the Friday after Thanksgiving. Stores open early, prices are down and the sheeple are whipped into a frenzy of buying. In order to get the good sale prices on big and small ticket items for Christmas, people line up and mob the store entrances as if they were rabid drug addled fans at a rock concert. It's a mob scene in the classic sense and I've never understood why anyone would do such a thing. Of course, I also never understood the hysterical screaming and crying girls throwing themselves at the fences separating them from the Beatles.

This year, yet another person was trampled, suffocated, pressed to death in the stampede of bovine shoppers at a retail store. Unfortunately, this year it was Wal Mart, the favorite target of the unions, who are salivating at the idea of unionizing and collecting dues from the approximately 2 million employees. Woooeeee!!!. The union dues would be enormous and the union bosses would be able to really give themselves a well earned raise.

Already the Unions are jumping all over this tragic event to stick the shiv into the Wal Mart ribs according to the New York Times. They can't wait to use the death of Mr. Damour as leverage to get their foot in the door or more aptly the camel's nose under the tent. As if the mere presence of the Union would have deterred the mindless stampede.

"Wal-Mart has successfully resisted unionization of its employees. New York State’s largest grocery union, Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, called the death of Mr. Damour “avoidable” and demanded investigations."

So far Wal Mart has resisted unionization because the employees have voted down becoming unionized. They are no dummies. Wal Mart, contrary to the propaganda put out by the NYT, the Unions and left leaning liberal media, treats it's employees well. They have a good safety record according to OSHA: better than GM the poster child for the Union's successes in helping business (sarcasm in case you didn't get it). WalMart does provide health insurance for its employees and they get to participate in the $4.00 prescription plan.

Speaking as self employed people who have zero health insurance, the plan linked above sounds pretty good to me. It may not be the 'Cadillac' plan (pun intended) that the unions have forced up GM's butt but still a decent plan. We take advantage of the $4.00 prescription offer as well, saving $76 a month on one of my husband's prescriptions.

Obama, our President Elect (who takes every opportunity to remind us of this fact with his never ending radio addresses and press conferences) is in favor of "Card Check" voting for union organizing. In case you didn't know, this is a way for Union organizers to strong arm people into voting for unionization. It removes the ability of the employees to cast a secret ballot. If you have people hanging over you and haranguing you while you vote and harassing you at home and at work to cast a "Union Ballot", people will be intimidated into voting for the unionization whether they want to or not.


Read the whole thing: Two examples illustrate this problem. During a card-check campaign at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, union organizers threatened that workers who did not sign union cards would lose their jobs when the union was recognized. In 2002, a long-time organizer for the United Steelworkers felt compelled to quit his job after "a senior Steelworkers union official asked me to threaten migrant workers by telling them they would be reported to federal immigration officials if they refused to sign check-off cards." Forcing workers to express their beliefs in public leaves them vulnerable to threats and can discourage them from exercising free choice.

It will get nothing but worse when card check is the law of the land.

How would you like to have your neighbors standing at your elbow when you voted for the President or for any of the Propositions that were just on the ballots in California? How about a crowd of gay rights agitators looming over you if you decided to vote Yes on 8? A secret ballot process is integral to Democracy. When others can coerce your vote or your vote is determined by peer pressure, we will have lost a central freedom in our lives.

If the workers at WalMart or any other industry DO want to unionize, then they should be allowed to hear both sides of the proposition from management and from the unions. They should be allowed to weigh the benefits or pitfalls and then vote in a SECRET BALLOT process.

I'm not completely negative on the place of Unions in the work place. They have a long and distinguished history of protecting people from unfair or unhealthy work conditions. However.....the conditions that brought the Unions to power, no longer exist. We have labor laws up the booyang to keep people safe. Smart businesses today (like Wal Mart) treat their labor force well. The power struggle now between the Union and retail is not so much about the employees as it is a money grab by the Union organizers.

You think our economy is in trouble now? Let the Unions get a strangle hold on retail like they have had on the auto industry, the steel industry, the airline industry and watch retail jobs evaporate. Retail is one of the last places that unskilled workers can have decent jobs in decent environments (instead of working outdoors digging ditches).

Unionize retail? Jobs will be lost, stores will close, prices will go up, no more $4.00 prescriptions, suppliers for the retail giants like Wal Mart will have to shrink their production to accommodate the shrinking demand. Poor people who rely on the bargains now offered will have to cut even further back on their budgets.

Good job Unions. Hey, but at least you get to collect those dues from the workers that are remaining.

What's For Dinner Thanksgiving

Whew!! Cooking for Thanksgiving. Good thing it's something I like to do othewise we might have tacos instead :-)

Menu

Brined Turkey (normally would be smoked but we are just baking it this time)

Pear compote (we are still trying to use the last of those wonderful but numerous Asian Apple Pears. I'll be so glad when they are finally gone)

Stuffing Casserole (sour dough, with dried apricots, pecans, celery, onions, butter, spices and chicken broth)

Green Bean Casserole (a request by my hubby, the old traditional Grandma type recipe from a can)

Juliened Carrots in orange sauce

Turkey Gravy (not as good as my future son in law's gravy, but it will be adequate)

Home made No Knead Yeast rolls (a super easy roll recipe that I've made for the last 30 years at least) slathered in butter, of course.

Dessert: Gingered Pear Pie with Ice Cream

I decided since it wasn't going to be a lot of people that we wouldn't have....... a green salad, mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce. I think we'll have enough food.....for a small army, even though my husband is whimpering about not having mashed potatoes. When he decides to cook, he can make all the potatoes he wants.

Playing for Change

This is an awesome video and an incredibly wonderful concept. Playing for Change is a foundation dedicated to connecting the world through music. I love this video. I shows the commonality that we all have to each other throughout the world. In a time when it is easier to stress the differences, music brings us together.

Enjoy.

3rd Rock From The Sun

With the never ever ending election season that we just went through and the beginning of electioneering for 2012, the political overload just got to be too much for me. Talking heads all parroting the same thing. People on talk shows yelling and screaming over each other so that you can't even hear what they are saying. STOP.....just STOP!!!

Surely there must be something entertaining on at least one of the 150 channels we have on Dish Network? Scrolling through the channels that I haven't blocked (all ESPN and shopping channels) I landed on the "old television show channel" and lo and behold. 3rd Rock From The Sun!! I forgot how funny that show was. Pure laugh out loud, belly laugh entertainment. Quick.....program the DVR to record and watch when I need a laugh a break and want to retreat from the insanity of real life into the insanity of the 3rd Rock world.

One of my most favorite episodes. Dick is from Mars, Sally is from Venus. Sally has a date that didn't go very well and the guy gives her the "I'll call you" line. Being aliens in human form, Sally just doesn't get it.


Watch out....you might find yourself on YouTube for hours watching old episodes. Better yet just buy the DVDs and be prepared to laugh your ass off.

Gender Analyser....I'm So Conflicted

This is pretty funny. I ran across this post from Gateway Pundit about a program that can analyze your writing style and determin if you are a man or a woman. http://www.genderanalyzer.com/

So, I thought, let's see...... Entering in the URL for Dust Bunnies of the Mind

We think http://dustbun.blogspot.com is written by a man (65%).

OK....how about my other blog Recipe Junkie??

We think http://recipejunkie.blogspot.com is written by a woman (89%).

I guess it matters what you are writing about. Either that or I have a split personality and need some serious help. When I'm Dust Bunny Queen. I'm 65% man, but when I'm talking recipes and food 89% woman.

More test result from the genderanalyzer site. Here is a personality profile. Evidently my writing style on Dust Bunnies is

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts. The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters

This is interesting because my formal personality profiles taken for work purposes have usually turned out to be INTJ or ISTJ. My husband is an ISTJ.

HOWEVER....analyizing Recipe Junke, it seems that I'm

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions

It's official. I'm schizo!!

Dust Bunnies is 32% Mark Twain. Recipe Junkie is 46% Frank Baum. The Wizard of Oz.

I am a bit worried however, since my husband's blog is 45% Edgar Alan Poe

World Toilet Day

Holy Cow. The 19th was World Toilet Day.....how could I have missed this significant event!!

The big news that may affect us all is the proposal to have flush less or waterless toilets. I know, we need to cut down on excessive water usage, especially in the more arid places of the world like Australia where they are proposing a toilet tax. Earth groovy and all that stuff and I'm not opposed to saving water, energy, whales or anything else.

We already have the government intruding into our lives telling us what to eat and what not to eat. What kind of light bulbs we must use and even proposing to regulate the temperature in our homes with remotely controlled thermostats. We already have low flow shower heads that can barely get the soap out of our hair. Low flushing toilets that you have to flush several times to .....well you know.

I don't know how a dry toilet would actually work and remain sceptical.

But I have to admit my first thought on this subject was.....how are you going to clean it!!! Eeeeeewwww.

The Man Behind the Curtain

What is going to happen when the bloom is off the rose, the halo slips and the man behind the curtain is finally revealed? I'm afraid it isn't going to be pretty.

Obama has promised the world and the kitchen sink to his supporters. He is going to make the oceans recede, lower taxes for everyone (except those nasty rich people), new stimulus packages to jump start our staggering economy, redistribute wealth from those who work to those who don't, hire armies of teachers, create a new corps of civilian community organizers, credits for college, create renewable energy, stop the Iraq war, create peace in our time, reverse global warming. It goes on and on and the price tag is in the trillions.

Others of his supporters have been led to believe that the world will change, butterflies will flutter, and that with Obama ascendant they won't have to pay for their own gasoline or mortgages. Yeah, and monkeys are going to fly out of my butt.

The sad truth is that Obama made empty promises to starry eyed believers. Promises he knows, or will soon know once in office, that he cannot keep. Promises he never intended to keep. In the process, Obama's policies, that he is able to enact, will depress our economy and that of the entire world even more. We will be further attacked by terrorists and bogged down in Afghanistan.

Once the disappointment sets and and he is revealed as the empty shell that he is, as the political tool of a political machine, will the people who bought this line of bullshit wake up and blame themselves for irrationally putting all their hopes and dreams in a flawed man. Not likely. The scary reality is that they will look for a scapegoat upon which to lay the blame for their own failures and upon whom to take vengeance.

This is already happening in the gay community in California who are targeting the Mormons for the passage of Prop 8. Not the black community or the Hispanic community that overwhelmingly voted for Prop 8, but the Mormons because it is politically correct to show prejudice against Mormons. We've seen it over the last 8 years in the pillorying of George Bush, who it seems is to blame for everything that has occurred and who will be the cause of everything that will occur in the future.

No. The blame will not be assumed by those who created the disaster by falling for the empty promises and being distracted by the shiny penny. In depression era Germany, we know who the scapegoats were, the Jews. Who our chosen victims will be and what form the retaliation takes remains to be seen. The always poplar choice of the Jews again? Pandering to the Muslim terrorists might make this a reality. The wealthy capitalist pigs who evilly have created jobs and industry? Mormons? Republicans?

Who knows for now. But it is going to get ugly.