Why The Local 1-2 Fights Con Edison

In just a few moments, negotiators from Con Edison and the Local 1-2 of the UWUA will go back to the bargaining table to hammer out a deal that is feasible to both sides. If they don't, the slightly delayed strike will go into effect tonight at midnight. Who knows if Paterson will institute another "cooling-off" period, but one thing is certain, union workers are probably not going to get what they want....and they haven't for quite some time. This isn't just a battle over percentages for the next few budgets, it is about quality of life.

From The NY Times:

Now, the solid wages and benefits that for decades have led Irish- and Italian-American men to follow their fathers and grandfathers into manholes, bucket trucks and substations are under threat, as the utility and the union that represents 8,800 of its nearly 14,000 workers try to hammer out a new four-year contract. The most recent pact expired on Sunday morning, with the union angry over what it described as the company’s proposal for a 1.5 percent annual wage increase — short of the 4.2 percent inflation rate — and a 401(k)-style savings plan, rather than the traditional pension, for new workers. The union, Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America, represents almost two-thirds of Con Edison’s employees.

“When I started, Con Ed was a very good company with great benefits, job security,” said Ken Burns, 46, a splicer who works in the Bronx and has 22 years with the company, where his grandfather spent his working life. “But with each contract, our benefits have decreased.”

So has Con Ed slowly been trying to undercut the union workers that keep it's system running. Well, yes and no. The executives at the top are taking advantage of their workers in an increasingly privatized society where company profits come before anything else. As the Times mentions, energy deregulation has had a lot to do with that. So while the union will fight for something better than what Con Ed has offered, they will not get the way of life their fathers and grandfathers had until Congress acts to restructure the energy industry.

Wes Clark Fights Back

McCain and his faithful media leaped onto General Clark yesterday for daring to suggest that being a POW doesn't automatically qualify you to be President. It is shocking I know, but being locked up in an enemy camp doesn't mean you get to rule the world when you get out. Wesley Clark not only stood up to his detractors, but he reiterated and reasserted his initial comments yesterday with Dan Abrams.

NY GOP Still Broke In The 13th

It has been a rough year for Republicans on Staten Island so far. Their embattled, but still incumbent Congressman Vito Fossella was caught driving drunk in Virginia, which subsequently led to the discovery of his secondary family and that brought down his house of cards...and his chances at being re-elected. Then a slew of possible challengers declined to run for the seat and when one finally stepped up, he died tragically of a heart attack. Now the petition filing deadline is looming next week and the only hope they have isn't even a Republican. Oy for them!

From The NYT Cityroom:

Republican leaders say that Mr. Powers campaign had collected about 1,500 signatures on Mr. Powers’s petitions. If there are more than the required 1,250, Mr. Powers’s committee on vacancy would be able to name a candidate to take his place on the ballot. That committee is controlled by party officials.

Mr. Morano said that he was planning to begin collecting signatures to qualify for the Republican line, apart from Mr. Powers’ petitions, in the event he is selected by Republican leaders to run on that party’s line.

Meanwhile, Jamshad Wyne, a cardiologist who is the finance chairman of the Staten Island Republican Party, is also a candidate for the seat. Dr. Wyne said that he has already collected 2,000 signatures and that he plans to continue getting more until the filing deadline.

But he has little support among the party’s leaders. They point to the fact that Dr. Wyne was fined $5,000 and placed on probation for three years in 2003 by the state Health Department’s Board for Professional Medical Conduct. The board said that he had practiced “with negligence on more than one occasion.”

So right now, the battle is between an Independence Party member and a negligent cardiologist. I'd really hate to be in Guy Molinari's shoes right now. How embarrassing would it be if they lost the seat in blowout fashion. It certainly could happen, and as we work for the Democratic nominee, whether it be a progressive like Harrison or Councilman McMahon, we will flip NY-13 to the Democratic Party.

McCain Rewards "Good Reporters"

Now that John McCain is the nominee and the money has begun flowing more considerably into RNC coffers, the Senator has upgraded from a bus (and commericial airline flights on his wife's jet) to his very own plane. Customized planes are always more luxurious than your standard coach fare and even better than 1st class. Yet on McCain's plane, there is yet another level set aside just for those special journalists that fall in line for their man McCain.

From ThinkProgress:

The Washington Post reports that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is now traveling in a new “Straight Talk Express” campaign airplane. It “features a special area” with “a couch and two captain’s chairs” where “McCain will conduct group interviews with the press.” But not all reporters covering McCain can enjoy this new lap of luxury. Top McCain aide Mark Salter said “‘only the good reporters’ would get to sit in the specially-configured section for interviews. ‘You’ll have to earn it,’ he said.” So how can these reporters “earn” a seat? Never challenge the Senator, as McCain biographer Matt Welch explained in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times:

[McCain is] very open to people. You can come on the bus, everything is great but if he knows or if his team knows that you have a hostile line of questioning or you have a long and well documented critique, they’re not going to talk to you. […]

As a human, he’s haunted by the notion of honesty and about honor and truth. He wishes that he could speak the truth all the time. He doesn’t. I don’t think he speaks the truth any more than any other politician really, no more, no less.

Gee, I wonder who this sounds like? Lacking honesty, honor and truth......could John McCain be trying to channel our current boy wonder George W? No, he isn't trying, it just comes naturally to John "McSame" McCain.

Wes Clark Rakes McCain Over The Coals With His Biggest Supposed Strength

John McCain has been doing something this year that he hasn't done in almost every campaign in his career, that is talking about his past as a POW. Now he is using it to gain the high ground on national security and experience. Well General Wesley Clark has just the right amount of words for that:

Religious Right Group Filters News To Turn "Gay" Into "Homosexual"

An interesting discovery came from the crazy world of the religious right. Olympian Tyson Gay won the 100 meter semifinal this weekend, but not according to OneNewsNow, owned by the American Family Association. Instead, it was Tyson Homosexual that won the race, not Gay. If that sounds confusing then you do not know what limits the religious right goes to to instill fear and hatred in their flock.

From PageOneQ:

OneNewsNow, the "Christian news service" covertly owned by the AFA, receives syndicated content from providers like the Associated Press and edits instances of the word "gay" to read "homosexual." Although the site is registered to the conservative, anti-gay organization, the fact is not disclosed anywhere on the site.

An article posted Sunday night about Olympic track and field star Tyson Gay was no exception.

"Tyson Homosexual easily won his semifinal for the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials," the article read, "and seemed to save something for the final later Sunday." The headline read "Homosexual eases into 100 final at Olympic events."

"On Saturday," it went on, "Homosexual misjudged the finish in his opening heat and had to scramble to finish fourth, then in his quarterfinal a couple of hours later, ran 9.77 to break the American record that had stood since 1999."

"Asked how he felt, Homosexual said: 'A little fatigued.'"

What tires me out is the overt and covert hatred groups like the AFA has for the GLBT community. At first glance one might wonder what the big deal is if they use the word 'gay' or 'homosexual' when covering gay issues (obviously they need an extra filter when the word is someone's last name or an article makes a reference to the word circa 1950).

Well in my view, semantics is always a powerful game to be played, whenever a political issue is at stake. 'Gay' also means happy and perhaps these right-wing wackos do not want to think that gay people can be 'gay'. Remember, it goes against G-d and all that junk. If you ever take the time to hear their comments and sermons from the AFA and others in their cause, they use 'homosexual' in a far more derogatory way than they could with 'gay.' Is this all nuts? Yes of course it is, but we need to engage and uncover this type of garbage wherever it oozes out from the ground.

Could McCain Lose Arizona?

I sincerely believe that this race is Barack Obama's to lose, not one for McCain to win. The Republicans have picked such an awful candidate this year (not that the rest of the field was any better) that just can't pull it off on his own. However, as a former campaigner in the Grand Canyon state the opposite is true in Arizona. As a whole it went more than ten points for Bush four years ago and McCain beat his Senatorial opponent by a huge margin. Now the thing of it is, McCain could lose his home state.

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Phoenix - For a senator who consistently gets 80 percent approval ratings from Arizonans, it seems strange, bizarre even, that John McCain would not be a shoo-in to win his home state in November's presidential election. Some in-state analysts say chances are fair, in fact, that Arizona will end up in the Democratic column.

A big part of the uncertainty may be that the Republican Party's presumptive nominee has not distanced himself enough from the Bush administration to satisfy the one-third of state voters who are independents. But Senator McCain has also seen his support erode among Arizona's avid Bush supporters and social conservatives, for not backing the president on issues dear to their hearts. Toss in the resources and clout of Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, who will be pulling hard for her party's nominee, and anything can happen.

Janet has a huge pull in this state and is loved by both Democrats and independents. She is the rock against the radical and racist agenda of many Republicans in the state legislature. That hard work has made her many admirers and activists willing to work this summer and fall to elect Obama.

Now the latest poll from Rasmussen has Obama within ten points, which is huge for late June. McCain is trying to be all things to all people, both in Arizona and across the country. That type of character and campaign style might just piss off enough people that he will not only lose the election, but even his very own state that has put him in the Senate by overwhelming numbers through the years.

Lieberman Fearmongers For McCain

Joe Lieberman continues to be a huge disgrace to himself and our country. He clearly shows he has no shame when promoting John McCain.

Bush Tries To Reassert "Compassionate Conservatism"

George Bush suddenly remembered his campaign pledge from nine years ago to introduce compassion to conservatism last week. It was conveniently forgotten once he stepped into office, replaced by the typical disdain for all things compassionate. The only thing that was the least bit soft and fuzzy was a disregard for separation of church and state, an idea revered by our founding fathers and for the most part, by a nation ever since. The moment he came in, he decided that helping the least amongst us should come at a religious price. Apparently he still believes that today.

From The Washington Post:

As he noted in his speech on Thursday, Bush began talking as long ago as 1999 about loosening restrictions on the participation of religiously affiliated groups in government programs. That led to his executive order creating the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the White House, and a proliferation of similar offices throughout the government.

Bush said the moves were meant to "ensure that the armies of compassion play a central role in our campaign to make America more promising and more just."

But controversies have erupted regularly, usually focused on allegations of improper favoritism for the religious right or improper proselytizing. Last week, the Justice Department fired an official under investigation for her role in doling out faith-based grants after she did not show up for a House hearing.

Whether you call it holy or unholy, President Bush is full of shit. The only reason he brought up the subject is that one of his underlings was caught doing exactly what he wanted to see done. Compassion (i.e. helping the poor) was meant for those that could stomach the religious propaganda thrown at them along with a hot meal or a job training session. And being that Bush tried to garner favor with the evangelicals (a group that helped him tremendously in his quest for the White House, both to get there in 2000 and stay there in 04'), the money went to Christian groups more so than Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, you name it and specifically those groups run by his campaign contributors. Oh and you can forget about atheists or agnostics, they don't count to George Bush.

Con Ed-Union Deadlock Now Going Til Wednesday

This weekend the Governor took it upon himself to stand between Con Edison and Local 1-2 of the UWUA to avert a strike of more than 9,000 members that help the power grid of New York City humming. The workers were set to walk out at 12am yesterday, but now the two sides are still at the bargaining table....until Wednesday at midnight. The question is, will the proposals be amenable to both sides?

From WCBS-TV:

Gov. David Paterson intervened late Saturday in negotiations between Consolidated Edison and the union representing almost two-thirds of the utility's work force just minutes before the midnight deadline for a possible strike expired and persuaded both sides to agree to a "cooling off period," a spokesman for the governor said.

Negotiations were suspended early Sunday and were scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Paterson spokesman Errol Cockfield said. Cockfield said the governor had been monitoring the talks while recovering at his Manhattan home from surgery Saturday morning to remove a cataract.

Paterson, concerned about the impact of possible service disruptions on customers created by a strike during the summer, reached out by telephone to Con Edison chief executive Kevin Burke and Harry Farrell, president of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, Cockfield said.

Well now that Paterson has publicly intervened, what will he do to avoid another impasse by tomorrow night? Con Ed figuratively slapped the union in the face with a 0.5% increase (followed by 1% increases down the road) and it took them quite a bit of time to come up with that. Will the Governor (or is he actively) working on getting the regulated utility to pay workers a wage that is more in line with what the union wants to see? We're waiting and we'll get a better picture of it all when the two sides get back to the table tomorrow morning.

McCain Flips And Flops On Immigration

McCain may be great at playing to different audiences with answers that they want to hear, but there is a problem when your answers conflict with your own words time and time again. McCain may say he understands the Internet without using it, but clearly he has no idea how YouTube works in society.

McCain Proves He's Out Of Touch Again

Anyone that has paid close attention to John McCain, whether it be his campaign for Presidency or his legislative career, knows that his "maverick," "straight-talk express" facade is merely that. All that lies beneath is a standard-issue, hollow-shelled politician that has sold out to the corrupt system that is Washington, D.C. fused with corporate America. He is an out of touch elitist, who really doesn't give a damn about the average American, the average people he meets are rich corporate investors, bankers and especially large campaign contributors. And he proved it again this past week when he was asked about gas prices, an issue of central concern to a great majority of voters and all Americans.

From ThinkProgress:

In a telephone interview with the Orange County Register earlier this week, John McCain acknowledged he was unaware of the price of gas. The OC Register’s Martin Wicksol reports:

WICKSOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?

MCCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.

I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.

Oh Mr. McCain, it does matter. It matters a whole lot to those that pump the gas. Back when you had to do it yourself, it probably cost less than a dollar to get a gallon out of the pump. Now those that fill their cars are shelling out close to $5 a gallon and will be doing much more than that. Your gas tax holiday and flip-flop on drilling our coasts are gimmicks that do nothing for our energy crisis.

I can tell you from personal experience of being in NYC and not having a car, to going out to Connecticut last weekend and filling up for a drive was shocking. And it wasn't like I was ignorant of those rising prices either. Watching the digital wheels spin as the gas guzzled into the car is much more powerful and real than any spreadsheet your aides can show you.