For the first time in the short history of Operation:Mindcrime we are actually coming to the aid of a corporation. Blasphemy! You are thinking. It is not a decision that was undertaken lightly, but one that we stand firm on. We are doing this not to aid that corporation, as much as to fight the green and monopolistic goals of another.
Operation:Mindcrime is asking our supporters to sign this petition to oppose the take over of Delta by US Airways. Why is O:MC that defender of the American Worker against corporate malfeasance asking that we support one corporation over another? Well, it is this simple if US Airways is allowed to complete this hostile take over then many of Delta's union workers will be out of a job as US Airways "eliminates redundancies." Additionally, if this takeover is successful then the US Airways-Delta-America West Cartel can set their sights on other carriers, forcing American, United, etc to look for other carriers to absorb to maintain competition. In the end, you are looking at only 3 or 4 carriers which would be able to easily fix prices, and provide questionable service.
If you are still not convinced that this is not a sell out for cheap airline tickets, (O:MC has not been offered any incentives to adopt this position) I point towards the merger mania that engulfed the oil companies in the 80s and 90s and the effect that has had on gas prices. Do you really think that if there five times as many companies fighting for the same market share the prices would have risen as drastically?
Protect consumers and the Delta workers by supporting Delta as a stand alone carrier. If Delta enters into any talks of mergers with another carrier, Operation: Mindcrime will immediately withdraw its support.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Myth of a Culture War
The whole red state v blue state is a recent construct from the media and the political elite to keep us divided. In fact, the entire idea of a culture war was borne of the divide and conquer idea. As long as m,embers of one of the main parties can point to the other and say "If you elect them there will be terrorists conducing gay marriages on every street corner." they have done their job. In fact, in Al Frankin's book The Truth (with Jokes) he points to the genesis of the whole gay marriage becoming a federal issue.
Frankly, many Americans have had their religion hijacked as the mega churches have morphed into right ring agenda cloning machines. Operation:Mindcrime is not against anyone's choice of faith, but O:MC is against anyone who is using their faith to further a political agenda. This site is a good beginning to counter the right wing extremism that is washing over this country from supposed Christians.
The whole thing is a crock of crap. Most Americans who have not been brainwashed by the Talibanesque efforts of the right wing political Christian movement realize that the government should stay out of our bedrooms. Its really that simple. I also defy any opponent of gay marriage to post in the comment section how two men down the street from you being married hurts YOUR marriage. I don't want anything vague from scripture. Answer the question: how does it hurt YOUR marriage? I'll even accept an answer to how does it affect you? Show me that I am wrong and you are more than a brainwashed automaton.
Stop and think people, all of these so called issues are to distract you from the reality that the government is screwing you to aid the wealthy. They want you to focus on all these other things rather than the truth. They are afraid that people will truly come together to force them to face their corporate masters, so they distract us by division.
Frankly, many Americans have had their religion hijacked as the mega churches have morphed into right ring agenda cloning machines. Operation:Mindcrime is not against anyone's choice of faith, but O:MC is against anyone who is using their faith to further a political agenda. This site is a good beginning to counter the right wing extremism that is washing over this country from supposed Christians.
The whole thing is a crock of crap. Most Americans who have not been brainwashed by the Talibanesque efforts of the right wing political Christian movement realize that the government should stay out of our bedrooms. Its really that simple. I also defy any opponent of gay marriage to post in the comment section how two men down the street from you being married hurts YOUR marriage. I don't want anything vague from scripture. Answer the question: how does it hurt YOUR marriage? I'll even accept an answer to how does it affect you? Show me that I am wrong and you are more than a brainwashed automaton.
Stop and think people, all of these so called issues are to distract you from the reality that the government is screwing you to aid the wealthy. They want you to focus on all these other things rather than the truth. They are afraid that people will truly come together to force them to face their corporate masters, so they distract us by division.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Terre Haute, Indiana denies workers right to organize
It is insane. The maintenance workers in the Terre Haute parks department voted unanimously to join the Teamsters local, and the city is refusing to acknowledge the vote in what appears to be a flagrant violation of federal labor law. I urge the city workers to stand together and stand firm on this infringement of their right to organize.
"But Boyd said that nobody notified him as to why workers want to join a union. Parks Superintendent Greg Ruark said in October that no workers had given him reasons for their interest in regards to the election. "
Yo, Greg, the reason that the workers want to have a union is to insure that they receive fair pay and benefits, as well as protection. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Last I checked the workers do not have to tell the bosses why they are organizing. They organized as is their right, and like the bosses do you are stamping on their rights. If they had told you, you would have offered the usual false promises that union busters offer to keep the workers from standing as one.
It gives Operation: Mindcrime a warm feeling to see that even this day in age that workers are standing together as one to create a union shop despite the hostile conditions for organized labor. A great kudos goes out to the maintenance workers in the Terre Haute, Indiana for showing what workers can do by standing together. It is a shame that the city government of Terre Haute, Indiana have to be union busters. I urge the citizens of Terre Haute to make their voices heard so that their city knows that workers rights are important to the citizens.
By standing with the workers, you are taking a stand for your won workplace rights, by opposing them you are for further degradation of the American Worker such as yourself. Which side are you on?
"But Boyd said that nobody notified him as to why workers want to join a union. Parks Superintendent Greg Ruark said in October that no workers had given him reasons for their interest in regards to the election. "
Yo, Greg, the reason that the workers want to have a union is to insure that they receive fair pay and benefits, as well as protection. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Last I checked the workers do not have to tell the bosses why they are organizing. They organized as is their right, and like the bosses do you are stamping on their rights. If they had told you, you would have offered the usual false promises that union busters offer to keep the workers from standing as one.
It gives Operation: Mindcrime a warm feeling to see that even this day in age that workers are standing together as one to create a union shop despite the hostile conditions for organized labor. A great kudos goes out to the maintenance workers in the Terre Haute, Indiana for showing what workers can do by standing together. It is a shame that the city government of Terre Haute, Indiana have to be union busters. I urge the citizens of Terre Haute to make their voices heard so that their city knows that workers rights are important to the citizens.
By standing with the workers, you are taking a stand for your won workplace rights, by opposing them you are for further degradation of the American Worker such as yourself. Which side are you on?
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
The economy is screwed up
I read in the paper this morning that the fed was happy that wages rose less than expected. Ok, that just goes to show that the lower class is a target of class war. The head of the Federal Reserve is definitely on the other side. The interesting converse of this is that in order for the economy to be 'successful' people are expected to spend gratuitous amounts of money during the holiday season to line the pockets of Lee Scott and Bob Ulrich. It seems to me that rejoicing over a low growth in income would be counter productive to the goal of conspicuous holiday consumption. To a reasonable and rational person it would be. But we are not talking about reasonable and rational people, we are talking about a class of people out to rape and pillage the working class for all they can get. Less income and more spending equals more to exploit.
Enter the credit card companies. Visa and MasterCard want you to spend more than you have so that they can make their money off interest fees. They are the ones who benefit from the so called consumer confidence index. According to this theory the economy is healthy when people are willing to spend more than they have. That is something that again makes no sense. I would think that other than a house or a car, it would be a sign of a healthy economy that people used financial discipline and spent what they had. Of course I am not an economist, I am but a worker. It comes down to one key thing the worse the economy is for the workers, the better economy it creates for the top class. The less they pay us in wages the more of their profits they can keep in their world view. Its pretty sick if you think about it. Retail companies have gotten in on this exploitation bandwagon by not only issuing their own store cards as they ahve done for years, but offering their own branded Visa and MasterCards. That way they get to make money on both ends.
Of course the great beast Wal*Mart is having a tough time this holiday season, and that is a cause for some optimism. Their same store sales actually fell. (Same store sales are a key indicator of the health of a retail company that measures the sales at stores that have been open at least a year and compares this year to last year.) Yeah, I read the business section of the paper. In the words of Rage Against the Machine it pays to "Know your Enemy."
Enter the credit card companies. Visa and MasterCard want you to spend more than you have so that they can make their money off interest fees. They are the ones who benefit from the so called consumer confidence index. According to this theory the economy is healthy when people are willing to spend more than they have. That is something that again makes no sense. I would think that other than a house or a car, it would be a sign of a healthy economy that people used financial discipline and spent what they had. Of course I am not an economist, I am but a worker. It comes down to one key thing the worse the economy is for the workers, the better economy it creates for the top class. The less they pay us in wages the more of their profits they can keep in their world view. Its pretty sick if you think about it. Retail companies have gotten in on this exploitation bandwagon by not only issuing their own store cards as they ahve done for years, but offering their own branded Visa and MasterCards. That way they get to make money on both ends.
Of course the great beast Wal*Mart is having a tough time this holiday season, and that is a cause for some optimism. Their same store sales actually fell. (Same store sales are a key indicator of the health of a retail company that measures the sales at stores that have been open at least a year and compares this year to last year.) Yeah, I read the business section of the paper. In the words of Rage Against the Machine it pays to "Know your Enemy."
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Response to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President Ahmadinejad,
Thank you for your concern for the civil liberties of the American Public, those are concerns which I happen to share. I would however caution you against pointing fingers at the erosion of civil liberties in the US, when your country has much less freedom than this one. In the US all religions are respected, whereas in Iran people are persecuted for not following your particular branch of Islam. In fact, I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine of Iranian descent who came to America with his family precisely because his family was not allowed to be Christian in Iran. I am not well versed in the teachings of the Qur'an, but I do expect that it contains an admonition against duplicity as most all Holy Books do.
I am in agreement that it is not right that the US blindly sides with Israel. As with any conflict, there are three sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth. I don't believe that either side in that conflict has a monopoly on the truth or the moral high ground. I also disagree with your stated desire to wipe Israel off the map. The solution in this case is in the middle ground.
President Ahmadinejad, I would like to see better relations between our countries, but that is not possible as long as your country relegates women to second class citizens, is dedicated to eradicating another country from the map, and is unwilling to come to the table to seek common ground for the betterment of planet Earth.
Thank you,
Operation:Mindcrime
Thank you for your concern for the civil liberties of the American Public, those are concerns which I happen to share. I would however caution you against pointing fingers at the erosion of civil liberties in the US, when your country has much less freedom than this one. In the US all religions are respected, whereas in Iran people are persecuted for not following your particular branch of Islam. In fact, I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine of Iranian descent who came to America with his family precisely because his family was not allowed to be Christian in Iran. I am not well versed in the teachings of the Qur'an, but I do expect that it contains an admonition against duplicity as most all Holy Books do.
I am in agreement that it is not right that the US blindly sides with Israel. As with any conflict, there are three sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth. I don't believe that either side in that conflict has a monopoly on the truth or the moral high ground. I also disagree with your stated desire to wipe Israel off the map. The solution in this case is in the middle ground.
President Ahmadinejad, I would like to see better relations between our countries, but that is not possible as long as your country relegates women to second class citizens, is dedicated to eradicating another country from the map, and is unwilling to come to the table to seek common ground for the betterment of planet Earth.
Thank you,
Operation:Mindcrime
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Some Muslims, Some Jews, and Some Christains
OK, now that sounds like a set up for a joke, right? It probably is, but in this case they all got together at Ronald Regan national airport to pray together to protest the recent harassing of a couple of Imams on a recent US Airways flight. The media beats us over the head constantly with how much Jews and Muslims supposedly hate each other (some of them apparently do) but here were some Imams and a Rabbi coming together with common cause. This is a small show of togetherness, but one that should be emulated on a much grander scale.
It was non-violent protests led by Mahatma Ghandi in India that brought the greatest empire in the world, the British Empire, to its knees. With his sheer force of spiritual faith he was able to get the people around him regardless of whether they were Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist to work together for the common cause of Indian independence from England. That was no small feat. Since his death you can see the fragiminetation that has taken place between the Muslims and Hindus in India. (for further reading on that issue I recommend doing a google search for Kasmir.) Ghandi's model was used by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and others here in the United States to bring an end to legalized segregation.
Imagine if you will for a moment, after the Muslim world was inflamed by the Pope's quoting of a 500 year old text, if instead of all the violence one or more of the Grand Imams had contacted the Pope with an offer of dialog and prayer. Many innocent lives would have been spared, and that so called divide between the Muslim world and the West would be slightly less.
Those in power want to keep us separated along the lines of race, religion and class so they can keep us controlled. When they have us controlled they have a docile work force upon the backs of which they can profiteer. When they have Americans distrusting of Muslims they can invade countries like Iraq and Iran, and the inhabitants of those countries have already been dehumanized. The leaders over there are doing the same thing, because by inciting hatred for America keeps their people under their control.
I recently flew across country, and had an enjoyable flight. There was a guy next to me who appeared to be of middle eastern descent. We had a bit of a pleasant chat as the plane taxied then climbed to 10,000 feet. At that time he opened his laptop and iPod and got to work. I lost myself in the music of Tool in my CD player and enjoyed the different perspective on the world from 37,000 feet.
Yeah, I know, it seems odd that Operation:Mindcrime is advocating non-violence and prayer. It comes down to this, where did violence get Nikki in the CD? It got him hard time and hell-bent on revenge. I am advocating real changes, and those are rarely accomplished from the barrel of a gun.
It was non-violent protests led by Mahatma Ghandi in India that brought the greatest empire in the world, the British Empire, to its knees. With his sheer force of spiritual faith he was able to get the people around him regardless of whether they were Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist to work together for the common cause of Indian independence from England. That was no small feat. Since his death you can see the fragiminetation that has taken place between the Muslims and Hindus in India. (for further reading on that issue I recommend doing a google search for Kasmir.) Ghandi's model was used by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and others here in the United States to bring an end to legalized segregation.
Imagine if you will for a moment, after the Muslim world was inflamed by the Pope's quoting of a 500 year old text, if instead of all the violence one or more of the Grand Imams had contacted the Pope with an offer of dialog and prayer. Many innocent lives would have been spared, and that so called divide between the Muslim world and the West would be slightly less.
Those in power want to keep us separated along the lines of race, religion and class so they can keep us controlled. When they have us controlled they have a docile work force upon the backs of which they can profiteer. When they have Americans distrusting of Muslims they can invade countries like Iraq and Iran, and the inhabitants of those countries have already been dehumanized. The leaders over there are doing the same thing, because by inciting hatred for America keeps their people under their control.
I recently flew across country, and had an enjoyable flight. There was a guy next to me who appeared to be of middle eastern descent. We had a bit of a pleasant chat as the plane taxied then climbed to 10,000 feet. At that time he opened his laptop and iPod and got to work. I lost myself in the music of Tool in my CD player and enjoyed the different perspective on the world from 37,000 feet.
Yeah, I know, it seems odd that Operation:Mindcrime is advocating non-violence and prayer. It comes down to this, where did violence get Nikki in the CD? It got him hard time and hell-bent on revenge. I am advocating real changes, and those are rarely accomplished from the barrel of a gun.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Black Friday is Coming!
Black Friday is coming. The Retail Corporations are bombarding us with ads on how great their lowest prices ever will be on that day. Come celebrate the Christmas holiday buy giving us your hard earned money. It works, sadly. Most stores do more that DAY than they do on an average two week span.
How did it come to be that the holiest day of Christianity has become an orgy of conspicuous consumption? I am not a Christian, but I do believe that Jesus was not a big fan of being showy with wealth. (Could that be why many stores have changed the title from Christmas to Holiday? nah more on that in a minute.)
These retail corporations are the modern sweatshops. They pay just above minimum wage and continually are looking for ways to keep "costs" (read payment to employees) down. The treatment of Wal*Mart workers is something that is well documented. The treatment of workers in the rival Target Corporation is not as well documented, but a quick scan of www.targetunion.org tells some interesting tales of workers who are underpaid and LOCKED IN when the store is closed.
This is the busy season for retail workers, and the front line employees are the ones who take the abuse from the customers while the CEO's count their profits and figure the next round of "Cost" cuts so they can get their bonus for scoring a win against the working people.
Retail workers unite! Stand together for better wages and working conditions!
How did it come to be that the holiest day of Christianity has become an orgy of conspicuous consumption? I am not a Christian, but I do believe that Jesus was not a big fan of being showy with wealth. (Could that be why many stores have changed the title from Christmas to Holiday? nah more on that in a minute.)
These retail corporations are the modern sweatshops. They pay just above minimum wage and continually are looking for ways to keep "costs" (read payment to employees) down. The treatment of Wal*Mart workers is something that is well documented. The treatment of workers in the rival Target Corporation is not as well documented, but a quick scan of www.targetunion.org tells some interesting tales of workers who are underpaid and LOCKED IN when the store is closed.
This is the busy season for retail workers, and the front line employees are the ones who take the abuse from the customers while the CEO's count their profits and figure the next round of "Cost" cuts so they can get their bonus for scoring a win against the working people.
Retail workers unite! Stand together for better wages and working conditions!
Monday, November 20, 2006
Welcome to Operation Mindcrime
OK, so I stole my name from an awesome Queensryche CD from the late 80's, but now is the time. For years Washington has been tethered to their masters in the corporate world disregarding the needs of the people whom they claim to serve. As time has gone on they have become more blatant in their service to their corporate masters. If you think that it begins and ends with that schmuck Jack Abrahmoff think again. He was just careless enough to get caught. There IS a class war happening in the US. The conservative talking heads with simple minds like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly love to say that there isn't and chide any moderately liberal candidate who talks about the needs of the working calls as 'appealing to the class war sensibilities' while neglecting that there IS a class war and it is being waged by the upper class on the workers of the US. CEO's routinely get seven and eight figure bonuses for scoring victories against the working class by reducing pay and benefits. For the CEO to get the really big score he needs to get the knock out blow of eliminating jobs.
There are more of us than there are of them, and together we can take the power back.
There are more of us than there are of them, and together we can take the power back.
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