I have now updated my Website to include most of the comix and satire that I published back in the 1960s, '70s, & '80s. I will also be adding newer humor that I have more recently written.
Click here for comix
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Prof. Stanley Fish on Wisconsin Union Busting
On March 21, Dr. Stanley fish, Professor of Humanities and Law at Florida International University, posted an article on the New York Times OPINIONATOR blog titled "We're All Badgers Now"
In that article he admitted that he has changed his mind from a previous opinion and now supports the public workers unions. His blog posting had mostly positive response comments from intelligent and educated readers. Here is my comment on their comments.
Some very good points have been made here about why academics should side with unions and try to rid themselves of the elitist stereotype, and I am glad to see that Dr. Fish has come over to this side. Also some good points were made about the bigger picture; what the Republican agenda is really about, which concerns all Americans, not just college teachers or unions, but all of us who are either trying to achieve middle-class status or maintain our vulnerable middle-class status. The Republican agenda is, and has been for many years, trying to destroy the middle-class altogether so that the rich will be very rich and the poor will be very poor, leaving nothing in between.
Janet, from NYC, pointed out that unions created the the middle class, "the engine of our economic vibrancy." Also, I felt some nostalgia reading her quote from Woody Guthrie's "Union Maid" (hum the tune to "Red Wing" in your head to get the full effect).
Anna,from Albuquerque, and Candice,from Berkeley, pointed out that the right-wing agenda is about "privatization" of everything and used for profit. (Our current health care system is so far below every civilized country in the world precisely because it is privatized for profit only.)
And Michael Beilfuss, from Bryan, TX, pointed out the connection between union busting and the Supreme Court's decision to allow both corporations and unions to spend their money on political donations. The Republican solution to this? Obviously, bust the unions so that only the corporations will have the financial power to elect politicians. Talk about equality in collective bargaining, the corporations already have the "collective bargaining" advantage through their lobbyists who get hired by the government to run departments they will deliberately trash in order to privatize everything for profit.
But, I must take exception to a comment by Doug, from San Francisco, who claimed that "management is not bargaining with its own money" and "you can always go soak the taxpayers for some more," as if that was the fault of the unions. The fact is that taxpayer money is wasted on top-heavy administrations with too many redundant managers. Schools are supposed to be about education, but management seems to think it is only about their salaries and profits. Their idea of saving taxpayer money is not to trim administrative budgets, but to fire teachers, cancel classes, and increase the size of the classes that are left. Oh, yes, and raise the tuition of the students who will now be getting less for their money than they were before. The modern corporate ethic of making profits without providing any services (Enron redux) exists even in the public sector management mentality.
One last rant. Beware of using the term "meritocracy" as if it were a good thing. It doesn't even exist. The corporate "for profit" bosses get to define "merit" any way they want, and if you try to frame your moral position in terms of a "meritocracy" you will be falling into their rhetorical trap.
Stay tuned to this blog. On Monday, April 25th, I will be starting a series of essays about computers, cyber-ethics, and the role of hackers in the World Peace Algorithm.
www.peacemoon.org
In that article he admitted that he has changed his mind from a previous opinion and now supports the public workers unions. His blog posting had mostly positive response comments from intelligent and educated readers. Here is my comment on their comments.
Some very good points have been made here about why academics should side with unions and try to rid themselves of the elitist stereotype, and I am glad to see that Dr. Fish has come over to this side. Also some good points were made about the bigger picture; what the Republican agenda is really about, which concerns all Americans, not just college teachers or unions, but all of us who are either trying to achieve middle-class status or maintain our vulnerable middle-class status. The Republican agenda is, and has been for many years, trying to destroy the middle-class altogether so that the rich will be very rich and the poor will be very poor, leaving nothing in between.
Janet, from NYC, pointed out that unions created the the middle class, "the engine of our economic vibrancy." Also, I felt some nostalgia reading her quote from Woody Guthrie's "Union Maid" (hum the tune to "Red Wing" in your head to get the full effect).
Anna,from Albuquerque, and Candice,from Berkeley, pointed out that the right-wing agenda is about "privatization" of everything and used for profit. (Our current health care system is so far below every civilized country in the world precisely because it is privatized for profit only.)
And Michael Beilfuss, from Bryan, TX, pointed out the connection between union busting and the Supreme Court's decision to allow both corporations and unions to spend their money on political donations. The Republican solution to this? Obviously, bust the unions so that only the corporations will have the financial power to elect politicians. Talk about equality in collective bargaining, the corporations already have the "collective bargaining" advantage through their lobbyists who get hired by the government to run departments they will deliberately trash in order to privatize everything for profit.
But, I must take exception to a comment by Doug, from San Francisco, who claimed that "management is not bargaining with its own money" and "you can always go soak the taxpayers for some more," as if that was the fault of the unions. The fact is that taxpayer money is wasted on top-heavy administrations with too many redundant managers. Schools are supposed to be about education, but management seems to think it is only about their salaries and profits. Their idea of saving taxpayer money is not to trim administrative budgets, but to fire teachers, cancel classes, and increase the size of the classes that are left. Oh, yes, and raise the tuition of the students who will now be getting less for their money than they were before. The modern corporate ethic of making profits without providing any services (Enron redux) exists even in the public sector management mentality.
One last rant. Beware of using the term "meritocracy" as if it were a good thing. It doesn't even exist. The corporate "for profit" bosses get to define "merit" any way they want, and if you try to frame your moral position in terms of a "meritocracy" you will be falling into their rhetorical trap.
Stay tuned to this blog. On Monday, April 25th, I will be starting a series of essays about computers, cyber-ethics, and the role of hackers in the World Peace Algorithm.
www.peacemoon.org
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Why Peace, Why not war?
The following link is to the Thesis page on my website, the essay that explains how the World Peace Algorithm works. It was written almost 20 years ago, so I would really appreciate some comments from my readers. I plan to update it sometime in the near future.
Introduction
--Buck Moon
Introduction
--Buck Moon
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