mikesoh.com

I watched the 1979 film Norma Rae.  If you’ve never seen it, it’s a pretty good movie.  Here is the plot summary available from Wikipedia:

Norma Rae Webster is a minimum-wage worker in a cotton mill that has taken too much of a toll on the health of her family for her to ignore her Dickensian working conditions. After hearing a speech by New York union organizer Reuben Warshowsky, Norma Rae decides to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes conflict at home when Norma Rae’s husband Sonny assumes that her activism is a result of a romance between herself and Reuben. Despite the pressure brought to bear by management, Norma Rae successfully orchestrates an election to unionize the factory, resulting in victory for the union and presumably capitulation for the demands. When Reuben first comes to the factory he tries to get all the workers to start a union, but is soon chased out of the small town. Days later, Norma Rae shuts down her machine and stands on top of her work table striking. Soon the whole factory is with her and a union starts.

Back in the day, companies like the one depicted in this movie, abused and mistreated their workers.  In many ways, they were slaves, working for pennies while management lived like kings.  Unions helped correct this wrong by organizing workers against the company.  This was a very good move because it forced companies to do the right thing.  Back then, there was very little justice.

Unions were needed back then to remind owners and managers that the working class deserve better.

But I’m not so sure unions are needed today.

continue reading »

All over America, concerned citizens are showing up at Town Hall meetings and showing their disapproval of their elected lawmakers.  Many of them are switching venues so they can hide behind “human shields” to avoid these citizens.  Nancy Pelosi even pulled the “Nazi Card” by claiming she saw “swastikas” at these Town Hall meetings.

The White House wants people to report “disinformation” to flag@whitehouse.com.  Barack Obama has even said he doesn’t want people who disagree with him to “do a whole lot of talking“.

This is nothing short of a desperate “President” trying to scare his critics into backing down.  But, hey, if he wants to get a whole bunch of e-mails, that’s his business.  I think We the People should report our neighbors for spreading disinformation.  And I say we start with the Obama supporters.

No doubt that this community activist has enlisted a large army of kool-aid drinkers into doing his bidding.  To level the playing field, we should do the same.  In the next week, I’ll be debuting a website where fellow conservatives can report Obama supporters.  Upload pictures of their bumper stickers (including license plates).  Use the Freedom of Information Act in your state to obtain their address, phone number, and any other identifying information.  That information will be publicly displayed for people to see.

Unlike the White House, this list will not be illegal since the information is publicly available.  What people decide to do with the information is not up for the state to decide.

Once I have the website up and running, I’ll make another announcement on this site and on Twitter.

My parents weren’t rich growing up.  In fact, we lived in poverty.  Things are different now, of course, but they made it through without government help because, quite frankly, they didn’t know who to ask or what was available.

They didn’t take food stamps, or WIC, or anything like that.  They just worked hard to raise my sister and me.  Save as much money as they could, bought a house in the suburbs, and sent us to college.

This is the American dream that I know.  You come from nothing and raise a family.

I don’t understand why people see the government as someone to take care of them.  My parents didn’t have to get help from the government.  Why should anyone else?

continue reading »

The lawsuit brought against CA when voters approved a constitutional amendment should have been thrown out on it’s merits.  But the court took it the case and finally ruled on it today.  (Full opinion)

Despite what you’ll hear from either the libs or the conservatives, the case is about the constitutional right of the people amending their own constitution.  It was not about gay marriage.

The court decision to uphold the initiative is the correct one.  The court, ruling 6-1, said:

In a sense, petitioners’ and the attorney general’s complaint is that it is just too easy to amend the California Constitution through the initiative process. But it is not a proper function of this court to curtail that process; we are constitutionally bound to uphold it.

This brings integrety to the constitution.  It means that any measure approved by the people would be amended as voted.

Consider the opposite: let’s say that the court ruled that the constition cannot be ammended by the people.  Prop 8 is void.  So what if the LGBT community wanted to pass an amendment saying that marriage is for anyone and everyone?  Because the court ruled that amendments by the people must first be approved by the court, people can say that amendment isn’t really the will of the people, fosters racism, insensitivity, etc.

This was a good decision not because it protects marriage, but because it protects the constitution of California.