...turns out it was real and it was the republicans never ending War on Workers.
Did you know that since 2003 thirty states with republican controlled legislatures have passed laws that significantly weakened your ability to collect Workers' Compensation for injuries sustained from work? And that all of it just takes the financial responsibility away from corporations and puts it on the back of American taxpayers? Never mind that the corporations are at fault--we have to foot the bill for their ineptitude.
Did you also know that in 2014 almost 4700 Americans died in work related accidents? And that the republican party will stop at absolutely nothing to ensure that workers' families get nothing from corporate incompetence? Republicans have cut funding for OSHA to the bone and the wives and children of dead workers are paying the price. You know who isn't paying a price for killing its workers? Corporations.
These are just two more in a long line of reasons that Democrats should be fighting for candidates from school boards to the Presidency this fall--it's not enough for republicans that we're underpaid and overworked, they also want corporations to be able to maim and kill us with impunity.
Peace,
emaycee
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Friday, June 17, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXVII--War: Summer
Sunday marks the official beginning of summer, so naturally my thoughts turn to...great songs about summer...which brings us to a little ditty entitled, appropriately enough, "Summer" by War for this week's Jukebox feature.
If you're of a certain age (a polite way of saying "old"), you can remember when record labels would add a new track to Greatest Hits packages as a way of suckering people into buying the Greatest Hits album--if you were a big enough fan you'd already have all the hits but you absolutely had to have that new single. "Summer" was just such a single--though unlike many such songs, it was actually worth the price.
War, much like last week's band The Guess Who, had a great run from the early 70's through the mid 70's--it would have been hard to get through any of those years without thee or four War singles making the charts and getting plenty of airplay. Originally, known as Eric Burdon (of Animals and "The House of the Rising Sun" fame) and War (until Burdon's departure in 1970), the band formed in 1969 and was a multi-ethnic (somewhat novel for the time) band that featured a plethora of musical styles--jazz, funk, rock, reggae, R & B, and Latin. Their album The World Is a Ghetto was the best selling LP of 1973. War is still together and touring, though only one of the original members is still playing (sadly, two of the original members have passed). Also like The Guess Who, their Greatest Hits package is a delight to listen to even these so many years later--chock full of great songs with lots of great grooves.
Released in 1976, "Summer" was the last hit single War would have, reaching #7 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. Amazingly enough, the song is a tribute to that most wonderful time of the year--no, not fucking Christmas: summer. Though the lyrics are somewhat dated (they're not somewhat dated, they're tremendously dated) with references to listening to 8-Tracks (again, of a certain age) and CB radios (ditto), the song is still an infectious ode to all the things we love to do when the weather is warm and the sky is blue. Best of all, it's sung and performed in a hazy lazy groove reminiscent of summer itself, with some wonderful four part harmonies on the chorus. All in all, if you're a fan of summer (count me in) or summer songs (ditto), War's tribute to long days and short nights is a winner.
Truer words: "Yes it's summer/My time of year...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
If you're of a certain age (a polite way of saying "old"), you can remember when record labels would add a new track to Greatest Hits packages as a way of suckering people into buying the Greatest Hits album--if you were a big enough fan you'd already have all the hits but you absolutely had to have that new single. "Summer" was just such a single--though unlike many such songs, it was actually worth the price.
War, much like last week's band The Guess Who, had a great run from the early 70's through the mid 70's--it would have been hard to get through any of those years without thee or four War singles making the charts and getting plenty of airplay. Originally, known as Eric Burdon (of Animals and "The House of the Rising Sun" fame) and War (until Burdon's departure in 1970), the band formed in 1969 and was a multi-ethnic (somewhat novel for the time) band that featured a plethora of musical styles--jazz, funk, rock, reggae, R & B, and Latin. Their album The World Is a Ghetto was the best selling LP of 1973. War is still together and touring, though only one of the original members is still playing (sadly, two of the original members have passed). Also like The Guess Who, their Greatest Hits package is a delight to listen to even these so many years later--chock full of great songs with lots of great grooves.
Released in 1976, "Summer" was the last hit single War would have, reaching #7 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. Amazingly enough, the song is a tribute to that most wonderful time of the year--no, not fucking Christmas: summer. Though the lyrics are somewhat dated (they're not somewhat dated, they're tremendously dated) with references to listening to 8-Tracks (again, of a certain age) and CB radios (ditto), the song is still an infectious ode to all the things we love to do when the weather is warm and the sky is blue. Best of all, it's sung and performed in a hazy lazy groove reminiscent of summer itself, with some wonderful four part harmonies on the chorus. All in all, if you're a fan of summer (count me in) or summer songs (ditto), War's tribute to long days and short nights is a winner.
Truer words: "Yes it's summer/My time of year...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, June 16, 2016
A little good news
Regular readers will know that I'm not a big fan of forced abritration--clauses that require both workers and consumers to go to arbitration to settle disputes with employers and companies we do business with, rather than file class action lawsuits. It's a rigged game and corporations do much better than the little guys under arbitration .
Well, this week the Seventh Circuit ruled that employees can sue their employers in class action lawsuits, even if said employers forced their employees to to sign away such a right.
Somebody done fucked up--the little guys won....
While the ruling is certain to be subject to appeals, with the Supreme Court currently at a 4-4 split (if tied the ruling automatically defers to the lower court outcome) and more than likely a Democrat will be nominating that all important fifth vote, it might be just another nail in the coffin of forced arbitration.
And with the CFPB working diligently to end all consumer forced arbitration, we could soon be saying buh-bye to a heinous business practice.
Peace,
emaycee
Well, this week the Seventh Circuit ruled that employees can sue their employers in class action lawsuits, even if said employers forced their employees to to sign away such a right.
Somebody done fucked up--the little guys won....
While the ruling is certain to be subject to appeals, with the Supreme Court currently at a 4-4 split (if tied the ruling automatically defers to the lower court outcome) and more than likely a Democrat will be nominating that all important fifth vote, it might be just another nail in the coffin of forced arbitration.
And with the CFPB working diligently to end all consumer forced arbitration, we could soon be saying buh-bye to a heinous business practice.
Peace,
emaycee
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Stat of the day
According to a new study, the average American worker makes $37,000 a year, while the average CEO makes $12.4 million.
Anyone out there who thinks the person running the company you work for is worth 335 times a year what you are?
I know I've worked for some pretty shitty companies, but I'd be hard pressed to name an executive I've worked for who was worth even twice what I made, let alone 335 times.
Anyone know a company that sells pitchforks?
Peace,
emaycee
Anyone out there who thinks the person running the company you work for is worth 335 times a year what you are?
I know I've worked for some pretty shitty companies, but I'd be hard pressed to name an executive I've worked for who was worth even twice what I made, let alone 335 times.
Anyone know a company that sells pitchforks?
Peace,
emaycee
Sunday, June 12, 2016
I'm in
I have to admit I was kind of on the fence about Elizabeth Warren as Hillary Clinton's VP pick--but after a week of Tim Kaine (Tim fucking Kaine? what the fuck?) rumors, watching Warren attack Trump, and reading this piece by brooklynbadboy, I'm all in. She's truly the best candidate we have--and odds are good her voice for average Americans will be amplified even more as the second most powerful person in the world.
And can you imagine the fire in the bellies of the Democratic base watching her and Clinton raise triumphant arms on the stage in Philadelphia next month?
White fucking hot, guaranteed.
Peace,
emaycee
And can you imagine the fire in the bellies of the Democratic base watching her and Clinton raise triumphant arms on the stage in Philadelphia next month?
White fucking hot, guaranteed.
Peace,
emaycee
Not fit for man nor beast
At a religious meeting this week, Georgia Senator Frank Perdue asked the attendees to pray to President Obama's death, citing Psalm 109 which asks to "let his days be few" and makes reference to leaving a man's wife a widow and his children without a father.
Aside from Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama may be the most decent man to hold the office of the Presidency in my lifetime. He genuinely loves his family, he genuinely loves his fellow Americans, and he's turned the other cheek so many times after gutless and pathetic republican comment after gutless and pathetic republican comment that he's earned a box seat in heaven after his days (hopefully many, many years from now) on this earth are done.
Frank Perdue, on the other hand, is a gutless and pathetic man who is not fit to hold office in our Senate, not fit to vote on legislation, and frankly, isn't worthy of shoveling shit with a spoon.
Perdue later tried to pass it off as an attempt at humor.
Some fucking joke--much like Perdue himself.
Peace,
emaycee
Aside from Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama may be the most decent man to hold the office of the Presidency in my lifetime. He genuinely loves his family, he genuinely loves his fellow Americans, and he's turned the other cheek so many times after gutless and pathetic republican comment after gutless and pathetic republican comment that he's earned a box seat in heaven after his days (hopefully many, many years from now) on this earth are done.
Frank Perdue, on the other hand, is a gutless and pathetic man who is not fit to hold office in our Senate, not fit to vote on legislation, and frankly, isn't worthy of shoveling shit with a spoon.
Perdue later tried to pass it off as an attempt at humor.
Some fucking joke--much like Perdue himself.
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXVI--The Guess Who: Share the Land
Every now and again in rock and roll's history, a "Peace! Love! Dope!" song comes along that isn't a schmaltzy soul-sapping piece of drivel like say, "We Are the World." And "Share the Land" by The Guess Who is just such a song.
Fun fact: In 1965, Chad Allan and the Expressions had a number one hit in Canada (#22 U.S.) with a cover version of "Shakin' All Over." In a desperate attempt to attach some sort of mystique to the single, the label released the decidedly British Beat song as being by "Guess Who?" to attract folks who might think it secretly done by one of the British Invasion artists. Alas, the name stuck and the band became forever known as The Guess Who.
Formed in 1959 in Winnipeg, Manitoba (that hotbed of rock and roll) The Guess Who would go through numerous incarnations before finding success in the late 60's. They had a nice run through the mid 70's, with several hit singles (most notably their only number one hit in the U.S., "American Woman," later one of the five worst cover versions in rock and roll history by Lenny Kravitz). After 1975, they pretty much disappeared, though various members continued touring under The Guess Who moniker. Lead singer Burton Cummings would go on to have some solo success, and lead guitarist Randy Bachman would go onto much similar single success with Bachman Turner Overdrive. While I would never confuse The Guess Who with the great bands of rock and roll (though they are in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame!), I still put on their Best Of LP and enjoy the living shit out of it--ain't nothing wrong with a great singles band. And The Guess Who had a bunch of great ones.
And none more so than "Share the Land" a paean to the communal spirit of the 60's (which somehow brought us to where we are today in the land of extreme income inequality--no one ever said it was going to be easy). Released in 1970 on their aptly named Share the Land album, the song would reach #10 (with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100. The song is more or less a series of questions asking if you've done your part to make the world a better place, before breaking into the catchy as all hell chorus which reminds you that one day we're all going to live in harmony. Throughout there's wonderful gospelesque backing vocals echoing Burton Cummings heartfelt singing. The creme de la creme, though, is the song's closing, which is Cummings wailing a scat like rap of lots of shiny happy thoughts, with all of us holding hands down by the river. Corny drivel? You bet--but it's cool corny drivel from some boys from the Great White North. Good enough for me....
Lyric sheet: "Every day coming sunshine, everyday, everybody laughin'...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Fun fact: In 1965, Chad Allan and the Expressions had a number one hit in Canada (#22 U.S.) with a cover version of "Shakin' All Over." In a desperate attempt to attach some sort of mystique to the single, the label released the decidedly British Beat song as being by "Guess Who?" to attract folks who might think it secretly done by one of the British Invasion artists. Alas, the name stuck and the band became forever known as The Guess Who.
Formed in 1959 in Winnipeg, Manitoba (that hotbed of rock and roll) The Guess Who would go through numerous incarnations before finding success in the late 60's. They had a nice run through the mid 70's, with several hit singles (most notably their only number one hit in the U.S., "American Woman," later one of the five worst cover versions in rock and roll history by Lenny Kravitz). After 1975, they pretty much disappeared, though various members continued touring under The Guess Who moniker. Lead singer Burton Cummings would go on to have some solo success, and lead guitarist Randy Bachman would go onto much similar single success with Bachman Turner Overdrive. While I would never confuse The Guess Who with the great bands of rock and roll (though they are in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame!), I still put on their Best Of LP and enjoy the living shit out of it--ain't nothing wrong with a great singles band. And The Guess Who had a bunch of great ones.
And none more so than "Share the Land" a paean to the communal spirit of the 60's (which somehow brought us to where we are today in the land of extreme income inequality--no one ever said it was going to be easy). Released in 1970 on their aptly named Share the Land album, the song would reach #10 (with a bullet!) on The Billboard Hot 100. The song is more or less a series of questions asking if you've done your part to make the world a better place, before breaking into the catchy as all hell chorus which reminds you that one day we're all going to live in harmony. Throughout there's wonderful gospelesque backing vocals echoing Burton Cummings heartfelt singing. The creme de la creme, though, is the song's closing, which is Cummings wailing a scat like rap of lots of shiny happy thoughts, with all of us holding hands down by the river. Corny drivel? You bet--but it's cool corny drivel from some boys from the Great White North. Good enough for me....
Lyric sheet: "Every day coming sunshine, everyday, everybody laughin'...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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