The Blizzard and the Boss

As I sit here tonight, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. My little shoulders. No, it's not even because of Bush this time. This time the problem is snow. Lots and lots of snow. And all that it seems to represent.

I'm gonna ramble, I'm gonna complain, but ultimately, I hope to make my point.

In the middle of the "Holiday Blizzard 2006", as the news channels are calling it, (they are apparently required to name every storm that produces more than a dusting of snow) I've come to realize all that snow represents. Let me begin by explaining how my awakening happened...

This morning, when my fantastic boss finally let us leave work, two hours after we should have been allowed to, I drove home at a whopping 15mph in white-out conditions, in a front wheel drive sports-car with good, but not 'snow' tires. After sliding several times and worrying about the jackasses around me, I made it to my street. Unfortunately, I live at the top of a nice little incline, and so had to park my car at the bottom of the hill and walk the last 1/2 mile. In a blizzard. Gusting wind. Snow, ankle deep. In high heels. I did quite a bit of thinking on that 10 minute walk. Mostly to keep my mind off of the fact that I couldn't feel my feet, except for the ice that was forming in my arches.

I began to think about my amazing boss, and how at 9:30 this morning, when one of our project managers, who was on the interstate, called and said we had to leave right then or it was going to be too dangerous, he just shrugged it off. Then, 20 minutes later, when one of our foremen called and said the same thing, he still shrugged it off and said we could stick it out until 2:00. Finally, he was overruled by our Op Mgr, who at 10:30 said "Shut it down". When I called back into the shop, to let my brilliant boss know that yes, I'd made it home, and thanks for nothing since I had to hike in a blizzard to get home, he actually had the gonads to ask if I thought I'd be able to make it in tomorrow, and if not, could I get a ride in with someone. I laughed and informed him that no one is going anywhere tomorrow morning. He said he'd be in, cause his big ass' gas-guzzlin', over-sized, "Bush-Cheney" bumper-stickered, SUV could get through anything. I hope he gets stuck.

I'll stop rambling and get to my point. The mere fact that anyone seems to think that the accounting office of a construction company needs to be open during a blizzard is a stunning example of how far this country has slid down hill. That bosses are actually expecting people to risk life, limb, and property to make sure that a deposit gets posted or an invoice gets mailed befuddles me. When did I give my soul to that company, or any company. All that matters is the bottom line. To hell with the snow, screw CDOT, they don't know what they're doing when the shut down the interstate. How dare they say we peons can't go into work in 26" of snow.

The fact is, everything is being reduced to the bottom line. No matter how a company gets there, how dangerous their methods, how warped their motives, nor how psycho their demands, they are just racing to the bottom. All ends justify their means, according to them. I already work longer hours than I used to, with more (many more) duties, and come next week, I'll get a nice little pat on the back, an "atta-girl" and a raise that will equal about 1/2 of a cost of living increase. And I will act gracious. For this, I was expected to risk my well-being to go into work? I don't think so.

Maybe you'll say I have a bad attitude, but I'm sick and tired of being treated as a mere pawn in some screwed up Titans-of-Industry game. I'm sick and tired of knowing that I am making less now than I was in 2000. I'm tired of seeing my middle-class status slip from my fingers helplessly. Yeah, sure I could get a second job, but the point is, I shouldn't have to. No one should have to. My husband is already working his ass off traveling 75% of the time just so we can make enough money to live a decent life. But, when he is bouncing around the country at the whim of a boss with too much money and too much spare time, how are we supposed to enjoy that life.

If this is middle-class, I don't want to even think about what the less fortunate have to deal with. This country didn't use to be like this. It was never equal, it was never fair, but at least everyone had a chance, however small it may be. Now, we are all slowly sinking to the bottom, with no one to pull us out. And no ropes or ladders to help ourselves.

If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish, you feed him for life. That's all fine and dandy, but it'd be nice if you provided him with a rod, some bait, and maybe even a fish to feed him till he gets the hang of it.

If we require anything of our leaders, it should be a safety net, workplace protections, and labor-friendly policies. Because without workers out there busting butt everyday, there would not be a United States. There wouldn't be anything, except maybe the snow. Piling up, smothering us all, slowly and surely.

We Did It!

Well, we did it. We actually did it. We took the House, the Senate, the Governorships, and the State Legislatures. We worked our asses off, and we did it.

We troll rated Bush and the GOP last night into oblivion. We took their Mojo, and their TU status and barely left them enough to avoid the Autoban from getting them. We rendered them irrelevant and told them where they could shove it.

We flung recipes for economic uplift, national security, and universal healthcare. We threw pie in their faces. Then we woke up this morning with smiles on our faces and forced them to eat crow.

We did it, all of us, the grassroots, the netroots, the activists, and the Dem leadership. We came together(for the most part) and we did it.

To quote Howard Dean from The Daily Show tonight…
…”Boo-Ya!!!”

ELECTION NIGHT VICTORY PARTY

November 7, 2006 (Election Day)
7:30pm-11:00pm at the Boulder Broker.
555 30th Street
Boulder CO 80303
Map & Directions

We'll be Live-blogging the event on the Boulder County Democrats Website. We'll also be following the coverage on various liberal blogs, such as DailyKos, SquareState, and any others which have good coverage, discussions, and analysis of the elections.

Bloggers scheduled for the night include, WeatherDem, Squirrel2634, msobel, and billythegeek.

There will be a cash bar, free food, videos, election results, wi-fi access, and music.

So, come on down and celebrate (hopefully) when we take our country back.

The Republicans That Must Be Defeated

An attempt by the Netroots to influence the elections with technology. The Goopers did it in 2004. Now, it's our turn.

For background and more information see here, here, and here.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

On Work, Stress, and Writing

So, it’s been something like 6 months since I’ve posted on here. I’ve not had much time to do anything other than eat, sleep, and work.

Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m in some kind of funk, could even be called mild depression.

You see, in March my husband had to accept a job out of state for economic reasons. (It was either take the job, or dive head first into financial ruin)  The job was expected to last until late June or early July. Needless to say, the job is still going, and looks like it will for at least another month or two.  I’ve only seen him for a couple of days every 4-6 weeks since he’s been gone. The whole time, the question of whether or not we would be relocating has been hanging over our heads.  The damned question has still not been answered.

To pile things on even further, I’ve been swamped at work with no relief in sight.  There are other stress factors involved in that, including, but not limited to, the fact that I’ve determined through market research that I am approximately 50% underpaid for what I do. I love my job though, and love most of the people I work with, with about 3 exceptions.  I’m also learning that a boob-job can get you paid more and advance you further than good old-fashioned brains. I have to wonder how large of implants I’d have to get in order to get the raise I deserve.  Of course, none of this matters if we have to relocate. If we don’t have to relocate, then I may have some leverage to get the money I deserve. I’ve found out over the last few weeks that I have a couple of very strong advocates for my gripes.

I hope you can understand why I’ve not been updating this like I should.  I’ve got several long posts started that I have yet to finish. And I’ve got a ‘manifesto’ that deals with my beliefs that is in progress, and I’m quite proud of what is done so far.

Please bear with me, I hope to get up-to-date in the next week or so.

Thanks,
Squirrel

Bush Not Leaving Office in 2009?

If we allow the current defense of the illegal wiretaps to stand, who is to say that the preznit won't decide he has other inherent powers vested in him by Article II of the Constitution?
 
Let's play a little imagination game...
 
It's October 18, 2008, the Democratic Presidential Candidate (whoever it may be) is leading the Republican Candidate by about 30 points in the latest Zogby poll. The Neocons are freaking out because they are about to be permanently removed from power. Bushie and Turd Blossom decide that they can't allow the destruction of America to stop, so they elevate the terror alert level to 'Mushroom Cloud-Communist Red'. They talk of an orchestrated attack on polling places in various parts of the country.  So in the name of protecting America, they decide to postpone the election until the plan can be shut down.  November 4 rolls around with no elections and no terror attacks. Bush has saved the day!!!
 
On Fox News that night, he says the following:
"It is my duty as the President to protect the American people at ALL costs.  Today, we thwarted a major terrorist attack that would have killed or injured MILLIONS of Americans. British intelligence has learned that the method of attack can be easily modified to fit with any election day setup.  In light of this development, it will be in the best interest of the American people if we continue to postpone the presidential election until we are able to find and punish those responsible for this plan. To have the elections at this point in time would give aid and comfort to the enemy. I have ordered all elections to cease until further notice by this administration. Thank you, and God Bless Amurika."
 
Immediately, the left blogosphere erupts. This is not a pretty sight. When people like Kos, Atrios, Aravosis, Greenwald, and Digby get fired up, you better watch out.  (At the same time, AssRocket, Malkin, and their type are breaking open the Franzia) Since this is 2008 and not 2006, people no longer go to the MSM for their news. They have learned that the MSM is hopelessly skewed to the right and no longer trust a word anybody other than Keith Olbermann and Jon Stewart say. After the bloggers get fired up, the American People become enraged at this horrid display of fear-mongering by the administration.  They stand up and demand elections.
 
After the initial frenzy, the now Democrat-led House begins impeachment proceedings (finally).  Bush immediately signs executive order No. 6660666 stating 'the President, in time of war with a noun, may simply discard the opinions and convictions of the United States Congress as he sees fit." Alberto Gonzalez confers.
 
On December 2, 2008 after massive worldwide protests, the Administration agrees to hold an election, but with mail balloting only.  So, the ballots go out. When I receive mine, I notice immediately the return address is the home office of the RNC. Fortunately, I am not the only one who realizes this. Hunter also realizes this and finally blows a vein. He then sets into motion what will become known as the "Hunter Revolt".  After screaming and yelling at anyone and everyone he can get close to, the Administration finally says "Aw, to hell with it, you can have your damned elections” (just to shut him up).  And so we do.  Everything goes smoothly (since Diebold was decertified in every state except Utah).
 
When the votes are counted, there is a steal-proof majority in 49 states giving the election to the Democrat.  Ann Coulter jumps off Library Tower, and Bill O'Reilly drowns himself in San Francisco Bay.
 
January 20, 2009 rolls around.  Then the Shit really really hits the fan.  On what should be the most joyous day in the USA since Coca-Cola was first bottled, all hell breaks loose.  Bomb threats are called in on every major building in DC. One 911 operator said the voice sounded very Texan and oddly familiar.  Immediately, King George decides that it is too risky to hand national security over to the pansy flip-floppy liberals and calls off the inauguration.

He immediately jumps on Fox again saying “If I step aside and allow a peaceful changing of President, the terrorists will have won. This is what they want, you see. If I am not in power, they will be able to bring the fight here instead of over there. I have decided as Commander in Chief that I will not rest until these evil-doers are brought to justice once and for all.  I cannot fight the terrorists if I am not the King. Oops, I mean President. Thank you, and God Bless Amurika.”

The riots continue for weeks, then weeks turn into months, and months into years, all to no avail.  Bush has declared himself permanent ruler.  He will only leave office upon his death. The order of Presidential Succession includes Jeb, Neil, Barbie, and Jenna.

Our economy collapses, the country is bankrupt. The number of people in poverty reaches 75%. We have lost all allies, and are being threatened with invasion by Canada. All hope is lost.

But hey, on the bright side, at least we no longer have to listen to Coulter and O’Reilly.