StrangeSox

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 01:33 PM) And all the s***ty, lazy workers can be forever protected from termination. No they can't; it may be difficult to remove a bad teacher for good reasons, but that's so it's difficult to remove a good teacher for bad reasons. But that's a specific argument against specific tenure rules in teachers' unions, not against unionization in general.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 01:32 PM) So where is the cut off between "racing to the bottom" and fighting for more? Somewhere between believing that workers should accept whatever s*** deal management hands them and stopping the continual decline of the middle class and impoverishment of the working and non-working poor.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 01:29 PM) Its not unfortunate. Unions used to make sense, now they fight for more rights then regular humans get. Unions werent created so that workers could get better perks than everyone, they were created so they could get equal treatment. Union members are "regular humans." But unions were the ones to first fight, often literally, for the workers' rights we all enjoy. Unions still make sense since management still has immensely more bargaining power than labor. Labor struggle isn't about equal treatment (it's not a discrimination/civil rights movement) but bargaining power for labor, and most workers, especially with the decline of unions, do not have that. The first unionized shops that were able to stand against violent crackdowns had better perks than everyone else, but their power and their influence grew to the point that 5-day, 40-hour weeks are the norm along with a host of other accomplishments. I find it disheartening that the typical response to one group of workers having comparatively better wages, benefits, employment protections and bargaining power is for other groups of workers to tear them down, to decry them for not suffering like the rest of us.

QUOTE (flippedoutpunk @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 01:22 PM) Then we can borrow from China to pay every worker in the U.S.'s crazy pension and benefit plans. Alternatively, we can close the ever-widening wealth and income gaps instead of racing to the bottom.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 01:14 PM) I get to sit at my desk and play on Soxtalk because I a can multitask and take care of 1) a client on the phone, 2) writing nonsense and 3) posting on Soxtalk. If you're posting on SoxTalk, you're not working. Teachers generally don't get the luxury of taking those sorts of mental breaks throughout the day.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 01:17 PM) If people decided to up and go on strike in most jobs, they'd get fired and replaced with someone willing to put up with the crap. CPS teachers apparently don't have to worry about that. Thanks to union organization. It's unfortunate that all labor isn't represented so that they can't be trampled by management without a say.

my wife was working until almost midnight this past saturday. Plus, you don't get much time during the day to sit at a desk and post on SoxTalk if you're a teacher. You can't take that trip to the bathroom or the water cooler to break away for a few minutes if you're handling a classroom.

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 12:31 PM) Pay them more, allow principals/administrators to fire people. Done and done. It is about more than pay.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 09:41 AM) Using the children's lives as leverage? That's noble. You could say the same thing of administration's actions; forcing teachers to play the only card they had (withholding labor) by only offering hugely unfair contract terms and refusing to improve classroom circumstances is not particularly noble. "Think of the children!" cuts both ways.

It's also about a lot more than just pay increases, as well: http://www.ctunet.com/quest-center/researc...tudents-deserve you can find a 1-page summary there or the full report. There's concerns about staffing, resource distribution, class sizes and other issues.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 08:24 AM) and 19% is nowhere near a similar proportion. Maybe they forgot to include the math teachers in the discussions You're right; their days are about 25% longer now, and that 19% would include their cancelled cost-of-living adjustment as well.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Sep 9, 2012 -> 11:53 PM) What a joke. You can't walk out on the kids. It's fine to demand more money or benefits or better work environments, but who loses most when the teachers go on strike? It's not the union, it's not the city, it's the kids. Try to get a deal done but do your f***ing job in the mean time. This has been one of the most violent summers in history. Here's a bright idea, let's cancel school and put more kids on the street instead of in classrooms. Guess what, everyone else in the f***ing country is working their ass off in s***ty work places and getting less money than they deserve too. Teachers are getting f***ed over hard here and this is their only leverage.

17 hour workday including travel today, woo. They better give me Monday off.

Obama is a neo-liberal corporatist technocrat.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 10:54 AM) I guess you cant create players, rosters or have a fantasy draft. Those are BIG for alot of people. I'm going to stick with NCAA as well. I guess EA is trying to invite anti-trust litigation? What a joke their monopoly is.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 07:00 PM) LAST I CHECKED THAT EMOTICON IS BANNED FROM THIS SITE. LAST I CHECKED SO WERE U

A bill that results in recommendations and a report can't trample on "states' rights." I really wish we'd start putting people's rights ahead of states and corporations, for that matter.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 11:41 AM) I was before, and pretty much always have been, neither Dem nor GOP'er. Posters like Balta and SS think I'm a Republican, posters like you think I'm a liberal. People here like to put me into one category or the other. But my views are on the left on some issues, the right on others, and neither on yet more. I've voted in 5 presidential elections so far: I've voted for 2 GOP, 2 Dem, and 1 Independent. And I'm still not 100% sure who I will vote for this time. I just think your views on capital gains and dividends taxes are wrong and that supporting the privatization of Social Security is crazy.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 6, 2012 -> 08:53 AM) There was no substance in that post. It was a left wing rant with no basis in reality. Just like Posner's ruling in the Iraq protesters case that you dismissed out of hand, right?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 12:47 PM) In other words, every politician running for office. No, most politicians actually put forth proposals and plans that lay out the policies they would like to implement if they can.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 08:42 AM) Obama's was the worst IMO. Clinton's was the best. Anyone that claims Barrack is a great public speaker needs to watch Clinton or even Biden do his thing. Barrack is a reader, not an orator. And he continually messes up his words and emphasis words in a sentence at odd moments. Clinton is just smooth and fun to listen to, even if you don't agree with him. Obama's content wasn't anything great either. Romney was hit for not being specific. Someone give me specifics of Obama's plan, other than to end poverty, make every child literate, and defend us from every enemy. Oh, I guess we're going to manufacture goods again? Is that really a plan? Romney was hit for not being specific because people are still waiting for anything resembling an actual policy proposal from him. Obama has had detailed policy available for years, what with being the president and sending proposals to Congress and all.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 09:36 AM) Wow, that's surprising to me, even considering it was like 8 networks to 1. Do you have the numbers? No,i heard it on cnn this morning. Based on the Neilson ratings.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Sep 7, 2012 -> 05:28 AM) You are the first to give Michelle obamas speech such a low grade from what I've read. It does seem like Clinton's speech definitely was amazing and gave our president an early lead in the election Clinton got higher ratings than the NFL. Michelle got higher ratings than both of them.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 6, 2012 -> 10:52 PM) Well, Biden and Obama gave their speeches tonight, following speeches of Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton earlier in the week. Please critique them for me. My opinion: Clinton gave the best speech of the convention, followed by Biden, Barack and Michelle. I haven't heard yet what Wolf Blitzer thought of the speech. I watched the FOX crew and I was surprised some columnist named Krupheimer or something just blistered Obama. He said it was a horrible speech. Personally I thought Obama gave a pretty good speech. He admitted the job has brought him to his knees at times which I thought was great that he turned to God in time of need. I thought it made him seem very human in admitting he doesn't have all the answers at all times. I dunno. I think Barack comes across as a good man and I am fairly convinced he'll do all he can to get things moving in the right direction. But as far as the speech. I'd give it a B-. Biden's speech was very good IMO. He made a convincing argument that Barack is a good leader and is a better choice than that pretty rich boy the Republicans are throwing out there. I'd give Biden's speech a solid B. Clinton gets an A and Michelle a C. Conclusion: Obama beats Romney in a rout in the debates and in the election; Biden mops up the Republicans' Veep candidate in the Veep debate as well. I think you are referring to Charles Krauthammer. He's a hard-line Republican, so of course he said Obama's speech sucked. He said Clinton's speech was a "swing-and-a-miss." Do not look to people like Charles Krauthammer for truthful analysis.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 6, 2012 -> 09:47 PM) I'm a huge fan of Obama talking about Romney/Ryan as guys with no foreign policy experience. Mirror? Russia is our #1 enemy!