This is interesting

There's been some good news for working people this week. In Wisconsin, a circuit judge struck down that state's "right to work" law.  Here's some of what the Center for Media and Democracy had to say:

In his ruling today, Judge Faust found that the unions had “a legally protectable property interest in the services they perform for their members and non-members.” 


“When members pay their dues and non-members their fair share fees, all would say the union is building a treasury that it holds as property. When it expends those funds to perform services, as it must, no one would dispute that that money is the union’s property. Plaintiffs will be obligated to spend treasury—their property—on services for which they cannot legally request compensation. This is enough to establish that unions do have a legally protectable property interest at stake,” read the ruling, in part.  

I wonder if an argument like that could hold up here. Hmmmm....

HELP NEEDED. So I've heard from several people that they no longer get Goat Rope by email. I'm trying to sort that out but if you DO get it that way could you please let me know? Thanks!

Unconditional surrender

I had intended to blog about something else today but have been overtaken by unforeseen circumstances. Although I have tried to do what I can with Goat Rope, mine eyes have now beheld a blog beyond which no greater blog can be conceived. I am bound by my code of honor to admit it when I have been outgunned, or in this case out-dogged.

The supreme blog that I hereby acknowledge is titled Food on My Dog and is pretty much entirely composed of pictures of a very compliant dog with various food items on its head.

Look upon it, ye mighty, and despair.

Going random and comments on the culture of caving in

It's hard to believe, but Goat Rope has been coming out for over 5 years now, usually six times per week aside from holidays, disasters, and random events. Usually, I've tried to post early in the morning, when possible before 6:00 a.m.

That schedule is going to slide for a while. Posts will still appear at about the same frequency but they may show up at any time. When you least expect it...expect it.

MEANWHILE, THE BIG NEWS is the standoff over the federal debt ceiling, in which right wing extremists are willing to throw the economy in the tank in order to protect tax cuts for the rich--while "moderates" seem willing to pretty much cave in to the blackmail.

Paul Krugman argues here that the biggest threat doesn't come from the Whackadoodles of the right but rather from those who appease them in the name of "centrism" and "moderation":

Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it’s increasingly obvious that what we’re looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

And no, I don’t mean the fanaticism of the right. Well, OK, that too. But my feeling about those people is that they are what they are; you might as well denounce wolves for being carnivores. Crazy is what they do and what they are.

No, the cult that I see as reflecting a true moral failure is the cult of balance, of centrism.

The cult of centrism goes like this: right wing extremists make ludicrous demands. Rather than saying "That is bat sh*t crazy," members of the cult of centrism attempt to meet them halfway, now matter how extreme that is. When that happens, as Krugman argues, there is no penalty for extremism.

That's not the way to deal with bullies. They need to hit the wall sometimes.

All things in moderation. Including moderation.

GROWING UP HARD. Poor kids face all kinds of challenges in school. I found this NPR story on that to be compelling.

HOT TIMES. Here's an interesting look at the connection between hot weather and violence.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

FEEL THE NOISE

The theme at Goat Rope lately has been writing about social change. If this is your first visit, please click on earlier posts. You'll also find news and links about current events.

Some of the most effective writing to make good things happen or keep bad things from happening--or, failing both, to make bad behavior hurt some--isn't the writing you and I might do, Gentle Reader, as important as that might be...It's the writing we try to get other people to do.

In my experience, alerting the public or raising the noise level is hugely important in campaigns for social justice. On several occasions in El Cabrero's beloved state of West Virginia, I've seen change happen when the Bad Noise gets too loud.

Often, this may involve knowing what would make a legitimate news story and alerting reporters about it, especially if you stumble upon a juicy tidbit of reliable information. Surfacing an issue can send ripples out all over as the story gets picked up by more and more media outlets. It's kind of fun to line up a string of dominoes and watch them fall down. I've seen it happen several times at the state level and on more than one occasion I've pitched stories to national publications to draw outside attention to events here.

At other times, meeting with the editorial boards of newspapers or contacting columnists can help--provided that you offer reliable information. Encouraging people to write letters to the editor or op-eds on a given topic at the right time can help.

Bloggers also have a role to play in raising awareness among their readers. There have also been many occasions where an issue that wasn't being covered in the regular media finally got covered after bloggers raised the noise level. My advice to bloggers would be 1. encourage others to do the same when the time is right and 2. don't just blog. There's all kind of other media out there. Don't assume that all other doors are locked if there's an important issue to raise.

Bottom line: If you're really interesting in making a difference, don't think of writing as something a solitary individual does...think of it as a group effort. One dog may start the barking, but you can really raise the roof when they all chime in.

Just try not to bark unless there's something really there.


A DREAM DEFERRED. Forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., racial disparities in wealth and income persist.

BEFORE THE BUBBLE BURST. A new study by the Economic Policy Institute argues that the economic recovery of 2001-2007 wasn't anything to write home about.

GOAT RESCUE STORY here.

CULT CLASSICS. We've all heard of cult film classics. From the UK Telegraph, here's a list of cult book classics. Are any of your favorites there?

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED