Republicans = Terrorists?

Dan Pfeiffer, 'Senior' Obama Adviser

Senior Obama Adviser Compares House Republicans To Terrorists, Kidnappers, And Arsonists, September 26, 2013

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer used three vivid analogies to attack House Republicans' laundry list of demands for raising the debt ceiling, comparing Republicans to arsonists, hostage-takers and suicide bombers.


"What we're not for is negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest," Pfeiffer said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Thursday afternoon. "We're not going to do that."

...

"Republicans are not asking for a negotiation," he told CNN's Tapper. "It's a negotiation if I'm trying to sell you my house, and we are debating the price of it. It's not a negotiation if I show up at your house and say, 'Give me everything inside or I'm going to burn it down.'


Yes, according to Wonder-Boy Pfeiffer, the two photos which follow are kind of, sort of, the same...

Typical Benghazi 'Religion of Peace' Islamic Arsonist...  (Sans bomb vest)

 

Republican Terrorist Extremist (Bomb Vest Hidden Under Hand on heart)

Between you and me, I don't mind people call ME names, just so long as they don't 'make stuff up' while they're doing it.  For example, if someone walks up and tells me, "Yeah, so what do YOU know, huh, COW???  You're just a, a, well, you're just a COW!!!"  (I've 'herd' this a lot over the past five years in one variation or another.) 

No problem - I can live with this.  (Of course, then I drop my hay, give chase, and then trample the SOB with my size 13 hooves...  But hay, that's just me.) 

However, when 'Senior' members of the President's Administration make analogies between people who are doing what little they can do to slow down / stop the implementation of ObamaCare and they're compared to guys walking into shopping malls, schools, and puppy farms wearing Bomb Vests?  Really?

I know that the President and his 'crew' have no respect for any political or social opinions which differ from theirs, but this, I believe, is a new low.  Given that the President has been in office now for five years, this is also, I believe, what they call a 'Watershed' Event.  

We now know EXACTLY how Members of the President's Administration view US. 

We are no longer mere citizens. 

We are the enemy.  In the eyes of the Administration, we are the greatest threat facing this Nation.   

Game on.  

The lines are drawn.

Pick a side.

Stand.

BeMus Point, NY - You Won't Want to Go There

Yes, I realize there's a lot going on 'out there' lately that I could write about.  Trending topics include Ted Cruz continuing his Filibuster marathon, the pending implementation of ObamaDon'tCare, Iran's leader snubbing our bold President at the U.N., and the thing that no one talks about (anymore) the fact that this is the fourth (or is it the fifth?) year in a row in which the Congress has neglected their Constitutionally prescribed duty of passing a federal budget.  

Instead, they opt for multiple Continuing Resolutions which mean, basically, "We can't figure it out, all we know is we need more money to cover what we already plan on spending, we must have an increased Debt Limit, and we're looking to hand this mess over to your kids.  Perhaps they'll be the 'Adults' we're looking for...  Because we have no adults in DC currently..."

No, I won't be writing about any of the above as there are folks much more serious than I who live and breath this stuff - and it isn't me (not today, at least).  If you're looking for reasons to get cranky with Congress and the endemic dysfunction of the Federal Government - open any newspaper, read any article online, or better yet, drive to DC to watch concrete curbs being removed from the streets only to be replace with shiny new 'Marble' curbs.  

Why?  

Because you either don't know, or worse, they believe that you don't care.

But hey, we're not talking curbs, budgets, or dysfunction today!  We're talking about something really important, a thing which hits close to home as it has to do with my very own home state, New York.  Specifically, today's post is about a magical place called BeMus Point, New York.

Set your compass for North by Northwest, grab your rain slicker, your googles, and finally, pull on your big ol' rubber boots.  

We're going in... 

CBS News.com, September 23, 2013:  Popular Bathroom Wipes Blamed for Sewer Clogs

BEMUS POINT, N.Y. — Increasingly popular bathroom wipes — pre-moistened towelettes that are often advertised as flushable — are being blamed for creating clogs and backups in sewer systems around the nation.


Wastewater authorities say wipes may go down the toilet, but even many labeled flushable aren’t breaking down as they course through the sewer system. That’s costing some municipalities millions of dollars to dispatch crews to unclog pipes and pumps and to replace and upgrade machinery.


The problem got so bad in this western New York community this summer that sewer officials set up traps — basket strainers in sections of pipe leading to an oft-clogged pump — to figure out which households the wipes were coming from. They mailed letters and then pleaded in person for residents to stop flushing them.


“We could walk right up, knock on the door and say, ‘Listen, this problem is coming right from your house,’” said Tom Walsh, senior project coordinator at South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts, which was dispatching crews at least once a week to clear a grinder pump that would seize up trying to shred the fibrous wipes.

...

Manufacturers insist wipes labeled flushable aren’t the problem, pointing instead to baby and other cleaning wipes marked as nonflushable that are often being used by adults.


“My team regularly goes sewer diving” to analyze what’s causing problems, said Trina McCormick, a senior manager at Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Cottonelle. “We’ve seen the majority, 90 percent in fact, are items that are not supposed to be flushed, like paper towels, feminine products or baby wipes.”


Wastewater officials agree that wipes, many of which are made from plastic, aren’t the only culprits but say their problems have escalated with the wipes market.

...

The wastewater industry would prefer mandatory guidelines and a say in what’s included but supports the INDA (the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry) initiatives as a start. Three major wastewater associations issued a joint statement with INDA last week to signal a desire to reach a consensus on flushability standards.


“If I’m doing the test, I’m going to throw a wipe in a bucket of water and say it has to disintegrate,” said Rob Villee, executive director of the Plainfield Area Regional Sewage Authority in New Jersey.


Nicholas Arhontes, director of facilities support services in Orange County, Calif., has an even simpler rule for what should go down the toilet.


“Only flush pee, poop and toilet paper,” he said, “because those are the only things that sanitary sewers were really designed for in the old days.”

     
So the next time you're looking to relax and 'sit a spell' on your inflatable toilet, just remember that not all wipes are created equal AND we must all be good stewards of our local septic systems.   

Seriously, who wants Tom Walsh, senior project coordinator at South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts, knocking on the front door in the middle of the night asking, "Hey, buddy, is THIS yours?" while holding up an oogey half-filled Ziploc bag to your face while you're standing in your PJ's with...  Your neighbors watching?  

(Feel free to paint a visual image in this open space...)


Apparently, in New York State (and others!), employees of local water districts have the ability (and time) to monitor the OUTFLOW of your home into the sewer system.  Yes, they don't have time to replace failing sewer infrastructure, but they do have time enough to siphon through your, um, you know.  

Yes, Tom Walsh KNOWS that this is your poop, don't give him any crap...

He's watching, he's waiting, and oh yes, he'll be back...

This is NOT Tom Walsh

You see, for Tom Walsh and other brave Sewage System workers across this great Nation, it's not just the dedication to the South & Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer Districts which drives him / them, it's more.  

Much more.

For Tom Walsh, his work is a sacred doodie.


One question remains, for me, however:  

How long will it be, do you think, before the trusty men and women of the Sewer Districts get the order from Michelle Obama to begin analysis on the outbound 'pooh du jour' to make sure we're getting enough fiber in our diets?  And if we're NOT, will you be denied ObamaDon'tCare benefits?

All I know is that I'll be stocking up on Psyllium Fiber capsules over at the local Sam's Club.  You know, just so I can drop them into the toilet with whatever else I may be depositing in there.  Then I'll flush twice, because it's a long way to Albany / Washington from here...      

Hasta la flushta baby!



  

Because Obama...

No time for words this morning.  I need to take our 'Little Dog' (a.k.a.:  "Sandy Woo") to the Vet's for surgery this morning, get the youngest out to school, and then return to work after being out of the office for three days of 'Comprehensive Data Training' just outside of DC.

After four hours of sleep last night, I just hoping I remember to take a shower and shave before returning to work.  If you remember, could you please call me and remind me to put my shirt on prior to leaving the house?  Thanks, that would be swell!!!

But, hey, while I'm gone today (head down, sleeping at my desk), please take a few moments to enjoy the following video presentation...
 

When 'Funny People' start coming for you, you're in trouble.

Any questions?

Have a nice day folks.

The Gripes of Bath...

US Navy Base, Sasebo, Japan

If you've been around the blog for a while you may already know that my middle son is currently serving in the US Navy in...  Japan.  He left in May, 2011 and we haven't seen him since (well, it's not like we can DRIVE there).  

He seems happy in his far away Navy life, but I guess he was missing his little dog here in the States because he went out and bought...  A Shiba Inu.  

This critter is part dog, part fox, and, I've come to learn, part Opera Singer.  This is a photo of my son's dog in Japan.

Sho, Sasebo, Japan

One of the kids he grew up with in our neighborhood has a Shiba Inu dog.  I didn't know what kind of a dog it was until my son told me that he had added one of these pups to our family.  As you already know, I don't know everything, but yes, I can be taught.  Well, I guess, sometimes. 

I've also just learned something else about the noble Shiba Inu breed.

They scream.  

They do not howl.  They do not bay.  They scream.  They scream like Janet Leigh in the shower scene from "Psycho".  They scream especially miserably when they are getting a bath (and, there's no knife required).  

Don't believe me?  

No, this is not my son, nor is this his dog.  He sent me the above link to explain the 'screaming thing' to me when I told him that I did not understand what he meant.

Now I know.  I'm hoping that my son will return to the States after his multi-year International Deployment with the US Navy.  I'm also hoping that he doesn't give his dog a bath while visiting us any time soon.  My hearing isn't what it used to be, but I need to protect the little which remains.  

I'll have an update for you folks later as to which port he sails into in the future, but in the meantime, the next time you see a man or woman in uniform, thank them for their service to our country.  While most of them won't have a 'screaming dog' to keep them company wherever they are stationed, I'm confident that they have people they left behind who think about, and miss them, every day.  

This is something I know all too well. 

See ya Kiddo. 

Sandy says 'Hi' too...  

Bring her cookies when you come home.  She loves her some cookies.

Cheese Wiz

NOTE TO SELF:  Copyright the 'Mooo-ving' slogan - I've been using it for years and now everybody wants into the act even those Wisconsin Teachers...

But this post isn't about copyright infringement (real or perceived) - this post, as so many which came before, is about a thing that's been bugging me for a while and I need to get it out into the open where it can either dissipate into the ether, or take on a life of its own...  In someone else's head.  

No one is speaking about this 'thing' that I've been thinking about in the mainstream media, no one is speaking about it in DC, and most certainly no one is speaking about it within the NAACP, the AARP, or the National Coalition for the Homeless.   

Here's the 'thing'...

Posted on September 13, 2013 on Afro.com:  Voting Rights Advocates Quietly Mount Challenge to Wis. Voter ID Law


In 2011, the state’s Republican-led (Wisconsin) legislature passed a law that would require voters to present a government-issued ID in order to cast a ballot in local, state and federal elections. The new measure would have counted Wisconsin among nearly three dozen states with voter ID laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  

(Moos Note:  Wouldn't 36 out 50 States requiring an ID be a majority of States wanting to know if voters are citizens / legal / 'living'?  Oops, sorry, better make that 57 States...  But hey, even at Candidate Obama's 57 states (with one more to go!)  Last time I ran the Math, it's still a majority of states which require Voter Identification.  And since President Obama won a majority of US votes in his last election, wouldn't you think we ought to just 'go with it' - you know, 'mob rule' and all?)
...

In May of this year, the (Wisconsin) Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned Niess’ ruling, saying, among other things, that the League "makes no effective argument that, on its face, the [voter ID] requirement makes voting so difficult and inconvenient as to amount to a denial of the right to vote."

...

Republican proponents say such laws protect against voter fraud. But Democrats and other detractors argue there is little evidence of rampant voter fraud to support the need for such changes, but instead, the laws unfairly hinders minorities, the elderly and the poor from participating in elections.


According to evidence submitted to the court, the group said, close to 28,000 African-American and 12,000 Hispanic voters lack a driver’s license or state ID. The numbers equal roughly 16 percent of African-American and 25 percent of Hispanic voters, compared to 10 percent of White voters, who may face difficulty casting a ballot because they lack the required documentation.

 
Okay, so here's the 'thing' that's got me twerking in my seat.  Okay, admittedly, a bad choice of wording, but regardless, I wonder why it is that... 


Liberals / Progressives / Democrats believe that Minorities, the elderly, and the poor are so completely unable to fill out a simple freaking form on their own? 
  
Do Democrat / Liberal / Progressive leaders believe that their constituents are unable to follow BASIC INSTRUCTIONS?  If so, how do they have so many people show up when soliciting constituents to sign up for FREE OBAMAPHONEs, Medicaid Programs, Meal Subsidies, and the vitally important services of Planned Parenthood?

If I were to speak so condescendingly about ANY of these groups, I would be accused of calling them 'stupid', 'incompetent', or, my personal favorite, 'addled'.  And any of these prior descriptors, would of course, be totally inappropriate and completely wrong to utter out loud or online (that's why I'm not personally saying any of them here - I'm only connecting some dots for you folks reading this).

However, if you're a member of the Liberal Progressive Democratic 'club' (theoretically because you CARE more than Conservatives / Independents / Republicans), you are allowed to call members of groups which historically support you: 'stupid', 'shiftless', 'dependent', and 'incompetent' with impunity because you feel that they can't fill out a simple form which will allow them to vote. 

I dunno, but I'm thinking that calling the people who support you, 'bad names', is WRONG.  If I did that, I'd be called a Racist (oops, too late, I already have been called this), a Right Wing Nut (DITTO on this one as well), and a Hater (actually, no one has called me this, but there's after this post, well, we'll just see, won't we?)

According to the folks on the Left, the groups referenced on Afro.com (and no, I'm NOT making the stereotypical website name up, you can check it out for yourself) cannot possibly manage to meet the stringent 'Voter ID Guidelines' in the State of Wisconsin.  

What ARE the stringent (and discriminatory) guidelines required to get a Wisconsin Voter ID as of today?

Applying for an original (first time) ID card


When applying for an original ID card you must visit a DMV service center, complete form MV3004 (Wisconsin Identification Card (ID) application) and provide:

• Proof of name and date of birth, for example, a certified U.S. birth certificate, valid passport or certificate of naturalization.
• Proof of identity (usually a document with a signature or photo).
• Proof of Wisconsin residency.
• Proof of U.S. citizenship, legal permanent resident status, legal conditional resident status or legal temporary visitor status.
• Your social security number.

Note: If you have held a driver license in the past eight years and now wish to apply for an original ID card, you would only be required to provide proof of identity upon application for your ID card.
 

Yes, you, John / Jane Q. Public can apply for your FREE Wisconsin Voter ID, in person, online, or via US Mail (the same US Mail which USED TO used to deliver those embarrassing and discriminatory Food Stamp vouchers to you before you got those 'slick-as-puppy-snot' electronic 'State Benefits' card versions you use today.  Yes, THAT U.S. Mail.  Oh, and if you're mailing something to the DMV, please remember to include postage, a.k.a.:  a 'Stamp', or it will be returned to you at the corner of Heartbreak Lane and Sing Me the Blues Avenue under the overpass where you live in a Kenmore freezer box with your six children, two dogs and one cold-intolerant Iguana lizard.)


Here's a screen shot of the actual application for voter ID:

 

All ID cards are FREE (as evidenced by the use of the word FREE twice, used once in each of the first two lines above.  The word is also referenced in Section 4 of the above application in case the person filling out the discriminatory document is afflicted by ADHD as well as any other real, or perceived, mental, or chemical impairments.

This challenging form requires the 'applicant' to provide their Name, Address, Sex (oops, trick question - some unlucky soul WILL undoubtedly answer 'Hardly ever' in that box!), Race, Eye Color (assuming they can afford a mirror to see their own eyes - you know, if they have eyes to actually see themselves with), Hair, Weight, and Height (assuming you can fit a scale into that Kenmore box you're living in).  

This difficult and discriminatory form then goes on to ask other really hard questions such as:

1. Do you wish to be an organ or tissue donor?  (POSSIBLE RESPONSE:  "Well, if I could afford an 'Organ' OR a box of Kleenex, I wouldn't be Poor, now would I?  I'd have a Driver's License and drive a big ol' Cadillac car!  Sheesh, why am I feeling discriminated against - you a Republican or something!?!?")
2. OPT OUT - Do you wish to have your name and address withheld from lists WisDOT sells?  (POSSIBLE RESPONSE: "I dunno, will you pay ME to sell my name?  If so, I'm in, if not, I am OUT!!!  I get too much junk mail as it is -- it's falling all out of my Kenmore box and dat Iguana Lizard run away through the opening agin!!!")
3. Do you have a valid drivers license /identification card from another State / Country?  If yes, list...  (POSSIBLE RESPONSE: "If I could drive, do you think I'd be living in Wisconsin?  I'd be in NY State where everything is FREE - just like this stupid form") 
4. ID for FREE - I certify that I am a US Citizen will be at least 18 years of age by the enxt election and require a Wisconsin ID for FREE to vote.  (POSSIBLE RESPONSE: "Huh, wha?  You mean this thing is FREE?  I must have missed that earlier...")
5. I certify that I am a U.S. Citizen  (POSSIBLE RESPONSE: "No, I live in Wisconsin.  I'm a citizen of W-I-S-C-O-N-S-I-N...  What are you, a Conservative or something?")

And on it goes.

Folks on the Left denigrate 'their own' calling them too stupid and incompetent (I mean, seriously WHO could possibly fill out a form as challenging as the one above?) to fill out FREE paperwork and get it to the DMV in Wisconsin while the Conservatives / Independents / and Republicans take heat because we don't 'Care' enough about poor, elderly, and homeless.

I wish I could get a FREE pass to call other people stupid, shiftless, and incompetent, but that would be mean I'd have to slide from Right to Left (and that ain't gonna happen any time soon).

Plus, hey, if I'm anything, I'm NOT mean.  Well, I'm not mean any moo-re.  I like everyone.  I tread on no one.  Live and let live.  

Just one thing, all you Progressive / Liberal / Democrat folks, stop calling other people stupid - I really don't appreciate it.  However, if your constituents keep voting for you (assuming they fill out the FREE FORM) and don't know that you're calling them 'Bad Names' well, you might have a point after all...

But hey, keep your nasty words away from the elderly, because they know better, they've seen your type before, and they can Rap.

Click Link HERE:  Granny Rap

Thanks.

Diminishing Returns

U3 vs. U6

Another 'Defining Moment', courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Discouraged workers:

Discouraged workers are a subset of persons marginally attached to the labor force. The marginally attached are those persons not in the labor force who want and are available for work, and who have looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months, but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. 

Among the marginally attached, discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them or there were none for which they would qualify.

Oops, once again, I seem to have gotten ahead of myself - so let's begin once again with the section which follows!!! 

(Please purge any thought of Discouraged Workers from your memory until, well, you'll know when...  And if not, I'll remind you - unless, of course, I forget too, in which case, um, oh, shoot, well never mind, we're mooving on...)

The Really Incredibly EXCELLENT News!!!

On Friday, September 6th, 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the 'BLS') announced that the unemployment rate fell AGAIN!!!

The NEW unemployment rate (as advertised) is now... 7.3% nationally!!!

This is REALLY GOOD NEWS!!!  (CAPS LOCK on to emphasize just exactly how these numbers were reported online, in print, and on the 'air' last week.)

In fact, looking at this singular measurement of employment, you will 'ass-u-me' that things are looking up - things are getting better - everything's going to be OKAY!!!  

After all, look at this chart I just 'lifted' (err, borrowed) from the BLS site charting Unemployment Statistics between 2007 and 2013.  

Who can argue with positive numbers such as these?!?!?!  Certainly NOT a guy typing while in his PJ's would ever DARE call out the BLS on their unemployment tracking methodology - right?  Shoot, they get PAID for what they do, their work must be beyond reproach, correct?  

After all, the unemployment rate in 2010 (10.2%) has now PLUMMETED to 7.3% in 2013!!!  (Brothers, Sisters, boys and girls, can I have an Amen?!?!)  

Employers around the Nation are placing ads online and in local newspaper (the ones still in business) outlets all across America, workers are dusting off their resumes', dry cleaning their best 'go to meeting' clothes and preparing to return to work following YEARS of disappointing employment opportunities.  

Yes, we've 'turned the corner', we've 'turned that unemployment frown upside down', we've gotten our 'collective poop together' and all that rot.  I've waited YEARS to finally deliver some good economic news and gosh golly it sure feels GREAT to be me right now!!!

After all, who doesn't remember those BAD years under Bush when the unemployment rate was soooooo much higher than it is today?  Yeah, and remember after 9/11 when our Economy lurched to a stop and we didn't know from whence our next National Economic or Terrorist Calamity would come?  Sheesh, things were sure BAD back then, weren't they?

As a matter of fact, let me SHOW you how bad things were 'back in the day'.  

Visiting the BLS one more time I change my chart preference to show me unemployment from 2000 - 2013 and I see the following graphical evidence of just how far we've come 'since then'...

Hey, wait just one dang minute!  Someone at the BLS is cooking the books!  This can't be right!?!?!  Can it?  I remember hearing about "HOW BAD IT IS UNDER BUSH" from everyone within earshot of a microphone on TV, RADIO, INTERNET, and BARBER SHOP across America. 

In reality, according to THIS extended version of the unemployment chart for the years 2000-2013, when GW Bush was elected President that unemployment was 4%.  Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, unemployment increased to 6.1% (the RED line above) and then began to drop off again until mid-2007 when the Housing Bubble burst, Chrysler / GM were beginning to go belly-up, and the 'Great Recession' became a not-so-great 'reality'.

Next we had that 'Historic Election' of 2008, and the majority of Americans voted for Hope and Change (as indicated by the obligatory 'Hope and Change' reference above in BLUE) and...  

The unthinkable happened - unemployment continued to increase.  

Yes, the American people sat back, jaws agape, and watched the Unemployment Rate increase from 8% to 10.2% in less than one year.  Granted, no one expected that President Obama could stop the USS Unemployment on a dime, but, as evidenced by the chart(s) above, according to the BLS, slow and steady progress has been made over the past five years.

Yay!

[Spoiler alert:  If you're a big fan of the President and his economic policies stop reading now - you won't like what comes next...]


The 'NOT SO' Really Excellent News!!!

7.3% - How did the unemployment rate fall to 'GW Bush' levels with the Economy limping along, so many jobs being converted from full-time to part-time (thanks ObamaCare!), and so many Americans continuing to be out-of-work?

Three equally acceptable answers apply at this point:

• Math, 
• Sleight of hand, 
• Or, dare I say...  "Magic"?

According to our friends at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, discouraged workers are those folks who have 'given up' on the idea of looking for work.  In fact, according to the BLS, 312,000 Americans stopped looking for work just between the months of July and August, 2013.  Worse than this, apparently people have been dropping like flies from the workforce for the past five years.  

How do I know this?  The BLS (still ONE too many letters in this abbreviation) told me so, that's how.  The BLS tracks the 'US Labor Force Participation Rate'.  This measurement determines the percentage of the total US population employed at any given time.  

By this measurement, the times are 'a changing', and as we've learned from 44 - not all change is good...

When President Obama was sworn into office, the Labor Participation Rate was 66%.  

It has now fallen to 63.2%, roughly the same rate as in 1978 when...  

Jimmy Carter was President.

Since the BLS has taken it upon itself to let us know that everything's 'just peachy' with the Unemployment situation in the United States, using their own numbers, let's add back into the Unemployment Rate those 'Discouraged Workers' (referenced at the beginning of the post) that they've taken out of the Economy to get our 'official unemployment' down to 7.3%.  

This bit of mathematical 'digit reinsertion' being done - today's REAL Unemployment Rate (U6) is...  

10.7%

So the next time you wonder how can the Unemployment Rate be so much lower than it was and things don't appear to be getting any better?  

• Math, 
• Sleight of hand, 
• "Magic"?

Feel free to pick any of the above answers as each applies equally well to our current 'Economic Recovery' in the era of Hope and Change.

As for me, this post is finally over, and given the subject matter above, I'm off to take a nice warm shower.  Yes, contrary to popular opinion, I do bathe... 

This is my idea of a shower...  (Shower cap optional)

This is the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' idea of a shower...

Yeah, you'll be wet, you'll be warm, but it'll be a week before you get the 'tangy scent of wee' off you...  

Labor Day 2013 (Why We're Not Working Today)

Hey?  What are YOU doing here? 

Shouldn't you be at work? 

Oh, that's right, today is Labor Day! 
Today is the National Holiday President Grover Cleveland set aside to celebrate the existence of Unionized American Workers, Labor Unions, and Political Cronies!  
.
But let me ask you this:  Do you know WHY you're home from work today? 

Do you know the reason for Labor Day, and why it's celebrated in September? 
 
Do you ever think about those questions while you're trying to get the Chicken to cook on the BBQ without 'torching'?  Hmm, well, do ya, do ya???
 
If, however, you are at work today, or this evening, please accept my sincere apologies.  My wife is a Nurse Practioner, and since she has a 'real job' (defined here as 'Saving Lives, Administering care to the sick, caring for the dying, and in general, waiting for ObamaCare to destroy her livelihood) she often works on Labor Day, Fourth of July, Christmas, Ground Hog Day, Thanksgiving, Arbor Day and, you know, all the other MAJOR national holidays.
 
As for the rest of us?  Oh yes, Labor Day is a day of 'leisure'. 

It is a day in which Americans celebrate "stickin' it to the man" one last time by NOT showing up for work on a Monday during the waning days of summer.  

So let's take a moment to do an EXCLUSIVE Moos Room Investigation of:

"THE ORIGIN(s) OF LABOR DAY"! 

Gird your loins, we're going in...

Q.:  Who was the 'Founder of Labor Day'?

A.:  Great question, please ask another!

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WEBSITE:  "More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. 
 
.Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.

What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic."
.
Moos Translation:  "A Demonstration and a picnic" in my mind = Dinner AND a show! 

Unions adopted the Labor Day 'concept' to prove that they were united, that they could get together to drink beer, eat chicken, and get disorderly WHENEVER they wanted to and there was 'nothing' their employer could do about it.  (So there, nana nana boo boo!) 

In 1883, a union member was quoted as saying, "BRRRRAAAAPPPP...  Oh yeah, AND we're gonna work on getting FREE health care so we don't have to pay for nothin'!"  (Sorry, I made that part up - but you know one of them was thinking it...)
. 
 

Q.:  Can you tell me about the First Labor Day?

A.:  I could, but then I'd have to kill you. 

Noooo, just kidding...  

OKAY,  SINCE YOU ASKED:   "The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

Moos Translation:  "Hey, how come THOSE guys got off for the day and WE didn't?  We're in a UNION too, darn it, and we want a day off!  We WANT a day off, we WANT a day OOOOFFFFFFFFF! 

Oh, and one more thing, we want FREE health care for us, I mean, errr, for all Americans!  Yeah, for ALL American Union members!  (Unless, of course, it means we'll have to be on the plan the rest of THEM are on...)

. Q.:  When did 'Labor Day' become a national holiday?

A.:  On June 28th, 1894

WHAT, NO WISECRACK?  Come on people, it's a 'date'!  'Dates' are not funny things. 

Unless, of course, it's about night I first met my wife in a bar, but that is Waaaayyy inappropriate for a post on Labor Day.  Plus, as everyone KNOWS, it's been a LABOR OF LOVE ever since.  (Yeah, I've still got it...)


. Q.:  Hey, how come so many other countries celebrate their 'International Worker's Day' in May (a.k.a.:  May Day), and we're stuck with the first Monday of September at the END of Summer?

A.:  President Grover Cleveland didn't want blood in the streets of major U.S. cities while he was in office...  
. 
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? 

According to Wikipedia:  "In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded.

For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their trade unions, anarchists and various communist and socialist parties." 

Getting Unions, Anarchists, Communists, and Socialist together to 'throw down' for a day?  Now THAT does sound like an Labor Day Occupation Party!!! 



.

"God bless them," Pelosi said, "for their spontaneity.  It's independent ... it's young, it's spontaneous, and it's focused. And it's going to be effective." 

Oops, sorry, wrong century, that quote was Nancy Pelosi talking about the "Occupy Everything" movement from a few years ago...  

When you're talking about Socialists, Anarchists, Union Labor, Socialists, and Communists, they all sound alike after a century of Progressivism.

CONTINUING FROM WIKIPEDIA:  "The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world).

After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots.

Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported."
. 

 
Moos Translation:  To quote Jim Morrison and the Doors, President Cleveland was trying to avoid the following (which he feared would arise if US Labor Unions celebrated the May 1st date):
.

Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven
Blood stains the roofs and the palm trees of Venice
Blood in my love in the terrible summer
Bloody red sun of fantastic L.A.

Blood screams the pain as they chop off her fingers
Blood will be born in the birth of a nation
Blood is the rose of mysterious union
There's blood in the streets, it's up to my ankles

Blood in the streets, it's up to my knee
Blood in the streets in the town of Chicago
Blood on the rise, it's following me"

In case YOU were looking, I found the 'Official DOL Labor Day Poster of 2012'.  You can view (and PRINT) it by clicking HERE.  

I mention it because I'm sure you'll want a copy and stick it up on your wall today (make sure you have a few darts handy)! 

I couldn't find the 2014 DOL Labor Day Poster, perhaps the guy who drew the one from last year was laid off? 

Whoa, can you SMELL the irony???

In conclusion:

If you have a good day today, hug a Teamster!

If you have a bad day today, keep it to yourself, I'm on vacation!

If you are a Union Member, THANKS for the day off, Comrade Worker!

If you are a Non-Unionized Employee, thanks for doing your job every day and not whining about it!

If you work in a mixed work environment (in a Management AND Craft (a.k.a.:  Union shop)) like I used too, well, you have my sympathies!  Don't get a grievance filed on you!  Smile and just say 'thanks' to the Shop Steward for not writing you up!

If you are Jim Morrison (still alive in France or some other God-Forsaken European country), I'm sorry that you're not with us any more, although those lyrics dude, seriously, what was up with those lyrics? 

If you are looking for someone to thank for all the "Hope" and "Change" which you've been living through lately? 

Just look for the Union Label!

And while I'm thinking about the Union Label, how could I possibly leave out 'The Ladies International Garment Workers Union'?  (Although, isn't MOST of the clothing we buy today manufactured off-shore in third-world countries?  Huh, I wonder why that is?)

Maybe the 'Union Label' just cost too much?  Boy am I GLAD that the most successful Unions remaining run our government, build our cars (for the government) and teach our kids! 

There's some peace of mind for you to end the post with...

It's okay, go ahead an have that icy amber beverage now, you deserve it.