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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (618092)	7/3/2011 2:50:21 AM
From: i-node	1 Recommendation Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1583617

>> LOL, that's a keeper. I would have thought Ted was familiar with the union activities that amount to extortion. I grew up in a union town, where strikes happened with some frequency. When they did, the entire town's economy -- and those in surrounding areas -- collapsed. As a kid, I remember riding with my dad up to the picket lines where he would give the strikers leftover food from the restaurant as they stood by a burning barrel for heat. Night after night, every plant in the town shut down, everyone in town out of work, but the union employees were still getting subsistance. My dad's business was one of the few that survived round after round of strikes. He thought because of giving them the leftover donuts and BBQ, I suspect. But the pickets were nothing. Tree spiking, unexplained forest fires, sabatoged equipment, you name it. It was very nasty business. These were guys whose kids I went to school with -- normal people turned criminal by the strikes. Meanwhile, business stopped dead. Not only were there no paychecks for pickets, there were no checks for management, for stockholders, and sometimes these things droned on for month after month. Then as soon as it was resolved, the next round would start. The pressure on management to cave was immense. The cost of shutting down 200 chip and saws, a major paper operation, a major plywood operation, carton manfuacturing and chemical plants all at once was just too much. The unions simply had too much power; you have to cave to the demands, eventually. They could outlast you (their contract paid them to be on strike). They were terrible times for everyone. Kind of a economic crash on a smaller scale. It is where I realized just how f*cked up the union situation had gotten. Then, in grad school a few years later, I met my wife, who had just come off 4 years of managing a union plant. My beliefs were reinforced. She HATED her employees because of the union abuse she had to tolerate. She felt like she was babysitting a plant full of children, making irrational demands and wanting them met NOW. Don't feel like working today? No Problem. You screwed up the assembly line? No problem. Didn't show up for work? No problem. It was really pathetic. That sealed the deal for me. After that, around our household it was a great day when Reagan fired the ATCs. We thought it was the beginning of the end. Still you had unskilled GM employees making more than some mid-management employees, and working less to do it. Soon, they were paid for not working. Holidays expanded. Work=place rules revised. I thought it would come home to roost eventually. But thanks to Obama, unions are as strong as ever. I hold no animosity toward any union member; many close friends are adamant union supporters. But as a group they needed to be shut down and Obama is responsible for stopping it from happening.

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (618092)	7/3/2011 11:26:21 PM
From: bentway	Respond to of 1583617

Plant growth on utility pole resembles Jesus Comments 16 June 29, 2011 12:00 AM Justin Hill Staff Writer Many Christians believe Jesus can be found anywhere. In southern Lenoir County, he may be found on a utility pole. The pole, about a mile south of Kinston, has attracted attention of some area residents. Some say the kudzu-covered post bears a striking resemblance to Jesus’ crucifixion. The pole, which is the only one nearby covered in “the vine that ate the South,” is at the northwest corner of Tyree Road and U.S. 258 S., in the Jackson Heights neighborhood. Kent Hardison, who runs Ma’s Hotdog House less than a half mile from the pareidolia, rides by the Christ-resembling post each day. He said when he first saw the kudzu growing he almost sprayed it with herbicide. “I glanced at it, and it looks like Jesus,” Hardison said. “I thought, ‘You can’t spray Jesus with Roundup.’ ” The kudzu, which has thrived at the top of the pole, is all but dead at the ground. The source of the figure is only a few small vines of the uncontrollable plant. Irwin N. Forseth Jr., an associate professor of biology at the University of Maryland said kudzu costs power companies $1.5 million per year to repair damage to power lines. Hardison said he shook off the likeness of Jesus the first time he noticed the utility pole growth. “I just thought it was my imagination,” he said. “I thought I was crazy the first time I saw it and it resembled Jesus.” Michelle Davis, who lives in Sandy Bottom, said she first noticed the pole last Thursday, after her husband told her about it. She called the kudzu Jesus “ironic,” considering crime levels throughout the county. “Maybe it’s a sign of the times,” she said while picking up lunch at Ma’s. “There’s been a lot going on in this area.” Hardison agreed, “Maybe he’s looking out for us.” Images of Jesus have been reported in everything from tortilla chips to a grilled cheese sandwich. A website has even been created to chronicle the appearances. While the site may not be considered holy, Davis said the kudzu is symbolic. “It doesn’t matter what you do, it is going to be around,” she said. “Ain’t that a lot like Jesus?” Justin Hill can be reached at 252-559-0178 or jhill@freedomenc.com. Follow him on Twitter at mjhill.