Source: mikemalloy.com

Welcome, Faithful Truthseekers, to May Day meets Church Night on the Malloy Show!

MSNBC has this list of reasons why workers in America have little to celebrate on May Day:

1) Historically low labor force participation

Labor force participation in the most recent jobs report was at its lowest in nearly four decades. That means a historic number of Americans were not only out of work, but had given up looking for work entirely. While a few voices in the center and on the right have blamed social welfare policies like disability insurance for ostensibly reducing recipients’ incentive to look for work, the likelier culprit is long-term unemployment.

Nearly 40% of the unemployed have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, and it seems that more and more people are giving up on ever being employed again. Given the current economic climate, they might not be wrong: a recent study by economists from the Boston Federal Reserve and Northeastern University suggests that employers are unlikely to even consider applicants who have been out of work for over six months.

2) Record low union participation

Those Americans still in the labor force aren’t doing especially well, either. The number of Americans who belong to a unioncontinued its steady, half-century decline in 2012, reaching a new low of 6.6% in the private sector and 11.3% overall. Union members continued to earn significantly more than non-union members: an average of $943 in weekly earnings versus $742 for everybody else.

3) The available jobs are getting worse

Going hand in hand with the decline of organized labor, much of the economy recovery’s job growth has been concentrated [PDF] in low-wage occupations. Cheap retail and service-sector labor has come to replace manufacturing as the bedrock industry of the American economy. While manufacturing jobs are gradually returning to the United States, they tend to be non-union and pay lower real wages than the jobs the industry once had.

3) Mass public-sector layoffs

Since the beginning of the Great Recession, hundreds of thousands of public sector employees have lost their jobs as state and local governments cut labor costs to deal with massive budget shortfalls. While in early 2013 it seemed like the bloodletting might have been “bottoming out,” the sequester changed that. It’s unclear exactly how many more public sector workers could lose their jobs due to sequester-forced budget cuts, but the National Education Association estimates that public school educators—who have already lost 300,000 jobs since 2009—could experience over 50,000 further layoffs.

4) A tidal wave of anti-union legislation

Anti-union activists on the state level have been largely successful in dismantling the remains of workers’ rights to union representation. The most extreme example is in Michigan, where the lame duck Republican legislature successfully passed “right-to-work” legislation outlawing automatic union dues deduction.

Nor did they stop there. Several Michigan school districts and cities, most recently Detroit, have been put under Emergency Management by the state, meaning that they are now governed by unelected Emergency Managers who have the power to unilaterally revise or tear up union contracts. Unsurprisingly, many Emergency Managers have used that power to lay off public sector workers or force them to swallow wage and benefit cuts.

5) The steady erosion of workplace safety enforcement

The fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, which claimed 14 lives and left hundreds more wounded or homeless didn’t just come out of nowhere: it turns out that the plant had prior run-ins with regulatory agencies over its lack of basic safety precautions such as sprinklers. But despite all of that, the West Fertilizer Co. was allowed to continue operating with minimal oversight.

In fact, the last time the plant had been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was in 1985. That’s because OSHA is notoriously underfunded and understaffed, so much so that it would take them about 67 years to inspect every workplace in America.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Left unchecked, Corporate America will continue these abuses until the middle class is reduced to serfdom.

And did you see this story about the fallout over the “coming out” of basketball player Jason Collins? As Think Progress Reports:

LeRoy Butler, former safety for the Green Bay Packers, was scheduled to give an anti-bullying presentation at a Wisconsin church this summer, but now the speech is off because he supported Jason Collins for coming out this week. Butler shared the following in a series of tweets today:

Wow, I was schedule to speak at a church in WI, and a member said that the pastor wants to cancel my event, I said ok why? Then I was told, because I said congrats to Jason Collins on twitter, I said really? we have a contract, he said check the moral cause. FYI the fee was 8500$,then I was told if i removed the tweet, and apologize and ask god forgiveness, I can have the event, I said no.

Then later:

I found out what happened, I guess some parents went to the church and complained about my tweet for support of Jason Collins, so sad.

Butler believes the church’s decision constitutes bullying. In fact, when he tried to resolve the situation with the church’s pastor by saying, “We agree to disagree,” the anti-gay pastor countered, “No, I’m right and you’re wrong.”

Butler’s controversial tweet?  It merely said: “Congrats to Jason Collins”

Bigotry as thick as aged cheddar.  Sees like that church could use a lesson in bullying, doesn’t it?

Join Mike for these and other soothing bedtime stories. 

Source: mikemalloy.com

Elizabeth Colbert Busch KO’d Mark Sanford last night in a series of masterful – and indefensible for Sanford - debate points that illuminated the disgraced former governor’s glaring hypocrisy and unsuitability for public office.

While she scored bulls-eyes on multiple topics, it was her razor-sharp retort on Sanford’s claim of fiscal responsibility that lead the local newscasts.

Politico.com has the highlights:

It was their sole one-on-one encounter of the general election — and Colbert Busch, who is leading in polls, was so aggressive that Sanford at times looked like he didn’t know what hit him.

Sanford spoke repeatedly about his extensive efforts as governor and House member to cut wasteful spending. Colbert Busch then turned to Sanford and delivered this zinger:

“When we talk about fiscal spending and we talk about protecting the taxpayers, it doesn’t mean you take the money we saved and leave the country for a personal purpose.”

That was a reference to Sanford’s use of state funds to fly to Argentina to visit his mistress and now fiancé, an affair that derailed his political career four years ago.

“She went there, Governor Sanford,” one of the debate’s moderators responded.

With much of the crowd hooting and hollering, Sanford seemed shaken.

“I couldn’t hear what she said… repeat it, I didn’t hear,” he said.

“Answer the question,” Colbert Busch interjected.

“What was the question?” Sanford said, appearing stunned.“Ok, but anyway, ah ah, on the sequester, I’ll go back to the sequester…”

For those who claim Busch’s remark was hitting below the belt (so to speak), then just forget the sexy elements of the scandal. Forget that he violated a couple of those commandments (adultery and lying) he claimed to hold so dear. There remains a glaring problem with integrity and dedication to office that cannot be denied: the governor went MIA for five days with no notice or advance warning to anybody. What if there had been a natural disaster? A terror attack? A mass shooting?

Doesn’t his disappearing act in itself question his fitness of office? Kinda like Sarah “Mama Grizzly” Palin sniffing around the possibility of running for President when she couldn’t even commit to a full term as governor. Or the audacity of Rick Perry to advocate the secession of Texas from the United States, then run for President of the United States. What is up with these Republican Governors, do they swallow a handful of stupid pills as soon as they’re elected?
You go Elizabeth, and I’ll “go there” all day long with you. We deserve politicians who fulfill at least the barest minimum expectations of the job – showing up.

Follow us on Twitter @mikemalloyshow #Truthseeker and Mike may read your Tweet on the air!

Source: mikemalloy.com

Rolling Stone has a fascinating whistle-blower report from a pipeline worker who has all the inside dirt – pardon the pun – on the filthy tar sands business.

Undercover at the Tar Sands describes the insider account of a cesspool of illegal activity, drugs, dead bodies, and obscene amounts of money – all  flowing like  black sewage  in the bowels of North America

There’s something in the air in Fort McMurray, Alberta – and it’s not just fumes from the massive oil sands processing plants north of town. Spend enough time here, and you’ll pick up the pungent scents of machismo and money.

This is the heart of Canada’s controversial tar sands operation. If all goes as planned, this region will soon be sending its bitumen – the sticky, black petroleum byproduct colloquially known as “tar” – down the Keystone XL Pipeline. President Obama has yet to give the contentious project the green light, but work in the oil sands shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

The region has 80,000 permanent residents, and hosts about 40,000 temporary workers at any given time – welders, pipefitters, heavy equipment operators, technicians, engineers and other hired hands who pass through Fort McMurray as the work ebbs and flows. I joined them this winter when, after hearing stories about Fort Mac for years, I signed on to help build a massive pipeline (not the Keystone XL). I was eager to see the tar sands for myself, experience life in Fort Mac firsthand – and, let’s be honest, I wanted to make some oil money, too.  I’m writing this story anonymously to protect my friends, my colleagues and myself.

You have to read the rest of the story, Truthseekers, then ask yourself how our government could even consider the Keystone Pipeline.  

Source: mikemalloy.com

The legendary Willie Nelson joins us LIVE tonight to discuss his new book, upcoming birthday celebration, Biodiesel, Farm Aid, his log career of activism, and his take on current political affairs.

And we will play political podcast trivia!  One lucky Truthseeker will win a FREE subscription to the premium Malloycasts. Thanks to all the Truthseekers who have donated podcasts for our weekly contest!

Follow us on Twitter @mikemalloyshow and use #Truthseeker so Mike can read your tweet on the air!

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Source: mikemalloy.com

Wasn’t Laura “Pickles” Bush a librarian back in the day?  Wonder if she’ll come out of retirement to resume her former career at Dim Son’s new digs.

The Bush Library opens today.  It’s difficult not to chuckle at that sentence.  Many dignitaries are joining the celebration today, including Presidents Obama, Bush the First, Clinton, and Carter.  It is unknown if the caterer will serve Dubya’s favorites – cheeseburger pizza and mac-n-cheese.

Will Bush the Lessor thrill the assembled crowd by reading selections from his stated favorites Hop on Pop or My Pet Goat?  Will there be any reference books honoring the creation of his Many Special New Words? A Bush-to-English translation guide, perhaps?

Join Mike for a nostalgic trip down memory lane as we revisit some of our favorite Dubya quotes and statements.  We could some comic relief, and a gentle reminder of the oxymoronic (to quote the man himself) hilarity of the term “Bush Library.

Follow us on Twitter @mikemalloyshow and use #Truthseeker so Mike can read your tweet on the air!

Source: mikemalloy.com

. . . but didn’t He also created the nuts and seeds and extracts to make medicines?  the willow bark for pain, the digitalis plant for heart disease, and the soybean for natural estranges that – gasp – are used to synthesize birth control pills?

Organic food conglomerate Eden Foods is suing the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act, because it specifies coverage for birth control pills, which are nothing but instruments of the devil if you listen to CEO Michael Potter.

Like so many of his Neanderthal Neocon brethren, Potter is a quirky loudmouth who uses his Catholicism as an excuse to protest all things Obama.  His many conflicting, albeit entertaining, recent interviews are causing former Eden Farm customers to dump their soymilk in protest.  New York magazine reports:

This week, members of Brooklyn’s Greene Hill Food Co-Op called for a ban on the sale of Eden Foods’ soy milk. That’s because the organic food company’s CEO, Michael Potter, has spent the past month railing against Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Potter filed alawsuit on March 20 challenging the mandate that companies must cover the cost of contraception for their employees. He’s arguing that because he’s a devout Catholic, his religious beliefs prevent him from paying for birth control.

On April 15, [Potter] reached out to Salon’s Irin Carmon, who initially broke the story, and said:

I’ve got more interest in good quality long underwear than I have in birth control pills … Because I’m a man, number one and it’s really none of my business what women do … Because I don’t care if the federal government is telling me to buy my employees Jack Daniel’s or birth control. What gives them the right to tell me that I have to do that? That’s my issue, that’s what I object to, and that’s the beginning and end of the story.

Kind of demolishes his whole argument, doesn’t it?  The article continues:

You’d think he’d stop giving interviews at this point. But on April 21, AnnArbor.com published a Q&A with Potter. He said: “We are not trying to get contraceptives out of Rite Aid for goodness sake. This is about trying to stop government overreach and telling them that they cannot tell people how to act.” Potter also expressed doubt about his lawsuit, saying, “I am concerned about the impact it will have.”

Potter’s products are described in the lawsuit as “wholesome, principled, unrivaled, nurturing, pure” — adjectives he’ll probably use in court to describe how he thinks all women should be.

Word to the wise, Mr. Potter, when it comes to female reproduction, keep your focus on those  free range chicken eggs.

Yes, it’s Church Night, Truthseekers! Join your humble and obedient servant around the sacred campfire and lift your voice in praise! 

Source: mikemalloy.com

You almost feel sorry for the Republicans.  Their stated policies are about as popular as pond scum, and they are increasingly identified as the party of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.

Source: mikemalloy.com

If you’ve seen the Ang Lee movie The Life of Pi then you are now familiar with the incredible phenomena of aquatic bio-luminescence.  Microscopic single-celled organisms called dinoflaggelates create a magical ocean of swimming stars that is indescribably beautiful on a moonless night.

We have been fortunate enough to see this  natural wonder ourselves in Mosquito Bay on the little island of Vieques off the coast of Puerto Rico.  To watch the liquid sparkle spill off your hand as you dip it into the dark water, or see the illuminated blue outline of a tropical fish draw a comet-like trail across the midnight bay is a once-in-a lifetime experience.   There are few spots on earth where Red Mangrove roots meet saltwater in a protective, pollution-free lagoon to create the necessary conditions for these fragile little creatures to survive.

As with so many unspoiled ecosystems, the world’s largest, most perfect biobay in danger.  As is Vieques, itself. And on Earth Day it is worth noting how our military maneuvers almost destroyed the island itself, and continues to threaten the population with abandoned by-products from our weapons of war.

May 1st, 2013 will mark the 10th anniversary of the remarkable victory of civil disobedience from group of peaceful farmers and fishermen against a devastating military occupation by mightiest military power on earth.

As www.warisacrime.org reports:

Beautiful Vieques island is only 21 miles across and 5 miles wide, and 7 miles from the main island of Puerto Rico.  It is home to about 9,300 people, as well as endangered turtle species, rare Caribbean plants and animals, bio-luminescent bays, and miles of what look like unspoiled beaches.

An incredible three-quarters of the island was appropriated in the 1940s and used by the U.S. Navy for bombing practice, war games, and dumping or burning old munitions.  The U.S. Navy gave families $30 and one day’s notice before bulldozing their houses.

From 1941 to 2003, the U.S. military flew planes from aircraft carriers based on the main island of Puerto Rico dropping bombs over Vieques.  Bombs fell at all hours, all day, all week, all year, destroying private property and amounting to approximately a trillion tons of ordnance, much of which lies unexploded on land and in the sea.

Some 15,000 troops were routinely set loose on Vieques looking for booze and women.  Women were dragged out of their homes and gang raped.  A boy was killed by gang rape.   A dozen people were killed over the years directly by the U.S. weapons testing.  And the Navy banned fishermen from various areas, advising them to try food stamps instead.  Fishermen attempted civil resistance actions, and many were arrested during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.

On April 19, 1999,  a U.S. Marines pilot missed his target and killed civilian security guard David Sanes Rodriguez.  That spark lit a fire of nonviolent resistance that brought together Viequenses, Puerto Ricans, and supporters from the United States and around the world.  A campaign of non-violent civil resistance lasted four years until the Navy was forced to close the bombing range on May 1, 2003.

Peace loving people had won most of the first of their demands for the island: demilitarization.

And there is much more to this story.  There is the group of mostly-illiterate fishermen, many of them had never left the island, who traveled all the way to Washington DC to plead their case to the politicians there.  Of resistors who used the only weapon they had – their fishing nets -  to tangle the propellers of the submarines’ assault on their homeland.

This is a true David and Goliath story, but there is as yet no happy ending.  The giant was defeated, but he simply walked away from the 60-year mess he created, leaving the poor villagers to manage the dangerous, toxic rubble.

The article continues:

Crabs with three claws, grossly deformed fish laden with heavy metals, once-beautiful coral reefs, and beaches and seas that have been decimated by military activity tell a story of environmental disaster with huge health impacts on people, plants, and animals.  Vieques was systematically poisoned by heavy metals, napalm, Agent Orange, depleted uranium, and barrels of unknown toxic substances were dumped into the clear blue Caribbean.

The arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum in the bombs are also found in hair samples of 80% of the people living on Vieques, who suffer at far higher rates than on the main island from cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, kidney failure, birth defects, stillbirths, and miscarriages.

On Earth Day we hope you will take a moment to sign a petition to help these people.  RootsAction.com has organized  an effort to seek reparations and assistance from the US government for their decades of abuse.

Mike will add to the story on the program tonight.  As well as discuss the latest from Boston, West, TX, and Washington DC.