Pulmonary - Arterial - Hypertension ? This Writer Has It !

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension ~ Not Much Fun !
by: Don Jones = Underdog~Heart-Transplant#189-Vanderbilt

3/25/11

http://www.phaonlineuniv.org/node/6608/endothelial-cells-caught-crosshairs-pulmonary-arterial-hypertension

I have not written about my Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension(PAH) lately. Not much to write about. I do suggest that you click on the link above and read the latest in regard to advancement and new treatments. I know, that my lips still turn purple along with my finger nails and extremities. It is a characteristic of the disease itself. I do not go back to Vanderbilt Pulmonary until July., Dr. Anna Hemnes is doing all she can do to keep me up and going. There just isn`t a lot they can do. I seem to be a little worse. My feet and ankles are now swelling. I have my good days and bad days. I`m on oxygen 24 hours seven days a week, supposedly ! My SPO2`s> Oxygen levels, stay constant. They run about 73 - 86...normal is around 98-99. Then, when I walk a short distance, say 50-75 feet. I get short of breath. my (SPO2`s) go down to 58-65. I am still trying to exercise on my treadmill and bike. At times, I can actually do those, better than just walking. I`m doing 15 minutes on treadmill and 15 minutes on stationary bike. Now, I do not break any world records. I do about 0.350 mi on treadmill (1/4 mile) and then 1.75 mi on bike(1 mile & 3/4) Not too shabby for a guy with a Heart-Transplant and PAH ! Just let me reemphasize (Shortness of Breath) is not much fun ! At one time, I loved to take a shower, I looked forward to it, almost like a kid looked forward to ice cream. no longer is that the case. Taking a shower at times can be a nightmare. It is one of the most difficult things I do now ! I dread it ! Hey, ya gotta do it ! I try to stay positive. At times it is very difficult to do. I still take Tyvaso and Revatio for this disease. Is it helping ? I`m not sure.

Republicans Attack Social Security ! Why ?

Tell Your Senators to Support the Social Security Protection Amendment

by Mike Hall, Mar 23, 2011

Next Wednesday, March 29, you can take action to strengthen Social Security by calling your U.S. Senators and urging them to support the Social Security Protection Amendment.

The amendment is part of a small business bill (S. 493) and it’s language is straightforward. It says: Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries should not be cut and Social Security should not be privatized as part of any legislation to reduce the Federal deficit. Congressional Republicans led by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are demanding Social Security cuts as part of any deficit reduction legislation, even though Social Security has not contributed a penny to the deficit and has a $2.6 trillion surplus today. Nearly two-thirds of older Americans who receive Social Security count on it for more than half of their income. Click Here http://www.aflcio.org/splash_weareone.cfmcontinue=/issues/retirementsecurity/socialsecurity/ss_charts.cfm Mark March 29 on your calendar and click here><>http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6405/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3689

Editorial : The only Program to come out of Washington DC, that has worked well ! It is not broken, do not try to privatize or fix it !

Senator Lamar Alexander(R) TN. > http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/

Senator Bob Corker(R) TN. > http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/

Do Our Congressional Millionaires Represent You ? I Think Not !

DO CONGRE$$IONAL MILLIONAIRE$ REPRESENT YOU ?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Posted by Jim Hightower

http://www.jimhightower.com/

Change is not the same thing as progress. In fact, change can be the exact opposite. It can be regressive, as we're now learning from – where else? – Congress.

A flock of Tea Party-infused Republicans has certainly changed the political dynamic there, and exultant GOP leaders are claiming that they are now the voice of "The People." But most people won't find themselves represented by this change, much less see it as progress. That's because the newcomers in Congress, whether Republican or Democrat, tend to live high up the economic ladder, way out of touch with the people they're representing. Indeed, 40 percent of newly-elected house members are millionaires, as are 60 percent of new senators. While the great majority of workaday Americans are struggling to make it on about $30,000 a year – and having, at best, puny pensions and iffy health coverage – these incoming lawmakers tend to be sitting pretty on accumulated wealth. Their financial reports show them holding extensive personal investments in such outfits as Wall Street banks, oil giants, and drug makers. Their wealth and financial ties might help explain the rush by the new Republican house majority to coddle the corporate powers. From gutting EPA's anti-pollution restrictions on Big Oil to undoing the restraints on Wall Street greed, they're pushing for a return to the same laissez-fairyland ideology of the past 20 years that got our country in massive messes. At the same time, they're out to kill a green jobs program, bust unions, cut Social Security, defund Head Start, and generally stomp on the fingers of working families trying to hold onto the middle class rungs of the economic ladder. The change is Congress in taking America backwards, not forwards, for the new majority literally is the voice of millionaires. And that's not progress. "Freshmen in 112th Congress Exceedingly Wealthy Despite Struggling National Economy," http://www.opensecrets.org/, March 9, 2011

Editorial : In other words, we did`nt help ourselves by electing these Tea party Republicans. In fact we may be worse off ! Wake up Americans ! (Jim Hightower upper left) (Stephen Fincher upper right)

Goodyear Continues Investments in CHINA !

Goodyear Plans Expanded Capital Investments
Associated Press, 03.22.11, 11:56 AM EDT

AKRON, Ohio --

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plans to make plant investments over the next two years aimed at increasing production of more profitable high-end tires.
Chairman and CEO Richard Kramer, previewing Tuesday's presentation to investors in New York, said in a statement the company would make capital investments of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion in 2012 and 2013. That is up slightly from this year's expected $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion. Between $500 million and $600 million each year will go toward modernizing and expanding plants and new construction. The investments are intended to boost annual tire production by up to 5 percent, with a focus on high-end products. The Akron-based company lost $216 million in 2010, reflecting a $160 million charge to close a plant in Union City, Tenn.

Goodyear shares fell 54 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $14.85 in midday trading.

Editorial : Goodyear to invest in foreign LABOR ! You Bet`cha ! Close Union City and open China. UnAmerican, Ya` Think !

Republicans = Attack, Attack, Attack ~ Middle Class & Seniors Under Seige

What’s next for Wisconsin’s Public Workers ?

Governor Scott Walker (R) has signed into law the highly controversial bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public workers in Wisconsin. The signing comes after weeks of protests at the Wisconsin state capitol. Officials from Dane County have filed for an emergency injunction to prevent the law from taking effect, and Democrats have vowed to fight the law on the grounds that the vote took place unlawfully and violated the state’s constitution. Democrats and labor leaders have also promised that they will lead the repeal effort to remove Republican lawmakers and the Governor from office. “We are dismayed at the Wisconsin lawmakers’ attack on collective bargaining rights for their state employees. This fight is not over !

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Social Security and Medicare under Attack in the Senate, House

Twenty-two Republican senators are threatening to vote against raising the debt ceiling later this year unless the president concedes to cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. However, another group of Senators plans to introduce legislation that would separate Social Security from the wider talks on reducing the federal deficit. That initiative has been backed by Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (CT), Barbara Boxer (CA), Sherrod Brown (OH), and Barbara Mikulski (MD), as well as Bernie Sanders (I-VT). On Tuesday, 125 members of the House Democratic Caucus sent a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, advising him that a $1.7 billion cut to the budget of the Social Security Administration would have a disastrous effect on beneficiaries. Also in the House, Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA) introduced an amendment to the stopgap measure to fund the federal government that would prohibit funds in the legislation from being used to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits; privatize Social Security; eliminate guaranteed health coverage for seniors; or establish a Medicare voucher plan that limits payments to beneficiaries. However, the motion failed, 190 to 239. For a tally of the vote, go to http://1.usa.gov/giiSHj.
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Brace Yourselves: Paul Ryan (R) to Release His Budget

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has again promised that he will lead the charge and propose drastic cuts and fundamental changes to Social Security and Medicare. Last year, he released his widely criticized “Road map for America’s Future,” which called for privatizing Social Security for younger employees, raising the retirement age to 70, reducing benefits for middle and high income seniors, and replacing Medicare with a voucher program. Although Ryan has yet to disclose specific details about the budget he will release in April, it is expected that he will stick close to the plan he outlined in his road map.

Editorial : The biggest threat to our economy and country are in fact REPUBLICANS ! Why ? GREED ! (Scott Walker upper left) (Paul Ryan upper right)

Tired of Paying Taxs..Become a Millionaire...Don`t Pay Any !

Bill Would En$ure Very Wealthy Pay Fair $hare of Taxe$
by Mike Hall, Mar 16, 2011

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced legislation today that would add fairness to the nation’s tax system by ensuring that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. Schakowsky says the Fairness in Taxation Act, with more than a dozen co-sponsors, is : About fairness. It’s about avoiding budget cuts that harm middle-class families and those who aspire to it. We can choose to cut education, job creation and health care, or we can choose to ask those who can contribute more to do so. Earlier this month and NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that the most popular way to reduce the deficit, according to 81 percent of Americans, was to put a surtax on federal income taxes for those who make more than $1 million per year. Says Schakowsky: In the United States today, the riche$t 1 percent owns 34 percent of our nation’s wealth—that’s more than the entire bottom 90 percent who own just 29 percent of the country’s wealth. And the top one-hundredth of 1 percent now makes an average of $27 million per household per year. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of Americans? $31,244. It’s time for millionaire$ and billionaire$ to pay their fair $hare. The bill enacts new tax brackets for income starting at $1 million and ends with a $1 billion bracket. The bill also would tax capital gains and dividend income as ordinary income for those taxpayers with income above $1 million. If enacted in 2011, the bill would raise an estimated $78.9 billion in its first year, according to Citizens for Tax Justice. Says Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.): It’s time we treated multi-millionaires the same way we treat working families—by creating a tax bracket to match their income. There’s no reason to treat the wealthiest 1 percent of the country any more specially than anyone else, and right now that’s exactly what our tax system is doing. The Republican war on working families means cutting from the middle and handing the savings to the top. Instead, let’s have everyone pay their fair share to create jobs and get the economy moving again.

Editorial : I realize that some will not believe the facts, of an all out attack by REPUBLICANS on the middle class ! Although for the life of me, I can`t understand why not ? They oppose everything that is helpful to the middle class. They will oppose this bill in the House and it will fail. REPUBLICANS will Vote it down big time.. Having said that, millionaire$ paying their fair share is the right thing to do at this time in our Country !

Tennessee Republicans Attack Middle Class !

TENNESSEE~Republicans Attack Middle Class !

Governor Bill Haslam (R)

e-mail > bill.haslam@tn.gov <

Tennessee Web-site > http://tennesseeanytime.org/topics/Elected+Officials <

Attacks on Public Sector :

(HB 130) has been placed on the calendar in the Education Subcommittee for 3/16. This bill would prohibit any local board of education from negotiating with a professional employees' organization or teachers' union concerning the terms or conditions of professional service on or after the effective date of this bill. Companion bill SB 113 has been placed on the Senate Education Committee’s calendar for 3/16.

(HB 2012) has been placed on the House Education Committee calendar for tomorrow, 3/15. This bill would increase the probationary period for teachers before becoming eligible for tenure.

Budget :
Governor Bill Haslam is scheduled to release his state budget tonight, 3/14.

Paycheck Deception:

SB401 was placed on Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture Committee’s calendar for tomorrow, 3/15. The bill would require certain political activities by labor organizations be funded separately through voluntary donations of members and not through regularly collected dues.

Right to Work :

SB1031 has been placed on the Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture Committee’s calendar for tomorrow, 3/15. This bill would prohibit any business or organization operating in the state from executing an agreement with a union or employee organization of any kind that includes maintenance of membership clauses prohibiting employees from withdrawing from a union or employee organization prior to the agreements expiration.

Editorial : If by now, you have not figured out that this attack on labor/middle class is a contrived and well planned assault, Better Wake Up ! These attacks are only in states where Republicans control ! WELCOME to TENNESSEE !

American Jobs, Where Are They ? Try Foreign Countries

PLENTY OF AMERICAN JOBS – BUT NOT IN AMERICA
Thursday, March 3, 2011 Posted by Jim Hightower

http://www.jimhightower.com/

By gollies, America is still an exporting powerhouse. In fact, our corporate chieftains have made us number one in exporting America's most precious goods – our jobs, factories, technologies, and middle-class opportunities.

With unemployment and underemployment devastating millions of families in our country, perhaps you've assumed that U.S. corporations aren't hiring these days. Nonsense, they added 1.4 million jobs last year alone – overseas. For example, more than half of Caterpillar's new hires in 2010 were in foreign countries. Many more of this giant's jobs are headed offshore in the near future, for Caterpillar, which was once an iconic American brand, has recently invested in three new plants in China. It'll not only manufacture tractors and bulldozers there, but it'll also begin to ship its design work and technology development jobs to China. Likewise, DuPont, once proud of its U.S. workforce, has slashed its number of American employees in recent years, while increasing its Asia-Pacific workforce by more than half. Indeed, DuPont no longer considers itself American – "We are a global player," sniff's its chief innovation officer. Such homemade brands as Coca-Cola, Dell, and IBM are also among the multitude of corporations abandoning our shores and our middle class. Of course, they still keep their well-appointed headquarters here so the corporation and top executives can continue enjoying all that America has to offer. Calvin Coolidge once asserted that "What's good for business is good for America." That was myopic enough, but today's narcissistic CEOs are are even more self-serving, declaring that "What's good for business is good for business, America be damned." If we are to have a united society, America cannot tolerate such raw selfishness by the privileged few. We can have a plutocracy, or a democracy. But not both.

Editorial : Bye bye Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, off to China ! How Sad.

Goodyear CEO Richard J. Kramer...Makes Mega Bucks...WHY ?

Goodyear'$ CEO See$ Compen$ation Ri$e in 2010
By Dee-Ann Durbin , 03.08.11

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/

AKRON, Ohio -- Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.'s top executive saw his compensation rise 69 percent in 2010 as he assumed new leadership roles.
Chief Executive Richard Kramer received compensation of $8.5 million in 2010, up from $5 million in 2009. Kramer became CEO in April and chairman in October. He took over for Robert Keegan, who retired. Yahoo ! Buzz The Akron, Ohio-based company lost $216 million in 2010, including a $160 million charge to close a plant in Union City, Tenn., that employs nearly 2,000 people The Associated Press calculated Kramer's pay based on regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The AP formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package and is often different from what companies report to regulators.

Editorial : I know, he can close another domestic plant and give himself another raise ! China will make him millions more. Our race to the bottom is almost done. His/our company tanked and he gets a huge raise ? Click on link above the title of this article or here >

> http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/ <

Social Security ~ The Answers You`ve Alway`s Wanted !

Congress Q&A: Social Security
By Frances Symes

http://www.congress.org/news/2011/02/28/congress_qa_social_security

"Has Congress ever borrowed funds from the Social Security trust fund since Social Security was originated? If yes, have any of those funds been paid back to Social Security?" — Richmond, Va.

The funding stream for Social Security has once again entered the limelight as political leaders discuss changes to mandatory spending, particularly Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as a necessary part of reviewing government spending. Social Security was set up to be self-sustaining. According to the Congressional Research Service, Social Security benefits are funded from two linked but separate trust funds- the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund and the Disability Insurance trust fund. When people talk about the Social Security trust fund they often assume the merged operations of the funds, treating them as if there were one collective fund. The primary source of income for the trust funds is the Social Security payroll tax. They also receive income from interest on the trust funds’ assets and from the taxation of Social Security benefits. However, the benefits program has traditionally brought in more than it pays out. In fact, the nation has been supplementing its budgets with surplus funds from the program in recent years. What about the trust fund, you ask? Why aren’t the surpluses, left over after the costs of the program are covered, squirreled away for safekeeping ?

They are … sort of.

By law, if the trust funds take in more income from payroll taxes and taxation of benefits than they spend in a given year, the cash-flow surpluses are invested in interest-bearing U.S. government securities. In other words, the government uses the money for other purposes, such as tax cuts, spending, or repaying debt, while promising to repay it with interest. Income is deposited on a daily basis and invested in "special-issue" securities. The Social Security trust funds in turn hold IOUs "backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government."
If the trust funds have a cash-flow deficit — spending more than they have received in tax income — Social Security can redeem any bonds, including interest, accumulated in previous years. Assets are then transferred from the Treasury’s general fund to the Social Security trust funds. However, this means that the Treasury goes further into debt in order to pay Social Security benefits if the government is already running a deficit, unless spending cuts or tax increases are put in place. According to the 2010 Summary of the Trustees Report, Social Security expenditures were expected to exceed tax receipts in 2010 for the first time since 1983. The report also projected that the combined Social Security trust funds are expected to be exhausted in 2037, at which point tax income will not be sufficient to pay the full scheduled benefits. The CRS points out that the Social Security Act does not include a specific “fail-safe” provision in case of trust fund exhaustion. It may be worth noting that Social Security has survived crises in the past. The Social Security Administration points out in an online Q&At hat the assets of the OASI trust fund, from which retirement benefits are paid, were nearly depleted in 1982. Congress enacted temporary emergency legislation permitting beneficiaries to continue to receive funds and later enacted legislation to strengthen the trust fund's financing.

Editorial : Let me see, If I have this correct ? I pay into a trust fund for payments of Social Security and Medicare. If there is a surplus, congress can buy US Securities,then borrow it to pay off debt and cut tax`s for the rich. I see no where in this report where it is, or has been paid back ! However, if they/ our politicians pay it back, it increases our indebtedness. What a terrible way to do business. Have we all gone nuts ? I also now know, why the Republicans call it an entitlement program. It is OUR MONEY ! Keep your hands out of the fund ! Problem solved ! It is not foreign Country`s or leaders we must fear, but our own Congress !

America is Not Broke ! Speech at Madison Wisconsin...3/05/11

America is Not Broke

Wisconsin Capitol in Madison, March 5, 2011
Speech given by Michael Moore at Madison Wis.

America is not broke ! Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you'll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich. Today just 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined. Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have more loot, stock and property than the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can't bring yourself to call that a financial coup d'état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true. And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we'd have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic -- and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it. I have nothing more than a high school degree. But back when I was in school, every student had to take one semester of economics in order to graduate. And here's what I learned: Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows when we make things. It grows when we have good jobs with good wages that we use to buy the things we need and thus create more jobs. It grows when we provide an outstanding educational system that then grows a new generation of inventers, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and thinkers who come up with the next great idea for the planet. And that new idea creates new jobs and that creates revenue for the state. But if those who have the most money don't pay their fair share of taxes, the state can't function. The schools can't produce the best and the brightest who will go on to create those jobs. If the wealthy get to keep most of their money, we have seen what they will do with it: recklessly gamble it on crazy Wall Street schemes and crash our economy. The crash they created cost us millions of jobs. That too caused a reduction in revenue. And the population ended up suffering because they reduced their taxes, reduced our jobs and took wealth out of the system, removing it from circulation. The nation is not broke, my friends. Wisconsin is not broke. It's part of the Big Lie. It's one of the three biggest lies of the decade: America/Wisconsin is broke, Iraq has WMD, the Packers can't win the Super Bowl without Brett Favre. The truth is, there's lots of money to go around. LOTS. It's just that those in charge have diverted that wealth into a deep well that sits on their well-guarded estates. They know they have committed crimes to make this happen and they know that someday you may want to see some of that money that used to be yours. So they have bought and paid for hundreds of politicians across the country to do their bidding for them. But just in case that doesn't work, they've got their gated communities, and the luxury jet is always fully fueled, the engines running, waiting for that day they hope never comes. To help prevent that day when the people demand their country back, the wealthy have done two very smart things:

1. They control the message. By owning most of the media they have expertly convinced many Americans of few means to buy their version of the American Dream and to vote for their politicians. Their version of the Dream says that you, too, might be rich some day – this is America, where anything can happen if you just apply yourself! They have conveniently provided you with believable examples to show you how a poor boy can become a rich man, how the child of a single mother in Hawaii can become president, how a guy with a high school education can become a successful filmmaker. They will play these stories for you over and over again all day long so that the last thing you will want to do is upset the apple cart -- because you -- yes, you, too! -- might be rich/president/an Oscar-winner some day! The message is clear: keep your head down, your nose to the grindstone, don't rock the boat and be sure to vote for the party that protects the rich man that you might be some day.

2. They have created a poison pill that they know you will never want to take. It is their version of mutually assured destruction. And when they threatened to release this weapon of mass economic annihilation in September of 2008, we blinked. As the economy and the stock market went into a tailspin, and the banks were caught conducting a worldwide Ponzi scheme, Wall Street issued this threat: Either hand over trillions of dollars from the American taxpayers or we will crash this economy straight into the ground. Fork it over or it's Goodbye savings accounts. Goodbye pensions. Goodbye United States Treasury. Goodbye jobs and homes and future. It was friggin' awesome and it scared the shit out of everyone. "Here! Take our money! We don't care. We'll even print more for you! Just take it! But, please, leave our lives alone, PLEASE!"

The executives in the board rooms and hedge funds could not contain their laughter, their glee, and within three months they were writing each other huge bonus checks and marveling at how perfectly they had played a nation full of suckers. Millions lost their jobs anyway, and millions lost their homes. But there was no revolt (see #1).

Until now. On Wisconsin! Never has a Michigander been more happy to share a big, great lake with you! You have aroused the sleeping giant know as the working people of the United States of America. Right now the earth is shaking and the ground is shifting under the feet of those who are in charge. Your message has inspired people in all 50 states and that message is: WE HAVE HAD IT! We reject anyone tells us America is broke and broken. It's just the opposite! We are rich with talent and ideas and hard work and, yes, love. Love and compassion toward those who have, through no fault of their own, ended up as the least among us. But they still crave what we all crave: Our country back! Our democracy back! Our good name back! The United States of America. NOT the Corporate States of America. The United States of America!

So how do we get this? Well, we do it with a little bit of Egypt here, a little bit of Madison there. And let us pause for a moment and remember that it was a poor man with a fruit stand in Tunisia who gave his life so that the world might focus its attention on how a government run by billionaires for billionaires is an affront to freedom and morality and humanity.

Thank you, Wisconsin. You have made people realize this was our last best chance to grab the final thread of what was left of who we are as Americans. For three weeks you have stood in the cold, slept on the floor, skipped out of town to Illinois -- whatever it took, you have done it, and one thing is for certain: Madison is only the beginning. The smug rich have overplayed their hand. They couldn't have just been content with the money they raided from the treasury. They couldn't be satiated by simply removing millions of jobs and shipping them overseas to exploit the poor elsewhere. No, they had to have more – something more than all the riches in the world. They had to have our soul. They had to strip us of our dignity. They had to shut us up and shut us down so that we could not even sit at a table with them and bargain about simple things like classroom size or bulletproof vests for everyone on the police force or letting a pilot just get a few extra hours sleep so he or she can do their job -- their $19,000 a year job. That's how much some rookie pilots on commuter airlines make, maybe even the rookie pilots flying people here to Madison. But he's stopped trying to get better pay. All he asks is that he doesn't have to sleep in his car between shifts at O'Hare airport. That's how despicably low we have sunk. The wealthy couldn't be content with just paying this man $19,000 a year. They wanted to take away his sleep. They wanted to demean and dehumanize him. After all, he's just another slob.

And that, my friends, is Corporate America's fatal mistake. But trying to destroy us they have given birth to a movement -- a movement that is becoming a massive, nonviolent revolt across the country. We all knew there had to be a breaking point some day, and that point is upon us. Many people in the media don't understand this. They say they were caught off guard about Egypt, never saw it coming. Now they act surprised and flummoxed about why so many hundreds of thousands have come to Madison over the last three weeks during brutal winter weather. "Why are they all standing out there in the cold? I mean there was that election in November and that was supposed to be that!

"There's something happening here, and you don't know what it is, do you...?"

America ain't broke! The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers. And we aim to fix that compass and steer the ship ourselves from now on. Never forget, as long as that Constitution of ours still stands, it's one person, one vote, and it's the thing the rich hate most about America -- because even though they seem to hold all the money and all the cards, they begrudgingly know this one unshakeable basic fact: There are more of us than there are of them!

Madison, do not retreat. We are with you. We will win together.

Follow Michael Moore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MMFlint

American Workers are the Best, Never Forget That Fact !

Working Hard !
by : Dana Drexler

As the local Union President of United Steel Workers Local 444 at the International Paper Mill in Cantonment Florida, I feel compelled to write about the current events and the attitudes of some elected officials and others who wish to create the division of "Haves and Have Nots." ! Most union workers have been portrayed by the media and others as lazy and entitled. The union workers at the Pensacola mill endeavor to produce a quality product at a competitive price for our customers. We have been downsized, done more with less and given wage concessions to help our location be competitive, all while supporting our communities and families. I am taking home the same wage annually as I did 10 years ago while paying more for benefits, and do not enjoy a luxury health care plan or lavish pension plan. We work shift work and still volunteer in our local sports parks, firehouses, churches and community agencies. We want quality jobs and pay in American manufacturing so communities can grow and prosper; this is not a race to the bottom. Learn the facts surrounding the issues, and educate yourself in your career and personal ideas.

Dana Drexler > http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103040317 <

Editorial : I have written this many times...Thanks Dana, for reinforcing my thoughts and prayers !

In Deo Fiducia Nostra

A Letter Appealing to Union City Goodyear/USWA for Help !

I/We Need Your Help, Aid & Assistance !
by: Underdog = Don Jones

3/19/11

e-mail - donjones90@gmail.com

USWA Union Hall - http://www.uswlocal878.com/

Union Hall Phone Number #731 -885-6641

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I am appealing to those of you, who are affected by this Goodyear Union City Plant closure ! Those of you currently working on the floor of the plant, also Retiree`s, Please read carefully and remember what our goal is. Over the years, The residents and business people of Union City Tennessee and Obion County and the surrounding areas, have given us support in all of our legal endeavors, to better our place of employment. They have supported us with their prayers, thoughts, and food and drinks for us who manned the picket line`s ! They allowed us to not pay our bills on time. They extended credit to us ! They actually became extended family members ! They buy Goodyear Tires ! Now, it is our turn to show our appreciation to them, for all they have done for us ! Here is what we need. We need your Goodyear Employee Tire Coupons. We will then run a add in the newspaper, thanking them for 43 years of help aid and assistance ! And then inform them to come by the United Steelworkers Hall and pick up their coupons to purchase tires and get your/employee discount ! as way to say "THANK YOU" for all you have done over the last 43 years. I understand that Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will reap some benefit$ from our action. Even though, that may be so, it is our unintended purpose. Our sole purpose is to say Thanks to those who need our appreciation the most. Won`t you please HELP ? Bring your unused Tire Coupons to the Union Hall ! Union Officers will man the tables to give these/your coupons away. As a employee/Retiree, It is our way of saying "Thank You" to you for all you have done for us ! We retiree`s will donate our tire coupons also ! Once we get enough Tire Coupons, we will announce a date to begin.

Sincerely & Fraternally Yours,

Don Jones, Retired Goodyear Union City TN.

Stop The Assault on Social Security !

Social Security, Put in Jeopardy by Republican Party !

Last week, the House/congress passed a Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) that included devastating cuts to the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). Under the Continuing Resolution, $1.7 billion would be cut from the SSA budget in 2011. Such a drastic reduction in funding could result in workers being furloughed for up to 1 month over the next seven months. Without these workers, up to 400,000 people will have their applications for retirement, survivors and Medicare benefits significantly delayed. Social Security office doors may be temporarily closed, a backlog of cases will pile up, and retirees’ hard earned benefits could be delayed. You should know that these cuts are nothing but cutting for cutting’s sake. Social Security doesn’t add a penny to the deficit. In fact, it’s entirely funded by workers' contributions. The money you contributed to Social Security pays not only for your benefits, but for the Social Security Administration’s work keeping track of your earnings, so that you get the benefits you earned. It’s up to the U.S. Senate to keep Social Security’s doors open for business. They can do this by stopping the House-Passed budget that would cut the Social Security Administration’s funding by $1.7 billion this year. Senators will decide on the SSA cuts over the next two weeks.
What you can do to protect Social Security :
***Please call your two U.S. Senators today. Call 1-888-340-6518 and ask for your Senator by name. When you are connected to the Senator’s office, leave your important message. Then, call back and ask for your other Senator.

Tell the person who answers the phone:

I am a voter/constituent living in [your state]. I am calling to urge my Senator to:


1. Vote “NO” on any budget cuts for the Social Security Administration.

2. Social Security does not contribute to the deficit; it should not be cut to reduce the deficit.

3. Social Security Administration cuts will hurt thousands of American workers and retirees. Social Security offices may be temporarily closed, a backlog of cases will pile up, and retirees’ hard earned benefits could be delayed.

Please take the time for this very important effort today. This is for all of us who depend on Social Security.

Please call Today: 1-888-340-6518.

Thanks for fighting to Strengthen and Protect Social Security.

Governor Haslam, Gives Up on Union City Workers !

To Offset Loss of Goodyear, Gov. Haslam Gives Obion County Special Tax Status
Fri February 25, 2011

e-mail > bill.haslam@tn.gov <

Phone# > 615-741-2001

Feb. 25--NASHVILLE -- Gov. Bill Haslam today designated Obion County a "Tier 3 Enhancement County," eligible to offer expanded state job tax credits to spur job creation in the wake of the closing of the Goodyear (GT) tire plant in Union City by the end of the year, costing 1,900 local workers their jobs. The governor acknowledged that the move "won't change things overnight for a community facing significant job issues. It will, however, give state and local economic developers some additional tools to go out and recruit new investment to create jobs and help the local economy rebuild. "This is a challenging time for the people of Northwest Tennessee," Haslam said. "I am committed to working with local and federal officials to do our best to mitigate the impact of these jobs losses. Raising Obion County to Tier 3 distressed community status is just one step in our effort to help this community's economy to recover." The three-tiered tax credit system was developed to encourage new industry to locate or expand in primarily rural communities challenged by high unemployment. To receive the maximum "Tier 3" enhanced job tax credit of $4,500 per new full-time position created, companies must make a minimum capital investment of $500,000 in a 12-month period and create at least 25 new full-time jobs, according to state Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty. A "Tier 3" designation allows a company to receive an annual jobs tax credit for five years as compared to three years for a "Tier 2" designation and one year for a "Tier 1" designation. Tier 3 status also allows a company to offset up to 100 percent of its state franchise and excise tax liability with the annual credit during the five-year period. Goodyear -- the largest industrial plant in northwestern Tennessee and one of the largest in the state, announced plans Feb. 10 to close the facility by the end of the year. State, local and federal officials have begun identifying Tennessee companies within the Goodyear supply chain which may be impacted by the announcement and developing processes to assist laid-off Goodyear workers in expediting their unemployment insurance claims. Hagerty has asked his staff to review the residency of idled Goodyear workers to determine if additional Northwest Tennessee counties might also benefit from Tier 3 status.

Editorial : Did`nt take Governor Haslam (R) long to give up ! His plan will assist those who have ! And those who have not, can do without ! More Jobs for China !