Saturday, July 29, 2006

I Left The Union Today

A few months ago, I joined a state employees union. I'm not sure why. The union doesn't even have the power to strike. The power to strike is the only real power a union has. In fact, I've wondered if it really is a union since it has no power. Is it just a social club that gets to beg the legislature for a raise every two years?

But I joined. I think I felt I owed it to those great union leaders of the past, who did so much good in this country. I'm not anti-union. I believe without unions, this country would be much worse off.

Yesterday, I received the union newsletter, and it took that tiny tome only seconds to end my affiliation with the union. It seems the union's executive board, composed of 12 not-too-bright individuals, has decided the thousands of union members now "proudly endorses Strayhorn for Governor". I was horrified. I had no idea the union would be endorsing anyone in the governors race. There was no poll of the membership.

I immediately sat down and wrote the union asking, no, demanding that they remove me from their membership roll. I cannot be a member of any organization that would support such a bad candidate. I will not have my name on any list of supporters of Grandma. I find her every bit as incompetent and offensive as Rick Perry.

It was bad enough that the union was powerless. Now they want to be powerless and stupid. It was just too much, so I am no longer a union member. I'm not proud of that. It's just the way it has to be for now.

8 comments:

  1. I just deleted a comment. This is not something I enjoy doing, and not something I have done in the past. But there is one commenter who comes here just to slime Kinky. As far as I can tell, he/she is not supporting any other candidate, just spewing hatred for Kinky.

    If you don't support Kinky, that is fine. Just let me know who you do support and why. Those of you who have been here before know I welcome a rational discussion of who is the best candidate.

    But this one commenter has nothing good to say about any candidate. His one purpose in life seems to be hating Kinky.

    If you have nothing positive to offer, and just want to slime Kinky, then this is not the place for your venom. Future comments of this nature will also be deleted.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw the comment before you deleted it.

    For those who missed the comment, it was a list of quotes from Kinky, and each quote had a link to a mainstream media news story verifying the quote.

    Like you, I was doubting whether Kinky said all of those things so I checked each and every link. Unfortunately, all of those quotes from Kinky checked out (in fact, the quote that worried me the most -- the one about the cocaine use -- was actually from Kinky's own website).

    Crap.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LIL -

    Kinky also said "Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed." But Kinky's fans know it was satirical, and used to make fun of the people who really believe that way.

    It's easy to take a quote out of context and make it seem to mean something it doesn't, especially for a singer, poet, philosopher, novelist, or comedian. Kinky is all of these.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The thing is, there were links with all the quotes and so I read his statements in the context. I didn't make me too proud.

    ReplyDelete
  5. LiL:

    Was it the same Kinky quotes posted on Stop Kinky? If so, I also doubted the authenticity of the quotes until I read them in the context of the newspaper stories which reported the quotes. I agree with you that Kinky ought to take this one OFF his website: http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2006/07/kinky_in_the_washington_post.html

    Kinky could also do himself some good by updating this portion of the issues FAQ on his website to make the statement of his position on capital punishment consistent with his testimony at the Max Soffar trial:
    http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/issues/faq.html
    Kinky is getting beat up on this death penalty conflict Wikipedia

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tom:

    Yeah, it was the Kinky quotes posted at the Stop Kink blog. I hate that blog! It's just chock full of crap I'd rather not know.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I missed all this drama. Was the post deleted for posting something other than quotes?

    ReplyDelete
  8. It was the same post at the Stop Kinky blog posted here.

    ReplyDelete

ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. And neither will racist,homophobic, or misogynistic comments. I do not mind if you disagree, but make your case in a decent manner.