Daily Topics - Wednesday April 21 2010
By louisehartmann
Hour One - What does outing Senator Lindsey Graham have to do with immigration reform? William Gheen www.alipac.us
Hour Two - "The 5 Grossest American Fast Food Ideas" Brian Merchant www.alternet.org
Plus...Do we need more regulation in the fast food industry to save us from ourselves? Dan Gainor www.businessandmedia.org
Hour Three - Why I will Vote Republican plus....Is there are new yardstick for Greed?
Comments
#2
Mark,
I've worked with many Mexicans, both documented and not, I go to their houses, eat with them (habanero salsa!) and play with their kids. You don't know me at all, at all.
Furthermore, on Saturday, I was out protesting the National Socialist Movement here in L.A. as they were rallying against immigration rights. I stood with Mexicans/Salvadorans/Colombians, Jews, Gays, Socialists, etc., against the fascistas as they trod on both the Mexican and Israeli flags.
#3
Zero G. you're not Mexican, you have no idea what it is to be a victim of racism, none what-so-ever. Your world is picture perfect, not just black and white, right and wrong. There is just no possible way you could have experienced hate just for being who you are... because your not Mexican!!!!! (You're not right? 'cause mommy won't let me play with you anymore if you are.)
N
#4
@Mark K - US farmers only needs to compete with imported produce because we no longer tax the imports. If Chilean apples (only pickin' on Chile cuz thats the label I'm seein' on most of Shop-Rite's produce these days, BTW) were taxed at a high rate, then perhaps domestic farm workers could be paid at a rate that would enable them to actually support a family.
Some imported produce wouldn't be taxed, of course. We can't grow bananas, so they would not. Maybe peaches, plums & the like, OUTSIDE the domestic growing season, could also be untaxed.
The domestic (out-of) work force is EXTREMELY unlikely to apply for a job that won't pay them what they can get on unemployment - or on welfare. The neocon refusal to protect the domestic work force is what's really at fault here. The repeal of NAFTA would be a good start on the road to bringing jobs back home. If you disagree, I'd like to hear more about why you do than a statement that such a viewpoint is naive.
Oh - and demanding a "living" wage is outrageous, eh, Mark? And you call ME a faux-progressive?
#5
Farm Workers Fight for an Extra Cent
Monday 19 April 2010
by: Andrew Stelzer | Inter Press Service
Tampa, Florida - Chanting "No more slaves! Pay a living wage!", hundreds of farmworkers, students and others marched 22 miles through central Florida for three days, calling on the Publix supermarket chain to pay an extra penny to the impoverished workers who pick their tomatoes.
The three-day long march was organised by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a collective of Mexican, Guatemalan and Haitian migrants based in the small south Florida town of Immokalee. The procession passed through the cities of Tampa and Plant City, and then culminated with a rally in Lakeland, where Publix corporate headquarters is located.
The farmworkers are calling on Publix to pay them a penny more for every pound of tomatoes they pick, which would almost double their meager wages. They also want Publix to sign onto a code of conduct, co-written by the workers themselves, which would prevent the supermarket chain from buying tomatoes from any growers that did not meet certain basic working conditions.
"We get paid 45 cents for picking a bucket of tomatoes," says farmworker Wilson Perez.
Have a good day!
#6
Grossest Thing I Ever Ate:
While held in conscription during the Vietnam war in Thailand, I noticed that the locals would hang around street lights at night. Giant "rice bugs" which are huge beetles, about 4" long, and 3" wide, would be circling the light, like any other insect, except that these beetles are so heavy that they don't stay airborne very long. When they hit the ground, they would go skipping across the road like a cross between a rock and a Frisbee. The locals would chase them down, rip their legs out one-by-one (think of legs about the size of a decent frog), and they would nibble the meat off the upper leg. When the legs were all gone, they would bite the head off and suck the guts out of the shell. I was brave enough to munch on one of the legs, but I stopped there... it tasted like peppermint.
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If all the Mexicans went to Mexico, what we do about the serious impact to Mexican food restaurants? I mean seriously have you ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant with an Asian chef (talk about gross food)? I'm getting Carne Asasda withdrawals just thinking about it.