This could have been updated in April 2009 with the CQ (Congressional Quarlertly) article revealing that the NSA had spied on Congresswoman Harman (D-CA & ranking D-member of House Intelligence Committee) and the recorded conversations between her and others including AIPAC agents being used for political blackmailing (extortion).

The power of big money shows itself three months later when CQ is acquired by The Economist Group and combined with two other publications (Roll Call & Capitol Advantage).

After the change, old CQ articles (like the one mention above) ceased to be available.

Fast-forward again and we have more revelations of widespread NSA unsavory (unConstitutional) activities.

She left Congress in 2011, but whatever happened to the Blackmailers (under the current Justice Dept.) ?

Marc, Sandles, thank you both for turning us onto that fabulous lecture by economist Richard Wolff! My husband & I just finished listening and were impressed. Mr. Wolff puts it all in such plain English as he describes the bigger picture, explaining how the system's rigged against us, how it got that way, what we've been up against, how it's impacted our lives en masse, what can happen and what we can expect. The guy knows his stuff. It's not always pleasant hearing his message, but we're better off forewarned.

What I find gratifying (and amazing, sometimes even exhilerating) is to hear my hunches and opinions validated by individuals like Richard Wolfe, Noam Chomsky, Thom Hartmann and others. All these guys are more educated than I, with way more knowledge than I possess. Gives me more trust in what my intuition and gut instincts have been telling me. - AIW

Chuck, my apologies. I'd forgotten that (AHEM) little detail. And thanks for filling us in on what Microsoft and those other high-tech corporations have in store for their employees. It figures. Why am I not surprised?

I'll admit, I was kinda hoping you'd intervene. I think that generally, your knowledge about unions and their various functions is more in-depth than my own. I've never even been a union worker; I've always been self-employed by necessity. But workers having a voice, along with their fair share of clout in the companies where they work, is something I'm passionate about. To me it's the end objective that counts more than the means. If unions do the best job of defending workers' rights to negotiate the best possible deal for themselves, then I'm all for unions. And as Thom has pointed out time & again, it's not just union workers benefitting in the long run. So I'm very skeptical of any argument asserting that (to paraphrase), unions are tyrannical, that workers are forced to join at gunpoint , that unions have had their day, that unions are archaic, that they are passé and so on. These kinds of arguments often come from the same people who shriek about death panels (or "monopolies"?) whenever single-payer is mentioned. I've always taken it with a grain of salt. Even when I'm short on details, my intuition never lets me down. Anyway thanks, Chuck. And please pardon the omission. - Aliceinwonderland

Gotta hand it to ya "OU', you do have a decent sense of humor. - AIW

OU -- Are your aware of what is happening in the job market?

Quote Ou812: --Google, Apple, Microsoft,

Those are the companies that are colluding to drive down the wages of high tech workers. It seems like that would make even high tech workers want to start a union. Also, I would think the collusion would make high school students thinking about going into the studies involved in STEM have second thoughts.

Currently, those companies are trying to settle out of court for $738 million (my memory is probably wrong about the exact amount). The wronged workers are suing with the help of the NLRB for $2.5 billion. The lawyers for the workers want to settle; that is, they want to take their $200 million and run out the door. The workers do not concur. Of course, the high tech workers have enough money to say no.

I never assumed you were seeking popularity here, "OU"; this isn't about "stirred feelings" and it's not personal. It's just my own particular biases, which I'm perfectly willing to own. You avatar turns me off, and for me this creates a barrier. Beyond that, certain comments you've made regarding labor issues leave me cold. Such as this last post of yours, where you seem to shrug off Walmart's abusive labor practices. Meanwhile you're praising Walmart for doing something "right", simply by virtue of their size. Never mind how they got that big, exploiting and abusing workers here and abroad. That you find this praisworthy is disturbing to me. I'll just leave it at that. - AIW

They pay because they're getting something. Representation. Many companies don't have employee committees. Walmart sure as hell doesn't. I think I've heard they are the biggest employer in the U.S., or one of the biggest. Obviously employee committees are not helping enough people. Not knowing enough about them, I'm still skeptical.

I have to confess, OU, I don't trust where you're coming from. I don't trust anyone who would use a photo of Michelle Bachmann as an avatar; especially one this disgusting. I detest Michelle Bachmann and everything she stands for. That giant-size hot dog she's got sticking out of her mouth is so phallic, I could gag at the sight of it. Just being honest. - AIW

Texas Instruments, Google, Apple, Microsoft, McCormick Spices. These are some examples of non unionized American companies who use employee committees to make decisions. No argument from me that unions brought about the changes you mentioned, they did. You won't find a modern company who has 14 hour shifts, child labor, 7 day work weeks etc. the fact that unions still promote this as a reason to join is why they are so out of touch. Employees what to feel worth while, that their opinions count, their ideas are heard. Smart companies have mechanisms in place to allow the employee to be heard, no union necessary. I won't get into single payer healthcare here as I said before I'm against monolopies. I want options.

It is my understanding if a companies employees are represented by a Union, "Card Check" would require union dues be deducted from the pay check of every employee whether or not they were in the Union. In other words, if you want to work for unionized company X, you have to pay to keep your job. People today are not going to accept that. If you want me to join a Union, give me a better deal than I can get on my own. Don't put a gun to my head, I and most others will rebel.

AIW -- My point was secession. If you support the secession of all those RWNJ, then you are dumping a bunch of progressives overboard. Incidentally, I like your words better than RWNJ -- diplomacy be damned.

Quote Aliceinwonderland:P.S. (to anyone in particular) Ever notice how greed and stupidity feed off each other? It's as if greed causes one to lose access to whatever intelligence s(he) was born with.

Aliceinwonderland ~ YES I have! I have also noticed that greed--just like hatred--is a strong emotion that feeds and bases itself upon morals, principles, ideas, and goals that are an illusion and not real. It causes the mind to function outside of reality with a false sense of morals, principles, ideals, and goals that run contrary to facts, logic, reason, and common sense. They who submit to greed, and hatred, live lives full of conflict, paradoxes, hypocrisy, and denial.

You cannot have one without the other. You cannot have true greed, or true hatred, without true stupidity.

Employee committees, "OU"? Sounds fine. But this isn't France. How are we gonna persuade U.S. companies to set up anything like that? I don't personally care whether it's unions or workers' committees or whatever, long as the people who are doing the work have a say in how the company is run. Were I to take a closer look at unions and worker committees side-by-side in how they are structured and run in detail, I might prefer one option over the other. But basically what concerns me is this lack of democracy in the America workplace. Those people doing the actual work should always have a say in the terms and conditions of their employment. That's the bottom line. Without unions in this country, they've got nothing.

I'm well aware that unions, like virtually any organization involving more than one person, are gonna have issues. I'm sure that unions are no exception. And I've no doubt some of them have had incidents of corruption. However I tend to be very skeptical of anyone who harps on this without also acknowledging the many benefits to have come from unionization. Like Thom keeps pointing out, without unions we'd still have child laber. We'd have people of all ages working fourteen-hour shifts, six or seven days a week; we'd still have no weekends, no holidays; in some cases no lunch breaks. I've read and heard of cases where even bathroom breaks have been frowned upon, given consequences or outright denied. Without strong unions today in this country, we've got a situation where workers are offered no sick leave, no maternity leave, no benefits, often forced to work overtime without compensation (It's called wage theft!) and of course, poverty wages even with fulltime employment. This has become the new norm. And this is what we have when unions are not a strong presence in the workforce.

It is not okay.

We are light years from France, in many respects. French people have a much stronger safety net, including universal single-payer healthcare for everyone. It's not awfully surprising that their labor policies would be kinder, more just, more generous... So what?

Frankly "OU", I am turned off by your characterization of Card Check as a "ploy". I am more inclined to view any opposition to it, or any attempt to sway public opinion against it, as a ploy, to keep workers down and without a voice. If I'm wrong, then please explain why you think Card Check is a bad thing for workers. Isn't Card Check all about workers deciding whether or not to unionize? So why is that not okay? Would you rather the owners, CEOs and "bosses" call all the shots? Because when you dismiss Card Check as a "ploy", this is what I hear. - Aliceinwonderland