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Words of Wisdom

“You know we armed Iraq. I wondered about that too. You know, during the Persian Gulf war, those intelligence reports would come out: ‘ Iraq: incredible weapons – incredible weapons.’ How do you know that? ‘Uh, well... we looked at the receipts.’”

-- Bill Hicks, “Revelations”

The Good: Need some gift ideas? Visit the AFL-CIO’s union store at unionshop.aflcio.org to get some great gifts like hats, coats, games, cards, and more – all American-union-made and sweatshop-free.

The Bad: Representative Kasper and four other legislators took an all-expense-paid trip to the Caribbean on the dime of the Antiguan government. Kasper says it was about trade; the Antiguans say it was about online gambling. Kasper says the trip wasn’t secret; we wonder why nobody knew about it until several weeks after it happened. Responsibility and accountability are critical for effective government. We encourage all politicians to fully disclose all such gifts in the future.

The Good: Rosa Parks, one of the firestarters of the civil rights movement, passed away peacefully at her home in Michigan on October 24. Parks was an inspiration to a generation of civil rights activists.

The Bad: Wal-Mart is responding to critics of its skimpy benefits by developing a new health care program. Unfortunately, the plan includes hefty premiums and co-pays, limiting its effectiveness for employees of new Wal-Marts popping up all across the state. This is yet another example of how simplified universal health care could help everyone and stimulate the economy at the same time.

The Good: President Bush decided to back off an executive order to stop enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act in Louisiana. The act guarantees workers a prevailing wage – an important protection, especially when many of the people working are trying to rebuild their lives – cutting their pay just isn’t smart. He reversed himself because of the outpouring of opposition from grassroots progressives and unions across the country. We stopped Social Security privatization, we got prevailing wages back, we got economic development accountability – we’re on a roll!

The Ugly: State Sen. John Andrist claimed “beggars can’t be choosers” back in April regarding North Dakotans and economic development. Other politicians, like Sens. Dorgan and Conrad, seem to hold a more positive view of our state – they helped pass a bill to fund a community center in Killdeer, expand classrooms at Bismarck State College, provide economic development for rural areas, and other efforts. Our politicians should use our resources as tools for developing communities. Isn’t that better than settling for scraps?

The Good: Shelby Seeberg, daughter of Hal and Shelley, recently won the Vincent L. Hawkinson Foundation for Peace and Justice Scholarship. Hal and Shelley are longtime NDPC leaders. Congratulations to Shelby and the Seeberg family!

The Ugly: Republican leaders in Congress want to cut Medicare, Medicaid, farm subsidies, and even student loans, saying the slashes are necessary in the wake of the recent hurricanes. But don’t worry – their $39 billion in “savings” is nothing compared to their $70 billion tax cut for the rich. You might want to start banging your head against the wall, but we have a better idea: tell your friends, your family, and your politicians that you want a better future – and that it won’t happen by cutting prescription drug assistance to the elderly.

The Good: Ghouls, ghosts, witches, and goblins – they’ll be out in force and looking for candy! Have a safe and happy Halloween!

If you have a comment, idea, or event for the GBU, please email nodakpc(at)btinet.net – we’d like to hear from you!

The North Dakota Progressive Coalition * nodakpc(at)btinet.net * ndprogressive.org