Newspaper Page Text
Page 5
Wednesday, September 13,2006
"Work" is a word for
this liberal's lifestyle
THE PROGRESSIVE
PERSPECTIVE
With Skyler Akins
In last week's paper,
Jacob Lovell responded
to Sarah Hahns column
over labor unions, and the
connection to companies
like retail giant Wal-
Mart.
In reading the article,
I found it very obvious
that Lovell lacks any
substantial rationale to
his claims.
First of all, Wal-
Mart is the private
sectors largest employer,
employing well over a
million people, yet in
2005, the company left
775,000 of its employees
with no health insurance
at all. The ones that are
insured through Wal-Mart
pay higher premiums and
get less coverage than
most other companies.
To make the problem
even worse, the most
common job at Wal-Mart
is a sales associate, and if
a sales associate works 29
hours a week they are still
well below the poverty line.
Translated, that
means that over 75% of
the employees have to
work well over 40 hours a
week to make just above
the poverty line, and
still will not have access
to healthcare. Wal-Mart
could pay every employee
well over a dollar more
an hour, and still be the
leading retailer in protit
and sales, while giving
their employees more
money to live on.
Mr. Lovell talks about
Wal-Mart giving a ’boom’
to the local community,
and things being cheaper.
Now, I'm not sure
where Mr. Lovell is
from, but in every other
community across the
War
continued from page 4
Instead, we are forcing
them to fight on their
ground. We removed their
largest base of operations,
Afghanistan, and they are
now fighting our troops in
Iraq.
Instead of allowing
them to regroup and
rearm after September
11, we have kept constant
pressure on them, draining
their resources away from
terrorism.
Instead of letting
them find creative ways to
bomb us here in America,
we are forcing them to
defend themselves in the
Middle East.
Instead of American
civilians getting killed in
the streets of the U.S.A.,
we are fighting them
with our elite volunteer
soldiers.
Preventing a terrorist
network from conducting
acts of terror? That sounds
like at least a partial
success to me.
Have people died?
Yes. But ask yourself
country it is killing
the small businesses,
and in comes the large
corporations.
In some larger ‘small’
communities, the Wal-
Mart takeover can cost
communities up to $221
million a year.
The community
takeover practices
of Wal-Mart have
been condemned by
conservative and liberal
leaders, sodon’tclaimthis
is a liberal movement.
Several of President
Bush's campaign staff
is
more than
a four letter
word for this
liberal. It’s a
lifestyle.
have joined the Change
Wal-Mart movement..
For the sake of space.
We’re not even going to
talk about how Wal-Mart
is responsible for l/10th
($lB billion) of the
trade deficit with China,
or how the giant costs
taxpayers millions a year
in environmental/labor
violations.
He also mentions in
his article that he would be
‘required’ to join a union
and pay the dues, but the
last time I checked union
this: Would you rather be
driving through the streets
of Atlanta one day when a
dirty bomb goes off? As
long as our soldiers are
doing their job over there,
I believe that we are much
safer over here.
Now on the other
hand, some people say
that by our mere presence
in that region, we are
creating new and angry
jihadists who, before our
military intervention,
were perfectly peaceful
citizens.
Here is my question:
This anger that we’re
scared of, where was it
when planes were crashing
into the twin towers?
When I watched TV
that day I saw dancing
in the so called “Arab
Street”.
Where was this anger
when A1 Qaeda recently
attempted a shampoo
attack from Great Britain?
Where was this anger
when Hezbollah was
kidnapping Israeli soldiers
and launching rockets over
the border into population
centers?
Oh that’s right, I
membership was optional.
Labor Unions may not
be for you Mr. Lovell, and
that’s perfectly fine, but for
the rest of the un-privileged
people in our society, labor
unions have prevented big
corporations like Wal-Mart
from doing exactly what
they are doing, treating
their workers extremely
unfairly.
Most people will
agree with me, its not too
much to ask of a company
as profitable as Wal-Mart
to give basic health care
options to its employees,
or at least pay them above
the poverty line.
Oh, and before I get
the “You’re a socialist”
bullcrap from you, I
don’t really believe the
government mandating
Wal-Mart to treat its
workers fairly is the
answer, and neither does
Hillary Clinton.
I believe that change
starts with people like
myself, 1 refuse to shop
there unless I absolutely
have to.
I also signed the
petition to Wal-Mart
corporate to start
offering better salary and
healthcare to its workers.
I’m doing it the good
old American way, so
don’t give me the socialist
story. This is America,
and it is my job to do as I
am doing in educating the
people why I choose not
to support greedy, only
for-profit companies like
Wal-Mart.
Also, ‘Work’ is more
than a four letter word
for this Liberal. It’s a
lifestyle, because I’m
committed to getting my
country back from people
like Lovell who think
that corporate practices
like the ones Wal-Mart is
guilty of and child-made
products are acceptable,
and in line with the
American dream of life,
liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
forgot. They hate us no
matter what.
So yes, I agree that
Peace is always preferable
to war. Instead of spending
money on tanks and
bullets, we could be doing
any number of things.
Those young men and
women who lost their lives
in battle against the enemy
could still be alive.
But one must consider
the big picture. You can’t
make peace with an enemy
who has no leader.
You can’t make
peace with an enemy
who despises your very
existence. You can’t make
peace with terrorists who
have no regard for human
life.
Our enemy despises
weakness; throwing up
our hands in exasperation
and walking away would
only show them our lack
of resolve.
The only thing they
respect is strength and
action, not words and
sanctions. To truly be safe,
our only option is to bring
the terror of war to them.
We must finish this
fight. Give war a chance.
What's so bad about the
new Facebookfeatures?
By Ben Watts
Guest Columnist
guy_watts ® yahoo.com
On September,
5, 2006, Facebook
creator Mark Zukerburg
introduced one of the best
features Facebook, or any
social networking site, has
ever seen.
He called it the
newsfeed and the mini
newsfeed.
The concept was
simple and very innovative.
Information on all of your
facebook friend’s updates
were placed on the main
page when you logged in.
What that person did,
when they did it, and who
it involved, if anyone, was
listed.
This feature made the
site much easier and to
navigate and cut time spent
browsing the site in half.
Facebookers, however,
were mortified and I am
still wondering why.
Complaints of
invasion of privacy
and nicknames like
‘stalkerbook’ became
rampant. But was anyone’s
privacy really invaded?
I want to start off first
by saying what might be
the most repeated phrase
in this article. When you
What would look good in this empty space?
Your name, of course.
The West Georgian is currently hiring.
Pick up an application on the door
of UCC room ill and fill it out today or
email uwgpaper@westga.edu.
Letters to the editor...
“Fact” is a four letter
word
Dear Editor,
It is often said—though
perhaps not often enough—
that everyone is entitled
to their own opinions,
but not their own facts.
Unfortunately, one of last
week’s opinion articles, “Is
‘work’ a four letter word for
Liberals,” tried to have both.
First, the article states
that historically unions, "...
shot at people who tried to
work, burned buildings,
rioted and hung people
and [sic] generally made a
mess of things.” Yes, some
did. They also gave us
the eight-hour workweek,
overtime pay and child
labor laws.
But why did the article
mention all of this, if not to
discredit unions?
Plenty of other
organizations have
destroyed people and
property, and “generally
made a mess of things,”
joined Facebook, you
gave up a great deal of
your privacy.
That said, yes, you
can block certain people
on facebook from looking
at your profile.
Guess what, the people
that are unable to view your
profile are also unable to
see your newsfeed.
Zuckerburg made it
very clear that the privacy
functions have not
changed at all. Because
of the newsfeed, non
friends of yours cannot
all of a sudden see your
information. I have yet
to see the invasion of
privacy here.
Not to mention,
anything that is placed on
the newsfeed is information
that anyone you allow to
view your profile can find
out in mere minutes. Thirty
minutes tops.
If this is all information
that can be found in your
profile, then what do you
have to hide from the
newsfeed?
When you joined
facebook, you gave up a
great deal of your privacy.
Are you embarrassed by
the information that you
post on facebook? If so,
then perhaps you should
not be on facebook.
in the past: churches,
for example, or police
departments. Are we
then to conclude that all
churches or all police
departments are somehow
suspect? Of course not.
Next, the article
discusses how Wal-Mart
has created a boom in
Clayton, GA’s economy.
Unfortunately, this
does not match up to
the experience of most
towns Wal-Mart enters.
Researchers have predicted
that for every Wal-Mart
Supercenter that opens,
two local supermarkets
close. Indeed, in a ten
year period in lowa, 7,326
businesses closed because
of Wal-Mart.
The article also
touts Wal-Mart’s
“comprehensive benefit
package,” and implies
that it is the result of
“bleeding heart leftists
who help pass laws that
require companies to
provide these things.”
Wal-Mart is notorious
®lje Meat (Georgian
The newsfeed does not
tell me anything I cannot
find out on my own. It just
makes it more feasible to
keep up with my friends’
updates.
Delete the newsfeed
and all anyone will have
to do is just click on your
profile, where they can find
even more information than
provided by the newsfeed.
Facebook is a social
networking site. The point
of a social networking site
is to meet new people and
to socialize with friends
while keeping them
updated on your life. In
this very busy world, that
rarely gets to happen face
to face.
The newsfeed was that
concept realized. I guess the
world was not ready for it.
When I log onto
facebook now, I see next
to nothing in my newsfeed
and it saddens me.
It saddens me because
such a great idea is going
to waste. It upsets me that
it was so misunderstood.
And to be honest, I
would rather see it taken
down than have it not used.
Zuckerburg was onto
something good. I just
hope that when the world
is ready for it, his name
comes up.
for its poor benefits.
Indeed, a 2002 survey
by the state of Georgia
found that 1/4 of Georgia’s
Wal-Mart employees had
children qualifying for
Medicaid. The survey also
found that Wal-Mart is the
largest private employer
of the parents of children
enrolled in Peach Care,
Georgia’s subsidized
health care system.
Second, there simply
are no laws, at the federal
or state level, requiring
corporations such as Wal-
Mart to provide health care
benefits to their employees or
their employees’ families.
My single mother
raised me in a working
class family—a family
that has lived in the South
for generations. So, I am
a proud Southerner, and
proudly pro-union. And
while I respect differing
opinions, I cannot respect
incorrect facts.
Josh Eaton
UWG Alumni