Interesting view you have of unions...sounds exactly like the one espoused by Faux News. So, tell me: exactly how did the unions take the auto industry down? Did they decide, in a market that's growing increasingly cost and environmentally conscious to not build cars that met those criteria? Sounds like a management decision to me. When your total payroll costs are X amount, but the amount of your losses each year is almost 3X, you think there might be something else causing your losses? When the unions take over management of their people's benefits packages, thus reducing your overall operating costs for that facet of your business by about 80%, how exactly are they costing you more? Perhaps you believe the flawed "auto workers make $50/hour for polishing mirrors" meme?

But, on to the next topic: airline safety and unions...this is a new one, I have to be honest. But, as someone who has a couple of close friends who work for airlines, I was amused to find out, for example, that limiting the size and number of carry-ons was a push by the unions, not to mention exit lights (which the airline management decided was a useless waste of money). Pilots are looking to unionize because, frankly, they're worked like dogs with very little rest. Some have even fallen asleep on the job. Now it's easy to say "well, then, do go to work tired". Of course, when your only real option "don't go to work", it fails to pay the bills.

Finally, the teachers: are you saying the SOLE reason the educational system is a failure is due to the teachers? You're going to exclude government mandates, like the always favorite "No Child Left Behind" which was put in place specifically to make the educational system fail (I honestly admit I cannot find any other reason such a flawed pile of shit could have been passed)? You're going to exclude the fact that we don't have a single, unifying educational system, but one made up of 50 state systems, uncountable municipal systems and an overarching Federal system. In the right conjunctions, they don't contradict each other, or work against each other. Fortunately, those conjunctions aren't rare right now, but they are getting rarer (as in the case of the Texas school board's decision to cease teaching reality). Finally, what about parents? The #1 gauge of a child's long-term success in the school system has always been and continues to be, the parents...their involvement, their financial status, their marital status, etc...A child that has a parent at home to work with them every night doesn't need as fantastic a teacher during the day...but, so many folks want to be career-oriented first, family second, so the kids get the short shrift. But, hey, at least my folks TRY to make it to every soccer game, right?

It's easy to simply go with the flawed mentality that fits your mood. What is hard is doing the critical thinking and research it takes to be an informed member of society. It's apparent that you lack the ability to do the latter. Fortunately, it's never too late to learn. You should look into it.

I'm an atheist, and I approve this comment.

Not to mention the blind followers of those who deny Man Made Global Warming.

He made one demonstrably incorrect statement in this thread. I've dealt with him before.

Such an adorable zealot you are.

Hmmmm...well, I hadn't followed the case that closely, so was unaware it had even gone to court in the US. In reviewing some of the criticisms of the case, though, it looks like the appeal is well needed. In the case of Chevron, I suppose I can reserve judgment until I do some further research.

Well, that of course excludes Coca-Cola who assassinated union leaders in Columbia, or Chevron who hired a private militia in Nigeria to fire on protesters outside their plant or DeBeers who fund private armies to protect their diamond monopolies, or...yeah, who am I kidding, facts never change the mind of a zealot...

Well, let's see...according to this study in The Lancet, approximately 5 million people die/year from smoking. Since your timespan is over the last 100 years, 100 x 5 million = 500,000,000. Granted, the 5 million number probably wasn't consistent throughout the whole of the 100 year span you're proposing, but corporations still win in a landslide.

And, before you reply how I know you're going to reply: the link between smoking and lung cancer was first identified in 1920. The addictive nature of nicotine's been known to the tobacco companies since at least 1970. That gives you 20 million and 450 million deaths just from the tobacco companies who knowingly marketed lethal products depending on when exactly you want to place the blame on them. We can also include DeBeers (responsible for countless deaths over the last 140 years financing insurgencies and wars in order to secure their diamond monopoly), Monsanto (responsible for over 50 superfund sites in the US that have contaminated and poisoned individuals in the area), Chevron (who dumped 18 billion gallons of toxins into rivers used by communities in the Amazon resulting in cancer, birth defects, etc), Pfizer (who sells AIDS drugs at higher prices in areas where AIDS is most prevalent and least likely to be able to afford to purchase the medication), Nestlé (melanine in Chinese baby milk), WalMart (child labor in hazerdous conditions), Coca-Cola (assassinations of union folks in Columbia), and Dow (leading manufacturer of chemical weapons) if you like.

Language is about communication, it's not about the RULES of grammar. Yes, we have arbitrarily decided rules as to what gets an apostrophe and how things are spelled and so on...failing to follow this rule or that at any given time doesn't often hinder the communication. If someone says to me "pimipin' ain't easy", I get what they said. I don' t need them make sure they put the "g" on the end or use "isn't" instead of "ain't". Thanks to my abhorently abusive Catholic school education, I still cringe when I see someone's written "Thank's for shopping at our store's!", but I don't feel the need to correct them. That would just be douchey. You know...like these two guys.

you should be able to dispatch with his pathetic claims in a matter seconds

No way. That takes decades of studies.

Well, of course you wouldn't pay attention to what I said because I said you were wrong. I wasn't responding to a "thread", I was responding to your moronic post only.

I'm one of those crackpots that think land ownership should be meaningful

And not much else...yes, we know. You fail to think critically about things like "improperly installed pools can leak and your neighbor'ss basement" or "are you putting that pool directly under power lines" or " did you bother to make sure there were no gas lines buried under the area you're thinking of putting your pool" or "did you know your property once used a septic tank...which is currently under the area in which you wish to place a pool" or "making sure there's proper fencing with locks to keep the neighbor's kids out of your pool when no one's watching so they don't drown". Yes, I went with the "won't someone please think of the children argument" because there's too many people who feel they should be allowed to be in a society and benefit from it without contributing too much personal responsibility as they do so.

There's a reason other people call people like you crackpots.

it takes almost 8 hours [appadvice.com] to fully charge an iPad over a USB port. I'd rather plug it in for 5 hours to the Apple charger than wait so long

Hmmmm...why would you be waiting? Why wouldn't you just go to sleep? :)

The true colors emerge.

You make it seem as if my disdain for my fellow countrymen is a well-hidden secret.

Hmmm...it's tough to tell if your post is an example of Poe's Law or not. Either you're a complete crackpot, or you're a brilliant satirist.

Third parties airing their opinions in the public debate is an 'end-run' around our political system?

"Third parties"? Interesting that you would phrase it that way. In our political system, there is the electorate and the elected. By definition, anyone not of those two groups would be outside of our political system and thus not entitled to engage in it. To suggest that a piece of paper, which is all a corporation really is, is entitled to the same level of Constitutional freedoms as a living, breathing human being is, well, inane. What's next? The right to bear arms? "Dear employees, in accordance with our company's 2nd Amendment rights, all employees are being issued a sidearm for use in protecting corporate IP..."

Why are you so afraid of free speech?

Question cocked and loaded, huh?

Do you think the American people are too stupid to see corporate speech and decide for themselves?

Yes.