Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream - Labor Union flavor

[Danester]

This Monday, April 18th, 2011 (Tax Day), I just happen to catch Rush Limbaugh on the radio saying that Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream were going to come out with a Labor Union flavored ice cream. He asked listeners what flavor that might be, and made a few suggestions of his own.

I sent Rush the e-mail below, but didn't send it until at 15-minutes before his show ended. Let's listen and see if Rush picks up the discussion tomorrow on Tuesday and mentions this CopperCoins member.

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Rush, one of my earliest memoirs, as a little boy (about 3-years old), is going to an AFL-CIO Union strike meeting place with my father. This was 1950 Minneapolis, and the meeting place was a closed corner gas station a few blocks from the struck company. They had free coffee, doe nuts, and soda pop etc. I remember there was this one guy who pulled a baseball bat from his car and started gripping and swinging it around, while other guys made jokes, laughed, and tried to get their chance to handle the bat!

So, my favorite Ben & Jerry ice cream Labor Union flavor is “Baseball Bat Splinter”.

Dennis Paulsen
Las Vegas, NV
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The Danester

[mikediamond]

Without labor unions you wouldn't have weekends, an eight-hour work day, overtime pay, minimum wage, safe working conditions, freedom from arbitrary firing, freedom from workplace harassment, paid sick leave, paid vacation days, paid holidays, etc.

I suspect you pine for the days of the early industrial revolution, when corporate titans could exploit a powerless workforce, confident in the knowledge that each worker was easily replaceable. I can perhaps recommend the works of Charles Dickens as a way of revisiting those halcyon days.

[smed]

Labor unions are just like goverment. At the time they were created, they worked great and did great things for the common man. Now they're uber-powerful with way too much control over the way things work. Labor unions control some of the most powerful lobbyists and congressmen, and are most interested in lining their own pockets.

[mikediamond]

With only 7% of private sector employees unionized, I don't think you can claim that unions have immense power. About 33% of public employess are unionized, but Republican governors are doing their best to eviscerate them. The money unions funnel into elections is dwarfed by the money that corporations shovel to their favored candidates.

There is no doubt that unions possess their share of corruption and self-interest, but this is again dwarfed by corporations who, by the very rules under which they're organized, have a propensity to become sociopathic entities whose only interest is profit and the enrichment of top management at the expense of the public interest. The only thing that keeps their worst impulses in check is vigorous competition (not always effective), government regulation (often not enforced). and the occasional class-action lawsuit (which the Supreme Court will almost certainly eliminate within the next few months).

[Danester]

I don't know that much about current Labor Unions, only my personal experience of hearing my Dad's stories about Strikes and such. They help put food on the table back then Im sure.

I wonder what "Baseball Bat Splinter" would taste like?

The Danester

[smed]

[Danester]

Hey, we'll just put Mike down as a "political hack" for the Democatic Party.

He can't control himself. LOL

The Danester

[mikediamond]

I'm happy to criticize the Dems when they're wrong. After all, Bill Clinton and his crew of Wall Street wizards were instrumental in the dismantling of the Glass-Steagal Act that up until then had prevented investment banks from raiding the assets of commercial banks. And we know what a bright idea THAT was! Both parties largely supported the demolition of that regulatory barrier.

[Danester]

I think both Parties and all politicians for that matter should follow the advice of the 3rd Century Chinese military strategist and statesman -

"One should seek serenity to cultivate the body, thriftiness to cultivate the morals. If you are not simple and frugal, your ambition will not sparkle. If you are not calm and cool, you will not reach far". - Zhuge Liang

Good advise for us die variety and error collectors too.

Then we could always use a man like former Minnesota Governor Jessie Ventura!




The Danester

[Dick]

I have been on both side of the boat, and have seen the whole undustry go to pot, because of the "greedy barganing unit"! Unions are great. They protect the worker, and management.. Not a problem. The problem arises when the barganing unit gets their way,and then BOTH the workers, and management suffer. I was working at Kaiser Steel, in Fontana, CA., in 1979, and watched it go to be nothing. It eventually went bankrupt, and is not a major industry, IN JAPAN! It is only one of a huge number of indusrries that this country once had, and provided the people with products that said, "Made in America, made in USA". Now look around, can you find more than a dozen items, "made in USA"? I doubt it. When industry goes "off-shore" so do the jobs! The workers get paid a token salary, compared to the same in this country, but THEY are working, while we have thousands who are not.
What good is a "Paid Holiday", if you don't have a job that will pay you that holiday?

[eagames]

One of the problems is some of the unions work for the gov not a private company. The gov does the bargaining and the public is stuck with the deal and it's like a monopoly you're stuck with it.

They really need a balanced budget law, the gov spends what it has. The only way to do it is a balanced budget and the second they hit the limit, the lawmakers congress-senate-president do not get paid. If that was the case they would balance it overnight.

If individuals debt worked like the gov nobody would stop spending. How many people wouldn't abuse a credit card if their bill went to someone else?

[Dick]

Ed, you have the right idea!
Too bad your idea wasn't already the "Law of the land", when Obama was elected.
My policy, "If I don't have the money to pay cash, then I don't need it".
"If I need it that bad, then 90 days, same as cash, or forget it"!

[wavysteps2003]

If I were to fault a particular entity for the worsening of our values, it would be hard choice. Corporate America is greedy, looking for every dollar to line their own rich pockets. The unions are just as bad for they have lessened the desire for the average person to work for a living. The general working force of America is decaying, their outlook is to work for less while increasing their benefits. The politicians have their own agenda, one that does not represent what the people they are suppose to be working for, but protects their own financial security and egos.

I am old and I pity those younger than I am, for it is they who will have to make the changes to this country for it to survive. All great dynasties fall from within, it has been proven over and over again. Are we next? Look at our government. Look at our leaders. Look to where our country is going.

BJ Neff

[Dick]

BJ, You said, very elequntly, what I have been trying to say, all my life!

The only thing I would add, is maybe you are 'older' than many. Ddon't admit, even to yourself, you are "old"! If you do, you may end up believing it, and then you are in deep stuff! No "rocking chair" for me! I may be slow, and crippled, mentally, morally, and even physically, but "I ain't old"!
Yes, this country is going to hell in a hand-basket, and on an oily, down-hill slope!