I had the opportunity to talk with Donna Edwards for a while today, here at the SEIU 2008 convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  She says that you should run for office, and a lot more than that.

Hillary made a statement the other day that can be interpreted different ways.  Some people are trying to claim that she said she is staying in the race in case Obama is assassinated.  Others say she was just saying that the Democratic primaries often extend until June.

I'm not going to get into the argument about this here, except to remind everyone that in 1972 the Nixon campaign pioneered the strategy of disrupting Democratic primary races. I think it should be clear that much of the conflict in this year's primary is being pushed by the right through the Drudge report, Washington Times, Fox News, etc. but for some reason in this election many Democrats seem willing to pick it up and run with it.  This is a mistake.

Over the last few weeks I have been writing about the plight of security guards working for a company called Inter-Con, a contractor at Kaiser Permanente Hospitals in California.  One post I wrote on this was titled, Why Don't We Hear About Labor Issues Anymore? and I want to get to that subject some more here.  But first, I want to go over what was covered.

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When you are deciding whether to listen to a Republican when they talk about Democrats as "appeasers," consider this.  Crooks and Liars has the story of Oliver North on Fox News backing up Republican accusations that Democrats are "appeasers."

So who is Oliver North?  Oliver North is the guy that Republican President Ronald Reagan sent to provide weapons and missiles to Iran.

Last week security guards working at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California went on strike to protest illegal anti-union activities on the part of their employer, Inter-Con Security.  Instead of hiring security guards directly in California, or using a union-friendly security contractor, Kaiser contracts with Inter-Con.  The strike lasted three days.

A few local TV news broadcasts covered the story, and there were a few newspaper articles announcing that there was going to be a strike.  But there was almost no actual coverage of the strike except on progressive sites and labor outlets.  What's up with that?  

Why does the media barely cover labor issues?  

A news story on Monday, McCain urges free-market principles to reduce global warming.  Which"free-market principles" does McCain mean?

McCain's major solution is to implement a cap-and-trade program on carbon-fuel emissions, like a similar program in the Clean Air Act that was used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions that triggered acid rain.

This week I wrote about the Kaiser Permanente / Inter-Con Security Security Guard strike.

The post Security Guards Striking for the Right to Have Our Laws Enforced discussed why the guards are striking.  They are employees of Inter-Con Security, Inc., which contracts services to Kaiser Permanente facilities in California.  This company (not Kaiser) is trying to stop the guards from forming a union and the guards are striking to ask that laws allowing union organizing be enforced.

I have been writing about the strike by California Kaiser Permanente security guards working for contractor Inter-Con Security, who are demanding that laws be enforced and their rights be honored.

SEIU sent out a press release on the situation, titled, Workers With No Healthcare Protecting Kaiser Facilities, Security Contractor May Be Misleading California's Largest Healthcare Provider.  In summary, the security guards at Kaiser are supposed to be provided with individual healthcare after working for 90 days, but it turns out that many are not.  The security contractor Inter-Con Security has found a way around the promise: they classify workers as "on-call" instead of permanent.

Yesterday I wrote about the security guards who are striking at Kaiser Permanente because their contractor-employer is engaging in illegal tactics while trying to block them from forming a union.  The guards work for Inter-Con Security Inc., which is contracted by Kaiser to provide security services.

There is a three-day strike starting today at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in California.  1800 security guards are striking for three days in an "unfair labor practice" action.  This strike is not against Kaiser and is not to ask for money or benefits; it is not even to form a union in the first place.  This strike is just to ask that our laws please be enforced.  This may be a lot to ask for in today's corporate-dominated system, but they're asking for it anyway.

Here is some background:

Here are some recent election stories:  The media pounds candidate Hillary Clinton to release her tax forms, because the public has a right to know.  And she does release her and her husband's returns, going back a decade.  The media trumpets how much income they have been receiving, how rich they are, and drills down into details.  If you follow the news, it is inescapable.  At the same time candidate John McCain releases only partial forms that show all assets are now in his wife's name, and he won't release his wife's tax returns.  The media is mostly silent on this; most of the public has little opportunity to learn of this.

It is a popular misconception that taxes add to the squeeze on the middle class.  But it isn't tax increases that have squeezed the middle class, it's tax cuts.  It may be hard to believe (after so many years of constant anti-tax rhetoric) but here is why.

The right has been cranking up the communist charge in this election.  I guess it worked for the 50 years ago, so why not trot it out again?

Will Russert or Matthews or Broder any of America's other "opinion leaders" ask John McCain to condemn, reject and denounce this?

Townhall.com::Congressional Democrats: The Other Insurgents::By Michael Reagan,

The goals of the Democrats and both al Qaeda and al Sadr insurgents are the same: the defeat of the United States in the war in Iraq.

Why should you join a union?  I've been looking around online for info and arguments to help make the case, and here is a compilation of some of them. (Each link means the following info is from a different website.)

Cause some trouble where you work -- print this out and stick it on bulletin boards around the workplace when no one is looking!

This post originally appeared at Speak Out California

In Dubai, people get free housing, free medical care, AND $5,000 per month.  The people of Dubai share in the country’s oil wealth.

In Alaska, people not only do not pay state taxes, the state government writes every state resident a check every year.  The people of the state of Alaska share in the state’s oil wealth.

How is it that corporations have the rights that individuals do, but not the responsibilities?  

Let's reflect on what a corporation is.  A business is formed by a few people.  The business asks the government for a corporate charter, pays a fee, and is then this special entity called a corporation with special rights granted by the government.

Under our laws, corporations are fictional persons with certain rights.  They can own assets, employ agents and engage in contracts just like people.  But unlike you or me they have special benefits including limited liability and unlimited life.

All over the progressive blogosphere there is outrage at the Clinton campaign.  The Drudge Report had a great big headline "CLINTON STAFFERS CIRCULATE 'DRESSED' OBAMA" and people are outraged.

People, you are being played like a violin.