Friday, December 12, 2014

The People of Bangor, Maine reflect reality in their Christmas Wish

The Bangor Daily News took over a weekly news journal dedicated strictly to local issues called ‘The Weekly’ several years ago.
It’s  called The Weekly. If you have ever seen a Norman Rockwell painting, this is it in a weekly printed format. There is nothing really about the world. The world in fact is Bangor and it’s Downeast environs.
A new small business opens? Front page above the fold with pictures. Recipes. Opinions about parsnips vs carrots. Grandma stopped cooking and wrote a children’s book? HALF PAGE STORY.
A front page item each week is the question of the week. 6 people at random in man on the street fashion make the from page above the fold on the left column.
Some examples?
What’s your fave swimming hole?
What are you going to read this summer?
This week?
What is your wish for Maine?
Prosperity and meaningful jobs for everyone in Maine who wants one
For it to be a vibrant economically healthy place to be
The state govt would be more supportive of small businesses and welcome more to open
A lot more jobs for a lot more people
That everyone has a good Christmas and HAS ENOUGH TO EAT
A better economy, less poverty, fewer children and families needing help
We see the figures each month that indicate the economy is improving, but on the ground to this Bronx boy who made Maine home many, many years ago, I don’t see much. And apparently since these folks could have wished for anything, NEITHER DO THEY.
This is Christmas in the USA in 2014.
We wish you had a a job.
We wish you had a job with meaning.
We wish you could start a business as you were able to in the past.
We wish you have enough to eat.
We wish more people could make it on their own.
We now make almost nothing. How bad is it? Forget cars, car part, appliances, computers, etc-95% of the antibiotics here are from CHINA.
I have no doubt fewer workers in old style jobs are needed because of automation, but life and technology goes in one direction most of the time, but FREE TRADE has resulted not in JOBS leaving the USA, but the ECONOMY, HOPE, OPTIMISM, R&D, ENGINEERING, which represent the FUTURE leaving the USA.
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Free trade presumes equal opportunity in working conditions in Bucksport Maine, Pontiac Michigan, Penang, Hyderabad, and Shenzen, otherwise the economic oppression of these workers in their own type of Homestead Steel works, or Triangle Shirtwaist Factory are IMPOSSIBLE to compete with.
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We have seen what the USA can accomplish in a VERY FEW YEARS in energy even with the enmity and antipathy of OUR OWN GOVT.
For the Christmas wish of the people to come true we need our govt and our CIA to ensure our open AND CLANDESTINE actions go to this end. And how much more moral could this be?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen brother.

Pastorius said...

Epa,
That last paragraph is interesting. You want the CIA to do something? What do you imagine they would do? Sabotage Chinese industry?

That would be a good start. ;-)

Hey, by the way, there's something at the bottom of your post here, a place to "Answer".

Answer what?

Is that left over from the Bangor Weekly?

Epaminondas said...

UNIONS. I want the CIA to help chinese unions

Pastorius said...

That's an interesting thought.

I have come to believe Unions have destroyed our nation. They taken once noble, manly professions and turned their workers into a bunch of little bitches sucking at the tit. This is the reason why we have the epidemic of police abuse now. It used to be that the Police had a brotherhood to protect. Now they have a brotherhood of Union members who occupy cities. They see themselves as something wholly other than citizenry, which they define as "those out to take away our pensions - the man." We have a nation completely divided against itself, because of Unions.

Unions started out with a good purpose, but they've been used as the tools of Gramscian Communist destroyers. And their attempt has worked.

I don't wish this on my worst enemy.