BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by Ira Sharkansky The drama of Barack Obama's personality and his campaign of 'Change' have come under assault on several fronts. Reality is at least as tough as rhetoric. The skills that get a politician to office may not be those that enhance government. On the other hand, they might be. The man is smart, and he has good advisers. The test is ongoing. The jury will not decide for a while. Americans elected Obama, but he must lead the world. On his plate are not only existing commitments to bad wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the pirates of Somalia as well as the lingering issue of conventional troublemaking and nuclear weapons in Iran. Closer to home, the stock market has shown some promise that it may be coming back from its bottom, but there are other signs that the economic crisis has a way to go. Afghanistan strikes me as the most worrying issue on the president's agenda. It is a sink hole that cost the British dearly in the 19th century, and contributed to the ...

Why am I not surprised? I am not sure about whether Wal-Mart being unionized would be a good thing (it would make them a lot less price-competitive); except that maybe they would clean up their act about how they treat their employees and forcing them to go on Food Stamps and SSI instead of providing health care and a living wage. But outright manipulation of people's voting & employee intimidation? No! Wal-Mart Employees Speak Out About Mandatory Anti-Union Meetings, Political Intimidation Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart has been warning its managers that a Democratic victory in the fall would lead to unionization at Wal-Mart stores. “ In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings” discussing the downsides of unionization and not-so-subtly telling employees NOT to vote for a Democrat. Wal-Mart Watch notes that the article “would not have been possible without the several brave Wal-Mar...