Strife At The Washington Ballet
From "All Toes Point To The Picket Line," a December 16, 2005 article in the Washington Post:
"For the second night in a row, the Washington Ballet has canceled its Nutcracker performance because of labor strife. It announced last evening that it would scrap tonight's show -- just as its dancers, dressed in coats and boots instead of costumes, were throwing up a picket line on the slick sidewalk outside the show's venue, the Warner Theatre.
"The impasse has dashed the hopes of hundreds of ticket holders counting on seeing the holiday ballet that the company has performed for more than 40 years. It also occurs at the worst possible time for the company, which derives much of its annual revenue from the three-week Nutcracker run.
"Yesterday's performance was canceled after management and the dancers' union, the American Guild of Musical Artists, failed again to agree on an employment contract. Management had also canceled rehearsals this week.
"'We belong onstage,' said one dancer, sighing yesterday afternoon and contemplating marching outside the same theater where the ballet began performances Dec. 2. 'It's ridiculous.'...
"On the mezzanine level of the Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday afternoon, the dancers prepared to go on the picket line....
"'YES!' they shouted, then began stringing around their necks the posters that read: "Washington Ballet Dancers are LOCKED OUT. No contract -- no Nutcracker. DANCERS NEED YOUR HELP. BOYCOTT THE WASHINGTON BALLET.' Silently, they filed out of the room, sneaking looks at themselves in the mirror.
"The dozen and a half dancers walked down Pennsylvania Avenue, turned left on 13th Street and formed a circle in front of the Warner Theatre, where they began to walk and chant: "No contract, no Nutcracker.' 'What do we want?' 'A contract.' 'When?' 'Now.'
"By 5:30 p.m., they numbered more than 50. The dancers had been joined by members of the stagehands union, the wardrobe union and others. The Metropolitan Washington Central Labor Council inflated a 15-foot rat with red eyes and mouth. Around its claws hung two placards. The last two times the council used the rat were against an asbestos-removal company and a demolition contractor accused of unfair labor practices.
"With their toes pointed out, the dancers marched in the rain...."
According to this story from NBC-4 on December 17, 2005, all remaining performances of Nutcracker have now been canceled because a successful contract could not be negotiated. A forty-year-old Christmas tradition here in Washington, D.C., will not be one of the usual highlights of the season this year.
posted by Always On Watch @ 12/19/2005 08:38:00 AM
48 comments
48 Comments:
This is a real shame. I wish I better understood the economics of art and cultural endeavors like this one.
-FJ
FJ,
I didn't have tickets to the canceled performances, nor have I ever been to the Washington Ballet's production of The Nutcracker; but every year I toy with getting tickets.
I wonder if the dance company can recover from this. We're used to certain high-profile celebrities who cancel their performances at the last minute, but usually we can rely on those who perform classics to follow through with their schedules.
Tickets to the ballet are not cheap, and now people in the D.C. area will be more cautious about purchasing those tickets, IMO.
Eyes,
I often wonder about the same thing. A medical degree does not guarantee competence.
When local 802 of the musician’s union went on strike a few years back they used recorded music for New York City’s production of the Nutcracker. The orchestra was clearly missed by this writer and his wife. While we’ve seen the production many times before I felt sorry for tourists who don’t usually have the opportunity to see a professional production. By the way, we’ve seen the Philadelphia’s production, in their Academy of Music, a few years back and enjoyed it.
If I remember correctly, local 802 didn’t want more money from the ballet company but less rehearsal time so that they could go on some more profitable gigs during the day in recording studios. Ah, the musicians weren’t complaining about too little capitalism. They wanted to do more for-profit work instead of the non-for-profit ballet performances. A few years ago they wanted all broadway theatre to have a full orchestra even if the play had no music. Hmmm. Reasonable demands? Not always.
Sounds like the dancers are using similar tactics employed by the WTA here in New York. Using Christmas as a weapon in a labor dispute. Even though against the law, the WTA has been threatening a mass walkout and paralyzing the city during the Christmas season. I think that midnight tonight is the deadline.. I'll have to get back on that.
A little unexcerpted snippet from the article I used at the beginning:
The issues are not primarily about money, but about how much control Artistic Director Septime Webre should have over matters ranging from hiring and firing to how rehearsals are conducted to the size of the company and how students from the Washington School of Ballet can be used in productions.
This problem with the Washington Ballet isn't ostensibly all about the money. Of course, "time is money" if some of the ballet artists are giving private lessons and the new rehearsal and performance schedules interfere with a teaching schedule.
Also, since a very large portion of this ballet company's annual revenue comes from proceeds from The Nutcracker, this strike amounts to shooting oneself in the foot. Sorry for the pun--couldn't help myself.
No offense here...But I advise all to read that article from the Washington Post, as it gives insights which I didn't include in my blog posting. I'm more focused on the disppointment caused by the cancellations.
Jason,
If I remember correctly, local 802 didn’t want more money from the ballet company but less rehearsal time so that they could go on some more profitable gigs during the day in recording studios....They wanted to do more for-profit work instead of the non-for-profit ballet performances.
Interesting angle there. One might not have immediately thought of it on one's own.
When local 802 of the musician’s union went on strike a few years back they used recorded music for New York City’s production of the Nutcracker.
Unfortunately, here the dancers themselves are on strike. If the musicians only were on strike, the performances might have continued with recorded music. Of course, ballet dancers prefer live music as live music helps them to perform more effectively.
Crusader,
Sounds like the dancers are using similar tactics employed by the WTA here in New York. Using Christmas as a weapon in a labor dispute.
I think so. And I also think that these strikers at TWB didn't imagine such a think as cancellation of all subsequent performances.
The newspaper article also mentioned that many of the dancers were not in favor of the strike.
The WTB dancers may have a lean Christmas this year.
Camerinus,
I agree. Suffering and disappointment all around on this one.
And the next season will suffer as well.
Thanks interesting info. Most ballet dancers don’t think of dancing as a job but a chance to live a dream (like in the film, The Red Shoes … OK, I’m dating myself!) They know there are hundreds hoping to live that dream. The blurb about objecting to the hiring and firing policy, hints that they are trying to close the door on the next person in line. There’s no tenure in ballet—even in the corps.
The pun should be obvious to the dancers. They are doing irreparable damage to their future opportunities.
from the WP article...
As with dance companies in many other cities, the Washington Ballet counts on "Nutcracker" revenue to help pay for its other productions. Kendall said ticket sales from the production were expected to bring in 64 percent of the organization's annual earned revenue. The ballet's operating budget for the 2005-06 season is $7.3 million.
We've offered to refund money to people who have bought tickets, so that's probably around a million dollars that we've projected that we won't get.
The dancers were to begin rehearsals Jan. 3 for their next production, "The Bach/Beatles Project," slated to open a five-day run at the Kennedy Center on Feb. 1. That schedule is now in doubt, Palmquist said.
---
Evidently only about ~$1.4M of the companies $7.3M operating budget comes from ticket sales (earned revenue)...
-FJ
Jeez, you civilized people kill me. Now if you had been talking about my favorite nude stripping club, getting closed
Well...I might get excited.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
Of course they picked Xmas time to do it. When else would they have as much leverage? But it's sad nonetheless.
ahhhh Unions. I have a local Boeing plant here that currently has it's machinests on strke because Boeing (gasp!) was going to make them actually pay for health coverage. Previously they didnt have to, and now that they were going to shell out $40/pay period... STRIKE!
Unfortuneatly, birds tell me that Boeing is quickly learning how many of those machienists they dont actually need.
I feel most for the guys going on strike. They face public ridicule by all their peers if they cross the line and go back to work, or they face a very scant Christmas to "hold out" as the union bosses tell them to.
Ouch!
A hard nut to crack.
Is this a private company or something run by the City?
Our ballet and opera work almost like public service although there are some private companies.
It's hard to take sides when the data is virtually non existant.
Perhaps the company is close to go belly up and simply cannot afford any contracts.
People can be really "bloody minded" - sometimes.
The Dancers Are Profit...
Undoubtedly true, but how much profit? I've been trying to find out more information on the particulars of the strike and have pretty much come up empty-handed.
I remember Eastern Airlines employees going on strike even though the company would fold if they accepted the union demands. An agreement was never reached, the company shut down and all of Eastern Airlines employees were out of work along with employees who subcontracted with Eastern.
How are you sure that the same might not be true here?
Maybe the dancers should be dancing with Charles Dickens, all I see is their greed.
No mr. ducky, not all the arts are simply a diversion. I'm a firm believer in the necessity of "High Culture"... art that is so beyond the norm and extravagant, that it inspires others to attempt to emulate its' quality... and gives the average man the desire to experience something superior in their otherwise average lives and to join a society of like-minded aspiring individuals.
But at the same time, I also believe a ballet company should be able to make it without NEA and government performance grants. The local hoi agathoi should see to it that the high arts not only survive, but thrive. I'm willing to and have paid $150+ a ticket to see a decent ballet performance or a decent play, and $200 to see a decent opera performance. And I'd pay even more to see decent Shakespearean or Greek Tragedy.
And in the case of high culture, I don't think any price would be too high. In fact, I think that the MORE expensive it was, the greater the allure would be and the MORE likely high society would be in attendance.
But I'm not an "arts for the masses" afficionado. I'd prefer going to the symphony and NOT having idiots showing up an hour late scrambling around looking for their seats like I'm at the local movie house. I'd prefer it if they DIDN'T have "supertitles" at opera and that it WASN'T "accessible". Perhaps THAT way, people would have an incentive to learn a foreign language or otherwise "improve" themselves. Just call me a "snob".
"Live" performances are definitely worth the extra $. Each is "unique".
-FJ
Felis,
As far as I know, TWB is a private company.
From http://www.washingtonballet.org/
history2003.htm
Founded in 1976 by the great American ballet pioneer Mary Day and under Septime Webre's artistic directorship since 1999, The Washington Ballet is an ensemble of powerfully athletic classical ballet dancers performing a repertory of new work and creativity. Considered one of the country's finest ballet companies, The Washington Ballet is recognized nationally and internationally for its high standards, artistic integrity, and unwavering commitment to presenting the very best in in ballet. The Company presents works by the greatest American choreographers and works by some of the most interesting ballet choreographers working today. The repertory spans the neo-classicism of George Balanchine and the expressionist works of Tudor, to the works of Twyla Tharp and Choo-San Goh, who served for 11 years as resident choreographer and later associate artistic director of the Company, as well as emerging American choreographers such as Trey McIntyre and Lila York.
Uniting the repertory is the
unique face of The Washington
Ballet, whose style emphasizes
attack, speed, physical
commitment and a high degree
of intelligence.
The Company presents a full
season each year at The Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, the historic Warner Theatre and Center for the Arts at George Mason University, and performs bienniallyat the Joyce Theater in New York City. The Washington Ballet has toured nationally and internationally to critical
acclaim in such countries as Russia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, the Dominican Republic and the 17th International Dance Festival in Havana, Cuba.
I would guess, however, that TWB receives various grants, possible from the National Endowment for the Arts, and at least some kind of tax break from D.C. But I'm just guessing.
Some of their performance venues receive funds from various sources.
TWB's web site =
www.washingtonballet.org/
A few more details from the article I used:
...the ballet awarded dancers a substantial raise last year, and the "Nutcracker" revenue was meant to fund that.....
In a letter to AGMA [American Guild of Musical Artists] that the ballet provided last night to The Washington Post, Palmquist stated that in the proposed interim agreement he gave to the dancers this week he had included guarantees about continued employment for the company's dancers "that are unheard of in the ballet world."...
The two sides have been meeting since the beginning of November. The dancers told management on Monday that they would continue performing only if management accepted the dancers' version of an interim contract agreement.
Putting on "The Nutcracker" has inflamed the long-simmering issues of rehearsal hours, casting and rest days because dancing the ballet has been such a strain, this dancer said. A company member may have to perform the role of a parent in the first act, then change costumes and come on in the lengthy snow scene pas de deux, then change and perform another pas de deux in the second act.
"Sometimes we have to do that twice a day," the dancer said. "So we're exhausted, and when you're tired you lose your concentration and injury happens."
Palmquist, in his letter to the union, countered that "The Washington Ballet's workmen's compensation statistics are comparable to or lower than published data from other companies."
I don't know the ins and outs of ballet theatre, so the link in the blog article is the best source I have right now.
Papa Ray,
Now if you had been talking about my favorite nude stripping club, getting closed
Well...I might get excited.
LOL.
As a woman, I'm not too interested in any closing of those clubs. My husband, however... Hehehe.
Jason,
There’s no tenure in ballet...
Apparently, tenure was offered. The offer was for a limited time (Sounds like a sale!), and I think it's now been withdrawn.
From another Washington Post article @
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2005/12/16/
AR2005121601734_pf.html :
...As with dance companies in many other cities, the Washington Ballet counts on "Nutcracker" revenue to help pay for its other productions. Kendall said ticket sales from the production were expected to bring in 64 percent of the organization's annual earned revenue....
Attempts to negotiate an employment contract with the union broke down early this week. One of the most troublesome issues is the degree of authority Artistic Director Septime Webre has over scheduling and conducting rehearsals. Dancers say rehearsals for Webre's version of "The Nutcracker" have been unreasonably grueling and have led to too many injuries, while company officials have said injury rates are comparable with those at other companies.
In general, money is not the source of the dispute as much as control over rehearsals, hiring and dismissals, the size of the company and how students at the ballet's affiliated school may be used in productions....
Kallas said the union is asking for some provisions that go beyond what it has put into contracts with other companies because of what it sees as a pattern of management retaliation against the dancers. AGMA filed an unfair labor practice charge against the ballet in the spring, asserting that it had discriminated against two dancers for their union activities. The ballet settled with the two dancers before the complaint was ruled on by a judge, but Kallas says the ballet continues to retaliate against dancers who have spoken up about labor issues....
For the dancers, the disappointment was acute. "I'm kind of speechless," said Elizabeth Gaither. "I just didn't think it would come to this. . . . I feel that what we're asking for is what other working people have, and why don't we deserve the same rights? We're always last on the list."
"It's not about money," agreed dancer Alvaro Palau. "It's the feeling of being appreciated. We don't want money for this contract. We want safety and job security and a safe environment, and that's all we ask for."
I find it odd that professionals would want to be in a union. Industrial work, where everyone does the same mechanical job with little creativity, may be suitable for a union. But professionals—the quintessential middle class individualistic career-oriented endeavor—unions are generally not a good sign. These are areas where creativity cannot be measured and individual merit differs considerably. From my experience, both interviewing at unionized institutions and actually having worked at one, I find the atmosphere stultifying and the morale … dismal. Was the union the cause or the response? That’s debatable. But it is clear that the union was no solution.
Unions do not give a single thought to the rest of us. I do not care for the Union and I am a member of one. The highlight of the season is canceled and there will be layoff great going guys.
This whole thing has got me to start thinking about April. We will be voting on a new contract where I work. As always I'll vote no the first two times. I've told people I don't even listen to the first two readings I just fill out the ballot. I had an old friend (RIP George) that worked in management for 3 fortune 500 companies, he once told me that neither side will bring what they really want to the table before the third vote. The outcome has been decided before the first vote is cast. Business and unions are equally corrupt and the little guy in the middle will always get the shaft and hope the next contract will be better. In this case you can all hope next years performance will be the best ever.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
Union wages mean union prices. Something that a lot of people do not want to pay. Like anything else, if they are not careful they will price themselves right out of the market, like they have done in other industries.
Samwich,
I hope that all who read here will pay attention to what you said about retail jewelry:
Each single stone retailed for $300. Mark up is 300%-1000% depending on the size and quality of the stone.
This practice of tripling is called key stoning and is a standard practice in the retail-jewelry trade.
I DON'T BUY JEWELRY AT RETAIL PRICES.
Sometimes coin shops sell jewelry, but usually the pieces are from estates and are not new. But I find some of the used and/or antique ones quite beautiful. If buying from a coin shop, you need to know the merchant first; there are rip-offs out there.
Samwich, the purchase you described in your comment was a good price. I checked the link, too--looks good. Thanks!
Another useful site when buying jewelry or coins:
http://www.lonestarauctioneers.com/
This site is dedicated to selling government seized property and valuables.
Some of the deals are amazing. I also have a friend who sells retail jewelry and the markup was close to what you had stated.
Of course you have to know a little bit about what you're doing but with a little research you can get some fantastic bargains.
"Jason_Pappas said...
I find it odd that professionals would want to be in a union. Industrial work, where everyone does the same mechanical job with little creativity, may be suitable for a union"
Believe me, as a teacher you definitely want to be part of a union. Teachers are often forgotten when cities and counties are making out their new budgets and without union support our salaries would be even more pathetic.
A word about unions here...
Back when I worked for the public-school system, I was invited to join--but not encouraged to join-- the local teachers' union. Back in that dinosaur age, I didn't join, nor did many other teachers because the primary benefit of joining the union was access to a good attorney should a law suit be instigated; PE teachers joined en masse because PE classes have more potential for teacher liability. We teachers of Language Arts didn't have much to worry about in that regard--especially in those days when accusations of sexual harassment by students was nearly zero, particularly for us women.
In this day, teacher unions have more power with regard to negotiation of teacher salaries, as Crusader mentioned above.
So, as I see it, many teachers today should probably join the union, both for liability protection and for negotiation of salaries. However, I have a HUGE problem with teachers calling a strike. Teaching should be a vocataion, not just a career. Therefore, in some respects, I also agree with what Jason said above.
A word about unions for blue-collar workers...
My father was an automotive mechanic and began his career as an employee of D.C. Transit, at the time a privately owned company. With reservations, he joined the union because of the many benefits associated therewith: health insurance, life insurance salary negotiation, workers' comp, retirement plan, etc.
The day came when the union called a strike, and my father was off for a full month. While we had a reduced income in the household, Dad got a lot done around the house. And, of course, I loved having him home with me all day long!
When the employees finally returned to work, they were "worse off" (Dad's words) than before they walked out on strike. And that month of wages was never made up. Nevertheless, the workers went happily back to work. Only a few understood they had been scammed.
I suspect that something similar will happen with The Washington Ballet. Just a hunch.
But I will say that when Dad died, getting the paperwork all straightened out was very easy, in large part because the union followed through with their promises, including immediate payment of life insurance and the "funeral fund"; one call was all it took. SSA was totally different--a time-consuming and a long-time-coming-benefits mess.
Today, all over the news, I'm hearing about the strike of transit employees in NYC. And just in time for Christmas!
For any of those interested, Charles Dickens's novel Hard Times, set in Victorian England during the Industrial Revolution, touches upon the need for a union and the what amounts to the scam which a union pulls off. The union representative doesn't give a hoot about "The Hands"; rather, he is all about the money which union dues generate and, in effect, contributes to the death of an factory employee who needed help but who refused to join the union.
I'm not sure of the history of the union movement, but I believe that it is a checkered one.
Do any of you recall the film The Molly Maguires? I have a vague memory that this film dealt with the need for unions. I could be wrong. The title just popped into my mind, maybe because I love the music, which was composed by Henry Mancini. Mancini left the coal-mining, steel-mill town of Aliquippa, PA, in part because of the working conditions there. The same can be said of Dean Martin, who left Steubenville, Ohio.
Unions are definitely flawed, but I don't think I'm advocating abandoning them entirely. I have mixed feelings on the topic, maybe because I live close enough to West Virginia to know of the working conditions in coal mines, which used to me the only employment in town. I also know that the unions there haven't been totally beneficial.
Today, of course, workers often have the option of moving or of training for a better job--but not always.
I guess that I would say that unions present a type of two-edged sword.
I just heard on MSNBC that the strike in NYC is illegal. I'm not quite sure what "illegal" means in that context.
PS: I hated that baseball strike some years back. It ruined my summer and my father's too. :(
AOW
Thanks for the info.
does the cost of living not apply to teachers?
I am anti union Duck because I see Unions collect dues, pay out piss-poor "strike pay", bank roll democratic political candidates, and fund lavish life styles of union boss elites. (Reverse Robin Hood?), then demand strikes where half the employees lose their entire income for months at a time. Oh, and if you dont strike (because you fell like keeping your house or something else equally crazy), they encourage the others to damage your property, and verbally assult you.... wow, great group there.
Oh yeah, and the efforts of the unions have been the NUMBER ONE FACTOR in "out-sourcing" in America. That dirty secret is hid under the fact that a 20 year Union veteran will get $20/hour with 3 weeks paid vacation, 10 holidays, no health care premium, a pension package rivaling most executives.... all for doing a menial job (benifit of seniority) that a $5/hour 16 year old could do.
Oh, and the fact that the entire thing removes any/all motivation for personal achievment. If you work harder than Bob, doesnt matter, you both get the same Union negotiated raise. But if he slacks off and does nothing... doesnt matter, because they cant fire him... Union will claim arbitration and cost so much in legal fees, the company will just keep the slug anyway.
In spite of the limits on strikes for public employees, the NYC transit employees walked anyway. Is mass-firing on the table? Then what?
I heard on the news tonight that a judge has ordered a $1 million fine per day while the workers are out on strike. From the little I know about the strike in NYC, the sticking point seems to be retirement issues, not wages. If I understand correctly the origin of unions, their primary concerns were salaries and working conditions. But now strikes are called for matters other than what used to be the primary issues.
Not seeing performances of The Nutcracker is a shame, culturally speaking. But when transit employees walk off the job, the economy takes a hit, and the number of citizens impacted is quite high.
The strike's cost to the economy of NYC has been estimated at $400 million a day. Merchants shut down, many peoply unable to get to their jobs (Some of these people are restaurant workers and maintenance personnel), etc. Many people who work in NYC do not own a vehicle and rely on the buses and the subway. What are these people to do? How many essential personnel can't get to work? Will lives be jeopardized as a result of this strike?
Even worse...nurses' strikes. Lives can be jeopardized, are jeopardized. I haven't recently heard anything about nurses' striking, though.
I also recall the air-traffic controllers going on strike a few decades back. Weren't there some mass firings? How much of a hit did the airlines take on that one? The economy? I seem to recall that some people didn't want to fly with novices in the control towers.
Though G and Samwich take opposite sides in this discussion, I see the merits in both their comments. And Toni points out the idea of diminishing returns.
G's point about outsourcing is a disturbing one. Sounds right to me, but I don't know for sure.
As I see it, management can be out of line, and so can the union.
And a final thought...I wish I made the bucks some of those NYC transit employees make!
Samwich,
But I can be very very insulting.
It's a gift.
Bwhahahaha! I've seen you do that a few times.
Contract nothing to this. Tickets in hand and a strike?
Everyone strikes?
"Wha is it that you DO here"?
If I wanted you to put me on a string for your performance alcio, I would at least make sure I had a LEGAL contract in hand.
Get lost.
I got actors, and train conductors everywhere. Who needs a union to make you succeed?
Samwich,
A lack of respect for others is a visible manifestation of a lack of self respect.
I used to say something very similar to students all the time, when I was the discipline officer for the school.
"Created in God's image" says it all for me.
Samwich,
Are you speaking of a comment to the previous blog article?
I had a hard time following that thread. I know zero about Washington State politics.
Let me know which thread (title of article here), and I'll go back tomorrow and look it over more carefully.
Off to bed now.
Sam:
I understand the potential benefits of Unions, but the harvest you reaped, was what seeded the crop of today, which is a dying industry of production, over inflated compensation packages for drastically under trained general labor forces, and productivity level usually seen in communist societies. The union has sucked the motivation for innovation and initiative out of their respective work places, and become a haven for the under achiever. Most self-respecting, self-confident employees today would wish to be in an environment where their achievements are stand along accomplishments (and treated as such), rather than be grouped in with a mass that may or may not decide to meat goals. The Dunlop plant that used to be here ended up closing because the Union wouldn’t budge when the plant was asked to produce (pulling from memory here) 1-2% more a day (equaled out to like 20 tires). The Union’s argument: “it’s not in my contract”… even though management told them this had to be done to turn a profit for the plant.
That mentality will kill any production plant, especially in the current climate of global industry and production. Unions force companies to find cheaper sources of labor (over seas), because they refuse to budge on salary, compensation, and benefits packages that are outdated at best. They also remove the ability of the company to “trim the fat”, thus increasing the bloated and unproductive element of the labor force. The “vindictive boss” is more a mythos than a reality, as those sycophants are usually weeded out by the company because the are extremely inefficient managers.
Oh, and Ohh-Rah!
Samwich,
I found that comment you referred to. It was buried in my inbox--Christmas mail, so to speak, had hidden the ocmment from me. I'll read it thoroughly and get back to you here on this thread.
Samwich,
Dirty Legal Tricks and Loopholes in the Law
So, elections are all about who has the money AND who can lead the sheeple?
Has there ever been "an honest election"?
I know I'm simplifying here.
BTW, I know of several cover-ups with regard to various law suits and criminal cases. Nothing political--just small stuff.
Many corporations would much rather settle out of court. In liability cases, insurance companies push to settle out of court; lawyers often advise the same. This from my own experiences, my family's experiences, my friends' experiences.
Personally, I have little faith in the justice system for "the common man."
Every time I hear a politician say, "Have they [whoever is on the hot seat at the time] no sense of shame? No sense of decency?" I want to puke. I hear things like that from members of both political parties.
DO NOT EVER PISS OFF A COPY WRITER.
The copy writer's messge is the "power of influence".
OK..maybe I'm out of the Loop here, but isn't it the job of a copywriter to generate a sense of professionalism and credibility to a product? Even if the product is a candidate?
Unless you're willing to kiss your career goodbye aren't you pretty much limited in any freelancing of ideas. Copywriters want to increase sales and improve your competitive position ..not shoot themselves in the foot.
I don't think I shot "myself" in the foot. I'm absolutely certain I've made my "political" bones.
impressive..no doubt
Samwich,
Anytime I hear about sexual assault, I get so angry. I've known of several cases which didn't make it to court. Repercussions of sexual assault often last a lifetime. I think I understand: My criminal complaint was brushed under the rug and Boeing told me I'd put up with it and keep quiet or not have a job....There is no statute of limitations to limit my vendetta against Boeing bought politician$."
What I lack in "pretty", I make up for with "effective". LOL.
sam..
Active Duty
Cape May
USCG Cutter Courageous..Key West
Governors Island...electronics school
Coast Guard Base Miami Beach
not bad duty stations..
reservist until I was injured in a robbery.
Crusader,
injured in a robbery?
Sometimes, life just isn't fair.
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