Merry Holidays; 2 + 2= 5

If only George Orwell were alive to write letters to the editors of the leading newpapers; or to host his own blog, huh? There was a guy who warned us about word play, after working for the British government writing propganda. "Merry Holidays," and all the sugar-free substitutes belong in Whateverland.

There's been a story circulating about the political correctness of "Happy Holidays" over the good old "Merry Christmas" that the 60 million Catholics and the 55 million Baptists who celebrate the birth of Christ, and the rest of the country that may or may not know Jesus as only a punchline and who top off that group that makes up all but 18% of the US population who are non-Christian. It's as if you should bite your tongue off if you say Merry Christmas in public to someone because it does not demonstrate proper respect for diversity.

Is it really more obscene for a restaurant owner to to say Merry Christmas to a group of customers, who may or may not be Christian, than if she were to say "Go fuck yourselves"?

I don't think Free Speech means, "oh, look, here's another excuse to give a FREE SPEECH on the hypocritical nature of our well meaning but tragically flawed human society." The press pushes these ideas to make us all aware how unfair it is that Santa passes over some peoples homes without leaving toys or coal, which would at least show he cares.

Before St. Patrick brought Catholicism to Ireland, they practiced human sacrifice. Is that a religion one should be ashamed to celebrate because not everyone buys in? Does this debate really make Muslims feel better about recent events?

Maybe it's a good debate to have; maybe it's good to bring up the issue of respect for diversity, as we pound the sand to keep the oil locked in the ground so the price will rise elsewhere for other countries with better representation inside the beltway. And buy country, I mean actual country, such as Russia; and also companies, such as Walmart, which earns more than the gross national product of several 1st world countries.

"Right to Work", as in "a right to work state"

"Right to work" belongs in whateverland. Here is a designer phrase that's been used to build our thriving servile economy. There are more than 5 million undocumented workers in the United States who have the "right to work" in such industries as landscaping, commercial cleaning and at the 40,000 Big Box Megalomarts that have wiped out about a billion small neighborhood retailers.

It's about as 1984 as anything you'll find in whateverland.


The phrase "Right to work" is used to brainwash people into thinking that unions are oppressive and that workers are made free of the kind of intervention that unions bring to raise their wages, fight for health care, and retirement savings programs that actually leave retirees with something at the end of the line. It's good for companies that want workers to get "right to work" for the lowest wage they can pay them to do just enough work not to get fired. When companies pay people just enough not to quit, they typically get just enough work not to get fired.

There are foundations-- well funded, of course, that actually advertise themselves as "protecting workers" from unions (see, here). They will take all kind of donations-- life insurance, annuities, real estate to beat back the harzards of collective bargaining (see here).

Makes one wonder, what would Moses do?

So the next time the fella from the group that wants to help you raise your pay, increase your medical benefits and get you a better retirement fund, you should exercise your "right to work". Tell that group-- HELL NO. You have rights. You don't need help and you sure do not need to band together into a group that can negotiate better than a single individual asking for these things. Tell them you have the right to work as hard as you can to get paid just enough not to quit. Hey, it's not all about money, right?

But can half a million MBAs be wrong?

"My People"

How 1958 is "my people"? It's very whateverland.

The woman on the cable program at the public forum used it a few times along with "I think he was a Latino brother" and "show nuff", concerning the victims of Katrina and issues of rebuilding and public support.

"My people" is sounding right over there in whateverland next to "you people", which was made famous by the blunderious Ross Perot in speaking about black before blacks as he ran for pres. Where "my people" is like a false embrace, "you people" is like a extendable artificial limb for pushing away oneself from the group its directed toward.

When I hear "my people", I remember what the man said, "everyone is your friend until the rent's due."

Jobs American's Won't Do...

This really belongs in whateverland: "Jobs that American's will not do", and it's cousin, "Jobs Americas just won't do", and "Jobs you can not get Americans to do":

Jobs that the survile class of workers come to fill in our master-servant economy has turned from moderately well paying union jobs into low paying service jobs for which English speakers need not apply. Examples include:

• Landscaping
• Cleaning
• Construction
• Food service
• Slaughtering
  
• Picking Apples
• Picking Noses (anything)
  

Whatever and ever and ever...

"Whateverland" is something comical I have been saying to my wife for quite some time. It's a variant of "whatever", that way overused reply people use to express lack of interest, slight disdain, frustration and and overall general assertion that what they are being told is irrelevant.

When she used it this morning on me, with comic effect, I realized it is a concept whose time has come. So here starts our second blog, formed to chronicle the events we witness that may be safely cast to the nation-state of "Whateverland".

We imagine it somewhere west of M-Jay's "Never Neverland," much less interesting, if wrapped less in madness than say, stupidity, silliness, or in my case, emotional retardation, as my wife pointed this morning when I was explaining why the dog was mutedly barking while I had been playing our daily game of Smack-the-nose.

So, we are keeping an eye open for things that belong in "Whateverland," and welcome comments and postings from our readers who are doing the same.

I'm excited, and hope this works.