September 8, 2014 by Michael A. Ventrella

Aiming low

“I had to work three minimum wage jobs to get by, and I made it, so I don’t see why minimum wage should be increased!”

This is a mindset I have never quite understood — things were bad for you, and therefore we shouldn’t try to make them better for other people?

Raising the minimum wage so people don’t have to work three jobs just to get by seems like a good idea to me. Besides, every time we raise the minimum wage, the economy improves. (If people have more money, they spend it, and the economy improves. Duh.)

But today I want to discuss that attitude. Can someone explain it to me? I’ve seen it many times, always from some conservative who thinks that we should lower our standards instead of raising them.

“Those damn unions want to increase wages and working conditions!” they scream. “Why should they get paid so much more than I do?” Well, that’s a very good question. Maybe you should be unionizing too so that you could get paid a better wage. Why not raise everyone up instead of bringing others down?

Why can’t we increase standards instead of aiming for the lowest common denominator?

Editorial cartoon: We have standards, you know

September 7, 2014 by Michael A. Ventrella

A test for my conservative friends

Seriously. Forget that Obama is President for a minute. Or pretend there is a Republican in there.

And then look at the economic numbers.

Unemployment is at 6.1%, the lowest it’s been since 2007.

There have been 63 straight months of economic expansion.

The budget deficit has been reduced tremendously.

The stock market has set records and is at its highest ever.

Consumer confidence is high, home sales are increasing, and we avoided a major depression.

And according to the conservative business magazine Forbes, “This is the best private sector jobs creation performance in American History.”

Forbes finds that in every measure of the economy, Obama’s Presidency has outshone all previous recent Presidents, including Reagan.

If Obama was a Republican, they would be shouting about his accomplishments. Do you agree?

Now, mind you, this is Forbes making this comparison. There is one place where the economy has gotten worse, and that is the discrepancy between the rich and poor. The US looks more and more like pre-revolutionary France every day, where there is no longer a sturdy middle class. Forbes, of course, doesn’t care about that — many economists seem to only care about how Big Business and the rich are doing. But that’s also what most Republicans think about, too, so why aren’t they cheering on Obama’s economy?

I know, I know — silly question.

Editorial cartoon: Pick the fanatic

September 4, 2014 by Michael A. Ventrella

Louisiana stays in the 20th Century

Good ol’ Louisiana! Judge Feldman, perhaps inspired by the Dred Scott decision, has held that all them faggots don’t got no rights at all in Nawleans.

Judge Feldman. I think.

Breaking a streak of 21 previous decisions, Judge Feldman tied together state’s rights and a complete lack of empathy and understanding to determine that marriage is for straight people only because tradition. Or babies. Or something. You know, the standard garbage that every other judge laughs out of court.

It gets worse. He says the state has an interest in preventing gay marriage so there won’t be incest. Got it? You understand that? See the connection? Well, you might be a redneck if…

Look, we all knew this was getting to the Supreme Court sooner or later. I would have liked all courts to have been unanimous when the case arrived, but this is just a minor hump.

Or as Judge Feldman would say, “What hump?”

Editorial cartoon: Media rare

September 2, 2014 by Michael A. Ventrella

It’s not always racism

Yesterday, I wrote about how we should not listen to white people when they say it’s not about racism, because they’re not the “experts” who really experience it.

However, we should also beware of going too far in the other direction: sometimes it really is not about racism.

I have often had discussions like this with my clients:

“That cop is a racist!”

“Why do you say that?”

“He treated me terribly and gave me no respect!”

“I know this particular cop very well. Trust me, he treats everyone like that.”

Sometimes people are a jerk to you not because of your race, but because they’re jerks. Or maybe it’s because of your dress or attitude. A white guy dressed as a thug and acting like a gang member also doesn’t get a ton of respect.

But there really is racism. Obama talked about how, when he was a Constitutional Law Professor dressed in a suit, he still couldn’t get a taxi. Black business leaders find themselves being followed in stores despite looking like professional CEOs in all respects. The fact that blacks get arrested for drug offenses in bigger numbers than whites despite drug use among whites and blacks being pretty equal is another good sign. There are plenty of other examples.

All I’m saying is: Racism absolutely exists and it is something people deal with every day. Just don’t automatically assume every time you’re treated bad it’s because of racism. I have friends who hate Obama but it’s not because they’re racist. They hated Clinton too. They hate all liberal politicians. If Obama was 100% white, they’d still hate him.

For that matter, I can’t stand Al Sharpton, Clarence Thomas, and Herman Cain, but not because of their race. (And if you think I supported Obama because of his race, well, you might want to ask if you are the racist, unable to see anything but a candidate’s race to determine why anyone would vote for him.)

However, if your main criticism of Obama is that he’s a Kenyan Muslim who doesn’t look like a “real American” — well, I think that’s a pretty good sign it isn’t just his politics that have you angry. And if your protest includes a Confederate flag, you might as well stop pretending.

Editorial cartoon: Totally inappropriate

September 1, 2014 by Michael A. Ventrella

Stop asking white people

Seriously. I’m sick of watching white people debate whether there is still racism.

I’ve ranted before about how we tend to listen to people who already support what we previously believed as opposed to experts who may challenge our assumptions.
It bugs me when people listen to TV commentators to decide whether climate change exists, or pay attention to celebrities to determine whether they should vaccinate their kids, or read blogs from angry gun owners to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.