People with disabilities in Alaska can no longer be paid less than the minimum wage.

Courtesy of Think Progress: 

As of Friday, Alaskan businesses will no longer be allowed to pay disabled workers less than the minimum wage, which is currently $9.84 an hour. 

“Workers who experience disabilities are valued members of Alaska’s workforce,” said the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development Acting Commissioner Greg Cashen, in a press release. “They deserve minimum wage protections as much as any other Alaskan worker.” 

The state announced last week it would repeal the regulation first put in place in 1978. Alaska joins New Hampshire and Maryland as the first states to get rid of sub-minimum wage for employees with disabilities, an act which is entirely legal under federal law, and has been since 1938 when the Fair Labor Standards Act was implemented. 

The minimum wage exception was initially created to help those with disabilities get jobs, but despite its intentions, the legislation still fell short. Disability advocates argue the law is outdated and that many disabled individuals can succeed in jobs earning minimum wage or more, and that no other class of people faces this kind of government-sanctioned wage discrimination. In addition to being paid a sub-minimum wage, employees with disabilities often perform their jobs in what are called “sheltered workshops.” This term is generally used to describe facilities that employ people with disabilities exclusively or primarily, but has been interpreted by disability advocates as a form of segregation in the workplace.

I think this is a very positive step forward for Alaskans with disabilities.

However I do understand why the law was likely implemented in the first place.

After all many of the people diagnosed with a disability require more supervision, and supports, than the average minimum wage worker. 

There is also the fact that many of them cannot make too much money or risk losing their social security payments.

But times are changing and with new workplace modifications, and more reliance on machines doing much of the work, there are increased opportunities for these individuals to find employment that may seem repetitive to some or not intellectually stimulating to others.

Is Bernie Sanders ever satisfied?

More dammit, I want more!

Sanders wrote an op-ed in which he celebrates all of the progressive policies which have now been added to the Democratic Party platform:

The Democratic Party platform drafted in St. Louis is an excellent start in bringing forth policies that will help end the 40-year decline of the American middle class. These initiatives, if implemented, will create millions of good-paying jobs, significantly improve health care, and reverse the dangerous trend in this country toward an oligarchic form of society. 

Do you hear a "but" coming? Because I hear a "but" coming.

But, let us be clear, this is a document that needs to be significantly improved by the full Platform Committee meeting in Orlando on July 8 and 9.

Now here are some of the progressive provisions in the platform as listed by Sanders himself:

At a time when huge Wall Street financial institutions are bigger now than they were before the taxpayers of this country bailed them out, the platform calls for enacting a 21st-century Glass-Steagall Act and for breaking up too-big-to-fail banks. 

The platform calls for a historic expansion of Social Security, closes loopholes that allow corporations to avoid paying taxes, creates millions of jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, makes it easier for workers to join unions, takes on the greed of the pharmaceutical companies, ends disastrous deportation raids, bans private prisons and detention centers, abolishes the death penalty, moves to automatic voter registration and the public financing of elections, eliminates super PACs, and urges passage of a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, among many other initiatives. 

These are all major accomplishments that will begin to move this country in the right direction. I congratulate Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.), chairman of the Platform Drafting Committee, and all 15 members of the panel for their hard work.

Okay by almost ANY standard that is an incredibly progressive agenda, and the part that Sanders' delegates had in drafting it should give them quite a sense of accomplishment.

But to Sanders it is just not goddamn good enough.

The problems? It does not guarantee a $15 dollar an hour minimum wage, and does not condemn the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP if you prefer.

In other words Sanders has achieved virtually every one of his goals in crafting this Democratic platform, but it is not perfect so he remains dissatisfied.

Now first let us not forget that the Democratic party is NOT married to this platform and there is nothing which forces them to pursue these policies.

Secondly let's remember that just because the Democrats might want to get these policies passed into law, there is absolutely no guarantee that such a thing will happen, especially while facing off against an entrenched Republican opposition.

And thirdly the stated reason that the Hillary delegates refused to sign off on an official opposition to TPP, is because our President is for the deal, and they refused to take a stand in direct opposition to his desires.

And lastly Sanders should know that even if the language opposing TPP is not part of the official platform, Hillary Clinton, who has stated her opposition to the plan, will be against it or not depending on what she thinks is right.

She is not bound by the language of the party platform, so it has no real control over her future decisions as President.

So his op-ed reads like nothing more than the thinnest of excuses for not officially dropping out of the race and endorsing Hillary Clinton.

What he is demanding will not happen, so he wields his progressive purity as a shield to deflect criticism as he continues to milk his last remaining supporters for contributions and basks in the media's attention.

Can't even say I'm surprised.

By the way if you want see just how delusional the remaining Bernie Bros have become just take a listen to H.A. Goodman.

And trust me, he's not the only one holding on to those delusions.

Did you ever hear the one about the old Jewish Socialist who walked into the wrong party?

San Sanders and his detail of roughly 10 guys just walked into the GOP lunch, remembered Dems meet down the hall, pivoted and walked out.

— jennifer steinhauer (@jestei) June 21, 2016

Courtesy of CNN: 

It's been a while since Bernie Sanders has attended the weekly Senate Democratic lunch in the Capitol. 

So long, in fact, he forgot where to go Tuesday and headed -- with his large Secret Service detail in tow -- into the Republican lunch instead. 

He quickly realized his mistake and turned around. When a reporter noted, "wrong room," Sanders replied, "Thank you" as he made his way to the Democratic gathering.

It could happen to anybody. Well not really but I'm trying to be nice.

 In other news it appears that Sander's attempt to hire new interns for his return to the Senate was met with some rather pointed criticisms:

@SenSanders So "Fight For 15" doesn't apply to your interns.

— Spidey (@AnarchyArachnid) June 20, 2016

In even other news it appears that Sanders will get that prime time speaking slot at the DNC conventions. Well maybe:

Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton’s still-to-be-selected running mate are also expected to have prime-time slots. First lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden could also make the case for Clinton, and Bernie Sanders is expected to deliver a prime-time speech if he concedes before July 25. 

"If he concedes before July 25."

Oops. 

Well if he cannot bring himself to do the right thing before the 25th, I understand that there is a fart-in that would be thrilled to have his participation.

That's if he can find his way there without getting lost. 

There is nowhere in America where you can rent a one bedroom apartment while earning minimum wage.

Courtesy of Vox:

There is no state in the union where a full-time, minimum-wage worker can afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment for less than 30 percent of his paycheck (which is a standard measure of housing affordability). 

That's the depressing takeaway from a new report by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. 

In Texas, a minimum wage worker needs to put in 73 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom unit. In California, it's 92 hours. In the District of Columbia, it's a solid 100 hours.These are, of course, state averages. 

Rent will be more expensive in some cities — but those cities will often have a higher minimum wage than the rest of the state. Sadly, as this chart from the report shows, the increase in rental prices tends to be much higher than the increase in the minimum wage:

 That is shameful.

And people wonder why some young people continue to live with their parents instead of striking out on their own. How can they when the only jobs available to them do not even pay them enough to put a roof over their head?

My own daughter, who has always made more than minimum wage, has lived on and off with me for years due to the unpredictability of the jobs in her chosen field.

Today she is making more than I am, and living the good life, but that was only after putting many years into her career and suffering long stretches of unemployment.

If she could not have relied on her father to provide her with love and support, there is no telling where she could have ended up.

Let's face it, some people, both young and old, do not have that support system. So when they work hard and still cannot afford a place to live, what does that do their self esteem and ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Assuming of course that there is a light at the end of their tunnel.

Snoop Dogg offers to perform in Alaska once the state legalizes marijuana. Actually I bet a whole lot of bands offer to play up here once the proposition passes.

Courtesy of KTUU:  

Rapper and marijuana enthusiast Snoop Dogg has promised to perform a concert in Alaska if voters choose to legalize pot. 

The promise came during an episode of Snoop Dogg's GGN webcast in which he interviewed former KTVA Channel 11 reporter Charlo Greene about her on-air announcement that she owns the Alaska Cannabis Club. 

"If we get y'all to vote yes on Proposition 2, Snoop Dogg is coming to Alaska to do a concert, a wellness retreat concert, and I'm bringing some of that California with me to celebrate," Snoop says.

What some people failed to recognize about the Charlo Greene on-air "fuck it, I quit" comment, was that it would bring national attention and support to Alaska's attempt to legalize pot.

In fact Charlo's comment may play an instrumental part in helping us hang onto our lone Democratic Senator.

Right now we have two issues on the November ballot that should help turnout more young liberals in the state. One is Ballot Measure 3 which increases the minimum wage, and the other of course is Proposition 2.

Even though I think both of these issues essentially cross party lines in Alaska, conventional wisdom suggests that it is the liberals who are more likely to be drawn to the polls in support.

THAT could really help Senator Begich who is currently struggling in the polls, and help Alaska to hang onto the one Senator who is not firmly in the pocket of the oil companies.

At this point every little bit helps, and Greene's on air expletive might go down in history as having a significant effect on Alaska politics in 2014.

PPP has a new Alaska poll out. This one includes a question about the Throwdown at the Hoedown.

"Another PPP poll oh this oughtta be good."

As you know the PPP regularly conducts polls up here in the Great land and today they released their most recent one.

According to the poll Dan Sullivan leads Mark Begich by 43 to 41 percent for the Senate.

Bill Walker leads Sean Parnell by 42 to 41 percent in the Governor's race.

And passage of a new minimum wage in Alaska looks like a sure thing with 61% for it, and 33% apparently made up of business owners who don't want to pay their employees what they are worth.

Sarah Palin is still very disliked by most Alaskans as the poll shows that 54% want her to go away while 32%, who must not have seen her stupid reality show, think of her favorably.

However only 18% think she should make a run at the presidency with a whopping 75% not wanting her anywhere near the White House.

And then PPP asked a new question, this one about the now famous drunken brawl.

And this was the response: 

Finally 30% of voters in the state think the Palins instigated the recent brawl they were involved in to 18% who think it was the other parties involved, although 52% have no opinion.

Okay well I am not sure how it is possible that over 50% of people have not heard of the brawl, but to me that is the only thing that explain such a high number having no opinion.

Because if you know the Palins, you KNOW they instigated this thing.

However I will admit that I got my hair cut last week, and the lady doing it had never heard of the brawl, nor did any other person in the shop that day. So, perhaps the problem is that we still have not managed to spread this story far enough yet.

Well let's see if we can rectify that, shall we?

Okay this is brilliant.

Click image to play video.

Damn that was good!

I watched this with my daughter yesterday which brought back memories, because when she was just three years old this was her favorite movie, and it played non-stop at my house any time she was with me.

In fact that was how I knew that she was somewhat brighter than the average child when I discovered that she could rewind the movie and play it on her own if I was too busy or too slow to do it for her.

This is actually the first time I have seen any version of the movie that has not caused my PTSD to kick in.

Thirteen states raise minimum wage, and gain more jobs. Why do facts hate conservatives so much?

Courtesy of Philly.com:  

Maybe a higher minimum wage isn't so bad for job growth after all. 

The 13 U.S. states that raised their minimum wages at the beginning of this year are adding jobs at a faster pace than those that did not, providing some counter-intuitive fuel to the debate over what impact a higher minimum has on hiring trends. 

Many business groups argue that raising the minimum wage discourages job growth by increasing the cost of hiring. A Congressional Budget Office report earlier this year lent some support for that view. It found that a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, as President Obama supports, could cost 500,000 jobs nationwide. 

But the state-by-state hiring data, released Friday by the Labor Department, provides ammunition to those who disagree. Economists who support a higher minimum say the figures are encouraging, though they acknowledge they don't establish a cause and effect. There are many possible reasons hiring might accelerate in a particular state. 

"It raises serious questions about the claims that a raise in the minimum wage is a jobs disaster," said John Schmitt, a senior economist at the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research. The job data "isn't definitive," he added, but is "probably a reasonable first cut at what's going on." 

So to sum up Obamacare is NOT a job killer, raising the minimum wage is NOT a job killer, and despite conservative attacks to the contrary President Obama has been steadily increasing jobs in this country since he took office.  But just not fast enough to make them happy of course.

And while we are poking holes in Republican talking points perhaps it is a good time to point out that trickle down economics do not work, lowering taxes does not increase jobs, and big businesses are not humanitarian organizations dedicated to making their employees lives more enjoyable.

You help the employee earn a decent wage, you help build business,  energize the economy, and move more Americans out of poverty.

President and Mrs; Obama want their daughters to work minimum pay jobs. What, no reality show?

Courtesy of MSNBC:  

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama want their children to experience the virtues of hard work at minimum-wage pay. 

“I think every kid needs to get a taste of what it’s like to do that real hard work,” Michelle Obama said in an interview with Parade magazine published Friday. 

“We are looking for opportunities for them to feel as if going to work and getting a paycheck is not always fun, not always stimulating, not always fair,” President Obama added. “But that’s what most folks go through every single day.”

I 100% agree with this sentiment, and applaud the first family for teaching their two girls the importance of hard work and the joy of independence. 

I mean with their connections they could easily put their girls on the path to easy street, with book deals, reality shows, buy them a beauty shop to work in, or simply pay them to stay out of trouble and not embarrass them.

But really what kind of crappy parent would do that?

The prospects are high in Alaska for a Mark Begich victory in 2014. Get it, high.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

If Alaska Democrat Mark Begich wins re-election to the U.S. Senate, he may have Republican state legislators to thank. 

Because the Alaska Legislature failed to gavel out by its statutory deadline last week, the November ballot has morphed into an electoral blockbuster. Three initiatives that were supposed to appear in the August primary have been bumped to the general election. So now, on top of deciding whether they want reelect a Democrat in a year where Republicans could seize control of Congress, Alaskans will be voting on initiatives to increase the minimum wage, to allow the sale of marijuana, and to make it harder to build an unpopular open-pit mine near the world’s largest salmon run. 

Any one of those initiatives could be seen as a gift to Democrats. Together, they could boost turnout by up to 5 percent, according to political scientist Caroline Tolbert. 

“The conditions are ripe for these ballot measure to potentially shape the races in 2014,” says Tolbert, a professor at the University of Iowa. 

While Alaska is uniquely difficult to survey, the polls that have been done on those initiatives show they’re popular in the state. They do especially well with younger and often more liberal voters.

I think the Republicans really crewed the pooch by allowing this marijuana vote to make it onto the ballot in November. Alaskans may be apathetic about a lot of things, but getting high is not one of them.

And with Colorado already seeing huge revenues and positive outcomes from their choice to legalize pot, Alaskans are definitely poised to join the party.

Add to that the votes on the minimum wage and the Pebble Mine, and this would appear to be a blowout for the progressives.

So with that in mind, IF this election goes another way for Begich, Alaskans MUST be ready to challenge the results and attempt to finally do away with the election fraud that has plagued this state for decades. 

Sarah Palin weighs in on the minimum wage debate. As ignorantly as possible.

The above graphic was found on Palin's Facebook page.

Of course the comparison is somewhat misleading because though base pay for an E1 Recruit can be as low as $16,168 a year, there are other monetary compensations such as a housing allowance, hardship duty pay, assignment incentive pay,  hazardous duty incentive pay, and hostile fire/imminent danger pay.

Not to mention that a recruit essentially enters the military as an unskilled worker whose room and board is provided for him as he learns the skills necessary to achieve competency in his job.

I have never heard of McDonald's letting their fry cooks sleep in the restaurant at night and eat for free.

However let me simply say that I think that those in the  military deserve a pay raise as well. (They also deserve to not have their paychecks interfered with, a fact that did not seem to bother Palin and her fellow Teabaggers when they shut the government down for two weeks earlier this year.) Yet the fact that they do not yet have one does nothing to change the fact that people are underpaid in this country, in a variety of occupations, and that our country's economy would be dramatically improved if they were paid a more reasonable wage.

So this graphic may make conservatives, and Sarah Palin, feel justified in arguing against paying low wage earners more money, but all it really does is demonstrate that there are many lines of work where the compensation is inadequate.

But hey at least Palin did not slap a SarahPAC logo on the graphic so that she could benefit momentarily from the soldiers who she claims to support. Small favors and all that.

Rather than pay their employees a living wage McDonald's suggests employees trying to stay out of debt pack a sack lunch and sell unwanted possessions on eBay. McPerfect!

Courtesy of NBC News:

McDonald’s is once again getting grilled over its employee advice, this time suggesting ways to get out of holiday debt that include returning unopened purchases and bringing a sack lunch. 

The criticism comes months after it took heat over an employee budget guide that included no money for heat and $20 a month for health care. 

The labor advocacy group Low Pay Is Not OK is lambasting McDonald’s for articles on an employee website that suggest workers visit thrift stores instead of the mall, use stale bread and bruised apples rather than throwing them out, and “quit complaining” as a way to reduce stress. And to pay off holiday debt, it suggested returning purchases. 

“On a short term basis, do whatever it takes to dig out from your holiday debt,” said one article on the McResource Line website, a screen grab of which was provided by Low Pay Is Not OK. 

“You may want to consider returning some of your unopened purchases that may not seem as appealing as they did. Selling some of your unwanted possessions on eBay or Craigslist could bring in some quick cash," it continued. “Consider bringing a brown bag lunch and skipping the takeout …. You might also consider a temporary part time job to dig out of debt quickly.” 

The article appeared to have been removed from the site by midday Thursday. 

McDonald’s did not return multiple calls for comment. A company spokeswoman, in a statement emailed to CNBC, said Low Pay Is Not OK’s video about the website took the advice out of context and characterized the campaign as “an attempt by an outside organization to undermine a well-intended employee assistance resource website.”

Yes they are only trying to McHelp without having to McPay more.

After all how do you post profits of over five billion dollars annually if you are paying your workers enough to live on?

By the way I completely stopped going to McDonald's several months ago and have no intention of ever going back. Not only is their McFood poisonous, but they are also cheap bastards more interested in turning a profit than in paying their employees,

Kind of reminds me of Wal-Mart who held a food drive asking their employees to donate food to help feed their fellow employees who are not paid enough to feed themselves.

Yet another place that I refuse to shop at any more.

Joe Miller is just one of this new gang of Teabaggers who are promising to pass legislation designed to suppress the middle class.

This information should dispel ANY idea that Joe Miller and the rest of the Teabaggers are worried about the Constitution or the deficit spending  These are the same bullshit tactics the Republicans have been using for years to step on the backs of the workers in order help their masters in big business increase their profit margins.

Joe Miller is being completely disingenuous because the Alaska minimum wage is based on 50 cents more than the FEDERAL minimum wage, and the Republicans fought against THAT both tooth and nail. He knows full well that without the federal minimum wage to use as a guide that Alaska's lower income workers would be making even less than they are today.

Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow have little difficulty making mincemeat of the argument Miller makes based on his ridiculous misinterpretation of the Constitution.