Unions certainly gave themselves a black eye this week when they stormed a new grain terminal in Longview and used illegal, aggressive tactics to make their point.
They also blocked and delayed train traffic here in Vancouver.
No matter how right they might be in their position, this thuggery does them no good.
You’d think, with a declining union base, they’d want to turn the public on, not off.
And it’s important to reiterate a point here: This condemnation by many in the public isn’t about who may be right. Let the courts decide that. The issue is the tactics used.
Any disputes should be settled in court.
Could you imagine if thug tactics were actually the way we decided issues in this country?
Look, I have plenty of friends who are in the union. And I was a Teamster when I worked one summer on the loading docks in Chicago. But I can’t imagine anyone I knew accepting this kind of behavior.
Even James Hoffa, president of the Teamsters, distanced himself from the ugliness in Longview, saying you shouldn’t blame the union movement for one incident.
History teaches us that unions have done much good for workers. And as we approach the 9/11 anniversary, how about we honor America coming together, not violence that pulls us apart?
I’m just sayin’.
Ghost town
Pegasus Global Holdings — along with the state of New Mexico — is planning to build a 20-square-mile small city to test stuff like renewable energy innovations, intelligent traffic systems, next-generation wireless networks and smart-grid cyber-security systems.
It will be a typical small U.S. city with highways, houses and commercial buildings, both new and old. And it’s expected to cost around $200 million.
But there will be one slight difference compared with a normal city.
No one will be living there. It essentially will be … a ghost town.
The company figures it will be easier to test stuff without folks actually living there.
Then I got to thinkin’. What if I suggested a way for them to save, like, $200 million? Would they give me a cut?
Here’s my idea: Wait a little while. With the economy as bad as it is — and getting worse — places up in these parts could be ghost towns.
They could take over for nothin’. I’m just sayin’.
Predictions
So, a few days ago, our expert sports staff predicted what would be happening in college football this year. They let me play along.
One of our sports guys — Paul Valencia — decides to predict that national power Oregon would go 0-12.
Sure, he was being cute, and there was some sort of asterisk involved. And he took a little heat. Some guy calls up and says he was stupider than he looks.
Hey, when he wears his glasses and isn’t chewing on Red Vines, he looks quite bright to me!
On the other end of the prediction stick was The Oregonian’s main sports columnist, who said the Ducks would go 12-0, right before LSU put a major league whoopin’ on the Ducks.
I’m thinking he must have forgotten what happened the last time Oregon ran into an SEC team. (Hint: The Ducks had the wrong color confetti falling on their helmets after the national championship game.)
Now, things are likely to change after today, but guess who is the only one who still has a shot at getting his prediction right? Correct. The stupider guy eatin’ the Red Vines. ;-)
