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The political cartoon appearing in the Trail this morning demeans American workers and their families. It is cr
eated by political cartoonist O’Connor — and is pure scum. The cartoonist hits American workers and their families in the gut with a mean-spirited attacks on the unemployed. The cartoonist depicts an unkempt and overweight knuckle dragging aged woman and her slovenly, unshaven pot belly husband holding a beer seated in front of a HDTV screen. Mom is showing dad a job offer that came in the mail. Dad debunks the offer as he says he still has more unemployment checks coming in. May O’Connor be on equal terms with and walk in the shoes on ordinary out-of-work Americans.
Twentynine Palms has another special interest group in town 
desiring another engorgement of mother’s milk. Action 29 wants the the Town to spend $40,000 getting the streets ready so they can have Chalkfest in city streets. Action 29 — the good ‘ol boys network — is also asking the city for the closure of Adobe for three days. When will these special interest groups — like Theatre 29, 29 Chamber of Commerce, Action 29 — ween themselves from the public teat! Contact the City Manager Mike Tree, call and leave messages or e-mails for the City Council.
Special interest groups in 29 are always the same people or same groups with open hands and a special fondness of mothers milk. Local lobbyist & local special interests groups get the milk.
Can you see how insane this is? I hereby request the Town spend $40,000 for a Blogger’s Street Fair. I want the city to close Adobe for three days. We will need the Citizens patrol there for the entire 3 days. We want the Sheriffs on site. We do not want the local radio station there. We’ll need the City to ‘slurry seal’ the streets for us. And we want City Manager, Mike Tree, to post haste obligate $10,000 for our event. He “Supposedly promised to provide $10K to the promoters” of the proposed ‘Chalkfest’. Okay, I’m now a promoter. I want our Blogger’s Street Fair held the weekend of 17 through the 19 of December 2010. BTW, speed it up on that check. I want an auto deposit before September 1.
Hows that for gall? Anyone in possession of healthy scruples can see the 
insanity of street closures for three days and the Town spending $40 k for a so-called ‘Chalkfest’. Someone had a good idea… incorporate it with the Easter event or another event. Continually placating local special interest groups’ unreasonable request for city funds is out of control. There are alternatives for this Action 29, but they want it all. No way, Jose.
Armed robbery suspect arrested! That was quick. Good job sheriff detectives.
“The ends do not justify the means.” If you use illegal mean to accomplish a legal and even desirable result, the good result does not make the bad means you used justifiable.
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You know what demeans American workers and their families? The fact that not only can unemployment benefits can last up to 99 weeks (that’s almost 2 years!) but that our government wants to EXTEND that length. That is demeaning to American workers. Workers being the key word here.
I’ve been an out of work American and I was on unemployment for only as long as it took to find something, ANYTHING, to get off it. I’d be out on the street picking up cans before I would be on unemployment for 99 weeks!
My hat is off to Mr. O’Connor and I appreciate his conservative voice each week.
On the subject of the Chalkfest, I agree with your premise whole-heartedly, just not the inflamatory way in which you presented it.
Umm. Are we not in the Great Recession, while some economists tell us we are in a depression.
After giving a trillion dollars welfare package to Wall Street, this money is going for the health and welfare of real American families.
I was against the porkulous. I believe in survival of the fittest. If a company makes bad decisions and goes under, let it die and a stronger better company will take its place.
If a person makes bad financial decisions, then they lose their house. Sad, but it is a consequence of their own making, not something that happened “to them”.
If someone loses their job, give them benefits for a *reasonable* period of time, but 2 years is crazy!
Real American families need to get off their butts and do what they need to do. Tolstoi said: “The more is given the less the people will work for themselves, and the less they work the more their poverty will increase.”
We’ve become a nation of whiners, a country of babies that wants our Nanny State to take care of us. I say it’s time for people to grow up and get off of my dime.
Why so critical of the over 12.5 Americans workers out of work?
The American work force around the world has a very good standing for being expeditious and reliable workers . You seem to have another view of the good name America’s work has earned. Though we have far less benefits, longer work hours, and no or inadequate health care benefit, nearly all have no dental benefits (pay as you go). The workforce every state WANTS WORK.
We are not a nation of freeloaders. Even though many of our workers are bringing home minimum wages and working two jobs, they commit to that day-after-day and are glad to have a job.
Are you working? Are you comfortable? Does family have the proper food. Have you have health care? Do you visit the your dentist? Do you worry about being evicted? Are you one or two pay checks from being homeless?
Million of out of American workers want to better take care of their financial responsibilities and families, they need dental care and a better life. They want better nutrition for their families. And they are willing to work damn hard for it. However, they cannot because Wall Street brought us down, and subsequent to that it was NAFTA and other similar binding international agreements that dried up American jobs.
I have a great respect for America’s workforce. The key word again being work. I have no respect for America’s living on welfare, unemployment benefits, and/or disability population.
I am working. I have never been out of work for more than a few months in my entire life. Why? Because I work hard, I’m clean, and I have good diction and grammar.
Yes, I have good healthcare and dental care. Why? Because I work hard to deserve it.
I am not one or two paychecks away from being homeless. Why? Because when I am working, I live within my means and put money away in savings for hard times. I pay my bills and then my savings and then if I have money left over I buy alcohol or cigarettes or McDonalds.
I have complete respect for the very large majority of Americans who work hard and try to make a better life for themselves like I am doing. I don’t have respect for anyone living on handouts and excuses, which is the smaller group that Mr. O’Connor’s cartoon depicted.
Thank you Dodge Girl for your comment.
I am not a journalist. I’m just someone who has been blogging in Cactus Thorns for about five years who is not use to beating around the bush. Any of the folks I blog about in here have the same the right to post a comment or responding post.
I may not have a BA or Master in English, though I try and speak my mind and express myself as best as possible directly to the issue. Flowery prose is not my style; I rather prefer tongue and cheek, poking a little fun at public servants, spoofing with them, lampooning them often with parody or satire. These human traits have been around for as long as human kind has been telling their stories.
Is there room for improvement. Of course.
Though often the comments are justified. But if someone wants a real journalist to tell them a story, they can go to the STAR or TRAIL for that.
If you want to clue me in on what you found inflammatory, that will give me an opportunity to properly respond to whatever you found inflammatory.
The line between blogger and journalist is not as distinct as it once was. These days, just because something is written in print, does not make it any more credible than news in the cyber world. I read many bloggers every day that are more credible than most print or television “reporters”:
http://michellemalkin.com/
http://hotair.com/
and even the Huffington Post although it’s on the left extreme.
They deal in facts, not inflammatory rhetoric.
I was under the impression that Dan wanted this blog to be taken seriously as an alternative news source to our local print and radio media that he believes favors the “in crowd and the special interest groups”. Or is its purpose to just be a place to mock Gary Dont-Know and vent about the powers that be? I’m a little unclear?
Kindly remember the theme of Cactus Thorns is: Irreverent Barbs on Desert Politics. Irreverent means lacking or exhibiting a lack of reverence; disrespectful. 2. Critical of what is generally accepted or respected; satirical: irreverent.
Journalist vs. lay or community blogger. Big difference with the latter. Cactus Thorns — as far as I know — doesn’t have have any professional journalist bloggers. Those professionals work for major newspapers and major Internet news sources or blogs like the Huffington Post. Folks that blog in Thorns are community based bloggers who are also reporters. We all report; we all write commentary. Even you.
There are some fine points of law that separate journalists from bloggers regarding the shield laws. Take a blog like Thorns, it may have the protection of journalists under the shield law because it holds itself out to be a community news source. That cannot be disputed.
Hence, would DanO go to jail to protect a source. I don’t know lets ask him… Dan?
Dodge Girl wrote: “Or is its purpose to just be a place to mock Gary Dont-Know and vent about the powers that be? I’m a little unclear?”
Given all the facts and evidence that has been discussed and released over the last year or so with regard to the the person you reference, you should not be unclear about anything. The bloggers in Thorns may not win the Lettre Ulysses Award and they make English Literature graduates cringe from time to time, but they are unabashed about being very fact specific about whom they write about.
I’ve said this many times, and I will say it again, I think Mr. Daigneault is an outstanding citizen. But when he screws up and unwittingly damages the integrity of the city called home, bloggers in here will hold his twinkle toes to the fire.
Well thank you for clarifying that. I had been under the impression that Dan wanted to be taken seriously as an alternative news outlet.
The word “professional” just means being paid for the work that you do. Just because you are not getting paid for your writing doesn’t mean that you can’t produce credible articles that provoke conversations and produce change in our community.
Something positive -- great work detectives and GREAT work Deputy Shaunna Ables for putting the cuffs on this guy. He has a wrap sheet as long as my arm.
I love the Dodge Girl…..
It’s swingers swinging to Dodge! ROTFL!