"And if an employee actually talks to coworkers about unionizing the place, it's common for that person to be harassed, disciplined, demoted, and even fired by corporate managers. Tens of thousands of workers are either disciplined or given the boot each year for daring to support unionization. During organizing campaigns, nearly a third of the companies involved fire at least one worker for union activity, sending a chilling message to other employees.

"Such sledgehammer tactics are, of course, illegal, but the corporate-dominated NLRB's enforcement process is so drawn out and grueling that few of the abused workers can afford even to try getting justice. And if a corporation does happen to be cited by the labor-relations board for violations, the penalties are a joke. Management treats them like parking tickets--an inconsequential cost of doing business and a cheap means of stifling workplace democracy and shutting out unions.

"Still, against all odds, workers have been persevering, producing enough support in hundreds of workplaces to force unionization elections. Great! Elections are the very essence of democracy, right? No, not when management thinks workers might win. Once again, the monkeywrenchers have rigged the rules to make a vote on unionizing as unfair to labor as trying to bowl in hell with a snowball.

"This set of events has led almost everyone to conclude that the trio who let Lehman go under, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Board Chairmen Ben Bernanke, and then head of the New York Fed, Timothy Geithner, erred badly in this decision. That seems a reasonable judgment. 

"But we now have had six months to adjust. The Fed and Treasury are now guaranteeing deposits in money market mutual funds. The FDIC doubled the size of the bank accounts it guarantees and non-interest bearing accounts of any size are guaranteed. In addition, the Fed is now lending hundreds of billions of dollars directly to non-financial corporations, establishing a channel of funding that goes outside the banking system.

"These and other measures have restored some measure of stability to the financial system. Now that we have these measures in place, is it still true that we can’t subject Citigroup, Bank of America, or Goldman Sachs to a managed bankruptcy (a.k.a. “nationalization") without the world coming to an end?

"With a managed bankruptcy, all the insured deposits would be fully covered. However, the government would only repay bondholders a portion of their investment, depending on how severe the banks’ losses are. By not compensating bondholders in full for their losses, the government could save taxpayers hundreds of billions, perhaps even trillions, of dollars.

"In addition, a managed bankruptcy would also help to address the problem of moral hazard created by the bailouts thus far. Investors did not pay adequate attention to the health of banks and other large financial institutions like AIG because they assumed that the government would bail them out if things went badly. If the government makes these investors eat some of their losses, maybe they will put more thought into their investment strategies in the future. This could also let some big investors make some of the “sacrifices” for which fiscal conservatives, which include some big investors, are so eager."

Right Wing Watch reports on a myopic White House regarding right wing fundies: "To say that the Religious Right has been opposed to Barack Obama’s presidency from the moment he was elected would be something of an understatement.

"Since taking office, the Right has opposed just about every aspect of his agenda, from his choice of nominees to the economic stimulus legislation. But nothing has outraged them more than reversals of President Bush’s stem cell and “Mexico City” policies.

"When Obama reversed the Mexico City policy, the Family Research Council lashed out, saying that while he was for “banning the torture of terrorists” he was signing “an order that exports the torture of unborn children around the world” and that because of his action “U.S. taxpayers will be forced to take part in exporting a culture of death.” Concerned Women for America likewise claimed that the moved “offends the morality of millions of Americans, funds abortion efforts in countries where abortion is illegal, and breaks a campaign promise to reduce abortions” and also asked why he was “concerned about the higher moral ground with the terrorists who murder for ‘Allah,’ and yet you won’t honor and obey Christ and defend the defenseless unborn baby.”

"When Obama reversed the stem cell policy, CWA’s Wendy Wright called it “politics at its worst,” saying it was “driven by hype" and "fuels the desperation of the suffering, and financially benefits those seeking to strip morality from science” while FRC said it was “yet another deadly executive order” and “a slap in the face to Americans who believe in the dignity of all human life.”

"Given that FRC’s and CWA’s stance regarding life issues is to vehemently oppose anything that does not move the country toward curtailing, and eventually outlawing, of reproductive choice, what is the Obama administration’s best option for dealing with such groups?

"The Employee Free Choice Act seemed destined to be a relatively narrow clash between unions and employers. But amid the economic downturn, it is turning into a debate over fundamental questions of American capitalism.

"After years of girding for this fight, labor supporters and business groups are scrambling after the bill's reintroduction last week to adapt their long-established arguments to suit the crisis. For those opposed to the bill, which would make it easier to form unions, the new message was that it would be a disaster for businesses reeling from the recession.

" 'In a time when we have an economy that's already struggling, we can't put more burdensome regulations on employers," said  Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). "This is a job killer for our economy when we really don't need it."

"The bill's supporters are pointing to the downturn as the ultimate proof of their arguments that labor's decline has helped put the economy out of balance and that only by restoring workers' purchasing power can the nation return to broadly shared prosperity.

" 'In 1935, we passed the Wagner Act that promoted unionization and allowed unions to flourish, and at the time we were at around 20 percent unemployment. So tell me again why we can't do this in a recession?' said  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), invoking the pro-labor changes of the New Deal. 'This is the time to do it. This is exactly the time we should be insisting on a fairer playing field for people to organize themselves.' "