Good morning.

Good morning Jane!

That’s a tasty song, and a great YouTube!

If you’re a dialup user and generally skip YouTubes because of the time it takes to download it, *don’t* skip this one.

“One big union” indeed. Thanks, Jane!

Would really appreciate DIGGS on this one. It would be great to get it out as wide as possible.

I’ll work on this later tonight. Thanks for posting it.

Hey, do you guys remember around Thanksgiving that Looseheadprop wrote a piece here about the inspirational Cuomo speech encouraging lawyers to speak out. Look what I spotted on the CBS website. This essay by Obama sounds a great deal like what Cuomo said in his speech. Do you think he heard about the Cuomo speech?

Obama Says Lawyers Are The Solution

CHARLESTON, S.C., Dec. 7, 2007
——————————————————————————–
(AP) Democrat Barack Obama’s solution for some of the crises he believes the nation faces? Lawyers.

It may be expected, considering that the Illinois senator and presidential hopeful is a Harvard-educated lawyer. His comments come in an inspirational introduction to the January edition of the Law Review at the Charleston School of Law, which has about 600 full- and part-time students and opened in 2004.

“This is a moment when America needs its lawyers to look outward and ask what they can do to be the catalysts and architects of a better world,” Obama said in the essay, which was posted online Thursday. “Lawyers should help make real the American dream and protect people from abuse and injustice around the globe.”

Obama, who was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, also reiterated criticisms of the Bush administration.

“Our constitutional system has been assaulted by an overreaching Executive Branch cloaked in secrecy and hostile to precedent and evidence-based, decision-making,” Obama wrote in the 1,000-word essay. “Our image and influence abroad has been weakened, and our ability to pass on to future generations a world that is more free, more fair, and more secure is threatened – even as the world most needs America’s vision and leadership.”

Obama spokesman Kevin Griffis said the law journal contacted the campaign during the summer.

“He’s taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He has great respect for the law. He also has a real belief that lawyers are in a unique position to serve the community,” Griffis said of Obama.

Charleston Law Review editor Matt Kendall, an Obama supporter himself, said the senator was the only candidate the journal approached. But he said the staff also would approach a Republican presidential candidate about writing for the publication.

This is great, thank you!

With all the low hanging fruit of political stupidity of late, it’s a national tragedy that we don’t have Jon Stewart in front of the camera every night.

One email request sent.

And thanks for keeping labor issues on the front page. Too many Americans have forgotten just how much of their own well-being is owed to Unions.

One email request sent.

And thanks for keeping labor issues on the front page. Too many Americans have forgotten just how much of their own well-being is owed to Unions.

Only one?!

Thanks, Jane. This sort of rank and file message is much more effective than the starf*cking the WGA engages in on a daily basis. Yesterday, the picket line at CBS Radford ground to a halt so we could celebrate three generations of Schwartzes! Sherwood (creator of Gilligan’s Island), his son and grandson joined the line and circled one time before setting up for interviews and photo ops. In my opinion, it’s not the powerful image of three generations of Schwartzes that’s going to bring management to its knees.

I dugg, and also would be happy to host this ad on my blog.

The writers really appreciate all the help that they have gotten from the blogosphere, which has allowed them to circumvent distortions from the mainstream media and get their message directly to their fans.

Interesting.

According to those I talked with picketing on Melrose, all they want is a (rather thin, IMO) slice of the internet pie, the same internet that supports the strikers. heh, heh.

I was going to show up in my PHL bus drivers uniform to help but did not want to confuse the “message”.

If the WGA would like some billboards put up, they can contact me at freewayblogger@yahoo.com

for now, here’s some free speech in Berkeley… just for old times’ sake:

http://freewayblogger.blogspot…..keley.html

Please add The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to the list…

Only one?!

LOL!

One could read that in a number of ways, as in “Did you only send one?” to “Only one was ever sent?”

I prefer to think you were congratulating me for not spamming Jane. *g*

Thanks, egregious!

Dear Saltinwound @ 8 –

Having walked the picket lines every single day since the strike started — having stepped up to become a shift coordinator so as to make sure all the people on my mid-day line at Paramount are getting water and food as needed so that they can keep up their spirits, energy and will to see this strike through to the very end — I can tell you from total first-hand experience that starfucking is an extreme exception. Most of us are indeed middle class and struggling to stay there in a very tough business that threatens to get tougher. We know that walking that picket line every day is vital to succeeding in this strike and so we do it. But the truth is, that rank-and-file action is pretty much invisible to people outside the business and especially to the press (owned, not coincidentally, by the very people against whom we are striking).

The one thing that occasionally puts what we’re doing out there to the world at large through the media (not talking about the internet where the real news lives anyway via fdl, United Hollywood, dkos, etc) is through that occasional bit of starfucking. And believe me, most of the real stars? They’re too attached, it seems, to the corporate teet to come and join the line — and fight for interests that are every bit as much theirs as ours.

Hey, I know you support what we’re doing and you cannot know how much it is appreciated. But you have to understand as always that the picture you see isn’t always the whole picture.

Yours in solidarity!

And one more thing — we have lots of great SAG people walking the line with us. And most every one of THEM is, like us, middle class — workaday actors most people may, at best, vaguely recognize. But this business could not possibly survive without them and their committment. Like I said, the whole picture? Way more complicated — and if a few big names sprinkled across the minutes and hours and days spent marching helps keep our struggle in the collective (and short-attention-spanned) consciousness? It ain’t a bad thing.

Thanks Jane.

I sent that note to “my” four tv shows. Colbert and the daily show would be greatly appreciated.

The cynic in me wonders if perhaps that the loss of Colbert and Stewart is just icing on the cake for the suits. It’s always easier to lie and mislead when those who are willing to call you on it are silenced. With all the juicy stuff going on it has got to be killing S & C not to be doing their shows every day!

Agreed. Great point.

BTW- Interesting take on the estimated aggregate economic impact of the strike:

“…a study released Wednesday by the UCLA Anderson Forecast suggests that the strike is likely to have far less of an economic impact than conventional wisdom suggests. Structural changes in the entertainment industry, the stockpiling of scripts and the public’s substitution of one type of entertainment for another all will help offset the effects…

…UCLA expects the strike to have an economic impact of about $380 million if it lasts until March. The entertainment industry overall accounts for about $20 billion a year in income, and the entire Los Angeles economy is about $380 billion. So that works out to a hit of one-tenth of 1 percent of the region’s economy.

While the damage to any single writer’s bank account might be huge, the people of greater Los Angeles and the rest of California will miss their favorite shows a lot more than they will feel the broader economic impact of the strike.”

Until March? Yikes.

One done.

I’ll circle back and try to do a few more.

Should have read:

One done.

I’ll circle back and WILL do a few more.

oh man, off topic but you guys have to go to empty wheels site right now, she has some “secret opinions” whitehouse has managed to get declassified and there is some really sick stuff there

You need to send the letter to the producers of as many of your favorite shows as possible. Just scroll down the list of all the shows on there and choose your favorite one(s) each time.

Boyndog, I’m a striking writer too, picketing every day. Even though stars and “star writers” get us some publicity, my personal opinion is that it’s the wrong type of publicity. I think this video is better and actually does a good job countering some of the damage done by the poor p.r. decision to put rich writers like Marc Cherry front and center as spokespeople.

the united hollywood website has a good article up on the a.m.p.t.p hiring of chris lehane’s firm to handle the producers p.r. (i.e. spin their union busting tactics). this is the same chris lehane who’s worked with hillary clinton and many other democratic candidates.

also the upcoming fcc hearing on media consolidation (dec. 14th?) is a great opportunity to spread some sunshine. if the corporations want ownership restrictions lifted, lets see them defend their strike actions in a public forum.

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/

Hey, Saltin — I couldn’t agree more about that video. It truly captures who MOST of us are. But I don’t begrudge the Guild putting more ‘familiar’ faces out there occasionally — in part because when the showrunners like Marc Cherry walked away from their shows, they did something truly courageous and hard.

Another thing you have to keep in mind. This is a fluid, evolving situation — especially on the PR side. Guys like you and me — our story will emerge over time — as we begin to step forward from the line and put ourselves in front of the cameras and demand that the bigger, more complex part of this story gets told.

I guess what I’m saying is, don’t be shy. Posting here is good. But be as proactive as you can. From the couple of Guild meetings I’ve been to since becoming a coordinator, I see them wanting to evolve the message, to put our struggle in the larger context of American labor — which is exactly what it is and where it belongs. As Andrew Stern said this a.m. in the LA Times — ours is the first significant 21st century strike. And it’s people like us who make it so.

Thanks Jane!

Jane,
I occasionally watch three on the list. Would appreciate Stewart and Colbert be added also. I’m with madmommy re: The Daily Show and Colbert Report. They have to be chomping at the bit waiting to get out of the gate again. They are sorely missed.
Thanks for the tools to do this important job and all pups for their diligence.

Good Morning Jane and All,
This is me, testing out how downloading Firefox will help me navigate this site. Seems to be working. The problems I was encountering before seem to have vanished.
WOW.
And, I did it by myself. Ah, I feel so empowered.
Now, I’ll go back and do the diggs and select my favorite shows. But, there aren’t many. Ha!
Now, all y’all are going to have to deal with me again on a regular basis.
(thanks for the firefox tip earlier…)

I love this tool! I sent a letter, but noticed a typo.

(When studios and networks doesn’t get paid, it’s called “piracy.”

Should be “don’t” get paid.

Off to send many more.

Posted a fresh bit o’food for thought about this at my new blog, Prairie Sun Rising, Jane. Still learning this whole blogging business–thanks for giving me an exercise challenge in tilling the ground.

Here’s the note the Sunshine family sent to CSI, Criminal Minds, The Wire, L&O: CI, L&O: SVU, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Hmmmm, prolly oughta send to Daily Show and Colbert as well. Gotta remember talent and producers may not always be on the same page.

“Our middle class Middle America household considers your show one of our TOP THREE faves. We support the WGA writers’ effort and hope you will, too.

“Please tell the AMPTP to bargain fairly and in good faith and support fair share for all new media for your writers.

“Thank you for this opportunity to tell you we appreciate your show and hope you’ll invest wisely for long term creativity, rather than short term corporate plundering.”

at the risk of being labeled a concern troll i’d like to add that writers for network television aren’t the best face to put forward as someone seeking “a fair wage”…

Let’s see the income distribution and other stats; mean, median, deciles, employment rates, etc.

Yes, by all means, let’s demonize the writers for the huge piles of money they make. That’ll help the cause, by splitting the strikers off from “real working people.”
/s

C’mon, folks, a little solidarity? Raising a family in LA on $62,000 a year can’t be easy.

PS Great tool, Jane, you continually amaze!

Hey demi:

How was the job interview?

I think Hollywood’s gonna have to buckle. I don’t see a chance of writing (especially comedy) being outsourced any time soon!

The writers run television. And they can win this strike. Any the more days that pass without fresh material, the more often the regular T.V. watcher will tune out completely. Wait ’til the advertisers start to notice that trend!

I tuned out years ago. The only television I still watch is 3 to 6 hours of football a week. And when that football season ends, 0 hours a week.

OT.

Dick Durbin is calling for Mucousy to investigate the destruction of evidence by the CIA.

Let’s see what he does.

-G

…on 62,000 a year can’t be easy.
Right you are!
I would say almost impossible. With the housing prices and gas prices alone, not to mention food!
For example, some new condos were recently put up in North Hollywood. It’s an okay neighborhood. Not Toluca Lake or Beverly Hills. They are just boxy, apartment-looking structures. The sign says from the high 500’s.
Gas here is 3.50/gallon.
I worked with writers in tv off and on for 20 years. None of them I knew lived exorbidently. Close friends with a couple, she’s an ass’t director, he writes for the soaps. Totally down to earth people. Their daughter went to public school. No minks and pearls folks, them.
The studios make the $$$.

this is my point. not many believe a writer for network television makes $62K.

look, i’m not trying to demonize or divide anyone and frankly writers are perhaps the only group that has the leverage to stand up to the exec’s, but i’m just passing along the buzz i hear in my (unionized) corner of the world, ‘kay?

Gang:

Someone in a previous thread wanted the e-address of a NYTimes reporter. If you send a blank email to staff@nytimes.com they’ll send you a list of all NYTimes staff members who have made their e-addresses public.

OT..

A spokesman for the Mitt Romney campaign is thus far refusing to say whether Romney sees any positive role in America for atheists and other non-believers, after Election Central inquired about the topic yesterday

TPM

Bio,
Thanks for asking.
I thought it went well. Still waiting to hear.
I’m going to call them around noon if I don’t hear from them first.
Keep me company while I wait?

Gang:

Someone in a previous thread wanted the e-address of a NYTimes reporter. If you send a blank email to staff@nytimes.com they’ll send you a list of all NYTimes staff members who have made their e-addresses public.

Wow! It works. Great tip!

Keep you company here at the Lake or that other place? *g*

Yeah, y’see these effete writers don’t wear hard hats and steel toe boots. They can’t be real “workers.”

Are writers coal miners? No, we are not. We’re not doing the hard, laborious servitude of people in the rag trade (those that still have the benefit of collective bargaining). But we ARE part of the American labor picture — very much part of the same road picture story as the PATCO air traffic controllers who were fired by Ronald Reagan. White collar workers to be sure but very much part of the whole labor picture. And while we writers may, if we get so lucky, make a significant amount of money over the course of a year — the absolute truth of this business is that that money most likely will not be made the following year — or the following. Spread out a writer’s earnings over the course of his or her working life (and this is a business with incredible ageism to it — meaning one’s working life can be very brief) and that ‘high paid writer’ turns into a middle class person like any other.

Oh I can’t wait to hear what Mitt has to say about atheists. I know a general who think the dead ones are “wormdirt”….

Did you see Bad Reporter today? Mitt says all religions share a common dislike for those who are different.

Cracks me up. I think that’s the answer for Election Central!

That is not surprising, is it?
I mean, he is who he is.
In my book, people can believe or not believe anything they want.
Do you think there is a short list of politicians who are atheists and can’t move on to higher positions because of their faith/nonfaith?
I guess I’m asking what your point is?

“Maybe get a blister on your little finger,
maybe a blister on your thumb…”

*g*

I’m with the writers. Writing skills are so unappreciated but everyone can tell the difference between a show with great writing and one that is lame. But the writers are usually invisible in the process…

Oh I can’t wait to hear what Mitt has to say about atheists.

He already said something about them in his “famous” speech (which some morons called the best of the campaign) when he said that “freedom is only for people of faith.” I guess you can add agnostics to that.

Not all “white-collar” or culture workers make fantastic money. And writers who can make a living just writing the stuff they’re passionate about should count themselves lucky–in any US city, IMHO.

i am a union editor so spare me the blue collar speech. my point, which was in response to the “star-fucker” comment was that not enough people in the biz and outside it are seeing the realities mentioned above. there are indeed a handful of rock stars in my trade as well as yours with houses in the hills, i’m just saying these people shouldn’t be the most visible people in the picket lines because it makes lots of people including the $90 dollar a day extras roll their eyes…

sorry, i don’t want to detract from the effort and goal of this thread, but like i said, support is not universal for the reasons i’ve mentioned and perhaps more effort should be put into getting out the facts…

I am both a writer and a quantitative analyst. Writing/editing gigs in general pay in the $30k’s. I sat in a cubicle in a bank for 5 years recently writing regression equations etc for around $85k.

was it worth it?

Biodun
Secret Hideout.
Check it out.

Hell, no (except for those big paychecks). It was subprime to boot. I am now looking for work and I will never go back to that shit, no matter the money.

In fact I quit and took a 23% pay cut to do more socially value-adding work (electronic medical records technology consulting for the Medicare QIO here) and got my ass laid off back in March in the wake of a CMS contract recission.

‘…more effort should be put into getting out the facts…’ travy, I agree with you. But the trick of it is, it’s hard to get out the facts when the other side owns this huge mechanism for getting out ‘the facts’ and goes running to the most visible (and, it just so happens wealthy) among us. It’s not the WGA that paints itself as a rich guy’s club (because 90% of us aren’t). I’ll admit — the strike has been educational for a lot of us. We’re still learning how to do it, how to refine our message. I hope I never again have to use what we’re learning — for us. But I could definitely see using it to help other unions in other industries. If we don’t take that away from this then it would be truly tragic.

Blue Texan has a new thread upstairs!