Comments for Cheap Motels and a Hotplate

Comment on Who Will Lead the U.S. Working Class by diane

diane — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:31:06 +0000

Off topic, but, sweetheart, I just adored this: "Given more money than I can count, to all sorts of layabouts. Let me know next time you are laying about, and I will give you some too. Bit in the meantime, fuck off." Stay strong honey, ;0).

Comment on Who Will Lead the U.S. Working Class by chris townsend

chris townsend — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:02:50 +0000

Thanks, Mike, for this nice dissection of two very different union leaders. The latter example a far more typical case today, unfortunately. Thanks for showcasing brother Shotwell’s relentless efforts; and my salute to the others in the workplaces who fight back every day with no recognition forthcoming. To be respected and admired by the membership is the test to be passed.

Comment on Cades Cove: History Is So Much Fun! by Joe Shlabotnik

Joe Shlabotnik — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:07:35 +0000

I wonder why this experience made you so angry. You ARE aware, aren’t you, that no “historical re-creation,” of any location or situation, could possibly be accurate? Not only do we lack enough data to construct such a place with any degree of authenticity, we would probably resist re-creating a town with slavery, 50% child mortality, a near-total lack of what we consider basic creature comforts (sanitation, adequate heating and lighting), and so forth–all of which would have been salient features of rural communities (with the exception of slavery) well into the 20th century.
They have probably saved and restored the oldest buildings because there wouldn’t be much interest in a restored say, 1930s village. In any case, whatever they created would be a fiction. I don’t think that anyone with an ounce of common sense or of brain matter would expect anything but that. Only the densest of tourists that go to places like Williamsburg would think that they are authentic reconstructions–for one thing, life 100 years ago or more was pretty filthy compared to today.
Perhaps the silliest of your premises is that if everything had just been allowed to fall down and decay, that would somehow have been a superior way to educate visitors about the past. How could a bunch of ruins help people understand what life used to be like?
The truth is that NO ONE knows exactly what life was like in Cades Cove in 1850, and any reconstruction of life there is at best an educated guess. Complaining about such a reconstruction’s inaccuracy beggars the point.
The simple truth is that no one is forced to drive that horrid, horrid road that snakes through the reconstructed village, so presumably, people are getting some kind of enjoyment out of doing so. I realize that the Marxist point of view is that all that land belongs to the state and should be turned into a tank factory or something, and all the park employees should be put into prison camps for not adequately serving the collective good. However, our country has not yet adopted the ineffable wisdom, the shining light of the great Marx and his human-hive social model. Would that every single resource of this great nation were throw into the great collective and that no such resources were allocated toward bourgeois amusement or enjoyment (we of the collective aren’t entitled to happiness or leisure–it’s wasteful).

Comment on The Moab Giants Dinosaur Park by Brian M

Brian M — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:41:39 +0000

New reader and first time commenter (via Stop Me…)

Bizness! EVERYTHING for Bizness

I think we need to see a new Creationism Theme Park. with Jesus riding sidesaddle on a T-Rex and a wedding chapel and a Faith Healing Clinic. Think of the profits!

The dimwit at the top exemplifies the shock and awe, bread and circus terror our culture has become.

Comment on Wage Slaves in Our National Parks by Laura

Laura — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:11:22 +0000

I worked for Xanterra in 2007-2008 and back in ’98 when it was Amfac – Both times at the Grand Canyon. Although the first time sucked (housing screwed up and my roomate was my damn manager), the 2nd time was not bad at all. Yeah, Colter Hall is old. It was built in the 30′s but that is part of the charm. I worked at both Hermit’s Rest and Desert View – yeah, hours were long. 10 hours a day/6 days a week and pay wasn’t great but who cares. Millions of people a year spend thousands of dollars to visit the park for a day or two. I had a whole year to explore. And my paychecks were about 500-700 dollars biweekly after they took out the $30 for housing. You want to talk abut slave labor? Take a good hard look at the Walt Disney College Program. They pay LESS then minimum wage since its an “internship” but in reality it is slave labor. We get free admission to the parks, they get thousands of college students for $7.05/hr. Housing – I paid $80/a week to share a 3 bed, 2 bath apartment with SIX outher females. There are no EDR’s or discount food options. You need to provide all food yourself at overpriced grocery stores. One of the housing complex’s is called VISTA WAY but it’s is more famously nown as VISTA LAY. It could make girls gone wild look tame!

Comment on Poisoning People in Apollo: All in a Day’s Work by mr fixit

mr fixit — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:01:16 +0000

Hi I have a family member that recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. The type of Brain Tumor only happens when exposed from radiation. The family member lived worked near the River. Wondering if anyone know of any assistance for someone with possible issues from radiation in this area.

Comment on “Killing People in Apollo”: An Update by Links 10/22/12 « naked capitalism

Links 10/22/12 « naked capitalism — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 08:29:08 +0000

[...] filed against [them, following a] damning report to the federal court that states that [they] about ‘worst-in-the-nation releases of radioactive materials that spanned decades’ but didn’t do much to protect the health of the residents.” …. Legacy parties: [...]

Comment on Sego Canyon: Rock Art Glory, Mining Town Ruins by Michael D. Yates

Michael D. Yates — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:19:18 +0000

John, Thanks for the story! It’s still a pretty remote place. We had a flat tire the first time we went there. We stopped at the gas station, and the man working in the store there said he could fix our tire when he got off work. We waited and he had us move the car to a nearby dirt road adjacent to the tiny trailer in which he lived. His name was Reno, and he had moved to Thompson Springs from Grand Junction, where he had worked at a tire store. He also worked for the town and helped keep vandals away from the petroglyphs. Quite a character, and he told us he wished he had moved years before.

Comment on Sego Canyon: Rock Art Glory, Mining Town Ruins by John N

John N — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:02:15 +0000

Michael;
Thanks for the Sego Canyon article. The first time I saw the petroglyphs was in 1976. I was with some surveyors staying there for 2 weeks. There were 2 20 year-old men from Cleveland that had followed their dream. They had purchased a wrecker or tow-truck in Cleveland. Then picked the most remote place they could find on the map, Thompson, Utah. They received very little business, ate peanut-butter sandwiches, and pumped gas for money. They left town with the crew and never went back there. They had the wrecker for several years. I have know them since then.

Comment on St. Vincent College: From Liberal Arts to a Haven for Scoundrels by Michael D. Yates

Michael D. Yates — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:51:37 +0000

Judy, perhaps you’re just as foolish as Steve. Which book did you read? Write a review of it, and then we can judge who got more out of their education, you or I.