There is No Reason to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse if There are No Twinkies

Where will we be without the ever present Twinkies  There will be no reason on the zombie hordes that are destined to come for us in one form or another without the reward of the golden caked, creamed filled goodness at the end of a long day of kicking ass and taking no names. Alas, twilight must descend on all of us (and things) at one time or another. The fall of Rome comes to mind… no, not really. But it does spell the end of an era that has lasted for close to a century as Hostess Brands plan to close their doors saying that they do not have the resources to weather an on going strike with their bakers and union.


Hostess was acquired in 1995 by their now parent company Interstate Bakeries after emerging from 4 years of bankruptcy but only to end up back in Chapter 11 (filed earlier this year) after the company reportedly lost over $300 million dollars last year. The hopes were that the company could reorganize their finances, principally cutting down their labor costs. Those plans, however, were hamstrung with a labor dispute with the BCTGM (Bakery, Confectionery  Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers) Union as they called for a work stoppage hereby effecting two thirds of Hostess’s factories across the nation.

Hostess drew a line in the sand and publicly (and privately, I am sure) stated that if the strike was not solved by Thursday (November 15th) that Hostess would seek from bankruptcy court a motion to liquidate all assets and in fact would mean the loss of 18,500 jobs. BCTGM called the concessions demanded in the new contract offer “outrageous”. Bakers’ Union President, Frank Hurt, said on Tuesday that their members where on strike because they have had enough and where not willing to take the draconian wage and benefit cuts that were on top of the concessions they made back in 2004 giving up their pensions so that Wall Street vultures and capitalists in control of the company could walk away with millions. All of this stems as the Teamsters Union narrowly took the deal of reduced wages and benefits while the bakers firmly rejected it. BCTGM Union representatives also claim that Hostess was already planning the closure of bakeries in the Seattle, St. Louis, and Cincinnati areas cutting 627 jobs. In fact Hostess sought to throw out it’s collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters in court although the union fought back and won ensuring that Hostess could not unilaterally make changes to working conditions, allowing Teamster Hostess members to decide their own fate through voting. (53% of the Teamster Hostess members voted to approve the final offer) The new contract that is in dispute cuts salaries across the company by 8% in the first three years of the five year agreement but then get bumped back up 3% in the next three years ending with an additional 1% increase the final year. However, it also includes reduced pension and health and benefit obligations.

Twinkies debuted in 1930 during the American Great Depression as a cheap tasty treat and in their 82 years has survived countless diets, recessions, increase competition, and other labor disputes as well as other bankruptcies. But does all this mean the ACTUAL end of the iconic cake along with Wonder Bread, Ho Ho’s and the like? Probably not. The truth is that most of, if not all will be purchased by other companies but it does spell problems with the union as they will more than likely not wan to honor anything -contract wise- that Hostess offered their members and in the end will in no doubt all contracts to be seen re-negotiated if they even use those bakeries at all.

Hopefully. I for one love the taste of Hostess cakes. And while there are a plethora of rip-offs and copycats the just do not seem to add up to my standards of what Twinkies and Ho Hoes taste like.

Cited Sources:

Teamsters Union
New York Times
Seattle Times
Seattle pi
NBC Broadcasting

Like Wife, Like Husband: Sandi Jackson A No-Show At Meeting

It should come to no one’s surprise that 7th Ward Alderwoman Sandi Jackson (wife of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.) was a no show at a Chicago City Council meeting today (her second in as many weeks) especially since it as come to light via “Wall Street Journal” that the Feds are looking into her role in her husband’s [Jesse Jackson] little spending spree via campaign donations.

In case you are living under a rock and do not know what is going on with the Jackson family it seems that Jesse Jr., son of activist reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., went on a little house decorating of his D.C. pad at, well, your expanse. His D.C. digs are believe to cost little over 2 million bucks. Also Jesse -that is Jr.- appears that he also bought a lady “friend” a $40,000 Rolex.

[Sandi] Jackson has been outspoken about her husband’s problems and has come off as a firm supporter of him as well (she has been overheard calling the press “JACKELS“). However, as more and more things come to light about his off the record “dealings” like his supposed possible plea deal that will find him loosing his [Jesse Jr.] re-elected seat -a seat that was believed that Sandi Jackson herself was going to go after. Although now with the Feds giving a look things might change on that front- we’ll see how “on board” she will remain.

But this new investigation does not leave [Sandi] Jackson with out friends. Outspoken Alderman Bob Fioretti talked about (to WLS 890AM Radio) the code of silence that the City Council [Chicago] has, saying: “We have a code of silence within our own council members ranks. So what's the code of silence then? Sometimes not criticizing our colleagues. We stay away from it.” Sandi Jackson has other allies as well in Council in the likes of the Chairman of the City Council’s Budget Committee Alderwoman (34th) Carrie Austin who states that in every marriage somewhere down the line, you think that your husband might fool around on you, but not necessarily commit adultery… “But now to have it all slammed in her face,” Ald. Austin goes on to say, “That has got to be humiliating… You fooled us all -including your wife.” ALD. Austin also goes on about  how she is angry that Jesse Jackson was [is] trying to work out a plea deal with the Feds. “We respected you were ill [We Said] ’Let the man heal.’ Then you come out with this poppycock?… a day after the election that you won handily with the support of us.”

It is going to be interesting to see how all this plays out and how quiet [Sandi] Jackson stays as it becomes more than apparent that some kind of wrong doing has taken place with the so-called “friend” her husband has. That, and just how involved she [Sandi] was with the misused campaign funds. To note: Sandi Jackson is paid $5,000 a month in salary from her husband’s [Jesse Jackson] campaign fund as she has acted as his spokesperson about his “illness”.


Cited Sources:
NBC Channel 5 Chicago
Chicago Sun-Times
WLS 890Am
ABC Channel 7 Chicago
Wall Street Journal

Time is Tick… Tick… Ticking Away for Jesse Jackson Jr.’s Freedom

One day after Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District overwhelmingly elected themselves the dumbest humans on the planet Earth with their re-election of Jesse Jackson Jr., a man who has not been heard from, really, since June of the this year (along with not showing up on the House floor, and has missed 225 votes) as he… well we’ll get into that.

Hours after President Obama stood in front of Chicago, the country, and the world giving his exception speech rumors began to swirl around Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and a possible plea deal with the Feds about his misuse of campaign funds (Sneed, Chicago SunTimes). The Feds are looking into allegations that Jackson went on a spending spree that included [Jackson] re-decorating his Washington D.C. home (reportedly worth 2.5 million) and the purchase of a $40,000 Rolex watch for a female “friend”.

Allegations of the misused campaign funds are actually added on top of allegations (and investigations by both the FBI and the House Ethics Committee) that Jackson had tried to purchase the Senate seat that Barrack Obama gave up when he was elected the Grand PooBah of the nation from NOW jailed Illinois Governor Blagojevich  back in 2008. Jackson has called these allegations false and that he has no knowledge of anything illegal. However, that remains to be seen because since Blagojevich has been imprisoned, Jackson has been seeking treatment at the MAYO Clinic for “bi-polar” disorder along with “gastrointestinal” problems.

But all this should be nothing new for Illinois’ Congressional 2nd District nor the people of Illinois itself.

If Jackson is found guilty of any of these charges he will be the second congressman in a row from that district (US-Il 2nd) to be convicted of a crime. Jackson moved into his seat when then Mel Reynolds was convicted of sexual misconduct, child pornography, and obstruction of justice when he was found to be having an affair with an underage campaign worker and bank fraud in 1995, with Reynolds as well misusing campaign funds for personal use. On top of that sad and funny truth is that Reynolds ousted the congressman before him (Savage) who was a target -as well- for the House Ethics Committee for allegations that he made improper sexual advances towards a woman on a trip to Zaire. (It is do to note that Savage was never charged with a crime.)

To add to the ever growing legal problems Jackson has, it appears that the Democrats are beginning to look at people who will replace him [Jackson] in Congress. If and when Jackson either pleads guilty or is found guilty it looks likely that the there will be a special election on the horizon, possibly sometime in March causing a no-hold-barred attack for the seat. Among some of the names being thrown around as possibles are Jackson’s wife and brother. Sandi Jackson is a 7th Ward Alderman in Chicago; Jackson’s brother, Jonathon, is the national spokesman for RAINBOW/PUSH (headed by father Jesse Jackson). Other viable candidates are: 9th Ward Alderman, Anthony Beale; State Senator Napoleon Harris, and Barrack Obama’s replacement Senator Kwame Raoul.

Jesse Jackson Jr.’s legal problems are just another notch in an ever growing list of defunct politicians in Illinois. The prior two Governors of the state (Ryan and Blagojevich) are currently behind bars.  

Other cited sources include, Chicago Sun-Times, WGN News, New York Times, Washington Times, Southtown Star    

Obama-Care & All That Jazz

We borrow and spend money from other countries like a crackhead hits the pipe for their next fix. And now that the election over (thank the heavens) a lot of people are looking at the economy and this Universal Heath Care System, otherwise known as Obama-Care, and how the hell we are going to pay for it all because in the long run America is financially fucked. We are borrowing money from China and elsewhere at a substantial rate. According to the United States Treasury we topped $16 trillion in debt back in September with no stopping (hell, not even a tapping of the brakes) in our sights anytime soon, and according to the latest data (December 2011) 56.9% of the U.S. debt is foreign held (whether by counties or private partners) with Main Land China leading the way with $4,996 billion which is actually down from previous years. But as we look towards the future with Obama at the helm of the country we can be assured that the $16 trillion we owe is only going to grow. (The U.S. Treasury believes that in the first quarter of 2013 (Jan.-Mar) the U.S. another $342 billion in marketable debt)

When it comes to Universal Health Care we can not pay for it in it’s (Obama’s) form. Ending the war doesn’t help because that is BORROWED money, taxing the 1% more will not help. 1 per centers all ready pay 35% (I am not talking Capitol Gains which is another tax bracket all together, I am just talking personal income). The $2000 penalty a year for those that still refuse will not pay for it. So in the end the only thing Obama can do is raise taxes across the board. Something he will not do, or so he says.

As it stands in the U.S., the middle class -according to the MARGINAL TAX RATES 2012- is taxed between 15% (35,350 & under a year down to roughly $8,000) to 25% (35,351-85,650 a year). Now compare that to the U.K. who has a similar Universal Health Care plan (I am not saying ours is going to be anything like the U.K.’s, I am just using them as an example) the middle class is taxed 20% (34,371 and under) to 40% (35,371-150,000 a year). Now Obama’s version, however, is that anyone who makes $250k a year is considered rich (and by estimates he has to put himself in that tax bracket between his Presidential salary and that of his wife’s), the problem is that those people are already paying something like 33%. Now the uber rich already hide their money in off shore accounts and/or claim Capitol Gains. Now you raise the rates on anything over $250k, the uber rich that do not already file Capitol Gains will, if not then money goes off shore. Raise Capitol Gains and companies that pay that tax are just going to push the cost down the line, same goes for business and corporate taxes where in the end the consumer (meaning you, me and everybody) gets to make up the difference to their lost income along with a reduction of workers.

I know both Obama and Romney talked about closing loop holes and deductions to make up the difference in not raising taxes on the middle class, however, there are not enough people in America that make that kind of income to make up the difference so in the end we are back to raising taxes across the board.

And here is another thing: the U.K. spends something like 12% of their taxed income on health care. And their population is not as big as ours. So we can expect the government to probably have take more than that. Add in all the other entitlements, then on top of that National Defense (which will be cut but that is still going to be in the billions), the bailout, the stimulus, the money we have to pay back, the list goes on and on. How can we afforded it? But with that said Romney had no clear cut path either. His health care that he passed when he was governor was pretty much Obama-care LITE. And his plans of cutting loop holes and deductions was not going to help out either because there are not enough deductions to cut. So, again, in the end the middle class either has to take the same cuts or raise taxes.

We are already seeing companies looking to drop workers from staff to get around the health care laws that make them pay part of difference (now more people out work, more people collecting unemployment, more people needing welfare). And Obama-care is only partially in effect. It does not fully kick in until 2014. Just in time for the Mid-Terms.