We didn't talk about this much this week, but a Florida couple recently gave birth to twin boys--who they named "Brett" and "Favre". Now, Brett should have no problem going through life giving his name for roll call, reservations or bank information. Poor little Favre is doomed to a life of misery caused by his name.
For starters, Favre is not pronounced as it looks. Remember when the quarterback with the same name came to Green Bay? The debate was "fay-vur" or "fahv-ray". "Fahrv" wasn't even an option. How can it be that if the v is in front of the r? Now poor little Favre will have to spell it out and pronounce it for everyone who isn't already a football fan. I'll never forget the first day of kindergarten, when my teacher asked who was Jonathan "Crow-zee". I was looking around, wondering who had a name so close to mine--but obviously not mine because everyone knows the e is silent. After about three months, she finally got it right--but I was scarred for life.
And of course, little Favre will have to explain his name to everyone. "You mean like the quarterback?" is the question he'll get for at least the first ten years of his life--until Peyton Manning breaks all of Brett's records and number four fades into memory. For those who aren't football fans, the question will be "what does that name mean?"
The parents didn't even give Favre a break--in case he wants to use his middle name instead of his embarrassing first name. His middle name is Moses. Not exactly a common name nowadays.
This Florida couple is apparently following a hot celebrity trend. Gwenyth Paltrow named her daughter "Apple". Nick Cage gave his son the name "Kel-Al"--which is the "birth name" of Superman on his native Krypton. Other celebrities have chosen "Hercules" and "Moxie Crimefighter". If it was up to me, these parents would be charged with child abuse. Subjecting their kids to psychological abuse and embarassment for their own twisted satisfaction.
As for little Brett and Favre--they will just have to be glad their parents weren't big fans of Booger McFarland.
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A little off topic, but really much more important than lamenting about good ol #4.
ReplyDeleteOur city labor unions. Our city government continues in arbitration.
Brett is retiring. He will retire in fine financial health. That can't be said about many of us in middleclass America.
Many middleclass Americans (The Boomers) don’t have a defined benefit pension plan. Most have relied on the equity in their homes as part of their retirement savings account. The home mortgage crisis is hitting the working middleclass institution. The current economy is hurting those same people who have their retirement funds tied to IRA’s and 401K’s. The Equity loss is staggering.
How in the world do those in public sector unions expect these same middleclass American property taxpayers to pay more taxes so that those in the public sector can improve their wage and benefit package?
How in the world do the entitlement minded public union members think that they deserve to keep having us pay 95% of their healthcare costs when many of us can not even afford healthcare for our own families?
We as common property taxpayers have had enough. Employers nationwide are cutting positions; over 63,000 in this past month alone.
The DOW is below 12,000. The economy is gloomy WE CAN’T AFFFORD to keep paying these union people the wages and benefit packages they think they are entitled to.
Stop the insanity!! City workers, teachers and all those living as a public sector union employee need to realize they aren't being paid by some profitable greedy corporation, they are being paid by the common middleclass taxpayer, who is hurting like hell right now.
Send the message. Share the pain. We get less so you should expect less.
Look up city employee pay information.
ReplyDeleteCurious about what city workers earn?
Go to:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/
includes/newspaper/data/
oshpayroll.shtml
Use the pull-down menus to search Oshkosh city employee pay by department or by salary range.
Copy and paste dude strikes again, desperate for a place to air his grievances. Grievances so slight that no one - not even he - bothered to complain at the city's budget hearings last year. So much for outrage. More like sour grapes and not enough brain cells to understand a simple law called quid pro quo.
ReplyDeleteYep, they're still in arbitration. Guess that means the issue isn't as cut & dried as cut and paste crazies think it is. Quid Pro Quo isn't that complicated of a concept except when you have a mental block.
ReplyDeleteGreat article in the Northwestern today by Stew.
ReplyDeleteAttaBoy Stew. Lets pull back the curtain and see who the wizard is.
"How in the world do the entitlement minded public union members think that they deserve to keep having us pay 95% of their healthcare costs when many of us can not even afford healthcare for our own families?"
"City workers, teachers and all those living as a public sector union employee need to realize they aren't being paid by some profitable greedy corporation, they are being paid by the common middleclass taxpayer, who is hurting like hell right now."
This guy is totally right-on!
That Northwestern DataMine thing is amazing.
ReplyDeleteTeachers making $48,000.00 with $25,000.00 more in benefits, working 9 months with a 3 month vacation.
Trashguys making $40,000.00 plus they don't even need any education or degree like teachers and then we pay 95% of their healthcare costs.
OK so I guess you can see where our taxes are going. Our streets suck so bad you wreck you car driving them but the moneys all gone because we gotta pay these people 95% heathcare.
Who said that they get better benefits because they're low on wages is a fool. These people make GOOD wages and even better benefits than alotta people I know in the private workplace.
Thanks Stew.
I think its a crime. These people do make good money. All the time I was told they make far less than others in private business and thats why they had better benefits. After spending some time looking at wages of teachers and others employed by the city, I can now see that was nothing but smoke and mirrors. All these people make excellent wages and then on top of that we pay something like 100% of there medical insurance. Like I said, that is nothing short of criminal!
ReplyDeleteBoo hoo, waaaa, waaaaaa, waaaaaa. What a baby you are. Sour grapes make a lousy wine but a terrific whine.
ReplyDeleteQuid Pro Quo baby.
And oh yeah, Stew didn't take a position one way or another on the wages and even said so. Reading things that aren't there again, copy and paster? Plastered is more like it.
I will echo a previous sentiment about unions not all being equal. I was raised in a UAW household by my grandfather who was a member of the UAW at Kohler Company. He was a union steward at one time for many years. He and others worked their butts off to get better working conditions for the factory and foundary workers long before OSHA-type legislation and standards. Salary was an issue only because those guys weren't making enough to support a family and often had second and third jobs (my grandfather bartended). Benefits were barely heard of back before the big Kohler strike. To this day, my grandfather's name (James Otto) is still remembered. I was proud to be asked about my grandfather last year at the UAW meeting from someone that knew/knew of him).
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I have met members of other unions that will remain unnamed, that do not seem to care about anything except salaries and benefits. Benefits not for the whole group, but for themselves first and foremost. If anyone else benefits, it is merely a side effect. Those individuals and groups are only interested in influencing politics and politicians to gain power. They (the greedy individuals) have forgotten the good they set out to do at the inception of their unions. They (the greedy individuals) have forgotten where they came from and how far they have gained. Those individuals have given all unions a very bad name.
Michelle A. Monte
OMG, Michelle Monte is morphing into a copy and paster just like copy and paste dude himself. I hope if she gets elected she has more originality and can stay focused on the topic at hand better than she's done here.
ReplyDeleteLets look at some hard numbers-
ReplyDeleteHere is some simple math with ballpark figures regarding City Employee Healthcare costs.
If the lowest cost healthcare plan is a single and there are 2 options (EPO or PPO), this is how it computes:
The EPO option:
EPO option = $700.00 per month
Taxpayers fund 96% of cost.
$700.00 x 96% = $672.00 per month
If we have about 600 employees in Oshkosh, and they all would be taking the single only plan:
$672.00 x 600 = $403,200.00 per month
The yearly cost…
$403,200.00 per month x 12 months = $4,838,400.00 yearly for the EPO option.
Now the PPO option:
PPO option = $800.00 per month
Taxpayers fund 95% of cost.
$800.00 x 96% = $760.00 per month
If we have about 600 employees in Oshkosh, and they all would be taking the single only plan:
$760.00 x 600 = $456,000.00 per month
$456,000.00 per month x 12 months = $5,472,000 yearly for the PPO option.
So it is fairly safe to assume that taxpayers are paying well in excess of $5,000,000.00 each year JUST FOR CITY EMPLOYEES HEALTHCARE!
Copy and paste dude, instead of complaining via blogs put your lack of money where your big mouth is and come to a city council meeting to speak out about this so-called crime. Surely in the almost 2 years you've been bitching about this you've had time to make a trip up to city hall. What's the matter, not enough guts to show your face?
ReplyDeleteI have no axe to grind with City Employees.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is with a benefit package that provides city taxpayer funded healthcare benefits. The ratio of 95% paid by the property taxpayer and 5% paid by the city employee is simply not in line with other average middleclass Oshkosh taxpayers plans.
Something needs to be done to curb this. Rising healthcare costs are a primary concern for all Americans.
Many Oshkosh taxpayers can not afford healthcare for their own families, yet through their property taxes, they fund 95% if city employee coverage. To any common sense human being this is and obvious inequity.
I certainly applaud our City Council for their stand in contract negotiations.
I am pleased to see that after many attempts for compromise, when faced with an unreasonable demand, the Council did not flinch and chose arbitration.
This may be the first step in setting a new course for managing the run-away healthcare costs born by the property tax payer.
Furthermore, I expect that a new Manager may pay much more attention to this one extremely costly part of the overall city budget.
Geez 11:09 sounds like some old school union intimidation goin on there in your rant.
ReplyDeleteNah, just calling 'em as I sees 'em.
ReplyDeleteJohnathan, your sidekick made a fool of himself during his roundtable discussion with the school board candidates. It was obvious he didn't do his homework, especially where Mr. Lemberger was concerned. And Paul Esslinger, well, his "performance," attitude, and reasons for involvement in that discussion speak for themselves.
ReplyDeleteWho's this "sidekick" this guy is whining about?
ReplyDeleteBob Burnell.
ReplyDeleteI saw it. It was terrible. We've had the Three Stooges. Now we have the Two Stooges, Esslinger and Burnell.
ReplyDelete