Do people think the strike will go on for a while?

Maybe it's dog food that smells like canned beef.

I mean, isn't a lot of dog food technically canned beef?

A sort of vegatarian chilli I've made in the past is really simple. Can of bean, can of tomato sauce, bunch of heated up southern style potatoes, and a bag of taco seasoning with a bit of water to thin it out. Probably with some fritos or crackers and some grated cheese.

So they were there to report a crowding that - at the time - they were the ones creating?

American media at its best.

My sympathies to the strike-affected peeps. Do they have estimates on how long it will last?

Gud, what are southern style potatoes?

For Perkins, if she's still up: [link]

The Squeakaboo is just ungodly beautiful. That is all.

Do people think the strike will go on for a while?

Some people do, yeah. The parties seem pretty far apart. One person suggested something like 30 days, but prognosticators don't get anywhere by being conservative.

My biggest problem with this thing right now -- cuz I'm sure I'll change my mind and find something else more irritating-- is that the sticking point is over new hires. People who do not exist yet. People who are not union members. People who can choose NOT to work for the MTA if MTA pay, benefits and pension plan are simply not competitive enough.

This is not a good reason to hold seven million people hostage in a negotiation over people who, in the very words of Roger Toussaint, are UNBORN.

The union members aren't even saying that their current benefits and income are especially unjust-- unless I missed a memo-- rather, that since the MTA had a billion dollars, it should have spent it on them. Since I now understand that the fare bonuses were intended to increase ridership over the long term (and it's not like the MTA spent the whole surplus on that, especially if they intend to ultimately profit with a sustained increase in ridership) I can't agree with the union members that an illegal extortive strike is necessary just because the MTA had a surplus but didn't give them (and the non-existing union members) enough of it.

Yeah, I'm with you, bon. I support strong labor, but this is annoying.

Gud, what are southern style potatoes?

At least in the frozen tater section, they are a bag of frozen potatoes in little cubes.

On the bright side, I got my xmas bonus today.

That should happen today here as well. Unfortunately, instead of going toward its once-intended purpose, a trip to Russia for New Year's, it will instead be paying for (not even half) of my ... root canal.