SAY "FAMILY VALUES" AROUND SOME PEOPLE, AND THEY'LL DIRECT YOU TO THE LOCAL DOLLAR GENERAL STORE

Airy "the Mouth of Sauron" Fleischer has announced his resignation. Reportedly he wants to go "spend time with his family." Ugh.

Leave aside, for a moment, the frightening thought of what sort of children he and his (no doubt charming) wife might raise. Let's think about his time-spending.

Have you ever noticed how frequently people in politics and people from the higher rungs of the corporate ladder use that excuse? I have. It is used pretty damned frequently. I say "fuck them". Why? Well I'll tell you.

The very notion that they could just kick off their jackboots and snuggle 'round the hearth with the brood is a testament to the obscene wealth these people possess.

Do drive-thru clerks at McDonald's rejoice at the opportunity to spend time with THEIR families? I'm sure they do. They don't quit to do it, of course. If they have a family with which to spend time (other than their parents, with whom some of them may still live), they would probably get to spend time with them down at the local food pantry or shelter (actually, they may have to do that anyway).

It puts me in mind of my time as a lad. When I was a lad I spent a bit of time with MY family at the little neighborhood cafe my parents owned (don't get jealous: it was small, mom was there all the fucking time, and dad was there whenever he wasn't doing his OTHER full-time job, which was fighting fires). The period of their ownership coincided nicely with the all-but-closing of the local Pullman Standard factory (the factory made railroad cars and related stuff). Lots of local folks worked there (it was HUGE) or at US Pipe (also downsized) or at Bristol Steel (closed) or at US Steel (dramatically downsized).

** aside: FUCK YOU RONALD REAGAN (also sprach the coolest kidpunk band ever: Old Skull) **

Back. So the dudes (mostly) who were laid off spent a fair amount of their workdays at the cafe. They drank a good bit of coffee (free for the laid-off dudes, cuz my daddy was a union man). They spent time with their children, too, when school was out. This time was spent at the cafe.

There wasn't much happiness floating around the cafe in those days.