Posted by
skep41 on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 2:19:25 PM
So
the ratters have gone on strike. They catch the wood rats that live on
the ivy and brush-covered hillside that forms part of our backyard and
then drop them, live, in the house and then walk away. Sometimes there
is a rat scurrying around for days before we catch it or drive it
through an open door. Sometimes we find the mangled corpse of one who
was too slow to get away. But, as you can see from the photo, these
ratters are striking with no end in sight.
We've offered them a
higher-quality cat food (no more on-sale cheapie brands) and promised
to scratch them behind their ears for a set amount of time but I think
they sense our weakness.
But
then there are the other Ratters, AKA the Writers Guild of America.
Some of their work is visible in the adjoining photo. These geniuses
have walked out because they want a bigger cut of the revenues. They
have, by their action, put thousands of people on film crews and
technical services, people who have no hope of ever getting residuals,
out of work. That isnt any reason for them not to go on strike but it
is interesting that this group of very rich liberals dont mind hurting
the workers to press their demands for more money. This is also a
symptom of people not being able to see reality very clearly. Most
network TV shows are marginal profit makers. Most feature films lose
money. Both are produced by giant corporations and are a tiny portion
of their revenues. Corporations which can stand a strike easily. The
public is watching DVD's, You-Tube, FaceBook, surfing the web, video
games and home videos of them having sex with their spouse. Some people
even have taken the radical step of reading a book. There are plenty of
alternatives to the tripe these hacks spew out. This strike is a
symptom of the collapse of network TV.
But let me offer a simple
compromise. Give the writers a cut of the profits but bill them for the
loses. If they're going to write 'Lions For Lambs' or 'Syriana' they
ought to pay when they flop. Let these Marxist windbags stand naked in
the hurricane of Capitalism!
And to the Kitties. Get that rat out from under the TV cabinet and we're willing to put a can of tuna on the table.