On Saturday's program Rick will be talking to Pepi Leistyna Professor of Applied Linguistics Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston about  the undercover messages embedded in Undercover Boss.  His film Class Dismissed can be seen on You Tube and is well worth the time.  For too long media has made working people out to be uneducated, lazy, stupid, bumbling characters to be laughed at and ridiculed.  During the past several weeks I have been talking to people who have watched the CBS CEO infomercial to get their reactions.  To my surprise most people view this pro-paganda-gram as entertainment or feel good "reality" eye candy.  Fortunately, when presented with sane, rational questions, virtually everyone began to critically review what they had seen, and, began to question for themselves if what they saw was "real" or just another well cast, focused tested, polling approved campaign to make CEO's one of the gang.  Keep watching, keep questioning, Keep talking.  Tune into the Rick Smith Show every Saturday and Sunday noon-2pm with your questions, ideas, and observations. 

 

Hooters, like many businesses, spends a considerable amount of time and effort getting blood from the male brain to flow south of the belt line. Why you may ask? It appears men are in capable of closing their wallets once the blood has left the brain, and places like Hooters understand this basic fact. The food at Hooters is mediocre at best. The alcohol can be found anywhere. What Hooters does have are pretty girls. Pretty girls in tight tee shirts and tight shorts. Tight short, shorts. In my opinion, Hooters is a step up from your local strip joint. For the CEO to act surprised that anyone would think women were being exploited is laughable. To act surprised that people would hesitate bringing their children to Hooters is just plain ridiculous.              The Undercover Boss pro(paganda)gram brought a number of interesting images to light. First, Dumbo, I mean Jimbo, the manager, and his “reindeer game” coercing the waitresses to eat beans off a plate like animals made me think setup. In the board meeting at the end the pro(paganda)gram the board members asked, “how can we save his career.” Nonsense! Any board member worth their salt would have asked two questions. 1) How do we cover out behinds and not get sued, and 2) Who are we going to replace him with?  I loved the “mounds” sign in the boardroom, the duct tape on “Scooter’s” soda can, and how inept he was.              I keep thinking this is a great pro(paganda)gram. Very well cast. Focus tested. Polling approved. As I talked about this past weekend, I do not think the CEO or the workers are faking. I believe they are being very skillfully manipulated by seasoned professionals who know how to create situations to get the responses they want. The companies involved in this pro(paganda)gram understand, and trust CBS will paint them, the CEO’s in the best possible light. I am still waiting for these CEO’s to explain how they understand what their workers go through day in and day out making millions of dollars a year while their workers toil for a mere pittance.

     After the “Big Game” (formerly called the Sup*r B*wl) CBS aired a program called, Undercover Boss. As I watched the program, I spotted numerous situations that made me think setup. Let me ask a question. Having had numerous jobs in my life, and, remembering those first days on the new job being filled with trepidation and uncertainty, I cannot remember a single time where my trainer/superior ever asked me to dinner with their family. I worked on a garbage truck for several summer breaks from college and I never remember anyone ever hugging me or reading me a poem. I do remember peeing in can though. Did you want to smack “Randy” for never questioning where his employees went to the bathroom while on their route? Duh! It’s not like the people whose trash you are hauling away are going even answer the door when you knock let alone let you in, give me a break.  My favorite scene was the super secret hush-hush meeting in the abandoned parking lot to make sure "Randy" can look like the good guy after his "spontaneous" dinner with Jaclyn's family. 

Saturday on the Rick Smith Show Rick was snowed in due to a massive 22 inches of snow being dumped on Central Pennsylvania but that did not stop fresh content from the airwaves. On Friday evening as the snow fell Rick attended DEMFest 2010 the meeting of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party. Rick interviewed three of the four gubernatorial candidates, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, Alleghany County Commissioner Dan Onorato, and PA State Auditor General Jack Wagner. Senatorial candidate Congressman Joe Sestak, Health Care for all PA executive director Chuck Pennacchio, PA2010.com editor Dan Hirschhorn, Franklin and Marshall Professor Dr. G. Terry Madonna, Lieutenant Governor candidates Jonathan Saidel and Doris Ribner-Smith, and State House Candidates Fern Kauffman and Phyllis Bennet.  

CLick here to listen

 

Sunday on the Rick Smith Show recorded interviews from Saturday’s 2010 Pennsylvania Progressive Summit presented by Keystone Progress. The guest list is a who’s who of Pennsylvania politics. Gubernatorial candidates Chris Doherty, Joe Hoeffel, and Jack Wagner spent time behind the microphone discussing their vision for Pennsylvania. Senatorial candidates Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak stopped to trade thoughts. Labor guests Eileen Connelly (PA SEIU) and Rick Bloomingdale (PA AFL-CIO) talked about the conference and what progressive changes need to made to make life better for working families. Other guests included PA State House member Mark Cohen, professor and talk show host Chuck Williams, Lieutenant Governor candidate Jonathan Saidel,  Democracy Risings Tim Potts, and many, many more. 

 

Saturday January 30^th 2009 the Rick Smith Show took its studio to the 2010 Pennsylvania Progressive Summit presented by Keystone Progress. In what was an amazing gathering of progressive minds, leaders, and activists we were able to interview a small, but excellent cross section of the attendees. Mike Morrill director of Keystone Progress kicked things off describing his organization and the general theme for the summit. Chuck Pennacchio, Executive Director of Healthcare for all PA and Legislative Action Committee Chair Mary Pat Donegan came and talked about Pennsylvania House bill 1660 and Senate bill 400 designed to bring single payer health insurance to every citizen of Pennsylvania. Lois Herr Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania’s 16^th Congressional district stopped by to talk about her run and the summit’s amazing turnout. The biggest surprises of all were health insurance whistleblower Wendell Potter stopping by to talk about the health insurance industry and the greed, waste, fraud, and abuse and United Steelworker's President Leo Gerard sitting down to talk about the summit and moving forward on health insurance reform. We also had a chance to sit down with friends Lorenzo Canizares, Tyie Thompson, and Bruce Slater to talk about the summit and the work they have been doing. All in all the event was an overwhelming success. Hope you enjoyed it.

Every dollar helps and thought helps.  Looking at the images of fallen buildings and the destroyed lives of people who had already suffered unimaginable difficulties makes me grateful for my good fortune.  I ask everyone to help.  Please help the National Nurses United to send a nurse to help care for those in need.

No words need to be said. 

As the final hours of 2009 tick away, so do the fate and livelihoods of more than 30,000 Teamster members employed by the fallen giant YRC. Never heard of YRC? You, and their customers, have something in common. YRC is the nation’s largest Less than Truck Load (LTL) with revenues falling to $5 billion. The workers at YRC may soon join the millions of recession victims whose companies buried themselves under massive amounts of debt and had nothing to show for it. Currently YRC is working to convince a number of its bondholders to swap the outstanding bonds for equity in the company and preferred stock. The problem is these bonds are insured, and those holding the 8.5% bonds have apparently decided their investment is best served by collecting the insurance and forcing YRC into bankruptcy. This is but one more in a long line of stories where Wall Street’s investor class wins and workers and their families lose. 

 

Jim DeMint Blames Underwear Bomber on TSA Unions By: Michael Whitney Tuesday December 29, 2009 10:36 am

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) says the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 is really the fault of TSA union employees, and justifies his hold on the TSA director nominee as such.  Seriously.

The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama’s nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union.

DeMint said in a statement that the attempted attack “is a perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA.” He wants Southers to clarify his stand on unionizing the TSA, a shift that Democrats support.