— Bumper sticker of the week: Is it 2008 yet?

— Quote of the week: “The system of governance within the corporation is as close to totalitarianism as anything humans have devised. Orders come from above and are handed down through each successive level of management. At the bottom are the people who rent themselves to the corporation for wages — it’s called “getting a job.” Noam Chomsky

— The Bush energy plan: Let’s build nuclear power plants and oil refineries. Frankly, I would call that nuts. One continues to rely on oil as our main energy source, and the other is dangerous. Both are ill-conceived and lacking in vision. Bush could make a place for himself in history if he would propose shifting our energy dependence away from oil towards other alternatives. Instead, the oil continues to seep from his ears, as he walks around holding hands with the Saudi prince. Luckily, they weren’t in San Francisco.

— Schwarzenegger slides: The movie man is headed down. Pretty soon Arnold will meet his buddy George at the bottom of the popularity polls. His movie star status is not holding up very good as a prerequisite for being governor. Lately, he has been staring on shows with the likes of Sean Hannity, clearly demonstrating his leanings toward the right. Hopefully, he’ll soon get to star in more make-believe tough guy shows. Better that then make-believing he’s a politician.

— Speaking of Wal-Mart: Galesburg should be courting Costco Wholesale, not Wal-Mart. As reported in The New York Time, November 1, 2004, Costco is much friendlier to its employees than Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart takes making maximum profit very seriously, as evidenced by the Walton family’s extreme wealth. Costco, on the other hand, doesn’t pare down prices near as far, paying on average, higher wages, and covering more of their employees with health insurance. So Wal-Mart is able to sell things cheaper, which of course the public loves. It is left to us: Do we want the cheapest possible products, or do we want people in the community getting a decent job, with benefits? I say, GREEDA, how about courting Costco?

— 15 bad ideas that Bush has had:

1. Running for re-election.

2. Privatizing social security,

3. Giving religious organizations taxpayer monies.

4. Attacking Iraq on the basis of a lie.

5. Staying in Iraq on the basis of a lie.

6. Appointing Dick Cheney as Vice-President.

7. Drilling for oil in the Arctic Refuge.

8. Nominating John Bolton for UN ambassador.

9. Promoting and supporting the torturing of prisoners of war.

10. Promoting an energy policy that continues to keep us dependent on oil.

11. His immigration plan is unilaterally nuts.

12. He has risen the national debt to the highest level it has ever been in our history, primarily on the back of 9/11.

13. His continuing tax breaks for the rich make them richer and the rest of us poorer.

14. He has helped polluters and exploiters of the environment more than all the other Presidents combined.

15. I personally think it was a bad idea that his mother had him.

— Globalmania: The unrelenting pursuit of making a profit at any cost, any way, anywhere.