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I will not wish anybody a 'Happy Labor Day' until these 6 things are figured out. There, I said it.

Those little cartoon drawings in the video? That's really his artwork!


Labor Day at Union Square, New York, 1882. Image public domain.


Labor Day began at a time when working people in the United States were working 12-hour days, seven days a week to survive.

(Hmmm. Sound familiar?)

Children — some as young as 5 or 6 — were working, too, at a fraction of the adult wage. And there were no safety standards, so deaths and injuries on the job were just accepted as a risk of trying to feed yourself and your family.

Unions were beginning to take hold, fighting back against all of this and the Gigantosaur Companies, too.

On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took to the streets in New York and marched from City Hall to Wendel's Elm Park — the first Labor Day parade.

Why did they march? For the eight-hour work day. They were tired of working all day and all night.

It actually took 12 years for it to become a national holiday, after a massive strike was put down by federal troops, and Congress decided it was time to appease working people.

Miners with their children at a Labor Day celebration in 1940 Colorado. Image from Library of Congress.

In the video below, economist Robert Reich illustrates what we need in order for Labor Day to have real meaning again in this country. Here are the six things:

1. A living wage

$7.25 is nowhere close to a living wage for anyone. I post things regularly about minimum wage on my public Facebook page, and a consistent pushback from the haters is, "It was never meant to be a living wage."

Oh, yeah? The architect of the minimum wage, none other than Franklin Delano Roosevelt, said some things about that in the years leading up to it first becoming law in 1938:

"No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country."

And this:

“By living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living." — FDR's Statement on National Industrial Recovery Act, 1933

Image from NHLaborNews.com, used with permission.

The real dollar value of the minimum wage has gone down from a high (in 1968, of about $11) to what it is today, $7.25. Remember that thing about people working 12-hour days, seven days a week, 130-some years ago? People today working for minimum wage frequently have to do exactly that in order to survive.

This doesn't even begin to touch the fact that some tipped workers make $2.13 an hour minimum. Not even kidding.

(And another bonus: When we raise the minimum, it floats all boats.)

GIF from "Oprah."

2. Earned Income Tax Credit

This is something that some politicians are trying to eliminate in some states. What does it do? Basically, it gives tax credits to low-to-moderate income workers, especially those with kids.

3. Child Care

Access to affordable child care is something that working people — moms, especially — need (and frequently don't have) in order to be able to do their jobs and even to rise to better-paid positions in the companies and organizations where they work. Bringing your kid to work sounds like something fun to do maybe one day a year, but otherwise ... umm, no.

GIF from "How I Met Your Mother."

4. Good Schools

Schools make a difference in the lives of the kids who go there, and attacks on education that started with the Great Recession of 2008 continue even today. We need to change our priorities, folks.

5. Health Insurance for all

Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, is working and making a difference in the lives of millions of people. But the real solution is a universal health care system — something that the ACA took the place of.

6. Union Rights

Union membership in the private sector is the lowest it's ever been, and good union jobs in the public sector have been under attack for at least a decade, if not 30 years. One primary way we can fix that is through card check recognition — that is, if enough people at a company or work location put their signature on cards that say they want to be members, the company signs off on it and that's it; no campaigns to threaten workers, no long, drawn-out election processes where some workers can be fired (and therefore the rest intimidated).

Here's economist Robert Reich to break it down:

So how to help? Spread this around, first of all. Let's get some people talking about these issues on Labor Day.

And here's a link if you want to sign Reich's petition.

Pop Culture

Here’s a paycheck for a McDonald’s worker. And here's my jaw dropping to the floor.

So we've all heard the numbers, but what does that mean in reality? Here's one year's wages — yes, *full-time* wages. Woo.

Making a little over 10,000 for a yearly salary.


I've written tons of things about minimum wage, backed up by fact-checkers and economists and scholarly studies. All of them point to raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting folks off of public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.

But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it.

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Remember when "goat yoga" was all the rage? And then "cow cuddling" and "turkey cuddling" made everyone's bucket lists?

Now we can add "nuzzling with naughty sheep" to the mix, but with a fancy Scottish twist.

Less than an hour from Glasgow, Scotland, the Cameron House resort sits on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, looking as if it were plucked straight out of a fairy tale. Sprawling green grounds, gorgeous lake views and a four-story castled mansion greet guests as their "home away from home" (only better), and a perusal of the reviews show guests raving about the 5-star resort's elegance, beauty and exceptional service.

I mean, just look at this place:

drone view of cameron house grounds and lakeCameron House sit on Lake Lochmond in Scotland.Cameron House


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But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Just think of Elvis. He might have been a universal sex symbol for a time, but it also wasn’t long before his pompadour became passé. Same goes for Paul Newman’s rugged manliness, David Cassidy’s babyface, Tom Selleck’s mustache. Indeed, for everything a season.

Which brings us to the 90s. The age of beach blonde surfer boys (real surfing skills not required, but a plus). Of flannel, lots of flannel, and super chiseled bodies. Let’s not forget this was the dawning of the term “metrosexual,” and also the time period that brought us that Calvin Klein ad with Mark Wahlburg.

How exactly would these guys measure up with the Gen Z kids today?

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A family from Denmark has created a touching video montage documenting their unique friendship with a wild Eurasian crow. This crow, affectionately named Russell, has become an honorary member of their household, forming special bonds with each family member, including the pets.

However, the crow's relationship with their son, 2-year-old Otto, is truly extraordinary. “They could spend hours just playing,” Otto’s mother, Laerke Luna, says in a video shared by The Dodo. "When Otto is outside, he will never leave Otto’s side.”

Russell, the free-spirited crow, ventures away from the family's home from time to time, but never for too long. He always comes back and announces his return by tapping on the door, swooping in to lounge on the sofa, or awaiting Otto's return from school atop their roof.

“When we are inside, he will sit inside the window because he wants Otto to go outside with him,” Laerke said.

The family’s relationship with Russell didn’t come out of nowhere. When Russell was a young bird, he had health problems so the family took him and nursed the bird back to health. Eventually, they witnessed his first attempts to fly.

Recently, Russell became friends with another family member, their second child, Hedwig. Although he does get a little annoyed with the bird’s frequent attempts to nab his pacifier.

Even though it’s rare for humans to strike up such a close bond with a crow, according to research, it’s not that surprising. Audubon says that crows are “some of the smartest animals in the world” with an intelligence “on par with chimpanzees.” They are also very social and family-oriented, so no wonder Russell loves Otto and his family.

Crow Named Russell Waits For His Favorite Kid To Get Home From School | The Dodo


Learning

Why you shouldn't throw your dishwasher pod into the bottom of your dishwasher

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There always seem to be something going on with the pods and powders you're supposed to use in the dishwasher to clean your dishes. Either the pods don't dissolve completely or the powder gets all goopy and hard, never really fully dispensing into the dishwasher.

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