Let's all post what "hard work" really is !

[caledesi]

Hey Bush* you wanna know what hard work is? Let me tell you.

Hard work is when your husband gets laid off from a 20-year job at a major corporation and loses all his benefits at 51.
Hard work is waiting 9 months to find another job after applying for about 100 jobs.
Hard work is working a temp job by my husband paying $9/hour and NO benefits.
Hard work is when your wife becoming seriously ill in the middle of all this and only gets half her tests completed bec the health insurance ran out.
Hard work is waiting for disability only to be denied the first time.
(am appealing w/ lawyer now).
Hard work is when your wife has to stop working bec she is sick.
I am that wife and probably have MS.

Don't tell me a fucking thing about hard work because you've never worked a day in your life!

Kerry in a landslide!

[sr_pacifica]

1. Hard work is working a job...

but never being able to keep up with your bills because you have a chronic illness and you can't pay for your medical expenses and you make too much to get free medical assistance, but you make too little to pay for medical insurance. And your medication costs $600 a month, but thanks to Canada you can get them for half as much except that our current administration has a vested interest in supporting the pharmaceutical companies and not the sick so you worry how the hell are you going to pay for your medicine if you can't get them from Canada.

BTW your situation is familiar to me. I have a friend suffering in the same way.

[mopaul]

19. ...............

[catzies]

2. Hard work is being a single mom receiving no support & working 3 jobs

I am very sorry you may have MS. Best wishes to you. :hug:

[caledesi]

30. Thank you c....Hope is on the way. nt

[Swede]

3. Hard work is living pay check to pay check and hoping

the car don't break down.

[AP]

4. Having to get into Yale or Harvard based on what you know rather than who

you know.

[AP]

5. Building a business from nothing, rather than driving it into the ground

[VOX]

6. Hard work being treated for cancer and having to stay on the job...

during treatment, so the mortgage still gets paid on time.

"Ownership Society?" yeah, but only month-to-month, Shrub, just a month-to-month. One or two paychecks gone, and it could **all** go.

Oh, and it's "hard work." :grr:

[mopaul]

21. going begging for government assistance & feeling like a jerk

because the american dream is just a dream.

[AP]

7. Serving your country as a well-trained pilot. Fighting in war.

[DemoTex]

23. Flying night missions in the face of big guns on the Ho Chi Mihn Trail.

Visiting the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall to touch the etched names of fallen brothers-in-arms. Bu$h knows nothing of hard work.

[AP]

8. Creating jobs as president. Protecting the working class.

[oscar111]

10. Heavy lifting: stoop labor: dangerous work, miners, cabbies...

hard work also a result of:
--Bad bosses

---Not getting paid at all, common on skid row, since bosses know they cannot get a lawyer to sue

--combat soldiers
===============================
As j k galbraith put it,

The hardest work is done by those at the bottom. --paraphrased
J k g went on to say "my job is fun, and i would do it for free".

Work gets easier as you go up the pay scale, generally.

Migrant farmworkers probably have the hardest work and the lowest pay.

Our Prez, one who takes forty percent of the days for vacation, has the EASIEST JOB IN AMERICA, so he brays
I WORK HARD ten times in the debate. To deflect criticism.

CEO's also are outstanding in use of this deflecting .. by braying often, "I WORK HARD". Just notice that on the news clips you see this month.

[Jose Diablo]

16. "CEO's also are outstanding in use of this deflecting .. by braying often"

Ever notice how the various business publications make big points about how these Fine folks have gave each other awards for their Leadership. Having their luncheons and dinners dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns giving awards to each other, acting like some kind of fukin' monarchy. Nothing but a bunch of self-serving assholes. They are parasites.

They are drones. Even less than drones because we do not need a queen to reproduce, we can do that quite well without them.

As near as I can tell, we do not even need their leadership either. Look around, are things better for us with their leadership?

As for the shareholders, all and I mean All of that capital used by the capitalists is made from our sweat, not theirs. So who really owns the capital? It is time for an "adjustment" in ownership here.

[mopaul]

22. 1 day of hard work would KILL mr. bush

cause he's a big sissy

[caledesi]

32. * doesn't want a "middle or working class.

He wants two classes: rich and poor with hopes that the poor leave the country so he can be rid of all of us (whites,blacks, latinos, asians etc).

During this moran's reign, I went from middle-class to working poor. Oh yeah, we sure want him for another 4 years. Perish the thought!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Hard work is the people in the metal plating plant where I was a temp

working compulsory overtime for months on end, because the owners, who literally wore expensive suits and took three-hour lunches, were too cheap to hire a second shift. Hard work is the plant workers sleeping during their 30-minute lunch period after gulping down a sandwich. Hard work is the plant workers being told that they can have 4th of July off only if they come in on Sunday to make up the hours. Hard work is the plant workers being told that if they start talking about a union the plant would move to Mexico.

Hard work is a cookie factory where the people boxing the cookies have to stand on a concrete floor for eight hours. When the workers complain of back problems, the supervisor puts some cardboard down on the floor. Oh, and no talking while you're on the line.

Hard work is arriving at a rubber parts factory at 7AM, getting a 10-minute break at 9AM, 20 minutes for lunch at noon, and no breaks after that till you go home at 3:30.

Hard work is a hospital laundry, where you sort bedding and clothing stained with blood, shit, and other bodily excretions from 6AM to 2PM.

Hard work is the document processing section of a major company, where the computer is set up to count your keystrokes per hour and the number of corrections you make. You may not leave your station except at regularly scheduled times.

I hated being a temp worker, but it was an educational and radicalizing experience, because I saw just how bad American business owners could get. Working temp periodically over three years, I saw dozens of companies that treated workers like disposable diapers and only one where I felt the workers were taking advantage of the boss.

[Art_from_Ark]

28. Hard work is

Working with the city sanitation department
Working in a factory with a swing shift for barely more than minimum wage
"Lumping" (unloading) trucks
Working for minimum wage for a boss who always tells you you aren't worth shit
Cleaning out septic tanks in Corps of Engineers parks
Gutting chickens on the line
Looking for a job during a recession, especially when everyone says you are either underqualified or overqualified
Working as a waitress in a truck stop

[Behind the Aegis]

11. Great thread!

Hard work is looking for a job for 16 months with a master's degree.
Hard work is having to pay for two sets of insurance because your relationship is not deemed worthy, but rather a "hedonistic lifestyle."
Hard work is living in the middle of Ru-thuglican Hell and suppressing the desire to run down right-wing bigots.
Hard work is looking for other insurance since your COBRA expires in two months and your partner's insurance won't cover you.
Hard work is not seeing your family because you just can't afford the trip across the country.
Hard work is suppressing the desire to not "lose it" every time someone tells you "if you did this of that, you'd get a job."
Hard work is having to understand why people support this president even though he is a liar, a cheat, and the worst person for the job!
The hardest job is working and praying to prevent a repeat of the 2000 "s"election!

For all those hard workers out there, keep your eyes on the prize...Hope is on the way!

Brightest Blessings!

on edit: hard work is trying to find out what is really happening in our country since the media isn't doing it's damn job!

[LibDemAlways]

12. Hard work is

being a single working father taking care of twin teenage autistic sons. (A situation I see in church every Sunday)

being employed in a factory where the women wear adult diapers because they are not allowed bathroom breaks. (A situation brought to light in a local newspaper a while back.)

accepting a job far from home and family and living in a cheap motel Mon - Fri because it's all you can find in your field and your family needs to eat. (A situation I know personally.)

trying to hold down a paying job while stuggling with personal demons. (A situation I witnessed in a market a couple of weeks ago when the man checking me out literally had a breakdown in the middle of my order.)

doing all of the cooking, cleaning, and shopping for a wealthy family all year, and then being denied time off during the holidays to visit with your family. (I know a daughter-in-law of the family, and she sees nothing wrong with this. Votes R.)

Chimp is so far removed from hard work, he wouldn't know it if it bit him in the ass. My fondest hope is that someday he'll be sentenced to hard labor. That would be justice.

[Steelangel]

13. Able to think is hard work! Able to use common sense is hard work!

[cheshire]

14. Hard work is working your whole life, living the last 10 or so on $500

a month and not being able to find a place to live for less than that.
Hard work is trying to make enough money to pay for your child through school pay for child care, much less college.
Hard work is having 2 or 3 jobs to pay for living and not having any money for insurance, so when one of your family gets sick, time off will cause you real finacial problems.
But hard work is definately having all the problems you are. I'll pray for you, I am so sorry.
Hard work is having watch a leader that we did not elect screw up everything Americans worked to become fiscally solvent piss it all away.
Hard work is a couple, a job each living under a bridge, because they lost there home.
Hard work is doing back breaking labor only to have everyone treat you like a slave, and pay you next to nothing.

[pacalo]

15. Excellent post -- good point. :)

What gets me is that there are a lot of supporters for this administration who can hardly stretch their incomes from payday to payday. Do you see the connection? Education does wonders for a person's way of thinking; this is where they're lacking. Of course, with this administration, outsourcing negates that notion.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Caledesi

Don't look at the dark side on the MS thing. I've had it for 9+ years, and i still work, play music, play golf.

Right now, i'm traveling on business, in the Philly area.

It's a bummer sometimes. I'm not going to lie about that. But, we can live with MS. It's not considered a fatal illness, and the majority of us don't end up disabled. It's manageable and we can live a good life despite it.

Sorry to hijack the thread concept. I agree with your premise. But, i wanted to be sure you weren't too despondent about the MS. We can get through it.
The Professor

[caledesi]

31. Thank you PG. I think my problem is that I had too many

losses one after another. The MS thing is tough to handle right now because I have always been such an energetic person, independent person. Now, I have to rely on people to drive me places (can't drive anymore, get dizzy when I turn my head).

Anyhow, today is a good day and I am making the most of it.

Thank you for your inspiring words.

[mopaul]

18. hard work is

living with a debilitating disease and trying to get a decent job. for over 30 years i climbed ladders, climbed scaffolds, painted signs on wall, billboards, windows, race cars, banners and slowly becoming unable to do so. hard work is trying your damndest to take the 5 steps it takes to get to the toilet in great pain. hard work is loading a heavy wheelchair into a car in the rain, and hard work is busting your ass for years and having nothing to show for it.

hard work is wishing you were a whole man who can support his family and worrying about how you will at 4 a.m. hard work is trying not to lose your mind from worry while trying to figure out a way to cover your future. hard work is watching your beautiful wife work two jobs, seven fucking days a week, with no time left for herself just to pay the rent and feed the family.

hard work is trying not to break down and cry in front of your children knowing what you know, and keeping them happy and unaware of how bad things are. hard work is going out looking for work when you have no hirable skills. hard work is making your paycheck last till the next one.

hard work is just living through another fucking day without blowing your fucking brains out, THAT'S what hard work is mr. fucking president. bush has no inkling of what hard work is and he never will.

and finally, hard work is getting shot at by people who hate you for being there, in the heat and dirt and sand and sweat and missing your wife and kids and worrying that you'll never see them again. hard work is driving a tank, or a supply truck under heavy fire, or watching a video from home without crying like baby. hard work is watching your buddy die on the battlefield and calling his wife to tell her. hard work is going to a soldier's funeral and consoling his wife and family. hard work is negotiating with leaders of nations instead of just bombing the fuck out of them. hard work is searching for peace and meeting people half way. hard work is diplomacy and tact and compassion. hard work is how we all live out here in hard work land mr. fucking president bush.

pray do jesus every day that you never ever suffer the curse of hard work asshole.

[TryingToWarnYou]

20. Incredible.

After reading this thread, Ill never again complain about my job which, by comparision, is quite the little paradise.

I wish all of you the best and for Bush to FOAD.

[catmandu57]

24. Hard work is

digging up water lines and hydrants in 95 degree heat and humidity with the sweat running into your face hitting another piece of fucking rock that you've got to stop and bend over to pry out of the fucking muck.

Hard work is trying to fit your hand plus a tool into someplace some fucking smart engineer said a bolt needed to be on a car engine when it's either too cold, too hot, raining, snowing, or a combination, just so a poece of shit car can get you to the minimum wage shit job you have.

Hard work is staying awake all night taking care of old people cleaning up their accidents, cleaning the dead bodies. Trying to survive doing work that nobody wants to do, but, it's all there is.

Hard work is not being a spoiled rick fuck thats had every break in life, and everything handed to them.

[mopaul]

25. ................!!!.....................

[skygazer]

26. Being a single mother working construction

So she can afford to raise her kids.

Coming home after a ten to twelve hour day on the road and having to clean the house and make dinner.

Suffering from carpal tunnel, arthritis in the knees and neck, a herniated disk in the neck and chronic lower back pain because of the demands of your job.

Having to get surgery on the neck before you're really ready because your union contract is coming up for re-negotiation and in the present political climate, you're afraid you might lose your health benefits.

[mopaul]

27. all things that bush has never, and will never experience.....n/t

[anarchy1999]

33. Oh that is beautiful, MoPaul. Facism with a Smile! I love it.

n/t
I just wish more of the morans understood it.

[caledesi]

29. Thank all you at DU for your kind words about my situation

and my heart goes out to all of you for what you are enduring.

I posted this bec * pissed me off so bad during that "debate" talking about 'hard work' that I just had to vent and thought it would be a good idea for others to "let it rip."

You really don't know what others here on going thru on a daily basis. We all seem to keep our chins up and maybe DU is our escape...but that's okay. I could think of alot more unhealthy ways to escape.

Kerry in a landslide!

[UdoKier]

34. Raising two kids with no babysitter budget, no maids, no nannies,

no relatives to help, no inexpensive daycare, no guaranteed pre-K while working two jobs.

And reading your story, I guess I've got it relatively easy.