Political Mama

So Bush is on vacation for 33 days! 33 days! How many has he taken thus far? And that's just his summer stint. He also quits work everyday at 5. At 5! He even manages to workout two hours per day. As a freelancer, I couldn't even dream of that kind of day, and with the kids I'm lucky if I manage a shower. There is so much I could say about the sheer unseemliness of any kind of vacation while we're at war, while our soldiers are dying, while the middle-east is on fire. But I won't. I let his actions speak for themselves.

Having said that, we just got back from Baja, cruised the Pacific with the whole clan--mother, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and mother-in-law.

The kids loved it, though their favorite part was the bed that hung from the ceiling. We had a great time too. It was fabulous.


But being Jewish and liberal, I spent much of my time talking to the people that worked on board and feeling guilty.

Here's what we found out:

• When you agree to work on a Carnival "fun ship" you put down a deposit for your, "airfare home."
• You sign a contract for at least seven months and if you break it (according to the girl at the duty free shop), you forfeit said airfare.
• The ships (and this is true of nearly all cruise lines) is some obscure place like Liberia where workers rights are, well, nonexistant. It's known as a "flag of conveniece." Convenient, huh?
• An assistant waiter is on salary for $74 per month. PER MONTH. The rest they make are tips.
• They get 4 hours off a week. You heard me. 4 HOURS a week.

So I felt like a schmuck the whole time, a horrible person, and yet still managed to have a fabulous time. We're already planning for next year!