In Praise of Small Acts of Resistance

Josh Lukin just sent me a link to this story: Dozens Of Call Center Workers Walk Off Job In Protest Rather Than Read McCain Script Attacking Obama. In Indiana, where robocalls are illegal, telemarketing workers are expected to read the scripts live. But imagine this: handed "an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama," numerous workers were outraged and refused to read it.

"We were asked to read something saying [Obama and Democrats] were against protecting children from danger," this worker said. "I wouldn't do it. A lot of people left. They thought it was disgusting."

This worker, too, confirmed sacrificing pay to walk out, saying her supervisor told her: "If you don't wanna phone it you can just go home for the day."

Such acts of resistance are small potatoes, of course. But it just goes to show, even in these hard economic times, money can't buy everything.

But speaking of what money can and can't buy, I'm curious about whether Sarah Palin's friend, Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, who's now a convicted felon and refuses to withdraw from the contest for his seat, will manage to win re-election. Although some non-Alaskan political analysts think that he can't possibly retain his seat now (it would make Alaska a "laughing-stock" of the nation, one guy said; not to mention that the Senate would likely expel him if he didn't do the gentlemanly thing), Alaskans themselves aren't so sure. Stevens has been an incumbent for 40 years and has been dealing in pork all that time.