On the other hand--peasants did not have to listen to Polly Labarre. That's one for the peasants. Many years ago, when starting my career with a major US corporation, people were complaining about members of our group who were voluntarily working far more hours than the scheduled work week---curses-- what a fate! If you want the time off and the other fellow is a go-getter--he gets--you don't. It's as simple as that. 

I'll bet not one of the "Take Back Your Time" socialists owns a business.

I want to be like the French, their wine, their great life style, their great working hours. No? You said, 'No'? O-k, I surrender! - - - Frenchman wannabe

I know that I feel like I work at least as hard as Sir Rodney, but maybe not quite as hard as Prince Valiant.

I can't believe it. I am struck dumb. I am speechless. That load is so stupid I can't even think of anything to say about it. I just want to go up to Polly Laberre, knock on her head, and say "Hello, McFly! Anybody home????"

Day in the life of Mean Gene Dr. Love:

• Wake up at about 0630
• Relieve myself in the comfort of my home and with the convenience of indoor plumbing
• Take a nice warm shower...again, indoors
• Get dressed in nice, clean clothes that don't have holes in them
• Take a couple of eggs and some sausage out of the fridge, cook them on my electric stove in a non-stick pan
• Drive 13 miles to work (unless I ride my bicycle--for exercise)
• Sit in a fully adjustable chair and work at a computer that automates much of the work that I need to do, so I basically only have to perform data entry
• If I can't get everything done, it'll still be there the next morning, missing occasional deadlines are not dangerous to my health or well-being
• Drive home after dinner, maybe stopping by the grocery store to purchase food for dinner
• Heat/cook dinner on my electric stove, eat together as a family discussing whatever topics we find entertaining
• End the day by laying down on a nice, comfortable matress with warm blankets and fluffly pillows.

Typical day for a medevial peasant:

• Wake up just prior to dawn and roll out of your bed made of straw (if you have enough after ensuring the rest of your family has some to sleep on)
• Milk the cow/goat/sheep (if you have one)
• Go fetch a pail of water
• Eat breakfast (or not if you don't have food) usually moldy bread infested with maggots
• Most days skip bathing, when you do bathe, it's probably in a cold river or a basin of stinky well used water
• Walk to wherever your labor is required, you'll be lucky if you can hitch a ride on a cart or wagon
• Work all day doing back-breaking work for little or no pay at all...missing deadlines or not meeting production standards could result in loss of freedom, loss of family members, enduring torture, and even death
• At nightfall walk back home...you'll be even luckier to hitch a ride on a passing cart/wagon after dark
• Eat dinner (or not if you don't have food) usually disgusting gruel, mush, or slop that in 2007 is only fit to feed to pigs
• Go to bed hoping you or your family members won't freeze to death or succumb to any of the myriad diseases during the night.

Yeah, we've got it much worse today. Working conditions seem to continually improve as people find better and more efficient and comfortable ways to accomplish our tasks or to automate them.

This is ridiculous. Working 350 hours longer than Western Europe does just means that we aren't a bunch of pansies that expect hand-outs from the government at our own expense in heavy taxes.

An honest living has never hurt anyone that I know of.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson

Well I don't mind, especially since my quality of life would make a medieval king jealous.

I believe they are speaking in terms of time worked.  I saw a documentary series the other night hosted by none other than Terry Jones of Monty Python fame (see you all thought the Holy Grail comments were original, lol) called "Terry Jones' Medieval Lives".  In each episode he focuses on one facet of medieval life, the knight, the monk, the minstrel, etc.  In one episode, called the Peasant he talks about the myths of these lower social class people in Europe.  and it turns out that, "the average peasant was intelligent, an expert on the law, had up to 80 public holidays a year, and often lived up to the ripe old age of 60".  And from what I can remember, a comment that struck me as interesting, was that they actually worked fewer hours than modern 40 hours a week workers.  They only worked about 5 months total of the year.  The series attempts to kill the historically inaccurate clichés on that part of history.  It was an interesting show.

"The moment you give up your principles and your values, the moment you laugh at those principles and those values, you are dead, your culture is dead, your civilization is dead. Period." - Oriana Fallaci