From the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Pariah
noun \pə-ˈrī-ə\
1 :a member of a low caste of southern India
2 :one that is despised or rejected: outcast
Okay, I should be thinking or doing something else, anything else but this. It’s full on distressing and depressing.
I lost my job a few months back. Laid off. Job elimination. Wow! I had enough work to more than keep me busy, but apparently the powers that be decided it was the right thing to do. Fine. That is the employer’s prerogative.
Anyway, since then I have been busy trawling through job boards, sending out my resume and taking workshops on resume writing, interviewing and such. There hasn’t been a lot that I am qualified for, but I have responded to those and more than a few for which I was either so over or under qualified that the chance of even getting a phone interview approaches nil. The agency I have been working through hasn’t had a lot, either. What they have called me about has been either so difficult to get to that I would spend my earnings on cabs or have been jobs for which I am not qualified. Bless them for trying, though.
Now, I am enrolled in a few classes, all evening or weekend to keep me free during the work day. Just in case. I’ve even signed up to do volunteer work at a local organization.
Anyway, I recently went out of town for a family function for two weeks. This was arranged a while back and the airfare was already paid, so I went. I told the unemployment insurance folks so it was not like I collected benefits during that time.
After months of beating my head against the wall, I needed some time to recharge and be amongst some friendly, supportive people. Having the time during the day to watch the news is a tad destructive. One sees the projections of how long the high levels of unemployment will last and certain folk who love to demonize the unemployed all too often. All too often. The former is depressing. The latter just layers on the distressing.
I was born here. I am a citizen. I have worked for a living for 35 years, more than 24 in this country. I have paid my taxes without question. Quibble, yes. Question, no. I value the fact that the government is there for emergencies, defense of the country, regulations of the finance, food, drug, etc. industries, education, and so on. An organization that keeps all 50 states equally safe is more important than most people understand.
Back to the story. I needed to get away from the disappointment and vitriol more than I can say. To be told that no matter how one’s job went away or how hard one has sought a new one, you are a pariah on society, is dehumanizing. You are not worth a helping hand or even a kind word. You are no more than a mongrel dog to be kicked when down.
As I said, it doesn’t matter how one lost their job. It doesn’t matter if it was because the company you worked for went out of business. It doesn’t matter if your job was outsourced to overseas or some other company in this country. It’s of no interest if your company just decided to downsize, whether to save the business or just increase profits. No reason matters. It’s is still your fault that you are out of work.
How does a country turn on its hard working people so easily? How do your neighbors, who were one day your friends, suddenly decide that you are dirt beneath their feet? How do you go from being a respected, contributing citizen one day to a thing that is feared and even hated the next?
I should have come back from my family feeling refreshed and ready to jump back into the process of finding work. Instead, I come back to escalated insults and innuendos, more people telling me that they would be happier to see me begging on the street instead of helping me get a new job so that I can be contributing again. They would rather I spend my entire savings then empty my meager retirement fund so that I would need to work until I die.
I have just me to worry about. How do people with families, with children, deal with this attitude? God help us if Americans no longer care about other Americans. God help us if ten percent of this nation is now considered to be of so little value that we are to be left to beg on the streets. If ten percent of this nation’s people are pariahs, God help America.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
If I could ask the President one question...
If I could speak with the President, this is what I hope I would have the courage to say.
Tell me why I should vote, Mr. President. I have voted in every election I could. I believe it to be a privilege when so many in this world are denied it. But why should I vote?
I voted for you in the hope that your promises were real. I gave money to your campaign. The Presidency, Senate and House all in Democratic hands was a situation that I did not think would happen again. For the first time in years, I had a little optimism for this country.
Then it started to fall apart.
The banks continue to hold onto the money provided them by the people of this country. Instead of loaning money to help small businesses and ordinary people they raise fees and interest rates and pay out big salaries and bonuses while making ever higher profits. The banks were bailed out but American wasn’t. It was left to die a long, slow, painful death.
Long, destructive months of a healthcare reform battle where strong, immediate benefits for people in need now were negotiated away. Concessions were given enabling insurance companies to make many more billions in profits at the expense of millions of Americans. The public option was sacrificed for nothing in return.
The people responsible for taking this country into an illegal war were allowed to go their way with nary a wrist slap. The people, some of them the same that took us to war, who approved and even ordered the torture of prisoners were also allowed to get off without answering for their crimes.
Wall Street reform was watered down, giving the banks and financial institutions plenty of room to continue their greedy course with reckless abandon.
The energy policy was allowed to die in the wake of the BP oil spill. The death was so quiet and late in the night that it happened with little more than a moan.
Billions upon billions of dollars, so desperately needed here at home, continue to be poured into the pockets of wealthy and corrupt operators in Iraq and Afghanistan. As much as I dislike the fact we are there at all, we are there, but please do not stuff the pockets of the corrupt who do nothing to help.
Congress went home on vacation while the unemployed saw their unemployment insurance end, leaving millions to worry about feeding their children and keeping their homes.
The stimulus package was watered down so much that it only postponed what is now clearly the inevitable. The recession will become a depression. Again, barely a whimper was heard from the Democrats and the White House.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell still discriminates against a whole sector of the brave men and women of this country, forcing them to break the very oaths they took when they answered the call to serve.
The Deficit Commission has been packed with members that have long voiced their determination to dismantle Social Security. Co-chair Alan Simpson has no trouble publicly demonstrating his disgust with recipients because he knows that he is safe and secure in his position on the commission.
I now know with certainty that I, along with millions of other so-called middle class citizens in this country, do not matter. We are chaff before the wind. We have produced the grain and given it up to the rich land owners. Now we can be discarded. Now we are discarded.
Please tell me, Mr. President. Why should I bother to vote?
Tell me why I should vote, Mr. President. I have voted in every election I could. I believe it to be a privilege when so many in this world are denied it. But why should I vote?
I voted for you in the hope that your promises were real. I gave money to your campaign. The Presidency, Senate and House all in Democratic hands was a situation that I did not think would happen again. For the first time in years, I had a little optimism for this country.
Then it started to fall apart.
The banks continue to hold onto the money provided them by the people of this country. Instead of loaning money to help small businesses and ordinary people they raise fees and interest rates and pay out big salaries and bonuses while making ever higher profits. The banks were bailed out but American wasn’t. It was left to die a long, slow, painful death.
Long, destructive months of a healthcare reform battle where strong, immediate benefits for people in need now were negotiated away. Concessions were given enabling insurance companies to make many more billions in profits at the expense of millions of Americans. The public option was sacrificed for nothing in return.
The people responsible for taking this country into an illegal war were allowed to go their way with nary a wrist slap. The people, some of them the same that took us to war, who approved and even ordered the torture of prisoners were also allowed to get off without answering for their crimes.
Wall Street reform was watered down, giving the banks and financial institutions plenty of room to continue their greedy course with reckless abandon.
The energy policy was allowed to die in the wake of the BP oil spill. The death was so quiet and late in the night that it happened with little more than a moan.
Billions upon billions of dollars, so desperately needed here at home, continue to be poured into the pockets of wealthy and corrupt operators in Iraq and Afghanistan. As much as I dislike the fact we are there at all, we are there, but please do not stuff the pockets of the corrupt who do nothing to help.
Congress went home on vacation while the unemployed saw their unemployment insurance end, leaving millions to worry about feeding their children and keeping their homes.
The stimulus package was watered down so much that it only postponed what is now clearly the inevitable. The recession will become a depression. Again, barely a whimper was heard from the Democrats and the White House.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell still discriminates against a whole sector of the brave men and women of this country, forcing them to break the very oaths they took when they answered the call to serve.
The Deficit Commission has been packed with members that have long voiced their determination to dismantle Social Security. Co-chair Alan Simpson has no trouble publicly demonstrating his disgust with recipients because he knows that he is safe and secure in his position on the commission.
I now know with certainty that I, along with millions of other so-called middle class citizens in this country, do not matter. We are chaff before the wind. We have produced the grain and given it up to the rich land owners. Now we can be discarded. Now we are discarded.
Please tell me, Mr. President. Why should I bother to vote?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Lost in a Jobless World
Today is three months since I was laid off. I am still looking for work. It is not at all surprising, but it still chomps. The job market is tight, tight, tight. There are a few jobs being posted that I can apply for, but there must be 200 people, at least, applying for each one. Knowing that can be, is, discouraging.
I am applying for all of the jobs that I have even a remote chance at. So many want experience or software expertise I do not have. Or, they are wanting an entry level person. I am going into those areas but, having worked in recruiting and even been a hiring manager, I know what happens. If they even look at your resume, and that is a big if, you immediately go in to the reject pile. You either hit a large majority of the keywords or it's easy to see that you have way too much experience and will want too much money. They can be very, very picky.
There still aren't a lot jobs out there. Even the agencies haven't had much. And those were mostly so far off the mark it was laughable.
Job boards are full of the same or fake postings. One can see the same jobs posted there by agencies week after week. They never change, they just get reposted so that the agencies can get more resumes. One applies for them only to be told they've been filled, but they are still there next week and the weeks afterward.
At least I know what the score is. Having worked in recruiting and been responsible for hiring my own staff at one stage, I know what goes on. I have realistic expectations and no illusions. It helps, but only a little.
One looks, though. The daily trawl through the boards is the daily reminder how little is out there. Then there is the agonizing over the cover letter and resume as well as the need to send them in fast. If you don't get your application sent within 24 hours your chances approach zero. So many applications are sent, many employers just can't accept any more. You worry if the cover letter is just right. It needs to stand out in a good way, just the right amount of information, not too long, not too short, enthusiastic but not desparate. You add a line to the growing spreadsheet that records your efforts.
Then you have to let it go and continue the search. And, you have to stay positive. You have to keep yourself from sliding into a despondency that kills enthusiasm. You keep moving and, every day, keep looking and sending in the resumes. You try to figure out more ways to cut spending, let go you more of the things that make life worth living. You hope and pray that one day those things will come back.
Anyone who says people getting unemployement insurance are lazy and not looking for work are utterly clueless or hateful liars. They sure as hell don't give a damn. I have been taking workshops to help me with writing resumes and cover letters, and interviewing. Each workshop is full of people frantically looking for something. Anything.
Most of them are so close to the edge. They are desparate for work and pray for Congress to extend benefits just so that they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table until they find work. We are all just hoping to find something, and that it will pay enough to live on.
I will need to take a lower paying job. That is a certainty. So many employers just aren't hiring. They are hanging onto money they should be using to grow their businesses. Those that are hiring know they have job seekers at their mercy. Most will take advantage of that. For some, it may mean the difference of being able to have that extra body at all. For others, it will be a cynical opportunity for cheaper labor.
A problem I have with taking the low paying job is that I do not like to take a job only to turn around and leave as soon as I find something better that pays more, leaving the employer in the lurch. It's an ethical thing for me. I did that once years ago and it didn't sit well with me. My consolation was that it was obvious the job was going to disappear in the very near future so I saved the employer the need to lay me off.
I don't mind taking lower pay if I can get by and save a little on it. More important to me is the people and the work. If those are good, and the day is more fun and interesting, I can deal with less money. Those jobs are few and far between, I am very sad to say.
Anyway, the whole point of this screed is that I hit a milestone of sorts with three months. My family is trying not to freak. I am trying not to freak. I have a small cushion of money, but it won't last forever. Am I already tainted as someone not to be given a chance? Am I already considered to be too lazy to want to work, wanting instead to live on unemployment forever? Will the voices out there painting the unemployed as being unworthy, lesser humans prevail and convice the world that they are right?
I know my own fears and worries and I have only myself to worry about. it must feel like the end of the world for families. How do they cope? I cannot even imagine. My heart breaks for them.
I am applying for all of the jobs that I have even a remote chance at. So many want experience or software expertise I do not have. Or, they are wanting an entry level person. I am going into those areas but, having worked in recruiting and even been a hiring manager, I know what happens. If they even look at your resume, and that is a big if, you immediately go in to the reject pile. You either hit a large majority of the keywords or it's easy to see that you have way too much experience and will want too much money. They can be very, very picky.
There still aren't a lot jobs out there. Even the agencies haven't had much. And those were mostly so far off the mark it was laughable.
Job boards are full of the same or fake postings. One can see the same jobs posted there by agencies week after week. They never change, they just get reposted so that the agencies can get more resumes. One applies for them only to be told they've been filled, but they are still there next week and the weeks afterward.
At least I know what the score is. Having worked in recruiting and been responsible for hiring my own staff at one stage, I know what goes on. I have realistic expectations and no illusions. It helps, but only a little.
One looks, though. The daily trawl through the boards is the daily reminder how little is out there. Then there is the agonizing over the cover letter and resume as well as the need to send them in fast. If you don't get your application sent within 24 hours your chances approach zero. So many applications are sent, many employers just can't accept any more. You worry if the cover letter is just right. It needs to stand out in a good way, just the right amount of information, not too long, not too short, enthusiastic but not desparate. You add a line to the growing spreadsheet that records your efforts.
Then you have to let it go and continue the search. And, you have to stay positive. You have to keep yourself from sliding into a despondency that kills enthusiasm. You keep moving and, every day, keep looking and sending in the resumes. You try to figure out more ways to cut spending, let go you more of the things that make life worth living. You hope and pray that one day those things will come back.
Anyone who says people getting unemployement insurance are lazy and not looking for work are utterly clueless or hateful liars. They sure as hell don't give a damn. I have been taking workshops to help me with writing resumes and cover letters, and interviewing. Each workshop is full of people frantically looking for something. Anything.
Most of them are so close to the edge. They are desparate for work and pray for Congress to extend benefits just so that they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table until they find work. We are all just hoping to find something, and that it will pay enough to live on.
I will need to take a lower paying job. That is a certainty. So many employers just aren't hiring. They are hanging onto money they should be using to grow their businesses. Those that are hiring know they have job seekers at their mercy. Most will take advantage of that. For some, it may mean the difference of being able to have that extra body at all. For others, it will be a cynical opportunity for cheaper labor.
A problem I have with taking the low paying job is that I do not like to take a job only to turn around and leave as soon as I find something better that pays more, leaving the employer in the lurch. It's an ethical thing for me. I did that once years ago and it didn't sit well with me. My consolation was that it was obvious the job was going to disappear in the very near future so I saved the employer the need to lay me off.
I don't mind taking lower pay if I can get by and save a little on it. More important to me is the people and the work. If those are good, and the day is more fun and interesting, I can deal with less money. Those jobs are few and far between, I am very sad to say.
Anyway, the whole point of this screed is that I hit a milestone of sorts with three months. My family is trying not to freak. I am trying not to freak. I have a small cushion of money, but it won't last forever. Am I already tainted as someone not to be given a chance? Am I already considered to be too lazy to want to work, wanting instead to live on unemployment forever? Will the voices out there painting the unemployed as being unworthy, lesser humans prevail and convice the world that they are right?
I know my own fears and worries and I have only myself to worry about. it must feel like the end of the world for families. How do they cope? I cannot even imagine. My heart breaks for them.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
What Happened to America?
I was speaking with a friend that lives overseas last night. She is confused about the state of the U.S. What is happening? Another friend mentioned that Americans are now being viewed as a frightened people. I have heard similar questions and sentiments more than once lately. And, they are always spoken with sadness.
What has happened to America and Americans? What is happening?
We were once known as a people united and daring. We were once know as a people that moved forward, explored the unknown, took incredible risks. We were once innovating, inventive, curious. We overcame our fears and stepped boldly into the future. We reached for the stars.
What happened to that country and her people?
I am not under the false impression that America was ever perfect. Far from it. We had our fears and challenges. The difference is that we used to strive to overcome them. Now we allow them to pull us apart.
We fear those that are different and work to expel them from our society. We distrust and even despise those that do not fit into a narrowly defined niche. We go so far as to hate and ostracize an entire segment because of the actions of a few. Maybe it was always that way but it seems to be intensifying exponentially of late.
One could argue that many Americans have a long list of people to hate and distrust these days.
- anyone who isn’t white
- anyone who isn’t straight
- anyone who doesn’t have a job
- anyone who speaks with an accent
- anyone who is too poor to afford healthcare
- anyone who wants to save the planet for our children
- anyone who needs a helping hand
- anyone who doesn’t agree to a certain point of view
That is not a complete list, but it already means that a pretty significant number of people in this country are on the receiving end of some serious ill feeling. Instead of embracing the differences and working together to overcome all challenges, we are pushing each other away.
The Emma Lazarus poem that lies within the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty includes the lines:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Should we remove that poem from the statue? Is it really still valid?
Almost all of us, our parents, grandparents, or more distant ancestors, came here from somewhere else. We came here and built a nation that has led the world.
What happened to that brave country and people that embraced the world and the future? I fear it is no more. I fear it will never be again.
Nations rise and nations fall. It has been that way for the entire history of humanity. I just hoped that America’s time in the sun would last a little longer.
What has happened to America and Americans? What is happening?
We were once known as a people united and daring. We were once know as a people that moved forward, explored the unknown, took incredible risks. We were once innovating, inventive, curious. We overcame our fears and stepped boldly into the future. We reached for the stars.
What happened to that country and her people?
I am not under the false impression that America was ever perfect. Far from it. We had our fears and challenges. The difference is that we used to strive to overcome them. Now we allow them to pull us apart.
We fear those that are different and work to expel them from our society. We distrust and even despise those that do not fit into a narrowly defined niche. We go so far as to hate and ostracize an entire segment because of the actions of a few. Maybe it was always that way but it seems to be intensifying exponentially of late.
One could argue that many Americans have a long list of people to hate and distrust these days.
- anyone who isn’t white
- anyone who isn’t straight
- anyone who doesn’t have a job
- anyone who speaks with an accent
- anyone who is too poor to afford healthcare
- anyone who wants to save the planet for our children
- anyone who needs a helping hand
- anyone who doesn’t agree to a certain point of view
That is not a complete list, but it already means that a pretty significant number of people in this country are on the receiving end of some serious ill feeling. Instead of embracing the differences and working together to overcome all challenges, we are pushing each other away.
The Emma Lazarus poem that lies within the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty includes the lines:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Should we remove that poem from the statue? Is it really still valid?
Almost all of us, our parents, grandparents, or more distant ancestors, came here from somewhere else. We came here and built a nation that has led the world.
What happened to that brave country and people that embraced the world and the future? I fear it is no more. I fear it will never be again.
Nations rise and nations fall. It has been that way for the entire history of humanity. I just hoped that America’s time in the sun would last a little longer.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Pundits Love to Have Us Swirling Down the Drain, It Provides More Sensational Soundbites!
I have lately had more opportunity to watch daytime TV. Given that I am a liberal, I tend to tune into MSNBC. I am beginning to wonder why. Some of the hosts don’t seem to know what they want or where they stand. There are all too often very conflicting messages in the space of one hour.
First, it’s all about the polls, it seems. Polls rule! Even better if the numbers for Obama fall. These guys seem to salivate because they falling numbers mean they and their guests have another opportunity to tell the world how the President should fix his image, the ills of the country and the world! Yum!
And, they seem to know exactly how to fix it all. Just listen in. The President should do this. The President should do that. He should listen to me because I know all!
The only problem is that everyone has different ideas on what should be done. Often the fix is given in a mere fifteen seconds, no details, no pros and cons, no thought to cost involved. Sometimes the ideas vary so wildly that there is no possibility of reconciliation between them, or compromise or melding them into a coherent plan. Who does the President listen to? Should he make twenty pundits and hosts angry to make another dozen happy or just kind of meh?
Does he jump to it today without feasibility studies, cost estimates, personnel, infrastructure, etc? Should the President first make sure it’s legal? Oh, yes, there is a whole can of worms there. Many things need to be approved by Congress first and others just may be flat out illegal.
Second, it doesn’t help when the sound bite sized promos for some of these programs are somewhat sensationalist. I understand the need to draw in viewers, but some of them are reckless.
For instance, for weeks Dylan Ratigan’s promos talked only about the corruption in the government. There was no clarification. We just saw the government is corrupt and needs to be fixed! I saw this ad at least five or six times in each afternoon. I know he didn’t say that it was Obama, but when one generalizes “the government”, people these days can easily jump to the conclusion. And, with everyone saying Obama needs to do this or Obama needs to do that, it seems to be a natural conclusion. I know for the first few days, I thought maybe I’d missed some breaking story of corruption in the White House on the news.
Last week, one of the guest hosts (Markey?) on one of the MSNBC shows asked a guest (Jeff Ross?) “Is this Obama’s fault?” when they were discussing the fact that trailers used after Hurricane Katrina and were found to be loaded with formaldehyde are being sold to people going to the Gulf to work on the oil clean-up. Apparently the trailers were sold to brokers with the provision they be labeled as having very high formaldehyde levels so that potential buyers would be able to make informed purchases. Some brokers are, of course, not labeling the trailers.
How the hell can Obama be to blame for unlabeled trailers? Is it something he could have even been aware of? Is it the kind of detail he should be aware of given the multitude of problems he has on his plate? Let’s see, there is unemployment, the Gulf oil spill, illegal immigration, Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, energy legislation, financial reform, Republicans that would rather see this country fail than let Obama get anything done. Among other things.
I get the impression that many of these guys have never worked in the real world. I mean the world where a CEO isn’t even aware, beyond a single bullet point on a ten bullet point PowerPoint slide in a sixty slide presentation, of a program implemented in a single business unit of a 100,000 employee international corporation. I mean something like the way invoices are processed for payment or sourcing for a new disability benefits vendor. The CEO might not even see that one bullet point.
My point is that not everything can be run up the ladder to the top guy. As much as Chris Matthews loves to harp on the chain of command in the gulf spill, how booms are laid and maintained is something the President should not be dealing with. Or where to procure skimmers. Or if BP is preventing clean-up workers from wearing protective gear. He should be able to leave that to the Incident Commander and his/her staff.
That Incident Commander also needs to be able to assign tasks to his/her staff, and so on down the line. Yes, I said should be able to. Anyone who has worked in the real world knows the implementation of orders and assignments is dependent on the people given those orders and assignments doing their jobs.
Ensuring proper completion of the orders and assignments is up to immediate superiors in the field. It should be up to Admiral Allen, or whoever is the Coast Guard commander in the Gulf, and his staff to make sure everything that can be done is being done. The Admiral takes the reports, or 60 page presentation, up the line.
Third, everything is a sound bite or not much more than that. Watching the news, national or local, and almost all political shows is like speed dating. We get just enough information to create an impression but not enough to be informed. There are so few meaningful interviews. For crying out loud, the 4th of July hot dog eating contest got far more coverage than the toxic trailers!
Some show hosts talk (read “rant”) for 2 minutes 45 seconds and allow there guest to speak or answer for 15 seconds. I don’t mind introductions to stories or to the guest. The introductions set the stage. But when the host does the introduction, asks a question but then continues to talk and rephrase the question over and over before the guest gets a word in, the point of the exercise has been defeated. Why not just get a quote and read it? That is all that seems to be wanted or desired by some hosts.
When we do actually get a “discussion” there is little depth or breadth. Why not have one or two days a week when there is a 15 minute segment devoted to a subject? Allow the expert guest to talk for a few of those minutes. Impart information, real, true information. What a concept! What I see is all too often a hit and run manner of interviewing.
The one true exception is Rachel Maddow. She is the one I rely on for real information and real interviews. Bless her! Countdown comes in second. Even though he often goes off on tangents, Keith Olbermann lets his guests actually respond to questions. The rest are talking (read “shouting”) heads that appear to not really need guests. I get the impression they just like to pound out their own thoughts and have people agree with them.
Fourth, hosts, pundits and the like, all scream that Obama and the Democrats need to make lots of noise about how the Republican block legislation, speak untruths and generally do despicable things. Maybe they are trying to make noise. It has to be remembered that if the media does not show it, how are the rest of us supposed to see it? I watched my local news, three different broadcasts on different stations, and did not see a mention of Barton’s apology to BP. That was a biggie to miss.
As I mentioned above, the guys stuffing hotdogs down their gullets trumped deadly, toxic trailers being sold to workers in the Gulf who were just trying to earn money to feed their families. I’d beat some of them don’t have an option since the Republicans decided they don’t need unemployment benefits. That’s a nice option – starve and live on the street or go live in trailers that will make you sick and may kill you.
The important stuff doesn’t rate a mention.
Finally, the opinions of the world are all about perception. In one form or another, just about all of these hosts, commentators and pundits have asked, “Is this Obama’s fault?” And, they ask it almost daily. Tell a lie often enough and it is taken as truth.
Aren’t there two other arms to the government that are either not doing their jobs or are busy giving the country to big business? Aren’t there government departments that were left so dysfunctional by 8 years under Bush Co. that it will take years more to get them into working order again? Is it just easier and more controversial to blame Obama than to go after those who are culpable? Is it just less work? Ah, got you there, didn’t I?
Contrary to what you may think, I’m not giving Obama a pass. I think there are a lot of things that could have been done better and things that should have been done that weren’t. However, I see what he has to work with and the relatively short amount of time he’s had to overcome enormous obstacles. Even before the election last November, President Obama said it was going to be a long, difficult road to travel. He wasn’t wrong.
First, it’s all about the polls, it seems. Polls rule! Even better if the numbers for Obama fall. These guys seem to salivate because they falling numbers mean they and their guests have another opportunity to tell the world how the President should fix his image, the ills of the country and the world! Yum!
And, they seem to know exactly how to fix it all. Just listen in. The President should do this. The President should do that. He should listen to me because I know all!
The only problem is that everyone has different ideas on what should be done. Often the fix is given in a mere fifteen seconds, no details, no pros and cons, no thought to cost involved. Sometimes the ideas vary so wildly that there is no possibility of reconciliation between them, or compromise or melding them into a coherent plan. Who does the President listen to? Should he make twenty pundits and hosts angry to make another dozen happy or just kind of meh?
Does he jump to it today without feasibility studies, cost estimates, personnel, infrastructure, etc? Should the President first make sure it’s legal? Oh, yes, there is a whole can of worms there. Many things need to be approved by Congress first and others just may be flat out illegal.
Second, it doesn’t help when the sound bite sized promos for some of these programs are somewhat sensationalist. I understand the need to draw in viewers, but some of them are reckless.
For instance, for weeks Dylan Ratigan’s promos talked only about the corruption in the government. There was no clarification. We just saw the government is corrupt and needs to be fixed! I saw this ad at least five or six times in each afternoon. I know he didn’t say that it was Obama, but when one generalizes “the government”, people these days can easily jump to the conclusion. And, with everyone saying Obama needs to do this or Obama needs to do that, it seems to be a natural conclusion. I know for the first few days, I thought maybe I’d missed some breaking story of corruption in the White House on the news.
Last week, one of the guest hosts (Markey?) on one of the MSNBC shows asked a guest (Jeff Ross?) “Is this Obama’s fault?” when they were discussing the fact that trailers used after Hurricane Katrina and were found to be loaded with formaldehyde are being sold to people going to the Gulf to work on the oil clean-up. Apparently the trailers were sold to brokers with the provision they be labeled as having very high formaldehyde levels so that potential buyers would be able to make informed purchases. Some brokers are, of course, not labeling the trailers.
How the hell can Obama be to blame for unlabeled trailers? Is it something he could have even been aware of? Is it the kind of detail he should be aware of given the multitude of problems he has on his plate? Let’s see, there is unemployment, the Gulf oil spill, illegal immigration, Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, energy legislation, financial reform, Republicans that would rather see this country fail than let Obama get anything done. Among other things.
I get the impression that many of these guys have never worked in the real world. I mean the world where a CEO isn’t even aware, beyond a single bullet point on a ten bullet point PowerPoint slide in a sixty slide presentation, of a program implemented in a single business unit of a 100,000 employee international corporation. I mean something like the way invoices are processed for payment or sourcing for a new disability benefits vendor. The CEO might not even see that one bullet point.
My point is that not everything can be run up the ladder to the top guy. As much as Chris Matthews loves to harp on the chain of command in the gulf spill, how booms are laid and maintained is something the President should not be dealing with. Or where to procure skimmers. Or if BP is preventing clean-up workers from wearing protective gear. He should be able to leave that to the Incident Commander and his/her staff.
That Incident Commander also needs to be able to assign tasks to his/her staff, and so on down the line. Yes, I said should be able to. Anyone who has worked in the real world knows the implementation of orders and assignments is dependent on the people given those orders and assignments doing their jobs.
Ensuring proper completion of the orders and assignments is up to immediate superiors in the field. It should be up to Admiral Allen, or whoever is the Coast Guard commander in the Gulf, and his staff to make sure everything that can be done is being done. The Admiral takes the reports, or 60 page presentation, up the line.
Third, everything is a sound bite or not much more than that. Watching the news, national or local, and almost all political shows is like speed dating. We get just enough information to create an impression but not enough to be informed. There are so few meaningful interviews. For crying out loud, the 4th of July hot dog eating contest got far more coverage than the toxic trailers!
Some show hosts talk (read “rant”) for 2 minutes 45 seconds and allow there guest to speak or answer for 15 seconds. I don’t mind introductions to stories or to the guest. The introductions set the stage. But when the host does the introduction, asks a question but then continues to talk and rephrase the question over and over before the guest gets a word in, the point of the exercise has been defeated. Why not just get a quote and read it? That is all that seems to be wanted or desired by some hosts.
When we do actually get a “discussion” there is little depth or breadth. Why not have one or two days a week when there is a 15 minute segment devoted to a subject? Allow the expert guest to talk for a few of those minutes. Impart information, real, true information. What a concept! What I see is all too often a hit and run manner of interviewing.
The one true exception is Rachel Maddow. She is the one I rely on for real information and real interviews. Bless her! Countdown comes in second. Even though he often goes off on tangents, Keith Olbermann lets his guests actually respond to questions. The rest are talking (read “shouting”) heads that appear to not really need guests. I get the impression they just like to pound out their own thoughts and have people agree with them.
Fourth, hosts, pundits and the like, all scream that Obama and the Democrats need to make lots of noise about how the Republican block legislation, speak untruths and generally do despicable things. Maybe they are trying to make noise. It has to be remembered that if the media does not show it, how are the rest of us supposed to see it? I watched my local news, three different broadcasts on different stations, and did not see a mention of Barton’s apology to BP. That was a biggie to miss.
As I mentioned above, the guys stuffing hotdogs down their gullets trumped deadly, toxic trailers being sold to workers in the Gulf who were just trying to earn money to feed their families. I’d beat some of them don’t have an option since the Republicans decided they don’t need unemployment benefits. That’s a nice option – starve and live on the street or go live in trailers that will make you sick and may kill you.
The important stuff doesn’t rate a mention.
Finally, the opinions of the world are all about perception. In one form or another, just about all of these hosts, commentators and pundits have asked, “Is this Obama’s fault?” And, they ask it almost daily. Tell a lie often enough and it is taken as truth.
Aren’t there two other arms to the government that are either not doing their jobs or are busy giving the country to big business? Aren’t there government departments that were left so dysfunctional by 8 years under Bush Co. that it will take years more to get them into working order again? Is it just easier and more controversial to blame Obama than to go after those who are culpable? Is it just less work? Ah, got you there, didn’t I?
Contrary to what you may think, I’m not giving Obama a pass. I think there are a lot of things that could have been done better and things that should have been done that weren’t. However, I see what he has to work with and the relatively short amount of time he’s had to overcome enormous obstacles. Even before the election last November, President Obama said it was going to be a long, difficult road to travel. He wasn’t wrong.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Does the Bottom or the Middle Ever Listen to the Top? And, Who Cares?
One of the interesting things about being unemployed is that one has time to watch during the day. Today, I stumbled across the Congressional hearing of BP CEO Tony Hayward on MSNBC.
First of all, Hayward has been amazingly even and calm throughout this whole two months since this still moving disaster started. If he wasn’t British I’d have to say he’s been on drugs. Don’t get me wrong, the man is an ass, as are much of the decision making crowd of the company. No different to the vast majority of the corporate world but still not excusable. He knew there were real and huge issues with the safety in BP for years. There is more that could have been done to monitor and rectify those issues, and in a much more timely manner.
Anyway, much of the discussion so far has been about the decisions that set off the chain of events that resulted in this murderous and horrifying event. Hayward has been asked about the supposed transformation (my word) in safety precautions and procedures that began when he came to power. Some answers have been side-stepping the questions. Other responses by Hayward have been that he was not part of the decision making process. (The latter is kind of understandable since they were to do with the on-the-ground drilling processes.)
The thought that popped into my head is to do with how much the bottom, or even the middle, of an organization listens to the top and implements any mandated changes. I have worked in companies and government departments ranging in size from a few dozen to tens of thousands of employees. All have suffered from an internal inertia that can boggle the mind.
As a small example, one office I worked in, which was part of a very large company but functioned as its own little kingdom, had a maximum of eighty people. The CEO frequently tried to change the culture in the office regarding the way managers applied employee policies. For instance, some managers would allow comp time for employees working long hours on projects while others refused to do the same.
In a much, much larger company, the policies were for all employees, but the application was pretty much left up to the subsidiaries, the management structure and even locations, right down to the supervisors of the very bottom level employees. There were no consequences for people breaking the rules. None. Promotions, pay increases and bonuses were handed out year after year without regard for what the transgressor did or did not do.
And, you know what the reason is? Well, the major reason. The bottom line. As long as the sale is made, the project is finished, the cost gets cut, no-one at the top really cares about the rest. There are other reasons, of course. The need to feel power over others, laziness, incompetence and plain stupidity are a few.
The main thing is that the top is worried about the bottom line, whether this is private sector or government. One is profit and stock price. The other is just plain limited budget.
BP, the other oil companies, Massey Energy (think coal), and God knows who else, have been getting away with safety infractions and cutting corners since the beginning of time. The top will pay lip service to safety even when people die and disasters happen. The middle ignores the lip service because they either don’t care or don’t have the luxury of time and manpower to care. The bottom is just too worried about their jobs.
And us, the rest of us? We don’t care as long as we have cheap gas for our cars, coal for our central heating, our iPods, 56 inch LCD TVs, beer and pizza. Even though we ourselves live in the same situations, we don’t really care that much about the other guy.
The media will move on to the next big thing as soon as it happens. The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster happened in April 2010. This year, just two weeks before Deepwater Horizon blew up. It killed 29 men and through many more out of work. Who is talking about it now? Who will care when fall is turning into winter and coal fired furnaces need coal to warm the house?
Hurricane Katrina happened when? August 2005. The miserable decrepitude of the levees and pumping stations caused untold misery and death apart from the destruction by the hurricane. What’s happening there now? Too few care because the only thing coming out of the gulf that might have impacted us all was seafood. The shrimp are a little more expensive for a season or two? Buy hamburgers.
Once the gusher is capped and the next big thing happens, who will care about the gulf? Only the people that live there. The rest of us will be worried about cheap gas for our cars, iPods, 56 inch LCD TVs, beer and pizza.
First of all, Hayward has been amazingly even and calm throughout this whole two months since this still moving disaster started. If he wasn’t British I’d have to say he’s been on drugs. Don’t get me wrong, the man is an ass, as are much of the decision making crowd of the company. No different to the vast majority of the corporate world but still not excusable. He knew there were real and huge issues with the safety in BP for years. There is more that could have been done to monitor and rectify those issues, and in a much more timely manner.
Anyway, much of the discussion so far has been about the decisions that set off the chain of events that resulted in this murderous and horrifying event. Hayward has been asked about the supposed transformation (my word) in safety precautions and procedures that began when he came to power. Some answers have been side-stepping the questions. Other responses by Hayward have been that he was not part of the decision making process. (The latter is kind of understandable since they were to do with the on-the-ground drilling processes.)
The thought that popped into my head is to do with how much the bottom, or even the middle, of an organization listens to the top and implements any mandated changes. I have worked in companies and government departments ranging in size from a few dozen to tens of thousands of employees. All have suffered from an internal inertia that can boggle the mind.
As a small example, one office I worked in, which was part of a very large company but functioned as its own little kingdom, had a maximum of eighty people. The CEO frequently tried to change the culture in the office regarding the way managers applied employee policies. For instance, some managers would allow comp time for employees working long hours on projects while others refused to do the same.
In a much, much larger company, the policies were for all employees, but the application was pretty much left up to the subsidiaries, the management structure and even locations, right down to the supervisors of the very bottom level employees. There were no consequences for people breaking the rules. None. Promotions, pay increases and bonuses were handed out year after year without regard for what the transgressor did or did not do.
And, you know what the reason is? Well, the major reason. The bottom line. As long as the sale is made, the project is finished, the cost gets cut, no-one at the top really cares about the rest. There are other reasons, of course. The need to feel power over others, laziness, incompetence and plain stupidity are a few.
The main thing is that the top is worried about the bottom line, whether this is private sector or government. One is profit and stock price. The other is just plain limited budget.
BP, the other oil companies, Massey Energy (think coal), and God knows who else, have been getting away with safety infractions and cutting corners since the beginning of time. The top will pay lip service to safety even when people die and disasters happen. The middle ignores the lip service because they either don’t care or don’t have the luxury of time and manpower to care. The bottom is just too worried about their jobs.
And us, the rest of us? We don’t care as long as we have cheap gas for our cars, coal for our central heating, our iPods, 56 inch LCD TVs, beer and pizza. Even though we ourselves live in the same situations, we don’t really care that much about the other guy.
The media will move on to the next big thing as soon as it happens. The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster happened in April 2010. This year, just two weeks before Deepwater Horizon blew up. It killed 29 men and through many more out of work. Who is talking about it now? Who will care when fall is turning into winter and coal fired furnaces need coal to warm the house?
Hurricane Katrina happened when? August 2005. The miserable decrepitude of the levees and pumping stations caused untold misery and death apart from the destruction by the hurricane. What’s happening there now? Too few care because the only thing coming out of the gulf that might have impacted us all was seafood. The shrimp are a little more expensive for a season or two? Buy hamburgers.
Once the gusher is capped and the next big thing happens, who will care about the gulf? Only the people that live there. The rest of us will be worried about cheap gas for our cars, iPods, 56 inch LCD TVs, beer and pizza.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Oil Spills and Things That Take Time
Through circumstances beyond my meager control, I find myself with the time to watch more of the daytime (at least on the west coast) political shows on MSNBC. Apart from them, I watch the news on TV and peruse several online news sites and blogs.
We live in a marvelous age of instantaneous everything, news, shopping, watching movies and TV, registering for this or enrolling in that. We turn on our computers, smart phones and iPads and there we are. It’s wonderful. It’s also deceptive. We have come to expect everything in live to be instantaneous. We want it today. We want it now. Wait, we want it yesterday.
Problem is that only part of life is instantaneous. Most isn’t. A lot of it takes weeks, months or years. If it can happen at all. While I am all antsy and anxious and impatient for the world to change, for life to be better, I know I have to wait. Grrr
Back to the point. I have been watching some of the political shows and one thing really stands out very quickly. The over the top impatience is front and center. The President should be here, the President should be there. He needs to be doing this and taking over that. The list is long and arduous. It includes, in no particular order, but is not restricted to:
- the oil spill in the Gulf
- the war in Iraq
- the war in Afghanistan
- Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
- illegal immigration
- the recession
- unemployment
- healthcare reform
- financial reform
- corruption in the MMS
- big oil
- big coal
- big banks
- terrorism/terrorists
- undoing 8 years of Bush
That’s a lot of pretty big stuff to deal with, but, wait, I’m not finished. There’s the constant sniping, second guessing, hissy-fitting coming from both sides of the aisle, the media (absolutely salivating over all the turmoil and sound bites) and the public in general.
Oh, God, now we have a new catch phrase to go along with the horribly over and misused “perfect storm”. “Top Kill” is the new thing to say. *groan*
One thing to remember here. The people of this country played a big part in some of the huge problems we are having right now. People not able to afford to buy homes deciding it was okay to go into unaffordable loans (yes, I know a lot of people were duped and defrauded and they don’t count), people deciding that they really do need their gas guzzling SUVs and Cadillacs to drive to work and back everyday, and the soul destroying greed that drove the financial institutions to do what they did. We all have to look at our own behavior and desire to use until nothing is left.
Why do we think that the troubles in our country and all over this world would be an overnight fix? Or even take a year or two to fix? A minor cut on a finger takes at least days to heal, even with antiseptics and bandages. The deep gash across this country is going to take very careful, long term tending to heal.
We live in a marvelous age of instantaneous everything, news, shopping, watching movies and TV, registering for this or enrolling in that. We turn on our computers, smart phones and iPads and there we are. It’s wonderful. It’s also deceptive. We have come to expect everything in live to be instantaneous. We want it today. We want it now. Wait, we want it yesterday.
Problem is that only part of life is instantaneous. Most isn’t. A lot of it takes weeks, months or years. If it can happen at all. While I am all antsy and anxious and impatient for the world to change, for life to be better, I know I have to wait. Grrr
Back to the point. I have been watching some of the political shows and one thing really stands out very quickly. The over the top impatience is front and center. The President should be here, the President should be there. He needs to be doing this and taking over that. The list is long and arduous. It includes, in no particular order, but is not restricted to:
- the oil spill in the Gulf
- the war in Iraq
- the war in Afghanistan
- Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
- illegal immigration
- the recession
- unemployment
- healthcare reform
- financial reform
- corruption in the MMS
- big oil
- big coal
- big banks
- terrorism/terrorists
- undoing 8 years of Bush
That’s a lot of pretty big stuff to deal with, but, wait, I’m not finished. There’s the constant sniping, second guessing, hissy-fitting coming from both sides of the aisle, the media (absolutely salivating over all the turmoil and sound bites) and the public in general.
Oh, God, now we have a new catch phrase to go along with the horribly over and misused “perfect storm”. “Top Kill” is the new thing to say. *groan*
One thing to remember here. The people of this country played a big part in some of the huge problems we are having right now. People not able to afford to buy homes deciding it was okay to go into unaffordable loans (yes, I know a lot of people were duped and defrauded and they don’t count), people deciding that they really do need their gas guzzling SUVs and Cadillacs to drive to work and back everyday, and the soul destroying greed that drove the financial institutions to do what they did. We all have to look at our own behavior and desire to use until nothing is left.
Why do we think that the troubles in our country and all over this world would be an overnight fix? Or even take a year or two to fix? A minor cut on a finger takes at least days to heal, even with antiseptics and bandages. The deep gash across this country is going to take very careful, long term tending to heal.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Filibuster Financial Reform?
Who on God's polluted Earth would think filibustering financial reform is a good idea?
What happened to country first? What happened to that good old patriotic, flag waving boys and girls that were crying that they were on the side of the people?
Nothing. They're still busy opening their pockets for big banks and big businesses to stuff in as much money as possible while they mouth sympathies for the dwindling middle and growing lower classes.
Make the banks and finance do the right thing? Hell, no they won't! That would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
What happened to country first? What happened to that good old patriotic, flag waving boys and girls that were crying that they were on the side of the people?
Nothing. They're still busy opening their pockets for big banks and big businesses to stuff in as much money as possible while they mouth sympathies for the dwindling middle and growing lower classes.
Make the banks and finance do the right thing? Hell, no they won't! That would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The Greatest Republican President
will be Barack Obama. Ever.
Rachel Maddow said soemthing on her show tonight that really confirmed what I've been thinking for a couple of months. She said that Bill Clinton had been a great Republican president. It's kind of true. The thing is that it took him eight years to get there.
However, in a little more that 14 months, President Obama is looking to surpass that achievement.
- No consequences for the torturers and those that facilitated it
- No consequences for the banks, investment firms and the people that brought this country, and the world, to its knees
- No public option in healthcare
- A very watered down financial reform bill is being put together
- Climate change legislation being weakened
- Nuclear energy
- Off shore drilling
He's going to be a great president, a great Republican president. And, the poor and middle class of this country will continue to bleed and die slow, painful deaths. I'm really not seeing the change.
Rachel Maddow said soemthing on her show tonight that really confirmed what I've been thinking for a couple of months. She said that Bill Clinton had been a great Republican president. It's kind of true. The thing is that it took him eight years to get there.
However, in a little more that 14 months, President Obama is looking to surpass that achievement.
- No consequences for the torturers and those that facilitated it
- No consequences for the banks, investment firms and the people that brought this country, and the world, to its knees
- No public option in healthcare
- A very watered down financial reform bill is being put together
- Climate change legislation being weakened
- Nuclear energy
- Off shore drilling
He's going to be a great president, a great Republican president. And, the poor and middle class of this country will continue to bleed and die slow, painful deaths. I'm really not seeing the change.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The Chruch
The Pope said today that one should not be intimidated by petty gossip. Right.
How many hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people have come forward to accuse Roman Catholic priests with varying types of molestation? How many priests have been sheltered, shielded and given the means to carry on as usual by a church that has been too concerned with its own self-importance.
I love the Cathloic religion. It is a truly beautiful thing. It's the people that have been running it pretty much since the beginning that have always been the issue. An overwhelming number of them have been so busy gathering and keep their power and trying to mould the world to their own narrow views that they seem to have forgotten in whose name they are supposed to serve.
Priests cannot marry, something implemented by the church to save money, women must be subservient in all respects and children can be abused to the extent desired by the local priest. Families must not practice contraception, resulting in utter poverty, illness and early death by so many. That's all as it should be according to "The Church". Everyone is supposed to suffer like Jesus Christ did. At least, that seems to be the thinking in the Church at all levels, right to the top.
Personally, I always thought Jesus wanted to alleviate suffering, feed the poor, comfort the grieving. That is what I believe and will always continue to believe. Jesus served the poor, moving amongst them and caring for their physical and spiritual wellbeing. He was forgiving and patient and kind. He told us never to harm a child, any child. He gave everything of himself for us.
No bitter old men too obsessed with their own power are ever going to convince me otherwise.
How many hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people have come forward to accuse Roman Catholic priests with varying types of molestation? How many priests have been sheltered, shielded and given the means to carry on as usual by a church that has been too concerned with its own self-importance.
I love the Cathloic religion. It is a truly beautiful thing. It's the people that have been running it pretty much since the beginning that have always been the issue. An overwhelming number of them have been so busy gathering and keep their power and trying to mould the world to their own narrow views that they seem to have forgotten in whose name they are supposed to serve.
Priests cannot marry, something implemented by the church to save money, women must be subservient in all respects and children can be abused to the extent desired by the local priest. Families must not practice contraception, resulting in utter poverty, illness and early death by so many. That's all as it should be according to "The Church". Everyone is supposed to suffer like Jesus Christ did. At least, that seems to be the thinking in the Church at all levels, right to the top.
Personally, I always thought Jesus wanted to alleviate suffering, feed the poor, comfort the grieving. That is what I believe and will always continue to believe. Jesus served the poor, moving amongst them and caring for their physical and spiritual wellbeing. He was forgiving and patient and kind. He told us never to harm a child, any child. He gave everything of himself for us.
No bitter old men too obsessed with their own power are ever going to convince me otherwise.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Headlines: Spines Found!
Wow! The Democrats found their backbones. Not the best healthcare insurance reform legislation possible by a very long way, but it is a start. I hope they decide to keep them.
I also hope the Republicans stop having their hissy-fits and kindergarden playground temper tantrums and remember they have a real job to to. That job is to do everything they can t help this country and its people move forward. Oh, right, that means to progress. Can't have that.
I also hope the Republicans stop having their hissy-fits and kindergarden playground temper tantrums and remember they have a real job to to. That job is to do everything they can t help this country and its people move forward. Oh, right, that means to progress. Can't have that.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Not the Healthcare Reform Debate, Well, Maybe a Little
I was writing another post about the whole healthcare reform legislation thing, but decided I just can't write it now. I am so utterly and completely weary of being jerked around by so many of the politicians that having been fart-assing about that I am...tired of it. We have a lot of good pople trying to do good things. But, then we have those that just don't seem to care enough to do the right thing for the most people possible. They are too concerned with their own pumped up egos and their own jobs and the money they are getting and will be getting from big business. Screw everyone else.
It doesn't help that the President seems to get involved only when it's time to speechify. He's a moving and inspirational speaker, to be sure. But it takes more than that. Maybe he's doing it all behind the scenes. Sorry, I want to see it. I want it to be so in my face that the media will stop being so kind to the right wing nuts, liars and hatemongers that they will start talking about it. The media, all of it, are so busy pandering to the right that they forget to report any other opinion. Their noses are so brown, John Boehner is probably jealous.
Break some heads in public, Mr. President. When you say you are for something, be for it. Vocally and loudly. The sqeaky wheel and all. We need it, now and for the next 7.5 months.
Anyway, since I am not talking about the healthcare reform debacle, I want talk just a little about a movie I saw earlier today. I so love NetFlix. I've seen so many films I would have missed and all in the comfort of my own home.
This week my movie was Food, Inc. I'm well informed and knew a lot of what is in this film, but to see it all together was horrifying. It should be mandatory viewing for all high schoolers and parents. Let them see what they are shoveling down their throats and into their kids mouths day by day. And, quite happily, too! I know most wouldn't give a rat's ass, but if even one in a hundred changed their eating habits and what they demand at the store, it would be worthwhile.
It doesn't help that the President seems to get involved only when it's time to speechify. He's a moving and inspirational speaker, to be sure. But it takes more than that. Maybe he's doing it all behind the scenes. Sorry, I want to see it. I want it to be so in my face that the media will stop being so kind to the right wing nuts, liars and hatemongers that they will start talking about it. The media, all of it, are so busy pandering to the right that they forget to report any other opinion. Their noses are so brown, John Boehner is probably jealous.
Break some heads in public, Mr. President. When you say you are for something, be for it. Vocally and loudly. The sqeaky wheel and all. We need it, now and for the next 7.5 months.
Anyway, since I am not talking about the healthcare reform debacle, I want talk just a little about a movie I saw earlier today. I so love NetFlix. I've seen so many films I would have missed and all in the comfort of my own home.
This week my movie was Food, Inc. I'm well informed and knew a lot of what is in this film, but to see it all together was horrifying. It should be mandatory viewing for all high schoolers and parents. Let them see what they are shoveling down their throats and into their kids mouths day by day. And, quite happily, too! I know most wouldn't give a rat's ass, but if even one in a hundred changed their eating habits and what they demand at the store, it would be worthwhile.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
When do we reach saturation point?
Saw a new ad for Meg Whitman, the would be politician who wants to be queen of California (and maybe the U.S.), today. She now has former employees and friends expounding her virtues.
I am not exaggerating, but I believe I see or hear about 5 ads for her every day. EVERY DAY! These have been going on for a couple of months now. That means that by the November elections, I will have seen or heard her ads at least 1,500 times. Yes, seeing the woman that is buying the governership of one of the largest economies in the world is going to be in my face at least one thousand five hundred times before she takes receipt of her purchase. Oh, joy. Oh, bliss. Oh, puke.
Apparently, she is a penny pincher and trims to the bone. Watch out all you voters, and non-voters, who need help to survive in this world. A little more of that threadbare rug that you live on is going to disappear.
A footnote: This avalanche of advertising is but a preview of what we will see once the corporate big boys start buying airtime for their bought and paid for politicians and pet causes. I mean, don't we already see enough ads for drilling and mining everything possible? It's a "let's find and use it all right now, before it runs out" attitude. Screw the kids and grandkids. They won't need it, just like they won't need clean air to breathe or clean water to drink. And, oh, that means the companies behind this carpet bombong will get all the profits from it, too.
I am not exaggerating, but I believe I see or hear about 5 ads for her every day. EVERY DAY! These have been going on for a couple of months now. That means that by the November elections, I will have seen or heard her ads at least 1,500 times. Yes, seeing the woman that is buying the governership of one of the largest economies in the world is going to be in my face at least one thousand five hundred times before she takes receipt of her purchase. Oh, joy. Oh, bliss. Oh, puke.
Apparently, she is a penny pincher and trims to the bone. Watch out all you voters, and non-voters, who need help to survive in this world. A little more of that threadbare rug that you live on is going to disappear.
A footnote: This avalanche of advertising is but a preview of what we will see once the corporate big boys start buying airtime for their bought and paid for politicians and pet causes. I mean, don't we already see enough ads for drilling and mining everything possible? It's a "let's find and use it all right now, before it runs out" attitude. Screw the kids and grandkids. They won't need it, just like they won't need clean air to breathe or clean water to drink. And, oh, that means the companies behind this carpet bombong will get all the profits from it, too.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
"The Summit"
Or, in layman's terms, an exercise in futility.
Having to work and needing to interact with co-workers meant I was able to only listen to some of the Summit in Washington DC today. It's probably a good thing. The Republicans spent a good portion of the time spinning fairy tales and whining that we should start over again. Ad nauseum
What gets me more than the broken record of general mendacity is that the Republicans keep saying that all Americans are afraid of healthcare reform and WE want to start over again. Excuse me, but you do not speak for me. Nor, dare I say, do you speak for a goodly majority of Americans. At least not the ones you've been able to frighten half to death with your lies. So, stop including me in your statements.
On a slightly different note,Chris Matthews said something interesting in his analysis of the Summit. He said the Democrats might, and I'm paraphrasing, get up the courage to do their jobs and finish passing a bill.
So many of the Democrats have been given several opportunities to find their spines. The President has delivered a couple of powerful speeches and a massive put down of the Republicans on their own turf. What have the Democrats done? Squat. They wouldn't know what to do with a spine if they found one, much less grew it!
Sorry, now I'm generalizing. Anthony Weiner, Alan Greyson, and a couple precious others do not belong to the spineless masses. God, I wish we had more like them!
Having to work and needing to interact with co-workers meant I was able to only listen to some of the Summit in Washington DC today. It's probably a good thing. The Republicans spent a good portion of the time spinning fairy tales and whining that we should start over again. Ad nauseum
What gets me more than the broken record of general mendacity is that the Republicans keep saying that all Americans are afraid of healthcare reform and WE want to start over again. Excuse me, but you do not speak for me. Nor, dare I say, do you speak for a goodly majority of Americans. At least not the ones you've been able to frighten half to death with your lies. So, stop including me in your statements.
On a slightly different note,Chris Matthews said something interesting in his analysis of the Summit. He said the Democrats might, and I'm paraphrasing, get up the courage to do their jobs and finish passing a bill.
So many of the Democrats have been given several opportunities to find their spines. The President has delivered a couple of powerful speeches and a massive put down of the Republicans on their own turf. What have the Democrats done? Squat. They wouldn't know what to do with a spine if they found one, much less grew it!
Sorry, now I'm generalizing. Anthony Weiner, Alan Greyson, and a couple precious others do not belong to the spineless masses. God, I wish we had more like them!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Revenge is Mine Saith the Republicans
I look at the general state of things in Washington DC and am reminded of someone I worked with many years ago.
Let’s call him Max. It isn’t his real name, but it’ll do. Max held grudges like no-one else I’ve known, at least personally. He lived by a very particular code. If he didn’t like you or felt that you had slighted him in any way, large or small or non-existent, he did everything possible short of violence to get you.
It didn’t matter who might get caught in the crosshairs. Other people, the job, client work, the company, they were all considered expendable so that Max could get his revenge.
You could be working with this guy for years and have a decent, even friendly, business relationship. Then, one day, you might point out an error in his work. It was probably something minor, but needed to be corrected before going to the client. Didn’t matter. The perceived criticism was all it took.
Max would spend every spare moment, and some moments that should have been devoted to client work, to destroy you in the office. We were a small office, not more than a hundred people, so it was a fairly obvious and disturbing process.
The campaign would start off subtly, a hint here, a remark there. Max would criticize your work, belittle you personally while your back was turned and make unflattering comments to co-workers as you passed in the hallway. If satisfying results did not come fast enough, Max would escalate his campaign until the target quit, begged forgiveness (without really knowing what they’d done wrong) or were reassigned.
It didn’t matter to him who or what he damaged along the way. If the client was lost, no problem. If other staff left the company because of the toxic environment, who cares? The only thing that counted was that Max felt he achieved his goal of destroying his “enemy”.
This was allowed to go on for years before the local CEO had enough and asked him to leave. By then, we’d lost clients and good staff. The damage had truly been done.
To my point…I look at the scorched Earth politics being conducted by the Republicans in Washington DC and wonder when it will end. Does it need for the country to grind to a four year long standstill before they are happy? We are already pretty much there because the Democrats still can’t find the spine and will to do their jobs on their own. So, another three years of deepening debt, more unemployment, higher healthcare costs, poorer education, losing ground in technology, worsening pollution, and so on?
The Republicans are insulted because they lost the elections in 2008. They are angry that the people of this country said enough. They feel like their policies were criticized and thought of as failures. They want revenge. They want revenge at all costs.
Will they finally be happy when the United States becomes a third world nation?
Let’s call him Max. It isn’t his real name, but it’ll do. Max held grudges like no-one else I’ve known, at least personally. He lived by a very particular code. If he didn’t like you or felt that you had slighted him in any way, large or small or non-existent, he did everything possible short of violence to get you.
It didn’t matter who might get caught in the crosshairs. Other people, the job, client work, the company, they were all considered expendable so that Max could get his revenge.
You could be working with this guy for years and have a decent, even friendly, business relationship. Then, one day, you might point out an error in his work. It was probably something minor, but needed to be corrected before going to the client. Didn’t matter. The perceived criticism was all it took.
Max would spend every spare moment, and some moments that should have been devoted to client work, to destroy you in the office. We were a small office, not more than a hundred people, so it was a fairly obvious and disturbing process.
The campaign would start off subtly, a hint here, a remark there. Max would criticize your work, belittle you personally while your back was turned and make unflattering comments to co-workers as you passed in the hallway. If satisfying results did not come fast enough, Max would escalate his campaign until the target quit, begged forgiveness (without really knowing what they’d done wrong) or were reassigned.
It didn’t matter to him who or what he damaged along the way. If the client was lost, no problem. If other staff left the company because of the toxic environment, who cares? The only thing that counted was that Max felt he achieved his goal of destroying his “enemy”.
This was allowed to go on for years before the local CEO had enough and asked him to leave. By then, we’d lost clients and good staff. The damage had truly been done.
To my point…I look at the scorched Earth politics being conducted by the Republicans in Washington DC and wonder when it will end. Does it need for the country to grind to a four year long standstill before they are happy? We are already pretty much there because the Democrats still can’t find the spine and will to do their jobs on their own. So, another three years of deepening debt, more unemployment, higher healthcare costs, poorer education, losing ground in technology, worsening pollution, and so on?
The Republicans are insulted because they lost the elections in 2008. They are angry that the people of this country said enough. They feel like their policies were criticized and thought of as failures. They want revenge. They want revenge at all costs.
Will they finally be happy when the United States becomes a third world nation?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The American People - Screwed Again
And again, and again...
In no particular order:
Number One:
The Supreme Court decison to let corporations, any and all corporations, spend as much money as the want to buy politicians and elections. I wonder how many people realize that this can be Chinese, Saudi, Indian, German, Japanese, ANY COMPANY ANYWHERE WITH ANY AGENDA as well as U.S. companies?
Oil companies will be able to drill on your property. Hell, they'll be able to take you property! Coal companies will be able to strip mine you favorite vacation spot and dump waste into the rivers and lakes that provide your drinking water. They'll be able to build power stations in you neighborhood and NOT need to worry about pollution controls. Just imagine your kids having to wear gas masks to breathe.
Yum foods will be stocking your kids cafeterias with high sugar, high fat, artificially colored, flavored and preservative loaded snack foods. No worries! At least they'll be fat, happy and need treatment for diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity by the time they're fifteen.
That'll keep the healthcare companies doing booming business! As long as you fork over half of your paycheck every month to the insurance companies, you can get every medication under the sun.
The other half of you pay will go to banks and credit card companies. They'll be able to increase interest rates and tack on fees for everything from using an ATM card to sneezing. You'll need to use one credit card to pay another. You'll need to dig cans and bottles out of garbage cans to have any money for food.
It's all good, though! the Supreme Court is always right. Right?
Number Two:
The Democrats are doing their customary cowering, cringing and kowtowing to the Republicans. Despite months of polls showing that most Americans want healthcare reform, the Dems are now wanting to "think" about it a little longer. They want to slw down a process that has been fifty years and twleve months in the making. They want to "wait" and get it perfect before they act. They want to include the Republicans in the discussion.
Who are they supposed to be serving? The American people? The majority? The millions that gave millions in campaign donations and time and sweat and tears? Apparently not. Apparently they are serving the minority and the Republicans.
Number Three:
Chickens with no heads. The Democrats are in such a panic over the election in MA, that they have turned into deer caught in headlights. Again. They are frozen with fear and trembling. They are quivering in the corner, too afraid to move their collective asses. And this is over a very poorly run campaign that just about anyone would have lost. The Senate seat waas lost by Coakley, not won by Brown.
Learn from it and do better next time. Don't hide under the bed!
Number Four:
The Media. As usual, the story is not about the facts. It's about the fear and headlines and what can be made the most salacious and sensational. Hey, the media is big business! They need to earn profits, too. Everyone knows you can't make profits with the facts and truth.
Have you read any history?
God help us.
In no particular order:
Number One:
The Supreme Court decison to let corporations, any and all corporations, spend as much money as the want to buy politicians and elections. I wonder how many people realize that this can be Chinese, Saudi, Indian, German, Japanese, ANY COMPANY ANYWHERE WITH ANY AGENDA as well as U.S. companies?
Oil companies will be able to drill on your property. Hell, they'll be able to take you property! Coal companies will be able to strip mine you favorite vacation spot and dump waste into the rivers and lakes that provide your drinking water. They'll be able to build power stations in you neighborhood and NOT need to worry about pollution controls. Just imagine your kids having to wear gas masks to breathe.
Yum foods will be stocking your kids cafeterias with high sugar, high fat, artificially colored, flavored and preservative loaded snack foods. No worries! At least they'll be fat, happy and need treatment for diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity by the time they're fifteen.
That'll keep the healthcare companies doing booming business! As long as you fork over half of your paycheck every month to the insurance companies, you can get every medication under the sun.
The other half of you pay will go to banks and credit card companies. They'll be able to increase interest rates and tack on fees for everything from using an ATM card to sneezing. You'll need to use one credit card to pay another. You'll need to dig cans and bottles out of garbage cans to have any money for food.
It's all good, though! the Supreme Court is always right. Right?
Number Two:
The Democrats are doing their customary cowering, cringing and kowtowing to the Republicans. Despite months of polls showing that most Americans want healthcare reform, the Dems are now wanting to "think" about it a little longer. They want to slw down a process that has been fifty years and twleve months in the making. They want to "wait" and get it perfect before they act. They want to include the Republicans in the discussion.
Who are they supposed to be serving? The American people? The majority? The millions that gave millions in campaign donations and time and sweat and tears? Apparently not. Apparently they are serving the minority and the Republicans.
Number Three:
Chickens with no heads. The Democrats are in such a panic over the election in MA, that they have turned into deer caught in headlights. Again. They are frozen with fear and trembling. They are quivering in the corner, too afraid to move their collective asses. And this is over a very poorly run campaign that just about anyone would have lost. The Senate seat waas lost by Coakley, not won by Brown.
Learn from it and do better next time. Don't hide under the bed!
Number Four:
The Media. As usual, the story is not about the facts. It's about the fear and headlines and what can be made the most salacious and sensational. Hey, the media is big business! They need to earn profits, too. Everyone knows you can't make profits with the facts and truth.
Have you read any history?
God help us.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Oops, They've Done it Again!
I'm really, really sad I wasn't able to get anyone to take my bet last November. It was a bet on how long it would take the Democrats to shoot themselves in both feet. Not one foot, two. I said one year after the inauguration, 365 days. I would have won, hands down.
I'm going to site only a couple of things and in no particular order:
The Democrats don't seem to be able to find their way out of a wet paper bag with a map, GPS and a box cutter. They just don't seem to know what to do when they have the power to do something. They don't seem to be able to remember that they've done this before. Oops...
Bloody idiots.
I'm going to site only a couple of things and in no particular order:
- The race to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. It should have been a no-brainer. Well, the Democrats left their brains and any common sense they might own at home and have handed the seat to a very scary Republican. Was everyone on vacation? Did no-one notice what was happening?
- On top of that, the blame game started before the polls closed, loudly and publicly. What are they thinking??? Oops, I forgot, brains and good sense left at home.
- The health care reform bill - where does one start? For the first time in, oh, many years, the Democrats had the golden triangle - White House, super majority in the Senate and a huge majority in the House. One might think they'd get something done that would do the people of this country some good, right? Nope. Screw the people out here that are getting sicker, getting more broke, getting dead. They bickered and whined and played "mine is bigger than everyone else's" games, frittering away the opportunity to DO SOMETHING. Brains and sense no-where in sight.
- The Democrats stand by and let attack after attack by the GOP go by without response, or coherent reponse. They try to shut down anyone in their party that is willing and able to stand up for the truth and say it.
- Finance reform - not happening yet and probably never will. And, the news that Dodd wants to dismantle the CPA is downright scary.
- Mortgage relief - Let's give a whole bunch of money to big banks and not ask for any accounting. I don't care if TARP was put in by Bush or not. Change the rules or get the money back or shut them down. Make sure the banks do what they were supposed to do with the money, not pay huge bounses or buy other banks.
- Pollution - stop calling it global warming if you don't think people believe it. The big businesses on the right are going to campaign like crazy the global warming isn't real. Instead, call it POLLUTION. It's pollution that makes the children sick. It's pollution that contaminates drinking water. It's pollution that makes the air so thick and toxic that we cough and wheeze and have "Spare the Air" days that force the old and kids with asthma stay indoors. It's pollution that makes our food crops inedible. It's pollution that gives fish mercury levels so hight that eating it will sicken us and our kids.
The Democrats don't seem to be able to find their way out of a wet paper bag with a map, GPS and a box cutter. They just don't seem to know what to do when they have the power to do something. They don't seem to be able to remember that they've done this before. Oops...
Bloody idiots.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Lies and the Media That Repeat Them Just Because They Sound Good
I am watching Countdown on MSNBC and one of the first stories tonight was about the flat out LIE about 9/11 Rudy Giuliani decided to tell in his interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America. Good old George, who seems to be more about promoting himself and earning big bucks, let the lie slide. He did nothing to question it until the hue and cry went up on the internets and other places. We got a "my bad", which is, actually, more than we normally get when the talking heads allow or even repeat the lies their (paying) guests tell during so-called interviews.
Eric Burns from Media Matters was a guest on Countdown and he said said the interviewers (I really can't call most of them journalists, since their ambition for fame and fortune made them the whores of the airwaves long ago) had a responsibilty to be nice to the guests and get to the truth.
Even though he did say there was a need to get to the truth, it wasn't the emphasis.
I believe the media and journalists, reporters, editors, producers primary responisbility is the TRUTH in bold capital letters. Responsible reporting, including fact checking, is second. A distant third is to be civil, not nice, to the guest or interviewed party. If the person(s) being interviewed is willing to tell lies, especially knowingly, they do not deserve niceness in any way. This telling of lies, especially on national TV, is reprehensible and does a huge diservice to the country and the American people.
The media's willingness to repeat the lies and replicate them without challenging them across programs and networks is telling lies. It is not reporting the facts. It is not journalism. It is lying. Period. I hope there is a special place in hell for you.
You may get the titillating controversary that will bring in viewers or sell papers when you spread the lies, but the interviewer who stands up and challenges the liar would earn a huge spotlight for doing so. I'm sure your next paycheck will help you sleep and make you happy, but- try to think about it.
Eric Burns from Media Matters was a guest on Countdown and he said said the interviewers (I really can't call most of them journalists, since their ambition for fame and fortune made them the whores of the airwaves long ago) had a responsibilty to be nice to the guests and get to the truth.
Even though he did say there was a need to get to the truth, it wasn't the emphasis.
I believe the media and journalists, reporters, editors, producers primary responisbility is the TRUTH in bold capital letters. Responsible reporting, including fact checking, is second. A distant third is to be civil, not nice, to the guest or interviewed party. If the person(s) being interviewed is willing to tell lies, especially knowingly, they do not deserve niceness in any way. This telling of lies, especially on national TV, is reprehensible and does a huge diservice to the country and the American people.
The media's willingness to repeat the lies and replicate them without challenging them across programs and networks is telling lies. It is not reporting the facts. It is not journalism. It is lying. Period. I hope there is a special place in hell for you.
You may get the titillating controversary that will bring in viewers or sell papers when you spread the lies, but the interviewer who stands up and challenges the liar would earn a huge spotlight for doing so. I'm sure your next paycheck will help you sleep and make you happy, but- try to think about it.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Rush Loves Health Care in the USA!
Well, isn’t it good news? Rush Limbaugh has declared the USA has the best health care in the world and nothing about it should be changed. He should know.
Mr. Limbaugh was recently rushed to the hospital with chest pains that were just like a heart attack. After a battery of tests, the doctors declared that it wasn’t a heart attack. As a matter of fact, they couldn’t find the cause. He should be pleased. He didn’t have a heart attack or any other life threatening condition. Health care in the USA triumphs!
Isn’t it amazing what $33,000,000 a year in pay can buy? Please note that I am quoting the lower end of his annual earnings estimates I’ve been able to find. One was as high as $50M.
For $33M per year, Mr. Limbaugh can buy the best care in the world many times over. He can get the best doctors, emergency transportation, hospitals without thought or care about how he might pay for it. I don’t know if he has insurance. Maybe he does. Even if it’s a high deductible insurance, I’m sure the premiums are not too burdensome for him.
Even with half, or quarter, that amount in income, Mr. Limbaugh would have more than enough to cover any healthcare costs he might have.
Were we all in such circumstances, we would have no need for reform either. If we all had insurance or could afford the premiums or have access to first class care, we would none of us need reform. If only.
I wonder when Mr. Limbaugh last had to worry about whether to pay for a doctor or pay the rent. I wonder when Mr. Limbaugh last needed to decide if he could afford to buy his cholesterol medication or antibiotics or whatever prescription he might be taking instead of food. I wonder when Mr. Limbaugh last had to choose between vaccinating his children against deadly childhood diseases or putting gas in the car so that he could get to work every day. I wonder if Mr. Limbaugh has ever had to make these choices.
If these were choices that didn’t need to be made by millions of people daily in this country, we wouldn’t need healthcare reform. But people need to make the choices. People get sicker and die every day across this nation because they have to make those choices. They need healthcare reform, no matter what Mr. Limbaugh thinks.
Mr. Limbaugh was recently rushed to the hospital with chest pains that were just like a heart attack. After a battery of tests, the doctors declared that it wasn’t a heart attack. As a matter of fact, they couldn’t find the cause. He should be pleased. He didn’t have a heart attack or any other life threatening condition. Health care in the USA triumphs!
Isn’t it amazing what $33,000,000 a year in pay can buy? Please note that I am quoting the lower end of his annual earnings estimates I’ve been able to find. One was as high as $50M.
For $33M per year, Mr. Limbaugh can buy the best care in the world many times over. He can get the best doctors, emergency transportation, hospitals without thought or care about how he might pay for it. I don’t know if he has insurance. Maybe he does. Even if it’s a high deductible insurance, I’m sure the premiums are not too burdensome for him.
Even with half, or quarter, that amount in income, Mr. Limbaugh would have more than enough to cover any healthcare costs he might have.
Were we all in such circumstances, we would have no need for reform either. If we all had insurance or could afford the premiums or have access to first class care, we would none of us need reform. If only.
I wonder when Mr. Limbaugh last had to worry about whether to pay for a doctor or pay the rent. I wonder when Mr. Limbaugh last needed to decide if he could afford to buy his cholesterol medication or antibiotics or whatever prescription he might be taking instead of food. I wonder when Mr. Limbaugh last had to choose between vaccinating his children against deadly childhood diseases or putting gas in the car so that he could get to work every day. I wonder if Mr. Limbaugh has ever had to make these choices.
If these were choices that didn’t need to be made by millions of people daily in this country, we wouldn’t need healthcare reform. But people need to make the choices. People get sicker and die every day across this nation because they have to make those choices. They need healthcare reform, no matter what Mr. Limbaugh thinks.
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