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Monthly Archives: October 2010

Much Ado about Something


During the past year the local and National political incumbents and aspirants are pounding the water lines of their opponents with semi truths, outright lies and innuendos that tell nothing about the candidate. We think we know about the incumbents but in spite of what we think we know , we know nothing. Politics is a nastier business than some wars, the casualty rate is just as high and the overall body count in wounded is extensive. To assess the true worth of a candidate is nearly impossible as the public face is not the same as the private one. There may never be a way to get a true idea of who a candidate is or what they are about about however a measurement we can use is how few lies they tell about their opponent. This may noe be scientific but  along with

Racism as a Tool


The current wave of so-called Racist remarks by an assortment of organizations political and non political have all but shut off any reasonable dialogue that would enable this country to move forward in a positive manner. Each of us is opposed to something or someone due to natural selection or conscious acceptance. When anyone reads a letter to the editor , an opinion by a known pundit or news presenter, there is always an opposing opinion or notion about what was said or written. We as people have by nature the ability to learn and think on an individual basis yet many of us continue follow a group mentality because it is convenient and easy. No one person can remedy, alter or remove the innate or learned biases but each individual can remedy themselves by getting the real facts and information on other races, religions and cultures. This does not mean that you have to accept any of those other facets of humanity, it only means that you are willing to understand and accept the differences without bias or negativity. This common act is uncommon now on a large-scale and was uncommon earlier in our history. Politicians and nationally known people have for centuries used bias as a tool to wage wars, harm humanity while fulfilling their own needs. Occasionally an organization appears that purposely works to upend that type of thinking but is battered due to their public face speaking the words that show that they (the public face) have not risen above the ordinary and should not be in that position. This racial, religious and social divide will be the ultimate downfall of humanity if left unchecked and it can  only be checked by the common men and women of the world who are willing to rise above the fray created by biases based on race, religion and public status.

People Revolt


Recently a local “profiteering” non profit was handed a mandate from its employes in the form of resounding yes vote for the formation of a union. The basis for this was the maltreatment of it workers through handing the reins of the organization to a person who had no clue of the workings of the staff ,save a few who were merely “yes” people and looking to advance their own causes. In spite of the regular conversations about the improper use of “power” the CEO continued to allow this rogue leadership to go on. Now the workers have stood up and said “no More”, the day of reckoning came at the cost of 30 positions that were eliminated to try and dilute the voting pool. The end result of all this was management cajoled, threatened, promised and finally blitzed the workers with lies and ennuendo which was sorely resented by all (even by uninvolved) workers. This is an organization that serves preschool children and their parents who were failed by upper management’s insensitivities to their plight and needs while the CEO fiddled.

Political Poop


We all are aware (or should be) that our Congress is full of fallen idols, empirical officials and generally (seemingly) honorable people that we have “pedestalized”. The recent flap about Mr. Rangel is nothing new but it has allowed the opposing party to go on the attack to oust him and embarrass the other party. All of this high profile information is designed not to inform the public but denigrate the good works by this Congressman. It is true that he should be punished for any wrong doing on his behalf but this should not be used as a way to sway voters from one party to the other. Each of the major parties has failed the voters and these very public outpourings to garner votes is an indication of the poor representation they have provided to the voting public while possibly committing the same kinds of transgressions in some fashion. Lets remember some past political luminaries who have fallen and now are attempting to creep back in favor with the same innuendo and pot shots that offer no real information or substance to support their positions. The political establishment is peppered with poor representatives who under the guise of public service are only serving themselves.
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Democracy


Democracy has come to Head Start! The employees of the Head Start program have issued a resounding yes to having union representation. The Springfield Urban League (grant administrator) “terminated” 200 plus employees in June in order to save the money that would have been paid towards the COBRA of normally “laid off” workers. The US Health care bill mandated that employers who lay workers off will have pay a portion of their COBRA, the Urban league skirted that issue by terminating the employees then saying that this was normal practice. The normal practice has always been been a “layoff” of 9 month employees. The League then began a campaign of ridding themselves of vocal employees and dissidents. Once management was notified that the employees had petitioned to have union representation, the war began. They (management) not so systematically eliminated as many job titles as possible to dilute the voting pool. The next step was the campaign of words, which for the most part were untrue and threatening. This barrage of words and actions served to consolidate the workers into a solid block for unionization. This past week the election results showed that democracy lives in Springfield, at least at Head Start.

“N”


The “N” word. This single word has sparked riots, written essays, song lyrics and more than a little discomfort when used. The recent uproar over its use by a radio personality has shown that the word evokes a powerful response when spoken except among the “homies” who use it at once as a insult and homily to it’s users peers. The idea that now well known failed politician and  conservative speech maker, Sara Palin has jumped on the bandwagon of so called First amendment rights shows that as a country America has made some progress (backwards). Dr  Laura Schlessinger (a Physiologist) has been advising callers on national radio has taken upon herself to posit on the use of a word that is offensive to many people of all colors,