Public Speaking - Me Too and beyond

   I would like to say that I cannot even begin to fathom what it's like to be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace.  But I can.  To the extent that some have tragically had to face, no. But traumatic none the less, especially as it was piled atop a personal history of being a victim of sexual assault.

  In my teens, I worked part time in a discount retail establishment.  My boss/manager, Mrs. Farrow, had a husband who would just show up out of the blue or accompany her on her occasional Saturdays in the store. Let me say that "Pete" truly epitomized the 'hands on' work ethic.  There wasn't a single time when I was doing receiving work in the back room that he didn't come in there and need to lean over me, into me, or what I termed an "oops sorry" aka he let his hands slide against the top I was wearing, in the purported attempt to reach something that was just above me. Thankfully, this is the furthest it ever went for me but, sadly for others it has been worse and often times to degradation and denigrating levels.

 

   The Me-Too campaign, has shown a bright light onto this issue, affixing it permanently upon the decades of abuse that women and men have undergone in seeking to obtain work, keep their jobs, or progress forward in their careers.  Actors in tinsel-town have come forward with their own stories of the proverbial casting couches or similar types of events and the retribution and retaliation that has been shoved out there for those who did not comply.  This is not anything new. 

  This, as in other workplace areas, has indeed been going on for decades and those who knew but did not speak up, are complicit.  Yes, I understand the need "to keep working" and "hang onto" one's job.  But to know of abuse and say nothing; to know of rape, manipulation or coercion using sex (also rape) and to say nothing makes one duplicitous and a party to the crime(s) committed.  It's no different than the atrocious silence of the Catholic bishops in in the face of similar actions by clergy and religious. Where are the jokes now?  Hopefully hidden and demolished for this should NEVER EVER be fodder. Nor should it ever be used as a headline grabber. If we're going to abhor said actions we need to abhor all of them wherever they may be and shine light exposing the trolls to the light of day.  We can no longer sweep any of it under the rug or swoosh it away with a defense of "locker room" talk. 

  

   Whether it's a business professional, shop keeper, restauranteur, clergy, doctor, lawyer, or studio chief, it's time that this drama, this play, this tragedy, have the curtain come down - finally and completely.  Victims have to approach the situation as best they feel able to deal with it, when they are comfortable confronting it. But to be witness, to know that such perversities and abuse are occurring and staying silent in the face of potentially more victims is just as reprehensible and renders one equally as complicit and culpable. For goodness sake, as least give someone a clue, a heads-up, or an admonition of treading carefully. Don't roll out the red carpet for trolls, yank it out from under them.

  Let's Have a Dialog.

Let Freedom Ring

What the heck is going on; patriotism litmus tests and star spangled pissing contests? I was taught to stand for the anthem, to recite the pledge, and to honor those who put themselves in harm's way while on Uncle Sam's dime. But I was also taught history and the Constitution and just how sacred and rare are our rights. Dissenting from policies, practices, rhetoric, and such is as American as apple pie. The Declaration of Independence is a treatise of dissent.

Do you ...know that to protest or voice dissent in other countries can get you killed, jailed, or thrown out of the country. While some may be for that now, would you have been so eager to be 'removed' if one's protests against President Obama resulted in your being removed? I'm not touting one theory, political platform or another just saying that if you oppose dissent and speaking out against the president etc.. does that then apply across the board to the presidents with whom you disagree, distrust, or disavow? Should your dissent from them, render you less of an American cause you to be arrested or lambasted in the press, or even fired from your job?

Stop celebrating division! We are a united states, not a divided states. Remember some folks tend to make a LOT ... A LOT of money from our upset, our fears, our angst towards our fellow countrymen - simply because they have convoluted and twisted the freedoms we all enjoy and are entitled to, into their perverted and twisted ideas to make a buck by exploiting our love for our country and those who put themselves in harms way at Uncle Sam's behest.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Yes, I'll take a knee to pray for America. Yes, I will still stand for the anthem, the flag, and honor those in service to us all. But yes, I will also take a stand to support my fellow citizens' right to exercise their constitutional rights. I may not have worn my country's uniform, but it still the job of all of us to defend her and her ideals.

Let's Have a Dialog 

A Lot Has Been Said

A lot has been said in the press.  A lot has been said on social media, including this writer's blog. So let us not mince words, split hairs, or continue to call this person or that group out for a presumed lack of what we deem an adequate response and solely deal with ourselves.  

Yes, I know. I saw the photos, read the tweets, scanned the various reports, and was jumping on the bandwagon but my son-in-law brought up a point that zeroed it all in for me... when whatever time comes for me - for all of us really  - we won't be asked what this person or that person did in response the devastating plights that befall us (either nature or manmade) we will be asked, "what did YOU do?"   There is no more statement, in my view, that hits more pointedly and poignantly.  

By that same token and with that same self questioning and examination of conscience stance, in terms of accepting our fellow human being for who they are, where they are, etc, the same question could be asked, "What did YOU do?"

In terms of the former query if we answer, "well I bitched them out. I let everyone know that so and so was a charlatan or showboat - seeking to get something out of the moment without giving and helping for the moment." I don't think that will fall under an appropriate response or one that the gates of Heaven would want to hear. 

So how about with the righteous or self-righteous accounting for how we have treated our community neighbor, the stranger, the immigrant, the refugee, the person with health issues, the person who's homeless or at the street corner continually begging for 'anything'.  Are we really going to feel comfortable answering with, "well, look, I knew that <fill in the blank>  was not a righteous person, you could tell from how they looked, what their name is, where they came from, whether they showed patriotism, where they worship, if they do , whom they love, their attitude, their skin color, their house or lack thereof, their stature or material wealth." WE aren't supposed to be the ones who decide another's worthiness.    WE are supposed to DO unto others not DENY unto others.

This doesn't mean that atrocities and devastation when followed-up on with a seeming lack of empathy, sympathy, and assistance shouldn't be reported, called out, and made known. Rather, it means that our response should not be sitting on our hind ends and joining a bandwagon of waiting for someone else to act in a very public way so as to please OUR view of what is respectful and proper. Instead, wouldn't it be better if took the lead and responded with, "how can I help?" and then helping? Then leave it at that and move on back to doing what we were doing before we were called upon to exercise our faith and our humanity.  

Karma doesn't need our help. Karma finds it's own way and in it's own time. When things are quite public to begin with Karma is usually served with a fanfare that doesn't need any other trumpet and that sometimes is in the form of a public shaming. But overall, I'm content to wait for that show - and in the mean time do my best to make sure my own glass house is in good order.

Let's Have a Dialog.

A Busy Week

It's been a busy week! To quote Irene Ryan's character from TV's "The Beverly Hillbillies", What in tarnation has been happening? Perhaps the absolute biggest news of the week has to do with the thunderous storms over and near our southern border.  And then there was Hurricane Harvey too! 

Within the next several days, September 5th to be exact, congress returns from their summer break.  So, what's to be done?  There is talk of impeachment and while I don't doubt the sincerity of the congressional representative involved, will others enjoin with him and make this a solid front not just as a voice of opposition or a wall of partisan defiance. Oh my goodness, ladies and gentlemen, I surely hope there is a unison of fervor to end the charade and absurdity that has occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the last several months.  

I duly and fully believe in giving someone a chance to prove themselves; even when I greatly disagree with them.  I try to respect the office and that it's occupied, even if I do not care for the occupant by any stretch of the imagination.  But while I do respect the office and I would do my parents proud in remembering that aspect of my upbringing, the thought, idea, and reality of who is in that office and what he is doing to it and within it is enough to make me ask for syrup of ipecac and claim the commode as mine for the weekend.  It seems, via various reports, that there are folks in positions of responsibility in Washington DC that have the same reaction that I am having and question not only competence but sanity.  So again I ask, what's to be done?

Surely as a nation, we should not have to continue enduring this travesty. So in here and in comments to various politicos to whom I share this blog I ask, beg, plead, offer my first born.. DO SOMETHING other than sitting back and waiting for others to act. Because if you do just sit back, then nothing will stop the travesty.  Stop waiting for further catastrophic actions before you do you job and either impeach him or invoke the 25th amendment! Uphold the oath you took to defend this country from all enemies foreign and domestic. For you and for all of us there is recourse, legally. So how many of you former prosecutors would allow this to go on in your town if you were the D.A.?  How many of you would allow this if it were one of your staff members?  How many of you would allow this to continue if the occupier of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue were not Mr. Trump but instead was Hillary Clinton ? C'mon you know the answer to that; you'd be chomping at the bit to join the throng, running to get on board the bandwagon, and practically throwing each other to the curb to be 'the first' in drafting requisite documents thereby believing that you'd just secured your reelection for decades.  Well, if it helps any, picture Mr. Trump in a little red dress and DO SOMETHING.

If his actions regarding Sheriff Joe and the pardon aren't enough.  If his reaction and then retraction regarding Charlottesville isn't enough.  If his grasping at tweets and desire to grab at twats isn't enough.  Perhaps his admonition of "Good luck to them",  to the residents and business of South Texas Coast with the then impending landfall of Hurricane Harvey, will be.  

Let's Have a Dialog

And So I Write

I am a writer.  At least that is how I present myself, and in many ways how I see myself.  If someone were to ask me point blank, "what do you do?" without hesitation I'd say,  I'm a writer. If they were to ask me to elaborate, I'd inform them that I am an author ... a published one at that. If they were to push the point further, I'd let them know resoundingly that an artist should never edit their own material and what they may read of mine, may be missing some decent editing.  Usually, folks stop there.  Sometimes, however, they continue and ask what is it I write or wrote and had published?  When I inform them "poetry, prose, love letters" the few that hung on find a way to stop the conversation right there.  Is sentimentality so out of fashion that is now a brick wall?   And so I write ...


In my quiver of written materials I can pull out a short story or two in process.  I can also pull out my book, which has been retooled and reworked, the punctuation is much cleaner!  I can pull out articles, blog posts, and a compilation of spirituality based brief short stories. I can pull out songs -- a successful lyricist I am not ... but I still write.   I have the startings of a screenplay .. but I get bored with myself and need someone to feed off of when script writing.  I have the treatment for a television series penned as well, well at least the characters and plotlines for 10-13 episodes .. that too needs a partner. I can pull out editorials or columns if you will.  At times something stirs my chassis and I put pen to paper while channelling Molly Ivins or Mike Royko.  I have a series of childrens books geared for preschool to 1st-2nd grade and a second one wanting to be "in the works" ... but since I've not been fortunate enough to imbue in literary agents the same vision for the children's series that I see ... that one set that is wanting to be in the works, sits and waits, although I still have one that is complete and able to be adjusted.  I'm not giving up, mind you, nor throwing in the towel; I just don't know what steps to do next to get these things sold, published, republished, or interest gathered.  And so I write ...

I used to act.  I attended the American National Academy of Performing Arts in Studio City, CA with Francis Lederer leading the "troupe" of thespians, who included academy award winner Helen Hunt and Diane Lane.  I've been blessed to perform with simply marvelous professional actors one Summer years ago, in a repertory company. I attended acting workshops lead by Director's Guild of America members.  I attended filmings/video tapings of a television show so often that one of the exec. producers invited me to audition for an upcoming spot.  I don't know to this day why I said no, maybe I didn't trust my abilities to leave others "in the dust".   Years ago I was given an admonition to "be a star".  On stage and in front of camera .. I thought I was destined. Behind the camera, I thought I'd have a better shot.  Sometimes this all causes me to think again.  And so I write ...

I've been told that I'm too political.  Ok. But if it means I am political because I point it out when people choose to knock someone down or denigrate their fellow planet inhabitant, instead of lifting the person up - then I'll guess I'll have to settle for being political. And so I write ...

I've been told that I need to keep things tamped down and to not interfere with specific job prospects. Well, I can be tactful and I can be diplomatic, but when confronted with a load of crap, I have a tendency to warn others to be careful that they too don't step in it.  And so I write ...

This is what happens when someone doesn't put me to work.  And so I write ...

Let's Have a Dialog

A Behemoth's Resurrection

Yesterday, I witnessed a miracle.  What less than 10 years ago was a seemingly done for structure, one that was long since abandoned to the mercy of time, mother nature, and begging for the wrecking ball for the eyesore that it had become, is now a structure standing tall, proud, and saved from the landfill and recyclables construction heap.  What was once a vital, essential, and definitive slice of American commerce is back again, not with the same name or sponsorship but with new seed that was well sowed in greatly fertile ground and is a great homage to the many people who dedicated their lives and work efforts in that building for so many decades.

The Sears Crosstown Building in Memphis, Tennessee is one of several Catalog/Retail/Warehouse distribution centers designed by George Nimmons in the first half of the 20th century. While the Sears Center has long since closed and corporate changes have adjusted the method by which business is currently done, splitting up and relocating operations elsewhere, the building itself remains a vital landmark and parcel of real estate within the city's footprint. Many cities which have similar behemoths have also seen a revitalization and repurposing of the buildings, but from what I have been able to find out, nothing on this magnitude and to this extent has been so successfully undertaken. Not only has the structure been transformed, but so has the community around it.

Over seven hundred permanent jobs will have been created when everything is completed.  The building, which was in a condition that epitomized deplorable abandonment and was written off just eight years ago, underwent an astounding and monumental transformation thanks to the vision, foresightedness, and hard work of several individuals. The reborn structure is at 96% occupancy and property values in the surrounding business district and residential neighborhoods have markedly increased. The whole community has been resurrected.  The newly dedicated and grandly opened, Crosstown Concourse is a well thought out and planned microcosm of the city in which she resides containing residences, shops, restaurants, medical and banking facilities, corporate business offices of large scale corporations, a microbrewery, FedEx office services, a health and wellness education center, a broadcasting center, an art gallery, and a theatre, which in the process of being added. The YMCA has set up health club facilities and a school will be added with grant money having just been approved. 

It is phenomenal, both the undertaking and the results. That doors just seemed to start opening, against all odds, and that well established groups were ready to jump on board, to me, is proof not only that it was destined to be, but so very much needed to be.  This miracle and success of all this, is a far cry from the horrific events,which occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia and clearly shows to all what can be accomplished when people from all backgrounds work together for the common good and especially when supported by government and private corporations.  Investment, as a whole in the people, the processes, and the posterity, works! As for the community, it's where America lives, works, and shops.

Let's Have a Dialog.

Just Maybe ...

Just Maybe I could accept that "he" doesn't understand the gravity of what he said, if he hadn't doubled down 48 hours later to the horror of many (all of us really, but at this point - his fellow republicans). 

Can you imagine the 'party of Lincoln' being equated with a lynch mob, a mob of clansmen aligned with the very ideologies and beliefs of the marauder who assassinated him in April 1865?

Just Maybe I could accept his protestations about the need to protect history and culture if he didn't embellished and spread widely debunked theories as fact.  

Can you imagine the reaction if the need to protect history evolved into including the erecting of a statue of Benedict Arnold at West Point?  (Benedict Arnold tried to sell West Point to the British  during the Revolutionary War). How about we turn the tables a bit and erect Union Army statues in the south?  General Sherman's statue could be in Altanta. How about a joint statue.. one of Ulysses S Grant accepting Robert E Lee's surrender at Appomattox?  

Just Maybe there are "some very fine people" but I seriously and most definitely doubt that. Very fine people don't hide caches of weaponry at specific points in someone elses town, in areas with high minority populations - all for the purpose of terrorizing the residents, the church/temple goers.  Very fine people do not sit back on their little sacks of shit with smug attitudes vowing not only to return but promising more death. And Very Fine People do not try to put forth and create a pogrom - their own version of Kristallnacht (night of broken glass - November 1938) intimidating, instilling fear, and absolute horror in those who come to pray and work for peace.

Can you imagine if all those in business who bested Donald Trump in  deals, acquisitions etc.. showed up at Trump Tower and all the other Trump owned/managed properties with similar gear, chanting their victory and vowing more of the same. And in that, included copies of his tax forms - freely distributed to ALL the media?  Oh my heaven, the national debt could be completely erased from the sale of tickets to that event!

Just Maybe - taking down the statues of those who in the mid 19th century were 'sworn enemies' of the Union- vowing to defeat her at ALL costs is in realty actually making sure that there are NEVER ANY memorials in this country of those who sought to do the same on that horrible day in September, 136 years later.

Let's Have a Dialog

Isosoceles It's Not.

Today, I saw the first line of an op-ed and went no further. The topic sentence, as it was or is written, was enough to tell me the crux of the opinion in writer's argument.  The attempt of persuasion, which appeared in a nationally syndicated newspaper, was undertaken and written to point out that in regards to the presidential commentary in the aftermath of the horrific events in Charlottesville, Virginia, this the second weekend of August. President Donald Trump chose the wrong side when he voiced and tweeted support for the alt-right intimating that things would not have happened like that, if those in defense of civil rights and human rights hadn't shown up to counter the ravings and rantings of hate. There can never be a side to hate, the Klan, or any one person or thing that promotes evil, atrocities, and alarmingly profound ugliness of soul. 

Well folks, I hate to be a pall on anyone else's opinion, after all we all have them, but having a "side" or presuming that idea upon this type of an event demeans and reduces the event, as if ... as if, by some convoluted stretch of the imagination there is at some point a preclusion of rightness, as there "is another side to the story".   No, and not by any stretch of the imagination is there any 'rightness' here and more importantly, there is no "side" to be had, to be stated, or deemed a mitigating factor or defense.  This is pure and unadulterated evil for evil sake! An evilness that was forced to meet eye to eye with those who refused to lie down and be a doormat to the in-person ugliness of hate and demeaning of others, simply because of the color of their skin, their ancestral DNA, the faith they practice, or whom they choose to love.  It's nothing new, but that doesn't make it any less vicious and caustic.  In this past weekend's case, it was also deadly. 

But let's go back to the idea of different sides to the story as is assumed by the current occupier of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  I would like to pose the following questions to him:  Question number one: Did Japan have a side prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Historically, the answer is yes but that point, that side, was not rendered nor delivered to the 'other side' until after the events of that Sunday morning in December of 1941.  Ergo, that there was a "side", it was lost in the deliberate and dastardly event.  Question number two:  Did Timothy McVeigh have a side when he placed a bomb outside the building in Oklahoma City?  How about on September 11, what was the side of the terrorists who took down the twin towers, part of the Pentagon, and who had an additional goal of destruction of what has been described in by some in the golf club circles as "a dump"? 

My point is that some things are so unabashedly evil and deliberately so, that there can be no "side". There can be no point at which evil is given a pass, a mitigating circumstance by which it has permission to act.  There is no side here to take.  There is simply wrongness, evilness, and ugliness at it's absolute worst or best, depending upon your "side".  

Let's Have a Dialog

Utter Contempt

Hurry Hurry Hurry folks, come on down and grab yourself a bottle of Utter Contempt! It's multi-purpose and multi-dimensional.  You can maneuver it, manipulate it, and affix to anything your little heart desires.  Folks, let me tell you this Utter Contempt stuff is pure dynamite; anybody and everybody can use it. And it's for sale at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C.!

Have you ever been in a crowd or a group function and felt like you were completely out of your element and uncomfortable. Well, let me tell you about how Utter Contempt will help!  Sprinkle some around here and there and get folks talking! You can then sit back and watch how the entertainment of it all unfolds before you and suddenly, you're no longer out of place. Folks who've come into contact with it soon will morph into something almost unimaginable.  Your discomfort will soon disappear and with a few well chosen words,(we supply those for you on the back label), you'll soon be lifted up as the do-all, be-all, unending supplier of wisdom and righteousness.

Have you ever wondered what if?  Doesn't matter how the question ends up, simply a "what if" will suffice! Simply grab some Utter Contempt and spread it around, work it real good into the fertile field and holy cow will it ever grow! No longer will you have to suffer not knowing "what if" you'll have answers, you'll have results, and you will have cause and reaction; all because you possess Utter Contempt!

Now, folks, I don't want to completely gild the lily as there are some precautions that must be undertaken if you choose use Utter Contempt freely and without regard. 

First, whether you sprinkle it or spread it ... while you can use it freely, if you use too much there could be disastrous results that affect many, especially yourself and by unforeseen reactions on your part.  Unless that is your overall goal, use Utter Contempt judiciously.

Secondly and quite importantly, do not swallow it and do not attempt to make others swallow it.  The results could be unprecedented. And just as a forethought between you and me, if you have one of those cast iron countenances or constitutions, as some like to describe it, and you can swallow this Utter Contempt be warned, the vomit that comes forth will be like acid and eat away at everything it touches.  

Oh yes, one final thought.. if you CAN swallow it, I don't want anything to do with you.

Let's Have a Dialog

Bullshit Instead of Benevolence

  Yep, let's just call it what it is - bullshit.  I honestly did look for words as descriptive of the measure that was passed yesterday.  I sought to be more polite and tactful, but there is nothing else as well suited as pure and unadulterated bullshit - and with the blessings of those who claim to represent, we the people.  Seems to me that those who passed this should have as their motto "screw the people".

   The replacement of the ACA that was passed by the House yesterday, the AHCA or Trumpcare, is a mockery to we citizens and would better be termed, Chumpcare.  It is abhorent and the antithesis of the Judeo-Christian ethics we as a nation have espoused and touted for decades. While admittedly, the Affordable Care Act was in serious need of tweaking - as are about 90% any federal departments, organizations, or programs.  However, this doesn't mean you completely annihilate it and put an exceedingly poor substitute in it's place.  That's like taking away a child's nutritious dinner and giving him a 25 cent gumball instead. And yes, I know that insurers were pulling out and raising premiums, deductibles, and copays. But the insurance industry doesn't need any excuse to do that - they will anyway and any time it suits them.  That the ACA was in place and it was President Obama's 'baby', simply gave them the proverbial fall guy and those who were against him for all their own reasons, simply used that as fodder to further their own intents.

  In examining what was narrowly passed yesterday, the first thing that comes to my mind in this area of exploration is pre-existing conditions; maybe because it has become the headline for so many articles and news reports.  But there is a reason for that - it is of grave importance; grave is the definitive term.  Moreover, the laundry list of what comes under pre-existing conditions doesn't need a replay here, you can find it anywhere on the net, newspapers, or talk radio. The purpose of this post is not to rehash each and everyone, but the colloquial understanding of what is taking place, or trying to anyway. Genocide. Slow, to some, speedy to others, the genocide nonetheless.  An obliteration of the individuals, families, or groups deemed 'less' or 'sickly'.  It was touted in Eugenics, put in place in the first half of 20th century Germany, and is making a resurgence again in this current metamorphosis.  But don't be fooled, this is exactly what it is.. and they get to keep their hands clean and not held responsible.  Fasten your seatbelts officials, it's going to be a very bumpy ride.

   Let's Have a Dialog.

  

  

Standing Out and Fitting In

 There is a very fine line for individuals who either seek to get ahead in their current position or get to their foot in the door and restart what may have been temporarily tabled or lost amidst a sea of layoff, plant closures, and position consolidation or elimination. Speaking from the experience of both, most currently the latter, maneuvering this fine line is an arduous task for both employees and employers. Employers who stand ready to embrace those who stand out but quite often end up hiring those who will readily and easily fit in. 

  We have become a world of automation in selecting candidates for filling positions. We have employed the use of systems which look for key words and do not have a thesaurus built into the elimination program; at what cost is this?  While, the bottom line may look a bit better as labor hours are not spent combing through resumes or applications for a select few, companies may be missing out on those very people who do stand out.  Yet, it is not just automation and programming for resume parsing that are to blame, it is also the constraints often put upon the intermediaries. There it is again, that invisible line. It exists, not just for the seekers of career progression and attainment, but their cheerleaders also.

  Aside, from the obvious of not seeing the forest for the trees, I wish to put forth the hypothesis that acquiring and retaining quality employees has a conundrum that has two key components. On one side there are diminished educational standards required of secondary and post-secondary graduates that have crept into and are within all phases of the workforce and are often seen in candidates and employees alike. So much so in fact, that those who convey a more erudite style of communication are sometimes viewed with castigation, to the point of elimination - citing aloofness and not fitting in on their record or in their reasoning.   The other side, this other component, are those who are outside the box of conventional mindsets for growth within their careers let alone as potential employees. Those outside the box may be a bit older than the interviewer or beyond the average age of their employees. Perhaps their skills are a bit obsolete, or perhaps the personality or physical appearance is not quite what a employer has pictured for a given position. Sadly, there are also those who simply do not wish to be beleaguered by a potential state of discomfort i.e. moving someone onward and upward from a position done relatively well only to have to bring in someone completely new and re-employing the circular thinking; will the new person fit in, stand out, etc. The juxtaposition is almost mindboggling and creates in real time the dichotomous idiom for both employer and employee of being between a rock and a hard-place.

   Let's Have a Dialog

If It Were Up to Me

    What a way to start a dialog! How many times in the course of a conversation between groups of people, of any number, have you heard someone say that? Perhaps that someone who uttered the query was you yourself.  In keeping with that, right now, it is my turn and my targets are topics that are political in nature.  I suppose the recent bipartisan road trip of two congressmen this past week has inspired me and I'd suggest that you blame them should I post something you don't like or take offense to, but I won't do that; these thoughts and meanderings are of my own making, here goes.

    Student Loans:  If the people who owe money on student loans are without work, through no fault of their own or because of extenuating circumstances and this has happened at least one other time in the previous 5 years, let the borrower apply to have them completely forgiven.  The national debt isn't going to be affected that much. And to those who say it will, if deed it is, then we'll recover. But why saddle on the backs of folks who are already burdened most likely with profound financial circumstances this extra weight? Should they work it off? Ok, how about if they volunteer for 10hrs a week for 6 -12 months in exchange for that payoff? Volunteer with the VA, with after school tutoring programs, or similar; needed and necessary work gets done and the burden of debt is removed.

     Healthcare:  Ok, here's one for you - I think that the healthcare of our population should not be a part of the health budget but rather I think it should be considered part of national defense.  Remember the talks of biological warfare?  How about the noncombatant chatter of "superbugs"?  If another country tried to point weapons against us or invade our military would be all over them.  Why wouldn't it be the same for biological issues?  How do we know where they are coming from? How and who they will affect?  Ok, so now that the idea of putting it in the budget of national defense is out here in conversation, what all should be covered, well person care, regardless of age, aka preventative care?  How about palliative care?  What if the basics were covered.. 2 MD visits a year, 3 if you've a chronic condition. You'd be allowed one ER visit a year, up to 72 hrs as in inpatient, and of course prenatal and maternity; all of them paid, as well as requisite medications necessary for one's health. THEN, let employers, insurance marketplaces etc.. battle it out, market all to heck additional coverages.  This way you can at least keep a slight handle on the basics and perhaps head off anything catastrophic. Furthermore regarding prescriptions, what the medications are and what they are for should not fall into any particular  category - they're simply prescribed medications. To categorize them or denote any special quality to what they are or for whom would violate privacy and HIPAA laws anyway, so take anything of the table that would give that denotation.  It's no one's business what an individual takes or for what. Conditions that require medication that might designate disability or workability would require tweaking, but again, I am talking basics here.  Additionally, if prescribed and necessary medications can dispensed relatively cheaply in foreign lands, they can be equally dispensed in the same way here. 

   Let's turn these monstrously for profit industries into true service industries and adjust pay accordingly. Then, we can sit back and watch minimum wages rise. :)

    Let's have a dialog.
    

Sojourn of Difference

  It is not unusual, too much, for areas of our country to get inundated with snows in March; often times at least area of the country gets whollopped with climactic events of seemingly monstrous proportions.  The really nice aspect of these potentially treacherous events s that they can often times bring out great ingenuity in folks.  This most recent one was no different and the actions of two drew the attentions of thousands.

  Congressman Will Hurd and Congressman Beto O'Rourke, both representatives of the great state of Texas, were in their home state when a blizzard hit the east coast and our nation's capitol affecting their ability to return to Congress where their presence was needed to cast votes on key issues. 

   With airline flights being cancelled by the hundreds to locations from Maine to south of Washington DC, the two of them decided to join together, rent a car, and drive back to work. They knew it'd be a very long drive but while they drove they could discuss their differences, debate as necessary, and show that a democrat and a republican could work together to accomplish a goal; in the current climate of political polarization the importance of the latter becomes heightened. To highlight and ramp up that significance, they decided to livestream their sixteen hundred mile sojourn through social media and accomplish other goals as well. They would show that they could disagree without being disagreeable - the ultimate in bipartisanship. Yet, they didn't stop there. they utilized this very same social media in accepting questions, suggestions, and ideas on topics to discuss and even where to eat or what music to listen to, all done while traversing the highways and byways on their trip; it was followed and tracked by thousands. They created a mobile town hall bringing the Congress to the people. Genius!    And it was in bringing together anyone and everyone into their journey that they accomplished this historic feat. Moreover, their amity in working together and compromising in resolving problems - not only provided an example but  spawned a burgeoning desire for all of us especially both houses of Congress to emulate the example they displayed. These gentlemen, whether they are fully aware or not, taught a very valuable lesson, even from a donut shop at 11 o'clock at night.

   There are people who want to be heard by someone in authority, and without having to hand overt oodles of cash (that they may not have at their disposal) for dinners that will might garner them 5 -10 minutes of time. Folks, who are seemingly inconsequential unless it's election time or people who may feel as if no one listens to them, which oftentimes, is sadly true. Do these folks need resolution? Sometimes, yes they do, but what is more important is that they are heard or that points that they feel need to be made, are addressed and that someone who is in an effecting position gives them that opportunity. These congressmen, by their actions accomplished just that.  They made everyone, on your sojourn, part of their constituency. They didn't talk down to anyone. They didn't seek to flex governmental muscle or show importance with high profile name dropping. They weren't there for show. They were there because it was enroute to a much needed goal and why not use what initially may have been viewed as an imposition of time, to accomplish something meaningful.

   Like my fellow citizens, let's have a dialog.