A friend came by Saturday. He'd been trying to find a phone number in the AT&T Yellow Pages from a city where he (but not I) lives. He knew the business exists, because another similar merchant had referred him. I looked in the Yellow Pages for my little city. Similar results. Same for Yellow Book, a Yellow Pages competitor. They frequently come through when Yellow Pages fails.
I commented on the uselessness of the new trend in phone books -- covering only your own small scrap of space, instead of the previous phone books covering the entire metropolitan area.
"Yeah, they expect everyone to go online for everything, but if you can't be on the internet, that's too bad."
This reminded me of an article I started a couple of weeks ago but never finished. It's about how the business world controls buying and selling by their individual versions of gouging the public.
For instance, if we want a complete listing of phone numbers even for just our own cities, we must have internet service. To heck with someone who can't afford internet. Of course one can go to the library and get an hour of borrowed time, but how often can people make that trip? And if they go, do they have transportation? Being poor is being poor. For the impoverished, being on-line is a distinctive luxury. I'm not talking about what kind of Smart Phone is inexpensive enough here. I'm talking about not being able to afford it at all. The man in question finds the cost over his head, as he found the expense of a car for several years.
Another way businesses gouge the public is to quit making parts for useable, if out of date, equipment. Perhaps the worst offenders are the makers of printers for computers. How many times have you had to buy a new printer because you could no longer find ink cartridges or they used a new kind of paper?
Or how about changing the kind of printer to wireless so they are incompatible with your perfectly good computer.
In the world in which many of us live, there simply isn't money to replace a computer system just because a printer goes out and the bottom line guys have quit making the kind of printer that goes with it.
This kind of thing is called gouging the public. It is forcing them to upgrade their equipment or go without completely. It is one more sign that our world is becoming morally bankrupt. One more sign of man's inhumanity to man -- of kicking a person when he's down.
I can't imagine a city, state or country where everyone is upper class. I'm not sure that is even possible. So why do the fortunate exploit those with less? I guess money is how they get their jollies. What do you think? Oh, yes, same for car companies that quit making parts for useable cars. I can assure you they won't be getting the sale when the customer is forced to upgrade. So where's their bottom line then?
Sunday, August 24, 2014
When Speaking Of The Poor
On a recent This Week Robert Reich said that Paul Ryan was running around Congress with a new budget that includes a commitment for Americans to take care of their poor. He said that Ryan had experienced some kind of a conversion. Good for Paul Ryan. I hope more members of Congress will see the light and let the light shine all the way from increased minimum wages to supporting all of our most down and out. I'm sure God, Jesus and Pope Francis will all be proud if this takes place.
According to the Paul Ryan interview in the back of the current Time Magazine, Ryan has written a book in which he proposes that we renew the American idea of equality for all. Government should ensure we all have that right.
He believes the recovery from our recent recession took too long, certainly longer than any other since World War II. He seems not to have noticed it was the worst recession since the Great Depression. It should have taken longer.
So Ryan, with his newly found concern for the poor and his consistent belief in his own ability to solve our problems, has taken upon himself to start visiting black neighborhoods so he can find out how they are successfully beating back poverty.
Now, herein lies the crux of one of our biggest problems -- those who think and act like those who are in need of government assistance for handouts are limited to African Americans. There are people of all races and creeds who are poor. Experts have been quoting stats for years that show that many, many Caucasians have to depend on assistance. In fact, a huge draw on subsistence funds is being made by formerly hard working Senior Citizens who have fallen victim to Congressional attempts to save Social Security for future generations. That, although a good and laudable goal, is not a good and laudable excuse for forcing current seniors onto the welfare roles. There have to be other ways to save the fund than this.
Such misunderstandings about poverty are no doubt the cause of much hatred of the subsistence programs. Some people think the handouts go only to the black community and this interacts with their extreme and deep rooted prejudices.
I could quote you the stats again, but people have ignored them always before and would probably negate them now. So, Congressman Ryan, write another book which requires you to look them up yourself. Then, they might mean something to you. And while you are studying the facts, take a look at who is in the top one per cent, or two, or three or more.
You and I should be so fortunate as to have a small fraction of the wealth of Oprah, Herman Cain, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dogg, etc., etc., etc.
America, the equal opportunity country, is succeeding beyond belief. And it's time for Congress to get with the program and continue this equalization by keeping jobs at home, taxing those who have, and limiting our contributions to other countries (at least until we seriously reduce our debt). And also continuing to work for job creation and pleasing the Almighty by extending opportunity and helping those at home as freely as you pass out cash to the unworthy and false friends abroad. When speaking of the poor, be cognizant of the facts, the stats, and then educate the knee jerk responsive masses of these facts.
According to the Paul Ryan interview in the back of the current Time Magazine, Ryan has written a book in which he proposes that we renew the American idea of equality for all. Government should ensure we all have that right.
He believes the recovery from our recent recession took too long, certainly longer than any other since World War II. He seems not to have noticed it was the worst recession since the Great Depression. It should have taken longer.
So Ryan, with his newly found concern for the poor and his consistent belief in his own ability to solve our problems, has taken upon himself to start visiting black neighborhoods so he can find out how they are successfully beating back poverty.
Now, herein lies the crux of one of our biggest problems -- those who think and act like those who are in need of government assistance for handouts are limited to African Americans. There are people of all races and creeds who are poor. Experts have been quoting stats for years that show that many, many Caucasians have to depend on assistance. In fact, a huge draw on subsistence funds is being made by formerly hard working Senior Citizens who have fallen victim to Congressional attempts to save Social Security for future generations. That, although a good and laudable goal, is not a good and laudable excuse for forcing current seniors onto the welfare roles. There have to be other ways to save the fund than this.
Such misunderstandings about poverty are no doubt the cause of much hatred of the subsistence programs. Some people think the handouts go only to the black community and this interacts with their extreme and deep rooted prejudices.
I could quote you the stats again, but people have ignored them always before and would probably negate them now. So, Congressman Ryan, write another book which requires you to look them up yourself. Then, they might mean something to you. And while you are studying the facts, take a look at who is in the top one per cent, or two, or three or more.
You and I should be so fortunate as to have a small fraction of the wealth of Oprah, Herman Cain, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dogg, etc., etc., etc.
America, the equal opportunity country, is succeeding beyond belief. And it's time for Congress to get with the program and continue this equalization by keeping jobs at home, taxing those who have, and limiting our contributions to other countries (at least until we seriously reduce our debt). And also continuing to work for job creation and pleasing the Almighty by extending opportunity and helping those at home as freely as you pass out cash to the unworthy and false friends abroad. When speaking of the poor, be cognizant of the facts, the stats, and then educate the knee jerk responsive masses of these facts.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Basic Human Rights
Over the course of history, the population has grown too large for people to be completely autonomous. There was, no doubt, a good deal of sense when individuals began to bond together for hunting and gathering. There was safety in numbers. Less animals like buffalo and deer had to be slaughtered when a group shared the bounty. There was less waste that way. Crops could be grown by some people working together while others tanned the skins or preserved the foods.
But with the advantages of socialization came problems as well. Alone, man had complete control over himself. With others he had to learn to adapt to the needs of his clan. (You know, what we would call being considerate of others and using manners). It was not okay for individual man to hurt, steal from or abuse others just because he needed or wanted something they had.
Each society developed their own rules and regulations to keep some from impinging on the individual human rights of others. William Graham Sumner introduced the word mores into our language in the early nineteen hundreds. Sumner said -- as we can concur -- each society believes their own mores are the right ones. Sumner said that believing our own mores are the most desirable is ethnocentrism.
Per Random House Collegiate Dictionary, ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of one's own group or culture. It is also a tendency to view other cultures in terms of our own. Snobbery or arrogance, in other words. I'm right, you're wrong, and I don't care what you think.
People believe what they are taught to believe and their way is the only right way -- in their own opinion. But who made their rules? Did their mores and then their laws evolve from agreement of all individuals, no matter their sex, age, level of education, temperament, etc.? Or, did a bunch of bullies bash others into submission and tell them what to do?
We've all seen cartoon pictures of ancient man clothed in animal skins and dragging a large club with one hand and a woman by her hair with the other. Is that the kind of individual that made our rules, or did everybody have a say?
In the Garden of Eden, after God made woman to be a companion for man, there was only one rule -- don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Per Bible history, a serpent enticed Eve to eat the fruit, and then Eve enticed Adam to have some, too. Adam, of course, could have said no, but did he? No, he was more than willing to join the fun. Yet man is never, ever held responsible for his enjoyment. It is always a woman's fault.
Although most of us know this story from the Christian Bible, which includes books from the Torah in it's Old Testament, other cultures also tell first man/first woman stories and some even tell of the flood.
Much of the thinking and rule making of the Middle Eastern cultures was based on the idea women sinned all by themselves and enticed men to join them. And God supposedly punished women by making them have the children. Hence, all things women, especially those related to childbirth, became woman's cross to bear and man should not be involved.
Radical religious people today still blame woman for all sexual exploits, even if a man rapes a woman -- which western cultures now know to be a man's need for power and control over the victim. It is never a need or aberration of a man that is at fault, it is always the fault of Eve and her female descendants. Jesus, himself, happened on a stoning where two individuals had actually committed adultery. He stopped the stoning by saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Everybody walked away that time. But stoning still takes place in non-Christian cultures and religious zealots still sometimes kill their daughters who have been raped. The family's own pride and embarrassment is considered more important than the child they supposedly loved from birth. Such love I can do without.
From this environment came early Christians. None of us seem to be able to totally shed our learning and reconstruct ourselves completely with new beliefs. The early Christians, such as the eleven remaining disciples and Paul and his followers did the best they could. Yet, we find hints of previous religions in our current religious practices. For example, the habit of saying Amen was a holdover from Egyptian religions. Easter came from a celebration for the goddess Ishtar. You understand? Our beliefs, our mores, our practices hinge on our backgrounds and our cultural habits. So, we differ in many ways, yet we all think we are right.
Westerners, particularly North Americans, have learned to fight and stand up for our rights. The country as a whole fought for freedom. African Americans, with the help of several generations of Caucasians, have fought for their freedom. Women and slaves had to fight for the right to learn as well as the right to vote. Both have had to assert their right for equal opportunities of employment. Both are still fighting for equal pay for equal work. Both still have to insist that government men and employers recognize their rights.
The revered papers written by our forefathers declare that all men are created equal. The problem is they were not speaking of mankind. Their definition, if you recall, did not include women and slaves. Both were chattel -- the one meant to serve man as servants and the other meant to serve them as people who carried and delivered men's children, plus supervised the running of their homes.
Men began our country. Men have served as our presidents. Mostly men have written our laws. Mostly men have peopled our courts. Mostly men have served in our churches, written our religious laws. In fact, Catholics and Southern Baptists still don't permit women in the ministry. Women are relegated to the serving roles facilitating the work of the important individuals -- mostly white men.
People who are attracted to power positions in religious and public life are usually people seeking control over others as well as personal recognition. A lot of these individuals take it as their basic right to tell others what to do through mores and rules and laws. Often their fervor goes well beyond the necessity for helping us all to live well together. They forget to focus on basic individual human rights. They focus instead on their needs to tell others what to do.
When people do point out that the federal government is out of line -- out of control -- they are usually saying the States should have the rule. Wrong. No one body, or two bodies, or even four bodies of power should have the ability to infringe on individuals. Whether government or religious, no group -- Congress, Southern Baptists, Catholics or Muslims, even -- has a right to try to bend others or design rules to bend others to their will.
Both government and religion should facilitate us living more rewarding and happier lives. They should not be allowed to dictate how we live our daily lives. They should not be bastions of power for the ever greedy control freaks. They should not be places where the weak can be exploited by the strong. They should be places that foster the growth and dignity of each individual, black or white, male or female, young or old, rich or poor.
And once we seek to right a recognized wrong, we need to see to it that the pendulum does not swing too far in the other direction either. Change comes easier through rational and reasonable means than it does when a whole mob stones -- literally and figuratively.
Don't mess with my rights. I won't mess with yours. As long as I don't infringe on you or others, nobody has the right to infringe on me.
But with the advantages of socialization came problems as well. Alone, man had complete control over himself. With others he had to learn to adapt to the needs of his clan. (You know, what we would call being considerate of others and using manners). It was not okay for individual man to hurt, steal from or abuse others just because he needed or wanted something they had.
Each society developed their own rules and regulations to keep some from impinging on the individual human rights of others. William Graham Sumner introduced the word mores into our language in the early nineteen hundreds. Sumner said -- as we can concur -- each society believes their own mores are the right ones. Sumner said that believing our own mores are the most desirable is ethnocentrism.
Per Random House Collegiate Dictionary, ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of one's own group or culture. It is also a tendency to view other cultures in terms of our own. Snobbery or arrogance, in other words. I'm right, you're wrong, and I don't care what you think.
People believe what they are taught to believe and their way is the only right way -- in their own opinion. But who made their rules? Did their mores and then their laws evolve from agreement of all individuals, no matter their sex, age, level of education, temperament, etc.? Or, did a bunch of bullies bash others into submission and tell them what to do?
We've all seen cartoon pictures of ancient man clothed in animal skins and dragging a large club with one hand and a woman by her hair with the other. Is that the kind of individual that made our rules, or did everybody have a say?
In the Garden of Eden, after God made woman to be a companion for man, there was only one rule -- don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Per Bible history, a serpent enticed Eve to eat the fruit, and then Eve enticed Adam to have some, too. Adam, of course, could have said no, but did he? No, he was more than willing to join the fun. Yet man is never, ever held responsible for his enjoyment. It is always a woman's fault.
Although most of us know this story from the Christian Bible, which includes books from the Torah in it's Old Testament, other cultures also tell first man/first woman stories and some even tell of the flood.
Much of the thinking and rule making of the Middle Eastern cultures was based on the idea women sinned all by themselves and enticed men to join them. And God supposedly punished women by making them have the children. Hence, all things women, especially those related to childbirth, became woman's cross to bear and man should not be involved.
Radical religious people today still blame woman for all sexual exploits, even if a man rapes a woman -- which western cultures now know to be a man's need for power and control over the victim. It is never a need or aberration of a man that is at fault, it is always the fault of Eve and her female descendants. Jesus, himself, happened on a stoning where two individuals had actually committed adultery. He stopped the stoning by saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Everybody walked away that time. But stoning still takes place in non-Christian cultures and religious zealots still sometimes kill their daughters who have been raped. The family's own pride and embarrassment is considered more important than the child they supposedly loved from birth. Such love I can do without.
From this environment came early Christians. None of us seem to be able to totally shed our learning and reconstruct ourselves completely with new beliefs. The early Christians, such as the eleven remaining disciples and Paul and his followers did the best they could. Yet, we find hints of previous religions in our current religious practices. For example, the habit of saying Amen was a holdover from Egyptian religions. Easter came from a celebration for the goddess Ishtar. You understand? Our beliefs, our mores, our practices hinge on our backgrounds and our cultural habits. So, we differ in many ways, yet we all think we are right.
Westerners, particularly North Americans, have learned to fight and stand up for our rights. The country as a whole fought for freedom. African Americans, with the help of several generations of Caucasians, have fought for their freedom. Women and slaves had to fight for the right to learn as well as the right to vote. Both have had to assert their right for equal opportunities of employment. Both are still fighting for equal pay for equal work. Both still have to insist that government men and employers recognize their rights.
The revered papers written by our forefathers declare that all men are created equal. The problem is they were not speaking of mankind. Their definition, if you recall, did not include women and slaves. Both were chattel -- the one meant to serve man as servants and the other meant to serve them as people who carried and delivered men's children, plus supervised the running of their homes.
Men began our country. Men have served as our presidents. Mostly men have written our laws. Mostly men have peopled our courts. Mostly men have served in our churches, written our religious laws. In fact, Catholics and Southern Baptists still don't permit women in the ministry. Women are relegated to the serving roles facilitating the work of the important individuals -- mostly white men.
People who are attracted to power positions in religious and public life are usually people seeking control over others as well as personal recognition. A lot of these individuals take it as their basic right to tell others what to do through mores and rules and laws. Often their fervor goes well beyond the necessity for helping us all to live well together. They forget to focus on basic individual human rights. They focus instead on their needs to tell others what to do.
When people do point out that the federal government is out of line -- out of control -- they are usually saying the States should have the rule. Wrong. No one body, or two bodies, or even four bodies of power should have the ability to infringe on individuals. Whether government or religious, no group -- Congress, Southern Baptists, Catholics or Muslims, even -- has a right to try to bend others or design rules to bend others to their will.
Both government and religion should facilitate us living more rewarding and happier lives. They should not be allowed to dictate how we live our daily lives. They should not be bastions of power for the ever greedy control freaks. They should not be places where the weak can be exploited by the strong. They should be places that foster the growth and dignity of each individual, black or white, male or female, young or old, rich or poor.
And once we seek to right a recognized wrong, we need to see to it that the pendulum does not swing too far in the other direction either. Change comes easier through rational and reasonable means than it does when a whole mob stones -- literally and figuratively.
Don't mess with my rights. I won't mess with yours. As long as I don't infringe on you or others, nobody has the right to infringe on me.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Thanks For The Fun
I woke up from one of my afternoon naps, realizing I had had a good time at Family Dollar today. This, after chatting with the Almighty the other day about the problems involved with finding one where I want to go.
Shopping has become anathema to me. Just about the time grocery stores became singles trolling stations, my "pettist" (my own word invention) of pet peeves, I also ran out of money for anything much but groceries. I'd almost rather have a root canal than stop for a couple of items.
I had to go to the library today to make some copies. My printer, not satisfied that it had been notifying me for the last two years that it is not communicating with my computer, has now developed a paper jam using invisible paper. I don't know what its problem is. First, it doesn't get along with the hardware and now it doesn't want to do anything for the operator either.
So, to the library I must go -- with a total of 94 cents change and a slew of papers to copy. I finally whittled down the slew to required items only and left the place with 14 cents.
My micromanager, the Almighty, seemed to be pushing for a quick stop at Family Dollar instead of a long trip to Aldi, so I acquiesced. Or, was it just my subconscious that wanted the easy route? I loaded up on a twelve pack of cola, eggs, a gallon a milk and a frozen pizza. Then I stood in the everlasting long line.
While I was still shopping, I'd passed a man who greeted me in a friendly manner. For a moment, I thought Buck O'Neill -- the sweetest man I ever met -- was back on this earth. But he didn't look a thing like him.
Then the lady in front of me turned out to be a likeable Chatty Cathy. She informed me she told her son she needed to go to the store for a few items and to see if she could find a rich man. Then she gestured toward my purchases.
I said, "Well, yes, I got a few items, but I'm not even looking for a rich man."
Then she cracked me up by saying she'd take the money and forget about the man.
So would I, I thought. So would I. In fact, I often tell the Almighty that he placed me in jobs all my life where I did stacks and stacks of work for chicken feed. Now, I wouldn't think it should hurt if He and the universe repaid me by retroactively sending the cash I should have earned back then. I wouldn't turn down a lot of interest, either.
I guess a way out of poverty would be to search for that woman's rich one, but what would I do with him if I found him? I already have that one baby bird that keeps trying to hop back in the nest and that's more than I can handle.
I guess between bouts of colitis, I could fit in a couple of extra loads of laundry. But what would I do if I had to give up some of my daily naps to clean up after him?
So, no, lady, you can keep your rich man. But thanks for being entertaining just the same.
Shopping has become anathema to me. Just about the time grocery stores became singles trolling stations, my "pettist" (my own word invention) of pet peeves, I also ran out of money for anything much but groceries. I'd almost rather have a root canal than stop for a couple of items.
I had to go to the library today to make some copies. My printer, not satisfied that it had been notifying me for the last two years that it is not communicating with my computer, has now developed a paper jam using invisible paper. I don't know what its problem is. First, it doesn't get along with the hardware and now it doesn't want to do anything for the operator either.
So, to the library I must go -- with a total of 94 cents change and a slew of papers to copy. I finally whittled down the slew to required items only and left the place with 14 cents.
My micromanager, the Almighty, seemed to be pushing for a quick stop at Family Dollar instead of a long trip to Aldi, so I acquiesced. Or, was it just my subconscious that wanted the easy route? I loaded up on a twelve pack of cola, eggs, a gallon a milk and a frozen pizza. Then I stood in the everlasting long line.
While I was still shopping, I'd passed a man who greeted me in a friendly manner. For a moment, I thought Buck O'Neill -- the sweetest man I ever met -- was back on this earth. But he didn't look a thing like him.
Then the lady in front of me turned out to be a likeable Chatty Cathy. She informed me she told her son she needed to go to the store for a few items and to see if she could find a rich man. Then she gestured toward my purchases.
I said, "Well, yes, I got a few items, but I'm not even looking for a rich man."
Then she cracked me up by saying she'd take the money and forget about the man.
So would I, I thought. So would I. In fact, I often tell the Almighty that he placed me in jobs all my life where I did stacks and stacks of work for chicken feed. Now, I wouldn't think it should hurt if He and the universe repaid me by retroactively sending the cash I should have earned back then. I wouldn't turn down a lot of interest, either.
I guess a way out of poverty would be to search for that woman's rich one, but what would I do with him if I found him? I already have that one baby bird that keeps trying to hop back in the nest and that's more than I can handle.
I guess between bouts of colitis, I could fit in a couple of extra loads of laundry. But what would I do if I had to give up some of my daily naps to clean up after him?
So, no, lady, you can keep your rich man. But thanks for being entertaining just the same.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Finding Work After Fifty
There was a man picketing President Obama as he made his speech in Kansas City this morning. He accused the President of being single-handedly responsible for him not being able to find a job. He says Obama should try to build a relationship with Congress so they could solve problems together. He doesn't think the President should use Executive Order to work around Congressional obstructionist behaviors, no matter that presidents beginning with George Washington have used it. Needless to say, the man is a Republican. If he were a Democrat, he would be saying the Congress is do nothing and causing the whole problem. He can see only the view of the President that is presented by Republicans who are trying to take back the Oval Office.
At the same time the President was inside the Uptown Theater talking about the four per cent second quarter growth in the economy and the low unemployment rate, this man was outside saying that nothing had been done about employment for people fifty and over.
God help you, sir, and anybody else who is fifty and looking for work. But that's not the President's fault. That is the fault of chronological age.
I know about being over fifty and job hunting. I may be the resident expert on the topic. It's not a pretty situation. Employers want to hire the youngsters. Why? They are recently trained and up to date. They will work more cheaply. The supervisors don't want to hire people with more experience than they have. They might actually know more at fifty.
Generally, "50 Somethings" have to take a significant cut in pay to find a job. Eventually, even minimum wage jobs will look good as a path out of desperation. So, cut to the chase and take the first one you can abide of the ones you are offered. Employers look more kindly on someone who is employed, even at the lower end.
You will also need to quit dwelling on Obama, the economy, how unfair life is and that everything would be better if Republicans ran the world. In the first place, if Republicans always ran the world you would be taxed, while the rich would get off scot-free and all the jobs would be outsourced to China so the rich could get even richer.
This aside, focusing on the downside all the time shows in your face and your body language. Being unsure of yourself shows the world you have poor self confidence. Even if you get a job during this time of hesitation, you make an easy target for kick-me experts.
Every morning look yourself in the eye -- in the mirror -- and tell yourself you are a creation of Almighty God. God didn't make any losers, so you must be one of the Eagles. And believe it. Look for work using skills at which you have succeeded before, and accent the successes in the way you present yourself. Don't oversell yourself, as, if hired, you will have to prove you can do what you say. Just tell the truth in the most positive manner possible.
Be realistic about the kind of things you know. If you fetched supplies for a roofer, a roofer you are not. Become a gopher again so you can use your experience at the same time you learn new things.
On your resumes, don't lead with your age. It will show up on transcripts and work history anyway, so don't make it a focus.
Try to dress younger -- not like a teenager -- just young ideas. If you are gray, consider a partial dye job. And don't do comb-overs or wear hairpieces. Unless they are done professionally, they look
ridiculous.
Make your resumes creative and informative. Some Personnel Directors like to see people lead with experience that makes the candidate seem experienced for their job. And don't let your spirits get down and out.
Selling your resume is the same as selling a product. The more times you try, the better your odds of success. For instance, in book sales, I heard that a good expectation is that one will sell books to three per cent of the people they contact. So for every one hundred applications you file, you stand a chance at three job offers.
Volunteer at places where you can show your skills. Sometimes a good volunteer is the first choice at a paying job.
At the same time the President was inside the Uptown Theater talking about the four per cent second quarter growth in the economy and the low unemployment rate, this man was outside saying that nothing had been done about employment for people fifty and over.
God help you, sir, and anybody else who is fifty and looking for work. But that's not the President's fault. That is the fault of chronological age.
I know about being over fifty and job hunting. I may be the resident expert on the topic. It's not a pretty situation. Employers want to hire the youngsters. Why? They are recently trained and up to date. They will work more cheaply. The supervisors don't want to hire people with more experience than they have. They might actually know more at fifty.
Generally, "50 Somethings" have to take a significant cut in pay to find a job. Eventually, even minimum wage jobs will look good as a path out of desperation. So, cut to the chase and take the first one you can abide of the ones you are offered. Employers look more kindly on someone who is employed, even at the lower end.
You will also need to quit dwelling on Obama, the economy, how unfair life is and that everything would be better if Republicans ran the world. In the first place, if Republicans always ran the world you would be taxed, while the rich would get off scot-free and all the jobs would be outsourced to China so the rich could get even richer.
This aside, focusing on the downside all the time shows in your face and your body language. Being unsure of yourself shows the world you have poor self confidence. Even if you get a job during this time of hesitation, you make an easy target for kick-me experts.
Every morning look yourself in the eye -- in the mirror -- and tell yourself you are a creation of Almighty God. God didn't make any losers, so you must be one of the Eagles. And believe it. Look for work using skills at which you have succeeded before, and accent the successes in the way you present yourself. Don't oversell yourself, as, if hired, you will have to prove you can do what you say. Just tell the truth in the most positive manner possible.
Be realistic about the kind of things you know. If you fetched supplies for a roofer, a roofer you are not. Become a gopher again so you can use your experience at the same time you learn new things.
On your resumes, don't lead with your age. It will show up on transcripts and work history anyway, so don't make it a focus.
Try to dress younger -- not like a teenager -- just young ideas. If you are gray, consider a partial dye job. And don't do comb-overs or wear hairpieces. Unless they are done professionally, they look
ridiculous.
Make your resumes creative and informative. Some Personnel Directors like to see people lead with experience that makes the candidate seem experienced for their job. And don't let your spirits get down and out.
Selling your resume is the same as selling a product. The more times you try, the better your odds of success. For instance, in book sales, I heard that a good expectation is that one will sell books to three per cent of the people they contact. So for every one hundred applications you file, you stand a chance at three job offers.
Volunteer at places where you can show your skills. Sometimes a good volunteer is the first choice at a paying job.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Our Changing Complexion
On this evening's CBS news program, an Hispanic man who lives on the Texas border was showing how multiple groups of illegal aliens cross his property to enter the U. S. The bottom line of the segment was that we are being invaded and the border needs to be secured. Governor Rick Perry of Texas called out 1000 National Guard Troops today to help with the crisis.
There have been predictions for many years that by 2025 or at least 2050, there will be no more majority in this country. A lot of people in their high rise apartments in New York and Washington, D. C., and their weekend homes in the Hamptons, don't seem all that concerned about this. They are still believing we should be admitting all those little children who appear at our doors. Since it is unlikely very many of them will be arriving in their digs, why should they be stressed?
I cannot imagine what it is like to live in Texas, Southern California, Arizona, etc., where there is a never ending stream of illegal aliens. I can simply give you an example of what it is like to live in lower middle class apartments in middle America. In order to live here, one must be able to buy a share in a coop and pay a monthly maintenance fee ($220 monthly at this time). It is worse in rental complexes.
We have been proud of our diversity in the past. We've had white, African American, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Asian Americans since before I moved here in 1996.
To understand the following information, please use this key.
DK, don't know. NA, Native American. C, Caucasian. H, Hispanic
Building 1, six apartments
1996 C / C / C / C / NA / C
Now C / C / H / H / H / H
Building 2, four apartments
1996 C / C / C / C
Now H / C / C / C
Building 3, four apartments
1996 C / C / C / C
Now C / C / C / H
Building 4, four apartments
1996 C / C / H&C / C
Now C / H /H / DK
In eighteen years, we have gone from one Hispanic individual in my immediate surroundings to eight Hispanic families. That Americans born here, aside from Hispanics, will no longer be a majority here by mid century, seems an understatement if this is a true representation of what is happening everywhere. It looks to me like another two years and we'll have a new Hispanic majority. Is that okay with you in the High Rises? Well, it's not okay with Texans, Californians, and the people of Arizona where it is worse than middle America.
I've told you before that some of these Hispanics are better neighbors than some of the Caucasians in these buildings. Yet, even with that in their favor, there are a few chuckles to living with it. Virtually every Hispanic family I know buys a car for every family member of driving age. When the car dies, it is frequently left parked where it died. The owners faithfully renew the license plates even though they can't use the cars. As long as the tags are up to date, nothing can be done. So, we have to keep creating more and more parking areas -- and we are running out of ground. Two men who own dead cars don't even live here anymore. One does come and check on his family's two apartments and the people living in them, but one has not been seen for years.
But enough with the details! Becoming a minority takes a lot of adjustment for many of us. It was especially true in the workplace where supervisors, people of other races or cultures, paid us back for what other Caucasians had been accused of doing to members of their race. It is but somewhat better in our communities.
I hear that the illegals are a great expense to us. Certainly those who don't pay taxes are not helping to carry the load. But then, I've no expertise in determining just how great either of these costs are to our communities.
I'm simply pointing out that our complexion is changing at a very rapid rate, and we need to slow it down ASAP. We need some time to adjust and reorganize before the mid-century is here.
There have been predictions for many years that by 2025 or at least 2050, there will be no more majority in this country. A lot of people in their high rise apartments in New York and Washington, D. C., and their weekend homes in the Hamptons, don't seem all that concerned about this. They are still believing we should be admitting all those little children who appear at our doors. Since it is unlikely very many of them will be arriving in their digs, why should they be stressed?
I cannot imagine what it is like to live in Texas, Southern California, Arizona, etc., where there is a never ending stream of illegal aliens. I can simply give you an example of what it is like to live in lower middle class apartments in middle America. In order to live here, one must be able to buy a share in a coop and pay a monthly maintenance fee ($220 monthly at this time). It is worse in rental complexes.
We have been proud of our diversity in the past. We've had white, African American, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Asian Americans since before I moved here in 1996.
To understand the following information, please use this key.
DK, don't know. NA, Native American. C, Caucasian. H, Hispanic
Building 1, six apartments
1996 C / C / C / C / NA / C
Now C / C / H / H / H / H
Building 2, four apartments
1996 C / C / C / C
Now H / C / C / C
Building 3, four apartments
1996 C / C / C / C
Now C / C / C / H
Building 4, four apartments
1996 C / C / H&C / C
Now C / H /H / DK
In eighteen years, we have gone from one Hispanic individual in my immediate surroundings to eight Hispanic families. That Americans born here, aside from Hispanics, will no longer be a majority here by mid century, seems an understatement if this is a true representation of what is happening everywhere. It looks to me like another two years and we'll have a new Hispanic majority. Is that okay with you in the High Rises? Well, it's not okay with Texans, Californians, and the people of Arizona where it is worse than middle America.
I've told you before that some of these Hispanics are better neighbors than some of the Caucasians in these buildings. Yet, even with that in their favor, there are a few chuckles to living with it. Virtually every Hispanic family I know buys a car for every family member of driving age. When the car dies, it is frequently left parked where it died. The owners faithfully renew the license plates even though they can't use the cars. As long as the tags are up to date, nothing can be done. So, we have to keep creating more and more parking areas -- and we are running out of ground. Two men who own dead cars don't even live here anymore. One does come and check on his family's two apartments and the people living in them, but one has not been seen for years.
But enough with the details! Becoming a minority takes a lot of adjustment for many of us. It was especially true in the workplace where supervisors, people of other races or cultures, paid us back for what other Caucasians had been accused of doing to members of their race. It is but somewhat better in our communities.
I hear that the illegals are a great expense to us. Certainly those who don't pay taxes are not helping to carry the load. But then, I've no expertise in determining just how great either of these costs are to our communities.
I'm simply pointing out that our complexion is changing at a very rapid rate, and we need to slow it down ASAP. We need some time to adjust and reorganize before the mid-century is here.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Why Not Steal From One Who Has Something?
I keep getting miffed about the number of people who try to make a run on my money. Among the frequent attempts are the low-lives who offer riches if I will pay them, or, better still, give them my bank account number. Others stand where they hope they can see my pen numbers. Another told me recently that he/she needed my computer password. I cannot describe for you the bitter disappointment on his/her face a few weeks later when I said I don't bank on line. (And, no, I don't give out my computer password to strangers or friends). I can't usually remember it anyway.
Perhaps I'm one of those people who attracts snake-in-the-grass individuals, but I'm not quite senile yet. I've had some senior moments and, on any given day, I might forget your name. However, I still have enough wits about me to be suitably paranoid about my stuff. Paranoia, by the way, is now seen as being aware of your surroundings rather than as a neurosis or mental health issue. It was left in the most recent DSM to facilitate doctors trying to bill insurance companies for patient treatment.
Recently, someone climbed on the neighbor's roof and unlocked and opened a bedroom window. When I got a phone call at 12:28 a.m., I heard a gasp that sounded like it was in the hall outside my bedroom. I'd been reading all evening and no television noise had notified anyone that I was around. When I went to bed, it was evident that neighbors on both sides were home. It tests reason that it is possible for B & E experts to stomp all over a neighbor's roof and the neighbors not hear it, don't you think? Anyway, I had heard them earlier sorting through some pipes and an outdoor umbrella in front of my house and I even heard the stomping. Due to my fans being on high, I could not tell that they were coming through the window.
So, let me be abundantly clear! I have $25.51 in savings -- for a long time now. My income is $823 per month. That is not enough to even rent an apartment in my country plus pay for utilities and buy food. If I did not own the paper on one of the country's smallest townhouses, I would have to be living on the largesse of relatives -- or on the street.
Although my 1998 auto -- a gift from my daughter and son-in-law -- is significantly better than my previous car, a 1997 two seat minivan, it is not anywhere near a Lamborghini. So why do people feel obligated to punch it, scratch it and try to break and enter it? I just don't get the fascination with me and my stuff. I'm not rich, or famous, or even beautiful. At 76, I'm barely tolerable. And I know practically nobody but family, so my lovely personality could not have ticked them off. Oh yes, there are not enough United States readers of this blog to have elicited this hate, either.
I hardly ever have any cash, so forget finding the mother lode inside my apartment. On the rare occasion I check out $30, I spend $10.00 for gas on the way home and pay the other $20.00 to the man who pulls weeds in my yard. That's it folks! The bare, ugly truth!
So, whoever you are out there, find another victim. If you took everything I had it wouldn't make you secure, much less rich. It would be just about enough to get you a felony conviction and a stint in prison.
I'd suggest you find a rich person to stalk, but I'm one of those perennial optimists who believe God will eventually make it up to me for all this poverty. And then you and I would be back to square one and I would have more than my life to lose. But, I would be able to afford that licensed gun I need for protection. And then you would be risking your life, too!
Perhaps I'm one of those people who attracts snake-in-the-grass individuals, but I'm not quite senile yet. I've had some senior moments and, on any given day, I might forget your name. However, I still have enough wits about me to be suitably paranoid about my stuff. Paranoia, by the way, is now seen as being aware of your surroundings rather than as a neurosis or mental health issue. It was left in the most recent DSM to facilitate doctors trying to bill insurance companies for patient treatment.
Recently, someone climbed on the neighbor's roof and unlocked and opened a bedroom window. When I got a phone call at 12:28 a.m., I heard a gasp that sounded like it was in the hall outside my bedroom. I'd been reading all evening and no television noise had notified anyone that I was around. When I went to bed, it was evident that neighbors on both sides were home. It tests reason that it is possible for B & E experts to stomp all over a neighbor's roof and the neighbors not hear it, don't you think? Anyway, I had heard them earlier sorting through some pipes and an outdoor umbrella in front of my house and I even heard the stomping. Due to my fans being on high, I could not tell that they were coming through the window.
So, let me be abundantly clear! I have $25.51 in savings -- for a long time now. My income is $823 per month. That is not enough to even rent an apartment in my country plus pay for utilities and buy food. If I did not own the paper on one of the country's smallest townhouses, I would have to be living on the largesse of relatives -- or on the street.
Although my 1998 auto -- a gift from my daughter and son-in-law -- is significantly better than my previous car, a 1997 two seat minivan, it is not anywhere near a Lamborghini. So why do people feel obligated to punch it, scratch it and try to break and enter it? I just don't get the fascination with me and my stuff. I'm not rich, or famous, or even beautiful. At 76, I'm barely tolerable. And I know practically nobody but family, so my lovely personality could not have ticked them off. Oh yes, there are not enough United States readers of this blog to have elicited this hate, either.
I hardly ever have any cash, so forget finding the mother lode inside my apartment. On the rare occasion I check out $30, I spend $10.00 for gas on the way home and pay the other $20.00 to the man who pulls weeds in my yard. That's it folks! The bare, ugly truth!
So, whoever you are out there, find another victim. If you took everything I had it wouldn't make you secure, much less rich. It would be just about enough to get you a felony conviction and a stint in prison.
I'd suggest you find a rich person to stalk, but I'm one of those perennial optimists who believe God will eventually make it up to me for all this poverty. And then you and I would be back to square one and I would have more than my life to lose. But, I would be able to afford that licensed gun I need for protection. And then you would be risking your life, too!
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