How did we get here?

Its an election year, which means that politics are front and center.  The situation in our nation has been gradually sliding around for the entire 20th century.  We've lost sight of some things that used to be considered values.  Here's a list of some things I think we'd do well to bring back.

Honor
We used to place value in our own name.  We would behave a certain way, work a certain way, in order to not dishonor our name.  Honor is something that has become twisted over time.  Every society defines honor differently.  Honor to me means doing everything you can to the best of your ability, placing others before yourself and serving them to the best of your ability.

Honor is sacrifice.

Honor is not killing someone else because they've insulted you.  An honorable man will take the insult in stride, recognizing that everyone has an opinion.  They will reply to the insult in varying degrees, depending upon the circumstances.  The rule to this response is that the response cannot exceed the initial insult.  If you insult me verbally, I cannot in honor respond to you in any way other than verbal.  If you push me physically, I will respond physically.  In legal terms this is called "due force".  You push me, I push you.  You try to hit me, I try to hit you.  You take a lethal action against me and I am free to respond lethally against you.

Honoring our first amendment (I did a post a while back about Paying the Bill of Rights and this ties into that) means that we will be insulted, offended and disgusted.  That is guaranteed.  Those who do so have a right to do so.  I have a right to insult, offend and make them disgusted in return.  I do not have a right to prevent them from expressing their opinion or limiting their Freedom of Speech in any way.  I do not have a right to take a verbal or written insult and respond physically.  Legal response is only an honorable choice if said insult or offense has wounded us in some way; either our reputation or financial situation.

Duty
Duty is an obligation that is imposed upon us.  It may or may not be voluntary.  I have a duty to my family; my wife and kids, my parents and siblings and other members of my extended family.  I also have a duty to my country: I once swore an oath to honor and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.

These duties mean placing others ahead of myself.  I feel a duty toward my fellow man, so I have at times endangered myself in an effort to aid them.  When I was in the Coast Guard we had a saying: you have to go out, you don't have to come back.  We were a service intended to save lives.  If that meant we died in the effort to save others, then that was the price required.  I have applied that to the rest of my life as well.

I place the needs of my family ahead of my own desires.  I place the needs of my friends ahead of my own.  I have in the past and will in the future given others food that I would have otherwise eaten.  I share freely of my time and talents.

Duty is sacrifice.

Selflessness
Its funny, when I start writing these rants I have a vague idea of what I want to say and everything else just sort of comes out.  The result is that, if I had to define how we arrived at the society we have it would be that we lost the sense of selflessness that we once prized so highly.  Both Honor and Duty are putting others ahead of ourselves which is a way of expressing selflessness.

Ironically, the selflessness of previous generations has created the selfishness of ours.  Most of my peers, and often me, think of life in terms of benefit and cost to ourselves.  "If I take this job, will it better my situation and that of my family?"  "I know water is better for me, but I really like soda."  "I want to be able to pay for my kids' education and give them a hand up that I never had."

Yes, that last one is selfish.  What does your child learn if you pay their bills for them?  Do they learn how to control and manage money?  Do they feel any investment in their education?  Will they apply themselves the same when they're not paying the bill for it?  History has shown us no.  Too many people in my generation and those following had no idea how to manage debt appropriately and got into trouble as a result.  Animal House had a joke that Bluto was in college for seven years.  That isn't a joke today: that's an average student.

The hardest lessons are the ones we learn the most from.  Giving your kids what you think is a hand up can really be a hand out.  I would rather give my kids a house when they get married than pay for their college.  I would rather take them to get a loan and insurance for their first car than purchase it.  Acquiring debt is unfortunately necessary in today's world.  Getting a loan for a car and college will teach my kids more than if I paid for them.  By the time they get married, they'll have already learned about how to manage money.  Purchasing them a house at that time will allow them to have more cash flow to pay off those debts.  They'll have learned how to care for things they own.  They'll have learned how to manage their cash flow.  The money pit that is home ownership would be easier for them to manage at that time.

And let's face it: if I can afford to buy them a house, it'll be a "fixer upper" that they'll be pouring money into anyway.

Tying it together
In the end, by learning to sacrifice and be selfless we would have greater empathy for others.  We would be more inclined to help others.  We would hopefully have acquired the necessary wisdom to know how best to help them up, not give them a hand out that benefits us more.

"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life."

That old saying is more valuable than many think.  It is easier for the giver to spend a few minutes giving a hand out than the hours it would take to teach a valuable skill.  Giving a hand out is selfish.  It satisfies our guilty conscience without inconveniencing us in any meaningful way while simultaneously not really solving any problems of the people we are pretending to help.

"How does this relate to politics?"

Glad you asked!  This nation is in dire straits.  Our economy is on the verge of collapse.  Enemies are knocking at the door.  Congress is filled with infants holding their breath rather than take the chance of listening to their political opposition.  A little more honor, duty, sacrifice and selflessness in our halls of government would change the direction we are headed in.  We would be once again the shining city on the hill.

Do not take the easy route.  Honor demands that we consider all options before us.  Duty demands that we take an active part in the political process.  We need to give up on the shorthand of political parties and listen to what the politicians say and see what they do.  Both sides are guilty of hypocrisy.  Who would be willing to reach across the aisle and find a solution that works for everyone?  Right now, the capitol is filled with corruption.  Both sides are beholden to special interests.  Don't chose the candidate beholden to the special interests you like, chose the one who will be willing to put aside their own interests and serve others.

After all, that's what they're really there for.

It has been a while since I've updated and the majority reason is that I've been concentrating on a job search.  They always say not to do this, but I've been doing what "they" say for a year and so far no dice and I'm pretty pissed off with the whole process by now.

"But what do you mean by 'this' J?  What are you going to do?"

I'm glad you asked dear reader.  I'm going to rant about the job search  process.  I follow the guidelines: I've cleaned up my online presence as much as I can and I always follow up each interview with a nice thank you note and a phone call.  I'm polite and professional in my appearance when I do get an interview.  But you want to know what pisses me off?

No call back.  Seriously, I've been on the other side of the table.  I know it can be hectic running a job search while trying to do your normally busy job.  I do.  I get it.  But if you've brought someone in for an interview, they deserve a response.  None of the interviews I've had in the past year have called me back.  Not a single one.  Only in two cases did I even 'officially' know I didn't get the job.  In once instance I knew at the second interview and in the other they actually picked up the phone when I called and to be honest I think it was because they were on the ride home and I called their cel-phone.

That's not right.  If someone comes in for an interview they deserve the courtesy of a phone call or email letting them know you passed them over at the very least.  Its rude.  These companies want us to play by the rules and be nice, they should too.

Which brings me to another rant.  Companies abuse their position.  They do.  We all know it.  We know why.  It makes sense, it really does but don't you dare let me hear you complaining about how an employee feels about the company when the company has proven they don't care about the employee.  This falls almost entirely on HR departments.

In addition to the no call back on an interview, I've also been offered a job reporting to the position I was applying for.  Someone needs to talk the the HR person and have them tell the interviewer that this is insulting and rude.  "I don't think you're right for the position, but how would you like to report to that position for much less money than what you were hoping to make?"  The response I want to make is "how would you like me to take a dump on your desk?"  I don't but that's because I'm professional enough to know not to.  What this tells me is that this company doesn't care about my perspective at all.  Likely they'll work me to the bone without any word of thanks.  This is the kind of boss that when you call in sick, they'll sigh and ask if you're sure you can't make it.  This is the kind of boss that will write down every little slight and you'll hear about it on your yearly review.  This the kind of boss I don't want.

When times are tough, companies try to get as much bang for their buck as they can.  That's understandable.  The laws of supply and demand are pretty clear and when you have three hundred applications to a position you can afford to be not only choosy but you know they'll be willing to take less money than what they might otherwise.  That's fine.  Do not complain about how no one has any corporate loyalty.  Don't dare.  We understand that you want the biggest bang for your buck but we also understand that the job market won't be in the toilet forever.  When it does turn around, we'll be looking for another job and when we find one, we'll take it and go.  Thank you for your time but here is an opportunity for me to make the money I should have been making.

Being thankful for a job is fine, but that doesn't mean I need to let my family starve or I need to live like a Spartan because the company took a chance on me.  Especially when the most I can hope for is a two to four percent raise.  A two percent raise when the yearly cost of living is three percent means I am losing one percent of my standard of living a year.  Do not act surprised if I go somewhere else that gets me a ten or twenty percent increase.  Do not be insulted.  Accept that I have needs and wants and that if I am not getting those needs and wants fulfilled I will go elsewhere. Its called "work life balance" and while for you fine folks in HR that's a buzzword you think means we want pizza parties and free soda (or pop) the reality is that if I'm not being taken care of at my current place of employment I will find another place that will take care of me.

Also understand that a four percent raise in my income can be eliminated by a five percent increase in my part of the benefits.  I once got a five percent raise at a company while they increased our cost of healthcare by ten percent.  You folks in the public sector can ignore this because the rest of us are picking up the cost that would normally get taken out of your paycheck.  You're welcome.  Given the differences between five percent of my income and ten percent of my heathcare cost, this amounted to a - you guessed it - two percent raise.  I did the math.  I hate math.  That's how mad I was.

We all know companies exist to make money.  Let me tell you my approach to both my job and my career:

My job is to make my boss look good.  If I'm not doing that, then my boss needs to talk to me about why I'm not doing it.  Typically, its happening because I do not have something I need.  Sometimes its due to circumstances beyond our control.  In both cases, I normally have already informed my boss of the situation if I know what it is.  Either way, a little discussion goes a long way to avoiding an adversarial atmosphere.

The company pays me to keep me away from my family.  The skills I bring to the table justify their paying me.  That's it.  I'm not saying I'm worth X dollar amount per year to feed my ego.  I'm saying that because that's how much I think my skills are worth.  I base that dollar amount on the going rates for people with my skill set based on location and industry.  From my perspective, that's not the value I place on my time away from my family.  That value drives me to earn the most I can.  So when someone offers me as much as 50% less for a job that reports to the job I applied for, its insulting.

We all have jobs.  We all place different values on those jobs.  We all know the economy sucks right now.  We all know the job search process sucks.  A little courtesy and looking at things from the other person's perspective makes a big difference.  That last interview has ruined any desire I might have to work for that company and definitely not for that person.  Companies would do well to remember that the interview process goes both ways: you're deciding if I'm the right fit for you and I'm deciding if you're the right fit for me.  90% of the time, we treat each other professionally.  Its that 10% that makes us insane.

Ten month update

Another long hiatus from the blog.  I apologize for that.  The job search has been rough.  I've been searching for a job, on average, about two to five hours a day.  I've been in contact with no less than five recruitment agencies and at least three independent recruiters not affiliated with an agency.  I've had three interviews.  Three.  That is downright depressing.  I don't know if its my resume (all recruiters I've spoken with about it said there's nothing wrong with it) or if they do a google search and find this fine blog and it somehow has pissed them off but either way I'm living in a state with an unemployment rate that's well below the national average and I can't seem to get an interview, let alone a job.  That has an impact on a person, from a self-respect and self-esteem point of view.  I've been fighting depression on and off the entire time.  My unemployment benefits end soon.  I think.  I got a weird message after my last call in then a letter with 'details about my case' that looks identical to the letter I got when I first signed up.  No explanation as to why I was receiving it.  *sigh*  Yet more frustrations in an already high stress and frustrating situation.

On the other hand, I have been doing a lot of volunteering for Pack N Pounce, helping friends and neighbors with various things and generally keeping busy.  At night, I've been writing.  I scrapped the web comic idea because it was way too time consuming with very little hope of a return on the investment.  I've successfully completed a novel of over 88,000 words and edited it and polished it.  I've started searching for an agent and I got my first rejection letter.  If J K Rowling got seven before successfully selling one of the best selling series of all time, then I figure I've got about 69 more to go at best.  I'm trying to keep my spirits up and my family has been helping me with that.

This past year has shown me how important family is.  I've been blessed with great parents, a wonderful wife and four awesome children.  I get along quite well with my in-laws who are great people.  As I mentioned earlier, I get along very well with Rick and Brenda and their kids (who are adults and the only family that's local).  My siblings and their families have been great.  I cannot express the gratitude I feel to all of these people for all the support they've given me during this tough time.  I love you all.

This is probably going to be my last post for some time.  I'm starting a blog about the background for the world setting that my novel (and several short stories) are set in.  It may help sell the book and even if it doesn't, it'll be great to have it all written out for me to refer to in my writing.

Driving!

With the move to Utah came a 2000 mile drive across the country.  I've done this before from Massachusetts to California and back as well as numerous trips to various places around the lower 48 from various other places in the lower 48.  This reiterated some of the frustrations I've felt when I drive so I am going to share them with you lucky readers out there in the blogosphere.

First of all, highway driving across the country is frankly atrocious.

If you are on a two lane highway, then the left lane is for passing.  Don't sit there because you're going ten miles over the speed limit and for Heaven's sake do not even think of going in there if you're not going ten miles over the speed limit.  The speed limit around the nation is somewhere between 55 and 80, so if you're not doing at least 65 stay out of the left lane.

On a two lane highway, the right lane is for exit traffic and general travel.  This is where you sit if you're going to be on the road for several hours.  This is where you sit if you're doing the speed limit or a little under it.  This is where you can sit and veg as the miles get eaten away by the droning of the engine.

On any highway, two, three or even six lanes, if you're going less than ten miles under the speed limit (with certain exceptions) you should not be on the highway.  Highways are for high speed travel.  There is no highway in the continental United States that does not have a local route traveling mostly parallel to it.  If you're not going to go at least 55 miles an hour, that is the road you should be on and not the highway.  There are studies I'm sure that show slow drivers cause more accidents that fast drivers.  Not because its more dangerous to drive at that speed but because when you're going too slow for the road, others have to react to you which places them in danger.

That makes a good segue into speeding.  Speed kills.  There is really no reason to be driving more than fifteen miles over the speed limit.  In a very practical sense, there is no reason to be going more than eighty miles an hour regardless of the speed limit.  The speed limit is in theory supposed to be the fastest speed allowed by law.  I realize that for something like 99% of the people on the road, "speed limit" equates to "suggested speed" but according to the law, its supposed to be the highest you are legally allowed to go.  That means if your weaving in and out of traffic at 57 in a 55 zone, a cop can pull you over.  Driving too fast is dangerous not only to you but to everyone else on the road.  The faster you're going the higher the chance you have of dying from one single mistake.  If the speed limit is 75 as it is in most states I traveled in and you're doing 85 then you come across someone going 60, that's a 25 mile an hour difference in speed.  Your bumper is rated for at most 15 miles an hour.  That means if you rear-end them, you're going to crumple your car if it has crumple zones and its going to cost you a lot of money to repair it at the very least.  You can still get serious neck injury even without triggering your airbag.  Neck injuries can have long-lasting results such as paralysis and death.  Hard to laugh that off.

The police are there to protect you.  That includes from yourself.  This is why people get pulled over for speeding.  Yes, its mostly to save insurance companies money but really it does protect you.  They have a tough job, so give them respect.  They're there when you want them and when you don't.  It's all part of the job.  Yes, there are some that are in it for the power play but there are folks like that in every profession.  Don't hold the whole to the standard set by a few.  If a cop pulls you over, be polite.  Don't think about what your drunken buddies were telling you were sure-fire methods for getting out of a ticket because there aren't any.  They should be professional and you should be courteous.  It goes a long way.

Big changes since my last post.  My family and I have moved from Massachusetts, my home state, to Utah.  There are many reasons behind the move, most of them personal and close to home so I won't go into them here.

Being LDS, there is a lot of baggage/expectations for moving to Utah where the church has its headquarters.  There are all sorts of stories about "Utah Mormons" that generally scare people.  I've found pretty much what I expected to find here: people are the same pretty much wherever you go.  There are some wonderful and friendly people that have gone out of their way to make me and my family feel welcome.  I can't say how much I appreciate that.

Right at the top of that list are my brother and sister-in-law.  Rick and Brenda have been just awesome to have around.  Rick works in the same industry I do and has been helpful in my job search efforts.  Brenda runs an animal rescue that my wife has been helping with pretty much since we got here.  We've been able to participate in parades and a pirate festival as a result of Pack N Pounce, which has been great.  Especially since its a worthy cause.  They rescue animals instead of putting them through euthanasia.

I am still looking for work, but in the meantime I'm going to try writing as well.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll even create a web comic.  My feeling is that if I were to do a web comic, it would have to be on a schedule I could maintain even while employed, so I'm thinking once a week, possibly twice.  I'm working on the characters and the setting now so stay tuned.

I do have a bit of rant to post.  That's up next - I wanted this post to stay positive as overall this has been a very positive experience.

Twister Lessons

I live in the greater Springfield area, which has been slammed by a tornado last week. Yeah, that one. We've been working with folks from church and other volunteers to assist in the cleanup as much as possible. We've donated all of the stored food we've accumulated and are looking to donate some clothes as well.

Then I read this story in the Boston Globe, which looks promising until you get to the end and read this:

"In Massachusetts, Patrick filed a supplemental budget bill Monday that included $10 million for tornado relief, but that money is not designated for individual homeowners. It will be used by state agencies to cover the costs of calling up the National Guard, operating shelters, paying police overtime, and other unanticipated costs such as chopping up trees and clearing debris."

So the Governor budgeted money to pay the state for their efforts in mobilizing but no aid will go to the beleaguered homeowners that have lost all of the their material possessions. No doubt, the Governor is counting in the federal government to foot the bill for some of the $90,000,000 in damages (that number is based on insurance claims that have been filed). It remains to be seen if Westfield, West Springfield, Springfield, Monson, Wilbraham or Brimfield will meet the minimum dollar amounts of damage required for those federal funds. Make no mistake - that clean up money is going to clear out the public properties like streets, which is a necessity. I would be surprised if any of that went to help rebuild Monson's town hall or police station. Springfield has a history of voting Democrat and I would like to say this;

Look around you at the devastation and see who it is that is helping you when the chips are down and you need it most. It is your neighbors, your friends and your fellow citizens not the government. This is how life is. When we need help the most, our neighbors, friends and fellow citizens are the ones there to give us a helping hand. The government will take care of itself first and if there's any money left over, it will go to those organizations that try to assist the people and if there's any money left over after that, it will go to the insurance companies to help them deal with the financial impact these storms have had on them and if there's any money after that it will go to help the people affected. Yes, along the way services will be provided by those organizations and insurance companies but in a bureaucratic sense that won't truly impact the people who need it immediately. The Red Cross will help with immediate temporary needs because that is what they do and they do it well. The Red Cross is not going to ensure you have a place to stay over the next three months while the damage to your home is assessed, weighed and evaluated then funds allocated then construction starts. Insurance companies won't pay for the removal of the trees in your yard unless they're directly damaging your house. A friend of mine helped a neighbor cut up a tree that was blocking the door to his house. Until they did that, they were getting in and out through a window. That tree did no damage to his house, but it prevented him from leaving by either door or garage. Therefore, the insurance claim would not cover its removal.

Remember this in November of next year, when you're pulling the lever for those fine folks in office in Boston. Where were they when you needed them? Crying poor from their fine offices in Boston, that's where. I'm not saying vote Republican because they'll solve all our problems, far from it - they'll just create different ones if we're lucky. Other than photo ops, did they help you in any way? Other than gather attention, how were you helped? Did that attention help you? If you can say that they did not help you, then why do they deserve your vote? By all means, vote Democrat if that's what you prefer. All I'm asking is that you vote for a different Democrat than the ones that ignored you when they should have helped.

Osama bin Laden is dead and President Obama missed an opportunity for greatness

Let me start off by saying President Obama made the right decision. Eliminating Osama bin Laden was the right thing to do. I have made no secret my dislike for our President's policies, but he made the right choice this time. All of the events leading up to the decision aside, it fell upon the President to ultimately decide what to do. I would have rather seen him captured than killed, but if that's how it fell out then that's how it fell out. Sometimes you have to accept the decisions of the personnel in the field and stand by them. Monday morning quarterbacking what someone should have thought in the middle of a firefight sometime after midnight a half a world away from your comfortable bed is not how the military should be handled.

That being said, good for you, Mr President.

What he missed out on was his speech. Instead of focusing on how he made the decision and he was right to do so, he could have made strides towards ending the bitter division in our government. He could have said something along these lines:

"This is a victory for the nation. This is a victory for the men and women in uniform who performed their jobs with their usual mix of professionalism and consummate skill. This is a victory for the policies of my predecessor, without which we would not have garnered the intel that brought us to this monumental day. I have learned that good ideas are not the sole property of one political party, so from this day forward I encourage Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, to remove the party affiliation from the proposed idea and take it on its own merits. Good ideas should be put into action, regardless of source. Bad ideas should be eliminated or moderated. From this day forward my administration will lead by example in this area. Our task is not over. Our nation is not secure, but we are safer now. Let us continue the work before us to make our nation secure."

Then do it. Actually do something positive about eliminating the vitriol that has become so commonplace in our governing and legislative process. I keep hearing those on the left screaming about how Bush failed and Obama succeeded. They keep hammering that waterboarding and "black ops" prisons weren't needed to gather the information.

To fully believe this, you would have to assume that nothing Bush did contributed in any way to the intel that was gathered leading to this monumental place and that is not true. We wouldn't have had Kaleed Sheik Mohammad if not for Bush's policies. He did not provide any intel until after he was waterboarded. That intel was confirmed by other sources that were kept in those same "black ops" prisons.

This was truly a victory for the American political process for we had a Republican President start a job that a Democrat President finished. Neither one could have succeeded without the other. Those are the facts, like them or not. Mental gymnastics trying to make the facts conform to preconceived notions helps no one.

I am not saying Bush did not state repeatedly that Osama bin Laden was not his top priority. I am not saying that Obama did not state repeatedly that Osama bin Laden was his top priority. Both of those are facts. I am saying that the goals each had was reinforced and unattainable without what came before. We need to see that, accept it and realize that we are much stronger united than we could ever be divided.

President Obama could have used this moment to unite the nation behind him, guaranteeing him a second term and ushering in an era of co-operation that the Nation desperately wants and needs but he didn't. He still could, but with much less of an impact. That's a missed opportunity that I hope doesn't come back to haunt us.

We are the United States of America. Its about time we started focusing on what Unites us.

Shay's Rebellion and What it Means in 2011

For those of you educated in the public school system, Shay's Rebellion took place in Western Massachusetts during the 1780s after the American Revolution. It became an important event in US history when taken together with other rebellions at the time because the cause was taxes. Daniel Shay was the man behind the rebellion; a veteran of the Continental Army (they fought on our side) who resigned after being wounded and left for home unpaid. Upon arriving at home, he ended up in court for unpayment of debt (likely due to having been unpaid while serving in the Continental Army) and saw many many others in the same situation.

Being a revolutionary sort of person, he mounted a rebellion made up of the folks who were being taken to the cleaners. At one town meeting, a farmer phrased it this way:

"I have been greatly abused, have been obliged to do more than my part in the war, been loaded with class rates, town rates, province rates, Continental rates and all rates...been pulled and hauled by sheriffs, constables and collectors, and had my cattle sold for less than they were worth...The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers."

Note that when he says "rates" he's referring to what we call taxes. What does he mean by that? Well, let's look at a bit of Massachusetts history, shall we? 1778, the first attempt at a state Constitution was shot down in the vote to ratify. In 1780, a state Constitution is ratified over the objections of many small towns and communities, setting a precedent in state politics that exists to this day. 1781, the state's paper money (money at the time was issued be each state) issued in 1778 drops to 1 fortieth of its issued value. So a state dollar was be worth 2.5 cents. And you thought our inflation was bad!

The courts are filled with people from the wealthy families who predominantly reside in the eastern part of the state and that does nothing to endear these now impoverished farmers who plead their cases and are largely ruled against. Such is the situation that protests are started in Western Massachusetts by Samuel Ely in 1782 against both the court system and state policies. The following year (1783) Job Shattuck from Groton, MA leads a group armed with clubs and staves against the tax collectors. In 1784 the courts are flooded with cases of unpaid debts like our good friend Daniel Shay. In 1785 a man in sentenced to 70 days in prison for unpaid debts.

Daniel Shay blows his top, grabs some men and they charge the courts of Northampton, Great Barrington, Concord, Taunton and Springfield in 1786, disrupting proceedings and shutting them down. The governor of Massachusetts responds with the Riot and Milita Acts; a proclamation declaring Danny and his boys (I couldn't resist) to be traitors. It goes further by stating that any gathering of more than 12 armed people in public is illegal and empowered sheriffs to kill anyone participating in said gathering. That's called elimination of the right to fair trail. Samuel Adams (well after his first brewery failed) declared that any rebellions against the republic should be put to death. The state legislature suspends the right of Habeas Corpus, or release from unlawful detention. Job Shattuck is wounded while resisting arrest, shipped to Boston and imprisoned without trial or bail.

By 1787 Danny's boys, called Regulators, are organized into 6 regiments throughout Hampshire country. A governmental militia is sent west and they fire upon the Regulators at the Springfield Armory. A state of rebellion is declared and by February the fighting is over and the rebellion is quelled.


The fallout: Shays and the Regulators are captured, imprisoned, fined and two are hung for looting. The majority are given conditional pardons in exchange for surrendering their firearms and giving an Oath of Allegiance. By mid 1788, all members of the Regulators including the leaders are pardoned. That same year the US Constitution is ratified by 11 of the 13 states (except Carolina and Rhode Island). The Bill of Rights is signed into law shortly thereafter.

But why tell us all this you ask? Surely I could have spent my time here doing something other than typing all this out. Yes but look at what started the rebellion: excessive taxation, devaluation of money and lack of restitution in court. Sound familiar? How much have your taxes gone up? How much has the dollar frankly tanked? Do you think the courts are on your side?

Lucky, the majority of our population hasn't just participated in an open and armed revolt against one government already. We aren't - and shouldn't be - ready for open warfare in the streets and armed rebellion.

That doesn't mean we can't peacefully rebel. We need to hold our representatives and senators responsible for the votes they cast on our behalf. We need to pay the Bill of Rights and take responsibility for those rights we are guaranteed and not lay claim to those that aren't. Educate yourself on what liberties the government is not empowered to infringe and ensure those you vote for do not try to demean, diminish or delete them. This nation of the people, by the people and for the people needs to be run by the people. Do not let them create a false nobility or ruling class. You do not need a degree to run for office. You don't need millions of dollars (but it helps). Your vote matters. Use it wisely.

Far too many have shed far too much blood for you to demean it with willful ignorance.

Random thoughts

Okay, so its been over half a year since I last blogged anything. I don't think that's terrible or a tragedy since few people if any will ever read this but in the interest of keeping it somewhat active, I'm sure I'll find something to rant about.

Many people know I'm a geek (I say it often enough). I own a 2007 Chevy Aveo 5 the cheap one. Its a decent car that has had the crap beaten out of it but it still runs after two accidents and over 120,000 miles so I can't complain. That and its a standard and gets awesome gas mileage.

For the fun of it, I decided to name it the "Little Blue Pirate" and because that's how our sense of humor goes, my wife and I decided once we'd paid it off to put some fierce pirate stickers on it. She saw these and I put them

on. Not exactly what you'd expect to see on a tiny little fuel efficient commuter vehicle, which pleased us to no end.

But as I said earlier, I'm a geek. That means I needed something to declare my geekiness to the world in as obvious and loud a fashion as

possible. If for no other reason than because its fun. So my beautiful bride came through again with this 'tribal Batman' symbol from Rad Dezignes. Actually, its the Nightwing symbol superimposed on the Batman symbol which really feeds my inner geek since Richard Grayson is now Batman. Well, for the time being anyway.

Anyhow, the thing is huge. Its meant for a laptop and

its like 22" x 8". I'm putting it on my hood.

She also found another pirate sticker of a skeletal pirate that we're going to put on the rear window. I've found a couple other pirate decals I want to put on.

I think this is the next pirate sticker I want. I like the swords.

That's about all for a rant today. Maybe I'll post more later.

"Later" being a relative term of course. ;)

Bullies and bullying

In the fine state of Massachusetts, we have a problem with bullies. Or so it would seem. In the past year, two children in western Massachusetts alone committed suicide as a result of being bullied. I heard a talk radio show speaking about it and there was much outrage about What Needs To Be Done and Who's Responsible. The usual suspects were trotted out: the parents, the school administration and the legislature and they are all at fault, but the proper response is not the one being discussed.

This 'disturbing trend' cannot be resolved by more Zero Tolerance regulations that do not work. This cannot be resolved by yet more legislation requiring more programs about bullying. These programs do not work; the bullies ignore them and those being bullied know the adults will never do anything about it. The parents can raise all the objections and call everyone they want to call but nothing will change.

Why? Because the problem is not the bullies; its the culture we've created for our children. Bullies always have and always will exist. We stand as good a chance of eliminating addictions as we do bullies. Its a personality trait and its part of human nature. What we've done by eliminating failing grades and forcing little league teams to not keep score and making everyone play is disable our children's ability to cope with adversity.

In the charge to protect our children from the disappointments we suffered as children, we are failing in our duties as parents. I was bullied as a child. Eventually, I struck back at some of the bullies but learned to tolerate others. I was encouraged by my father to stand up for myself, he didn't stand up for me because he knew that would only make things worse.

Think about that; you were a child so you know its true. These "Zero Tolerance" rules and ridiculous programs all hinge on the bullied child telling on the bully, which only arms the bully. You encourage a child to stand up for himself and your creating an adult. You coddle them and your maintaining a child.

It is the duty of the parents and schools to work together to produce productive members of society; adults capable of living and maintaining a career and a family. We are failing at that sacred charge. Every parent who calls the school to complain about a bully without first arming their child with the courage, strength and skills to stand up to that bully is a failed parent. Every school administration that holds assemblies telling the entire student body 'how to deal with a bully' is failing as administrators. Every administration that takes the stance of 'if you knew what that child was going through at home, you'd understand' is failing as an administration.

Bullies need to be dealt with directly and individually and most effectively by the person being bullied. It doesn't matter what the child is going through at home, that does not give them the right to take it out on others. Allowing that as an excuse does nothing to teach the child individual responsibility. Telling that to a parent only increases their sense of outrage. Telling a child they need to report bullying to an adult excuses them from dealing with their problem as an individual, absolving them of responsibility.

Bullies form important life lessons for a child; for the bully and the bullied.

For the bullied, it is at these young ages that a child learns to stand up for himself, to learn that by his own actions he can determine the outcome of a situation. It empowers him. He learns that he can, through force of will, have an affect on the world around him. It prevents him from meekly accepting the difficulties of life but facing them head-on. A child with such experience learns that he sets his own rules on acceptable behavior from those around him.

For the bullies, they learn there are consequences to their actions. They learn that just because they are bigger or stronger that they cannot do whatever they want. They learn that sometimes there is a price to be paid for what they think is simply just fun. They learn to empathize with others, especially if someone they picked on suddenly bloodies their nose.

I know, "you're advocating violence!" Yes, I am. In our interactions with others, there must be a common understanding of communication. Sometimes, that language is violence. Yes, we should always strive to avoid such conflict but neither should we shrink from it. Confrontations do not always mean violence, but everyone must be prepared for that if the situation requires it.

"But J, adults can always avoid violence."

No, not really. What Saddam Hussein did prior to being removed from office was bully the UN. The only response after years of his continued bullying was violence. He chose that response. Thankfully, President Bush had the testicular fortitude to do what was necessary when faced with a bully: call their bluff. Bloody their nose.

Without arming our children with the knowledge that there are consequences to our actions and that there are unpleasant tasks in life that need to be done, we are creating eternal children who will never be capable adults. These children will be the ones who look to others to lead them from the difficulties in their lives. These children will be dependent upon others to provide them with jobs and a sense of security. These children will not be leaders our nation will need in the future. They will not be representatives of the entrepreneurial spirit that enables the USA to be a world leader in innovation. They will not be willing to take the risks that reap great rewards in life. These children will be the future that results in the destruction of our great nation.

It is how we face adversity that defines the society we live in. Every one of us, every day faces these decisions and therefore defines our society. How we are perceived as individuals is determined by how we react to difficulties in our lives. The US as a nation would not be able to help our neighbors in Haiti if our military was not prepared, trained and equipped with the tools necessary to do so. We as individuals would not be able to assist our neighbors unless we too, are prepared, equipped and trained to do so.

The bullies in my life taught me that every situation requires a different solution. In some cases, I responded with violence, in others it wasn't necessary. What I learned is that bullies had no power over me unless I gave it to them. That lesson defined how I reacted to other struggles and adversities in my life.

We should be empowering our children. Bullies are not the problem, they're an opportunity for our children to learn vital life lessons. We should never let such opportunities pass us by.

Localities and Local issues

The town I live in is one of two currently being courted by Mohegan Sun for the building of a resort casino. We are also facing the possible closing of the middle school.

Who said local politics weren't fun?

On the school front, the superintendent of schools held an informational meeting with the town to illuminate the possible closing of the middle school, which would mean some 400 students would suddenly need to find space in either the already over-crowded high school or the already over-crowded elementary school. There are a number of problems, among which is that the superintendent is stating that they have no control over about 96% of their budget. These are fixed costs like utilities, busing, and Individual Education Plans for student requiring special care (which carries the weight of law in Massachusetts). The remaining 4% is discretionary funding which is books, papers, pens, pencils and other paraphernalia of learning. As a father of four children, I wonder at that number since I know we provide paper, pens and pencils and I've seen the same text books show up with child after child.

He is stating that the schools received a 58% cut in funding in total from the state in various ways. He was asked by the state education board to prepare four budgets: a level budget and budgets with a 5%, 10% and 15% cut in funding. He stated that the administration is not receiving any raises this year in an effort to mitigate the budget.

Good for them - I've gone without a raise for two years running and this year doesn't look good either. Pardon my lack of sympathy, but its about freaking time. Consider that last year the administration had an 8% pay raise if you average it out over all administrators and the year before was 10%. Even if I had gotten a raise I would have been lucky to see 3%. Boo freaking hoo for the administration.

The people of this community have been making do with less for years. I won't get into the national or state politics that caused that because that's not what this post is about. The end result is that since 2008 people in this community on average have not seen an increase in their income but have seen an increase in spending. Gas taxes have gone up. Sales taxes have gone up. The price for oil, gasoline and natural gas has gone up. The price for food has gone up. The price for clothing and other goods has gone up. That's not even talking about the credit card interests. I personally am facing possible foreclosure on my house and I still have a good paying job. That's mostly due to sudden emergency expenditures like an exploding boiler, a leaky roof, failed appliances and plumbing repairs that I did myself. We were unable to secure any loans other than for the boiler. Our credit cards have had the interest rates increased and the credit limits decreased. We are behind in all our debt. I haven't mentioned it because we're not alone, and we're better off than some if not most. I only mention this now because its about time the government in some way starts to feel the pinch.

There was no sympathy at all for what the schools were going through, only outrage. Outrage because we were led to believe that this would be a question and answer session where we would have the opportunity to discuss the issue. Outrage over the wisdom and safety concerns of placing ten and eleven year olds in the same building as seventeen and eighteen year olds within weeks of a report of a twelve year old getting raped by a seventeen year old. Outrage over the sense that no one in the school administration seems to feel anything about it at all; no concern, guilt, anger, humiliation or even frustration. A token attempt was made to place blame on the town government but everyone in the audience has been (or should be) aware that the town has been one step from bankruptcy for years now.

I fail to see how the school administrators can feel closing the school will do anything positive in regards to their budget. The bulk of their budget from their own numbers is spent on IEPs and other fixed costs which will not be affected by closing the school building. This has the feel of a scare tactic meant to panic the public, a public that is already stretched to the breaking point with tension, worry and very real fear. This was a bad move.

Now onto the casino! Free-flowing money, food, drinks and scantily clad beautiful women are what you think of when you hear casino. That's what the advertisers and the movies have drilled into our heads. A pseudo-classy world of fun and excitement and romance that could exist within our town borders. We are led to believe that having a billion dollar resort casino would bring much-needed jobs, traffic to area businesses and relief to the town coffers.

HA!

The area they want to put the casino in is across the street from the entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike. This is a resort casino - a one-stop shop complete with restaurants, gas stations, stores and hotels so that casino patrons will never have to leave the casino for any reason whatsoever. So much for traffic to area businesses.

Casino jobs require training and experience that you really can't get anywhere else. Do you know all the rules of blackjack, five or seven card stud, 21, pitch and poker? Can you deal cards? Do you know how to run a high-tech security center? Are you familiar with the laws regarding gambling in Massachusetts? (Right now there's only one: its illegal but the current state legislature will change that and no doubt to the benefit of the casino that's lining their pockets) Can you spot someone cheating from across a crowded room or someone underage using a fake ID? Casino jobs involve very unique and particular skills. Jobs may end up coming to our area but not immediately and not high-paying ones. So much for much-needed jobs.

We live in a state that is notorious for raising taxes on businesses. So notorious that we've been hemorrhaging businesses and jobs for years. People have followed the jobs and left this state; we are one of I think five states to have actually seen a population decrease. Why would any business want to come to Massachusetts? Tax breaks. The governor wants to have state-run casinos, but if that were purely the case why would a casino spend the sort of cash that Mohegan Sun has spent courting my area and New Bedford? The answer is that they have to believe very strongly that they're going to get some sort of sweet-heart deal. Chances are that the state is going to give the casinos a bye on their taxes for a few years. The state is betting on making that up in other sources of revenue.

Silly state - don't you know better than to bet against a casino? The house ALWAYS wins in the long run.

Long time no blog

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a while. I have my reasons but I'm not sharing them. So there.

Foreign Policy

The days of the US taking a single-minded approach to foreign policy is past. I'm not convinced it was ever a good idea but regardless, its an idea whose time has come and gone. I'm not a fan of President Obama and did not vote for him, so let me just say that right out of the gate. He is doing everything he said he'd do in his campaign and that is to change the face of the US government. I disagree with the direction he's taking but that's why I didn't vote for him. I'm not going to get into his domestic policies in this particular rant: there's enough fodder there for quite a few posts/rants. This particular post is in regards to his rather disastrous thus far foreign policy.

It is popular among certain groups of intelligentsia to malign the United States or previous administrations and that's fine for them to do as private citizens. No nation is perfect and we have plenty of skeletons in our closet, however I do not want to see my President, the leader of the United States going into other countries and apologizing for the previous administration. That's airing dirty laundry that doesn't need to be aired and it's taking a pot-shot at someone who is no longer a threat to your own policies. It has no place on the international stage. If a Democrat wants to stand up in Congress and say they hate all Republicans, fine - I'll applaud their honesty if nothing else. But to have the sitting President go in front of the leaders of other nations and basically say "hey that guy I replaced was an idiot and I'm sorry you had to deal with him" isn't being politically savvy. Its not a way to get other leaders on our side. It doesn't buy political points with anyone. All it does is make it look like you cannot get past the previous administration and are more interested in pointing fingers than getting results. If behind closed doors you say it in the course of negotiations, that's fine. Stating it in a speech is amateurish and childish.

When is someone going to do something positive with South America? Here's a quick catch-up to those who haven't been paying any attention to our fellow Americans south of the isthmus. Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is more than just a petty dictator who hates America and will malign the United States to anyone willing to listen: he has dreams of turning South America into one unified government under his despotic rule.

He came to power in Venezuela after failing in a coup to take over the nation in 1992. He then went to visit his friend and colleague in Cuba, Fidel Castro and came back with a number of Cubans loyal to him. They became citizens of Venezuela and through the use of the Bolivarian Circles voted him into office in 1998 mostly by strong-arming those who weren't going to vote for him, much like ACORN does here in the United States, only more successfully. The same tactics have been used in his "re-elections" that good ole' Jimmy Carter "certified".

The official story however is that he worked hard after being released from prison to earn the trust of the public. He created the Fifth Republic Movement on the ideas of basically dismantling then recreating a new republic. He claimed that the constitution at the time preserved the two parties in control of Venezuela. Basically he took "hope and change" to an extreme and used community organizations organized by people from Cuba get himself into the top spot.

Once in office, his Bolivarian Circles became his grassroots organization: they found his political opponents who he then suppressed and denied services to. They intimidated the politically ambiguous into voting for him and act as a sort of Hitler Youth for his administration. He started making overtures to other governments and created the Union of South American Nations which he rightfully thinks will be the first step to creating a single continent-wide country. He has also been working with FARC to undermine the governments in other South American nations that are not on good terms with him. His allies in Ecuador and Brazil are particularly stringent in their support of their fellow socialist/communist. At one point, Venezuela and Ecuador had their military units stationed along Columbia's border as a threat.

But wait! you say - isn't Columbia pretty much owned and run by the Drug Cartels? Not really, not anymore. Presidente Alvaro Uribe of Columbia has been rather successful in driving them out or lowering their influence, so much so that much of Mexico's problems stem from the fact that Columbia is no longer a safe haven for them run by a puppet government. Columbia is perhaps our staunchest ally south of the border at this point.

So why should we care?

Draw the connections. Venezuela has ties directly and through Cuba to Russia and China and therefore to North Korea. As a member of OPEC, Venezuela also has ties to Iran, Lybia and Saudi Arabia and therefore to Hamas. Hugo Chavez has been very vocal in his support of FARC and has 'demanded' that the US and the UN Human Rights Council removes them off their Terrorist Watch lists. Venezuela also undermines the United States' foreign policy at every opportunity at one point even calling the sitting President of the US the Devil himself.

Good thing President Obama apologized to the world then, isn't it? Never mind that the alliance is forming right under our very noses of a global network of terrorist supporters. Never mind that the very act of apologizing places you in a position of weakness. Never mind that because of the still tunnel-vision aspect of foreign policy North Korea, who has nukes and missiles to put them on, has been relegated to be dealt with by Russia and China who are both supporters of North Korea.

Our enemies are circling and forming alliances. They are approaching foreign policy with a global view and unless and until we do the same and assume a position of strength, we will continue to set ourselves up for failure. If we're lucky in another fifty years, historians will be wondering if President Obama turned a blind eye to what was happening so that we'd have an excuse to enter World War III just like our historians wonder the same about President Truman and World War II.

3rd Shift Woes

I work 3rd shift now and I have worked 3rd shift at previous places of employment. One thing I've noticed during that time is that having a 24/7 operation requires much more effort on the part of management. Otherwise, there will be things that 1st shift knows that 2nd and 3rd don't and stuff that 1st and 2nd know that 3rd doesn't. I believe - and I am now in a management position - that keeping everyone properly informed is a function of management.

To me it doesn't matter what you do, who you do it for or where you do it, your job is to make your boss look good. Their job is to make sure you have everything you need to make them look good. That's it. How you go about making your boss look good depends on your job and situation but that's it. If everyone followed this 'work philosophy' then work would be much easier to deal with.

Then again if everyone just did their own jobs that would help too.

I'm in a rather bad mood and I don't really know why.

It's Official!

I hate this administration. When I say "this" I really mean "both the state and the federal administrations that are conspiring to make me bankrupt". They've conspired between the two of them to seize an additional 3.7% of my income. I've lost a noticeable chunk of my take-home pay thanks to these two morons.

That's right - morons. I'm flat out stating it: Deval Patrick and Barak Obama are fiscal morons. JFK that Democrat pipe-dream once said that it is an irony of the economy that lowering taxes increases the state income yet these two have imagined that doing the opposite will increase it even more. Because of that I've lost what is equivalent to my car loan payment to the feds and the state.

Please, someone explain to me how this can possibly help the economy by taking more money out of the people who drive the economy: the paying public? Think of it this way: if you want people to spend more money, should you take money away from them? How will that encourage us to spend money? How will seizing a car company or two as well as controlling the banks help? The last guy that did that when he got in power was considerably shorter and had a goofy moustache. But wait! President Obama is going to make Chrystler and GM make cars that are more eco-friendly and efficient! That'll make people more likely to buy them!

That other guy had a similar idea: he made a government controlled car company make a new division that would sell cars for the common people of his economically devastated nation. They called it the Folks' Car a.k.a. Volkwagon.

Yes, I am comparing the socialist nationalist policies of our President with the socialist nationalist policies of Hitler. Are you going to report me to the American Youth Council? Will you shut me down with the Fairness Doctrine?

Anyone who votes for anyone who is currently in office - regardless of what party - is an idiot. They're all in on it. Every last one and I don't care which parenthetical letter follows their name. They're all guilty of selling out the American Dream and the Constitution they're supposed to defend from all enemies foreign and domestic.

I'm not unhappy - I'm getting pissed off.

We need a return to the Constitution. We've swung far enough to the left it's time to swing back to the right. Enough Progressive nonsense: its time for some Conservative nonsense! They've gone too far. I've been holding my tongue. I really have. With all the international policy disasters, the poorly thought out economic policies, the frankly devastating response to the current financial crisis (which is not truly improving in spite of what the talking heads on the propaganda channels say), the aspirations to nationalize healthcare and all hospitals as well as the frighteningly inept approach to North Korea I think I'm ready to say that in my not very humble opinion that the Obama Administration is a failure that does not deserve a second term. The banks have not started loaning money. Until that happens the economy is not on the recovery trail. I don't care what the stock market says.

Today is a weird day

So David Carradine died by apparent suicide while filming a movie in Bangkok.  President Obama gave a speech in the Middle East and I almost liked it.

Today is a weird day.

More sketches

More sketches ....

AAAAHHHHH!!!

Ever have one of those days where no matter what you do you can't seem to get things done right?  It feels like I've had one of those sort of years.  I need a break - a night out with my beautiful bride should work.  I hope so.  My other ways of blowing steam haven't been working and I really really really need to blow off some steam.

Work stuff is terribly frustrating.  There are things I need to do yet the universe seems stacked against me.  I feel like I'm dragging an elephant uphill by the tail and it's struggling against me.

*sigh*

Calgon take me away!!

An Iranian Mosque was bombed last night.  Surprisingly, the Iranian government is blaming the US.  I wish I could say I was surprised.  I also wish I could say I was sure we didn't pay these jokers to do this.  This is the problem when you have a dictator who hates the US coupled with years and years of media coverage that also hates the US.  

My kingdom for a return to impartial investigative journalism!

Some more sketches

Here's some sketches that I've done fairly recently.