If we honor their service, how about a job?

Prior to me joining my current employer, they had made the decision to hire another person in the unit I would manage. The boss decided this would be a good job to give the new manager, which in this case turns out to be me.

I was handed a pile of applications and told to devise a rating system based on company needs and policies…so I reviewed what they had advertised for, and then reviewed a bunch of hiring policy statements.

 

 

Then I did a spreadsheet, and delegated points for things like being a veteran (1 pt), key skills and abilities (10 pt), practical experience(10 pt) and education- degrees and certifications (10 pt).

I then reviewed each application, looking to see how they described things they had done, writing style, and the items in my point scale.

I think the top candidate had 26 pt and got an extra point for being a veteran.

The boss asked why we should care about if they were a veteran, that it’s unrelated to the job.

I replied that a veteran has demonstrated ability to absorb training, self-reliance, judgement, discipline and every veteran I know had hired in my career turned out to be a worthwhile hire. He shrugged and said , “well, OK”.

That people in this country think veterans are unworthy of any benefit at all in hiring is sad. It also is illegal.

 The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA, 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301 – 4335) is a federal law. Part of the law states that its intent to “to prohibit discrimination against persons because of their service in the uniformed services”. Although many believe this applies only to reservists and National Guard called to active duty, another section of the law says no, and says “A person who … has performed… an obligation to …service in a uniformed service shall not be denied initial employment”

Sorry for the employment law lesson, but the above experience apparently is not unique to my company, because on the news they were discussing “rampant unemployment among the nations veterans” and one of the commentators said “Frankly that these people are unemployed in these numbers demonstrates a lack of respect for what they have done for this country”

 

I think enough said.

The Un United Sovereign sub-states of Amerika

I was looking out the window of the high rise I work in now, at this grand flag atop a neighboring building, and wondered how in this politically incorrect world such a huge flag could be flown.

I stood for a moment, and then started to say the pledge of allegiance, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

A smile came over my face, as I recalled how proud I was as a child to say those words from memory.

I heard something behind me, and turned to see two young men, probably in their 20’s , had been walking by and stopped to stare, and so I asked if there was something. They got a embarrassed look and scurried down the aisle.

My new assistant came in and asked what I was doing, and I told her. She smiled and said they probably had never seen someone doing the pledge like that, other than at a ball game or something.  And that made me sad.

Things I never envisioned are reality in this land. I guess that makes me old, maybe stupid, or both. I never thought this country would become so turned against itself. The sense that we are all Americans seems supplanted with multi-culturist correctness that makes me want to be ill.

People are afraid say much of anything to each other, even hello. Children fear strangers as potential molesters; police are reviled as uniformed thugs; military service is thought to be something only the less educated seek to do.

My husband has a Master’s degree, and yet when he would talk to people about his service, they (seriously) would ask if that was the only job he could find…such is the rewards of service.

In my office, none of the older men were ever in the military, which I find odd. NOT one. All are in their late 50’s or early 60’s, which means they were in their late teens during end of Vietnam.

Yet in my dad’s generation, WWII and Korea, it seems ALL the men in the family and all my dad’s friends had seen service.

But as they say that was then, this is now. To me, a lot of “now” is overrated…

Me personally think we need to dial back the clock to say 1980, and  get out of this malaise...

So here we are, again...

So sometime this week, after my last fill-up at 3.91 per gallon, I notice that that magical $4 mark was no longer the rare price for regular, but the most common. Most of the week saw $3.99 then Friday, BINGO! $4.05 a gallon began showing up everywhere...shades of summer 2008, are we destine to see higher prices this summer??

I have seen many commentators on TV saying $5 a gallon regular may become normal in the next few months.

And there is talk by the Congressional Budget Office to tax us on how much we drive IN ADDITION to the gas taxes we pay, because as more and more people drive more efficient cars, they buy less gas(which I thought was the point) so the government needs to tax something else to make up for the gas taxes they aren't getting....

Whatever, more of my life...

The company I left last month was a OK place that slowly devolved into a no promotions, no raises double your work type of place. But it did have somethings going for it, like a mostly automated personnel system.

My new employer is a place i had worked at before, and even though they are spending millions to refurbish their headquarters, their personnel system is still mostly paperwork done by hand. This was pointed out to me today as nearly a month after arriving, they still had not enrolled me in the system, which could be an issue come payday. They assure me they will get it done...I hope so. Because....

Two weeks after arriving at the new place, another of the places i had interviewed with notified me i had been selected as a finalist for a job, and so i picked out some decent clothes and went in for the "panel interview" with all the big shots. Kind of like a friendly interrogation.

When did you do that? Is that on your resume? How can we verify that? What else have you done? etc etc for about a hour and 28 minutes, not that I was counting...I guess somewhere between their parking lot and arriving back at work they decided, and emailed me to call them.

I did and they asked if I would be available March 15, I had the job...I opted for march 18, just so i wasn't bailing too quickly on my current job, but since it is a promotion for me, and might help me make some headway in saving for that rainy day, I need to take it, so I did.

But the rub is if I had not done that, I would have never gotten the email today that my personnel records are incomplete...and so come April 1 it would have been April Fools day for sure, with only a pay check from the employer I start w next Monday. I had a nightmare about that last night, must have been precognition or something.

The project I have been working on has hit a snag, and so they will have to regroup without me...because next week I will be at my new, new job, learning the ropes in a entirely new environment, a financial organization - and no, not a bank or one of the blood sucking bailout takers, they manage tax payments and such. I will be working on implementing a new data system from day one, as in they have a sketchy idea they need something new, but that's about it...this will be either really fun, or suck so bad I will be constantly kicking myself...Sure an glad I am an optimist...

More mindless drivel...

I am reminded of aging every morning when I wash my face from a night of sleep. Staring into the image in the mirror, I see me, and more often than not, I see attributes of my parents. In particular since turning 55, I see my mom at that age more and more.

My doctor has told me to lose weight (don’t they always?) and yet I would be dishonest to say I couldn’t stand to drop some excess baggage…

 Thankfully, I resisted getting married at 18 or 19 or 20 and waited until I finished college and had gone out in the world a bit. My honey and I are celebrating our 30^th year together, a milestone both of us are happy to see, considering we both had dismal first marriages.

Yet we are constantly made aware of the uncertainty in our lives.

The news breaks, and then suddenly we are cognizant that fanatics want us all dead, or that the earth has such power stored away that when unleashed it can destroy our communities in seconds.

We are constantly peppered with news about how screwed we are, our air is poisoned, as are the oceans, and the land under our feet.  How many people today still spread used motor oil on their dirt roads to keep the dust down?

Now I have important chores to do, like take the dog out before bed.

I wonder? How many people have to physically go outside with the dog before it will go out? Mine is like that…I think its some sort of dog mind trick…clever girl J

I have plenty to say, but who is bothering to read it?

No Fly Zone Over Libya?

When asked once about decisions he would do over, President Clinton stated that he wished he would have acted against the advice of his cabinet, and flown military aid to Rwanda.

In a visit to Rwanda in 2005, he expressed regret for his personal failure to prevent the genocide. His wife, the current Secretary of State,  had urged him to intervene.

That was 1994.

Now, another Democratic President is sending mixed signals, while Libyans struggle to rid themselves of Gaddafi. Barely armed civilians are fighting organized and well armed troops, and holding their own. For now.

As Libya's bloody conflict rages on, important lessons for U.S. foreign policy are emerging from the past month's Middle East turmoil. Starting with Tunisia, the Obama administration has seemed repeatedly surprised by anti-regime demonstrations, unsure of the stakes for America and its allies and unprepared conceptually and operationally to deal with the consequences.”

Indeed. Our allies in Europe wait for this administration to lead, for surely as the military power of the day, if America steps in, they will, but only if we do. Yet Obama seems to timid to unsheathe what the NY Daily News calls the  "terrible swift sword” of the United States

Yet Gen. Merrill McPeak, a former Air Force chief of staff is not dissuaded. He flew more than 6,000 hours, half in fighter aircraft, and helped oversee no-fly zones in Iraq and the Adriatic, is  currently mystified by what he calls the “wailing and gnashing of teeth” about imposing such a zone on Libya. His take on a no-fly zone:

“I can’t imagine an easier military problem,” he said. “If we can’t impose a no-fly zone over a not even third-rate military power like Libya, then we ought to take a hell of a lot of our military budget and spend it on something usable.”

He continued: “Just flying a few jets across the top of the friendlies would probably be enough to ground the Libyan Air Force, which is the objective.”

As the saying goes, “Strike while the iron is hot”

Question is, will Obama do it?