When I left the office with my personal belongings in a plastic bag after a sad meeting in 2008, I had no idea I’d still be between jobs two years later.  For over 100 weeks, I’ve worked to continue my career – applying for at least two jobs per day – attending job-seeker support and skill groups – creating many versions of several resumes with hundreds of cover letters.  During that time, a background check falsely reported me as a felon so the job offer was rescinded, an agency found a credit-line frozen by the bank when my payroll direct deposit stopped so the interview was cancelled, and a counselor me advised that firms choose not to hire old people so I should remove dates from my resume – it seemed to work until a group interview when I stuck out like a sore thumb – an old one.  I was always busy, doing contract and part-time jobs as often and well as possible, volunteering for church and community tasks, trying to be a good home-maker – but mostly, I spent over twenty hours week in a job search – time that appears now to be wasted.

But the real issue isn’t me and my resumes or time.  While age discrimination happens and hurts (both victims and perpetrators), the real problem is there are few good position openings and that makes the hiring process complicated (for both the seeker and advertiser).  While it is true that sitting out as a professional has disrupted my skills and attitude, the reality is today’s jobs are for lower pay, fewer benefits and rights, and more pressure.   The statistics of unemployment don’t talk about my friend who worked 25 years making cars for $25 per hour who now does food service food for $12 or the guy working two part-time jobs with no benefits but enough income to keep their house and insurance or the gal who turned on Social Security at 62 but keep searching for work.  Job Creation programs that rely on busting unions and raising retirement ages are dangerous.

I’ve tracked the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday Classified help-wanted ads since my CEO told me it wasn’t working out and I find no hidden pattern or story in them.  Nor is there a job for me – as long as my work is outsourced, job statistics are manipulated, and budgets outshine sustainability.

Colleen Waterhouse: She is the chapter chairwoman of the American …

www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/17/…/many-faiths-pay-tribute-to-dr.html

Many faiths pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

STACIA GLENN; Staff writer    - Published: 01/17/11  1:54 am

Hundreds gathered Sunday in the name of social justice to acknowledge the profound achievements of Martin Luther King Jr
and share the hope that his vision will eventually become reality.

Redeeming the Prophetic Vision event at Urban Grace Church in downtown Tacoma Washnigton. The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. interfaith service incorporated four different faiths, with blessings, an awards ceremony for civil rights leadership, musicians, and theatrical and spoken word performances.

Hundreds gathered Sunday in the name of social justice to acknowledge the profound achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. and share the hope that his vision will eventually become reality. The Fifth Annual “Redeeming the Prophetic Vision” interfaith service drew people from all colors and creeds to Urban Grace Church in downtown Tacoma.

Representatives from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and Sikh, Jewish and Christian communities offered blessings for the congregation. A message of peace was woven throughout performances given by church members and anti-war activists.

“We want to celebrate all the faiths in the world because each gives us a message of equality and social justice,” said Eve Bowen, co-chairwoman of the event’s planning committee.  Attendees were greeted by men playing drums and were asked to participate in song and prayer.

Dexter Gordon, an African-American studies professor at the University of Puget Sound, gave an impassioned speech recalling the words spoken by past presidents trying to console a nation.  He referenced national tragedies such as the Civil War, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion and the recent Tucson shootings.  “As we think about violence that has beat this nation … our hearts are broken but our spirits cannot be broken,” Gordon told the audience.

Four people were honored in the Tacoma Civil Rights Honor Roll for their dedication to the community through continuous activities. Each was handed a glass plaque and flower bouquet after the emcee described their lifetime achievements.

Heather Olmstead, 24, said she hadn’t been sure what to expect when she arrived at the interfaith service.  A recent transplant from Puyallup, Olmstead walked to Urban Grace to check out the MLK event and left feeling pleased to hear political rhetoric mentioned in church.  “I loved it,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m glad they opened it up to the interfaith community. And it’s not every day you hear politics in church, so I was happy about that.”

Event organizers said they hope all who attended left the church inspired to help those in need and give back to their community.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/17/1505277/many-faiths-pay-tribute-to-dr.html#ixzz1BJZEE6Zz

TACOMA CIVIL RIGHTS HONOR ROLL

Carl Brown: A civil rights advocate in the city since 1968, Brown was president for six years of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Colleen Waterhouse: She is the chapter chairwoman of the American Civil Liberties Union and was instrumental in creating the citizen oversight panel for the Police Department.

Peg Murphy: As executive director of Catherine Place, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for women, Murphy offers support and advocacy to those affected by poverty, violence and loss.

Pauline Camille-Matheson: Once a secretary of the Survival of the American Indian Association, Camille-Matheson worked to ensure that tribal members could exercise their right to fish in the Puyallup River.

I have been applying for jobs – and now this.

From November 1^st to 17^th 2010, I did several interviews & presentations at a college as I applied to be a part-time instructor.  On the 19^th, I was accepted and filled-out several paper & online forms.  On 11/22, I picked up materials to be used for the course (Computer Networking Standards & Protocols) and began to prepare for the winter term’s 11 class sessions.  For 2 weeks, I worked on the class (reading & researching and making handouts & overheads) and attended faculty training.  As of 12/9, I had put in over 20 hours and was almost ready for the next day’s 1st class – hooray!

Then, at 3pm, I got a call from the campus administrator saying the background security check had found a problem and I was not authorized to teach for them.  I stayed calm and asked for any information he would tell me.  He said they found I was arrested and found guilty of prostitution in Milwaukee in 1996.  I protested, saying a mistake had been made (I didn’t live in or visit Wisconsin in 1996) and asking how to fix this so I could teach the next day.  He said I’d be mailed a form to dispute the finding but the decision was final – I would not be teaching for them this term.  Again, I protested and he informed me that there was an exact match of name, birth-date and Social Security Number, it was clearly me and this was unacceptable for their instructors.

I was shocked.  I called my spouse and asked for her help.  She suggested I go online and see if there was a court case or arrest record they had found on the internet.  I did a search and found a case: Robert Aname Radford, born 9/24/1947, living at 123 A Street Acity WI, was found guilty of 944.30 on 5/9/1996.  Ouch!  But I am Robert Radford (no middle name) born 9/27/1947 and never lived in Acity – close but not me!  I didn’t find the defendant’s SSN but maybe it is close, but not equal, to mine.

I emailed and called the college immediately, within an hour of their disarming call to me, to report my findings.  The decision that I would not teach was confirmed but they said they believed me.  As I raised the issue of whether I had, in fact, ever been involved in prostitution, it sounded like the denial was itself damning.

As the credits rolled by, we noticed one of the last screens referred to a Chief of Morale, a position held by Mick Tohill.  It struck a chord … we kept backing up to read the details.

I have to think about this.

We stand here in protest of the philosophy of war  …   we stand against the weapons of war   …   war is NOT a solution to an economic collapse or a need for oil.

UNIVERSAL  DECLARATION

of   HUMAN  RIGHTS

Can we talk about what rights we say should be granted to all world citizens & living beings?

The United Nations General Assembly
adapted & proclaimed a UDHR in 1948.

Right to Equality                    Freedom of Belief & Religion

Right to Fair Public Hearing            Freedom from Slavery

Right to Desirable Work               Freedom of Information

Right to Social Security       Freedom from Discrimination

Right to Marriage & Family                  Freedom from War

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.    We are endowed with reason and conscience.

Everyone has a right to life, liberty  & personal security.

No one shall be in servitude & slave trade is prohibited.

We have a right to free choice of fair employment,  to protection against unemployment,  and to be in unions.

No one has a right to hold weapons of mass destruction – no matter whom or for what.   We cannot live in fear.

–

Hey, thanks.

“The Economic Bill of Rights”

On January 11, 1944, in the midst of World War II, President Roosevelt spoke forcefully and eloquently about the greater meaning and higher purpose of American security in a post-war America. The principles and ideas conveyed by FDR’s words matter as much now as they did over sixty years ago, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt American Heritage Center is proud to reprint a selection of FDR’s vision for the security and economic liberty of the American people in war and peace.

Excerpt from 11 January 1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union

It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

-
source: The Public Papers & Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt (Samuel Rosenman, ed.), Vol XIII (NY: Harper, 1950), 40-42

 explains and predicts

the US invasion of Afghanistan

It IS hard to believe - the story is 2,500 years old!   
But, check this out.

The Bear and the Bees

A bear was walking through the woods when a bee stung him.
The bear was so angry that he decided to seek revenge on the whole bee family. He went to the beehive and whacked it with his paw.
At that, all the bees in the family attacked him and he had to run and dive in the river. When he came out, he was still covered with painful stings.
“I should have overlooked what one bee did and not have caused the whole pack of them to come after me,” he said.

 Treason!    Peacemaker!    Radical!

Some leaders in ancient Greece were upset by such stories. They had Aesop arrested (using the PATRIOT ACT?) & abused. He was judged & punished by death.

WHY  do we stand here?
Each has different reasons  - statements  … we’re glad to talk with you

 I  am  a  witness

 We listen   and   watch   and    ask again    and pray for justice  . . .
How did  ”Close Guantanamo”  mean US would render detainees elsewhere?
No lies … Afghanistan “US Troop count”  must include 150,000 contractors.

 I am a resistor to weapons people use in war

  Some of us bang on nuclear missiles with hammers
Some suffer from Weapons of Mass Destruction used in Viet Nam – including
                Agent Orange                     Napalm              nuclear-tipped bullets
We hold signs         Stop Torture       No Rendition           No More Hiroshima
We are a conscience        No More Landmines      Fund Healthcare        Vote. 

I  am  a  peacemaker

 Some oppose  ALL WAR  –  WAR ISN’T THE ANSWER  -  sustain life
We’re against THIS WAR – escalation of US invasion of Afghanistan is WRONG
If we see conflicts early+widely, let’s advocate civil & peaceful resolution.

I say  “Not in My Name”

 I’m not confident we can End War … We seek definition of “Just War”
How do we stop horrendous genocide without forcing them to end it?
USA isn’t best or only force for such protection - that’s why world made UN!

United States of America has a tough choice

We have 9999 nuclear weapons but deny Iran the research to build 1.
The pressure to “Win in Afghanistan” is tremendous … is war a game -
and US leaders know some well-placed Hiroshima-type bombs could win it.

We make it hard for the war-makers – if we’re here … watching …

 & another reason … we believe in the prophecy of Micah

–  –  – 

ADDICTED  TO  WAR
Why the U.S. Can’t Kick Militarism 

An illustrated exposé
By Joel Andreas

 Some (51%) of the tax money the IRS takes out of our paychecks goes for the military.  Military spending is over half of the Federal USA Government annual discretionary budget.   The co$t to us to be  a superpower  is high.

From 1898 – 1934, our US Marines invaded Cuba 4 times, Nicaragua 5 times, Honduras 7 times, the Dominican Republic 4 times, Haiti twice, Guatemala once, Panama twice, Mexico 3 times  and  Columbia 4 times …

“Our people are the ruling race of the world.  We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race  –  trustee under God of the civilization of the world.  HE has marked us as his chosen people … HE had made us adept in government so we may administer the savage & senile people.”
                             ~ US Senator Albert Beveridge of Indiana, 1900

In 1890, the trees and coal of the western ridges of the Appalachian Mountains were being harvested.  “Harvest” is a word that barely describes the devastation done by the lumber and mine companies as they stole the natural resources and beauty of the land.  I was surprised to learn of the disregard the firms had for each other.  Railroads, with their steam locomotives made of steel (probably from Pittsburgh), were used to move the loot down the mountains.  The water to fill their tanks was taken from local streams & lakes – water being so badly polluted by the mining companies that it rusted the trains.  (The water had a bad color (& smell); we saw it 100 years later.)  The lumber and railroad companies sued the mining companies to recover the losses to their machines.  There was no mention of damages to the land or people and such notions were not considered in the courts.  They settled the law suits, establishing that mines needed to ruin the water and that (as long as people didn’t die immediately) further studies were needed.  The solution the courts and companies made was that the filthy water would be diverted from where trains were taking water.  Huge aqua ducts were built using lumber purchased by the coal companies.  The unbelievable part to me was that the water, known to rot metal, was sent down the mountains into the rivers upstream from the city of Pittsburgh. 

In 1940, the air in the city of Pittsburgh was bad.  It was so dirty and unhealthy that it was not good to live or even visit there.  Everyone knew the causes of the soot and smell and almost everyone thought it was ok … worth it … a point of pride.  People’s eyes would water, headaches were common, and various lung diseases were being discovered.  (If you never went to Pittsburgh, you might think I’m exaggerating but I’m not.  In 1953, my family spent a weekend there and vowed never to visit again.)  As steel mills and shipping firms grew in the early 1900′s, so did smog and pollution.  The population also grew, as workers migrated from farms and wars demanded weapons.  There was a group of corporate workers who did not live in the city, choosing instead to build homes far away from downtown.  Leaders of banks, corporations and government moved their families into the beautiful western ridges of the Appalachians, including Acme and Ligonier, building world-class houses, parks and schools.  Special train and auto roads were constructed to facilitate their commutes.  Owners of stores and factories in downtown Pittsburgh hired famous architects to build castles in the Chestnut Ridge – some of the sites were determined so that they could actually see the haze of the city that was creating their wealth.  Fifty years later, these homes stood like monuments to the wealth of their owners and like memorials for the people who were consumed by those factories. 

In 1990, the economy of Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas was falling apart.  As Free-Trade Agreements and World Trade Organizations made global changes in the economy, steel production and most manufacturing was moving overseas.  (I can imagine what some areas of China smell like today by remembering what was happening in Acme during the past century.)  As factories closed in Pennsylvania (NOT because Americans were demanding clear air but because leaders were exploiting new workers and resources), Pittsburgh teetered on the edge of ruin.  The world class schools and banks that had served the corporate needs of the twentieth century realized they could commute to Mexico just as easily as to Acme … they liked having clean air and cheap property down town … they could use tax dollars (let’s call it urban renewal) to change the demographics of the city to create a whole new economy.  What a beautiful city Pittsburgh has become, as the dirty air and working class jobs were sucked away to “the third world”.  By understanding what and who caused this “decline and re-birth”, we would see much about why the world-wide conference to fix pollution won’t succeed.

In these examples, I find no demonstration that corporate and government leaders care about or for the earth and citizens.  In fact, it seems that exploiting workers and ruining nature (perhaps I should use the term harvest) were minor concerns for most citizens.  How common is it for people to compromise on these issues!  I was in Pittsburgh in 1975 with a professional colleague when the topic of smog came up – I expressed concern for the health of the people and he explained emphatically that “no, that is the smell of progress and opportunity for them”.

We must appreciate the lessons of history.  We cannot afford to get involved with changes in the semantics or processes when the issues are so blatant.  The destruction of the forests and the disregard for the health of people are continuing – maybe even becoming more prevalent.  If you look out your window and don’t see that, it is probably because the consequences are being sent downstream. 

–

 The Associated Press article by Ryan Foley printed in the 12/17/09 WSJ entitled “Just good fun or anti-Semitic?” described how the local college student majority, called sconnies, might be offending the out-of-state coasties. I suggest there are other possible labels of this behavior, including harmful and criminal. By making light of the “Coastie Song” and its mentality, there is a danger of perpetuating a limiting and hateful prejudice. I offer two examples.

As my spouse was recruited to work in Madison, we visited for a week of evaluation and exploration. Part of our decision was based on finding a nice church, so we went to several services. At one, while socializing afterwards, I was told I was dressed badly for their community – I should wear different clothes if we wanted to feel comfortable and welcomed. I believed the person was sharing their concern (well, chauvinism) to be helpful. I didn’t hear or understand all the words – thanks to the article, I now recognize the term “coastie”.

In a job interview in Madison, I was sharing how research I’d done during college would likely be beneficial to the hiring team. One of the interviewers responded by saying that studies and work at my Ivy League school would probably not be actually relevant and would certainly not be perceived as valuable and suggested I re-prioritize my schooling for my Madison job-search to be successful. I am confident that the interviewers were truly not trying to be offensive or mean – in fact, I believe they assumed they were being honest and helpful.

Is the article attempting irony in its portrayal of this demeaning treatment of those from outside, or without “the Wisconsin idea”, as issues of amenities, linguistics or touchiness?

The terms and associated treatments of class and state chauvinism are pejorative, demeaning and hurtful – as much to the coasties as to the sconnies. Welcome to the global village.