Thoughts on racism in the workplace

Allow me to start this post with an apology to my loyal readers. I have not updated this blog in a LONG time. I was distracted by starting my transition from life as a Marine to life as a civilian. But I have gotten my "sea legs" in the civilian world and am now back on top of things. Sorry about the wait.

One thing has vexed my about my transition though. I haven't been able to find a job. I thought that having military experience, a top-secret security clearance, and training in nearly every weapon and tactic related to security operations would surely land me a job guarding something. Yet still no job. Yet I believe I have found the problem! My high school graduating class was 98% white. Apparently this disqualifies me for employment, if you ask Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who, as a federal appeals court judge upheld the decision of a Connecticut fire department to throw out the results of a promotion exam because it would have promoted too many white fire captains and only two hispanics. promoting all who passed would have thrown off the department's diversity ratio. Under her ruling, it is perfectly OK to deny those deserving firefighters a promotion based solely on the color of their skin.

Dicionary.com defines racism as "A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others." Using that as an accepted definition, I pose the following query: does Sonia Sotomayor support racism in the workplace?
Let's examine the facts.

Fact: Denying a person's achievements based on the color of their skin fall under the category of racism. Any arguments?

Fact: Those firefighter's achievements on their promotion exams was denied because there were not enough minorities in the passing portion of the class. Arguments? Moving on...

Fact: If more of the white firefighters had been minorities, they would have been promoted. Ergo their skin was the wrong color to be promoted, ergo racism prevented their achievements from being rewarded.

Fact: Sonia Sotomayor Supports this policy.

Conclusion: Ms. Sotomayor supports racism in the work place, as long as it is directed against whites.

Is this ok, Nation? Can we really still deny employment based on race? And if not, then are we actually going to put someone who thinks we can on the bench of the highest court in the land? Unfortunately, that will probably be what happens. I looked at the Supreme Court's lated group picture. Their ratio is WAY off.

Thoughts on priorities

My dear readers, I come bearing fantastic news of the greatest importance. Having solved ALL OTHER PROBLEMS IN THE COUNTRY, the United States Senate is reviewing the BCS system of determining the #1 college football team in the nation. We should all take a moment to stop and thank the Lord that we as a nation have come to the point where have eradicated the scourges of poverty, hunger, crime, violence, corruption and other injustices that have been plauging man since we were cast out of Eden. For surely this is the only reason that our government can justify taking the time to debate ccollge sports. Unless, of course, our high school PE teachers were right and collegiate sports truely do determine the course of history.

You know what? I'm so excited about this news that I'm going to go share it with my community. Be right back.

Ok, I'm back. Now I'm really confused. I walked out into the city and I could have sworn I saw a homeless man. Right here in Washington DC. In fact, I could even see the capitol building while he was asking me for my change. That's funny, I'm sure I remember the purpose of the US government including a mandate to promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. It seems to me that this man's welfare isn't affected by the BCS. He lives in a box under an overpass. It doesn't seems like he has very many of the blessings of liberty the Senate has obviously secured for all of its citizens. Unless, of course, our government has lost its way, and its members our more concerned with their own careers than with providing real solutions to real problems that are facing real Americans. Unless our President is going back on his promise to help the poor and crack the whip over Congress to get them moving. But no, that can't be. Not here, not in America, not during our new day!

Oh. Wait. It is.

And aren't we supossed to be their bosses?

Thoughts on "core conservative values"

Today my good friend Zac brought up a very valid point. He said in his blog (If you haven't read it, I suggest you do) that the conservative movement has lost its way and given in to the very partisan bickering and big government principles that we once rallied against. I, for one, whole heartedly agree. The time has come for the republican party and the conservative movement as a whole to re-assess what makes us consevatives.

Conservatives have long been viewed as the champions of small government and traditional American values. One of these causes, however, has been betrayed in the past eight years. I speak of course of the cause of small government. It is the call to Washington DC to let Americans live their own lives, free from all but minimal federal meddling. Free to plan their own retirement, secure their own jobs, and provide for themselves and their families as they see fit. When we expand programs such as social security, the Patriot Act, and the nationalization of our banks and health care system, it may look good at first. And those programs, in and of themselves, may not be all bad. Social Security, if it works, provides automatic retirement pay. The Patriot Act, when it's not abused, keeps us safe. Nationalization of banks keeps jobs and loans secure. And socialized healthcare provides "free" healthcare for all. Yet if we are to be called a responsible populace, we must take a step back to look at the larger picture. Social Security doesn't work, and forces Americans to contribute to a retirement plan that they may not want. The Patriot Act gives the federal government unconstitutional insight into our private lives and has enormous potential for abuse. And the natonalization of banks and healthcare estabishes government run entities that private enterprise cannot compete with. The Republican Party needs to refocus on keeping measures such as these from threatening our independant way of life istead of fighting over who Rush is picking a fight with today or if Senator Bunning retires or not. Everyone knows Rush can get a little crazy, and why shouldn't Senator Bunning's retirement be left up to the voters? They are his bosses, aren't they?

The party leadership needs to remember that while they are the shepherds, we are not a mindless flock of sheep that will blindly follow them. We want, nay, demand that our intrests be upheld, not our leaders. The RNC would do well to heed this.

Thoughts on "spillover"

I want you to imagine this scenario: you are sitting down to dinner at your home, relaxing after a hard day's work, when suddenly your door is kicked in by what appears to be a police SWAT team, armed to the teeth. They point their rifles at you, screaming for you to get on your knees. When you do, they place the muzzle of a gun against your head and the last thought that goes through your mind before they splatter your brains over your wall is that these are not cops, but members of a foriegn drug cartel. Where does something like this happen? Africa? China? Eastern Europe? Nope. It happens in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. According to this article by Reuters, America is experiencing an alarming ammount of "spillover violence" from wars being fought between Mexican and South American drug cartels struggling for control over smuggling routes into the USA. Phoenix has now become the kiddnapping capitol of the nation, as tactics used by the aforementioned cartels are being used to scare rivals and raise money right here in America. Right in our very backyards.

"Wow" you say. "Well we'll be OK. surely our government won't take this laying down, it'll be fixed in no time." WRONG! Right now, as this violence rages inside or borders, the Senate is debating the transition from analog TV signals to digital, and the House is debating a bill to buy up several historic battlefields. For years, any attempt to secure our borders in such a way that would prevent outrages like the one I described to you earlier have been met with controversy and outcry by the bleeding hearts and were eventually defeated. Groups that decide to protect their homes on their own, such as the Minutemen, are viewed as right-wing radicals and gun nuts.

Dear readers, the time has come to circle the wagons. Make no mistake about it, we are under attack. Whether the cartels are fighting each other on our land or fighting us on our land makes no difference. It is time for action. The time has come for the government to immediately push legislation to lock down our borders, beef up our under-funded and under-staffed border patrol, and adopt a zero tolerance policy towards illegal immigrants found to be living in our borders. They need to do this before more Americans realize that we have a Second Ammendment for a reason and start organizing to protect their towns, as they would be justified in doing. Are we going to stand for American families being ripped apart by kiddnapping so that some gangland gun-runner can by weapons on the black market? Are we going to let drugs be pumped into our country across a ridiculously open border? Are we going to let gangs of foriegn thugs roam our streets dressed and armed like police officers? Or are we going to take a stand? Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for our nation to collectively grow a pair and say "Enough is enough." The time has come to say that this is our country, and if you want to be a part of it, you have to obey our rules to the letter or we will kick you out so fast you won't know what hit you. These our our streets, and they will be safe to walk on. Go peddle your drugs somewhere else. These are our towns. If you want to come live and work in them, then you need to become a member of this great and proud Republic, or at least get the proper working papers. The time has also come to let our government, both on the state and federal level, know that it's sole reason for existing is to serve and protect the American people. All other concerns are secondary. We paid for their limos and chartered their private jets, now it's time for them to scratch our backs and quit ignoring the crisis on our southern border before it's too late.

Thoughts on someone else's thoughts, Volume 1

I received an email today from my friend Katie in response to my post about the implementation of the stimulus package. She had some remarks about my post that she wanted addressed. Here is her email:

"Obamunism"? Seriously you are comparing this government, the one that has only been in place for less then a month, to a communist state? Have we really thought this one out?

Although I am all for Capatalism, it seems that there has been a bit of abuse from letting everyone run wild. There have been abuses of powers and certainly they should be punished...however the entire nation is screaming for help...and in theory (and I will not say it will definately work) this stimulus package will create and or save millions of jobs.

If you look at the breakdown a good part of it is for tax provisions (which means most likely money in your check) and another big chunk of it is going to education. Education which will help improve many of the problems faced in our society. By improving education we will be helping improve the problem of people leeching off the your pay (refer to your rant reguarding octomom)

Take a look at time this week, there is a lovely breakdown of where the money is going...rather helpful.

I'd love to hear what your solution is to this economic crisis we're in, because i'm hearing a lot of complaining and not much solving :~) Doing nothing can not be the better option.

~Katie

First off, I want to thank her for sending me her concerns. I always love getting emails from friends and readers. By the way, if you want to contact me, my email is malitsey@gmail.com.

Katie, you are right. I have been pretty one-sided in my criticism of the stimulus bill. I should be offering solutions as well. So on that note, I present to you, my beloved readers, an alternative rescue plan for the economic stimulus package. Since most of my ire has been directed towards the American auto industry, my response will use them as an example.

As I've said before, my problem with the way the current stimulus plan works is that it allows the federal government undue control over American companies. This is where my accusations of socialism stem from. An alternative to this that would preserve the sanctity of the free market would be to gear the stimulus towards consumer-end benefits rather than supply-end bail-outs. The government already offers consumers a tax credit when they buy qualifying "green" vehicles such as the Prius. Why not offer an additional tax credit to consumers for purchasing American made cars? This would boost the sales of American vehicles without giving the government undue sway in the boardroom. A tax benefit could also be offered to the Big Three for every model the offer that exceeds the foreign competition in both performance and value. This would give the manufacturers an added incentive to develop superior models, something that they are currently failing to do.

Also beneficial would be targeted tax relief for American families who are living within their means. The housing crash and resulting crisis in the fanancial industry (The other half of the bailout portion of the stimulus plan) was a direct result of people attempting to live outside there current means, and taking out loans that they were not able to repay. While it is between the free citizen and their bank if they wish to attempt such a loan, it would not be out of line for the government to reward financially responsible citizens who's income and savings outweigh their expenses every year. Such a benefit would also encourage others to live more frugally in the future, rather than teaching them that they need not face the consequences of poor decisions. As with the auto industry example, a benefit could be offered to financial istitutions for every loan that is repaid without foreclosure or reposession. This would offer them an incentive to make responsible offers to their customers, rather than trapping them in bad loans and mortgages to make a quick buck.

I do want to applaud President Obama for including measures to help American education. Education is the key to making sure that such a crisis will be averted in the future. An educated populace is less likely to make the mistakes and irresponsible choices that make financial and economic ruin inevitable.

What it boils down to is this. While Obama has the education portion of the plan right, the stimulus needs to focus on rewarding good behaivior (living within your means, producing superior products to generate superior sales) rather than rewarding bad behaivior (making/taking bad loans to finance a lifestyle you can't afford, producing inferior products and expecting superior sales)

If you have an opinion on a post by the Onery Young Man, I would encourage you to post it in the comments section under the post. If, like Katie, your comment is too long for that, you are more than welcome to email me. Emails that are well thought-out, insightful, and tasteful may be published along with a response.

On a related note, be sure to check out my friend Zac's podcast on the economy over at crazyliberalsandconservatives.com. He is a brilliant man with a great blog.

Thoughts on assimilation

Guess what friends? To make up for the two week gap I had between posts due to some work obligations, I'm working overtime to crank out some fresh material for you to feast your brains on. So today you get a bonus 2nd post! Alright, let's sweep up that confetti and wipe up the champagne, we've got work to do.

I was just informed that in the otherwise sane city of Witchita, Kansas, three hispanic families are suing their local catholic diocese over the "english-only" policy held by the diocese's privately run catholic school. They claim that the policy has created a hostile learning invironment for their children and must go. There is just a few kinks in their case. A) All three children involved speak english as their primary language already. B) It's a private school. If the parents don't like its policies, then they can just send their kids somewhere else. C) This is America! English is the primary language of education, business and government! You NEED to know it if you plan on becoming a responsible, long-term member of society.

Let me make one thing very clear. I am NOT anti-immigrant. My ancestors came over to America from Germany many many years ago. They put down roots in the wide forested spaces of Kentucky and became proud Americans. Allow me to repeat that last part. They became proud americans. I don't identify myself aas a German-American. I don't fly a German flag on my lawn. I've been to Germany twice before. It was very nice. But it wasn't my Homeland. I love the classic American immigrant story, coming to America to seek a better furure for yourself and your family, adapting to your new homeland and rising to prosperity through hard work and an enterprising spirit.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's dive right into this. These parents are suing a well meaning and charitible organization for forcing their children to use a language during school-related activities that the children already use as their primary social language. The kids aren't even touched by this rule! They are already speaking english! Secondly, this is not a taxpayer-funded public school that we're talking about here. If it were, you could make an argument, though I would still fight you, that the school has a responsibility to represent all taxpayers in its district, regardless of language. But this is a private, church funded school. One that you pay to get into. One that you voluntarily send your children to. If you don't like it's policies, then you know what? Maybe you should send your kids somewhere else.

Unfortunately, this particular issue is only the tip of the iceberg. Last May, there were pro-immigration rallies held across the nation. While I watched the coverage, I noticed a disturbing trend. People complaining that they were not being treated as true Americans while waving giant Mexican flags and wearing tshirts emblazoned with it's colors. Gee folks, I wonder why you aren't being well-recieved here. I wonder if you would be insulted if I went to live in your country (not vacation in, but live and work in) and insisted that everyone i enteract with speak english to me or have someone on hand who could translate. What if I walked around your country with an American flag tshirt and Old Glory flying in my lawn? I get a feeling that I'd quickly become known as "that a**hole American." So why is it wrong for me to be equally insulted when you do the same thing to me and to my homeland? You can either be from America, or from Somewhere Else. If you are currently from Somewhere Else I would love for you to come over here and become an American. I will welcome you with open arms. But if you don't want to become an American, then why come to America? Why not do what we've been doing since 1775 and reform your own country?

If you need some time to adjust to being an American, then that's OK, as long as you are trying. I'm alright with speaking Somewhere Else-ese with you if you're trying to throw some English in there too. Thats making an effort. It doesn't make sense to insist that an entire society, that you chose to be a part of, adjust to fit you. No, when you voluntarily choose a new home, you adjust to fit your surroundings. Immigrating to a new country implies that the country you are moving to is better than the one that you are fleeing from. If you don't like that, then stay put and fight to improve the nation you already love, and stop trying to change mine. I have nothing against you as a person, I simply resent you trying to reap the benefits of my society, while refusing to become a part of it.

Thoughts on the implementation of the bailout

Well my dear friends, it happened. The stimulus bill has passed, and the failure of America's banks and auto companies has been rewarded with piles and piles of our hard-earned cash. And... drumroll please... they want more!! GM and Chrysler have recieved a breath-taking 17.4 billion, and have included in their restructuring papers for congress a request for and additional 21.6 billion dollars. I can hear your cries now. "O Onery One, what do they need this money for? Do they need it to keep their factory workers on the payroll? Do they need it to research new and innovative designs that will finally but us ahead of the Japense?"

WARNING

The next statement may induce feelings of shock, rage, and/or resentment. Do not read if pregnant, nursing, or living on a militia compound in rural Montana.

Did you read that? OK. Good. They want to use that extra $21,600,000,000 dollars to CUT 50,000 jobs, 5 factories, and 3 models. Hey! Stop writing that death threat and pay attention! That's right, GM and Chrysler want to double their take of the taxpayer's money, so that they can cut more of the taxpayer's jobs. I've said it once and I'll say it again, the jobs that need to be cut are at the heads of their creative developement departments and every depaartment that overseas them, all the way up to the top. Is it the factory worker's fault that is employer is failing? No. Then why is he losing his job? Let's give credit where credit is due, and give blame and consequence the same way. The people responsible for GM's heavy investment into the SUV craze rather than leading the charge on fuel-efficiency like their overseas competitors, should be the ones losing their jobs. The UAW bosses who continue their unsustainable demands even as this hamstrings our efforts to compete with the unionless Japanese companies. These are the people who should be paying the penalty for their own failure. Not the factory worker and not the tax paying public.

Unfortunately, the auto industry "leaders" aren't the only ones cheating the American public on the bailout. Banks and lending institutions were some of the earliest to recieve federal bailout money, and have utterly failed to return dividends on the trust that the American people have invested in them. FOXNEWS reported today that lending is down even further since the government pumped the banks full of our money. Wasn't this money supposed to deliver a fast acting shock treatment to our economy? Wasn't this one of the main reasons we elected our president? It seems that "Obamunism" is failing to deliver quite as promised.

It also bears remembering that with all government help comes government control. Companies that recieve bailout funds have to have their decisions approved of by federal oversight committees. Therefore the more money that they ask for, the higher and higher stake the feds have in the company. Now, think back to your high school economics class. What do you call an economic system where the government exerts minimal control over the marketplace? Capitalist. What do you call an economy where the government exerts maximum control over the market place? Socialist. Communist. Now, let's take a little walk down memory lane. Who were the last major nations to attempt large scale economic socialism? Russia/USSR and China. And how has that worked out for them? Well, the USSR collapsed, Russia is not doing much better, and China still uses holes in the ground as toilets in the majority of the country. Is THAT what we want for America? The fact is that large-scale socialism has never succeeded after taking the reigns of a global super-economy. It has had limited success with small eastern and northern European nations, but never with anyone larger. Just something to think about before we sell our economic souls.