Dear Dr. Laura,
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.
When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this?
I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify?
I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 10:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
Lev. 20:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
A Fan
Saturday, November 09, 2002
It's always been my dream to see Paris, France. Don't you think just once in your life you ought to visit a country where they don't speak English -- and don't even want to. -Mrs. Webb from Thornton Wilder's Our Town
Only 6% of U.S. citizens hold valid passports. That means that very few Americans have ventured out of our country farther than Canada, Mexico, or a few Carbbiean island where a U.S. birth certificate is suffient for travel.
Then after the events of 9/11/01 people in this country became shocked that folks in other countries just don't like us. But it looks like we've never taken the time and effort to get to know them.
I have been out of the U.S. several times and have chat friends online from various countries around the world (Canada, Brazil, Austraila, the Phillipenes, South Africa, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the UK). It is interesting to discuss things with people from other places and find out about them and what interests them. While most of them are very interested in the U.S.
They get U.S. movies, tv shows and music in almost every one of those countries, yet the same is not true about U.S. Everyone seems to know about the breakup of Brittany and Justin but we don't get music by major musical acts from Brazil (a country the same size and with more people that the US), or TV shows from Australia or the UK (which are already in English). And if a foreign movie or tv shows well elsewhere, before they show it in the U.S. we have to make our own version of it.
We export McDonalds, and KFC, and TGI Friday's around the world, but try and find a bottle of HP Sauce or vegamite at the Winn Dixie or Super Wal-Mart. And that is truly strange since the one thing we seem interested in of other countries is their food -- Shall we go out for Thai or Mexican tonight dear ? And let me tell you from personal experience, chinese food in china is nothing like your neighborhood take out place.
Our country is very blind to the heritage and cultures of other countries, which is strange considering that we are a nation of immigrants ourselves. Nobody here is really from here. Even the native Americans arrived by land bridge from Asia and boats from the pacific islands.
Our citizen's are also blind to the perceptions people in other countries have about us.
Our citizen's are also blind to many of the actions of our government overseas and our government's interaction with other countries. In the last two years, especially, our country is more and more seen as a country that does not work and play well with others.
Until 09/11/02 government officials have shunned involement and cooperation with other countries. Either breaking many of our established treaties (The ABM and nuculear non-proliferation treaties) or "just saying 'no'to agreements seeen as necessary and prudent by our friends and enemies across the globe (the global warming treaty, the war crimes court). Under dubya's father and his hero Ronald Reagan we didn't even pay our UN dues.
Although I believe dubya is willing to have our country enter a war in Iraq without the blessing of the community of nations, he understands that the citizens (voters) are not willing for the US to make such a brutish move.
We are the only remaining Superpower in the world and a huge force for any one country or group of countries to deal with. The provides us wiht an opportunity unique in the history of the world. We have a the opportunity to build consensus and motivate actions to do good around the world. To assist countries less developed than ourselves erase hunger and disease, to jointly explore parts of our world and other worlds yet to be investigated. To lead by example of what democracy and entrupeneurship can really do.
Instead we are acting like the bully on the school playground. Do what I want you to do or we will beat you up. Play my way, by my rules, or else.
Only 6% of U.S. citizens hold valid passports. That means that very few Americans have ventured out of our country farther than Canada, Mexico, or a few Carbbiean island where a U.S. birth certificate is suffient for travel.
Then after the events of 9/11/01 people in this country became shocked that folks in other countries just don't like us. But it looks like we've never taken the time and effort to get to know them.
I have been out of the U.S. several times and have chat friends online from various countries around the world (Canada, Brazil, Austraila, the Phillipenes, South Africa, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the UK). It is interesting to discuss things with people from other places and find out about them and what interests them. While most of them are very interested in the U.S.
They get U.S. movies, tv shows and music in almost every one of those countries, yet the same is not true about U.S. Everyone seems to know about the breakup of Brittany and Justin but we don't get music by major musical acts from Brazil (a country the same size and with more people that the US), or TV shows from Australia or the UK (which are already in English). And if a foreign movie or tv shows well elsewhere, before they show it in the U.S. we have to make our own version of it.
We export McDonalds, and KFC, and TGI Friday's around the world, but try and find a bottle of HP Sauce or vegamite at the Winn Dixie or Super Wal-Mart. And that is truly strange since the one thing we seem interested in of other countries is their food -- Shall we go out for Thai or Mexican tonight dear ? And let me tell you from personal experience, chinese food in china is nothing like your neighborhood take out place.
Our country is very blind to the heritage and cultures of other countries, which is strange considering that we are a nation of immigrants ourselves. Nobody here is really from here. Even the native Americans arrived by land bridge from Asia and boats from the pacific islands.
Our citizen's are also blind to the perceptions people in other countries have about us.
Our citizen's are also blind to many of the actions of our government overseas and our government's interaction with other countries. In the last two years, especially, our country is more and more seen as a country that does not work and play well with others.
Until 09/11/02 government officials have shunned involement and cooperation with other countries. Either breaking many of our established treaties (The ABM and nuculear non-proliferation treaties) or "just saying 'no'to agreements seeen as necessary and prudent by our friends and enemies across the globe (the global warming treaty, the war crimes court). Under dubya's father and his hero Ronald Reagan we didn't even pay our UN dues.
Although I believe dubya is willing to have our country enter a war in Iraq without the blessing of the community of nations, he understands that the citizens (voters) are not willing for the US to make such a brutish move.
We are the only remaining Superpower in the world and a huge force for any one country or group of countries to deal with. The provides us wiht an opportunity unique in the history of the world. We have a the opportunity to build consensus and motivate actions to do good around the world. To assist countries less developed than ourselves erase hunger and disease, to jointly explore parts of our world and other worlds yet to be investigated. To lead by example of what democracy and entrupeneurship can really do.
Instead we are acting like the bully on the school playground. Do what I want you to do or we will beat you up. Play my way, by my rules, or else.
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Dude, i'm not buying a Dell. Not without Steve anyway. The new Dell commericals now on TV don't feature Steve and according to Dell, Steve has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Oh well.
I guess Dell doesn't know a good thing when they see it. Or they don't know a cute guy when they see one. And Ben Craft, the dude who plays Steve definitely it up there on the hottie list.
I guess Dell doesn't understand that there really isn't a fundamental difference for most people between one computer and another.. whether it is a Dell, or a Compaq, or a Hewlett-Packard or anything else. They all have the same Intel computer chips inside them, they all run the same operating system, they all connect to the same internet. And more or less the prices are very similar for similarly equiped models. The only thing that makes a person chose one over the other is our perception of the company.
well I don't have a very good perception of that company anymore. Anyone who can't understand that the increase in Dell's sales over the recent past was due in part to very effective advertising and that was due to Steve.. the dell dude.
Eventhough Steve had just started college, he is a lot smarter than the corporate dudes at Dell will ever be, if they think that this is a good business decision.
I guess Dell doesn't know a good thing when they see it. Or they don't know a cute guy when they see one. And Ben Craft, the dude who plays Steve definitely it up there on the hottie list.
I guess Dell doesn't understand that there really isn't a fundamental difference for most people between one computer and another.. whether it is a Dell, or a Compaq, or a Hewlett-Packard or anything else. They all have the same Intel computer chips inside them, they all run the same operating system, they all connect to the same internet. And more or less the prices are very similar for similarly equiped models. The only thing that makes a person chose one over the other is our perception of the company.
well I don't have a very good perception of that company anymore. Anyone who can't understand that the increase in Dell's sales over the recent past was due in part to very effective advertising and that was due to Steve.. the dell dude.
Eventhough Steve had just started college, he is a lot smarter than the corporate dudes at Dell will ever be, if they think that this is a good business decision.
Sunday, September 22, 2002
i took my first IQ test today at http://www.emode.com/tests/uiq/
and this is what the results said...
Congratulations, justin!
Your IQ score is 135
This number is the result of a formula based on how many questions you answered correctly on Emode's Ultimate IQ test.
The even better news is that at Emode, we've taken your IQ test one step further. During the test, you answered four different types of questions — mathematical, visual-spatial, linguistic and logical. We were able to analyze how you did on each set of those questions, which allows us to shed light on the way your brain uniquely functions.
At the same time, we compared your answers with others who have taken the test, and according to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is a Visionary Philosopher.
The first thing we can tell you about that is you're equally good at mathematical and verbal tasks, and learn best through experience. But that's just scratching the surface.
well i wasn't gonna pay for the rest of it... but i guess its interesting. Some of the questions are hard.. what was your score ??
Thursday, September 12, 2002
A year ago today a very bad thing happened and a lot of people died that should not have. it was a horrible thing and I do feel for the families of everyone who lost a loved one that day.
OK. Now that I said that…I think that everyone who pauses to remember the events of a year ago and every newspaper, tv, and radio station that devotes time to what happened a year ago is only working on behalf of the cause of the terrorists. I am not saying that they are a willing and cooperative member. Far from it. But everytime we change our lives. Alter our patterns of livng. Even change our regular viewing habits on tv the terrorists have won another battle.
The strongest thing we can do to defeat the terrorists…any terrorist, is not to acknowledge their actions. Not to devote hundreds of hours of tv time to them and their cause.
When we devote hours on tv to the terrorists groups, leaders, causes and beliefs. Then the terrorists have won.
When we create a department of homeland defense which will suck billions of federal dollars from other worthwile programs of our government in order to protect ourselves from terrorists threats, then the terrorists have won.
When we pass laws that change the fundamental principles of our legal system and allow the current government administration to ignore basic constitutional provisions under which our country operates, then the terrorists have won.
When we turn our country from one of millions of citizens living at peace in their communities into a country where neighbors spy upon neighbors for signs of being an “evil doer”, then the terrorists have won.
When people are afraid to speak out their true feelings because their views may be unpopular or not agreement with those in power in our country, When people are forced form elective office or their television programs are forced off the air for supporting such views, then the terrorists have won.
“A man who trades freedom for security has neither” – President James Madison, primary Arthor or the US Constitution
“Patriotism, is no the blind acceptance of the status quo, but the ability to call your country to a higher order” -- US Senator George McGovern
Our country was created by its founders as a unique experiment in the history of the world. The main governing document of our country states not what the people are allowed to do, but what the government is and is not allowed to do. It does not restrict the actions of the people within its boarders, instead it restricts the actions of the government within its boarders. The people have all the freedom.
In our country our citizens have been endowed with rights not enjoyed by citizens in other countries.
The right to freedom of speech.
The right to freedom of the press.
The right to freedom of association.
The right to a trail by a jury of your peers.
The right to consult with an attorney, and be represented by one at trial.
The right to refrain from self incrimination.
The right to a quick and fair trial.
The right face your accusers at trail.
The right to be innocent until proven guilty at trial.
The right of privacy and resistrictions on unreasonable search and seizure by the government.
Unlike many countries, ours was designed not primarily to see that people who commit crimes go to jail, but it was designed to see that no innocent people go to jail for crimes they do not commit. Because of that, it sometimes means that guilty people do go free. But historically, the important principle in our country was that innocent people do not go to jail.
To change these historical rights, even if it would make it easier for our government to capture suspected terrorists is the wrong thing to do. To allow the government to say that the rights that our citizens enjoy, that belong to us infringe on their ability to fight terrorism and that our citizens need to give up these rights to feel more secure is the wrong thing to do. If we do, then it means the terrorists have won.
OK. Now that I said that…I think that everyone who pauses to remember the events of a year ago and every newspaper, tv, and radio station that devotes time to what happened a year ago is only working on behalf of the cause of the terrorists. I am not saying that they are a willing and cooperative member. Far from it. But everytime we change our lives. Alter our patterns of livng. Even change our regular viewing habits on tv the terrorists have won another battle.
The strongest thing we can do to defeat the terrorists…any terrorist, is not to acknowledge their actions. Not to devote hundreds of hours of tv time to them and their cause.
When we devote hours on tv to the terrorists groups, leaders, causes and beliefs. Then the terrorists have won.
When we create a department of homeland defense which will suck billions of federal dollars from other worthwile programs of our government in order to protect ourselves from terrorists threats, then the terrorists have won.
When we pass laws that change the fundamental principles of our legal system and allow the current government administration to ignore basic constitutional provisions under which our country operates, then the terrorists have won.
When we turn our country from one of millions of citizens living at peace in their communities into a country where neighbors spy upon neighbors for signs of being an “evil doer”, then the terrorists have won.
When people are afraid to speak out their true feelings because their views may be unpopular or not agreement with those in power in our country, When people are forced form elective office or their television programs are forced off the air for supporting such views, then the terrorists have won.
“A man who trades freedom for security has neither” – President James Madison, primary Arthor or the US Constitution
“Patriotism, is no the blind acceptance of the status quo, but the ability to call your country to a higher order” -- US Senator George McGovern
Our country was created by its founders as a unique experiment in the history of the world. The main governing document of our country states not what the people are allowed to do, but what the government is and is not allowed to do. It does not restrict the actions of the people within its boarders, instead it restricts the actions of the government within its boarders. The people have all the freedom.
In our country our citizens have been endowed with rights not enjoyed by citizens in other countries.
The right to freedom of speech.
The right to freedom of the press.
The right to freedom of association.
The right to a trail by a jury of your peers.
The right to consult with an attorney, and be represented by one at trial.
The right to refrain from self incrimination.
The right to a quick and fair trial.
The right face your accusers at trail.
The right to be innocent until proven guilty at trial.
The right of privacy and resistrictions on unreasonable search and seizure by the government.
Unlike many countries, ours was designed not primarily to see that people who commit crimes go to jail, but it was designed to see that no innocent people go to jail for crimes they do not commit. Because of that, it sometimes means that guilty people do go free. But historically, the important principle in our country was that innocent people do not go to jail.
To change these historical rights, even if it would make it easier for our government to capture suspected terrorists is the wrong thing to do. To allow the government to say that the rights that our citizens enjoy, that belong to us infringe on their ability to fight terrorism and that our citizens need to give up these rights to feel more secure is the wrong thing to do. If we do, then it means the terrorists have won.
Monday, September 09, 2002
Sunday, September 01, 2002
“All the news that’s fit to print” --- that is the motto of The New York Times, supposedly THE newspaper with a liberal leaning in our country. Recently it was announced that this bastion of liberal thought would BEGIN to allow notices of same sex weddings to appear in its pages next to those of more “traditional” couples.
Did anyone realize that they previously had a policy against publishing such announcements ?? That such items were “unfit” to include in their most respected journal ?
That’s very enlightened of them to change this policy, but it’s hardly cutting edge and enlightened. When I read about the announcement in the USAToday, I was more shocked that they were just starting doing it rather than that they were going to start doing it.
New York City has one of the largest concentrations of gay people in the nation, it’s not as if this was the ultra conservative Orange County Register or a small town paper in the middle of the heartland.
Daily, gay people openly appear on mainstream television in as characters (will and grace, dawson’s creek, undressed) as the performers (Rosie O’Donnell, randy Harrison) or as just themselves ( the real world, survivor) on many of the countries most popular television shows. Will and grace won an Emmy for best comedy show. Dawson’s Creek, Queer as Folk, and Survivor all draw top ratings for their respective networks. Rosie O’Donnell won 5 Emmys as Best Talk Show and 5 Emmys as best Talk Show Host in her show’s 6 years on television. The Real World is MTV’s longest running show (this year will be it’s 12th season) and this past year drew more viewers than ever before.
These are not the times of Oscar Wilde and “the love that dare not speak it’s name.” In fact, in the same edition of the USAToday as the times’ announcement was an article reporting that Germany had become yet another European country to recognize the legal standing of a same-sex marriage as equal to that of a “traditional” marriage.
The difference was striking. On one hand we have a country (Germany) that is truly moving forward with equality and rights for all people, and on the other we have a country (the US) where the self-proclaimed “paper of national record” plays catch up by recognizing what its readers have for years and what our government won’t.
It seems to me as if the Times is playing catch up with the times.
It is hardly surprising given the Times horrible track history in the last 25 years. In the historical accounts of the early days of the AIDS crisis, stories describing “gay cancer” outbreaks in the nations largest cities along with the wasting diseases breaking out across central Africa were buried deep within the Times allowing then President Reagan and other powerful people to look the other way. A front page New York Times story is often re-reported in papers and on television and radio stations across the country and around the world and has the power to shape national and international debate as the story about our government’s plans for invading Iraq did this summer.
Throughout the 80’s the Times refused to use the words “lover”, “partner”, or other terms of affection to describe the loved ones of the countess AIDS victims whose obituaries appeared in their pages. The Times added to the pain at the time of grieving my insisting to usea sanitary “longtime companion” description, no matte what the preference was of the people involved. A standard that was not maintained in the obituaries of unmarried heterosexual couples.
Of course, the Times has not dealt well with non-traditional issues and has rarely been at the forefront of national change, even in heterosexual issues.
In 1984 a housewife, mother, and member of the US House of Representatives from Queens, New York became the first woman to run on a major parties ballot for national office. The named she preferred was Geraldine Ferraro. Ferraro however was her maiden name – which she used professionally to honor her mother who worked so hard to put her daughter through law school. She was married to John Zaccaro, a successful Queens businessman.
While most newspapers refered to the people in their articles simply by last name, the Times insisted that all people referred to by name would carry a title. Other than the ones like Rev. or Dr. the only ones the times recognized were Mr., Mrs,. And Miss.
Once Representative Ferraro resigned from her office to seek the Vice-Presidency, the Times ran into quite a problem on the issue of how to refer to her in their paper. They could not refer to her as Miss Ferraro for she was a married woman. She could not be referred to as Mrs. Ferraro, for she was not married to Mr. Ferraro, she was married to Mr. Zaccaro. (Mrs. Ferraro was in fact, her mother.) The Times policy would have insisted that she be referred to as Mrs Zaccaro, eventhough it was a name she did not use professionally and if the Times did so, it would cause readers great confusion. Only because of this conumdrum, the times reluctantly adopted the use of the (at the time) controversial but very handy title of Ms.
While the times may advocate liberal and modern policies for our country, they seem to hold on to very conservative and antiquated policies when it comes to their own policies and procedures.
It seems, once again the Times is far behind the times.
Did anyone realize that they previously had a policy against publishing such announcements ?? That such items were “unfit” to include in their most respected journal ?
That’s very enlightened of them to change this policy, but it’s hardly cutting edge and enlightened. When I read about the announcement in the USAToday, I was more shocked that they were just starting doing it rather than that they were going to start doing it.
New York City has one of the largest concentrations of gay people in the nation, it’s not as if this was the ultra conservative Orange County Register or a small town paper in the middle of the heartland.
Daily, gay people openly appear on mainstream television in as characters (will and grace, dawson’s creek, undressed) as the performers (Rosie O’Donnell, randy Harrison) or as just themselves ( the real world, survivor) on many of the countries most popular television shows. Will and grace won an Emmy for best comedy show. Dawson’s Creek, Queer as Folk, and Survivor all draw top ratings for their respective networks. Rosie O’Donnell won 5 Emmys as Best Talk Show and 5 Emmys as best Talk Show Host in her show’s 6 years on television. The Real World is MTV’s longest running show (this year will be it’s 12th season) and this past year drew more viewers than ever before.
These are not the times of Oscar Wilde and “the love that dare not speak it’s name.” In fact, in the same edition of the USAToday as the times’ announcement was an article reporting that Germany had become yet another European country to recognize the legal standing of a same-sex marriage as equal to that of a “traditional” marriage.
The difference was striking. On one hand we have a country (Germany) that is truly moving forward with equality and rights for all people, and on the other we have a country (the US) where the self-proclaimed “paper of national record” plays catch up by recognizing what its readers have for years and what our government won’t.
It seems to me as if the Times is playing catch up with the times.
It is hardly surprising given the Times horrible track history in the last 25 years. In the historical accounts of the early days of the AIDS crisis, stories describing “gay cancer” outbreaks in the nations largest cities along with the wasting diseases breaking out across central Africa were buried deep within the Times allowing then President Reagan and other powerful people to look the other way. A front page New York Times story is often re-reported in papers and on television and radio stations across the country and around the world and has the power to shape national and international debate as the story about our government’s plans for invading Iraq did this summer.
Throughout the 80’s the Times refused to use the words “lover”, “partner”, or other terms of affection to describe the loved ones of the countess AIDS victims whose obituaries appeared in their pages. The Times added to the pain at the time of grieving my insisting to usea sanitary “longtime companion” description, no matte what the preference was of the people involved. A standard that was not maintained in the obituaries of unmarried heterosexual couples.
Of course, the Times has not dealt well with non-traditional issues and has rarely been at the forefront of national change, even in heterosexual issues.
In 1984 a housewife, mother, and member of the US House of Representatives from Queens, New York became the first woman to run on a major parties ballot for national office. The named she preferred was Geraldine Ferraro. Ferraro however was her maiden name – which she used professionally to honor her mother who worked so hard to put her daughter through law school. She was married to John Zaccaro, a successful Queens businessman.
While most newspapers refered to the people in their articles simply by last name, the Times insisted that all people referred to by name would carry a title. Other than the ones like Rev. or Dr. the only ones the times recognized were Mr., Mrs,. And Miss.
Once Representative Ferraro resigned from her office to seek the Vice-Presidency, the Times ran into quite a problem on the issue of how to refer to her in their paper. They could not refer to her as Miss Ferraro for she was a married woman. She could not be referred to as Mrs. Ferraro, for she was not married to Mr. Ferraro, she was married to Mr. Zaccaro. (Mrs. Ferraro was in fact, her mother.) The Times policy would have insisted that she be referred to as Mrs Zaccaro, eventhough it was a name she did not use professionally and if the Times did so, it would cause readers great confusion. Only because of this conumdrum, the times reluctantly adopted the use of the (at the time) controversial but very handy title of Ms.
While the times may advocate liberal and modern policies for our country, they seem to hold on to very conservative and antiquated policies when it comes to their own policies and procedures.
It seems, once again the Times is far behind the times.
Monday, August 12, 2002
find your queer
as folk personality!
well i tried this for fun and this is what it said...
you are justin taylor!
This young, blonde, new kid on the queer block is Pittsburgh's hottest new heartbreaker.
He's also a fine young artist, with a special gift for drawing his favorite subject…
Brian Kinney. Although Justin can be a bit of a brat at times, he's also quite brave and
also wise beyond his years when it comes to reading people's hearts.
i suppose it could have been worse, i could have been sharon gless....
Wednesday, August 07, 2002
i'll pick on the president again today...for some reason the tv has spent a lot of time on msnbc lately and i guess i am a little more aware of the goings on this week (don imus refering to katie couric as a "fat cow" included). So they reported that the president left washington for a month-long vacation. that's nice. i am sure he works very hard at his job and just like other americans he needs some time of from work.
he's been at this job for a year and a half now, so he's entitled to a break. very few americans however get to take a month off for vacation. fewer americans receive a month off of paid vacation each year. and extremely few americans get a month's vacation after holding a new job for only a year and a half.
the average american would have between 1 and 2 weeks paid vacation time...not a month. a president who feels he is entitled to over twice the vacation of the average american, isn't really in-touch with the public anymore than his father was.
now i'm sure that the prime minister of england, the preimer of france, and the chancellor of germany all get at least a months vacation every year...and so do the average people in those countries as well. Most europeans receive 4-6 weeks of paid vacation per year in addition to paid holidays. In some counties the minimum amount is even set by law and applies to all workers regardless of how long they have been employed.
i don't see the shrub on tv using this opportunity as a platform to show the inequities of the compensation given us workers compared to our counterparts in other major economic powers. here is the perfect time to introduce legistlation that guarentees american workers at least the minimum paid vacation enjoyed by our allies and friends across the atlantic.
what i did see on tv was dubya's spokespeople acting like babies saying "well congress is doing it too". and that is true. in the days before air conditioning everyone bailed out of the oppressive washington heat and humidity during the summer. now they have air conditioning but the tradition still goes on.
all 435 members of the house of representatives are up for re-election in november so you can almost guarentee with the exception of gary condit that they will not be lounging around their homes while back in their respective states. in addition 1/3 of the senate will also be out campaigning to retain their seats in november.
true bush-the-younger did say it would be a "working vacation" and in modern day life it is hard to truly get away from the office no matter what your position is. telephones, cell phones, beepers, and e-mail all allow us to take work with us, or for work to find us rather quickly, no matter where in the world we are.
just remember that last year while the new president rode his horses around his west texas ranch trying to look more like the heir to the reagan legacy than the priviledged child of a powerful new england family, osama bin laden and his evil-doer buddies were plotting the most violent day our nation has ever seen.
people are one of the most important assets a company can have. yet those companies seem unwilling to spend anything but the bare minimum amount on that asset. factories routinely shut down all or parts of their operations to do maintainence on their production machinery. most businesses regularly do maintainence work on everything from copiers to delivery vechicles. yet those same companies refuse to do the necessary "maintainence" on one of their most valued priceless assets -- their employees.
happy people, rested people, stress free people perform better, are more loyal and more productive people.
he's been at this job for a year and a half now, so he's entitled to a break. very few americans however get to take a month off for vacation. fewer americans receive a month off of paid vacation each year. and extremely few americans get a month's vacation after holding a new job for only a year and a half.
the average american would have between 1 and 2 weeks paid vacation time...not a month. a president who feels he is entitled to over twice the vacation of the average american, isn't really in-touch with the public anymore than his father was.
now i'm sure that the prime minister of england, the preimer of france, and the chancellor of germany all get at least a months vacation every year...and so do the average people in those countries as well. Most europeans receive 4-6 weeks of paid vacation per year in addition to paid holidays. In some counties the minimum amount is even set by law and applies to all workers regardless of how long they have been employed.
i don't see the shrub on tv using this opportunity as a platform to show the inequities of the compensation given us workers compared to our counterparts in other major economic powers. here is the perfect time to introduce legistlation that guarentees american workers at least the minimum paid vacation enjoyed by our allies and friends across the atlantic.
what i did see on tv was dubya's spokespeople acting like babies saying "well congress is doing it too". and that is true. in the days before air conditioning everyone bailed out of the oppressive washington heat and humidity during the summer. now they have air conditioning but the tradition still goes on.
all 435 members of the house of representatives are up for re-election in november so you can almost guarentee with the exception of gary condit that they will not be lounging around their homes while back in their respective states. in addition 1/3 of the senate will also be out campaigning to retain their seats in november.
true bush-the-younger did say it would be a "working vacation" and in modern day life it is hard to truly get away from the office no matter what your position is. telephones, cell phones, beepers, and e-mail all allow us to take work with us, or for work to find us rather quickly, no matter where in the world we are.
just remember that last year while the new president rode his horses around his west texas ranch trying to look more like the heir to the reagan legacy than the priviledged child of a powerful new england family, osama bin laden and his evil-doer buddies were plotting the most violent day our nation has ever seen.
people are one of the most important assets a company can have. yet those companies seem unwilling to spend anything but the bare minimum amount on that asset. factories routinely shut down all or parts of their operations to do maintainence on their production machinery. most businesses regularly do maintainence work on everything from copiers to delivery vechicles. yet those same companies refuse to do the necessary "maintainence" on one of their most valued priceless assets -- their employees.
happy people, rested people, stress free people perform better, are more loyal and more productive people.
Tuesday, August 06, 2002
ok, i saw "the shrub" on tv yesterday congradulating the men who were stuck for days in that pennsylvania mine for being heroes. now i understand that they went through a horrible ordeal and i wouldn't want to be stuck underground in the dark and water for even a second much less days. but something about this "photo opportunity" just didn't seem quite right to me. the only reason those poor guys were stuck in that mine for days had to do with some of dub-ya's wrong-doer corporate buddies trying to fill their own pockets.
it seems that the map that those guys had with them wasn't exactly accurate, and that the officials at the mining company knew it. They made a conscious decision to take out more coal and more earth in the next shaft than they were supposed to in order to boost profits, make themselves look good, and make themselves more weathly. Because of this decision to put profit over the lives and safety of their employees, they sent those poor guys into the shaft knowing that they were working with faulty information. This meant that the wall between the two mine shafts was not as thick as it needed to be and caused the cave in. luckily nobody was killed...this time.
does this make the mining company executives and less wrong-doers than those officials at enron or worldcom or adelphia who also made conscious decisions to decieve auditors, stockholders, etc in order to create wealth on paper which translated into real dollars in the pockets and bank accounts and opulent homes of the corporate executives ??
these poor miners were exploited for profit by their company executives and now they were on tv being exploited (not for monetary profit) by the president. the shrub was hoping that some of that "feel good" spirit that has accompanied the miners as they made the rounds of tv shows would rub off on him.
and now it appears that the disney company executives are going exploit (for profits they hope) these guys even further by making a tv movie-of-the-week for abc and a book to follow about their mine adventure. true disney did pay each of the miners 150,000 dollars for the rights to make a movie. i know, to me that is a lot of money, but it's probably still chicken feed compared to what disney will be able to make of of these guys.
it just seems that nobody appears to be truly concerned for the miner's mental health and physical well-being...everyone only seems to care about how they can use these guys.
it seems that the map that those guys had with them wasn't exactly accurate, and that the officials at the mining company knew it. They made a conscious decision to take out more coal and more earth in the next shaft than they were supposed to in order to boost profits, make themselves look good, and make themselves more weathly. Because of this decision to put profit over the lives and safety of their employees, they sent those poor guys into the shaft knowing that they were working with faulty information. This meant that the wall between the two mine shafts was not as thick as it needed to be and caused the cave in. luckily nobody was killed...this time.
does this make the mining company executives and less wrong-doers than those officials at enron or worldcom or adelphia who also made conscious decisions to decieve auditors, stockholders, etc in order to create wealth on paper which translated into real dollars in the pockets and bank accounts and opulent homes of the corporate executives ??
these poor miners were exploited for profit by their company executives and now they were on tv being exploited (not for monetary profit) by the president. the shrub was hoping that some of that "feel good" spirit that has accompanied the miners as they made the rounds of tv shows would rub off on him.
and now it appears that the disney company executives are going exploit (for profits they hope) these guys even further by making a tv movie-of-the-week for abc and a book to follow about their mine adventure. true disney did pay each of the miners 150,000 dollars for the rights to make a movie. i know, to me that is a lot of money, but it's probably still chicken feed compared to what disney will be able to make of of these guys.
it just seems that nobody appears to be truly concerned for the miner's mental health and physical well-being...everyone only seems to care about how they can use these guys.
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