Thursday, August 26, 2010

Unemployment -OR- Get a shovel!

i just read a post on FaceBook by someone i don't know who was apparently upset by other people he didn't know who were upset by people they didn't know who were taking advantage of unemployment benefits... (did you follow all that?... good.)

a portion of his rant follows:
I consider myself conservative and responsible, but I have never seen so many ill-informed and downright selfish people in one place in my life as I found at Freedomworks. I find some of your views on unemployment particularly vile, as many of you want to blame high unemployment numbers on the unemployed and many of you want to take away unemployment benefits...my sole source of income at the moment.
Let me make it perfectly clear, I did not choose to become unemployed, I do not enjoy being unemployed. I and no other unemployed person chose to send all of our manufacturing to China. Unemployment insurance is paid by our former employers on our behalf, it is not welfare, it is there precisely to help working people who have lost their jobs. Anyone who has a problem with that can kiss my butt, go straight to you know where and tell the Devil I sent you. That is all.
being the jerk that i am, i let him know how his response upset me...
i was recently laid off and went on unemployment... i couldn't find work in my field (architeture)... so i looked in related fields (marine arch., engineering, drafting)... no luck... i looked in similar fields (construction mgmt, etc.)... ...no dice... i looked in unrelated fields (store management, personnel, etc.)... some... i looked into menial fields (labor, manufacturing, fry cook)... lots... there's work out there... if you're willing.
i was unemployed for two whole weeks... i got one whole unemployment check... now, i recently got lucky and i got an offer in my field, which i start in two weeks... but, if able and willing, there is no reason to be unemployed for TWO YEARS... the people who are unwilling are the ones we complain about... and if that includes you, you can kiss mine right back... there's a ditch somewhere that needs digging... get a shovel.
the part that many people seem to overlook when discussing unemployment, welfare, or any other social program is that these are intended to HELP people in need... they are not lifestyles... the complaint many have is not the existence of the government program, but the abuse of the government program... i am (temporarily) working for someone who is deeply involved in public housing... he has experience in public office... he works with, and for, people who are unemployed, on welfare, receive food stamps, etc... he is an advocate for those in need... and even he says the government throws away money on them... for example, in one housing area, the people living there receive free homes, utility stipends (which are not required to be used for utilities), food allowances, and a dozen other government assistance programs, not to mention the regular building maintenance and support at the government's expense... each year, it would be financially cheaper to buy each of them a house, give it to them, and walk away than it is to continue to provide them the constant support they demand... and we're not talking one-room shacks... we're talking 2BR, 1-1/2 bath, 1000 square feet, A/C, full kitchen, washer/dryer hookups, each with all the amenities... not the Taj Mahal, but we are talking free, here!...

another example he cites is an elderly lady he once met... in all probability, she needed the government assistance... her husband had passed, children moved out, no savings to speak of, no applicable skill, health issues... she needs the assistance... however, her children that moved out, moved across the street into public housing... her grand-daughter moved in right next door (in public housing)... and the grand-mother just couldn't be prouder of her family... every single one of them were using the system to get that monthly check for doing nothing other than saying "i want it"...

anecdotal evidence for and against are everywhere... while it would be heartless and unfair to put people out onto the streets, it is equally unfair to take working people's earnings to pay for those who refuse to earn their own way... at some point, by providing a lifestyle without accountability, you have removed the impetus to be self-reliant and self-sufficient...

this, good sir, is what we desperately do not need!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Anonymous is not your friend

i originally considered requiring comments to be "signed" so people could not be anonymous.. anonymous people tend to be hateful... and i didn't want a hateful group of comments cluttering up the board...

but i have begun to change my mind... these Ramblings i have are fairly incendiary... and often intentionally so... so why should i be the one who has all the fun?... what gives me the right to be selfish?... just because this is "my" blog, why does that give me any more right to say what i want then others?... granted, i'm not anonymous, so my comments are directly attributable to me... i don't have the cover of darkness and cloak of anonymity like others, but that's my choice by having this blog... shame on me... i can't hold everyone to that standard...

so, for now, i have opened this blog to the slings and arrows of anyone and everyone... and i welcome the comments, no matter how full of bile and hatred...

light the flamethrowers... bring on the trolls... let's get it on!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

we need less TIME and more outrage

A Brief History of Intolerance in America in TIME magazine...

they have a slideshow of examples of "intolerance" in America... but they don't directly address the issue they are implying... intolerance towards muslims/islam... but the link on every page is Mosque Controversy: Does America Have a Muslim Problem?... so the implied connection is that anyone opposed to the proposed mosque in New York is equally racist/biased/ignorant as the people in the slide show...

included in the slide show are anti-semites, anti-Catholics, anti-Mormons, racists, Ku Klux Klan, Chinese-exlusionists, anti-native americans, anti-Japanese in WWII, and unbelievably they even throw in anti-Hare Krishna...

so are we to believe that anyone who disagrees with the choice of placement of a mosque near the place where muslims masacred thousands, that somehow these people are anti-muslim or racist in some fashion?... there is no other connection to be made... a:b::c:d...

at least TIME has preteded to be moderate on the subject in the article...
Islamophobia in the U.S. doesn't approach levels seen in other countries where Muslims are in a minority.
there's no sign that violence against Muslims is on the rise
so, let me get this straight... if we have an opinion, then we're racist and anti-muslim... we're being attacked around the world, from barracks in Beruit to suicide bombers in the sky... what's a little slap-in-the-face mosque?... why get bent out of shape about that?... how about we go really Christian on this and turn the other cheek?... that cheek has already been slapped.

they (mosque supporters) want us (outraged americans) to respect their rights... i'll stop being outraged when they show a little respect for those who were murdered... i'll respect their rights when they are outraged at those very same murders...

and if they were outraged at the atrocity that was 9/11, they wouldn't propose a mosque in that location... they're not outraged; i don't respect their rights... they are disrespectful; i'll remain outraged... QED

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Get over it and just MoveOn

NY Daily News - MoveOn's newest Target

now, i don't LIKE Target, for many reasons... many of them are the same reasons i don't like MoveOn.org... call me old-fashioned or (horror!) conservative, but i disagree with just about everything they both do... as a matter of fact, the American Family Association (AFA) had once boycotted Target, and to this day i still do not shop at Target, even after the AFA boycott has ended... but i hold grudges, so that's just me... my family thinks i've lost my mind, i'm sure...

but now, MoveOn.org has lambasted Target for their political contributions to a conservative candidate in MN... that's the pot calling the kettle african-american (because MoveOn.org wouldn't dare call someone black)... on their own website FAQ they say:
MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) organization. Contributions are not tax deductible because they will be used to influence legislation.(emphasis added)
i guess corporations like Target cannot contribute to political campaigns... that is unless their names are MoveOn.org, Heinz, or are backed by someone named Soros... then it's fine...

doesn't anyone else see the hypocrisy of this?... i may START shopping at Target, just because they are being attacked by the likes of the MoveOn douche-bags...

the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

on a side note, didn't MoveOn do a full-page add in the NYTimes calling General Petraeus as "General Betray Us"?... now there isn't a peep out of them when Obama (almighty and merciful) grants Petaeus control over the War in Afghanistan... bastards; all of them.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

does anyone have cojones anymore?

Ed Schultz: Sarah Palin's 'Cojones' Remark About Obama Was 'Sexist' | NewsBusters.org

really, MSNBC?... this is what you find "Sexist"?... yet, you don't have the balls, excuse me, the "courage" to defend her when she was attacked for being female... or when she was "accused" of having breast implants...

excuse me, your hypocrisy is showing...