Organization Chart

This probably fits any large organization, employer, bank, or whatever.   Here you go Robin!

I used to have an org. chart of heaven.   I'll have to locate it....  

Local vs Global - Part Deux

In my August 24, 2010 post, I wrote about the increasing requests for political donations for candidates for office where I don't live.   It makes me uncomfortable to, in effect, tell people thousands of miles away that I know what's good for them better than they do.


It recently occurred to me that one possible reason for the increasing requests could be corporate involvement in political campaigns.   Based on last Winter's Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate funding of campaigns, it's clear that companies are not hesitant to flood large amounts of cash into the system (often anonymously).   Since that's the equivalent of someone possibly thousands of miles away telling me who to vote for (or against), perhaps it's natural that individuals are being asked to respond by donating cash to far off campaigns.


It still makes me uncomfortable. 

Aircraft Tragedy...

A friend sent this email recently and I thought it needed to be shared.

Sure would hate to be involved in this one............

Brace yourself before looking at the attached image.

A pilot at low level has no control over his aircraft.

It narrowly misses a crowd gathered for the airshow and slams into four buildings.

One can only imagine the horror of the occupants inside those buildings.

Flash From The Past- And Not In A Good Way

I had an unsettling encounter this afternoon, which flashed me back to the bad old days of the 1960s and 1970s.

I was in the parking lot of a local Target store to pick up a few things like milk and toilet paper.   I was retrieving some reusable shopping bags from the trunk of my car, when another shopper, presumably heading to his car to leave, spoke to me as he walked by.   His words, in reaction to the "Obama 2008" sticker on my car, were something to the effect of "So how's that hope thing going for you?"   By itself, that would have been strange enough, since I generally don't get into political discussions in store parking lots.   But this guy finished his observation by muttering "Socialist commie."

I was so startled I didn't respond but continued on into the store.   I didn't come up with a satisfying response for several minutes.   Next time I will brightly respond with "So, does acting like a jerk come naturally for you, or do you have to work at it?"

I admit to having supported Obama in the 2008 Presidential campaign.   I admit to not being overwhelmed with happiness at the way the President has handled a number of issues since winning the election.   I also admit to having no regrets over not supporting his GOP opponent in 2008.  I believe McCain would have been a disaster in the White House and I'm not looking forward to the midterm elections next month.

I haven't been called a "Socialist commie" in years, and it brought back memories of the overheated rhetoric that flew around in the late 60s and early 70s when pretty much all it took to be identified as a "commie" was wearing long hair.  I no longer sport long hair (or even short hair...) and I generally have always tried to not call people names.

I guess I could be called worse, but it still put a depressing damper on my afternoon.

Fix the Filibuster - Sooner Rather Than Later

This is an issue whose time has definitely come.   Even if you believe that the filibuster could someday protect the Democrats as a minority party in the Senate, you really can't argue with the fact that the filibuster didn't prevent GOP Presidents from stacking the Supreme Court with conservatives who gave us Bush as President and the recent infamous "corporations are individuals" who get to flood politics with corporate bribes.  Possibly because Democrats aren't as regimented and organized as much as the GOP is - and therefore can't pull off real filibusters as well as the GOP.

Credo has this one right.  Sign the petition. 

See my list of filibuster votes near the bottom of this page.

You Should Get A Receipt

In a report from a think tank called Third Way, the group argues that taxpayers should get a receipt in order to clearly understand what they're paying for.  The sample receipt includes both income and Social Security/Medicare taxes and how much of your money goes where.

Image from National Public Radio (npr.org)

A recent article about the so-called "Tea Party" groups included a conclusion that tea partiers are opposed to government spending - except for the money spent on them.   Perhaps that's at least partly because most Americans have no idea where their tax payments go.  A receipt might help; it certainly wouldn't hurt.  As the Third Way points out, it doesn't require complicated math and would be pretty easy for the IRS to implement on its web site.  

It's a great idea that will never happen. An educated electorate is every politician's nightmare.

The report can be found here.