Stats

Comments Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit

Displaying 271 To 300 Of 955 Comments

UNEMPLOYMENT…is STILL an issue!

I would like to pop off with a request here. I have seen a few people use the terms “offshoring” and “outsourcing” interchangeably (not pointing at anyone in particular here).

“Offshoring” is sending jobs overseas. When first coined, it meant specifically jobs that were sent to a plant or business center overseas that was owned by the exact same company that employed the original workers.

“Outsourcing” is contracting another company to provide services that were originally provided in-house. Currently, a lot of companies “outsource” their human resources, benefits programs, accounting (although some may be still provided in-house), janitorial and maintenance services, etc. Outsourcing is almost as old as business itself. The Big Three automakers outsource a lot of their parts, a lot of companies and small businesses outsource their printing needs, etc.

While some outsourced jobs might have been off-shored, there are some outsourced overseas jobs that were never off-shored. The business providing outsourced services may have never been in the United States at all.

I do believe that outsourcing has been almost as abusive to our economy as offshoring. I find it hard to believe that many contract companies can actually provide the same service that the contracting company originally provided at a lower cost. And outsourcing rarely works well in emergency or urgent situations, especially when the two businesses are in separate time zones.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 12:39 pm

Doing Business – The Right Way (Part 10)

You forgot some other “black holes”:

How much does it cost to satisfy a disgruntled customer?
How much does it cost to overcome negative word-of-mouth reports and media reports of bad service and/or product?
How much does it take to lure back customers who have left because of bad experiences with your company?

I would like to see a company that actually tracks, and calculates the saved profit vs. potential lost profit, of customers that do not leave when they have a negative experience with a product or service but an employee “makes it right”. However, that statistic would not be appreciated by execs and board members who are intent on gutting customer service departments and budgets.

I can not count the number of times, when working for Cingular, when a customer told me, “Can I have *your* extension number? A lot of my friends would come back to Cingular if they knew they could talk to someone like *you*.”

A lot of businesses want to pretend that customer service is useless or pointless. They have the attitude of either “buy my product and then go away” or “this is the service we provide and you are not getting anything more”. Far too many businesses believe that if customer service is not showing a profit, then it is not worthwhile; but they refuse to track what the actual profits are.

But good employees provide good customer service. Committed employees, especially when they have an investment in the business, want to see the business do well and the customers stay happy. Happy employees lead to happy customers that lead to more business that leads to more profit – if that profit goes back to happy employees, you have a powerful engine for growth and prosperity. (which makes investors and accountants happy)

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 24, 2011 @ 1:42 pm

The Kochroaches Emerge from the Woodwork

I agree with what you are saying about “silos”. I know we will not all agree on everything. But can’t we work together on the things we do agree on? Or do we *have* to beat the drum only on issues that divide us?

That is one of the problems I have with the whole “bipartisanship” debacle. There is no common ground between the parties, because every common piece of ground is held hostage to, or eroded by, every wedge issue.

You can’t negotiate with someone who is chopping up the bargaining table.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 3:20 am

BudgetPOV: Attitude (a letter to myself)

The only thoughts about my deathbed at this point are that I want someone else to be there (I have had many friends who died alone), and I would like to “live on” in the memories of others, hopefully in a positive way.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 25, 2011 @ 3:06 am

Sabreen, you are right. There are many moments (hours, days, weeks) when I feel I am darned lucky to have this life.

it makes hard choices a little easier at times. But a hard-scrabble lifestyle can be stressful.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 24, 2011 @ 2:44 pm

Thanks BDM. I am glad things are going better for you.

By the way, I am planning to do an article on caring for pets on a budget as well, and would be glad for any suggestions you have.

In fact, I am wondering if I should start a listserv newsletter or something of that nature, to collect ideas and share others.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 24, 2011 @ 2:29 pm

It’s just a username, jkkFL. It says no more and no less than any other name would.

But I am glad that the gist of this piece was understood. I was unsure of whether this would be a good way to start out, but in writing the Food article, I found myself making some of the points too often and it was distracting.

And the format just kind of threw itself at me.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 24, 2011 @ 2:26 pm

Well, we are taught (right or wrong) that as adults, and especially heads of household, that we must have a decent job and be good providers.

If anything disturbs that, we begin to wonder what is wrong with us.

Literally, *anything*.

If we have a fight with a partner or other family, we blame ourselves for not being understanding or tolerant or forgiving “enough”.

We don’t earn “enough”. We don’t get promotions “enough”. We don’t learn or remember “enough”.

I have to wonder if the American Dream has somehow become a neurosis. We aim higher, further. We drive ourselves forward without regard to our health. And when we don’t get to our goals on a certain timeframe or in a certain manner, it isn’t “enough”. And we are not “good enough”.

I am a firm believer in aiming past your goal in order to reach your goal (because we are human and often fall short).

It may also be that there are too many people setting impractical goals. I know quite a few people who have done that, in a vicious cycle of setting expectations too high.

Thanks for your support, Abby, and everyone else as well.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On February 24, 2011 @ 2:21 pm

Arab Uprisings: Still Writing History

texliberal, longer than that!

The Puritans fled England after advocating (and suceeding) the murder of a king, for the sublime sacrilege of being a king, when the only king we need is the King of Kings. They dissolved marriages, seized property, took away children, looted businesses, all in the name of cleansing everything that had been tainted by heresy.

They fled to the Netherlands, where, horror of horrors, their children started learning Dutch, when everybody knows that Jesus spoke English.

They fled back to England, cadged a land contract, and then sailed for the new World, under the New and Improved name of “pilgrim”.

And we know how well that turned out.

Yes, the USA was founded on murdering the legal head of the government.

The Puritans also worked hard to disband Parliament, and now you now where the Tea Party got the idea.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 23, 2011 @ 12:33 am

That video of the plane being shot down illustrates my point exactly. we have no idea how many people were killed or injured when it hit the ground, other than the pilot who ejected too late.

I would suggest using the technological advances of the day against themselves. Most military technology is hooked into GPS, radar, and other easily-blocked technology. Jam the radar, cut off the GPS, shut down the cellphone towers.

Yes, civilians would be affected, but not catastrophically. Gaddafi’s military would be unable to operate effectively without those technologies.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 20, 2011 @ 3:15 pm

And I am sure that *all* of those civilians volunteered, and the handcuffs and manacles are only for their safety.

Civilians my ass. I would not be shocked at all to find out that most of them are “security consultants” from XE or some similar outfit.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 20, 2011 @ 2:48 pm

If it takes “striking fear” to get these nutjobs in line, sign me up.

I have Photoshop, and I am not afraid to use it. Why should Breitbart and O’Keefe have all the fun?

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 19, 2011 @ 5:59 pm

I thought his cease-fire was more along the lines of “(fires gun repeatedly) You stop firing first! (fires gun some more) Stop firing! I’m down to 5 million bullets! (firing gun some more) How are you going to give me my sponge bath if you won’t put down the gun! (fires gun several times) Hey, I theoretically sign your paycheck, woman! (fires more times)”

Meanwhile, his “nurse” is downstairs waiting for him to run out of bullets.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 19, 2011 @ 5:20 pm

Do we really need to create another El Salvador by arming the rebels?

Do we need to undermine the rebels by linking them with us, through supplying weapons?

Better that we provide humanitarian assistance.

I would prefer that we not even provide “technical assistance” or “military advisers”, as we have already proven how that goes.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 19, 2011 @ 2:02 pm

escriba, the Arab states are already stepping up. Not that I trust the leadership of most of them.

The British were transporting pilots, planes and support personnel somewhere in the area, but won’t say where. That means they will be based in a ME country (the planes would have to be refueled twice to get to Libya), but they do not want to increase tensions by stating which one.

Which I understand. Some extremist groups would try to bomb the base, some would take action against the base country’s citizens, and “protests” could destabilize the base country’s government.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 19, 2011 @ 2:00 pm

Khaled Kaim’s call for Germany, Turkey, Malta and China to “verify” that the ceasefire is being honored by Gaddafi’s regime seems to me an attempt to appeal to the egos of those country’s leadership, in order to put them at odds with the countries participating in the UN sanctions.

At least Germany is not buying it, but I have not seen responses from any of the others.

Gaddafi’s actions go to prove what I have maintained for quite a while now. When a person is involved in dishonesty, to such an extent that they begin to believe the lies themselves, and their dishonesty is confronted, they will lash out at everyone around them as their carefully-contrived delusion is challenged. The liar will take virtually any action necessary to punish those who challenge him.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 19, 2011 @ 11:44 am

No!

That was… horrible.

That beautiful monument? I am really… stunned.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 18, 2011 @ 11:09 am

I never said you did either.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 11:23 pm

PW: Yeah, that too. Folks rarely think about the fact that military installations can be put on top of, underneath, next to, or in the middle of civilian populations.

Maybe this will give Gaddafi’s military time to think about giving up.

And maybe fox-glove will taste good on my salad.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 7:16 pm

Um. Yeah. Let’s go with that.

By the way, want to invest in my Ponzi (R) scheme? It’s got a (R) next to it, so you know it’s legit!

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 7:14 pm

Oh, great. Maybe we can send the Libyans some military-grade radar detectors so they know which areas to run away from?

What’s the blast radius for those things? What’s the target-lock failure rate?

Knowing the state of some military commanders, they won’t pause to think about that. Just “Oh, goody, I get to pull the trigger first.”

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 7:07 pm

I’m still waiting to hear *how* they are going to enforce it.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 6:44 pm

Buddy: Glad someone else gets it.

But I am still waiting for cries of “but that’s not what I meant!”

Today’s discussions are really taking a lot out of me today.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 5:24 pm

Because the suggestion was made below that the US take unilateral action with B2 bombers.

As far as “admonishing”, if any action has negative consequences (or the very real possibility for such), how is inaction immoral?

I refuse to take responsibility for Gaddafi’s actions. I didn’t okay them, I was not consulted, and it’s not my fault that he had bad toilet-training experiences as a child.

How then, is anyone responsible for what he is doing, via virtue of not doing anything?

Yes, yes, evil triumphs when good men do nothing. However, good triumphs when evil men do nothing, and I don’t see anyone enforcing that one either.

As far as I can see, the most ethical thing anyone could do in this case is to make sure that Gaddafi can not give any orders for further atrocities.

This can be done several ways. One, is to cut off communication. However, I don’t know if there is an effective way for anyone to give him laryngitis or a stroke to prevent verbal and written orders to couriers.

Second is to take him out, directly. I am not sure we have the moral or ethical authority to do that, and who knows how the power void would settle out.

In pragmatic terms, Gaddafi is nothing to me. His actions affect me very little, if any. Yes, emotionally and spiritually I feel hurt by his actions, but that is my choice on how to react to his actions.

The Libyan people are affected, directly, by his actions. It is up to them to decide how to deal with him, and to follow through on that.

I’m not being cold-hearted. I would gladly take a boat to the Libyan coast to distribute food or help evacuate refugees. But I’m not going to hand them a weapon or endanger their lives by shooting off my own willy-nilly.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 4:59 pm

Commenting further down.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 4:28 pm

Sigh. Starting a new comment thread because some of these threads are getting way too crowded.

here’s my personal choice, for myself:

No.

I do not want to see the US bombing targets in Libya or anywhere else. Even with state of the art technology, mistakes *will* be made. People will get hurt. We will be responsible for those injuries and deaths, because they will be a direct consequence of our actions.

Period.

Our murder of Libyan citizens will be on our hands. Those deaths will not be excused by the “fact” that the same people *might* have been killed by Gaddafi at some hypothetical point in the subjective or generative future.

I don’t even like the idea of us shooting down Gaddafi’s planes. Fun fact, kiddos, but planes that get shot down hit the ground somewhere. How many people are at or near that “somewhere”? We don’t know. But we will still be responsible for anyone who is injured, maimed or killed by the crash.

here’s a trivia question: How many bullets fired at a plane hit the target? Answer: Not many. And definitely not all of them. Those bullets will land somewhere. Maybe in Libya, maybe in another country, considering the velocity with which they are fired. A bullet falling to the ground can kill someone just as easily as one fired directly at them, a fun fact I learned at the age of 12 in hunter safety class.

I refuse to be responsible for any of those people being hurt or killed. Should the American people be responsible for it? No, not with an overwhelming majority vote, and I don’t mean a vote by those idiots in Congress. If over 75% of the American people voted for such a thing, I would consider honoring that vote, and I still wouldn’t be happy about it.

There has been a… well, not suggestion, but an implication that B2’s could be used for intelligence gathering.

No. Reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering planes get shot down too. They will hit the ground somewhere. Not to mention that, even *with* UN approval, violation of Libyan airspace by our planes is considered by many countries to be a provocation for war.

And personally, I suspect that is part of Gaddafi’s strategy anyway. I can think of several countries who would gleefully answer a call from him to fight off the “American devil intruders”, just for a chance to strike out at us. I wouldn’t put it past the Saudi princes to jump in, just to score political and diplomatic points against the US and our allies.

What we need to do is support the Libyan people’s efforts to determine the course of their country’s future. We need to keep the news in front of everyone. We need to help get the word out of what is happening. We need to help them survive, with medical supplies, food, and other materials.

We *do* *not* need another El Salvador. We must not provide them with training or military materials. That will get people hurt, and will give the propaganda machines more fodder.

I wish I could do more for those people, but I can not. Not unless I am willing to take that blood on my hands and be held responsible for those deaths.

I am not be isolationist. I am saying that those people have the right to make decisions for themselves, without our interference and without us making survival harder for them.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 4:27 pm

PW, consequences are something that are a peeve of mine. Basically, when someone tries to escape responsibility for their actions with the whine of “but I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

As an adult, I *have* to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions, whether or not those consequences were foreseen or planned. If it happens due to my actions, I am still responsible. My inability to foresee all possible consequences in no way excuses them.

Those that cry about “I didn’t mean for that to happen” disgust me. What, because one did not consider that they might kill someone while driving home drunk automatically brings that person back to life?

Notice I said “adult”, and not “over 21” (or whatever magic number is assigned these days. I know ten year olds with more maturity than some 30-or-over year olds.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 4:09 pm

RE: “no collateral damage”

The B2 is bomber. That is what the “B” stands for.

And no matter what target you designate, there will be civilians nearby who can be injured by a bad targeting system (built by the lowest bidder) or just plain ol “blast radius”.

Geez. Why do I feel like I am in a bad rendition of Robin William’s “cruise missile” sketch?

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 4:00 pm

Good news, I suppose. I hope the Libyans can tell the difference between Gaddafi’s planes and the planes enforcing the no-fly zone.

I have a hard time telling the difference between a Volvo and Toyota.

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 3:57 pm

If you get rid of the bikinis, won’t they be nekkid?

O.o

» Posted By 2ndClassCitizenPundit On March 17, 2011 @ 3:55 pm