Even Staying Home Is A Choice

I'm of an age that I remember the Omega symbols at protests on Boston Common.

I remember waiting for the draft numbers in the lottery.

I remember the boys who didn't come back.

I remember the people who went to Canada, even though they were in no danger from the draft , because the United States wasn't the home they had before.

I remember waking up in the middle of one night, turning on the radio for music so I could sleep, and hearing the breathless chaos in a ballroom where another tower of Camelot had fallen.

I've seen my dreams fall into the abyss of systematic bigotry, public indifference, organized greed and deceit and also saw them transform into nightmares of petty violence, corruption and a wholesale theft of the public weal not seen since Tammany Hall, all under the guise of "protection" from "big government.".

I have seen first hand, in my own person, and in the lives of those I've known and loved, the effects of discrimination and prejudice.

I despaired of where my nation would go.

But now I have to force myself to dream again. With four children and a granddaughter I have no choice.

I saw the campaign of the man I wanted, who was the mirror of my dreams of youth, fall apart from misguided zealotry and manipulation.

I've seen the campaign of a woman who is qualified, but with the baggage of decades of being the subject of right-wing hatred and lies, and as a not-so-close second choice be the one who could win.

I look at what the likes of Scalia, Alito and Thomas have done to our civil rights, and I fear mightily what would be the result of three or more of their ilk added to the Supreme Court.

And there are those who declare that they will vote third-party or write-in or not at all, and I want to take their faces and shove them into the mud and slime that were the results of "protest votes" that gave us and Bush II and wars that have surpassed in length even the times of occupation after World War II.

This election will be a turning point for our country.

We can choose either a deeply flawed Camelot or The Handmaid's Tale.

I've already been told I'm not a "real Progressive" for saying to vote for reality instead of a mirage of a Miracle of Rare Device.

I know what future I will choose with my vote.

With four children and a granddaughter I have no choice.

What will be yours?

We Have Room For All Of You. Period.

We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others. No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, we must respect the dignity of every human being and we must seek the common good above all else.

Readers are aware that I worship in the Episcopal Church these days.  Linked below is another reason why I unapologetically call myself an Episcopalian.  The U.S. House of Bishops were recently in a retreat, and have issued  a statement, that they have titled "A word to the Church," about the treatment of those who are marginalized and are being demonized in this current Presidential election season.
The Church is constrained against being for or against specific candidates in its pronouncements, so some of the pronouncements on issues may sound sort of indirect, but to me, at least, the references are to the shameful way that the GOP candidates are encouraging discrimination and violence against immigrants, refugees, people of color and the LBGT community.

You can read the full announcement here.

Good Lord, What Am I Doing Here?

Recently, after << mumble >> years in the workforce, I've found that getting work has been a bit slower than usual, I've been told I'm "over-qualified," "not in touch with new computer trends," "we are concerned that if you take the position at the salary we offer  you'll leave when the economy picks up," yada, yada, yada.

So I'm back in school again.

Some  things stay the same: study groups; the vending machines are overpriced and steal your money; between 30% and 60% students desperately try to cram a full semester's worth of studying into the 2 days before the finals; and students are still taking courses that they are woefully unprepared for.

Other things change: the use of online resources; the requirement for every student to be at least minimally computer literate (we have a course for that); courses that are taken  online only; use of computer spreadsheets, presentations, etc as part of your required coursework (we have a course for learning  that); etc, etc.

But, O. M. G., they all look so young now. I don't remember them looking so young before....

How to Woo The Job-Seeker

What with school and whatnot I'm not actively in the job market. I still get the occasional email / call from recruiters, some more tempting than others. 
 
Here is little bit of advice to those head-hunters out there. If you are *seriously* trying to recruit someone and not just trying a con game, in your solicitations actually say what the "7 open positions" are, and use an e-mail address that actually is a match for your described company name and doesn't end in "@tushmail.com"