Sherrod Shame

The ubrupt, outgrageous firing of Shirley Sherrod, the Agriculture Dept. official who was taken out by a libelous Tea Party blogger, is a wake-up all for all of us. On one side, you have a blogger with an insidious political agenda who doctored the speech Sherrod gave to the NAACP earlier this year. On the other side, you have her boss and the Obama Administration who were so frightened by what they heard (that she made racist remarks) that they shunned all propriety and probably all Human Resources legal boundaries and just let her go without giving her any chance to rebuke the accusations. This is all so wrong on so many fronts that it scares me as it should you. We know what terrible people the Tea Partiers are and how they will say anything without any foundation of truth to make their case. They are both racist and anti-American in their methods of using the First Amendment and just say whatever they want as loud and as repetitively as they can in order to get rid of those people who may threaten them. Is there any question that the Tea Party (dont get me started on how they mis-adopted one of America's greatest protest movements to give their cause some credence) are so anti-Democrat, so anti-Obama and so obviously anti-American in their drive to limit the diversity of power that they will break all laws of ethics? Their fear-mongering has to be stopped and it can only be so if we all are aware of what they are doing. In that way, we need to take up the mantle of the internet and fight back. I hope to God that Shirley sues that blogger (I wont mention his name) who is just another gossip with no journalistic crdibility, just a keyboard and a nasty agenda. But, she could just as easily sue her bosses for they took away her civil rights just as readily as the blogger-that-will-not-be-named. It is they who should leave their jobs immediately. One of the first rule of hiring and firing is to give the accused a chance to respond. Everyone was so scared by what was said and by whom? What credibility does this guy have? Why wouldnt the administration's backhairs go up when they heard the blogger's account and the screaming and yelling by other right wing fearmongers like that O'Reilly guy and his mean and obstructive Mafia. Why would anyone in their right (left?) mind ever listen to these guys? Why would anyone believe a blogger who works for the Tea Party? Must I yell McCarthyism? We have to slow down. We have to think first and act later. The irony is that Shirley Sherrod's personal history is now coming to the fore and we can all re-learn the harsh lessons of racism and her fight for Civil Rights. This is but another wake-up call for the Obama Administration as well. They should never have bought into this and I, for one, expect more. In the meantime, I love that Shirley is mulling over her next job. She should use as much media time as possible to make her case and shout down the newest and most demonic group of racists known as the Tea Party.

Social What?

Yesterday, I had dinner with a blogger-friend and we talked social networking among other things. What is better, Facebook or Linkedin? Does Foursquare destroy your privacy, allowing people who shouldn't know, know that you are not at home? And, Twitter? What the heck does it really do for you? I won't go into all of those issues as they are all fairly large and still waiting to be decided, but the question about Linkedin vs. Facebook does fascinate me. I prefer Linkedin in for professional-only communication while Facebook is my more personal outlet for info. Still, I am finding that more and more of my professional contacts are searching out my Facebook over my Linkedin pages. That kind of makes sense since Facebook is a billion times larger than anything on the planet when it comes to profiles and internet communications, but do I really want my business associates to know about my family, vacations, funny faces I may have made, personal interests, etc? This a wacky world where communications are as instant as thought. While at dinner, I Foursquared my location and it went to Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin so my "world" knew I was having chili with Shoshana at Hugo's. Bizarre as hell and what is the point? Well, I work with Hugo's so it got the name out and that was my personal and professional reason for doing it. Most people who use FourSquare are probably just "sharing" and bored so they go through the exercise of telling people where they are constantly. I gotta admit as a bonified gossip and Yenta, I love these forms of instant communication and know that this all has a movement and power that is far-reaching and probably never-ending. Will it all be saturated and then fade away? Very doubtful as it mutates faster than any virus on the planet. For now, I am blogging my ideas and will send across the internet so that you can see what is on my mind...for now.

there is humor in being laid off

Most people wouldn't say it is funny to be laid off. I am one of them. But there is humor in it. As one of the newly out-of-work, I have been confronted by many a friend or associate who has told me their story. Their story being the "same" as mine. For instance, my friend who was "laid off" as CEO of a major public corporation and was given a golden parachute worth millions; so much money in fact that he has not had to work much since except to tend his many homes and hone his wayward golf game. Or the guy who stands to inherit about $5 million but who is constantly depressed. He is the same guy who called to console me when I lost my job who I ended up consoling and telling HIM that everything would be alright. Invariably, everyone has a story, it seems and in their desire to make me feel better, they have to share it. Some tell me stuff I never knew like a friend who had to decided not to sue her partner when he broke off from their company. She took the high road but I could tell in her voice that she wished she had cut off his nuts while doing so. So, I can only laugh because at some point I will probably be telling someone else my story.

the unemployment line

I was recently laid off and like millions of others joined the unemployment line. I had been in charge of marketing and sales for a food and restaurant company for many years and now I find myself looking for work and on the dole.
This is a very new experience for me having worked my entire without a real break. I supported my family with my working wife and held a variety of jobs - from cab driver to writer to publicist to salesman to marketing executive. It has been a nice and somewhat fulfilling trajectory.
What I have found as I have gone out in the marketplace is that there are plenty of jobs...if I want to pay for them. That is, I could be working for any number of people and companies, all of whom want me to go out and sell their wares while none of them pony up a penny.
This is somewhat at odds with what I have heard about today's financial state. "Jobs are dwindling and unemployment is growing," reads the newspapers, online and otherwise. That may be true, but maybe the jobs are changing.
It does seem as if no one is hiring, a line I have heard many times already. They say they don't have the money as they tighten their proverbial belts. Instead, I have approached and been approached by company executives who would like me to sell their food, advertising and services on commission. That means that I spend my time and money and goodwill to go out and try to hawk their ideas for anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of the sale. Not bad if you can get it. But, not exactly what I had in mind. Not one of them has a desire to pay for my vast experience, contacts and energy.
And, why should they? The marketplace is shrinking, prices are falling, buyers are tightening up and fear is weighing down the optimism that once buoyed our thriving economy. There are seemingly more people on the streets looking than people buying.
It is hard to say what lies in my future. I have just hit the road, gotten the word out and revamped my resume. I am on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter, and I am gmailing my hundreds of contacts. I have meetings almost every day with makers of eco-products, brownies, healthy foods and packaged desserts. I've met with the editor of an online newspaper who desperately needs sales and a newly-launched internet site directly focused on an emerging marketplace. One acquaintance even wants me to sell his swimming poolr services and write ads.
I am not waiting. I have set up a sales and marketing company to manage these new opportunities. I will tackle them individually and expect that I will succeed and instead of working for others, direct my own destiny. Like the economy, I have evolved whether I like it or not.
It is a new world and, while I may not be welcome to it, I am ready to take it on and get the heck off the unemployment line before before that first government check is deposited directly into my checking account.

obamaorama

I have read with interest and disdain the comments about our President...President Obama. But, it is with great shame that I have to comment about the racial bent of the most recent outbursts. While I am happy that the liberal writers and commentators are standing up against obvious but tethered racism, it is amazing that it should even be a topic. When people rose up against Obama's desire to speak to the students of our nation, it made me cringe...it made me sad. The guy from South Carolina, an elected Congressman, obliterates the common etiquette afforded the President and shouts him down. What the...? Is that some rhetorical device? Some political strategy? Or just plain bitterness and tasteless, gutteral emotion? And if it is the latter than what is it based on? Health care? Oh forgive me please. But am not sure the idea of "socialized" medicine would really create such an outcry.
So here we are back to square one. It had to happen in this mucked up country of ours. I mean no one shouted down Bush for his warmongering or ego-centric capitalistic desire to rid the world of non-Christians. Nope. That is an issue for Democrats I guess. They are too genteel. The Republicans are like rabid wolves foaming at their proverbial mouths should anyone say or do anything that they do not agree with.
The game is on. Obamarama. How will it end? How will it play out? Who will make the next move? Can anyone win?

my reusable bag

i have a new resuable bag called a Clothesnik. The company that makes it is Reuseniks. Funny name but it makes sense. I like to reuse. Niks are those who do things with a passion like a Refusenik or Beatnik. Anyways, this bag is great. It allows me to go to the dry cleaners and come home without any plastic bags. I just toss my dirty clothes in it and they come back in the same bag without any plastic on them. Really simple. I have no more plastic bags. There are other bags like this but they are all made of plastic or polypropelene or recycled stuff. This is all natural cotton. I love my Reuseniks reusable bag

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