RantsCounterRants:  Here, boy, where are you?  Anybody seen Righteous Indignation?

So where is it?  Has it slipped its leash, run off like a dog in search of another in heat?

Where is this nation’s righteous indignation?

Why is it not demanding on every single news channel, every single talk show, every newspaper a full accounting of the truth, demanding the reasons why the President used fraudulent forgeries to rationalize a war?  Why is the American voting public not insisting on impeachment proceedings against a standing President who lied to it, lied to Congress, lied to the world?

What about YOU?  Are you writing or calling your Representatives and Senators, asking for the heads of the liars in office?  Are you not at least insisting that the truth be disclosed?

What are we now, complete and total wimps?  Are we but utterly immoral excuses for humans, who’ll eagerly pounce upon lascivious yet trite issues like blowjobs in the White House yet give a free pass to an Administration that lied (and continues to lie!) about the reasons for war, for the billions of dollars invested and to be invested in a foreign, formerly sovereign country, for the thousands of innocent civilian deaths, the hundreds of military deaths incurred and continuing?

Why are we not rioting in the streets?  Is this not of the same magnitude as Vietnam, when our country was at war for the flimsiest of reasons?

Why is there not an independent counsel, digging into this even as I type away, looking for the truth?  Did not the public demand and expect as much for smaller crimes like a break-in at the Watergate, or for blowjob in the White House?

Where is the majority that did not vote for this President?  Did you give up, walk away like some spoiled five-year-old who’s lost at Duck-Duck-Goose?  Doesn’t this bother you enough to make you find your righteous indignation and do something constructive?:

…”Wilson added, "It really comes down to the administration misrepresenting the facts on an issue that was a fundamental justification for going to war. It begs the question, what else are they lying about?" Those are the carefully chosen words of a 23-year career diplomat who, as the top U.S. official in Baghdad in 1990, was praised by then-President George H.W. Bush for his role as the last American to confront Saddam face to face after the dictator invaded Kuwait…”

Don’t you wonder at all exactly how big the lies are, how many lies have been told, and the extent to which this Administration continues to fabricate some construct even now?  Are we really all simply afraid of our shadows, afraid of the truth?

Damn it, somebody give me some answers!!!  I want the truth and I want it now!!!

3:05:04 PM    comment []

DharmaSurfing:  Job hunting “How-To” question

So…let’s say you’re very interested in a posting that says:

Qualified candidates should send a resume and cover letter (with salary requirements).

How do you respond to the salary requirements request?

After many years of surfing for jobs, I’ve not actually had to respond to questions like this.  I’m tempted to blow it off, but that’s a reason to be disqualified from consideration (“Oh, this one can’t or won’t follow instructions!” <delete>).

If I ask too little, I run the risk of appearing less than confident and possibly unworthy.  If I ask for it all, I run the opposite risk of appearing overconfident and unappetizing as a candidate.  If I ask for something in the middle, where?  There’s a $13,000 range between low and high-end of salary for this role.   A query using Salary.com tells me this range might be about 10 to 20% less than industry average -- for the locale in which the job is located.

I really dislike this kind of issue; it’s always been my understanding that money isn’t a concern until after a candidate has survived the first interview.  And it’s a practice of mine never to name a number first; I was taught that doing so puts one at the risk of setting the floor or ceiling in negotiations.  I’m betting there’s a placement company involved, one that must include its fee on top of whatever salary I name.  Should I take that into consideration, or no?

Perhaps part of my concern is about getting burned, as I did in my last job.  I was underpaid by 10K to 20K based on national industry average, primarily because I failed to get an oral agreement in writing from the hiring manager before he exited the role a scant 6 weeks after signing me.  (Damned sky rat!!!  If I ever see him I’ll bite him like a rabid dog!!!)

What would you do, in my shoes?

1:58:18 PM    comment []

26 Things: Signage

The hard part about this project will be editing; each of the topics could result in multiple photos, many choices.

Which one of these two is most representative?  Hmmm.

10:15:47 AM    comment []

26 Things

From the people who brought you The May Day Project, a new photo-blogging project: 26 Things.

What’s your take on these items?  What do they look like in your world, to you?

love	you	food	new
animal	scape	sound	construction
home	time	transport	light
water	colour	signage	numbers
authority	symmetry	empty	a sunset
weather	communication	little things	footwear
	money	monument

9:56:48 AM    comment []