RantsCounterRants:  Letter to my Senator in the mail...

After reading comments left yesterday by "ScrewDriver", I felt compelled to pop a letter off to my Senator.  What the heck, it can't hurt at this point, can it?  Let's see what happens.  (Thanks, ScrewDriver, for the tidbits!)

===

The Honorable Senator Carl Levin
Russell Senate Office Building, Room SR-269
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator;

As a Michigan citizen, I want to let you know I greatly appreciate your efforts on behalf of the American public, pursuing the truth behind the intelligence used to rationalize U.S. military intervention in Iraq.  I also want to share something with you that you may find interesting.

An article was sent to me recently; it originated in a Florida Today periodical, published 03-JUN-03.  You can find the original article at this link: http://www.flatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/peoplestoryA1172A.htm.  There is an assessment by a former Air Force colonel and MIT graduate that strongly suggests oil was being recovered from Iraq by approximately the middle of May this year.

If the observations made by Mr. Hank Brandli, as documented in this article, are at all plausible and true, it took only a scant number of days for contractor KBR to begin oil recovery in Iraq once cessation of active war was announced.

My concern is this: Why are we, the American public, hearing from the Bush Administration and the press that it will take much more time before the Iraqi oil begins to pay for the war effort and for rebuilding Iraq?  If the observations are accurate and a new “pipeline” (albeit using foreign operated trucks) has already begun to move oil out of Iraq, to whom and to where is this oil going?   Why are we not hearing the truth?

Perhaps we should have independent reporters embedded with KBR as well as the troops? 

And perhaps KBR’s own intelligence was superior to that of the Defense Department, convincing KBR that security was not an impediment to rapid recovery?

This situation does not add up at all; it does not make sense.  It appears as if KBR had more than ample time to plan and implement; it appears that the American public isn’t getting the whole story.
 
I hope the truth will come out soon.
 
Thank you very much again for your efforts.

4:12:29 PM    comment []

RantsCounterRants:  Adding “fall guy” to the resume?

Poor George Tenet over at the CIA; looks like I’m not the only one who’s thought Tenet’s being prepped for fall guy or whipping boy.  Joe Conanson sees it too, as laid out in his journal entry today.  Bushies are sure to try and stick Tenet with the blame about bad intelligence about WMD; they’re already blaming him for not stopping a fraudulent State of the Nation address.  (Really, Mr. Bush, where does the buck stop?)

It looks as if we both think the Bushies will have a very hard time making the fall guy label stick permanently; Tenet is sure to have pictures of people in compromising positions and similar documentation.  He could probably start with convincing proof that the Defense Department had their own intelligence (gleaned without the CIA’s assistance) that was admittedly bad and used it any how.

I would like to see the Bushies try this, though.  I’d bet lunch, maybe even some good money, that if the Bushies go after him in earnest, Tenet will all but hand Bush his impeachment papers.

Hmm.  One can only hope.

3:24:29 PM    comment []

Celebrate A New Salon Blog Family Member!

I don’t know how I missed this, feel just terrible that I didn’t notice…Adrian Zoot (of blog Global Suburb) and his wife, Y., have a new baby boy!!  Wow, a whole new bunch of topics on which to blog, Adrian!

Congratulations, Zoot family!!!  Stop by and wish them well!

3:00:05 PM    comment []

DharmaSurfing:  The compromise

Thanks to those of you who’ve replied to my query regarding salary expectations in a cover letter.  I appreciate your feedback greatly, gave me lots of food for thought.

I’d also talked with my spouse who’s a hiring manager about this situation.  He suggested I do name a salary number that wasn’t at the bottom or at the top of the posted range.  In fact, he shared he was concerned about a recent hire for this reason; the candidate took the first amount offered, leaving money on the table.  It implied the candidate was desperate; perhaps this candidate really, really wanted this particular job, but I can see where this impression will be lingering around management’s head for a while. 

Doggone hard to argue with experience from the other side of the desk.

Here’s what I came up with for this particular application:

Based on my work history and credentials, I feel comfortable with an expected salary of $XXXXXX per year, negotiable depending on the structure and value of bonuses and benefits included in total compensation.  This should leave room for my prospective managers to reward performance and encourage growth, while acknowledging my skill set and experience.

The number I picked was at the upper third of the posted range; if total compensation (pay + bonuses + benefits) fell about that point, I’d be okay with it.  But they’d have a year to show me their true colors – and I’d give them a year to show them my stuff.  After that they’d have to start making up the slack between their current pay range and local industry average.

Truthfully, I think I have a snowball’s chance in hell.  The last job for which I’d interviewed had over 100 applicants inside the first 48 hours after the advertisement hit the street.  This one will be no different; there’s probably several hundred more applicants waiting in the wings for this particular job because of its location in a more densely populated area.  It would be a 60-minute commute one-way for me each day, too, making me a very outside candidate in spite of very strong qualifications.

We’ll see what happens.  If this works the way everything else has during the last twelve months that I’ve been unemployed, I won’t ever hear a thing from these people.  I’ll have agonized about this cover letter for naught.

At least I’ve tackled the salary requirements issue; perhaps I’ll be able to use it on another application in the near future.  I’ve also heard from a range of very nice and generous folks on the topic as well!  Thanks again, gang.

1:14:25 PM    comment []