H. RES. 717 Resolved, That the Secretary of Commerce is directed to transmit to the House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, a copy of the final draft report, produced by the professional staff of the Technology Administration, entitled: `Six-Month Assessment of Workforce Globalization In Certain Knowledge-Based Industries’.
Congress requested this assessment, spent $335,000 to have the analysis done, and the result was a 200 page report. The administration did not like what the report had to say, so they cut it down to a 12 page summary, which the analysts say misrepresents their findings. This resolution is up for a vote tomorrow morning.
Taxpayers are concerned about the outsourcing of jobs overseas, so we urged our leaders to find out more about it. We paid for the study. The truth concerning the state of our economy shouldn’t be something so easily ‘classified’. That is…unless our leaders are taking notes from Russia and China!
Michael Medved was on the radio tonight talking about the whole immigration issue. A caller noted that the U.S. jobs issue isn’t simply one of low-wage jobs. The caller was saying that hi-tech jobs are at stake as well because corporations are opting for foreign IT labor. Makes sense to me, cost savings. Indian programmer is cheaper by the hour than an American programmer.
Anyway, Medved went on to say something along the lines of “that’s not true, I know Microsoft hires Americans.”
For the uninitiated, Medved is a conservative talk radio host. His comment just about sums up the philosophy of many on the far right… “that’s not true”.
A gentlemen with a very strong southern accent called the show last week and said that his nephew had “done some bad things” while on duty in Iraq. Medved said “sir I don’t believe you”. I couldn’t stop laughing. That’s exactly how easy it is for someone like that to discredit something/anything… “I don’t believe it”. Conversly, that’s exactly how easy it is for them to embrace something… “I believe it.”
Similarly, a guy that works in my building told me that his teenage son (in the Marines) was in the same boat. It was a very weird conversation. This guy is “unofficially” counseling some of his sons friends who were in the same unit. Those friends told this guy I work with that his son had shot a young girl. I guess the story is that she was strapped with explosives. I believe the guy. That’s not something I would expect him to make up. Now his son is messed up, can’t find work, and is considering going back to Iraq just for the bonus that he will get.
Messed up. I sat there looking at this guy not knowing what to say. I felt bad for his kid (killing a kid would be a nightmare), but I felt bad for that girl and her family too. He didn’t talk politics and neither did I.
Back on topic: As for the study. No surprise at all. Doesn’t matter who is in control. If the results aren’t what you want, simply shift the focus. Happens all the time at every level of government.
This is the type of issue though, where if the tables were turned, the news cycle would be plastered with it. An election issue, outsourcing of jobs, coverup…tell me FoxNews wouldn’t be having a field day with this.
The ‘nuh-uh’ approach to political dialogue…I’m very familiar with it. In fact, it’s what probably turned me into a liberal to begin with. I’d read something in the library (growing up), read it again somewhere else, bring it up w/ adults at home or at the church and get the ‘nuh-uh’…frustrating. Can’t argue with that.
Under no circumstances should a veteran with post traumatic stress be considering another tour for the sake of a cash bonus. I know the VA combined with the market can be depressing, but it’s just irresponsible…a no-win situation.
Once you’ve been there, it’s easier to go back. If that’s not a sign of what war does to the human mind, then I don’t know what is. Because it’s one thing to believe in the mission, another to be going for the cash. He’s better off bulking up the resume and trying to get a contractor job.
I can help out with that if needbe. Please pass that along, that there are alternatives.
He’s better off seeking some mental health help. A lot of county and state agencies would cover that if the VA decided to dick him over.
Here’s some more to the story that you guys may be able to corroborate. He said that none of these young guys returning are getting counseling because it is an unwritten rule that those guys are pretty much burning their military career ladder when they seek help. That’s why the guy I work with is counseling with them. No medical records, no payments made, just a sit down and discuss kind of deal.
Is this true about seeking mental health? Makes sense to me, I wouldn’t want a guy on my team that wasn’t in it for the win, or had some demons which kept him from performing.
And completely in a different direction. I’ve got a 17 year old relative who needs some serious serious serious guidance. He’ll be 18 this summer, and my wife and I are afraid he may end in up jail. I think he’s a good kid at heart, but has just had bad role models and no discipline or accountability in his life. So the question is… do these kinds of kids do OK in the military? Any suggestions on a branch? I don’t want to see him get whacked in Iraq. He’s in a different town, but I’ll be down there in a couple of weeks and was going to talk with his father.
Suggestions would be good. Having never been in the military I’m not sure whether I’m on the right track or not. I was thinking about dropping his name and contact info to a recruiter.
Where are all the people who were mad that the networks would not show the muslim cartoons?
NBC affiliates have rejected MoveOn.org ads targeting 4 Republicans for voting in the interest of big oil, RAW STORY has learned.
The $1.3 million ad buy, which MoveOn calls the first in a series, will target four Congresspersons in competitive districts. Representatives Chris Chocola (IN-2), Thelma Drake (VA-2), Nancy Johnson (CT-5) and Deborah Pryce (OH-15) will be the first hit. All four voted against giving the U.S. Department of Justice authority to prosecute oil companies for alleged price gouging.
According to the National Republican Congressional Committee, NBC affiliates in Columbus, OH and Hartford, CT have refused to air the ads.
The campaign will be launched at a telepress conference today at 1 pm EST.
The ads and their substantiation, can be viewed at MoveOn.org.
The complete script of the Virginia ad follows:
captain MENACE: Sorry, I didn’t see this until just now. With the 17 year old, definitely not the Army or Marines. If coming home alive is the goal, there’s absolutely no reason to choose either as long as the current leadership is in power. They’ll work him until he’s either dead or getting there – – – nobody appreciates what ONE rotation does to each and every one of them, let alone THREE or FOUR (coming up on four for some!).
Imagine something like that before he’s 22 years old, and when his time is up, they STOP LOSS him! They refer to the fine print and put Americans in chains.
menace – no matter what happens when he gets back, the fact that war isn’t talked about with any kind of urgency or affection, not just family and friends, but the community as a whole.
In fact, there are too many mental pitfalls for a person who just ‘supposedly’ became a free adult, let alone the bullets, bombs and ignorant bastards.
I agree with wisenheimer on your other friends, the ones who are all back from war. They need an organized network of local meetings and information about treatment. War is not a natural environment, it’s poison for the brain and body. Some young people who signed up and are reminded of the experience non-stop, the chatter in their head, the canvas and colors their minds use for dreams…THEY need to be allowed some time to realize that THEY are not failures, that there’s nothing wrong with them, and the institution they sacrificed so much for hasn’t simply turned its back.
Some of these guys aren’t crippled, just non deployable, and it was their calling, what they wanted to do for as long as they could. When the soldier is let go, a process should be started at that point, but it isn’t. It should utilize the eager to help volunteer and charity organizations across the country…the VWF, Freemasons, labor unions…to ASSIMILATE these brave individuals.
The reality is a mathematical one, observed over time on some sort of a spreadsheet, and the report read that “attrition rates are higher when little to no information is given to each veteran that leaves…advertisement budget should be spent 100% on recruitment, 0% on veteran benefits awareness…if you understaff VA hospitals, attrition will be higher as veterans pay for private insurance eventually”
Think about it this way…if someone you loved was traumatized, a bad car accident, car jacking, etc…would you advise them to volunteer to fight in a guerilla war anytime soon?
They all need to hear, “you did your best, thank you.”
Blacklisting someone for talking to a psychiatrist is par for the course, but no less sickening to think about.
A commander of mine was once telling some of us that he viewed a positive urinalysis screening as a bigger issue than DWI, that the DWI wasn’t a big deal.
This is how it works – Logic is NONE OF YER BUSINESS PRIVATE!!!!
Thanks for the response. I’m heading down tomorrow night. I’m still not sure whether to mention this or not. I was thinking about the Coast Guard, Air Force, or Navy. I think Coast Guard might be best.
I think he needs to be beat down and built back up. He’s a spoiled kid who has never been told no. Now (as in this very moment) he’s sitting in a halfway house for committing some misdemeanor offenses. In six months he’ll be an adult, and will end up in prison rather than a halfway house.
I’m not sure what Coast Guard boot camp entails, but make certain he’s got no Rambo-induced romanticism bouncing around in that head of his before sitting down with any recruiter from the military. Army, Marines…not worth it.
Capt,
The Coast Guard has a very small tolerance for problem children. We are a small enough service with no recruiting issues that we can be choosy. That said, I love the Coast Guard & would suggest it to anybody. Boot camp is challenging, not the most physically challenging of the five, but it has been said to be the second most psychologically challenging.
Wow! I saw this thread, and thought someone else was using CM as a screen name. Duh! Then I remembered.
Well, he’s no longer a child. He just turned 18 this month. He was in prison on his 18th birthday. He was sent out to an out-of-state prison for juveniles and then got transferred to the real deal for a brief stint. He arrived back in state just a week ago.
I’m not sure what he will do now. He’s in a small town, I think he needs to get out, and leave his old friends and ways behind. My fingers are crossed for him.
As for the Coast Guard. I like the Coast Guard too. My dad was a coastie, and they definitely serve us well up here. I know they rescue boaters and fishermen pretty regularly. Glad somebody’s willing to go out into deadly storm conditions to rescue those in need.
Coast Guard kicks ass – – – your friend, CM, definitely needs to get the f*&k out of dodge – habits and routines that lead to trouble the first and perhaps second+ times around are bound to get him again.