Editorial Musings from the Heart(land)

Sexual assault and harassment,  especially in the workplace has fortunately gained a higher degree of visibility by the media and others. A good number of the victims have simply kept quiet regarding this hideous behavior by those in powerful and highly visible positions. We have all seen the headlines and the associated consequences faced by those guilty. We, as a society should be thankful to those who were not afraid to overcome the barrier of secrecy. One motivating factor for this secrecy all these years regarding the crimes in question is that it could have a detrimental impact upon a person's career and livelihood by vocalizing such accusations. Especially, if the  person perpetrating the crime was still in power and could directly retaliate against the accuser. Certainly this would be true if you still worked in the same industry or for the same company. My hope as I have watched all this come to light was that the perpetrators of these crimes would be punished a...

EVERYONE's feeling pretty intense about their preferences regarding governmental policy and law these days. One of the hot button issues right now, is immigration (of course, there are others). Based upon that which I hear and read, NO ONE is leaving much room for compromise. We are experiencing gridlock within the legislative process and are having a hard time moving ahead. For example, some folks want a wall on the southern border, others do not ... Some want "Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA)" to be extended, others do not. Certainly there is within these two matters room for compromise. If the mighty Oak Tree did not bend just a little, it would simply break, collapse and then die. The only way a diverse system such as ours works is if we all agree to compromise, somewhat ... ya know? ... NO ONE gets everything they want, but everyone gets a little of what they want. It is the only way it is going to work. Extremism will not work. It will only...

Lots of time is spent debating and arguing over what the United States ought to be. Political campaigns provide us with hours and hours of entertainment as they go at each other, being fueled by these debates and arguments. The debate/argument as to whether the Federal Government is too big or not big enough, I will just leave that issue alone. Nevertheless, I would like for you to consider the role that BIG government plays in my life: Health insurance (which I  need) is too expensive thus requiring the federal government to be involved. The safety of my medications is watched over by the federal government. My current career is heavily regulated by federal guidelines and without them all kinds of mayhem would ensue. I interact daily with those (with gender issues) who need protection by the federal government. Not a day goes by that I don't encounter the marijuana issue (federal, state and local). Racial discrimination laws as put forth by the federal government help ma...

I have spent the last week or so being around young school age children in our local school district. Ages ranging from Prep-K up to early high school. I have to admit it's fascinating to watch how the system works in order to make these young people comply with acceptable behavior. For example ...  be quiet when they want to talk, sit still when they want to dance, study when they want to play, stand in line when they wish to wander and the biggie to say that which is acceptable to say as opposed to speaking honestly about what's in their hearts and minds. As somewhat of an outsider, I watched the enforcers take action against those who failed to comply. Amazingly enough, the students did exactly what they were told to do. BUT ...... As soon as the enforcer was gone, they became who they are ... KIDS!!! You got to love them!!!

"Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in  1619 , to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco ." (Black by Popular Demand, RC Elis, section 5) In current times ..... "Both the run-up to the peak and the drop-off in immigration coincide with a variety of conditions known to influence such flows, most notably the performance of the U.S. economy. Immigration grew sharply during the rapid economic and job expansion of the 1990s and then declined as the economy went into a downturn after 2001." (from the Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends, in an article entitled "Rise, Peak and Decline: Trends in U.S. Immigration 1992 - 2004, by Jeffrey S Passel and Roberto Suro) Companies needed the extra workers.  They were invited, forced and enticed to come. The rapid expansion of the housing market could not have occurred, if we as a country had not made it possible for Lat...

A trait that is incredibly significant. When someone hurts a member of your family, loyalty would dictate that (after taking care of the offense), you will never EVER have anything more to do with them ... out of loyalty. Corporate America exists today, because the US set forth an environment that has made it possible for your corporation to exist in peace and stability. Plus, we the American consumer have purchased your product making you wealthy beyond compare. Corporations owe the US for all of this. It's LOYALTY. Loyalty in my book of values, means these corporations should be reflecting firm and constant support for our country. It means you don't undercut the American worker, it means you don't aide and abet the enemy, it means you do not ruin our environment and it means you pay your fair share of taxes (out of your profits, not collect it from the little person). In the light of all of the above, it hardly seems to much to ask of you stockholders (Corpor...

Anything I have to say about corporate behavior really should bypass management and go directly to those who own the corporations. I've heard it time and time again. When management of these corporations get called under the carpet for irresponsible profit oriented behavior, they simply fall back upon the excuse "that it is what the owners want and it's not managements' fault." They are simply doing the bidding of stockholders. I don't buy that excuse, entirely. I suppose it really relates to what kind of questions they are being asked. OK,  stockholders ... it is about time you get your stuff together and start taking responsibility for your actions. Maybe you don't know what the company you own is doing. Maybe you do not even know that you have ownership in particular corporation. Those 401(k)'s you've been forced to set aside funds in, DO invest in corporate stock, get the picture??? Don't you think it is about time you figured ...