Monday, June 29, 2009

After the people of South Carolina dry their tears over the melodrama, they need to impeach him if he won't resign.

His own Lt. Governor indicted him on insubordination of a Governor to this responsibilities.

The Lt. Governor appeared wtih Huckabee. It was obvious the State of South Carolina was in limbo the entire time Sanford went missing. The Lt. Governor didn't even know he was missing until someone called him in regard to where the Governor might be. (click here)




Part I



Part II

Sanford is basically corrupt. He was wheeling and dealing outside USA federal policy. He and his supporters, which have invested heavily with him as a potential Presidential hopeful, may be trying to 'capture' sympathy through isolating this as a South Carolina issue, but, it may be that Sanford's lover might actually be his haven in case he 'got caught.'

...The Commerce Department halted high-level trade missions to Argentina after Argentina reneged on its debts. A Commerce Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed that Sanford's visit contradicted federal policy....(click title to entry - thank you)

Attack against Affirmative Action. So what else is new in the Robert's Court?

It would appear as though President Obama has chosen the perfect candidate to the Supreme Court. She is gifted enough to see past the 'Status Quo' and while this is not directly an Affirmative Action case, it has the underlying dynamics of one.



Firefighters' Case Shouldn't Haunt Sotomayor (click here)
By Eva Rodriguez
Make no mistake about it: The case of Ricci v. DeStefano will come back to haunt Obama Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. In a fair world, it wouldn't.
A sharply divided 5-4 Supreme Court this morning overruled a decision issued by Sotomayor and two colleagues on the New York-based federal appeals court. Sotomayor upheld New Haven, Conn.'s decision to throw out tests for leadership posts in its fire department. The city took the action after test results showed that only white or Hispanic firefighters scored high enough to qualify for promotion; under this test, no African-American firefighters made the grade....


The real question is, why have caucasians done so well in leadership and primarily caucasian males? Some of that 'equation' is a 'cultural' issue. Not socio-economic, but, the 'culture' of leadership in American institutions. And yes, business and government are institutions with different 'characteristics.'


We all know the expressions, "The Good 'Ole Boys Club," "The Glass Ceiling." They are real and not just expressions. They are real dynamics that provide barriers to accomplishments by minorities, including white women. As an example I offer 'The Good 'Ole Boys Over Reaching Club of Goldman Sachs.' (Correction : There may have been one token Black Man in the mix.)

When one looks at the men that come out of the institution to 'service' the government rhelm, they are all white men. So, I don't want to hear how there is NO problem in the USA with advancement of minorities, including white women, just because a 'limited' and 'hostile' Supreme Court made a ruling that is supposed to 'end it.' This does not 'end it.' It opens the country to a vulnerability of continued poor standards in the 'culture' of business and government.

The 'idea' of advancement in leadership should come with a well rounded background. But. Who provides the 'opportunity' to that background? Ideally, the 'process' should be as if the choice for a leadership position were blind to any dynamics, except, those needed for the leadership position. When a test is administered to 'find' advancement it should not be the do all and end all, but, a 'tool' for evaluation.

Some people don't do well on tests, yet perform beyond any expectations in 'the field.' There is a reason for that. It was absolutely correct to eradicate the test as a 'tool' to 'decide' a new leadership position. When there is a stark difference in the scores of minorities to their majority peers all kinds of red flags should go up. Absolutely, without a doubt.


The underlying message to this Supreme Court decision is that everyone needs to study harder and with better concentration. What? It 'implies' those that did not do well are inferior to their peers that did well, hence a better leadership choice based on study habits. The Robert's Supreme Court today 'decided' to back 'a test' and not performance of someone that was to 'apply' 'knowledge' to leadership of a very dangerous profession. They literally 'dummied down' the options for achieving the best outcome. It is a hideous decision today. Absolutely.

Reading and writing has a place in determining leadership, however, that is a characteristic one needs to achieve to succeed at all. All to often 'tests' for 'placing' people in leadership positions are based in 'how to play the game.' In other words, 'What would your decision be if presented with X, Y, Z dynamics. As an executive what would be the best choice for 'organizing' decision making. Applying 'learned skills' to decision making based on 'what it best for the fire fighter' responding to a fire is not a matter of 'business decision making,' but, one of 'dynamic' decision making.

Should there ever be a departure from that? Is there a position within leadership for fire fighters that should depart from 'experience' into a 'business' decision? Not in my opinion. Any fire fighter needs RADIOS that work. That decision to make the best choice of radio for fire fighters could have saved lives on September 11, 2001.

There is not necessarily 'right or wrong' dynamics, but, more 'learned experience' application to those decisions. I doubt seriously any written test, even in essay, could bring the 'knowledge' of fire fighting to bear equitably to a candidate. No fire fighter has the very same experience as another. The choices minorities are making in applying for employment might very well be with other minorities where cultural backgrounds are not issues when working together. After all, fire fighting is life and death to any person involved, be it the professional responding or the victim.

The choices of fire fighters to their particular interest in serving in the field are based on intimate dynamics. These people pratically live together and know each other's personality well. They have preferences in what their companies are composed. It was about a year, maybe more, ago that a gay fire fighter was literally beaten by a peer. I don't site that as a 'fact' to this case, but, as an example of the underlying dynamics to being a part of a fire company.

I am quite confident the State of Connecticut did not go out of their way to compose a test that was discriminatory, however, the application of the test to the candidates proved there were severe deficits to the ability of all the candidates to apply their experience and knowledge. With that reality comes a decision itself. That decision SHOULD have lead to 'first' an evaluation of the candidates that were 'excluded' from doing well and why. Why indeed were minorities performing poorly on a very important test that I am confident every one of them took seriously? It is a question even today that has not been answered.

Today, the Supreme Court prohibited that question to take place. It excluded 'statistics' based in race, religion, culture or gender to be a 'factor' in preparation of tests to advancement. That is dangerous beyond any imaginary 'line' that exists which acts as a discriminatory 'tool.' The decision today is one of the most horrendous ever made by the Supreme Court. The decision was minimally biased if not bigoted itself. From where I stand it was an act of anger against the 'melting pot' that complicates the landscape of the USA. Make no doubt about it, the landscape of the populous of this country does not allow for efficiency so much as challenge. The Supreme Court failed the challenge today. No doubt in my mind. Attempting to 'simplify' the USA only makes it all worse. It just doesn't work. It is the nature of the beast.

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

Local Time: 8:34 AM AKDT (GMT -08)

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W


Elevation :: 33 feet


Temperature :: 52 °F

Conditions :: Overcast

Humidity :: 76%

Dew Point :: 45 F

Wind :: Calm

Pressure :: 30.17 inches (Steady)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 1 out of 16

Clouds :: Overcast 3000 ft
(Above Ground Level)


Earth's in the emergency room (click title to entry - thank you)
BY DAVID YARNOLD
dyarnoldedf.org
...Continuing to delay the environmental care we urgently need will make the future much, much worse. Projections show the inland United States will warm up roughly 40 percent faster than the global average, with profound implications for American agriculture. In 2007, the prestigious Science magazine published research that ''predicted a permanent drought by 2050 in many parts of the country,'' creating 1930s Dust Bowl-like arid conditions from Kansas to California. Another study found that without action to address climate change, by 2100 Oklahoma will see temperatures above 110 degrees for 60 to 80 days a year -- within the lifetime of many children born today.
Just as emergency room care is always more expensive, waiting to address climate change will cost prohibitively more. Suppose we pass cap-and-trade climate legislation this year, with the law taking effect in 2012. To comply with the emissions target by 2020, businesses would need to cut annual emissions by about 2 percent.
Now let's look at another scenario: say we pass a cap-and-trade bill in 2010, and it doesn't take effect until 2014. To meet the same target, emissions would have to fall by 4.3 percent per year -- over twice as fast -- year after year until 2020, just to get to the same place. By 2020, emissions would have to be cut 23 percent below the starting point in 2014 compared to a 15-percent reduction if we begin just two years earlier. That's the cost of delaying action while the amount of global warming pollution in the atmosphere continues to rise....