April 4, 2014

Should making a jackass of oneself on one occasion wreck someone's career forever?

A world without redemption

I happen to live in a place where a lot of merchant marines pass through the area. There is a bar I sometime frequent popular with the general expat and merchant marine crowd who come ashore for a bit of relaxation and recreation. Just last night one fellow got himself drunk and started to get obnoxious and belligerent - as is not too uncommon on a Friday night in bars anywhere. After being asked a few times to cool it - he was finally asked to leave and then point blank told to leave. Being in a drunk and rowdy state he refused to leave and started to make a scene that disturbed the whole bar. So, naturally the bar manager called the police who quickly came and hauled this obnoxious character off to the local jail. Then interestingly I got in a conversation with one of his shipmates who told me that now the way things are - once the captain of his ship gets wind of this he will be fired within the next few days and sent home. Then on top of all of that - this one occasion will certainly result in him losing his merchant marine clearance and he will never, never, never work on any ships ever again. The fellow telling me this said that it was not always this way. But this is part of the post September 11 world.

I'm all for throwing the guy out of the bar. I'm all for banning him from that and any and all other bars in town. I'm all for throwing him in jail over night or perhaps even a few nights. I'm all for his employer coming down hard on him. If he makes a habit of this sort of thing - I wouldn't fault them too much for firing him. But should one embarrassing night wreck someone's career forever? Now the world of merchant marines is largely protected by a couple of major and very powerful unions. But the unions are powerless when it comes to protecting someone who gets in trouble with the outside local law.

I guess I see this as part of a bigger problem of our brave new world. Even a few decades ago it was possible for someone to get themselves in a whole bunch of trouble - perhaps even a serious crime - But after the person paid whatever penalty for their offense - they could move to a new town - perhaps in a different state and start life all over again. Short of receiving a life in prison without chance of parole sentence - there was almost always a possibility of redemption - a possibility to start over - to forget and bury the past. This new computerized world we live in now creates a permanent record of every debt, every blemish - perhaps every job that didn't work out quite right. And in a world that simply has a lot more people than it has good paying jobs for people - the possibility of permanently wrecking one's chances in life are so much greater than they were before. The possibility of recognizing one's foolish errors and starting life anew in a new job, a new home and new attitude are so much less. Are we creating a world without the possibility of redemption?

April 3, 2014

Smearmaster Glenn Greenwald's smear campaign against George W. Bush

Smearmaster Glenn Greenwald's smear campaign against George W. Bush

AS they say - haters are going to hate and smearers are going to smear. Glenn Greenwald did not begin his smear career with President Obama - he was doing it way back before Obama came to the White House. It seems that he thinks that just because someone is in powerful position - that they are supposed to be criticized - Imagine that!~!


2008 Bill Moyer interview with Glenn Greenwald about the George W. Bush legacy

http://billmoyers.com/content/glenn-greenwald-on-the-george-w-bush-administration-and-the-rule-of-law/

He also wrote three books about the George W. Bush Administration; The New York Times-bestsellers How Would A Patriot Act? (2006) and Tragic Legacy (2007), and his 2008 release, Great American Hypocrites.[/blockquote]

March 29, 2014

Where do you think President Obama stands in terms of being progressive vs. centrist/conservative?

March 28, 2014

Isn't it time to shift the discussion to something like alternative medicine, E-cigarettes, porn,

circumcision or at what age children must no longer sleep with their parents -- Then we can put the current ugly arguments aside for awhile

March 28, 2014

What are your true feelings about supporting the Democratic Party of today?

March 27, 2014

Was the U.S. Invading Iraq and Russia invading Crimea morally equivalent?

March 20, 2014

Have you ever known personally of a dog dying soon after being spayed?

I know all surgeries whether on people or animals carry some risk - but I didn't expect this to happen.

I happen to live in a place that is awash with stray dogs and a lack of programs to deal with them other than the municipal dog catchers whose only job is to catch and euthanize. There is only one veterinary clinic within hundreds of miles and I suspect this lack of competition leads to some price gouging. Although I don't honestly know what normal veterinary service prices are these days.

Anyway I already have a very nice 80 pound mixed breed male dog who has lived a pretty happy life with me for the past year and a half. But a number of strays come around looking for some food and actually some companionship. They are the friendliest strays you will ever find. A little native female dog had been coming around to my back porch for several months. I had been feeding her and occasionally allowing her to stay inside especially if it was raining. But knowing that spaying, inoculating and de-worming was sure to cost me a minimum of $1000 to $1400 I had kind of held off.

But last week I actually saw that she was in heat and actually saw her mating with a male dog. Well, not wanting to have a half a dozen unwanted puppies on my back porch and knowing that it was about time I got her some basic veterinary treatment anyway - I decided not to wait any longer. So I brought her in on Monday to have her checkup along with some basic shots and treatments and to schedule a spaying surgery for Tuesday. The vet did tell me that the little dog did have a number of worms, parasites and other common dog illnesses along with inflamed and possibly cystic ovaries. But when I called Tuesday afternoon the surgery was over and it appeared to go just fine - I could pick the dog up to bring home. Of course the poor little thing acted sluggish and somewhat in pain - but, I assumed that was normal. But the following day, Wednesday the little dog would still not eat and seemed to be feeling sick and in pain. So, I took the little dog back to the veterinary clinic when things had not improved by Wednesday afternoon. The vet felt that the dog might be experiencing some typical post surgical pain - but all the essential signs remained positive. He even called me in the early evening to let me know that they had taken the dog for a walk and she was wagging her tail and looking well and no longer reacted to palpating the abdominal area. He could see no reason why I shouldn't be able to pick up the dog in the afternoon the following day.

Then to my shock when I called back this morning the vet very somberly told me, "I'm very sorry, but we lost the dog last night." He was fine when they checked her at about 7:30 pm. Two hours later when they did a routine check - she had already died. The vet's only explanation is that the dogs underlining illnesses from worms and parasites to tick disease to cystic ovaries were just too much. There was absolutely no bleeding in the surgical area - but apparently the dog went into pancreatitis with DIC and simply died of other internal bleeding.

Of course neutering and spaying is very important. But in the future I would be inclined to deal with any underlining illnesses first.

March 17, 2014

Do you believe the United States of America is currently primarily a force for good in the world or

primarily a force for bad in the world?

March 14, 2014

A GREAT MAN DIED TODAY IN GREAT BRITAIN

Born Lord Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), 2nd Viscount of Stansgate. He renounced his hereditary titles as well as his position of class and privilege and swore his heart, mind and soul to the working class and the cause of democratic socialism. He was a was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 50 years and a Cabinet Minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan.

Here Michael Moore interviews him a few years ago

March 14, 2014

Michael Moore Interviews Tony Benn (Tony Benn, veteran Labour politician, dies aged 88)

see this thread in LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014754927