The Mattlog

Ex-con's right to vote

2011-12-10T10:48:00.003-05:00

Food for thought. There has been some talk recently on the subject "Should an ex-con be allowed to vote?" Bottom line for me is, I don't know. It is a bit of a conflict but, here's the way I see it.

Let's imagine for a moment you have a man, or woman, they make a mistake and they break the law, whether on purpose or by accident, and are sent to jail. (face it, all of us have a had a moment in our lives where we have made mistakes due to poor judgement).

The person serves their time and are released. Let's say for a moment that this is the only, and I mean EVER, illegal act this person does their whole life. other than this act, they work, pay their bills, pay their taxes, live a completely normal life. Should this person, whether they be black, white, yellow, brown or purple, be subjected to never being able to vote again?

When the Original 13 colonies used the phrase "No Taxation without representation" they may not have meant for this to apply today but it still holds meaning. Do we dare deny a person the right to vote, or any other rights for that matter, but yet, require them to pay taxes? Is this the road we truly need to follow?

This can begin the proverbial "slippery slope" to which there is no recovery. Americans like to say that we are the "Land of the free and the home of the brave" but if we start selectively choosing who can be represented, we can no longer hold meaning to this phrase and we show ourselves to be nothing more than petty thugs that only want what we want because, "I want it". (thoughts of the child in the toy store crying and screaming because mommy won't buy them a new toy.)

Make no mistake, I do believe that there are some that simply can not make themselves live in society without breaking the law. In fact, there are some that see it as a great way to get free room and board. There are no rose colored glasses on my face. I just think that there are far fewer of these people than those that can live within the law. How we treat them is what can make the difference in many of these cases. If we treat them like crooks, then it is highly possible that they will always be crooks. It is simple psychology. They does not mean that they are any less human than the rest of us.

We have a couple of options here. We can either allow ex-convicts to regain their constitutional rights once they have served their time, paid their debt to society, allowing them to rejoin society as a whole person, or we can deny them their constitutional rights forever, making them feel and look like a pariah on society. Perhaps we should bring back the scarlet letters or tattoo their prisoner numbers on them. Even better, once they have served their time, perhaps we can put them in "communities" so that they can live together and not have to intermingle with the general population. At least then we can ignore the fact that they exist so that we can go on living in our perfect world where no "undesirables" will infect us with their criminal existence.

We cannot, and never should, start thinking like this if we are to ever convince the rest of the world, and future historians, that we are truly the "Land of the free and the home of the brave". Freedom is the right of all men, women and children in this country. The bravery is allowing the fact that people can and will make mistakes but that they can also learn from those mistakes and redeem themselves.

MY RUDE AND SARCASTIC SIDE (NSFW)

2011-10-04T15:41:00.002-04:00

My Rude and Sarcastic Side

Not safe for work (NSFW)

One of my favorite columns in the Orlando Sentinel is the “Ticked off” section. There, readers can put in the things that really tick them off. Unfortunately, they don’t have anyone moderating it so, those posts that are stupid are put out there. I would really like to see someone comment back to some of these readers because some of them are just truly stupid.

I took some of the good ones and placed my own comment on them. I’m sure that some of you have some better ones. I just couldn’t resist these.

I am ticked off that no millionaires have called me to give me a job. Yet, they are the "job creators" according to some.

Perhaps if you had a better attitude, some of them might. You aren’t going to find a job if you think it’s your social right to have one. Shut up and look for a job.

To the person who wants more gun control: Good Lord! I hate people who want to control what everybody else does. What people need is more control over themselves, and we've created an environment where no one is responsible for himself.

Well, gee bubba; perhaps if more people actually had control over themselves, we wouldn’t have needed the gun control laws to begin with. It’s kinda like birth control which your Momma apparently forgot. Stick that in your beer and drink it!

I'm ticked off at photo-enforced traffic lights, and all the arguments for them. I have anxiety attack every time I approach one. I'm worried it's going to turn yellow or that I'm going to go to fast. Nothing ever happens, but I get so nervous and tense and sweaty. Let's just get rid of these things!

Um, you might want to seek professional help honey. Most of us who actually obey the traffic laws don’t sweat unless our AC is broken. There are pills that you can take for your condition. Until then, you may want to get the fuck off the road!

I'm ticked off because I used to be in the military, and now that they have lifted the ban on gays, our military is on a downward spiral. Who wants to shower with someone who might be checking you out?

You know what, people like you that put us in this shit mess to begin with. Bigots have no place in the military. I use to be in the military too. I may have had to group shower once a year and even then, I wasn’t getting my jollies by watching everyone else. And your fucked up attitude about how the military is on a downward spiral is completely wrong and baseless. Nothing says “Bigot” like made up information. Hell, the ban has only been lifted for a couple of weeks.

I'm ticked off that, years ago, I left my husband. Now he has a great wife, and I'm alone. Life isn't fair.

You are right about one thing, life isn’t fair but perhaps if you take your head out of your sorry ass, you’ll see that no one wants to be with a whiner. Besides, you said you left your husband, he didn’t leave you.

I'm ticked off at all the females out there who don't dress decently. Instead, they wear short-shorts and shirts that should be banned in public. This is Florida, not the Devil's residence.

Thanks Mom

I'm ticked off at these "true Christians" who are so gullible, prejudiced, self-serving and two-faced.

They aren’t any of the above, they are just doing what they think is right by forcing the rest of us to endure their stupidity, even if we know they are wrong.

I'm ticked off that I have to drive a 100 miles to Tampa to find a poker game.

Seriously, you need a new hobby and, perhaps, intervention.

When in Rome, do as Romans do. When in Florida, do as Floridians do.

What, live with hurricanes and forget how to drive and count?

I'm ticked off that churches do not pay income taxes.

But then if we made them pay, all of these large, poor churches would go out of business, preventing the spread of God’s word and the world would fall into ruins, You want that? (it’s a joke, get over it)

I think every cemetery should have a section where they bury people who demand smokers' rights.

What the hell are you talking about, smoker's rights? Why don’t you just go back and live under your rock and let the rest of us live in the real world. (I have been dying to say that to someone’s face)

I am ticked off that the people I know who receive food stamps and WIC don't work and then go out to bars four or five nights a week.

Yeah! And they keep having kids and spending your tax dollars too. Let’s make a law that they have to get their tubes tied! (Go back and bitch at your friends or else find some real friends, not the rest of us)

To the person whining about the air conditioning being broken on her daughter's school bus: when I went to school, no bus had air conditioning, so I don't feel sorry for your pampered, little brat.

Well, when I went to school, I didn’t take a bus, I had to walk up hill in 3 feet of snow both ways…all year long. (Geez) Why don’t you both just fuck off!

Letter to Elected Officials

2011-09-30T18:57:00.002-04:00

Here is the letter I wrote to my State and Federal Elected officials. I think everyone should follow suit and write theirs.

Dear Elected Officials,

I have not written to you or any of my members of congress before because, quite frankly, I don’t believe that anyone in Washington, or any other legislator for that matter, is really listening to anything we, as your constituents, have to say nor have we actually seen any actions to indicate that any Elected official really cares.

The purpose of this letter is to finally put a voice to all my frustrations but, I speak for the millions of Americans that share my feelings in the hopes that someone would finally show that they really do care and that we aren’t just the door mats that many of us feel we have become.

I am 47 years old and unemployed, disabled, have minimal medical and dental benefits and, not for lack of trying, can not find a job no matter how hard I try.

My main field of employment for the last 20+ years has been in Customer Service working in call centers in nearly every conceivable area of Customer Service. However, thanks to the irresponsibility of our government, all the jobs that I am qualified for have either been sent overseas or are not paying enough to allow the common person to survive.

The last job I had was paying only $10.50 per hour, ironically, supporting Unemployment Benefits for the state of Florida. With my mortgage, utilities and other bills, I barely got by and there were many times that I had to go without paying some bills just to be able to eat. The end result is that I had to file for bankruptcy and start all over again. I hate it because it made me feel like a failure and to a great extent, I still feel that way.

Now that I am jobless, I’m still having trouble getting by because the pathetic $275 per week that I am getting from Unemployment is not even covering my mortgage and unless I can find a job that pays well enough, I may end up losing my home.

I am also disabled. I have an injury to my leg that prevents me from standing or walking for long periods without a great deal of pain and need to use a cane to move around. I can not apply for certain jobs because, even if I am hired for a job such as a cook, which I am good at, I cannot do the job because it requires that I stand for long periods of time. furthermore, Without proper medical care, it will only get worse.

Even with my doctor's recommendation, I do not qualify for disability through SSI or SSDI. When I applied, I was told that, because I am still capable of performing some jobs, I do not qualify for even minimal benefits. To be honest, I wasn’t applying for the sake of the money, although it would help, I was merely trying to establish the fact that I am disabled. I am certainly capable of taking care of myself physically, to a certain extent, but having the disability and the medical coverage would have helped a great deal.

You may not be aware of this but, many employers do not want a person like me working for them. Although they will never admit it, they are afraid that having me in their office, even if I am more than qualified and capable of performing the tasks, would increase their liability. I have sat through many interviews where I can tell by their faces, they are not concerned with my skills, all they see is my cane. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?

I want to also address this congress’s inability to work together to take care of those of us who put so much faith in you. You, and I mean this as a collective, have done absolutely nothing to assist the greatest majority of Americans. When I say nothing, I do not exaggerate.

Tax cuts for the wealthy, are you kidding me? When I was working, my tax rate was about 21% (that's the average I used when determining my budget) and that was at $10.50 per hour. I still find it hard to believe that I have to pay taxes on my unemployment at 10% when it was tax dollars that pay for the benefit to begin with. Isn't that “double-dipping”? And I still have to pay for my own medical bills.

No tax cuts for the rich...EVER! There is no logic in it. We have already seen that all the rich do is pocket the extra money, they are not building jobs with it. They buy boats, houses, nice cars and Armani Suits. They don't care about the people that work for them or building jobs. They are perfectly content to increase their profit margins so that they can have the good life.

I have a pretty simple formula for a tax rate that won’t send a person into convulsions to try to understand. Based on annual earnings, we could tax like this:

$0 to 10,000 = 1%
$20,000 to 50,000 = 3%
$50,000 to 75,000 = 6%
$75,000 to 100,000 = 15%
$100,000 to 200,000 = 20%
200,000 and 500,000 = 30%
$500,000 + = 40%

Companies that farm their workforce out overseas or that bring in people from foreign countries to work here in the US need to be penalized and taxed extra (I recommend up to 50%) simply because these actions are taking jobs away from those of us that really need the work and are more than willing and capable of doing the work. Yes, give them incentives for creating jobs and hiring those of us that need the jobs, but only AFTER they have created the jobs in the US and hired US Citizens.

You and the rest of our elected officials have to understand that (stating it politely) we are angry. We feel that you are more concerned with your social status than you are about those of us fighting everyday to make a living. The American dream use to be to have a family and own a home. Now, we only dream about how to pay our bills and put food on the table and that dream is becoming a nightmare.

Please, we beg of you to stop and think about what you and the rest of congress are doing to us. You are, in no small way, killing us a little more everyday. We need your help and your compassion. We need to know that you are truly working for us and not just enjoying the good life. We need to know that we can count on you because, no matter what we as your constituents try to do, we have no choice but to trust you.

Even if we put someone else in office, we have no actual way of knowing they will be any better. We don’t know if they are going to keep their promises and for many of us, that is heartbreaking.

As I stated before, I’m 47 years old, I have served in the US Army. I have spent my life defending this country and it's ideals but, I can’t count the number of times I have just sat down and cried, literally, because I don’t know how I’m going to survive and I can not continue to live like this. Please, help us!

Sincerely yours,

Company Responsibilities - My View

2011-09-11T08:59:00.002-04:00

I started reading a story this morning about a restaurant in Montana that was suing Dex Publications for placing the restaurants listing under “Animal Carcass Removal”.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/ap/september/309367/Restaurant-sues-over-Carcass-Removal-listing

For a couple minutes of reading the story, I was really feeling sorry for the restaurant “Bar 3 Bar-B-Q” and for Dex as well since, to me, mistakes can happen and Dex did say that they were working to try to correct the error. I felt especially sorry for the restaurant when the whole think went viral thanks to email forwards and I jab that Jay Leno had to make about the story.

I do know that companies like Dex do try to correct errors like this immediately and that, in print at least, they have to wait for a new publication of a phone book to come out before it is truly resolved. but then I got to the part in the story where they quoted the publishers response to the law suit and my jaw dropped.

To quote the story:
“In Dex Media's response filed with the court, though, the company said the restaurant "assumed the risk of errors" when it authorized its telephone number to be listed in phone directories. The restaurant gave that authorization when it bought telephone service through a local telephone service provider, the response said.
Dex Media's response also said that someone from the restaurant negligently berated a Dex employee. The restaurant should have foreseen that could have had negative consequences, so the restaurant is at least partly responsible for the damages, the publishing company said.
The company also argues that Dex is not responsible for the conduct of its employees if they operate outside the scope of their employment _ and the employee who changed the restaurant's listing to appear under the "Animal Carcass Removal" heading was operating outside the scope of his job.”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

Now, I want to make this clear and get this off my chest before I start getting into full “rant mode" here, any company, especially one that has such a public presence as a telephone publication company, is fully responsible for what their employees do particularly if it has an impact on that company in the public eye. Therefore, if you have an employee that does something spiteful to a customer, and that is clearly the case here, YOU ARE NOT TO TURN A BLIND EYE TO IT AND SAY IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT! The reason is simple, you are going to get people like me that are going to call you out on it and make you regret your words.

To put it simply so that your child-like attitude can grasp it everything an employee does that effects your customers in any way is inside the scope of their job whether it is part of their job description or not

This Dex employee, while trying to make a sale, may (and I say that because is no word as to if the berating actually occurred) have been been given a stern and perhaps rude NO while trying to sell advertising but, that is no excuse for this employee to turn around and, out of spite, puts a reputable company under a listing that would obviously have a negative impact on the restaurant.

So, let me tell you, Dex, why, not only you should take full responsibility but also be berated yourself.

Reason #1: When you hire an employee, especially in a sales or marketing position, it is with express understanding that this person is going to be representing your company. Therefore, you assumed the risk not your customer. Every action or even inaction that they take is going to be viewed by everyone else as an action or inaction of your company. Therefore, if your employee does something as detrimental as this scenario indicates, not only did your employee do it, but the company did it as well. Therefore, it is ALWAYS your fault.

Reason #2: When the company states "assumed the risk of errors" when it authorized its telephone number to be listed in phone directories.” You could never be more wrong. If I were to come to you and ask you to list my company under “Webpage Design” I don’t want to find it under “Funerals/Undertakers”. The main reason that people list their companies under categories in the phone directories is so that those looking for their specific services will find them.

The very idea that this customer assumed the risk of errors in this case is more stomach churning then the heading you placed them under. Then to shrug it off like “oops, my bad” is just simply unprofessional and condescending and you should loose this case for that reason alone. Yes, mistakes happen, especially where humans are involved however, you should have procedures in place that will prevent such incidences and compensate your customer if it does happen.

To be fair, the story does not state if Dex had fired the employee or not (which would be a prudent move on their part) however, poor customer service has always been a major pet-peeve of mine and when I see things like this it just really rakes my last good nerve. Dex should, without even being asked, make this right. They should have settled this a long time ago. Not only should they now compensate the Bar 3 Bar-B-Q for its loses in revenue but they should pay for the advertising the restaurant had to do to help rebuild their reputation and pay for punitive damages because they want to put the fault back on the restaurant. I hope the judge in this case has the moral and ethical fortitude to make Dex truly pay in this case. I will be following this case carefully.

Random rant on random drug testing

2011-08-17T11:31:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ok, here is something that I saw in the news and quite frankly, I don’t know if I should be offended or pissed.

Here’s the scenario, a person is laid off from their job. They are hard working, no criminal record, no drug abuse issues at all and the State of Florida decides that, before they can receive any money from Unemployment (which state status 443 says they are entitled to) They have to submit to and pay for a drug test. What is wrong with this picture?

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/lynn-40655-oks-bill.html

Governor Ok’s drug testing for unemployment

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do understand and know that there are those receiving entitlement programs such as Unemployment and food stamps that are taking advantage of these programs and using them to buy drugs. But seriously, just how many, out of the millions in the state on these programs are actually doing this? Is it really that big of an issue?

I am currently on Unemployment, I do not have any criminal record, I have never used drugs and I’m being told that before I can draw benefits, I have to prove I am not using it to buy and use drugs. I’m offended by that first because; I have never and will never have a drug problem. In fact, you might be able to get me to take an aspirin once in a while.

Second, I have no criminal record. It is cheaper for the state to check its own records on this, in fact, FDLE frequently sends arrest reports to the state unemployment agency, and I’m sure other agencies as well, to update them on arrests of claimants. So, to force a law-abiding citizen to pay for testing is just ridiculous. The test itself, in 2009, was $30 and I’m sure it’s more expensive now.

Most people on unemployment in the state of Florida would receive only $275 at best. After paying all their bills, rent or mortgage, and getting the essentials they need will not have $30 to their name. I know this for a fact because I go through it all the time. My $275 doesn’t cover the mortgage. If not for the fact that I live with someone that is working with good pay, we would both be homeless as $275 per week wouldn’t even cover rent on a small apartment these days.

There are a couple of other things that I think deserve to be mentioned. First, since we are dealing with money that was funded from tax dollars, shouldn’t this have gone to a vote by the people instead of an anti-social program legislative body? It’s our money, not theirs and the people of the state should have had a say in the matter.

Second, there are so many checks and balances in the state system now, it would be all too easy and cheaper for these agencies to check criminal records to determine who is at risk and then drug test them as part of their qualifications. Then, at the very least, it would be justified.

There is one thing that keeps beating me in the back of the head whenever I hear about something like this. The governor is trying to find ways to kiss our collective ass by saying “Look how much I have saved the people of this state”. Yet he doesn’t pay attention to what is really important. He and our state legislators are supposed to be working for us, not the other way around.

His plans do not make since nor do they help build jobs or this economy. He has already had the State Supreme Court rule that he overstepped his authority but halting all approvals for programs until they can “be reviewed for waste”. He will take federal money for abstinence programs but he can’t be bothered to delegate money for dying kids (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-maxwell-fed-money-hypocrisy-20110816,0,3574654.column) and he lied to the people of Florida about the financial risks the state “might” take with High Speed Rail.

I’m still reeling over the fact that the people of this state voted for him after being proven that he defrauded the Medicare program while head of HCA Health. We do not need him or this legislature. We need people in these offices that are going to look at the situation and find out what is best for the people, not for the companies and political parties that pay their salaries.

Here’s a thought, instead of taking money out of the pockets of those that have to work hard with 2 or 3 jobs just to make a living and support their families, why don’t our elected officials actually take a pay cut and pay for their own health care? I know, it’s a pipe dream but just imagine how much money this state might save, and how many jobs might open up if, the people didn't actually have to pay for their luxurious lifestyles. It must be nice to run around in a limo on someone else’s dime.

EXPERIENCE MEANS…NOTHING!

2011-05-03T14:44:00.003-04:00

I have come to the foregone conclusion that looking for work in this economy really sucks. I say this because I find myself, again, looking for work and I have combed through just about every job search website that I can think of only to find that most any of the jobs that I really am qualified for require 3 or more years of experience, which I have for most, plus a Bachelor’s degree.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that when a company is looking for fully qualified candidates, they need to make sure that the person they hire has all the knowledge to actually do the work. I get that. What I don’t understand is that if there is someone out there that is equally qualified without a degree, why not hire them? Would you not be accomplishing the same thing?

Prime example of this is looking at the unemployment figures. I use this as an example because of I used to work for Florida’s unemployment group supporting those on unemployment. Yes, I know, I’m on unemployment now. The irony is not lost on me.

"Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March 2011 is 11.1 percent, the lowest since November 2009 when the rate was also 11.1 percent. This represents 1,030,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,251,000. The state’s rate is down 0.4 percentage point from the February 2011 rate of 11.5 percent and is 0.2 percentage point lower than the March 2010 rate of 11.3 percent. This is the first over-the-year decline in Florida’s unemployment rate since November 2006."
Source: www.floridajobs.org

That doesn’t sound too bad considering they are starting to see a decline in unemployment claims. It is still pretty bad though. Florida still has one of the highest unemployment rates on the country. The problem is this isn’t exactly telling the whole story. There are various reasons why these figures show what they do.

1. A lot of the jobs listed right now are part-time or seasonal jobs that do not pay much more than minimum wage.
2. Those that are looking for higher paying jobs are actually forced to move out of the state to looking for work.
3. Some jobs that a person might be desperate for are taken by aliens that will accept the job at a lower rate of pay.
4. The state right now is offering insane tax cuts to businesses that, instead of using these discounts to increase their labor pool, are pocketing it for executive bonus and pay raises.
5. The state of Florida is working right now to eliminate those that are on unemployment and are, even just barely, not meeting their requirement for work searches and availability for work, and changing the outcome of some of the statistics entirely.

There is a huge stigma right now; particularly from right wing conservatives that those that are on unemployment are taking advantage of a free ride and that we are not making an effort. I will be the first to admit that, sadly, this is true for many that are drawing benefits. This is, however, not true for the greatest majority of those on unemployment. Many are trying to find work, concentrating on jobs that would keep us in the same line of work but are finding that companies are not looking for experience anymore. They are looking for the cheapest workers.

A friend of mine that works for a major computer company and has for several years old me of an interesting story. Seems that in recent years they have decided that they would change the way they would staff to try to “Streamline” their support process. This is a company that, for years has had technical support personnel for major systems, working from home. (Telecommuting) This has been working for them for a number of years and shows many advantages, especially to some of their big name clients.

The problem now is that some “bean counter” has decided that it would be more cost effective to have these same support people located in specific areas of the country and report to offices. Not a bad idea if you are trying to promote a team environment. The problem really starts when they tell the current telecommuter that they need to relocate across the country, the move would not be paid for by the company and then there is no promise of a long-term job once relocated.

You can see the problem starting already. A person relocate to Iowa (that is one of the places they wanted them to move to), buy a house or sign a lease, begin working and find out that they are being laid off. Then they are stuck with a lease or mortgage or lease they can’t get out of in an unfamiliar part of the country after being left with the impression that, if they wanted to keep their job, they had to relocate.

These events are actually real. Come to find out, the company was laying-off the current employee in favor of one that just got out of school and was willing to accept the same job at a much lower rate of pay. Many times, the employee that was laid off had years of experience and was able to do a much better job for the client than the college graduate.

Sadly, this is happening all over the place and it creates a bigger problem that no one is addressing because, in the end, there are people getting jobs, all-be-it at the expense of someone that already had the job and was, perhaps much more qualified All this in the name of “Saving a buck”.

This is what those of us who are more than willing and able to work have to contend with. It’s not that we aren’t trying, quite the opposite, we are, but we are not only competing with those that are also applying for the same job, we are competing with companies to see if they are going to be able to afford us, and most of us that are willing and able to do a great job are willing to accept the lower pay as long as it gets us a job and a chance to prove ourselves.

Just something to think about.

Top Reasons Why Employees are Unhappy!

2011-04-28T14:33:00.001-04:00

Hi gang,
I found this (totally stole it) on the web while researching for a project of mine (details to follow) but I could resist this. There are some funny things on here but also some things that are very true and that I have experienced myself. Take a gander. How many of these have you experienced or are experiencing now in your job? You may be surprised at what you find.
Share some of your experiences too. I would love to know what some of you have gone through.
Love to all
Matt

Top Reasons Why Employees are Unhappy!

1) You are (or you feel) under¬paid as per what the mar¬ket rate is offering.
2) You feel that you are not com¬pen¬sated as per what the title or posi¬tion you are hold¬ing should be given.
3) You feel that you should be given a bet¬ter per¬for¬mance bonus after a year end appraisal review.
4) You feel that the com¬pany should be giv¬ing a bet¬ter organization per¬for¬mance bonus because of the increased sales orders how¬ever they didn’t.
5) You feel that office pol¬i¬tics is intox¬i¬cat¬ing the entire organization at all lev¬els (even at senior man¬age¬ment level) and you are sick of it.
6) You are not doing some¬thing you like at work.
7) You are forced to do some¬thing that is against your principles
8) You do not have the free¬dom to choose what you can work on
9) You do not like bureau¬cracy and red tapes
10) You feel the entire sys¬tem is unfair
11) You feel your boss is unfair
12) Your boss lacks judgment
13) You feel that you deserved bet¬ter appraisal
14) Your boss lacks lead¬er¬ship and unable to give you clear direc¬tions of the team.
15) Your boss does not appre¬ci¬ate your effort and suggestion
16) Your boss is a boot-licker to his stake¬hold¬ers such as his supe¬rior and his cus¬tomers which he can do things that are dig¬nity defy¬ing and against your principles
17) You feel that there is a high level of favoritism in the work place and is work¬ing at your disadvantage.
18) You do not like the com¬pe¬ti¬tion at work and you can’t keep up the pace with other co-workers.
19) You do not like the work envi¬ron¬ment due to a com¬pet¬i¬tive cul¬ture that pro¬motes defend¬ing each individual’s premises and inter¬est.
20) You are work¬ing in an envi¬ron¬ment with col¬leagues that belong to the two-headed snake cult.
21) You are work¬ing in a work envi¬ron¬ment that does not sat¬isfy your hunger for chal¬lenges.
22) You are work¬ing in a work envi¬ron¬ment that restricts your progress through their rules and regulations.
23) You do not like the indus¬try.
24) You do not like the cul¬ture of the com¬pany where they demand you to work your entire life and soul for them or even die for them!
25) You do not like the scope of work
26) Your scope of work changes over time with¬out your consent
27) Your boss do not have any inter¬est of you in mind
28) Your boss demands you to work like a machine
29) You are work¬ing long hours as your boss is treat¬ing you like a machine
30) You are under¬paid even you are work¬ing long hours and overtime
31) Your health is dete¬ri¬o¬rat¬ing because of the long hours of work
32) You are work¬ing with a lot of unfriendly cus¬tomers and users that are demanding.
33) Your com¬pany disallows inter¬net access at work. You can’t surf the web for research. You won’t even be able to use it for per¬sonal relax¬ation or make an air ticket reservation.
34) You are unable or dis¬al¬lowed to use the instant mes¬sen¬ger at work. (We do not under¬stand why you need to use the instant mes¬sen¬ger at work as it can decrease your pro¬duc¬tiv¬ity in the first place…)
35) You do not like your boss’s dress sense (totally outrageous!)
36) You can¬not work from home! It’s your dream to lie on the couch, hav¬ing the aro¬matic cof¬fee and fir¬ing your emails away. But nope, fat hope! You can’t do that.
37) You have to abide to the break hours. One hour lunch break means one hour lunch break. No more than that!
38) You do not have over¬seas trip! You are always not in the list of over¬seas assignments.…
39) You are con¬stantly tracked on your activ¬i¬ties at work, includ¬ing the places you vis¬ited or the sites you surfed from office. You hate being tracked.
40) You are annoyed with the intru¬sion of pri¬vacy. The com¬pany is track¬ing all your activ¬i¬ties and your pro¬file constantly…

Fired over a cell phone...WHAT?!?!

2011-04-19T22:07:00.001-04:00

Yeah, you read that correctly. I got fired yesterday for not hiding my cell phone. It was on my hip...not on, in fact, I only had it there for a total of 5 minutes till someone mentioned it and I put it away. This got me fired and it's stupid but at the same time, it's their loss, not mine.
Yeah, I lost a job and to a point, I can understand why they did it. See, the company has a policy that all personal electronics be out of site either in pockets, purses or backpack. It is a security policy because they are afraid that someone will take pics or text someone's personal info. Ok, I get that. But to fire someone for a minor offense, that is just unheard of.

I have spent the last couple of days going from anger to tears and deep thought and come to one conclusion, it's their loss! I worked very hard for that company who, unfortunately, I can't name because of certain agreements. I sacrificed a lot for them, specifically dropping out of school for a while to accommodate their schedule. In the end, I did everything they asked and more and this is the way they treat their good employees? I hate to see how they treat the crappy ones. Oh yeah, they keep them. Fine! I don't need them and I don't need the heart ache. I have decided it's time to make lemon aid.

In the next few weeks, I'm going to finish up a project that I started while working there, it's actually something that I was prompted to do because of the way I had seen them treat their employees and is so relevant that the irony is amazing. I'm going to work on a couple of presentations and materials regarding employee/employer relations and also one for Customer Service Reps that are designed to teach those groups how to improve and become successful in business. And who knows, I may end up presenting them to that company. They would pay me to show them how to treat their employees. Wouldn't that be the epitome of irony? :-)

Location:S Hampton Dr,Orlando,United States

I HATE POLITICS!

2010-10-13T16:12:00.002-04:00

I'm sure I have mentioned how much I hate politics…didn't I? I'm sure I did but just in case I'm thinking of my other life, let me restate, I HATE POLITICS!

No matter what arena you are in, baseball, football, ice hockey; you will never find an arena where the participants are more willing to draw blood as they do in politics. In order to get the upper hand, politicians are willing to cut their opponent so deep that there is no way to treat the injury.

Sadly, this is not just in major elections like national, state or local but also in smaller ones like Home Owners Association board elections. I know this because, as much as I hate politics, I'm running for the Board of Directors in my Home Owners Association.

I hate politics because I don't know if I should believe anything that a politician says. They can tell their constituents anything that they want to get elected and then turn around and do the exact opposite. Trust and honestly is one concept that I believe has gone running, screaming from politics.

We have politicians that are claiming to be for the masses and want to do what is best for their constituents while at the same time saying that they will deny rights to certain groups or will deny someone the right to manage their own lives (gay rights and abortion issues).

You have some that are saying that they are for "Family Values" and that this is a Christian nation and that they want to bring it back to God while at the same time having affairs and spending millions of dollars using attack ads to belittle their opponent because he is running for the other party.

So, how do you know that you can trust the person that you are voting for? You don't know. Unfortunately, the best that you can do is look at the person and vote your conscience. In the end, politicians are suppose to be representing you in that office and should be focusing on YOUR needs over their own.

Anyone that is running for any kind of office, whether it be for an HOA Board or National should be able to answer one basic question without hesitation; "How, in detail, you are going to improve the if we elect you to office". If they tell you "I'll get back to you" or they just walk off or, even better, decide that they will ignore your question and make a challenging question to their opponent, it's time to look elsewhere for your representative.

If the politician is running for reelection, then you can look at their voting record on issues and bills to see if they voted the way that you would have.
In the end, we should be really digging deep into these people running for office. If they are a rich guy running for a high office and they have no previous political experience, chances are they are just looking for a seat of power and have no real interest in the needs of the constituency especially if they have a tainted background. (Rick Scott in Florida)

S.T.F.U. (to be explained)

2010-09-29T15:40:00.002-04:00

This blog was supposed to be a polite commentary about how people of twisting their constitutional right to free speech and using it as a weapon to support their bigoted and hateful remarks against those in our country that are…well…not "Them". It was suppose to bring together some facts showing different people's attempts at protesting and pushing their fundamental issues such as gay marriage, the supposed "gay agenda" and the like. However, I'm tired of playing nice.

I'm tired of turning on the news and watching people protest a particular religious group because of the actions of a small radical sect. I'm tired of seeing one evangelical after another preach how I don't have the right to marry my partner because "it violates the principles upon which this country was founded" or "it is against the Bible". In short, I'm pissed and I need to make sure that everyone that reads this is fully aware of how I feel.

My opinions are my own and have not been influenced by anyone or anything other than what I see on a daily basis. So, without any further delay, I want any of you that feel the need to push your own political agenda, biblical beliefs, personal, racist or biased opinions, it's time for you to SHUT THE FUCK UP! (S.T.F.U.)

To Fred Phelps, Pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, you and everyone like you are the "Wolf in Sheep's clothing" that is mentioned in the bible. You use the bible as a mallet and turn a loving God into a hateful demon. You use the word Christian in such a way that it burns the very fabric of Christianity and you have condemned by every reasonable Christian organization in this country for your efforts to spread hate and fear. To you and all that follow you, you truly need to SHUT THE FUCK UP!

To Sarah Palin, You have shown that you are part of the biggest problem in this country. You have spouted so much of the far right's rhetoric that I seriously cannot even stand to hear your whiny, uneducated voice. I cannot believe that there are still enough people in this country that want to listen to you. You can't even go through an interview on national television without writing cheat notes on your hand. What, are you in grade school or something? To you, I give a heart-felt SHUT THE FUCK UP!

To Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell, you are attacking an innocent man that has done nothing wrong to you or anyone else for that matter. You have created a blog for the sole purpose of harassing and spreading hate for a 21 year old gay man Chris Armstrong who has done nothing more than get elected as Student Body President of the University of Michigan. You claim you are not a bigot but you have shown that you nothing more than a bigot and as such, you do not deserve to hold your position. Reading your blog, I can see nothing more than the hate and contempt for this young man and it is completely undeserved. You do nothing more than provide a disservice to the people you have sworn, as a civil servant, to serve and should not only be fired from your job but I hope when Chris Armstrong does finally take you to court that you come out it a broken man. You deserve no less. You also deserve the biggest and more elaborate SHUT THE FUCK UP I can come up with.

Now, a positive note: to Chris Armstrong, Student Body President at The University of Michigan. I was going to send this to you on your Facebook account but I'm not able to find it so I will tell you like this. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK BUDDY! You do not deserve any of the bullshit you are being put through and I hope that you are able to keep any of this from affecting your studies. You have a strong supporter here! (If any of you know how to pass this message off to Chris, please do.)

To every television evangelist I have ever seen on the tube, the world is starting to see you for who you are. You get on the air in your fancy churches and studios in your nice expensive suits and drive your big expensive cars begging for money so that you can "Spread the word of God". You are nothing more than whores that use the Christianity instead of sex but your goal is the same, make as much money as you can and make sure you don't have to pay taxes on it. You have no concept of what Jesus taught nor do you live by any example that I wish to follow. You are the most disgusting of any in the Christian community and you deserve the fast track to Hell. However, because I still have a lot of respect for the Christian community, I'll simply say, please, shut the fuck up.

To all you Tea Party Candidates, unless you intend to show that you are actually going to do some good for ALL the people in this country not just the rich, you really need to SHUT THE FUCK UP!

I will remind you that these are my opinions that with that I will tell you that I believe that more people in this country need to start taking this attitude. We need to be pissed off at the people that feel that they are better than some; that they deserve to hold a greater status than some. The elitist, the rich, the no-it-all's in this world that think that their shit doesn't stink to you I say, not only does your shit stink more than anyone else's but some of us can't stand you and you really need to SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Dangerous Times

2010-09-02T17:57:00.001-04:00

Dangerous Times

We are living in dangerous times. I'm not saying this to scare anyone, well, maybe to a point I am. We are living in a time when people are running their lives on fear and hate. And we are allowing this fear and hate to consume us. Granted, there are only small groups that are pushing these issues but you can not turn on the news or look at a website that doesn't have some part of it devoted to spreading this hate and we are allowing it to happen all in the name of our own freedoms.
Recent stories of Anti-Muslim protests, not in just New York but all over the country. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous and it's getting scary. What are we doing to ourselves? What are we doing to our own freedoms? We are making a mockery of own country and it has to stop.
Look at these articles and tell me if we are truly trying to protect American freedom
Tenn. Mosque Called Another Sign of 'Mosque Mania'
Beck's Restoring Honor Rally: Thousands Attend, Civil Rights Leaders Protest Event
Fire At Tennessee Mosque Construction Site Now Under Federal Arson Investigation
Here's what I do know and by no means am I claiming to be an expert in the ways of the Constitution. I am just a simple man who wants to live in a simple society that wants to help and support everyone else in the same society.
I know that everyone in this country has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of opinion. I know that the first amendment of the constitution promises this. I know that the 14th amendment also promises that no American can be denied these freedoms, no matter who they are. I also know that, if we are not careful, we are going to end up destroying this country because we are not living up to what has been promised.
How dare we tell Muslims that they are free to build their community center but limit where they are allowed to build it. How dare we attack other muslims around the country. We do not have the right to make demands to anyone, not individually, not as a group. We are violating the very rights that we claim to honor and if we do not stop, we are going to lose those rights.
The Results
Let us take a look at something that I'll bet my next year's income on, the results of what we are doing to our country. Some of you will think that I'm just being paranoid and none of this can ever happen, not in this country. And while I, to a small extent, understand and agree with that assumption, I still do not think that we can be so complacent as to not think that we as Americans can lose our rights and freedoms. Let's examine some thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head the last couple of weeks.
Anti-Muslim sentiment:
Ok, so we had a group of Muslim extremist that attacked us on September 11, 2001. They killed thousands of our people. Now there is a group of Muslim-Americans in the country, not outsiders but actual Americans that want to build a community center two blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood.
So they have the right? According to the First Amendment, They have the right to practice their beliefs and build where they wish just like Christians, Catholics, Jews, Mormons and any other religious organization in this country. Yet, we have our own group of extremists that are trying to push them out. Tell them that they are not welcome, they can't build there and they are doing it all in the name of freedom.
What is the answer? There is only one way that we are actually going to be able to resolve this conflict. We have to get rid of the freedom of religion in this country. If we tell one faith that they cannot practice in this country then none us have that right. You can no longer follow the faith you have grown up with and all your places of worship must be shut down and/or burned.
Anti-Homosexual Sentiment:
Gays and Lesbians in this country have been trying to be considered equals in this country. All they want is to have the same protection under the law as everyone else in this country. They want the right to marry their partners, to have equal benefits for Health Care. (That's the biggest issue)
Yet, there are people in this country that feel that, due to religious reasons mostly, that Gays and Lesbians are not to be given the same rights as everyone else. That allowing Gays and Lesbians to marry their partners would undermine the "Very foundation that this country was founded on". I'm still trying to figure out what that is suppose to mean.
What is the answer? Let's tell everyone, no matter who that you, that no one is allowed to marry in this country. Let's just get rid of the institution of institution of marriage all together. This way, there will be no more reason to argue about it. And while we are at those that are married, your marriages are no longer legal and you can no carry your former spouses on your benefits and if you do, you'll be charged more for that coverage because it's going to cost more for the company you work for to have your Domestic Partner covered.

End Game:
These are just a couple of the examples I could think of today. There are more, plenty more out there. Just pick up a newspaper and read about all the nonsense that is going on. The sad thing is, this is not all that farfetched. Some of you may have grown up with siblings or relatives about your same age. Remember when you were arguing over who got to play with the toy and it got so bad that your parents would take it away so that no one got to play with it? Just replace the children with adults, the same ones you see bickering on the tv and in the news, and the toy with our rights and freedoms.
This is just something to think about while you go through your life trusting your liberties to those that claim to be working in your best interest. Has anyone read 1984? It has been years since I have read it but I think it would make a great example of what will happen to us if, as supposedly responsible Americans, we don't start taking control of our country and stop letting politicians and talking heads tell us what we think we want to hear.
As Americans, we have an obligation to take matters in our own hands. We must check out our elected officials before we run to the polls. Look at what they stand for, not just what you see on the TV ads and what they say in their well versed speeches, look at what they have done. If they are running for reelection, take a look at their history in office. They are betting on the fact that we will follow their "Do as I say, not as I do" philosophy and not even bother to see their past mistakes and just take their word for their "Good Works".
We as Americans can no longer afford to be lemmings. If we are not checking each and every one of these people out, then we deserve what we get, we deserve to get the idiot in office that will ruin our future, take away our Social Security that we have all worked all of our lives to get. We deserve to lose our right to free speech and Religion because we took someone's word for it that they will protect them.

Again, just something to think about.

Welcome back to me!

2010-08-24T14:10:00.000-04:00

Ok, for those of you that don't know, I'm one of those guys that likes to fit in with the crowd. I'm not a lemming by any means but I do like to know that I'm doing the right thing and I don't like making waves unless I feel it is absolutely imperative. With that in mind, I'm going to use this blog for my personal nonsense and use Wordpress for my other rants. I think It's important to keep those parts of me separate. If I don't, I think I would have half of you think I'm some kind of an asshole or something.

Make no mistake, if something or someone pisses me off, I'm going to let the world know. I'm just not going to do it as much here.

Happy reading!

Good buy Google.

2010-08-10T11:39:00.002-04:00

I wanted to inform everyone that as of 8/10/2010 I will no longer be using Googles Blogger or any other Google product for that matter. There are 2 reasons for this. First is Google and Verizons plans to do away with Net Neutrality. I think this is a cheap way of screwing the little guy and making more money for themselves. Those of us that use the interent do not deserve nor want this to happen and I urge everyone to make your voices be heard.

Second is the service called AdSense that allows Google users to make money on adds on their websites and blogs. I have been using this for sometime and have recently found out that they are posting ads in there for the Republican Party and Tea Party, including ads that are prejustice and defaming. I will not tolerate this! I tried to change this in my settings but there doesn't appear to be a way. Once the adds are placed on your blog, they can not be deleted.

I am all about fairness and tolerance but to be forced into accepting advertising and slander on a site that will not have it is not acceptable. So, in short, Google as lost a customer and supporter. I hope everyone joins me on my new blog at mattncentfla.wordpress.com.