Catch Up

I've been absent and I apologize to my 4 readers for that :-). I'm actually in the final drafting stage of my thesis. I can't believe it - I imagine this is what giving birth, watching your child grow and then having them leave home is like. When I handed the draft to my professor this morning it was with a sigh of relief but also with some trepidation...hard to explain really.

The flip side of this is how emotionally difficult this has really turned out to be. To read almost every day about how we are basically throwing a whole generation of men and women away is beyond overwhelming. You have these people who basically sit at the top of the food chain and decide who gets service and who doesn't. It's shameful and I don't know how these people sleep at night. Here are some facts that I've recently become aware of:

* One in four suicides in South Dakota is a veteran

*Although a soldier may present with many different issues, they will only get rated by the Army on one of these and it probably won't be the most severe issue

* "Personality Disorder" discharges have increased 40% in the Army since the invasion of Iraq.

* Surgeon General Gale Pollock is a LIAR - first she said her office thoroughly and thoughtfully went through 295 cases of personality disorder discharges and that they were all diagnosed correctly. When pushed she admitted that there had only been one reviewer. This man was the author of a memo that actually encouraged doctors to "get rid of dead wood" meaning soldiers that couldn't perform due to emotional injury. When pressed a little more by Congress she admitted that there was never a review done at all.

*The VA's inaccuracy is at an all time high - 81% of claims filed in 2006 were re-opened for appeal.

*The current disability payment rating system was set up in 1945

*Last year over 10 million dollars that was earmarked for Mental Health services within the VA didn't get used. People are still waiting as long as 6 months for an initial appointment.

*27% of Army personnel found medically unfit for duty between 2000 and 2006 were assigned 0% disability ratings - that's 13646 soldiers found too disabled for military service but not disabled enough to receive any military benefits.

The VA is a mess - and there have been plenty of commissions to study just how much of a mess but no actual work has been done on fixing it.

It's clear to me that the military is eating their own - they live in their own world of "honor, courage and suck it up" and it's sickening.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - if we can't treat them we shouldn't send them. It's really that simple.

If anyone thinks I'm wrong I'd love to hear from you. Maybe I've misinterpreted the whole mess? Somehow I really don't think so.

Amazingly Typical

Isn't this just typical. People at the rally are saying they heard gunshots - but the government is saying that she hit her head as a result of a suicide bomber. When are governments going to start realizing they cannot continue to feed the masses crocks of shit? Here is another article with a different theory. You can tell how important someone really was by how many conspiracy theories start up after their death.

I know American's look at the protests, the looting and the "carrying on" that goes on in the middle east after an event like this and turn up their noses - but the fact is they are letting their displeasure show...what a concept.

My other question is this: If Pakistan is such a hot spot these days for al-Qaeda then why aren't they on President Jackass's radar? Hmmmmm I wonder if it's because there is little to no oil there? No, that couldn't be it. He wouldn't be sending out troops over to the middle east simply to make sure that he continues to make a buck would he? If you want to keep track of exactly how many of our men and women have been killed check out Friday By The Numbers over on One Pissed Off Veteran.

This guy is NOT a Bush fan but then again that's why I like him so much ....you've been warned.

Some Comments

These are some comments for the people who drive on 95 South everyday through Rhode Island.

(I'm not going to be nice...you were warned. Shut up Maria I can too be nice when I want to).

OK you fucking assholes let's get somethings straight:

* Maybe you missed the memo but the contest to see how close you could ride my bumper has been canceled so BACK THE FUCK OFF

* Contrary to what most people think the 6-8 fucking inches I leave between me and the car in front of me IS NOT an invitation for you to slide your fucking piece of shit in front of me

* I don't know where you went to driving school bitch but high beams are NOT for highway driving

*Here is a little tip - if there are people in front of me no matter how close you are to me or how much you want to get around me I'VE GOT NO WHERE TO GO fucker

* The left lane is known for as the high speed lane for a reason - if you are confused look it up jackass

* Your tinted windows, dual exhaust BMW with those asinine brass testicles hanging off the back does not impress me. So just take your backwards hat gangsta leaning self and get the fuck out of my way

* Route 295 is a left hand exit and has been since I was at least 5 years old. So you assholes who bomb down the left hand lane and then act all surprised when the exit comes up either need to learn how to read the signs or have a little humility when you are trying to cut the rest of us off so you don't end up in Fall River. Look, I don't want to end up there either so you know what I do? I PAY FUCKING ATTENTION. Christ, what are you? New?

* I've never driven in a state where people who are in accidents or broken down actually pull off to the left. Are you people just asking to get picked off?

OK I feel a little better now and I don't have to drive down there tomorrow so that makes everything a little better.

Yes Indeed

Yes indeed...two more days.

Maybe more later but I doubt it - if yesterday was hell today is the 7th circle of hell....what a great place to work.

Mood

I am in a shitty shitty mood. I very rarely blog about work - but today I have too. I'm a HR Manager - and a pretty damn good one I think. I work hard (for the most part) and I would say a good 90% of the people here like me and feel comfortable with me.



That's a good percentage for a HR person seeing as how we are usually the most hated person in the building.

Anyway..My boss is the CFO of the company - and we have a new one. Now admittedly it took me a long time to get over my last boss leaving. He was just quite simply the best boss I had ever ever had. He had tremendous people skills and above average business acumen and was just an all around great guy. To say I was devastated when he left would be a slight understatement. But that was last February and I got over it.

Now we have this new guy. Lousy listener and wants to be a "hands off manager". Has already told me he hates to have "difficult" discussions with people. What. The. Fuck???? You are a god damn member of senior management and you are making a hell of a lot more money than me - it is your obligation to have the difficult conversations and to at least act interested when one of your staff are talking to you. It's not OK to check your phone or to continue to look around the room like you have somewhere else to be DUMBASS.

Tomorrow we have a staff meeting. He wants us to go around the room and update on "projects". I have no fucking idea what he is talking about. I have no projects - I come in here and do my job and handle whatever employee bullshit is handed to me. He wants me to do some sort of flow chart on retention. Guess what buddy - WE DON'T HAVE A RETENTION PROBLEM. Our other plant does - so talk to them.

The bottom line is - I have to get out of here. This just isn't going to work for me not anymore. Yeah the four day workweek is nice - but in the end I don't think it's worth it.

I need a contract HR job that I can keep until I go to grad school. Or I need a job in the mental health field that I can keep while I'm in grad school - those are my options.

Excuse me while I go look on Monster, Careerbuilders and Hotjobs.

Just Some Questions

Here are some random things from my brain:

What happened to Jacob Dylan and The Wallflowers? They came out with a kick ass first record...and then nothing.

Can you fucking believe that Tom Petty was 57 on Saturday?

Does anyone else think that it is ironic that Rosanne Barr is chastising Britney Spears on her mother skills?

Does anyone really want to hear the Spice Girls song? Apparently yes - the tickets for their reunion show sold out in something like 31 seconds....unbelievable.

I have two Panera Bread cafe's within one mile of me. Why can't I get decent fucking service at either of them? They have this asinine system where the person who takes your order - then goes and fills it. So you are left standing there - usually with a huge line behind you while they meander over to get your lemon-aid or bagel. Thankfully they leave the big orders for the "kitchen" thing they have going on. Every time I go there I want to grab the manager and scream at them "don't you see how fucking inefficient this is"? But I don't. And the best was today - I was in there getting scone and the woman who was getting my lemon aid was busy talking to the girl at the register about how the great comment that got mailed in about her was put up at some company meeting. This is while she is supposed to be getting me my drink and she hands it to me while she is still talking to her and never looks at me. The kicker is this woman was well over 50 so I can't even blame it on "those damn kids". She won't be getting any fucking great comment from me. Bitch.

Is anyone else disgusted that we spent 40 million on the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations but only spent 15 million on the 9/11 Commission? Good to know we have our priorities right.

This is an excellent breakdown of the World Series.

Is new TV as bad as it really seems? Literally the only show I watch now is Bones on Tuesday nights. That's a great show.

I've decided that when you get labeled a bad driver they actually make you move Rhode Island. Does anyone in that fucking state know how to drive?

Somehow this doesn't make me feel any better. Is there anyway to fast forward time?

Does anyone really care that Dumbledor is gay? Did it matter in any of the stories?

Is it wrong that I agree with ADW that using your femine "wiles' (In my case cleavage) to get things from men (and sometimes women)? No I didn't think it was wrong either.

This is one of my most favorite blogs. I read it everyday. It's an honest day to day view of what a life is like with a child who is autistic.

OK kids - that's all I got tonight. Be good.

Sweet Justice

Ok so I was wrong about Gagne - he actually did a great job.
The best part is Garko or whatever his name is made the last out. Was Fenway quiet enough for you? Jackass.

I'm Still Not Comfortable

Yes it's the 9th inning

Yes we are up a ridiculous amount of runs

No I am still not comfortable with them bringing Gagne in - the man shouldn't be anywhere near a pitchers mound. Why not Okajima or Papelbon?

Why Terry?? Why Why Why???

Research and the VA

I've spent all day researching for my thesis. I knew that the subject of Veterans returning from war would be a tough one to read about for hours on end. I knew I would end up pissed off (I did), I knew I would probably end up in tears (I did) and I knew that this sort of information would make me want to finish my degree faster and get out there into the world and do something to help.

Here are some facts that I learned today:

It's no surprise that the Veteran's Administration is chronically underfunded but did you know that this year both the House and the Senate want to change that? The House has set forth a bill that would give the VA a 43.2 BILLION increase and the Senate has a bill that would increase the budget by 42 BILLION. These increases are unheard of and certainly a step in the right direction. Instead of standing by his words of supporting the troops the White House has issued a statement that blasts both the House and the Senate for "excessive level of spending and other objectionable provisions" . OBJECTIONABLE PROVISIONS? What the hell are they talking about? Do they mean things like proper care for our traumatize soldiers? Do they mean proper rehab for our amputees? I'd like to know what is so objectionable about increasing the budget of the government agency that is probably being used the most heavily right now. According to statistics only 7.4 million out of 24 million Vets use the VA services. What happens is they all decide to sign up? We tell them thanks for playing but there is no money? Great - really something to be proud of.

We are spending 12 Billion a month on Iraq/Afghanistan

The man who up until recently was running the VA - Secretary Jim Nicholson was caught twice by the Government Accountability Office for "cooking the books" of the VA. First they found that he had not delivered over 50 million dollars into the VA mental health budget (where did it go??) and then he made up savings and requested less money than the VA truly needed for health care. He was cited by the GAO as misleading congress and said he based the VA budget requests on "unrealistic assumptions, error in estimation and insufficient data" which cause massive budget shortfalls.

Let's hear it for yet another STELLAR Bush appointment. I mean the guy was the ambassador to the Vatican for three years - of course he can run the Veterans Administration. What a jackass.

You will hear Bush (another jackass) say that the VA budget has increased anywhere from 77-87% in the last 6 years. This is true if you don't count things like inflation - employee pay raises and the increased number of vets seeking service. If you count those, the numbers are actually in the negatives.

VA budget funding (with the exception of the veterans disability compensation) is part of the discretionary budget. The numbers that they are using to request money are at least two years old. Think of all the things that have happened in the last two years and all of the vets that have been looking for service in those two years who are new to the system. If the VA was part of the mandatory budget system then managers or directors would have to show their budgets quarterly and an equation would be used based on those numbers. Come budget time the equation would be used and the budget would automatically be set to a number that would cover expenses.

Sounds pretty obvious doesn't it? Currently there is a bill in Congress H.R. 2514 - which would make the VA part of the mandatory budget system. But as Larry Scott from www.vawatchdog.org says "It doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell of passing". Mostly because if the VA's budget becomes mandatory then congress either has to take those funds out of something else (Star Wars anyone?) or they have to come up with "another revenue stream" that's Congress speak for raising taxes and since 2008 is an election year neither party is going to be raising taxes - even if it means saving a Veterans life. Does that sound dramatic and a little over the top? Well think about this - in the last ten years 13,700 vets have died waiting for services or waiting for their cases that had been on appeal to be heard.

The average wait right now for a decision on an initial VA claim for disability is 5.5 months. Do you know many people who can live for 5.5 months with no income? I sure as hell don't.

To rule on appeal takes on average three years (see end of above paragraph).

And finally here is a fact that blew me away: 40 million was spent for Whitewater and the Monica Lewinsky investigation, while only 15 million was spent on the 9/11 Commission. Nice huh?

Unbelievable

Or as George put it unFUCKINGbelievable. Bush is at it again.

Yes I'm home - I'm exhausted but worse now I'm exhausted and pissed off.

Fucking bastard.

Ha Ha Bitch - Caught Ya

I live in a building that has 30 "condos" in it. Lets be real they are apartments. Anyway we have a mix of people who live here who own like me and people who rent. Unfortunately the renters here are living up to every stereotype out there in terms of them not giving a shit about the building - but that's not the point of this post.

We have a dumpster - its incredibly handy to have this. We recently got a fence around it - it's the law in MA and it took a year and a letter from my attorney (I park right next to the dumpster )- but we finally got it.

So our condo association right now is one guy, it's a strange situation but basically he is the attorney for the guy who owned the building and was selling off the units. It's in our condo docs that the building has to be 100% sold before he will turn over the association to the owners even though according to Mass state law the building has to only be 75% sold. It's annoying as hell because nothing gets done and he is constantly "getting quotes" for things that need to be done. Whatever - again not the point of this post.

So yesterday I go out the back door to my car and I bring out my trash. When I opened the fence there was a huge flat screen tv box with trash inside it and a bunch of smaller boxes inside. None of the boxes were broken down - we do have cardboard recycling bins and most people use them. When I got home from work the dumpster has been emptied but Waste Mgt. had left the boxes outside of the fence.

So anyway I couldn't stand to look at it so I went out there this afternoon to break them down etc. While I was getting the trash out of the bigger boxes I noticed there was some loose paper. Three of these things had this idiot's name on it. She doesn't live in the building and in fact lives 2 towns over.

So Janice L. Talbot of Norton - you are busted bitch.

Driving

I live in Massachusetts and I drive everyday to Rhode Island to work. I have to say on a daily basis I seem amazing assholeness (if that's not a word it should be)on the highway. Today I took a long lunch to go to the bank and to the acupuncturist. As I get on the highway I notice in my rear view mirror an ambulance with it's lights on. I turn down the radio and notice that they don't have the sirens on - whatever- I was always taught you got the hell out of the way of any vehicle with flashing lights ~ red - blue or green ~ it doesn't matter - you just move.

So at the same time that I notice this a guy passes me on the left (same lane as the ambulance) hand barely touching the wheel, scrunched way down in his seat and on his phone. You know the type "let me impress you with my car and my $500 suit, because my penis is small and I'm short, oh and I have $100,000 in credit card debt from trying to make up from my perceived shortcomings". We've all met those guys -I hate those guys and lets just say there are an inordinate number per capita in this state.

Anyway this guy doesn't move. The ambulance gets right up on his ass and he still doesn't move. He hasn't even looked in his rear view mirror or anything. He is so engrossed in his phone call that I'm surprised he remembered he was driving. What a jack ass. Finally either the ambulance blew the siren or his 900# phone call ended regardless he finally looked up and he got out of the way.

On the way home I started to think - "why do they even install mirrors anymore, apparently no one uses them." I've never driven anywhere were people just put on the blinker and go as much as they do here in RI. They don't even glance in any of the mirrors - what the hell is that all about?

And lastly, do they not teach people what the different lanes are for on the highway? I was always under the impression that the very right hand lane was for getting on and off the highway and for people who drive impossibly slow. So what is with all of these people using this lane for their own personal jet way? People are trying to get on and off the highway asshole..........that really pisses me off.

There is so much more about driving that I could rant about but I seriously have to get back to work if I want to take a vacation day tomorrow!

No gay Republicans?

Yeah right. Maybe if these guys could keep it in their pants we'd believe that. The latest Republican to get caught is from Idaho and was in a bathroom allegedly soliciting the guy next to him for a good old fashioned blow job. The senator is of course denying everything because after all he's a married man - and we all know that if you are married you couldn't possibly be gay. Right? Yeah, right. This is a guy who has voted against just about everything possible to give gay and lesbians any sort of legal rights:

* Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
* Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
* Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
* Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
* Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1 1996)

Did he think if he voted against it all, it would go away? What is WRONG with this people? They may as well just hand the Democrats the keys to the castle and be done with it.

Here is what most people don't get. There are a lot of us out here who could give two shits about who you sleep with. Here is what I care about: are they of legal consenting age? Yes? Well good. Are there any farm animals involved? No? Even better. Is the relationship consensual? Yes, well then excellent. Have at it.

I can't wait until this "old guard" or "old boys network" are out of office. Funny I thought I would have to wait for them to leave office by retiring. Looks like that may not be the case. Here's hoping the next generation can do a better job.

One more thing

I couldn't let the day go by without mentioned that yet ANOTHER Bush crony has finally resigned. How many does this make? Three? Four? That FEMA guy - Rumsfeld - Rove - and now Gonzales. I wonder what it's like to watch the empire you thought was bullet proof crumble around you? I wish I could feel sorry for the guy - wait a minute let me check.....nope no sympathy here.

The depths of human depravity

Humans never cease to amaze me. I just wish that they amazed me more in a good way. The other night when I probably should have been doing homework I was surfing the news channel just checking to see what was going on in the world when I came across a story that is so heinous that I had to calm down before I could write about it. While I was surfing somewhere up in the 40's (the news channels) I stopped long enough to read a headline that went something like "Attendants attack disabled patient". I'm sure that wasn't the complete headline. I remember thinking to myself "Oh, I can't watch this", and I changed the channel.

As some of you know I do respite/PCA care for two disabled brothers. They are 14 and 16 and the sweetest kids (well most of the time- they are teenage boys after all) that you could ever hope to come into contact with. Something like the above news story is my absolute biggest nightmare. These kids are defenseless - their mom and I talk about it all the time. They depend on other people completely for their safety - and once again people have proven that they cannot be depended on.

Finally after taking a few deep breaths I went back to the channel that had this story. It turns out it was a nursing home type of situation and there was a woman who was completely disabled who was turning up with all kinds of strange bruises. So the director of the home put a hidden camera in her room. What she found was that two of the attendants (CNA's or PCA's I'm not sure) were beating this woman AND robbing her at night. They would repeatedly hit her and slap her and then if she made any noise they would hit her again - mostly in the head. Now here is where it gets even worse. The director saw this was going on and instead of stopping it immediately she left the camera in the room for a week or so to make sure they had enough evidence. WHAT? One incident wasn't enough? What is wrong with this woman? She should lose her job immediately and go to jail for aiding the assault. I'm not sure what happened to her but I know that they arrested the two people (a man and a woman) who were doing the actual physical assaulting of the woman.

I'm at a complete loss. I just don't understand it at all. What happens to a person or what goes on in a persons brain that makes this OK for them? I wish scientifically they could map out that thought process to see how those synapses fire and to see if there is anyway to change it.


Sometimes it just as unscientific as this: people suck.