Politico: Dem Party hires few minority firms

Democratic Party mascot

Very interesting:

Less than 2 percent of the money disbursed by the Democratic Party’s three largest committees went to firms with full or partial minority ownership, according to a new report released Wednesday that suggests a disconnect between the party’s increasingly diverse voter base and its Beltway leadership.

The report, compiled by PowerPAC+, a political action committee funded by Democratic megadonor Steve Phillips, takes the Democratic committees to task for their failure to solicit a broad group of minority consultants to compete for the hundreds of millions of dollars they dole out for political activities.

“The fact that this is occurring under the first black president’s watch should be a wake-up call because it’s embarrassing,” said veteran strategist Donna Brazile, vice chair of the Democratic Party for voter registration and participation. “The people exist, the organizations exist, and the resources are there. This is a failure by those that are running and managing the party.”

The report analyzes Federal Election Commission data of expenditures in the 2010 and 2012 cycles made by the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

So while the Democrats may have voters of diverse backgrounds, they may not have much diversity as far as the inner workings of their party. Aside from voters or even politicians surely they have Democrats who do many different jobs that further the goals of the party. It may help the many communities they represent.

Via Instapundit!

EDIT: Check out some of the comments at Instapundit, sheesh! 

Water shutoff in Detroit

Today we're going back to the great American city of Detroit and to share this latest drama

After Detroit turned off water for thousands of residents, activists are calling on the United Nations for help in what they've called a "massive human rights atrocity."

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said in March that they would begin shutting off service to more than 150,000 customers who were behind in their bills, according to the Detroit Free Press. With 323,000 total customers, nearly half are late on their bills, or cannot afford water. A water department report states the utility sent 44,000 warnings in April and 3,000 customers have had their water shut off.

A coalition of groups including the Detroit People's Water Board, Food and Water Watch, Blue Planet Project and Michigan Welfare Rights Organization submitted a report to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation last week, saying they are "outraged about the violation of the human right to water and sanitation in the City of Detroit and call on the authorities to take immediate action to restore water services and stop further cut-offs."

We already know Detroit is a struggling city and certainly could use the cash from water bill payments. Certainly we all sympathize with those who definitely could use the water whatever their situation might be.

I think I understand going to the UN regarding this action. When people complain they want to go as high as possible. At the same time I sometimes have found the UN to be a useless organization.

Still here's hoping those affected Detroit residents get their water turned back on.

What if I was a graduation speaker?

The school year is over and the class of 2014 - whereever they went to school - has since graduated. Many have listened to the messages of their commencement speaker. I've always imagined myself as a commencment speaker, but what would I say.

My last semester at Morehouse College I took a public speaking course  and our last assignment was the formal speech. It was in fact written with myself in mind, that is what if someone gave the speech that I gave in class to students such as myself back then.

Well who knows, but a pep-talk is never a bad thing. Indeed that was the basic title of my speech. At this point I'm too lazy to pull it out of my files and recite it for you. What can be done is that the rough speech is about me encouraging students to seek help when possible as to figure out what you can do with your lives. It's something that I've been entirely too proud to do myself too often.

When it was time to graduate high school I wasn't sure what was next. College was the next logical step but I had little idea and wasn't seeking much information on that path. My interest even before graduating 8th grade at Bennett School was the military, however, my parents didn't encourage that path due to my good grades at Harlan High School.

The problem was I was never entirely confident in those grades because I achieved them too easily back then. I was never an honor roll student in elementary school and while fortunes do change if you weren't already a student who often achieved high marks how does one overnight get high marks at the next stage of their educational careers?

All the same, the message to students is always consider the future. Don't freak out, and always remember there are people out there who will help you along the way. The key is to reach out to them if you need a nudge in the right direction. That was a message I figured out late, but no matter where you are in life you will need help along the way.

The relationship between Presidents Clinton & Obama

You know how I'm reading this. Clinton has an ego and can't help but express it. Obama on the other hand well he may have more of a bruised ego than Clinton. If you follow the right wing, they may say the current President has an outsized ego of his own. IF they both have egos then it may explain the friction between the 42nd & 44th President.

BTW, yes Clinton had a better economy when he left office although I wouldn't necessarily attribute that to any act of "genious" on his part. Obama has health care reform which had eluded Clinton even if it isn't showing itself as a crowning achievement.

Come to think of it, how many people misses the time when Clinton was President? How many people will miss the time Obama was President? Time will only tell.

I only miss Clinton's presidency because I was still in high school when he was in office.

Le Deluge

[VIDEO] Unfortunately I'm not up on my French history. I know that near the end of the 18th Century the French revolted and overthrew their monarchy and executed their king & queen. Then Napoleon took over after France became a republic and then Napoleon became emperor.

Who knows, France's decline in those days started with the reign of Louis XV that Bill Whittle describes in this recent video. In this case Whittle compares Louis XV with the administration of President Barack Obama. While Whittle, makes reference a quote attributed to King Louis - "After me, the flood" ("Après moi, le déluge") - was never proven to be said by him. In fact it can't even be proven that anyone associated with him either said it or if he truly said it.

Either way what's the point of this quote and why is Whittle attempting to throw Obama in this? Well Whittle's point in say this is about passing the back. It's not about getting it right TODAY, but about passing the back to the next generation or person. It's someone else's job to fix it.

If that's true, a presidency that began with so much promise. A promise to fundamentally change the United States of America has fallen far short. Not only that, the President hasn't accomplished much during this almost one term and a half in office. He got Obamacare & a Nobel peace prize (merely for existing nothing tangible) however it's safe to say that his administration involved a lot of fighting with Republicans and nothing but wall-to-wall crisis that haven't be solved.

Via Instapundit!

Man of Morehouse, Civil War re-enactor

Marvin Greer, center, during a recent re-enactment

A history major re-enacting battles of the Civil War is certainly worth an A for how serious he is. Found this story via Morehouse College's newscenter:

There are many weekends when senior history major Marvin Greer is stepping back into time.

He spends days on Civil War battlefields portraying soldiers – and sometimes slaves – as a Civil War re-enactor. It’s a hobby the Atlanta resident admits isn’t very popular among many of the African Americans he knows.

“I do get stares sometimes,” Greer said. “But I do it to honor my ancestors. I had ancestors who fought in the Civil War, obviously for the Union. I do it because I think I’m telling their story, a story that is often never told.”

It’s something Greer has been interested in since elementary school, when his fifth grade class did a mock battle of Gettysburg and later watched the movies “Glory” and “Gettysburg.”

“That really piqued my interest in African Americans in the Civil War,” he said.

This story is worth sharing, and good for him to bringing to life one of the more traumatic events of American history. Read the whole thing!

BTW, I consider myself a fan of films Glory & Gettysburg and sadly have not seen either film in years. In fact it seemed as if one while I couldn't get away from Gettysburg as it always seemed to be on TNT on either Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day or Veteran's Day. Time to either download them or buy them on DVD/Blue Ray.

So who went to an anti-fracking rally in Chicago recently?

I'm a regular reader of the CapFax blog. And overtime there have been stories about fracking in this state. So apparently Illinois has the potential to produce fossil fuels somewhere in this state. Although I understand that well the fracking is about exploring for oil so perhaps there's some energy somewhere under the surface and maybe not.

Either way, since Illinois is a solidly blue state (which could also mean liberal but that's a whole other debate) there is a debate over fracking. This debate over energy and fossil fuels will attract the environmentalist who automatically will think that this exploration will hurt the environment.

Well there were some pics one of them you see here that I actually saw first at Newsalert. Well apparently the people of the Chicago area don't seem to care about fracking. There was barely anyone at the rally unless of course someone came way too late for the festivities at Daley Plaza downtown.

Or a commentor at CapFax noted that all the anti-frackers ran out of gas on their way to their respective rallies. LOL!

Anyway, it's easy to conclude that well there aren't many people opposed to this. I'm indifferent but at the same time some parts of this state could use an economic boost. Why not see if there's any fossil fuels under the soil in this state?

Still looking; still interviewing

I've been out here in the work world for many years. I've never ran into the weird luck as I had in recent years. Perhaps it's me, perhaps it's the weak economy. I wish I knew what it was.

I'm greatful that this search is going on while currently employed. Years ago with no job, money was an issue while I continued looking.

Many of my posts analyzed some aspects of my job hunt. Perhaps I could answer some questions differently and that was something explored in an earlier post. Perhaps I could dress more as a job hunter.

I also recognize that you can't get into the head of your interviewer. You never know what expectations that person will have when you come in for the interview. All you can do is stick with the basics of what you're expected to do before you get to the interview and of course following the interview. Hopefully that's enough to get the job.

I also wrote that sometimes you can get a feel for the interview. You can tell your chances if you notice the reaction of the interviewer. Sometimes you might realize that a response wasn't what they were looking for. Perhaps your questions during the course of the interview weren't focused on the job. Sometimes the interviewers were just plain neutral and you didn't get a feel from them one way or another.

Well, it was written here before that the only feedback you get from employers is that you didn't get the job. The worse part is you have little idea about what their actual decision was and why. They have to protect themselves too although sometimes it may be as simple as someone else beat you.

Got to keep a good head in spite of these reversals, however, it just shows how difficult the job market is right now.

21 Dogs That Have No Idea How Big They Are

You know, I really like dogs and aspire to own one in the future. Some of the dogs in this set of pics seem like they're regular size, but most of them seemed very photoshopped. Is this serious?

More than likely this is just a humor based meme and not taken very seriously. :P

Check out how much you could get paid at Walmart!!!

 

Found this photo via Newsalert. For those who insisted Walmart doesn't pay their workers enough money - as they did here in Chicago a few years ago when the retailer wanted to expand here - this image should elicit one question in your mind. What was those naysayers talking about? In any event here's the background to this now hiring sign taken in the city of Williston, North Dakota.

Black Enterprise: Morehouse College President Talks ‘Education Crisis’ Facing Young Black Men

I'm sorry about missing this article from March 2014. Black Enterprise magazine interviewed the President of Morehouse College Dr. John S. Wilson. He discusses the education crisis amongst Black males:

BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke to Dr. Wilson about the crisis that faces young black men and what role HBCUs like Morehouse can fill to change the direction. Here’s what he had to say:

When you speak of the cradle-to-prison pipeline, what are some of the things that can be done?

The first thing we have to do is recognize that it’s a very serious issue—some would call it a crisis—and something needs to be done. You may think that goes without saying but it’s not. There’s a numbness that people in this country—black and white and around the world—have to what’s going on with the African American male. If other groups had the kind of educational data profile that the African American male has, it would be nothing short of a crisis. But for some reason, too many people find it tolerable or natural in some way.

So, I think recognizing that it is a critical issue that goes to the productivity and security of this country is step one. Step two is developing a sense of urgency once you recognize it; and step three is organizing to get better data about it and exchange a best practices designed to do something about the challenge. In the midst of all that, we need what we haven’t had and that’s a shining beacon on the hill—an institution that’s recognized worldwide as the destination of choice for men in general and in particular African American men and that’s Morehouse College.

What can be done on a personal level?

First, I think the steps that I outlined are relevant for individuals as well as institutions. Number two, parents can address the cycle by ensuring that their sons are exceptions to the general rule. And even if you’re not a parent, there are many organizations that care about this issue and you can align yourself with them and you can become involved— politically and otherwise.

I was very pleased that the President of the United States announced a “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative designed to get at this. I think some people have recognized that. I think the President is making an attempt to sound an alarm that there is a crisis.

It's worth reading the whole interview although it seems relatively short and there are two other published questions that Dr. Wilson was asked. What more do we need to do to keep our young men out of jail and keep them in school?

While I'm sure Dr. Wilson and others want to see more young men go on to achieve that undergrad degrees, what can we do to ensure our young men will achieve their high school diplomas?

Conan: Jon Favreau Challenges Seth Rogen To A Brisket-Off

[VIDEO] I'm sorry about missing this on Conan this past week. I saw Favreu's film Chef recently and it's the type of movie that has me wishing that my cooking talents were more on point. It's most importantly a great drama with humorous elements although another important part of this film was the food.

Now I really want to up my BBQ game perhaps the next logical step is doing some smoking. Who says you got to go to Texas for smoked beef brisquet.

Ask a Manager: How do I know if I did well in an interview?

Question #2 over at Ask a Manager. A person wants to know how they know if they did well in an interview. Of course the blogger's answer over there is there no way to truly know and that if you think you did well you may still not get the job or you might do bad and still get the job. It's best to read her answer to that question.

I did use to have an easy answer to this question. Again I've had interviews such as this one I wrote about earlier this year where I thought the interview went great but still didn't get the job. Although in that case it was still a dodged bullet.

Still, I think it's easy to gauge from interviewers whether or not they like you. Unfortunately it's still hard to say whether or not they'll offer you the job. It seems in some of the comments over at Ask a Manager you may get an offer and the employer could always change their mind.

These days, however, only speaking from my experience it seems I'm wary of the statement that they're continuing to interview other candidates. Now again this probably isn't something you should consider too much of because it's only fair if there are other candidates lined up. Besides the odds may still be in your favor or it may not.

BTW, for additional reading another link was offered with Ask a Manager's response. If you can't help but consider your chances for getting the job this post should help you keep things in perspective. One answer to that is even if you're sure you got the job continue applying until someone gives you a solid job offer.

The weather

On my Instagram account I have the tendency to post screencaps of the temperature and weather radar. Sometimes because it's of interest and mainly because I want to show the weather here in Chicago at any given time. Besides I've always been interested in the weather.

I used to say warmer weather is just around the corner and now it's here. In fact summer is this month, we've had a very harsh winter this year with temps going often below 0 that I'm sure many of us were wondering if the winter is over. Well it is over and many of us have survived.

Now we may be dealing with higher food costs because of this. Heh, this is where I only wish I had a better grasp of economics and the many forces that affect an economy. Of course there are probably other after-effects of this past winter to be concerned about.

In any event, summer is around the corner and unfortunately here in Chicago warmer weather means more crime because local headlines are already showing the violent incidents occurring in my fair city. While we should always remain safe, I'm still glad that this harsh winter is behind us. May there be peace during the course of this summer!