Friday Tidings

Deadbeats wasn’t my term, but the word of an angry woman that boarded the Seattle Streetcar and slid into the empty seat next to me.  Despite her deep frown, she looked striking in a black skirt, bright red blouse, and matching pumps. She opened a briefcase to reveal dozens of resumes. It was late afternoon, and she told me she’d spent the whole day canvassing businesses for employment. Six months prior, she’d lost her job after corporate downsizing. My usual quiet ride back downtown wasn’t going to be. This tired, forlorn woman needed to vent. And she did. After the first three months of unemployment, she humbly applied for government assistance. Sitting in the DSHS waiting room with “kids” fully able to work frustrated her.  Whether she’d researched it recently, I didn’t know, but she angrily noted that there were 10.2 million American young adults who have no job, are choosing not to go to school, or take part in any job training opportunities....

WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange    The Guardian-UK We’ve heard there is no honor among thieves, but when the infamous Julian Assange (WikiLeaks) protects his hacker’s identities, one wonders if that’s true or not.  Listening to an Assange interview, I get the impression he thinks he’s a computer-age Robin Hood.  His timing to release 20,000 emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee was telling enough, but his promise to release more reveals an attempt to control the outcome of an election.  For those in sensitive positions, I offer a new adage:  If you want to keep a secret don’t use a computer. Even more critical, this latest WikiLeaks episode reveals that we’re not secure enough in a cyberattack world. Our nation’s sensitive computers need to be resilient to hackers. What if enemy hackers got into our power grids and nuclear facilities? A good firewall is not enough....

Just in time for the Democratic Convention, Dinesh D’Souza's latest film, Hillary’s America comes to movie theaters across America.  According to D’Souza, the once pro-slavery Democratic party has merely transitioned to one of pro-enslavement.  The movie traces America's unsavory racist and greedy history perpetuated by the hands of....wait for it....the Democratic party. The 2016 election highlights the discord in our nation and D’Souza adds fuel to the inferno. He claims that Democrat's political self-interest rises above national interests. I suggest that some Republicans are not immune to this either. The 3-minute movie trailer gets to the heart of D’Souza’s warning: be wary of the Democratic party’s true intent—they want to "steal" America. The movie is only showing in limited theaters, but I wonder if it really matters. When the political shouting gets this loud, people can't hear and it's easier to stop listening. Which...

Okay, this might seem judgmental. But allow me a bit of commentary on what I observed.  It was a balmy July weekend afternoon on the ferry. Who could complain with sunny skies and blue waters?  Almost immediately I noticed a curly-headed boy of about 11 and his dad. As they walked by, the dad gently placed his hand on his son’s back, pointing to what appeared to be a dorsal fin popping up in the Puget Sound waters. They quickly went to the outside deck to get a closer look. That’s when I saw another dad and son, roughly the same age as the other duo. But they were seated opposite one another on bench seats.  The dad, with his back to me, was talking on his cell phone. His son sat solemnly—never interrupting or moving from his seat to check out the passing scenery. The dad’s conversation was audible to all close by. He talked about his personal trainer and his intense work-outs, an upcoming business trip to New Orleans, those going on the t...

No need to bother you with statistics. They’re grim. Just like everyone knows someone with cancer, we all know someone dealing with drug addiction.  The one thing science is clarifying is that drug addiction is a disease. While it’s easy to sermonize about choices, once addicted, the choices are much tougher. Many opiate addictions stem from an original prescription for pain. People unwittingly exchange their pain for an addiction.  For the addicted, drug tolerance builds up and more drugs are needed to prevent the onset of agonizing withdrawal symptoms.  Non-drug users see the addict’s mood-swings, manipulative behaviors, lying, and lack of responsibility. While the addict just seeks relief.   Nationwide, communities are dealing with increased crime from addicts stealing in order to fund their relentless habits. Whether we’re crime victims, or family members dealing with loved ones in addiction’s grip, we’re all p...