Open Your Eyes – The Sky Is Not Falling!

No, the sky is not falling, but the polar icecaps are melting, our forests are burning, and the fisheries are collapsing. Will people really have to use up all their food storage and then need to resort to their guns before they wake up?

People who use anecdotal sentiments to point to the gnat on the elephant's rear, and people who console themselves that it is merely the gnat (not the elephant) that is in their bed, are bound to be crushed.

Open your eyes to the big picture, and don't placate yourselves by wallowing in parochialism and the bliss and confidence that you are right, because you are ignorant.

Loren M. Lambert © September 2, 2012

Change Is In the Air

Weird. The leaves are turning colors a month early, and I picked all my peaches. Change is in the air and I don't think that is it change that we can believe in.

Loren M. Lambert © September 2, 2012

Bumper Stickers

I saw a rare sight on the way home from Meisner. The car in front of me displayed an ad on the back window that stated, "The Book of Mormon is a second.... For a free copy, dial.... "

Then, I saw a car with a Obama/Biden bumper sticker.

Yeah. It was like seeing a white buffalo.

Loren M. Lambert © September 1, 2012

Fasting

For the third time, I have gone from Saturday night to Tuesday morning without eating, except for liquids and a modest soy peach smoothie on Sunday and Monday night.

This is just an experiment for the experience of it. I want to:  1) see what it's like, 2) see what I learn about myself, 3) see if I can maintain emotional and physical balance, 4) see if the few extra pounds I've picked up over the years can be shed, and 5) see what benefits and insights might be gained.

What I find most interesting is that going without eating has not been the most challenging part.What’s challenging is recovering the energy while eating as I typically do over the following days. (This is not a great revelation. It’s the same as all dieters’ experiences.)

It almost seems that the body, regardless of your weight before starting, wants to get back exactly to where it was before. It’s like the fat cells are all crying to be rescued from their imminent demise. The outcome is still uncertain.

Loren M. Lambert © August 30, 2012

According To Ann Coulter, We Are As Bad As The Associations We Support

Today, I learned that we are all as bad as – and are guilty of – the worst thing about the political candidates (political party, church, or organization) we support.

Thanks, Ms. Ann Coulter, and all the other enlightened beings of the RNC, who ensure that their team knows who to hate.  It really makes the decision-making so much easier.

Loren M. Lambert © August 29, 2012

Smoke and Mirrors Of Politicians Everywhere

Oh, the smoke and mirrors rhetoric of politicians everywhere. On the PBS NewsHour, the senator from Wyoming told presenters that if they gave a Blue Cross and Blue Shield card to all the people of Wyoming, they'd cut costs, blah, blah, blah. None of the commentators asked him how he proposed to do this. Come on!

Then, last Friday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that he thinks the “fed can do more to bolster the economic recovery," the stock market shot up. I would guess that most of those who engaged in the market swing are conservatives. And even if most are not conservatives, why do we all think that the fed can do anything? And why do we think that if it can do anything, it will be helpful over the long run? Lets face it:  Republicans want the government to do something, but they’re smug about who they want to do it for. (It's not the middle class.)

At least the Democrats have told you what they want to do, whether you like it or not (oh – except for Jim Matheson, who does not support the healthcare reform, but is mum on how he would replace it).

Loren M. Lambert © August 28, 2012

Employers’ Interference with Your Facebook and Other Social Media Activities

Be aware that there are many things your employer cannot make you do regarding your social media activities, like Facebook. If your employer does so, they are violating the National Labor Relations Act. If they do this, you need to complain to the National Labor Relations Board, which provides an online complaint form that you can fill out.

If you’re an employer or a boss, you should take heed of this and make sure you correct any of your employment policies.

An employer cannot prohibit you from discussing (on your own time – not when you’re supposed to be working) terms and conditions of your employment with others, criticizing your employer’s labor policies, discussing your wages, criticizing your employer’s treatment of employees, or criticizing or discussing safety of the workplace. Nor can your employer make you provide them access to your social media, make you “friend” them, nor make you comply with policies that are vague and tend to “chill” your speech on the protected subjects.

You are not protected for just griping, complaining, ranting, or making maliciously false statements. (You might guess there is a fine line between these activities and the others.)

Don’t mistake this for an employer who discovers, through other means, what you’re posting on your social media, and simply disliking you and deciding to fire you or not hire you because of what you’ve posted.

Loren M. Lambert © August 26, 2012