Sometimes it's hard to be a Dad, a husband, a Catholic, a working class stiff, AND a Conservative Guy in New York State. But then again, sometimes it's kind of funny.
So funny, I moved to South Carolina...
I have no adequate words to describe exactly what I felt on September 11, 2001. While I remember the day and the weeks which followed like they were yesterday, I can't bring myself to write my 'feelings' down here.
Can't write them down here? No, that's not quite right. If I'm being honest with you, I guess I'll have to admit that I won't write them here. Mostly because they were my feelings; and you, well, you have your own memories and feelings to contend with.
Looking back, I remember sitting in my home watching television reports until the early hours of the morning of the Twelfth. News teams broadcast live from the fallen hulk of the World Trade Center 24/7 in the weeks which followed.
My eyes burned not from eye strain, but from an un-characteristic redness which lasted several days, but probably it was more like a week. Or, maybe I was just tired from watching too much coverage on television...
Will I ever write what I felt? No, probably not. I'll leave it to real 'writers' (you know - the ones with Journalism Degrees or 'letters' after their names) to re-live the events of those days and re-count them with dry eyes.
As for me, I'm just a guy who wants our country to be more vigilant in the future and for our troops to come home safely when they know their job is done.
Lastly, I guess I want the people who represent us to never forget what happened in our not-so-distant past.
For in those days following the attacks we were all just 'Americans' again.
Then, of course, we got over it...
Sleep well tonight America, but before you nod off, say a prayer for the soldiers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters and all those who work tirelessly to keep us safe.
I hope that God will watch over you and your family; keeping you safe from all threats, foreign, and domestic.
09/11/2012 Update: I posted the above thoughts four years ago on another site. Looking back at the four ensuing, and over the entirety of the eleven years, I find that our Nation has become more fractured than it was prior to 09/11/2011. I fear that time has dulled our collective memories of that day in September, 2001.
We have re-hyphenated our Races: White-American, African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, etc.
We have re-hyphenated our Religions: Catholic-American, Jewish-American, Muslim-American, Protestant-American, Mormon-American, etc.
We have forgotten why we went to war, after war came to us
So, the question for all of us is this: Did they win?
Eleven years later, I'll leave you to answer this question for yourself.
It's another Tuesday morning, just like the one I awoke to eleven years ago. As with most dates of historical significance I remember the day itself with eerie clarity. I remember the news. I remember the weeks which followed. I remember the interviews of families torn apart in the aftermath of the attack. I remember that brief period in time in which a Nation came together as a family.
In the end, when you come down to it, all you have is your family. Most times, that's more than enough.
I wrote the following way back on February 19th, 2010. I believe it was snowing that day - actually, living in Central New York in February, it's a lot easier to remember the days when it is NOT snowing. There are approximately four of these days between January and March.
The only exception is if it's Leap Year, in which case it pretty much snows every day.
"Why?", you ask.
"Mother Earth is NOT amused with us adding that extra 1/4 of a day in every year. Mother Earth, or 'Gaia', is not happy when we mess with her / its 'Cycle'."
And when Gaia's not happy, nobody (on Earth) is happy."
'Gaia' Photo from Apollo 17
Wow, remember when we had a space program?
Wasn't THAT cool?!?!
Shoot, but here I go 'Digressing' again - let's get busy with the topic of today's post! Whatever that is...
"Hey, Bossie, do you remember what the topic of today's post is?"
"Loooooooower unemployment, Moos...", says my big girl in her most sonorous voice.
"Ahem, yes, that's it, let's talk about the most recent Unemployment Numbers as provided to us by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, henceforth, and forevermore known as, "BLS"! Let's get busy!"
"How can this BE? How could the economy be adding fewer jobs than it is losing and the unemployment rate goes DOWN???"
Well, it's a 'Math Thing' again. [NOTE TO SELF: I hate 'Math Things']
It works like this:
EXAMPLE A: Assume that you have 1,000 jobs available in the economy (not as hard to imagine as it once was, but what the heck, it's an easy number to work with).
If you have 900 people employed, your unemployment rate is 10%.
EXAMPLE B: Now assume that the number of 'total jobs' available DROPS to 925.
If you have 850 people employed, your unemployment rate is 8.1%
So, even though you have FEWER people working, your unemployment rate goes DOWN.
This, and the following, accounts for our most recent reduction in the percentage of unemployed. Welcome to the BLS - where logic goes to die.
Confused yet? Oh, you will be.
You will be. And there's more.
Much, much moo-re...
Richard Dawson says, "I asked you how the US Government caluclates the number of Unemployed workers in the United States.
You said, "By counting changes in the number of payroll receipts monthly."
"Survey says!!!... YOU are wrong."
At the end of a post about the celebration in the Media over the success of the 2009 Stimulus Program (yes, as I update this in 2012 - I really miss those EXCELLENT economic times) I said I would touch on the issue of how the Bureau of Labor and Statistics comes up with their numbers of the employed, the unemployed, the under-employed, and people playing Scrabble, at your expense.
Rather than drone on (as I normally do, like, um, here...), I'll have the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) speak, or more appropriately, 'type' for themselves.
Without further adieu, I give you the United States BLS! (Hey, who put that extra letter in there?!?!)
Early each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor announces the total number of employed and unemployed persons in the United States for the previous month, along with many characteristics of such persons. These figures, particularly the unemployment rate—which tells you the percent of the labor force that is unemployed—receive wide coverage in the media.
[BLS, thanks for talking to us like we're 10 years old.]
Some people think that to get these figures on unemployment, the Government uses the number of persons filing claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under State or Federal Government programs. But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or delay or never apply for benefits. So, quite clearly, UI information cannot be used as a source for complete information on the number of unemployed.
[Ah, yes, QUITE clearly, why would anyone believe that the number of unemployed would be based upon those receiving unemployment benefits, or others, in general NOT working?]
Other people think that the Government counts every unemployed person each month. To do this, every home in the country would have to be contacted—just as in the population census every 10 years. This procedure would cost way too much and take far too long. Besides, people would soon grow tired of having a census taker come to their homes every month, year after year, to ask about job-related activities.
[Oh not so! We've come to LOVE government intrusion into our lives! Without it, what would we talk about in 'hushed voices' over our Kraft macaroni and cheese dinners at the dinner table (by candlelight)?]
Because unemployment insurance records relate only to persons who have applied for such benefits, and since it is impractical to actually count every unemployed person each month, the Government conducts a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country.
[Hold on, did you just say that the BLS 'Polls' citizens to see who's working?]
The CPS has been conducted in the United States every month since 1940, when it began as a Work Projects Administration project. It has been expanded and modified several times since then. For instance, beginning in 1994, the CPS estimates reflect the results of a major redesign of the survey. (For more information on the CPS redesign,see Chapter 1, of the BLS Handbook of Methods.)
[The BLS DID just say that Unemployment is based on a random sample poll again, right? Did anyone out there know this? Please excuse my disbelief, I had no idea that the Unemployment Numbers were this 'scientific' . I thought it had something to do with a 'Magic Feather'...]
There are about 60,000 households in the sample for this survey. This translates into approximately 110,000 individuals, a large sample compared to public opinion surveys which usually cover fewer than 2,000 people. The CPS sample is selected so as to be representative of the entire population of the United States. In order to select the sample, all of the counties and county-equivalent cities in the country first are grouped into 2,025 geographic areas (sampling units).
[Uh-huh...]
The Census Bureau then designs and selects a sample consisting of 824 of these geographic areas to represent each State and the District of Columbia [I smell the 'magic feather' coming!]. The sample is a State-based design and reflects urban and rural areas, different types of industrial and farming areas, and the major geographic divisions of each State. (For a detailed explanation of CPS sampling methodology, see Chapter 1, of the BLS Handbook of Methods.)
[Chapter 1, of the BLS Handbook of Methods really ROCKs! It's quoted all over the place...]
Every month, one-fourth of the households in the sample are changed, so that no household is interviewed more than 4 consecutive months. This practice avoids placing too heavy a burden on the households selected for the sample. After a household is interviewed for 4 consecutive months, it leaves the sample for 8 months, and then is again interviewed for the same 4 calendar months a year later, before leaving the sample for good.
This procedure results in approximately 75 percent of the sample remaining the same from month to month and 50 percent from year to year.
[Uh-huh]
Each person is classified according to the activities he or she engaged in during the reference week. Then, the total numbers are "weighted," or adjusted to independent population estimates (based on updated decennial census results). The weighting takes into account the age, sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and State of residence of the person, so that these characteristics are reflected in the proper proportions in the final estimates.
[Uh-huh]
A sample is not a total count, and the survey may not produce the same results that would be obtained from interviewing the entire population. But the chances are 90 out of 100 that the monthly estimate of unemployment from the sample is within about 290,000 of the figure obtainable from a total census. Since monthly unemployment totals have ranged between about 7 and 11 million in recent years, the possible error resulting from sampling is not large enough to distort the total unemployment picture.
[Okay, so based upon I just read, 'Unemployment in the U.S.' is based on 60,000 Americans, from which we calculated that we have lost a 'couple of million' jobs (and workers) in the past year? This would mean that each of these 60,000 has lost their jobs 33.342 times in the past year. This, I can actually believe... Nah, just kidding - wanted to see if you were still paying attention.]
The complete answer, of course, is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 'polling' a sample group to determine the employment, or unemployment rate in the country on a monthly cycle.
They are using secretive scientific algorithms to decode rates of unemployment as well as the location of Atlantis (in their spare time).
Bottom line is, well, that they SCIENTIFICALLY GUESS how many people are working and NOT working.
Hmm, I wonder how many people are employed by the BLS? I'd better GOOGLE that one...
Well, I couldn't find the number of folks working for BLS, but I did find the total headcount for the number of people working for the Department of Labor.
That number? 16,000.
So, if we have each of these 16,000 Department of Labor employees contact 3.75 people per month, we could do away with the 'Current Population Survey' group all together. That could save us something like $1 BILLION in overhead costs! I guess it could be less, but at the rate we're burning cash, it might as well be a BILLION dollars.
So if YOU were wondering how Administrations' have been coming up with Unemployment Numbers since 1940, well, now you know. They pretty much 'Make it up'...
Just between you and me, isn't the Federal Reserve buying our own National Debt (without have the cash) a lot like ME writing checks with ZERO cash in the bank?
Wouldn't I go to jail for that?
Geez, I'd hate to go to Jail. Maybe I should go into politics?
Politicians almost never go to Jail.
But I hear the teaching jobs at the Ivy League schools and Lobbying Firms they retire to have excellent benefits...
Last night was the final night of the Democratic National Convention and I...
Missed it.
I didn't miss all of it, but I freely admit that I missed 'most of it'.
Why?
Two main reasons, I guess. Neither one is more important than the other:
REASON 1: Thursday night is laundry night
REASON 2: I had two weeks of 'White Collar' to catch up on - 'On Demand'
The third reason is once I've already read the book, I don't need to watch the film. The book is ALMOST always better than the film because reading is a much more personal experience than watching someone else act out the role written for them.
When Reading a book:
YOU decide what the characters look like.
YOU provide the imagination to fill in the blanks which the author either can not, or chooses not to.
YOU are an active participant in the story; viewing events as they unfold and then guessing what comes next.
YOU are involved in the story on a very personal level... (i.e.: YOU live it.)
And, finally, YOU finish the story at your leisure, according to your schedule, because YOU want to. Conversely, if a story 'is poorly written', you may decide to put the book down and to never pick it up again. YOU have that option.
Yes, I prefer books to film.
But hey, that's just me.
However, I do believe that there are instances where film can capture moments of great historical significance like no other medium can.
Then again, there are moments like the two which follow. Moments which shall live in infamy long after my fingers cease their movement across this keyboard... Not because of their greatness, but rather, well, you'll see.
These moments captured digitally and posted on (Al Gore's) Internet will haunt the speakers, the participants, and the Democratic Party for generations to come.
Meet Jennifer Granholm, courtesy of the DNC! (Please pay particular attention to members of the audience as they experience the collective Obama 'Rapture' during this speech. You'll know them when they come along... Can you spot them? Yes. Yes you can...)
"Something about her seemed familiar. I could swear I'd seen her face before. But she said you must be mistaken..." (I stole these lines from Harry Chapin's 'Taxi'. I'm not proud of it, but I will 'fess up to it... Why? Because stealing anything, even words, is WRONG!)
It wasn't long after watching the above footage that my mind made the leap to where I had seen the 'face', heard the 'words', the witnessed the 'lunacy' before. It was from another Democratic event in the not-so-distant past.
It was, of course, Howard Dean's 'scream'...
As referenced above, I didn't need to watch President Obama's Exceptance speech.
The word 'Exceptance' is used above on purpose, as in:
"I would have fixed the economy 'except' it was worse than I thought it could have possibly imagined it to be." (All while telling American voters in 2007 - 2008 that the economy was the 'Worst it's been since the Great Depression'. Still, it came as a surprise to the Boy King to find out that the economy did, actually, 'stink up the place'...)
"I would have focused on helping businesses create jobs 'except' I was fixing Health Care in America."
"The 23 MILLION Americans are still out of work would almost all have jobs today, except for the Economy the previous Administration left me with..."
"No, I don't believe that it's ironic that I want legal and illegal voters to vote for me WITHOUT Identification, but if you're buying a DNC-sponsored 'Birth Certificate' coffee cup YOU have to show ID because... It's a political donation. Well, maybe this is ironic except, um, well..."
I didn't need to SEE the President's Speech last night. I've been fully-engaged in the reality of this President's economic strategies and social-engineering for the past four years... Listen to the speech? Sheesh, I could have written it.
It is time to pick up a new book and put the 'Book of Obama' down without finishing it.
(SPOILER ALERT: The Book of Obama (The Sequel) ends with four more years of miscellaneous turkeys and a side-order of 'Malaise'. )
That 'book' isn't going anywhere that it hasn't already been. And with a campaign slogan such as, "Forward" you can only expect the plot line of the sequel to continue in the same direction as it has in the past four years.
Today is the National Holiday President Grover Cleveland set aside to celebrate the existence of Unionized American Workers, Labor Unions, and Political Cronies! . But let me ask you this: Do you know WHY you're home from work today?
Do you know the reason for Labor Day, and why it's celebrated in September?
Did you ever think about those questions? Hmm, did ya, did ya???
If, however, you are at work today, or this evening, please accept my sincere apologies. My wife is a Nurse, and since she has a 'real job' (defined here as 'Saving Lives, Administering care to the sick, caring for the dying, Counseling Families, and giving sponge baths to 'large, and sometimes odoriferous people') she often works Labor Day, Fourth of July, Christmas, Ground Hog Day, Thanksgiving, Arbor Day and other MAJOR national holidays.
As for the rest of us? Oh yes, Labor Day is a day of 'leisure'.
It is a day in which Americans celebrate "stickin' it to the man" one last time by NOT showing up for work during the waning moments of summer.
So let's take a moment to do an EXCLUSIVE Moos Room Investigation of:
"THE ORIGIN(s) OF LABOR DAY"! (Feel free to add your own 'Echo' as you read the prior CAPs section (above) in your mind)
Okay, we're going in...
Q.: Who was the 'Founder of Labor Day'?
A.: Great question, please ask another! FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WEBSITE:"More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. .Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."
But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic." . Moos Translation: "A Demonstration and a picnic" = Dinner AND a show! Unions adopted the Labor Day 'concept' to prove that they were united, they could get together to drink beer, eat chicken, and get disorderly WHENEVER they wanted to and there was 'nothing' their employer could do about it.
In 1883, a union member was quoted as saying, "BRRRRAAAAPPPP... Oh yeah, AND we're gonna work on getting FREE health care so we don't have to pay for nothin'!" (Sorry, I made that part up - but you know one of them was thinking it...) .
Q.: Can you tell me about the First Labor Day?
A.: I could, but then I'd have to kill you.
Noooo, just kidding... OKAY, SINCE YOU ASKED: "The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. Moos Translation: "Hey, how come THOSE guys got off for the day and WE didn't? We're in a UNION too, darn it, and we want a day off! We WANT a day off, we WANT a day OOOOFFFFFFFFF!
Oh, and one more thing, we want FREE health care for us, I mean, errr, for all Americans! Yeah, for ALL American Union members!
Q.: When did 'Labor Day' become a national holiday?
A.: On June 28th, 1894
WHAT, NO WISECRACK? Come on people, it's a 'date'! 'Dates' are not funny things.
Unless, of course, it's about night I first met my wife in a bar, but that is Waaaayyy out of line for a post on Labor Day. Plus, as everyone KNOWS, it's been a LABOR OF LOVE ever since.
Q.: Hey, how come so many other countries celebrate their 'International Worker's Day' in May (a.k.a.: May Day), and we're stuck with the first Monday of September?
A.: President Grover Cleveland didn't want blood in the streets of major U.S. cities while he was in office... WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? According to Wikipedia: "In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today,May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their trade unions, anarchists and various communist and socialist parties."
Getting Unions, Anarchists, Communists, and Socialist together to 'throw down' for a day? Now THAT does sound like a party!!!
"God bless them," Pelosi said, "for their spontaneity. It's independent ... it's young, it's spontaneous, and it's focused. And it's going to be effective."
CONTINUING FROM WIKIPEDIA:"The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world).
After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots.
Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported."
Moos Translation: To quote Jim Morrison and the Doors, President Cleveland was trying to avoid the following (which he feared would arise if US Labor Unions celebrated the May 1st date):
"Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven
Blood stains the roofs and the palm trees of Venice
Blood in my love in the terrible summer
Bloody red sun of fantastic L.A.
Blood screams the pain as they chop off her fingers
Blood will be born in the birth of a nation
Blood is the rose of mysterious union
There's blood in the streets, it's up to my ankles
Blood in the streets, it's up to my knee
Blood in the streets in the town of Chicago
Blood on the rise, it's following me"
As an aside, I found the 'Official DOL Labor Day Poster of 2009'. You can view it by clicking HERE.
I mention it because I'm sure you'll want to print out a copy and stick it up on your wall today (make sure you have a few darts handy)!
I couldn't find the 2010 - 2013 DOL Labor Day Posters, perhaps the guy who drew the last one from 2009 was laid off?
Whoa, can you SMELL the irony???
In conclusion:
If you have a good day today, hug a Teamster!
If you have a bad day today, keep it to yourself, I'm on vacation!
If you are a Union Member, THANKS for the day off, Comrade Worker!
If you are a Non-Unionized Employee, thanks for doing your job every day and not whining about it!
If you work in a mixed work environment (in a Management AND Craft (a.k.a.: Union shop)) like I used too, well, you have my sympathies! Don't get a grievance filed on you! Smile and just say 'thanks' to the Shop Steward for not writing you up!
If are an SEIU Member planning on attending a Town Hall Meeting, here's your sign!
If you are Jim Morrison, I'm sorry that you're not with us any more, although those lyrics dude, what was up with those lyrics?
If you are looking for someone to thank for all the "Hope" and "Change" which you've been living through lately?
Just look below, look for the Union Label!
And while I'm thinking about the Union Label, how could I possibly leave out 'The Ladies International Garment Workers Union'? (Although, isn't MOST of the clothing we buy today manufactured off-shore in third-world countries? Huh, I wonder why that is?)
Maybe the 'Union Label' just cost too much? Boy am I GLAD that the most successful Unions remaining are building our cars (for the government) and teaching our kids!
There's some peace of mind for you to end the post with..
