Beginning 2014-11-21, I’ve taken on work as a “texts corrector” for Swistak.pl, a Polish online marketer, editing their communications addressed to U.S. customers and employees.
They e-mail me the texts, and I brush ’em up and send ’em back.
Since this takes a chunk out of my Net access daily — the whole thing is done online — I am likely not to publish on this blog as often henceforth.
🙂
Originally posted 2014-11-26.
I have no background with Todd Starnes. I am aware of his October 27 column, “School’s Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists,” only because Yahoo! News captured it. He plays fast and loose with the facts, which does not reflect well on him or Fox News & Commentary.
(Disclaimer: In a follow-up column October 28, Starnes reports information from a second parent that confirms some of his suspicions and contradicts statements of the superintendent and the teacher. For other reasons, I have chosen to write this based on the facts as they were known on October 27.)
Sommer Bauer’s third grade son came home from school with a paper that bore an impressive image of Mount Rushmore. The captions made unflattering remarks about the Presidents shown. The source was a Nation of Islam web page.
Continue reading “School’s Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists”
Against the notion that blacks victimize themselves by “acting black,” Princeton undergraduate Kristen Coke complains that “acting white” does not insulate her from petty racist insults. After all, she doesn’t act “ghetto.”
I’m not concerned about victimizations that occur when blacks “act white” in the presence of whites. In my world, there aren’t enough white people to matter. I’m concerned about the victimizations that occur when black people “act black” among blacks.
We begin with Galaxian’s comment on “Jeanette:”
Schizophrenia is not a karmic matter. It is an organic disease just as much as cancer is. I don’t see how anything someone did in a previous life, or early in their current life, would bring this horrible thing on them. Anybody can develop this condition at any time, although it usually starts in young adulthood.
I gather we are both familiar with this disease.
It’s a mistake to condemn a person on the basis of his or her lot, and also can be highly misleading to say she or he “deserves” it.
Jeanette is a pleasant, demented homeless woman who frequents St. Paul Plaza and the library.
She’s always immaculately dressed. I don’t know how she manages that.
One day, I think in May, walking through St. Paul Plaza, on impulse I approached her and asked if she’d sell me a cigarette. (At that time, I was buying “loose ones.”) Instead, she gave me three Newports.
Related: Practical advantages of being a nice guy
And she’s done the same thing again almost every day since.
She’ll cross the street in the rain to bring me three Newports.
On the one hand, I’ve pondered whether I’m taking advantage of her. It seems instead that it’s a blessing to her to be able to do this for me.
On the other hand, you don’t want to have a conversation with her. She has a long, long list of public figures whose scandals and deaths she says have been blamed on her.
I am tempted to wish I knew the karmic basis of schizophrenia, that I might pray for her more effectively. But I need to use the tools I have.
God bless Jeanette, and heal her; in this life, or the next.
(Originally posted 2014-11-08.)
Saturday 2014-11-01
I was very nearly turned away tonight.
I arrived at 15:45, and the gate was closed. I’ll explain why that did not disturb me. As I’m a “regular,” they’re supposed to hold my bunk for me until 16:00. Leo, another “regular,” arrived minutes later.
A closed gate at this hour as often as not means they’re doing a “count,” a comparison of the checkin logs (plural) to pin down exactly how many beds are left. Depending on who’s at the desk, this can take ten minutes — or 45.
Continue reading Injustice at the shelter
APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED IN OCTOBER ’14:
Secretary II — The Salvation Army
Litigation Secretary — Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann
• They want a typing speed of 90-100 wpm.
• This would be a case of wanting the job for the paycheck.
Data Entry — Randstad
Administrative Coordinator — JHU Div. of General Internal Medicine
Legal Records Clerk — Wilson Elser
Administrative Assistant (Float) — Kennedy Krieger Institute
Data and Content Night – Supervisor — OrderUp
From my diary for 2014-10-17: I noted in latest search engine results “many listings for interesting positions outside-the-box. Night/Weekend Content Supervisor for OrderUp: OrderUp is an online site where people can order from any of a jillion local restaurants and have it delivered. This person manages updates to their online menus. Sounds right up my alley. Located 3500 Boston Street.”
Full-Time Center Associate — The UPS Store
Another “outside-the-box” position.
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Tom works at Royal Farms. He wears his work shirt all the time. I used to resent this. I realized Thursday night 2014-10-30 that I resented it because I assumed that if he had a job, he ought not be staying at the shelter. He’s got a real job, all right. But he still can’t afford his own place.
He works full time and is homeless.
(Originally posted 2014-11-03.)
The Homeless Blogger 