A Labor Day message

Being optimistic about job growth nowadays is just about impossible. Almost 17 million jobs would be needed to bring the unemployment rate down to 5 percent. That's not likely to happen anytime soon, which is a sobering prospect to ponder.

However, if you are a person who is looking for work, remember, you don't need 17 million jobs to be created. You just need one employer willing to provide you with one opportunity. Talent, strong work ethics and the ability to adapt quickly are still valued by smart, worthy employers.

If you are lucky enough to get a job interview, realize that employers do not have to settle for just one or two of the aforementioned traits. The competition is fierce and a sharp portfolio or well-tailored suit alone won't do the trick. Bring your integrity, your experience and confidence to the table. Ask intelligent, thoughtful questions that show you can think outside of the box but still be respectful of certain workplace traditions. Don't be afraid to show some personality, but don't raise any red flags with it either. If you're older, target employers or industries known to value experienced workers. Seasoned professionals shouldn't waste their time on companies only looking to cut corners by hiring unqualified, inexperienced and cheap labor. It will frustrate you to no end.

On this Labor Day, I extend my best wishes to all of those former workers looking, hoping and praying to get back in the game. I hope part-timers can go full-time soon. I hope college graduates will be given a chance to use what they invested a lot of time and money to learn. I hope mid-career professionals who are bagging groceries to get by can find work that is more suitable to their talents. And I hope the elderly who are still able and in need of work will be permitted to do so with some sense of dignity and job security.

We're all in this together. Millions of us. Some have lost jobs already. Some are under constant fear of being laid off.

There are many flag-waving, gun-toting politicians who say they are focused on jobs and country, but their records and agendas tell a very different story. It's a story worth following.

On this Labor Day, we in the middle class should commit ourselves to getting rid of the false patriots and self-serving nuts who are driving us off a cliff. We may never get 17 million jobs back, but we can turn off the Rush Limbaugh show and think for ourselves. We can elect officials who are in our corner and finally put to rest this myth that if we keep catering to the wealthy that somehow that will create jobs.

Political feud sinks to a new low

Politicians in Washington are now arguing about when the President of the United States can address Congress.

Unbelievable.

Not only does the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, continue to disrespect Barack Obama the man, he is now disrespecting the office, and one could even argue he's trashing the country with his latest obstructionist behavior.

Democrats hated George W. Bush, but they didn't try to tear down the entire executive branch. For the good of the country, certain traditions were respected despite major political differences, even while Bush was attacking countries that didn't attack us and neglecting an economy that was in a free fall. For some reason, Republicans haven't been able to show that same respect for this president. Wonder why?

Despite the garbage spun by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Tea Party lunatics, Obama isn't a particularly radical president as far as presidents go. He's actually fairly moderate -- much more so than liberals wanted. In some ways, he's more Republican than Ronald Reagan was. So why the hate from the right? Hate that has made Republicans so insanely petty that one has to wonder what's in the filtered water at their country clubs.

The president wanted to give an address about jobs on Sept. 7 -- something we've been waiting three years to hear. However, Republicans didn't want their candidates' debate (scheduled for the same night) to be overshadowed by something as "trivial" as a major jobs address from the leader of the free world. The debate is one of many and will be filled with nothing but idiotic rhetoric from a field of candidates so weak that they make most fair-minded, thinking human beings cringe just to hear the nonsense that flows from their mouths.

Sure, Obama's jobs speech is way overdue and could turn into a campaign moment, but that's the privilege we give to sitting presidents. We give them the benefit of the doubt in hopes that what they are proposing is a real solution to what ails us. Or at least that was the perk given to every president prior to this one.

Well, Obama relented and moved his speech to Sept. 8. Again, this is just stunning that a president has to back down from a handful of fringe nuts in Congress over something as routine as scheduling a talk to the nation about our No. 1 problem.

Given a choice between listening to Michelle Bachmann drone on about subjects she knows nothing about or listening to whatever glimmer of hope the president might offer to the unemployed, I will tune into the latter, probably like most Americans. The Republicans knew that and successfully blocked it in an unprecedented and disrespectful manner, similar to the debt ceiling fiasco that they created and that led to our credit rating being downgraded for the first time in our history.

Despite pleas from the public for politicians to work together, it seems the GOP refuses to listen and is picking fights over the silliest issues that are leading us into total paralysis and worse. These are fights that were never fights before. Fights that only bring me to one conclusion about these renegade, unpatriotic Republicans. Destroying a black president is more important than saving a country. That's not playing the race card, it's just calling a duck a duck.

Unpredictability of the "end times"

I'm waiting to see if the world is going to end in a few hours.

I went for a jog this morning and am getting my haircut later this afternoon. Besides that, I have no grand plans for this sunny Virginia day other than to check out CNN around 9 p.m. ET. The end is suppose to start with a major earthquake, somewhere around Australia. Hopefully, CNN hasn't been hit too hard by layoffs and still has some competent reporters down under.

You all have heard the latest "end times" story by now. No need for me to repeat the theory or even link to it. You can believe whatever you want, of course. Go about your business or wait in church for the mega earthquakes to erupt. Remember, this is strictly a Christian-based scenario, so all other denominations are exempt as far as I know.

Frankly, I don't think the world is going to end today. Not in the Biblical sense. You see, if there is a God, he probably is going to take us out at our lowest point, when we just become hopeless morons roaming a planet that we thoroughly trashed. We're close but not quite there yet.

God probably isn't going to torch the place until we've torched ourselves a tad more. I suspect we still have some work to do in that area -- maybe lob a few nukes at each other or, at the very least, wipe out the fish from the oceans. We need another world war or two, not over oil, but over drinking water. Yup, that's what future wars will be about, according to some observers. Water.

Our simply becoming more obnoxious by the year isn't necessarily going to piss off God enough to say "OK, I am done with y'all." Our growing sense of entitlement, bad manners and worsening driving habits are annoying but not worthy of a good Rapture.

According to the Bible, Jesus wasn't much of a fan of wealthy folks but I doubt he'd blow up the place because the rich are getting richer during the last three decades while the rest of us are going broke. That little Gulf of Mexico/BP thing ... well, probably not good in the eyes of the "maker." I mean most people don't want kids walking on their newly sodded lawns or freshly sealed driveways, so can you imagine how God feels when we wreck an entire body of water and most everything He put in it?

Fortunately, God gives us more than our fair share of mulligans. But we're certainly pushing our luck, particularly in recent years where humans behaving badly, from all segments of society, is becoming the new global norm.

When the tigers go extinct and little Johnny can no longer read or write a complete sentence, I think we'll be on the edge of Armageddon. Until then, there is still some hope.

Any signs of optimism for mankind will likely come in various forms, probably starting with a decline in Fox News ratings. Perhaps people will begin using their turn signals again. Young men may pull up their pants at least to mid-buttocks. Employability will be based on competency, not age, race or gender. Young (and not so young) women will stop using the word "like" five times in every sentence. These are the subtle signs that I will look for in order to feel that we're back on the right path.

Here's another reason the world will probably not end tonight. God has to give us more than just a couple extra weeks on the planet than he gave Osama bin Laden. Fair is fair, right?

Personally, I am thinking we need at least another year to begin to correct our course. That will put us right around the next major doomsday prediction -- the 2012 Mayan calendar's last call. If by then Rush Limbaugh remains on the radio, Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed budget is still under consideration by Republicans and cell phones haven't been banned in nice restaurants, well, maybe we deserve to perish.

I am not sure that any god, Christian or otherwise, will ever end the world. I suspect we will do that on our own. It will probably be a slow and painful process. The real end times may even go unnoticed for decades or be mistaken for something else (economic problems, political strife, climate change, dwindling SAT scores, etc). Eventually, after enough religious zealots have cried wolf for their own selfish purposes, we might all discover that the wolf is not a god. Indeed, the wolf might be us.

A more patriotic approach needed to fix what ails America's economy

Everyone from Rush Limbaugh to some of my friends like to point out that it is not the role of businesses to provide jobs. In normal times, I would agree.

These are not normal times.

Look, during past wars, businesses refitted their production lines to serve the military. They stopped making goods for civilians in order to supply our soldiers with ammo and other items needed to successfully defend our country. Their missions changed from making profits via the private sector to helping to uphold our way of life. From housewives to Hollywood, everyone was behind the war efforts because losing was not an outcome that served any American's interest.

What I am about to say is the most important point I have made in over 300 posts. The economic crisis we're in might not feel entirely like a national emergency but it is. We should not wait until the enemy is deeply entrenched in every neighborhood across this land before fighting back with everything we have.

Businesses, particularly profitable ones, have a new responsibility and it includes creating jobs just as it involved making tanks instead of cars in World War II. It is no longer acceptable for anyone to say it's not the role of any entity to create jobs. It also isn't constructive to continue to lie about why so many workers were laid off in the first place. Too many corporations over reacted to the recession and exploited millions of their most vulnerable workers, making the recession far worse than it needed to be. That is a fact. It is time for corporations that went too far to make up for their part in bringing down the entire economy, not to mention the personal lives of many good people.

It's the responsibility of government, small and big businesses to work together to restore the American economy. Schools, vocational training centers and banks willing to make loans can also play a positive role. Everything and everyone should take responsibility in some manner, including bloggers and the media.

A true recovery can't happen until unemployment is reduced. We need to throw out the old playbook and figure out a way to get people back to work. That can't be done by businesses pointing the finger at government and government pointing back. It can't be done with the level of partisan politics we're experiencing or the continuing decline in education.

America needs some out-of-the-box thinking that doesn't rely on stereotypes about the role of businesses in a capitalistic society. We would be speaking German if that sort of thinking existed in the past. To say that employers are too afraid to hire because of the uncertainty about the economy is probably true but it's also a trap. It's a vortex that no one can escape. A circular argument that pushes us closer and closer to the edge. Businesses were not exempt in contributing to past war efforts. Why are they now washing their hands of any responsibility during one of the most profound emergencies we have ever faced?

Risk is involved in the operation of any business during up and down times. Those without the stomach for risk probably shouldn't start a company. The excuse that hiring is too risky now is just that -- an excuse. While it might be a justifiable excuse, it is nonetheless an unproductive claim. Profitable companies can't lean on that crutch until the good times return. There will be no good times without companies showing some confidence in America. Government can help lessen those risks, but can't eliminate them. It's going to take brave corporate leaders to chart a new course -- a course that navigates us to safer waters. The profits will return and the stockholders will get paid, but for now, we need a fresh, less selfish approach to doing business.

The fact remains that the private sector provides most jobs in most democracies. With that privilege comes the occasional responsibility to chip in, to do right by society, to give back. Companies hold fund-raising drives for the United Way and other charities, now they need to do a little more for the benefit of the entire country.

We have a domestic war going on. The further collapse of the economy will mean the eventual collapse of a nation. History has proven time and time again that countries without viable economies will implode. Ask anyone on the front lines of this war about the seriousness of our economic woes. They will describe scenarios that might seem unimaginable to most people at this stage of the war.

While I empathize with anyone trying to keep their business afloat with all of the current obstacles in their way, I must say that the time has come for the bigger, more profitable employers to show some faith and start becoming part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Others will follow. I believe in momentum. Businesses that become leaders in this cause will motivate others and stimulate the economy in ways the government can't.

Being frozen with fear while sitting on profits is no longer an option. This is an emergency. A war. All hands are needed on deck. A sense of patriotism that trumps greed needs to emerge, just as it did in past wars. We have to get away from this stuffing-cash-in-the-mattress mentality. Continuing to debate roles and responsibilities just prolongs the conflict and jeopardizes the very thing that most companies and individual citizens treasure -- freedom.

Read what others say about why corporations got rid of so many workers during the recession (far too many in the estimation of some) and why companies are refusing to hire despite bulging profits: "A Sin and a Shame"

Goodwin's first vote a big winner

It took the newest and youngest member of the U.S. Senate to tip the scales in favor of sanity and compassion in Washington today.

Sen. Carte Goodwin (D) of West Virginia cast a key vote in favor of unemployment-extension funding within minutes of being sworn in. The 36-year-old succeeded the late Sen. Robert Byrd. His vote was met with applause.

While the state will hold a special election in November to fill the Byrd spot, Goodwin's interim appointment by the governor of West Virginia means that millions of Americans who are still looking for work will receive some financial assistance from a benefit program they helped fund while they were employed. As a result, the economy should see modest improvements. I should add that contrary to Republican propaganda, one actually has to be able to prove they are seeking work to qualify for benefits. They have to do so on a weekly basis. This is not welfare. It is a benefit acquired while working. Extensions have been routinely funded by both parties in hard times until current Republicans began suspiciously blocking the latest measure several weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh went on the radio today once again misrepresenting the unemployment debate. He called the extension another "welfare" program and failed to recognize that well-intentioned Americans are facing unprecedented obstacles in finding work.

I predict that the more Limbaugh portrays unemployed Americans as enemies of the state, the more backlash the GOP will feel in November. He may even lose some of his audience. Too many people are out of work or know people who lost their jobs for voters not to realize that Limbaugh and the right wing are on the absolute wrong side of this issue. They want the economy to fail in order to win seats in Congress in November. And if that means more jobless Americans on the street, that seems to be fine with the Grand Old Party for now, particularly if it creates more voter discontent.

Of course, it's hard for people like Limbaugh, broadcasting from his waterfront mansion/compound in Florida, to relate to the hardships that have fallen upon average Americans. People who are learning the facts tend to believe that the Republicans tried to the block the unemployment extension for their own gain. This was a cold and calculated political stance. A selfish, manipulative position that had little to do with the deficit.

Democrats need to remind voters in the fall who stood for average Americans down on their luck and who tried to halt unemployment benefits while continuing to be advocate spending billions on wars that can't be won and tax cuts for the wealthy -- wealthy like Limbaugh.

Helping the jobless more righteous, beneficial than aiding the wealthy

Many people are beginning to wonder why President Obama isn't fighting as vigorously for the longtime unemployed as he did for health insurance reform. As unemployment benefits expire for millions of average Americans, Obama and some Democrats seem to be joining most Republicans in Congress in turning their backs on a looming disaster that will ripple through the economy. Here's what one American had to say in a Washington Post article today.

"President Obama talks a lot about making the victims of the gulf disaster whole, but what about the victims of this economic disaster?" said Dwight Michael Frazee, 50. "Nowadays, he seems mostly concerned with image. Now, he doesn't want to be seen as a big spender. But people need help."

People 50 and older are having a particularly hard time finding work. However, professionals in their 20s and 30s aren't exempt from difficulties in landing new jobs. Even here in Northern Virginia, where jobs are allegedly plentiful, people are on the edge. More from the Post article:

A 34-year-old resident of Vienna, Va., named Brian, who withheld his last name because of his embarrassment about being out of work, worked in corporate finance for nine years before being laid off three years ago. He exhausted his unemployment benefits long ago and has been living off savings and credit. "Before this, I figured that if you can't find a job in two years, you're not looking," he said. "But I keep looking and jobs just are not there. The economy is not recovering. It's being propped up by government spending. But when that ends, I think this whole mess is not over with."

In a recent study, Washington D.C., was ranked as the No. 1 city to find a job. What it didn't say is that while there are more jobs here than elsewhere, the competition is more fierce. This is one of the most-educated areas in the country, and the people looking for good jobs here come from all corners of the planet. In addition, many of the lower-end jobs that are available do not pay enough to make ends meet in this extremely high-cost-of-living area.

Some CFOs are saying that real hiring might be at least two years away.

It is frustrating to listen to people, particularly politicians, making assumptions about why people are unemployed. Until they have walked in the shoes of a longtime-unemployed person, they really can't or won't grasp all the complexities of why millions of folks still can't find work. Simply put, the jobs are not there. The economy has not recovered. To assume that someone who educated themselves, built a professional career and achieved middle class status or higher can suddenly take a job stocking shelves at 55 years old at Target is unrealistic. Yet, those are the types of jobs that some right-wing politicians say we should take. That's almost laughable because many politicians have never earned an honest day's pay in their lives.

With that said, many people with solid work ethics would take those jobs in Target if they could stay afloat by doing so. But they can't. And the insult-to-injury aspect of all of this is that those jobs aren't being given to 55-year-old men and women with PhD's or years of professional experience. Where do those folks go to find work? If they don't have friends in high places, they will end up on the outside looking in for a prolonged period of time as a double-dip recession seems more likely with each passing day.

If Obama and Congress don't help the longtime unemployed now, the people who can document that they've been seriously looking for work since becoming unemployed, the entire economy is going to collapse. It's a simple reality that many leaders are choosing to ignore as they jockey for political position.

Republicans seem perfectly willing to increase the deficit by giving billions of dollars in tax cuts to the very wealthy but won't fund meager weekly unemployment benefits for the middle class. They claim that tax cuts for the rich will help fuel the economy, but most studies (including Moody's) prove that to stimulate spending, unemployment benefits provide a much bigger bang for the buck than tax cuts. It is beyond comprehension why Obama and the Democrats don't hammer home these facts to an American public that is often uninformed or taken in by wealthy conservative talk show hosts out to protect their own riches. As I grow older, I am convinced that radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh are toxic to our society, political system and sense of common decency.

When cultural and political leaders make sweeping comments about jobless people using unemployment benefits "to buy illegal drugs," it should set off alarms about the authors of those remarks. They are simply not fit to lead. Their narrow minds and dark hearts need to be exposed. They need to be educated about who the new unemployed are in this country. They are not drug addicts. They are not chronic welfare cases. They are previously respected folks who were contributing to society before politicians and corrupt businesses drove the economy into the ground. The least we can do for them is to provide a bridge over these troubled waters. Many of them were the backbone of this country for decades. Some fought in wars, others were just good citizens paying their taxes and raising their families. To just throw them into the rapids is an horrendous act that will come back to haunt us all.

President Obama needs to step up and lead the charge to provide unemployment benefits to those who earned them. Employers also need to step up by hiring people who don't have jobs. Too many employers are still hiring folks who are already employed, while millions of highly qualified people go without work.

Real patriotism is not Sean Hannity playing sappy country songs on the radio about the good old red, white and blue or pretending to be just a regular Joe. Ditto on Sarah Palin. Real patriotism means everyone pulling together, lending a hand and creating meaningful jobs for all Americans. We have to fight the economic crisis like we fought both world wars. All hands on deck. Our recovery isn't going to come any quicker by throwing our neighbors overboard or by fattening the bank accounts of the wealthiest five percent. I thought Obama understood that, but like many of his supporters, I am losing confidence in his willingness to battle Republican hardliners.

Hiring might be two years away.

Confidence in Obama reaches new low.

Minority opinion about oil spill defies logic

These kinds of polls often throw me because there is always some small group of people who either live in blissful ignorance or just want to defy logic when answering questions. This poll was conducted by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation. I've illustrated one particular question that caught my eye. What baffles me is this: Who are the people in the 16 percent -- the ones who don't think they or anyone close to them will be impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico -- and why do they feel immune from such a disaster? Even if you're living off the grid in the wilds of Montana or are a fanatical follower of Rush Limbaugh (who is not concerned about the gulf situation), this spill will impact you, at least indirectly. I can explain the ways it might do this but I suspect it would be a waste of time. Fortunately, 84 percent of Americans get it. Click to read the entire poll.

Flag waving while denying the facts

I really can't stand this man. Unfortunately, I have to acknowledge that he has a large following. So when he says something like he did today on his syndicated radio show, that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is no threat to Florida, I can only hope that his listeners take statements like that with a grain of salt.

Rush Limbaugh has become more radical and less compassionate over the years. Essentially, he's a shock jock -- a wealthy showman with a destructive, selfish agenda. I recall listening to him in the late 1980s when I was living in Connecticut. He was entertaining. He didn't spew hatred towards groups doing good work -- like the Sierra Club -- the way he does now. I worked with a guy who was a borderline communist, and even he listened to Rush for amusement in the early days.

But I am not laughing anymore. I hope Limbaugh's followers realize that much of what he says is probably scripted to boost ratings, similar to the way professional wrestlers script matches for maximum dramatic effect. If the majority of Limbaugh's listeners actually believe and support what the radio talk show host says, we're in pretty bad shape.

Rush, stop denying the facts. The longer this oil continues to leak, the more Florida and other states are at risk. You don't have to be a scientist to understand that concept. You're showing that you have lost all objectivity if you think this environmental catastrophe is being exaggerated for political purposes. Waving the flag via your microphone isn't going to stop the leak or clean up the gulf.

Turn down the anti-Obama volume

I have been listening to talk radio and reading what the pundits are saying in the newspapers since President Obama's State of the Union address earlier this week. I am not sure why so many of these folks seem so eager for Obama to fail. To my way of thinking, we all fail if any president continually stumbles. We elected Obama to succeed and should judge him on performance. So far, that performance has been below average in my opinion.

Critics have a right to question many of the president's decisions and cabinet choices. It's his first year and first years are rarely good for any president. I suspect many Obama appointees won't make it through the first term. I think some of his advisers have been a disaster. It appears Obama didn't select his people wisely. As any kind of executive or hiring manager, hiring is one of the most important tasks. You have to have the right people in order to get things done and to enhance the credibility of the administration. You also have to fire people who show a pattern of incompetence.

But more disturbing than the critiques and political rhetoric are the comments by some talk show hosts like Michael Savage, portraying Obama as an threat to this country, an enemy of America. I don't agree with a lot of what Obama has done (and not done) in his first year, but I don't feel he's intentionally working against Americans. I generally like Savage's radio show because he goes after both sides with equal gusto, unlike a Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. He's a native New Yorker who just seems to make a lot of sense to me, and does it in a way that is entertaining to someone who grew up with a father with a similar viewpoint and style. Still, I wish he'd pull back a bit on the bulls eye that he's place on Obama's back.

The danger in escalating the personal hatred on talk radio is that there are unstable people in this country who might get wound up and try to do something about Obama that could end in tragedy. I wish those who disagree with Obama would turn down the volume and just make their cases based on facts and not personal attacks. Of course, those same personal attacks occurred on the left when President Bush was in office, so maybe this is payback.

Lately, it seems we've lost our ability to debate the issues in a respectful manner. Not only does that raise anxieties, it also takes the focus off the things that need to be fixed. I understand the desire to be loud and get noticed in an increasingly competitive media, but I don't agree with inciting folks who can't process it.

OMG! He's making sense...somewhat

Was listening to Rush Limbaugh talking about the economy today - specifically about jobs and the so-called summit President Obama is finally going to hold in December to address unemployment.

As Rush said, until small businesses are given a tax break and other incentives, they won't be hiring at a rate high enough to get most people back to work. And because small businesses employ most people in this country, any further delay in helping these companies will just bury us deeper into this recession. No hiring, no jobs. No jobs, no buying of goods and services. No consumers equals more economic pain for a growing number of people and companies. Even the government suffers because there isn't enough tax money coming in. And when the government suffers, that means no new roads. No new schools or research funding for diseases. The domino effect is endless.

So Limbaugh's focusing on building the private sector as solution, rather than politicians randomly pumping more stimulus money in the economy and into government jobs, is probably a pretty logical approach.

But here's the problem with Rush. Like others who are either liberal or conservative, he's one-dimensional. He doesn't take a fair and holistic approach to solving all that is wrong. He has an agenda. He's a rich guy trying to protect every penny he has and pretty much admits that on his radio show each day. I get no sense from him that he is ever willing to carry his fair share of the load. That is not to say some of his ideas aren't on target. It just means he's unable to stray very far from his core beliefs and seems proud of it. In that way, he's very much like Obama. Their solutions come from preconceived notions that don't address the whole problem.

Yes, what we need is someone to fight for small businesses. I have personal friends who own small businesses who all say the same thing - they need a break, mainly from taxes, in order to hire. But we also need someone to come down hard on corporations that abuse the system. That won't be Limbaugh. He won't attack corporate America or Wall Street when they go astray. He won't stand up for laid off workers who were let go unfairly or approve of regulations that prevent corporate misdeeds. He's not a true friend of the underdog, although he pretends to be in order to build an audience. Like many hardened conservatives, he blindly supports greed and cares only for those who are able to help themselves. And those right-wing blind spots have gotten us into as much of a mess as liberals who want to tax the heck out of small businesses.

It seems we need some sort of hybrid leader who isn't wed to one ideology. We need someone who doesn't have a personal agenda and isn't motivated by political incentives. We need someone to diagnose the unemployment problem and then proceed with fixing it like a surgeon repairs a heart. It shouldn't matter what one's personal beliefs are. The only thing that should matter is saving the patient - being open minded to all solutions and then taking a course of action that is intellectually correct. A solution that will help blue and white-collar workers, and business owners who are willing to play more fairly.

If a business is given a tax break or other government incentives, then it needs to be more accountable and not lay off workers on a whim or pad CEO bonuses. Those in a position to hire must do so if the obstacles are cleared. If they don't abide by some sense of fairness, or if they continue to freeze average salaries while CEOs are pampered in Palm Springs, then those incentives should be forfeited and those business should be left to fail. No more bailing out massive companies that don't put a priority on their employees.

If we continue on a black or white path - this selfish, egotistical way of doing things - then we will have no one to blame but ourselves when this country collapses. If we don't somehow get smarter people with more accurate morale compasses into leadership positions, I believe capitalism will become extinct or so mutated that we won't recognize it.

Summits are only as good as the people attending them. Consensus can be a deceptive thing and it can be weighted one way or another depending on the invitation list. If the unemployment summit produces more of the same old solutions, I believe we will be looking at 13% unemployment by next November. Then Rush Limbaugh will really have something to talk about.

Limbaugh, Vick share some common traits

Has anyone noticed that many of the same people who don't want radio personality Rush Limbaugh to be allowed to buy an NFL team are the same people who were so anxious to give convicted felon and animal abuser Michael Vick another chance to play in the league? In my opinion, the day the NFL commissioner let Vick play football again is the day the league lost any right to prevent anyone from being a part of the league, including Rush Limbaugh.

These self-absorbed men are no friends to animals and probably have little positive value to society in any capacity. In my opinion, they are both broken and manipulative human beings. Limbaugh has a history of making anti-animal activist comments, not to mention some questionable racial statements. And Vick, now playing with the Philadelphia Eagles, went to jail for running a dog-fighting business in Virginia. Is anyone buying that he is truly remorseful? Seems to me he just wants another lucrative Nike contract.

Would be nice if both of these rotten apples would disappear. Instead, they continue to make millions doing what they do.

Rush Limbaugh has a meltdown moment

In general, I like talk radio. I don't really care if the host is conservative or liberal. I just want them to have an opinion and to express it in a somewhat articulate and entertaining fashion. However, today, Rush Limbaugh seemingly lost whatever grip he had on reality by going nuts about President Obama's urging of citizens to perform some public service to honor the memory of those killed on Sept. 11, 2001. This is kind of like opposing oxygen.

It seems no matter what one side says or does, the opposition will portray it as evil, which is why my favorite talk show host is Michael Savage. The San Francisco-based broadcaster, who is originally from New York, tells it like it is -- a seemingly common trait among many people who were raised in NYC. His mistrust of all politicians is a refreshing approach. Savage's unbiased dislike of almost everything other than animals, good food and music, warms my heart. Here's a link to Savage's web site: http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com/