Daily Archives: Monday, September 5, 2011

Jack of All Trades

Posted on by

The lizard is affronted, annoyed, slightly choleric, exasperated, fierce, vexed, and more than a little disappointed.

On her Monday Peeve over there, she wrote, “I’m not even gonna get into dual-language packaging and how the employees at stores always put the Spanish side out when stocking the shelves.”

So I will.

Packaging is part of the issue. After all, having the same descriptions in two or seven languages on the box is more irritating to those of us who don’t wear our readers all the time but including a user manual in those same two or seven languages means either even smaller print or a lot more paper in each and every box.

Most manufacturers shrink the print and quadruple the paper. More for the waste stream.

This is an issue that not only could help Congress take its mind off important actions like renaming post offices and their vacation; it can also increase liberal schizophrenia.

We need a law, see, that bans multiple language packaging and user manuals. And forms. We do, after all, place the environmental impact of the waste stream above all else.


In our effort to become Jacks and Jills of all trades
We have become the Masters of Baiters.
We can do more.We can save money and go green if we just reduce, recycle, and reuse the lingua franca of the United States.With 14 million Hispanic residents, California has the largest population of people who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino. That’s about one-third of the state population. (Florida is number three, behind Texas, with 4.2 million or not quite one-quarter of the population.)On the other hand, there is no accurate count of the number of Muslims in the United States, because the U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on religious identification. The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported 7 million people nationwide self-identified in 2011.

“Press 3 for Arabic?”

[Image]California’s Muslims make up some 3.4% of that state’s population or 20% of the national total. Michigan’s Muslims appear to be 1.8% of the Michigan population, less than half that state’s Hispanic population. Recognizing the extreme need to cut down the vast northwestern forests, the California Medi-Cal Eligibility forms may be available in more than Arabic, including Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. And English. The State of Michigan Public Assistance also offers help English, Spanish, and Arabic.

“Now on top of all the paper, the state offices have to have 17 different writing systems?” Rufus said. “Bleeping morons.”

Here’s the bait: all you environmentalists reading this? Isn’t it time to cut this kind of waste from our government, our shelves, our stream?

Labor Day? Really?

Posted on by

On this day named for Laborers on which we do not Work, it is worth noting that politicians do not create jobs, no matter what they say.

I think Congress should pass the President’s job package, the one he’s been talking about for weeks, the one he will announce and may even give one or two details for, on Thursday. After all, he promised!

Jay Carney, asked if Mr. Obama’s package would drop unemployment below 9%, said, “Based on, when you’re talking about economic predictions, yes. Economic analysts, economists will be able to look at this series of proposals and say that based on history, based on what we know, based on their collective expertise, that it would add to economic growth and cause an increase to job creation.”

Uh huh. Politicians do not create jobs.

Back when she was still boss in 2009, Nancy Pelosi (D – CA) wrote about the final G.R.A.F.T. Act, “This legislation will jumpstart our economy, create and save 3.5 million jobs.” She used the phrase “create jobs” or “create really really outstanding jobs” 41 times.

Uh huh. Politicians do not create jobs.

The site michigan.gov trumpeted that, “Thanks to Governor Granholm’s 21st Century Jobs Fund, this new economy is actually taking shape… The first round of awards has already provided funding to 67 companies and projects, creating thousands of jobs…”

Uh huh. Politicians do not create jobs.

Michigan is closer to the truth. Politicians give away OPM to businesses that create jobs. “OPM” is “Other People’s Money,” something politicians think they have an infinite supply of and that We the [Other] People know is running out.

It is Labor Day and 25 million Americans are still not laboring.

It is Labor Day and we are not laboring because 0 jobs were created last month. Zero. Nada. Zip. None.

It is Labor Day and we are not laboring. Politicians will create no jobs today, either, but they will walk in parades and pretend they have.

In 2009, the White House said President Obama’s stimulus plan would bring unemployment to below 8%.

Uh huh. Politicians do not create jobs.

This column first appeared on Monday, September 7, 2009. I have updated it slightly.
You might also enjoy last year’s Labor Day reminiscence, Milestones