One More Barrier to Education

The Technology Monster

With all that doesn't work in the schools, now comes not a Game Changer, but a Brain Changer -- and unfortunately, not for the good

Decline and Fall of the American Empire?

American Psychosis by Chris Hedges

While I do not agree with the author in his analysis of how the culture of America is driving it to collapse, I think there is a fundamental problem in that, there will continue to be a mismatch between available jobs, the skills required to perform them, and the availability of a workforce was skills matching those required.

Our public education system has declined to the point where it is functionally useless. There is no quick and simple fix for the barriers which make it impossible for 18-year-olds to be sufficiently intellectually competent to qualify for additional training. Moreover, given the financial straits in which universities and colleges find themselves, they are little prepared to receive the many who might seek postsecondary education, and even less prepared to prepare those students who do attend to enter the workforce with the skills it requires.

Even were it the case that a skilled workforce existed, at this point there simply are not jobs regardless of the level of training possessed by individual workers. Employers have either found ways to replace workers with automation or other technology, or they simply do not have enough revenue for them to be willing to hire additional workers. The costs of health care, retirement, and other benefits have become simply so prohibitive that employers are unable to determine with certainty the productivity of additional workers.

It is without this very revenue to workers that prevents what used to be the largest contribution in tax revenue, that which came from consumer activity, from once again increasing. That lack of consumer activity is the very factor which stands in the way of producing the revenue that local governments, state governments, and the federal government all require to get the country out of the economic hole in which it finds itself.

Cyber-theft continues to grow

Cyberthieves still rely on human foot soldiers

Reviews passenger backlash toward invasive "Pat Down Screening"

Congress -- too stupid to care!

Party Gridlock in Washington Feeds Fear of a Debt Crisis

Reading this article, it appears as though our Congress either no longer cares about those it governs, and/or is incompetent and unwilling to solve the problems which face us. Be afraid – Be very afraid!

“The unwillingness of the two parties to compromise to control a national debt that is rising to dangerous heights.”

“After decades of warnings that budgetary profligacy, escalating health care costs and an aging population would lead to a day of fiscal reckoning, economists and the nation’s foreign creditors say that moment is approaching faster than expected, hastened by a deep recession that cost trillions of dollars in lost tax revenues and higher spending for safety-net programs.

“Yet rarely has the political system seemed more polarized and less able to solve big problems that involve trust, tough choices and little short-term gain. The main urgency for both parties seems to be about pinning blame on the other, before November’s elections, for deficits now averaging $1 trillion a year, the largest since World War II relative to the size of the economy.

‘… hardly alone in sounding an alarm about the long-term budgetary outlook, which hasMedicare, Medicaid and Social Security costs growing at unsustainable rates and an inefficient tax system that cannot keep up.

“And to use the politics of fear and division and hate on each other — we are at a point right now where it doesn’t make a damn whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican if you’ve forgotten you’re an American.”

Injustice, Hysteria and Corruption of the Law

‘Sexting’ Hysteria Falsely Brands Educator as Child Pornographer

After more than thirty years as a respected educator, the victim is branded a sex offender following an innocent effort to simply do his job. Apparently done only to enhance the "Law and Order' reputation of the town prosecutor.

CS Class Cheating at Stanford

The Temptation to Cheat in Computer Science Classes at Stanford

In January, on the first day of the Computer Science 106A: Program Methodology course at Stanford University, Eric Roberts, the professor, began with his customary admonition: Cheat, and you will be caught. And, he added: Cheat, and your classmates will suffer. More weight will be given to the final exam when calculating the final grade.

Application for Work from Home

This is a current resume and application to interested employers for any possible position which I can fill by working from my home office.

They're at it once again!

The Politics of Fear

(New York Times – February 10, 2010)

An election is coming, so the Republicans are trying to scare Americans by making it appear as if the Democrats don’t care about catching or punishing terrorists

Think you can avoid being a victim of the marketers? Look at what they are doing, now!

The 5 Creepiest Advertising Techniques of the (Near) Future

George Washington's Blog: The Real Reason that the U.S. Tortures People

George Washington's Blog: The Real Reason that the U.S. Tortures People

War in the Workplace -- Table of Contents & ForwardLabor law,

War in The Workplace – Combating the Predatory Employer

Forward

Now retired, the I have, over the course of a career been an educator a university administrator, a business owner, and an employee of organizations in the private sector. Before being laid off in a mass Reduction in Force (RIF), I was employed as a Senior Data Analyst. Yet, there was something very odd as I attempted to perform the tasks  specified in the job description provided at hire.

 

An analyst, after all, is expected to provide answers to complex questions. Achieving this goal demands not only technical skills, but the ability to assist clients in framing useful questions from which data can provide reliable and valid answers. Unfortunately, a series of ignorant (unknowing, lacking knowledge) managers found the job description so threatening,  I was barred from conducting these powerful and useful analyses, unless specifically requested by a client. Since they didn’t know what to ask, such requests were almost never made. Instead I was reduced to acquiring data from one source, formatting the findings in Excel – all totally routine robotic, clerical work.

Aside from the boredom, and constant confrontations with my managers, some will, perhaps, recognize that changing the tasks set out in my Job Description, requiring the skills of a qualified professional worker, to what was essentially, the work of a clerical worker, entitled me to overtime pay. A full year before being laid off, I brought this matter (in writing) to the attention of management going all the way to the top of my reporting chain. Any response? Absolute, total, zero. For them, disregarding that they did not wish to hear, was the strategy of choice.

Then came a mass RIF. I, along with some 3,00 other workers, nationwide, was laid off. Even then, there was a hook. In order to receive severance benefits, I was required to sign a Waiver and Release. In essence, this document eliminated my rights to take legal action in or form, against the employer,. This was pure bluff, since, in California, as is the case in many states, an employee cannot give up his rights to sue for back wages due.

It took me a little over two years to get full payment of the overtime wages that were due. This book is designed to assist you in determining your  rights, and even more importantly, providing you with strategies to negotiate the very long, often frustrating path, to receiving the wages you are owed.

Table of Contents

I - What will you learn from reading this book?   

Are you an employee paid on a fixed salary, working many hours of overtime, for which you are never paid? Are you consistently deprived of short rest periods, or even a lunch, uninterrupted by demands that you respond to text messages, or even return to your workplace without completing lunch?

As the economic horizon darkens, thousands of workers in California have either been laid off, received notice of an impending reduction of their employer’s workforce, or wonder every  day, if they soon will become victims of the spreading end to the work they have done for many years.

Having won a large judgment against a former employer, the author of this booklet will tell you how you can determine whether you are entitled to back overtime wages, and if you are, give you a step by step process to collect these wages from your current or past employer.

II. How do employers rip you off?

III.  How do I know if I am a non-exempt employee?

     A. Executive Exemption

     B. Administrative Exemption

     C. The Computer Exemption

 

IV.  So, how do I collect?

V.  Is all this work worth it?

      A. Lunch and Rest Breaks

      B. A Recovery Scenario

      C. Overtime Pay

      D. The Independent Contractor Scam

      E. Determining Qualification for Independent Contractor

           Status

VI. On your own, or with others?

      A. Do it Yourself

      B. Retain Legal Counsel

      C. The Class Action Lawsuit

VII. Obtaining the Wage Award

     A. Filling out the Wage Claim

     B. When to File

VIII. The Informal Conference

     A. Finding an Attorney

     B. Preparing for the Formal Hearing

     C. Selecting witnesses

     D. The Exhibits

     E. The Hearing Brief

     F. Putting it all together

IX. At Long Last – It’s Hearing Day!

     A. The Hearing Room

     B. What to expect

     C. The written finding

X. Two other Possible Issues

     A. Extending the Statute of Limitations to four years

     B. The Waiting Time Penalty

XI. Other Claims

     A. Discrimination

     B. Harassment

     C. Physical and mental disabilities

     D. Safety in the workplace

     E. Layoffs and wrongful termination

Appendix A - Waiver and Release (Redacted)

Appendix B - Plaintiff’s Hearing Brief (Redacted)

Appendix C – Witness Interrupted Lunch Declaration

Appendix D – Points and Authorities

If you would like to purchase send $15.00 to my PayPal address at inf@tptek.com. A download link will be sent to you upon receipt.

A War of Two Worlds – Part 1

Measuring the effectiveness of Op-Ed Articles

In this, Part I of a three part article, the author presents a new method to evaluate the potential effectiveness of Op Ed or other expository writings. Part 2 considers the barriers faced by activists as they attempt to influence citizen motivation to participate in the political process. Part 3 looks at the targets of policy change, the Politicians, and the potential for changing their behavior.

Using Cross Tabulation

In this article, I introduce the essential statistics necessary for viewers of cross tabulation tables to obtain the power that these tables offer.

New Fndings about the location of Sarcasm

There was nothing very interesting in Katherine P. Rankin’s study of sarcasm — at least, nothing worth your important time. All she did was use an M.R.I. to find the place in the brain where the ability to detect sarcasm resides. But then, you probably already knew it was in the right parahippocampal gyrus.

Katherine P. Rankin, a Neuropsychologist, Studies Sarcasm - NYTimes.com

Habeas Ruling Lays Bare the Divide Among Justices - washingtonpost.com

Habeas Ruling Lays Bare the Divide Among Justices - washingtonpost.com:
"The Supreme Court's decision that detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have a right to challenge their imprisonment before a judge revealed in vivid detail the justices' deep divide over the role of the judiciary in wartime."

How Your Brain Makes Political Decisions - Newsweek Sharon Begley - MSNBC.com

How Your Brain Makes Political Decisions - Newsweek Sharon Begley - MSNBC.com
Ever wonder why fear-mongering seems to work so well at the polls—while appeals to reason often leave the electorate cold? A new book applies neuroscience to politics to figure out why the Democrats struggle to push the buttons in voters’ brains.

Exploring the neurochemistry of fairness

Using the Ultimatum Game (UG) investigators demonstrate the effect of seritonin on the perception of fairness
Exploring the neurochemistry of fairness

American Democracy: The 10 Alarm Fire We're Ignoring

American Democracy: The 10 Alarm Fire We're Ignoring

A Nation at Growing Educational Risk

In this collection of articles, I present a frightening view of the current state of American Education:

A Nation Still at Educational Risk