You Sleep When You Die

Have we all had frustrating days at work? Of course. Have we maybe even fantasized about quitting in dramatic fashion? Probably. Have we actually had the guts to do it? Probably not.

Well, unless that is, you’re soon-to-be former JetBlue flight attendant Steve Slater. Slater has quickly become a nationwide sensation and is being hailed by many as a hero. Message boards and fan pages in support of Slater have sprung up all over the Internet since “the incident” on Monday. There are even groups that are fundraising for Slater’s legal defense.

Unless you live under a rock, you know U.S. unemployment has grown to historic highs following the financial crisis of the last several years. For those of you who don’t fully understand the impact of unemployment in our country, check out this animated graphic; the data comes directly from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Joblessness seemed to have hit a plateau earlier this year but has increased again over the last several months. Looks like this is a bigger, longer-term problem than many people thought.

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows I’m not a fan of President Obama. Never have been. But his latest stunt has me more pissed than ever before.

Since WWII, home ownership percentages for average Americans have grown steadily, largely as a result of support from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These government-sponsored enterprises (GSE’s) provide security and guarantees for mortgage lenders, which gives more people access to loans for homes. As the entire U.S. mortgage market imploded over recent years, Freddie and Fannie went down along with everyone else…

In the last several weeks, 241 poorly performing teachers were fired in Washington, D.C. The firings were part of an agreement reached with the Teacher’s Union that included financial incentives for the top performing teachers with an understanding that bad teachers would be terminated. The reality check in D.C. began with Education Secretary Arne Duncan pushing states to develop teacher evaluations and pay based on ratings tied to their students’ test scores. Mayor Adrian Fenty supported the initiative by hiring Michelle Rhee as Chancellor of Washington, D.C. schools three years ago. Rhee has demonstrated that a new perspective is a necessity in U.S. public education.

To say the public education system in this country is in trouble would be an understatement. Research shows that one out of three public high school students will not graduate. If ethnic students are isolated from the statistics, the number goes up to almost 50 percent. You might assume this is a problem isolated to the inner city, but it’s not. It plagues small and large cities alike, both in urban and rural school districts.

As you read this article, please understand that I am in no way endorsing the release of information that could potentially put American troops, our covert operatives, or any of the other great Americans serving and protecting our country and its people in danger. Just like Julian Assange, I believe there is certain sensitive information that can and should be kept confidential. However, there is other information about which the American people have a right to be informed. I am a firm believer in the right of free speech, as long as it doesn’t jeopardize our country, any of its people, or any of the great people serving our great country.

You may not have heard of it before, but chances are you have now. WikiLeaks has quickly become a topic of many water cooler conversations, thanks to the leak of nearly 92,000 classified U.S. military documents earlier this week (92,000 docs? Are you serious??)