Where’s Jack Bauer When You Need Him?

This morning’s headline reads that our future Attorney General, Eric Holder, submits his opinion that waterboarding is considered torture. As I read this questionably newsworthy headline, I wondered what the military and other justice officials are allowed to use to coerce their prisoners into providing information necessary for the defense and expedition of justice in our country.

I firmly believe that the majority of the viewers of the popular “24” series are in part wrapped up in the show because of the common sense justice that seems to be dispatched regularly by “the good guys.” Today that kind of justice is an enviable fantasy for many military and law enforcement professionals. Many of us have a longing for what seems to be common sense justice because so many of us seemed to be robbed of it lately.

On “24” you can forget the gratuitous fighting in hand to hand combat style. If the bad guys pull a gun on Jack Bauer, he merely finishes things with an appropriate shot to the head. (Reminds me of a classic scene in one of the Raiders of the Lost Ark Series in which Indiana Jones is confronted by a display of a long fancy sword display, only to have Indi appropriately just pull out his gun and shoot the bad guy. I recall a loud roar of approval in the theatre during that scene.)

I have a really good friend who is a high level agent for the DEA. He has periodically bemoaned the way that their hands are tied in appropriately defending themselves against strung out, maniacal drug traffickers in the name of justice.

While I’m not saying I’m an advocate of waterboarding — I’d have to research it more — I wonder where the line will be drawn when it comes to worthwhile interrogation? Frankly, the mere act of an interrogator making vicious threats to a prisoner in order to get information could be considered “torture” if the case was made that the suspect/terrorist truly believed the threats to be true. I can just hear some attorney now claiming emotional duress. Putting a perpetrator in a four-walled concrete cell having to do “his business” in plain sight could be considered torture because it’s not “humane.” Making Paris Hilton wear prison garb could be considered a form of torture. When my mother was first married and still learning the domestic ropes, my father claims that having to eat her cooking was a form of torture. Recently in the news, a prison inmate claimed the chicken he had to eat from the prison cafeteria was a form of torture. Where do torture claims end and the ability to do a critical job for our nation’s security begin? It’s really beginning to appear today that the criminals have more rights and privileges than law abiding U.S. citizens. We certainly are proving that theory in other aspects of our nation’s operations.

There are actions and there are consequences of those who elect to compromise the democracy, virtue and freedoms of another. There’s torture and there’s effective coercion. There’s inhuman treatment and there’s protecting our freedom. I hope that we don’t lose sight of effective operations at the cost of our souls or our freedoms.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Our Nations Unemployment Rate: The Manifestation of a Sleeping Giant

Statistically, small business owners provide the largest percentage of jobs in the U.S. — yes an even larger percentage of jobs than all of those bail-out “worthy” industries. In spite of all of the bail out monies that were supposed to loosen up the purse strings of banks in order to strengthen small businesses in extremely tough times, small businesses have become ignored and have nothing to show for any of the so-called efforts on their behalf. In fact, even without the economic crisis that is truly upon us, historically small businesses get very, very little considerations, tax breaks, or other incentives to operate their businesses. As a result, the economic drain our nation is experiencing is merely a manifestation of a long time attitude apathy towards what really makes this country healthy. Is it any wonder that the job loss in the last 12 months has been the worst it’s been since the World War II era? Over 250,000,000 jobs were lost in 2008 and that doesn’t take into account the millions of individuals who were forced from full-time employment to part-time, nor does it take into account the self-employed individuals who have had to hang up their dreams and stand in the unemployment line with millions of others. In my opinion, the economic crisis could have been averted long ago, and even the Wall Street and mortgage disaster impact lessened had national and state leaders paid more attention to the needs of small business owners.

When a CEO runs a company into the ground, it’s an innocuous entity. The CEO is merely losing his regular pay check and other corporate perks. But when a true small business is run into the ground, chances are high that the life savings of the business owner, customers they’ve become friends with, and long-time employees they’ve connected with personally suffer through the carnage of such an event. By the time the doors are finally shut on a small business, great sacrifices have already been for its survival. Great personal financial risks such as mortgaging personal homes to the hilt, stripping it of all available equity only to find the value dropping far below the lien amount months later, and cashing in retirement and savings accounts just to last as long as possible in hopes that a life preserver will come their way. And yet for all of this sweat, tears and sacrifice, small business owners can’t lay claim to appropriate health insurance tax deductions, can’t get access to the same affordable health care packages that large corporations enjoy, and are inundated with paper work requirements while their larger counterparts have enormous legal and accounting teams to deceive their shareholders.

When a small business owner sees fit to terminate an employee who steals from them or conducts themselves inappropriately, the state still requires them to pay unemployment benefits unless such an infraction is specifically outlined in some kind of written form that the employee has manifested the receipt of.

Large corporations have money and staff to handle these items. Many such monies derived by secret government contract negotiations, unfair labor practices, political connections, and international outsource savings. In contract, small business owners are beat up every which way they turn. They pay sales taxes when they purchase items to make their businesses run better, or make their jobs easier, and then they are assessed additional taxes by their cities on those same items merely because they possess them.

Long ignored is the fact that small businesses historically pay better average wages than big corporations, and discounted is the fact that employees are typically more satisfied working for a smaller business. There is absolutely nothing done to throw a rope for small businesses in spite of their obvious strength to the economy which has been historically present for over a century!

We’ve heard the saying “money talks.” The current economic crisis is not as a result of Wall Street collapsing, a residential mortgage scandal, or the ineptness of the Federal Reserve. It’s an inevitable manifestation of ignoring the goose the lays the golden eggs. I wonder how much worse things have to get before the REAL talking money gets listened to.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Wake up Wal-Mart

The recent drop of Wal-Mart stock proves that you just can’t entice people enough to put up with your shenanigans, even if you’re big box Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart couldn’t win out over the Christmas holiday with everyone’s pocketbooks strapped, then you have to see that there’s a problem far worse than pricing at this big boxed embarrassment.

The worst thing the big box chain, or any business for that matter, can do is to be oblivious for the reasons behind the drop. Wal-Mart blames their 8% drop in stock value on “inclement weather, poor international numbers, and higher expenses.” Have they not read the astronomical customer complaints that their stores are receiving in record numbers nowadays?

“100% Disabled War Veteran was required to unload his disability cart and reload his purchases into a regular cart in order to take the items out of the store.”

“Customer slipped on water. Customer was scolded by the store manager for not being more careful.”

“Customer returned item due to its malfunction. Item was a replacement for previous malfunctioning item. Wal-Mart employee questioned the customer out loud, in front of large group of customers, as to the proper use of the item. The item? Bed sheets which were missing the elastic around the edges so that they could be put on the bed.

“Customer was called a “liar” by a Wal-Mart employee upon returning 30 minutes later with a bottle of Biotin due to the seal under the lid being broken. Customer had to drive over 20 minutes just to exchange a $7 item and be called a liar in front of other customer service guests.”
“Customer Service” at Wal-Mart has now been deemed broadly on the internet as Customer Torture. In my opinion, sales at Wal-Mart should have dropped more dramatically, but you had so many Wal-Mart customers who didn’t want to fight with the CS reps with a return or exchange so they just ate the money lost and went to Target to buy it instead.

There is a very good reason why Wal-Mart is now a verb, intended to mean a step down from quality ie: “We didn’t have the money to replace it, so we just “wallied” it for now.”

The ineptness runs uphill as well. Tens of thousands of customer complaints can be found on numerous websites including government business sites, and regularly include the accomplice of an incompetent manager or assistant manager. It’s bad enough that these stores bring such strife to the communities, leave behind big empty boxes, and train the consumer to accept the minimum in quality and customer abuse. But there seems to be absolutely NO respite when these valid problems arise either. It just adds insult to injury. Guess it’s high time for the stock prices to wake them up as well. May they continue to fall in accordance to their level of service… after the everyday customers get their money out of the stock, of course.

May Target and other big box stores take their cues from the Wallie Catastrophe and ensure that they do not end up on the same path. If you do, I assure you that you will be dealing with many more smiling customers instead of snarling ones—which by the way makes your employment to your community much more attractive as well.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Seeds of Preparedness

Many individuals I speak with about emergency preparedness are concerned of the cost of getting prepared and the amount of space they have to store everything. Today’s blog is just one way you can be successful at improving your state of preparedness without being paralyzed by cost or space.

In the fall, garden seeds are typically marked down dramatically. Are these safe to buy and store without immediately planting them in the ground? Well, usually, the answer is yes. I’ll clarify in a moment. Obviously, paying 70% off the original price of seeds is a bargain most can’t walk away from, and the space necessary to store seeds isn’t cumbersome even in a New York City apartment.

So how do you know when the seeds you buy off-season are going to do you any good in years to come, you ask? Ask the store supervisors how the seeds were stored. If they were displayed all summer out in the hot sun, then you’ll need to move on to another bargain. However, if they were stored in the store, or in the store greenhouse area the majority of the time, then you can be safe to purchase and store them for at least another 5 to 10 years. Even better is if you can store them individually packaged but in a larger container to prolong freshness. The key is for you to store them in a cool, dark and dry place. It was a way of life for our ancestors – they stored and traveled with seeds regularly. “Hey honey, be sure to grab the kids and the seeds. The mammoth is leaving soon.” Don’t let the modernization of a greenhouse throw you off your instincts.

Seeds are full of great nutrition as sprouts. An added bonus with this practice is if your seeds do sprout, then you know they are good and nutritious. In fact, in some cases, the sprouted seeds are MORE nutritious sprouted than as full grown plants, though perhaps not as enjoyable to eat. So, if you’re in doubt, prior to planting seeds in the typical manner, take a few and sprout them in doors. Sprouting typically involves water, some cheesecloth, and a small mason jar. Think about it – in an emergency, you’re not exactly going to have time to plant your seeds and then wait for the harvest if you’re starving and other food supplies are cut off. Some seeds take only 24 to 48 hours to sprout. As long as you have water (see my last blog) you’ll be able to survive that long without food while you’re waiting for the sprouts to develop.

And while I’m on the topic of sprouts, even though it’s a bit off topic of saving space, dried legumes and wheat grains are EXCELLENT sprouting resources. They are also quite easy to sprout and their nutritional value is dramatically compounded in this state. Additionally, wheat grains and dried legumes store for extremely long periods of time in a cool, dry, dark space, and the sprouting is virtually effortless. (In fact, my husband and I accidentally sprouted some lentils in our basement when we didn’t completely clean up a spill. Some the seeds had fallen down a drain pipe next to the water heater and sprouted soon after with nothing but moisture — no light.)

So I say take advantage of the seed sales you get at the end of the summer and in early fall. They are typically every bit as good and will store quite well. Whether you want edible vegetables and flowers, or showy foliage, go ahead and save a bundle of money! The space you save on “food storage” is great as well.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

“For Mature Adults Only”

I recently received a marketing book which had a blurb on the cover that warned me that the subject matter was not exactly something that one would share at church. While it certainly was not pornographic at all, several of the marketing highlights had to do with sales tactics used by a former “Madame” in New York City. While I appreciate a warning that something may be offensive to some persons, I take stronger offense to the term “Mature adult content” instead. Who in the world ever decided that one’s ability to tolerate raunch, foul language, and inappropriate conversations was an act of maturity??

I looked up the definition of “mature” with my good friend, Webster, and there is nothing noted in the official definition that would denote the word “mature” as meaning “less sensitive to offensive vocabulary,” “tolerant of a broad range of views,” “apathetic to societal indecencies,” etc. In fact, the word mature relates to “coming to a condition of full development” or “having attained a final or desired state.”

I’m sorry, but when I hear someone ridiculously use the “F” bomb I don’t automatically think, “Oh, this person has attained their desired state.” Instead I feel sorry for the person who clearly has no broader repertoire of vocabulary to choose from and wonder what school district they attended, etc.

When I overhear a vulgar conversation about things which I feel should be kept private or even sacred, I don’t envy the “mature” conversation that is taking place without me and I don’t find myself thinking “Wow, these adults have ‘come to a full development’.” Instead, I cringe at the obvious lack of tact and social graces these individuals are displaying at their present state of lowness and silently pray that they wake up some day to a more worthwhile part of themselves.

I don’t see vulgar, offensive, raunchy, or questionable actions or words as a sign of maturity or intelligence--in fact quite the opposite. I see it as an indicator of one’s lack of ability to think for themselves instead of joining the dumbed-down, apathetic masses. I see a lack of intelligence. I see a lack of beauty. I see an erosion of society and the worth of our human race. Ironically, one of the definitions of “mature” as noted by Webster is “belonging to the middle portion of erosion.” Now that, I believe, is a more fitting definition that I hope to remember the next time I’m “Warned” of “mature content.”

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

True Meaning of The 12 Days of Christmas

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

1. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.


2. Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.


3. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.


4. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.


5. The five golden rings recalled the Torah *or* Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.


6. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.


7. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.


8. The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.


9. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.


10. The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.


11. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.


12. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles'' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Power Brokering

The more I hear of businesses demanding a bail out, the more fearful I am of a socialist government taking over our nation. A bail out mentality is the benchmark of a socialistic, or even a communistic government. We give up our freedoms every time we accept “assistance” from the government, banks, or even a rich Uncle. What ever happened to the attitude of “Independence” in our great country? Perhaps that got thrown out as everyone started celebrating the “4th of July” instead of intended “Independence Day.” The value of our independence is worth more than all $700 billion- even for one person! I’m sure the hundreds of thousands who have spilt their blood so that we could truly be independent would be horrified at the thought of how weakly we value such freedom today. Much of that blood was spilt in order to abolish slavery, and yet we willingly enslave ourselves when we stand by and watch a sizeable portion of our lives, our futures, and that of our progenitors be sold out for $715 billion in total. (And that’s just what we know about.) I see a bail out as one trying to cheat consequences. And yet we all know that doing merely compounds the consequences as they were originally determined.

Bail outs have long- term consequences that you ultimately do not want. And you certainly do not want them for your children or grandchildren. And yet your government leaders are shackling us with these burdens without representing your interests and with every attempt to keep you in the dark as to their true consequences. These decisions are being made in a myopic and duplicitous manner by those with power with the intention that those who are working 2 and 3 jobs just to make ends meet will be too busy, too drained to give put up any resistance. You can say that it won’t come from our tax dollars…at least not in such a manner that it’s so obvious. Do you really think that our government printing up an extra $715 billion in our economy will have no affect on the value of our currency?

The value of our currency determines the value of your work. As the value of the dollar goes down, the need for you to work more hours increases just to obtain the necessities in life. In truth, we would gasp in outrage and plot an all out revolution if we clearly saw just how many of our hours we’re forced to work just to pay the debts which our out of control government has thrust upon us. And of course, the government has brokered the maximum amount of power when it comes to collecting their share. After all, who among us does not have a moment of fear when we hear the words IRS tax audit?

It’s apparent that we no longer broker money and monetized assets folks. We now broker power, and I’m not talking about electricity either. The attitude of the majority of our leaders is “money is nothing if it doesn’t come with power.” Why else would someone spend millions to win a position that only pays $165,000 a year? It’s the power that it buys, not their commitment to serving the people they represent.

Whatever happened to the police officers that children looked up to as heroes? Today we only see them use their power to violate the very laws they are supposed to enforce with the belief that they do so beyond reproach.

What ever happened to the professional basketball and football players that we used to look up to as superstars? Instead we see arrests for atrocious crimes knowing full well that the arrests only represent a small fraction of what’s actually being committed due to successful power brokering.

Thank goodness there’s still the Lance Armstrong, the Michael Phelps, and a few others like them to show us that there is still power and strength in goodness.

In closing I just wanted to share this little write-up by an anonymous author as they attempt toe explain the orchestrations of the bail outs to us.

Bail Out explained (Author Unknown)

Young Henry in Montana bought a horse from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day. The next day he drove up and said, "Sorry son but I have some bad news, the horse died." Henry replied, "Well, then just give me my money back." The farmer said, "Can't do that as I went and spent the money already" Henry said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse."

The farmer asked, "What are you going to do with him?" Henry said, "I'm going to raffle him off." The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead horse!" Henry said, "Sure I can, just watch me and I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Henry and asked, "What happened with that dead horse?" Henry said, "I raffled him off, sold 500 tickets at two dollars each, and made a $998 profit. The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"

Henry said, "Just the guy who won so I gave him his two dollars back." Henry grew up and works now for the government and he was the one who figured out how to "bail us out".

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.