Mark Zuckerberg, Cyndi Norton and Upward Mobility

NPR recently broadcast a story on economy, titled Jobless After 50? You May Be Out Of Luck, which was a grim account of what pains so many people in the US and what illness this once great country is suffering from. An except below is painful to read:

The economy officially crept out of recession in June of 2009, but for many Americans, the economic markers that really count are the ones that come out each month from the Department of Labor: unemployment statistics.

And the numbers released this week continue to look grim, with almost 15 million Americans out of work and few private sector jobs available.

The typical unemployed worker spends about eight months out of a job, but for people over 50, finding a new job can take a lot longer — if it happens at all.

Cyndi Norton has managed to find work. She makes $10 an hour in a California factory. She has no benefits and says she's basically homeless, relying on friends for a place to sleep. But not too long ago, she was a high-powered administrative assistant at the Rand Corp., sitting in on board meetings and once, memorably, showing Henry Kissinger around the building.

Newly married, Norton decided to quit her job and start a small business. "I had a little savings," she tells NPR's Guy Raz. "I had a 401(k), but not a lot."

Then the recession hit, and Norton's life fell apart. She got divorced, the business failed, and at age 50, she found herself looking for another job.

At first, Norton thought it wouldn't take long. She sent out resumes to old employers, aced interviews, passed tests with flying colors … and never got the job.

"I may not be young, but I'm bright," she says. "But see, I've also heard this from other people — and from younger people, too — saying that they have been instructed by their managers at these recruiting firms, 'Yeah, bring her in, interview her, have her take the test.' But for this particular position we're looking for? They don't want anybody over 30."

Norton says her situation is bleak. "I've done everything I possibly can to find work. I've signed up with temp agencies, I've taken all the tests. I'm a nationally certified medical assistant. I tried to retrain — school loan coming due in December which I can't pay. [I've] basically put ads on Craigslist for everything from caretaker to secretary to house-sitter. ... It's very disheartening, because I know I can do what's required of me."

Well, people may argue that US still has innovative entrepreneurs who are successful, such as Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook. But for every Mark Zuckerberg, there are hundreds of thousands Cinci Norton.

For a society devoid of visible and sustained upward mobility for the most, it is a society seriously ill.  Without healing the illness, this country cannot be wonderful again.  Yet, we don't see any resolution from our national leaders, either in government or economic leadership.

I am scared.  Are you?


Falling © Matthew Felix Sun

Nobel Prize, Democracy, and Corporate Taking Over

The Nobel Peace Prize 2010 was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a jailed dissent, "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China".

People like Mr. Liu go to jail for fighting for democracy in countries like China, Cuba and Myanmar, while in the US, people have taken democracy for granted for so long, that many people don't bother to vote.  Even worse, take California for example, there are two candidates who have demonstrated their utter contempt for civil service and democracy in the past (by not voting at all in years), now decided that they ought be be the governor and the US senator. The fault don't stay with Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina's wanting to take over like another business merger, rather lies with people giving them fair chance of winning!  When people don't care about the consequences of their action/inaction, democracy is in name only.  Perhaps, we are just in as bad a state as poor Chinese people.


Progression © Matthew Felix Sun

Ice Balls, Honey Dipper, Etc.

Last weekend, I stopped by a Peet's Coffee and saw some colorful plastic balls in a package next to the fancy tea cans.  Study closely, I realized that they are so called Ice Balls that they can chill drinks without diluting the liquid.

Quite clever, yet necessary?

The same Peet's carried something called Honey Dippers as well.  Instead of using spoon, one can use this wooden equipment to dip into honey jar, and carry the honey in the grooves.

The list of these seemingly clever and useful but utterly unnecessary items is long and is sickening - banana hangers, apple slicers, bagel slicing holders, etc.  How much precious resources do we, as steward of the earth, need to plunder in order to gain an ounce of convenience?

Most appalling is the commercial I encountered online.  Watch it and judge for yourself. How sick our society has become and where is the outrage?

Neither Her Husband Or She?

Republican candidate for Californian governor, Meg Whitman is being accused of knowingly hiring illegal immigrant and she issued denial.

According to San Francisco Chronicle, she stated that:

"'Neither my husband or I received any letter from the Social Security Administration,' Whitman insisted. 'We never saw any such letter.'"

I cannot believe that a candidate for governorship made such a grammatical mistake.  What she should have said was "Neither my husband nor I received..."

I did a little online search and was confirmed my believe that she made mistake.  However, the online resource claimed that such an "informal" pattern is common now.  Commonly committed mistakes don't make them correct, even though language itself should remain a living thing.

Not only Whitman failed to vote in many years past, she even failed to speak proper English, if the quote from Chronicle was accurate, therefore she should not be the governor of California for sure!

Prosperity Gospel and Bishop Long

Since I didn't grow up with a religion, it fascinated me in many ways, however ambivalent I am about it as an institution. Sometimes, I found religion is a place people seek comfort and spiritual growth, and sometimes, I watch it with weariness, when the dominant tenor of the sect become material gain, versus spiritual one.  Even the one champions eternal salvation of souls, as the Catholic does, however debatable, warrants less distrust.

I have not heard of Bishop Eddie Long and my grasp of the concept of "Prosperity Gospel" was vague, till the recent lawsuit against Mr. Long.

I don't want to discuss Mr. Long's litigation here.  What I want to address is this brand of Christianity and the lavish life style of Mr. Long.

Last night on NPR I heard a story on Mr. Long and Prosperity Gospel by Barbara Bradley Hagerty.

Long's church and his personal life are manifestations of the "prosperity Gospel" he preaches. Also called "name it and claim it," this style of preaching states that God does not want you to be poor — indeed, Long preaches that Jesus was not poor — and that riches are a sign of God's blessing.

Long himself drives a $350,000 Bentley, bought a $1.1 million home in 2005 and favors gold necklaces and Rolex watches. When the Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked him about the $3 million he received from the church and its charities between 1997 and 2000, Long was defiant.
"We're not just a church; we're an international corporation," he said. "We're not just a bumbling bunch of preachers who can't talk and all we're doing is baptizing babies. I deal with the White House. I deal with Tony Blair. I deal with presidents around the world. I pastor a multimillion-dollar congregation."

His lifestyle as a spiritual leader is questionable and troublesome if not downright deplorable.  His preaching that God wants you to be rich stresses material gain instead of spiritual growth, which is the opposite of what Jesus would have preached.

Mr. Long has not a spiritual house, rather a huge corporation, which he had freely admitted.  To me, his church is not much different from an Amway enterprise.



Ecstasy © Matthew Felix Sun

$499, With Kids $599

I usually am able to pay no attention to the advertisements in newspapers, however, one such block on San Francisco Chronicle drew my attention to it.

There is seven smiling people, male and female, welcome the viewer with their beaming teeth. A cheerful bunch. When I read the text, I did an experiment with a friend. I hid the text and asked to guess what it is advertising for.

- Dental service?
- No. Legal services.
- Help you to foreclose your neighbor's house?
- No. More personal.
- Getting unemployment benefit?

Well, the answer is revealed in the large texts: "Divorce?" $499. It added that it costs $599 with kids.

This advertisement was stunning in it sunny way and served as a primal example of how ill our society has become. Sigh!

Presidential Carpet

NPR recently broadcast of a story by Associated Press: Oval Office Makeover Has Comfy, More Modern Feel. It is such a strange read during this depressing time.

Every president eventually puts his own mark on the Oval Office, decoratively speaking, and the White House unveiled the Obama makeover on Tuesday, just hours before a major presidential speech on Iraq from his famous Resolute Desk (still there.) Obama had long been making small changes in the Oval Office, aided by California designer Michael Smith, but held off on a broader redesign until now, mindful of the nation's economic distress.

The White House wouldn't reveal the overall cost of the new look, but said in a statement that it was "in line with the amount spent by Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush on the redesigns of their Oval Office." It added that the funds came from the nonprofit White House Historical Association, through a contribution from the presidential inaugural committee.

NPR's broadcast mentioned the man-hour needed to make his brand of presidential carpet. But that information, perhaps deemed too sensitive, was no where to be found online.

I did more searching and found it on The Detroit News:

The Obama administration declined to divulge the cost of the office makeover but said it was comparable to what other presidents have spent. It took 30 craftsmen and more than 570 man hours to produce the rug at the Scott Group. The rug, installed last week, contains 25 percent recycled wool and uses natural colors and undyed thread as part of the office's all-natural theme.

If the average salary of those skilled works are $20/hour, that makes $11,400, not including design, material, machinery, and transportation costs. Excuse me! Every time, when we have a new owner of the Oval office, a whooping amount of expenses. I would have thought that 1600 Pennsylvania have changed the name to Château de Versailles!

I wonder what happened to the previous presidential rugs. I would have hoped that Obama would stop this insane practice of wasting of material and resources every four or eight years. I guess the audacity to hope, will always get disappointed.


"Chairman" © Matthew Felix Sun
www.matthewfelixsun.com