In July, I lost my biggest client. It wasn’t the economy; it was technical problems.
Panic Room
What are you doing, God?
Most of my monthly income was gone, just like that. I needed to act fast. I did what I should have been doing over the years. I began looking for new clients in earnest. I signed up at “creative” temporary employment agencies. I scanned the classifieds and applied for full and part time jobs. Nothing panned out. Strangely, I wasn’t too disappointed. After working at home for three years, the very thought of returning to a drafty office with harsh fluorescent lights and working on stuff I couldn’t care less about was unpleasant.
I was fondly accustomed to sliding out of bed, showering if I felt like it, going to the corner Starbucks, and leisurely walking back home as I watched people hustling to the Metro station and cars madly rushing across the intersection to beat the light. I’d grown attached to working in spurts, then breaking up the day to walk to the post office or store, or working in Love Café (with free wireless and good cupcakes). Sometimes I planned my schedule so I’d be finished by noon, and I hardly ever worked past 3 o’ clock.
I don’t want to go back!
But I was willing to do what I had to do. I could get by through July and August. After that, oh man. Not being able to pay your bills is uncool. I was paying the price for not diversifying my income, for putting all my proverbial eggs in one teetering basket, and for not planning for such an event financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
It warmed by heart to read about the federal government doing the job it’s charged with: executing immigration laws. Heartwarming is a strange way to describe it, but there you go.
You probably remember reading about a raid at Howard Industries, a transformer plant in Laurel, Mississippi, last week. Close to 600 illegal aliens were arrested in what’s being called “the largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history.”
I’ve blogged reams about this issue. While I sympathize with people trying to feed their kids and seek a better life, breaking the law is not the way to do it. There are rules and requirements, and it’s patently unfair to people waiting in line, so to speak, to enter and work in this country within the bounds of the law.
There was tension between legal and illegal workers, naturally, and some watching the raid applauded while others were being carted off. Legal workers were peeved that illegal aliens were being promoted to supervisory positions.
The company released a statement: “Howard Industries runs every check allowed to ascertain the immigration status of all applicants for jobs. It is company policy that it hires only U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.”
So how did so many illegal aliens slip through the cracks? The company uses E-Verify, a database that purportedly checks submitted info against government databases. Unfortunately, the databases can’t detect stolen Social Security numbers. Great plan! There’s an error rate, of course, but of the 600 people arrested, I think it’s safe to say that most are not authorized to work in the U.S. Hiring managers likely knew this but considered themselves covered since they’d run checks as required by law.
The point of the post is this: Apparently, hundreds of Americans, at least in Laurel, are willing to work when given a fair chance, contrary to what George Bush believes. They’re applying for jobs vacated by suspected illegal aliens.
I’ve read about Christians being “torn” over illegal immigration. Not this one. It’s not “un-Christian” to speak out against illegal “immigration” or try to stop it. It is un-Christian to claim to follow Christ while breaking the law and/or encouraging people to do the same, whether the law in question pertains to theft or jumping borders.
That’s pretty obvious and very simple, but some people insist on complicating it.
(Photo source: Erin Parker/Hattiesburg American)
[sarcasm]
Let’s see how many comments this controversial post generates. So exciting. 
[/sarcasm]
After burning out on he-said-she-said politics last year, I started blogging about digital technology, digital music technology, to be exact. I’m not a music or tech blogger, but it was an oddly satisfying distraction. A reporter quoted from one of my tech posts, and I picked up a few readers genuinely interested in the new stuff.
But I returned to political blogging because…hmmm.
Anyway, I blogged about the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) case against a man who illegally shared music files, Atlantic Recording Corporation v. Pamela and Jeffrey Howell. The RIAA is a trade organization that represents major record labels. For those who care about the outcome of the case, here’s an update:
The RIAA won, sort of. (Source)
Then: Jeffrey Howell was accused of copyright infringement for sharing files over a peer-to-peer file sharing network called Kazaa. After various claims were made back and forth, the judge sided with Howell. Making files available for illegal downloading didn’t constitute distribution, he said; therefore, the recording company had not proved that Howell infringed copyright, or some such.
Now: Last week, the judge ruled that Howell “willfully and intentionally destroyed evidence” after he learned the RIAA was suing him. He was fined $40,500.
As you may recall, the RIAA is under the gun for going after individuals, especially college students, for downloading music files without paying. Colleges and universities are rebelling against the RIAA for “cutting into their faculty’s work day” by requiring them to look for and turn in students illegally downloading files. (Source)
It’s a tough situation. Artists should be paid for their work, but the music industry model is broken. Suing fans is bad form.
[sarcasm]
I know this is controversial stuff, so please be civil in the comment section!
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Previous posts:
Update (7 p.m.): Well said, Dr. Laura.
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I’ll go against the conservative blogosphere grain and state my confusion over and disappointment in John McCain’s choice of running mate. I think Sarah Palin, a relatively unknown female governor from Alaska, is a bad choice.
I came to this conclusion before I found out Palin has a five-month-old infant (I believe mothers [and fathers, OK?] should raise their children) and a knocked up teenage age daughter (who ought to give up the baby for adoption to an older, married, two-parent family) or that she’s under investigation for ethics violations.
[Commenters are complaining about my using the term “knocked up.” I don’t remember anyone complaining about how ungracious or unloving the term was when I used it to describe non-conservative unmarried pregnant women, namely, Crystal Mangum, false “Duke lacrosse” rape accuser. Anyway, I’m glad the kids are getting married, but I won’t apologize for using the term. Some of you are disagreeing with me for the first time. You have plenty of company! I manage to offend liberals and conservatives, believers and unbelievers. I blog about my views, popular or unpopular. I describe things in politically incorrect ways. I’ve been deleted from plenty of blogrolls, RSS feed readers, and bookmarks, and I imagine this post will tick off even more readers and bloggers. “Knocked up” is vulgar, I agree, but I use it to make a point.]
I won’t be watching Barack Obama’s speech tonight (no TV and wouldn’t watch it if I had one), but I may watch a video clip and blog or write an op-ed about it next week. Feel free to discuss his speech and anything DNC-related in the post below.
The next few days will be extraordinarily hectic for me, so this completes my blogging for the week. I’m making a pit stop in SC to visit family for a few weeks, then heading to Las Vegas for GodBlogCon September 19-21, then flying out to the West Coast, my new home, the first of October. Based on e-mail and comments since I announced I was moving, readers want to hear more about why I decided to move. I’ll fill you in.
Until then, have a restful Labor Day weekend, everybody. And thanks for reading my blog.
(Today was overcast and drizzly and dreary. I won’t miss this weather!)
This one, too:
I give up! Just for today.
Between packing for the big move, taking care of clients who pay the bills, and doing miscellaneous other things to retain a sense of normalcy in the middle of a life-altering event, I can’t settle on a post idea. So I give up, sort of.
I’ve posted future First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC so you can discuss it if so inclined. I mean, everybody who’s anybody is blogging and talking about the convention, right?
This Washington Post guy said M. Obama sounded too traditional, which was “sad” to him. A woman speaking glowingly of being a wife and mother makes the liberal sad.
Update II (8/27): NEVERMIND!
Continue reading Meth Heads’ Plot to Murder Barack Obama Foiled
Help! I’m up to my nose in boxes. Man. You never realize how much stuff you accumulate in 10 years. And the books. They’ve been breeding! (I’m moving to California, by the way.)
Anyway, I’m breaking briefly to blog about Barack Obama’s choice of vice presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden. I couldn’t resist reminding you about Biden’s “controversial” remarks.
Last year, a journalist asked Biden what he thought of his opponent (Biden had recently announced his candidacy for president), and this is what he said about Obama:
“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
Continue reading Joe Biden: The ‘Articulate’ and ‘Clean’ Man’s Choice
Filed under: Comedy, Liberals - Obama
I’d planned to do a big post next week with a long list of reasons why I’ve decided to do this radical thing. Too much work, so here’s a short post now.
Every once in awhile, I’m motivated to take a risk, and the urge usually centers around my age. The older you become, the more you realize you have less time to pursue your dreams or reach that goal or do the hard thing you’ve been avoiding. For me, getting older has meant less lip service and more action. Time’s running out!
Well, it’s time to take another plunge, to give up one thing in order to gain another. Readers, I’ve decided to…
Update III (8/25): Here’s the press release that arrived in my inbox on Thursday night:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 2008
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Media Inquiries: Vincent Clark
vince@firefilmz.com
greenecourt@aol.com
919.630.3806
Michael Denisoff
MDenLA@oal.com
949.293.2797
http://www.firefilmz.com
http://www.denisoffconsulting.com
Poignant Memoir Reveals Details of a Difficult Life
(Los Angeles) - The Duke Lacrosse case is no longer the lead story on the network and cable news shows, but there is one central figure, who was there on the night in question and who’s voice has been silent. She’s been called an exotic dancer and a prostitute, and the public was led to believe she wanted to frame some “good college students” from Duke and put them in jail. Although most of the questions appear to be answered in the Duke Lacrosse Case, one still remains. Who is Crystal Gail Mangum? During the investigation and in its aftermath, she never spoke publicly, that is until now.
The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story is the only definitive account of the life and struggles of the woman at the center of the Duke Lacrosse case, the alleged accuser. Were it not for the Duke Lacrosse Case, she likely would be described as a bright, young woman from Durham, North Carolina, who has had a difficult life. Like so many of us, Crystal has made mistakes and has struggled to make amends. Her biggest mistake just happened to lead to one of the most controversial legal cases in American history.
Published reports throughout 2006 and 2007 portrayed Crystal as a gold-digging hooker searching for a big payday or as a unstable, troubled young woman.
The Telegraph reports that George Obama, Barack Obama’s half-brother, subsists on less than a dollar a month in a hut in Nairobi, Kenya. He says he’s ashamed of his poverty and doesn’t tell people he’s related to America’s first black major party presumptive presidential nominee.
Assuming he didn’t know how his brother was living (benefit of the doubt, and all that), I wonder what Barack Obama will do to help him now, in light of his “we still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of these” lecture on Saturday at the Saddleback Civil Forum.
I’ll be watching and waiting.
Later…MM says: “Actually, this may be one of the few times Obama did taxpayers a favor — by not bringing his unemployed brother here to live off the welfare state.”
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A gathering of Christians working to advance the Kingdom through blogging + internet technologies.
I’m headed back to Vegas!
I’m returning to the God Blog Convention, sponsored by Biola University in La Mirada, California. This year’s convention will be held at the Blog World and New Media Expo on September 20 and 21. (Last year’s GodBlogCon was in Vegas, too.)
Why a Christian blogging convention in Vegas? Blog Expo founder Rick Calvert wanted to organize a sort of blogging tradeshow where all kinds of bloggers (faith, tech, business, etc.) could gather and network. He asked the GodBlogCon organizers if they’d consider holding their annual gathering at the Expo, and they were happy to do so.
Filed under: Bloggers, Faith, GodBlogCon
