Vetting

Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them employment, conferring an award, etc. A prospective person or project may be vetted before making a hiring decision. In addition, in intelligence gathering, assets are vetted to determine their usefulness.

For employment it is pretty simple. The applicant fills out a form and the human resource staff checks school records and police filings to confirm your statement is correct. Addresses can be confirmed and references can be contacted to build an evaluation that skills and potential equal to the requirement for employment. If an employee is not fully vetted, removal or disqualification can be a long drawn out and sometimes-expensive process.

More recently the word ‘vetting’ has been repeated to the examination of people wanted to enter our borders. Unlike our parents or grandparents, seeking to participate in the land of opportunity, intense scrutiny is being asked to immigrants or refugees from other parts of the planet. Our racism sexism, nationalism, classism, homophobia, religious discrimination, neurodiversity and linguistic discrimination create our prejudices that are not written on any form.

When else do we use vetting?

Imagine if you will, a large room full of strangers. It may be a work convention or a religious gathering or a high school reunion. To show your civility, you smile and then migrate to the open bar. A person gets your attention for whatever reason and you start introducing yourself.

Where do you work? Where did you go to school? What is your favorite football team?

All pretty safe questions without any fear of intimidation or retribution. Still this person could become your next boss or possible mother to your children or investor to your kick-starter ideas, so the questions go deeper.

Are you married? Do you have kids? Where do you live? What kind of music do you like? Who did you vote for?

Do you see you are vetting? Examining the other person on their answers to pointed questions and filtering them through your own prejudices. Add to your questions the visual of what the other person is wearing and their body language and if they are with someone else, how that person reacts.

In the end, what exactly did we accomplish? Without more time and experiences with this person all we have is their word. There is no fact-checking here.

Maybe it was charisma or just the tone of a voice that makes people come together and want more.

Year In Review

No, this is not the Facebook review that is kinda creepy that they want to snoop into our yearly listings with their algorithm. This is just what happened last year that I saw.

I always think not a lot happened last year but then I add up the cost and it seems like more than I remembered.

As usual I spent more on food than anything else and two-thirds of that was beer. There were some projects around the house that cost some dough and a couple of friends but they are done. Opened up the yard to light for growing whatever I decided to grow. Even got a tiller to save my back. Digging and cutting is extremely therapeutic. Surprised myself by how much I got done, even killing one saw and smoking another. What was too big for me to handle, I called the pros with the right tools and checked it off my list.

Even coming to the realization that some things are just sitting and are not going to get done until I get off my duff and do them. A smaller bed frame ordered online and waiting to be assembled was finally assembled. More space. Base coat in the living room, dining room and hallway reminded me it is not difficult to paint a wall even in a circus.

A one-time shopping adventure to Target brought home some pillows, sweatshirts and shorts I’ll probably never wear. Didn’t see any books or movies that looked interesting enough to spend money on. Couldn’t find any more guitars to purchase but will keep looking. Transportation was kept to two wheels with only minor check ups. Thought that slide on wet leaves may have, but it didn’t.

Luckily there were no medical needs but a few strains and pains were worked out in the daily regiment. Eating more prepared food probably isn’t the best diet but it fills me up and gives me enough energy to keep going. For the first day of the year I’ve got all the fixin’s for a proper southern New Years dinner but yesterday I ate too much Mexican and am still stuffed. I can wait and besides I have to wash the dishes.

Two thousand and sixteen was a year of entertainment. Though I’ve turned the television off, I did have to watch the political debates. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and more unbelievable were the comments on social media. I preferred watching the rabbits bound around in the yard.

Music was constantly my companion. Classical to rock to my surprise I started trending toward Americana tunes. Nothing really caught my ear; even the blues of the Stones seemed repetitive and lost its crunch. NPR exposed me to new sounds and I searched YouTube for techniques and styles. Still I was going back to the music I knew. I realized my cassette tape collection was getting long in the tooth so I started tossing them that didn’t sound good anymore. That process concluded with the purging of Christmas carols. Recorded one CD of songs that could be collaboration but the other guitarist wanted to know what I was drinking. Spring will provide a respite on the new screened in porch with headphones and the iPad music selection.

Writing my thoughts down did take some of my old television time. I can’t help it for these ideas pop in my head and won’t go away until I write them down. The usual subjects of communication, relationships and emotional drama, bathroom, bullets, pregnancy, self-evaluation, faith, death and every day events were presented with a hint of mischief and hopefully humor. I don’t even take my weird dreams too seriously.

So what will this 68^th year hold? Paint seems the obvious. More trimming and turning dirt and even spreading out that nine-year old mulch seems to be in the mix. 3,000 plus miles are to be ridden in all sorts of weather. New windows in the springtime and some heavy duty vacuuming are scheduled. No majors repairs are expected so maybe a vacation this year?

Who knows what will happen, but it is a new year with new opportunities and adventures. Enjoy the ride friends.

In Memoriam

It is the end of another year and the list come out. What were the favorite books or music or movies in the past year?

Then we list all the folks who croaked. No, that doesn’t sound sensitive enough for the New Year.

The list of famous folks who won’t be around for the coming year is a yearly ritual of remembrance. The ones who have passed or gone to the great beyond or crossed over or gone to live with Pa-Pa and Nana or sitting at the side of Jesus.

Here is the celebrity list:

Pat Harrington Jr. Known for being a super, David Bowie Androgynous singer from Mars, René Angélil Rich guy who paid for his wife to become famous, Alan Rickman British bad man in kids movies, Dan Haggerty Aka Grizzly Adams, Glenn Frey One eagle, Abe Vigoda For real this time, Paul Kantner Hippy who couldn’t fly, Joe Alaskey Aka Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Maurice White Not Barry and not white, Dave Mirra Big boy riding little boy bikes, Edgar Mitchell Sixth man on the moon but who is counting after the first, Vanity Who wanted to be Prince but was really Denise Katrina Matthews, Antonin Scalia Conservative judge, George Gaynes  Aka Punky Brewster, Boutros Boutros-Ghali Egyptian diplomat, Angela “Big Ang” Raiola From Mad Wives, (see how you start forgetting about them), Harper Lee Who used a child’s eye view to racism, Umberto Eco Italian author, Sonny James Turned pop songs into country hits, Tony Burton Aka Apollo Creed, George Kennedy Not related to Jack or Bobby, Lee Reherman An American gladiator, Joey Feek ½ of Joey & Rory, Pat Conroy Another author, Nancy Reagan Gone on to be with Ronnie, George Martin Who some say created the Beatle’s sound, Keith Emerson Who rocked Bach, shortly followed by Greg Lake, Frank Sinatra Jr. Who couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations, Bob Ebeling Who worked on the Challenger rocket-booster, Phife Dawg Witty wordplay lyrist, Rob Ford Politician who was a better comedian, Joe Garagiola The godfather of baseball, Garry Shandling Some thought he was funny, Jim Harrison

Fiction writer, poet and outdoorsman, Mother Mary Angelica Nun who started a television show, Patty Duke Best known for being blind and deaf and dumb, not Tommy, Erik Bauersfeld Voice of Star Wars character, Merle Haggard Country singer/outlaw, David Gest Married to Judy Garland’s daughter, David Gest Played Raymond’s meddling mother,

Les Waas Created the Mr Softee jingle, Chyna Female wrestler, Prince The ‘other’ Michael Jackson, Michelle McNamara Crime writer,

Isabelle Dinoire French woman who got a partial face transplant, Papa Wemba The king of the Congolese rumba, Billy Paul Jazz and soul singer,

Afeni Shakur Davis Former Black Panther and mother of Tupac, Jane Little The world’s longest serving symphony player, Emilio Navaira King of Tejano music, Guy Clark Mentor to a generation of songwriters, Morley Safer One of the early voices of 60 Minutes, Alan Young Famous for talking to a horse, Nick Menza Former drummer for Megadeath, Muhammad Ali Silver tongued boxer and civil right activist, Kimbo Slice

Street fighter, Theresa Saldana Survived a stalker’s attack to become a crime victim’s advocate, Gordie Howe Mr. Hockey, Christina Grimmie Gained popularity on The Voice, Anton Yelchin Chekov replacement, Ralph Stanley The godfather of traditional bluegrass music, Bernie Worrell

The Wizard of Woo defining Parliament Funkadelic sound, Bill Cunningham New York Times street style photographer, Alvin Toffler The guru of the post-industrial age predicting the transformations of the digital technology, Buddy Ryan Longtime football coach, Scotty Moore Elvis’ guitar player, Pat Summitt The winningest coach in Division I basketball history, Elie Wiesel Holocaust survivor and humanitarian, Michael Cimino Oscar winning film director, Noel Neill The first real Lois Lane, Abbas Kiarostami Iranian director who work through governmental resistance, Garry Marshall Writer and director of popular television shows, Mark Takai Long-time U.S. representative and war veteran, Rev. Tim LaHaye Co-author of end-time prophecy, Miss Cleo

Television actress playing Jamaican psychic, David Huddleston Character actor in the movies, Pete Fountain Dixieland jazz virtuoso clarinetist, Barry Jenner Veteran character actor, Kenny Baker Played droid R2-D2, Fyvush Finkel Emmy winning actor of stage and screen, John McLaughlin

Conservative moderator, Lou Pearlman Boy band mogul, Matt Roberts

Guitarist for 3 Doors Down, Toots Thielemans Belgian harmonica player of jazz and film scores, Steven Hill Versatile actor of theater, film and television, Sonia Rykiel French designer called the Queen of Knitwear,

Juan Gabriel Mexican singer/songwriter and Latin music icon, Gene Wilder Comedic movie actor, Jon Polito Raspy voiced character actor, Jerry Heller Recording impresario, Phyllis Schlafly Outspoken conservative activist, Lady Chablis Transgender performer, Greta Zimmer Friedman

Photographed the sailor smooching the nurse at the end of WWII, Alexis Arqueete Pioneering transgender actress, Edward Albee Pulitzer prize-winning playwright, W.P. Kinsella Canadian novelist and lover of baseball,

Curtis Hanson Oscar winning screenwriter, Shawty Lo Atlanta rapper aka Carlos Walker, Bill Nunn Veteran character actor, José Fernández Miami Marlins’ pitcher, Arnold Palmer Golfing great, Shimon Peres Israeli president and prime minister, Tommy Ford Television actor, King Bhumibol Adulyadej Thailand’s longest reining monarch, Steve Dillon Comic book artist, Janet Reno The first woman U.S. Attorney General,

Leonard Cohen Canadian singer/songwriter, Robert Vaughn Screen and television actor, Leon Russell Singer/songwriter and pianist, Gwen Ifill Veteran journalist and PBS news anchor, Holly Dunn Country singer,

Sharon Jones Singer who shepherded a soul revival, Florence Henderson

Broadway star and momma Brady, Fidel Castro Bearded revolutionary who defied the United States, Ron Glass Veteran film and television actor, Grant Tinker Television broadcasting legend and former NBC chairman, Greg Lake Guitarist, singer/songwriter for progressive rock bands, John Glenn U.S. Senator and the first person to orbit the earth, Joseph Mascolo Iconic villain Stefano DiMera, E.R. Braithwaite Guyanese author, educator and diplomat, Alan Thicke Versatile television actor, Craig Sager Longtime sports broadcaster with a passion for colorful attire, China Machado

Groundbreaking model and fashion editor, Zsa Zsa Gabor Hungarian beauty queen turned Hollywood icon, George Michael Pop singer and heartthrob, Ricky Harris Comedian, actor, hip-hop artist, Richard Adams British author of children’s books, Barbara Tarbuck Television actress, Carrie Fisher Aka Princess Lela, Debbie Reynolds Mother of Princess Lela

Now these are just the celebrities who get their write-ups in the magazines but there are lots of others. The list goes on and on and on. The exodus that ended in the ocean for refugees from war, the soldiers in multi-wars and their victims, distracted drivers, senseless acts of violence just add up to a longer list.

  What about:

Gabriel Robert Edward CARRILLO Jr., our angel, who was born September 28, 2016, spread his wings and went back to be with the Lord on December 27, 2016. Glenna Mae LOVING, of Richmond, Virginia, departed this life December 27, 2016. Mrs. Edna B. WALKER, age 96, of South Hill, died Friday, December 30, 2016. Jean W. GREGORY, 78, passed away peacefully in her home in Chester, Va., on December 28, 2016, surrounded by her children

The celebrities we have some back story to because we’ve read all the tabloids about who they married and where they party and what they wear and how bad they look in bathing suits, but Gabriel wasn’t here very long and Glenna Mae may have fascinating interest that only her family and friends know and Edna lived through the depression and Jean might have had some problems that will never be discussed.

There are more and more every day because life in finite. While the grim reaper continues to gather us up, we give pause at the end of the year to remember those who have gone before us into the unknown.

There will be Obituaries and Ceremonies and Eulogies and the holding hands and burning candles and lots of tears. Then the dark clothing will be put away and those of us who are left move on.

The Lord Moves In Mysterious Ways

The doorbell rings and then a knock on the door. I open the door and there stands a short little wisp of a guy his red hair and scruffy beard sticking out from under a stocking cap, dirty layers of sweats, gloves and a big toothless grin. “Hi. I’m Rooster.”

I’d heard some voices next door as my neighbor was working on his motorcycle. They kept yelling at him and he couldn’t hear them. Finally they got his attention but I didn’t listen to their conversation.

“We are doing some tree work for your neighbor and wanted to know if we could get into your yard.” Rooster said as quickly as the words could be formed. “If you need any work done around here…” he started his pitch but I stopped him by saying, “Well, there is something you can do.” Rooster’s wild eyes perked up and I showed him the side of the house.

“Here are some crape myrtles that, as you see, I’ve been cutting back. Could you give me a price on finishing the job and removing the branches?” I turned back around and Rooster was gone and a large black man was looking up nervously. I look over the fence and another group are gathering and another guy walks up and says, “Hi I’m your neighbor.”

In the mist of the growing confusion, Rooster calls out. I walk toward him and he gives me an estimate. “We can cut all that down for five.” “Five?” I reply. “Five for the whole job.” “Five hundred?” I searched for details. Rooster while starting to direct his ever growing crew replied, “Yes sir.”

A few years ago I’d hired a reputable tree service to do the same job for $400, but this task had been on my ‘to-do’ list for some time. I figured I could do it myself and had started but these fifty-foot branches were awkward and hard to handle when I also had a power saw in my hands. I had plans to do some more cutting today but when I heard my neighbor working on his cycle I decided to wait. I didn’t want these swaying branches come crashing down on his fence or possibly hitting his house while he is there.

“Sir, this tree has some serious wood bores and we can cut that down too while we are here. I’ll throw that in for another 5.” Rooster is speaking as fast as any speed freak but I got the drift. “I’ll even trim back these bushes so you can….”

“Whom do I make the check to?”

When I come back from my morning bike ride, Rooster is up in the neighbor’s tree dangling from ropes directing his cutting crew on how the branches will swing amid the roar of chain saws and flying sawdust. Branches and stumps were being dragged in both yards to several pickup trucks parked in the alley. There was no shredder or grinder, just a pile of sticks.

Rooster and his motley crew, who were all very pleasant or possibly high, did their work, packed up most of their tools and were on their way by early afternoon.

I picked up the remainder branches that didn’t make the truck. Next spring there will be a lot lighter in my sunrises.

Also on my ‘to-do’ list was to remove the landline for a service I cancelled years ago. The cord was chopped and removed at the same time so another project checked off. Even with all the strangers trampling about the yard, the anxiety and payment was worth it.

The Lord moves in mysterious ways.

Protest

How is that working for you?

You don’t like something and you protest.

Rally or demonstration: Demonstration, rally, etc. without reference to marching or walking in a picket line or standing in a vigil. Reference to speeches, speakers, singing, preaching, often verified by indication of sound equipment of PA and sometimes by a platform or stage. Ordinarily will include worship services, speeches, briefings.

March: Reference to moving from one location to another; to be distinguished from rotating or walking in a circle with picket signs that by definition, constitutes a picket.

Vigil: These are almost always designated as such, although sometimes “silent witness,” and “meditation” are code words; also see candlelight vigil; hunger/fasting vigil; If you find no designations re: vigils, meditations, silent witness, etc., but also no reference to sound systems or to marches, it may well be a vigil. Most vigils have banners, placards, or leaflets so that people passing by, despite silence from participants, can ascertain for what the vigil stands.

Picket: The modal activity is picketing; there may be references to picket line, to informational picketing; holding signs; “carrying signs and walking around in a circle”. Holding signs or placards or banners is not the defining criteria; rather, it is holding or carrying those items and walking a circular route, a phrase sometimes surprisingly found in the permit application.

Civil disobedience: Explicit protest that involves crossing barricade, sit-in of blacks where prohibited, use of “colored” bathrooms, voter registration drives, crossing barricades, tying up phone lines.

Ceremony: These celebrate or protest status transitions ranging from birth, death dates of individuals, organizations or nations, seasons, to re-enlistment or commissioning of military personnel, to the anniversaries of it. These are sometimes referenced by presenting flowers or wreaths commemorating or dedicating or celebrating status transitions or its anniversary; e.g., annual Merchant Marine memorial service; celebrate Chanukah, Easter, birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.);

Dramaturgical demonstration

Motorcade: (Electoral campaign and other issues)

Information distribution: tabling/ petition gathering, lobbying, letter-writing campaign, teach-ins.

Symbolic display: e.g. Menorah, Creche Scene, graffiti, cross burnings, signs, standing displays

Attack by instigators: Ethnic group victim of physical attack, by collective group (not-one-on-one assault, crime, rape). Boundary motivating attack is “other group's identity,” as in gay-bashing, lynching. Can also include verbal attack and/or threats, too.

Riot, melee, mob violence: Large-scale (50+), use of violence by instigators against persons, property, police, or buildings separately or in combination, lasting several hours.

Strike, slow down and sick-ins employee work protest of any kind: Regular airstrike through failure of negotiations, or wildcat airstrike.

Boycott: Organized refusal to buy or use a product or service, rent strikes.

Press conference: If specifically named as such in report, and must be the predominant activity form. Could involve disclosure of information to “educate the public” or influence various decision-makers.

Organization formation announcement or meeting announcement: meeting or press conference to announce the formation of a new organization.

Conflict, attack or clash, no instigator: This includes any boundary conflict in which no instigator can be identified, i.e. black/white conflicts, abortion/anti-abortion conflicts.

Lawsuit: legal maneuver by social movement organization or group.

Sit-ins, letters, riots, hunger strikes, conscientious objector, flag desecration, walkouts, soap boxing, boycotts, lectures, graffiti, occupation, book burning, self sacrifice and many more methods of protest.

Does it work to protest?

This country was built on protest. Unfair taxation, oppression by a standing army, and suppression by the government forced the general public to protest. Was it a rebellion? Was it an act of treason? Was it a revolution?

Once the dust settled people had to decide what to do next. That meant creating a new governmental democracy. That meant declaring the way forward that everyone agreed on.

Of course not everyone agreed on everything.

We even divided again to have a civil war only to be patched up later and still not everyone agreed on everything.

As we grew or aged, whichever is the better definition, we noticed others who agreed with our dislikes and protested to change our culture. The voting right act trying to reconcile the enslavement of people even after a proclamation by the president but still a work in progress. Women decided to go topless to get attention and society adjusted to their demands but still didn’t pay them equally. Gays, who had been underground for years, came out and complained about discrimination of their sexual preferences against all the established religious restrictions.

Protest can bring attention to an issue but can it change majority opinion?

Let us reflect on the Anti-War protest. There always seems to be a war and there always seems to be a movement against the war. Mothers and fathers who protest sending their children off to be shot at because of government whelm.

I personally remember my friends making signs and marching and shouting slogans and going to rallies and even sit-ins to change the flow of body bags coming home. Even the most fanatical would shelter themselves back into a quiet corner to read Tolstoy, Khomyakov, Rozanov, Aksakov, or even Socrates, Jefferson, Gandhi, Marx, and Sartre.

Fill the mind with philosophies of ‘what could be if…’ and many will follow the thread and expand on the thought. We are pretty good at that. We even invented religion.

Back to the point, our friends gather around and get all aroused and are ready to take on an issue they do not like. As the masses grow the group can disrupt traffic patterns, be tear gassed and even shot. If the violence escalates then it is war.

During my recollection of the 60’s protest against the war, I thought the point was people who didn’t know were getting drafted for a reason they didn’t understand and swept up and sent to a place that was foreign to fodder the targets. Others just didn’t want to have to interrupt their fun years to be shot at. The ‘silent majority’ who were our parents and what was referred to ‘middle America’ went blindly behind the propaganda until the body bags piled up with their children and grandchildren.

I knew times had changed when my father grew sideburns. So did Lawrence Welk and John Wayne.

All I can say is beat your drums and shout and scream but keep some restrained against civil disobedience because that solves nothing. After your throat is sore and your feet are tired, then what do you do?

Join all the organizations that promise they will lobby the power mongers to make thing better. Don’t forget to send a check because it is not all volunteer and remember to tell your friends to join too. Does that make you feel better?

The seals are still being clubbed; the whales are still being slaughtered; the nuclear waste still sits cooking; the atmosphere is still getting harder to breathe and the water murkier. Sign that petition and post an awareness of something that is deplorable that logically shouldn’t be and hope for the best. Hope you feel better.

That is my temper tantrum.

Where do we come up with this stuff?

Our species as flawed and apparently uncoordinated have a propensity for curiosity. We just don’t seem to be content with the way things are and are always looking for something different. Maybe that is how we evolved?

You’ve seen the videos on YouTube. People skiing off roofs or jumping into an inflatable pools from a ladder or blowing things up make us laugh. I don’t know if that says something about our mental understanding of the laws of physic or a slur on our society in general?

Yet we have invented electricity, telecommunications, filtration, and transportation by being curious. “What if” should be our motto? Our innovation continues to amaze with all the unique perspectives and interest of everything from outer space to insects to clothing fibers to skyscrapers. Our curiosity has manufactured concoctions that can ease our pain and weapons that can be propelled through our bodies.

Our constant investigation and documentation of findings will be passed down to other generations who will examine the conclusions. They will continue to analyze and redefined and will eventually we will find a cure to life threatening scare only to have another one follow.

It seems as long as we are curious we will poke our head down the rabbit hole or look up and ponder the meaning of the stars or still wonder how far we can leap off a roof without testing our hospitalization insurance.

What will you miss?

Have you ever considered what you would miss when you die?

I know it is a morbid thought and most people don’t want to go there but I have a point so bare with me.

All the rulebooks say you will miss your family and friends and your pets and all those worldly goods, but that ain’t true. That is what your friends and family and pets do to grieve while dividing up your worldly goods.

As you write your will or have a moment of peace during the hectic season of gift giving, you might want to think about this. For what is life all about but those memories?

While we keep photos around to remind us of experiences and times with others, what is the core moments that have affected our being.

Is it the feeling of sunshine on your face, the dampness of morning dew, the sound of falling leaves, the smell of spring flowers, the birds song awakening the morning, the sound of laughter of children on Christmas morning, the click-clack of horses hooves, the crackle of an open fire, the smell of coffee brewing, the scent of her hair, the delight of a summer rain, or the comforting warmth of a warm sweater on a frosty day?  

All these and many more may seem like insignificant details but they are the finer points of living. Take the time at night to stop and look up at the light show painting the darkness of our universe. Sit in a rocking chair and watch the trees dance during a storm. Take time to listen to the silence for it may not be there forever. Or maybe it will?

If the violence in the news, movies and books of today show, we may need to appreciate these wonders of life before it is too late.