Friday, September 24, 2010

Hire a Vet: They’re not as stupid as John Kerry said they were.

Yesterday was a big day, both fashion wise and speechifying wise. First,  Big Guy’s speech to the UN General Assembly:

UNblue1 A fashionable blue rose between two appropriate, but dowdy, tweed suits

In his remarks, BO made certain that all his visiting foreign guests  felt at home. He told them that since Wall Street was responsible for the worldwide financial collapse, he wouldn’t rest until it was fixed. And I guess he’s going to focus on that, now that he’s plugged the damn hole.

He even went out of his way to welcome Mahmoud the Mad Iranian (MMI), saying  we “... seek a resolution to our differences with Iran, and the door remains open to diplomacy should Iran choose to walk through it.” It didn’t take the Mad Iranian long to slam it shut though. When he spoke later in the afternoon he accused the U.S. of staging the 9/11 attacks in order to reverse the declining economy and protect Israel. Two reasons that seem anti-intuitive to me, but then I don’t understand how the Arab mind works.

Oh, and he also took the opportunity to deny the holocaust again. But he does believe in global warming.

un4Our little President at the General Assembly 

I better update my Facebook, since it looks like MMI has un-friended Big Guy.

But the real event – both fashion and worldwide peace-wise – was in the afternoon at the sixth annual meeting of former President Clinton’s ego-massaging Clinton Global Initiative. The CGI gathers prominent individuals in politics, business, science, academics, religion and entertainment to discuss global issues such as climate change and the reconstruction of Haiti.

I was apparently wrong about MO’s solar cookstove give-away.

un37

Instead, she used the opportunity to address prominent individuals to promote her “military family initiative.” She  complained to the assembled group that vets are shortchanged on jobs and civilians don’t understand the military. For a change, global initiatives start at home.

Here are some important excerpts:

U.S. service members receive some of the best technical and management training and experience in the world, but when they return to civilian life, they are often overlooked as job candidates because employers don't give them credit for their skills.

Actually, I believe many Americans revere our military personnel, and actually give returning vets preferential treatment, but then we can’t expect MO to know about that. Her background is in community relations, not human resources.

yet (military personnel) shoulder more responsibility than many CEOs...

Never having had experience in the military or as a CEO (unless you count Mommy-in-Chief) I wonder how she knows this? Maybe Big Guy...no, never mind.

Yet the fact is that right now, more than 150,000 recent veterans are still struggling to find jobs.

Uh, so are millions of other Americans. Bush’s recession, remember?

But employers too often view a resume with multiple jobs as a red flag rather than as a fact of military life...A problem for many veterans is getting their military resumes translated into terms civilians can understand and appreciate.

Huh? I wonder who is writing Lady M’s speeches these days?

And while most folks share my respect and admiration for their service, a lot of folks have no idea what that service actually entails. Many still don't know the full power of their human potential.

I tell you what, if you are a professional political speech writer, why don’t you send me your resume. I’ll pass it on to Lady M.

Finally,

I will do my part to connect you with advocates, with experts and with resources throughout the government, from the Department of Labor to the Defense Department to the VA. If you have questions about how a veteran's or spouse's skills fit with the jobs you have, we will help you find the answers. If your staff wants to better understand the challenges that vets and military spouses face and how to address them, we will connect you to the right people.

This isn’t even as good as some of our Public Service Announcements.

Big Guy kicked off this very important speech by introducing Lady M:

I am not just here today to sing President Clinton's praises or to commend all of you for the terrific work that all of you have done, although I am grateful for that.

black and halfblack First Black President, touched by First Half-Black President

I am here to play an even more important role. And that is to introduce my better half, my extraordinary wife and America's extraordinary first lady, Michele Obama.

eeww It was a virtual love-fest

Butt, the Prez was just getting warmed up:

"Bill Clinton understands where I am coming from here. He knows what it is like to be married to someone who is smarter, somebody who is better looking, somebody who is just all around a little more impressive than you are."

CGI whatswrong with this pictureAn odd Three-some, indeed

"This is not news to people.Since Michele and I first started dating 22 years ago, pretty much everybody I know who has met her at some point comes up to me and says, 'You know, Barack, you're great and all that. I like you. But your wife, she's really something'. And, I, of course agree.

 And so, of course, do we.

I can’t help but wonder though: do either of these two actually read their speeches before they’re loaded onto TOTUS anymore?