Excuse me, can you clarify that bumper sticker......

Okay I am sure I have written about this before but I am so tired of seeing signs and bumper stickers about buying American. Don't get me wrong I am all for keeping the American people working and buying products that are made here but I think there should be some clarification on these 'signs'.

I have recently joined many Americans on the unemployment line due to the fact that the company I worked for opted to get most of their product prepackaged over seas. Even stuff that is still packaged in the facility might be made over seas (but packaged here in the good ole USA) but by people buying it people here in America stay working. The sad thing is that usually there is no way to tell what products could save a job here.

I see people driving foreign made vehicles all the time. And by foreign I don't just me foreign companies, I also mean the American auto cars that are manufactured in other countries. So why is it if I drive a 'Ford' automobile down the road no one thinks twice about it even if it is made in Mexico but if I drive a 'Honda', that's made in Ohio, people can't believe I would buy such a thing?

Now come on how hypocritical is that?

I actually had a conversation with a prominent physician recently who said he only buys American cars no matter where they are built because at least their money is traded here. Well my response to that is........... well if they make their merchandise here then the money is still 'traded' here since the employees will be receiving a paycheck to buy other products here and keep others working.

I personally have been to Black Lake where I can drive a foreign car on the lot if it is made here and is Union but I can't drive an American car if it wasn't built here (or Canada). Now come on then shouldn't the signs I see at the Union Halls actually say buy Union not buy American.

Well this is just my opinion here, and I am sure some will agree and some may not, but I had to give my 2 cents.

And of course I would love to have everything here say "Made in the USA" because I would like to some day be able to walk into a store and not have to look at the "Made in" stickers on products. What needs to happen is for us as citizens of this great country to stand up and let our voices be heard, let our companies and our politicians know that we want our jobs back, we want our dignity back, and we want our country back.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day Everyone! Now let us not forget our early Labor Leaders for better working conditions, wages, and benefits. Even those who are not union members still owe thanks to early labor leaders because without them fighting for all of the mentioned benefits no one would have received them. People lost their lives in the early Labor battles so that we can reap the benefits and provide for our families. As bad as the economy is right now, the common people are still much better off now than we were many years ago.

Should the question of 'race' even be asked?

Should it be legal to ask race, religion, or sex on applications for employment, admissions, or unemployment? Wether it be an application for employment, unemployment, or even college admissions- race, religion or sex shouldn’t even pertain to the qualification, so why would they ask the question. Okay I understand there may be some jobs that may be gender specific but the race of said persons should never matter.

I personally feel that race (or religion) should not be asked on anything I fill out since this should not be used to help, or hinder, me (or anyone else) in any way.

I would like to think that any gain I have obtained in life has been obtained through my own knowledge or connection and not because someone needs to fill a ‘quota’ of any kind. The same goes for things I may have been denied in life. Hopefully these have been denied because I am not qualified and not because of race, sex, or religion.

Okay what made me think about this is I recently had to fill out the application for unemployment benefits in the state of Michigan and was very surprised when the application asked my race. I have to ponder the question, what on earth does my ‘race’ have to do with my eligibility for unemployment compensation? If I have worked the amount of weeks required to qualify, then that should be all they need to be know. I would think in this day and time the question of race should not be asked on anything, especially an application for unemployment benefits.