Re: Lebanon Update

Mike has some more info on the Lebanon/Israel conflict:

Caught in the middle
Lebanese Christians appear to be right in the middle of what’s going on right now in the Middle East, more so than innocent Israelis under Hezbollah rockets, or Hezbollah fighters and sympathsizers under Israeli attack — but so far, their losses have been fewer.
They sit in a bad spot, which could worsen if Israel does indeed launch a full-scale ground offensive in southern Lebanon. Following is a message from a Lebanese friend…

Lebanon is under siege: Regardless of what your political beliefs are, Lebanon is being destroyed at the time you read this. And there is one thing you can do to help cease the fire: you can make your voice heard against the disaster that’s being forced upon the Lebanese people.
Scream your indignation and call for a cease-fire and for the support of the Lebanese government position.
At a horrible time like this, we ask the international community, our friends, you, to stand together with us and react. Only by showing how united you are, will we be able to achieve massive sensibilization and help Lebanese children have a future.
Take a minute to read the note below: it’s a summary of the main points of the Lebanese government legitimate sensible call for a cease-fire. Print it out and send it by post, by fax, by email to your local government office, to international newspapers, to international TV stations, to the UN headquarters and missions around the world…anything will help. It only takes a minute.
Thank you.

Calling for a Cease-Fire
July 18th, 2006
Israel is destroying Lebanon. It has no right to do so.
Children, women, innocent civilians are being killed by the Israeli attacks. Entire families are being chased out of their home villages. Bridges, roads, airports, ports, highways, energy plants and communication networks are being pounded to the ground. The whole country has been cut off from the rest of the world.
We, Lebanese people, are sad, we are suffering, we are angry, we are determined and mobilized to work together towards saving our nation.
Israel’s initiative is an unfair disproportionate collective punishment inflicted upon Lebanon for the wrong reasons: what is happening today goes beyond the issue of a prisoners exchange.
Neither the government nor the innocent people of Lebanon had been informed or agreed on the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers.
Lebanon is in despair: it’s a humanitarian and economic disaster.
We call for an immediate cease-fire under the auspices of the UN,
We call for the establishment of the government’s sovereignty on all Lebanese territory in cooperation with the UN,
We call for your help to pressure Israel to stop its attacks.
Help us achieve it as soon as possible.
So that Lebanon will survive. Lebanon will survive.

Re: Minimum Wage

Here’s some more info on the minimum wage debate:

A package GOP leaders planned to bring to a vote Friday or Saturday in the House also would renew several popular tax breaks, including a research and development credit for businesses, and deductions for college tuition and state sales taxes, said a spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner.
The wage would increase from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour, phased in over the next three years, said Kevin Madden, the aide to Boehner, an Ohio Republican.
The maneuver is aimed at defusing the wage hike as a campaign issue for Democrats while using its popularity to spur enactment of the Republican Party’s long-sought goal of permanently cutting taxes on millionaires’ estates.
The Senate could take it up next week before leaving on a monthlong recess.

You voted for them

From email:

A Washington, DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country is in trouble.
1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near the window.

2. I got a call from a candidate’s staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then he interrupted me with, “I’m not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts,” Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, “Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa,” His response click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that’s not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, “Don’t lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!”

4. I got a call from a lawmaker’s wife who asked, “Is it possible to see England from Canada?” I said, “No.” She said, “But they look so close on the map.”

5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, “I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time”

6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 am and got to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn’t understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?” I said, “No, why do you ask?” She replied, “Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I’m overweight. I think that’s very rude!” After putting her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT),and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

8. A Senator’s aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, he asked, “Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?”

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, “How do I know which plane to get on?” I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, “I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.”

10. A lady Senator called and said, “I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?” I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She said, “Yeah, whatever, smarty!”

11. A Senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. “Oh, no I don’t. I’ve been to China many times and never had to have one of those.” I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, “Look, I’ve been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!”

12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, “I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York.” I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, “Are you sure that’s the name of the town?” Yes, what flights do you have?”replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can’t find a Rhino anywhere.” The lady retorted, “Oh, don’t be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!” So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, “You don’t mean Buffalo, do you?” The reply? “Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.”

Makes you really wonder about the people we’ve elected to represent us.

Re: Minimum Wage

Here are some other thoughts on minimum wage…
I’ve noticed the last few times that I’ve gone to What-a-burger that the price of all their burgers and meals has gone up.
You can’t even by their basic burger meal for less than the minimum hourly wage.
I would guess that a large percentage of the folks working there make minimum wage – I haven’t verified that, I’m just guessing.
So if they have 20 workers making $5.15 and hour and suddenly have to jump to $7.25 per hour, what does that do to the cost of my burger?
I can tell you one thing, unless I’m getting a similar substantial raise, it will be a lot easier for me to curb my appetite for a double meat cheese burger with jalapeanos.
Am I right with my math in thinking that’s a 40 percent raise? I was never good at math, but that’s what I’m coming up with. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I’d love a 40 percent raise myself, but I don’t exactly see that happening. And even with six years of college* under my belt its really gonna hurt me if prices on everything jump higher to pay for the raise increase.
What do you think?

*Full disclosure: I went to school six years, but still only got a Bachelor’s degree. Unlike my sisters Amy, who did it in four and Kara, who will have her Bachelor’s and Masters in five. Nerds. 😉