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Restarting A Government After Shutdown Is More Than Flipping A Switch

Governor Mark Dayton

Minnesota may soon have an end to its shutdown of the government, but re-starting the departments of the state will probably take a few days.

Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders aiming for a special session as early as Monday to finalize a deal struck late in last week. If rank-and-file lawmakers sign off on the deal, it will end a shutdown that’s been the longest in recent U.S. history.

But for residents whose lives have been disrupted, the relief won’t be immediate at all.

“It’s not like we can just flip a switch,” said Doug Neuville, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, which has halted renewal of driver’s licenses and vehicle tags during the shutdown. The computer systems used to issue renewals take time to bring back online, and the services won’t be immediately available, he added.

The same is true for closed rest stops and state parks. State budget office spokesman Jonathan Pollard said those must be cleaned and thoroughly checked before people can use them again. Road construction projects idled by the shutdown are likely to require much needed safety inspections before work can resume.

Licensing hang-ups for beer distributors could take several days to unsnarl as well, as returning state workers deal with backlogs which built up during the shutdown.

“It depends on the level to which the services were down,” Pollard added. “If you have an agency that’s mostly been up and functioning, it may be easier than if you have an agency that’s been completely shut down.”

The Dayton administration will likely consider the shutdown officially over once the governor signs new budget bills into law, Pollard added.

Unexpected Layoff’s Happen – Get Geared Up For A Job Hunt

Unexpected Layoff's Happen

Should you start looking for a job before you actually need one.  The problem is that most employed people do not plan or prepare for a job hunt.  What happens when the unexpected layoff happens?

They were complaining they didn’t have time or energy before to look or prepare, but they should have time now.  Somehow being unemployed creates a much more sense of urgency but an effective job hunt requires preparation.  You have to invest time and energy in the right ways to proactively manage your own career.

Putting forth some effort in key areas can make a huge difference to making your job search more effective and faster.  Consider these tips:

Keep track of your major projects and their outcomes.  Focus on detailing your roles and responsibilities and contributions to those projects.  Look to see if there are common themes among the projects you worked on.  If so, this could tell you what area to focus your new job search on.  It will also help in making your resume writing much easier.

Look at performance reviews which you should always keep handy.  Keep your own collection of project summaries or project plans or other reports which can remind you of the effort you put into them and the outcomes of your participation.

Keep a professional list of contacts and keep their contact information up-to-date.  If you have a lot of contacts you can choose to do them in small chunks to get them done.  You can download a copy to a flash drive if your company allows it.

Connections are vital to any job search, especially since most positions are filled by referrals or by someone who knows someone else.  Keep track of who is connected in your industry.  Don’t just connect with people, but build relationships within your industry.  Go to industry events and attend conferences.   Volunteer for professional activities within your groups.

Be careful what you post on your personal social media pages.  Don’t have pictures or comments which could be detrimental to any job search you do.  But take time to beef up your LinkedIn profile, which most professionals prefer over Facebook, etc.

When Talks Fail, Minnesota Government Begins Shutdown

Failed Deal On Budget

The state government of Minnesota begins a wide shut down Friday the start of the long July 4 holiday.  The Republication legislative leaders and Democratic Governor Dayton fail to reach a deal on the budget.

Several parts of the government on Thursday previously had began to shutdown just ahead of the midnight deadline for the budget.  These shutdowns included several websites as well as several dozen highway rest areas right in time for one of the largest travel season for the year.

Included with the shutdown is the furlough of roughly 23,000 employees out of the 36,000 Minnesota state employees.  Parks and campgrounds will be closed during one of their busiest weekends of the year – July 4^th.

Democratic leaders Senator Tom Bakk and Paul Thissen Representative met with Dayton for more than one week.  Republican leaders which include Kurt Sellers the House Speaker and Amy Koch the Senate Majority Leader.  The group of leaders met several different times in the governor’s office on Thursday.

The Republican leaders nor Dayton gave indication of when they might meet again to discuss budgets.

“I deeply regret that the last week of intense negotiations between the Republican legislative leaders and Senator Bakk, Representative Thissen and myself have failed to bridge the divide between us,” said Dayton.

Repubicans had previously asked Dayton to hold a special session where they wanted to approve an extension temporarily to fund for 10 days until the budget negotiations could be completed because they thought they were close on a budget deal.

Dayton said previous tries led to a 1.4 billion difference between the parties.  He dismissed their attempts for a temporary approval as a publicity stunt.

Bachmann and Paul Rock Day Two of Leadership Conference for Republicans

Bachmann and Paul Rock

During the second day of the 2011 Leadership Conference for Republicans there was some new young and older supporters for Ron Paul, Representative from Texas.  They came to show their support for Paul by casting their vote in the conference’s straw poll.

The supporters’ presence was known during a speech given by former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and now presidential candidate Herman Cain who came on just before Paul.  Cain’s opening included prickling some bigwigs such as Bill O’Reilly. Karl Rove added, “I didn’t get the memo that I’m not supposed to run! I’m running!”

Cain was well received for the most part.  When he transferred to foreign policy and said that, “When you mess with Israel you are messing with the United States of America!,” Paul’s dovish followers made it known that they were there by breaking up the cheering with an equal amount of boos.

Cain still brought out unanimous cheers by the crowd with touching on consistent topics such as cutting taxes across the board. When Cain turned to energy, he asked the listeners if America could meet its own energy needs and heard a chorus cheering with the answer of, “Yes we Cain!”

Next up was the Texas congressman.  Although extra chairs had been brought in, the Paul supporters still packed the room to standing room only.

Paul was proud that he had steered the debate on important concerns since his 2008 campaign. First he cited the mounting criticism against the Transportation Security Administration’s intrusive warrantless searches performed at most airports.  FYI – Paul’s home state Texas is thinking about prosecuting TSA representatives who feel people without warrants.)

Next Paul pointed out the mounting opposition of Republicans to the state of wars abroad and certainly to the frontrunner Mitt Romney who had made his own waves earlier during the week when he suggested it might be time to pull out of Afghanistan.

Paul referred to the late President Ronald Reagan’s removal of troops in Lebanon as the precursor for his foreign policy

“When he found out how irrational politics was in that region, he decided it was necessary to get out,” Paul said.

Actress Rita Wilson The New Editor of ‘Huffington Post 40′

New Editor 'Huffington Post 40'

The Huffington Post is creating a new site which they say is aimed at baby boomers and actress Rita Wilson, well known as wife to Tom Hanks will be the director of its content and vision.

Arianna Huffington, AOL Huffington Post Media Group President and Editor-in-Chief announced Thursday that Wilson who is also a producer will be the editor-at-large for “Huff/Post 40.”  The site is set to launch in August.  Wilson is even credited for coming up with the new sites’ name.

Huffington revealed in an interview that the site will appeal to both men and women over the age of 40 and it will be “both about news and about people sharing their own experiences about that stage in life.”

Huffington credits Wilson and her own Greek heritage which set them up to value the aging process to bringing wisdom as well as new possibilities.

The 54-year old Rita Wilson is married to Tom Hanks and has acted on television and Broadway as well as been in movies.  She has also written articles on health and style for O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine as well as Harper’s Bazaar.  She is a contributing editor at Harper’s Bazaar and has been since 2006.

Wilson had a lifelong dream to do a Broadway performance and made good on that dream at the age of 49, according to Huffington.  She has drive and a sense of humor and that is what makes her the perfect leader for the new site.

“She’s always following her own passions and making things happen, so I think she’s a great role model,” Huffington added.

Huffington, the HuffPo founder said she isn’t concerned about Wilson’s experience in journalism.  She calls the new editor-at-large “a wonderful writer herself and she has a clear sense of what the theme of the site will be.” Huffington said they are working now to fill other top editorial spots for the new site.

“Huff/Post 40 will be interactive and uplifting”, Huffington said.

“It’s important to cover this with a sense of joy about this age … that’s another thing that’s often missing from the writing about this stage of life,” Huffington said. “You worry about approval less; you’re more clear about who you are—all those things are so liberating. It’s a very liberating time of life, I say as I turn 60…”

“It’s an age where you can look less at the past and more into the future.”

Obama, Geithner And An Infrastructure Bank – Let Wave Two Begin

Infrastructure Bank

In the late 1930s, when we faced a double-dip depression, the chairman of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Federal Reserve — Marriner Eccles, worried that our mounting debts and real need for public investment would get hampered by a sentiment that “unwise spending seems to be spending for the other fellow.”

To keep the economy moving, FDR’s Second Wave of the New Deal turned to public and private partnerships to get the job done. FDR and Henry Morgenthau Jr., his Treasury Secretary ramped up self-liquidating enterprises and quasi-publics. Now it’s time for President Obama and Timothy Geithner to do something similar maybe introduce our own 21st century public-private-partnerships by forming a National Infrastructure Bank.

A bi-partisan bill to start an American Infrastructure Bank was introduced by Senators Kerry a Democrat from  Massachusetts, Hutchison a Republican from Texas, Lindsay Graham a Republican from South Carolina, and Warner a Democrat from Virginia finds a way of putting private capital which are now sitting on the sidelines to work building much-needed infrastructure. In a time of budgetary crisis, an Infrastructure Bank can finance an infrastructure platform for rush manufacturing. On the campaign trail in 2008, President Obama promised something like this, using public-private-partnerships to get infrastructure built. According to then candidate Obama, an Infrastructure Bank would help us “to reclaim our dream and restore prosperity.”

National Debt – “A Moral Disaster”, Produced by Washington and Wall Street

Moral disaster

Defaulting on our national debt would not be good and would be dubbed a “moral disaster” by a “Too Big To Fail” bank executive.

“Moral disaster” is already among us.

From the making of the financial crisis to the fallout it leaves behind. Not to mention the in-between multi-trillion absorption by our U.S. government (de facto the American people) of bad debts of private banks and bets (bankers that got to keep their bonuses and then some). Take ethics out of economic activity and there is no surprise the conundrum, the bedlam.

As it goes in the Wall Street executive suites, so it goes throughout the financial system. Parents set the tone in the home. Dangle candy, it’s within human nature to test limits. Cheaters and liars have been around since the beginning of time. If those controlling the levers are cozy, looking away or cheating — we’ve got problems.

Wall street 2010 bonuses totaled 138 billion, on bank profits which were greased by stimulus spending and the Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policy (which hurts savers, those dependent on income). Meanwhile, the majority of Americans struggle to stay afloat. Crises do have a way of bringing to light what’s important in our lives, to define our own American Dream, rather than one based on an inflated asset.

As I watch the “Raising the US Debt Ceiling” drama unfold, jousting politicians, over mere billions — like ladling an ocean with a spoon. Managing to the short-term, managing to self-interest and looking for a “happily ever after

Is Amazon Up For A Fight?

Amazon Fight

It is very hard to beat Amazon’s prices….this is also true on college textbooks.

College bookstores have been consistently losing ground to the Internet retail giant ever since it entered the textbook market.  It has the ability to buy in bulk with low overhead and employee costs.  It even has partnerships with third party sellers.  Amazon has made itself one of the most affordable ways to get books and other retail goods.

In an attempt to “level the playing field” the National Association of College Stores representing more than 3,100 college bookstores has picked a fight with Amazon – the world’s largest bookseller.  Particularly they are arguing over advertising claims made by the large retailer.  The claims can be found on Amazon’s textbook page and say that individuals can “Save up to 90 percent on used textbooks,” and “Save up to 30 percent on new textbooks,” as well as “Get up to 60 percent back when you sell.”

The National Association of College Stores (NACS) asked the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau on March 25 to look into these claims that Amazon is making.  This division is a self-regulatory body of advertisers.  On Tuesday, Amazon filed for a declaratory judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that the company’s ad claims are not misleading.

The topic of textbook prices has been a long hot topic of discussion some of which have prompted groups of students and legislation to combat high prices.  Rarely ever has the market been so competitive that advertising would be a point of legal contention.  But the dispute between Amazon and college bookstores could indicate a new, more competitive era for textbook sales.

Chinese Government Criticizes Google

Chinese Criticizes Google

The Communist government in China has been criticizing Google through their Chinese media outlets.

In a newspaper published by the Communist Party of China, The People’s Daily, a front-page editorial ran in their overseas edition charging Google with slandering the government in response to the Internet Company’s allegations that the Chinese government unleashed a phishing attack against Google Gmail users.

The People’s Daily contents that Google’s claims are absolutely false and that they in fact are trying to incite discord between the United States and China in an editorial titled “Google, What Do You Want?”.

The editorial contends that Google is attempting to “again and again to discredit China, and used public opinion to sing the China threat theory.” The story also contends that Google has become a “political tool” and has “betrayed the spirit of the Internet.”

While Google refused to comment on the editorial, they did say in an email to Computerworld that the company stands behind its statements about the phishing attack.  The Google spokesman said: “We think users should be aware of the disturbing campaign we’ve uncovered to collect user passwords and monitor user email,” the spokesman said. “Our focus now is on protecting our users and making sure everyone knows how to stay safe online.”

The problems between Google and China goes back to January 2010 when Google threatened to end their operations in China after disclosing an attack on its network from inside China was aimed at exposing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Google not only stopped complying with the Chinese government’s mandate to censor search results in China, but ended up pulling its search operations out China and moving them to Hong Kong.

Twitter Purchases TweetDeck

Twitter Purchases TweetDeck

After months of speculation, Twitter and TweetDeck officially announced that Twitter purchased TweetDeck in a deal romerd to be worth about $40 million to $50 million.

Iain Dodsworth, TweetDeck’s chief executive and founder said in a statement announcing the deal, “We’ve grown from one team member and a single user, to a team of 15 and a user-base of millions. The reason for this growth is simple — our unwavering focus on providing high-quality tools and services for the Twitter-centric power-user.”

Dick Costolo, Twitter’s chief executive, wrote on the San Francisco-based company’s blog that the purchase of TweetDeck represents “an important step forward for us.”

Twitter’s users are taken care of with Twitter.com and mobile apps, Dodsworth said. “By becoming part of the official platform, TweetDeck will now fill that role for brands, influencers, the highly active and anyone that just needs ‘more power,’” he said.

“TweetDeck provides brands, publishers, marketers and others with a powerful platform to track all the real-time conversations they care about.” Costolo said.

Costolo also opened the door to other app developers by saying that there is “significant opportunity” for those developers to produce products that create a more involved user experience for Twitter, as TweetDeck has.