Visas and Football
H-1b
Visas are complicated things. They allow
non-immigrants to come into the United States to work for up to six years when
Americans are not available to fill certain jobs, mostly in the broad area of
computer engineering.
Because
English is their primary language, most of these workers come from India. About 65,000 of such visas are available each
year to college graduates and another 20,000 to those with more advanced
degrees. Individual companies, mostly in
the tech field,
hire some of these at salaries well over $100,000 annually but
individual contractors also hire many, usually at somewhat lower salaries, and
then farm them out to the tech companies.
It is a very complicated, convoluted process and the current administration,
in its efforts to create jobs for Americans, would like to curtail this
program. Of course, the companies using
this kind of labor, many in the Silicon Valleys of our country, would like to
see it continued, if not increased, because of lack of available Americans to
fill these jobs. The question I ask is why is our own educational system not
able to produce sufficient talent to fill these positions.
The
University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, opens its 2017 football
season in less than three months with a game against the University of
Michigan, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The game is being played in Arlington, Texas. Hmm.
Florida
State University, located in Tallahassee, Florida, opens its 2017 football
season that same weekend with a game against the University of Alabama, located
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. That game is
being played in Atlanta, Georgia. Hmm.
These
two games have nothing to do with the educational functions of the four
universities involved, although a good number of their students will make the
lengthy trips necessary for them to witness the games. Many others will watch the games on
television, probably at weekend parties centered around them. In that sense, they have a negative effect
upon the schools’ educational functions. They take up time and energy which might be more profitably used!
These
games are a far cry from the beginnings of intercollegiate athletic competition
where students from neighboring schools would get out into the fresh air and
play a game against one another as a break from a week of tough academic work.
Similar
distractions will take place for at least eleven more weekends on the campuses
of these schools, and most other colleges in the United States. (Of course, institutions
like MIT, Cal Tech, the University of Chicago and a few other places that remember
what the purpose of higher education is, will not partake of this Autumnal
ritual.) And I might add, it continues
afterwards into the basketball season, culminating in what is called “March
Madness,” involving 64 institutions of higher learning.
Of
course, there are many students who totally ignore their schools’ infatuation
with intercollegiate athletics and strive to study, learn and progress into
graduate work and the job market. But
many, although awarded a diploma at the end of four or five years, are
unprepared to enter a job market which is primarily, and increasingly so, a
technical one. And hence, the employers
of America find themselves having to turn to programs like the H-1b Visa
program.
I am sure that universities in India do not devote the time and energy to intercollegiate athletics which is found in higher education in the United States, and this shows up in the number of their graduates possessing skills which
not enough American graduates possess.
The same may be true of European and certainly Chinese universities, but
their graduates are not involved in the H-1b program to the extent that Indian
graduates are.
University of Mumbai campus building. They do have a stadium seating 55,000 but it is used for their national sport, cricket, and as a concert venue.
A
footnote to this might concern the academic qualifications of some of the
athletes in many major intercollegiate athletic programs in the United
States. They take up seats which might
better be occupied by real students.
Some would not be accepted in these schools were it not for their
athletic abilities and some often get involved in personal behavior which would
disqualify them from continuing as students.
A
few years ago on this blog I offered a solution to this problem. I will rehash it in a future posting. We must do something or eventually, far too
many of our technical positions will be occupied by those whose education took
place, or at least started, outside of the United States.
If
you think I am being excessively alarmist, do a little checking yourself as to
who are the CEOs today of Google, Adobe or Microsoft. (Okay, I know you won’t do that. They are
Sundar Pichai, Shantanu Narayen and Satya Nadella.) If this tickles your curiosity, check out the
banking and financial industries as well for similar trends. It might make you a little queasy as you
watch, if you still have the stomach to do so, the Gators play the Wolverines
on September 2.
Jack Lippman
The Art of the Deal - Annotated
Here are the eleven basic points made in Donald tRump’s book, “The
Art of the Deal.” My comments (in green) follow each one. The quotes are his.
(or his ghostwriter’s)
1. Think big
"I like thinking
big. I always have. To me it's very simple: if you're going to be thinking
anyway, you might as well think big."
Nothing wrong with that.
2. Protect the downside and the upside will take care of itself
"I always go into
the deal anticipating the worst. If you plan for the worst--if you can live
with the worst--the good will always take care of itself." That
can be very expensive if you started off “thinking big." Living with the worst can work out, of
course, if one is very, very rich, and has access to a personal bomb shelter.
3. Maximize the options
I never get too attached to one deal or one approach. I keep a lot of balls in the air, because
most deals fall out, no matter how promising they seem at first." Ah,
but in government, you are responsible for all of those balls in the air. You just can’t let them drop or “fall out”
like casinos in Atlantic City or a team in a failing pro football league trying
to compete with the NFL.
4. Know your market
"I like to think
that I have that instinct. That's why I don't hire a lot of number-crunchers,
and I don't trust fancy marketing surveys. I do my own surveys and draw my own
conclusions." Nothing
really wrong with that except that some people “like to think” a lot of things,
but that doesn’t make them right.
5. Use your leverage
"The worst thing
you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it. That makes the
other guy smell blood, and then you're dead." But
what if you are actually desperate to make it?
Must you pretend you are not? Lie
a little? A lot? Mislead people?
6. Enhance your location
"Perhaps the most
misunderstood concept in all of real estate is that the key to success is
location, location, location...First of all, you don't necessarily need the
best location. What you need is the best deal." Settling
for second best might be the best deal for a developer, but not for a nation. At least not for our nation.
7. Get the word out
"One thing I've learned about the press is that they're
always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better...The point
is that if you are a little different, a little outrageous, or if you do things
that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you." Even if those things are not true. Yes, orange hair, red hats and elongated ties
attract attention!
8. Fight back
"In most cases I'm
very easy to get along with. I'm very good to people who are good to me. But
when people treat me badly or unfairly or try to take advantage of me, my
general attitude, all my life, has been to fight back very hard.” Nothing wrong
with that, so long as you have the ammunition with which to do it. That can’t be faked. You can’t fight back by lying or making
things up. People catch on to that as
you point out below.
9. Deliver the goods
"You can't con people, at least not for long. You can create
excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press, and you
can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don't deliver the goods, people
will eventually catch on." Lying
will take you only so far. But it is a
tool which can be used by those who are ethically challenged.
10. Contain the costs
"I believe in spending what you have to. But I also believe
in not spending more than you should."
So long as it is someone else’s money, who cares. That’s what banks are for.
11. Have fun
"Money was never a
big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.” The
Presidency is not a game, schmuck!
JL
(peerts lyrem)
Second Amendment Contains 27 Words, Not 14
Many legislators, as well
as some politically-motivated Supreme Court Justices, choose to ignore the
first thirteen words of the Second Amendment to the Constitution which are “a
well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state …” The next fourteen
words, the core of the beliefs of those who consider that amendment sacrosanct,
are “… the right of the people to keep
and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” But the Second Amendment has twenty-seven words in it,
not fourteen!
The right of the people to keep and bear arms (beyond doing so in connection with that now obsolete
requirement implied by the entire Amendment's original intent that State militia members not be restricted in gun ownership, thereby enabling them to have them to bring with them when called to duty) must be limited to weapons
intended for hunting, self-protection and sport activities.
Beyond this, all weaponry, including assault rifles, should be strictly
regulated so that they are not available to fall into the hands of those with
evil intent or mental issues. Normal,
law-abiding citizens have no need for them.
There is no reason why the NRA should not
support this position if indeed that group is a patriotic organization.
JL
This is the eighth and probably the final story
in the series of very short pieces featuring Chrissy Frost, singer, senior
citizen and Queen of the Condo Circuit. Who knows, I may someday combine
them into a book. For the first seven installments, check out my 2016 blog
postings dated July 11 (How Chrissy
came to be a Florida entertainer), July 27 (The story of a loyal fan),
September 6 (Her
family’s history of being lucky), November 10 (The first
of three episodes dealing with some not-so-nice people), December 21 (The
second episode) and the 2017 blog postings dated
February 14 (the third episode) and May 1 (Chrissy
combats a Freudian eating disorder). Once
again, let me remind you that all characters in these stories are fictitious
and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental. I apologize to anyone who happens to be named
“Chrissy Frost” (I am sure there are many) and anyone who happens to have
tangerine colored hair.
Jack Lippman
Birthday Party!
It
was quite a gathering. Everyone was
there to celebrate her 75th birthday. Herman Blotz, her agent from New York had
flown down. Sam Fink’s widow, Estelle,
was sitting alongside of Dr. Tobias Fink, the shrink specializing in off-beat
remedies who had cured Crissy’s elevated cholesterol problem. Actually, he was a second cousin of her late
husband. In fact, this evening, he was
wearing one of Sam’s old maroon blazers.
Dr. Lopez was there too, as was the antique expert who had confirmed
that the tin bell Chrissy always carried in her purse was actually four hundred
years old. Seated at the head table with
Chrissy was Cleopatra Cohen, now a Regional Director with the Drug Enforcement
Agency. Of course, Chrissy’s
sister-in-law, Stella, dressed to the hilt was there too, running from table to
table, showing off her jewelry, most of which wasn’t real.
Chrissy's Party's Setting Before Guests Arrived
Some
of the folks from Valencia Heights where Chrissy and Stella still lived were
there. Chrissy didn’t play cards or do
much in the place, but they all were proud that the brightest star in the
galaxy of performers who entertained at the weekend shows during the “high
season” at the many retirement communities in Palm Beach County was one of
their own. The MC who had introduced
her when she made her first Florida appearance in a retirement community was
still around and had donned his old tuxedo.
He stepped up to the microphone and a hush came over the audience. “Ladeeeeez and Gentlemen,” he intoned, “Presenting, Miss
Chrisseeeee Frossssssst!”
A
pink spotlight settled on Chrissy who stood, waving at everyone. “Time After
Time,” they shouted, and Chrissy complied with the song that had made her
famous from West Palm Beach to Boca Raton.
The applause was deafening. After
doing a couple of encores (“You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Goldfinger”), Chrissy
looked over across the ballroom and was amazed that she had made so many
friends in South Florida. And it all
started back when she was sitting tearfully in Herman’s crummy office in
Manhattan and that poster with the palm trees advertising the Sunshine State
caught her eye. And here were at least a hundred people who thought enough of
her to have made four and five figure donations to a cancer-fighting charity to
enable them to be with her as she celebrated her 75th birthday at
Mar-a-Plago.
The
lights dimmed and the dance music the orchestra was playing ceased as a
spotlight fixed on a door off to the right.
And through it he walked, a little stouter than most expected him to be,
but wearing his elongated red tie and his tangerine colored mop.
“Chrissy,”
he said, “People call me all the time telling me how truly great you are, and
now I can see what they are talking about.
Too bad we didn’t meet a few years back when I could have put you on a
really major TV show.” By now he had
walked across the ballroom, as the smartphone cameras clicked away, right up to
where she sat. Putting his hand, which
was a bit sweaty but not really small as some folks have said, on her back a
little too tightly, he looked down at her and said, “I have a great surprise
for you on your birthday, Chrissy!” He
looked toward the door at the left of the ballroom and pointed at it. As a spotlight focused, four uniformed guards
came into the room, leading two men in orange jumpsuits.
“Nutsy!”
Chrissy screamed, running up to the shackled newcomers. “You almost killed me on that beach, you son
of a bitch,” she cried out as she tried to spit in his face. Nutsy, still agile even after two years of
his prison sentence, quickly ducked, her spit landing just above the knot of the
long red tie worn by the man who had thought he was doing Chrissy a big favor
by getting Nutsy flown in from Leavenworth Federal Prison for the evening,
along with Rocky who was attempting to smile at Stella.
After
he finished wiping the spittle from his chin, he tuned to Chrissy, his face
turning the color of his hair, “I thought I was doing you a favor, but I guess you’re
just another bimbo. Get out of my damn place! Whoever let you ever book your damn event
here in the first place? You got no
class! But don’t try to ask for a refund. We don’t give ‘em, baby!”
“No
one talks to me that way,” Chrissy answered as she swung her cane, which she
always carried but rarely had need for, at him.
It struck him at the bottom of his long red tie and he bent over in
pain.
Not that it has anything to do with the story, other than illustrating the lenght of the tie referred to above, here's a picture of a well-known actor doing a less-than-flattering imitation of the President. (Identity at end of story spelled backwards.)
Meanwhile,
Cleopatra Cohen had gotten up and
grabbed Chrissy with one arm and dragged her away, latching on to Stella with
the other. “We gotta get out of here
fast, girls!”
Flashing
her DEA badge and shoving aside the bewildered security people in the room,
Cleopatra Cohen headed for the door with her charges and once outside, jumped
into her waiting SUV and headed over the bridge crossing the Intracoastal
Waterway. Thirty minutes later, she
dropped them off at Valencia Heights.
Over
the next week, when their friends tried to contact Chrissy or Stella, they
found their house completely emptied out and no trace of either one of
them. In fact, when any one inquired
about either of them, all they got back were sideways shaking of the head.
Meanwhile,
in what she thought was a luxuriously furnished DEA safehouse somewhere in
Lower California, Chrissy sat doing her nails.
Turning to Cleopatra, she asked “How come the government has the money
to keep this wonderful place down here in Mexico while they never had enough to
run a decent operation in the States to catch those drug smugglers?"
Cleopatra
smiled. “Whoever said this was a
government operation? And what do you
think ever happened to those drugs we captured on the beach?"
Chrissy
finally understood. “If I’m hearing you
right, we can never go back to the United States,“ she replied.
“That’s
right! And since they’re building a wall, that would be pretty difficult
anyway. Chrissy, you’ll have to learn to sing in
Spanish!"
And
she did.
* “Una
y otra vez, me digo que soy, tan afortunada de estar amandote … “
Jack Lippman
*“Time
after time, I tell myself that I’m, so lucky to be loved by you …”
(peerts lyrem)
HOW TO BE ALERTED TO
FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.
Many readers of this blog are alerted by Email
every time a new posting appears. If you wish to be added to that
Email list, just let me know by clicking on Riart1@aol.com and sending me an
Email.
HOW TO CONTACT ME or CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL TO JACK'S
POTPOURRI.
BY CLICKING ON THAT SAME ADDRESS, Riart1@aol.com YOU ALSO
CAN SEND ME YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN THIS BLOG AS WELL AS YOUR
COMMENTS. (Comments can also be made by clicking on the "Post a
Comment" link at the blog's end.)
MOBILE DEVICE ACCESS.
DID YOU KNOW THAT www.jackspotpourri.com IS ALSO
AVAILABLE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES IN A MODIFIED, EASY-TO-READ, FORMAT?
HOW TO VIEW OLDER POSTINGS.
To view older postings on this blog, just click on the
appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right,
or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very
bottom of this posting. The “Search Box” in the
right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for
which you are looking.
HOW TO FORWARD
POSTINGS.
To send this posting to a friend, or enemy for
that matter, whom you think might be interested in it, just click on the
envelope with the arrow on the "Comments" line directly below,
enabling you to send them an Email providing a link directly to this posting.
You might also want to let me know their Email
address so that they may be alerted to future postings.
Jack Lippman
No comments:
Post a Comment