OT - HUMOR - Ordering pizza in 2008

And the bottom line is, how bad does he want the job?

But "should of" instead of "should have" is not.

djb

Aahhhh HAAA!

That's what I thunk. Thanks.

-Phil Crow

..along with all the sexual predators who employ them. And the Homeland Security folks. And nervous town lawyers and officials. And their insurance companies. And parents, lots of parents. It just ain't so simple, is it?

Bob

That's easy--not that much. It's a 6-night evening course teaching astronomy. Not the core of my personal or financial existence.

Bob

I was hardly irate, so don't attribute that to me. My concern was not with the community taking reasonable precautions to protect its citizens and its corporate self. I feel that what information was sought was far beyond anything necessary to determine my qualifications. In fact, I have been asked to grant virtually unrestricted access to personal information, much of it completely irrevelant to the job. I was also asked to waive my rights seek redress if the information was mishandled. I doubt that the form is "typical." If it is, we're just that much closer to a police state.

Bob Schmall

For some weird reason that brings to my mind a comment by Benjamin Franklin, "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security".

(Not sure that's an exact quote, but perhaps it captures the essence of Ben's statement.)

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

Then why are you so irate about it?

Oh, I forgot. The trial lawyers are just innocent bystanders. They don't have a powerful lobby in Congress to keep laws written the way they like.

todd

Take that form, and ask yourself how you would have reworded it as a printed generic form to address your concerns. If you can come up with better wording that will pass their lawyers, they may thank you for it. It sounds like a typical generic form to me. Perhaps you haven't done much work for the government.

I'm sorry, but that's not making any sense.

... snip

Actually, if you think about it, that's not quite true. In something close to a police state, they would simply be asking you (police state -- they would be demanding) for the information and not worrying about whether you cared about how it was used or misused.

Army General Richard Cody

While trail lawyers do engage in certain excesses at times, personally I'm just as happy that someone is making sure that there are a few trails left open to the public.

I'm not irate. I've had to make a value judgment about whether to surrender some of my privacy in exchange for a temporary part-time job. I've decided that it is not worth it. That's the personal level. Deeper than that, I've been thinking about how much authority a citizen should cede to his government. You know, the old Social Contract thing. Tom Veatch referred to Ben Franklin's statment about giving up liberty for security and having neither, and it fits the occasion perfectly.

Bob

Didn't say that and didn't mean it. What I meant is that there are lots of influences here, that things just ain't so simple that we can blame just one set of people. George Will, a thoughtful conservative, said "The study of history is the best way and, other than by bitter experience, perhaps the only way to be inoculated against the terrible simplifiers, those people who lead nations into trouble." Another way to phrase it: there's a simple answer for everything, and it's always wrong.

Bob

I did not say this was a police state. Taking your example, it IS something close to a police state when the information is required in order to get the job--that's coercion, however mild. Once again, I'll say that the authorities are justified in conducting a background check for anyone in a sensitive position. My concern is that they are asking for too much leeway in seeking it and are asking me sign away my rights.

Bob

At this rate, I'm not likely to...

John I'll be glad to fax you a copy of the authorization. Please email the number.

Bob

I didn't say you said it was a police state, thus my comment about "in close to a police state they would just ask and not care ..." As far as your conclusion, I certainly agree, it seems like a pretty heavy-handed agreement (sort of a government equivalent of a EULA -- you give up all your rights, they keep all theirs and more). ... and you are right, it is coercion, particularly if everbody starts doing this. Certainly not part of a trend heading in the right direction.

Army General Richard Cody