"Democrats and Unaffiliateds More Likely To Be Unemployed Than Republicans"

This is interesting:

Data from Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys shows that 15.0% of Democrats in the workforce are currently unemployed and looking for a job. Among adults not affiliated with either major party, that number is 15.6% while just 9.9% of Republicans are in the same situation.

"I was abused by a woman and it haunts me every day "

This story is an important one:

It seems unthinkable, but ChildLine says calls from boys abused by women have doubled in a year. This deeply disturbing investigation reveals the terrible impact of a crime that society has never dared to confront.

The psychology of men is so much more complex when it comes to abuse than we realize. Read the article and let me know what you think.

Twenty-six percent (26%) of employed adults say they have seriously thought that someone in their workplace was capable of mass violence...

I read this poll over at Rasmussen and wasn't surprised:

Twenty-six percent (26%) of employed adults say they have seriously thought that someone in their workplace was capable of mass violence, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Most working adults (64%), however, say they have not seriously thought a co-worker would be capable of such violence. Another 11% are undecided.

One-in-three men (33%) say they have held that thought before, compared to only 17% of women.

Forty-three percent (43%) of government workers say they have felt a fellow employee was capable of mass violence, more than double the number among those who work for private companies.

A few thoughts about this. First, why do so many government workers think their co-workers want to commit mass violence? Could it be that there are just so many government workers that some may seem or act in a way that makes people think they are violent? Could it be that government workers are more suspicious of their co-workers, or could it be that the government does a poor job of screening and hires people who have behavior that is unstable, and never gets rid of them?

Second, are men just more suspicious of people or better at sensing dangerous behavior than women? And finally, with 26% of respondents to this poll thinking that their co-worker is the next mass murderer, it is reassuring to know that there are only about 1000 people murdered at work each year. But, less reassuring is 1.5 million are assaulted in the workplace each year.

A good book that I use if you are looking for one on the topic is Preventing Workplace Violence: A Guide for Employers and Practitioners.

Even the dog gets better treatment.....

I came across an article in Time magazine entitled, "Spendthrift Spouses Could Hurt Holiday Shopping" that looked kind of interesting:

What might be the driving factor that lowers holiday retail sales and stalls a much-anticipated economic recovery? Stingy spouses with children. According to a new survey from America's Research Group, a retail-consulting firm, 50.1% of parents plan on cutting back on gifts to each other this year. That figure is up from 44.4% last year, a surprising jump considering that the U.S. was in the depths of the financial crisis during the previous holiday season. "Parents want to maintain gift-spending levels for their kids, so they are showing more willingness to trim on each other," says Britt Beemer, founder and chairman of America's Research Group.

But here is what caught my eye:

Even the pooch may be getting better treatment than Pops. In a separate Consumer Reports survey, 22% of women who expected to reduce their holiday spending said they would be cutting back on gifts for their spouse. Only 14% said they would cut back on gifts for their pets. Ruff.

Great, so a dog is more likely than a husband to get a gift at Christmas? The article doesn't say but I wonder if husbands would dare give a gift to a dog rather than to their wife? If I was a guy and Fido received a gift and I got none, I would be really pissed. Would you?

"I see Rude People"

Advice Columnist Amy Alkon has a new book that just came out, I See Rude People: One woman's battle to beat some manners into impolite society, which is terrific. She is featured in a New York Times article on people fighting back against rudeness:

Ms. Alkon, the advice columnist, shares this philosophy. Extreme shaming can work, she said, adding that the next time she saw Barry, the guy from Starbucks, he was talking on his cellphone outside the store rather than in it. She likes to think she had something to do with that.

“There are people in this world who just don’t care about you or anyone else,” said Ms. Alkon, the author of “I See Rude People” (McGraw-Hill Companies) coming out this month. “They are going to inflict themselves on you, and the only way to stop them is to show them there’s a cost.”

It depends how people are rude as to whether I would say anything. If they say something in a way that tries to restrict freedom or that puts an entire group down, I might speak up. You know, like when store clerks yell "All men are pigs!" Guys or gals on cells phones, not so much.

What about you? If someone is rude in public, do you say anything?

MSNBC: Teacher shortage has given way to teacher glut (via Newsalert):

Since last fall, school systems, state education agencies, technical schools and colleges have shed about 125,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the same time, many teachers who had planned to retire or switch jobs are staying on because of the recession, and many people who have been laid off in other fields are trying to carve out second careers as teachers or applying to work as substitutes to make ends meet....

But the nationwide demand for teachers in 60 out of 61 subjects has declined from a year earlier, according to an annual report issued this week by the American Association for Employment in Education. Only one subject — math — was listed as having an extreme shortage of teachers. In recent years, more than a dozen subjects had extreme shortages.

Why is it so easy to fire this man for saying something politically incorrect and so hard to even investigate this man who writes emails to the enemy, readily discusses his leanings toward faith-inspired violence at work and in seminars and encourages patients to convert to Islam?