Going to Be taking some time off

One of the bonuses of working for the Federal Government is the ability to take off when a family member is ill. I will be placing a note in asking for the week of the 17.
I will not be taking the time but have the papers in should family require me to leave
quickly.

Unfortunately, my mother is having a cancer operation. My father assures me that my driving is likely more dangerous than the procedure.

The Jewish holiday of Purim is approaching. I usually like the festivities and the fruit filled pastries. Perhaps, I will take the beloved Sprite for a bus ride to the local Jewish community and get her a small bag.

The subject of gay Nazis did come up in yesterdays thread. One of the things about working in NYC and specifically in the fashion industry is that one does indeed come into contact with many gay people. One of the greatest shocks I ever had on the blogosphere was encountering foaming mad gay anti-semites. The gay people I encountered in my every day life were professionals and otherwise very ordinary. Yet
it should really surprise no one that there are people in any group who can be bigots
or even Nazis. Yes, Virginia there certainly were gay Nazis and yes there are gay Republicans as well. In fact the Log Cabin Republicans are some of the most decent folks in the city. If we look hard enough we can likely find gay doctors, cab drivers and probably even a cartoonist or two.

That being said on the rare occasion I do encounter frothing mad gay antisemites they are always Marxists or anarchists with too much free time on their hands. I seldom see the stereotype Stormfront Hitler worshiping type. There was a vocal exception at Bad Eagle and some of the familiar blogs who has deservedly disappeared.

I want to point out that what disturbs me the most in the Galiano matter is the cult of excuses. The pressures of work got to the designer. All of us have pressures at work and there is zero excuse or rationale for that type of behavior. For three years, I worked under pressure that would have made most people snap. This was despite being one of the most productive persons in my area. I was placed on trial for charges that an arbitrator dismissed as double hearsay and described as deminimus. Yet throughout my ordeal, I never lashed out and had I done so my career would have been over. In short, I was facing a series of phantom allegations and any real outburst would have ended my career. I have zero sympathy for a frequently drunk and self absorbed designer who has zero idea of the real pressures that almost everyone encounters. There is zero excuse for going off on bigoted tirades aimed at Jews, Blacks, Gays or anyone else. There is zero excuse for obnoxious designers, Hollywood egomaniacs or the cab driver to subject anyone to bigoted rants.

This being said the easy thing to do was for the company to fire its problem child.
What the company should have done was sent the obnoxious designer to rehab and therapy. There was an incident in Kerry Collins career where he did say some racist things. Collins went to alcohol rehab and made amends by working with charities in the inner city. Of course Kerry Collins went on to a decent career as a QB and the matter is forgotten. Then again it is likely that Collins has more humanity and humility in his character than the familiar self absorbed Hollywood Clowns or Obnoxious designers. It is no crime to fall down. The crime is not getting up and dusting yourself off.

Beamish in 12