Fortune Magazine and CNN Money recently put together a list of the top 10 blunders, screw-ups, missteps and SNAFUs made by candidates at employment interviews. The currently high unemployment rate has made it even more difficult than usual to land a job with about six job seekers for every available position. In normal economic times, there are about 2-3 seekers for every offered job. The list below the fold, adapted from the Fortune magazine list, was compiled by hiring managers from companies across a wide range of industry sectors. These are the folks who see hundreds of candidates each week. They see all kinds of applicants; the good, the bad and the ugly. Take their advice if you’re currently seeking gainful employment.
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It was announced today that President Obama has reversed a deeply immoral and perverse policy that has been in effect for the last 22 years. For the last two decades, if you had AIDS or HIV, you were precluded from entering the USA. This neanderthal policy, according to Obama, was at odds with our efforts at becoming thought leaders in the fight against HIV. In light of advancements in treatment of HIV and AIDS it was even more silly for the US to continue the ban. It kept us in the company of notoriously regressive countries like Saudi Arabia and Libya. I support this change. How do you feel about this? Sound off in the comments. 
Well, its time to break out the horns, blowers, and noisemakers. Crack open a bottle of Champagne and reflect on the year that was. Auld Lang Syne to you from your favorite online education blog. We’ll see you here next year!!! Have a safe and happy New Year! 
I was born at the beginning of the 70s. It was a time commemorated by super huge collars on orange paisley, polyester shirts and high heeled, white patent leather, zip-up boots for menfolk. We think of the Flower Power generation, Viet Nam and the Nixon years as the 60s. Gordon Gecko’s “Greed is Good” ethos characterized the “Me Decade” known as the 80s and the 90s were the era of Bill Clinton, the OJ Simpson trial and Grunge Rock. So what do we call the first decade of the new millennium as we draw to the close of the 2000s? Follow me after the jump for some ideas and to leave some o’ yer own! 
I am a reader/commenter on a number of social action blogs and other online communities. One of the best parts about blogging IMHO is that you get to really become a member of a community of people. As part of any community, you get to learn of the perspectives, thinking and experiences of other like minded folks. One recent peek into the actions of other Americans yielded a somewhat heart rending sign of the times in our United States. An informal inquiry of mall Santas uncovered the impact the poor economy has been having on children. Follow me over the fold for some of what Santa’s Helpers have been hearing from the tots that cross their laps this year. 
I am disgusted with the passage of the Senate healthcare “reform” bill over the weekend. Besides the inclusion of severe restrictions on womens’ rights to abortions which sets back womens’ rights by 25 years, it also passed without any public option or Medicare buy-in. What’s left is a giveaway to the pigs at a trough that I like to refer to as the “death by spreadsheet” industry. Trying hard to believe the spin from Democratic leadership that this is an historic advancement and not a steaming pile of unmentionable garbage? Follw me over the fold for proof that the American people have just been royally screwed over. 
So, TIME magazine has selected Ben Bernanke as their person of the year. Two posts down, I make my personal case for or against all the contenders. I wrote that I believed that Bernanke and others in the top echelons of the banking industry ought to be in prison for what they did to destroy the economy and the savings of so many average Americans; all while paying themselves record bonuses. I admit, I haven’t yet read the issue to see what about this man was worthy of the recognition. Nonetheless, I doubt anything they write will change the contempt I feel for the man. How about you? What do you think of Ben Bernanke and his recognition as “Person of the Year”? Sound off in the comments. 
There is a new movie out called Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie takes its title from a poem of the same name, “Invictus,” the best-remembered work of British poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). Invictus is a Latin word meaning “unconquered,” and the poem was written in 1875 as a demonstration of the poet’s resilience following the amputation of his foot due to tubercular infection. Freeman plays Nelson Mandela in the movie and the poem was recited by Mandela daily for motivation during the thirty years of his political imprisonment in South Africa. Click through to read more about the movie and the poem that was its inspiration.
This morning, managing editor for TIME magazine, Rick Stengel announced the short list of contenders for this year’s TIME Person of the Year issue. As in the past, recipients of this recognition are not always recognized for good works. Sometimes they are recognized for the very damaging or disruptive actions they may have taken to propel themselves into the forefront of the collective psyche. Follow me over the fold for the list, my thoughts on each person named and the opportunity to share your thoughts. 
Late last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that a breakthrough deal had been reached on the contentious healthcare reform bill the President has been asking for. But have they compromised away the core of the reform in this bill? Did they deal away the part that really would have put some competition into the market to bring down the absurdly high rates people are faced with to maintain their coverage? Will it make an insurance option available to those for whom today’s coverage is already priced beyond reach?