Trump's Wall Project

http://arnellhill.com/ discusses President Trump's first America First jobs project.  Building the wall between the United States and Mexico.

President Trump, Congressman Lewis tour of National Museum of African American History and Culture

#TrumpLewistourNMAAHC President Trump, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia and their families should tour the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture together in a private after hours tour. No cameras and press, unless both parties want the press in attendance. Send a tweet to Congressman Lewis @repjohnlewis and contact the White House www.whitehouse.gov suggesting the event. Then see what happens.

How Much Money Is Enough?

Earning enough money to live comfortably is a goal of many people.  But how much money is “enough”?  And what is comfortable? One answer is, it depends on the kind of lifestyle you want to live and what type of “comforts” you crave.  One person with a modest lifestyle could live comfortably on $90,000 a year.  Another person with an extravagant lifestyle would find $90,000 as being not enough money to enjoy life the way they want to.  A life filled with luxuries and always wanting to experience the “best” does cost more.  That does not mean you can only enjoy life if you are wealthy.  It does mean you may have to pick and choose when to experience life at the extravagant level. 

If wealth was the primary indicator of happiness, there would be many depressed people in this world.  Money is power.  Money does buy you access to people and things, there is no doubt about that.  The material nature of the world supports money being a force to be acknowledged.  Our material desires dictate how much we will spend and how much money we “need” to enjoy life.  Our desires lead us to pursue our level of “enough”.  Most people can settle for having a level of enjoyment that does not require that every experience must be a lavish one.  So their income needs are not as major as a person who must have the lavish lifestyle.

How much money is enough?  We all need enough income to support our basic needs.  Food, shelter, companionship, entertainment are among the basic needs of people .  It is the level of enjoyment that we want to experience in each of those categories that determines what our “enough” is.  If our income level is not enough to achieve our dream levels for food, shelter, companionship, and entertainment, we have to “settle” for lesser levels that do not cost as much.  Settling for less does not mean you enjoy an experience less.  It’s all relative to how important the level of experience is to you. 

We all create levels in life that we want to achieve.  My enough is not your enough.  It comes down to personal preference and making sacrifices to reach the level of preference you desire. Many things we do are not necessary.  It all comes down to that simple statement.  We do things because we can.

....And So It Begins - The Conservative Revenge

I was in the waiting room of an auto service dealership.  The television in the waiting room was faithfully turned to the morning Fox network news.  The story on the screen was something related to a "white man's wish list".  I had heard Fox had a deep conservative European American connection so I have never watched it all the way through.  I thought about going to another room where guests could wait, but decided to listen to the diatribe as this is what lies ahead for at least the next 4 years.

The news correspondents were proudly expressing conservative European American viewpoints.  Several video clips of Trump were shown where he expressed his views on immigration.  The concept of the immigration wall came up and another black customer and I exchanged quiet smirks and knowing smiles at the rants.

But as the saying goes, to the victor belongs the spoils.  So I'm already used to just staring with no emotion at the conservative rants already coming out over the airwaves.  But to the victor also comes the responsibility to deal with all the myriad of problems in this country and world.  Now it's the turn of the conservatives to put forth "solutions" to problems and to defend the policies and programs that result from these "solutions".  So, let's see what new programs will be in effect after 6 months in 2017.

We should have some idea by then as to who will be helped and who will not be helped in the next 4 years.  Checks and balances.  That supposedly is what our government is about.  I'm eager to see what proposals and policies will come out in place of all  the political rhetoric we heard in the past 2 years.  Strap yourself in.  It should be an interesting rodeo the next 4 years.

Open Letter To NBA Commissioner Adam Silver

Dear Commissioner.  Last night fans in Memphis, Tennessee came out to see the stars of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love.  Fans paid for tickets in advance in anticipation of seeing these stars perform.  What they got was an announcement that all 3 players were not there.  Instead they were back home in Cleveland resting!

Another instance where the fans are thought of last.  Another reason why NBA fans should reassess purchasing tickets to NBA games.  Especially if the teams feature marquee players.  There is no guarantee those stars will play the game.  The players do not have the loyalty to the fans who are paying the high priced tickets.  The players do not care if you spent 3 months of entertainment money on this one game.

Teams should start providing refunds if this trend continues.  Fans are being ripped off.  You as commissioner are doing nothing to support the fans getting their money's worth. Maybe it will take declining ticket sales to get your attention.

NBA fans, save your money for viewing parties at your home when the star players are playing at home on TV.  When the stars come to your town don't buy tickets unless you get a guarantee that unless the player is injured, they will show up and give you your money's worth.  Stop letting NBA players slap you in the face after you pay your hard earned money.

Self Service/Customer service evolution

Self Service/Customer Service Evolution

I was made aware of another event in the evolution of self service this past Friday.  Southwest Airlines, the champion of “you find your own damn seat” thinking, has taken it to the next step.  Now customers scan their own boarding pass when getting on a plane!  Yes, another “do it your damn self moment”.  I was flying back from Orlando when the gate attendant  told us that they “do it differently” in Orlando.  Along with having the pleasure of standing between two lightning rods as you await seating, now Southwest Airlines apparently is having customers scan their own boarding passes.  You know what’s next don’t you?  Soon passengers will have to load their own bags into the cargo hold of the plane.  So, after you clear through security you will be asked to go out onto the tarmac, find your plane, find your bag in a pile of bags, and then load your bag(s) into the cargo hold.  The next “do it your own damn self” moment will be when boarding the plane you will be asked to grab the drink you want out of a cooler positioned strategically by the  by the door as you enter the plane.   That way the attendants will not have to get up and take your drink order during the flight.  

Most modern planes already have a video showing what to do in an emergency.  So what does that mean for the future of flight attendants?  Well, they probably will become Anti Terrorist/Homeland Security Attendants.  Their main job will be to keep rowdy passengers under control and to prevent any possible incidents from occurring.  Criminal Justice majors in college, you just had another lane open up for you in possible career choices!

So passengers scan their own boarding pass, get their own drink while boarding, find their own seat, watch a video on emergency procedures.  I forgot that also while boarding the plane they could grab as many pretzels and peanuts as they can humanly consume on a 2-4 hour flight!

You know what’s going to happen.  To get pampered and get real customer service, you will have to pay a customer service fee for someone to do those things that you don’t want to do.  I hope this kind of service doesn’t come to the restaurant business.  Some restaurants have already started bringing a bottle of water to your table, pour you one glass then leave the bottle for you to pour your own damn water afterwards.  Self services truly is the wave of the future!

Standing Rock - North Dakota Pipeline Issue

When is enough, enough?  Haven’t Native American tribes been through enough turmoil, treachery, deceit and abuse since European Americans first came to their land?  The North Dakota pipeline issue is the latest incident and continuance of mistreatment.  Allegedly the plans for the North Dakota pipeline were coordinated with and approved by impacted Native American parties.  If that was the case then why are Native Americans now protesting the path of the pipeline?  Is the situation just a continuance of European American  beliefs in “manifest destiny” the belief that God approves their efforts to expand across the land of others?

European Americans took  land and resources from Native Americans hundreds of years ago to establish the United States of America.  Would it be too much to divert the pipeline around the area in question?  When is enough, enough?  Is it not enough that an entire civilization and culture was dismantled by European American self interests and greed? Haven’t Native Americans paid enough for the progress of others?

Sometimes decisions that seem economically sensible need to be weighed against other factors.  If  Native Americans have valid concerns about the impacts of the pipeline why not change the plans, despite any increased costs?  Do European Americans have to win at every dispute?  If so why?  “Experts” state that the pipeline will never leak.  More self assurance in European American technology.  Just check history to see how many times we’ve been surprised by events we thought would never happen.  Things that man builds do not last forever.  Deterioration happens.  If you don’t believe so look at the infrastructure in most cities in the United States and the maintenance/repair needed on water lines, gas lines, bridges etc.

Just because the US Army Corps originally met with Native American tribes on plans for the pipeline does not mean they listened and responded to their concerns.  Obviously Native Americans have enough concerns to attempt to physically block continuance of the construction.  Thankfully protests have brought attention to the situation.  Now we will see if the same approach used hundreds of years ago will be used to respond to concerns of Native Americans.  Or will the government of the United States barter a compromise agreement that results in changes to the pipeline plans?  If a compromise occurs it would offer hope for the future direction of the United States.  It would mean this country actually understands the impact it had on the demise of the Native American culture.  It would mean the United States can actually react humbly to the needs of all citizens in this country to include Native Americans, the original citizens.

After the hate filled Presidential election campaign, a positive decision in favor of Native Americans would be a breath of fresh air.  It would be a compassionate decision not based only on economics and faith in technology.  It would be a compassionate decision based on respect for human feelings and maybe even an attempt to correct some sins of the past.  If you have not followed the issue, spend some time learning about the facts of the situation.  Then express your views on what should be done to bring the situation to a close.