CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas There are so many beautiful aspects of Corpus Christi a resident or visitor can point out. One issue that has taken center stage recently that tends to get glossed over is the homelessness issue and its growing population.

A non-profit organization lending a helping hand is Mission 911.

The group was formed in 2001 for the sole purpose of helping displaced people gain back self-sufficiency.

For some, becoming homeless is a choice. For many others it's "unintended circumstances" such as alcohol or drug addictions, making bad choices, losing a job or a mental illness.

KRIS 6 News visited with Mission 911 Executive Director Tony Reyes to get a first-hand look at how Mission 911 works to get those who have fallen on hard times back on their feet again.

According to Reyes, approximately 85 percent of the homeless population that turn to Mission 911 have substance abuse issues, 25 percent of the homeless population has mental health issues, 98 percent of the residents have employments problems and 80 percent of the residents have requested spiritual guidance. As those individuals address the issues that have led them astray, they have a better chance of self-sufficiency and becoming a productive member in society. Sadly, Reyes says, about 40 percent of the population consists of the working poor and it is estimated that 3,500 individuals and families are homeless.

Mission 911 doesn't believe in handouts, but instead offering a helping hand to those in a crisis and wanting positive change. In 2018, they screened applications, conducted personal interviews and background checks, and accepted 530 individuals and families into its many available programs.

Housing is a huge part of what Mission 911 offers. Once accepted into a program, those who are helped technically are no longer homeless.

The organization offers a clean and secure place to sleep, food, clothing, job opportunities and transportation, along with other special-need requests, spiritual guidance and activities.

There are rules for staying at the facility. There are expectations for personal cleanliness, orderly housekeeping with weekly assignments, paying a nominal monthly rent, a curfew and a no-tolerance rule for any use of alcohol, drugs, profanity or aggressive behavior. Once an individual proves they can live in a joint, bunk-like setting, they become eligible for a more private living arrangement.

Making a good first impression is important when it comes to finding a job and taking that first step to positive change.

Another way Mission 911 helps is through its dentistry program. Based at 911 Park St., Project Lucia provides dental services for residents. The goal is to help the indigent, working poor and homeless families in need of dental work. The dental services offered are provided by Dr. Bill Whiteside, who volunteers his time and much of the dental equipment, such as dental tools, an x-ray machine and a dental chair.

Mission 911 also has a room it calls 'The Closet,' which consists of hundreds of clothing items of all types. It not only provides clothing needed, but also storage for the clothing residents already have.

Another source of help is the Alpha Program, which consists of a series of talks addressing key issues related to the Christian faith. The Alpha course consists of an hour dedicated for a meal, 45 minutes of talking and an hour of coffee and small group discussion.

Mission 911 is committed to helping to provide a better life and future for those who come through its doors.

In 2018, Reyes said it had a 22.6 percent success rate and helped 120 individuals and families make the positive changes necessary to become productive citizens in the community.

While the numbers may seem small to some, it's making a difference to many.

For those who make it through its 15-week Project Bridges Program, the success rate is 85 percent.

And with every success, Tony Reyes and his team are sure every person who walks through their doors has a chance to change and turn their lives around for the better.

It's the hope of Mission 911.

For more information about Mission 911, click here.

Originally posted here:
MISSION 911: Helping the displaced back into society - KRIS Corpus Christi News

LANSING A judge on Monday ordered former Michigan State University President Lou Ann Simon to stand trial on charges that she lied to police about her knowledge of a sexual misconduct complaint against now-imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar.

The ruling came the same day the school revealed that trustee Nancy Schlichting resigned Saturday over the governing board's decision last month to drop an independent review of Nassar's assaults, despite having unanimously voted for the investigation in June.

Schlichting, in a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said it became clear to her that four trustees do not share the commitment by Schlichting and three other trustees to an independent review, including the release of documents protected by attorney-client privilege.

"I deeply regret that my board service has been so short, but hope that the next appointed trustee will be able to make a greater impact than I have," she wrote.

Eaton County District Judge Julie Reincke, meanwhile, found probable cause to send Simon to trial on two felony and two misdemeanor charges of giving false statements to law enforcement agents who accused her of impeding their investigation into one of Nassar's sexual assaults and whether she or other university officials committed misconduct in office.

"We are disappointed by the district court's ruling in light of the complete lack of evidence to support the charges against Lou Anna Simon. We plan to vigorously defend Dr. Simon and will be appealing the decision of the district court," said Lee Silver, one of her lawyers. "We remain confident that we will ultimately prevail and that Lou Anna Simon will be fully acquitted of these charges."

She is the third former school official to be ordered to trial.

Authorities have said Simon knew in 2014 that Nassar had been accused of molesting a patient at a campus clinic, and that she knew of the nature of the complaint. But Simon told police she knew only that a complaint had been filed against a sports doctor and did not become aware of the substance of the review that sparked the school's Title IX investigation or the complaint's nature until 2016.

The judge said the evidence suggests that Simon discussed Amanda Thomashow's sexual abuse allegations against Nassar with a senior adviser, Paulette Granberry Russell.

"It is not credible to believe that Simon would have heard even the outline of Thomashow's story and forgotten it," Reincke wrote.

Simon resigned in January 2018 after calls for her to step down had risen to a deafening crescendo over days of painful and emotional testimony from Nassar's victims, most of whom were gymnasts the former MSU physician pleaded guilty to abusing under the guise of medical treatment. Many of the victims accused the university of mishandling past complaints about Nassar.

Nassar has been sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting athletes, mostly female gymnasts, at MSU and a Lansing-area gymnastics club. Former Olympians said he also molested them in Texas and overseas while he worked for USA Gymnastics.

In September, a day before MSU Board of Trustees Chairwoman Dianne Byrum announced that the outside review was being scrapped, the federal government ordered the school to make sweeping changes and pay a $4.5 million fine for failing to adequately respond to complaints against Nassar.

Byrum said then that the board was split over "defining the scope of work" that was to be done by Chicago-based law firm McDermott Will & Emery to investigate and release a public report. A previous internal review led by New York-based firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom had come under criticism because the firm was also assisting the university in anticipation of civil lawsuits and facilitating cooperation with law enforcement following Nassar's 2016 arrest. No report was made public.

Three Nassar victims who worked with the board to initiate the investigation Rachael Denhollander, Sarah Klein and Sterling Riethman have accused Byrum and three other trustees of a "betrayal." They have called on new MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr. to use his executive authority to launch an internal investigation, which they say is needed because the state attorney general's criminal investigation and the U.S. Department of Education's investigations cover "a small portion of what went wrong."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office is prosecuting Simon, has called for the school to waive its attorney-client privilege and release nearly 6,000 documents. Stanley has said it is up to the trustees, who have deadlocked.

"I'm sorry that she is stepping down, but I wish her much personal success and happiness with her other projects," he said in a statement. "We valued her insight and contributions while she was with us."

Schlichting was appointed in December by then-Gov. Rick Snyder to fill a vacancy. Whitmer will name someone to serve the rest of the term through 2022, when the seat will be up for election.

"She is committed to appointing someone who will work together with President Stanley and the remaining board members to build a campus culture that respects diversity, listens to survivors, and makes a college education more affordable and accessible for Michigan families," Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.

Read more from the original source:
Former MSU president to stand trial in Nassar case - Crain's Detroit Business

Steve Jobs may be one of the smartest, most aspirational business leaders in the modern world, but his home life was less than ideal. Its true that he found enormous success with Apple and leading the technology revolution. But his personal life was an absolute mess. He even had a daughter who he claimed wasnt his own, even though she clearly was.

What was it that made Steve Jobs claim he wasntthe father of Lisa Brennan-Jobs? Its complicated.

Jobs was adopted at a young age but even that process didntgo smoothly. Originally, he was placed with a Catholic, well-educated couplebut they changed their minds and decided they wanted a daughter instead. Whenhe was placed with another couple, neither of whom were educated, Jobs birthmother Joanne Scheible refusedto sign the papers.

But being placed with this family turned out to be a blessing. Steve Jobs adoptive father built him a workbench in the garage where he could tinker with projects. And Steve Jobs loved his family even if they didnt have fancy credentials. Later, Jobs referred to his birth parents as, my sperm and egg bank but maintained that his home life with the Jobs family was very special.

Steve Jobs met Chrisann Brennan at Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. The two dated on and off for five years before Brennan got pregnant in 1977. From the very first moments, Jobs denied that he was the father of the child. Perhaps uncoincidentally, Lisa Brennan was conceived the same year that Steve Jobs founded Apple. All of his efforts were focused on making his new company succeed and he didnt have time for fatherhood.

Lisa Nicole Brennan was born on May 17, 1978, at a commune outside of Portland, Oregon. Her father Steve Jobs was not present for the birth.

Only Steve Jobs himself could say for sure why he refused tobelieve reality that Lisa Brennan-Jobs was his real, biological daughter. Hispaternity denial led to a legal battle where a DNA test proved he was indeedthe father, though he refuted paternity even after that, claiming that 28% of the male population of the United Statescould be the father.

Despite his refusal to accept her, Jobs did name an early Apple computer Lisa. At the time, he claimed Lisa was simply an acronym for Local Integrated Systems Architecture. But later he admitted that it was obviously named after the daughter he refused to acknowledge.

Many years later, Steve Jobsrelented to the idea that he could be Lisas father. But by that point, thedamage to their relationship was so extreme that it took a long time to repairit.

All I wanted was closeness andsweetness and for him to relieve me. To let me be the star, probably. To belike, Well, how was your day? And to listen. And at such a young age, and soused to the spotlight, and to everybody fawning on him he didnt know how tobe with me, Brennan-Jobs said of their relationship.

Instead, Lisa and her father hadplenty of turmoil, angst, and uncertainty. But things got better before hepassed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011. The two spent years repairing theirrelationship and eventually, though he had been stingy with sharing his fortuneall along, Jobs left his daughter Lisa several million dollars as part of an inheritance.

Families are complicated, and no one is sure why Steve Jobs denied his daughter at first. But at least he made amends with her in the end. Lisa Brennan-Jobs published a memoir chronicling the long journey to forgiveness, Small Fry, in 2018.

More here:
The Real Reason Steve Jobs Denied He Was Lisa Brennan's Real Father - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

CAMP receives national award nomination for Latino organization

Freshman Tanya Rivera, member of the College Assistant Migrant Program, talks about the program and the impact it has on the children of migrant workers pursuing a college education.

ROLAND HUIE

Freshman Tanya Rivera, member of the College Assistant Migrant Program, talks about the program and the impact it has on the children of migrant workers pursuing a college education.

ROLAND HUIE

ROLAND HUIE

Freshman Tanya Rivera, member of the College Assistant Migrant Program, talks about the program and the impact it has on the children of migrant workers pursuing a college education.

LOREN NEGRON, Evergreen reporterOctober 28, 2019

The WSU College Assistant Migrant Program was recognized as a finalist for a national award given by the Latino education organization Excelencia in Education.

CAMP Director Michael Heim said this was the first time CAMP received a nomination for the award.

Heim said the Examples of Excelencia award recognizes programs that have track records of helping Latinx students succeed in higher education. About 170 programs were nominated nationwide. There were 12 finalists honored at the Celebracin de Excelencia event on Friday in Washington, D.C.

I think that one of the main points that was highlighted for our program is that we do a good job at all of the work that would support students toward succeeding in their first year at the university, he said. We also had very high retention rates.

Established at WSU in 2006, CAMP works with first-generation students who have a personal or familial background in migrant or seasonal agricultural work. It focuses on student academic success, personal growth and student retention.

Most of our students are coming from families that have only done farm work, Heim said. When you have a student come to the university, it could be a cultural shock for students coming to a new setting.

Heim said the program empowers students to bridge academic success with personal success, helping them find balance in college and take advantage of opportunities and resources.

Being a first-gen and coming from an underrepresented community and also low-income and changing your environment and moving away from home, theres connections that CAMP is able to provide for our students, he said.

Tanya Rivera, freshman speech pathology major, said the program helped her find a community of mentors and students who support her. Arriving a day before classes started due to a family emergency, CAMP members helped her move in and took the time to get to know her.

When youre a first year here and you feel alone, youre far away from home, I think everybody really supports each other, especially the mentors, she said. They want to see what youre about, what your background is, where youre coming from.

She said CAMP staff made an effort to get her to meet other CAMP student.

They really took the time to put themselves out there and help me before they helped themselves, Rivera said.

Rafael Pruneda, CAMP academic coordinator and retention specialist, said CAMP accepts a minimum of 50 first-year students each academic year. Students or their parents had to work in an agricultural job for at least 75 days within the past two years to qualify for the program. They must also be first-generation students.

Pruneda said CAMP students receive a wide variety of services, including free one-on-one tutoring, counseling and advising. They also participate in annual team building and leadership retreats. A $1,000 stipend is given to each student.

From the get-go, they are a part of our family, he said. We really stress that and let them know we are here and that they are not alone and that we are going to be able to provide that mentorship, that guidance, and also the academic piece of knowing that were checking up.

Heim said retention is a strong focus of the program. From 2013 to 2018, CAMP had a 98 percent retention rate.

Pruneda said retention has been high due to the mentorship aspect of CAMP. He said CAMP builds trust and community for staff members to understand students backgrounds.

I think so many times our students come in resilient, but theyre broken down sometimes, feeling overwhelmed from not having the home, culture and their families around. We really offer that mentorship, Pruneda said.

While in the program, students attend a University 101 and University 104 class, he said. The classes are designed to help students navigate through college and prepare for their careers. Students are also required to visit their professors at least eight times per semester.

We really mentor a family of scholars. We strive to help them, Pruneda said. The expectations set for them is at a high level. We want them to succeed and be high-performing.

Yissel Zazueta, CAMP tutor lead and senior human development and Spanish double major, said CAMP students have access to tutors from from 4-7 p.m., Monday through Thursday. They are required to attend at least two hours of tutoring. Some of the tutors and mentors are past CAMP students.

[CAMP] really impacts the first-generation students here at WSU. It includes them in a different way and make them feel like they have a home, she said.

Read this article:
WSU program recognized for first-generation efforts - The Daily Evergreen

What more could be asked of the man who has done just about everything?

Before he throws a pitch in Game 6 of the fall classic Tuesday night, Justin Verlanderpossesses a rsum fit for a Hall of Famer. The 36-year-old is the second player in major league history to earn an MVP, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young an award in which hes finished in the top-5 seven times, with another looming for 2019.

Over his 15-year career, Verlander has amassed more than 3,000 strikeouts and has made eight All-Star Games. He finally got a World Series ring on his third try when the Houston Astros claimed their first championship two years ago.

There isnt much left on his MLB bingo card. He even got his first major league hit with the Detroit Tigers in 2014 after going 0-for-26 to start his career. He still doesnt have a home run or an extra-base hit, though thats probably not keeping him up at night.

But on Tuesday night in Game 6 of the World Series against the Washington Nationals, Verlander can accomplish something thats eluded him for more than a decade. In six World Series starts, he is 0-5 with a 5.73 ERA, and his team has won just one of those games.

The Astros have an opportunity to clinch their second championship in three years in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park, and Verlander can get a World Series-sized monkey off his back in the process.

Those are the moments that you dream about, he told reporters before the Astros 7-1 victory in Game 5, which gave them a 3-2 series lead. It's just having the opportunity to be out there and be on the mound hopefully in a scenario where we can close it out, that's everything I've dreamed of.

In the Astros 12-3 loss in Game 2, an Anthony Rendon double put Verlander in a two-run hole before he could record an out. Kurt Suzuki led off the seventh with a tie-breaking homer, and a walk to the following batter, Victor Robles, ended Verlanders night.

He was charged with four runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings. Afterward, he noted the Nationals preparedness and ability to make adjustments to different pitchers, especially when altering their approach with two strikes.

In today's game you don't see it that often, he said. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing to see a couple of teams that don't swing and miss a ton, and change their approach based on the pitcher that's pitching against them.

Justin Verlander has never won a World Series game, but he's looking to change that in Game 6 for the Astros. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Tuesday night will be the 12th time in his career that Verlander will pitch twice in a postseason series. So far, hes 6-5 in the second game of the series, with losses in his past four starts in that scenario. He mentioned that theres more pressure on a pitcher to execute in those types of situations.

I think those opposing guys, once they've seen you three, four at-bats, it's a little bit easier for them to make adjustments, and having seen your off-speed stuff and tracked it, he said.

Compared to his stellar regular season, a different version of Verlander has shown up in October which, even for a future Hall of Famer, isnt uncommon. Hell likely finish second in the Cy Young voting to teammate Gerrit Cole after putting together the second 20-win season of his career while reaching the 300-strikeout plateau for the first time.

But hes accumulated a 4.15 ERA this postseason, highlighted by a 3.2-inning start in the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he yielded four runs. Hes given up six homers in 30.1 innings, which was also a problem in the regular season granted with a ball that many believe is physically different where he gave up 36 long balls, the third-most among qualified pitchers.

Hes also averaging 3.26 walks per nine innings this postseason after posting a 1.70 BB/9 in the regular season. Those are the type of things that need to be corrected for Verlander, who owns a 3.15 ERA in potential series-clinching games, to get over this World Series hump.

Story continues

Verlander will be going up against Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night. Strasburgs postseason problems were contrasting to Verlanders until this year. Hes been at the front of a Nationals staff that couldnt win a postseason series despite his 0.47 ERA in October entering this season.

But a victory in the wild-card game jump-started a change for the Nationals, and all the while Strasburg has held up his end of the bargain, retaining a 1.34 postseason ERA.

Strasburgs success is a mix of the personal and team accomplishments that Verlander should hope will line up for him Tuesday. In terms of personal accolades, there isnt much that Verlander hasnt accomplished, and the Astros success over the past few seasons speaks for itself.

Verlander will likely have more opportunities to capture that elusive World Series victory beyond Tuesday night. Hes under contract for two more seasons with the Astros, who are expected to remain contenders even if Cole bolts in free agency. Recently, he was asked if he feels he can win 75 more games to get to 300 for his career.

I think I can get pretty darn close, he said. I think the changes I've made the last few years to my body and how I pay attention to things is going to allow me to pitch deeper than I would have otherwise.

It's definitely a goal of mine.

His Hall of Fame credentials were likely validated this season, and he can put one more conversation to rest with a victory when it matters most Tuesday night.

More from Yahoo Sports:

See the rest here:
Justin Verlander is chasing the one thing that eludes him in World Series Game 6 - Yahoo Sports

Dan Lok Releases Unlock It with ForbesBooks

This release is posted on behalf of ForbesBooks (operated by Advantage Media Group under license).

NEW YORK October 29, 2019 Dan Lok, founder of the High-Ticket Closer Certification Program, today announced the publication of Unlock It: The Master Key to Wealth, Success, and Significance. The book is published with ForbesBooks, the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes.

Absent of new-age philosophy and rote advice about building wealth, Loks book focuses on the practical steps individuals can take to create personal fortunes. Dans method revolves around his Wealth Triangle Dynamics. This triangle is comprised of High-Income Skills, Building a Scalable Business and High-Return Investments. Citing real-world examples that illustrate each side of the Wealth Triangle, Lok gives readers a proven blueprint to generate financial independence and confidence for a lifetime.

Dan Lok believes it is his responsibility to bring a dose of reality to his readers. My job is to get you out of your seat and do something, he said.

Unlock It: The Master Key to Wealth, Success, and Significance is available on Amazon.com today.

About Dan Lok

Lok is an internationally recognized speaker and author. He has spoken at multiple TEDx conferences and has over 1.97 million subscribers on YouTube, alone. His High-Ticket Closer Certification Program is an intensive, seven-week mentorship program for entrepreneurs hoping to sharpen their sales skills. This program has reached over 6,000 students in more than 130 countries.

About ForbesBooks

Launched in 2016 in partnership with Advantage Media Group, ForbesBooks is the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes. ForbesBooks offers business and thought leaders an innovative, speed-to-market publishing model and a suite of services designed to strategically and tactically support authors and promote their expertise. For more information, visit forbesbooks.com.

Media Contacts

Charlie Fusco, TGC Worldwide, charlie@tgcworldwide.com

Courtney Morrill, ForbesBooks, cmorrill@advantageww.com

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Wealth Mentor to Thousands Distills Message in New Book - Forbes

Liberals are graciously recommending that Conservatives boot out Andrew Scheer although he received the most votes in the election and brought the Liberals down to minority status and then select a new leader more to their liking. Mind you, notwithstanding earnest protestations to the contrary, very few of them would vote Conservative even if their wishes were granted.

Conservatives received 6.2 million votes, the largest total for the party in its history, including the majority win in 2011. Their tally exceeded the Liberals by about 240,000 votes, or 34.4 per cent to 33 per cent. The Tories also increased their seat total by 22 from 99 to 121, while the Grits lost 27 seats to 157.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper counselled Conservatives to remain calm and not rush to judgment on their leader. Scheer will have time to make his case, as he has every right to do.

However, Scheer will also be judged by detractors upset that he did not beat Justin Trudeau, whose failed record includes gross personal misdeeds and illegalities, international embarrassment, broken promises, deficits without end, hostility to resource development, declining competitiveness, capital flight, rising Quebec nationalism and profound Western alienation. In any other country his fall from global rock star to narcissistic virtue-signalling imposter would have been politically terminal.

So some Conservatives are asking whether another leader could have done better. Would a different personal style have made a difference? Was Scheers social conservatism fatal in critical ridings in the GTA and Quebec, even though he was clear his personal religious beliefs would not influence public policy? Were his attacks on Trudeau mean-spirited or did he waste a golden opportunity to pummel a vulnerable adversary? On balance, was it a mistake to reject Doug Fords support? Did Scheer need to move to the squishy ideological middle? Or should he have been more robust in asserting conservative ideas because they are more effective?

Then theres climate change policy, which the mainstream media claim was a critical weakness, although the Greens increased their seat count only from two to three, the NDP lost 20 seats and the Blocs success was primarily due to its solitary support for Quebecs secularism legislation. Liberal policies will fall short of Canadas Paris climate targets that, in any case, are unachievable without economic devastation. Furthermore, even if the politically impossible happened, our impact on global temperature would be minuscule.

Konrad Yakabuski offered his advice to Conservatives in the Globe and Mail under the banner Whats right for Canadas right: Andrew Scheer must go as Conservative leader. In a departure from his usual thoughtful objectivity he referred to a Conservative movement that has become narrow-minded, anti-intellectual, vindictive and retrograde in the minds of too many voters. He dismissively claimed that Pockets of Ford Nation may still exist somewhere on this planet, raising the question of what planet he lives on.

Yakabuski also made a derogatory reference to former prime minister Harper, whom historians will accord high marks for leadership and achievement, light years ahead of the incumbent. Overall, his article reflects a phenomenon endemic to progressives: an aversion to politicians even moderately to the right of the red Tories.

Liberals insist that if Conservatives would just adopt policies and elect leaders they prefer, the Laurentian Elite would rush out to buy Conservative memberships. Call me a skeptic, but I would not hold my breath.

They remind me of Henry Higgins who, in My Fair Lady, asked that most male chauvinist of questions.

Why cant a woman be more like a man?Men are so honest, so thoroughly square;Eternally noble, historically fair.

Why cant a Conservative be more like a Liberal? Well, they can, but they dont want to be. They believe their approach to public policy produces superior results for most people, in both the shorter and longer term. Freedom, democracy and the rule of law are core Canadian values worth defending against those who would dismantle them in favour of moral relativism or worse.

A genuine embrace of diversity would extend not only to certain defined groups but also to ideas, while political correctness and identity politics, the prime ministers stock in trade, divide rather than unite. Reliance on government to solve virtually every problem is ineffective and intrudes on peoples lives. Fiscal responsibility enhances prosperity, unlike profligacy and instant gratification, which mortgage the future. History and tradition can provide invaluable wisdom, as we continually adapt to modernity.

Conservatives will determine the Conservative leadership, taking into account core values and political reality. They should not care a whit about advice from political opponents who should be thinking long and hard about their own leader after his rejection by two-thirds of the electorate. In case Liberals are interested in my advice, I say let Trudeau stay!

Joe Oliver was Canadas minister of finance in 2014-15.

See the rest here:
Joe Oliver: Liberals have a lot of nerve advising Conservatives to boot out Andrew Scheer - Financial Post

Its complicated. While theres a history of resistance to gay marriage at many black churches, other factors could explain Buttigiegs lack of success with African-Americans, some of whom surely look at him and see what many white critics of his also do: a charmed 37-year-old on the kind of glide path to greatness (Harvard, a Rhodes scholarship, a stint as a consultant with McKinsey) that defines privilege.

In a Gallup poll published in May, 83 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of independents said that theyd be willing to vote for a gay presidential candidate. That leaves a significant percentage who wouldnt. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published the following month showed that among all voters, 34 percent were less likely to vote for a gay candidate. But that figure was lower than the 48 percent who said they were less likely to support a candidate over 70 as Trump, Biden, Warren and Bernie Sanders will all be in November 2020.

Buttigiegs sexual orientation, along with his age, definitely gave him an initial hook for journalists that other contenders didnt have. It gave his candidacy a voguish aspect reflected in the passion of his younger supporters and the robust Twitter following that his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, quickly amassed.

It also drew donors. Gay Money, Democratic Secret Weapon, Comes Out for Buttigieg was the headline on an article in Vanity Fair by Peter Hamby this year. Buttigiegs fund-raising haul of more than $51 million through Sept. 30 places him behind only Sanders and Warren.

And while being gay obviously disqualifies him for a sizable group of Americans 36 percent of whom, according to Gallup, still oppose the legal recognition of same-sex marriage what fraction of them were likely to vote for a Democrat, anyway? Besides, didnt Trumps election prove that many voters could and would overlook elements of a candidates personal life if he gave voice to matters they cared about?

Could the ranks of the Buttigieg-resistant be offset by Americans eager to send the kind of message about their values and their desire for change that a vote for Buttigieg would? Obama benefited from that impulse. When a candidacy seeks to make history as Buttigiegs does and Obamas did it can stir extra excitement.

Buttigieg told me that when fans approach him at campaign events, its not unusual for someone to be in tears just because the fact of our candidacy is so unbelievable to them as something they would see in their lifetimes.

Read more from the original source:
Being Gay Hurts Mayor Pete. It Helps, Too. - The New York Times

Finding the best person for the role comes down to more than just a great resume.

In order to meet candidate expectations of consumer-grade technology in the recruitment process, organizations are making it simpler and easier to apply for roles. On average, a job opening receives an overwhelming 250 applications. The challenge for recruiters is sifting through the large pool of potential candidates to find the best fit. Sometimes it may feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Hiring great talent is necessary for a business to thrive, both financially and culturally. Recruiting is a time-consuming and costly endeavor, so discovering too late that someone isnt the right fit for the role or company can leave you back at square one. Hiring the one the person who has the necessary skills and behaviors to contribute positively to the team will help your organization thrive.

Its crucial to get the hiring process right from day one. So how can recruiters and hiring managers easily identify top talent?

Clearly define the skills and requirements for the role

Hiring managers and recruiters should work closely to define the skills, behaviors and requirements for the role. What does success currently look like in the role? How does this translate to skills, experience and behavior? A strong understanding of what the ideal candidate looks like will streamline the recruitment process from advertising, right through the assessment, testing and interview steps.

This isnt as simple as sharing a wishlist of characteristics, traits and qualifications with recruiters. Its about honing a deep understanding of the skills that are critical to a role so recruiters can be strategic when they create a job listing. A job listing with a laundry list of skills and requirements can be a hindrance to hiring. Research shows that men will apply for a job when they meet 60% of the qualifications. In contrast, women only apply if they meet 100% of the requirements. This isnt due to a lack of confidence but rather a desire to avoid wasting anyones time. Women assume the qualifications are actually required to do the job, rather than a wishlist. The answer is not to make requirements generic or broad - this increases the likelihood candidates without the right level or depth of expertise will apply.

Clearly communicating the requirements of the role will positively impact the quality of candidates. The job listing has a big impact on how a candidate views a role, and whether or not they decide its worth pursuing. Taking the time to get it right is a good first step in the hiring process.

Evaluate candidates based on skills

Too often hiring managers choose someone for a role based on gut feel, as opposed to evaluating a candidate on the core competencies and skills required to succeed in the role. More often than not, interviews dont deliver the insights needed. To be effective, interviewers need to ask questions that are predictive of ability and role fit and ask and interpret the answers consistently across candidates which is challenging. Lets take call center employees as an example. They speak with multiple customers a day, and often deal with tricky situations, which means ideal candidates for these roles will have a strong sense of resilience. But how do we identify and measure resilience?

Consider augmenting interviews with other tools. Soft skills or essential skills are just as important as the qualifications on a candidates CV. Essential skills include qualities such as communication, leadership, learning agility and resilience. There are a number of tools that support hiring managers to identify soft skills far more accurately. Pre-hire assessment tools like Weirdly help hiring managers to screen candidates by identifying job-related skills, as well as soft skills, that are inherent in top performers.PredictiveHire uses machine learning to conduct the first level of screening for job applications. The technology looks at an organizations performance data and staff surveys to determine the traits which are inherent in its high performers. This data is then used to create a candidate survey that screens for desired traits early on in the hiring journey.

Look out for passionate candidates

Most candidates try to put their best foot forward in interviews. Candidates should have a positive attitude, be knowledgeable about their field and have the required skills and attributes identified as a fit for the role. Conducting an interview with someone who ticks these boxes is exciting, but it isnt a sure-fire way to identify the best person for the job.

Remember to ask the candidate, Why do you want to work for us?

Its a simple question but the answer is very telling. People want to work for companies they believe in, where they can do their best work everyday. Companies want the same thing. Finding candidates who are passionate about your company is a key aspect to hiring great talent. Employees that are aligned to the mission and values of the organization and feel connected are engaged and motivated. A top candidate will be able to express their desire to work for an organization based on how the culture, values and mission align with their personal schemata.

The rest is here:
3 Ways To Identify The Best Person For The Role - Forbes

Ardal OHanlon is too embarrassed to have his picture taken in the restaurant where weve just eaten, so we decamp to the basement. Hes wearing a black polo shirt and when I ask his age he mumbles something inaudible. (He turned 54 this month.) Earlier on, the waitresses have to coax an order out of him; his first answer to everything is just tap water. But at least hes at one with his awkwardness.

Despite the apparent trappings of modest success in television and so on, he says, I have always been an uneasy person. I cant change that. I cant change that part of my psychological makeup. The slight tension when you wake up: Who am I? Who are these people I live with? Whats going on? But this is why I do this. If I was a very stable person, I would not have to do comedy. Nobody would have to listen to me.

He continues his new tour, the Showing Off Must Go On, in November. Its his first in six years and represents not a departure from previous shows so much as a journey further into who he actually is a guy who hates show-offs but loves showing off, who takes everything seriously but himself, then practically self-immolates if he cant make people laugh with it.

The unifying theme is me. Any comedy show, no matter what it purports to be, is ultimately about where the comedians at in his or her life. I definitely bring more of my personal life into it the older I get, and now its gone another step. It is much more satisfying in the long run to be more vulnerable, not arrive with something fully formed, and flawless.

Its the latest step in a slowly evolving comedy journey that didnt really get going for a while. At 28, he was living in Dublin, doing two or three gigs a month on a non-existent comedy circuit, living extremely frugally but also off the girlfriend who is now his wife. (Theyve been together since they were teenagers.) He moved to London to give it one proper shot; a couple of years, and if it didnt work, hed go back home.

Of course, it did work. In the mid-90s he was cast as Father Dougal in Father Ted and turned in a performance of such exquisite nitwittery that the show lived way beyond its time. You can still make anyone laugh, from cold, at any age, just with a picture of Father Dougal in his pyjamas. And, if his original standup chimed with what the Father Ted writers were looking for, then his Dougal persona has definitely permeated his standup since.

That was my armour as a fledgling comedian, adopting this bewildered persona where I was pretending to be much more stupid than I actually am. I was kind of stiff he does a seemingly reflexive impression of that awkward posture, arms swinging from hunched, nervous shoulders and it worked well for a few years.

He says his success was all just a lucky strike. He didnt go into comedy as a career move; in those days, he says, no one did. It didnt attract careerists. It was slackers, people shuffling on to the stage with very little. I loved it. Fame and money werent possibilities even, when my generation started. That wasnt the plan at all. On a typical bill, you would have all sorts of misfits. People with ukuleles. There was a guy called Woody Bup Moddy who used to come on and smash records. So that was his job. It was fantastic. A really exciting time to be part of that generation. To feel part of something.

But the 90s couldnt last for ever, nor could youth. OHanlons shtick has changed, not just with his segue from being cast as the hilarious idiot (after Father Ted, My Hero) to taking a relatively straight lead in Death in Paradise (which is one of the three most popular shows on TV). Before, I hid behind the persona, he says, I hid behind the surreal one-liners, because thats all about craft and theres a lot of pride in that. But its ultimately limiting. Its better to let people in a bit more.

This means engaging with the issues of now. The day we meet, the government has put forward its latest suggestions for the Irish border issue (which seems to amount to four borders), after weeks of callow, ahistorical bilge about how easily it could be solved. OHanlon is not impressed.

[I was] dragged out of my bed at the age of seven, my mother screaming, six kids under the age of 12

For us, this is existential, he says. Theres a danger of economic collapse in [the rest of the UK], but for us, we could return to a state of war. You know, people are worried about that. How anybody in political leadership in this country could demonstrate such wilful ignorance of Irish history, and such blithe disregard for the people of Northern Ireland. Thousands of people died. Hundreds of British soldiers lost their lives. I grew up on the border He pauses, still averse to sounding at all aerated. I wouldnt like to overstate the impact the Troubles had on me and my life.

But the impact, it transpires, was pretty significant: the son of a politician, Rory OHanlon, south of the border, they had death threats, a bomb scare. Dragged out of your bed at the age of seven, my mother screaming, six kids under the age of 12. Im not equating my experience with the people who lived in Northern Ireland. But my dad was always out and about late at night, and I could not go to sleep until I knew he was in. There were assassinations, for one reason or another. And I could not relax until I heard his footsteps on the garden path.

That gnawing anxiety didnt translate unsurprisingly into a burning political passion. I always shied away from it. I was always detached, I never supported his party [Fianna Fil]. I always liked him, I wished him well. If push came to shove, I might even vote for him. But I always stood well back.

Yet now hes on stage, talking about politics from a comics perspective. We postcolonials, we hold Britain up on a pedestal, as a beacon of sanity and wisdom, he says. But what we realise now is that youre just as irrational as the rest of us. And thats sort of the arc of what Im doing. But, you know, with jokes. As a comedian, you cant tell people that theyre wrong or that theyre stupid. But you can say, What you did is very irrational.

Ardal OHanlon tours the UK and Ireland until 7 March.

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Ardal O'Hanlon: 'Comedy never used to be a career it was for slackers with ukuleles' - The Guardian