DEEP THOUGHTS

Your recent “Thoughts of Going to War” edition (Nov. 29), with 14 separate stories, prompted me to think “Where Do I Find Peace?”

I do find many, many moments of Peace in my life. But I feel I must warn you — I am about to now write of feelings. I would like to address my own, internal, “thoughts of going to war.” This internal terrain is truly the fabric of life, yet I do not see matters of the heart in the Phoenix.

Is there room in the Phoenix for such material?

I find Peace when I see and identify my ego, those thoughts and feelings that I would label as: control, anger, fear, dislike, sadness, despair, wound, hurt and anxiety. Well, this actually is the human condition, isn’t it?

This is the condition that Siddhartha faced about 2530 years ago when, on December 8, after seeing the morning star (probably Venus), he became “awake” to the incessant patterns of thoughts and feelings and sensations. He then became known as “Buddha,” or “the awakened one.”

Buddha found freedom and liberation. He dedicated his life to the practice of love and compassion. The life of Buddha and Christ are like guiding stars for us to act with kindness and love, within our families, within social change activities, within this moment.

Peace arises when I can catch my discursive thoughts and return to my breath, and whatever task is at hand, right now. And Right Now. With love and compassion, may I unwaveringly accept this moment? This and every moment of life and death, and joy and sorrow.

So, when I read the probing articles in the Phoenix, I am left with engaging thoughts for the mind. Fine, quality articles, but material that does not nurture this love and compassion within me.

To close, I would like to respond to words by Lance Tapley, in his piece regarding wealth and social change (“Who Finances Reform?”, Dec. 6). Mr. Tapley writes, “Maybe Patricia Born was right. The final solution has to be an ethical one. But even Jesus Christ and the Buddha failed at that.”

I believe Jesus and Buddha succeeded. The proof is in this glorious mess we call life, with the never-ending cycle of birth and death. May I accept this moment with love and compassion and a commitment to help end suffering. Every moment. Right now.

Frederick Lancaster

Falmouth

I OBJECT

My name is Christopher J. McDonald, Branch Manager for Employment 1, located in Portland, Maine. Mr. Barry had chosen to join our service in an “undercover” format in hopes that he would find some form of negative business to write an investigative story about us. The biggest concern seems to be Mr. Barry’s feelings that we take advantage of the “unemployed.”

What “Unemployed”?

As we stated earlier, Maine’s “unemployment” rate is significantly lower than the national average and most other states in the country. The majority of our clients are working and are not “unemployed,” furthermore Mr. Barry leads your readers to believe that we opened our doors shortly after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, which began forcing our economy in a downward direction. Where, in fact, we have been in business in Portland since 1995 (seven years) the majority of which we have been operating in a strong economy, which still holds true for Maine today.

Employment 1 provides members with bona fide job orders. In addition, Employment 1 maintains an exclusive database, priding itself on an exclusive rate of over 90 percent and higher. There are a couple of hundred openings available in the current database. In fact, as of today’s date, 90.2 percent of all available positions contained in the database were not publicly advertised at the time of listing. The positions that we handle are not a repeat of the help wanted classified. Furthermore, we do not use the newspaper to solicit companies or generate our leads.

We guarantee in writing, both the accuracy and availability of these referrals to each subscriber prior to registration. No temporary service or traditional employment agency can guarantee specific placement or force an employer to hire a specific applicant or a job seeker to accept a specific position. The fee paid by the subscriber is a registration fee, not a placement fee. The fee is much like the membership fee paid to a health club for the use of services and equipment at the facility. Members must utilize the services provided in order to gain benefit, as is the same with a health club or weight-loss clinic.

Due to recent economic circumstances beyond our control, it is reasonable that some job seekers are concerned about the lack of job opportunities now contained in the paper, even though the overall economy in Portland has not changed dramatically. The citizens of Maine have the right to all resources available to them when seeking alternate employment. Employment 1 is simply another avenue and job seekers must access their individual situation before making any decision as to which type of employment avenues to pursue.

Finally, all positions placed in the paper are tape-recorded verified with the employer before they are placed in the help wanted classifieds.

I do hope this clears up any further questions that may arise as well as clarifies for accuracy exactly what we do here. Thank you for your time.

Christopher J. McDonald

Branch Manager, Employment 1

Portland

 

Chris Barry responds: Contrary to what McDonald asserts, there is not a single reference in my story to Sept. 11 or the length of E-1’s existence in Portland. Also, McDonald and his staff frequently use the word “exclusive” in discussing the nature of the company’s job listings. However, if even one job is listed in another media, according to my dictionary, the term exclusive no longer fits. Furthermore, McDonald asserts that all his job listings are verified weekly. Yet, during a tape-recorded interview with me, McDonald admitted that a security-guard job advertised in the newspaper and listed in E-1’s database hadn’t been confirmed in at least two weeks prior to my visit and the job contact info was outdated by a couple months.

on the inside

Regarding your article “will pay for work” in the December 6 issue of the Portland Phoenix, allow me to offer some more information. I accepted a position working for Employment 1, as a inside phone sales person. I was the one accepting phone calls like [Chris Barry’s]. The “training manual” encouraged me to use lines such as “You want to get a good job, right?” Or to suggest that they could borrow the money from a friend or relative, in order to pay the fee. We were instructed to and shown how to overcome most common objections. Chris McDonald would close a sale, then return to the office to smile as he gleefully pulled the money or credit-card slip from his inside breast pocket and place the money in the safe. I found the attitude and approach to be appalling. Chris explained to me that he viewed the “job seekers” as sheep and he was the shepherd, guiding them. I found him to be guiding them on how to be parted from $160. I left the job after three weeks, without a job to go to, only knowing I could find one on my own without assistance from Employment 1.

Eric Scheel

Portland