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February 13, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
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February 7, 2012
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 1, 2005
/ 29 Tishrei, 5766
He goes to war; she fights her own
By
Mitch Albom
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
This is a story about a job and a soldier and how one Michigan woman had to say goodbye to both.
Suzette and Jerry Boler have been married 22 years. They have children and grandchildren. As a member of the National Guard, Jerry, a mechanic, recently was called up to serve in Iraq. Suzette wanted to be with him before he left. So she notified her employer, Benefit Management Administrators, in Caledonia, Mich. Boler, 40, worked part-time as a receptionist, answering phones and opening mail. She was paid, she says, $9 an hour, to work Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
She was granted three days off, without pay, to accompany Jerry to Indiana, where his unit was stationed, before he left for Fort Dix. She says she told her human resources person that she might not be able to get back on Monday, as her husband's actual departure was sometime on Sunday.
"I promised I would be back on Tuesday morning," she says. And the HR person said, "Do your best."
On Monday, Boler says, she was too exhausted and emotionally spent to go to work. That afternoon, she got a call from the human resources person.
"She told me I was terminated," Boler says. "I was flabbergasted. … I said, 'Are you firing me?' And she said, 'Yes, you're fired.'"
The next day, Boler and her father went to the office. They asked to speak with the president of the company, Henry Bledsoe. Things got emotional. Voices were raised.
"His comment was, I was supposed to be there three days a week, and if I couldn't handle that, he'd find somebody that would," Boler says. "He said my husband was just going to war. He wasn't dead yet."
He wasn't dead yet? That seemed hard to believe. So I called Bledsoe. And, after a public relations man called me back he said he'd been hired to deal with the fallout Bledsoe himself called. Not surprisingly, his story was different.
He claimed Boler was a less-than-ideal employee who used the fax machines, phones and Internet for excessive private use. He claimed that she'd taken "half-days" off before and that "we were going to fire her a couple of times" but decided to "extend her mercy one more time."
But when I asked if he'd actually said "he's not dead yet" about her husband, he did not deny it. He said that Boler was "wailing" and he was trying to calm things down.
It didn't work.
Boler went to the media. And the media came crashing down on Bledsoe and his company. Boler insists she had no idea her job was on the line or she would have made it in no matter what. Bledsoe, who admits "I probably should have picked my words better," still insists "we bent over backwards for Suzette. … There comes a time to say we've got a company to run."
In the end, everybody suffers. And it makes you wonder why companies that can handle the most complex transactions in cyberspace can't master common sense down here on earth.
If Bledsoe's company had "endured" Boler for that long, why not let her come back after her husband's departure to see whether things improved? Didn't anyone realize it was cruel to fire someone less than a day after her husband left to fight a war?
Bledsoe told me he and his brothers had all served proudly in the military. He said this as a defense.
But last week I spoke with another military man, a reservist who'd finished a year in Iraq. He said the day his unit moved into its quarters, a friend was killed by a rocket.
The first day. He was stunned. He thought there would be grace period before the killing began.
War knows nothing about grace periods.
But a company should.
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© 2005, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
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