According to a recent CNN article, Sioux Falls is now the best city in the United States to find a job.

Who would’ve thunk that Sioux Falls would beat out DC when it comes to job-hunting!  To my surprise, this list is top-heavy with towns in North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and even West Virginia.  I’m curious to hear from deaf folks living in Sioux Falls (as well as the other top-25 towns) whether they’ve had more luck finding jobs in these smaller towns than in the larger towns like DC, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and others.

Last Sunday, Obama announced a plan to create 2.5 million jobs to rebuild the nation’s decaying transportation infrastructure, modernize schools, and create more alternative energy sources.  I’m only speculating, but I think these jobs will be created largely in large towns and small cities in the nation’s heartland stretching from the Appalachians to the Rockies; this area has been hit disproportionately hard by the declining economy.  Some towns and cities will be selected to be hubs where transportation improvement will radiate outward (and who wants to bet that Minneapolis / St. Paul, the site of a disastrous bride collapse, will be one of these hubs).  Education funds will flow to older towns as well, improving schools nearby.  And research centers (like Frederick, MD and its research hub for solar energy) for alternative energy sources will be established or expanded.

Thus, both blue and white collar workers will benefit as research expands, construction contracts are created, engineers and architects are called in, and, of course, lawyers as well.  Then restaurants and businesses nearby will experience booms, construction stores (like Lowes and Home Depot) will see business improve, and so on.  And they, in turn, will hire more people — further expanding the economy in these areas (and elsewhere).

Certainly much more beneficial to “the people” than abstract billions of dollars being spent to bail out insurance companies and banks.  Let’s hope Obama’s plan does get passed in Congress and is ready for Obama’s signature on January 20th.

Here’re the top 25, in descending order (again, from the CNN article):

1. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
   Unemployment rate: 2.4 percent
   Last year: 2.3 percent
   Job growth: 2.1 percent
2. Rapid City, South Dakota
   Unemployment rate: 2.5 percent
   Last year: 2.6 percent
   Job growth: 1 percent
3. Idaho Falls, Idaho
   Unemployment rate: 2.5 percent
   Last year: 1.6 percent
   Job growth: N/A
4. Bismarck, North Dakota
   Unemployment rate: 2.6 percent
   Last year: 2.5 percent
   Job growth: 2.2 percent
5. Houma, Louisiana
   Unemployment rate: 2.7 percent
   Last year: 2.9 percent
   Job growth: 1.1 percent
6. Morgantown, West Virginia
   Unemployment rate: 2.8 percent
   Last year: 3.4 percent
   Job growth: 1.8 percent
7. Logan, Utah
   Unemployment rate: 2.8 percent
   Last year: 2.3 percent
   Job growth: N/A
8. Fargo, North Dakota
   Unemployment rate: 2.9 percent
   Last year: 2.6 percent
   Job growth: 1.6 percent
9. Casper, Wyoming
   Unemployment rate: 2.9 percent
   Last year: 2.7 percent
   Job growth: N/A
10. Billings, Montana
    Unemployment rate: 3.0 percent
    Last year: 2.3 percent
    Job growth: 2.9 percent
11. Ames, Iowa
    Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent
    Last year: 2.8 percent
    Job growth: N/A
12. Lafayette, Louisiana
    Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent
    Last year: 3.1 percent
    Job growth: 2.8 percent
13. Midland, Texas
    Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent
    Last year: 3.2 percent
    Job growth: 2.4 percent
14. Iowa City, Iowa
    Unemployment rate: 3.2 percent
    Last year: 2.8 percent
    Job growth: 0.7 percent
15. Lincoln, Nebraska
    Unemployment rate: 3.3 percent
    Last year: 3.2 percent
    Job growth: 1.4 percent
16. Portsmouth, New Hampshire
    Unemployment rate: 3.3 percent
    Last year: 3.1 percent
    Job growth: 2.8 percent
17. Great Falls, Montana
    Unemployment rate: 3.4 percent
    Last year: 2.7 percent
    Job growth: N/A
18. Charlestown, West Virginia
    Unemployment rate: 3.4 percent
    Last year: 4.1 percent
    Job growth: 1 percent
19. Des Moines, Iowa
    Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent
    Last year: 3.1 percent
    Job growth: 1.2 percent
20. Missoula, Montana
    Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent
    Last year: 2.6 percent
    Job growth: -0.3 percent
21. Salt Lake City, Utah
    Unemployment rate: 3.5 percent
    Last year: 2.7 percent
    Job growth: 2.2 percent
22. Provo, Utah
    Unemployment rate: 3.6 percent
    Last year: 2.8 percent
    Job growth: 1.2 percent
23. Odessa, Texas
    Unemployment rate: 3.7 percent
    Last year: 3.8 percent
    Job growth: 4.4 percent
24. Pocatello, Idaho
    Unemployment rate: 3.7 percent
    Last year: 2.4 percent
    Job growth: N/A
25. Sioux City, Iowa
    Unemployment rate: 3.7 percent
    Last year: 3.6 percent
    Job growth: -1.9 percent

Shakespeare started it all, with Hamlet’s “to be, or not to be…” soliloquy.

How far does the dome of protection spread when it comes to our privacy?

Washingtonpost.com posted a brief story about Verizon Wireless, sharing that “a number of its [Verizon Wireless] employees have “accessed and viewed” President-elect Barack Obama’s personal cellphone account without authorization.”

The employees have since been put on administrative leave with pay, and an executive of Verizon issued a public apology.

Some time ago, another article, and probably a few more, brought to light whether the President-elect should toss his Blackberry when he is sworn in. Security is the main reason, because of the
vulnerability within cyberspace and unauthorized access to all types of accounts, including e-mail. Naturally, the highest elected public official of this country is warranted to have classified information
coming and going from his handheld, among other private content.

This brings me to a point–even though the phone in question “was a flip-phone that had been inactive for several months” it was ultimately accessed. Have people no sense of respect for the
sanctity of privacy? Are we as a society so driven by the quick buck, thirst for information, or in need of public recognition that we will stop at nothing to uncover any bit of knowledge, regardless
of how we come across it?

On the other hand, this is indeed the era of “infotainment” meaning that any and all information whether relevant, is of interest to a group of us–more so in the case of the President-elect.

Now, I’m not lying, I’d sure like to take a peek at his Blackberry to get a look behind the curtain of our 44th president, see how he converses with his colleagues, and to whom he has conversations
with. That’s the human in me. I just wouldn’t go out of my way to illegally gain access to information I’m not privy to in the first place.

However, if I came across his pager by sheer luck…who knows? I mean, you would at least need to check a message to see who is the owner–or navigate settings and find the user profile, and then
go about returning the pager to its rightful owner. What if you hit on a pressing e-mail that came from Rahm Emmanuel? Or, a message from Hillary Clinton accepting the Secretary of State job? Would
you sell it to CNN or the highest bidder?

I’m curious to learn your thoughts on this issue. Should Obama toss his Blackberry once he takes office on 20 January, or should he make the decision for himself, take into fact that we are a
mobile society, always on the go, even more so for the POTUS. Some of us have the luxury of sitting at a desk and checking our e-mails, while others simply perceive that as time they do not have.

They’d rather have access to their electronic content in hand or on their person, a constant tether to the virtual world.

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