Monthly Archives: May 2012

CAPITALISM: Shareholder vs. Stakeholder / Capitalist Class vs. Working Class / Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat / Profit vs. People / 1% vs. 99%

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Reality Check! President Obama has finally spoken truth to the long-standing myth that executive business experience brings added value to the Presidency. Do not for one New York second believe that he, or any other political puppet of the corporate state, is not on the former sides of the conditionals in the post title. He also blew a whole in the myth of military experience being a significant factor in execution of Commander-in-chief duties (puns intended). Do not for one New York second believe that he, or any other political puppet of the corporate state, is not on the sides of the military industrial complex either. Need we discuss the industrial police state . . . neither did I. [MSH]

HEALTH CARE: Socialized Medicine: Why Everyone Should Share the Costs / Al Stefanelli

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“A society will be judged by how it cares for it’s weakest members.”

Understand, I do not begrudge anyone from earning a profit, nor do I have anything personally against the entrepreneurial spirit. We should all do what we can to better ourselves. However, I am of the position that health care is not a privilege, but a right. As well, I reason that we are all morally obligated to ensure that each of us has access to it. That the United States does not have a national health care program is a major moral failure, and what we have in place is little more than a venue for unethical profiteers within the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

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The United States needs a tax-payer funded (single-payer) national health care system. Totally and completely socialized and incurring no costs to anyone beyond what their taxes pay. Those who cannot pay due to disability, unemployment or other circumstances beyond their control should have the same access as those who do.

In my opinion, putting a dollar ahead of the health and welfare of a human being is immoral. National or Socialized medicine should be a no-brainer.

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There should never be any individual who’s life is less important than a number on a profit and loss ledger.

Read more . . .

SOCIAL ACTIVISM: National Nurses United Director, RoseAnn DeMoro Talks Robin Hood Tax with Bill Moyers / (VIDEO)

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Moyers & Company, a current affairs program featuring Bill Moyers and airing on PBS stations nationwide,  had a segment on Sunday evening with RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in the country, with 170,000 members.

The interview focuses on the union’s call for a Robin Hood Tax, a sales tax on Wall Street speculation that could raise up to $350 billion a year in revenue.

Watch interview here . . .

“The money generated,” says Moyers in the program note, “could be used for social programs and job creation – ultimately to people who, without a doubt, need it more than the banks do. Though the power and influence of Big Banking is intimidating, DeMoro and her organization have an inspiring history of defeating some of the toughest opponents in government and politics.”

The nurses see the enduring effects of economic hardship on patients and communities across the nation, says DeMoro. The revenue from the Robin Hood Tax is the first step to healing distressed communities and setting the United States on the road to a real recovery. More than 40 countries, including many of the fastest-growing economies, already have such a tax, and it may well be adopted European Union-wide this year.

Read more . . .

EDUCATION: Op-Ed / Open letter to High School Grads

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Dear graduating senior,

I am begging your pardon for a somber reflection amid the joy of accomplishment: not to be a wet rag on the festivities of graduation, but a bright light on the realities of post-secondary education.

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If you haven’t posted a good academic performance in high school, don’t believe a university, its leadership, advertisements or admissions officers who co-sign your promissory note with no responsibility for its payment obligation. They need paying students.

Stoking a deceitful dream on life support — an underappreciated, overfinanced, media-hyped charade — is the real deception, and the weight falls on your back, not theirs.

A shameful, elaborate sham, when one out of two college graduates this year are unemployable in their chosen field.

Look carefully at the costs and benefits of a university education. University officials may not tell you the truth: Enrollments could drop. Bankers will not tell you the truth: Interest income will fall off. Elected officials will not tell you the truth: Elections will be lost. Listen to those really concerned for you carefully.

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QUOTE: Epicurus

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Portrait of Epicurus, founder of the Epicurean...

Epicurus (341 BCE – 270 BCE)
Ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder
of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism

Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is, I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?

PHILOSOPHY: The Atheist and Death

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Whether you die from a long, painful illness or quietly in your sleep or from violence or misadventure, the final moment for every single person is the same: UNconsciousness. That transition will either be quick and sharp, or slow, like falling asleep. Regardless, ONE second afterwards, you’re not there to experience anything. As Wittgenstein put it “Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present.” There is nothing to fear in the experience of death for, to the last second, we are alive and not dead; and then once dead, we experience nothing at all.

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EDUCATION: How the Conservative Worldview Quashes Critical Thinking

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. . . High-stakes testing is an artifact of the conservative belief that education is about acquiring a required body of knowledge that’s been determined by experts. If it’s not in the book, you don’t need to know it. And the ultimate outcome — the purpose of this whole process — is to graduate with a credential that will certify your acceptability to the established hierarchies of the economic world.

In the conservative model, critical thinking is horrifically dangerous, because it teaches kids to reject the assessment of external authorities in favor of their own judgment — a habit of mind that invites opposition and rebellion.

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Given this reality, the college-as-job-training model the conservatives are promoting looks patently insane. Subjects like logic and philosophy, anthropology and rhetoric, foreign languages and history provide the mental flexibility, deep perspective, and sharp critical thinking skills that allow one to make one’s own way on unfamiliar landscapes, a skill that’s useful when the world keeps changing around you. People with rich liberal arts backgrounds are also far better prepared for leadership roles, and better positioned to recognize and seize on whatever opportunities fate throws their way.

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It’s obvious that stripping these mind-expanding fripperies out of the curriculum — as conservatives are proposing, often with no push-back at all from liberals — serves the narrow, functional conservative view of education and citizenship very well.

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The conservatives are not wrong: for 150 years, the schools have been the leading promoter and disseminator of progressive values. It’s precisely because they understand the power of education to preserve democracy that they’re now doing their best to dismantle that system, and replace it with one that produces followers, subjects and serfs.

Read more . . .

HUMOR: Eve’s First Prayer

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“Lord, I have a problem.”

“What’s the problem, Eve?”

“I’m bored. I know that you provided me with this beautiful garden, and all of these wonderful animals, as well as that hilarious comedic snake, but I’m just not happy.”

“And why is that Eve?”

“Lord, I think I’m lonely, and I’m sick to death of apples.”

“Well, Eve, in that case, I shall create a man for you.”

“What’s a man, Lord?”

“A flawed creature, to be sure. He will have many bad traits: he’ll lie, cheat and be vain; all in all, he’ll give you a hard time. And he’ll be bigger, faster. But he will will like to hunt and kill things for you to eat along with the veggies I’ve provided. And I’ll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs – sometimes. He will be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking and throwing balls about – sometimes using sticks. He won’t be as smart as you, so he will also need your advice to think properly.”

“Sounds OK, I guess” says Eve, with ironically raised eyebrows.

“Well, you can have one then, but only on one condition.”

“And what’s that Lord?”

“As I said, he’ll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring . . . so you’ll have to let him believe that I made him before you. And that will have to stay our little secret — woman to woman.”

Source: The Atheism News Magazine