First sin of 5769 - no time to be like Jonah!
This is a copy of an email by David Meyers to his list. David is a son of mine and what he writes is a clear indictment of John McCain and Sarah Palin for dangerous and "sinful" behavior.
As we conclude our annual soul-searching, we are hearing dangerous noises that are all to familiar. In its effort to win at all costs, the McCain-Palin campaign is fostering incitement against Barack Obama, whipping up their followers at rallies to a frenzy of hatred and loathing that is spine-chilling. A skin-headed, uniformed sheriff emphasizes Obama's middle name, "Hussein", to cries of "traitor" and "kill him." Palin herself barely stops short of calling Obama a "terrorist." Where does this lead? We know where this leads. If someone is a "traitor" or a "terrorist", what do we do? We seek them out and kill them, like we would Benedict Arnold or Osama bin Laden. There is no middle ground, no respectful disagreement, only a mandate to eliminate the threat.
Rewind to 1995, anti-Oslo rallies in Israel, effigies of Prime Minister Rabin in gestapo uniform being burned, shouts of "traitor." A clear mandate to kill - and if not Yigal Amir, someone else would have taken up the weapon. Because you have to kill traitors, not debate them and, if necessary, accept democratic defeat with honor and grace. Instead of one politician's ascendancy or continuation in power being undesirable, it becomes unacceptable and that is where democracy crumbles.
Despite his reprehensible role in whipping up anti-Rabin sentiments, at least Benjamin Netanyahu had some moral compass, backed by a knowledge of history, unlike Sarah Palin. When demonstrators at a rally shouted "Rabin is a traitor", he is seen saying "No, no, no. Rabin is not a traitor. He is mistaken and mistaken in a big way but he is not a traitor." No such compass or knowledge or conscience exist in Palin and she stands there doe-eyed, letting the frenzy take on its own life. Her running mate, with much more knowledge but perhaps having left his compass behind when he ejected from the cockpit, does nothing to dissuade his supporters from going down this path. As soon as this is allowed to happen, the implications are clear. People are not asked any more to compare the two patriotic records - fighting Communism in Vietnam (whether you agreed with that or not) and building democracy in Chicago by registering voters, or to compare the policies or the judgment of two men who want to do their best for the country. Instead, they are asked to define one of them an "enemy," and once you designate someone an enemy "all options are on the table." Is that the America that we want?
For many reasons that I have discussed on my blog - http://israeliamericansforobama.blogspot.com - we must elect Obama/Biden and not McCain/Palin and this is just one more example of the character of the two tickets. But, if you really must support McCain-Palin (can a Jew really believe that Palin can be President?)..but if you really have to support that ticket, then at least speak out to those whom you support. Tell them that you support their views but will not stand for incitement, demonization and demagoguery. Tell them that our people know where this leads. Educate Sarah Palin on the holocaust that she says we can't repeat but of which she has no understanding and of the difference between the democratic process and civil war (and, while you're at it, point out that the Constitution has no extra powers for her to assert). Tell them that this is unacceptable. Tell them that our democracy is more important than their victory and that your support requires them to accept that notion.
Let's not be like Jonah in the story that we heard today who ran from his responsibility to speak difficult truths. There is no time to get on the ship to Tarshish and there are not 40 days for Ninveh - or the United States - to repent.
Let's not start 5769 with the sin of silence. Speak out before this ugliness turns into tragedy.
Shana Tova and Gmar Chatima Tova, (
Have a good year and may you be written for the good in God's yearly journal.)
David
p.s. after finishing this, I heard audio from a McCain event where a questioner referred to "Obama, Pelosi and the rest of the hooligans" and McCain not only did not object but concurred. To those who talk about Iran as threatening a second holocaust, it should be pointed out that what started the holocaust was not threats against another nation but the deligitimization and demonization of fellow countrymen as the Nazis did to Jews in Germany. This is a much more dangerous and insidious threat than any external one.
-------------------------------
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
JOHN McCAIN and the POWER ELITE
"A Man is Known by the Companies He Keeps"
It has become obvious that George W. Bush was chosen to be president and Richard "Dick" Cheney was chosen to be his running mate by powerful (huge financial) entities who engineered his election all the way through the United States Supreme Court. The who and the which companies can be tolled from the pages of the New York Times over the past eight years. Not all of them appear there by any means. But by reading about who got what from their minions in the federal government, a picture has emerged that would scare an educated population. Unfortunately, thanks to government spending, we do not have an educated population.
Here is one example of a "minor" major industry that has benefited from its connection in, to, with, and how to the "elected" members of the government and the choices made by the higher echelons of that government that have always benefited the Power Elite of this country
On the editorial page of the December 12, 2008, edition of the paper under the title, "Anything Goes, Apparently," the following verifiable information was provided the reader as the factual basis of the editorial:
1. Edward Devaney, Inspector General of the Department of the Interior, provided this information to multiple House of Congress investigation committees.
2. As a result, Gale Norton, chosen by the Bush Administration to be Secretary of the Interior, was forced out of her position in 2006 as a result of mismanagement and conflicts of interest.
3. Officials at the Mineral Management Service of D.O.I., granted off-shore oil drilling leases and did not collect royalties due the U.S. Treasury, steered contracts and engaged in drugs and sex with oil company employees as part of a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity.
This inquiry provides the reader with a picture of how government is the servant of powerful money forces. Now we can look at the powers behind John McCain and his presidential election bid.
Let's start the inquiry with what got Sarah Palin into the vice-presidential slot on the Republican ticket. Because Palin is such a far-out choice, so eminently unsuited for the role of vice-president and, hush your mouth, the role of president were McCain to succumb to his illness, her selection must have been the fruit of careful manipulation of the decision-makers by very heavy hitters. This was callously performed without serious vetting of the lady and without sufficient logistical and strategic support from veteran political operatives. The calamity befalling the republican ticket as of this date is evidence of the huge gap between the brains and experience of the power elites and the playing experience of the rooks, knights, and bishops on the political chessboard.
With one month to Election Day, smart money is on Barack Obama to win the match. But - and this is a serious but - never underestimate your opponent, especially where wealth and power is concerned.
It has become obvious that George W. Bush was chosen to be president and Richard "Dick" Cheney was chosen to be his running mate by powerful (huge financial) entities who engineered his election all the way through the United States Supreme Court. The who and the which companies can be tolled from the pages of the New York Times over the past eight years. Not all of them appear there by any means. But by reading about who got what from their minions in the federal government, a picture has emerged that would scare an educated population. Unfortunately, thanks to government spending, we do not have an educated population.
Here is one example of a "minor" major industry that has benefited from its connection in, to, with, and how to the "elected" members of the government and the choices made by the higher echelons of that government that have always benefited the Power Elite of this country
On the editorial page of the December 12, 2008, edition of the paper under the title, "Anything Goes, Apparently," the following verifiable information was provided the reader as the factual basis of the editorial:
1. Edward Devaney, Inspector General of the Department of the Interior, provided this information to multiple House of Congress investigation committees.
2. As a result, Gale Norton, chosen by the Bush Administration to be Secretary of the Interior, was forced out of her position in 2006 as a result of mismanagement and conflicts of interest.
3. Officials at the Mineral Management Service of D.O.I., granted off-shore oil drilling leases and did not collect royalties due the U.S. Treasury, steered contracts and engaged in drugs and sex with oil company employees as part of a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity.
This inquiry provides the reader with a picture of how government is the servant of powerful money forces. Now we can look at the powers behind John McCain and his presidential election bid.
Let's start the inquiry with what got Sarah Palin into the vice-presidential slot on the Republican ticket. Because Palin is such a far-out choice, so eminently unsuited for the role of vice-president and, hush your mouth, the role of president were McCain to succumb to his illness, her selection must have been the fruit of careful manipulation of the decision-makers by very heavy hitters. This was callously performed without serious vetting of the lady and without sufficient logistical and strategic support from veteran political operatives. The calamity befalling the republican ticket as of this date is evidence of the huge gap between the brains and experience of the power elites and the playing experience of the rooks, knights, and bishops on the political chessboard.
With one month to Election Day, smart money is on Barack Obama to win the match. But - and this is a serious but - never underestimate your opponent, especially where wealth and power is concerned.
INSURANCE COMPANIES WIELD ENORMOUS POWER
From where and from whom are the presidential candidates getting so much money to pay for their campaigns. Try this as a small example..
On a day to day basis, insurance companies (ins cos) have a greater influence on the American people's lives than any other entity after government and God. From birth to death, insurance company power gives and takes - but mostly takes - in ways that are so hidden yet so numerous, so complex, so interwoven with all aspects of daily life, that it is almost impossible to weigh the impact they have on each and every individual.
As with all power elites, ins cos control enormous amounts of money that provides them with the clout they possess.
In no particular order, here is a list of some of the clear and overt ways ins cos accumulate wealth:
Life Insurance
Health Care Insurance
Fire, Flood, Earthquake and other Natural Disaster Insurance
Automobile coverage
Theft and other crime
Business liability, failure, theft and loss coverage
Workers Compensation insurance
Maritime insurance
Travel insurance
Acts of God
The cost of performing almost any human activity includes payment to ins cos.
The nominal basis for ins cos' existence is called, "Spreading the Risk." Whether an event will happen for sure, like death, or may or may not happen, like being struck by lightning, ins cos have accumulated experience ratings for the occurrence or non-occurrence of almost every event imaginable, it's timing, its frequency, its severity, its repair-ability, and any other ramification that will affect whether or not to insure against it, and, if to insure against it, how much to charge for the insurance and how much to pay the insured in the event of its occurrence.
The real basis for ins cos' existence is to accumulate wealth. Take in more than you pay out, use the accumulated capital to invest in more lucrative business endeavors than insurance, deny payment for an insured event whenever possible and for any possible reason, pay as little as possible when an insured event occurs, attempt to shift the burdens of payment to others, whatever works to protect your wealth - do it!
This leads insurance companies to spread their risk by re-insuring with other, larger ins cos and passing the cost of that additional coverage to the consumer who purchased the insurance policy.
The impact of ins cos power and functioning on the masses immediately becomes clear. They generally get screwed unless they have a history of paying insurers more than they receive from insurers. That's simple.
Loss of health care coverage is the crying example of how the American people are being robbed. What are ins cos doing in health care at all? What is "coverage?" The people mistakenly think they are paying for health care when in fact they are simply paying insurance companies to make a lot of money. And they have been indoctrinated to believe that if government took over the delivery of health care, they would suffer more than they are presently. That is such proof of the level of intelligence and gullibility of the American people, it defies belief.
What is hidden from the people is the impact of that enormous accumulation of wealth on government in all its functions. Laws are passed by legislators and signed by presidents that favor the ins cos. Those laws are upheld against legal attacks by the court system whose justices have been chosen by legislators put into power by ins cos and other power elites using their wealth to assure their future ability to acquire even greater wealth.
On a day to day basis, insurance companies (ins cos) have a greater influence on the American people's lives than any other entity after government and God. From birth to death, insurance company power gives and takes - but mostly takes - in ways that are so hidden yet so numerous, so complex, so interwoven with all aspects of daily life, that it is almost impossible to weigh the impact they have on each and every individual.
As with all power elites, ins cos control enormous amounts of money that provides them with the clout they possess.
In no particular order, here is a list of some of the clear and overt ways ins cos accumulate wealth:
Life Insurance
Health Care Insurance
Fire, Flood, Earthquake and other Natural Disaster Insurance
Automobile coverage
Theft and other crime
Business liability, failure, theft and loss coverage
Workers Compensation insurance
Maritime insurance
Travel insurance
Acts of God
The cost of performing almost any human activity includes payment to ins cos.
The nominal basis for ins cos' existence is called, "Spreading the Risk." Whether an event will happen for sure, like death, or may or may not happen, like being struck by lightning, ins cos have accumulated experience ratings for the occurrence or non-occurrence of almost every event imaginable, it's timing, its frequency, its severity, its repair-ability, and any other ramification that will affect whether or not to insure against it, and, if to insure against it, how much to charge for the insurance and how much to pay the insured in the event of its occurrence.
The real basis for ins cos' existence is to accumulate wealth. Take in more than you pay out, use the accumulated capital to invest in more lucrative business endeavors than insurance, deny payment for an insured event whenever possible and for any possible reason, pay as little as possible when an insured event occurs, attempt to shift the burdens of payment to others, whatever works to protect your wealth - do it!
This leads insurance companies to spread their risk by re-insuring with other, larger ins cos and passing the cost of that additional coverage to the consumer who purchased the insurance policy.
The impact of ins cos power and functioning on the masses immediately becomes clear. They generally get screwed unless they have a history of paying insurers more than they receive from insurers. That's simple.
Loss of health care coverage is the crying example of how the American people are being robbed. What are ins cos doing in health care at all? What is "coverage?" The people mistakenly think they are paying for health care when in fact they are simply paying insurance companies to make a lot of money. And they have been indoctrinated to believe that if government took over the delivery of health care, they would suffer more than they are presently. That is such proof of the level of intelligence and gullibility of the American people, it defies belief.
What is hidden from the people is the impact of that enormous accumulation of wealth on government in all its functions. Laws are passed by legislators and signed by presidents that favor the ins cos. Those laws are upheld against legal attacks by the court system whose justices have been chosen by legislators put into power by ins cos and other power elites using their wealth to assure their future ability to acquire even greater wealth.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
REVERSE PERISTALSIS - SARAH PALIN
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines peristalsis as successive waves of involuntary contraction passing along the walls of the intestine or other hollow muscular structure and forcing the contents onward.
Usually, what the mouths of most animals - including humans - take in, passes through the intestines, a hollow muscular structure, forced onward and outward through the anus. In Sarah Palin's case, the process appears to be working in reverse. The Republican Party tactical political geniuses who have been pumping words through Ms. Palin have been using an enema bag filled with excreta about presidential candidate Barack Obama. This results in reverse peristaltic discharges of aromatically and foul-tasting material through her hollow muscular structure, her mouth.
By allowing and enabling this process, Ms. Palin has revealed an extraordinary shallow capacity for thinking and an extraordinarily gargantuan capacity for malicious stupidity, unless she actually enjoys eating her own excreta. And her smiles, winks, and head-tossing do seem to indicate that she is pleasuring herself by her vocal ejaculations.
Sadly, substantial portions of the American electorate seem to be pleasuring themselves vicariously as they watch and listen to this ventriloquist's dummy getting her rocks off on candidate Obama.
Usually, what the mouths of most animals - including humans - take in, passes through the intestines, a hollow muscular structure, forced onward and outward through the anus. In Sarah Palin's case, the process appears to be working in reverse. The Republican Party tactical political geniuses who have been pumping words through Ms. Palin have been using an enema bag filled with excreta about presidential candidate Barack Obama. This results in reverse peristaltic discharges of aromatically and foul-tasting material through her hollow muscular structure, her mouth.
By allowing and enabling this process, Ms. Palin has revealed an extraordinary shallow capacity for thinking and an extraordinarily gargantuan capacity for malicious stupidity, unless she actually enjoys eating her own excreta. And her smiles, winks, and head-tossing do seem to indicate that she is pleasuring herself by her vocal ejaculations.
Sadly, substantial portions of the American electorate seem to be pleasuring themselves vicariously as they watch and listen to this ventriloquist's dummy getting her rocks off on candidate Obama.
ATHEISTS DO NOT MAKE HISTORY
Atheists do not make history. That's a fact. Can you think of any historical event that was made by Atheists? As a simplistic answer to the unasked question, "Why don't Atheists make history?" it is because there is no money to be made in atheism. Money means power. Power means war. Huge amounts of money are made by going to war, even if it is war against Indians or Spaniards. And whoever wins the war makes the history. Does that make sense?
God-believers make history. We study the Crusades. Now THAT's history. Christians against Moslems. The Moslems had it. The Christians wanted it. War. Money out and money in. Let's look at Columbus and the "discovery" of the "New World." In 1492Columbus sailed the ocean blue in ships bought and paid for by their Catholic majesties, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. He did not fall over the edge of the world. He sailed around until he bumped into America. Indians lived there because Columbus was sailing to India. The Indians had gold and no God. Columbus had no gold and had God. They made an exchange. Columbus gave the Indians God and the Indians gave Columbus gold. Now that's history. No Atheists were involved.
In World War II, we were told that there were no Atheists in fox-holes. Everyone who was shooting at anyone, was not an Atheist. Not the Nazis, not the Fascisti of Italy nor Hirohito's Japanese warriors, not the Communist Russians, and certainly not the other good guys, the Allies, were Atheists. Nope. They all believed in God and God was on THEIR side. Oh boy! A lot of history was made in World War II. But not by Atheists.
So I wonder, if Atheists don't believe in God, does that mean they don't believe in war? Or do they simply not believe in making history?
God-believers make history. We study the Crusades. Now THAT's history. Christians against Moslems. The Moslems had it. The Christians wanted it. War. Money out and money in. Let's look at Columbus and the "discovery" of the "New World." In 1492Columbus sailed the ocean blue in ships bought and paid for by their Catholic majesties, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. He did not fall over the edge of the world. He sailed around until he bumped into America. Indians lived there because Columbus was sailing to India. The Indians had gold and no God. Columbus had no gold and had God. They made an exchange. Columbus gave the Indians God and the Indians gave Columbus gold. Now that's history. No Atheists were involved.
In World War II, we were told that there were no Atheists in fox-holes. Everyone who was shooting at anyone, was not an Atheist. Not the Nazis, not the Fascisti of Italy nor Hirohito's Japanese warriors, not the Communist Russians, and certainly not the other good guys, the Allies, were Atheists. Nope. They all believed in God and God was on THEIR side. Oh boy! A lot of history was made in World War II. But not by Atheists.
So I wonder, if Atheists don't believe in God, does that mean they don't believe in war? Or do they simply not believe in making history?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
INTERNATIONAL “ORDER”
It used to be, “You stay out of my business and I’ll stay out of yours.”
By agreement, the nations of the world have set up strong high opaque insulated fences between them that allow their rulers and the power elites that control them to exercise their power unmolested by any other nation’s intervention. The fences consist of the laws or absence of laws of each nation and between and among nations. The fences, also known as borders, have developed and are maintained by a variety of agreements, treaties, pacts, and rules of behavior between individual nations and communities of nations and by international agreements that delineate acceptable and unacceptable means and methods of intercourse among them.
The key to understanding these webs of agreements lies in examining the needs of power elites to protect their positions. The key to understanding when and why the agreements are broken lies in examining the desires of power elites to enhance their power or to protect their power from encroachment by powers outside the national borders.
Because of the variety of forms of internal governance among the nations of the world, a set of generally accepted conventions has been established and developed, and for the most part also observed, over centuries that allow for brutal dictatorships to live comfortably side by side with the most quiescent of democratic nations. The prime example is Switzerland that has in the past had Hitler’s Nazi Germany on one of its borders and Mussolini’s Fascist Italy on another, with hedonistic France on the third border and horrendous wars and holocausts exploding all around it. By international agreement, Switzerland was “neutral.” The Swiss, in peace, could milk their cows and make their cheese and chocolate, manufacture fine watches, and sell their products to all comers. This is called, “International Order.”
Other events took place by international agreement at Switzerland’s borders that were less bucolic. Turning over to the Nazis of Jewish refugees constituted abiding by such an agreement by the “neutral” Swiss. Serving as Nazi Germany’s money launderer also constituted abiding by international agreements, thus enabling that murderous regime access to needed supplies for its war machine that were not available for purchase with Reichmarks.
This cozy international arrangement is in process of Darwinian mutation. Brutality and savagery are returning to an earlier mode. Internal factions within nations are rising to power, driven by religious sectarianism, by minority ethnicities within nations rather than nationalism, by local warlord competition for control of resources valuable on world markets, and by uncontrolled political dissension within weak national structures.
These forces are changing the nature of power elites and as a result, the nature of “international order.” Computer communication is the primary tool that has enabled the new power elites to conquer fragmented nations and societies much as it has enabled individuals to obtain and control enormous wealth for beneficial outcomes. Inexpensive, wide-spread computer use has enabled nuclear proliferation, arms purchases, terrorist organization command and control structures, espionage on a grand scale, propaganda and education for deleterious purposes, and an enormous variety of legal and illegal ways by which to gain control of wealth and populations and threaten peaceful co-existence on the planet.
International Order has taken a back seat to International Control. The relations between nations rest on their relative ruling class homogeneity. The need for votes to assume power places political leadership in democratic countries at a severe disadvantage in negotiating with oligarchies and dictatorships, especially when such governments are melded with singularly powerful religious orders. The power elites of democratic countries control governments that in turn control their populace by systems of laws whereas the power elites of oligarchies control the minds of their populations by combining religion and state. As wealth has spread to the more undeveloped and less sophisticated or modern societies, control of that wealth has enabled their leaders to stand with equality to other proportionally comparable wealthy political entities. So as power in the past has been wielded under the old order at the United Nations, today, small nations under ruthless dictatorships wield an equally powerful stick. And the change in status of smaller nations continues to grow ever more powerful as those nations defy the old order by taking control of their populations, their economies, and their armies.
Also, within smaller nations, split control now rests in the hands of non-governmental entities such as the Taliban that uses religion and guns to control warrior elements, control opium production and sale, plus the substantial increased use of computers since 2003 to establish political control over segments of their country, Afghanistan. Whether under religious control or ethnic control, whether with government or in revolt against government, the wealthy in these societies, as in most of the nations in the world, join forces with all conflicting elements within the nation. Arms merchants sell to all comers. Smugglers are the family members of customs officials. The spies in government are paid by the same elements against whom they are spying. Financial kingpins sit with all parties. Ergo, no longer is there “Order.” Now there exists only “Control.”
By agreement, the nations of the world have set up strong high opaque insulated fences between them that allow their rulers and the power elites that control them to exercise their power unmolested by any other nation’s intervention. The fences consist of the laws or absence of laws of each nation and between and among nations. The fences, also known as borders, have developed and are maintained by a variety of agreements, treaties, pacts, and rules of behavior between individual nations and communities of nations and by international agreements that delineate acceptable and unacceptable means and methods of intercourse among them.
The key to understanding these webs of agreements lies in examining the needs of power elites to protect their positions. The key to understanding when and why the agreements are broken lies in examining the desires of power elites to enhance their power or to protect their power from encroachment by powers outside the national borders.
Because of the variety of forms of internal governance among the nations of the world, a set of generally accepted conventions has been established and developed, and for the most part also observed, over centuries that allow for brutal dictatorships to live comfortably side by side with the most quiescent of democratic nations. The prime example is Switzerland that has in the past had Hitler’s Nazi Germany on one of its borders and Mussolini’s Fascist Italy on another, with hedonistic France on the third border and horrendous wars and holocausts exploding all around it. By international agreement, Switzerland was “neutral.” The Swiss, in peace, could milk their cows and make their cheese and chocolate, manufacture fine watches, and sell their products to all comers. This is called, “International Order.”
Other events took place by international agreement at Switzerland’s borders that were less bucolic. Turning over to the Nazis of Jewish refugees constituted abiding by such an agreement by the “neutral” Swiss. Serving as Nazi Germany’s money launderer also constituted abiding by international agreements, thus enabling that murderous regime access to needed supplies for its war machine that were not available for purchase with Reichmarks.
This cozy international arrangement is in process of Darwinian mutation. Brutality and savagery are returning to an earlier mode. Internal factions within nations are rising to power, driven by religious sectarianism, by minority ethnicities within nations rather than nationalism, by local warlord competition for control of resources valuable on world markets, and by uncontrolled political dissension within weak national structures.
These forces are changing the nature of power elites and as a result, the nature of “international order.” Computer communication is the primary tool that has enabled the new power elites to conquer fragmented nations and societies much as it has enabled individuals to obtain and control enormous wealth for beneficial outcomes. Inexpensive, wide-spread computer use has enabled nuclear proliferation, arms purchases, terrorist organization command and control structures, espionage on a grand scale, propaganda and education for deleterious purposes, and an enormous variety of legal and illegal ways by which to gain control of wealth and populations and threaten peaceful co-existence on the planet.
International Order has taken a back seat to International Control. The relations between nations rest on their relative ruling class homogeneity. The need for votes to assume power places political leadership in democratic countries at a severe disadvantage in negotiating with oligarchies and dictatorships, especially when such governments are melded with singularly powerful religious orders. The power elites of democratic countries control governments that in turn control their populace by systems of laws whereas the power elites of oligarchies control the minds of their populations by combining religion and state. As wealth has spread to the more undeveloped and less sophisticated or modern societies, control of that wealth has enabled their leaders to stand with equality to other proportionally comparable wealthy political entities. So as power in the past has been wielded under the old order at the United Nations, today, small nations under ruthless dictatorships wield an equally powerful stick. And the change in status of smaller nations continues to grow ever more powerful as those nations defy the old order by taking control of their populations, their economies, and their armies.
Also, within smaller nations, split control now rests in the hands of non-governmental entities such as the Taliban that uses religion and guns to control warrior elements, control opium production and sale, plus the substantial increased use of computers since 2003 to establish political control over segments of their country, Afghanistan. Whether under religious control or ethnic control, whether with government or in revolt against government, the wealthy in these societies, as in most of the nations in the world, join forces with all conflicting elements within the nation. Arms merchants sell to all comers. Smugglers are the family members of customs officials. The spies in government are paid by the same elements against whom they are spying. Financial kingpins sit with all parties. Ergo, no longer is there “Order.” Now there exists only “Control.”
Sunday, September 21, 2008
CAPITALISM versus HUMANISM
Capitalism is an economic system designed to increase wealth of investors. Humanism is a doctrine based on the value of human life. The system and the doctrine are fundamentally at odds for the vast majority of humans.
The by-product of capitalism, an efficient system for converting natural resources and labor into wealth, and perhaps its driving force, is a humongous uneven distribution of that wealth and the benefits that wealth provides for those who possess it and control it. In the United States, as in much of the industrialized world, the disparity between the wealthy and the lower working classes in their way of life, is not grossly evident. Significant differences exist in education, health care, leisure time, military service, and quality of transportation and food, clothing, and shelter. If "choice" in all aspects of living was measurable, the humongous differences would become apparent immediately.
Only in the State of Alaska is there a distribution of the fruits of the capitalist system to non-capitalist investors. The state's constitution provides for payment to citizens a portion of revenues derived from some of the state's natural resources.
From the Alaska government website: "The Permanent Fund was established through a constitutional amendment approved by Alaska voters in 1976. The constitutional amendment and its supporting statutes set aside at least 25% of certain mineral revenues paid to the State for deposit into a public savings account to be invested for the benefit of the current and all future generations of Alaskans."
Well how about that? Let the citizens of every state in the Union vote for such a state and federal constitutional amendment. Alaska is called the "Socialist State," because of that collective ownership of natural resources that is given away or sold or leased by the federal or state governments to private enterprise for the benefit of private enterprise, despite the fact that the resources are owned by ALL the people of the state or the United States.
Think of the land as we do of the air, of sunshine, of the oceans. Or will the states and the federal government sell and lease the air and the sunshine and the ocean waters to private enterprise for the benefit of investors as they do the national forests, the oil, ores, and coal under the ground. After all, citizens pay the taxes which is where all government money comes from. All taxpayers are therefore investors in the development and use of natural resourses.
Here's a good example of a method of combining capitalism and humanism.
The by-product of capitalism, an efficient system for converting natural resources and labor into wealth, and perhaps its driving force, is a humongous uneven distribution of that wealth and the benefits that wealth provides for those who possess it and control it. In the United States, as in much of the industrialized world, the disparity between the wealthy and the lower working classes in their way of life, is not grossly evident. Significant differences exist in education, health care, leisure time, military service, and quality of transportation and food, clothing, and shelter. If "choice" in all aspects of living was measurable, the humongous differences would become apparent immediately.
Only in the State of Alaska is there a distribution of the fruits of the capitalist system to non-capitalist investors. The state's constitution provides for payment to citizens a portion of revenues derived from some of the state's natural resources.
From the Alaska government website: "The Permanent Fund was established through a constitutional amendment approved by Alaska voters in 1976. The constitutional amendment and its supporting statutes set aside at least 25% of certain mineral revenues paid to the State for deposit into a public savings account to be invested for the benefit of the current and all future generations of Alaskans."
Well how about that? Let the citizens of every state in the Union vote for such a state and federal constitutional amendment. Alaska is called the "Socialist State," because of that collective ownership of natural resources that is given away or sold or leased by the federal or state governments to private enterprise for the benefit of private enterprise, despite the fact that the resources are owned by ALL the people of the state or the United States.
Think of the land as we do of the air, of sunshine, of the oceans. Or will the states and the federal government sell and lease the air and the sunshine and the ocean waters to private enterprise for the benefit of investors as they do the national forests, the oil, ores, and coal under the ground. After all, citizens pay the taxes which is where all government money comes from. All taxpayers are therefore investors in the development and use of natural resourses.
Here's a good example of a method of combining capitalism and humanism.
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