Economic Reality & Our Sense of Purpose and Direction.

"This country last knew itself, had a sense or purpose and direction when it was going to the moon, when it was committed to the public education of its children and their physical health, was at war with true totalitarianism, when marginal tax rates on the income of the well to do were north of 90% and the President could stir the public with, 'ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'”  The Mad Tea Party; A Looking Glass View of Economic Reality in Over the Edge by James T. Bruce.   This thoughtful piece can read in its entirety by clicking here. 

St. Valentine and love

Legend has it that St. Valentine was martyred in Rome about 270 AD. While in prison, Valentine was befriended by his jailer's daughter. On the eve of his execution, Valentine thanked the child for her care and kindness in a note signed "Your Valentine". Thus, the tradition for exchanging such notes.
I've read that one of the laws of the universe "is that the more we love, the more we will be loved. If we try to hoard our love, we will end up with nothing, for love cannot exist in the same space as possessiveness, dependency, or selfishness. The very essence of love demands that we give it away." Paul Tillich wrote that the first duty of love is to listen.

I Loved True Grit and Mattie's Everlasting Arm.

The Coen Brothers have done it again.   The dialogue was marvelous.  Humor, sadness, and pain were beautifully merged.  The acting, including the performance from 15 year old Hailee Steinfeld, was excellent.  The background music was perfect and  Iris Dement was the perfect vessel for the lyrics. 


 However, at that point in the movie, perhaps Leaning On The Everlasting “Arm” would have been more appropriate.
It was good to hear Arkansas names and towns on the screen too.  The Rosses are still around.  So are the LaBoeuf’s, but they’ve anglicized their name. I met Sleepy himself at Blue Moon Music a few years ago.  Here he is singing about his ancestor.

HOT SPRINGS MAYOR, A TEA PARTIER, SAYS MARRIAGE LAWS "REDUNDANT" AND "UN-BIBLICAL", NEWSPAPER DECLINES TO PRINT CITIZEN REBUKE.

The Mayor of Hot Springs Arkansas advocates that we don’t need secular law to address issues, such as marriage, dealt with in the Bible.  My Friend Cliff Jackson wrote a letter of dismay to the Hot Springs paper which refused to print it.  

It is difficult to know whether to be more shocked by the paper’s actions or the mayor’s mentality but both reflect the growing empowerment of the ignorance demographic in America.  

The following is Clift's letter and his comments on the paper’s action.  

If you are a glutton on the subject, links follow to my own related thoughts.

BILL CLINTON'S HOMETOWN MAYOR, A TEA PARTIER, SAYS MARRIAGE LAWS "REDUNDANT" AND "UN-BIBLICAL"

by Cliff Jackson on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 10:52am

Dinosaurs and Humans in Eden

 NOTE: The local paper declined to print this letter perhaps because of the new politically correct pseudo-civility after the Giffords' shooting or, perhaps, because the paper strongly identifies with the business interests of Hot Springs, Arkansas---a national park that depends on tourism dollars---and my letter might tarnish the image of our fair city. Regardless, when the Mayor of Bill Clinton's hometown publicly expresses such views, such is worthy of facetious and sarcastic commentary, is it not? To the uninformed, David Barton is the guru of a "Christian America" and the speaker at a First Nazarene Church event for all newly-elected Tea Partiers (Republicans won all but two contested city and county offices).

Dear Editor,

I am goggle-eyed and aghast at the remarks of Mayor Ruth Carney as quoted in a recent Sentinel-Record article. Quite clearly, she endorses David Barton’s idiotic view that where the Bible speaks on a matter, as interpreted by the literalists, there is no reason for secular laws.

As an example, the Mayor mentioned marriage laws, which presumably would also include divorce, child custody, and other family matters. Here is her quote:

“Marriage was from the Bible, so when man takes it and re-creates the marriage statute, then it’s against what was Biblical-based. That was just one little example (that David Barton gave) of making laws to define something that has already been defined.”

How else is any sane person to understand these comments except that our Mayor, who may indeed be a fine Christian lady, supports the creation of a Christian theocracy in America based not on the Constitution and our separation of church and state but on literalists’ interpretation (which, quite literally, they deny “interpreting” literally) of the Bible?

This is an appalling development in Bill Clinton's hometown where, according to the Mayor, we apparently simply need to repeal redundant marriage laws and follow the Bible. Which Biblical verses would she have us follow? Polygamy? Women as chattel? Divorce only for adultery? Gays an "abomination"? Verses where God approves concubines? Women being silent and submissive to men? Having sex with one’s daughters? Stoning of women (but not men) caught in adultery or children for sassing their parents?

Yes, each of the above is from the Bible that all Christians, including myself, deem as “holy” and “inspired” by God. However, I don’t read the Bible “literally and infallibly” as do the denizens of the Religious Right who seek to impose their Stone Age literalism on this secular and pluralistic nation.

May I ask Mayor Carney this: Is her husband Ken Carney (pastor at First Nazarene) gonna preside over ecclesiastical courts for all the marriages and divorces and concubinage dissolutions in this new theocratic regime? Will he apply the verses about stoning sassing children---even though he and the Mayor might just have (as do we all) a child who from time to time speaks his or her mind in a disrespectful manner?

Maybe if Hot Springs acts quickly and extends a tax break, we can beat Kentucky, which just approved tax benefits for the building of Noah’s Ark at the Creation Science Museum in Petersburg,Kentucky. Here is how its website describes itself:

“state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot museum (that) brings the pages of the Bible to life, casting its characters and animals in dynamic form and placing them in familiar settings. Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden. Children play and dinosaurs roam near Eden’s Rivers.”

In fact, Hot Springs could go one better: Let’s make the Arkansas School of Math, Science, and the Arts into the nation’s leading high school teaching “creation science”. Just add “Creation”” before “Science” in the name, and the school will be inundated with youngsters from everywhere eagerly wanting to learn how humans survived the man-eating dinosaurs who lived 5,000 years ago. 

Jesus saves, so I believe, and my sincere prayer is that He will save us from those who invoke His name to promote an exclusivist, intolerant, literalist, and dogmatic religious/political agenda.

If the Mayor's above-quoted comments are echoed in similar public pronouncements, Hot Springs is gonna become the laughing-stock of the nation. She is, of course, entitled to free speech and, as of now anyway, to freedom of religion. What she believes religiously is her own business, but she needs to realize now that, as Mayor, everything she says reflects upon Hot Springs and Arkansas.

We already are viewed by the nation as a passel of rubes and yokels, and we don’t need people like David Barton cementing this image by telling our newly-elected Republican officials to apply Biblical laws instead of our Constitution and secular statutes.

That’s bad publicity enough. Even worse, the Mayor agrees with him.

Cliff Jackson 

P.S.

That Jackson’s letter may not have been printed on grounds that it would violate a post Gifford shooting civility standard for public discourse is particularly disturbing.  One could see this Judo maneuver coming from the extreme right, the instant the connection was made between the shooting and the demagoguery of certain media/political personalities.  

Cutting argument advanced in pursuit of sound policy and truth must not be confused with fraudulent exaggerations purposely calculated to incite hysteria and potentially violent emotional reactions in extremist segments of society for purposes of personal political or material gain.  Demagoguery is not legitimate argument and Legitimate argument is not demagoguery.  To confuse the two is to unilaterally disarm reason and leave the demagogues with an even freer hand to manipulate the ignorance demographic. 

On marriage, the state and religion you might enjoy:

http://jamesbrucemcmath.blogspot.com/2009/03/gay-marriage.html

If you like sarcasm:
http://jamesbrucemcmath.blogspot.com/2010/03/redneckus-giganticus-americanus.html

Good Question

"Y'know, 2012 is just around the corner, and pundits are falling over themselves to handicap the race.  Will the GOP choose Mitt Romney...Sarah Palin...or just a gun with a flag pin?" ---Stephen Colbert

Is the Ruling Class Being Taxed To Death?

No.  See, Who Rules America, Wealth, Income, and Power by G. William Domhoff. Thanks also to Evans.  Introduction by James T. Bruce.-"This article is intelligent, reason based material, which in this country today makes it "left leaning." At one time it would have been seen as center.  Left thinks while right believes and today consciously misleads."  This is an excerpt: Though Do Taxes Redistribute Income? It is widely believed that taxes are highly progressive and, furthermore, that the top several percent of income earners pay most of the taxes received by the federal government. Both ideas are wrong because they focus on official, rather than "effective" tax rates and ignore payroll taxes, which are mostly paid by those with incomes below $100,000 per year. But what matters in terms of a power analysis is what percentage of their income people at different income levels pay to all levels of government (federal, state, and local) in taxes. If the less-well-off majority is somehow able to wield power, we would expect that the high earners would pay a bigger percentage of their income in taxes, because the majority figures the well-to-do would still have plenty left after taxes to make new investments and lead the good life. If the high earners have the most power, we'd expect them to pay about the same as everybody else, or less. Citizens for Tax Justice, a research group that's been studying tax issues from its offices in Washington since 1979, provides the information we need. When all taxes (not just income taxes) are taken into account, the lowest 20% of earners (who average about $12,400 per year), paid 16.0% of their income to taxes in 2009; and the next 20% (about $25,000/year), paid 20.5% in taxes. So if we only examine these first two steps, the tax system looks like it is going to be progressive. And it keeps looking progressive as we move further up the ladder: the middle 20% (about $33,400/year) give 25.3% of their income to various forms of taxation, and the next 20% (about $66,000/year) pay 28.5%. So taxes are progressive for the bottom 80%. But if we break the top 20% down into smaller chunks, we find that progressivity starts to slow down, then it stops, and then it slips backwards for the top 1%. Specifically, the next 10% (about $100,000/year) pay 30.2% of their income as taxes; the next 5% ($141,000/year) dole out 31.2% of their earnings for taxes; and the next 4% ($245,000/year) pay 31.6% to taxes. You'll note that the progressivity is slowing down. As for the top 1% -- those who take in $1.3 million per year on average -- they pay 30.8% of their income to taxes, which is a little less than what the 9% just below them pay, and only a tiny bit more than what the segment between the 80th and 90th percentile pays. What I've just explained with words can be seen more clearly in Figure 6. Figure 6: Share of income paid as tax, including local and state tax Source: Citizens for Tax Justice (2010a). We also can look at this information on income and taxes in another way by asking what percentage of all taxes various income levels pay. (This is not the same as the previous question, which asked what percentage of their incomes went to taxes for people at various income levels.) And the answer to this new question can be found in Figure 7. For example, the top 20% receives 59.1% of all income and pays 64.3% of all the taxes, so they aren't carrying a huge extra burden. At the other end, the bottom 20%, which receives 3.5% of all income, pays 1.9% of all taxes. Figure 7: Share of all income earned and all taxes paid, by quintile Source: Citizens for Tax Justice (2010a). So the best estimates that can be put together from official government numbers show a little bit of progressivity. But the details on those who earn millions of dollars each year are very hard to come by, because they can stash a large part of their wealth in off-shore tax havens in the Caribbean and little countries in Europe, starting with Switzerland. And there are many loopholes and gimmicks they can use, as summarized with striking examples in Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal, the books by Johnston that were mentioned earlier. For example, Johnston explains the ways in which high earners can hide their money and delay on paying taxes, and then invest for a profit what normally would be paid in taxes.

Never Again

Pictures say what words can't. Yesterday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/27/5934012-holocaust-remembrance-day-commemorated-around-the-world

Thank God for Wyoming-Most & Least Tolerant States.

Below are the top and bottom five from 20 Most Tolerant States by The Daily Beast.

1, Wisconsin
Tolerance score: 77 out of 100
Hate crime score: 27 out of 40
Discrimination score: 39 out of 40
Gay rights score: 3 out of 10
Religious Tolerance Score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 1.0 (10 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents: 9.2 (5 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage: 44%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life: 79%                                                                                                 
2, Maryland
Tolerance score: 75 out of 100
Hate crime score: 25 out of 40
Discrimination score: 37 out of 40
Gay rights score: 5 out of 10
Religious Tolerance Score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 1.8 (19 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents: 7.8 (1 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage: 51%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life: 72%

3, Illinois
Tolerance score: 74 out of 100
Hate crime score: 30 out of 40
Discrimination score: 31 out of 40
Gay rights score: 5 out of 10
Religious Tolerance Score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 1.5 (16 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents: 14.5 (24 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage: 48%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life: 74%

4, Pennsylvania
Tolerance score: 72 out of 100
Hate crime score: 29 out of 40
Discrimination score: 31 out of 40
Gay rights score: 4 out of 10
Religious Tolerance Score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 0.4 (5 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents: 11.8 (13 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage: 51%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life: 75%

5, Hawaii
Tolerance score: 71 out of 100
Hate crime score: 34 out of 40
Discrimination score: 27 out of 40
Gay rights score: 4 out of 10
Religious Tolerance Score: 6 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 0.1 (1 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents: 20.3 (35 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage: 54%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life: 66% . . . . .

46, Ohio
Tolerance score: 40 out of 100
Hate crime score: 15 out of 40
Discrimination score: 16 out of 40
Gay rights score: 1 out of 10
Religious Tolerance score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents:: 3.1 (33 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents:: 24.2 (44 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage:: 45%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life:: 76%

47, Nebraska
Tolerance score: 40 out of 100
Hate crime score: 17 out of 40
Discrimination score: 16 out of 40
Gay rights score: -1 out of 10
Religious Tolerance score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents:: 5.1 (44 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents:: 38.8 (49 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage:: 35%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life:: 78%

48, Kansas
Tolerance score: 38 out of 100
Hate crime score: 12 out of 40
Discrimination score: 18 out of 40
Gay rights score: 0 out of 10
Religious Tolerance score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents:: 5.6 (46 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents:: 23.0 (41 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage:: 37%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life:: 71%

49, Arkansas
Tolerance score: 37 out of 100
Hate crime score: 15 out of 40
Discrimination score: 17 out of 40
Gay rights score: -1 out of 10
Religious Tolerance score: 6 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents:: 2.7 (28 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents:: 23.9 (43 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage:: 29%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life:: 63%

50, Wyoming
Tolerance score: 32 out of 100
Hate crime score: 16 out of 40
Discrimination score: 8 out of 40
Gay rights score: 2 out of 10
Religious Tolerance score: 6 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents:: 1.5 (15 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents:: 201.9 (50 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage:: 37%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life:: 63%

Click here for full list. 

I'm hoping someone will come up with a critique of the criteria and methodology that will say it ain't so. 

Thanks to McGraham

Guns Don't Kill People. Exercise Kills People.

"The Governors Highway Safety Association says pedestrian deaths increased in the first half of 2010 and the First Lady's program to get Americans to be more active could be partly responsible." Michelle Obama's 'Get Moving' Program Linked to Pedestrian Deaths by Mark Weaver.  It is not clear whether it's the advice itself, or the source being one of the colored people in the formerly "White" house.  See, also, Just The Same Old Dumb by: William Rivers Pitt

Let's sing along with Sarah Palin's theme song, Plenty of Guns & Something to Shoot to combat this exercise suicide.  (Yes, I know some think Chris Wall meant for this to be satire, but that don't change the truth)

Thanks to Karen 

Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – Aug. 1, 1966)-Who Are We to Say the Boy's Insane?

“All three Whitman children served as altar boys at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, and Whitman chose the Confirmation name Joseph for himself. As a 12-year-old, he was among the youngest in history to achieve Eagle Scout and the first in Lake Worth to do so at that age.”
See also, 

Now think of the shame and degradation
For the school’s administration
He put on such a bold and brassy show.
The chancellor cried, “it’s adolescent
And of course it’s most unpleasant
But I’ve got to admit it was a lovely way to go.”

There was a rumor about a tumor
Nestled at the base of his brain.
He was sitting up there with his .36 Magnum
Laughing wildly as he bagged ‘em.
Who are we to say the boy’s insane ? 
From The Ballad of Charles Whitman, by Kinky Friedman.
See, also, The Madman in the Tower.

MLK's Question

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"

Mrs. Betty Bowers On Sarah Palin On Gabrielle Giffords.

Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian Gun-crazy, nutjob Sarah Palin puts a target on Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz) and another gun-crazy nutjob pulls the trigger. If Sarah Palin had a conscience she would hide in shame. Pity Sarah herself wasn't the gunman -- that way, no one would have been hit.

Ban Brazilians & Just Say No To Hardwood

I’m saddened by the aversion young people have to hair.  I had heard about Brazilians several years ago, by accident and never dreamed "normal" people would do it.  A year or two ago, a young man confided in me that his wife made him shave his chest and back, but I just thought she was a bit kinky.  Not until last night did I discover that this practice has become mainstream and that the terms “hardwood” & “landing strip” are code words to describe the state of a woman’s hair.  The young women who told me this also informed me that a man with hair on his chest is no longer considered attractive and body hair in general is a turn off.  
As Young Art would say, "This shit just ain't right." Hair is beautiful and signifies adulthood.  I’m sure there are folks who are not pedophiles who prefer a hairless lover, but it’s just not natural.  This madness must stop!  Please don’t muff the opportunity to be the self that God made.  If this continues, we'll have to do another musical.

How Bout Them Hog Noses?

I love these snakes.  They puff up, hiss, and crawl on their bellies like reptiles.  If that doesn't work, they play dead.  They may deliver a closed mouth strike, but don't bite.  I haven't seen one since I was a kid.  Since toads were a primary food source, these wonderful creatures are probably rare now too.

Softly And Tenderly-If You Care Not for Other Sentient Beings, Take Care of Yourself.

"Within moments of birth, male calves born on dairies are taken away from their mothers and loaded onto trucks. Many are sold through auction rings where they are subjected to transportation and handling stresses. The fragile animals are shocked and kicked, and when they can no longer walk, they are dragged by their legs or even their ears. Every year, approximately one million calves are confined in crates measuring just two feet wide. They are chained by the neck to restrict all movement, making it is impossible for them to turn around, stretch, or even lie down comfortably. This severe confinement makes the calves' meat "tender" since the animals muscles cannot develop."

Of course, what muscle is left is poisoned with antibiotics necessary to keep the calves alive while living in their own excrement.

A calf lies dead in the slatted stall in which it stood for all of its life, with no mother, sunlight or decent food. This is the fate of a calf raised for veal

So Long To One of My Favorite Couples.

 This is the 1st Anniversary of Barbara & Jim's 25th.  Some think Barbara is in a boomerang place and it will work out.  It won't. They've moved on.  A couple of days ago though, I did hear Jim singing the chorus of Hard Dog, just as he used to sing it to her:

"I give you my love and I give you my money

but you've got the feelings of a fence post honey.

I don't hold a grudge I just carry a torch.

You're a hard dog to keep under the porch."

No, that's not why she left.  

Here's to a  pretty good cowboy and and a pretty good cowgirl,  They are still a couple of my favorite individuals.  Happy trails.

The Work of Christmas.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

When The Song of Angels Is Stilled by Howard Thurman 
Thanks to Rev. Sandi.

Public Service Announcement-Schedule Change.

The OZO Dub Stars v Dublin camogie and ladies football games scheduled for Tuesday 28 December at Kilmacud Crokes have been deferred until Saturday 15 January 2011 due to the bad weather.

It Used To Be Santy.

When I was very small.  In Coal Hill?  Ozark?  Rogers?  I don't know.  Surely not Fedvul. 

Thanks to the Camogie Lasses for Supporting the Hope Foundation.