Politics

Marx

Karl, not the Brothers.

A woman who generally takes a conservative view of things wrote, in a Facebook comment yesterday, "I'm suggesting our society is becoming so removed from itself and disconnected, or partitioned into self interest, that it no longer functions ..."

I responded, because I couldn't help myself, that her comment reminded me of "The Theory of Alienation," Karl Marx's essay from 1844 in which he described the condition of the people he saw around him during the early years of the Industrial Revolution. Read more about Marx

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Tough

It's gonna be a tough year commenting on politics. I already know all the people I'm gonna vote for. All the people running against each other in order to be able to run against them are people whose opinions do less than interest me.

I just ran into a spot of trouble on Facebook with the statement that Iowa had chosen the "least icky" of the current slate of Republican candidates - only to be slammed to the floor by people who had actually knew the positions taken by Mr. Santorum. Read more about Tough

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Political Shorts

It's the last week of 2011, and who wants to think about politics? Can't we have a little vacation? Next year is coming soon enough.

So - no lectures. No links. Nothing really to think about. Just a few one-liners.

Nukes in Iran? Treat them like a grown up country and maybe they'll act like one.

Iraq - really? Nobody saw this coming? Fortify the embassy walls, the Baathists will rise again. (sorry, that one was two lines)

Afghanistan and Africa - Forget terrorism. I'm in it for the women.

U.N. flag at half mast for KJI? It's customary for dead leaders. Get over it. Read more about Political Shorts

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Christmas Greetings

Assuming that next year we will have a Gingrinch-free Christmas, I want to take this opportunity to with a Merry, Happy, Cheerful Holiday Season to all, especially those who take the trouble to show up.
The ones who go to the meetings.
The ones who enter public service.
The ones who take it to the streets.
The ones who care.

All of 'em, everywhere, of every stripe. Even the skunks.

May all the Gods bless you, every one. Read more about Christmas Greetings

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Bizniz

It was sometime in the 80's, I think, that a well-meaning friend recommended the book Tough Love to me, thinking it would help in guiding my somewhat headstrong young daughter through the "difficult years."

I glanced over the basic principles of the thing and saw that it entailed writing up a business plan for parenting, a contract between parent and child, outlining each of their responsibilities, and prescribing rewards and punishments. Read more about Bizniz

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Economics 10?????

I was raised in the heartland. Central Illinois. Where it was both the heat and the humidity. When my daughter visited my old stomping grounds with me for the first time a few years back, we climbed out of our air-conditioned car at a gas station a few miles below Peoria and she gave me a look across the top of the car that can best be described as horrified.

"You lived here?" she asked.

"We didn't know any better," I told her. Read more about Economics 10?????

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Fight for Peace?

I don't remember when the oxymoronic nature of that phrase struck me, but it did, independently and quite some time ago.

The politics on both sides of the aisle are peppered with fight metaphors. Folks in or vying for public office promise to "fight" for this, that, or the other thing. I know they mean well. But I want them to stop fighting.

"I'm a worker, not a fighter." That's what I want to hear. Read more about Fight for Peace?

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Yes or No

While temporarily confined to my bed for a couple of days, I happened upon a discussion of "job creation" and "regulations." Without going into a lot of detail (my memory of detail from that time is a little hazy), I remember a question by a Republican directed to a Secretary of - Commerce? EPA? Something. Read more about Yes or No

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The Way We Were

"Sad to say, the uplift in the general education has awakened misdirected ambitions among the poorer classes..."

That's a quote from the June 1910 issue of National Geographic in an article showcasing the virtues of Costa Rica.

If this sounds anachronistic, listen to the recent diatribes aimed at the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Education also has consequences. And isn't the Education Department one of the two out of three that Rick Perry remembered he wanted to abolish? Read more about The Way We Were

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