THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: July 14 2011
Date Line: Chicago IL
Our government is challenged by a small group of egotistical, childish bullies claiming to speak for the American people. Wrapped in the flag and weeping crocodile tears, they put their political agenda aheadof the public good. The public will remember and also will not forget that their prior agendas caused the economic problems we are facing
Their latest reckless act is to hold us hostage to a statutory debt limit that they raised eight times in as many years to pay for oil wars and tax give-aways. The Constitution does not allow a political party the right to cause the US to default on its internal and external debts.
Please note that in all the rhetoric being spilled into the airways no one has suggested a way to solve the basic questions that challenge our country’s inherent promise to future generations: a decent life for all.
If you cut the rhetoric out the issues are: How to put Americans back to work; how to pay for wars we should not have begun; how to stop extraneous matters from dividing our nation and destroying our unity of purpose; how to improve the quality of our elected representatives and assure that the public good is their primary goal in office; and
how to establish permissible levels of personal greed for businessmen and their corporate alter egos
You can’t find the answers in textbooks; they are too logical and simple to be “good copy”. Nevertheless, here are my views:
t
1. Some of us can get back to work if American businesses stop sending jobs abroad. Almost every credit card company and bank has its customer service department in India, the Philippines or somewhere other than the US. I will switch my banking to a Canadian bank with US offices because it uses US personnel to service US customers. If you want job growth in the entry level labor market for young graduates, bring back the 320.000 service jobs sent abroad in that niche during the past 25 months. US companies should follow the example of their foreign counterparts: use local labor to serve local markets. That practice will bring back the economy 3,000,000 jobs without raising consumer prices and for the most part not affecting corporate profits by more than a nominal percentage. The companies following that procedure are entitled to substantial tax credits.I
An amount equal to a percentage of the taxes paid by their employees hired by participation in the program. 3 million jobs at an average of $38,000 would produce $114,000,000,000 in gross income. In addition, ech payroll dollar creates $8.00 of commercial activity. Assuming a 24% average tax rate, the US could and should be very generous to companies that bring work home.
2. War is Hell and Hell is expensive. We don’t use our capability and knowhow to advantage. For example, we are asked to “stay in Iraq to safeguard its borders”. If we do that we must be paid for the service. In addition Iraq should assume 25% of the debt burden as a direct obligation secured by oil revenues.We made the Iraqis the beneficiaries of the oil deposits instead of Sadaam Hussein. The contractors who made billions (Halliburton, Brown & Root etc.) can either account for their excesses or assume a portion of the debt. Finally, the oil industry had a major increase in value of its reserves because of US policy, and since there is no free lunch, our government should participate in the windfall. The US should (temporarily) increase its revenue share in oil and gas equivalents derived by the industry from US oil leases. The current US average participation of 8% should increase to 15% until 100 billion is recovered from the excess 7%. (In most other countries government would nationalize 100% of the asset)
3. Issues like school prayer, headscarves, and gay rights should get limited coverage by the national media. The national media should cover the issues on only four days each year: the coldest day; the hottest day; the snowiest day in Buffalo NY, and the day when the latest nut case says the world will come to an end.
4. There is no way to assure sainthood, let alone honesty in a politician. The only hope is to limit his term of office and assure that no one can serve more than two terms. Eliminate pensions and perks from the position and make the salary fair but not attractive. When a representative considers his job an obligation to the nation rather than a meal ticket we have a reasonable hope of honest representation.
Finally we address the basic reason for our present malaise:
Unrestrained personal greed is the cause of bubbles, theft, and financial disaster for everyone. Unfortunately greed is applauded when “successful”. Sam Walton wasn’t satisfied with a growing, profitable, supermarket chain; he had to squeeze the most profit out of the deal. In the process he bankrupted dozens of his US suppliers; created ghost towns to replace factories and began the destruction of US textile and small appliance manufacturing. Sam did to US small business what Attila did to empires in antiquity. We decry Attila but lionize Sam Walton.
Investment Bankers brought down the US housing industry and changed the idea of owning one’s home from a dream to a nightmare. Not wishing to be left behind the commercial banks leaped on the train and after the wreck, when the smoke died down and the mirrors were wiped clean, a lot of innocent by-standers were wiped out too.
5. Try as I might, I can’t compute how much is enough for a greedy person. I think it is best to let the greedy person get as much as he can, provided that he has seen first to the welfare and security of his neighbors and his country. We can measure what society needs and since there are enough greedy folk successfully and happily stealing from each other and the rest of us, it is easy to calculate what such a person must contribute. After that he should be free to get and keep as much as he can make.
Now here is a tax approach that anyone can understand and fall in love with; “Once I make my bogey the rest belongs to me” is such a compelling notion that I’d come out of retirement to try my luck at it.
Howard Stamer
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #302
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: June 5th 2011
Date Line: Chicago IL
To a man on trial, with stupidity as his principal defense, it must be comforting to know that all he has to do is be himself.
.
An ex-Governor nicknamed “Blago”
Got nabbed in a political farrago
On trial the court ruled, “Without fail,
You will go straight to jail,
Without succor or bail
If you are politically inept in Chicago.”
As a transplanted New Yorker I find it refreshing that Chicagoans can deal with stupidity, cupidity, and criminality without aggrandizing any such traits. Blago is a bad joke who will undoubtedly serve time for being inept.
His defense, an inability to deal with questions more complex than, you want fries with that? is inconclusive as is his failure to get hired in a contest among sixteen middle managers who lost their jobs. His counsel may have tos resort to andit plea of “de minimus non curat lex” (the law does not concern itself with trifles) when dealing with Blago’s intelligence.
Blago met Trump after the fact. Governor Blagojevich had the ego and the bluster, but not Trump’s ability to keep “friends” away from his activities. As a result of trusting no one, Donald Trump has an enviable record of not paying for his errors in judgment.
When Blago gets out of jail, perhaps he can host the next Trump TV show, Celebrity Idiots. If Trump’s luck continues Blago may get through a season or two.
Have a nice summer
The Management
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: June 5th 2011
Date Line: Chicago IL
To a man on trial, with stupidity as his principal defense, it must be comforting to know that all he has to do is be himself.
.
An ex-Governor nicknamed “Blago”
Got nabbed in a political farrago
On trial the court ruled, “Without fail,
You will go straight to jail,
Without succor or bail
If you are politically inept in Chicago.”
As a transplanted New Yorker I find it refreshing that Chicagoans can deal with stupidity, cupidity, and criminality without aggrandizing any such traits. Blago is a bad joke who will undoubtedly serve time for being inept.
His defense, an inability to deal with questions more complex than, you want fries with that? is inconclusive as is his failure to get hired in a contest among sixteen middle managers who lost their jobs. His counsel may have tos resort to andit plea of “de minimus non curat lex” (the law does not concern itself with trifles) when dealing with Blago’s intelligence.
Blago met Trump after the fact. Governor Blagojevich had the ego and the bluster, but not Trump’s ability to keep “friends” away from his activities. As a result of trusting no one, Donald Trump has an enviable record of not paying for his errors in judgment.
When Blago gets out of jail, perhaps he can host the next Trump TV show, Celebrity Idiots. If Trump’s luck continues Blago may get through a season or two.
Have a nice summer
The Management
Sunday, January 30, 2011
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #295
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: January 30, 2011
Date Line: Chicago IL
At a time when madmen shoot at our congressmen, with people unable to get work, and the Middle East erupting in flames, it comforting to recall radio icon, Gertrude Berg.
In the guise of Molly Goldberg, Bronx housewife, she considered the
War; the Depression, and shortages of food here and among our allies. She won our loyalty for ever when she asked “When I think of the problems in the world, I wonder if it is really a terrible sin not to brush after every meal?”
I am morally certain that if we did not have Madison Avenue to invent such sins and remind us of them with fervor that belies the silliness of the warnings, we’d probably be less able to cope with the ills that surround us. In that spirit, Madison Avenue and Main Street combine to provide us with my favorite Holiday, a day that goes a long way to point up the need for adults to ease off and lighten up.
Yes kids, Groundhog Day is only three days away as I write this.
There is no need to rewrite the past Chronicles that extol the virtues of a holiday you do not spend in the arms of your loved one, or dine with the family. There is no need to repeat how jaded you can get watching Bill Murray relive the day to atone for his nasty demeanor. It is of minor importance to fill this Chronicle with enough language to let the readers know that I am feeling enough like myself again to pick up my pen.
(In truth I pick up a mouse, not a pen, a circumstance that augers well for rodents and poorly for Mont Blanc.)
Moving to the Mid-West has taught me that no rodent is sacred. I used to believe that the Pennsylvania Dutch of Punxatawny had the only true weather rodent. Not so.
Grown-up people in Illinois, Wisconsin, Hawaii and points east west north and south in the United States all lay claim to weather forecasting, overweight, snaggle toothed chipmunks. This February 2nd is one that could use a bit of weather help. Snow fell in Valencia California on the 3rd of January; snow also fell in Florida and perhaps, (with an assist from Tin Pan Alley), Stars Fell On Alabama.
If those groundhogs would like to earn their keep, they will predict that the winter will end on schedule, not last for an additional six weeks. I hope that happens. If the weather pattern stays as it is, we can expect summer to arrive in mid-August. An extra six weeks will take us right back to Fall without giving Madison Avenue the opportunity to sell sun tan lotion.
As I put an end to this piece my television set remind me of the need for “regularity” and offering a panacea, guaranteed and FDA approved. I felt better about advertizing in my youth: my bodily functions were not discussed on the air and I could get a decoder ring for box tops.
Howard Stamer
.
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: January 30, 2011
Date Line: Chicago IL
At a time when madmen shoot at our congressmen, with people unable to get work, and the Middle East erupting in flames, it comforting to recall radio icon, Gertrude Berg.
In the guise of Molly Goldberg, Bronx housewife, she considered the
War; the Depression, and shortages of food here and among our allies. She won our loyalty for ever when she asked “When I think of the problems in the world, I wonder if it is really a terrible sin not to brush after every meal?”
I am morally certain that if we did not have Madison Avenue to invent such sins and remind us of them with fervor that belies the silliness of the warnings, we’d probably be less able to cope with the ills that surround us. In that spirit, Madison Avenue and Main Street combine to provide us with my favorite Holiday, a day that goes a long way to point up the need for adults to ease off and lighten up.
Yes kids, Groundhog Day is only three days away as I write this.
There is no need to rewrite the past Chronicles that extol the virtues of a holiday you do not spend in the arms of your loved one, or dine with the family. There is no need to repeat how jaded you can get watching Bill Murray relive the day to atone for his nasty demeanor. It is of minor importance to fill this Chronicle with enough language to let the readers know that I am feeling enough like myself again to pick up my pen.
(In truth I pick up a mouse, not a pen, a circumstance that augers well for rodents and poorly for Mont Blanc.)
Moving to the Mid-West has taught me that no rodent is sacred. I used to believe that the Pennsylvania Dutch of Punxatawny had the only true weather rodent. Not so.
Grown-up people in Illinois, Wisconsin, Hawaii and points east west north and south in the United States all lay claim to weather forecasting, overweight, snaggle toothed chipmunks. This February 2nd is one that could use a bit of weather help. Snow fell in Valencia California on the 3rd of January; snow also fell in Florida and perhaps, (with an assist from Tin Pan Alley), Stars Fell On Alabama.
If those groundhogs would like to earn their keep, they will predict that the winter will end on schedule, not last for an additional six weeks. I hope that happens. If the weather pattern stays as it is, we can expect summer to arrive in mid-August. An extra six weeks will take us right back to Fall without giving Madison Avenue the opportunity to sell sun tan lotion.
As I put an end to this piece my television set remind me of the need for “regularity” and offering a panacea, guaranteed and FDA approved. I felt better about advertizing in my youth: my bodily functions were not discussed on the air and I could get a decoder ring for box tops.
Howard Stamer
.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #291
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: November 10, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
Dear Mr. President:
Here is a suggestion to add to those offered by some office-seekers and unaffiliated pundits to: end the recession, create jobs, increase US homeowner values, and eliminate E.D. in nonagenarians.
Use Magic!
Only magic can create jobs without employers; lower taxes to end budget deficits; increase the value of the dollar simultaneously increasing exports; stop job losses by giving employers unlimited rights to off-shore their operations; bring back US productive capabilities without building factories to replace the ones we sold to China. Finally, magic might create collegiality in Congress by e.g., causing the insurance industry to lower healthcare premiums without legislation to regulate its activities.
Magic needs a Secretary of Necromancy: I nominate John Wellington Wells, with apologies to Gilbert & Sullivan and Rahm Emanuel. For those who don’t recall him, he is (as updated by the Chronicle):
“…John Wellington Wells
A dealer in magic and spells,
In blessings and curses
And ever-filled purses
In prophesies, witches, and knells.
If you want a foe to make “tracks”
If you need an object to tax
Please visit our resident Djinn
(Not available by e-mail or fax)
From the introduction we see solutions to poverty, backbiting foes, solid economic forecasts and the elimination of Al Qaeda. Not sold? Check on the costs, services and organization:
We’ve a first class assortment of magic
For passing an act like Cap and Trade
In spite of objections comic or tragic
We’ll prove there’s no better deal to be made!
Just compare the services of Blackwater and Halliburton with what JWW offers.
Love potions to unite Congress? We’ve got oodles of it
And if for financial balance the opposition burns
We keep a very small profit and retain a prophet,
To review everyone’s tax returns.
He can set up penalties on demand
In multiples of seventy grand.
He will let you change financial history,
Hide your mistakes or cloud them in mystery
He will even humor a wholesome proclivity
For a (salaciously) healthful permitted activity.
He has answers oracular, for queries spectacular
Which you get to expound in the vernacular.
Outcomes and incomes funny or tragic,
Are seen by onlookers in mirrors so magic
They create surpluses so astronomical
That they seem maniacally comical.
Of course we dispose of hosts of ghosts
Like death panels and Gay issue pests
Those creepy things that liberals ioast
Are no longer specters; they become honored guests
Ere I forget we’ll bind objectors in chains
And horrify your opponents vastly
As we clear their miniscule brains
Of gibberish, and thoughts grim and ghastly.
Then if you plan it we’ll change you organically
You’ll remain civilized and urban, but Satanically
Whether in tautology or demonology
Nano-Electro Biology, mystic neology
Spirit philology or high class astrology.
We offer our help without an apology
So useful’s our knowledge it’s clear that we
Are suited ideally, to save the Land of the Free.”
If you like our services (and take at least three),
We’ll apply a purchase discount for quantity.
Envoi
Mr. President, we challenge your advisors (and detractors) to provide a better solution. Failing that, I suggest that we knuckle down and let the programs for healthcare, financial entity policing and regulation, and economic stimulus packages, proceed. They are starting to take hold and show results.
The Chronicle believes they should get a fair trial.
Howard Stamer
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: November 10, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
Dear Mr. President:
Here is a suggestion to add to those offered by some office-seekers and unaffiliated pundits to: end the recession, create jobs, increase US homeowner values, and eliminate E.D. in nonagenarians.
Use Magic!
Only magic can create jobs without employers; lower taxes to end budget deficits; increase the value of the dollar simultaneously increasing exports; stop job losses by giving employers unlimited rights to off-shore their operations; bring back US productive capabilities without building factories to replace the ones we sold to China. Finally, magic might create collegiality in Congress by e.g., causing the insurance industry to lower healthcare premiums without legislation to regulate its activities.
Magic needs a Secretary of Necromancy: I nominate John Wellington Wells, with apologies to Gilbert & Sullivan and Rahm Emanuel. For those who don’t recall him, he is (as updated by the Chronicle):
“…John Wellington Wells
A dealer in magic and spells,
In blessings and curses
And ever-filled purses
In prophesies, witches, and knells.
If you want a foe to make “tracks”
If you need an object to tax
Please visit our resident Djinn
(Not available by e-mail or fax)
From the introduction we see solutions to poverty, backbiting foes, solid economic forecasts and the elimination of Al Qaeda. Not sold? Check on the costs, services and organization:
We’ve a first class assortment of magic
For passing an act like Cap and Trade
In spite of objections comic or tragic
We’ll prove there’s no better deal to be made!
Just compare the services of Blackwater and Halliburton with what JWW offers.
Love potions to unite Congress? We’ve got oodles of it
And if for financial balance the opposition burns
We keep a very small profit and retain a prophet,
To review everyone’s tax returns.
He can set up penalties on demand
In multiples of seventy grand.
He will let you change financial history,
Hide your mistakes or cloud them in mystery
He will even humor a wholesome proclivity
For a (salaciously) healthful permitted activity.
He has answers oracular, for queries spectacular
Which you get to expound in the vernacular.
Outcomes and incomes funny or tragic,
Are seen by onlookers in mirrors so magic
They create surpluses so astronomical
That they seem maniacally comical.
Of course we dispose of hosts of ghosts
Like death panels and Gay issue pests
Those creepy things that liberals ioast
Are no longer specters; they become honored guests
Ere I forget we’ll bind objectors in chains
And horrify your opponents vastly
As we clear their miniscule brains
Of gibberish, and thoughts grim and ghastly.
Then if you plan it we’ll change you organically
You’ll remain civilized and urban, but Satanically
Whether in tautology or demonology
Nano-Electro Biology, mystic neology
Spirit philology or high class astrology.
We offer our help without an apology
So useful’s our knowledge it’s clear that we
Are suited ideally, to save the Land of the Free.”
If you like our services (and take at least three),
We’ll apply a purchase discount for quantity.
Envoi
Mr. President, we challenge your advisors (and detractors) to provide a better solution. Failing that, I suggest that we knuckle down and let the programs for healthcare, financial entity policing and regulation, and economic stimulus packages, proceed. They are starting to take hold and show results.
The Chronicle believes they should get a fair trial.
Howard Stamer
Sunday, October 24, 2010
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #283
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: July 23, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
At college I thought Philosophy majors were natives of another solar system. They did not think or talk like serious people preparing for real life as accountants, engineers, doctors, etc.. They were the air-heads of the fifties who would go nowhere.
Now I find that if I had been at school when “Plato and a Platypus” became a text I’d gladly have become a Philo major. How was I to know in 1946 that Grouch Marx was a Philosopher? His definition of public ethics has been followed by every politician since Nero including those who run our country.
Groucho’s ethical stance is simple and direct, i.e.: “These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Consider the employee in the Department of Agriculture getting fired because her speech is edited by someone who wishes to embarrass the administration and the NAACP. The result is a hate filled diatribe against white folk. The old British truism comes into play:
When in trouble, when in doubt
Flap your arms and rush about.
In a self righteous huff, the Secretary of Agriculture has her called; forced to pull over to the side of the road, and bullied into resigning a job she has held for more than 20 years. By that evening the plot unravels.
It is discovered that the lady did nothing untoward. Quite the opposite: her remarks demonstrate the necessity of putting racial hatred away once and for all. The white farmer who she supposedly harmed, states that she saved his farm.
The hanging judges wring their hands; the collective ethics of the NAACP and the administration are called into question. Everyone acted precipitously; the accused never got the opportunity to defend herself; the wrongdoer got the results he wanted; and egg is all over the faces of the administration from the President to the White House’s janitor.
What possible explanation can they give other than, “Those actions were supposed to be in line with our principles. Fortunately, since you don’t like them, we have others.”
Only a philosopher or a politician spouts such nonsense. It takes an accountant to provide the public with realities like WorldCom’s bookkeeping and Lehman Brothers “arms-length” transactions with affiliated entities.
In the fullness of time I have come to believe only in reality as stated by W.C. Fields:“The world is made up of (3%) nitrogen, (2%) hydrogen, (5%) oxygen and (90%) Bullshit.“ **
The percentages change in favor of more Bullshit the closer one gets to Washington DC or NYC’s Madison Avenue.
Howard Stamer
** Most statistics are made up, as needed, on the spot.
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: July 23, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
At college I thought Philosophy majors were natives of another solar system. They did not think or talk like serious people preparing for real life as accountants, engineers, doctors, etc.. They were the air-heads of the fifties who would go nowhere.
Now I find that if I had been at school when “Plato and a Platypus” became a text I’d gladly have become a Philo major. How was I to know in 1946 that Grouch Marx was a Philosopher? His definition of public ethics has been followed by every politician since Nero including those who run our country.
Groucho’s ethical stance is simple and direct, i.e.: “These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Consider the employee in the Department of Agriculture getting fired because her speech is edited by someone who wishes to embarrass the administration and the NAACP. The result is a hate filled diatribe against white folk. The old British truism comes into play:
When in trouble, when in doubt
Flap your arms and rush about.
In a self righteous huff, the Secretary of Agriculture has her called; forced to pull over to the side of the road, and bullied into resigning a job she has held for more than 20 years. By that evening the plot unravels.
It is discovered that the lady did nothing untoward. Quite the opposite: her remarks demonstrate the necessity of putting racial hatred away once and for all. The white farmer who she supposedly harmed, states that she saved his farm.
The hanging judges wring their hands; the collective ethics of the NAACP and the administration are called into question. Everyone acted precipitously; the accused never got the opportunity to defend herself; the wrongdoer got the results he wanted; and egg is all over the faces of the administration from the President to the White House’s janitor.
What possible explanation can they give other than, “Those actions were supposed to be in line with our principles. Fortunately, since you don’t like them, we have others.”
Only a philosopher or a politician spouts such nonsense. It takes an accountant to provide the public with realities like WorldCom’s bookkeeping and Lehman Brothers “arms-length” transactions with affiliated entities.
In the fullness of time I have come to believe only in reality as stated by W.C. Fields:“The world is made up of (3%) nitrogen, (2%) hydrogen, (5%) oxygen and (90%) Bullshit.“ **
The percentages change in favor of more Bullshit the closer one gets to Washington DC or NYC’s Madison Avenue.
Howard Stamer
** Most statistics are made up, as needed, on the spot.
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #285
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: August 8, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
Good heavens! “Gay Rights” has replaced beach pollution in Sunday’s Editorial pages.
In a gentler age, beach pollution did not mean oil slick; it meant beer cans and sandwich wrappers. Everyone was against beach pollution: all of us were willing participants in a display of righteous, but ho-hum, indignation. Someone should tell the NY Times and the Chicago Tribune that Gay Rights are a very different matter. For one thing there is no uniformity of reaction to the issue and for another, not everyone cares about it.
Rights are one thing, Gay Rights is another.
I find very little that can be considered “gay” about homosexuality. For the participants it is deadly serious. For the vast majority of the earth’s population it is as far from the stream of immediate conscious thought as is the departure date for the next shuttle to Mars.
However, some political opportunists have made hay out of the concept that a non-issue can always be blown out of proportion if one makes enough noise. It seems that they have succeeded. The proof is that even the Chronicle (which has no axe to grind) is addressing the subject.
Homosexual congress was defined by a Roman author who said, “[sic] do it once and you are a philosopher. Do it twice and you are a pervert.
(He used congress in the physical rather than the political sense, though in both cases someone gets screwed.)
Defining lawful conduct in this country is not as simple as one would like. While some would say we can do anything short of murder and grand larceny, others would say that the New Testament should rule our lives, minute by minute. Neither position is acceptable in a diverse society. We are left to tussle with the difference between freedom and license. (e.g. “Headcheese” means something different in Lancaster PA than it does among the head hunters of Borneo.)
While we may differ on the acceptability of homosexuality as a lifestyle, we are compelled to deal with it in our society. Does the proponent of a form of conduct seek to do what he wishes regardless of the harm to others; or is he trying to live in accordance with standards that do no harm but which others may find distasteful though not unlawful per se?
Is the homosexual seeking license or freedom? I do not know if a single rule applies to all homosexual or heterosexual conduct.
Rape is not typically a homosexual crime, but we don’t ban heterosexuality between consenting adults because of an illegal sex act. Homosexual congress is not attractive to the vast majority of men and women, but is that a reason to ban or criminalize it?
Some of the hue and cry against homosexuality between consenting partners is based on religious teaching. Our federal laws do not outlaw that conduct any more than they outlaw heterosexual congress. Regardless of personal preferences, Americans cannot argue against any practice merely because of religion or personal preferences.
We can’t make homosexuality disappear any more than we can solve recurring beach pollution. Whatever Gay Rights means**, the issue has made us think about freedom in a way that beach pollution never could.
Howard Stamer
** The Attorney General has ruled that Gay Rights do not permit you to drill oil wells negligently or toss your empty beer cans on the sands of Coney Island. The first determination rules out support from BIG OIL; the second eliminates the backing of the NRA.
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: August 8, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
Good heavens! “Gay Rights” has replaced beach pollution in Sunday’s Editorial pages.
In a gentler age, beach pollution did not mean oil slick; it meant beer cans and sandwich wrappers. Everyone was against beach pollution: all of us were willing participants in a display of righteous, but ho-hum, indignation. Someone should tell the NY Times and the Chicago Tribune that Gay Rights are a very different matter. For one thing there is no uniformity of reaction to the issue and for another, not everyone cares about it.
Rights are one thing, Gay Rights is another.
I find very little that can be considered “gay” about homosexuality. For the participants it is deadly serious. For the vast majority of the earth’s population it is as far from the stream of immediate conscious thought as is the departure date for the next shuttle to Mars.
However, some political opportunists have made hay out of the concept that a non-issue can always be blown out of proportion if one makes enough noise. It seems that they have succeeded. The proof is that even the Chronicle (which has no axe to grind) is addressing the subject.
Homosexual congress was defined by a Roman author who said, “[sic] do it once and you are a philosopher. Do it twice and you are a pervert.
(He used congress in the physical rather than the political sense, though in both cases someone gets screwed.)
Defining lawful conduct in this country is not as simple as one would like. While some would say we can do anything short of murder and grand larceny, others would say that the New Testament should rule our lives, minute by minute. Neither position is acceptable in a diverse society. We are left to tussle with the difference between freedom and license. (e.g. “Headcheese” means something different in Lancaster PA than it does among the head hunters of Borneo.)
While we may differ on the acceptability of homosexuality as a lifestyle, we are compelled to deal with it in our society. Does the proponent of a form of conduct seek to do what he wishes regardless of the harm to others; or is he trying to live in accordance with standards that do no harm but which others may find distasteful though not unlawful per se?
Is the homosexual seeking license or freedom? I do not know if a single rule applies to all homosexual or heterosexual conduct.
Rape is not typically a homosexual crime, but we don’t ban heterosexuality between consenting adults because of an illegal sex act. Homosexual congress is not attractive to the vast majority of men and women, but is that a reason to ban or criminalize it?
Some of the hue and cry against homosexuality between consenting partners is based on religious teaching. Our federal laws do not outlaw that conduct any more than they outlaw heterosexual congress. Regardless of personal preferences, Americans cannot argue against any practice merely because of religion or personal preferences.
We can’t make homosexuality disappear any more than we can solve recurring beach pollution. Whatever Gay Rights means**, the issue has made us think about freedom in a way that beach pollution never could.
Howard Stamer
** The Attorney General has ruled that Gay Rights do not permit you to drill oil wells negligently or toss your empty beer cans on the sands of Coney Island. The first determination rules out support from BIG OIL; the second eliminates the backing of the NRA.
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE - #287
THE CURMUDGEON CHRONICLE ©
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: September 5, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
Karl Rove’s teaching and methods have taken hold. They are being used by Beck. Limbaugh & Co. to provide opinions for those who refuse to think for themselves. The big lie, followed by references to God, the flag, underpinned by racial slurs, (expressed or implied), are used to make people vote against their own interests.
If the polls are accurate and the trend is maintained through the midterm election, I fear our country will suffer at the hands of the oligarchs of big oil, unregulated financial institutions, arms and munitions makers, and their political minions and allies. No matter whether you are a conservative, liberal, progressive or unaffiliated, you must agree that liars and merchants of deceit should not rule our country. The need to call them out and stop them at the polls is evident; and their lies must be denied in the voting booth.
To set the record straight on a few of the current falsehoods:
1. The President was born in this country and is a citizen by birth;
2. He is not a Moslem or a Socialist;
3. He is facing problems that dwarf any former administration’s since Lincoln’s, none of them created by his administration. The stage was set with NAFTA twenty years ago and a foolish war in Iraq.
4. He is lied about and vilified by a small, virulent, minority determined to aggrandize the few at the expense of the many.
5. The President and this Congress did not cause the loss of our jobs and manufacturing capabilities. That was the creation of the people who now claim that government is at fault.
6. Jobs are not created by executive fiat or in a vacuum. There must be employers and demand for products made. Without both elements employment cannot keep pace with the growth of population
7. Our government is estopped from forcing US companies to hire in this country nor can it order companies to stop outsourcing. Since Clinton’s NAFTA and free trade programs the manufacturing capability of the US has fallen by over 65%. The alleged compensatory offset in the service and technology sector is being demonstrated to be an economist’s pipe dream. Indian outsource firms claim US companies use their services because we do not graduate enough engineers. The fact is that jobs which should be available for US engineers get filled in India because it is cheaper to do so. The ranks of unemployed US engineers in all disciplines has grown by astronomical percentages since NAFTA, Free trade, and outsourced work forces have become the tools of destruction for the US economy.
8. The people lying to us suggest that what will cure unemployment is a reduction in their taxes. It is ludicrous to imagine that a tax cut for the top 2% of the population will create jobs in an environment that has no employers, manufacturing base, or the plants to house workers. Nevertheless, that is what they are selling to people who should be diametrically opposed to that notion.
9. What the electorate should demand is a tax on employers who have outsourced jobs and eliminated industries that filled US demand for products they made. A useful tax policy would penalize imports of products that flood our markets, at subsidized prices, from China and India. Both of those countries are intent on taking over our fading position as the largest economy in the world.
10. There are lies about healthcare: consider “death panels” and no more contact with your doctor. The legislation makes health insurance and medical services available and more affordable for most citizens: it goes part of the way to assure availability and fair pricing. Roveists call it “Obamacare” to denigrate it, but in fact it reduces costs and preserves the profits and growth of the insurance industry.
11. There is the allegation that the administration has run “roughshod over the rights of the minority”. There has been no cooperation between the two sides of the aisle. I don’t care whose fault that is; as a citizen I want my government to be above the petty political jockeying typified by the current minority screaming for bi-partisanship while promising that if elected they will change the rules to their liking and brook no interference.
We have good reason to be frightened.
Regardless of political leanings Americans should vote for principles, not political parties. The democratic stronghold in mass was right when they voted for their current Republican junior Senator. They chose a person who thus far has voted his conscience, not the Party line.
We can either learn from Massachusetts or return to the world as orchestrated by Karl Rove.
Howard Stamer
AN IRREVERENT VIEW
Time Line: September 5, 2010
Date Line: Chicago IL
Karl Rove’s teaching and methods have taken hold. They are being used by Beck. Limbaugh & Co. to provide opinions for those who refuse to think for themselves. The big lie, followed by references to God, the flag, underpinned by racial slurs, (expressed or implied), are used to make people vote against their own interests.
If the polls are accurate and the trend is maintained through the midterm election, I fear our country will suffer at the hands of the oligarchs of big oil, unregulated financial institutions, arms and munitions makers, and their political minions and allies. No matter whether you are a conservative, liberal, progressive or unaffiliated, you must agree that liars and merchants of deceit should not rule our country. The need to call them out and stop them at the polls is evident; and their lies must be denied in the voting booth.
To set the record straight on a few of the current falsehoods:
1. The President was born in this country and is a citizen by birth;
2. He is not a Moslem or a Socialist;
3. He is facing problems that dwarf any former administration’s since Lincoln’s, none of them created by his administration. The stage was set with NAFTA twenty years ago and a foolish war in Iraq.
4. He is lied about and vilified by a small, virulent, minority determined to aggrandize the few at the expense of the many.
5. The President and this Congress did not cause the loss of our jobs and manufacturing capabilities. That was the creation of the people who now claim that government is at fault.
6. Jobs are not created by executive fiat or in a vacuum. There must be employers and demand for products made. Without both elements employment cannot keep pace with the growth of population
7. Our government is estopped from forcing US companies to hire in this country nor can it order companies to stop outsourcing. Since Clinton’s NAFTA and free trade programs the manufacturing capability of the US has fallen by over 65%. The alleged compensatory offset in the service and technology sector is being demonstrated to be an economist’s pipe dream. Indian outsource firms claim US companies use their services because we do not graduate enough engineers. The fact is that jobs which should be available for US engineers get filled in India because it is cheaper to do so. The ranks of unemployed US engineers in all disciplines has grown by astronomical percentages since NAFTA, Free trade, and outsourced work forces have become the tools of destruction for the US economy.
8. The people lying to us suggest that what will cure unemployment is a reduction in their taxes. It is ludicrous to imagine that a tax cut for the top 2% of the population will create jobs in an environment that has no employers, manufacturing base, or the plants to house workers. Nevertheless, that is what they are selling to people who should be diametrically opposed to that notion.
9. What the electorate should demand is a tax on employers who have outsourced jobs and eliminated industries that filled US demand for products they made. A useful tax policy would penalize imports of products that flood our markets, at subsidized prices, from China and India. Both of those countries are intent on taking over our fading position as the largest economy in the world.
10. There are lies about healthcare: consider “death panels” and no more contact with your doctor. The legislation makes health insurance and medical services available and more affordable for most citizens: it goes part of the way to assure availability and fair pricing. Roveists call it “Obamacare” to denigrate it, but in fact it reduces costs and preserves the profits and growth of the insurance industry.
11. There is the allegation that the administration has run “roughshod over the rights of the minority”. There has been no cooperation between the two sides of the aisle. I don’t care whose fault that is; as a citizen I want my government to be above the petty political jockeying typified by the current minority screaming for bi-partisanship while promising that if elected they will change the rules to their liking and brook no interference.
We have good reason to be frightened.
Regardless of political leanings Americans should vote for principles, not political parties. The democratic stronghold in mass was right when they voted for their current Republican junior Senator. They chose a person who thus far has voted his conscience, not the Party line.
We can either learn from Massachusetts or return to the world as orchestrated by Karl Rove.
Howard Stamer
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