Right Conduct Archives - Curmudgeon Alley

2026/09/19

Mahatma Gandhi’s Seven Deadly Sins

Here is a little something for you to ruminate on this 262^nd day of 2026 with 45 days to go until the most momentous election of our life…

Seven Deadly Sins per Mahatma Gandhi:

1. Wealth Without Work
2. Pleasure Without Conscience
3. Knowledge Without Character
4. Commerce (Business) Without Morality (Ethics)
5. Science Without Humanity
6. Religion Without Sacrifice
7. Politics Without Principle

If only…

Just the list itself is plenty to ruminate on, and I will not bore you with my puerile (this seems to be my word of late) commentary.

However, here is a link to an article on mkgandhi.org/ that does a bang up job: SEVEN DEADLY SINS As per Mahatma Gandhi

This particular commentary is based on Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which is more a business management book than a philosophical work. I remember going through a Stephen Covey corporate training on the seven habits. I cannot say a lot stuck, but I will take good information where I find it.

Thinking about it a little more I can see some overlap between Gandhi’s proscriptions and Buddha’s 8 Fold Path, advice on how to live:

1. Right view
2. Right thought
3. Right speech
4. Right boundary of actions
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right absorbed concentration

The trouble with humanity is that at one level we all know the way to act that is best for us and for our fellow man, but we let greed, fear and lust – for many things – dominate.

If only…

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2026/01/082026/01/09

I Am Guilty Too

Just something to think about next time you buy something from Amazon. I am as guilty as the next person. I looked and I bought 52 items from Amazon last year. That averages out to a purchase about every week. In my defense about half of that number were books or CDs. At one point I was buying used books from a company as a way to avoid Amazon only to find out the company was owned by Amazon. I did not look up the stats on Señora.

I have no problem with someone getting rich from a new idea or a better way of doing something, but IMHO there reaches a point where the wealth is unacceptably obscene. If for no other reason, it seems to twist the mind and attitude of these people. In a sane society we would have government policies in effect to prevent this mass accumulation of resources. As I have said ad nauseam, I have no problem with someone taking a second helping, if everyone has at least gotten a first. That simply does not happen in our society.

Amazon has become so big for many different reasons. I do not believe any of those reasons were illegal, but a few have pushed ethical boundaries. I initially started buying from Amazon as they avoided collecting sales taxes for many years, thus making their products cheaper than locally. As much as we all hate taxes, they are a necessary evil. And now Amazon has seemed to have become a conduit for cheap Chinese junk. Then there are the labor practices of Amazon…

Thanks for all those folks who refrained from pointing out my math error!!!! Now corrected.

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2025/06/152026/01/19

No Kings Protest / USS Carr Hat

As I have detailed elsewhere on this blog my mother’s brother, my Uncle Paul, died heroically in the largest naval battle in history. You can read about it here: Paul H. Carr inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. Besides being inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame for his heroic action he had a missile frigate named after him, the USS Paul H. Carr, FFG-52. There are several books of naval history that include his story. Obviously, having a Navy ship named after a family member is a huge honor, and all the family is rightly very proud of it. There is also a movement afoot to have one of the new class of missile frigates named after him. Hopefully, that comes to past.

I have several USS Carr hats, a couple shirts, etc. I wore them for years to honor my uncle. A few years past I stopped wearing them as it had become very fashionable to thank veterans. I became very tired of people coming up to me and thanking me for my service. More than a few wanted to shake my hand, something I am not comfortable with in the best of circumstances. Most importantly, I did not want Continue reading “No Kings Protest / USS Carr Hat”

2025/05/082025/05/09

A Test for Our Elected Officials: Two Beers and a Puppy

Okay I am a Johnny-come-lately to the “Two beers and a Puppy” test. I became aware of it when a friend of ours sent a text to Señora and I saying that we both were a Yes and a Yes. Undoubtedly, she was thinking of charismatic Señora more than Señora’s curmudgeonly Plus One.

In an article about the test Ross McCammon starts out by saying,“’Two Beers and a Puppy’ is a test that I developed while working at Esquire.” Another article whose author I could not ascertain went on to say the story being worked on was about the American “son of a bitch”. Whether it has any tie in to the “Two Beers and a Puppy” test I do not know, but a search on American“son of a bitch” and Esquire came up with an article from Roy Blount Jr. that was an interesting read: Let Us Now Praise The Son of a Bitch

The Test

In order to find out how you actually feel about Continue reading “A Test for Our Elected Officials: Two Beers and a Puppy”

2025/04/052025/04/06

Hands Off Protest St. Louis April 4th – Pictures

This is a heavily Republican state. Our particular district is so Republican it makes the rest of the state feel liberal. I will have to confess I have been feeling hopeless and isolated when all I mainly see around me is a tsunami of red hatted MAGAs.

Señora and I attended one of smaller Hands Off rallies at the next little suburb from us, Ballwin. It took place on Manchester Road (old Route 66), a heavily trafficked thoroughfare lined by shopping centers, car dealerships, restaurants, etc. Turn out to this event would have been amazing if it had been a warm, sunny day. It was not. Temperature was in the mid 40s. It was raining much more heavily than was comfortable with thunderstorms predicted. Given that, the turn out was phenomenal. If you are familiar with this street, protestors were lined up on the north side from the 141 overpass to Home Depot, with many more on the south side of the street.

Besides the protesters on foot, many cars were driving by with anti-this-pathetic-excuse for an administration signs in their windows. Many more were honking and waving in support. My unofficial, unscientific survey was that for every car that drove by flipping off the protesters there were 200 or 300 honking and waving in support.

One protest is not going to do it. We need to protest often and in large groups. We need to get rid of tArse and his clown alley of Nazis who are hell bent on destroying our nation.

Finally the promised pictures:

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Just as a little side note. Señora kept her streak alive. We can hardly go anywhere in the St. Louis area without running into someone she knows. We ran into several at this rally.

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2025/03/18

Google Kowtowing to the Idiocracy

Screw Google and screw those idiots occupying the White House. This the GULF OF MEXICO. It is not the Gulf of America. I am surprised El puto pendejo naranja did not name it the Gulf of Trump.

I am so embarrassed to be a citizen of this country with such a person occupying the presidency. I have been wanting to call this administration The Gang That Could Not Shoot Straight, but that would be a compliment for them.

When will this nightmare end?

I complained to Google about this change and it would wonderful if a lot of other folks did too. However, they do not make it easy to send them feedback. I hunted around for 10 minutes before I figured out how. And then there is the fact that they really do not care what I think.

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