Category: Right Conduct

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The Secret to Happiness

What is the secret to happiness?  In the adult education Spanish class I am taking, we are reading the book, El Alquimista (The Alchemist) by Paulo Coelho.  The book touts itself as a fable about following your dreams.

Within this fable is a parable about a merchant sending his son off to consult the wisest of wise men on the secret to happiness.  After a long and arduous journey the young man arrives at the abode of the Wiseman.  He is sent off for two hours to tour the magnificent structure, but with a teaspoon of oil in his hand and an admonition to not spill the oil.  The young man returns to the Wiseman who asks him what he had seen. Continue reading “The Secret to Happiness”

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Size Does Matter

How Germany got it right on the economy by Harold Meyerson in The Washington Post

The above link is an article on a different form capitalism, one that values social democratic ideals.  This is not the capitalism found in the good ole USA, but it is found in Germany.  Despite the bad economic times, and the raising economic power of Asia, their economy is still doing very well.

I have had some of the same thoughts as the author of this article, only mine were about farming.  I have occasionally had the same thoughts about small retail shops as Wal-Mart and other big box stores kill downtowns and mom and pop operations. I have just never made the logical progression to our manufacturing base. Continue reading “Size Does Matter”

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Just Imagine — No Taxes

There is personal wealth and then there is community wealth.  I read this a while back in a discussion of the growing wealth gap in this country.  One measure of wealth that has a lot to with the general happiness of a population is community wealth. This includes such things as parks, good roads, support of the arts, community buildings, education, etc.

I started thinking about this again as I have just come back from the Shelby County Clerks Office where I was registering my vehicle.   It is not an awful government building, I’ve been in a lot worse, but neither is it grand.  I still remember where they housed the County Sanitarians in Pulaski County, Arkansas.  It was an old hospital that had long been past its prime when the medicos abandoned it.  Now the County was trying to use it for office space.   It does seem to me that many government buildings get short shrift. Continue reading “Just Imagine — No Taxes”

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Huge concentrations of wealth corrodes the soul of any nation

A couple quotes from the Nicholas Kristof editoral linked to below:

A Hedge Fund Republic? Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times

“But there is also a larger question: What kind of a country do we aspire to be? Would we really want to be the kind of plutocracy where the richest 1 percent possesses more net worth than the bottom 90 percent?’

“I’m appalled by our growing wealth gaps because in my travels I see what happens in dysfunctional countries where the rich just don’t care about those below the decks. The result is nations without a social fabric or sense of national unity. Huge concentrations of wealth corrode the soul of any nation.”

I’ve been watching and crying over this growing problem for years.  Part of me just cannot understand how in a democratic society where the vast majority of folks are in the middle and lower economic classes this happened.  After all 9 to 1 should win ever time, right?

In large part it has happened because both political parties are unabashedly junkies when it comes to financing political campaigns.  Continue reading “Huge concentrations of wealth corrodes the soul of any nation”

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Step Away from the Counter

When I was in college I clerked in a liquor store for a while.  It was a great job for a student. On weekends we worked hard, but during the week the store was not busy and I was able to study hard.

I had a legal responsibility to not sell alcohol to people that were intoxicated.  Not only did I face criminal action, but as it was explained to me I could also face civil liabilities.  It is not always easy to tell if someone was over the limit.  It is almost always an argument when you refuse to sell to them, but I did do so a few times.  Continue reading “Step Away from the Counter”

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Stephen Colbert Testifies before Congress

God Bless Stephen, he never got out of character and still made his point.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if Americans had to pay a fair cost for their food. If the food was not harvested by exploited illegal immigrants, if our meat supply was done in an ethical manner, if our food supply was truly food and not laboratory products…

Click the link below to watch.

Stephen Colbert’s Testimony before Congress

Here is a link to an article where folks were upset with his testimony.

Steny Hoyer: Stephen Colbert’s Testimony To Congress Was ‘An Embarrassment For Mr. Colbert’

My personal take was it was wonderful.  If you invite a cat in the house and sharpens its claws on the furniture whose fault is it?  He was funny, yet made a lot of good points.  The one at the end was probably one Congress did not want to hear, but is very true.  Stephen was asked to leave the meeting room after his “performance”.   Those sleaze balls in Congress take themselves much, much too seriously.

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The Raping of America

Now That’s Rich – New York Times op-ed piece by Paul Krugman

From the article:

“We need to pinch pennies these days. Don’t you know we have a budget deficit? For months that has been the word from Republicans and conservative Democrats, who have rejected every suggestion that we do more to avoid deep cuts in public services and help the ailing economy.

But these same politicians are eager to cut checks averaging $3 million Continue reading “The Raping of America”

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Does Ice Cream Cause Breast Cancer?

Is Your Favorite Ice Cream Made With Monsanto’s Artificial Hormones? – Huffington Post Article

Why my title?  It is a quick synopsis of the article by John Robbins in Huffington Posts. Basically rBGH, artificial growth hormone that is so prevalent in our milk supply was developed, pushed through FDA approval, and promoted by Monsanto Chemicals. One of the effects in cows of rBGH is increased IGF-1 in their milk. Monsanto’s own research showed Continue reading “Does Ice Cream Cause Breast Cancer?”